Page 6 of Bluebell Promises

Celia and Juliet exchanged glances. Wren guessed that one of them might have taken her in if only they had a spare room in their place. But Ivy had taken the family home for her own family. It meant that she had the most space.

“We need to get back to the party,” Ivy said, squeezing her hands into fists and letting them go. “We’ve worked too hard to miss it.” She turned and headed out of the house, leaving the door open behind her, as though she expected Juliet and Celia to follow.

When it was clear that Ivy wasn’t in hearing distance, Celia murmured, “Is it your Graves’ disease? You can tell us. We won’t rip your head off.”

Juliet nodded. “We want you to be well. That’s all.”

“It isn’t.” Wren shook her head. “I promise, I’m just exhausted. It was a weird summer.”

She knew that she couldn’t tell them the truth. Not the full truth. Not yet.

“Go back to the party,” Wren urged them. “I didn’t know it was going on. I would have planned my flights differently.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Celia said. “You can come to Bluebell Cove any time, any day. No matter what party we’re having. You’re always welcome.”

But eventually, Celia stepped out, leaving Juliet and Wren alone. Knowing that Juliet wouldn’t yell at her, Wren pulled herself up slightly so that she could eat one of her tofu tacos. Although she’d rather have chicken or beef, she was so hungry that she thought maybe these were the best tacos she’d ever had. She knew the Eco-Lodge had to maintain its commitment to environmentalism. Maybe that was why there was tofu instead of meat.

“Wow,” she murmured, closing her eyes. “This is so good.”

Juliet sat on the edge of the sofa and smiled. “My boyfriend made them.”

Wren remembered the events of a full year ago, when Juliet had first begun to hang out with Theo Maddox again. Wren recalled the phone calls, during which Juliet had explained that she was helping him with his restaurant. She remembered, too, the panicked phone call that Juliet had made to Wren in the middle of the night. Juliet’s daughter, Danica, had been missing. She’d run away with a friend from the internet. Wren felt heavy with guilt. Not long after that, she’d been whisked into a chaotic photography project for her editor, Max. She’d allowed herself to stop thinking about her family. She’d allowed herself to forget Bluebell Cove.

“Theo,” Wren breathed. “You fell in love with him.”

“I wanted to tell you,” Juliet said. “I think I fell in love with him almost immediately, but we didn’t let it go anywhere till maybe Christmas. It was all such a whirlwind after that. We already saw each other almost all of the time, and then suddenly, we were talking about moving in together. Danica adores him, which is great and surprising, since she does not like everyone and is very hard to please.” She smiled.

“I can’t wait to meet Danica,” Wren said, realizing as she said it that it was ridiculous that she hadn’t ever met Juliet’s daughter before. If she’d told Angelos that she hadn’t met an important member of her extended family, he would have said, “You owe it to your family to go back and make peace with them. Don’t be a ghost.”

“She’s very curious about you,” Juliet said sadly. She gazed at the door, then said, “Ivy doesn’t mean anything bad by it, you know. I think she doesn’t always know how to love people the right way, if there even is a ‘right’ way. It sometimes comes off badly. It’s gotten a bit better since she got together with Elliott and refurbished the flower shop and got Lily off to college. But it’s still tricky.”

“People are who they are,” Wren agreed quietly.

They held the silence for a moment. Juliet got up, wringing her hands. “Do you need help getting up to your room?” She reached for Wren’s backpack, which someone had brought over. “I’ll carry this up for you and get you situated.”

Wren was in no position to argue. She followed her sister upstairs, carrying the water bottle Ivy had gotten for her. Within five minutes, she was tucked into her childhood bed, gazing into the soft light that the room held, now that the drapes were closed. She could just barely hear the rock band next door, playing yet another of her father’s favorite songs. She was home. But she felt no better than she had this morning in Athens, all alone. She hoped that would change.

4

Ben didn’t know what to do with himself at the Eco-Lodge party. Gripping his beer, he stood near the food table, searching the crowd for his brother, Landon. When Landon returned from carrying one of the Harper sisters next door, Ben raised a hand, hating himself for how unsociable he was in crowds. But he’d just returned to Bluebell Cove after many years away. He didn’t know how to talk to any of them about his past. He needed Landon.

“Hey, man,” Ben said as Landon sidled up to him, grabbing another beer from the cooler. “Nice work, saving the day.”

Landon shook his head. He was slightly pale, and Ben wondered if he’d tired himself out. “I don’t think Ivy’s being her kindest self at the moment,” he said finally.

Ben winced. Although he didn’t remember all the intricacies of the Harper family, he knew that siblings could be harsh to one another, that they could be the ones to point out your deepest flaws. He was grateful that his older brother, Landon, was not like this.

“Her name’s Wren, right?” Ben asked. Wren had been a few years younger than him in school, although he couldn’t remember ever talking to her.

Landon nodded and sipped his beer.

“Is she all right?”

“She is,” Landon said. “At least I think so. I know she had a health scare a couple of years back. I thought it was under control. But I don’t think they’ve heard from her in a while.”

“I hope everything’s okay.”

Ben didn’t know what else to say, so he scanned the crowd. Most of the faces were familiar, although he couldn’t fully place them. When a few of them tried to make eye contact with him, he returned his attention to Landon. “Well, man, I think I’d better hit it. Early start tomorrow morning. Surgery.”