Return to Silver Bay

by Lara Van Hulzen

  Her heart raced, but no longer from fearing a crazy person around the corner. Walking along the red dots of flowers on the green grass, she couldn’t take her eyes off the grin on Josh’s face, his arm no longer in a cast, just a brace. Wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt jacket, he looked just like he did in high school.

  She stood before him. “What is all this?”

  “I have some news for you.”

  “Oh, you do, do you?”

  “Yes, I do. You have a buyer for the house.”

  “Well, that’s what Hannah said, but I don’t get what that has to do with you and an amazing trail of roses out here.”

  “The buyer is willing to pay full price.”

  “I know. That’s what Hannah said. I can’t believe it.”

  “Believe it. But it’s contingent upon you doing something.”

  “I have to do something? What are you talking about?”

  Josh stepped toward her and took her hand. He dropped to one knee and looked up at her.

  “Marry me, Maggie.”

  She put a shaky hand over her mouth as Josh took a ring out of his pocket and held it up.

  “I don’t understand.” Her voice cracked.

  “I want to buy your house, Maggie. I want to buy our house. I want us to be together, always. I’m never letting you go, ever again.”

  “But that’s not fair for you. I don’t want you to feel like you have to bail me out just because we’re together.”

  He stood, his eyes intent on hers. “I don’t feel like I have to do anything, Maggie. I want this. I want you.” He put his hands on her back and held her close. He covered her mouth with his.

  “This is unbelievable,” Maggie said, breathless from the moment, from his kiss.

  Josh stepped back and raised his arms. “This is where it all started for us. Can we make a new start?” He reached out and took her hand.

  “I’m gonna ask you again, Maggie. I’ll spend my whole life asking if I have to. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

  He picked her up with his good arm and spun her around, their laughter echoing over the empty field.

  He set her down and took her left hand in his. Placing the ring on her finger, he kissed it.

  “Can we come out now?” Hannah shouted from behind the bleachers.

  Maggie laughed into Josh’s neck.

  “It’s been killing her to wait this long with this kind of news,” Josh said.

  “I’m sure,” Maggie agreed. “I’m surprised she held it in this long.”

  Maggie turned to see Hannah, Paul, Kate, Talia, Roy, Jack, and Adriana all emerge from around the bleachers.

  “Did you sell tickets?” Maggie asked him, her eyes wide.

  He laughed. “No, but maybe I should have.”

  Before the crowd reached them, Josh tilted her head up towards him and said, “I love you, Maggie Mitchell.”

  “I love you too, Josh Harden.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  ‡

  “Hello.”

  “Maggie. It’s Doyle.”

  “Hey, boss. How are you?”

  “I’m doing just fine, Maggie. How’s married life?”

  She turned and looked at Josh, who was moving around their bedroom, getting dressed for work.

  “It’s great, thanks.”

  “What have you been up to? Besides a wedding, of course.”

  The wedding. It was everything Maggie dreamed it would be. A small affair on their beach behind the house with friends and family. The fall colors an ideal background.

  Pulling at a thread on the comforter she said, “Actually, I’ve been working on a book.”

  “Do you think you would have time for some other projects as well?”

  Her pulse quickened at the thought of a possible writing job again. “Sure. What’d you have in mind?”

  “Turns out, I’m going to run an on-line magazine for the company and I want to bring you on as my head copy editor and writer. You wouldn’t have to move or anything. We can do everything via fax, e-mail, phone, etc. If you could make it up here to Seattle every once in a while, that would be good.”

  “That sounds fantastic. When do you need me?”

  “How does the first week of November sound?”

  “It sounds perfect.” Her cheeks hurt from grinning.

  “Great. I’ll e-mail you details and we can go from there.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Doyle.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s good to have you back, Mitchell. No, wait. Sorry. Harden. Hmph. I’m gonna have to get used to that.”

  She laughed.

  They said their good-byes and Maggie ran into the closet to tell Josh the good news.

