A Place for Us (Blue Harbor Book 1)

by Olivia Miles

  “I’m not mad,” Britt repeated. “I’m…grateful.”

  And just as grateful in that moment for the huge smile that filled Maddie’s face as she flung her arms around Britt’s shoulders, just like she used to do when she was still a kid.

  “Come on,” Britt said, linking her arm. “Let’s have some fun tonight.”

  Maddie nudged her playfully. “Fun in Blue Harbor? I wasn’t sure you’d ever connect the two! Does that mean you’ll come back again soon?”

  Britt swallowed the knot in her throat. “I shouldn’t have stayed away as long as I did,” she said. And like everything about her past, that was one thing about her future that she was determined to never let happen again.

  *

  For the first night since he’d married Stephanie, Robbie was on his own. Keira had been invited to a sleepover, her first ever, and despite Robbie’s misgivings about letting her go, Keira showed no such hesitation when he dropped her off at the Morrisons’ cheerful house, with the promise to pick her up if she wanted to come home.

  If Keira even heard, she didn’t acknowledge it, and she’d forgotten to give him a hug good-bye too, instead taking her friend Lily’s hand and scampering off down the hall, giggling in excitement.

  “I’ll pick her up in the morning,” he said to Annette, who was thankfully happily married, with two kids and another on the way.

  Annette gave him a reassuring smile. “She’ll be fine.”

  Robbie had nodded. It was a lovely home, warm and inviting, and Keira would be fine, he was sure of it. The question was, would he be fine?

  Not willing to go home and face a night alone in the house, he drove into town and joined the Friday night crowd at the inn. The pub was in full swing, as he expected it to be on a summer evening, especially once the rain started and the outdoor spots had to shut down their patios.

  Jackson was behind the bar, right where he always was, and despite knowing that was where he would be, Robbie felt an instant wave of relief at the sight of him. It was a reminder that he had made the right choice in coming back. That was at least one decision he could be sure of. The rest…the rest he couldn’t be sure of anymore.

  There were two spots open at the bar and he dropped onto one just as Natalie Clark dropped onto the other. He had an uncomfortable feeling that she’d followed him across the room.

  “Don’t see you in here much on weekends,” she observed, flashing him a flirtatious grin.

  “Keira’s at a sleepover,” he offered.

  “My daughter’s at the same one.” Natalie grinned even wider. “Let’s toast to that. Jackson?”

  Jackson looked up, and then glanced over at Robbie, who resisted holding up his hands to show that none of this was his idea.

  “Two beers. Parents’ night out.”

  Jackson slid the beers across the bar with a knowing look at Robbie, but stepped away without a word. The crowd was too thick for him to jab Robbie right now. That part was coming, though. There was no doubt in Robbie’s mind.

  “Cheers,” Robbie said, clinking her glass.

  “A toast,” Natalie corrected, eyeing him carefully. “To some…adult time.”

  Robbie cleared his throat. Yep, he shouldn’t have let Keira go to that sleepover. He should be home with her, eating pizza and watching an animated movie.

  He’d stay for the one beer and then get going. If Annette Morrison didn’t call first, telling him that Keira wanted to come home.

  “So what are your plans for tonight then?” he asked, hoping that she wouldn’t misread his interest.

  “It’s my cousin Jenna’s birthday.” She wrinkled her nose. “Just us girls.”

  “Oh, right. Britt mentioned that,” he said, taking a sip of his beer.

  She gave him a funny squint of the eye. “I didn’t realize that you and Britt were…talking again.”

  “Well, she’s taken over her dad’s place at the orchard.” Temporarily, at least. But more and more he wondered if she was giving serious consideration to making things more permanent.

  He took another sip of his beer, cooling that thought.

  Natalie nodded silently, her look pensive. She took a long sip of her beer. “You were so tight growing up. Always thought you’d end up together.”

  Now it was his turn to nod silently. He took a long pull on his drink. “Yep.”

  “But I guess you moved on. And she did too. Childhood sweethearts,” she mused, with a little laugh. “It’s funny to think of the people we dated as kids.”

