Page 3 of A Place for Daydreams

“Oh, it is, huh? And how do you know this?”

Her eyes danced gleefully. “I have my methods.”

He chuckled and knocked his shoulder against hers in return. “Okay, Madam Matchmaker.”

They gave each other a hug at the corner and she started to make her way to the pub, calling to him to make sure to get good rest.

“I will!” He waved as she disappeared around another corner. He started walking again, moving slowly as he made his way back home. He thought to himself that although he was apparently considered a catch by the single ladies of Rosewood Beach, he still didn’t feel confident that he would ever find love. He’d never found a girl that he felt he’d like to spend the rest of his life with, and now that his diagnosis was part of his reality, love seemed out of the question sometimes. He didn’t know how on earth he would be able to add a relationship to his life when he was already struggling just to work and spend time with his family without getting exhausted.

He reached his house and smiled quietly to himself. Resting sounded great to him, now that he’d arrived home. He decided he would drink a glass of apple juice and read a mystery book while sitting out on his porch. Then all at once he found himself wishing that he had someone to come home to, not just an empty house.

We’ll see what happens,he thought as he began to unlock his front door.I hope Alexis is right. Having someone to love could be wonderful.

Noelle Calhoun smiled as she closed the cover of her planner. She tucked the pink pen that she’d been using into her pen holder, which was silver and shaped like a little owl. She glanced around her office, thinking to herself that she should go around to some rummage sales that weekend and try to find more charming paintings and photographs to hang on the walls.

She’d moved to Rosewood Beach recently, and she was still settling into her new physical therapy office. She’d decorated it in pastel colors, which she found calming and uplifting at the same time. Her desk was organized but a little messy at the moment, since she was a little behind in her work. She smiled as she looked at the photograph of her and her grandparents which was sitting next to her computer. She’d moved from Wisconsin to Rosewood Beach to be closer to them, since they’d lived in Rosewood Beach for years. She’d always loved her grandparents, and being able to spend more time with them than ever before felt incredibly rewarding.

She was enjoying her new busy schedule, but she was still adapting to it, and little tasks kept creeping up on her unexpectedly. Not only did she have a lot of new patients, but she was still moving into her new place. In addition to that, she was making a point of spending plenty of time with her grandparents, and she was also determined to learn how to cook better. When she’d lived in Wisconsin, she’d ordered takeout for a lot of her meals, but now that she was in a little town that sold delicious local produce and had a wide variety of affordableitems at the grocery store, she was determined to learn how to cook the kind of fancy, creative meals she’d always wanted to.

Besides, she thought, grinning to herself,there’s just something about this town that makes me want to be healthy and productive like that. People here make it look so easy to take care of yourself.

When she’d first moved to Rosewood Beach, she hadn’t been sure that she would like living in such a small town, but now that she was settling in, she was enjoying being there very much.

She leaned toward the bouquet of flowers that was resting on the edge of her desk and took a long sniff. She smiled cheerfully, thinking to herself that buying the bouquet from the general store that morning had most definitely been the right choice. She’d wanted a little something extra to brighten up her office, and the bouquet of daisies and chrysanthemums was just doing the trick. She thought about how the bouquet was just one of many nice things that had come her way since moving to Rosewood Beach. So far, she’d found a wonderful old book at the library, a lavender lemon doughnut at Seaside Sweets Bakery that was her new favorite dessert, a quiet spot overlooking the ocean in one of the town’s parks, and now this beautiful bouquet of flowers.

I have a feeling that I’m really going to like it here in Rosewood Beach,she thought.It’s a welcoming place in so many ways.

As if to prove her thought, at that moment her fellow physical therapist, Chip, knocked on the door of her office.

“Hey.” Chip stuck his head inside the door and grinned at her. “You’re done for the day, right? No more appointments?”

“Nope, I just finished my last one,” she said. She grinned back. “Why? Are you done too?”

“Yup, I’ve been done for an hour. I’ve just been sitting around catching up on paperwork. What do you say to going to get some of the best hamburgers in town?”

“Sounds incredible.” Her stomach growled at the thought, and she chuckled. “Where do we find these fabled best hamburgers?”

“At The Lighthouse Grill.”

“Oh, sounds charming.”

“It is. It’s been family-run for decades. It’s probably the most popular place in town.”

“Well, no wonder, with those hamburgers.” She stood up and grabbed her purse off a coat rack before turning to Chip. “Let’s go. I’d love to.”

“Perfect. Let me close up my office quick, and I’ll meet you in the lobby in two minutes.”

Chip disappeared, and she took a few moments to tidy up her desk a little. She thought about how kind Chip had been ever since she’d arrived to share the physical therapy practice with him. He was a good-natured, professional colleague, and already a good friend.

So far, she hadn’t met too many other people in town, but she knew that gradually, she would get to know more and more of the people of Rosewood Beach. She smiled to herself before leaving the office, wondering what interesting people she was going to meet in the coming months and years.

CHAPTER TWO

Julia Owens parked her car on the street outside the house of her boyfriend, Cooper Harris, and smiled. She’d parked there so many times, it was beginning to feel as though the road was developing grooves for her car’s wheels.

It was a crisp, sunny Saturday morning, and she took a deep breath of the pleasant-smelling air as she stepped out of her car. She was so looking forward to fall, and all of the different delights that always accompanied it. She was looking forward to this fall in particular, because now she had Cooper and Macey to share it with.

Her stomach grumbled, and she thought eagerly about the breakfast that she was going to get with Cooper that morning. She glanced at her watch as she walked up to the house. She wanted to make sure she had enough time to show Macey the snacks that she’d made for her before she and Cooper dropped the little girl off at daycare. She looked down at the tote bag she was carrying, feeling proud of what she’d made. She’d done research on some of the best homemade snacks for toddlers, since she wanted to give Macey special care. She’d made cinnamon apple chips, sliced pears spread with ricotta cheese, and yogurt bites, and although she’d been surprised by howtime-consuming making the snacks had been, she liked the idea of giving Macey healthy snacks. Besides, she’d nibbled some of the snacks herself while making them and she’d found them to be delicious as well as fun to create.

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