by Marie Force
“Take your time,” he said with a grin that made his eyes crinkle at the corners. “Believe it or not, I can manage on my own for an hour or two.”
Looking up at him, she had to fight the ever-present urge to straighten the shaggy, dirty-blond hair that hung low on his brow. “Owen…”
Amusement and affection danced in his gray eyes. “What’s on your mind, Princess?”
As a modern, independent woman, Laura knew she probably shouldn’t love that nickname quite as much as she did. “We need to talk.” They couldn’t go on like this all winter without one or both of them incinerating from the heat that arced between them.
“Probably.” He bent to press a soft kiss to her forehead. “But not when you’ve got somewhere to be.”
The loving gesture took her breath away. She wanted to reach up, grab a fistful of that unruly hair and drag his sexy mouth down for a kiss that would leave him as breathless as he made her feel when he looked at her in that particular way. But then she remembered all the reasons why it was a terrible idea for her recently shattered heart to take a chance on a man who thrived on freedom.
She’d survived heartbreak once—barely. Why in the world would she set herself up for another trip down that hellish road? “Later, then,” she said, her voice sounding as shaky as she felt. “We’ll talk later.”
“I’ll be here.”
Laura felt him watching her as she went down the stairs to the sidewalk. As much as she wanted to look back at him, she didn’t. Rather, she took deep breaths to regulate her heart rate. The powerful effect he had on her was frightening. Nothing had even happened between them, and she already knew if he broke her heart, it would be way worse than the substantial damage Justin had done.
By the time she stepped into the South Harbor Diner, she’d almost gotten her heart to stop pounding, but the looming conversation with Owen had her vibrating with nervous energy.
Laura was surprised to find her friends, Grace Ryan and Stephanie Logan, along with her cousin Mac’s wife, Maddie, sitting with her Aunt Linda in a corner table. Grace had recently gotten together with Laura’s cousin Evan, and Stephanie was hot and heavy with Laura’s cousin Grant.
Everyone around her, it seemed, was newly in love and glowing with happiness.
“Hi, honey,” Linda said, rising to greet Laura with a hug. Linda’s love and affection had helped to fill the awful void left in Laura’s young life after her mother died. “You look so pretty. Come have a seat.”
“I didn’t realize we were having a party,” Laura said, thrilled to see the others. Her new friends were also a big part of the reason she was so happy on the island. It was comforting to be around people who hadn’t witnessed the thermonuclear meltdown of her marriage and didn’t look at her with pity the way her friends in Providence did.
“Neither did we,” Grace said, “and I’m kind of relieved to see you all. When Linda asked me to meet her, I thought I was in for a ‘when are you going to marry my son’ inquisition.” She punctuated the comment with a cheeky grin for Linda.
“Don’t be silly,” Linda said. “I’d never ask such a question.”
The others laughed at the ludicrous statement.
“Right,” Stephanie said, dripping with sarcasm.
Propping her chin on her upturned hand, Linda zeroed in on Grace. “Since you brought it up, when are you going to marry my son?”
“Don’t make eye contact,” Stephanie advised Grace.
“You hush,” Linda said to Stephanie, who she often said she would’ve handpicked for Grant. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“You’re not the one who has to do the asking,” Stephanie said, arching a brow meaningfully at her boyfriend’s mother.
“Touché,” Maddie said, laughing at her mother-in-law’s shameless quest for information about her unmarried sons and their love lives.
Sydney Donovan came rushing through the door and made a beeline for their table. “So sorry I’m late,” she said, also seeming surprised to see the others.
They scooted chairs around to make room for the newcomer, who was Maddie’s close friend from childhood.
“Luke dropped me off on his way to see Dr. David,” Sydney said. “Fingers crossed this is his last appointment for the ankle injury from hell.”
“Oh, let’s hope so,” Maddie said. “At least he’s finally off the crutches.”
“And he’s walking much better since the surgery,” Sydney said as she accepted a cup of coffee from the waitress.
Laura shook her head when offered coffee. “Could I have decaf tea, please?” Oh how she missed coffee!
“And when are you two tying the knot?” Linda asked Sydney.
Sydney’s cheeks flushed with color to match her strawberry-blonde hair. “Maybe soon.”
“Oh my God!” Maddie said. “Have you been holding out on me?”
“Luke asked me a while ago, but I wasn’t ready yet. I think I might be now.”
“Oh, Syd,” Maddie said, hugging her friend. “I’m so happy for you!”
After losing her husband and children in a drunk-driving accident more than a year and a half ago, Sydney had returned to Gansett Island earlier in the summer and reconnected with Luke, her first love, a part owner of McCarthy’s Gansett Island Marina.
“I haven’t told him yet,” Sydney said, “so keep a lid on it for a few days.”
“Our lips are sealed,” Maddie said, and the others nodded in agreement.
“I’m thrilled for you both,” Linda said, reaching out to pat Syd’s hand.
“Thank you,” Sydney said. “I’m rather thrilled myself.”
“No one deserves it more,” Laura said.
They talked wedding plans and hotel renovations and kids for a while before Linda tapped her spoon on her coffee cup to get their attention.
