Page 8 of Return to Rosewood Beach

Julia nodded, suddenly missing her siblings very much and looking forward to seeing them. Dean and Hazel lived there in Rosewood Beach. Dean was a mechanic who was sweet and affable, and suited to small-town life. Hazel had got married straight out of high school, and although she had gotten divorced soon after, she’d had a beautiful baby girl who was now twelve years old. Alexis was the only one of the siblings besides Julia who had left Rosewood Beach. After she’d graduated high school, Alexis had pursued a career in modeling and had been fairly successful. She only modeled on and off now, since her husband Grayson made a great deal of money and could easily support them without a paycheck from his wife. Julia realized with a pang of regret that it had been a while since she’d really caught up with any of her siblings, and she didn’t know much about the current details of their lives.

“Having you all here is going to be such a comfort to me.” Vivian smiled, taking a deep breath. “It’s definitely going to help with the transition into living life without Frank.” For a moment, she didn’t say anything more. She stared into space, looking sad and dazed. “Well,” she said finally, forcing another smile. “At least I still have security in the business, huh?”

Julia reached out and squeezed her mother’s hand. “Yes, you do. This place will be standing for another hundred years.”

The two of them shared a smile, and Julia took a deep breath. She wondered how it was going to be, diving back into being around the siblings she hadn’t seen in so long.

CHAPTER FIVE

Alexis Bennett opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her. She was still a little groggy from sleep, and at first, she felt confused, wondering why she wasn’t in her room at home. Her own bedroom that she shared with her husband Grayson—well, which she shared with her husband when he wasn’t out of town on business trips or sleeping in the den downstairs because of getting home from the office in the middle of the night—had a crystal beaded chandelier and ornate ceiling tiles. This ceiling was plain and white and had a faint water stain in one corner.

In the next instant, she remembered everything. She remembered that she’d returned to Rosewood Beach because of the tragedy, and she shut her eyes tightly, trying to ward off the grief of losing her father. She lay perfectly still in bed, listening to the sound of raindrops pattering against the windowpane, and the faint whooshing sound of a car passing on the street outside.

She was back. Back in Rosewood Beach, in her childhood hometown. Perhaps it would have felt even more strange to be back in her childhood room, but she wasn’t staying in her old home with her mother. She hadn’t wanted to give Vivian one more thing to deal with, and since she hadn’t spent anytime with her sister Hazel or Hazel’s twelve-year-old daughter Samantha for a long while, she’d decided to stay in their house with them.

She opened her eyes again, looking at the ceiling. She stared at the water stain for a few moments, and then let out a sigh. Hazel’s house was cute—small, charming, whimsical, and decorated in a cottage-like style. Hazel and Samantha had clearly put a lot of effort into making their home a place they both loved, and it was a pleasant place to be in even for someone like Alexis, who was used to a very high-end style of living. But Hazel’s house was old and falling apart in places. A few of the doors needed new hinges—or they needed to be replaced entirely—and then there were things like that water stain. Alexis hadn’t seen any of her siblings very often because she lived so far away, in L.A. She was glad she had the time to bond with Samantha and catch up with Hazel, but she wished she’d known they needed some extra money the way they clearly did. She’d known that things must have been difficult for Hazel, raising a daughter all on her own, but she wished she’d thought to ask her if she needed help or money. She could easily spare the money it would take to fix up Hazel’s house.

No, she wouldn’t accept It anyway,Alexis thought, smiling a little to herself.She’s always been so independent. The wild child.

Although Hazel wasn’t so wild anymore, now that she had a daughter to raise. She clearly took her role as a parent seriously, and Alexis was proud of how well Hazel was taking care of Samantha. She’d worked hard to build a good life for the two of them, and Alexis almost felt jealous that Hazel had gotten to put so much effort into her personal life. She herself was beginning to feel like a hamster, running around in circles in a gilded cage.

She rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes again. She missed modeling work, although she still got to do it nowand again, but that wasn’t what had been making her feel so uncomfortable in her personal life. On the surface, her life was picture perfect. She had an incredible house and a handsome husband whose job allowed them to be very well off. In theory, she could relax and let herself enjoy her comfortable life, spending time with friends and experiencing luxurious living in L.A. But she wasn’t comfortable being idle, especially since Grayson had become more and more preoccupied with work. She could feel him drifting away from their relationship, and without work of her own to focus on, the problems in her marriage weighed more heavily on her mind than they should. She’d taken up jewelry design as a hobby, and she enjoyed it very much, but a hobby didn’t use up enough of her restless energy the way a job would have.

