Just a few days after Wren’s diagnosis, Wren was allowed to come back to Bluebell Cove.Color was already returning to her cheeks, and it looked as though she’d gained a pound or two.Her face was fuller.Her eyes were smaller and lighter, and she laughed often, both with Celia and Ivy and with Sophie and Lily and Tyler.That first night, Celia barbecued on the back porch of the inn, using an eco-friendly grill that they’d purchased for the upcoming opening party.They made locally sourced tuna steaks, mushrooms, mashed potatoes, and green beans, and sat in lawn chairs, watching as the blue-purple haze of twilight faded to darkness.Now that August was waning, Sophie had already gotten her plane ticket back to East Oregon for her junior year of school, and the thought of her leaving felt like a wedge in Celia’s heart.Why did she have to live so far away?She raised a glass of wine to her sisters, daughter, niece, and nephew and said, “This has been one of the best summers of my entire life.I want to thank each and every one of you for making it so beautiful.”
Wren raised her glass of water in return, her hand trembling only slightly.“It’s been unforgettable,” she agreed.“But we’re still missing someone.We need her back.”
She was, of course, talking about Juliet.And it was true that nothing would feel complete until their fourth sister returned to them.They couldn’t fully heal.
Late that night, Celia returned to her rental home with Sophie, where she made them both cups of tea and turned on the television.Sophie looked tired but happy, her cheeks tanned from hours at the beach and her arms muscular from the hard labor she’d done at the inn.Sometimes when Sophie turned her face just so, Celia caught her own father’s features.She caught memories of James Harper, some of which, she was surprised to learn, weren’t entirely dark.Sometimes if she remembered correctly, he’d laughed with his daughters.Sometimes he’d cracked jokes.Sometimes he’d really tried to love them the way they deserved.He was so imperfect.But so was she.
When their film came to an end that night, Sophie kissed her mother on the forehead and went to bed, leaving Celia alone with the moon hanging over the ocean outside.Feeling soft and expectant, she took her phone with her and left the rental house, padding out to the little trail that led through the forest to the cove below.For some reason, she ached to feel the water on her feet, raise her eyes to the stars above, and feel the immensity of the universe.There was so much to consider.
But when she reached the beach, she soon realized she wasn’t alone.A man leaned heavily on one of the rocks she and Landon normally sat on, his hair whipping in the breeze, his expensive-looking polo flapping by his chin.For a moment, Celia watched him, feeling like a deer in the center of the road, hoping she hadn’t been spotted.But then, the man turned, the whites of his eyes flashing beneath the moon.
She knew in an instant that it was Hanson Smith.
Celia’s breath caught in her throat.Never could she have imagined that she’d find him down here.With his tremendous wealth and with the Smith Company scandal at his neck, she’d thought he would forever be in his ivory tower, watching the lesser Bluebell Cove residents live out their lives without him.But here he was, at the cove, where they’d shared what felt like a hundred high school kisses.She didn’t know what to say to him.She had no urge to apologize.She had no desire to fall through waves of nostalgia with him.
But he said it first, breaking the silence.“Hi, Celia Harper.”
Celia smiled, despite herself.“Hi, Hanson.”
Hanson cut her a handsome smile and came over to her.Celia felt a light fluttering in her chest.She crossed her arms and told herself to be brave.
Hanson stopped short about five feet away from her.He looked older, but so did she.Here, standing before his wealthy clothes and his styled hair and his cologne, she found it ridiculous that she’d ever wanted to date him, let alone marry him.It had been a fantasy, one that never would have fit her personality or her dreams.But teenagers were allowed to have fantasies.
Now, she realized, her fantasy was to remain in Bluebell Cove.It was to date, fall deeply in love with, and perhaps even marry Landon Brooks.
How had that happened?She smiled, feeling foolish.I’m in love with Landon, she thought.It thrilled her, especially because her brewing love stood in direct contrast to Hanson Smith before her.Still, she felt no urge to run away from him.He didn’t frighten her.
