A sisters blessing, p.15
A Sister's Blessing, page 15
“What do you want to do today?” Heidi asked her son, watching as he drizzled syrup over his pancake.
David considered this. “To be honest, I might have to do a little bit of editing this morning.”
Heidi’s heart lifted. “For your next book?”
“Yes. My agent is expecting another round of edits by the end of the month, and I’m a little bit behind,” he explained.
“You can work in the sunroom!” Heidi said, overwhelmed with joy that her son wanted to bring his writing career into her home.
“Sounds perfect,” David said.
“Do you mind if I sit with you and read?”
David’s eyes lit up. “I would love that.”
After Heidi had done the dishes, she crept into the sunroom to sit in a cushioned chair and do her best to focus on her book. At the desk, David typed on his manuscript, adjusting his glasses when he got stuck and deleting entire paragraphs to make room for better words and more clarity. Heidi alternated between looking at her book and up at David, unable to believe he was actually there.
All Heidi’s life, she’d thought books to be endlessly magical. It was incredible that her son was a part of that magic.
Throughout the few days she and David had spent together, David had shared a number of stories from the past seven years. The fact that he’d been married and divorced already shocked Heidi, although she tried her best not to show it. Although she knew pain was always a part of life, she hated that her son had had his heart broken so profoundly.
When David had asked Heidi about any love in her life, Heidi had struggled not to laugh. Romance had never been a part of her world. All she’d had was the bookstore, and now, all she had was David. She decided that was a pretty good trade.
Around lunchtime, Heidi rose to prepare soup and sandwiches. David thanked her, his smile illuminated, and Heidi said, “Keep writing. I’ll come get you when it’s ready.”
Just as she began to slice onions for a homemade soup, the doorbell rang. Heidi washed her hands and hurried toward the foyer, where she opened the door to find Alyssa and Maggie, with Lucy propped up on Maggie’s hip. March sunlight glowed behind them, making them look almost angelic.
“Oh goodness!” Heidi’s smile widened. “Maggie! Alyssa! Lucy! Come in, please.”
They did, laughing at Heidi’s excitement.
“You look so beautiful and happy, Heidi,” Maggie said as Heidi closed the door behind them.
“Having David around has done wonders for me,” Heidi said. “Our stay at the Lodge didn’t hurt, either. It was so dreamy there.”
Heidi ushered Maggie and Alyssa into the living room, where they sat on the couch as Lucy played with her toys on the floor.
“David’s hard at work in the sunroom,” Heidi explained. “His agent wants to see a new version of the manuscript by next week.”
“Wow,” Maggie said, clearly impressed.
“Don’t be too impressed.” David appeared in the living room, adjusting his glasses again as he smiled down at Maggie and Alyssa. “Good to see you again! How was the city?”
Heidi’s curiosity was piqued. How had David known the girls were in the city?
Maggie winced. “It was interesting, to say the least.”
“We won’t be back for a while,” Alyssa explained.
David sat in the cushioned chair nearest to Maggie and crossed his ankles. “I have to admit that I feel no desire to go back to the city right now, either.”
Heidi’s heart lifted. “I already told you that you can stay here as long as you want.”
David’s smile lit up Heidi’s soul. “She’s too good to me,” he told Maggie and Alyssa.
“She’s too good to us, too,” Maggie breathed. She then lifted her eyes toward Heidi as she added, “Heidi, I’ve come here to talk to you about something.”
Heidi frowned. Her first thought was that she’d done something wrong.
“Over the past few months, my personal life went up in flames,” Maggie continued. “Now that I’m in the early stages of a divorce, I’m remembering the few times I was happy this year. Almost all of the times involve baking for you at The Dog-Eared Corner. It really thrilled me.”
“Oh.” Heidi dropped her gaze. “I’m so sorry that I’ve already sold it.” She hated that she’d gotten rid of Maggie’s only source of joy.
Maggie raised her chin. “I’ve come to tell you I’ve bought The Dog-Eared Corner from the developer who took it from you.”
Heidi’s gaze was filled with shock as she looked up at Maggie. “What did you just say?”
Beside Maggie, Alyssa nodded.
“Girls, no. You shouldn’t have spent all that money,” Heidi said softly. “You have a baby on the way. Lucy needs you. It shouldn’t have gone to a silly bookstore.”
“That bookstore is not silly,” Maggie corrected. “And I guess we haven’t been very forthcoming about our situation. Our father was very rich and left us a lot of money when he died.”
“Our dad wasn’t a very nice man,” Alyssa continued. “And I feel uneasy about the money he left us.”
“Me too. But that’s why I want to use it for things like this,” Maggie explained. “I want The Dog-Eared Corner to go on, and I want it to be in your name.”
Heidi’s eyes filled with tears as she started to understand what the girls were telling her. On the one hand, she wanted to throw her arms around these young women and weep. On the other, she wanted to refuse the money, to tell them she didn’t need it.
