Even though it was true, Katie still felt annoyed that her sister thought it was relevant to her relationship with Peter. “I had to focus on work, not my personal life. Otherwise, I’d be another homeless statistic in Los Angeles.”
“Peter’s staying here to spend more time with you, but you’re still moving back to California.”
“I’m going because I need to live there.”
“No. You’re going because you’re running away again.”
Katie’s heart pounded. “I’ve never run away from anything—”
“From the time you were ten years old, you wanted to leave Sapphire Bay. It wouldn’t have mattered if it were Los Angeles, Dallas, or the Bahamas, what we have here was never enough for you.”
Of all the things her sister could have said, that upset Katie the most. “I can’t believe you said that. It was all very well for you and Penny. You have incredible careers with clients all around America. Did you ever think that maybe your success was a little intimidating? That I needed to move to Los Angeles to give myself the best chance of becoming as successful as you are?”
“Don’t be silly. We’ve worked hard for what we have—”
“And you think I haven’t?” Katie’s voice cracked with emotion as every insecurity she’d buried came rushing to the surface. “I’ve had to work more hours than you do just to pay my rent. On a good day, I earn more in tips than I do in wages. Every single day is a struggle. When I write, I’m not earning any money, but I have to write if I want to publish more books.”
“If you stay in Sapphire Bay, you could live here, cook for our guests, and not worry about running out of money. You’d have a comfortable life that lets you focus on your writing career.”
Katie threw her hands in the air. “I don’t want to be comfortable. I want to have an exciting, action-packed life. I want to travel and meet different people, and write stories that make a difference in children’s lives.”
Barbara crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You’ll be thirty years old next year. It’s time you realized that life isn’t one big adventure, especially when your boyfriend is the chief executive of a company. He has responsibilities, people who depend on him.”
“What do you think is keeping me awake at night? I know he has responsibilities. He’s doing important work and changing people’s lives. And what am I doing? Cooking for our guests and writing children’s stories in my spare time. I’ll never be able to write full time.”
“Now you’ve reduced your life to a pity party.”
Katie took a deep breath. “Is this pick-on-Katie week? Penny told me I’m crazy to think about going back to Los Angeles. Now you’re telling me I’m crazy no matter what I do.”
Diana hurried into the office. “You might want to keep your voices down. Our guests have just come back from Wild Horse Island and they don’t need to hear your argument.”
“We aren’t arguing,” Barbara said in a hushed whisper. “I’m trying to make Katie see how short-sighted she’s being.”
“I’m not short-sighted,” Katie hissed. “I’m careful.”
Diana glared at both of them. “Well, whatever you are, have your discussion outside. Preferably on the far side of the lake and away from everyone else.”
Katie picked up the spreadsheet Barbara had given her. “We don’t need to go anywhere. Our discussion is over.”
Barbara sighed. “Not quite. I have some news about the inscription on Patrick’s headstone.”
Charlie wandered into the office and Diana patted his back. “Did you find something in our great-grandmother’s journals?”
Katie’s eyebrows rose. “You didn’t tell me you were looking through them. If I’d known, I could have helped.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. Theo’s doing research for another article, so I had some spare time. The reason I thought I recognized the words was because they’re in one of Maggie’s journals. I’ll show you.” Barbara opened a folder on her computer.
Katie looked at the screen. Chloe’s team at the Smithsonian had sent them paper and digital copies of their great-grandmother’s journals. That way, the originals would be safe with the museum, and Katie’s family could still read them.
Barbara scrolled through the earliest journal they’d found. “Here it is.” Pointing to the image, she read the words, “M’anam, mo shaol. My soul, my life. They were part of Maggie and Patrick’s wedding vows. The man buried in the cemetery at Whitefish must be our great-grandfather.”
Diana leaned against the doorframe. “That’s romantic and sad at the same time. Imagine loving someone so much and only being able to see them every now and then. It would have been heartbreaking.”
“I wonder why Maggie didn’t move to Whitefish to live with her husband?” Katie asked.
“She must have been worried someone would find them.”
“Don’t forget that she was running a successful sewing business in Polson,” Barbara added. “If she’d moved, she wouldn’t have had that income.”
