Page 3 of Jewel of the Sea

She wouldn’t give it up.

The smell of bread drifted to Aymee on the breeze as she approached her house. Unlike many of the other buildings, this one was adorned with brightly-colored paint — flowers of all shades, animals and birds, even a simplified portrait of Aymee and her parents she’d painted when she was young.

They hadn’t minded her using the house as a canvas. Her mother, Jeanette, had even encouraged her to decorate the interior walls.

Opening the door, Aymee stepped inside and inhaled the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread.

“Mom?”

“In here!” Jeanette called from the kitchen.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.” Aymee hurried to her room, which had been added as an extension to the original building sometime in the past.

The room wasn’t large — her single bed was shoved into one corner, leaving room for a small nightstand, a dresser, and a table cluttered with brushes, papers, bottles of paint, and an easel.

Setting the canister on her bed, she opened it and plucked out the stone. She ran her fingertips over its tiny carvings before adding it to the jar on her nightstand, which held the other gifts he’d given her — each stone a different size, shape, and color, and each with a unique pattern etched into it.

After removing the folded letters from within, she sealed the container and stood it on the floor against the wall to await the next exchange.

Seven long days to go.

“From Macy?” Jeanette asked from the doorway.

Aymee turned toward her mother. Jeanette’s hair, skin, and eyes were darker than Aymee’s, but the resemblance between them was clear; her youthful spark and natural beauty made them look more like sisters than mother and daughter.

In that moment, Aymee was overcome with thankfulness — her parents’ easy demeanors meant she didn’t have to keep these secrets from them. She’d always been close to her mother, and she’d adored her father since her earliest memories. He’d never pushed her into thefamily business; his work as the town’s doctor had fascinated her from a young age, and she’d been the one to start following him and her brother to the clinic every day to learn all she could.

When their medical scans had revealed Macy was pregnant with Jax’s child, it had been Aymee’s father, Kent, who made sure there’d be no record of it for the other townsfolk to find. Somehow, though it seemed impossible, Aymee loved him a little more that day.

“Yeah.” Aymee smiled. “She didn’t write back last week, which isn’t like her.”

“I’m sure her parents are eager to hear from her then, too.” Jeanette’s returned smile quickly faded. “There are some strangers here from Fort Culver. They’ve asked the town council to hold a meeting this evening.”

Aymee’s stomach knotted with unease. “Why?”

“They haven’t said anything yet. I was waiting for you to get home, so we could go together. Your father’s already there waiting for us.” Jeanette dipped her chin, indicating the letters in Aymee’s hand. “You can bring those. I’m sure Camrin and the Sinclairs will be there.”

“How long have these strangers been here? I hadn’t heard anything about it until now.” Aymee removed the letter with her name and tucked it beneath the jar of rocks.

“They came into town when you were on your walk.”

“And they’ve already got a meeting set up?”

“You know as much as I do at this point.”

“Okay.” Aymee took a deep, steadying breath. There was no reason to be anxious. Strangers came into town from time to time; it was just a little variety sprinkled into the everyday routine. “Let’s go.”

They went outside and walked toward the town hall side-by-side. Many more townsfolk were emerging from their homes and heading the same direction.

“Evening Jeanette. Hi Aymee!” Maris Everett called as she approached. She was a few years older than Aymee, and, though they’d lived next door to one another all their lives, they’d never been more than acquaintances.

“Hello, Maris,” Jeanette said. “Thank you again for the muffins this morning. I had to chase Kent out the kitchen when he tried to come back for a third within ten minutes of you dropping them off.”

Maris laughed. “It was the least I could do after what he and Aymee did for my James.”

“How is he?” Aymee asked.

“Better. He’s still in a lot of pain, and he won’t be back to work for a while, but thanks to you two he still has both feet — even if he’s short a few toes.” The woman’s smile was at once grateful and sorrowful as she shook her head. “I don’t know what we would’ve done otherwise, and if he hadn’t…”

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