The Moonglow Sisters Page 28

  He’d seen her at her absolute worst and he was still looking at her with that sultry gleam in his eyes.

  She gulped and told him what had happened with her sisters. About the big misunderstanding that had dismantled their family. About how Shelley had taken the blame for Raoul’s misdeeds.

  “I’m glad things are on good footing with your sisters.”

  “Me too.”

  Their eyes locked.

  “What about us?” she whispered. “Did I ruin things with you?”

  He stuck out his hand. “C’mon.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Where we always go when we need to sort things out.”

  “But what about the kiosk? You’re losing sales.”

  “I don’t care about that. You’re what matters.”

  He led her to his vehicle parked in the boardwalk parking lot. Opened up the sliding cover of his pickup bed, took out two kites. One was the blue fish kite she’d made him. The other was a store-bought unicorn kite.

  “Allie’s,” he said by way of explanation as he handed Gia his niece’s unicorn kite.

  She thought about Puff, who’d sacrificed his tail to reunite the Moonglow sisters. “I need to make Allie a proper unicorn kite.”

  “She’d love that,” he said.

  He was whistling the song from Mary Poppins. “Let’s Go Fly a Kite.” How upset with her could he be if he was humming? Smiling, Gia joined in, singing along.

  In his left hand he carried both kites. With his free hand, he took her hand and guided her back to the park. It wasn’t particularly breezy, but there was enough wind that with a little effort they could achieve lift.

  There, in the afternoon sunlight, they flew their kites.

  As they flew, three children joined them with kites of their own. Three little girls carrying matching red kites.

  Gia watched as the oldest helped the two younger ones get their kites in the air.

  Aww, how sweet. But then, once all the kites were aloft, the oldest girl used her kite to smash into her sisters’ kites. The younger sister fought back, tugging on the string to strangle the oldest sister’s kite. Soon it was an all-out kite war among the siblings as they battled for control of their part of the sky. But they were laughing and smiling the entire time.

  Gia reeled in her own kite, getting out of their way. Mike followed suit, and they returned the kites to his pickup.

  She glanced around, looking for a parent, but the girls seemed to be on their own. It struck her then, how much responsibility had truly been on Maddie’s shoulders. No wonder she’d been a prickly perfectionist. At only nine years old, Madison had thought it was up to her to make sure their home life ran smoothly.

  Maddie hadn’t had a childhood. Not from the time their parents died, and while Grammy had tried her best to give them love and structure, Madison still felt responsible.

  It was why Gia had never questioned her. Maddie was in charge and Maddie had been there. Her one solid constant.

  Gia gulped. And this time the tears she cried weren’t for herself, but for her sister and all Madison had lost. She understood Maddie in a way she’d not understood her before. Why success and achievement meant so much to her. Why she pushed and pushed and pushed. Because if she didn’t, Madison feared everything would fall apart.

  But now that Gia’s own world had fallen apart, she was discovering that until things fell apart, the new couldn’t come through. She realized that things falling apart was a natural part of the process and that as the old fell away, the bright and fresh could flourish and bloom.

  “Are you okay?” Mike asked.

  “I’m fine.” She smiled. “We’re all going to be fine. And I have you to thank for it.”

  “What did I do?” he asked, smiling.

  “You were there,” she said. “You were willing to lie for me to make my life easier. Only a true friend would do that.”

  “I love you, Gia. I know it makes you uncomfortable to hear me say that, but it’s the truth. I can’t change the way I feel about you.”

  “I don’t want you to.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She could see the pulse in the hollow of his throat throbbing, could feel a corresponding throb in her own chest. “I mean . . .” She took his hand in hers. “I’m sorry for being skittish. It threw me when you told me you’d bought that engagement ring for me. I wasn’t ready to hear it.”

  “I get it,” he said. “I was disappointed at your reaction, but I did spring it on you.”

  “I just need some time.”

  “I understand.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want you. I do. Want you.”

  “I understand,” he repeated.

  “You do?”

  “Haven’t you learned by now, Short Stack, that I mean what I say? I think it’s smart to take your time. I was the one rushing things. I was just so happy to make our engagement real I didn’t think about what a bind I was putting you in.”

  “Not a bind—”

  “You do need to please yourself and if that means taking a year, I’ll be here. If it means five years, I’ll be here. If it means ten years. Ditto.”

  “You’d put your life on hold for me?”

  “Gia, don’t you get it? I love you. I would do anything for you. I admire that you had the ability to put on the brakes when you felt rushed and not get caught up in the excitement. It’s the adult thing to do. Nothing will be lost by us taking our time. I want you to be one hundred percent certain that I am what you want.”

  “I’m already certain about that,” she said. “I want to marry you, Mike. I love you with all my heart and soul. Have loved you from the time you took that five-year-old girl out on the beach and taught her how to fly a kite.”

  He put his hands on her shoulders, stared deeply into her eyes. “What’s different since this morning?”

  She smiled at him, honest and true. “I patched things up with my sisters. I see things differently now. I’m less scared.”

  “What were you scared of?”