“The reason I invited you all to come today,” Linda said, “is I have a project I need your help with.”
“Sure,” Grace said. “What can we do?”
“You’ve all heard about the new lighthouse keeper—Jenny Wilks?”
“I’ve heard she’s living out there,” Stephanie said, “but I’ve never seen her.”
“Neither have I,” Laura said.
“Mac told me she has her groceries delivered so she doesn’t have to leave the lighthouse,” Maddie said.
“That’s what I’ve heard, too,” Linda said. “Big Mac was on the search committee, and when she sealed herself off out there, he said we should do something. And that’s where you all come in.” She leaned in and lowered her voice. “Part of the application process was an essay about an event in their lives that made them who they are today. Hers is so heartbreaking. Listen to this…”
Chapter 2
“My name is Jenny Wilks, and I’m applying for the lighthouse keeper’s position on Gansett Island,” Linda read from a paper she pulled from her purse. “I currently reside in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the reason for my interest in the position dates back almost eleven years.
“The morning of September 11, 2001 began like any other Tuesday for my fiancé, Toby, and me.”
“Oh God,” Maddie whispered.
Sydney reached for Maddie’s hand and held on tight.
Linda had agonized over whether to include Sydney when she called the women together. In the end, she hadn’t the heart to leave her out. Now Linda hoped she’d done the right thing by asking Syd to come.
Linda cleared the emotion from her throat and continued reading. “We woke up in our Greenwich Village apartment, had breakfast, got dressed and left for work—me at an ad agency in midtown, and he as a financial services advisor at the World Trade Center’s South Tower. I don’t remember what we said to each other that morning. Probably the usual stuff about our plans for the day, what time we might be home, what we’d do for dinner. I so wish I could remember our exact words. I had no idea then how very precious they would be.
“We met at Wharton, survived the MBA program together a
nd were due to be married that October. Toby was quiet and studious and destined for big things in his career. I used to call him my sexy nerd. While he tended to be shy with other people, with me he was easy-going, fun to be around and always making plans for our future. As we grappled with the stress of managing new jobs in New York while planning a wedding in North Carolina (where I’m from), his easy-going nature kept me sane.
“I was in a meeting when Toby called my cell phone that morning. We often sent texts back and forth but rarely called each other during the day. I was worried he might be sick or something, so I took the call despite the look of disapproval I received from my supervisor. I vividly recall getting up and starting to walk out of the room. I was about halfway to the door when the fear and panic in Toby’s voice registered. He was saying things I couldn’t comprehend. An airplane had hit the building, there was a fire and they were trapped. He told me they were going up on the roof, hoping to be rescued, but if it all went bad, he wanted me to know…”
Linda blew out a deep breath and shook her head as tears swam in her eyes. The first time she read Jenny’s letter, she’d wept for an hour, imagining the horror of receiving such a phone call.
Stephanie gripped her free hand, a gesture Linda greatly appreciated as she summoned the fortitude to continue. She blinked back the tears and focused on the heartfelt words.
“He wanted me to know how much he loved me. Right around then, people in the office heard what was going on, and everyone ran to the windows where we could see plumes of smoke coming from Lower Manhattan. I started to scream. It couldn’t be happening. I heard the words terrorists and Pentagon and hijacking and all sorts of things that didn’t seem real. Toby was yelling at me over the phone. ‘Jenny,’ he said, ‘are you there?’ I snapped out of it and realized my entire body was cold. I was shivering uncontrollably. Toby needed me, and I had to pull it together for him.
“Somehow I managed to form words. I managed to tell him how very much I loved him, how certain I was that everything would be fine and we’d have a long and happy life together the way we’d always planned. Even though I was utterly terrified, I held it together until he started to cry. He told me he didn’t want to leave me and that he was so sorry to do this to me. He said he wanted me to be happy no matter what, that my happiness was the most important thing to him.
“You all know what happened, so I won’t belabor the point. His body was never recovered. It was like he went to work one morning and disappeared off the face of the earth, which is essentially what happened. For days, weeks, months afterward, I was a total zombie. My parents came to get me, and I went home with them to North Carolina. Toby’s parents had a funeral in Pennsylvania that my parents took me to. I barely remember being there. My sisters quietly canceled the wedding I’d planned down to the last detail. Everyone was so very nice. Our money was refunded. People wanted to help in any way they could, but all the kind gestures in the world couldn’t replace what I’d lost. The oddest part was I never cried. I didn’t shed a single tear, even though every part of me hurt.
“I had nightmares for months over how Toby’s life might’ve ended. It’s a terrible thing to hope the person you loved most in the world had suffocated before other more horrific things could happen to him. I went to therapy and grief groups and all the things my family thought might help. A year went by without my knowledge, and it suddenly became critically important that I attend the anniversary ceremonies. My parents were adamantly opposed, but I needed to see it. I needed to see where he had died.”
Linda put down the page to wipe the dampness from her face. The young women gathered around the table were white-faced and teary-eyed. “If I didn’t think Jenny needed us so very badly, I’d never put you through this,” Linda said softly.
“Please,” Grace said. “Please finish.”
The others nodded in agreement.
