Chapter 20
D arlene threw herself into her work at the B&B.
She scrubbed the kitchen counters until they gleamed, dusted every windowsill twice, and reorganized the guest welcome baskets multiple times so there was no room for wandering thoughts.
The distance between her and Mark had grown with each day, a wall erected by their shared understanding that now was not the time to explore their feelings.
She moved through her daily tasks mechanically, trying to keep her mind from constantly drifting to the moments they had shared and the potential future that now seemed just out of reach.
At breakfast, they exchanged polite smiles and small talk, but the warmth and ease of their previous interactions had been replaced by a cautious reserve.
One afternoon, they found themselves sharing a glass of iced tea on the porch, but the conversation felt strained, both carefully avoiding the topic that hung in the air between them.
Felicity noticed the change in her. She approached Darlene one evening as she was folding laundry in the utility room.
“Gran, are you okay?” Felicity asked, her eyes full of concern.
She forced a smile. “Of course, dear. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Felicity sat down beside her, taking a towel from the basket and folding it. “You seem… different lately. Ever since Mark’s sister-in-law visited.”
She set aside the sheet she had been folding. “It’s complicated, sweetheart.”
“Do you love him?”
The question hung in the air, and she felt her heart constrict. She had been avoiding putting a name to her feelings, but hearing it spoken aloud made it impossible to deny.
“Maybe I do,” she admitted softly. “But sometimes, loving someone means doing what’s right for them. And right now, Mark has things he needs to figure out.”
“Like the literary festival and dealing with his late wife’s memory?”
“Exactly.” She picked up another towel, focusing on the task at hand. “He’s still wrestling with his grief and trying to find his way forward. It wouldn’t be fair of me to add to that burden.”
“But what about your happiness, Gran? Don’t you deserve a chance at love too?”
She smiled sadly. “Of course I do, dear. Everyone does. But sometimes, the timing just isn’t right. Mark needs space to sort through his feelings and make decisions about his future. And I need to respect that, even if it means putting my own feelings aside for now.”
She smoothed the wrinkles from a pillowcase with practiced precision. “And I suppose I have my own issues to work through too.”
“You mean Dad’s father? Dean?”
The familiar ache spread through her at the mention of her ex-husband. She set the pillowcase aside, her hands falling still in her lap. “Yes. Dean left before your father was even born. I was so young, so excited about the baby, about our future together.”
“What happened? You don’t really ever talk about it.” Felicity asked, sliding closer on the bench.
“One day he said he was going to the store for cigarettes.” Her voice caught. “He never came back. No note, no explanation. Just… gone.”
She picked up another towel, needing the distraction. “I kept thinking I’d done something wrong, that if I’d been different somehow, he would have stayed. It took me years to realize it wasn’t my fault.”
“Oh, Gran.”
“The truth is, Dean’s leaving changed everything about how I approach relationships. I built this B&B and made it my whole world because buildings don’t walk away. They’re constant, dependable.” She gestured at the walls around them. “But people? People leave. Your father moved across the country.”
“And now I’m leaving for California.” Felicity’s eyes filled with pain.
“That’s different. You’re not abandoning me.”
“And I’ll come visit all the time. And after Brent is finished, we’ll be back.”
“I know that, sweetheart. In my head, I know. But my heart?” She pressed her hand to her chest. “My heart still expects everyone to leave eventually. And with Mark…” She shook her head.
“He has his own life waiting for him back in the city. His publisher, his career. Even if things were different between us, even if the timing was right, he’d still leave now that the island has given him his words back. ”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“The point is, I’ve let that one moment with Dean color every relationship since. I’ve used it as an excuse to keep people at arm’s length, to protect myself.” Darlene picked at a loose thread on the towel. “Maybe it’s time I dealt with that.”
“I just feel like it’s the wrong time to leave you.”
“We’ll have no more talk about you staying. You’ll have a grand time with Brent. I’m sure we’ll find time for frequent visits.”
