Home is where the heart is.
The words played in Elise Hawthorne’s head as she stared at her grandmother’s beach cottage, her beach cottage, on a sunny early August afternoon. It was exactly a month since her interview at Spring Bunnies preschool, where she’d start working as a teacher in a little more than three weeks.
Gravel crunched under her sandals as she walked up to the wooden porch. The grass on both sides of the path was a yellowish shade of brown, tall weeds the only spots of green. She remembered the luscious green grass and the colorful flowers her grandmother was so fond of, and the thought of her reaction if she could see the state of her garden now brought on a sense of desolation.
The wooden planks on the three front steps creaked under Ellie’s weight, making her fear they would give in. Yellow paint peeled off the façade, and the once-upon-a-time white pillars supporting the porch were now dirty gray. Her heart ached at the sight of the abandoned cottage that had once been so full of life.
Being an Army brat, Ellie had never stayed in one place long enough to call it home, but whenever she spent her summer vacations with her maternal grandparents in Spring Harbor, she’d always felt as if the tiny cottage was her actual home. From the first time she’d stepped out of her grandparents’ car and seen the two-story wooden cottage, Ellie had hoped one day she’d be able to live in a place like it.
Now it was hers. Well, hers and Ethan’s. But since her twin brother was still in Afghanistan and would be for at least another couple of years or so, until his commitment with the U.S. Army was through, she could consider it hers for the time being.
Ellie hadn’t thought twice about leaving her city life behind when she’d gotten the call from her grandmother’s attorney. All she’d ever wanted, after spending eighteen years packing up her life every few years to move from one state to another, was to find a place where she could put down roots, a place to call home. And after the incident with Spencer Boren and her forced resignation from her job in San Francisco, she’d been eager to put as much distance as possible between herself and the man, leaving the city—and the gossip—behind.
Just like most little girls, Ellie used to dream that one day her Prince Charming would come on his white steed and whisk her away to his castle. She’d dreamed of a fairy-tale romance like the one her parents had. When she met Greg, her first serious boyfriend, during her freshman year in college, she thought she’d found her one. But three years later, while she was dreaming of wedding bells, he told her he’d applied for a job as a Navy doctor and would be moving to Virginia. Sure, he’d asked her to move with him, but after growing up in a military family, she’d promised herself she would never subject her children to an itinerant life. And marrying a military man would mean moving around the country all over again.
More than anything she’d wanted stability, she’d wanted the white picket fence, a dog, and friendly neighbors who’d come for iced tea on lazy Sunday afternoons, while their children splashed together in a kiddie pool. But her little bubble had burst in her face, dreams of Prince Charming and happily-ever-afters exploding like paintballs.
A year later her father died, during what was supposed to be his last mission before he retired, and after that, her mother withered away until she could no longer endure living without him. For three years she lived in a kind of limbo, until the day she gave up and took her life. That day, Ellie had promised herself she would never let a man take control of her heart and soul to the point he became her whole world. She concentrated on her studies, started working at a prestigious preschool in San Francisco, and eventually her path crossed with Spencer’s. Whether she was too naive, or vulnerable because of everything that had happened to her, she’d believed his lies. She’d wanted to believe he could be the one to help her get back on her feet. And that had been her biggest mistake.
The smell of dust and stiff air hit her straight on when she opened the door, bringing her back to the task at hand. She hated when memories crept back at the worst possible times.
This would be the start of her new life, a blank page in her notebook she’d fill with beautiful memories; she didn’t want to spend it reminiscing about what could have been or what stupid mistakes she’d made.
She navigated the living room in the dark, her mind remembering exactly where each piece of furniture was located, and pulled the heavy curtains open, letting the sunlight in. Then she opened the French doors and took a long breath of summer air. The smell of salt and grass brought back memories of happy days.
As the rays of the afternoon sun warmed the living room, she looked around, and reminders of her childhood beamed at her. Pictures of Ethan and her at different ages still sat on the mantelpiece; knick-knacks they’d brought home as souvenirs from all the cities and countries they’d lived in still clustered the shelves of the cherry bookshelf in the corner of the room; framed watercolors and oil paintings still hung on the walls.
Ellie closed her eyes, remembering the days she’d spent there with her grandparents, the summer vacations she always looked forward to, and sadness squeezed her gut. Her grandmother had been right in the letter she’d left her: Ellie and Ethan would need to fill the house with something that would be uniquely theirs, something that wouldn’t remind them of the past. She’d have to make it her home.
Although this was as much her house as it was Ethan’s, she was sure he wouldn’t mind. Next time she talked to him, she’d ask whether he’d like her to store some of the furniture in a warehouse, in case he wanted it when he came home from Afghanistan.
If he ever did.
She shook the thought away. She’d been worried about her twin ever since the day he enlisted. When they sent him off to Kandahar four years ago, she’d been downright terrified, but he’d made it through so far, and he came home to see her whenever he was sent back to the States.