“It’s funny to see you down here,” Hanson said.“You know, I didn’t even know you’d come back.Last I heard, you were making waves in DC.You were causing a ruckus for a few friends of the family down there.Friends who didn’t exactly have our planet in mind.I admired you from afar.I thought, I used to know that girl.”He sniffed into soft laughter.“I never imagined you’d come back to Bluebell and blow up my life all over again.”
Celia felt a blast of wind off the ocean.Within it, she could smell autumn, coming in fast.She didn’t know what to say to Hanson.She wasn’t keen on apologizing.
Celia wondered if Hanson had ever found out that her mother and his father had had an affair.She questioned if he knew that the affair had shattered her mother’s already delicate heart.But she wasn’t sure he deserved to know anything about her mother.She didn’t want to air her mother’s heart-wrenching secrets, not here.
“I didn’t know everything,” Hanson said.“Maybe you don’t believe that, but it’s true.The Smith Company has been so deep in illegal dealings for so long that it was impossible for me to see the full picture.Your article was illuminating, to say the least.My father and I aren’t speaking.And the hotel on the cliff?That’s dead.”He clicked his tongue.
“Good.”Celia nodded.
Hanson laughed again and dug his heel into the sand.“My daughter gave me an earful about all of it,” he said.“You should have heard how she dug into me.She called me all kinds of names.She’s an idealist, like you were.And you know who she dates?Your friend’s son.Isaac Brooks.Funny, right?I think they’re really in love.”
Celia thought of Sophie, about how wonderful it was that adults could learn from their children.But she had no interest in telling Hanson about her daughter.
“Sometimes I think our whole thing,” Hanson said, his voice almost too quiet to hear over the waves, “was really real.I mean, I really liked you, Celia.”He let his eyes drift back over to hers.Celia felt frozen in place.“I don’t know what went wrong with us.I can’t remember.”
It didn’t surprise Celia that Hanson couldn’t remember that horrendous night at his parents’ place, when his mother had demanded she leave their Christmas dinner and Hanson hadn’t bothered ever to speak to her again.Hanson was knee-deep in a family scandal.He’d married and had a life.Maybe he’d be at the helm to watch his family’s long-standing company fall apart.Perhaps it was sweet that he thought back on Celia fondly, but Celia wasn’t sure she cared.
Celia was quiet for a moment, contemplative.She dragged her toe across the sand.“Will you do me a favor, Hanson?”she asked.“Will you be careful with our earth?You’re a man of incredible power and money, and you’ll come back from this scandal and then some.But will you think of what we’re leaving behind here in Bluebell Cove?Will you think of the water, of the forest, of the animals, of how temporary our time on this planet is?Will you?”
Hanson bowed his head.The moon glowed over his perfect head.He whispered, “I probably owe you that.”
Celia thanked him, turned on her heel, and left him behind.
ChapterTwenty
The grand opening of the Bluebell Cove Inn’s “eco-friendly” iteration was a few days away.Sophie was still in Bluebell, but she was doing the last of her laundry and saying her final goodbyes to the water, to the cliffs, and to the forest, her eyes wide with nostalgia.Celia hugged her daughter often and bit her tongue to keep from telling her, over and over, how proud she was of her.The truth was that she wanted Sophie to transfer to a university closer to home.She didn’t dare ask if Sophie would consider moving to Bluebell Cove after graduation.She knew that twentysomethings couldn’t make promises, not ever.There was still so much about their lives they didn’t know.
Miraculously, Wren’s treatments were bringing light and beauty to their days.Wren was often out of bed and doing what she could at the inn: perfecting the rooms, setting up computer systems, and helping to hire new staff members.When she needed to rest, she knew to take herself upstairs to the room that had become hers at Ivy’s.Both Ivy and Celia chipped in to make sure she was safe and comfortable.Once, Celia said to Ivy, “This is how we should have done it as teenagers.We should have communicated.We should have helped each other.”She swallowed.“I shouldn’t have abandoned you with all that work.”
Again, she apologized.But Ivy hugged Celia and squeezed her eyes shut.“I’ve been so lonely over the years,” she said.“Having you and Wren and Sophie in my life has been a godsend.I don’t want to dwell on the past.”
