3. Elodie
THREE
ELODIE
My hometown was only about sixty miles from Grand Rapids, but without a car or a boyfriend who had one, I had to rely on a rideshare just to get home.
Nothing says thriving like fleeing your city in the back seat of a stranger’s Toyota Corolla, marinating in the scent of stale air freshener and crushed dreams.
Thankfully, I could talk to just about anyone, whether they wanted me to or not. My driver Jeb was more than happy to make the drive for an obscene price, so conversation was his penance.
It only took seven minutes into the drive before he was telling me all about his wife of thirty years and their new grandbabies.
What can I say? It’s a gift.
Truth was, hearing all about Jeb’s recent squabble with his wife, Rita, was the distraction I needed. I’d have to find an apartment, a new job—my wine-induced headache was back with a vengeance.
“And there I was, watching my favorite bass fishing videos on YouTube when she’s chewing my ear about some grocery list nonsense,” Jeb continued. “I told her it could wait. So, you tell me ... am I wrong?”
One corner of my mouth tugged up for poor, clueless Jeb. “Sounds to me like she was simply making a bid for connection. Sure, her timing could have been better, but I’m certain she didn’t mean to interrupt Bass Masters .”
“ Busters ,” he corrected. “ Bass Busters .”
“Right. You’ve gotta make it up to her, Jeb.” I shook my head. “Show her that she’s more important to you than Bass Busters .”
“Well, of course she is!”
“Jeb ...” My voice lowered: “What was the last thing you did, just for Rita? Took something off her plate or reminded her that you’ve only got eyes for her?”
His pale-blue eyes flicked to mine in the rearview mirror as he grumbled.
“That’s what I thought.” I dug through my purse, pulling out a business card and handing it to Jeb. “Tell them Elodie Darling sent you, and they’ll handle everything—a premium bouquet, handwritten note, the whole ‘husband of the year’ package. The owner owes me a favor.”
“Really?” Jeb accepted the card with a wide smile. “Thank you. Truly.”
I patted his shoulder. “It’s my pleasure. But flowers are a Band-Aid. It’s up to you to make sure Rita knows she’s still your girl.”
Jeb smiled. “Are you a therapist or something?”
I laughed, sinking back into the cloth seats. “No. I just know people.”
He nodded, and we continued on in companionable silence, occasionally making small talk about his grandkids or the weather. My attention focused on the tree line that zipped past as we got closer and closer to my hometown .
The wide curve in the highway brought the Lake Michigan coastline into view. The fresh water glittered and was much clearer than the river that ran through the city. I cracked the window open and pulled in a deep breath of warm, Michigan air.
The scent of fresh water, sand, and the faintest trace of pine wrapped around me like an old sweatshirt—familiar, comforting, impossible to shake. No matter how much I tried to outgrow this place, it still fit.
Blueberry fields whizzed by, and slowly the towering dunes crept higher and higher. Billboards along the highway enticed tourists to shop local, visit a distillery, or experience the local legends for themselves.
“Have you ever seen her?” Jeb asked after passing a billboard advertising a local ghost tour.
I hummed, knowing exactly what he was asking.
“The Lady,” he clarified. “Surely someone born and raised there is bound to have seen her.”
The Lady of the Dunes.
Our entire town revolved around the mysterious legend.
A ghostly woman, dressed in a billowing white dress, who walked along the sandy dunes, carrying a bouquet of wildflowers.
She was believed to be searching for her lost love who’d disappeared in a shipwreck in the early 1900s, but he’d been lost in the storm.
People swore they’d seen her—floating through the dunes at twilight, barefoot and heartbroken, her white dress glowing in the moonlight.
Some believed she was searching for her lost love.
Others claimed she was searching for vengeance.
The tale had twisted and morphed with time until no one knew for certain who she was or why her spirit had been tethered to Star Harbor .
Our town’s entire existence hinged on the mysterious woman in white.
“I’ll tell you this.” I leaned forward, lowering my voice just enough to make Jeb’s knuckles go white on the wheel. “If you stay long enough, Star Harbor has a way of making a believer out of you.”
Just ask my brother Hayes.
A dull ache for my oldest brother bloomed under my ribs. The entire town may think him cursed by the Lady, but really it was just shitty luck.
It had to be.
A visible shiver rolled down Jeb’s back.
“Just keep your eyes open and your hands on the wheel,” I warned, biting back a playful grin.
His attention remained laser focused on the last few miles of the drive. Slowly, the rolling highway gave way to rural country roads, and houses were interspersed with farmland.
