The Moonglow Sisters Page 16

  Seeing Grammy through this crisis.

  Terrified their grandmother might pass away without one of them at her side, the sisters thanked the Quilting Divas for their help but took over the shifts, sectioning them out in eight-hour stints that matched the nurses’ shifts. Gia sat from seven A.M. to three P.M. Shelley from three P.M. to eleven P.M. Madison volunteered for nights.

  They only saw one another during their shift changes. Darynda came as often as she could, but the experience took a toll on her and the three sisters insisted she take care of herself. They promised to call her if anything happened.

  Grammy remained in a coma. The nosocomial infection had originated in her lungs and curing it took heavy-duty antibiotics. One bit of optimistic news was that her brain was healing from the surgery.

  Gia would take whatever she could get. Hope was hope.

  But along with the hope came a dark radical thought. Was it right to hold on? Should they be prolonging Grammy’s suffering? When was it time to stop fighting and let go?

  Not yet, Gia told herself. Not yet. Not until her sisters had fully mended fences. Not until they renovated the inn. Not until they finished the quilt.

  The need to finish the quilt ate at her, but until Grammy’s infection was gone, the sisters couldn’t afford to do anything but sit vigil.

  When the Chamber of Commerce heard about the latest news, they swooped in to help—neighbors, friends, shopkeepers. The community came together. With Mike acting as general contractor, the town’s residents volunteered their time and resources to repair the inn—painting, patching, plastering.

  Each afternoon when Gia came home from the hospital to find another chore completed she felt as if she must be dreaming. To find tile laid and fixtures replaced, and hardwood floors refinished. Where else but a place like Moonglow Cove did people come together to unselfishly give to one of their own?

  The Moonglow sisters owed the town so much they could never repay the debt. The price was too precious; the rescue, too intense; the rehabilitation, too intimate.

  Without the townsfolk, they simply wouldn’t have made it.

  Every day, Gia expected to wake up and realize it had all been a sweet, impossible fantasy. Before she opened her eyes in the morning, she’d take a deep breath and feel the soft corners of her sleep and test reality. Wriggled her toes. Heard the steady cadence of ocean waves. Smelled fresh paint and sawdust. Visceral and true. She lifted her eyelids by millimeters, searching for the first whisper of light, then slowly accepting that it was a new day, a new reality.

  The inn was changing around her, while at the same time, nothing at the hospital changed. The contrast between past and future stood out glaring and stark.

  Gia controlled none of it. She felt like a princess trapped in her ivory tower, twiddling her thumbs and waiting for the spell to break. Fearing the freedom yet knowing in her heart that’s where salvation lay.

  Like the cracking of an egg, you had to fracture the shell to let the goodness out.

  On the last day of May, she sat mindlessly playing Candy Crush at Grammy’s bedside, when a soft knock sounded at the door.

  Looking up, Gia glanced over her shoulder to see Mike and Anna standing in the doorway. The nursing staff had long given up holding the Clark family and friends to the visiting hours and the no-more-than-two-visitors-at-a-time rule. As long as they were quiet, respectful, and stayed out of the way, the staff allowed them unrestricted access to their grandmother.

  “Morning, Short Stack,” Mike murmured.

  “How is she today?” Anna nodded at Grammy.

  “The same.” Gia turned off her cell phone and slipped it into her purse.

  Mike inclined his head at Anna, who stepped forward and rested a hand on Gia’s shoulder.

  “I’ve come to sit with your grandmother until Shelley gets here to give you a break,” Anna said.

  “That’s okay. I’m good.”

  “You and your sisters have been doing this around-the-clock shift for over a week,” Mike said. “You’ve got to take care of yourself. You have no idea how long this will draw out.”

  He was right, but leaving her grandmother felt wrong.

  “Let us help, we’re family, too,” Mike said.

  “Or will be soon,” Anna added.

  Gia glanced down at his ring on her finger. The simple, round-cut diamond in a platinum setting. Traditional, but high quality. Just like Mike. She smiled and turned the ring around and around on her finger. Too bad the engagement isn’t real.

