Page 41 of Captiva Book Club

“Well, I suggest you do. Believe me, I’d love nothing better than to have you working full-time, but you’ll need to think about what is most important to you. From what you’ve told me, full-time work isn’t it.”

Sarah nodded. She desperately wanted to help Trevor, but she couldn’t lose sight of the fact that his dreams weren’t always hers. Supporting him was one thing, losing herself in the process was something completely different.

CHAPTER 14

Despite how tired Maggie was the day before, she somehow felt more energized on Saturday. However, she wasn’t prepared for the two voicemails and several texts waiting on her phone. The voicemails were from her daughters, Lauren and Beth, while the texts were from Claire, Ciara, Iris, Chelsea, Linda St. James, and her mother.

Grateful she had the energy to deal with it all, Maggie sat on the back porch swing and closed her eyes, letting the warm breeze wash over her. For a moment, she just breathed, trying to center herself. The messages could wait a few more seconds. The truth was, as much as she loved her friends and family, she wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with whatever drama was waiting for her on the other end of those notifications.

She knew Linda could be difficult, but this felt different—heavier somehow. There was a pit in her stomach, a sense of dread that she couldn’t quite shake. It was probably nothing, just the residual fatigue talking, but still…something about it bothered her.

Sighing, she opened her eyes and picked up her phone. She dialed Lauren's number, deciding to tackle one thing at a time.

“Hey, honey, it’s me. Call me when you get this message. Maybe call Beth too, and we can have a three-way conversation. Okay, love you,” she said, leaving the message. Trusting Lauren to handle the phone logistics, Maggie began reading through her texts until Chelsea appeared.

“Nice of you to text me back,” Chelsea said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Don’t you start. I had a lot on my plate yesterday. I had no idea the world would blow up while I was gone. What’s this about Linda?” Maggie asked, trying to keep her voice light, but the unease lingered.

“It seems Claire, being the kind person she is, called Linda to invite her to our little get-together tomorrow. She knew Linda was away and therefore would probably decline and say she’d be at the January meeting. Claire figured they’d talk a little about the book, and that would be that. Claire had no idea she was going to get an earful from Linda.”

“Poor Claire,” Maggie said.

“Yes, well, Claire said Linda was upset—though I think some of us already knew that would happen, it was a shock to Claire. Anyway, after a day or two of thinking it over, Linda decided she’s coming home early to be here for our meeting on Sunday, but not before throwing a hissy fit on the phone.”

Maggie nodded, though her mind was already racing ahead. Linda had always been sensitive, but this seemed like more than just hurt feelings. There was something in the tone of her message that felt…final. As if Linda was drawing a line in the sand.

Maggie held up her phone. “I have said hissy fit right here. Do you want to hear it?”

Chelsea smiled. “By all means.”

Maggie played the message.:

Hello Maggie.

I’ll make this as plain as I can. As you know, I have proposed starting a book club on the island for months. Neither you, Chelsea, nor anyone else wanted to join. Now, I find Claire Wright is starting one, and most everyone I invited to mine has accepted Claire’s invitation.

Claire called to invite me to join, and I have to say, I’m baffled about this new turn of events. I can only imagine that for some unknown reason, I don’t have a single friend on Captiva Island.

And so, I will have to decline joining your group. I was going to come home early to be with you all on Sunday, but then thought better of it. I won’t go where I’m not wanted. Merry Christmas.

Linda

As the message played, Maggie felt a pang of guilt. Maybe they had been too dismissive of Linda’s idea, too quick to embrace Claire’s. She hadn’t realized how deeply it had cut Linda, and now it seemed like they might lose her friendship altogether. Maggie glanced at Chelsea, who was snickering.

“Did you hear Linda isn’t coming home after all?” Iris asked, joining them on the porch with Millie.

Maggie nodded, but felt a knot tighten in her chest.

Chelsea snickered. “I thought the worst thing was having Linda join the book club. I was wrong, this is much worse.”

Maggie looked at Chelsea, trying to gauge her reaction. “You feel bad too?”

Chelsea shot her a look and said, “Heck no. I mean, now we’re going to have to beg her to join.”

Maggie rolled her eyes, but her thoughts lingered on the voicemail. She couldn’t help but feel responsible, and while Chelsea might not care, Maggie knew they couldn’t just let Linda drift away. Not without trying to make things right.

“We’re going to have to call her back. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her hanging like that,” Maggie said.

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