was better that he hadn’t. Especially if she’d been planning to leave Magnolia Harbor all along.
He returned to the cottage in the early afternoon and spoke briefly with a professor from the College of Charleston, who’d been recommended as an expert in local eighteenth-century history. They chatted for a bit about the artifacts he’d found out by the oak tree, and Professor Hawkins gave him instructions on how to protect the dig until she could take a look at it on Saturday.
“We don’t get artifacts turning up from the early-eighteenth century very often,” she’d said.
At least someone besides Jackie was excited about the hole behind Howland House because Ashley was decidedly unamused.
After he’d finished with Dr. Hawkins, Topher called Harry Bauman and made arrangements to wire a sizable contribution to the City Hall building fund. Once the money cleared, he’d make his request to have a say on the design committee. Maybe if Jessica won that bid, she’d stay in Magnolia Harbor. And if she stayed, maybe there was some hope for him.
But then again, he’d be living out on Lookout Island in his retreat. And she’d be here in town, building a life for herself.
It wasn’t even two o’clock when he’d finished all the items on his to-do list. He found his usual spot in the rocking chair on the porch. And like some old has-been, he sat there brooding for the next few hours.
Would Jessica contact him while she was away?
No. She wouldn’t.
Should he follow her to Florida?
No. Not unasked.
As he rocked, he thought about the things he might do to keep her here. And he jettisoned the ideas one by one. Nothing he could do. No deal he could make. No strings he could pull would ever make her love him.
Maybe it was better if she went away so he didn’t have to see her ever again.
He suddenly understood Rose Howland’s letter. Oh yes, he was like her in so many ways. And when Jessica was gone, he’d retreat to his island and keep watch in his lighthouse. And Jessica would be with him.
Always.
Chapter Twenty
A cool rain fell on Friday morning as Kerri Eaton opened Daffy Down Dilly. It was supposed to rain all day today and tomorrow, which would keep the weekend crowd down and affect her bottom line. She depended on these early-fall weekends to meet her sales goals for the year.
The rain soured her already foul mood. She was beyond irritated at every gossip in Magnolia Harbor who was wagging their tongue about how Jess Blackwood had dumped Colton for Topher Martin.
Just last night, at her weekly girls’ night out, Kerri’s girlfriends had done nothing but talk about how Jess was some kind of schemer who’d dropped Colton the minute Topher had returned to Magnolia Harbor. Everyone agreed that it had to be Topher’s money; otherwise why would Jess choose a guy with a face like that?
Really? The gossip was cruel. And it ticked off Kerri because it was unfair to Jess. She’d even said something to her girlfriends, which had soured the evening. Everyone accused her of being blind because Jess was her tenant.
It had taken all of Kerri’s restraint not to get up in her friends’ faces and tell them how, on Saturday—two days before Jess got caught in that storm with Topher—Colton had taken her on a sunset cruise that had ended at his place.
But Kerri could hardly do that seeing as Colton had ghosted her since then. Almost a whole week without any word from him.
Kerri didn’t want to add any fuel to that fire. Or humiliate herself. Or any such thing. She didn’t want to become the topic of the moment the way Jess had.
In fact, Kerri was rethinking a lot of things. She’d done her share of telling tales about people. But it wasn’t so much fun when the stories hit close to home.
She flipped over the closed sign and made herself a cup of coffee. Rainy Friday mornings in September were the bane of her existence.
There wouldn’t be many customers, so she faced a long morning ahead, trying hard not to think about Colton or the romantic memories of Saturday’s cruise.
Synchronicity had taken passengers down the inlet to a spot where they could watch the sun set over the bay. The weather had been perfect, with an easy breeze that had caught the boat’s many sails and carried them all the way down the bay without the use of the engines.