  There was nothing funny about it to him, and he’d more than dated Britt. He’d loved her. He’d been closer to her than his own brother, his best friends, even sometimes, he thought, his own wife.

  Perhaps sensing that she wasn’t going to get what she was looking for tonight, Natalie checked her watch and said, “Well, I suppose I should get over to the party before they send out a search patrol. But if you ever want to go in on a sitter together, just give me a call. It could be fun for the girls…and us.”

  She gave him a little smile, scooted off the barstool, and slipped away without another word.

  Robbie glanced over his shoulder a moment later just to be sure she was gone. When he turned back to the bar, Jackson was right in front of him, flashing him a wicked grin.

  “There’s nothing going on there if that’s what you’re wondering,” Robbie grumbled. He took a long sip of his beer. Maybe he would stay a little longer. Now that he was free to sit back and watch the game.

  “I’m not used to seeing you here at night.”

  “Keira’s sleeping over at a friend’s house.” Robbie frowned at his glass. “I’m guessing she’ll be calling soon. Wanting to come home.”

  Jackson lifted an eyebrow. “Guessing? Or hoping?”

  Robbie scowled at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Jackson sighed and flung a dishtowel over his shoulder. “I’m just saying that Keira is probably fine. More than fine.”

  Robbie knew that he was right. He’d witnessed her joy firsthand. “It’s just…I want to protect her. I want to do what’s best for her.”

  “And what’s that?” Jackson asked pointedly. “Because it seems to me that what’s best for you isn’t necessarily what’s best for Keira.”

  Under normal circumstances, Robbie might have shot back at a comment like that, only tonight Jackson had homed in on the nagging suspicion that had been bugging him for days.

  Ever since Keira met Britt.

  *

  After one and a half glasses of wine and an overflowing plate of Amelia’s delicious appetizers, Britt was ready to call it a night. She’d caught up with her cousins—and their cousins—and promised Bella Clark to stop into the bookstore she now owned before she left town. The rain had let up, and if she made a dash for it now, she just might make it home without getting wet.

  She carried her plate into the kitchen, where Natalie was uncorking another bottle of wine at the butcher block in the center of the room.

  “You heading out already?” she asked.

  Though they had known each other growing up, they’d never been close. Friendly and warm, mostly through their joint relation to Steve’s daughters, but it stopped there. In fairness, the second half of high school had been a blur once Britt’s mother was diagnosed, and other than her closest friends and sisters, the only person she’d spent much time with was Robbie.

  Even then, Britt supposed she had started shutting the world out. She glanced at Natalie, thinking of how they might have been true friends if life had given her different circumstances.

  Or if she’d responded to them differently.

  But then, Natalie had her own troubles. A rocky marriage that quickly failed, leaving her to care for her daughter all on her own. A little girl who rarely—if ever—saw her father, from what Britt knew.

  From the outside, Natalie was pretty and generous and full of life, but none of that could have been easy. She’d just chosen to handle it differently. F
or a moment, Britt wondered if she had handled it better. Natalie had rebounded, come home to her family when times got tough the way that Robbie had. Whereas Britt…Well, she’d walked away from her family, hadn’t she?

  “I’m thinking of slipping over to the Carriage House,” Natalie continued, and despite it being a more popular spot in town, Britt picked up on something in Natalie’s tone. “I was there earlier, actually. With Robbie.”

  Yep, there it was. Britt nodded and said nothing as she rinsed her plate in the sink, hating the way her heart was starting to pound. She’d been replaying last night every time she looked up from her work, thinking of the fun they’d had, the three of them in the kitchen, laughing at the mess, proud of their accomplishment. The way Keira had hugged her so tightly before she’d gone to bed.

  The way that Robbie had almost kissed her.

  “Our daughters are at a sleepover together,” Natalie continued. She refilled her glass and took a sip. “It’s not easy being a single parent. When you get a night out…Well, you make the most of it.”

