The Someday List (Sweet Stays Inn #1)

Chapter 1

I’m dying, and that’s all there is to it.

How had such a beautiful morning ended so devastatingly?

*

The early morning sunlight reflecting off the water always made Sylvie Sweet smile.

Growing up at a beachside inn, she always loved getting up early to enjoy the world around her before anyone else was awake.

But now, as she sipped her coffee and leaned on the wooden porch railing admiring the view that attracted many of their guests, a nagging feeling of unrest settled in her stomach.

“Stop it,” she whispered to herself. “You’re worrying for worry’s sake.”

Sylvie always felt a little restless at this time of year.

With Christmas gone weeks ago, she had to face the hard reality that until mid-April, there would be very little to distract her.

“Sylv!”

The sudden voice from behind made her jump, and she clasped her coffee mug to her chest. Luckily it was empty enough that it didn’t spill everywhere.

“Juliette Marina Whitstone! Don’t you scare me like that.”

Her best friend was wrestling with an armful of groceries in brown paper bags. “Don’t use my full name when talking to me. Only my mom gets to do that. Or should I break out your middle name, too?”

“No way! You’re the one who scared me. What have I done to deserve that?”

“Oh, I think you know, Miss Sweet.” She raised a judgmental brow and pointed to the cup in Sylvie’s hand. “Coffee? I thought one of your New Year’s resolutions was to give that up.”

With a guilty expression, Sylvie peered over her shoulder before pressing a finger to her lips and shushing Juliette.

“Pretend you didn’t see!” She quickly drank the rest of the coffee and set the cup on a nearby table, holding out her hands.

“See? No coffee! Come on in. Let me carry one of those bags for you. They look heavy.”

Juliette nodded. “They are, but I’m all right. There’s another one by the door for you. You must really have been off in la-la land. I rang the bell twice.”

“Sorry.” Sylvie stepped past her and headed for the front door. “I must’ve been. I was just planning things for the season.”

“The season?” Juliette echoed with a laugh. “You’ve got a couple of months of grace before you need to think about that. Just relax and breathe for a minute!”

Sylvie shrugged. “You know me. I don’t like being idle.”

She found the Whitstone General Store bag resting against the doorframe and winced as she bent down to pick it up. She really needed to do more of those stretches the doctor had given her.

“I don’t think you’ve been idle a day in your life.” Juliette followed Sylvie through the front door and down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Maybe that’s why you never get sick of this place…even when you’ve been asked for the millionth time what’s good to eat in town.”

Sylvie waved her off dismissively. “I’m just looking forward to being busy again. You know I love meeting folks. They come from all over—it’s almost like traveling myself. I’ve met people from over thirty countries! How many people can say that?”

Juliette looked at her sympathetically. Or condescendingly. She wasn’t quite sure.

“What?” She asked hesitantly. “What is it?”

Juliette’s eyes grew large. “Nothing!”

Sylvie matched her stare until Juliette sighed and put the groceries down.

“Meeting people from different countries is not the same thing as traveling yourself.” Juliette exhaled. “You’ve been practically running this place since the divorce. When are you going to do something for yourself again?”

This was not where she was expecting this conversation to go. If it had been anyone else, she would’ve shrugged them off. But she had known Juliette for nearly thirty years.

“I like it here!” she exclaimed. “Besides, what was I going to do? Turn around and say, Thanks, Mom and Dad, but I feel better now. I appreciate all your help picking up the pieces. I’m out? No, I don’t think so.”

Juliette sighed. “That wasn’t what I was suggesting. I just mean—”

“I know what you mean, Jules. But then Mom got sick, then Dad and Brett died, and—”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I wouldn’t have said anything if I thought it would upset you like this. What’s going on?”

She shook her head. “Nothing, I’m just…antsy.”

“Why?”

Sylvie had no idea what she was supposed to say. She wasn’t ready to go into detail about how she was worried about her mom, that the woman who had always been sharp as a tack had been acting a strange these past few months. She was worried her mom’s age might be catching up with her.

“Fiona’s coming to town,” she said at last, casting a glance at Juliette.

“Oh, geez. When?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Thanks for the late hurricane warning!” Juliette threw her hands in the air. “You board up the windows; I'll tell Father Patrick to start praying.”

Sylvie knew she shouldn't laugh, but Juliette had a gift for saying inappropriate things in a way that made it impossible not to. “I don't think Father Patrick has had to fend off my sister-in-law before. He may need backup.”

Juliette snorted. “You're right. It's been a few years since she visited. Come to think of it—it wasn't right for Father Mike to retire without warning his replacement. He retired right after her last visit, didn't he?”

“Stop that.” Sylvie laughed, shaking her head as she turned to unpack the groceries. “But yes, it was two years ago. The last time she brought Lilly down for a visit.”

“That is...” Juliette paused, tapping her finger on her chin. “Never mind. I won't say it out loud. But keeping that beautiful grandbaby away from your mom? Criminal.”

“I know. I miss Lilly all the time. But I get it. Fiona lost her husband when Brett died. Lilly lost her daddy. It must have been hard being reminded of him every day.”

“Yeah, and if a stranger ever heard Fiona talk about it, they'd think she and Lilly were the only ones who lost someone that day. But you lost your brother too, Sylv, and your dad. Family is supposed to stick around. Her taking off like that—”

“They did what they had to do. I was thirty when the accident happened. Lilly was only eleven. It's different when you're little.”

“I...” Juliette's blank expression proved she didn't know what to say. “Sorry, I don't know how we even got here. What I actually came to say was that the new guy working at the diner is gorgeous, and he doesn't have a wedding ring—”

“Oh my God!” Sylvie laughed. “You are impossible!”

Juliette winked. “Thank you. Now, I was supposed to be on the road five minutes ago to deliver the next order, so I'd better make a break for it before you distract me any further.”

With that, and a hug Juliette held a second longer than necessary, Sylvie was left alone with her thoughts once again. Leave it to Juliette to show up and wreak havoc in my mind before gleefully skipping away, she thought, watching her friend climb into the delivery van and drive off.

That stirring of unease swelled in her stomach again, and she pressed her hand against her side. Maybe she'd eaten something bad. No, it wasn't nausea. It was—

“Sylvia!”

Her mom’s voice echoed down the stairs. She looked at her watch and her stomach twisted again. It was barely seven o’clock. Normally her mom slept in until at least nine. This was early for her.

“Yes, Mom?” she called, trying to settle herself.

“Come in here, please.”

The knot clenched tighter, sitting just below her sternum and feeling heavier than before.