  Anna’s voice lowered. “Please? I need to do this, Gia. Helen has been so good to me over the years. I want to repay her kindness.”

  “That’s so sweet of you, Anna, but you’ve got a bakery to run and two little kids who keep you hopping.”

  Anna tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Penny’s manning the bakery,” she said, referring to her pastry chef. “And Kevin is home this week, so he’s watching the kids.”

  “Besides,” Mike said. “I’ve come to whisk you off for an afternoon of kiteflying.”

  Anna pulled an e-reader from her purse. “It’ll be great. I can sit and catch up on my reading. Looking forward to diving into the new Kristan Higgins novel. She makes me laugh so hard.”

  “Are you two ganging up on me?” Gia asked.

  “Yep,” Mike said. “You have to stay healthy to take care of Grammy when she comes home.” He sounded so sure it was true, as if it were a foregone conclusion that Grammy would come home.

  Helpless in the face of his optimism, she nodded.

  * * *

  NOW, TWENTY MINUTES later, here she was on the beach, wind in her hair, sand between her toes, and so happy she’d agreed to the outing, even if guilt was riding right along with her.

  “This kite is amazing.” Mike’s grin lit up his face as the blue fish kite that Gia had mailed him from Japan for his September birthday swooped and soared in the wind. “I’ve been waiting for you to come home to fly it with me.”

  This was why she made kites. That look in his eyes. Giddy glee. His pleasure was hers.

  “Style, grace, color. This kite has it all. It’s not just beautiful, it flies high.” Mike eyed her. “Just like the gorgeous person who built it.”

  “Oh you.” She laughed and shook her head. She stood still, allowing the wind to take her kite higher. She was flying her favorite, a pink dragon with a long tail. It was a two-string kite she affectionately called Puff.

  “I’m not kidding. This is the easiest kite I’ve ever flown.”

  “The wind speed is perfect today.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short. It’s not the wind. This kite is not just well crafted. It’s art.”

  “That’s why I went to Japan.” Gia laughed again, happy to be on Moonglow Beach, flying kites with her best friend as they had so many times as children.

  Mike’s blue fish kite chased after Puff. “Your skills just keep getting better and better.” He raised his voice so that she could hear him over the sounds of the wind whipping around the kites. “I’m amazed at how much you’ve learned.”

  “My mentor taught me that kitemaking forms a triad of scale, weight, and symmetry. If one aspect is off, the kite will not fly. It’s all about balance,” she said. “Just like with life.”

  “You’ve nailed all three.” He stared up at the kite.

  “That’s because my teacher made me carve the bamboo over and over until I perfected the thickness and form. Sometimes, it would be off by barely a millimeter, and he’d shake his head and give me that look like he’d sucked on a lemon and say, ‘Start again.’”

  “Your attention to detail paid off big-time.”

  “He also had me study Eastern imagery to learn how to paint traditional designs. The fish kite has a very old history. It swims in a sea of sky.”

  Mike shook his head. “I’m so damned proud of you, Gia. You’ve carved out your niche in the world.”

  His words gave wings to her heart, and her hopes flew as
high as their kites. “Just as you have with your woodworking.”

  “Who would have thought that day I took you out to fly your first kite you’d end up making them for a living?”

  “It’s not a career they encourage you to pursue for career day in school.” Gia chuckled. “Let me tell you, everyone but you tried to talk me out of it.”

  “When you love something as much as you love kites, you gotta go for it.”

  “I confess to plenty of doubts. To spend so much time and effort pursuing a dying art? I asked my mentor whether it was smart to work so hard for something that might never be anything more than a hobby.”

  “What did he say?”

  “In the softest voice, he said, ‘As long as there are people who care about kindness, beauty, and authenticity, people will make kites.’

  “In my Americanness, I said, ‘Yes, but will they be making money making kites?’”

  “What was his answer?”

  “He rubbed his bald noggin the way he does, like it’s a magic lamp and if he just rubs it long enough, a genie will pop out and grant him three wishes. Then he said, ‘Kiteflying is lucky; kitemaking even luckier. Make your own luck, Minarai. Build more kites.’”

