Page 65 of The Secret in Sandcastles
For the second night in a row, Penny hadn’t slept. At some point around 3:00 a.m., she’d abandoned the notion all together. Curled up on the chaise lounge, she kept her eyes glued to the front door in case Chip miraculously decided to come home on his own.
Nearly the entire town had helped her scour every nook and cranny looking for him, but they’d finally paused the search for the night, promising to resume in the morning. And Cassie had insisted she try to get some rest, although the effort had proven to be futile.
A gentle knock stirred Penny from her thoughts, and she immediately scrambled to her feet.
The door eased open, and Cassie poked her head inside, a warm smile illuminating her features. “Guess who’s home?”
A joyful sob caught in Penny’s throat as Cassie set Chip on the floor.
“You found him!” Falling to her knees, Penny laughed through tears of relief as Chip waddled toward her.
The little stinker didn’t appear remotely contrite as he nudged her palm with his head as his form of hello.
“Actually,”—Cassie amended—“Colt did.”
Penny’s gaze flickered to her friend’s face in surprise. “Colt?”
Cassie lowered herself to the carpet, sitting cross-legged. “When most of us went home to sleep, Colt asked Bill Tucker if he could borrow Peggy Sue. Something about pigs being great at finding truffles, so maybe they could track down a tortoise, too.” She smiled. “I don’t know if Peggy Sue actually proved useful, but they roamed around the nature trail all night until they finally found Chip down by the creek.”
Penny’s heart raced as she listened to Cassie’s story. Colt had searched all night to find him? Tears threatened to spill anew.
Cassie’s features softened as she tilted her head, studying her expression. “Colt asked me not to tell you he was the one who found Chip, but I thought you should know.” After a pause, she asked gently, “What happened between you two? According to Luke, Colt said you had the perfect date on Saturday. But when I saw him this morning, I’d never seen him look so miserable.”
Swallowing against the tightness in her throat, Penny kept her gaze on Chip, nuzzling his head with the tip of her finger. “Things… didn’t work out between us.”
“Why not?”
All the disappointment and pain from the night beneath the flickering street lamp came rushing back, and Penny blinked rapidly, trying to stave off her burgeoning tears. “Because he’s leaving, Cass. For a long time. And I don’t think he has plans to come back. Not permanently, anyway.”
Cassie remained silent for a long moment, mulling it over. “So, what are you going to do about it?”
Taken aback, Penny straightened. “What do you mean? WhatcanI do? I asked him to stay, and he said he can’t.”
“Did you ask himwhy?”
“No.” Penny bit her bottom lip in an attempt to curtail its quivering. “I didn’t see the point.” She winced at her own lie. “That’s not entirely true. I… didn’t want to hear his explanation. Whatever his reason, he’d chosen it over being with me. And I didn’t think I could bear it.”
Cassie’s green eyes filled with compassion, and she offered a small nod in understanding. “Last Christmas, I left Poppy Creek without telling Luke if and when I’d be coming back. At the time, it was an act of hopelessness.”
Penny waited in patient silence for her to continue, recalling bits and pieces of what had transpired between them.
“Well, as you know…” She trailed off, a dreamy, contented smile curling the edges of her mouth. “Luke came after me. And weeks later, when I asked him what went through his mind in that moment, you know what he said?”
Penny gave a slight shake of her head.
“Luke said he knew there were things outside his control, but he also knew if he didn’t try everything in his power to fight for me, he’d regret it for the rest of his life. And if he’d learned anything from losing his father, it was that he didn’t want to leave this earth with regrets.”
As Cassie’s words seeped through the cracks in her walls, Penny wasn’t quite sure how to process them.
Cassie leaned forward, her gaze earnest. “If you were to die today, what would you regret not doing?”
To Penny’s surprise, the vision of a faded white envelope flashed before her eyes.
* * *
Even before Colt reached Luke’s workshop, he smelled the invigorating aroma of sawdust and varnish.
And when he stepped through the sliding barn door, he was immediately struck by the breadth of the space. Lumber in every width, length, and wood grain imaginable, shelves bursting with an assortment of fasteners and fixtures, and more power tools than Colt even knew existed—all neatly organized. Not to mention the array of expertly crafted furniture in various stages of completion.
