The House on Sunshine Corner

by Phoebe Mills

  He opened his mouth to respond, but Sofia ran over and tugged on his finger, pulling with all her might to drag him away. “Uncle Carter, come look!”

  “Okay, all right. Give me just a sec.” He chuckled, fondness replacing the animosity that’d been there moments before when he’d spoken of his father. Lifting his gaze back to Abby, he said, “Looks like I’m being summoned. It was good to see you, Abby.”

  “Yeah, you too.”

  With one final glance in Abby’s direction, he let himself be led away by his niece. Abby didn’t want to watch him walk away with that stupid swagger, and she certainly didn’t want her heart pumping like she’d chugged a triple-shot espresso, leaving her hands trembling and her stomach unsettled.

  “Need a bib?” Savannah asked with a wry lilt to her voice. “You’ve got a little drool…”

  Abby snapped her gaze away from Carter and glared at her oldest friend. “Oh, shut up.”

  “I feel like I’m missing something here.” Jenn divided a look between them. “Who’s Carter, why are you giving him your you-know-what eyes, and why haven’t you gotten all over that?”

  “Oh, she’s gotten all over it, all right.”

  “Savannah!” Abby hissed, shooting a glance around to make sure no little—or big—ears had picked up on what she’d said.

  Her friend just shrugged. “What? It’s the truth. Abby and Carter over there”—she jerked her head toward the tall, dark, and handsome man—“were high school sweethearts once upon a time.”

  “Oh really?” Jenn asked, her interest clear. “Tell me more.”

  “No. There will be absolutely no telling of more. At least not right now.” Abby pointedly looked around to all the little people surrounding them.

  Jenn heaved a deep sigh. “Fine. I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t be able to hear the good stuff anyway.”

  And there had been good stuff. Two years’ worth. Her split with Carter had been pretty average for high school seniors who went to different colleges, but her feelings for him had been anything but. Hell, even after all this time—after countless misses with men and bad date after bad date—she knew that what they’d had was something special. She’d loved him with all her heart, and she’d thought they were perfect for one another.

  Had thought, maybe, he’d be it for her. That they’d be one of those couples to make it last.

  Maybe that was why she’d had such a hard time finding a connection with anyone else in the time since he’d been gone. Had she subconsciously been holding each and every guy up to Carter? To the memory of a love that no longer existed?

  She glanced up only to find him already watching her, her eyes automatically connecting with his across the room, and Abby felt a zing from her head to her toes, struck by that disorienting sensation of not simply being looked at, but really seen—something that’d been lacking in her life for far too long.

  This was going to be a long six weeks.

  Chapter Two

  It was odd being back in a place that felt so familiar and so foreign all at once, but Carter couldn’t deny the truth of both. Heart’s Hope Bay was an idyllic small town nestled on the rocky Oregon coast, complete with a gorgeous beachfront and a downtown worthy of a postcard. This town, long as he’d been gone, would always be home to him…same as it would always be the place that held memories he’d spent more than a decade running from.

  He’d been back a handful of times over the years, but whenever possible, he’d paid to fly his sister and niece out to Vegas to visit him instead of returning. He shouldn’t have found it shocking how little the town had changed in the time he’d been gone. The ice cream parlor on Main Street still had a hand-drawn sign on the sidewalk proclaiming today’s flavor, and Mr. Reyes still had his Christmas lights up despite it being February, and the Daily Heart was still delivered every day before dawn. It felt like stepping into a time warp, except he’d changed since he’d been gone.

  His phone rang as he walked through the back door of his sister’s house. He tossed his keys onto the checkered kitchen counter and pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing down to see his manager’s name on the screen.

  He swiped to answer. “Hey, Jake.”

  “Carter, hey, man. You get all settled in Heartful Bay?”

  Chuckling, he dropped into one of the mismatched chairs at the small, round, red table set up in the eat-in kitchen. “Heart’s Hope Bay, and yeah. I’m good. Though it’s hard to catch up on sleep with a three-year-old belting out Frozen at six in the morning.”

  Jake made a gruff sound of commiseration. “Thanks for sticking around to take care of Redmond before you left. I know that put you on a late flight out of here.”

  “No problem.” That had been Carter’s motto the entirety of his career since the day he’d graduated college and started at his first entry-level job. He’d busted his ass, working his way up the ladder. Learning everything he could from the most intelligent people in the field…all with the goal to branch off and start his own firm at some point.

  “Since you’ve had more than twenty-four hours of downtime, does that mean you’re ready to dive in?”

  The corner of Carter’s mouth lifted. His boss—and friend—was a hard-ass, but at least he didn’t pretend otherwise. “It’s eight fifteen. Aren’t you jumping on my case a little early?”

  “Hey, not all of us got to sleep in. I’ve been at it for two hours already.”

  Carter snorted and rooted around in his messenger bag for his laptop. “It’s not my fault no one’s kept you company this week.”

  “Who says I haven’t been kept company?” Jake asked wryly. “My late-night companions know the score.”

  The score being that Jake was a workaholic and didn’t have time for a relationship or a family—much like Carter. He had enjoyed his job at Mosley & Associates for the past several years, but working for other people wasn’t his end goal. He wanted the freedom and prestige that came from owning his own architecture firm.

