Barrett unlocked the door to Nantucket Blues and they entered.

  Dinah stopped in the doorway. “This is fabulous! Like an underwater grotto! Why, look at this ring! I want to buy everything in the store!”

  Barrett flicked on the lights and the small electric oil-filled heater. “Just to get it warmed up a bit,” she told the others.

  “Ohhh,” Dinah breathed, “here comes Paul! And Jeff! Hellllloooo!” she called, waving.

  Jeff carried a ladder and a toolbox. Paul carried the quarterboard at his side. He was three yards away when he turned the wooden sign around so the women could see it.

  “Wow!” Barrett exclaimed. “Paul, you’re wonderful!”

  It was ten until five when Jeff set up the ladder and held it so that Paul could attach the sign above the door to the store. He swiveled on the ladder, smiling down at Barrett.

  “Okay? Is it straight?”

  “Wait! Wait!” Eddie snapped photos on her phone.

  “Oh, goodie!” Dinah clapped her hands. “I was afraid they’d arrive too late.”

  “Who?” Eddie asked.

  Three handsome caterers wheeled a small table toward them. Covered in a white linen tablecloth, it held two buckets of champagne on ice, dozens of plastic glasses, and platters of blue cheese, crackers, and blueberry muffins. Blue balloons filled with helium bobbed from the table.

  “Congratulations!” one of the caterers said, stationing the table against the shop, just below the picture window.

  “What’s this?” Barrett asked, completely puzzled.

  “Something in honor of your grand opening,” Dinah declared, looking very pleased with herself.

  Eddie was shocked. “How did you manage to arrange this?”

  Dinah gloated. “I’m not completely without computer skills. I did it all on my little phone.”

  “Dinah, thank you!” Barrett said.

  Paul came down the ladder and stood next to Barrett, looking up at the sign. “Do you like it?”

  “It’s wonderful, Paul! Thank you!” Barrett threw her arms around him in a quick hug.

  “Barrett, look this way!” Trudy Ellison, a local photographer, snapped shots of the crowd, the table of champagne and munchies, the sign, and lots of shots of Barrett.

  Dinah sidled close to Jeff. “You were so helpful, holding that ladder. It would have been awful if Paul had fallen. Why, I could just hug you.”

  Before Jeff could respond, Dinah threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “Oooh,” she cooed. “You’re all bristly.”

  The waiters opened the champagne. A small crowd gathered on the street, obviously curious.

  Dinah noticed them. “Hello, everyone! Welcome to the opening of Nantucket Blues! Please come join us for our little celebration! The champagne is free and so are the delicious munchies.” She popped one in her mouth and moaned her appreciation.

  Several women approached the table and accepted glasses of champagne.

  “I love your headband,” Dinah told a pretty brunette. “It’s such a pretty blue. Would you mind if we took a photo of you inside the shop? We’d use it on Nantucket Blues’s Facebook page.”

  “Cool,” the brunette said.

  She and her friends entered the shop. Dinah bustled around, placing them strategically in front of the wall of blue scarves as she snapped photos. The women went wild over the scarves and Dinah subtly directed their attention to the jewelry case. Barrett slid into the shop. She went behind the counter and began taking credit cards, wrapping purchases in pale blue tissue, and tucking them into elegant bags with the Nantucket Blues name on the sides.

  Eddie waited outside the shop, offering champagne to passersby. Women were bustling out of the shop with Nantucket Blues bags on their arms. As they came out, more women went in.

  A handsome man with blond hair and Nantucket blue eyes approached. He wore chinos, a blue button-down shirt, and leather loafers without socks.

  Eddie stepped forward to greet him. “Hi, there! You must be Drew. I’m Eddie, Barrett’s older and wiser sister.”

  “Nice to meet you, Eddie,” Drew said. “Quite a crowd Barrett has for her opening.”

  “I know. I’m so proud of her. She said you were her first customer.” Eddie wondered how she could ease Drew through the mob and into the shop to have his photo taken with Barrett. “Oh! You should meet Paul. He made that gorgeous quarterboard for Barrett.”

