two sets of handprints. Mine and Harriet’s. She’d taken me to the paint-your-own-pottery place in town not long after I’d moved in with her, wanting us to do something special to mark the occasion. We’d made this platter, where our handprints had been turned into flowers.
The paint job was sloppy. The leaves looked more like blobs, and the bee looked more like a rabid bird. But Harriet had told me that the mess was part of the fun, that we were making a memory, and that’s what mattered. I lifted the plate, hugging it to my chest. “I wish you were still here. God, I could use one of our swing sessions right about now.”
I wanted to tell her about the baby and ask for her wisdom on how to break the news to Crosby. But most of all, I wanted the comfort of her presence. I closed my eyes, hugging the platter harder as if that might make her come alive. I sighed as my eyes opened. I couldn’t bring Harriet back. But she was all around me. In her favorite garden beds and the antique treasures she’d collected to celebrate the island’s history. In the scarred butcher block in the kitchen, where each nick told the story of time spent together or in care of the ones she loved. But most of all, she was in the bones of every structure of this estate, the safe place she had created for a girl who’d had no real home. Her spirit would live on in this home and in me.
I grinned down at the plate, setting it back on the counter. Part of Harriet’s wishes were already coming true. I was going to build a family here. My hand went to my belly. “You and me, B. It’s going to be a hell of an adventure.”
A knock sounded at the door, and I glanced at my watch. It was too early for Crosby, but my stomach did a flip nonetheless, wondering if he’d wrapped things up ahead of schedule. I pulled the door open to find someone who was definitely not Crosby. “Janet. What are you doing here?”
She tossed her red hair over one shoulder. “I just came to tell my baby girl goodbye. I’m heading back to the mainland. This island is too claustrophobic.”
I blinked back at her. It was always the same, she’d come tearing through my life, destroying things left and right, and then act as if nothing had happened. It wasn’t worth it to try and get into the pain she caused or attempt to make her see the consequences of her actions. It would be a waste of energy and precious time. “Drive safely.” I glanced past her to see a cab idling. “Wait. What happened to your new car?”
Her lips pursed. “I might’ve spent some money before I should’ve. I had to return it.”
Apparently, Grant’s bribe came with a money-back guarantee. I grinned. Served the woman right.
Janet looked over to the main house. “Don’t you want to get rid of this monstrosity? You could get a great condo in a Seattle high-rise.” She flashed me a grin. “Maybe get me one across the hall…we could hang all of the time. Really reconnect.”
I swallowed back my snort of laughter. “I think I’ll pass.”
Janet shrugged. “I had to give it one more try. I’ll see you around, Doodle Bug.”
I cringed at the nickname she’d called me throughout my childhood, but Janet missed the reaction, already heading back to the sedan with a wave of her fingers. I stared as the cab disappeared down the gravel drive. I’d never understood how I could’ve come from her. Janet was careless with her affections and her animosity, flitting back and forth between the two like a tennis player trying to cover both sides of the court.
I would never be that. My friendship, my care, my love, they would always be steadfast. Especially to the little being growing inside me. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, silently sending all the love inside me towards my little one, wanting it to be the first thing he or she felt from me.
My eyes popped open at the sound of tires on the gravel once again. This time it wasn’t a cab that made its way down the drive. My spine stiffened, but I stood my ground. I wouldn’t run from this, and Grant would learn that I, like the judge, couldn’t be paid off.