  Britt glanced over at Natalie. “Is your daughter going to the party tomorrow?” she asked, kicking herself when she saw the surprise in Natalie’s gaze that she was aware of the event. Robbie wasn’t hers. He hadn’t been in nearly half a lifetime, but somehow she couldn’t bear the thought of someone else being with him. Even someone as decent as Natalie, who had picked herself up after a bad marriage and was just trying her damn best, like the rest of them.

  “She is,” Natalie said, her eyes becoming cool.

  Britt gave a tight smile. “I’ll see you there, then.”

  Without another look at Natalie, she walked back into the living room to say goodnight to her cousins and sisters, who of course protested immediately that she couldn’t leave.

  “It’s going to start raining again!” she insisted. But the truth was that right now she didn’t care if she got wet—it seemed fitting, really. Almost deserved. Natalie was off to bond with Robbie in a way that she probably never could. And she was still pining after her high school boyfriend. Yep, there it was. No denying it.

  “So? I’ll drive you later,” Amelia said. She held up her nearly full glass of wine. “I’ve barely had a glass. Better yet, you can stay here. I’m sure you can use a night away from Candy?” At this, the entire room burst into laughter, and even Britt found herself joining in.

  Amelia’s expression sobered when she glanced over Britt’s shoulder. “You heading out already, Nat?”

  Natalie feigned a guilty smile, but she was obviously happy with her decision to leave. “Girl time has been fun, but if I’m ever going to find Prince Charming, I have to go where the men are.”

  Or where Robbie was, Britt thought as her stomach rolled over.

  “Have fun then!” Amelia said. Most of the other women sprang up from their seats to walk her to the door, leaving Amelia, Cora, and Maddie alone in the room.

  “So. How’s business at the holiday shop this time of year?” Britt asked Cora, but Amelia cut in.

  “Uh-uh. None of that.”

  “None of what?” Now it was Britt’s turn to feign innocence.

  “Don’t go changing the subject. You do know that Natalie has her eye on Robbie, don’t you?” Amelia whispered, darting her eyes to the hall.

  So there it was. Confirmed.

  “I’m sure a lot of women in town have their eye on Robbie,” Britt said lightly. “There can’t be many options around here.”

  Cora shook her head. “Nope.”

  Britt had to laugh at her frankness. Still, the thought of Natalie with Robbie gnawed at her.

  “She hasn’t been shy about it,” Maddie agreed. “I think she assumes that you wouldn’t care, Britt.”

  “Of course I don’t care!” Britt said, but she struggled to look up at any of her sisters, and with a shaking hand, she was pouring another glass of wine from the bottle on the coffee table. She’d take Amelia up on her offer and stay here for the night. Who knew? It might be fun.

  Besides, she didn’t fully trust herself not to take a detour past the inn, maybe take a glance through the window, see what was going on in the pub…

  “If you’re sure…” Cora said, and Britt looked at her sharply.

  “Please. We were kids! We both moved on ages ago.” She took a gulp of her drink, knowing that wasn’t true. Robbie had moved on. Married. Had a child. Whereas Britt…she’d simply moved away.

  “We could all go out,” Amelia offered suddenly. “See what’s going on with those two?”

  Britt looked around at the effort Amelia had put into the party, from the trays of food, all handmade from scratch, to the candles that were slowly burning down to their wicks, and then around the room at her sisters, their faces each similar, but their personalities each so different.

  She shook her head. Going where Robbie was tonight wouldn’t change the past. It wouldn’t change a thing. It was just too damn easy to get caught up in it—that’s probably why Robbie had nearly kissed her last night. And stopped himself.

  If Robbie was interested in Natalie, there was nothing she could do about it. She’d had her chance with him, a long time ago. And it hadn’t been meant to be.

  Like most things in life, romantic love was fleeting.

  But her sisters, she thought, looking around the room, were a bond that couldn’t be broken.

  12

  Keira’s tea party was being held at the café, something that surprised Britt nearly as much as Amelia’s failure to mention it to her.

  “I wasn’t exactly sure where you and Robbie stood with other,” Amelia said as they walked down the street together that morning—at the crack of dawn.

