He hadn’t thought about her in years. Yeah, years ago he had been crazy about her when he was just a stupid, starry-eyed kid. He had dreamed about her all that last summer, when she came back to Cannon Beach without her braces and with curves in all the right places.
First love could be an intensely powerful thing for a sixteen-year-old boy. When she left Cannon Beach, his dreams of a long-distance relationship were quickly dashed when she didn’t write to him as she had promised. He had tried to call the phone number she’d given him and left several messages that were never returned.
He was heartbroken for a while but he’d gotten over it. By spring, when he’d taken Robin Cramer to the prom, he had completely forgotten about Julia Hudson and her big green eyes.
Life had taught him that a tiny little nick in his heart left by a heedless fifteen-year-old girl was nothing at all to the pain of having huge, jagged chunks of his soul ripped away.
Now, sixteen years later, Julia was nothing to him. He just needed to shake this weird feeling that the careful order of the life he had painstakingly managed to piece together in the last two years had just been tossed out to sea.
He could think of no earthly reason he shouldn’t be able to treat her and her children with politeness, at least.
He couldn’t avoid interacting with Julia, for a dozen reasons. Beyond the minor little fact that she lived three houses down, he was still working on renovating several of the Brambleberry House rooms. He couldn’t avoid her and he sure as hell couldn’t run away like a coward every time he saw her kids.
He looked up at Brambleberry House again and his gaze automatically went to the second-floor window. A shape moved across again and a moment later the light went out and somehow Will felt more alone than ever.
* * *
“THANK YOU BOTH again for your help today.” Julia smiled at Sage and Anna across the table in her new apartment as they finished off the pizza. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
Anna shook her head. “We only helped you with the easy part. Now you have to figure out where to put everything.”
“We have dishes in the kitchen and sheets on the beds. Beyond that, everything else can wait until the morning.”
“Looks like some of us need to find that path there sooner than others,” Sage murmured, gesturing toward Maddie.
“Not me,” Maddie instantly protested, but Julia could clearly see she was drooping tonight, with her elbow propped on the table and her head resting on her fist.
Even with her short nap, Maddie still looked tired. Julia sighed. Some days dragged harder than others on Maddie’s stamina. They had spent a busy day making all the arrangements to move into Brambleberry House. Maddie had helped carry some of her own things to her bedroom and had delighted in putting her toys and clothes away herself.
With all the craziness of moving in, Julia hadn’t been as diligent as usual about making sure Maddie didn’t overextend herself and now it looked as if she had reached the limit of her endurance.
“Time for bed, sweetie. Let’s get your meds.”
“I’m not ready for bed,” she protested, sending a pleading look to Anna and Sage, as if they could offer a reprieve. “I want to stay up and help move in.”
“I’m tuckered myself,” Julia said. “I’ll leave all the fun stuff for tomorrow when we’re all rested, okay?”
Maddie sighed with a quiet resignation that never failed to break her heart. She caught herself giving in to the sorrow and quickly shunted it away. Her daughter was still here. She was a miracle and Julia could never allow herself to forget that.
Before she brought in any other boxes, she had made sure to put Maddie’s pill regimen away in a cabinet by the kitchen sink. She poured a glass of water and handed them to her. With the ease of long, grim practice, Maddie downed the half-dozen pills in two swallows, then finished the water to flush down the pills.
Because her daughter seemed particularly tired, Julia helped her into her pajamas then did a quick set of vitals. Everything was within normal ranges for Maddie so Julia pushed away her lingering worry.
“Good night, sweetie,” she said after a quick story and kiss. “Your first sleep in the new house!”
“I like this place,” Maddie said sleepily as Julia pulled the nightgown over her thin shoulders.
“I like it, too. It feels like home, doesn’t it?”
Maddie nodded. “And the lady is nice.”
Julia smiled. “Which one? Sage or Anna? I think they’re both pretty nice.”
Maddie shook her head but her eyes drooped closed before she could answer.
Julia watched her sleep for a moment, marveling again at the lessons in courage and strength and grace her daughter had taught her these last few years.
A miracle, she thought again. As she stood watching over her, she felt the oddest sensation, almost like featherlight fingers touching her cheek.
Weird, she thought. Sage and Anna had warned her Brambleberry House was a typical drafty old house. She would have to do her best to seal up any cracks in Maddie’s room.
When she returned to the other room, she found only Simon, curled up in the one corner of the couch not covered in boxes. He had a book in one hand and was petting Conan absently with the other.
What a blessing her son loved to read. Books and his Game Boy had sustained him through many long, boring doctor appointments.
“Did Sage and Anna go downstairs?” she asked.
“I think they’re still in the kitchen,” Simon answered without looking up from his book.
She heard low, musical laughter before she reached the kitchen. For a moment, she stood in the doorway watching them as they unloaded her grandmother’s china into the built-in cabinet.
Here was another blessing. She was overflowing with them. She had come back to Cannon Beach with only a teaching position and her hope that everything would work out. Now she had this great apartment overlooking the sea and, more importantly, two unexpected new friends who were already becoming dear to her.
She didn’t think she made a sound but Sage suddenly sensed her presence. She glanced toward her, her exotic tilted eyes lighting in welcome.
“Our girl is all settled for the night?”
Julia nodded. “It was a hectic day. She wore herself out.”
“Is she all right?” Anna asked, her features tight with concern.
“Yes. She’s fine. She just doesn’t have the stamina she used to have.” She paused, deciding it was time to reveal everything. “It’s one of the long-term side effects of her bone marrow transplant.”
“Bone marrow transplant?” Anna exclaimed, her eyes wide with a shock mirrored on Sage’s features.
Julia sighed. “Yes. And a round of radiation