  “You aren’t going to believe this!” she said, jumping up and down, her cell phone still clasped in her hand.

  “You’re right. I don’t believe it. How can one woman have so many clothes? I have almost no room in this closet.”

  “Oh, stop it.” She slapped his arm.

  He rubbed it like it hurt.

  “That was Doyle on the phone. He just offered me a job as head copy editor and writer for a new on-line magazine. Isn’t that great?”

  “Maggie, that is fantastic!” He picked her up and spun her around. “Congratulations.”

  “We should celebrate,” he said as he set her down.

  “What’d you have in mind?”

  “Hmmm, I bet I can think of something.” He buried his crooked grin in her neck and kissed it. She giggled. He picked her up again, covering her lips with his.

  “I like that plan,” she said, pulling back from him for a moment.

  “I bet you do, Mrs. Harden. I bet you do.”

  *

  Hannah stood at the kitchen counter, putting the finishing touches on Maggie’s birthday cake. She dashed tiny orange and gold sprinkles along the top and across the words, “Happy Birthday Maggie” that were scripted on it.

  Abby sat in her bouncy seat on the table next to Hannah.

  “Well, Abby girl, I think we’re about done. This is a big event, you know. Aunt Maggie hasn’t let any of us celebrate her birthday with her in a long time.”

  She wiggled Abby’s toes and kissed her feet. The baby kicked happily, causing the seat to bounce with her joy.

  Hannah was still blown away at the sight of her daughter. Her cherub face. Her big, brown eyes, and tufts of brown hair. As she took in her daughter’s toothless grin, she thought of Maggie and all that had happened to her in such a short time. They had all been in shock when Maggie told them about Rose. But since then, things had all come together like a jigsaw puzzle.

  The doorbell rang. Hannah scooped Abby up out of her bouncy seat and headed for the door.

  When she opened the door, Maggie came through carrying three different gift bags.

  “What are you doing?” Hannah asked. “This is your party. You aren’t supposed to bring gifts for yourself.”

  Maggie laughed, put down the gift bags, and took Abby from Hannah’s arms.

  “They aren’t for me, silly. They’re for this sweet baby girl that I’m so in love with I can hardly stand it.”

  “Where’s Josh?”

  “He’ll be here in a bit. He’s finishing up some work with Jack.”

  “How’s Jack adjusting to small-town life?” Hannah asked.

  “He’s fine. He grew up here, remember?” Maggie teased. “He loves living in Josh’s house. Then again, who wouldn’t?”

  “I know. That kitchen is amazing. Does Jack even cook?”

  Maggie laughed. “No, but Josh agreed to teach him, and I’m sure my architect husband will be designing a new kitchen in our house quite soon.”

  She twirled Abby above her head and kissed her neck. Abby giggled and drooled onto Maggie’s shoulder.

  “Ooh, let me get you a burp rag.”

  “Abby, you tell Mommy that all of that drool is just full of sugar, and I want that Abby sugar all over my sh
irt!”

  She nuzzled Abby’s neck again, causing more giggles and more drool.

  Hannah followed them down the hall and into the kitchen. Maggie cradled Abby in her arms and looked over the cake.

  “This looks too good to eat. Where is everyone else’s cake?” she said with a sinister grin.

  Without missing a beat, Hannah responded, “Out in the other fridge.”

  Hannah sat at the kitchen table and Maggie leaned against the counter near the cake.

  “How are you feeling about this birthday, my friend? Are you regretting letting us actually throw you a party?”

  “Nope. I think I can get used to the whole idea of people handing me presents and feeding me cake all day.”

  “How’s it going with Rose?”

  “Great. You know she came back to visit again, and she’s even thinking of moving here to be near Kate and me.”

  “How do Drew and David feel about that?”

  “They’re actually supportive. They know how lonely Rose is in that big house and that it would be good for her to be here. David is getting married, and he’s going to buy the house from Rose and live there. That way the house stays in the family. Rose loves the idea.”

