“I’m fine,” June insisted, though she leaned into her daughter’s embrace longer than usual. “Just happy to be here with all of you.”
“I was just offering to make tea,” Grace said as Carmen entered the room and greeted Willa with her own warm hug.
“Actually,” Willa said, stepping back to study June’s face, “if you’re feeling up to it, I thought we might go to Teacups for a late lunch. Margo’s been asking about you since she heard you were coming to stay, and I know she’d love to see you again.”
June’s first instinct was to decline, to ask for her bed and several hours of sleep to recover from the journey. But looking around at her family’s expectant faces, she realized how much she’d missed being part of their daily life instead of just visiting for holidays and special occasions.
“That sounds lovely,” she said, mustering a smile. “Just let me freshen up first.”
Twenty minutes later, they walked the six blocks to downtown Sandpiper Shores. Grace and Becky decided to stay home, but Andy came with them. The walk was actually lovely. June found it was just what she needed after being trapped in a car for hours. The town was charming without being precious, busy with summer tourists but not overwhelmed by them.
Teacups Coffee Shop and Bakery occupied its familiar corner location, the cheerful yellow building with hand-painted signs that made it look like something from a storybook. The wraparound porch was crowded with locals and visitors enjoying the afternoon sunshine, and June could see why Willa loved this place so much.
“June!” called out Mrs. Patterson from her corner table, her ancient poodle napping at her feet. “How wonderful to see you again, dear. How are you feeling after that terrible accident?”
“Much better, thank you,” June replied, touched by the elderly woman’s concern. This was what she loved about Sandpiper Shores. The sense of community that wrapped around you like a warm blanket.
Similar greetings came from other familiar faces as they made their way to a large table near the windows. Dr. Lucy Tanner waved from the counter where she was picking up coffee before her afternoon rounds. Small towns had their advantages and made you feel noticed. Not like living in Miami, where only a few people knew you, and they were scattered across the city.
“Let’s get that table,” Willa said, steering them toward a spot with a view of both the harbor and the town square.
June, Willa, Andy, and Carmen had barely settled into their chairs when a young woman in an EMT uniform approachedtheir table. “Captain Grant? It’s so good to see you again. I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I was just about to text you for advice on some protocol changes we’re considering. If you have a minute?”
“Of course, Lieutenant Hadley,” Carmen said, standing immediately. The professional mask slipped over her face, the same expression June had seen countless times when Carmen’s expertise was needed. “I’d be happy to help.”
Carmen looked apologetically at June. “Would you mind ordering me one of Margo’s delicious croissants? I’ll just be a few minutes.”
“Of course,” June said, waving her away. “Take your time.”
As Carmen walked off with the younger EMT, June shook her head in amusement. “And she lectures me about never turning off work,” she muttered.
Willa laughed, settling into her chair with a cup of coffee that Margo had somehow produced without being asked. “I think both of you need to learn how to actually take a proper vacation. When was the last time either of you went somewhere without bringing work along?”
“That’s what this is supposed to be,” June pointed out. “Though I have a feeling your aunt will find ways to consult on EMS protocols even from here.”
They were enjoying their sandwiches and catching up on local news when the coffee shop door opened to admit a tall, elegant woman with silver hair and a young boy who looked to be about Andy’s age. June’s attention was caught first by the woman’s bearing. The kind of natural grace that came from good breeding and confidence rather than effort.
Then the woman’s eyes found June across the crowded café, and they lit up with recognition and genuine pleasure.
“June!” the woman called out, her voice carrying easily over the conversation around them.
June felt her stomach drop to her feet. Of all the people to run into on her first day in town, it had to be Mina.Of course it did. She was part of the Strand family, one of Sandpiper Shores’ founding families, and Mina’s brother Abe had been the longtime mayor before his death last year. June had known she might eventually encounter Mina, because Sandpiper Shores wasn’t that big a town, but in the past twelve years, June had managed to avoid seeing her during her visits to Willa. While she’d always held her breath and thought she was mentally prepared for the encounter, being weakened from a head wound and a recent accident seemed to shred all June’s resolve.
June had never wished so hard for a mini sinkhole to open up beneath her chair and pull her into its depths before. She even childishly thought about ducking beneath the table in a pretense to drop her teaspoon and make as if she didn’t see or hear the woman. But it was too late. Mina’s eyes were focused on their table, and then June’s daughter’s head shot around toward her.
“Mom, I didn’t know you knew Mina,” Willa whispered, looking between June and the approaching woman with curiosity.
“Yes, well, I know her from Miami many years ago, before you were born,” June said carefully. It wasn’t a lie, exactly, just an incomplete truth. “She and her family used to live there.”
Willa nodded and turned to wave politely at Mina, unaware of the way June’s hands had begun to tremble slightly in her lap.Then, to June’s mounting horror, the teenage boy with Mina spotted Andy at their table.
“Hey, Andy,” the boy called out with a friendly wave and a smile that made June’s breath catch in her throat.
“Tyler!” Andy grinned back, waving. “Come meet my Grams! She’s here for the whole summer.”
Tyler.June’s vision narrowed as she looked at the boy more closely. The dark hair, the blue eyes, the strong jaw, he was already a very handsome young man. She sucked in her breath when the young man’s smile looked so achingly familiar that her heart gave a double thud. June had a sinking suspicion she knew exactly who that teenage boy was related to. Before she could fully process what was going on, Mina approached their table with the smooth confidence June remembered from her younger years.
“Hello, again, Willa,” Mina said warmly, offering June’s daughter a genuine smile.