“Mom,” David murmured. “That bookstore is your life. You have to take it.”
Heidi placed her hands over her face, genuinely at a loss. Maggie stood and hurried over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Why?” Heidi spoke into her hands. “Why do I deserve this?” Her heart burst with emotion. David was back and the bookstore was hers.
Maggie sighed. “Because you’re a wonderful and kind person. You deserve to keep doing what you love to do.”
“And because we just like you, Heidi,” Alyssa added, her voice sassy. “Isn’t that enough?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was mid-April and time for the opening party for the new and revitalized Dog-Eared Corner. New books had been ordered, the shelves had been returned to their original places, and the real estate developer had begun to sniff elsewhere, no longer interested in the old colonial. Maggie had made it very clear that he couldn’t have it. Good riddance.
Alyssa was almost two months pregnant, miraculously, and although she didn’t show yet, she felt the pregnancy in numerous ways. Most days she was very tired, very nauseated, or both at once. “It’s fun,” Alyssa said as she placed her head on the kitchen table, watching Maggie do the finishing touches on her red velvet cupcakes. She’d made so many baked goods for the party, staying up late and waking up early that morning to make sure everything was done in time.
Maggie hurried over to her sister to rub her back. “I’m so sorry, Alyssa. They say the second trimester is easier?”
Alyssa groaned. “They better be right.”
“This summer, we can go shopping for pretty maternity clothes,” Maggie tried to lift her spirits. “I know how much you love shopping.”
“Big, flowy summer dresses?” Alyssa asked.
“As many as you want,” Maggie assured her.
Not long afterward, David knocked on the front door of the Remington House. He’d become a frequent fixture in Alyssa and Maggie’s lives as they’d begun to put The Dog-Eared Corner back together again. If Alyssa wasn’t mistaken, David had an epic crush on Maggie. His eyes were all goo-goo when he looked at her, and he laughed at even her worst jokes. It was adorable to see, even if Alyssa wasn’t sure if Maggie had feelings for him at all. Maggie needed an ego boost right now, and David was marvelous company— so none of it felt harmful in the least.
“Hi, David!” Maggie greeted him warmly and led him to the kitchen, where he assessed the boxes of baked goods.
“Mom said you would outdo yourself,” David said to Maggie.
Maggie blushed. “It wasn’t that much work.”
This was the lie of the century, Alyssa knew.
As Maggie and David loaded the baked goods into David’s car, which he’d recently purchased to get around the island better, Alyssa stole a red velvet cupcake and ate it slowly, relishing every bite. Lately, Maggie had loosened her restrictions around Alyssa’s diet, saying, “As long as you eat plenty of nutrients, you can have a few goodies here and there. Life’s too short to be so strict.”
When Maggie and David returned to the kitchen to grab more boxes of baked goods, they were buzzing with laughter.
“Did I miss something?” Alyssa asked.
Maggie sputtered. “It’s hard to explain.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t make any sense,” David said, watching Maggie continue to giggle.
Not long afterward, Alyssa and Maggie drove over to The Dog-Eared Corner to help David and Heidi with set-up. The party was set to begin at three and go until eight, during which time Heidi planned to feature book sales and dole out sugary goodies and other prizes. The goal was to remind Martha’s Vineyard how special The Dog-Eared Corner had always been.
In the bookstore, Heidi was hard at work on the finishing touches of the redecoration. She wore a light blue blouse and a sharp skirt, and her gray hair flew out behind her beautifully. It was a rare thing to see a woman lean into her years so gracefully, but Heidi had recently made it look easy. The bookstore and the reunion with David had saved her.
Of her early onset dementia, Heidi had said the doctors had her on a better medication, one that should allow her many more years of normal life. “I plan to appreciate the time I have left,” Heidi explained.
Now, Heidi greeted Maggie and Alyssa with warm hugs and then set them to work, which they were glad for. Maggie and David set out the baked goods and stored the extras in the back for easy retrieval as Alyssa swept the floor, cleaned the coffee shop tables, and set the music on the speakers.
At three exactly, Heidi unlocked the door and opened it to allow April sunlight to beam through. On cue, Janine, who carried Lucy, Elsa, Grandma Nancy, and Carmella, with little Georgia, stepped through the door, smiling and congratulating the team on the re-open. Heidi blushed and thanked them, guiding them to the punch and the baked goods. Elsa looked at books for a little while and purchased several for gifts as Janine grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and nudged Alyssa with her elbow.
“What’s going on there?” Janine said as she nodded toward Maggie and David, who flirted openly behind the counter.
Alyssa laughed. “I have no idea.”
“She hasn’t mentioned anything?”
Alyssa shook her head. “I think David is in love with her, and Maggie is too numb to realize it.”
Janine sighed. “I hope he’s a good guy.”
“Maggie needs a good guy,” Alyssa agreed.
