Olive had become fascinated with fairies since they arrived in Oregon, in no small part thanks to Sylvia. Emma’s grandmother had created a spot near her cottage that she called her fairy garden, filled with tiny structures and whimsical buildings. Her grandmother had even attached a small door to a tree growing near her place, claiming that was the fairies’ house.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised. It looks exactly like the place a family of fairies would live, doesn’t it?”
“Do you think there will be mermaids, too, when we get to the beach?”
“We’ll have to watch for them,” Emma answered.
Was it wrong of her to encourage her child’s vivid imagination and fantasy life? She couldn’t think why it would be. There would be plenty of time for Olive to come to the sad realization that the world could be a hard, unrelenting andunforgiving place. For now, let her have her flights of whimsy and joy where she could find them.
This had been exactly what Emma needed.
As they continued the short walk toward the beach, accessible only by this trail, Emma felt weeks of stress slide off her shoulders. It was hard for her to think that perhaps she’d made a mistake coming back to town when this morning seemed so pure and lovely.
They continued along the path, Olive’s excitable chatter punctuated by the distant cry of seagulls. Towering firs and hemlocks stretched skyward, their branches creating a verdant canopy that dappled the forest floor with shifting patterns of sunlight and shadow.
The path narrowed, winding between moss-covered rocks and gnarled tree roots. Emma lifted Olive over a particularly tricky section, her daughter giggling as she was momentarily airborne.
They were not the only ones on the trail. This was a fairly popular hike. She nodded in passing to another couple she vaguely remembered from her time living in town. If she wasn’t mistaken, the man was a teacher at the community college up in Coos Bay. Or he had been a decade ago, anyway.
“Nice day, isn’t it?”
“It’s great to have sunshine after so many weeks of rain. I forgot how much it rained in Oregon.”
“Enjoy your morning,” the woman said.
Olive wanted to look at every plant and tree and flower they passed. Those she didn’t want to examine, Dottie did. After several more steps, the terrain began to change from forest to sand dune.
They walked through a small grove of trees, and finally, the ocean spread out below them.
“We’re here! We made it!”
Olive looked delighted, almost as if she hadn’t really believed Emma when she said they would be going to the ocean. There were a few other people there on a beautiful summer morning. She would have been surprised had they been the only ones who decided this was the perfect day to enjoy this magical spot.
She saw a young family playing in the sand, a couple around her age who were taking photographs and videos of each other, and two sets of older couples who appeared to be tourists.
“Hey!” Olive exclaimed. “That’s my friend Bryce.”
Emma jerked her gaze in the direction Olive pointed and felt her heart give a silly little lurch. On the far side of the beach, she also saw a man throwing a ball to a silver dog.
In an instant, she was back in her bookstore the evening he had shocked her with that kiss. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.
What were the odds that she and Olive would hike to the very same beach as Bryce and Pearl, simply by chance?
She was tempted to grab her daughter and hurry back up the trail but it was too late now, especially after Olive waved vigorously and raced toward him.
“Hi, Bryce!” her daughter exclaimed.
He looked up at his name and Emma saw a mix of emotions cross his gorgeous features. First delight, followed quickly by wariness.
“Look who’s here! Two of my favorite people,” he said as they reached him.
“And Dottie,” Olive reminded him.
“And one of my favorite dogs. What are you guys up to?”
“We came for a hike. Grandma said we should come here.”
Bryce raised an eyebrow. “That’s funny. She suggested the same thing to me, too.”