We cruised past the old cemetery, and I shook my head, noting the wrought iron fence was still bent and rusted from where Hayes’s accident had damaged it. It had been nearly seventeen years ago, but that night still haunted him.
Literally.
We drove past Star Harbor Farm and a shocked aww escaped me, drawing Jeb’s attention.
I pressed my finger against the window, my heart squeezing at the sight of it. Star Harbor Farm used to be magic—hayrides, pumpkins, apple cider doughnuts so good they should’ve been illegal. Now the farm looked like it had simply been forgotten.
“I used to love that place,” I murmured. “Mrs. Stafford had a farm stand where she’d give out samples of the best apple crumble ever—like, life-altering crumble. People would drive in from three towns over just to get a bite.”
Jeb huffed a laugh. “Doesn’t look like much now.”
I watched as the overgrown farm faded into the distance. A strange sense of loss washed over me—some long-forgotten childhood memory that would forever live in the past. “Yeah ... that’s too bad.”
Jeb’s GPS brought us to the residential street where my sister lived. He rolled to a stop in front of Selene’s duplex. Jeb got out to retrieve my suitcase from the trunk, and I thanked him with a handshake as he climbed back into his car.
I playfully pointed two fingers at my eyes and then to his. “Look out for ghosts.”
Jeb chuckled and closed the door before driving away.
I turned, staring up at the duplex where my sister and niece lived.
It was a pretty European-style two-story house split right down the middle.
It had been built to accommodate multiple families, with her place on the left and another residence on the right.
The front door opened, and Winnie bounded down the porch steps. “Aunt Ellie!”
While Selene’s hair was more of a lighter shade, Winnie had the same deep brown as me. She launched herself into my arms with all the force of a wrecking ball in a sparkly tutu. A very unladylike grunt rolled out of me.
“Happy birthday, bestie.” I squeezed her and rocked, sharing in her birthday excitement. “How old are you now? Twenty-seven? Forty-two?”
Winnie giggled and squeezed me back. “Five.”
I held her at arm’s length and narrowed my eyes to slits. “I knew it. You are an old lady.”
“I think I’m the only old lady around here.” Selene sighed, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her hazel eyes looked tired, but I guessed that was what happened when you were a single mom with a shithead ex-husband and a daughter with buckets of energy.
“Thirty-six isn’t that old, Mama!” Winnie squinted against the sunshine and called up to her mother.
Selene’s soft smile was always stunning. “Well, that’s a relief,” she joked.
I grabbed my rolling suitcase and hauled it up the shared porch steps. Under the covered porch, my head dipped toward the adjacent home. “Got a new neighbor yet?”
“The Jeffersons moved out a few weeks ago, but no one new yet.” Selene wrapped me in a side hug. “But thank goodness, because I was getting tired of hearing them have wild sex every night,” she whispered.
“Tired or jealous?” I teased, which earned me a hip bump from my sister.
Heads together, we laughed, and a warmth spread under my ribs. Maybe being back at home for a while wasn’t so bad after all.
Inside, Winnie’s party was just getting started. I stashed my suitcase in the entryway closet and walked toward the voices in the back of the duplex.
Selene had decorated the entire lower level in hot pink, black, and gold. There was a glittery balloon arch, and a huge banner strung across the entryway to the kitchen read, Vegas, Baby!
I paused, my brows pinched down.
“Don’t ask.” My sister shook her head and laughed. “She could not be dissuaded.”
Selene unhooked the velvet rope that led to the kitchen, and I slipped through. “You’re not going to even card me?” I teased.
Selene scoffed. “You’re thirty-three, and I can see you’re not using retinol.”
I snarled at her before sticking out my tongue.
A few of the people were milling about in the kitchen, but the majority of the guests were hanging outside on the back deck.
“Bottle service is there.” Selene pointed to the giant ice-filled tub of juice boxes and soft drinks. “All-you-can-eat buffet in the dining room and casino games on the back lawn. But I’ll warn you, they’re all rigged.”
A shotgun burst of laughter erupted from my chest.
“Winnie said, and I quote, ‘The house always wins.’” Selene’s love and affection for her daughter was unparalleled.
I looked out the back windows to see my niece giggling and running around with her friends. “I seriously love that kid.”
“That’s because she’s you in a different font,” she said.
I blinked innocently, pressing my hands to my chest. “Completely lovable in every single way?”
She pinned me with a flat look. “Wildly optimistic and slightly unhinged.”
I shrugged, selecting a juice box from the tub. “Same thing.”