Janine’s eyes sparkled. “What about you? Have you met anyone lately? Anyone who caught your eye?”
“Mom, I’m pregnant,” Alyssa told her.
“So? That hasn’t stopped women before.”
Alyssa chuckled. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I’ve turned that part of my brain off.”
“I think that’s really good,” Janine said reflectively. “It’s healthy to focus on yourself for a little while. To ask yourself what makes you happy, and not anyone else.”
The first day at The Dog-Eared Corner couldn’t have gone better. Heidi’s sales were through the roof, and they gave out nearly every cupcake, cookie, slice of cake, and piece of tart. When Heidi flipped the open sign to closed, she turned and clapped her hands joyously, her eyes alight.
“Today was wonderful,” she said as she walked back toward her team. “I could feel my father here every minute of it. I know he’s looking down on us with a lot of pride.”
Heidi admitted she was exhausted, and as soon as she finished cleaning up, she said goodnight to the three twenty-somethings and bid them goodbye. Afterward, Maggie, David, and Alyssa gathered their things, locked up the bookstore, and decided to head to a local bar for a small celebration. Alyssa said she would come to have juice or tonic water and then head home to sleep. “I’m not like you youngins,” she joked. “I need my sleep.”
In the bar, David led them to a corner booth, where they sat, ordered sodas, and spoke excitedly about the newest era of The Dog-Eared Corner. They toasted the future, told one another they would make peace with the past, and then ordered a round of French fries just because.
David disappeared to go to the bathroom, leaving Alyssa and Maggie alone for the first time since that morning. Alyssa placed her head on Maggie’s shoulder, her heart ballooning with joy. Maggie grabbed a French fry and nibbled at the edges as her eyes dimmed.
“What’s up?” Alyssa bucked off Maggie’s shoulder, suddenly frightened.
Now that David was gone for a moment, it looked as though Maggie was finally allowed to show her true feelings. Alyssa felt nervous and strange.
“If you don’t want to hang out with this guy, we can leave,” Alyssa said softly. “We can run out the door right now and head home.”
Maggie closed her eyes, and the corners of her lips wiggled toward her ears. She looked as though she suppressed nervous laughter.
“Oh my gosh. You like him,” Alyssa joked, knowing it was impossible for Maggie to have fallen for David so quickly.
Maggie raised both of her shoulders.
“Oh my gosh! You do!” Alyssa laughed as joy flowed through her. “Well, you could do a lot worse, Maggie. He’s cute and successful. A little neurotic, maybe, but that only adds to the cuteness.”
Maggie finally opened her eyes and stared at the hallway that led to the bathroom, as though she was frightened he would return too soon.
“Okay. Yeah. We’ve been out a few times,” Maggie whispered.
Alyssa’s mouth fell open in shock. “When?”
Maggie shrugged. “I don’t know! You were with Scarlet in Nantucket one of the nights.”
“You snuck out on a date while I wasn’t around?”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Maggie shot out.
Alyssa laughed. “What’s the big deal? I’m happy for you!”
Maggie winced and then placed her hands over her face. Her reactions were strange and all over the place. What was going on?
“Maggie, don’t beat yourself up for falling for someone,” Alyssa urged. “You told me you and Rex were over for a long time before you officially left him. You deserve a little love in your life.”
Maggie again laughed into her hands. “Thank you for saying that. Really.” She paused for a long time, and Alyssa stirred with curiosity and agony. Why was she acting so strangely?
And then, finally, Maggie revealed what was actually going on.
“I was stupid, Alyssa. Really stupid.”
“You’ve never been stupid.”
“Well, I was. I um. I wasn’t careful.” Maggie dropped her hands and stared at the bathroom hallway. “I mean, every doctor in Manhattan told me I couldn’t get pregnant.”
Alyssa’s jaw was now nearly on the floor. “Maggie. No.”
But Maggie couldn’t keep it in a second longer. Her smile widened from ear to ear. “I haven’t told him yet.”
Alyssa squeezed Maggie’s elbow so hard that Maggie yelped. “Ouch!”
“I’m sorry,” Alyssa cried. “I just cannot believe this!”
Suddenly, David emerged from the bathroom hallway. He rolled his sweater sleeves to his elbows and grinned at Maggie as he approached, his face echoing with love.
“What can’t you believe?” David asked as he slid into the booth across from them.
Maggie looked like a deer caught in headlights, and Alyssa knew she had to take over— to say what needed to be said.
“We just can’t believe how well everything worked out,” Alyssa explained. “We think we might be the luckiest women in the world.”
Coming next in the Katama Bay Series
Pre Order Moonlight on the Bay
Other Books by Katie
The Vineyard Sunset Series
Sisters of Edgartown Series
Secrets of Mackinac Island Series
A Katama Bay Series
A Mount Desert Island Series
A Nantucket Sunset Series
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Katie Winters, A Sister's Blessing
