Page 70 of Key West Promises

"I will. Just…not yet." Sarah turned to face her sister more fully. "What about Will? How did you meet him?"

"He was filming at Paradise Harbor House. I thought he was going to be this pushy documentary guy, but…" Kaitlyn smiled, remembering. "He saw me. The real me, not just what I was trying to project.

"Like Alex," Sarah said thoughtfully. "He doesn't care that I'm not all confident like the other girls. He likes that I'm quiet sometimes. I think it’s because he’s shy too."

Their shared moment was interrupted by Kaitlyn's phone chiming. A text from Chelsea:Jeffrey just passed the Seven Mile Bridge.

"He's getting closer," Sarah said quietly, reading the tension in her sister's face.

"Yeah." Kaitlyn reached for her sister's hand. "But we're in this together now. Whatever happens next, we face it as sisters."

Sarah squeezed her hand. "Promise?"

"Promise." Kaitlyn looked at their joined hands, so similar in size and shape. "You know what's weird? All those years I wished for a sister, and here you were."

"I used to practice telling people I had a sister," Sarah admitted. "In my head, I mean. I'd imagined introducing you to my friends, having someone to talk to about…everything."

"Well, now you do. And I have some pretty amazing aunts too. Aunt Chelsea already loves you—she arranged all this. And Aunt Tess and Aunt Leah are going to spoil you rotten."

Sarah's eyes filled with tears. "I've wanted this for so long. To just…belong somewhere. With someone who understands.”

Kaitlyn pulled her sister into another hug, feeling the weight of their shared loss and their new beginning all at once. “Come on, let’s go explore the gardens. This place is beautiful and you should get some photos.”

Sarah followed Kaitlyn to the courtyard and then they walked through the gardens, enjoying the tranquility of the hotel grounds.

As the Key West evening was settling in, somewhere on the Overseas Highway, their father was getting closer. But in this moment, in this beautiful room at The Gardens Hotel, two sisters were building a bridge across the years that had separated them.

CHAPTER 28

“I’m going over there,” Gretchen announced.

“What?” Chelsea asked.

“I’m not letting my daughter deal with Jeffrey on her own. That’s not happening.”

“Okay, calm down. I hear what you’re saying, but didn’t Kaitlyn say that she wanted time with Sarah alone? You running over there while those two girls are having a private conversation is not what she’d want.”

“Yes, I understand that, Chelsea. But Jeffrey is going to show up any minute. Do you honestly think he’s going to honor Kaitlyn’s wishes for time alone with Sarah?”

“Gretchen’s right. He’s going to come barreling in there and make a big scene because his daughter defied him. Jeffrey hasn’t made the best choices so far. What would make you think he’s going to do the right thing now?” Leah offered.

Chelsea thought for a minute and then nodded. “Fine, but if you’re going over there so are we.”

Tess stopped sipping her coffee mid-sip and looked up. “Huh?”

“You heard me,” Chelsea insisted. “Jeffrey Miller might think he can do and say whatever he wants, but it’s been years since he’s had to deal with any of us. Perhaps it’s time we remind him who we are.”

Still confused, Tess asked, “Who are we?”

“We’re the Lawrence sisters. He’ll have to get through us to get to them.”

Gretchen laughed. At first, it was a small chuckle, but the determined look on Chelsea’s face struck her as so comical she couldn’t hold back the full belly laugh that was bursting to get out.

Tess and Leah joined in and soon the four sisters were laughing so hard, Elena came running into the room.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

Gretchen wiped tears from her cheeks. “All I can say, Elena, is that if you ever need a strong opinionated woman in your corner, call my sister, Chelsea. You won’t find any better in this world.”

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