With blue chairs and a wide front porch, the front of the house was the perfect location for long conversations and sunset watching. Three women stood on the steps, and the years since Isabel had last seen all her best friends together disappeared. Suddenly, she was fifteen again, eager to explore Sapphire Bay and do all the activities at the summer camp.
She barely had the car in park before her friends descended.
“Isabel!” Lynda reached her first, her silver hair caught in its familiar messy bun, eyes bright behind blue-framed glasses. She wrapped Isabel in a hug that smelled of lavender and made her feel loved.
Then Susan was there, shorter than the rest of them but somehow always the strongest. Her arms squeezed Isabel tight. “We’ve been watching for you since lunch,” she said in a voice thick with emotion.
“Let her breathe, you two.” Kathleen waited until the others stepped back, then pulled Isabel close. “Welcome to paradise.”
Lynda took Isabel’s bags off the back seat. “I can’t believe we haven’t done this sooner. It’s so good to see everyone and escape Denver’s summer heat.”
“I’m glad we could get together, too,” Kathleen said. “Now, come on in. I’ve got wine chilling, and Susan brought one of her famous chocolate cakes.”
Susan grinned. “It’s a perk of owning a catering company. I never show up empty-handed.”
The inside of Kathleen’s house had comfortable furniture meant for sinking into. Kathleen's daughter's paintings filled the walls, and the windows framed the view. They settled inthe living room, where cushioned wicker chairs faced the trees surrounding the lake.
Susan cut everyone a generous slice of cake. “Tell us everything, Izzy. How was the flight? How are you really doing? Are you dating yet?”
“Susan!” Lynda swatted her arm. “Let Isabel get through the door before you start matchmaking.”
“I’m just saying James would want?—”
“It’s okay,” Isabel interrupted, accepting a glass of wine from Kathleen. “Really. And no, I’m not dating. I’m still...” She gestured vaguely, not sure how to explain.
“Finding your feet,” Kathleen supplied gently. “We understand.”
Lynda reached over to squeeze Isabel’s hand. “Take one day at a time. That’s what I tell my clients when they’re grieving for their pets. Though I suppose that sounds silly compared to?—”
“It doesn’t,” Isabel assured her. “Loss is loss.”
“Speaking of the past,” Kathleen said, disappearing into another room, “look what I found.” She showed them a weathered Mason jar. “Remember this? We buried it beside the old oak tree in front of The Connect Church. I dug it up before it could be damaged.”
“Our time capsule!” Susan straightened. “I can’t believe you saved it.”
Isabel’s throat tightened as Kathleen pulled out four faded papers. She recognized her careful teenage handwriting immediately.
I want to write stories that matter. Maybe own a bookstore filled with comfortable chairs and people who love books as much as I do.
An easy silence filled the room as they read their teenage hopes and dreams for the future.
“It’s funny how life turns out,” Lynda mused. “I never wanted to be a vet like my dad, but look at me. Two weeks from now, I’ll be back treating anxious pets, Susan will be baking delicious food for someone’s wedding?—”
“And I’ll be right here watching the sunset and working in my café,” Kathleen finished. “But what about you, Izzy? Any plans beyond this vacation?”
Isabel thought about her quiet house, the empty hours since she’d retired. “I’m... open to possibilities.”
“Well, speaking of possibilities,” Susan’s eyes twinkled, “I saw a handsome man in the general store when I stopped in town. He could be exactly what you need.”
Lynda’s eyes widened. “Susan!”
Their laughter wrapped around Isabel like a familiar blanket, and she found herself laughing too. Looking at these women—Lynda with her successful vet practice, Susan with her thriving catering business, and Kathleen with a café in Sapphire Bay—she felt something shift inside her.
They’d all found their paths, even if they weren’t the ones they’d planned at fifteen. Maybe it was time for her to find hers, too.
CHAPTER 4
Frank added more ice to the containers of fresh fish on their stall at the farmers’ market. Tommy was chatting with Mabel Terry as he wrapped a fish she’d bought. The early morning sun sparkled off the lake behind them, promising another beautiful day in Sapphire Bay.
