“I wish I could join you,” Miles said. He stood up and stepped closer to Heather.

  Heather’s breath caught in her throat. He was staring at her as if he was going to kiss her, and suddenly she wanted that more than anything in the world.

  “I wish you could join us, too,” she whispered.

  “Hey, Miles,” a man said, clapping Miles’s shoulder as he walked into the bookstore.

  Miles stepped back. “I really have to go to a family thing. But listen, you look beautiful in that dress.”

  Heather couldn’t look away from him. She managed to say, “Thank you.”

  Miles turned to go, stopped, and put his hand on Heather’s wrist. “Really. Beautiful.”

  Heather felt as if she were glowing so brightly, she lit up the street. What was that? Had she diverted back to high school sensations? She could have kissed him, right there on the street.

  People were going in and out of the stores, strolling down the streets, as if nothing amazing had just happened. Maybe this was just summer on Nantucket, where magic happened when you least expected it.

  Sugar yipped and pulled on the leash. Heather crossed the street. Friends sat on benches gossiping, laughing, and families came out of Nantucket Pharmacy carrying ice cream cones and board games. Heading toward the wharf, she stopped to study the windows in Vineyard Vines and Jewel in the Sea. Sugar stopped to sniff a wooden bench, a streetlamp, a blob from someone’s ice cream cone. She licked up the blob, but retained her dignity and didn’t water the passing trash barrels and fire hydrants.

  Heather stopped for a moment to gaze at the small craft tied up to Old South Wharf, and followed the white shell lane between the small boutiques—once fishing shacks—on the wharf. Peter England’s clothing tempted her, but she didn’t want to take Sugar into such a beautiful shop, so she continued to walk past artists’ studios until she came to the wooden dock extension at the end of the shell lane. Delicious aromas drifted from a restaurant with an awning-covered patio. Laughter made her pause to take in the evening, the bright blue sky above, the salty warm air, the restaurant packed with people in ice-cream-colored clothes, and a couple cuddling at a table at the end. The man was handsome, dark-skinned, dark hair, and a gold bracelet on his wrist as he held a lovely young woman…who was Kailee.

  Heather stood frozen, grateful that Sugar was determinedly investigating the shells. Was that Kailee? How could it be Kailee? It couldn’t be Kailee—

  The girl lifted her head, and her long chestnut hair fell down her back, and the man was smiling a lover’s smile, his arm still around Kailee.

  Heather couldn’t see Kailee’s face, which was a good thing, because then Kailee would see Heather standing there with her mouth hanging open.

  “Come, Sugar,” she said, pulling the dog away from her smells, and walking quickly to the wooden wharf, where she turned the corner and leaned up against a wall.

  Her heart was racing. She felt unaccountably guilty, which made no sense, because she wasn’t the one betraying Ross. What to do—should she tell Ross? That would seem too sneaky, too malign. Should she ask Kailee for a private talk? Kailee would think Heather had been spying on her. There had to be a good reason Kailee was with the man. Maybe she was saying goodbye to an old boyfriend. Maybe the man had a relative who had died.

  Maybe Ross would offer Kailee the ring and she would refuse it, not wanting to marry Ross because her old lover had returned.

  Maybe Heather should get a grip.

  She walked down the wooden planks of the wharf, scarcely noticing the various sailboats tied up in their slips. Above her, diners at the Anglers’ Club sat on the deck talking and laughing as if all was well with the world.

  Heather walked to a spot on Commercial Wharf where Sugar discovered a pile of discarded shells to investigate and she could gaze out at the Boston Whalers and small sailboats tied up to the dock. She took out her phone, called Christine, and explained what she’d just seen.

  “What should I do?” Heather asked.

  “What can you do?” Christine countered.

  “Okay, I’ve got three choices. I could tell Ross, and then Kailee would hate me forever. I could ask Kailee to meet me and I could tell her what I saw, and she’d hate me forever and suspect me of being a spy. Or I could say nothing to anyone.”

  “Say nothing, definitely. Your summer goal is not to make Kailee hate you.”

  Heather laughed. “You always do know how to cut to the core.”

  “Other than that, how is the island?”

  Heather walked to the sea wall and sat on the edge. “It’s magic. So beautiful, it’s almost unearthly. I actually love my cottage, and did I tell you? I have a dog! She’s a beautiful little mutt. Sugar’s always excited to see me when I come home.”

  “And the divorce?”

  “A few hiccups, but it’s almost done. It’s going more smoothly now that Wall has Nova.”

  “I’ve asked about her,” Christine said. “She teaches yoga. Her father is P. Z. Drake, who invented something electronic.”

  “P.Z. sounds like someone who would invent something electronic,” Heather said.

  “Whatever, he has a lot of money, and he gave Nova money to buy a farm outside of Concord where she’s building a covered riding ring for her horses.”

  “Wow. I think Wall is serious about her. I think he might live with her.”

  “Honey, he lives with her now. Sometimes he shows up to work in tight-fitting jodhpurs and riding boots.”

  “You’re kidding!” Heather laughed at the thought.

  “Are you jealous?” Christine asked.

