“So, what’s the problem?” Beverly asked.
“I got asked to run a big gala in New York. A fundraiser for Alzheimer’s. It’s a cause I really believe in.” She could hear the excitement and hesitation in her own voice.
“But you’re not ready to leave?” Miss Eleanor pinned her with a hard look.
Her shoulders sagged. “I had just been thinking about extending my stay. I’m not sure I’m ready to face all the chaos that’s city life. But this event could really use my help.” She shrugged. “I have no idea what to do. I know I eventually need to return to New York or I won’t have a career anymore.”
Miss Eleanor reached over, her weathered hand enveloping Amanda’s. “You need to do what your heart tells you to do. Listen to it. Because if you don’t, you’ll regret it your whole life. I know this. And it’s a hard life lesson to learn.” A hint of distant regret flickered across the woman’s eyes.
“Listen to Miss Eleanor. She’s a wise woman who’s seen more than her fair share of life’s twists and turns.” Beverly nodded. “You’ll have to figure out what you truly want and have the courage to follow that path.”
Amanda headed back to her cottage, slowly winding her way along the now familiar streets. She walked in and out of the sunshine, feeling it wash over her. The gentle breeze blew her hair around her shoulders as the salt air caressed her skin. None of that was making it easier to decide.
She got to her cozy cottage, passing through the living area and out to the deck. She took in the vast expanse stretched out before her. The waves rolling to shore. The bird flying overhead. The sun sparkling like diamonds on the water. So in contrastto the view of towering buildings and bustling streets out her apartment window.
“Hey, you.” The familiar voice broke through her thoughts as Connor jogged up to her porch and climbed the stairs. “Came looking for you earlier, but you weren’t here.”
“I went to see Beverly.”
He studied her intently. “Is something wrong?”
“No.” She frowned. “Yes.”
He took her hand in his strong, calloused one. “Talk to me.”
She drew in a deep breath. “I… I got a job offer. One I’d really like to take. It’s for a fundraising gala for Alzheimer’s research.”
A crestfallen look crossed his features, but he quickly recovered, offering her a reassuring squeeze of his hand. “But that’s good, right? You’d be helping out with a cause I know you believe in.”
“But… I’d have to leave Magnolia. I’d have to leave soon.” She reached up and touched his face. A face that had become so comfortingly familiar to her over the last months. “I’m… I’m not sure I’m ready to leave. To give up my life here on the island.”
“Selfishly, I’d love for you to stay.” His blue eyes filled with tenderness and longing. “But I know your career is in New York. I understand. And I know this cause is important to you.”
She felt a pang in her chest as she looked out over the rolling waves gently lapping the shoreline. “It is. I’d love to help them. See if they can bring in substantial funding for the much-needed research.”
He pushed a lock of hair away from her face. “It kind of sounds like you’ve made your decision.”
“Maybe I have.” She sighed, her heart breaking. “But I feel like it’s a no-win decision. If I stay here longer, I have to give up planning the fundraiser. If I do the fundraiser, I have to leave Magnolia.”
Connor held her close, his hand lightly tracing soothing circles on her back. “Sometimes life causes us to make hard decisions. Where we have to choose between two things and neither one is the perfect option.”
Her heart swelled with a bittersweet ache as she contemplated the decision before her. Memories of her beloved Nana’s warm, loving spirit and staunch devotion flooded her mind, quickly followed by the cruel reality of Alzheimer’s that had slowly stolen her away. In those final years, she’d witnessed firsthand the devastating toll the disease took, ravaging both mind and body until her cherished Nana was but a shell of her former self.
She knew in her heart that she couldn’t pass up the chance to work on the Alzheimer’s event. Not after everything Nana had done for her. If raising funds for research made it that much closer until a cure was found, that was what she needed to do.
“You’re going, aren’t you?” he asked, gently.
“I think I have to.”
“I know,” he said softly as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
CHAPTER 28
Back in New York, Amanda struggled to slip back into the familiar rhythm of her former routine. She yearned for her life on Magnolia Key. She missed her life there. Missed the warmth of Beverly’s easy smile, Tori’s enthusiasm about her theater, and even missed Miss Eleanor telling her what to do.
And, of course, she missed Connor. He called her often, but their conversations became more and more strained as distance and time stretched between them.
She threw herself into her work. Answering constant text messages and emails. Arranging flowers with painstaking precision and menu choices with utmost care. She checked regularly with the venue to ensure it could accommodate their ever-growing list of gala attendees. People were paying handsomely for a coveted seat at one of the tables, and the highly anticipated auction promised to be a lucrative affair. She worked tirelessly on getting more donations for the auction, determined to make sure they raised as much as possible. Giving hope to families who struggled with a loved one with Alzheimer’s.
