Page 4 of Return to Rosewood Beach

Dana getting called back to work might be an inconvenience, but at least she has a job to get called back to, she thought, feeling her stomach slosh with worry.She’s lucky.

She took another sip of her coffee, wondering what she was going to do with the rest of her day. She should apply to more jobs, that was for sure, but she?—

Her phone began to ring, and she pulled it out of her purse, thinking it was probably Dana. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise when she saw that the caller was her sister, Hazel.

She hadn’t talked to her sister in a while, and her first thought was that Hazel had somehow found out about her getting fired and was calling to offer condolences. Then she realized that would be impossible, since there would have been no way for Hazel to hear about it unless Julia had told her herself. Hazel still lived in their sleepy little hometown of Rosewood Beach in Connecticut, far away from the bustle and gossip of New York.

She didn’t feel ready to tell Hazel her bad news yet—she didn’t feel like talking about it, and she didn’t want to start crying in the middle of the coffee shop again. Still, she told herself that she would have to tell her eventually, so it might as well be now. She steeled herself for the possibility of unveiling her bad news.

“Hey, Hazel.” She tried to make her voice sound cheerful as she answered the phone. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Julia.”

As soon as she heard her sister’s voice, Julia knew that something was wrong. Hazel’s voice sounded tired—heavy even—and a little stuffy, as if she’d been crying.

“Hey.” Julia didn’t know what else to say. It was like all other words had flown out of her mind. A cloudy premonition fell over her, and she felt her stomach sink like a rock. She waited, her heart hammering, for Hazel to say more.

“I’m calling because I have bad news.” There was a pause while Hazel took a deep breath. Julia held her phone tighter, staring at the center of the coffee table in front of her. “Dad passed away.”

CHAPTER THREE

Cooper Harris rubbed his eyes, trying to stifle a yawn as he sat at his desk. It was another quiet workday at his job at Greener Pastures Landscaping Company, and he was trying to stay focused despite how sleepy he was.

He glanced out the window, looking at the way the early morning sunlight was adding a golden hue to the charming streets of Rosewood Beach. He smiled quietly to himself and leaned back to stretch.

I’ve got to figure out some way to get Macey to sleep better at night, he thought.I can’t keep staying up half the night with her like this. I’m still groggy even after I’ve had my coffee.

Macey, his adorable two-year-old daughter, had been having trouble sleeping lately, and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Whenever she woke up and called for him, he would go into her room and read to her for a while or get her some water or milk to drink. Sometimes those things worked, but more often than not, they didn’t. He guessed that his little girl was missing her mother, and that was making her restless and fitful.

He swallowed, feeling a wave of missing his late wife wash over him. He never thought he’d have to be doing life withouther—raising their baby without her—but there he was, and it was harder than he ever would have imagined.

He shook himself, refusing to get down in the dumps about his situation. It was hard, certainly, but he was making the best of it and would continue to do so. He was going to build an amazing life there in Rosewood Beach for Macey and himself.

He’d first heard about the town when he was doing research on places to move to. After his wife had passed away, he’d decided to sell his ranch in Colorado and use the money to give himself and his daughter a fresh start somewhere quieter. He’d felt that it would be easier to raise his daughter as a single dad in a town like Rosewood Beach than it would be to raise her out in the mountain country, far away from the surrounding towns, while still doing the taxing work of running a busy ranch. When he’d seen the pictures of Rosewood Beach in a magazine, he’d been struck by how picturesque it looked. He’d never lived right next to the water before, but he’d always liked the idea of being close to the ocean. Once he’d secured a job in the town, he and Macey had made the move from Colorado to Connecticut, and they were now settled in a cozy new home.

He didn’t regret his decision—Rosewood Beach was a great town, and he was enjoying living there—but he’d expected the move to make his life at least somewhat easy, and that hadn’t been the case at all.

He sighed, looking out the window again. There was nothing easy about being without his wife.

He closed his eyes, fighting back another wave of grief. It still came and went, and it was feeling acutely painful less often, but sometimes it still felt like his chest was filled with ice. His wife had died unexpectedly in a car accident, and he’d found himself having to be both father and mother to his little girl. Although he tried to be everything for Macey, he often felt stretched thin, andas though no matter what he did, he couldn’t make up for the fact that she didn’t have a mother in her life anymore.

He sighed again and picked up his coffee mug, bringing it to his lips. He discovered that it was empty and put it down in disappointment.

At that moment, his boss, Austin, stepped into the room. “Morning, Harris.” Austin smiled at him good-naturedly, looking slightly amused. “You look like you could use a jumpstart.”

Cooper chuckled. “I am feeling pretty groggy this morning. My little one kept me up half the night.”

“Ooh, they’ll do that.” Austin’s smile was sympathetic. He knew that Cooper was a single father. “You should take a break and head over to Ocean Breeze Café. Get some coffee and maybe something to eat. You look like you need it.”

“That’s a good idea. You sure you’re okay with me stepping away for a while?”

“Sure. I mean, don’t take all day—but in case you haven’t noticed, business is slow right now.” He shrugged genially.

Smiling, Cooper stood up. “Well, thanks, Austin. I’ll be back soon.”

Ocean Breeze Café was only a short walk from the Greener Pastures offices. Cooper stuffed his hands into the pockets of his light jacket and began to whistle as he strolled down the sidewalk. It was a beautiful day outside, with wispy white clouds sailing across a backdrop of bright blue. He wondered how Macey was doing at her daycare—he hadn’t gotten any calls or messages about her crying a lot, so that was a good sign. She wasn’t prone to crying, really, just that kind of restless energy that had been keeping both of them up at night.

He soon reached Ocean Breeze Café and stepped inside. He’d been to the cozy, popular coffee shop a few times before, since the place had been recommended to him the very first day he’darrived in Rosewood Beach. He breathed in the woodsy aroma of the coffee, feeling eager to order a cup.

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