Felicity got up and hugged her tightly. “I just want you to be happy, Gran. You’ve spent so long taking care of everyone else. It’s time for you to focus on yourself too.”
Darlene returned the embrace, feeling a surge of love and gratitude for her granddaughter’s support.
“I know, sweetheart. And I will. But for now, I need to give Mark the space he needs and work on my own issues too. Make peace with what happened with Dean and not let it color my decisions.” She pulled back.
“Now, you run along. Go find Brent. Or I’m sure you have packing to do. ”
“You sure you’re okay?” Felicity asked softly.
“I will be. Don’t worry.”
Mark sat at the small writing desk in his room, staring at his laptop screen.
The words came easier now, but something felt off.
He’d taken to working upstairs instead of on the wraparound porch where the ocean breeze and familiar creaking of the wooden boards had become part of his writing routine.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard. The story was there, but his mind kept drifting to Darlene’s smile, the way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she laughed. He’d caught glimpses of her moving through the B&B, but they’d barely spoken since Savannah’s visit.
“You would have liked her, Sarah,” he whispered to the empty room as guilt settled heavily in his chest. Sarah had been his lighthouse, guiding him through the darkness of writer’s block, celebrating each published book.
Now Darlene had somehow slipped past his defenses, showing him a different kind of light.
He pushed back from the desk and walked to the window.
The late afternoon sun danced across the waves in the bay.
Two years had passed since Sarah’s death, yet some days the loss felt as fresh as yesterday.
He’d found peace here on Magnolia Key and rediscovered his voice as a writer. But at what cost?
The festival keynote speech hung over his head like a pending storm cloud.
How could he stand at that podium, in the space Sarah had made her own, and pretend he was ready to move forward?
Each time he saw Darlene in passing, their eyes would meet briefly before one of them looked away.
The easy friendship they’d built had crumbled into awkward silences.
He returned to his laptop, but the words refused to come.
The mystery he’d been crafting felt hollow now, missing the spark that had ignited when he first arrived.
He’d found inspiration in Darlene’s quiet strength, her dedication to the B&B, and the way she nurtured not just the building but everyone who passed through its doors.
She was always taking care of others, but who took care of her?
But he wasn’t ready. The ring on his finger still felt right, even after all this time. His love for Sarah was woven into every story he’d written, every character he’d created. Opening his heart to Darlene meant accepting that Sarah was truly gone, and he wasn’t sure he could do that yet.
The ringing of his phone caught his attention, and he glanced at it as Savannah’s name flashed on the screen. He let it ring twice more before reluctantly answering. “Hi, Savannah.”
“Hey. How are you doing?”
“I bet you didn’t call just to chat about how I’m doing.”
She laughed. “No, not really, but I do care how you’re doing.
And I know you said you needed time to think about the keynote, but we really need an answer.
And, you know, giving this speech might bring a boost to your career too.
Get your name out there again.” Her voice carried that familiar tone—the same one Sarah had used when she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
He stood and walked to the window, watching a pair of seagulls circle over the water. “I don’t know if I can do it justice, Savannah. Sarah always made it special.”
“That’s exactly why it needs to be you. No one understood her vision better.” Savannah paused. “She would have wanted you there.”
Mark pressed his forehead against the cool glass. The weight of Sarah’s absence pressed against his chest. But maybe Savannah was right. Maybe it was time to honor Sarah’s memory instead of hiding from it.
“Okay,” he said quietly. “I’ll do it.”
“Really?” The relief in her voice was unmistakable. “Oh, Mark, thank you. This means so much.”
“Just…” He swallowed hard. “Send me the details. I’ll need time to prepare something worthy of her memory.”
After saying goodbye, he set the phone down on the desk. The cursor on his laptop screen still blinked accusingly at him, but now his mind was filled with memories of Sarah at the podium, her face glowing as she introduced each year’s keynote speaker. She wouldn’t be there to introduce him.
He scrubbed his hand over his face. What had he gotten himself into?