  Paul heard his name and walked over. “It’s not a real quarterboard.”

  “Whatever it is, it’s eye-catching.” Drew held out his hand. “Drew Fischer.”

  “Paul Folger. I’m an islander. Born here. I’d guess you’re from the mainland?”

  Drew grinned. “I look like it, don’t I. I work in Boston, but I’ve summered here all my life. I’ve been here for holidays, too.”

  Paul said, “You have the best of both worlds. The winters can be long here. I usually go skiing at Tahoe or down to Costa Rica.”

  “Smart man.”

  Eddie pretended to watch the crowd while she listened in on their conversation. Drew sounded pleasant enough, not arrogant or patronizing. He seemed slightly older than Barrett. He was handsome. But so was Paul, and Paul was a normal person, and Barrett needed normal. Her sister didn’t need a romantic disaster now that she was starting her own business. Drew might be more complicated than Barrett needed right now.

  She faced the men. “If you’re hoping to see Barrett, you’ll have a long wait. It’s amazing that she has so many customers. It’s a great start for her shop. Maybe you should come back and see her tomorrow.”

  Paul looked at his watch. “That’s a good idea. I’m starting early tomorrow. I’ll head off now.”

  “Thank you so much for that amazing sign!” Eddie hugged Paul tight.

  Jeff joined the group. “Do I get a hug, too?” he asked Eddie.

  “Absolutely.” Eddie stood on tiptoe, put her arms around his neck, and pressed against him.

  Oh, it felt good.

  “I could use some more of this,” Jeff whispered in her ear.

  Eddie’s heart melted, just a bit. “I need to concentrate on Barrett now.” She quickly stepped away from Jeff and pasted a smile on her face.

  Eddie saw some Nantucket women Barrett’s age joining the crowd and her heart lifted. In a way, this felt like the year Eddie walked Barrett into kindergarten. Their mother had been busy elsewhere, or still asleep, so Eddie had been the one holding her little sister’s hand when they rode the school bus and they entered the big hallway bursting with laughing, shouting children. Barrett had huddled close to Eddie. And when they got to the door of her classroom, Eddie had reassured Barrett she would have fun, and watched her enter the room, her little shoulders tense with worry and hope.

  Barrett had been fine then, more than fine. And she was certainly doing well today. Her cheeks were rosy with excitement.

  The crowd was thinning out when Eddie spotted her father. He’d put on his faded Nantucket red slacks and a navy rugby shirt. He was tall and slender, with thick caramel-colored hair that all his children had inherited. Eddie was pleased and somewhat startled to catch all the admiring and even flirtatious glances several women were giving him.

  He has no idea, Eddie realized. She’d known he lived in his own literary world, and she’d known he hid there after that terrible year, but she hadn’t realized he was still sequestered there. How could she coax him out into real life? She needed him to understand that he could have a rich life in the real present without dishonoring the events of the past.

  “Hi, Dad!” Eddie waved at him, beckoning him toward her. She set her champagne glass on the table and squeezed through the chattering women.

  “Oh, my, you must be the brilliant William Grant.”

  Eddie stopped dead as she watched Dinah saunter up to her father. Ah, Eddie thought. If Dinah can’t entice Dad into the present, no one can.

  As Eddie watched, her father froze. It had been a long time since he’d been near a living, breathing, smiling, sexy woman, and it seemed like her father didn’t know quite what to do.

  Dinah didn’t seem worried. She held out a plump hand. “I’m Dinah Lavender. Your lovely, brilliant daughter is my assistant, and she is beyond fabulous.”

  Totally out of his depth, but knowing he had to respond somehow, William asked, “Is your last name really Lavender?”

  Dinah laughed. “Why, of course it’s not. I think Dinah Lavender just sounds so pretty that people want to read my books. Just like William Grant sounds so historical and intelligent that people want to read your books.”

  William turned red and made a choking sound and coughed. “I’m writing a comprehensive criticism of eighteenth-century British poets. My name isn’t…a selling point. And I certainly won’t have a large readership. Excuse me. I want to say hello to my daughter.”

