In my room, I pulled out my laptop, catching up on Eddie’s emails and texts. Nothing urgent: it was just a slow sports month and Eddie wanted my thoughts on a general interest piece he’d put together. I quickly sent off an email, smiling at his prompt response, which informed me I’d make a great editor one day.
We’d see. The thing about being an editor was that it involved so much decision-making.
As I shut my laptop, the ring I’d found on the beach glimmered prettily. I flopped down on the bed, holding my hand up to the sunlight that streamed in through the stained-glass window.
The ring was luminous, somehow catching every ray of light. It shimmered delicately, the warmth of it seeping into my skin, up my hand …
The moonstones twinkled, seeming to sift through colours. Various blues, a hint of yellow, milky whites, eerie translucence. It was hypnotic, and it took everything I had to wrench my gaze away.
Then I noticed the ring had an inscription on the underside.
Know your heart.
Wasn’t that an odd thing to etch on a ring like this – one that seemed a bit like an engagement ring, or perhaps a promise ring? Wouldn’t someone with a ring like this already know what their heart was all about?
Assuming they’d accepted the ring, that is. Ihaddug it upfrom the sand around the Heart Tree. Perhaps it had been thrown there after a disastrous proposal or an awful breakup. Or maybe it was a beloved heirloom that had been lost. I wondered how long it had been sitting there. Days? Years? Decades?
I supposed I should hand it in to the lost and found box at the town hall, just in case someone came looking for it. But … it wouldn’t hurt to keep it, just for a little bit, would it?
‘My precious,’ I whispered to myself with a grin.
The ring sparkled with energy. For some reason, the inscription came racing back to me:Know your heart.
And I couldn’t help but think:Or what?
Chapter 9
FEEL THE MAGIC
The next day was spent mostly on preparations for our annual beach bonfire. Well, and eating pastries of course, because that was largely how I whiled away the time at the Pink House. Having put away approximately my body weight in truffles and mini muffins, I committed to taking myself on a stroll along the beach. I’d asked Tiff to join me, but she was about an hour into a Zoom presentation that was showing absolutely no signs of letting up. Rosie had been occupied with the KitchenAid, and the boys were busy – Finn in the music room and Noah in his studio.
‘I’ll join you,’ Mom had said, setting down her phone.
This was more surprising than the ending ofThe Sixth Sense.
‘Wait, really?’
‘Sure. Your dad assures me that everything is under control at work, and Rosie won’t let me near her baking. Which is rude. I make a mean packet-mix cake.’
I chuckled. ‘Mean is right. But sure.’
We picked our way down the garden path, kicking off our flip-flops as we reached the soft sand of the beach. The ocean glimmered under the sun, and a gentle breeze wrapped us like a scarf.
‘It’s beautiful out,’ said Mom, holding out her arms for the sun to kiss. ‘Somehow I always manage to forget how gorgeous it is here.’
‘The hypnotic glow of the phone screen will do that,’ I said, scuffing my toes through the bright sand. Tiny shells and bits of polished sea glass caught the sun, twinkling with every step I took.
Mom sighed. ‘I know. It’s hard to get away sometimes. Summers used to be easier, but now it feels like there’s no slow time of year.’
She shielded her eyes with a hand as she watched a gull wheeling overhead.
‘I’m worried about Rosie,’ she said quietly. ‘She’s barely stopped moving since we got here.’
‘I know. But I think her house projects are keeping her busy. Maybe they’re her way of grieving.’
Mom nodded, frowning as her phone dinged in her pocket. She switched it to silent. ‘I just worry that it’s all keeping herfromgrieving. That she’ll stop and the reality of it all will be right there in front of her.’
She paused, taking a breath that followed the in-and-out of a wave. ‘I’m worried that by the time that happens, we’ll have gone back to the city, and it’ll be just her.’
