I’d known her as a little girl, skipping through the field on the other end of this trail, and for one memorable summer when we were sixteen, she’d been more than my best friend. She’d been my first love, the girl whose kiss made me realize I didn’t like boys.
I swallowed roughly, my throat gone dry. “Taylor?”
2
Taylor
I paused with one hand holding Blue’s leash, raising the other to shield my eyes as I stared at the woman standing behind Margery Shaw’s house. I’d been waiting for months to run into someone from the Shaw family, hoping to see a For Sale sign in the yard so I would finally get the chance to buy this house. But out of all the scenarios I’d envisioned, I had never expected to see this particular person.
I lifted my chin. “Phoebe?”
Phoebe nodded, reaching up to tuck a brown curl behind her ear. My chest tightened, memories and emotions rising inside me, because she looked so much the same. She was older now, of course. We both were. But in her blue cotton dress, hair piled in a messy ponytail on her head, she looked so much like the Phoebe who’d been my best friend, the Phoebe I’d fallen in love with, the Phoebe who’d broken my heart.
Minnie ran toward her, thrilled to have found a new friend here on Margery’s property. The Lab mix was hopelessly enthusiastic. So was I, for that matter. We were a perfect match. Phoebe and me, on the other hand? Not so much.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” I said, relieved that my voice sounded calm and steady.
“I could say the same thing.” Phoebe crossed her arms over her chest. “This is private property, you know?”
Seriously, this was the way she wanted to play it? After all these years, she was going to treat me like an intruder on her grandmother’s property?
“You know perfectly well that I know whose land this is,” I told her. “I’ve probably spent more time here than you have. I trimmed Margery’s rosebushes when her arthritis acted up. I walked her dog and sat with her in the evenings to drink tea and talk about life. She welcomed me to walk my dogs here any time I wanted, and I didn’t think that offer had been rescinded, especially since I’ve been keeping the place up while I waited for your family to list it for sale.”
Phoebe glanced at the meticulously trimmed rosebushes, having the good grace to look sheepish. “I didn’t know that was you.”
“It’s me,” I confirmed. “I couldn’t bear to see her rosebushes die off. You know how important they were to her. It seemed the least I could do after everything she did for me.”
“I’m sorry.” Phoebe looked up and met my gaze, maybe for the first time since the summer we were sixteen. “I wasn’t expecting to see anyone hiking on my grandmother’s property, and especially not you.”
“You’re the last person I expected to see today too,” I said, forcing myself not to look away beneath her intense gaze. She’d always done that, ever since we were little. I’d felt like she was staring straight into my soul, and for a long time, I’d thought she belonged there. Soulmates. As it turned out, I’d been wrong.
“I just got here,” Phoebe said. She looked tired, now that I was paying attention. Maybe even sad. Why was she here, after all these years?
“Come to clear the place out?” I asked. It had been six months since Margery passed away, so it was certainly time.
“Something like that,” she said, looking down as Minnie bounded up to her with a stick in her mouth, dropping it at Phoebe’s feet.
“Word of caution. If you throw it once, you’ll have to throw it a hundred times,” I told her, forcing a polite smile onto my face, because if I was going to successfully lobby to buy this place, I needed to make nice with the current owner. Our personal history was irrelevant.
Phoebe bent and chucked the stick across the yard, earning her Minnie’s undying devotion. “This dog is really named Minnie?”
“Ironic, right?” I said. “She was the runt of her litter, believe it or not. Their foster mom gave them all Disney-themed names.”
“Not surprised you adopted her. You were always trying to take in strays when we were growing up.” She gave me a hesitant smile as Minnie dropped the stick at her feet again, tail wagging enthusiastically.
“I actually work at the shelter now.”
“Really?” Phoebe’s smile looked more genuine now. “That sounds like your dream job. Good for you.”
“It is, and thanks.”
Blue whined, and I looked down at him. The beagle mix watched me with questioning eyes. I couldn’t believe I was standing here talking to Phoebe Shaw either. I steeled myself as I looked back up. I wasn’t interested in polite chitchat with this woman, but there was one thing she could do for me.
“Are you here to put the cabin up for sale?” I asked.
“No.”
Ugh. That was disappointing, but I still couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. “Well, when the time comes, will you please keep me in mind? I was close with Margery, and I love this property. I’d love to buy it, and I’m willing to pay a fair market price. I could save your family the hassle of having to hire a Realtor and fix it up. I love it just the way it is.”
