Chapter Twenty-Four
Emma
Emma inhaled the scents of damp earth and pine and sea, Olive’s hand in hers as they navigated the winding forest trail. She
loved this area, from the rugged cliffs to the offshore formations to these lush forests overflowing with ferns. This was
her childhood.
“It’s so green!” Olive said. Her daughter walked slightly ahead of her, with Dottie on the leash. They had borrowed the dog
from her mother, mainly because Olive adored her.
“There are a million kinds of green, aren’t there?”
“It looks like a fairyland. Do you think there are fairies in the forest?”
Olive had become fascinated with fairies since they arrived in Oregon, in no small part thanks to Sylvia. Emma’s grandmother
had created a spot near her cottage that she called her fairy garden, filled with tiny structures and whimsical buildings.
Her grandmother had even attached a small door to a tree growing near her place, claiming that was the fairies’ house.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised. It looks exactly like the place a family of fairies would live, doesn’t it?”
“Do you think there will be mermaids, too, when we get to the beach?”
“We’ll have to watch for them,” Emma answered.
Was it wrong of her to encourage her child’s vivid imagination and fantasy life?
She couldn’t think why it would be. There would be plenty of time for Olive to come to the sad realization that the world could be a hard, unrelenting and unforgiving place.
For now, let her have her flights of whimsy and joy where she could find them.
This had been exactly what Emma needed.
As they continued the short walk toward the beach, accessible only by this trail, Emma felt weeks of stress slide off her
shoulders. It was hard for her to think that perhaps she’d made a mistake coming back to town when this morning seemed so
pure and lovely.
They continued along the path, Olive’s excitable chatter punctuated by the distant cry of seagulls. Towering firs and hemlocks
stretched skyward, their branches creating a verdant canopy that dappled the forest floor with shifting patterns of sunlight
and shadow.
The path narrowed, winding between moss-covered rocks and gnarled tree roots. Emma lifted Olive over a particularly tricky
section, her daughter giggling as she was momentarily airborne.
They were not the only ones on the trail. This was a fairly popular hike. She nodded in passing to another couple she vaguely
remembered from her time living in town. If she wasn’t mistaken, the man was a teacher at the community college up in Coos
Bay. Or he had been a decade ago, anyway.
“Nice day, isn’t it?”
“It’s great to have sunshine after so many weeks of rain. I forgot how much it rained in Oregon.”
“Enjoy your morning,” the woman said.
Olive wanted to look at every plant and tree and flower they passed. Those she didn’t want to examine, Dottie did. After several
more steps, the terrain began to change from forest to sand dune.
They walked through a small grove of trees, and finally, the ocean spread out below them.
“We’re here! We made it!”
Olive looked delighted, almost as if she hadn’t really believed Emma when she said they would be going to the ocean. There
were a few other people there on a beautiful summer morning. She would have been surprised had they been the only ones who
decided this was the perfect day to enjoy this magical spot.
She saw a young family playing in the sand, a couple around her age who were taking photographs and videos of each other,
and two sets of older couples who appeared to be tourists.
“Hey!” Olive exclaimed. “That’s my friend Bryce.”
Emma jerked her gaze in the direction Olive pointed and felt her heart give a silly little lurch. On the far side of the beach,
she also saw a man throwing a ball to a silver dog.
In an instant, she was back in her bookstore the evening he had shocked her with that kiss. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking
about it since.
What were the odds that she and Olive would hike to the very same beach as Bryce and Pearl, simply by chance?
She was tempted to grab her daughter and hurry back up the trail but it was too late now, especially after Olive waved vigorously
and raced toward him.
“Hi, Bryce!” her daughter exclaimed.
He looked up at his name and Emma saw a mix of emotions cross his gorgeous features. First delight, followed quickly by wariness.
“Look who’s here! Two of my favorite people,” he said as they reached him.
“And Dottie,” Olive reminded him.
“And one of my favorite dogs. What are you guys up to?”
“We came for a hike. Grandma said we should come here.”
Bryce raised an eyebrow. “That’s funny. She suggested the same thing to me, too.”
So it wasn’t at all a coincidence that they found themselves on the same beach. Emma was instantly horrified.
Her mother had orchestrated the whole thing. She been dropping hints for days about how fun it would be to take a hike to
Hidden Beach and how much Olive would enjoy it.
Had she been giving the same advice to Bryce?
