Everything was changing in Shell Cove. Even working with Gina to improve the motel rooms hadn’t been as bad as she’d expected. Maybe it was time for her to let go of the past and think about the future, much like it seemed the town itself was doing right then.
“I think someone mentioned ice cream,” Maddie said to Rose.
“Sully’s makes the best ice cream.” Pearl pointed to a small shop on the corner.
Jules was surprised she’d never noticed it with the bright-pink awning and giant ice cream cutout on the sidewalk in front.
“Has that been there the whole time?” Gina asked.
“Yep.” Rose started toward it. “But they got a new awning today and haven’t used the giant ice cream sign in a while, so it does look a little different.”
They each got an ice cream and sat on the benches under an oak tree across the street from the candy store, Saltwater Sweets. The front window was packed with a mouthwatering display of candy ranging from fudge to caramel turtles to bark. White chocolate, dark chocolate, milk chocolate—they certainly had a wide variety.
Inside, a man in a white baker’s shirt spread chocolate on a marble slab, and the owner, Deena, bustled around, fussing with the display cases. Jules remembered her from the town meetings.
“It’s nice to see Deena taking pride in the shop again.” Pearl had a kiddie cone upside down in a cup and was daintily spooning up tiny bits of ice cream.
Jules admired her restraint, but at that rate, it was going to take her all summer to eat it.
“After John died, she really went into a funk.” Rose licked her pistachio cone then turned to Jules, Maddie, and Gina. “Saltwater Sweets has been an important business in this town for over a hundred years. Deena’s great-grandmother started it with her secret chocolate recipe. Deena ran it with her husband for many years, but when he died, the light went out of her life, and she lost interest. The shop went downhill.”
“It looks like she’s found her light again,” Leena said.
“I think that might have something to do with her new friend.” Pearl raised her brows toward a tall, gray-haired man standing in the corner. Every so often, Deena would turn to him, as if asking his advice, and they would favor each other with a lingering smile.
“She did mention a new man in her life,” Rose said. “I guess that can make one giddy.”
“Gram!” Dex waved at them from across the street.
Jules’s heart lurched when she saw that Nick was with him. She was sort of embarrassed about how she’d yelled at him about his lie. She still thought it was strange that he’d lied, but it had actually worked out well for them, considering they needed the permit in order for theNew England Baking Contestto stay at the motel. The irony was that if Nick hadn’t lied, they might not have gotten that permit in time.
She wished she hadn’t lost her cool like that, but she didn’t want to explore the thought that maybe she’d been madder about him betraying her trust because she thought they might be forming an important friendship than it was about the lie. Either way, she didn’t have much to say to him, so she focused on her butter crunch ice cream while everyone greeted each other.
“I heard the motel is full up.” Nick came to stand next to her.
“Yeah, it’s great.” Jules kept her eyes on the ice cream. She really didn’t want to encourage him.
“I just wanted to apologize again for my stupid lie. I’m still trying to get that loan through for you.”
“Thanks.” Jules managed a small smile then dug back into her ice cream. Hopefully he would get the hint and leave.
“Come on, man, let’s go check out the brew pub. Harley said he’s got a new summer ale for us to try.” Dex jerked his head toward the end of the street, where Jules supposed the brew pub must be.
“There’s a brew pub?” Gina looked mildly interested, which was a surprise.
Jules pictured her to be more the champagne type. Her cousin was full of surprises that day.
“Sure. You ladies want to join us?” Dex’s gaze lingered on Maddie.
“No!” Maddie and Jules said at the same time.
Dex looked confused at their insistent tone.
“We still have a lot of work to do at the motel. Probably not a good idea tonight,” Gina said.
Dex nodded. “We’ll do it some other time.”
“Such nice young men,” Pearl said as they walked off down the street.
