day was turning into the most surreal of her life. First finding out about Natalie’s history and her involvement in the fire that killed her dad, then discovering Cooper was Caitlin’s father, now this, if it was true.
She wanted to go back to Sea Glass Cottage, climb into her bed and pull the covers over her head for a few months.
With great effort, she forced herself to work another half hour on social media postings for one of her clients for an urgent event the following week, then turned off her laptop, stowed it in her bag and headed out of her mom’s office toward home.
The storm had intensified while she had been holed up. She hadn’t realized. As she walked the short distance to home, the wind blew so hard off the ocean, wet and cold, that she could hardly stay upright.
It was after ten and the lights of Sea Glass Cottage were off, the house quiet. After the tumult of the day, she might have expected to find Juliet and Caitlin in the sunroom, heads close together as they talked and laughed and watched the storm, one of Juliet’s favorite things to do.
Maybe they were both exhausted. Olivia certainly was. Even Otis didn’t come running, as she might have expected.
He was probably curled up next to her mother. The dog had fallen hard for Juliet, which didn’t really surprise her. Everyone did.
Perhaps she ought to leave him here when she returned to Seattle.
The thought sent a shard of ice through her heart. How could she even think it? She loved him beyond words. He had brought so much joy and light into her life.
But at least here, he wouldn’t have to be alone all day while she went to work and then all evening while she was stuck at her phone and tablet, taking care of her clients. Juliet could take him to the garden center with her during the day. Otis would love frolicking in the plants, greeting customers, helping her mother.
He even loved her mom’s two cats, who had finally come to tolerate him.
She couldn’t leave him. She absolutely adored Otis and couldn’t imagine how cold and lonely her apartment would seem without him. But was she being selfish to take him back to a place where he spent twelve hours a day alone in her apartment?
She didn’t have to decide this now, she thought as she set her laptop bag down on the table without bothering to turn on a light.
“Hello.”
Olivia gasped at the disembodied voice suddenly emanating from the dark room. Now she did flip on the lamp and found her mom sitting in her favorite recliner with Otis and one of the cats on her lap.
“Mom! You scared me to death.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to. We fell asleep out here and only woke up when you opened the door. I guess I thought you must have seen me.”
“No. No, I didn’t.” She pressed a hand to her still-pounding heart.
“You’re just getting home. It’s so late! You put in a long day, honey.”
Yes, and she felt it in every single one of her muscles. Only half of her exhaustion was physical. Maybe less than half.
“I was trying to finish the month-end reports for you before I leave, and then while I had the chance, I scheduled some social media posts for some of my clients, to run next week.”
“You love doing that, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “It’s fun when you find something you’re good at. I never realized I could be so creative. Plus, I love that every project is different. There’s no chance for me to get bored.”
“Unlike your regular job.”
Her mom had said it. She hadn’t. But it was true. She was coming to dread returning to work and facing the same routine, day after excruciating day.
“It’s a good job that pays the bills.”
“I can’t understand why you don’t leave and focus on building Harper Media. You love it and you have such a gift.”
“Do you have any idea how expensive the Seattle real-estate market is? I would be living in a cardboard box on the street if I didn’t keep my day job.”
“Or you could come home and live here. You can do your freelance work from anywhere. Sea Glass Cottage is certainly big enough. We could even finish that apartment in the garage your dad always wanted to build so you could feel a little more independent.”
The idea had immediate appeal. She could stay here. Work on her relationship with Caitlin