Page 35 of Before the Storm

“It’s a special place,” Hilary said.

Tara felt her jealousy dissipate. Johan didn’t seem too interested in talking about Hilary’s mother. His eyes had returned to her and her alone.

“I hope you’re settling in okay?” Tara said quietly.

“I don’t own much of anything,” Johan admitted. “In a matter of an afternoon, I was unpacked.”

Tara smiled. “Minimalism?”

“I don’t want to care about things anymore,” Johan declared. “Things have never brought me any pleasure.”

Tara beamed.

“I’ve never been to this wine bar before.” Johan looked around as though he’d just realized where he was.

“We’re in love with it,” Rose gushed.

“We’re regulars.” Hilary nodded. “They’d have to close without us.”

Johan laughed. “I’d love to come sometime.”

And then Tara said, “Maybe we should come together.”

Johan didn’t hesitate. “That sounds great. Later this week?”

Tara felt Hilary’s, Rose’s, and Gale’s eyes upon her. They’d probably never seen her so romantically forward. Tara had never seen herself like this. She’d only married Donnie because Josie had gotten ahold of him and told him Tara was pregnant and he was needed here.

What had gotten into her?

“Let’s do it,” Tara said.

Johan and Tara exchanged cell phone numbers; Johan’s had changed since the mid-2000s, and Tara had lost all her numbers when her phone was stolen in 2013. After that, they said an awkward yet excited goodbye, and Tara watched as Johan swept back into the snow and disappeared around the corner.

“Tara Steiner!” Hilary cried. “You just asked a handsome Swedish man out on a date!”

Tara waved her hand. “We’re just old friends. We want to catch up.”

“I think he wants to do a whole lot more than that,” Rose said with a sneaky smile.

Tara rolled her eyes and again told her friends just how wrong they had it. But privately, her heart swelled with fresh emotion and new life.

Josie wanted to be done living. But in a sense, Tara had quit living long ago. She’d sequestered herself in her house, planning other people’s weddings, other people’s birthday parties, and other people’s joyous occasions.

Maybe if Tara was demanding Josie’s optimism, she needed to show a bit of her own.

Chapter Eleven

January 2025

Nantucket Island

The morning after the doctor’s appointment, Tara found Josie bundled up on the back porch, watching the birds caw and sweep over the Nantucket Sound. The temperature had risen slightly—it was above freezing—and some of the snow had melted, dripping in constant rhythm off the roof.

“There you are.” Tara had just been searching frantically for her in Josie’s bedroom, in the kitchen, in the study.

“I didn’t run away,” Josie said. “I just wanted some fresh air.”

Tara bundled up and grabbed a fresh mug of tea for Josie and a new one for herself. Together, they sat silently and watched the water roll onto the frothy sands and disappear again.

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