Page 11 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
It was just an accident. There was no one to blame. Unless you asked Melody’s father. Then the accident fell squarely on Melody’s shoulders.
To: Bri Johnson
From: Liz Dawson
Subject: Okay, I’ll tell you
Bri,
Me again. I wanted to wait until I could tell you in person, but I might combust and you don’t like surprises anyway. Here goes: Melody is back. I wish I could see your face. She’s the one I had that fender bender with. How’s that for coincidence? Jo would have said there are no coincidences. That everything that happened was orchestrated by something bigger than us.
Anyway, Melody is just here because she inherited Jo’s thrift store on Seagull Street. Not because she wants to catch up or hang out. When I saw her, it was all I could do not to run up and hug her, but then I remembered that Melody is a traitor. She left us.
In the next moment, I felt awful for having these thoughts, knowing that Melody lost more than we did. She lost a sister. Maybe that should give her a pass on forgetting about her friends all these years. I don’t know. It’s all so twisted and complicated, I’m not sure how to feel.
So, imagine me standing there, face to face with our long-lost friend, wanting to hug her, and hating the fact that I did. What would you have done? You get in a wreck, you step out, and come face to face with your former BFF who turned her back on you when you needed her most. What do you do?
xx,
Liz
CHAPTERFOUR
LIZ
It’s not a heart attack.
The first time Liz had a panic attack, that’s what she’d thought was happening. And this wasn’t even a full-blown one right now. She just had sharp pains in her chest, right above her heart. Angina was the medical term. She wasn’t getting a good supply of blood to her heart because she was in fight-or-flight mode—for no good reason.
She sat on the wooden stool in the kitchen of her mom’s bakery and closed her eyes, sucking in a cleansing breath that was thick with the swirling aroma of cinnamon, melted sugar, caramel, chocolate, and butter. She still loved her long-lost friend, but so many memories had come rushing back at the sight of her yesterday and again this morning. Too many memories. And then there was the charm bracelet which had appeared out of nowhere, almost like a ghost.
Everything was suddenly fast and loud. Liz needed to shut it out for just a moment. She focused on the steady, mind-numbing hum of the vent like Dr. Mayer had once taught her. She breathed as she listened to the flow of the air conditioning.
She used to pray for amnesia, thinking it would fix everything that was wrong in her life. It would be amazing to wake up one day, to open her eyes and not have that wave of reality come bearing down on her. It started with a heaviness on her chest. And then, even though it’d been nine years, she remembered that Alyssa was dead. Her friends were gone. And she was left here on her own, with her mountain of fears.
Liz blew out another breath and then opened her eyes as the oven’s timer went off. She stepped over to check on her baked goods. Then she turned as the bell on the bakery’s front entrance dinged, announcing yet another customer.
Without thinking, Liz put on a smile that was far from sincere and stepped into the front area of her bakery. She looked up at her customer and her breath froze for just a moment.
“Hey there,” Matt said with an easy smile like he did every day.
She loved seeing Matt. She did. There was also this little part of her, though, that wished he could go somewhere else for his breakfast. That’s because the little flutter he caused in her heart was in direct contradiction to the stutter in her brain whenever she saw him. The past collided with the present and, for a moment, she was that terrified girl again, staring up into his eyes and wondering if she was having a nightmare.
The problem with small towns though—or at least Trove Isle—was that there was only one bakery. This one. “Um, hi, Matt. You need a muffin bite?” she asked. He came in every day and always got the same thing.
“Please,” he said. “And an extra strong coffee, if you don’t mind.”
“Long day already?” She glanced at the clock as she busied herself preparing his beverage. It wasn’t even noon yet.
“I’ve had a few calls for minor things. No big deal.”
“Keeping the town safe is a huge deal,” she said. And that’s another thing that made her feel so conflicted. He’d kept her safe. He was the one who’d pulled her from the vehicle all those years ago. She should be grateful to him. There should be a welcome mat with his name at the entrance.
A slow grin formed on his mouth. “Trove Isle isn’t exactly running over with crime, Liz. The most action I’ve gotten on the job lately was breaking up a Bunco fight at Pearl Lauderdale’s house.”
Liz laughed, her heart winning the good fight against her mind, which didn’t like any stressors or reminders of the accident. Her mind looked for calm. But Matt made her laugh, and that had its advantages. “Sounds pretty dangerous to me. Pearl Lauderdale can be feisty when she wants to be.”
“Don’t I know it? I barely escaped that house with my life.”
