Page 45 of Summer Love

Joy laughed. "Oh, yes, I think everyone knows Sofia."

"She has an active social life with her friends and the senior center. I didn't want her to have to move away from the only home she's ever lived in."

"She has one of the little cottages on the beach?"

"That's right."

"Yeah, it would be a shame if she had to move."

"That's why I'm here. And now that I'm back, I'm remembering all the things I loved about the island."

"The beach?" Cooper asked. "There's not much else to see."

"Did you want to move away at any point?" I asked him.

Cooper nodded. "I did for college. But our business is here."

"You don't like the beach?" I asked him, wondering if this was an issue for him.

"It's not that I don't like it. But the island's small, and there wasn't a lot to do growing up here. There's one tiny movie theater, and everything else caters to the tourists."

"Ignore Coop. He's grumpy today for some reason," Shep said, making everyone chuckle, but I wondered if Cooper's comments didn't come from something deeper.

Maybe all the Kingstons weren't content to live on the island or work for their father.

"Luna's friend, Penny, recently moved to Colorado for a change of scenery. She ended up falling in love with a doctor there and settling down," Joy said.

"I heard about that. It’s quite a change from the beach."

"She initially moved there for a temporary teaching assignment. She wanted to experience winter. Apparently, she got snowed in with the local doctor, and the rest is history."

"I can’t wait to talk to her about it. I've wondered what it would be like to write people's stories and submit to various news outlets and magazines."

"I didn't realize you were interested in freelancing," Hudson said.

"It's something I've thought about. I enjoy learning about people's lives and sharing their stories. Those kinds of things tend to be freelance."

"Is that what you're doing at the island magazine?" Joy asked.

"This is my first story, and it's a test of sorts to see if I'm a good fit."

"What happens if it doesn't work out? Will you go back to Boston?" Jonathan asked, refilling his glass with lemonade.

I sighed. "I'm not sure yet. There are certainly more jobs in the city than here for a writer."

"I would think you could write anywhere," Hudson said.

"I don't have a lot of experience on my resume yet. You have to put your time in before you can get freelance jobs." This bachelor piece was light compared to what I wanted to do. But maybe there was a story worth sharing.

"I heard you went with Hudson while he was mentoring Shane?" Joy asked.

"That's right. It sounds like such a great organization.”

"The business contributes to their scholarship program,” Jonathan said.

"That's amazing." The fact that the business was active in the community and a volunteer program was interesting and would be the perfect addition to the article. "Does anyone else do anything for the community like that?"

"Shep offers his services to various businesses," Jonathan said.

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