  “That sounds great, Maggie. You really seem okay with all of this.”

  “I am. I had to make my peace with it. I wondered for a while why I didn’t get to have Rose and Michael for parents, but then I never would have had my mother and she wouldn’t have had me.”

  “I know that my life will never be the same now that we have Abby. She was meant to be our daughter.”

  Maggie looked down at Abby, who was staring up at her in awe. “And now I have the chance to have Kate and Rose and everyone as family. So I guess I get double the blessings. My only wish is that my mother was still alive to be a part of it. She and Rose had such a special bond, and I know my mother would have loved to reconnect with her now.”

  “Rose is connecting with you. And that makes your mother happy, I’m sure.”

  Hannah stood up from the table and stepped toward Maggie.

  “Okay, Abigail Margaret,” she said to Abby. “It’s time for you to get your party dress on before our other guests arrive.”

  Abby waved her arms wildly and Maggie beamed.

  “I love hearing that name,” Maggie said. She looked down at Abby. “You have the most beautiful name.”

  Abby gave her best toothless grin.

  “Let me do it,” Maggie said. “I love getting her dressed. She has a bigger wardrobe than I do.”

  “Okay. I laid a dress out on her changing table, but you can pick another one if you’d like.”

  “Okay.”

  The doorbell rang.

  “Ooh, Abby. We better get going. We need to be ready to make our big entrance.”

  And with that, Maggie was down the hall and up the stairs.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  ‡

  Later that night, Maggie, Kate, and Hannah sat in Hannah’s kitchen, finishing off Maggie’s birthday cake while Josh and Paul watched TV in the living room, Abby cradled in Paul’s arms.

  “So, do you feel older and wiser?” Kate asked.

  “Hmmm, older? A little. But wiser? I’m not so sure.” Maggie licked frosting off her fork.

  “Sometimes I feel like I get older every year, but my wisdom meter goes backwards instead of forwards,” Hannah said. “I almost feel like the older I get, the less I understand instead of more.”

  “I know what you mean,” Kate said. “And I’m finding lately that just when I think I’ve got it all figured out, life throws me a curve ball that makes me question whether to swing or not.”

  Maggie laughed. “Would that curve ball be a dark, handsome man who just moved back to town?”

  Based on the rosiness of Kate’s cheeks, she’d hit the nail on the head.

  “Wait, what? I’m out of the loop on this! What handsome stranger?” Hannah almost whined.

  Kate swatted Maggie. “Nothing. She’s blabbering when she shouldn’t.”

  “Hey, now. I saw you checking out Jack the last time we were at the coffee shop together and he came in with Josh.”

  Kate cut herself another piece of cake. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Maggie decided to let it go. For now.

  Hannah pouted. “Man, I’m home now almost all the time with Abby. I miss all the good stuff.”

  “You’re not missing anything,” Kate offered.

  “I thought when Paul and I were going through our struggles to get pregnant that life would just be perfect and easy if we had a child. Little did I know.”

  “I thought things were going really well,” Maggie said. “I know how much you love Abby and you make this mommy gig look like a cakewalk.”

  “I do love Abby and I don’t mean anything negative at all. I love being a mom. I thank God every day for that sweet little blessing out there in her daddy’s arms. I just think that I had a visual in my head that getting that one thing I wanted more than anything in life would make all my fears, worries, and struggles disappear. But now I feel like they’ve doubled because I worry so much about Abby.”

  “I think I understand what you’re saying, Hannah,” Kate said. “I’ve been so focused on how lonely I feel and how having a man in my life would solve that, but I know deep down it wouldn’t. I’ve tried to spend the last few months focusing on work and friends instead of when ‘Mr. Right’ will come along. Or won’t. I don’t need a man in my life to make it full, even though that’s what I thought would do it.”

  They all took another bite of cake.