  “Not at all. I’m glad for Wall. He’s gotten his second wind.”

  “He is handsome,” Christine said.

  “I know he is. I’m sure he’s more handsome now that he’s happy.” Heather snorted. “Hey, maybe I’m prettier because I’m happy!”

  “You’re always pretty, Heather. And how are things going with what’s-his-name? Miles.”

  “Christine, Miles and I don’t have things. I work for him five mornings a week, and he’s very professional. Although…he did invite me to go out on his boat on the Fourth of July, to watch the fireworks from the water.”

  “That sounds romantic,” Christine said.

  Heather nodded. “We’ll see. Thanks for talking me through this problem. I won’t do anything for now.”

  “I’m always here for you,” Christine said.

  While she’d been talking, the sun had slipped toward the horizon, softening the bright blue of the sky. The wind was quiet, the waves sliding gently up onto the sand.

  She wandered back toward Main Street to her car. Sugar cheerfully hopped into the passenger seat and curled up to lick her bum. Heather started the car, pulled on her seatbelt, and cried all the way home.

  * * *

  —

  The Sunken Ship was across from the Whaling Museum, and it had everything. Surfboards. Watches. Mermaid crowns. Fishing poles. Board games. Scuba gear. Straw fedoras.

  And they rented metal detectors. Kailee and Dan carried them to her Jeep. They didn’t weigh much, and she thought they looked easy to work. It wasn’t the best they sold, but she thought it would do the job. It was basically like a long black stick with a waterproof coil attached to a digital display and a band for the lower arm.

  Dan snapped on his seatbelt. “How cool is this? We’re going beachcombing.”

  “Serious beachcombing.”

  “We’ll find it,” Dan said. “I’m sure we will.”

  Surfside beach in the early evening glowed. The sun was low in the sky, and a few puffy clouds drifted over the ocean, turning the water shades of blue, turquoise, and peach. Kailee and Dan walked down the steep path to the beach to see several parties gathered, some finishing a picnic meal on a blanket, others wading in the shallow waves.

  “We’re past here,” Kailee said. “Way to the west.”

  “Right behind you,” Dan said.

  They each carried flashlights in addition to their phones with flashlights. They walked several hundred yards, playing the lights on the sand, even though they hadn’t reached the spot where Kailee had lost the ring.

  “I think it was here.” Kailee clicked off her light and surveyed the position of the dune and the pattern of the waves. “I can’t be sure. The water changes the beach constantly.”

  “We will be brave of heart,” Dan said, putting on the low booming voice of a warrior king. He knelt on the sand and began to sweep the top away with both hands.

  Kailee turned on the metal detector and slowly waved it over the beach. Dan rose and followed, kicking away sand closer to the dunes.

  Nothing.

  They kept walking. One moment they both gasped as the detector beeped, but when they dug down into the sand, all they found was the tab from a soda can.

  They kept at it until the sun had set and the sky turned indigo, small stars winking on one by one.

  Kailee sank onto the sand. “I’ll never find it, will I?”

  Dan said, “Truthfully? I doubt it. But, Kailee, Ross loves you. He won’t drop you because you lost a ring. You’re going to marry him. You’ve got to start trusting him now. Someday he’ll do something as careless, too.”

  “I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse,” Kailee said.

  The friends laughed ruefully and turned back to slog through the deep sand to the path up to the parking lot.

  * * *

  —

  Heather drove home, full of emotions. Sugar was asleep on the passenger seat. She snored, with a small, endearing squeak each time.

  Pulling into her drive, she was surprised to see Ross’s truck parked there. It was ten o’clock, late for working people. Was something wrong? She checked her phone. He hadn’t called. She’d left a light on in the living room, and it glowed golden through the bushes.

  “Come on, Sugar,” she said, and the dog obligingly jumped out of the car and trotted up the walk to the cottage. Ross was sitting on the top step.

  “Ross, hi, darling. I should give you a key to the front door. I’ll have one made tomorrow at Marine.”

  Her son rose. “Hi, Mom.”

  She kissed his cheek. “You smell like beer.”

  “I had a few with the crew. Who is this guy?” He held out his hand and Sugar warily sniffed it, then licked it. Ross laughed.

  “This girl is Sugar,” Heather informed Ross. “She found me, and we’re very good companions.”

  “Good for you,” Ross said.

  Heather unlocked the door and her son followed her inside. She unclipped Sugar’s leash. The little dog sauntered into the kitchen, half asleep but still present in case food showed up.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Heather asked.

  “No, Mom. Listen, I have to tell you something.”

  Heather went pale. “Are you sick? Are you hurt? Are you—”

  “I’m fine, Mom. Let’s sit down.” He sat on a chair in the kitchen.

  Heather sat across from him. “I’m all ears.” A memory flashed up: when Ross was three and home from his first day at preschool, she’d asked him how he’d liked it and said, I’m all ears. Ross had wrinkled his nose and cocked his head. No, you’re not! he’d yelled. But that was long ago.

  “Okay, Mom, here it is. I asked Kailee to marry me.”

  “That’s wonderful! How did she like the ring?”

