Chapter 21
Lucy
“You made her night.” Carly wrapped an arm around her daughter’s shoulders as the five of them walked down the sidewalk to dinner.
After Lucy had locked up the store, she’d let Alex climb the ladder and told her to hold on as she slid her down the wall of books, just like Annie had done with her so many years ago. It made her picture having a daughter of her own someday, something she hadn’t dared to let herself dream of since Carter left. What were the odds she was going to meet a man her age in Heron Isle who actually planned to stick around long enough to get married and build a life here?
“Don’t tell anyone,” Lucy said, placing a finger over her mouth. “I only let special little girls on the ladder.”
Alex put her hand to her mouth and made a movement as if she was turning a key, and Lucy laughed. Carly’s kids were terrific, and she and Carly had made an immediate connection in a way she’d never experienced with another woman. She felt as if she’d known her forever.
When they reached the end of Main Street, they turned the corner to the right along Front Street and went into the Marina Restaurant. Lucy asked if they could be seated at a table on the second-floor balcony so they could look out over the water while they ate. It was a popular place for tourists, but Lucy usually got her food to go and ate it in the bookstore for lunch. It was nice to have a group of people to sit down and eat with.
“I could get used to this view.” Carly slid her sunglasses on top of her long brunette hair as she looked toward the water.
A half dozen sailboats bobbed on the water to the right of the Waterway Café, taking advantage of the calmer water on the southwestern side of the island. Farther south, they could see the outline of Amelia Island—Pete’s hometown—with its fort that was still intact. Islands dotted the coastline in both directions from Heron Isle, part of the more than one hundred that made up the Sea Island chain running from South Carolina to North Florida.
“I have to admit, I take it for granted sometimes. I can’t remember the last time I sat up here.” Lucy turned to follow Carly’s gaze, allowing herself to take it all in.
“And you want to build a bunch of crap out there?” Carly frowned as she nudged her brother and nodded toward the waterfront.
“No, he just wants to park giant cruise ships and casino boats out there so we can become the Bahamas,” Lucy teased.
Carly’s mouth fell open as she gave her brother a look that said she thought he was crazy.
“There you two go, ganging up on me again.” He turned to his sister. “When’s your flight back?” He looked at his watch.
“Not for thirty-six more hours, so strap in, baby brother.” Carly laughed before leaning over to help Alex decide what she wanted for dinner.
They ordered, each of them getting some version of shrimp, then they settled into easy conversation about everything from the history of the island to how Lucy came to own the bookstore. Carly asked her smart questions about how she chose the books to carry and didn’t once make her feel like an alien just because she didn’t have an online store or a Facebook page. She even admitted that she was taking a self-imposed social media break while trying to raise kids who weren’t glued to their phones.
“These will keep us busy for a while.” Carly lifted her bag of books from Lucy’s store, two for herself and one for each of the kids.
“Did Lucy tell you she’s writing a book?” Logan smiled in her direction.
If Lucy hadn’t known better, she would have thought there was a hint of pride in Logan’s voice.
She could feel herself blushing under his gaze, so she turned to Carly. “It’s no big deal. I’m just playing around with an idea.”
“Ooh, tell me about it.” Carly leaned over to take a sip of her Miami Vice, a swirling pink-and-white mixture of pi?a colada and strawberry daiquiri with a towering crown of whipped cream complete with a cherry on top.
Lucy bit her lip, afraid Carly would ask her where she got the idea. She was a terrible liar, and she didn’t want to tell Carly the story about the Little Free Library. But if she was going to send the idea to Leona, she might as well get used to talking about it.
“Well… Have you ever seen one of those Little Free Libraries that are popping up? People leave their used books and take one if they see something they like.”
“Oh, yeah, we just got our first one recently. Such a fun idea.”
“We got our first one not too long ago too. And I thought”—she swallowed hard, reminding herself of her no-hesitation vow—“what if two people started corresponding through the Little Free Library? You know, instead of meeting online or on social media or whatever, what if they somehow met through the Little Free Library?”
“Cute! I like it,” Carly gushed, her eyes shining as she smiled at Lucy, then at Logan, and back at Lucy again. “So they write notes inside the books or something like that?”
“Yeah. We do something like that here. There are index cards and pencils in the library, and people are encouraged to leave a note telling the next person why they might like the book. We all use monikers, and it’s become a bit of a game in town to try to figure out who’s leaving what. Last winter we were all convinced Bob, who owns the hardware store—total guy’s guy—was leaving all these romance novels in the library.”
“I have to admit, sometimes living in a small town wears on me,” Carly said. “But it’s stuff like this that reminds me how special it is to be part of a tight-knit community. This place is a lot like where we grew up, just with an ocean instead of pastures. Right, Logan?”
“I definitely prefer the ocean version.” His smile was tight, and a look passed between sister and brother that Lucy couldn’t quite decipher.
“Do your parents still run the farm?” Lucy asked Carly.
Another look—a darker one—passed between Carly and Logan, and Lucy worried she’d stumbled onto a sore subject.
Carly recovered first and gave Lucy a weak smile. “No, they’re retired now. Lucky for me, they live nearby and like to babysit.” She patted her daughter’s head. Alex was deep into reading her book about a young ballerina.
Lucy sensed she shouldn’t ask more about the farm, so she changed the subject just as their food arrived, asking Carly about her husband, Nick, and how they met in high school. Lucy couldn’t help but be a little jealous that Carly had found love in her small town. Unfortunately, Lucy hadn’t dated much in high school, so there was no sweetheart to reunite with at a reunion. She’d just have to keep hoping she’d meet someone who came to town and fell in love with both her and Heron Isle. Was that really so much to ask?