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“Hey there!” Alex called, coming around to greet me. She enveloped me in a hug I wasn’t sure I deserved, but I wrapped my arms around her in return and felt my chest swell with gratitude.
“I’m sorry for the short notice,” I said as I took a step back.
She flipped her wrist to wave me off. “It’s not a problem at all. I stopped taking bookings on the app because Sam wanted to finish some upgrades. But surprise, surprise, he got busy with other things, so the place has just been vacant for the past few weeks.”
“It really is a lovely place to stay.”
Her smile widened, reaching her ears, as she turned to look at the cottage. “Thank you. My aunt left it to me. It was the first place I ever felt at home in, and gave me the fresh start I needed, exactly when I needed it.” She moved to the trunk when I popped it open to help me unload. “Now, it becomes something special for others. I just love that.”
My heart warmed at her words. I grabbed my rolling suitcase and let her take the smaller duffle bag. We walked up the short steps and Alex opened the door. I looked around at the small living room, the staircase, the hall to the back of the house, thefireplace.Oh, the memories of what we did in front of that fireplace would keep me warm all by themselves.
Alex had brought in a vase of fresh flowers on the coffee table and set the thermostat to make it warm and cozy.
“It sounds silly, but it feels like I’m home.”
“That’s not silly at all. It’s what I hope people feel when they stay here. And you certainly had a memorable time.”
Alex eyed me and I laughed. I couldn’t do anything else but laugh at the absurdity of it all. But she was easy to talk to, and I so desperately needed to talk to someone, so I opened my mouth and let the word vomit flow.
“It feels so surreal. The memories of this place. Of Drew.”There. I said his name.“I don’t know,” I continued, pacing around the small space like a caged animal, “it was all too perfect, too much like a fairytale, and then real life came crashing down around me and I had to get out before I caused any damage.”
Alex just took a seat on the couch, and watched me. Her eyes appeared curious, but not at all judgmental, which made it easy to trust that opening up—at least a little bit—was the right thing for me to do.
“Damage to what? Or whom?” she asked with mild curiosity and a kind smile.
“Drew. Me. My work. Everything.” I huffed out a loud sigh and sank down onto the opposite end of the couch, dragging my hands over my face. “It’s complicated.”
“Life usually is. But it also has a way of reminding us about what’s important. What we really want.”
I dropped my hands and glanced over at her. “You’re really rather wise.”
She laughed, and scooted closer to pat my knee. “I’m just speaking from experience. And look, it’s none of my business what you do or don’t do with Drew. I love him, we’ve become closer, which is nice. But he’s a grown adult and I try to not interfere in his life too much.”
Alex and Drew hadn’t even known each other existed, let alone that they were siblings until a couple years ago. And I did know the story, because Drew opened up to me about his traumatic reckoning with his family and how Alex was almost killed as a result. The fact that he trusted me with that was something I still held in awe. Because that man was locked like a vault. A deep vault. One of those hidden, underground vaults in a secret passageway.
And yet, he opened up to me. And then I broke his heart. I hated myself. But I refused to believe it was too late to fix things.
“I really care about him. And I’m here to make amends. If he doesn’t want me, then, I’ll have to deal with that. But I need to at least apologize.”
“You came a long way to just apologize.”
I didn’t know how much to reveal. I knew I could trust Alex—I just felt it—but I was still wary after everything I’d been through.
I shrugged one shoulder and decided to hedge. “Well, like I said. It’s complicated.”
three
Alex invitedme into town for some coffee and I jumped at the chance to get to visit downtown Moon Harbor again. Harbor Street held most of the town’s shops, restaurants, and cafes on one side, and a promenade next to the harbor on the other. The tree-lined cobblestone sidewalks and the view of the water was a little slice of heaven.
Alex parked her car on one of the side streets and we got out, bracing ourselves against the cold February wind. I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck as I fell into step next to her.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the winters here,” Alex said, crossing her arms over her chest, “but I make do with a lot of layers.”
“You moved here a couple years ago, right?”
“It’ll be three years this summer. I still feel like a newcomer in some ways, but the town has been so welcoming. And finding good friends has made all the difference. They’re my family now. I never really had much of one.”
I glanced over and saw the smile on her face. It was full of contentment and gratitude. I secretly wished I could share some of that. That I could find my place, too.