  “Things falling apart. I love my sisters more than anything in the world and yet, I thought I’d lost them forever. I lost my parents and now Grammy is so ill, we’re going to lose her, too, eventually. I know that.”

  “So why the change of heart?”

  “I experienced a paradigm shift when I learned Shelley sacrificed herself to spare my feelings, and to save Madison from a huge mistake. I thought all this time she was being selfish, when she was the exact opposite.”

  “But how did Shelley’s sacrifice adjust the way you look at the world . . . at me . . . at us?”

  “She was so brave. She’s always been brave. She calls it recklessness. Others have called her impetuous, but Shelley is just brave. She follows her heart. She takes chances. Sure, she gets hurt, but she lives. Fully lives with abandon. I want to be brave like that. I want to take chances. I can’t do that if I’m busy trying to please everyone else.”

  “I agree, so don’t say you want to marry me just to please me.”

  “This isn’t about you, Straus.” She laughed at his confusion. “It’s about me. I want you. But there is one small catch.”

  “What’s that?” he asked, looking a bit nervous.

  “I got a call from Pippa Grandon. Remember she told me she’d give me a month to think about her job offer?”

  “Did you say yes?”

  “I did.” Gia grinned. “But that means I can’t start planning my wedding until I get those kites done.”

  “Fair enough,” he said.

  “Do you still have that ring?”

  He reached in his front pocket and pulled out the ring. “Do you really like it? Should I buy a better one?”

  “Don’t you dare. You bought this ring for me and it’s the one I want.”

  “I want you to be pleased with it.”

  “I’m thrilled.”

  “Honestly?”

  “Are we doing this or not?”
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br />   He laughed, took her left hand in his, and sank down on one knee.

  Her whole body shook, and her heart sang, and the sun was shining, and there were three red kites bobbing in the sky behind him.

  “Gia Jasmine Clark, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? For real this time?”

  “Oh, Mike.” She laughed. The day that had started out as one of the crappiest days of her life was turning out to be the best. “I only have one thing to say.”

  “Yes?”

  “What took you so damn long?”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes, yes, yes!”

  He slipped the ring on her finger, stood up, enveloped her in his arms, and as those three red kites flew over their heads, they kissed with the passion that only lifelong friends who’d recently become lovers could feel.

  In the sweetness of sunset, in the circle of Mike’s arms, Gia felt her true self emerge, whole and complete. She was fully present to the moment and aware of the unity of existence while at the same time holding on to the sense of self she’d found by letting go of pleasing others.

  She and Mike were part of something larger than themselves. As were she and her sisters. They were connected, not only to each other, but to Moonglow Cove, and the big wide world beyond. They were part of the ebb and flow of life. Their love for each other had helped them to transform and break down barriers.

  As enduring as the ocean waves, unconditional love was the cornerstone of transformation.

  Gia’s heart was wide open, and she was no longer afraid. She let go of suffering, let go of the pain of the past. She was here now, with the man she loved, and everything was absolutely perfect.

  With undying gratitude, she looked up at the sky, at the three red kites bobbing in the dying light, and whispered the truest words she knew. “Thank you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Moonglow Cove

  FUSIBLE WEB: A material that has been treated with an adhesive that fuses fabric pieces together when pressed with a warm iron.

  WORD SPREAD FROM one side of Moonglow Cove to the other. The Moonglow sisters were back together again, twenty years after they first came to live in the stately old Victorian at the end of Moonglow Boulevard, and the townsfolk rejoiced.

  But there was more to the reunion than simple homecoming.

  The sisters bore the scars of five years spent apart; they had become warriors through trials and tribulations. Their union was stronger now than ever, their suffering forging them into the steel of courage, truth, and right action.

  They were sisters in every sense of the word, banding together to make their grandmother’s final days extraordinary. They expanded their world to include their loving community of Quilting Divas, the Chamber of Commerce, and the hospital employees. They threw galas and fundraisers for those in need, hosting quilting bees and beach events.

  With their blond hair blowing in the Gulf breezes as their smiles pumped everyone around them with enthusiasm, the sisters conducted yoga classes and wreath-making workshops and kiteflying lessons. Every night that endless summer, they linked arms and walked along the beach, before returning home to Grammy and Darynda.

  When summer turned to fall, and Grammy’s health improved, she moved in with Darynda closer to the city center. Fun-loving Shelley transformed the Moonglow Inn into a vibrant B&B with a gourmet chef, a six-month waiting list, and stellar Yelp reviews. She and the chef hit it off and food was not the only thing cooking in that sizzling kitchen.

  Responsible Madison went back to Manhattan to her homemaking show and reconnected with her ex-fiancé, Finn. They worked through their issues and the grief over losing their baby that had torn them apart and were rebuilding their love and trust with each other. Madison stayed in contact with her sisters every day and flew home once a month to see them.

  Gia moved in with Mike and she worked hard to fill Pippa Grandon’s wedding kite order. Mike helped in the evenings when he’d finished his woodworking. Together they got the job done in half the time and were able to move on to planning their wedding.

