by Kay Correll
One Simple Wish
Return to Lighthouse Point
KAY CORRELL
Zura Lu Publishing
Copyright © 2020 Kay Correll
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any matter without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental
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Published by Zura Lu Publishing LLC
010220
Best friends.
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This book is dedicated to those special friends we have. The ones who support us and stand by our side. The ones who are there for us through tragedy and triumphs. Distance and time don’t matter. There’s a special magic in those extraordinary friendships.
Contents
Kay’s Books
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Also by KAY CORRELL
About the Author
Kay’s Books
Find more information on all my books at my website.
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COMFORT CROSSING ~ THE SERIES
The Shop on Main - Book One
The Memory Box - Book Two
The Christmas Cottage - A Holiday Novella (Book 2.5)
The Letter - Book Three
The Christmas Scarf - A Holiday Novella (Book 3.5)
The Magnolia Cafe - Book Four
The Unexpected Wedding - Book Five
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The Wedding in the Grove - (a crossover short story between series - with Josephine and Paul from The Letter.)
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LIGHTHOUSE POINT ~ THE SERIES
Wish Upon a Shell - Book One
Wedding on the Beach - Book Two
Love at the Lighthouse - Book Three
Cottage Near the Point - Book Four
Return to the Island - Book Five
Bungalow by the Bay - Book Six
Click here to learn more about the series.
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CHARMING INN ~ Return to Lighthouse Point
COMING IN 2020
One Simple Wish - Book One
Two of a Kind - Book Two
Three Little Things - Book Three
Four Short Weeks - Book Four
Five Years or So - Book Five
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SWEET RIVER ~ THE SERIES
A Dream to Believe in - Book One
A Memory to Cherish - Book Two
A Song to Remember - Book Three
A Time to Forgive - Book Four
A Summer of Secrets - Book Five
A Moment in the Moonlight - Book Six
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INDIGO BAY ~ A multi-author sweet romance series
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Sweet Days by the Bay - Kay’s Complete Collection of stories in the Indigo Bay series
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Or by them separately:
Sweet Sunrise - Book Three
Sweet Holiday Memories - A short holiday story
Sweet Starlight - Book Nine
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Chapter 1
Sara Wren hurried out of her boss’s office. If she worked the weekend, she could maybe—maybe—get everything finished that Diane needed. There was no way she would let her boss down now. Sara was up for a big promotion. A really big one. She might finally be made a partner at the ad agency, a position it seemed she’d been working toward her whole life.
She just had to find a new twist on the campaign for Coastal Furniture, a trendy, up-and-coming company that sold coastal-themed furniture and decorations. So far everything she’d pitched had been shot down.
She glanced at her phone. Two missed calls from Aunt Lil. She’d let them both go to voicemail. She’d have to call her back tonight when she had more time to chat. Or maybe tomorrow, since she planned on working late tonight…
She slipped into the black leather chair by her desk and spun around to look out the window. Spring was beginning to burst forth in the tiny city park that stretched out below her tenth-floor office. Not that she’d had time to enjoy the spring weather. She hadn’t taken a day off in months.
It had just been a little over a year ago that she’d finally gained enough status at the agency to earn a window office. Sometimes she thought looking out that window was her only glimpse at the real world.
She sighed and turned back to her desk. Windows didn’t matter. No time off didn’t matter. Nothing mattered right now except figuring out the Coastal account.
She glanced up when her assistant, Rene, entered. “Hey, Sara. I took a call for you while you were in Diane’s office. It sounded important. Asked that you call back as soon as possible. A Dr. Harden? You okay?”
She shrugged. “Not my doctor. Did he say what he wanted?”
“She. No, just that it was important.”
She reached out and took the paper from Rene. “Thanks, I’ll call her.”
“Do you need anything else from me before I leave?”
Sara looked at her watch. It was already after five. “No, go home. Have a good weekend.”
“But you’re not going to leave for hours, are you?” Rene shook her head.
“I’ll leave soon.”
“But I bet you come back in tomorrow.”
She grinned at Rene. “You’d be betting right. Now, go.”
Rene turned and walked out the door with one parting remark. “You should really take a day off sometime.”
Rene was right. She should. But not this weekend.
She picked up the paper and dialed this mysterious Dr. Harden. She ended up talking to some woman, who asked her to hold. She drummed her fingers on the desk and glanced at her watch. She really didn’t have time to wait for the doctor to get to the phone. She’d give her two more minutes, then she’d hang up. The doctor could just track her down again.
