PROLOGUE
LATE AUGUST, TWENTY YEARS EARLIER
The teenager’s bare feet skimmed the damp, velvety sand as she strode along the tidal flats, the sun warm on her face, the breeze lifting her hair from her shoulders.
This is my favorite place in the whole world, she thought, surveying the meandering network of rivulets and shallow pools, and the vast blue bay rippling gently in the distance to her right.
On her left, the golden dunes were crowned with aromatic wild roses. And up ahead, five or six spindle-legged little birds scuttled along the edge of the tidal river, which bisected the beach as it lazily wound its way inland.
Not only was the scenery magnificent, but the girl never felt as strong and special and carefree as when she was summering at the cottage with her aunt and uncle.
I wish August wasn’t almost over already.The end of the season always seemed to come too fast, and this year leaving Dune Island until the following June felt unbearable.
I can’t wait until Aunt Lydia and Uncle Albert retire and move here permanently.Then I’ll be able to visit them at Thanksgiving. I can still go beachcombing in the chilly weather, but afterward, instead of drinking lemonade on the porch with Aunt Lydia, we’ll have hot chocolate in the windmillloft…she daydreamed wistfully, completely unaware that before the week ended, her life would change forever.
ONE
Caitlin Hines set her suitcase down on the tiled foyer floor and pulled the door shut behind her.
“Hello?” Melanie called, a note of alarm in her voice before she poked her head into the living room. “Caitlin! What are you doing back from the east coast already?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” She shrugged off her jacket. The autumn weather was much warmer here in Santa Fe than it had been in the mountains of New Hampshire. “I decided to catch a flight today instead of waiting till tomorrow morning.”
“You should’ve let me know you changed your plans,” Melanie scolded. “I would’ve picked you up.”
Caitlin, who prided herself on being self-reliant, replied, “Thanks, but I’d never expect you to drive to the airport during rush hour. You’re already doing me a big enough favor by letting me stay here.”
Three weeks ago, a malfunctioning dishwasher in the apartment above Caitlin’s had flooded her apartment and rendered it unlivable. Technically, Caitlin’s landlord was responsible for providing alternative living arrangements. But since her landlord happened to be a friend of a friend, she didn’t feel comfortable pushing the issue legally. The “alternative livingarrangement” he suggested was that Caitlin stay with a family member until mid or late December, which was how long he estimated it would be before he could afford to hire a contractor to make repairs.
The landlord didn’t know that moving in with her family wasn’t practical. Her mom had died when Caitlin was six, and her father and stepmother lived in Florida, so Caitlin’s stepbrother, Charlie, was the only family member living locally. She couldn’t imagine staying with him, his wife, their three young children, two large dogs, and an untold number of bunny rabbits overnight, much less for two or three months. And as a nonprofit fundraising consultant, Caitlin didn’t have any wiggle room in her budget to pay for temporary housing. So, when Melanie, whom Caitlin had once mentored at work, offered to let her stay in her two-bedroom apartment for a nominal fee, she’d gratefully but hesitantly accepted.
She appreciated Melanie’s hospitality, but Caitlin hadn’t lived with a roommate since college, and she considered herself to be a very private, independent person. Melanie, on the other hand, was an over-sharer. Which really wouldn’t have bothered Caitlin that much, if only Melanie hadn’t expected Caitlin to disclose almost every detail ofherprivate life, too.
Caitlin tried to strike a healthy balance between maintaining her own personal boundaries and not offending her host by cutting their conversations short, but it wasn’t always easy. Especially because she truly felt for Melanie, sensing that her constant chatter and nosy questions were actually the result of loneliness; her boyfriend had recently broken up with her, and Caitlin sometimes heard her sobbing in her bedroom after midnight.
Although Caitlin had gone through her own share of breakups over the years, she’d never been even a fraction as despondent as Melanie seemed to be. Maybe that was becauseCaitlin tried never to let down her guard. Or because she was usually the one who did the breaking up, instead of the guy ending it with her. It also might have been that her romantic relationships typically hadn’t run long or deep enough to fragment her heart when they ended. But most likely, Caitlin had never been devastated by a breakup because she didn’t really expect to find true love in the first place, so she wasn’t crushed when it didn’t happen.
Yet regardless of her personal experience, Caitlin still felt sorry for Melanie, and did her best to lend her a sympathetic ear. She also tried to provide a distraction by cooking with her after work or hanging out and watching movies, figuring that the food bank where she usually volunteered would manage for a few weeks, and that she could always catch up later on her pleasure reading. On the weekends, she even invited Melanie to join her and her boyfriend, Jonathan, when they went hiking, to art galleries, or out for dinner.
But after her long, three-stop cross-country flight, Caitlin was drained, and she hoped to take a shower and unwind alone in her room for the evening without engaging in a long conversation first.
“So, tell me all about it. How was your aunt’s funeral?” Melanie’s voice was unusually loud and animated, and when Caitlin turned from hanging her jacket in the closet, she noticed Melanie’s cheeks were flushed. “I mean, I’m sure it was sad and everything, but was there a good turnout?”
A good turnout? It almost sounded as if she was asking about one of the fundraising presentations they helped their clients host, but Caitlin recognized the question was well-intentioned.
“Yes, it was sad, but Aunt Lydia had strong faith that she was going to a far better place, and I think she was ready, so the service was also very beautiful and hopeful. My aunt was almost eighty, and most of her friends and family members her age havealready passed on, or they aren’t in good health and couldn’t attend, so it was a small group of us. But one of her nursing assistants came and she shared a few anecdotes about her, which was very touching. Her two nephews from her side of the family were there, too.”
Caitlin thanked Melanie for asking about the funeral and then changed the subject. “There was so much turbulence on the way back that the flight attendants only came around with the beverage cart once. I’m dying for a glass of water.”
She started toward the kitchen, but Melanie stepped in front of her. “I’ll bring you one.”
“That’s okay, I can get it—you don’t have to treat me like I’m a guest,” Caitlin said with a chuckle.
Glancing anxiously over her shoulder toward the kitchen, Melanie insisted, “Trust me, you don’t want to go in there. I’ve been cooking. It’s a disaster zone.” She practically pushed Caitlin to the sofa. “Have a seat.”
I’ve been sitting all the way across the country, thought Caitlin, settling onto a cushion as Melanie disappeared into the kitchen.But I suppose I can spend a few minutes catching up with her before I crash for the night.
She pulled her phone from her purse and glanced at the time: 7:26.I wonder why Jonathan hasn’t checked in with me yet?Usually, he called her at 6:00, during his evening commute, to chat or to invite her to dinner. At first, this habit had felt stifling to Caitlin, who’d thought he was coming on too strong for someone she’d only been casually dating, but lately, his persistence and reliability had begun to grow on her.
