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CHAPTERONE
Liz Weston sat on the deck of Tides and looked out over the sugar sand beach at the glistening ocean waves. She was glad she’d decided to splurge on accommodations at the old inn located in her hometown of Lobster Bay, Maine. The rooms were cozy, the service impeccable, and the view gorgeous.
The crashing of the waves, the tang of the salty sea air, and the gulls darting above created a peaceful atmosphere. She wrapped her sweater around her to ward off the slight Maine chill. Summer had passed. Now it was early fall, which, in her opinion, was the best time to be at the beach, since it wasn’t crowded with tourists.
But she wasn’t back in her hometown to visit the beach. She was here to clean out her old family home. For most people, a visit to their hometown would be a fun trip, but not to Liz. Her childhood memories weren’t exactly pleasant.
She’d volunteered to do this job because she was always the one who did the dirty work in her family. Always the one everyone else depended on. But that wasn’t the only reason. The inn was a distraction from her own problems, not to mention a nice place to stay—something she currently didn’t have.
“I never get tired of this view.” Jane Miller, proprietor of Tides, stood beside her holding a coffee pot. The proprietor’s golden retriever, Cooper, waited obediently at her side. Jane gestured towards Liz’s empty mug, and Liz slid it over for a top-off.
Liz was a few years younger than Jane, so they hadn’t known each other well in school. Of course, all the families in a town as small as Lobster Bay knew one another, and Liz knew Jane’s family had owned the inn for generations.
“It must be wonderful living right here on the beach.” Liz’s childhood home was several blocks from the beach. No ocean view or sound of waves, but she could walk to the beach in twenty minutes. That had been her escape when her father started yelling.
She glanced up at Jane, who was gazing blissfully out at the ocean. Liz was forty-five, and she guessed Jane must be almost fifty. She looked younger, though. Jane was tall and thin, and her silver hair looked sassy in a trendy short haircut, while her blue eyes sparkled with life. She looked happy, at peace. A woman comfortable in her own skin.
Had Liz ever felt that way about herself? The last few years had been hard. First Kyle leaving her for a younger woman, then Dad getting sick and Liz having to deal with her feelings for her father and argue with siblings to manage his care. All that was over now, but she still felt a bit beaten down. Maybe a trendy haircut like Jane’s and a new health regimen would help.
“It is. But there was a time when I thought we might lose this property.” Jane’s words pulled Liz out of her thoughts.
“Really? But your family has owned it for generations.”
“Yeah. My mom started having memory issues, and we didn’t realize what was going on until she’d almost run the business into the ground.” Jane sighed. “I set aside my retirement plans to help straighten things out, and here I am.”
“Memory problems? I remember your mom. She was a real dynamo.”
“Still is. I’m sorry about your dad. He was at Tall Pines, same as Mom. I remember talking to him a few times at movie night.” Jane said. “Nice guy.”
Liz simply smiled and said thanks. In truth, her father really wasn’t a nice guy. Or at least he hadn’t been when she was growing up. Gruff, strict, always yelling and belittling her.
Liz reached out and ruffled Cooper’s fur. “It’s so great that you have a dog here. I love dogs, but it’s been a while since I’ve had one. My husband wasn’t that keen on them.”
Memories of Major, the German shepherd they’d had when they’d first been married, bubbled up. Liz had adored that dog. Back then, Kyle had been nicer to her. But after Major had passed, he’d forbidden her to get another dog. She should have stood up to him and insisted on it, but it hadn’t seemed worth the fight at the time. One good thing about him leaving was that now she could do whatever she wanted.
“Guests seem to like Cooper. At first, I thought he might be off-putting, but it turns out he’s quite an attraction.”
“No doubt.”
“Are you staying in town long?”
“Long as it takes to clean up the house and put it up for sale.”
“Oh, your dad still had the house here in town?”
“My siblings and I couldn’t agree on whether to sell it or not after he had the stroke. My brother and sister always thought maybe Dad would come back home.” Liz sighed. “But he never did, and the house has been sitting empty for over almost six years now. Right now, there’s no electricity, even, and it’s kind of a mess, which is why I’m staying here.” Liz glanced out at the ocean. “Plus, the view is better.”
“Oh, gosh, well, I hope things go well at your dad’s. Do you need anything else? More coffee?” Jane asked.
Liz shook her head. Two cups were enough for her. “No thank you. I’d better get in gear and start on the house.”
“Okay. Have a great day.”
“You too.” Liz watched Jane and Cooper leave, thinking wistfully of how happy Jane seemed.
Liz wished she could be that happy, but right now, she was on a bit of a downswing. Things weren’t exactly turning out the way she’d planned. Not only did cleaning out the family home mean revisiting unwanted childhood memories, it also reminded her that she had no place to live. The small apartment she’d rented after the divorce was being turned into condos, and she couldn’t afford one because she had limited savings and was too young to tap into her retirement money.
It had been a mistake to take early retirement from her position at the school, but how was she to know that her husband would spend their life savings and leave her with no house and very little money? At least she would get something from the sale of her father’s house. But first, she needed to clean it out and spruce it up so someone would actually want to buy it.
She took one last look at the ocean and then pushed back from the table. She dreaded going to that house, but she couldn’t really put it off any longer.
