Page 48 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
Melody caught her. “Geesh. You are a true lightweight.”
Liz started giggling again even though there was evidence of tears in her eyes. She lifted her face again and they both looked at the sky. “Yeah. I think Jo’s up there among the stars. Alyssa too. Because that’s where they belong. I have to think that eventually we always get to that place where we belong.”
Now Melody felt the burn of tears in her eyes too. She blinked and one slipped free. She tried to wipe it away before Liz saw her, but Liz smiled with knowing eyes.
“Looks like the drinks got to you as well.”
“Looks like.” Melody blew out a breath and then looked down, her eye catching on something shiny in a scattering of dust and dirt on the pavement. She reached for it and picked it up, holding it in her palm to show Liz. “Look.”
Liz leaned over and blinked heavily. “Is that a charm?”
“In the shape of a star,” Melody confirmed. She looked up at the sky and back at her palm, chills running over her. “There’s no way Jo dropped one of those stars in the sky down in this parking lot for us. That would be crazy.”
Liz giggled, but this wasn’t one of her tipsy giggles from earlier. It was more of the kind of nervous noise someone made when they couldn’t figure out what was going on. “Of course not. It’s just a strange coincidence.” Liz leaned in to take a closer look and nearly fell in Melody’s lap.
Melody steadied her friend, letting Liz prop against her shoulder while they both admired the simple sterling silver charm. What would the message be if Jo had sent it? Which she hadn’t. That would be absurd. But if Jo had, maybe she was simply saying hi. Or giving them a wink because she was happy that she’d somehow brought the friends back together. Melody pinched the charm between her fingers. “We should add it to the bracelet. To commemorate our girls’ night.”
Liz nodded quickly. “The first of many more to come.”
Melody attached the charm and inspected the bracelet. A car, a house, a muffin, tiny camera, fireworks, a book, a star. In her drunken state, it all made sense. Or maybe it was just the alcohol talking and once she was sober, the charms would return to being seemingly random.
“There’s a story here, in this charm bracelet,” Melody said, looking at Liz. “It’s our story.”
Liz grinned. Then they both looked up as headlights spilled into the parking lot, stopping a few feet short of where they were sitting. Liz nearly tumbled backward again and then groaned when she realized it was Rose.
“You nearly ran us over,” Liz said, as she stood on shaky legs.
Rose ignored her. “You’re welcome.” She flicked her gaze to Melody. “So you’re the lady from the other week who ran us off the road?”
Melody froze as she approached the car, which still had scrapes down the side. “Yeah. That was me.”
“You’re also the one who ditched my sister for like ten years?”
Melody was beginning to wonder if she might be walking home after all. “Nine.”
Rose turned to Liz. “You complain about my friends, but look at yours. Seriously.” She climbed back behind the steering wheel, calling after them. “Get in the car!”
Liz cast Melody an apologetic look. Melody didn’t think it was necessary though. Rose was right. She’d been a lousy friend with nothing but flimsy promises to offer so far since she’d been back. Yes, she’d cut off ties because remembering hurt. Liz and Melody’s father and everyone else had pain too though, and they hadn’t run away like cowards.
Melody climbed into the back seat, wishing Jo was actually here to offer some words of wisdom. What would Jo say? What would Jo do?
Melody somehow thought she knew part of the answer, and the rest was beginning to come into focus. She couldn’t leave on Sunday like she’d planned because she hadn’t done what she’d come home to do. Only what she’dthoughtshe’d returned for.
She’d thought she’d come home for Jo’s thrift store, but the real treasure hidden within Jo’s inheritance were the people on Trove Isle that Melody had forgotten when she’d driven as fast as her car would take her over the bridge and far away from her hometown. Her father. Liz. Bri . . . Jo. It even felt like Alyssa was still here in some ways.
If she left on Sunday, she probably wouldn’t keep in touch like she’d promised. Two weeks wasn’t enough to regrow the shriveled roots to her past. She needed to stay longer. She needed the entire summer.
To: Melody Palmer
From: Bri Johnson
Subject: Countdown to Freedom
Mel,
Remember the time you ran away from home when we were kids? I mean, I’m guessing there was only one time, but for all I know, there were more. I’m talking about when I went to find you and bring you back. I was grounded for two weeks after that because my mom thought I had packed my bags and gone with you.
As soon as I heard you were missing, I knew exactly where you were. We were eleven, right? Your mom had just died and you were struggling. I remembered that you told me about this hunter stand in the woods that you’d found. You said it would be a great place to disappear. I knew that’s where you’d be. So I rode my bike as fast as I could pedal until I reached your street. Then I dropped my bike in the woods as I ran inside to find that hunter’s stand. At some point, I thought maybe searching for you without telling anyone where I had gone wasn’t such a great idea. But you know me. I used to wear those bad ideas of mine like badges of honor.
