Chapter 28
The crowd thinned as the last night of the festival drew to a close.
Winnie stood at the edge of the festival grounds, far enough from the stage lights that the shadows gave her room to breathe.
The celebration had exceeded every expectation.
Laughter still bubbled up from clusters of families gathered around the fire pits, and the scent of fried dough and salt air mingled in the warm evening breeze.
The festival had brought the community together in ways she hadn’t seen in years. Cassidy had accomplished something remarkable, breathing new life into a tradition that had been gasping for air, and Bryan looked happier than Winnie had seen him since his father passed.
Sally appeared at her elbow and threaded her arm through Winnie’s. “You did good, Win.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
Sally nodded toward Cassidy, who stood near the dock with Bryan, their heads bent close together. “You knew what she needed before she did.”
She watched the young couple. Cassidy’s laugh carried across the water, genuine and unguarded. Bryan’s hand rested on the small of her back like it belonged there. The lighthouse beam swept past them, illuminating their faces for just a moment before moving on.
“They found each other,” Winnie said quietly. “I just provided the cottage.”
“You always were terrible at taking credit.” Sally squeezed her arm. “Remember when you organized the entire Hurricane Relief effort in ninety-eight and told everyone it was a community effort?”
“It was a community effort.”
“You coordinated sixteen volunteer groups and raised forty thousand dollars in three weeks.”
She smiled despite herself. “Ancient history.”
They stood in comfortable silence as the festival volunteers began breaking down booths and hauling equipment toward the storage shed. Mayor West waved from across the courtyard, triumph written across her face. Winnie waved back.
“You think she’ll stay?” Sally asked. “Cassidy?”
“Yes, she’s already decided to.” Winnie studied the way Cassidy leaned into Bryan and the way her shoulders had finally relaxed after weeks of carrying invisible weight. “She just needed to figure out what home felt like.”
“That’s what you do best. Helping people find home.”
The words settled uncomfortably over her.
She’d spent so many years creating homes for others while her own remained carefully curated and impeccably empty.
The keeper’s quarters held generations of Lockhart history, but precious little of her own story.
Just photographs, logbooks, and secrets she couldn’t share and didn’t fully understand.
The crowd shifted as a group of teenagers rushed past, chasing each other toward the beach. In the space they left behind, Winnie saw him.
Her breath caught.
He stood near the harbormaster’s office, partially obscured by the corner of the building.
Tall. Older now, his dark hair threaded with silver.
But she would know those shoulders anywhere, the way he held himself with quiet confidence.
Distinguished, her mother would have said.
Handsome in a way that had nothing to do with youth and everything to do with character worn gracefully.
Sam Copeland.
The world narrowed to just him. Everything else faded. The music, the laughter, the gentle lap of waves against the dock. Gone. There was only the man who had left Starlight Shores over forty-five years ago and taken a piece of her heart with him.
Sally’s grip on her arm tightened. “Win?”
She couldn’t answer. Couldn’t breathe properly.
Her hand drifted to the bracelet at her wrist, fingers finding the familiar shape of the sea glass embedded in the silver wire.
He’d made it for her that summer before everything fell apart, and duty demanded she choose the lighthouse over love.
Before she’d stood on this same beach and watched him walk away.
Sam’s gaze swept the festival crowd like he was searching for something. Someone.
“Is that...” Sally’s voice trailed off.
“Yes.”
“Sam Copeland. After all this time.”
“Yes.” The word barely made it past her throat.
He looked good. Older, yes, but good. Strong. Certain.
Everything she wasn’t in this moment.
Then he was gone, disappearing into the thinning crowd.
Winnie stood with Sally, one hand pressed to her racing heart, the other still clutching the bracelet he’d made her a lifetime ago.
The past she’d buried had come walking back into town.
And she had no idea what to do about it.
Dear Reader, I hope you enjoyed this addition to the Starlight Shores series. Next up is Coastal Shadows. (This is Melissa and Cliff’s book.)
In the Coastal Shadows, a photographer hiding from a single life-changing moment takes refuge at the town’s lighthouse.
But between a gruff handyman, a watchful seaside community, and the steady beam of the lighthouse itself, she may discover that the safest place to hide is also the place she was meant to heal.
As always, thank you for reading my books. I hope you’re enjoying the Starlight Shores series. And there’s more to come!
Happy reading. ~Kay