Page 70 of The Shell Collector
He started the engine.
His nostrils flared, trying to get air. Through Amanda and those children, his best friend lived on. His head and his heart were crossing swords over what this all meant and what he should do about it.
Bravely, he glanced back.
She stood there, her hand on the top of the gate.
He pressed his foot on the accelerator. Before he even realized it, he was pulling into his parking spot at Paws Town Square, thankful for second chances.
18
Maeve wanted to shepherd Amandathrough to the other side of her loss, but she was comforted in knowing Paul would be there for Amanda too.
Time wasn’t her own. The shell she’d found reminded her of that. She would call Judy. How crazy was this world that messages in shells found the right people and people’s paths crossed at just the right time too?
It had been a hard call to make, but it couldn’t be put off.
After talking to Judy, Maeve didn’t have the energy to do anything but rest. She’d given herself permission to stay in bed all day if she needed to, but the ocean still called to her.
She set off on her walk a little later than usual.
Her heart lifted when she looked up and saw Amanda and the kids at the water’s edge. Yesterday had been unsettling, even if it had ended well. It did her heart good to see their smiles.
“I thought you’d be exhausted after yesterday,” Maeve said. “Didn’t expect to see you out here today.”
“It was definitely an emotional day.” Amanda kicked the water in front of her with her toes. “Thank you for your help. That was so—”
Maeve raised her hand. “What friends do. I’m glad I happened along when I did. I don’t think my heart has pounded that hard in years.”
“Mine either.” She patted her chest. “You have impeccable timing. You are a treasure.”
Maeve made a delighted face for the kids. “Think that means I’m extra special?” She bent her knees, getting down to their level.
“Totally,” Hailey said, and Jesse echoed her, as he did eighty percent of the time.
“Where are you going?” Jesse asked. “You don’t have your bag for treasures.”
“I’m going to walk down and say hello to Tug and The Wife.”
“The bird!”
“Yes.”
“I like that bird.” Jesse flapped his arms like wings, stomping in the water, creating his own vortex.
“I like Denali,” Maeve shared. “We had fun with him yesterday, didn’t we?”
Jesse’s head bobbed.
“He looks quite menacing, though,” Maeve admitted to Amanda. “I was a little nervous at first.”
“He looks burly and serious, but he’s so good with the kids.”
“How’d you come up with the name? Because he’s more like a stump than a mountain?”
“Actually, Denali was somewhere Jack and I had always dreamed of going. To Alaska to see the highest peak in North America. The closest place to heaven. We’d been saving for it. Then the kids came. Then time just ran out.”
“I’ve never been, but I’ve heard Alaska is lovely.”
