The Sweetest Companion (Three Sisters Cafe #8)

Prologue

(From back of The Sweetest Visit)

B rielle’s foot bounced to the music as she stood in the shadows of the ballroom. She smiled when Micah spun a laughing Eden under his arm, then gave her a sharp pull back into his chest.

They were a great couple.

It was funny how both of them were new to town, but had still ended up together. New meat in the single’s market of Seagull Cove was a rarity, so to have two at once was almost unprecedented.

Good thing they were both so nice or Brielle was gonna find herself jealous.

Eh, who was she kidding? She was jealous.

Sometimes living in a small town was awesome. It meant knowing your neighbors, having all the help you needed when you needed it and not getting stuck in the rise-and-grind lifestyle so many people in big cities seemed to cling to.

But it also meant being the source of gossip at every table full of pinochle players and very few people your age to try and create a relationship with. Dr. Bridgewater had been the first new male in their vicinity in a very long time, and Brielle hadn’t even met him before Eden took him off the market.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. She couldn’t really be mad. Micah was a nice guy. Almost too nice. That was just perfect for someone like Eden, who craved stability and strong foundations, but Brielle wanted adventure.

She wanted someone to run forest trails with her and someone who didn’t mind sleeping in a hammock in the wilderness. Sure, she wanted to have a place to call home, and eventually a few pint-sized mini-me’s would be fun, but she didn’t like feeling…stuck.

And it had been her constant companion for years now.

The idea of moving floated through her mind again, but Brielle pushed it away. She would never be able to breathe in some concrete jungle. She needed dirt, pine-scented air and space to roam.

Her morning runs were the stuff that dreams were made of, even if Sparky was starting to have a hard time with them. The mist from the ocean, the rising sun over the water, the cool breeze on her face…

Brielle’s brown eyebrows pulled together, and she jumped when someone nudged her arm.

“It’s a wedding,” Maeve teased. “You're supposed to be happy for them.”

Brielle smiled. “I am.”

“Then why were you trying to melt the entire dancing party with your evil glare?” Meave watched her friend while taking a sip of punch.

Brielle laughed, tossing back her bright red waves. “No evil glare intended, I was just thinking.”

“About?”

Brielle’s smile fell. “Sparky.”

Maeve’s face turned sympathetic. “How’s he doing?”

Brielle took in a long breath through her nose and put her eyes back on the crowd before shrugging. “Fine, I suppose. He can’t run every day anymore.”

“Did you ever find out what was wrong?”

Brielle rolled her eyes. “He has an appointment to see the grand Doctor Thatcher next week.”

Maeve snickered. “Bri…you’ve got to stop this rivalry. Ryan’s the only veterinarian within driving distance unless you want to go up to Portland.”

“I should go up to Portland,” Brielle muttered. “I can’t believe my high school nemesis became a vet.” She made a face at Maeve. “I’ll bet he did it just to spite me because he knew I wanted to work with dogs.”

“You only became a dog groomer because you can’t make money by running up and down mountain trails,” Maeve said wryly. “Ryan barely knew we existed in high school.”

“Not true!” Brielle sang out.

“Okay…Ryan barely knew I existed,” Maeve corrected. “And I’m still not sure why you two were always at such loggerheads. He was the grade ahead of us, and you only crossed paths in cross country season. Why was it such a big deal?”

“Because the guy has an ego big enough to feed a third world country.” Brielle sniffed. “Someone needed to take him down a notch. He once said that girls were slower because they spent too much energy talking during the day.”

Maeve snorted. “And you just had to prove him wrong.”

Brielle shrugged, feigning nonchalance about a victory that she worked her tail off for. Putting Ryan Thatcher in his place—which was behind her on the cross country track—had been the highlight of her high school years.

The fact that he was the closest veterinarian to Seagull Cove and she had an old dog really was a coincidence, but still…it irked her that she had to go to him for help. If she didn’t love Sparky so much, Brielle would tell the jerk where to stuff it.

A flurry of activity caught the women’s attention, and they turned to see Estelle running into the ballroom, her hair flying and her cheeks flushed.

“Maeve! Aspen!”

Brielle’s jaw dropped. She’d never seen Estelle like this. The woman was so composed it almost seemed as if she wasn’t real sometimes. Curiosity had Brielle following Maeve to meet up with her sister.

“What in the world?” Aspen asked, bursting through the crowd. “Stelle, what’s going on?”

Estelle’s cheeks were shiny with tears, and her eyes were puffy and red. Her chest was heaving, and she could barely breathe in order to answer.

“Hey,” Gavin said, coming up and putting a hand on Estelle’s back. “Just breathe for a second, okay? You’re hyperventilating, Stelle. Calm down for a second.”

Estelle shook her head, and her gasping continued. “He’s…home…he’s coming home.”

A murmur shot through the gathering crowd.

“Who?” Maeve asked. “Who’s coming home?”

Estelle put a fist to her mouth, but a shoulder wracking sob burst out anyway. “Antony,” she said hoarsely.

The noise of the crowd grew, but Brielle waited. She was close enough with the Harrison women to know that it had been months since they’d heard from their brother, and there had to be more to this or Estelle wouldn’t have intruded on the reception like this. Their family was already under a lot of strain with Mr. Harrison being so sick, so news of Antony coming home should have been happy. This looked far from rejoicing.

“He’s on his way home right now…” Estelle hiccuped. “And he’s been hurt.”