Page 68 of An Island Summer
“I can’t ask him now,” Meghan said, shaking her head as she recalled their last meeting. She’d put him through enough with the journal. She didn’t want to be any more of a burden. At the very least, she didn’t even know what to say to him if she called him.
“The money isn’t due until the work is completed, right?” Tess asked, standing up and coming over to stand next to where she was sitting on the sofa. Charlie stirred on the floor beside them, getting up and walking out to the patio where he flopped down in the sun. “Maybe we can figure something out.” She gestured toward the front door. “We should take a walk. It’s beautiful outside. Want to go? We can run through ideas, and it might clear your head.”
“You can go. Take Charlie. He needs a walk,” Meghan replied, swallowing the lump in her throat, her stomach churning. “I just want to sit here for a while and think.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You go.”
“All right,” she said, eyeing her. “Text me if you change your mind.” Tess turned to Charlie. “Wanna go for a walk?”
The dog hopped up, jogging inside, his tail wagging furiously.
After Tess and Charlie left, Meghan picked up Hester’s journal from the table and went out and sat by the pool. She tipped her face to the warm sun and closed her eyes as she held the book in her lap. She lay there for what felt like hours, drifting off until her thoughts pulled her back to reality. The repairs for Pappy’s house would set her back so far that she’d never get on her feet, let alone move her career forward. And while Hester’s journal clearly stated that there was an inheritance, she had no way to get it. The worry about it all circled in her brain like a cyclone.
Finally, restless from her contemplations, she opened her eyes. “Hester, you’ve been in my position. You know what it’s like to not be sure of your path,” she said quietly into the air. “What am I supposed to do?” She listened for anything, a word on the wind, a sign from above—anything at all—but nothing came. Meghan sat up, staring out at the Atlantic, processing none of the view as she swam around in her thoughts.
What did Hester learn from her life?she asked herself. She opened the journal, her gaze falling on the line:I spent my entire life chasing happiness, and I didn’t know it was right in front of me the whole time.Pappy’s words now made even more sense. “The only thing we really need is love.”
“All right,” she said to herself as she closed the journal. “What have I loved since getting here?” She loved seeing Rupert, making up the recipes for the muffins, and coming back to Pappy’s. Unexpectedly, her mind went to Toby, but she wouldn’t allow the thought to come through. She pushed it out of her mind and focused on the rest of it.
What was her first step? What was the first thing she could tackle? Toby aside, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the things she loved weren’t about money or fame. The things that made her whole were her relationships, following her heart when it came to work, and coming back to her roots.
Tess burst through the door, interrupting her inner dialogue. “Come with me,” she said, jerking Meghan up by the arm, an enormous smile on her face. “Hurry! I want to show you something. Get your purse and your shoes.”
Charlie hopped up on the sofa, watching them.
Meghan set the journal back on the coffee table inside, grabbed her handbag, and slipped on her flip-flops. “What’s all this about?”
“Just wait!” Tess dragged her outside and locked the door, leading her down the massive front steps of The Seabreeze.
“Where are we going?” Meghan asked, shuffling up beside her.
“The Memory Box!”
They walked along the sandy sidewalk, past a group of tourists coming off the beach, and through the line of palm trees leading to the second-hand shop. “Did you find something else of Hester’s?” Meghan asked.
“Nope,” Tess replied, leading her around the corner. “Better.” She pointed toward the building.
Perched beside it was an old wooden cotton candy cart with two large wheels on one end and pegs on the other, with a faded red exterior. “What’s this?”
“It’s your future.”
A confused smirk wiggled its way across Meghan’s lips. “What?”
“What if we convert this cart and set it up next to the beach access in the mornings? You can sell your muffins, do taste tests—we could even serve coffee.”
Meghan stared at the dilapidated cart. She’d set her expectations a bit higher, but the idea wasn’t so bad. While taking classes or opening a restaurant would take a ton of money, this would be an easy investment. “How much is Simp asking for it?”
“Forty bucks.”
Meghan’s mouth fell slack. “Forty dollars? That’s all?”
“He said it’s been here for years.” Tess cut off Meghan’s view of the old cart. “Because it’s been waiting foryou.”
“So, I’d be like… the muffin lady?” she asked, trying on the idea.
“That’s exactly what you’d be.”
