A Promise in the Bay (Chasing Tides Book 4), page 14
“Nobody said anything about marriage, we haven’t even been on a second date yet—at least not formally.” Josie was laughing and her cheeks were still flushed a bright pink.
“Well, you’d better hurry up, then. I need something to make more cookies for.”
“I’m pretty sure it won’t be hard to find that.” Josie winked at her sister. “After today, all kinds of people are going to want to order your cookies.”
Paige beamed as they picked up the containers and made their way out of the music school, calling affectionate goodbyes to Caitlin and Alissa as they went.
“Well, maybe,” Paige said as they loaded the containers into the trunk. “As long as you don’t tell anyone about that ruined first batch. That could really damage my reputation.”
Her sister put her hand on her heart. “You have my word of honor.”
Giggling, they got in the car and made their way back home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Josie took a deep breath, shoving her gloved hands deeper inside the pockets of her coat. She walked briskly down the sidewalk, enjoying the crisp winter air and the sight of snow dusting the charming streets of Blueberry Bay. It was dusk, and the Christmas lights that had been hung up all over the town were glowing gold and red and green. It was beautiful, and she felt her spirits lift with the magic of the season.
She was on her way to her second date with Wesley—well, her official second date. Their day of baking and eating dinner at her place had felt like a date too.
Her heart did a somersault as she thought about spending time with Wesley. She felt butterflies, but she was much less nervous and on-edge for this date than she’d been for their first one. Her nerves were much closer to excitement than anxiety.
I feel settled, she thought, smiling to herself as she picked up her pace, walking briskly against a rush of cold wind. Like I’ve got some kind of foundation to stand on now. Her smile turned to a grin as she remembered the kiss. I know how he feels about me. And he’s already learned all of my secrets—all the things that I’m ashamed of. I’ve told him all of the parts of my past that I’d been trying to keep hidden, and now I know that even after hearing all that, he isn’t going to run. I can feel free to really get to know him, and to really let him get to know me, without worrying that I’m going to scare him off. She exhaled on a happy sigh.
She turned around a corner and paused for a moment, lingering in front of a Christmas display in the window of a candy store. There were miniature houses and people nestled under a pretend snowy mountain sprinkled in pine trees. She gazed in delight at the small painted figures “ice skating” across a mirror, and at the tufts of cotton that made up the snow of the little village. It’s so peaceful, she thought. So much care went into the making of it. As she kept gazing at it, she frowned a little. It looks perfect. I used to want that—a perfect life. But that’s not possible. I’m not perfect, and there’s no way to pretend that I am.
The wind picked up again, rousing her from her distraction. She glanced at her watch, realizing that she needed to hurry if she wasn’t going to be late. Her mind continued to whir with thoughts as she kept walking. Wesley knows I’m not perfect. But he wants to spend more time with me anyway. I think that’s so much more wonderful than him thinking that I’m without flaws. This way I don’t have to hide my true self from him. I’m so glad I’m starting to break that old self-protective habit! Keeping myself hidden behind a mask wasn’t really serving me. Wesley sees me clearly, and that feels amazing. Her smile grew as she walked. It’s so much better being my real self and letting the people in my life see that. Then, when they stay, I know that they’re accepting me for who I really am.
In another few minutes, she reached Blueberry Bay’s small movie theater. It was charmingly decorated for Christmas with wreaths and red ribbons, and lights from the windows were spilling out onto the sidewalk.
Wesley was standing outside the front doors, and she smiled shyly when she saw him.
“Hey,” he said, giving her a gentle hug. “How are you?”
“Great,” she told him, noticing happily that his eyes were shining at her. “How are you?”
“I’m good. Even better now that you’re here.” He winked, and she felt herself blushing a little. “You want to go inside?”
“Yes, please! It’s cold out here.”
He held the door open for her as they stepped inside the warm movie theater. They stood in line for the concessions stand to get bowls of buttery popcorn and a packet of candy to split.
“Oh, I love the smell of popcorn.” She inhaled the rich aroma and sighed. “I only went to see a movie once when I was a kid, and that smell—I associate it with having an adventure, I guess. I thought the movie theater was the most exciting thing.”
He smiled at her warmly. “I’ll take you to see a movie anytime you want. And this feels like an adventure to me too.”
She grinned. “Maybe instead of this romantic comedy we should see the monster movie they’re showing.”
He shook his head. “Nope, too scary for me.”
She chuckled, and they chatted about various things for a while until they reached the end of the line and ordered their snacks, along with a pair of root beers.
“How was the wedding shower?” he asked as they stepped away from the concessions stand, laden with treats.
“Great!” She smiled fondly over the memory. “It went really well. Everyone had a great time, and they loved Paige’s cookies! We couldn’t have done it without your help with the baking.”
Their walking slowed down and they stood and faced each other.
“You’re so welcome.” His smile was warm, and his eyes were twinkling. “It was a bonding time for us all, wasn’t it?”
She thought of their kiss and felt herself flushing. “Yes, it definitely was.”