The truth was, she didn’t know what to do. She’d tried to put a spark back Into her marriage, but Grayson had remained distant. She’d already been feeling lost and troubled, unsure of how to tell anyone that her reality was so different from how her life looked on paper, when the news of her father’s death had arrived.

She took a deep breath, blinking back the tears that were filling her eyes. Her already emotionally fragile state, combined with her grief about her father, had made returning to Rosewood Beach difficult for her. It had been a long time since she’d visited, and she was having a hard time being in a place that felt both very strange and very familiar at the same time. She got the impression that people in her hometown found her a little too aloof, or even stuck-up, but she was used to talking and acting the way people in L.A. did, and the small-town ways of Rosewood Beach seemed strangely laid-back to her now.

At least Julia is here, she thought, smiling a little to herself as she thought about her other sister’s arrival.

Even though she hadn’t seen Julia for quite some time, she was glad she wasn’t the only city girl in the family. It made her feel less like some kind of black sheep. She and Julia both led lives that were a far cry from the ways of Rosewood Beach, and she felt sure that would make it easy for the two of them to get on common ground and support each other during the days ahead.

Feeling somewhat better, she sat up, wiping the last stray tears off her cheeks. She slid out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash her face and apply a variety of face creams. Once she’d gotten dressed into chic and expensive athleticwear, she stepped out of her room, feeling strangely shy.

She smelled something wonderful coming from the kitchen downstairs, and she inhaled, noting that she definitely smelled bacon and some kind of baked good. Smiling, she made her way down the staircase and to the kitchen, where Samantha and Hazel were bustling around, laughing together about something.

Alexis smiled. It felt good to see her family members smile in the middle of what they were all going through. And it was clear that Hazel and Samantha had a good life, helping each other out and enjoying a cheerful home life together. That warmed her heart, and she felt another surge of pride for her sister.

“Good morning,” she said, stepping into the cozy kitchen, which was filled with the sound of sizzling food and the clink of dishes.

“Good morning!” Samantha said, immediately throwing her arms around her aunt and giving her a hug. “I was thinking last night, and I have a question for you—I was wondering if you would help me pick out an outfit for a party that we’re having at school? It’s not like a big dance or anything, so I don’t have to wear a dress, although I could wear a dress. It would just be a kind of nice dress, instead of a really nice dress. Mom’s good about clothes and stuff but I know you must really know a lot about fashion because you live in L.A. And I was wondering ifyou would help me decorate my room a little bit? I have all these posters but I’m having trouble deciding where to put them.”

“Easy, tiger.” Hazel laughed, turning around from where she was cooking bacon at the stove. “There will be plenty of time for all that. Let your aunt get settled in.”

“Okay.” Samantha smiled, looking as though she might be holding back some wiggles of enthusiasm.

“What’s on the menu?” Alexis asked, smiling. “It smells incredible in here.”

“Oh, just wait,” Samantha said, her brown eyes shining. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a French braid, which was so messy it looked as though she’d slept in it. She had a streak of flour on her cheek, but she looked as proud as the owner of a gourmet restaurant. Hazel had told Alexis that Samantha was very excited that both of her aunts were back in town, and Alexis had the feeling she was eager to make a good impression. “We have bacon, as you can see, frittatas, apple turnovers, and orange juice. Freshly squeezed orange juice, I might add.”

“Wow.” Alexis smiled, genuinely impressed. “Good job. Do you guys normally make this much food for breakfast?”

“We do.” Hazel grinned, looking proud of that. “Although we’re not usually quite this gourmet—the apple turnovers and the frittatas at once was an endeavor.”

“Which we succeeded in.” Samantha nodded her head triumphantly.

Alexis laughed. “Can I help with anything?”

“No, we should be good, but thanks for asking. The table’s all set, and this bacon should be done in another minute or so. Oh, I guess you could take the apple turnovers off the cooling rack and put them in that bowl.”

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