Linda cleared her throat and returned to the letter. “Minutes after I arrived at the place they called Ground Zero, a name I always hated, I broke down into the kind of heartbroken tears you see in the movies. Apparently, I made quite a scene. It’s another thing I barely remember. My parents carted me out of there, and I’m told I cried for days. Once the tears stopped, I was finally, somehow, a little better. I didn’t feel quite so numb, which was a good and bad thing because that’s when the pain set in. I won’t bore you with the details of that stage. Suffice to say it was ugly.
“After two years of barely functioning, I wanted my old life back—or as much of it as still remained. For all that time, my company held my job for me. Can you believe that? I still can’t. That was a bright spot in a sea of gray. They welcomed me back with open arms. I found out my parents had paid the rent on our place in Greenwich Village, which was another bright spot. I went back to our home and wallowed in the comfort of being surrounded by Toby’s things. After four years, I asked his parents to come take what they wanted and packed up the rest because it was no longer a comfort to be surrounded by his belongings.
“In the fifth year, I started dating again. That was a comedy of errors with one disaster following another. I felt sorry for the very nice guys my well-meaning friends fixed me up with. They didn’t stand a chance against the fiancé I’d lost so tragically. Still, I went through the motions, mostly because it made the people around me more comfortable with my unending grief. I did what I could to make it better for them, because nothing could make it better for me.
“I became involved in the planning for the memorial, which was somehow cathartic when my rational self knew it probably shouldn’t be. New York slowly recovered, the debris was cleared away and new construction began. Against all odds, life went on. I still had nightmares about how Toby died. I dreamed about the wedding we’d so looked forward to that hadn’t happened. I went to work, I came home, I went to bed, I got up and did it all again the next day.
“As the tenth anniversary approached, I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t stay in that city, in our apartment, in the job I’d had that day, with the well-meaning people who went out of their way to try to fix the unfixable. I started looking around for something to do that would get me out of the city, something that would get me off the treadmill my life had become. Two weeks before the tenth anniversary, I moved out of our apartment and went home to North Carolina. I couldn’t stay for the dedication of the memorial or all the hoopla that would surround the anniversary. Leaving our apartment and our city for the last time was one of the most difficult moments in a decade of difficult moments.
“I’ve worked for the last year at a small PR firm in Charlotte. I saw your advertisement for the lighthouse keeper’s position in the New York Times last weekend, and everything about it appealed to me. I have absolutely no experience running a lighthouse, although where one would get such experience I couldn’t begin to imagine! I’m thirty-six years old, well educated in both the classroom and the school of hard knocks. I’m a reliable person looking for the opportunity to start over in a new place. I’d be honored to be considered for this position. Thank you for ‘listening’ to my story. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Jenny Wilks.”
Linda folded the letter, returned it to her purse and used a tissue to dab at the moisture gathered in the corners of her eyes. The story hadn’t been any easier to read the third time.
The others remained quiet and contemplative as they absorbed the letter. After a long moment of silence, Linda looked around at each of them. “We can’t leave her out there all alone.”
“Of course we can’t,” Laura said, mopping up tears.
“We can’t descend upon her either,” Stephanie said, pragmatic as always.
“True,” Grace said.
“I thought if we put our heads together,” Linda said, “we could think of a way—”
“I’ll do it,” Sydney said, her jaw set with determination. “I’ll go.”
“Are you sure you’re up to that, honey?” Linda asked.
Sydney nodded. �
��Who better to make the first move than someone who’s been there and done that?”
“No one,” Maddie agreed, squeezing her friend’s hand. “What’ll you say?”
“I’ll tell her I understand because I’ve been through my own hell. I’ll let her know there’s a wonderful, special community of people here who’d love to get to know her and make her feel at home.”
“That sounds perfect,” Linda said. “I had a feeling you all would know what to do.”
“I don’t know about the rest of you,” Grace said, expelling a deep breath, “but I really, really need to see Evan right now.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Maddie said. “About Mac, of course.”
“Ditto,” Stephanie said. “Grant.”
“It’s certainly a reminder that life is short and we need to make the most of every day we’re given,” Linda said. She noticed her niece still had tears rolling down her face. “Laura? Honey, are you all right?”
Laura reached for a napkin and dried her eyes. “I’m sorry. Jenny’s letter brought it all back. That awful day when we didn’t know where Adam was.”
“Yes,” Linda said. “It gave me some rough moments. I’m sure it did for Big Mac, too, which is why he didn’t tell me about it until after he began to worry about her being out there all alone.”
“Adam was in New York that day?” Maddie asked. “How have I never heard this?”
Linda nodded, her heart squeezing the way it always did when she thought of that nightmarish day when she’d thought for a few hours that her darling boy might be gone. “He’d just graduated from college and was working at his first job for a computer company in lower Manhattan. He’d only started the week before, so we didn’t have any way to contact him there yet. His cell phone went right to voice mail for hours. Hours and hours.”
“We found out much later that afternoon he wasn’t even in the city,” Laura said. “He was at a client’s office in New Jersey. Cell service was nonexistent for days, but he finally managed to call around five o’clock. By then, we were so sure…”
