A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,16

sure what to do with it.” She pulled a pair of yoga pants and a tank top out of her drawer. “Have fun at work. I’ll see you in a few hours.” She headed into the tiny bathroom they shared as Kellie went out the door.

When she finished changing, Samantha climbed up onto the top bunk with her phone and stretched out on her stomach to return her mom’s e-mail. She started to type, but then paused. Should she say anything to her family about breaking up with Brant? It wasn’t like it would matter if she put off telling them the news, and she really didn’t want to get into it while she was thousands of miles away in the middle of the ocean. The news would only make her mom worry more.

Hey,

I’m really sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going. I got an opportunity to serve as a lifeguard aboard the Scenic Waves cruise ship and I jumped at the chance to try something new. I’ve been at sea most of the time, without phone or internet, but I should have contacted you to let you know I’m okay. The job is only temporary, and I’ll be home in Willa Bay sometime next week.

Love you,

Sam

She’d told her mom a little white lie—she had been at sea for most of the time, but they’d stopped at a few ports where she could have e-mailed if she’d wanted to. But she’d also figured that they’d eventually call Brant and he’d tell them where she was. She hit send and watched the e-mail to her mother disappear from the screen. As she was stashing the phone back in her cubby, she heard the notification ping. Well that was fast, she thought. Her mom must have been waiting by the computer for her to respond.

It wasn’t an e-mail from her mother though—it was something from work. Samantha clicked on the e-mail from the Willa Bay School District and quickly skimmed it. Her heart hammered as she read the words, “not renewing your contract”. She carefully read the e-mail a second time. Apparently, the school district was low on funds and they’d had to make the difficult decision to cut back on physical education programs and some after-school sports. As such, her services wouldn’t be needed for the upcoming school year.

She blinked a few times and set the phone down on her mattress, the bright screen still reflecting her notice of termination. She lay back, her head hitting the pillow with a muffled thud, and stared at the plain white ceiling about three feet above her bunk.

Now what? Her temporary job was ending in a week and she would be returning home, but to what? Her long-term relationship with Brant was over and she no longer had a job that she loved. A few months ago, she’d been engaged to a man she thought she’d marry and working at the same school she’d taught at since graduating from college. In the space of a few weeks, all that had evaporated.

She closed her eyes, hoping sleep would come to her, but worries about the future raced through her brain. How was she going to pay the rent on her apartment? Or buy food? Or get health insurance? She was going to have to locate another job as soon as she returned to Willa Bay, but what were the odds of finding another teaching position a few weeks before the school year started?

One thing was for sure—she dreaded telling her family they’d been right about her all along. Until she’d taken the job at the high school and met Brant, she’d been the baby of the family, the one who couldn’t seem to get—or keep—her life together. Now, in the space of a month, she was back to square one, struggling to find her place in the world.

5

Meg

Meg leaned back in the cushioned chair on the Inn’s front porch and rested her feet on the edge of the coffee table. A Thermos full of coffee, two mugs, and a box of pastries from the Sea Star Bakery sat on the end table next to her. The Inn had been bustling over the past weekend, hosting two large weddings. They wouldn’t be offering overnight accommodations until after the grand opening at the end of the month, however, so at eight o’clock on a Tuesday morning, Meg had the place to herself.

Boats dotted the serene surface of the bay, captained by fishermen who had probably