“It’s been twenty years, Nora. You’re both happily married now. Don’t you think it’s time we put this behind us once and for all? Tried to put our family back together again?”
The hum of an approaching engine halted the conversation. Headlights swept across the living room walls.
Nora crossed her slender arms. “Wonderful. Just wonderful.”
A new tension had filled the space between them, as if some great force had sucked the oxygen from the room. The clock ticked, and the muted sound of the waves crashing the shoreline carried through the walls.
Nora turned to face the fireplace, her posture rigid, her arms crossed.
The doorknob twisted with a squeak, and the door swung open. “Maddy?”
Emma’s eyes lighted on Maddy, a somber smile breaking out. But before it fully emerged she caught sight of Nora. The corners of Emma’s brown eyes tightened, and her rosy lips pressed into a hard line.
She raked Nora over from head to toe. “What are you doing here?”
Nora turned, her chin lifting a notch. “Hello to you too.”
A small white curly-haired dog squirmed in Emma’s arms. She let the dog down, dropped her bag, and approached Maddy, drawing her into a hug.
Maddy had to stoop a bit to account for Emma’s shorter stature, but her embrace was warm and soft. She hadn’t changed much in the months since Maddy had seen her. Her dark-blond hair was in a low messy bun, and she wore little makeup on her pretty features. She had the curvy figure you might expect from a woman who managed a bakery.
“What’s going on?” Emma asked as she pulled away. “Has Gram turned up yet?”
“I’m afraid not,” Maddy said. “We just filed a missing persons report with the sheriff.”
Emma’s face fell. “That sounds dire.”
“He was hopeful she’d turn up.” Maddy tugged her sister down on the sofa and filled in all the details while Nora stood in the corner as still and silent as a potted plant.
Emma lifted the dog onto her lap, calming both herself and the animal with distracted strokes.
“This must be Pippy.” Maddy reached out, letting the trembling dog sniff her hand. Emma had often mentioned the poodle mix she’d rescued from a shelter a few years ago.
“She’s a little traumatized from the flight, aren’t you, girl?” Emma smoothed Pippy’s fur back from her face. The dog looked up at her with adoring eyes. “So,” she continued. “What’s next? What can we do? Should we start looking for her?”
“There’s not much we can do until morning. Everything around here is closed. Connor, the next-door neighbor who contacted all of us, has already called some of her friends, but we can go through her directory ourselves. Someone has to know something.”
Emma’s brown eyes teared up. “I just talked to her a couple of weeks ago. She didn’t say anything about an upcoming trip.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Maddy said. “I’m sure she’s fine. Gram can be a little eccentric sometimes, but she’s savvy and strong. There has to be a logical explanation.”
Emma shook her head. “I just can’t imagine her disappearing like this, without a word.”
“Like grandmother, like granddaughter.” Nora finally spoke up.
Emma’s spine stiffened, and her eyes snapped with fire. “At least I don’t take what’s not mine. You have some nerve showing up here, Nora.”
“If I’d known you were coming I wouldn’t have.”
“And neither would I.”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” Maddy stood to her feet. “It’s been a long day for all of us. Why don’t we just head upstairs, get settled, and get a fresh start in the morning.”
A fresh start, she thought as her two sisters reluctantly complied. That was asking for the impossible.
Chapter 4
The sun was almost overhead by the time Connor had a moment to breathe. He drew in a lungful of salt-laden air—never grew old—and straightened from tying the boat off to a cleat. He tried not to take his work for granted. He was blessed to do something he loved. Owning a marina allowed him to be outdoors, work with boats, and be surrounded by beauty, day in and day out. What could be better?
