it. Look at her. It had been nearly six months since her mother’s death and she still felt like a mess inside, going all emotional over a birthday.
“I’m doing fine,” she said now in answer to Charlene. “I’ve finally started to get used to not seeing her working the cash register at the store.”
Charlene hugged her. For a moment, Sam was tempted to rest her head on the woman’s shoulder and absorb the love and caring.
“I miss her, too,” Charlene said.
“The town doesn’t seem the same without Linda,” added Barbara Serrano.
She could feel tears burn at her friends’ compassion but blinked them away and sat down, taking a healthy sip of her secondhand wine.
“Since your mother isn’t here, it’s up to us to give you the third degree in her absence,” Charlene said sternly.
“You don’t have to, really. I’m good.”
They ignored her, as she fully expected. “What’s this we hear about you spending time with Gemma’s brother?” Barbara teased.
“You have to watch out for those handsome men from over the pond,” Lindy-Grace Keegan said with a laugh.
To her relief, Gemma and Margaret were busy talking with Julia Caine, Megan Bailey and Elizabeth Hamilton on the other side of the terrace, out of earshot of this embarrassing conversation.
“That one can cross my pond any time he wants,” Eppie’s sister, Hazel, piped up.
Sam caught Katrina’s gaze and felt a giggle rise up. Hazel was over eighty, after all, and long a widow.
“Must you be so crass all the time?” her sister, Eppie, chided quietly. “It’s quite unbecoming at our age.”
She rarely heard such sharpness between the two of them. Usually they spoke in tandem.
“I’m so sorry to offend you,” Hazel said, sounding not at all contrite. “I guess you’ve become a prude in your old age. I’d still like to know if there’s something going on with our Samantha and Gemma’s hunky brother.”
“No,” Samantha said quickly, her cheeks heating as Gemma and their mother approached their group.
It was clear immediately that Gemma, at least, had overheard the last part of the conversation. “That’s not precisely true, is it, Samantha? She is going to the wedding as his plus-one,” Gemma told the older ladies.
“Really?” Julia Caine asked, looking pleased.
Oh, Gemma had done it now. Her friends would hound Sam all night about Ian if she didn’t figure out how to divert the conversation.
“Gemma, have you decided where you’re going on your honeymoon?” she asked with steady determination.
Katrina gave her a sympathetic look and lent a helping hand to the effort. “Yes. Last I heard it was a big secret. But we need details. All the details.”
“Josh has kept everything a big secret and I only found out myself a few days ago. I suppose I can tell you all now that the wedding is only a week away. Also, how can it be only a week away?”
For an instant, Gemma looked slightly panicked until her mother squeezed her arm, which seemed to steady her.
“Right. Well, he has a friend with a luxe cabin in Alaska. We’re being flown in by a bush pilot, who will leave us for an entire week with a fully stocked refrigerator.”
“Oh, wow. You had me at fully stocked refrigerator,” Andie Bailey said with a laugh. “I’m so tired of cooking dinner.”
“Right? Why do they need to eat every single day?” Devin Barrett said with a sigh.
“You didn’t have to cook dinner tonight, though,” Eliza said. “We’ve got a fabulous meal in store and then cake. So much cake. Shall we get started?”
By the time they finished eating under the globe lights strung across the terrace, Sam forgot she was ever reluctant to come to the shower. The evening had reminded her of all the things she loved about living in Haven Point. Laughter, good food, cherished friends.
Gemma seemed similarly touched. When she opened the gifts, many of them handmade, she even wept a little.
As people started preparing to leave, particularly some of the older women, she asked for a moment to address them all.
“You’ve all been so wonderful. Thank you. From the moment I came to Haven Point, you have all embraced and welcomed me and I am grateful beyond words. Thank you for the gifts. I shall use and cherish them all.”
“Even the dishwashing scrubbers Eppie and I crocheted for you?” Hazel called out.
She laughed. “Even that. I’m sure Josh will put them to good use. When I took a job here at Caine Tech, I was running away from some fairly painful things in my past.