No doubt Rosie thought throwing Emma together with her second-in-command might spark a romance, which in turn might compel
Emma to stick around in Wood Briar longer.
She did not need her mother interfering in her love life. She was screwing it up just fine on her own.
Her gaze met his and she could see he had come to the same conclusion. How mortifying. She could do nothing about it now but
she fully intended to have a long talk with Rosie when they went home.
She forced a sunny smile. “It’s beautiful here today,” she said.
“We’re looking for mermaids,” Olive informed him.
“Are you?”
“Have you seen any?”
“Not yet. Maybe Pearl scared them all away.”
“Are mermaids afraid of dogs?” Olive asked.
“I’m not sure,” he answered in a serious tone. “I’ve never had the chance to ask one.”
She giggled. “I got a new sandcastle bucket and shovel. Want to see it?”
“Um. Sure.”
The bucket was dangling from Emma’s backpack with a carabiner. She obediently swung her bag to the sand and pulled off the
pink bucket and its matching purple shovel.
Olive showed it to Bryce, who gave it due appreciation. “Looks like a good one,” he said. “You can make a great sandcastle with that.”
“Grandma Sylvia says if we build a sandcastle, maybe the fairies will come visit.”
“Fairies and mermaids. I had no idea Hidden Beach was so exciting.”
“You build houses like Grandma Rosie. Can you help me build a sandcastle for the fairies?”
Emma frowned. “I’m sure Bryce and Pearl have plans today. I’ll help you build a sandcastle.”
“But you’re not a builder like Grandma Rosie and Bryce. It has to be a good one or the fairies won’t like it.”
“They are pretty picky, I’ve heard,” Bryce agreed. “I bet with that bucket you and your mom can build a great one. But I’m
happy to help.”
Emma wanted to tell him he didn’t need to do that but Olive looked so thrilled, she didn’t have the heart to be the cranky
mom here.
Bryce led them to a spot near the water’s edge, where the sand was damp and perfect for building.
“All right, builders,” he said, kneeling down. “Let’s start with a strong foundation.”
He showed Olive how to pack wet sand tightly into the bucket, then flip it over to create the first tower. Emma watched, impressed
by his patience as he guided Olive’s small hands. Pearl sniffed around the sand excitedly while Dottie nestled onto the beach
blanket Emma spread near their structure and observed the proceedings for a few moments before she fell asleep.
As the three of them worked together, Emma found herself fully engaged, shaping windows and turrets while Bryce focused on
the main structure.
After they had been building for a while, a girl about Olive’s age approached, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“Can I help?” she asked shyly.
Olive beamed, immediately handing her a spare shovel. “We’re building a fairy castle. I’m Olive. What’s your name?”
“Lily,” the other girl said, settling down next to Olive. In the magical way of children, the two girls were soon chattering
away as if they had known each other for years.
Lily had the idea of building a moat and lining it with seashells and driftwood, so they worked together gathering up supplies,
their laughter mingling with the sounds of the waves.
Emma caught Bryce’s eye, sharing a warm smile at the unexpected friendship blooming before them.
“Thanks for getting her started,” she said.
“Happy to help. It’s been a long time since I built a sandcastle.”
She thought he might offer a farewell and resume throwing a ball for Pearl. Instead, he eased down on the blanket beside her,
long legs stretched out before him.
He wore khaki shorts and a light blue T-shirt with a surfboard on it. She could see his muscles outlined by the thin material
of his shirt and immediately pulled out her water bottle to take a long swig.
What was it about Bryce that left her feeling lightheaded and off-balance every time they were together?
Maybe the fact that he had kissed her until she couldn’t think straight. And she really wanted him to do it again.
He lifted his face to the sky and she had a sudden wish that she could see the hazel of his eyes behind his sunglasses.
“After a week of rain, a day like this feels like a gift.”
“Agreed.”
He smelled delicious, of sand and sun and life. Emma wanted to sink into him but she was only too aware of her daughter and her new friend playing six feet away.
“What else are you up to today?” she asked. “Are you visiting your mom?”
At his shrug, the bare skin of his lower arm brushed against hers and she had to suppress a shiver, fighting with all she
had not to move away a few inches.
“I’m driving up later tonight to have dinner with her at the care center. I try to do that most Sunday evenings. I’m not sure
if she’s even aware I’m there but I still go.”
He was such a good son. Her admiration for this man seemed to grow every time she talked to him. Most guys she knew would