  Amelia had failed to mention that sleeping over meant being awoken at the crack of dawn by the sound of the coffee machine percolating, and Amelia scrambling for the shower.

  Britt had tossed the blanket from the sofa and sat up, bleary-eyed and dazed, to see her perky sister already dressed and sipping her first cup of the day.

  “That’s why I didn’t drink much at the party.” She winked.

  Of course Amelia told her to go back to sleep, not to mind her—she’d be at the café prepping for the breakfast crowd and getting a head-start on the decorations for the party. But at the thought of seeing Robbie today, Britt knew that there was no chance of going back to sleep.

  She showered quickly, deciding to let her hair air-dry into loose waves the way she used to on lazy summer days, and joined Amelia on her quiet walk through town. She loved seeing Blue Harbor like this, with the white-painted storefronts still dark, the sun just coming up and filling the sky with rosy hues, and the lake just behind the shops, slowly lapping at the rocky shore.

  A few boats were already out on the water—the fishermen liked to get an early start, she knew. They passed the Carriage House Inn, and Britt stole a glance at the windows of the restaurant, even though she knew it was pointless. It was early morning and the place had been closed for hours. Whatever had happened last night after Natalie left the party was over and done with by now.

  They turned at the next street, which led them right down to the water’s edge, where the Firefly Café was tucked on the corner, just to the side of the harbor, on the water’s edge. Amelia let them through the back door with a key and flicked on the lights, bringing the kitchen to light.

  “I mean, one day you are in here barely speaking, and the next thing I know you’re having coffee at a secluded table,” Amelia continued. Clearly she wasn’t going to let it drop.

  “That was for work,” Britt said firmly.

  “Was it?” Amelia said archly, but she gave a knowing smile.

  “I’ll have you know that we are both very vested in the success of the Cherry Festival this year,” Britt said. “Speaking of which, would you host a stand? We want to expand things this year, bring in games and pony rides, and more food options, too.” In the past, they just sold the wine and cider, cherry soda, brought in big popcorn and cotton c
andy machines, and offered cherry ice cream from the creamery in town.

  Amelia looked hesitant, but there was a light of excitement in her eyes. “That’s a big event.”

  “The biggest yet, if I have anything to do with it. I thought it might be nice to get all of us involved. And your food is exactly would really round out the day.”

  “The most food that I’ve ever done there were hot pretzels,” Amelia said. “But I’m guessing you have something else in mind. And I do have more time these days, now that Candy is taking care of Dad.”

  Britt frowned at this. “I haven’t thanked you yet, Amelia. And it’s a long time overdue.”

  Amelia looked at her in surprise. “Thanked me?”

  “For taking care of Dad. For going to college locally. For taking care of the house. For…for doing what I couldn’t do.”

  Amelia gave her a little smile. “It wasn’t entirely selfless. Taking care of everyone kept me busy. Kept my mind off things.”

  Britt sighed. “I understand that part.” And without a job, she was putting everything she had into the orchard. “But you have a lot going on. It’s okay if you’re too busy for the Cherry Festival.”

  “Nonsense. I’m never too busy for my family,” Amelia said, and Britt tried not to take that as a slight, knowing it wasn’t meant to be one. “I’ll put together a menu this weekend. Maybe I’ll go with a cherry theme…”

  “That’s the spirit!” Britt mentally checked the item off her list. She hadn’t looked this forward to a Cherry Festival since she was a kid and she knew that she could have all the pink cotton candy she wanted because her parents would be too busy to notice.

  Grinning at the memory, Britt shook her head and tied on an apron. She wasn’t much of a cook, but she could help her sisters as best she could. Maddie had the day off, Amelia had told her. Soon, Amelia’s small staff would come in, but Britt could at least help set up for the party.

  “Are these the decorations for Keira?” she asked, motioning to a few boxes of pink plastic teacups propped on a wooden chair.

  Amelia nodded. “I’m setting them up in the front room. It’s sunny in there, and we can push all the tables together. The party doesn’t start until ten, but you may as well set up now. I know how things go and it will be too once we open to get that sort of thing done.”