Page 60 of The Cottage on Blueberry Bay

But like the boat, Meredith was just starting to comprehend Jacob’s situation for fifty years.

“You’ve been taking care of Jacob all this time?” she asked.

Ginny smiled as she nodded. “We sure have.”

Remy was right. Meredith needed to think about the whole picture before selling. “We’ll be there.”

Remy smiled at that. “We look forward to meeting you all.”

Ginny laughed at this. “That’s just fantastic!”

“Is there anything we should bring?” Meredith asked.

“Just yourselves!” Ginny put her hand on Meredith’s back, and the touch felt good, comforting. “All the girls will be tickled you came.” Ginny waved goodbye and left.

Meredith turned to face Remy. “She’s a lot, right?”

Maybe Meredith was a cranky old lady.

“I think she’s fabulous,” Remy said. “I bet Mom would’ve been a Queen.”

That made Meredith smile. “She would.” Meredith felt the ache she often did when thinking about her mom. The kind of ache one has for something in the past that can never be recreated again—her being in the safety of her mother’s presence.

Her family unit had been the safest place she’d ever felt. It was why she lived down the road from them. It was why she had wanted to raise her children by them. It was why she had spent most of her free time, if she could, with her mother.

Would she have felt that safe with Jacob? After the accident?

“I think we should be Queens,” Remy said to her.

Meredith shook her head at the idea. “We can’t. We don’t live here. This isn’t our house.”

“Meredith!” Remy slammed her hands on the island counter. “This is yours! This can be your home. This can be what you want it to be. All you have to do is to dream it.”

CHAPTER24

Quinn worked all day on a client’s suit against his contractor. The whole thing would cost Quinn more in time and effort than the bill he would charge his client. But that was how small-town lawyers made their money. They stretched every ounce of their skills so they could represent family, friends, friends of friends, and daughters of dead people.

“That sister is going to change her mind about selling,” Ginny said from her desk. “She’s just like her mother.”

“Make sure you don’t get Kyle all amped up again,” he warned his mother.

Ginny had a way of expanding the truth.

“I don’t think we need to worry,” Ginny said, filing papers as she whistled.

“Mom, I love you, but don’t go and get your hopes up,” he said. “She has no connection or ties to this community other than a statue in the middle of town.”

Ginny frowned at him. “Well, we’ll have to be her connection.”

She shook her finger at him.

“Besides, those sisters need some quality time together,” Ginny said, going back to her computer. “They need to put some work into their relationship.”

“That’s not any of our business,” Quinn said, looking at the time. He slapped down his laptop and stuffed it into his bag. “I’ve got to run some paperwork down to the sheriff. Will you make sure Kyle does some of the chores on the list before he goes out with Brianna?”

“Will do,” Ginny said. “And what chores should he be doing?”

“He should be doing the trash tonight, along with our own lawn.” Quinn had fallen behind in everything lately, including reminding his son of what he was supposed to do. “When did I learn to do chores on my own?”

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