  Eddie hurried over to Dinah as her father escaped into the shop.

  “Dad didn’t mean to be rude,” she explained. “He’s just out of practice with socializing.”

  “He did look like a rabbit caught in a hole,” Dinah agreed. “I’m thinking he might be the perfect new project for me.” She twinkled her fingers at Eddie and headed for the drinks table.

  Eddie watched the writer chat with the waiters who manned the table. It was such a relief to see Dinah back to her normal self, not paranoid because she thought a man was stalking her. This relaxed, stress-free Dinah enjoyed flirting with any and all men. She glowed and glimmered like a star, and men just naturally smiled back. Dinah turned even a brief meeting into a memorable moment. Like her books, Dinah was radiant and sensual and addictive.

  Eddie glided away from the crowd. She walked around to the brick sidewalk overlooking the first boat slip and sat on a wooden bench, looking out at the water. The sun flooded the harbor with light. A few gulls stood on the pilings, arranging their feathers. Cormorants bobbed in the water. A fishing boat with its high tower was slowly sliding into the harbor, its gentle wake rippling toward shore, rocking the ducks.

  She put on her sunglasses and relaxed. Dinah was having fun this evening, but she would probably grow bored with the quiet and return to the city before two weeks were up. Eddie would bet on that. Her father was, so far, okay with the boxes of books that left the house and went into the Book Barn, and the book bins were almost done. She needed to think whether she should ask Jeff to build some kind of counter for a cash box and a credit card machine. Who would run the Book Barn? Not Barrett. She would be right here, in her own store. Maybe Eddie could convince their father to man the barn bookshop on the weekends. People wouldn’t be stampeding down the driveway to buy used books. Yes, it was a good idea! William could spend Saturday and Sunday in the barn, selling his dusty old books, and he would also be talking to people, people who liked books. It would be a kind of therapy for him.

  Eddie would stay for the summer, she decided. They’d only made a start in decluttering the house of books. Eddie could get the Book Barn business launched. Eddie could spend some time with Dinah, helping her plan the next few months.

  Laughter from Barrett’s opening party drifted across the cool evening air. Eddie smiled. She was so glad her sister’s store was working out.

  “I thought I’d find you here.”

  Jeff sat on the bench, not too close to Eddie, but not too far away, either. He held a plastic glass of champagne and handed it to her.

  “Thanks.” Eddie took a sip. Wow. Dinah had splurged on the champagne. “Barrett must be thrilled by the crowd.”

  “She should be. People are still coming in.”

  Jeff stretched, sending an alluring scent of testosterone and shaving cream past Eddie. She remembered this aroma even now, after two years away. It had been pure Jeff, when he kissed her on the beach.

  “The bins for the barn are almost done,” Jeff told her. “I’m thinking it would be cool if we built a few tables, for coffee-table books laid face up.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea.” Eddie turned to study him. His face and hands were already tanned from working outside, and scars from working stitched across his hands.

  Jeff caught her gaze. “So. Life in the big city.”

  Eddie nodded. He was so near, she felt too hypnotized to speak.

  “From time to time, while you were gone, I ran into Barrett. She told me what an exciting life you were living. Paris. London. Meeting novelists. You were moving in the fast lane.”

  Eddie found her voice. “I was. I’ve had an amazing time. It’s what I’d always dreamed about.”

  He studied her. “You think you want to live that way for the rest of your life?”

  “I thought I did,” Eddie told him. “Now I’m not so sure.” She met Jeff’s eyes and the moment of honesty they shared took her breath away. She wanted him to kiss her like he had on the beach. After more than two years away, that was the kiss she remembered.

  “Hi, kids!” Dinah swooped down on them, glittering with excitement. “A bunch of us are going to Le Languedoc for dinner. I called and made reservations. It’s getting late and Barrett is closing the shop. The boys have taken the goodies away. The champagne was completely gone, so we decided we should go, too. Come on!”

