Is It Any Wonder (Nantucket Love Story #2) - Courtney Walsh Page 0,126

this boat so he wouldn’t feel anxious about being on Brant Point. If he’d arrived any earlier, he would’ve been tempted to check and see if Louisa was there.

He leaned back in his seat and stared out the window. He watched the boat glide through the water, and he itched to get back out there with his guys. He wondered if they’d had any rescues while he’d been away. He wondered if they’d been keeping up maintenance on the cutter. He wondered when he started thinking of Nantucket as home.

He shook the thought aside as his phone buzzed in his hand. He turned it over and saw a text from McKenzie Palmer:

My new blog post. Thought you might be interested.

He clicked on the link and read the headline: Local Business Owner Starts Nonprofit.

Louisa Chambers is in the business of making magic . . . and if she has her way, that magic will be sprinkled on some very worthy recipients—at no cost to them.

He read the article and learned about Louisa’s plans to develop a nonprofit arm of The Good Life—free vacations fully funded and planned by her and her team.

He stopped scrolling as the image of Louisa’s beautiful face appeared on his phone. Her smile, her eyes, her pale skin and red hair—it all stared back at him, accompanied by the years-old memories that mingled with more recent ones. Memories he’d revisited more times than he cared to admit.

He missed her.

When Chambers came into an unexpected sum of money, she knew she had a choice. She could pocket the cash and retire, or she could continue to share her love of this island with people who otherwise would have no chance of experiencing it.

Plans are already under way for three deserving single moms to visit the island next month, with local businesses happily donating goods and services to make their vacation one to remember.

“I just love Nantucket so much,” Chambers said. “It’s been a part of me for as long as I can remember. And sharing it with everyone—brightening someone’s day with a whale-watching tour or a fishing expedition or even a simple stroll through the historic district—that’s when I’m happiest. When I see the way the island makes other people feel, when I get to play a small role in that—there’s nothing better.”

All at once Cody realized this separation between them was ludicrous. It wasn’t what either of them wanted. He couldn’t put his life on hold waiting to see if his mom would ever come around, and he couldn’t let her anger—or his own—dictate his life.

Louisa was good and kind and real. There wasn’t a mean bone in her body. He could spend the whole day thinking of things he loved about her, and it wouldn’t be enough time. Nothing her father had done ages ago changed that.

Why had he ever agreed to this break she’d put them on in the first place? He needed to make her see they were meant to be together. No matter what they had to sacrifice in the process.

He pulled out his phone to check the time. They’d be on the island in just a few minutes. Brant Point appeared up ahead, and Cody went out onto the deck of the ship, eyes straining, searching the space around the lighthouse for any sign of Louisa, for any sign of anyone—but he was still too far out to tell if she was there.

If he got straight off the ferry and ran over to Brant Point, he could hopefully get there before their 5:27 deadline. What if she’d already gone? What if he missed her? Or worse, what if she’d never shown up at all?

He shoved the thoughts aside and tapped his thumb against the railing of the ferry while it sailed into the harbor. He could win an award for his impatience at this point—what was taking so long?

Finally they were at the dock, but he got stuck behind three old ladies on the exit. After what felt like six years, he got around them but was quickly caught up in a crowd with suitcases and strollers and even one couple with a dog, pouring out onto the street.

He found his way out of the fray and down Straight Wharf. He turned on Beach Street and picked up his pace, anxious to get to Brant Point, anxious to get to her. He had to tell her he hadn’t forgotten their pact. It meant as much to him as it did to her—he’d