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She’d spent today with Autumn at the pier, playing with Skyler while her sister had meeting after meeting in her pretty office overlooking the ocean. Lydia and her niece had explored the pier, then they’d visited with the lovely shop owners on the boardwalk, which meant lots of cuddles and kisses for Skyler, and a lot of questions for Lydia.
Frank Megassey had wanted to look at her Instagram and asked for advice on where he should take his wife for their Ruby wedding anniversary. Lydia had asked him a few questions about the kind of things they liked to do during the day while they were on vacation, and what his wife’s favorite food was. They’d settled on a trip to Italy – visiting Rome and Venice in the fall, once the worst of the heat had dissipated, but before the cold arrived. She’d written down his email address so she could send him some places to visit – the ‘off the beaten track’ restaurants and galleries that would make him look like a hero in his wife’s eyes.
After she had left Frank’s hardware store, with a toy rattle he’d gifted to Skyler, they’d headed to the book store to look at baby books. It was owned by Deenie Russell, the mom of one of Griff’s best friends. As soon as Lydia wheeled Skyler’s stroller through the door, she’d run over to give the baby a kiss on the cheek.
“She’s so big. And look at her goofy smile. Doesn’t she take after Griff?” Deenie had asked.
Lydia had laughingly agreed, though the rest of Skyler’s features looked astonishingly like Autumn’s.
She’d spent an hour at the book store, reading to Skyler, who promptly fell asleep in the middle of Dr. Seuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go. While she slept, Lydia had helped Deenie set up an Instagram page for the bookstore, and they’d taken a lot of photos for her to feature over the next few days.
“Remember, lots of hashtags, and you need to interact,” Lydia told her. “And post regularly. Once a day if you can. You have enough books here to take photos for years.”
After the bookstore, Lydia had wheeled Skyler to Déjà Brew for a chat with Ally and Nate, before they headed back to the pier. Griff’s whale watching boat had just docked, and his customers were spilling off the metal gangplank and onto the pier – a group of children from the local school who were talking excitedly to each other.
Lydia had waited for them all to leave before she wheeled Skyler up to the boat. She was wide awake by that point, and as soon as she spotted her daddy standing on the pier she’d let out a squeal.
Griff had looked equally pleased to see his daughter, walking over and scooping her out of her stroller, before lifting her high and peppering her cheeks with kisses. Skyler had squealed, her arms flying as she tried to grab his hair in her chubby fists. Damn if seeing the two of them didn’t do something to Lydia’s ovaries. She’d grinned insanely as her soon to be brother-in-law rubbed his beard against Skyler’s face, making the baby giggle loudly.
It was only when the four of them – Autumn, Griff, Skyler, and Lydia – had made it back to their beachside ranch house that Lydia announced she was going out again.
“Where?” Griff had asked. “You don’t know anybody here, do you?”
Autumn had bitten down a grin. “Sweetheart, Lydia’s been here for more than a day. She knows literally everybody. Do you know how many people have called to tell me what a darling my sister is?”
“People have called you?” Lydia asked.
“Who?” Griff had added, his brows knitting together as he looked from his fiancée to her sister.
“Well first of all, Frank called and told me she’d solved his anniversary dilemma. After that, Deenie called to rave about what a tech wizard she is.” Autumn smiled fondly at her sister. “Then Lorne Daniels called to tell me that if he was fifty years younger, he’d be asking her out on a date.”
“Lorne, the surf shop guy?” Lydia verified.
Autumn nodded. “The very same.”
Autumn and Griff turned to look at Lydia, who shrugged. “I just like talking to people, that’s all. And so did Skyler.”
“So where are you going?” Griff asked her.
“I promised Jackson I’d take Eddie out for a walk,” she told them. “He’s kind of half my dog, too.”
“He’s not yours or Jackson’s,” Griff pointed out. “He belongs to somebody else. Jackson is just taking care of him.”
“I know.” Lydia’s voice was bright. “But since I’m the one who found Eddie, it’s only fair I do some of the work.”
“Is Jackson picking you up?” Autumn asked, cradling Skyler against her chest. “Or would you like a ride over?”
“I can walk. It’s a lovely evening.”
“Jackson lives five miles up the coast,” Autumn had pointed out. “It’s not exactly a short stroll.”
“It can’t be that far,” Lydia argued. “I can practically see his house from here. It’s on that cliff, isn’t it?”
She noticed Autumn and Griff exchange a glance.
“Yep,” Griff said. “That’s the one.”
And now she was walking up the cliff steps toward Jackson’s house, having taken the route Griff had shown her, along the boardwalk, then past the bigger houses until she reached open sand, walking along the coastal path until the cliff curved around. That’s when she’d seen the steps he’d described. They looked as though they’d been carved out of the cliff face a hundred years ago, their once sharp edges worn down, and damn if they didn’t make her legs ache as they twisted and turned to the top.
