A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,25

to help. They need someone like me to make sure everything goes according to plan.” Tia’s patience was wearing thin. Her mother had never understood her desire to be a wedding planner. When Tia had decided to get a degree in event planning from the local community college instead of going to a four-year university, Marta didn’t speak to her for over a week.

Of course, Tia’s brother and all of her sisters had gone to college, just like their parents wanted. Two of her sisters were enrolled in medical school and her brother did something in finance. None of them could understand why someone as smart as Tia would want to become a wedding planner.

Their lack of understanding was a big reason why Tia had moved halfway across the country, from West Texas to Willa Bay. She’d heard about the small town known as “The Wedding Capital of the Northwest” while working at an event-planning firm in her hometown of El Paso. It had seemed like the perfect place to make a new life for herself, far away from her family’s meddling and opinions.

“Fine. I’ll let you go,” Marta huffed. “But we need to have a heart-to-heart talk sometime soon. You’ve never been the responsible type, and your father and I don’t like you living so far away from us.”

Her mother’s implications were clear: she didn’t think Tia could handle being on her own. There may have been a time when that was true—when she’d been fresh out of high school and naïve about a lot of things in the world. But the credit card debt she’d racked up from splurges at the mall and partying with her friends were a thing of the past. She’d worked her fingers to the bone to pay off her debt, and now lived a very minimalist lifestyle—not that her parents would ever admit how far she’d come.

“I’m twenty-six,” Tia said, “and I like living here. Anyway, I have to go. I think someone’s trying to get my attention.” She hated lying, but she needed to extricate herself from this conversation before her mother’s digs at her career and life choices made headway into her psyche. “I’ll talk to you later. Give my love to everyone.” She hung up the phone, just as her mother started to say something else.

Zoe had told her to take a fifteen-minute break, and she still had about half of that left, so she continued on down the lane. She passed by the first nineteen cottages, then stopped in front of the last one, her favorite.

Once upon a time, it had been painted a shade of pink, but now only specks of the original color remained. Since the first time Tia laid eyes on the small porch, charming front window, and glimpse of the water through the overgrown brush on the opposite side of the road, it had enchanted her.

She sat on the porch steps to take in her surroundings. Being this far away from the main event grounds gave the impression that she wasn’t even on the resort property anymore. Only two of the other cottages were visible from this vantage point, and the noise from the wedding was barely audible. Here, it was just her, the birds twittering in the bushes, and the squirrels racing around the trees. This was the space to mature that she’d been hoping for in her move to Willa Bay.

After a few minutes, she reluctantly stood and walked back toward the wedding. Zoe probably wouldn’t mind if she took an extended break, but being new, Tia wanted to put her best foot forward. She couldn't allow the issues with her family to affect her work. This was her event to manage, and she intended to make sure it was the best wedding any of the guests had ever attended.

7

Samantha

Sam knocked on the front door of her parents’ house. She’d grown up here, and it still felt odd to not use her own key. She waited on the porch, holding a bag of potato chips – her contribution to the family BBQ. The sound of footsteps approaching was almost masked by the cacophony of screaming children. She then heard her mother’s voice shouting just beyond the door, “Knock it off! You’re going to need to go outside if you can’t keep it down.”

Sam bit back a smile. Briggs family dinners were never quiet affairs, especially with Libby’s four kids in attendance. However, her mom seemed more on edge tonight than usual, if she