“Can we make Mommy some more sand dollar angels?” Tessa asked when they were done. “She really liked the ones we brought home.”
“Yes,” Wendy agreed. “And I’ll cook us up a great big pan of homemade macaroni and cheese.” She turned to Jackson. “How about if you get a fire going?”
All in all, it turned into a pleasant evening. Greg called to tell them that with an IV and some medication, Kara was going to be just fine and that she’d probably be released later that evening. “I’ll keep the girls overnight just the same,” Wendy told him.
By the time Wendy delivered the girls back to their house the next morning, along with their sand dollar angels, Kara looked weak but much improved. “I can’t thank you enough.” She hugged Wendy. “I’m so lucky to have such good neighbors. Thank you so much!”
Still, as Wendy drove home after dropping Jackson off to work with Caleb, she felt like Kara’s misfortune carried a serious warning. A single mom without good employment in a seasonal tourist town had some serious challenges to face. Kara had a brother to help her, but even so she’d been completely vulnerable yesterday. And Wendy had no family to fall back on. It was just her and Jackson. She knew it was her parental responsibility to make sure their life was as secure as possible. If the cottage sold today, that would be just fine!
She’d just gone inside the cottage when Sandi called to say that her buyers were in the Caribbean until next Wednesday. Wendy said that was fine, but as she put away her phone she felt severely disappointed. She was ready to wrap this up and return to Ohio ASAP. Well, except she still hadn’t told Jackson. For that reason, she was grateful for the delay. She didn’t relish the idea of the buyers poking around the cottage when Jackson came home. That would be awkward!
On Sunday morning, Jackson was up early, neatly dressed, and ready to go to church. “Taylor just texted me from her mom’s phone,” he said as they got into the car. “She wants to stay home with her mom today. But she promised to go to youth group with me next week.”
“That’s nice.” Wendy pursed her lips, trying to think of an easy way to tell Jackson that they would probably be headed back to Ohio by next weekend. Later ... she’d tell him after church.
“That storm’s still not here,” Jackson observed as she pulled into the parking lot.
“I just heard it’s been circling the Atlantic and is supposed to hit midweek,” she said as they got out.
“Cool. I can’t wait to see what it does to the beach. We’ll probably find all kinds of shells.”
She just nodded, promising herself that she would tell Jackson the truth about selling the cabin this afternoon. They should have plenty of time to hash it out with no interruptions. But after church let out, while she and Jackson were visiting with Caleb, another distraction popped up.
“Mom’s making clam chowder for lunch today,” Jackson told Caleb. “It’s her grandma’s special recipe. You should come over and have some with us.”
“Did you have success with your clam digging?” Caleb asked Jackson.
“No,” Jackson admitted. “Mom’s going to use canned clams.”
“That sounds good to me.” Caleb grinned hopefully at Wendy. “If you really want me to—”
“Yes, of course,” she assured him. “Please, come join us for clam chowder. The clams might be canned, but the bacon is fresh.” She smiled.
“How about I bring a good loaf of bread?”
She nodded. “Perfect.”
As they drove home, she couldn’t deny feeling relief at having one more excuse to delay what would be a hard conversation with Jackson. In fact, she wondered if the kindest thing would be to not say a word until the buyers actually made their cash offer—then just tell him, “It’s a done deal and it’s time to go.” Sort of like ripping off a bandage. It might sting, but it wouldn’t last long.
Caleb showed up with a big smile and a loaf of bread. “It just hit me that you got to have my grandma’s seafood stew and now I get to enjoy your grandma’s clam chowder,” he said as she led him inside. “Very nice.”
To Wendy’s delight, Caleb looked thoroughly impressed with the cottage as he removed his coat. “This place issweet,” he told both of them. “You guys do some seriously good work.” He paused to admire the shell-framed mirror by the front door. “Wendy, did you make this?”
“She did,” Jackson proudly informed him. “And all these other things too.” Now he led Caleb around, showing him each handmade item and finally stopping in front of the Christmas tree.
Caleb let out a low whistle. “Man, that has got to be the prettiest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.”
“I cut it down myself,” Jackson proclaimed.
“And these ornaments.” Caleb pointed to a sand dollar angel. “Did you guys make these?”
“Mom made most of ’em. I helped a little, but it was her idea.”
“Wendy.” Caleb turned to face her. “You could easily sell those.”
“Really?” She spilled out the story of taking them to his shop. “But you were gone and Crystal, uh, well, she didn’t think they were so hot.”
Caleb laughed. “Yeah, I’ll bet she didn’t. But if you want to sell them in my shop, I’d be proud to have them. And I plan to be open a lot between now and Christmas. Seems like the town has had more traffic than usual this year. I’m sure I could sell a lot of those during the next week. Hey, maybe I could get a tree to put in the window to display them on.”