They made their way into the auditorium and found their seats. The chairs were comfortable and covered in a soft red velvet. Gold trimmings adorned the walls. I like this place, she thought. It feels old-fashioned. And grand but still cozy, somehow.
“We’re so early we beat the previews.” He laughed, his eyes on her face.
“Amazing,” she said, grinning. “Now I just get to drink in the movie theater atmosphere.” She took a deep breath and sighed happily.
“This isn’t your second movie theater experience ever, is it?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Oh no. I went to a whole bunch of movies when I went to college. It was my favorite thing to do on the weekends.”
He nodded. “Your way of tasting freedom.”
Her eyebrows lifted and her heart started to beat faster when she heard his words. His perception was immensely attractive to her.
“I feel like no one has ever understood my messy past before,” she said, looking into his eyes. “How hard it was to have a home life like that.”
“I do understand,” he said, touching her arm for a moment reassuringly. “My home life growing up was also troubled. My mom is great, but my dad abandoned us when I was a kid. That was hard.”
“Oh, Wesley, I’m so sorry.” Her heart was beating faster with sympathy for him.
He nodded. “We talk sometimes now. We reconciled after I became an adult—he’d found out how to contact me and reached out. For a while, I resisted the idea of forgiving him, but I’m glad that I did. Reconciliation was a long road but a rewarding one.”
She listened intently, keeping her eyes on him. When he paused and turned to her with a brave smile, she reached out and took his hand.
“We have more in common than I knew,” she said softly. “I’m so glad our paths crossed.”
“I am too.” He squeezed her hand and gazed into her eyes, his next words quiet. “I feel like us meeting could be one of those moments that you look back on and realize that it’s changed your life.”
Her heart began to race. “I feel the same way.”
For a moment, neither of them said anything. They looked into each other’s eyes, and she treasured the feeling of his hand holding tightly onto hers.
The previews began, and they settled back in their seats to watch and make sassy comments. As the movie started, he wrapped an arm around her and she leaned against him, smiling and feeling a kind of happiness that she’d never felt before.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Paige set down her pencil next to her test and smiled. Science was getting much easier for her now that she and Tommy had been studying together. He was great at science and had taught her all kinds of tricks for memorizing facts. That was the best test I’ve had all semester, she thought, glancing around the room and seeing that most of her classmates were still working. I feel confident about all of those answers I wrote down.
She turned to look out the window and smiled when she saw that snow was beginning to fall. How perfect for the last day of school, she thought. She was looking forward to winter break. There were all kinds of fun winter activities she wanted to do, like ice skating and sledding and snowshoeing. And she was looking forward to getting to work more hours at Tidal Wave Coffee.
“All right, class, time’s up,” said her teacher, glancing up from her laptop and looking at the class over the edge of her reading glasses. “Please set your pencils down.”
As soon as the tests had been collected and class was dismissed, Paige and Tommy found each other in the hallway. They walked side by side as they made their way out of the school.
“I can’t believe we actually did it.” She laughed. “It feels like we’re standing on top of a mountain or something.”
He grinned. “I saw you putting your pencil down before most people. Science is getting easier for you, huh?”
She nodded. “You were right, flashcards are not kids’ stuff. Those really helped me.”
He pretended to bow, and she laughed.
“Are you excited about Christmas?” he asked as they stepped out into the frosty air. It was a cloudy day, and light feathers of snow were still whirling down from the sky.
“Yeah, I am.” Her heart twisted a little at the thought, because she missed her mother, but she was excited to spend Christmas in Blueberry Bay with Josie. “Are you?”
“Oh, yeah.” He nodded, his gaze on the sidewalk and his hands in his pockets. His eyes had a far-away look. “I haven’t felt like this in a long time. Like I have a home at Christmastime.”
She glanced at him, her heart going out to him. “I’m glad,” she told him, and they shared a smile.
They waved to a few people that they knew as they walked. Everyone seemed in excellent spirits, and some of the other teenagers had started an impromptu snowball fight. Paige and Tommy had to dodge some snowballs that whizzed through the air past them. One finally hit Tommy square in the chest, and Paige retaliated by throwing one back at the perpetrator. She grinned gleefully as her snowball hit the guy right in the shoulder.
“Nice shot!” he called, and she gave him a pretend salute.
Finally, they made it out of the combat zone, glancing over their shoulders and laughing at the kids who were still hurling snowballs behind them. They reached the end of the sidewalk, where their paths split.
“We should hang out soon,” Tommy said to her. “Go sledding or something.” He grinned.
“Totally. Text me when you’re free!”
“Will do! I’ll see you later.”
“See you later.”
She waved and turned away, feeling grateful for their friendship. Tommy was a really special guy—always so kind without ever being fake about it.
“Bye, Paige!”
She turned and saw a girl calling to her from a passing car. It was Amber, a girl in her social studies class. She waved, returning the girl’s bright smile. I’m making friends, she thought. Her heart felt light. I feel comfortable here now. Like I’m really settling in.
As she was striding down the sidewalk, lost in thought, her cell phone began to ring. She pulled it from her pocket, wondering if it was Tommy calling her already to finalize sledding plans.
