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“I’m not giving anything up if you don’t mind,” Maggie said. “Although I might have to do away with the vino if you’re going to. I don’t like to drink alone.”

“That’s between you and God,” he answered. “You’re pretty perfect though, so I don’t think it applies to you.”

“Justin, flattery will get you everywhere.”

He just smiled at her. They’d reached the cottage. Spooky was patiently waiting.

“I guess I’ll take my horse home and pack a bag. What do you think?”

“You can pack more than a bag,” she said. “Pack what you need to be comfortable here.”

“My framed high school football photograph?”

“Of course! If that will make you feel at home, by all means. I’ll put it up on the mantelpiece, by the evil eye.”

“You don’t have to go that far.”

She waited on the steps while he mounted Spooky. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.

“I’ll be here.”

She watched Justin and his horse head to the gate. These next few hours would be her last moments of living alone. What would she miss most about solitude?

“Brulee, let’s go for a boat ride.”

She perked up while Maggie reattached her leash. They’d head to meet Katrina, and then they’d go to Bonnet Island and meditate. Maggie sent her a text to be at the dock in fifteen. Then she sent Justin a text that she was headed to town to see Katrina, but would be home before dinner. If Justin had been there, he’d ask to go, or ask her why she was going, if she was upset about something, then he’d admonish her to be careful. Walking down the dock, she snickered, thinking about how she’d complicated her life by inviting him to move in. It was one of the few negatives.

Compromise would be the new norm. Consideration of another person. She do her best to be successful at it.

Gus wasn’t at the dock when she arrived Sunday afternoon. Even Gus got a day off from time to time. The tide was nearing low, and getting Brulee out of the boat alone might be a problem.

“Girl, this might be the last time we come to town on a Sunday.”

She threw her bag up on the dock and got Brulee under her arm. “Hang on, girl. Oh my god, you must weigh fifty pounds. I don’t think this is going to work. Can you climb a ladder?”

Scratching her neck, she looked at the dog and pointed to the ladder. “Maybe if I go first.”

Holding on to Brulee’s leash, Maggie climbed the ladder. Once she was up on the dock, she gave the leash a little tug. “Can you do it?”

Without wasting another minute, Brulee climbed the ladder. Maggie knelt down, hugging her.

“This has to be a first,” she said, near tears.

She quickly sent Justin a text.Brulee climbed the ladder at the dock.

Justin answered with a laughing emoji.She comes from a long line of German mountain climbers. Getting her back in the boat might not be that easy.

“Oh, great,” she said to the air. “I’ll get someone to help me.”

Katrina called her name, waving. On the way to the café, all signs of the parade and barn party had been cleaned up.

“I’m glad you could see me this afternoon.”

“Alphé’s still organizing things at his house, so I thought it was a good idea to stay away until the chaos is over. I don’t know if Lola is there, either. So thank you for offering an alternative.”

“I wanted to experience a moment of freedom because I asked Justin to move in with me.”

“When did that happen?” Katrina asked, taking Brulee’s leash. “I just talked to you this morning.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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