“Ms. Wren? Sara Wren? Lillian Charm’s niece?” A female voice came across the airways.
“Yes. I got a message you called.”
“I’m Dr. Harden, from Memorial Hospital on Belle Island.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Belle Island?
“I have some bad news, I’m afraid.”
Sara willed her to stop. To not say another word. To—
“It’s your Aunt Lillian.”
“Is she hurt?” Her voice was low, hoping it was something minor. But then why wasn’t it Aunt Lillian calling her?
Guilt rushed through her. Aunt Lil had called. Twice. She hadn’t even taken the time to check the messages.
She steadied herself by placing a hand on the edge of the desk.
“I’m afraid Lillian took a bad fall late last night.” Her
voice was caring but held an efficient clip to it.
“How bad?” She held her breath.
“She just got out of surgery. Broken hip and injured her arm. She’s still a bit out of it from the anesthesia and some pain meds now, but she insisted I call you after the surgery. She said she’d left you messages but hadn’t told you what happened. Didn’t want to leave it in a message.”
She couldn’t imagine her perky, energetic aunt with all these injuries. She swore Aunt Lillian had more energy than she did.
“We’ve given her some pretty strong meds. She’s in a lot of pain.”
“Tell her I’ll be there as soon as possible. I’ll get the early morning flight out.” As if rushing there now would assuage her guilt over not picking up the phone when Aunt Lil had called today. When Aunt Lil had needed her.
She hung up the phone and pushed back from the desk. She stood and looked at the people hurrying along the street below her. Hurrying home to their families. People who needed them. Like Aunt Lil needed her.
She turned away from the window and squared her shoulders. Now she needed to march back into Diane’s office and tell her she had to leave and go back to Belle Island.
Sara walked back into her boss’s office. Diane glanced up. “You had another question?” Her voice was annoyed with the interruption.
“I—I need a few days off.”
“When?”
“Now. I’m leaving in the morning. First thing.” Sara gulped in a deep breath and continued. “I need to go to Belle Island, Florida. My aunt is hurt. She took a bad fall.” She rushed on, trying to explain. “She doesn’t have anyone else but me. I need to go help her.”
“Well, the timing is inconvenient.”
Typical Diane remark.
Sara didn’t even give a reply to that. Like her aunt picked this very time to fall to inconvenience Diane. She gritted her teeth. This was not the time to cross Diane. If she got the promotion, they’d be equals. Or almost equals. Partners. She could push back then, or take a stand. But not now.
“But we have one last chance at another presentation for Coastal Furniture. It’s in a few days. Our last shot.” Diane frowned.
“I’m afraid I won’t be here for it.” She squared her shoulders against what she knew was coming.
“You have to be.” Diane shook her head.
“I can’t. I can still work on it while I’m back home. I’ll give you all my notes and presentation slides. You could give the presentation. Or, if you could push it back a bit…”
Diane sat and stared at her, a deep frown crossing her face. Then she sighed. “I feel like you’d do a better job presenting your concept. I’ll see if I can push it back. You’ll be back in a few days, right?”
“I’m just not sure, yet. I need to get there and see how she is.”
“After you get there, call me and let me know when you think you’ll be getting back. I can call you with questions, right?”
“Of course.” Sara nodded.
“Good. Keep in touch.” Diane bent her head over her work and Sara knew that was her dismissal.
She walked out the door and down the hallway to her office, sinking onto her chair and glancing at the work piled on her desk. She was going to get so behind.
Chapter 2
Sara sat quietly beside her aunt’s hospital bed. The nurse had said Aunt Lil had been given some pain meds, and Sara didn’t want to disturb her. She could see the creases on her aunt’s face, even in her sleep. Aunt Lil moaned slightly.
Sara took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m here for you,” she whispered softly.
She looked up as the door opened, frowning at the interruption until she saw it was Robin.
She quickly got up, crossed the room, and Robin threw her arms around her in a quick hug.
“Hey, you.” Robin whispered the words.
“Oh, it’s so great to see you.” Sara kept her voice low and clasped Robin’s hands in hers.
“I heard about Lil and figured you’d come. How’s she doing?”
“I think she’s in a lot of pain. She’s pretty out of it right now.”