  He’d been well on his way toward seeing that come to fruition, with the last big promotion he wanted coming up for grabs at the end of this quarter. But he couldn’t have anticipated Rebecca’s accident, or his need to return to Heart’s Hope Bay for the next six to eight weeks to help her take care of a high-energy three-year-old. Never mind that their father lived in town—Carter wouldn’t trust the man to watch over a pet rock, let alone his flesh and blood. It put a wrench in Carter’s plans, but he’d do anything for his sister and niece, even if that meant pushing back his goals a little.

  And even if it meant interacting with Abby Engel while he was home.

  In the time he’d been gone, he’d somehow managed to avoid seeing her, even on his few short trips back. Considering his current stay was more than a two-day stint, he figured he’d run into his high school sweetheart at some point while he was back, but he didn’t think it’d get dumped on him right after his arrival. Seeing her had been a punch to the gut. The years had only made her more beautiful—something he hadn’t thought possible, way back when. Her cheekbones had become more pronounced, her body filling out in ways that made his mouth water. She wore her red hair a little longer, a little sleeker, the waves more tamed than they’d once been. But one thing that hadn’t changed was her eyes—still the same deep, soulful blue they’d always been.

  Those eyes had had a way of seeing past every wall he’d erected and pinpointing the real him. Something he hadn’t experienced with anyone else in the time since. Or ever.

  He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t acknowledge that he still had feelings for her, mostly of the what could’ve been variety. They’d split after high school because it’d made the most sense—four years at different colleges in different states made for a challenging relationship. And while that was certainly true, the real reason Carter called it off was because they wanted drastically different things in life—him, a prestigious career and the responsibilities that came with it. And her, a big family she could rais
e right here in Heart’s Hope Bay.

  Carter had zero desire for such a thing. Based on his history, he didn’t think he had the whole family thing in him. Not to mention the idea of being tied down to a person—or persons—and a place that felt claustrophobic to him. He hadn’t been able to fly the nest fast enough or get far enough away. He’d run from this tiny town with its too-painful memories that reminded him of everything he’d lost and the voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like his dad whispering that he’d never amount to anything.

  “…get that sent off to Redmond this morning, that’d be great.”

  Carter zoned back into the conversation and shook his head to clear the thoughts he had no business thinking. He was here to help his sister, care for his niece, and do his job. Thinking about Abby—or his dad, for that matter—didn’t factor in.

  Luckily, he’d worked with Jake long enough to know exactly what he needed to send off to Redmond without having to admit to his boss that he’d been daydreaming about his ex-girlfriend instead of listening.

  “No problem,” Carter said, opening his laptop. “He’ll have it by ten.”

  “See?” Jake’s smile rang through the line. “That’s exactly why you’re my point person on our biggest projects. You get shit done.”

  That he did. He’d been a career-focused guy since the day he’d graduated college, climbing the corporate ladder as fast as humanly possible. It meant long hours and an exhaustive travel schedule, but that was fine with him. He had time for Becca and Sofia and little else. What more did he need?

  Being home was going to present a challenge he hadn’t foreseen, but he wasn’t planning on shying away from it. He just needed to figure out how he was going to progress his goals while he was stuck in Heart’s Hope Bay and away from the connections he needed to be making.

  And how he was going to do that without getting distracted by a certain redhead who had a way of turning him inside out.

  * * *

  That evening, after he’d picked up Sofia from the Sunshine Corner—thankfully avoiding another encounter with Abby—Carter was fixing dinner when his sister came in through the back door.

  Normally, he’d rush to assist her as she was still getting her bearings with her crutches. She’d only broken her ankle a couple days ago, after all. But the truth was, he was a little pissed at her for blindsiding him with Abby this morning.

  He knew he was being unreasonable—she’d probably had an exhausting first day back to work at her desk job at the bank, and she hadn’t even taken off her coat yet. Yet he couldn’t help but dig into her before the door even closed behind her. “You couldn’t warn me I’d be seeing Abby today?” He glanced over at her in time to see her eye roll.

  She dropped her purse on the floor, shrugged out of her coat, then fell into a dining chair, propping her crutches against the wall. Huffing out a deep breath, she blew her dark bangs out of her eyes. “I’m not sure why I’d need to. You knew the Sunshine Corner was hers—that’s why I chose it for Sofia, remember?”

  He turned back around, focusing his efforts on the oh-so-difficult task of scrambling eggs, if only to avoid her eyes. He had known that was why Becca had chosen that particular day care for Sofia. And that she and Abby had remained friends throughout the years. Somehow, in the commotion of the quick trip up here and in the sudden barrage of responsibilities he normally didn’t contend with, it hadn’t been in the forefront of his mind until he’d pulled up in front of the very same house he’d spent so many days at in high school.

  “Anyway, did you guys have a chance to catch up?” she asked.

  Glancing at her over his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes, picking up on the way-too-heavy-to-be-authentic nonchalance in her tone. Becca hadn’t kept it a secret that she thought he and Abby were the perfect couple. She’d been nearly as devastated as Abby when the two of them had broken up right after graduation. And she’d taken every opportunity since he’d been gone to slip in any bit of information about Abby she could.

