Chapter Fifty-Eight
Fifty-Eight
Shelby woke up to her phone ringing. It was almost ten-thirty in the morning, not an unreasonable time for someone to call. But Shelby slept restlessly. Yes, she’d solved one problem by canceling her book—the most important one. Colleen was grateful and seemed ready to move on. But now she’d created another one: her career was uncertain.
Hunter, sprawled out next to her, groaned and put a pillow over her head. It took Shelby a beat to remember what she was doing in her room and their late-night conversation. She answered her phone.
“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Carmen Lombardo said, her voice energetic and upbeat.
“No, not at all,” Shelby said, sitting up. Hunter grunted with annoyance.
“A little birdie told me you’re back in town. And I just can’t let you leave this time without thanking you in person for your help with Mia.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” Shelby said. But she agreed to stop by for coffee. How could she not? She just hoped Mia would be there—that she’d forgiven her for telling her secret. And yes, deep down she hoped Justin would be there, too. Even if he wasn’t, it would feel like he was there. The Lombardo house, was, after all, his childhood home. Going there, saying goodbye to Carmen, was probably a fitting place to end her summer in Provincetown. And maybe then she could finally move on. For real this time.
The Lombardo house hadn’t changed a bit since the last time she was there. The kitchen had the same farmhouse sink, the same cherry table, and the same framed mosaics from Mia’s middle school art classes.
Carmen, wearing a floral T-shirt and jeans, greeted her with a hug, ushered her to the eat-in table, and brought over two mugs of coffee.
“After Justin told us about Mia, we were completely consumed with finding specialists and getting her help. When the dust settled, I realized I hadn’t had the chance to thank you. And you were gone by then. I should have called.”
“Oh, no worries,” Shelby said. “I’m glad I was able to find out what was happening. How’s she doing?”
Carmen smiled. “Good. I feel like I have my daughter back.”
Shelby glanced at the swinging door that led to the dining room and the rest of the house.
“Is she home? I’d love to see her. She wasn’t very happy with me when we last spoke.”
“Oh, hon, she’s with friends.” Carmen frowned.
“I feel bad. She thinks I betrayed her secret. I guess I did.”
Carmen shook her head. “You would have been betraying her by not telling us. Someday, when you have children of your own, you’ll understand that.”
Children of her own. It was hard to imagine ever making the right choices that would lead to having someone in her life with whom she wanted to have a baby. She could barely keep her friendships from blowing up.
“You’re probably right,” Shelby said. Carmen started to say something, then stopped. Shelby had the odd feeling that Carmen knew her secret, the unspoken shadow that followed her all summer: she might have made a mistake in breaking up with Justin. But it would remain unspoken; letting that out in the open would be more terrifying than telling Claudia she was canceling her book.
“How long are you staying?” Carmen said after a silence.
“Just a few days.” Shelby drained her coffee. She should get going.
“But you’ll come back next summer?”
“I really don’t know.” Shelby hadn’t thought that far ahead, but realized in that moment that no, she wouldn’t be back. She needed to move on—emotionally. Creatively, she’d find another muse, follow a different path to a story far outside her own life. And she’d do it not just to avoid hurting her friends, but because if she wanted to keep growing as a writer, she had to leave her comfort zone. If the Woodstock teaching job came through, it might be exactly the change she needed.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I hope you do,” Carmen said.
The back door opened, startling them both. Justin walked in.
“Oh!” he said, stopping short in surprise. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all,” Carmen said with a wave, as if the two of them having coffee together in the kitchen was routine.
He looked at Shelby, and she offered a small smile. Her heart picked up an extra beat. He was dressed in a faded T-shirt and blue board shorts. He dropped his keys and phone on the counter and leaned against it facing them.
“Is Dad around?” he said.
Shelby stood. “I should get going...”
“Don’t rush off,” Carmen said. “And no, your father’s at the restaurant. What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on,” he said unconvincingly.
“Well, you’re here instead of at work.”
Justin paced a few steps, then joined them at the table. She could smell the salt on his skin and feel the heat radiating from his body. It took effort for her not to lean closer to him.
“I found out who bought the wharf building,” he said.
Shelby wasn’t sure what he was talking about but could tell that it wasn’t good. “What’s the wharf building?”
“It’s a property on MacMillan Pier that the town trust hoped to buy to turn into affordable housing for workers. So we can fix the staffing shortages that has everyone scrambling this summer. But someone outbid us.”
“Who?” Carmen said.
“The Hendriks.” He said it almost like it was a question, like he didn’t quite believe it. Shelby didn’t understand. Wasn’t Hendrik’s buying Land’s End?
“That doesn’t make sense,” said Shelby. “They’re supposed to be buying Land’s End.”
“They bought both. Kate’s brother is opening a hotel on the water.”
Carmen let out a low whistle. “She hid this from you?”
Justin shot her a look. “No. She told me. That’s how I know.”
“Well, she told you now. After it’s a done deal.”
“Ma, please. This isn’t helpful.” He stood up. “I’ll catch Dad at the restaurant.”
It seemed unfair that someone from Boston could just sweep in and buy their way into town, when someone like Colleen who’d lived there her entire life couldn’t sustain a family business.
“So, instead of affordable housing we get a hotel. That seems about right with the way things have been headed.” Carmen stood, her chair legs rumbling against the floor. “You’re on a dozen committees, but none of them can fix the fundamental problem, and that’s the human weakness for selling things to the highest bidder.”
“I’m not trying to change human nature,” Justin said. “I just hoped that this time, the highest bidder could be one of us.”
Shelby turned to Justin. “What happens now to the money the Community Trust raised to buy the wharf building?”
“I haven’t even gotten that far,” Justin said. “Why?”
She took a beat, an idea forming. “Could you...use it to make a counteroffer on the bookstore?”
Justin leaned back in his chair. She saw his eyes narrow behind his glasses. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure,” Shelby said, her thoughts becoming more clear. “I guess I’m thinking, the trust buys the bookstore and Colleen can run it. Does that make any sense?”
He nodded slowly. “It does. It actually does.”
“We’d have to talk to the Millers, of course.”
Carmen clapped her hands together, beaming. “Well, isn’t this a great idea.”
Justin held up one hand. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The sale to the Hendriks might be signed and done. Even if it’s not, the trust would have to approve the purchase. Certain criteria have to be met.”
“What criteria?” Carmen said, with an emphasis on the word what . As if it were an absurd suggestion.
“The business has to be deemed essential to town, and it has to be run by a local,” Justin said.
“I’ll set up a call for you with Colleen and her parents,” Shelby said. Maybe good news like this would help further mend their rift. Their phone call last night had been a start, but Colleen was still distant. Still not herself.
“You should be on the call, too,” Justin said. “The Millers trust your judgment about Land’s End. I think it will be reassuring for them to see that you’re here and involved.”
“Sure. No problem,” she said.
She was in no rush to leave.