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She didn’t come to the door. No one called from inside.
Reuben’s eyebrows furrowed at the same time Clara’s panic rose. “Where is she? She knew we were coming. I texted her.”
Clara leaned closer to the door, trying to edge past a huge bag they’d checked. “Mom?” she called.
No answer.
Frustration piled on top of Clara’s already frayed nerves, and the scream she needed to let loose migrated up her throat.
“I’ll check the patio,” Jean said, leaving behind the luggage she’d been carrying.
Reuben leaned toward the door too. “Mom?” He tried the doorknob again. “It’s Reuben and Clara. Are you okay? We can’t get in.”
Clara dropped her carryon, her shoulder aching. Tears slipped down her face again, the thought of not having her mother for support as she transitioned her family from life in Vermont to life in Five Island Cove completely overwhelming.
And also selfish, she thought. But that didn’t erase the fact that they couldn’t get in the condo.
There was no relief from the heavy baggage and hot sun.
Her mother wasn’t there, so that only left one question in her mind—and which she found in Reuben’s eyes—where was their mom?
ChapterTwo
Kristen Shields pressed the square of tissue she’d found in her pocket to the scrape on her knee. She hissed through her teeth, angry at herself for not watching the ground as intently as she should’ve.
Her and her bleeding heart—and now her knee. She’d just finished the appetizer tray for her children’s arrival that evening when she’d seen the feral cat she’d been slowly taming over the past couple of months.
She’d grabbed the chicken cubes she’d cut up for her and dashed outside. Cats could move like ninjas, but with a little persistence and a lot of chicken, she’d managed to find the gray and white cat hiding out in the bushes lining the picnic area of the condo association, where Kristen lived.
She’d lured the cat down the decorative rocks to the beach and fed her the rest of the chicken. She’d even managed to give the cat a stroke or two before the feline had gotten startled and scampered off.
She hadn’t been able to go through with getting the puppy she’d once said she’d take. She really was more of a cat person, and she’d been leaning feline for the past few months.
“Are you okay?” The male voice startled Kristen, and she very nearly stumbled again.
She looked up and away from her simple scrape—right into the navy eyes of Theodore Sands.
He lived in her community, and she’d seen him at a couple of the activities she’d managed to attend. She’d never spoken to him much, though sometimes their morning walks had her going out to the beach as he came in.
A nod. A hello. She knew him.
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “I was just feeding this cat, and my foot got caught in the rocks.” As if a testament to what had happened, Kristen’s ankle sent a spike of pain up her calf.
“I twisted my ankle and just went down on the one knee.” She’d gotten up by herself too. No one had seen her, she was fairly certain of that.
Her chest heated, and she certainly hoped Theo had not seen.
Why?she asked herself.Why does it matter if he saw you fall?
Confused, she looked up at him. He was a handsome man, Kristen could admit that. The moment she did, her heartbeat stuttered in her chest.
“Let me help you back to your place,” he said, extending his hand toward her. Feeling dumb, Kristen put her hand out too. That was what one did when offered help, wasn’t it?
His fingers slid along hers, and he froze. She did too, not sure why her blood had started popping and fizzing and bubbling.
She quickly pulled her hand away. “I’m okay,” she said. “My kids will be here any minute. I was just trying to stop the bleeding, so I didn’t have it dripping down my leg while I walked.”
Theo’s eyes slipped down to her knee. “I think it looks okay now.”