“Sara, is that you?” Her aunt’s weak voice crossed the room.
She turned and hurried back beside the bed. “I’m here.” She brushed Aunt Lil’s hair away from her face and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
“I didn’t mean to pull you away from work.”
“Don’t be silly. It’s okay. There’s nowhere else I would want to be.”
Robin came to stand beside her. “Hey, Lil. You gave us quite a scare.”
“I’m sorry.” Aunt Lil closed her eyes.
“Just glad they got you all taken care of.” Robin glanced over at the machines beside the bed.
“I think she fell back to sleep.” Sara placed her hands on the railing of the bed, holding on for support. Aunt Lil was the strong one, her rock. It was hard to process that this frail woman was her vibrant aunt.
“That’s what she needs now. Rest.” Robin looked at her. “And you need a meal.”
“No, I don’t want to leave her. What if she wakes up again?”
“Okay, I’ll head to Magic Cafe and grab you a meal.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“But you’ll eat. You look exhausted and you’ve lost a lot of weight since I last saw you.”
“I’ve been… busy.” Too busy to come back home to visit her aunt. Too busy to keep in touch with her best friends. All engrossed in her career. The guilt swept through her again, smothering her with remorse.
“Well, I’m bringing you food. Need anything else?”
“No.”
“Okay, I’ll be back soon.” Robin disappeared out the door.
She settled into the chair beside the bed and stared at the rise and fall of Aunt Lil’s chest with her ragged breaths.
She finally leaned back and grabbed her laptop. Might as well get some work done while she sat there.
“Good morning, dear.” Aunt Lil’s voice drifted into her consciousness.
Sara opened her eyes and looked around, trying to remember where she was.
Ah, the hospital.
Sunshine streamed in the window. She stretched, trying to get the kink out of her back from sleeping in the hospital chair all night. She stood, leaned over, and kissed her aunt. “You’re awake.”
“I am. I think they’re giving me some powerful pain meds. I dreamed you were here. Then when I woke up this morning, I saw you were. When did you get here?”
“Yesterday.”
“It’s good to see you.” Her aunt smiled weakly. “Sorry to be such trouble.”
“You are never any trouble.”
“I’ve made a mess of things this time. I mean, the inn won’t run itself. Jay can run it for a few days, but he can’t manage it and cook and do everything. Plus we just lost a worker this week. She quit without notice.”
The Charming Inn and Cottages—named after her aunt, Lillian Charm—and her aunt’s pride and joy. The inn was right on the beach and surrounded by small cottages. Busy season was coming up. No wonder Aunt Lil was worried. “Jay’s still working for you?”
“Sure is. Don’t know what I’d do without him. And you should see our dining room now. We expanded and get quite a business from locals and tourists along with our guests. We’re open for dinner now, too. Not just breakfast.”
“Really?” She realized, once again, it had been way too long since she’d been back to the island. “Well, don’t worry about it. You just rest and get better. I’ll head over to the inn and check on things. I can help out for a bit.”
“Are you sure? I know you’ve been so busy at work.”
“I can work from here and I’ll help at the inn.”
“That’s a lot to ask.” Her aunt shook her head.
“And yet, you didn’t ask. I offered.” Like she wouldn’t do anything in the whole world for her aunt. She owed her so much.
“Then, thank you.”
“You’re
welcome.” She smiled as she saw some of the frown lines ease on her aunt’s face.
“Now, why don’t you run to the inn and get cleaned up? Your room is still there waiting for you. I know I’ve talked about converting our little wing of the inn into guest rooms. But… I’ve just never done it. I kind of like having our own little area to ourselves. Remember when you named it The Nest?
The Nest. Their perfect little world. Their own private area off to one side of the inn. No, she hadn’t forgotten it.
Aunt Lil leaned back against the pillows. “Why don’t you grab a shower and change clothes?”
She looked down at her wrinkled outfit. “That’s probably a good idea. I’ll do that. I’ll check in on things, then come back to visit you.”
“I think I might just take another little nap.”
“Good idea.” She kissed her aunt’s cheek and gathered her things. A shower did sound like a great idea.
She headed out of the hospital, into the fresh air and sunshine. She sucked in the fresh, salty air. So nice after the stifling hospital air. As she crossed the parking lot, she dug around in her purse, looking for her keys. The sound of an ambulance caught her attention and she looked back toward the hospital.