He’d come home for their mother’s funeral three years ago, as well as for their grandmother’s seven months ago. Now she hoped he’d be able to come home, if not for Thanksgiving, at least for Christmas. Or maybe just whenever. She missed him, and talking to him on Skype wasn’t enough to put her mind at ease. He insisted he was just a medic and wasn’t in any kind of danger, but she’d checked out enough websites to know that army medics were in exactly the same kind of danger as other soldiers. He was in the U.S. Army; little did it matter to the rebels that his job was to help wounded soldiers. His uniform was enough to make him just another target.
Her phone rang, and she was grateful for the distraction. When her mind wandered in the wrong direction, it took a humongous effort to think positive.
She smiled when she saw Charli’s face flashing on the display. She’d only been gone a few hours, but she missed her best friend already. Losing her friends every time her family moved to another town, she never really made too much of an effort to meet new ones. She’d never had a best friend until Charli had steamrolled into her life.
“Wow, phones work there, too. I’m shocked! Tell me, is there electricity, or are you going around holding an oil lamp?”
Ellie laughed. Charli was a city girl through and through. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, she’d later moved to San Francisco to attend the Hospitality Tourism and Management classes at SFU, where she and Ellie had met. They’d shared a room from day one of their freshman year, and once they’d started working and could afford a more adult-looking place, they moved to a tiny but nice two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts, but still within easy reach of the city.
Charli’s eyes had widened in disbelief when Ellie told her she was actually considering moving to Spring Harbor, instead of keeping the cottage as a summer house. If a place didn’t have at least ten thousand residents, two malls, ten coffee shops and twenty different restaurants you could choose from, it didn’t count as a possible residence in Charli’s mind. She could barely believe Ellie wasn’t moving to the Little House on the Prairie.
“Stop being such a snobby city girl, Charlotte Ariela Wingate,” Ellie said now, knowing how much her friend hated being called by her full name, since it reminded her of when her grandmother used to reprimand her. “I love this little town, and I’m looking forward to a slower pace of life. You of all people should know this move has potentially saved my life. And my career, too.”
Charli was the one person who knew how hard the last six years had been on Ellie. Losing her parents, her grandmother, and her job one after the other had taken a big toll on her. Ethan had come home on a three-week leave after she’d discovered their mother’s lifeless body, and he’d been the big brother he always claimed he was—just because he’d been born two and a half long minutes before her. And he’d come back when their grandmother had passed away, even though it was only for a few days. But only Charli knew what had happened with Spencer and why Ellie had been forced to leave a job she loved, just because she’d believed a liar who ended up being nothing more than a lousy cheater.
Only Charli could understand how the call from Grandma Lilian’s attorney had come as a godsend for Ellie, when people had started pointing at her, whispering as she passed them by.
“This place is going to work miracles on my nerves. The waves crashing is the only sound I can hear right now. You should come here and see for yourself.”
A snort came from the other end of the line. Charli and country life went together like fire and ice.
“Yeah, right. Tell you what: I’ll come to your wedding. I’ll even organize it for you without charging a dime.”
Ellie laughed. Seeing as Charli knew very well Ellie’s take on love and the forever kind of relationships right now, her statement meant Charli would never set foot in Spring Harbor—unless hell froze over or some other unlikely event happened.
“Now, tell me about you. Has Donnie moved in yet?” Ellie asked.
A spluttering noise followed by a coughing fit came from the other end of the line.
“We’ve only been together four months; it’s a little too early for that. Or for wedding bells and promising forever.”
Charli organized weddings and other events for a living, but apparently she wasn’t that interested in organizing her own wedding just yet. Ever since Ellie had known her, her relationships had been fleeting; Donnie had been the longest one she’d had so far.
“Well, don’t forget I called dibs on being the maid of honor. Whenever you decide you’re ready to settle down.”
Charli chuckled. “And in the unlikely event you change your mind about men, you know I’d gladly do the same.”
Ellie had a feeling she wouldn’t change her mind anytime soon, but Charli didn’t need to know that now.
“I’ve got to go,” she said instead. “It’s time I started getting something done, if I don’t want to sleep on the floor tonight. The house is a dusty mess.”
“Eek, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes. I’m slouched on the couch, enjoying a glass of red with nacho chips.”
Charli let out an audible sigh of contentment, and Ellie smiled. She wished she could be there, too. That was one of their feel-good moments after a long, stressful day.
“I’m hanging up on you now, friend.” Ellie said the last word through gritted teeth, making Charli laugh.
They said goodbye, and as the quiet of the house engulfed her, Ellie questioned her decision. Would she be able to live here all alone, without knowing a single person she could hang out with?
After opening all the windows to let more fresh air in, she went outside and looked sadly at the back garden. The inside of the house was in bad need of a makeover, and the outside wasn’t any better. The once lush garden that Ellie remembered filled with colorful flowers was now a withered patch of brown and beige. Her grandmother would cringe at the sight; she’d always been fond of her garden, and Ellie couldn’t remember ever seeing a weed or a dead plant.
“I’ll get it back to how it was, Grams,” she said, as if her grandmother could hear her. She smiled up at the sky, then went back inside to concentrate on more urgent tasks, like cleaning the room where she’d be sleeping and getting rid of all the dusty sheets that covered the old furniture.
Tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep and with a clear head, she’d write a to-do list and start working on getting the house back to a livable condition.