It was a number she didn’t recognize. She frowned for a moment, wondering if it might be a spam caller, and then decided to answer it anyway.
“Hello?” she said tentatively.
“Hey, hon. It’s your mother.”
“Mom!” Her mouth opened into a huge smile and her heart started beating faster. “Hey! How are you?”
She must be calling to wish me a Merry Christmas or something, she thought.
“I’m terrible.” Her mother’s tone was deflated, and Paige realized that she wasn’t used to hearing people speak that way anymore—as if they didn’t care, or they had a chip on their shoulder against the whole world. People in Blueberry Bay did things with intention, with energy, and Paige liked that.
She kept walking, holding her phone tightly and waiting for her mother to say something else. When she didn’t, Paige said, “I’m sorry, Mom.”
“I’ve got to get out of this place. And I want you to help me.”
Paige stopped walking. She stared ahead at the sidewalk and the flakes of snow that were dusting it without really seeing what was in front of her. “What?”
“I want you to get some money from Josie and come back to Maine.” Her mother spoke slowly, in a wheedling tone. “Then you can help me get out of rehab.”
Paige’s mind was whirring. She didn’t even know what to say first. “Josie wouldn’t do that. She’s not going to give me money to leave when I’ve been legally placed here—”
“I’m not asking you to ask her for money. I want you to just take it.”
Her bloodstream went cold for a second. “You want me to steal from Josie so that I can help you get out of rehab?”
“Yes.” The word came quickly, and without hesitation.
“I can’t do that.”
“Oh, come on, Paige. I know you want to get out of there too—that dinky little town. Come on! We’ll have lots of fun together, like we used to.”
“Mom, I can’t do that.” She didn’t know what else to say. She realized that she was still standing still on the sidewalk and forced herself to start moving again.
Her mother exhaled on a huff. “You need to do this for me. If you care about me at all, you’ll do this little thing for me.”
Her mouth popped open into an “O.” “That’s not a little thing. It’s breaking the law. Twice.”
“That place has been a bad influence on you. You used to do whatever I asked you to. You used to be my pal.”
Paige felt her heart getting hot, and she felt a little nauseous. She felt guilty about not doing what her mother asked her to, but she knew that she couldn’t do it. It was wrong, and—
And she didn’t want to leave Blueberry Bay. She wanted to stay there.
“That’s not true, Mom. I love you just as much as always.”
“Your sister is turning you against me. Don’t forget, she abandoned us. She doesn’t have your back. Don’t side with her.”
Paige pressed her lips together, feeling suddenly very sad. She realized that all those years, she’d been wrong to listen to her mother and think that Josie had done something bad in moving away. Her mother didn’t usually talk to her like this—but there had always been that hint of control under everything she said or did. She had made sure to keep Paige close, even though her habits had made their home life difficult.
She loves me, Paige thought, feeling tears spring into her eyes, but she doesn’t have my back. How can she, when she can’t even take care of herself? Josie actually has my back.
“Don’t say things like that, Mom,” she said gently. “You know it isn’t true.”
There was silence on the other end of the line as Paige’s mom didn’t know how to respond to those words.
“I’m not going to steal from Josie, okay? Don’t ask me to do something like that. You need to stay in rehab, okay? You need to get better. I hope you have a good Christmas, and I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.” Her mother sounded suddenly tired, as if she’d been running to reach something and hadn’t succeeded. “But couldn’t you—”
“No.” Her voice was kind but firm. “Absolutely not. I love you. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Her mother hung up abruptly, and Paige listened to the silence on the other line. Her heart stung for a moment, but then it felt light, as if something had been lifted from her.
As she kept walking, she kept turning the situation over in her mind. She felt as though she was suddenly seeing her mother in a new light, and it was hard to see her that way. By the time she reached her and Josie’s apartment, she was close to tears.
“Hey, Paige!” Josie looked up, grinning broadly, from where she was scribbling something down in a notebook at the kitchen counter. Her face fell the moment she saw her sister’s expression. “What’s wrong?”
Paige walked over to her sister and gave her a huge hug. She tried to stop herself from trembling a little, but she couldn’t help it.
“Is everything okay?” Josie asked as they finally pulled out of the hug.
“I want to stay here,” Paige blurted.
Josie’s eyebrows lifted and a light came into her eyes. “Of course you can stay!”
Paige nodded, sitting down next to her sister at the kitchen counter. “Mom called me,” she said quietly. She glanced at Josie and saw that her eyes were wide. “She asked me to steal money from you and help her get out of rehab.”
Josie sucked in a breath, but Paige kept talking.
“I realized that she doesn’t have my back like I thought she did,” Paige said, blinking back the tears again. “And you do. And I feel really sad about that—well, the first part, I mean—but it’s made me realize that I really do want to stay here, in Blueberry Bay, with you.”
Josie wrapped her arms around her sister tightly, embracing her again. “Paige, you can stay with me for as long as you want. I mean that. You’re always welcome in my home.”