  Well, Eddie thought, no chance of privacy with Dinah here.

  And that was probably a good thing. Eddie was so close to embracing Jeff, kissing him like they’d kissed before, and promising things she’d regret.

  She smiled at Jeff. “Come with us.”

  Jeff stood up and addressed Eddie and Dinah at the same time. “Sorry, ladies, but I’ve got some work to do.”

  “I understand, but we’ll miss having you,” Eddie said, trying to hide her disappointment.

  The three trooped back to the shop. It was quiet on the wharf now, even though the sun hadn’t set. People were at dinner or enjoying cocktails.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Eddie said to Jeff, who saluted her and walked away.

  “I’ll meet you there,” Dinah called to Eddie. She joined a group of brand-new friends and walked up toward town.

  Barrett came out of her shop and carefully locked the door. Paul and Drew were gone. Their father had left as well.

  The two sisters stood together in the sudden quiet.

  “It’s happening,” Barrett whispered. She leaned against Eddie. “It’s really happening.”

  “Congratulations, sis,” Eddie said. “You did it.”

  “I’m doing it,” Barrett agreed. “And it’s a dream come true.”

  nine

  Memorial Day flew past in a blur of backyard barbecues, flags flying from shingled houses, a parade with veterans of past wars, people flocking to the beaches to start their summer tans and later, rushing to the pharmacies to buy ointment for their sunburns. The wind was mild, the sun was high, and during the clear nights people went to movies, plays, restaurants, and beach parties or sat on their porches to watch the stars in the summer sky.

  For the next few days, Jeff and Paul dropped by for an hour or two to work on the book bins, shelves, and tables. Barrett worked in her shop. William was never around, leaving the house early, eating breakfast at the Downyflake, and working in the Atheneum in the middle of the town. In the mornings, Dinah wrote in her room, while Eddie culled books from the house. The horse ate the new green grass and raced around the field, obviously loving the new season. In the evenings, Dinah called an Uber and went into town, returning home late.

  Dinah and William had met, officially. They’d shaken hands and used their best manners, but they never spent time together. Just the opposite. They seemed to be trying to avoid each other.

  One afternoon, a storm with gale force wind swooped down, shrieking and bellowing and streaming rivers of rain. Jeff and Paul shut the wide barn doors and took off. Dinah lay on the living room sofa, calling her city friends, getting caught up on the gossip. Eddie made a beef stew and chocolate chip cookies, while singing along with her playlist.

  Barrett closed her shop at five, because no one was daring to come out in the downpour. She was completely soaked from running from her shop to her car. The tide was high and flooding the island’s lower streets. Two boys were canoeing down Easy Street. She drove home through the torrent, glad for a break from work. She ran into the house, called hello, and raced upstairs to shower and dry her hair. She pulled on sweats and moccasins and joined Eddie and Dinah in the living room.

  The three women were trying to decide which movie to stream when William came home.

  They heard him remove his raincoat and cap—he’d checked the weather report that morning and been prepared. With his briefcase in hand, he walked into the living room.

  Dinah was there, in leggings and a lilac-colored sweater. She was curled up at one end of the sofa, her toes with their pink polish flashing as she moved.

  She gestured to the seat next to her.

  “Come join us,” Dinah said. “We’d enjoy the company of the famous father!”

  William took a step back. “No, thanks. I have to work.”

  “You can’t work all day,” Dinah told him. “Has your publisher put you under a deadline?”

  William’s face reddened. Eddie and Barrett knew he didn’t have a publisher yet.

  “I haven’t decided on a publisher yet. Several literary houses are interested, but it’s taking longer than I thought. Excuse me.” He turned on his heel and walked out of the room. They heard his study door slam.

  Dinah smiled winsomely at the sisters. “I don’t think he likes me.”

  “Don’t worry about him,” Eddie said. “He’s becoming a hermit.”

  “He’s really a nice man,” Barrett told Dinah. “He’ll be nicer when he gets a little more work done. Plus, it bothers him that we’re moving so many books out of the house.”