  “How are things going with Gwen?” Hannah asked Kate, her lips turning green from the frosting.

  “Great. That Bible study we’ve been working on together is fantastic. We’re thinking of asking Pastor Jake if we can offer it as a study at church once a week. It’s a study that connects a younger woman with a ‘wise’ woman, as we like to say, to mentor and teach and pray for each other. I’ve learned so much from it and so much from Gwen.”

  “That does sound great,” Hannah said. “Let me know what Pastor Jake says and if you get it started at church. I would love to be involved.”

  “Me, too.” Maggie said. “And let’s get Rose and Talia involved too. They would make fantastic mentors to young women in the church.”

  A soft whine was heard from the living room, Abby’s code to Hannah that it was time for bed.

  “I’m going to go put her down for the night. Don’t talk about anything too interesting while I’m gone.”

  “Never. We always save the good stuff,” Kate said.

  As Hannah left the kitchen, Maggie asked, “So has Rose decided specifically when she’s going to move out here?” Maggie wasn’t quite ready to call Rose “Mom” yet; Drew, David, Rose and Kate had given Maggie plenty of space and time to adjust to the news. They were doing some adjusting themselves.

  “She’s thinking she wants to wait until the house sale goes through with David. She doesn’t anticipate that taking long, but she’s wanting him and Nancy to lead the way on timing.”

  “I love that you are my sister.”

  “I know. Me too! Every once in a while I think of how absolutely bizarre the whole thing is, but then I realize how our story was weaved together like some beautiful tapestry. It’s so exciting.”

  “What a gift it was to be friends first, too. We never had to go through fighting or being mad at each other for borrowing each other’s clothes without asking.”

  Both women laughed.

  “So much of my life I spent thinking about having a sister or brother and now I have all of you. Amazing. It sounds strange to say, but I wish my mother were here to be a part of it.”

  “I don’t think that’s strange to say at all. But I think she sees from heaven at least enough to know that the truth has made you happy and free.”

  “How did you know about that?”

  “Know about what?” Kate looked confu
sed as she scraped frosting off the bottom of the cake pan.

  “About my dream.”

  “What dream?”

  Maggie stared at her sister.

  “Hey, sis. You okay?” Kate waved a fork in front of Maggie’s eyes.

  Maggie smiled. “Yeah. I’ve never been better.”

  *

  “What in the world are we doing?” Maggie asked.

  They had driven down toward the beach and she couldn’t imagine what awaited her there.

  “If I told you, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise, now would it?” Josh steered his new Jeep down the winding road that led to the beach. The top was off and the day could not have been more beautiful.

  He held her left hand in his. His fingers instinctively played with her wedding rings. Part of her was still getting use to wearing them, another part of her feeling they had been there her whole life.

  When they pulled up to a horse stable on the north side of the beach, Maggie’s confusion only deepened.

  “Come on,” Josh said. “It’s time for the ride of your life.”

  They got out of the Jeep and walked toward the stables. Josh grabbed Maggie’s hand and they walked around to a small office where Josh spoke with the man behind the counter for a few minutes. He led them through a side door to a corral full of horses with saddles on their backs, just waiting to be ridden.

  Maggie had heard of this place but had never been this far down the beach. And she certainly never had the nerve to come and actually ride. She pulled Josh aside.

  “I’ve never done this before, Josh. I’m really nervous.”

  “You’ll do great.” He put a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

  Josh led Maggie down to the horse the ranch hand untied and had waiting for her. “Her name is Freedom, and she’s the gentlest mare we have. You can’t go wrong with her,” the ranch hand said.

  Maggie walked up to the horse.

  “Go on,” he said. “You can pet her. She likes it when you rub her nose.”

  Maggie took another step closer and reached out her hand. Freedom seemed to do the same with her head and met Maggie’s hand halfway with her round snout. She rubbed the animal’s nose with the back of her fingers. It was like silk. The horse took one step forwards, almost nudging Maggie now.