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Chapter Ten
Holly stood in her bedroom,frowning at her open suitcase of clothes. Why had she agreed to go to Melissa's little party? She barely knew any of the people who would be there. Sure, she would remember a lot of them from high school or her childhood, but she hadn't kept up with them.
Every few moments, her hand twitched, itching to pull her phone from her pocket and text Melissa to tell her she wasn't coming. Every time she reached for it, she somehow managed to stop herself. That little bit of self-control didn't help her figure out what in the world she was going to wear.
"Need some help?" Nelly asked, appearing in the doorway and nearly giving Holly a heart attack. When Holly gave her a reproachful look, Nelly smirked until Holly relented and nodded.
"I'm not sure I should be going to this thing tonight."
Nelly waved off her daughter's comments with the flick of her wrist. "Nonsense. You dropped everything back home to come out here and help me. And you've been busting your butt since you arrived. You deserve a night to yourself. Go, have fun. I'm sure Melissa is looking forward to catching up with you."
Holly let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Her mother was right, of course. She had been working almost nonstop since she had arrived in the Keys. A night away from everything just might be what she needed to keep from burning out too quickly. And she was looking forward to seeing Melissa again, too.
Finally, Holly took a deep breath and nodded. She couldn't hide from the world forever. She had to get back out there and interact with people. And what better way to do that than to dive headfirst into a party? At least there, if it got to be too overwhelming, she could come up with some excuse to leave.
Nelly came and helped her pick out a simple sundress to wear. It wasn't going to be a formal party or anything like that, and it was much too hot in the Keys during the summer months to wear anything else. When Holly looked at herself in the mirror, she had to admit she still looked pretty good for forty-six.
The moment Holly stepped out of her car in the parking lot, she could hear the music drifting up from the beach. There were already a good number of people milling around in the sand. The cabana was lit up, illuminating the entire area even as the sunset on the horizon.
For a long while, Holly stood there and stared. Laughter could be heard between lulls in the music. Her heart caught in her throat as another wave of panic washed over her. She was tempted to get right back in the car and head home but somehow managed to stay firmly rooted to the ground.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, holding it in for as long as she could. When she finally let the air out, she stood with her back straight and shoulders level. She could do this, she told herself. It was just a party with old childhood friends. There was nothing down on that beach she couldn't handle.
At that silent declaration, her body moved on its own, propelling her toward the party. Immediately she started recognizing people, people she hadn't seen or thought of in decades. She hadn't ever come back for any of her high school reunions, and seeing everyone now was like stepping right back in time.
Sure, everyone had aged, but as she surveyed the crowd of people, it felt just like the parties she had gone to all those years ago.
It wasn't hard to spot Melissa. Holly had expected her to be running around taking care of everything, but she had the restaurant's staff doing all of that. Instead, she was standing on the beach, drink in hand, talking to another woman. A woman Holly recognized instantly as her other childhood best friend, Chantal.
The tanned skinned woman looked like she hadn't aged a single day in the last thirty-some years. Holly knew she had a daughter, but you'd have never known it by looking at her. Holly spun briefly with jealousy.
The two women spotted Holly only moments after Holly spotted them. They both grinned and made their way through the crowd before the three of them embraced in squealing laughter.
"Oh, my God!" Chantal cried, squeezing Holly as though she was trying to break her. "When Mel told me you were back in town, I didn't believe her. But here you are, looking like the prodigal daughter returned home."
Holly let out a snort of laughter and shook her head. Chan always had such a way with words. "Nothing quite as dramatic as that," Holly assured her. "Just back for a little while to help Mom get the inn spruced up a bit. I had no idea she'd had such a difficult time with it after Dad passed away."
"So, you decided to take a break from your big grand life up in Miami to come back and help out, huh?" Chan teased.
Holly laughed again. Her heart ached as she nodded her head and plastered a smile across her face. She wanted to tell Chan and Mel the truth, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not right then in the middle of a party, especially. This was supposed to be her night to let loose and relax. She didn't want to bring down the mood.
So instead, she brushed off the comment as best she could with a non-committal "something like that" before shifting the subject to Chan and her life.
As it turned out, Chantal had gotten divorced too. Briefly, Holly wondered if there was something in the water around here that cursed everyone's marriages. But Melissa and her husband were still going strong. Her mom and dad had been happily married right up until the end, too.
So maybe it was just bad luck.
Conversation flowed easily between the three of them as they wandered around the beach. Holly snagged a beer of her own to sip on, hoping it might help mellow out her nerves a little while. After the first sip, though, she nearly spit it out and remembered why she never drank the stuff. Even after all these years, she had never quite acquired a liking to it. At this point, she doubted she ever would.
But the beer served its purpose. Some tension and apprehension she had felt all day faded to the background. It helped that Mel and Chan kept up an almost constant stream of chatter, not giving Holly a moment to get lost in her own thoughts. It was almost like they knew something was going on and were doing their best to distract her.
"God, I forgot how beautiful it is here," Holly said as the three of them stood at the edge of the water. It was fully dark now, the only lights were coming from the cabana, the moon and stars high above them. Staring out into the ocean, it was like you could see forever.
"No place like it," Mel said with a smirk and a wink. And honestly, that was the truth.
Holly could barely remember why she had been so eager to leave the place all those years ago. Now that she was back, though, her big "rock star" life in Miami having gone up in flames, she wished she'd stayed here like everyone else. She could only imagine what her life would've been like if she hadn't left.
Before she could truly contemplate that thought, strong arms wrapped around her middle and lifted her up into the air. Holly squealed and squirmed, trying to escape her captor's grasp. But no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't get their arms to budge an inch.