  It was going to be really goddamn awkward when his ex realized he knew things about her life that he had no business knowing. Like how many boyfriends she’d had (two, though neither lasted more than six months), or that she and her grandmother took a trip each year just the two of them (renting a small cottage down the coast), or that she had bigger plans for her day care (to eventually add a preschool to her offerings). Not to mention the dozens of other tidbits he’d become aware of, thanks to his sister.

  He’d often wondered if Becca had truly liked them together that much, or if it was simply the only way she could foresee tying him back to this town.

  “What?” She lifted a single shoulder. “I’m just asking.”

  “Yeah, I bet.” Carter returned to his task at the stove, feeling Becca’s eyes on his back the entire time. “We spoke.”

  After several seconds of silence, she huffed out a breath. “Aaaaand?”

  “And it was fine.”

  “You’re such an ass.”

  “Why’s he an ass?” Sofia asked, her ninja-like appearances, popping in without announcing herself, something he was going to have to get used to.

  He barely managed to tamp down his smile at how his sister was going to handle this one. All he knew was he was damn glad it hadn’t been him who’d slipped up with the swearing, because he’d never hear the end of it.

  But all Becca did was wrap her arms around her daughter and pull her onto her lap, no mention of the swear word at all. “Hi, bug. I missed you today! Tell me your favorite thing you did while at the Sunshine Corner with Miss Abby.”

  Apparently, his sister’s form of parenting meant a whole lot of avoidance. There was no way that was going to fly. His niece was like a dog with a bone when she wanted to know something.

  But he’d underestimated just how much the three-year-old loved to talk about Miss Abby and her favorite things.

  “Today was my most favorite day ever!”

  “I knew it. I could just feel it when we got up this morning that it was going to be a good one,” Becca said with a straight face.

  Sofia nodded vigorously. “Me too! We read my favorite book and played my favorite games and had my favorite lunch.”

  Carter was beginning to realize that quite literally anything was Sofia’s “favorite.” But he couldn’t help but smile at his niece’s animated retelling of her day, spending five minutes on innocuous details—like the size and shape of the cheese she had at snack—while totally glossing over what most would consider to be the important items.

  She was still talking when he dished up everyone’s plates for their gourmet meal of scrambled eggs and toast.

  “Hey, peanut, can you get the orange juice out of the fridge so your mommy doesn’t have to get up?” Carter asked his niece when there was a half-second lull in the conversation.

  “Oh yes!” She jumped up, then gently pressed her hands to Becca’s cast, leaning down as if to hug it. “You sit here and rest, Mommy.”

  “I can do things,” Becca protested, shifting to stand, but Carter pressed his hands on her shoulders and forced her back into the chair.

  “Everyone is aware that you can do things.” He rolled his eyes. “But how about for now, while I’m here and while we’ve got the best helper in the world around—”

  “That’s me!” Sofia interrupted. “I’m the best helper!”

  Carter shot his niece a grin and a wink, then finished, “You let us do the work.”

  “I’m not going to have you do everything for me while you’re here. Running Sofia around and doing the grocery shopping and other errands is enough.”

  “I think I can handle that, plus whatever else you have on your list. I’m not completely hopeless.”

  “You are not going to go through my to-do list while you’re home, too. Besides, I’m perfectly capable of fixing the leaky faucet in here, broken ankle or not.”

  “Leaky faucet? Consider it done.”

  She made a noise of frustr
ation in her throat, and Sofia laughed, tossing her head back in glee. She loved how he and Becca goaded each other, arguing back and forth. Usually, his sister won—if only because it was exhausting to argue with her. But not this time. Besides the fact that it would make him some kind of supreme jerk to watch his incapacitated sister fumble her way on the ground doing something he was perfectly capable of doing himself, he’d actually…missed that sort of thing. It’d been a long time since he’d been in the thick of things, being more hands on and getting dirtier than his office job required.

  Maybe while he was home, he could fulfill a little of that for himself. Besides, it’d give him something to focus on, and he’d desperately need that if he was going to have daily run-ins with Abby while he was back in Heart’s Hope Bay.

  Chapter Three

  Once upon a time, Abby spent her Saturday afternoons doing fun things. Like curling up and getting lost in a good book for a few hours. Or drawing out and decorating next week’s spread in her bullet journal. Or grabbing lunch with a friend.

  But on this particular Saturday afternoon, she was roaming the aisles of the hardware store, trying to figure out what crap she needed to strip the hideous wallpaper from their second-story landing—the future home to their preschool coatroom and cubbies.

  The house she and her grandmother lived in—and the location where she ran the Sunshine Corner—was stunning, if a continual work in progress. Dating back to the late 1800s, the Victorian was a historic beast, vast and sprawling, with ornate woodwork and arches and more secrets than she’d yet to uncover. It’d been in their family for as long as she could remember, and she loved it as though it was an entity of its own.

  Her best childhood memories had taken place in that home, considering it was where she and her mom always landed whenever things in the real world got a little tough, and thus the only real consistency in her life. It was the one place in the world she felt the safest.