Page 65 of An Island Summer
Everything now a muddle in her mind, she continued reading, hoping to get more answers.
I can’t say I was great at figuring life out. I was a bit of a disaster. But what I hope to leave you is something I never had: a clean slate. Fill this journal with your own story, and use the money to take you wherever you want to go. Just don’t let it take you too far away from the people you care about the most. I spent my entire life chasing happiness, and I didn’t know it was right in front of me the whole time.
Be ruthless in finding your own.
All my love,
Hester
Meghan closed the journal and held it to her chest, her entire life flashing before her in snapshots. “I ran to New York in search of a more glamorous life. I’ve spent all my time working, never settling down. I’m still struggling to find my own happiness…” The silence buzzed in her ears. “I’m just like her,” she whispered, sliding down to the floor, pulling her knees up and pinning the journal to her heart.
Tess lowered herself down beside Meghan. “Yes,” she said. “But your lives could be very different if you want them to be.”
Meghan nodded, Pappy’s words coming to her:Your dreams are just your future stretching out in front of you. It’s up to you to act on them.“You’re exactly right.” After today, her life was about to change.
“I’ve left two messages for Toby, asking him to call me back,” Meghan said, falling down next to Charlie on the plush sofa at The Seabreeze, her gaze falling on the journal sitting on the glass coffee table in a beam of light coming in from the back wall of windows.
Tess brought two bowls of soup over, setting them down in front of them and plopping onto the sofa beside Meghan. Charlie perked up, his nose twitching at the savory scent from the steaming bowls. “What do you think he’s going to say?”
“I have no idea.” She prayed that he’d totally understand and they’d figure it out together, but she wasn’t so sure things could go that smoothly if he was, in fact, using the money and if the account was in Rupert’s name. “I should probably contact a lawyer. I don’t have Hester’s will, and Rupert isn’t of sound mind to confirm this.”
“Talking to Toby would be your best option, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a lawyer.”
Meghan nodded, thinking, and then got up, grabbing her laptop. “Happen to know any lawyers in the area?”
“Fresh out,” Tess teased, wriggling next to Meghan as she sat back down and picked up her bowl, spooning out a mouthful of soup.
With a quick search, Meghan had a list. “I guess I’ll just call one.”
Tess grinned. “You can do anything you want once you have the money. What are you going to do with all of it?”
Pulling her from her questions, Meghan threw her fingers to her mouth in utter disbelief, all those days of not knowing how she’d pay for even little things nearly behind her. She looked up at their lavish surroundings in The Seabreeze. “Like you said, anything I want.” She let out an excited giggle.
Meghan’s phone went off on the table, making her jump. “It’s Toby,” she said, looking at Tess.
“Get it,” Tess urged her.
Holding her breath, she answered the call. “Hello?”
“Hey,” he said, and she bit her lip, wondering how to even approach any of this. “You called?”
“Yeah,” she said, her breathing shallow with her nerves. “Can we meet for a coffee tomorrow? I have something I need to show you.”
TWENTY-TWO
“There’s a pretty big issue in the wall behind the stove,” the electrician said, wiping sweat from his dirty face as he stood opposite Meghan in Pappy’s kitchen while the other men continued to work on old wiring throughout the house.
The cottage was scorching and full of dust again, the wood floors covered in dirty work boot prints. The drywall she and Tess had just painted had been cut into all over the house, leaving large places where they’d have to be patched and repainted. She’d basically be starting over, and much of the money she’d spent on painting seemed to have been lost. The heating and air company she’d hired to put in central air had already cornered her to choose the equipment she’d wanted installed and they were busy taking measurements.
“It looks like you’ve had two or three different owners wiring on top of each other,” the man said, tugging on a massive knot of different types of wires. “No wonder you had problems. This is going to take a while to sort out.”
“How long?” she asked.
“About a week or two longer than we’d expected. We’re looking at a good month.”
“A month?” She didn’t know if she could stay in The Seabreeze for an entire month. Not to mention that she was living out of a suitcase…
The electrician grabbed the ball of wire. “Up to you. You wanna leave this here or fix it?”