  The sisters looked like moonglow—shimmering, golden-haired, luminous. There was magic to them. A softness. A shining. A warm, gentle light.

  Once again, the sisters brought smiles to faces and the entire town embraced them. Loved them. Rejoiced when they all came together for Gia and Mike’s wedding day.

  It was a joyous family reunion. Things had shifted and changed, but one thing stayed constant and enduring, their deep abiding love for one another.

  People whispered, “If the Moonglow sisters can make it through the worst of times, so can we.”

  Indeed, they were the shining example of a family transmuted by overwhelming grief into open acceptance of the sweet mystery of life. They had all come full circle back to wholeness.

  Epilogue

  Helen

  GRANDMOTHER’S FLOWER GARDEN: Grandmother’s Flower Garden is a popular and traditional quilt pattern made using clusters of hexagons to create flowers.

  Gia’s Wedding Day, One Year Later

  My Dearest Darling Granddaughters,

  As I write this, I sit on the back veranda in my favorite Adirondack chair, watching as Gia and Mike take their wedding vows in front of the altar he built for her with his own hands. Beyond them the Gulf of Mexico stretches out true and blue, a timeless reminder that love is enduring.

  Draped across my lap is the Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt that Madison, Shelley, Darynda, and I sewed for Gia’s wedding present, created from the remnants of the quilt Gia destroyed when she stopped trying to please everyone, including me. She passed her challenge with flying colors. The quilt now stands as the perfect symbol of what you girls have learned. That the old must fall away to make room for the new.

  Holding on to the past is what hamstrung us all. Letting go of the hurt and embracing the love and the people we have in the present moment is the key to happiness. Never forget this, my loves.

  Quilting holds the key.

  I hope you continue to use the skills I’ve taught you. Use your memories to create something that keeps you warm at night, instead of clinging to worn-out emotions that tie you to past mistakes. We are all flawed, but we are also all perfect in our humanity.

  Forgive one another. Love one another.

  That is the lesson of the quilt.

  Pyewacket, the scamp, is hiding in the flowers atop the altar, and I pray she does not decide to jump down onto them when the minister tells Mike he may kiss his bride. Although I suppose it might make for a lively ceremony and what a future quilt that memory will make.

  Looking at the layer cake set on the table awaiting the beach reception, I feel so much joy. Three layers of flavor. A beautiful compromise thought up by our dear friend Anna Drury, now your sister-in-law, as each layer represents each of your personalities. White cake on the bottom for our traditionalist, Madison, devil’s food cake in the middle for our rule-breaking Shelley, and strawberry cake at the top for our peacemaking Gia.

  The three of you unified again, as it should be.

  So many symbols today and if you see tearstains on this letter, it is only because I am so very happy.

  My heart overflows to see Madison with her Finn, who keeps his hand so softly on her pregnant belly. This little one will thrive and survive and be the first one to bring forth the new generations in Moonglow Cove. And Shelley grinning at her sous chef, Sebastian, who kneads the back of her neck as they sit together. I sense another wedding in the offing.

  I watch as Mike takes Gia’s hand and puts his ring on her finger and vows to love, honor, and cherish her to the end of his days. I know with certainty that he will. Never have I seen such devotion, except in the eyes of my own partner. I recall, in the misty way of newlyweds, our sweet Christmas wedding, one month after I finished chemo, when I was blessed to marry the woman I have loved for over fifty years. It was thrilling to publicly declare my love for her and to have all of you there as witnesses.
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br />   These things I will remember until I draw my dying breath. Love. Devotion. Selflessness. How all you girls came together to save the inn, to save me, and in turn, to save each other.

  Bliss fills me now as I look back on what we’ve regained. Our sense of family. Our closeness. Our unconditional acceptance of one another’s strengths and flaws.

  I am prouder of you than I have ever been, and I’m filled with the knowledge that you girls are strong and resilient and can weather life’s storms without me.

  —With all my abiding love, Grammy

  HELEN CHAPMAN FINISHED writing the love letter to her granddaughters, set down her pen, and turned to the white-haired woman sitting beside her. “I’m ready to go. They don’t need me anymore.”

  Tears streamed down Darynda’s face as she leaned in to kiss Helen. “When the time comes . . .”

  “You know what to do.” Then Helen closed her eyes, sank back against the Adirondack chair, clung tight to Darynda’s hand, and with a smile on her face, listened to the loving sounds of her family around her.

  And it was the happiest moment of her life.

  P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*

  About the Author

  * * *

  Meet Lori Wilde

  About the Book

  * * *

  Letter from the Author

  Fascinating Facts About Kites

  The Moon Glow Quilt

  Reading Group Guide

  About the Author

  Meet Lori Wilde

  LORI WILDE is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of eighty-seven works of romantic fiction. She’s a three-time Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist and a four-time nominee of the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award. She has won numerous other awards as well. Her books have been translated into twenty-six languages with more than four million copies sold worldwide. Her breakout novel, The First Love Cookie Club, has been optioned for a TV movie.

  Lori is a registered nurse with a BSN from Texas Christian University. She holds a certificate in forensics and is also a certified yoga instructor.