  “Why does he call you that?” Mike asked. “Minarai?”

  “It means ‘apprentice,’” she said.

  “It’s weird,” Mike said. “You’ve had this whole life I hardly know anything about.”

  Gia winked at him. “I like to keep you guessing. Besides, who’s the one who runs off to Caribbean islands to build homes for hurricane victims? You’re a hero.”

  “Nah, just helping out where I can.” His strong, capable hands played out the line, sending his fish sailing over her pink dragon’s head. They’d flown kites together on Moonglow Beach since they were in grade school. It felt so comfortable being here with him. Familiar and safe. “God gave me a talent. It would be a shame not to share it with people in need.”

  “See? That attitude right there is why I love you.”

  I love you.

  Startled, Gia hitched in her breath. Had she really said that? What would he think about it? And damn, but she did love him. He’d been a fixture in her life for as long as she could remember. But now? She was feeling a whole different kind of love for Mike.

  Tentatively, she shot a glance over at him.

  He was studying her, but she couldn’t read his thoughts. Her pulse skipped. “How are you doing?” he asked.

  “I’m g-good.”

  “Really?”

  “Well . . . you know.” She shrugged as if she were all chill and casual. “Under the circumstances.”

  “It feels like a month since I’ve seen you.” Mike’s eyes were on the kite, his hands expertly maneuvering the line of the jaunty blue fish kite he’d sent soaring, but his voice, that sexy masculine voice, was full of yearning.

  For her?

  Gia gulped, and her pulse quickened. “You see me every day.”

  “While I’m running a construction crew in your house. That doesn’t count. I’ve missed spending time with you.”

  “We’re here together now,” she said.

  “So we are.” His smile was the sun, bright and cheerful, and she felt like a hungry sunflower, soaking it all up.

  She was so busy watching him smile that she didn’t notice her kite had lost momentum until the string slackened in her hand. Pulling back, she tightened up on the line and her pink dragon kite bobbled before catching an updraft and taking off again.

  They flew kites side by side, and for a moment, it felt like they were kids again—carefree and easy. A peaceful camaraderie. Their connection growing deeper through silence and a shared activity they both loved. Being with Mike was a breeze. A respite from regular life.

  “You didn’t have to come rescue me from the hospital,” she said after several minutes.

  “I’m aware of that.”

  “How come you showed up?”

  “You do so much for the people you love, it’s time someone did something nice for you. Besides, your family expects us to spend time together. If we didn’t, it’d be weird. I’m your fiancé, remember?”

  As if she could forget that. Gia rubbed her thumb along the band of the ring he’d given her. The string fluttered in response to her movement, sending the pink dragon gyrating.

  “I’ve been thinking . . .” she said, rescuing the dragon from the dive, pulling back, stepping away from Mike.

  “About?”

  “How long we should drag out this fake engagement?”

  “You’re not holding out for finishing the quilt?”

  “That goal seems further and further away,” she said. “Plus, my sisters are getting along much better. Do we really even need to finish the quilt?”

  “It was your grandmother’s last request.”

  “True, and my sisters’ truce is probably because they barely see each other since the three of us started the shift rotation.”

  “I’ll leave it up to you when to tell them.”

  “Sooner seems better than later.”

  “But is now really a good time?” he asked. “With your grandmother so sick?”

  “You’re right. It’s just that . . .”

  “What?” He met her gaze and his blue eyes took her hostage.

  “You’re in limbo. You can’t date anyone else while we’re pretending.”

  “Cuts both ways. Neither can you.”

  “I don’t want to date.”

  “Me either.”

  “It’s not fair to you.”

  “Don’t I get to decide what’s fair for me?” he asked.

  “Yes, sure.”

  “Ultimately, Gia, this is your family. It’s up to you. Just know that whatever you decide, I’ll support you.” His gaze refused to let her go. “I’m here for you . . . know that. Always.”

  “How did I get so lucky to have a friend like you?” she murmured.

  “Gia.” His intense stare was disconcerting. If he didn’t keep his eye on his kite, it was going to crash.

  Overwhelmed, she gulped. “Yes?”

  She was staring at Mike’s lips and he was studying hers and she had a feeling they were both thinking about the kiss they’d shared last week, and a hard, hot shiver shot down her spine.

  “Gia,” he repeated.

  What was going on here? This was the man she had known for most of her life. They’d been to family celebrations together, swum in the ocean together, and he’d been the first man she’d ever danced with.

  Was it just her imagination? Was he feeling something building high and fast, just as she was? Or was she fooling herself?

  The wind calmed.

  She felt her string go slack and before she could compensate for the dropping wind speed, the pink dragon slammed hard into the blue fish. Their kite lines tangled and simultaneously the two kites fell from the sky, enmeshed.

  “Bravo!” Someone on the beach clapped loudly.

  Together, they turned to see a slender woman in rhinestone sunglasses, a wide floppy hat, and a teeny string bikini. Behind her stood a tall beefy man, who looked like a security detail. Black shorts and a black polo shirt, thick arms folded across his chest. He wore dark sunglasses and an even darker scowl.

  “A stunning display of kiteflying,” the young woman enthused in a brown-sugar voice.

  Something about the woman looked very familiar. Did Gia know her?

  “Ar-are you Pippa Grandon?” A starstruck Mike’s eyes bugged.

  Pippa Grandon was an up-and-coming starlet from Houston. She’d made a big splash as the wide-eyed ingenue in last summer’s blockbuster superhero movie and the media had dubbed her the new Jennifer Lawrence.

  “I am.” Pippa held out a delicate hand loaded with bling on every finger, cocked her head, and sent Mike a coy glance through lowered lashes.

  Petty to be sure, but Gia felt a jab of jealousy. Tightness gathered in her chest, and her pulse spiked. It was all she could do not to
tell the woman to put on a cover-up.

  “Might I see the kite?” Pippa said, affecting a slightly British accent. Gia had heard Pippa had just finished wrapping up a rom-com in Great Britain. “I’ve been watching you, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen kites quite like these. Where did you get them?”

  “She’s the kitemaker.” Mike slung his arm over Gia’s shoulder and puffed his chest out as he grinned with pride.

  For her.

  A corkscrew of happiness twisted through Gia’s middle.

  “No kidding?” Pippa took off her sunglasses and examined the pink dragon kite more closely. Her bodyguard came nearer. “What do you think, Bruno?”

  Bruno grunted.

  “I agree.” Pippa nodded.

  “I’m Gia Clark.” Gia held out her hand and added, “Mike’s fiancée.”

  “I’m Pippa Grandon.” She shook Gia’s hand. “And congrats on your engagement.”

  “Thanks.” Gia nodded, pretending she didn’t know who Pippa was.

  “Gia studied in Japan for a year under a master kitemaker,” Mike bragged.

  Pippa eyed Gia up and down. “Impressive.”

  Gia’s cheeks warmed. Unlike Madison, she wasn’t comfortable with the spotlight.

  “Are you from Moonglow Cove?” Pippa asked.

  “I live right there.” Gia pointed at the Victorian on the incline rising up above the beach where they were standing.

  “Oh my gosh, the house is adorbs. This is your place?”

  “My grandmother’s,” Gia explained. “The Moonglow Inn.”

  Pippa shook her head. “I wish I’d known about your B&B when I booked this getaway to Moonglow Cove. Do you have any vacancies?”

  Gia shook her head. “My grandmother is in the hospital; we’re not taking guests at the moment.”

  “Bummer, why didn’t I know about this place?” Pippa pulled out her phone. She opened the browser and searched for the Moonglow Inn. “It says here that the inn is closed, and you got a couple of tacky Yelp reviews. No wonder I didn’t notice the place.”

  “Those Yelp reviews happened when my grammy was running the place by herself, but my sisters and I are back home and we’ll be running it after the renovations.” This wasn’t entirely true, but she wanted to cast the inn in the best light. Pippa had a huge following on social media; one positive tweet from her could fill the Moonglow Inn with guests.