  “She loved it, Mom. But it was too big for her—”

  “We can have it sized.”

  “Mom,” Ross snapped impatiently. “Mom, she lost it.”

  “What?” The news came like a punch in Heather’s stomach. She didn’t care that much about material things, but the ring was an heirloom, a link to her mother and grandmother. “How?”

  Ross wiped his hands on his thighs. “It wasn’t her fault, that’s what I want to tell you. I proposed on the beach and put it on her finger, and she hugged me and we went for a walk, and I guess it slipped off into the sand.”

  Heather put her hand to her heart. “Oh. Oh, Ross.”

  “I know. We looked for it like crazy, we sifted the sand and dug around where we’d been standing, and we couldn’t find it. It’s my fault, Mom, for proposing on the beach. I thought it would be romantic, and it was, but I didn’t think we could lose the ring. I mean, all that sand…”

  Heather covered her face with her hands. She didn’t want Ross to see how much this shattered her.

  What a loss, she thought. What a terrible, heartbreaking loss. The ring that her grandmother had worn, and her mother, and Heather…Did Kailee do it on purpose? Could she not even let that much of Heather’s family into their marriage? Was Heather meant to lose everything from her past? Clearly, “losing” the ring in the sand was a direct message to Heather that Kailee didn’t want anything of Heather’s around, not even a beautiful, expensive heirloom ring.

  Tears streamed down her face. Ross stood up, paced a few laps around the kitchen, and sat down again.

  I shouldn’t be here, Heather thought. I have to leave, and I have nowhere to go.

  She rose and went to the kitchen sink, rinsing her face with cold water. She filled a glass with water and drank it down. She took deep breaths and calmed down.

  Sugar sat in her bed, looking anxiously up at Heather. Heather knelt next to the dog and stroked her soft, silky head. Then she returned to the table and faced Ross.

  “God, Mom, I had no idea it meant so much to you,” Ross said. “I’m so sorry. I feel terrible about this, and Kailee does, too.”

  Heather said, “It did mean a lot to me. It was my grandmother’s, passed on to my mother, and then to me. I’m sure Kailee didn’t mean to lose it.”

  “It’s not her fault,” Ross protested. “Don’t say she lost it. I was there, too.”

  Heather’s sadness was morphing into anger. “Well, then, you both lost a meaningful connection to your family. And it doesn’t matter, but that ring was worth a lot of money. I know Kailee doesn’t need to worry about money, doesn’t want my money—”

  “Mom, stop it!” Ross pushed away from the table and stood up. “Kailee didn’t mean to lose the ring! I didn’t mean to lose the ring! Kailee wouldn’t lose that ring on purpose! Mom, I’m sorry. We’re sorry. And I know this makes you sad, but I don’t know how to fix it.”

  “I don’t think you can fix it,” Heather said sadly. “Not everything in the world can be fixed.”

  Ross pulled a chair close to his mother. “Mom. Come on, Mom. This isn’t like you, to be so…” He stopped, as if he couldn’t think of the right word.

  “Pitiful?” Heather suggested. Something ignited in her heart. She was furious, not pitiful!

  “No, I don’t mean pitiful,” Ross said. “You’ve never been pitiful and you never will be. I guess the word I want is ‘negative.’ You’re acting like, like someone has died. It’s only a piece of jewelry, Mom. I can pay you back, eventually, if you’re worried about money. But you need to understand that Kailee did not lose the ring on purpose.”

  Heather trembled as she tried to tamp down her anger. “That ring has been in the family for three generations. I gave it to you. You gave it to Kailee. Now it’s gone. That’s all I need to know.”

  Ross shouted, “Come on, Mom! Don’t be this way!”

  Heather didn’t respond.

  After a long moment of silence, Ross asked, “What can I do?”

  “There’s nothing to be done. I’m tired. I need to go to bed.”

  “Mom, don’t be so sad. I’m really sorry. Kailee’s really sorry.”

  “I love you, Ross.” Heather was exhausted. “Go home.”

  “Okay. Good night.” Ross rose from the table, waited for her to say something, and when Heather didn’t speak or even look at him, he left.

  Heather followed him to the door and waited as he walked to his truck. Anger remained burning inside her, and bitterness, and a righteous curiosity that made her take up her phone and call Kailee, now, while Ross was in his car.

  “Hi, Heather.” Kailee’s voice was wary. “Did Ross tell you about the ring? I’m so sorry.”

  “Hi, Kailee,” Heather said, and her voice was shaking. “Yes, he told me about the ring, but I didn’t tell him about the man I saw you embracing earlier this evening. Is he the reason you ‘lost’ the ring?”

  Kailee gasped. “Oh. My. God! Have you been following me?”

  Heather’s voice shook. “Tell me about the man you were with tonight.”

  “You are such a crazy woman.” Kailee was laughing in great breathy sobs. “That man I was with was my friend Dan. He’s gay. He’s married. He helped me rent metal detectors and we went out on the beach and tried to find the ring!”

  Heather sank down onto the sofa, closing her eyes and allowing the knowledge of her mistake to sink in. “I didn’t know that. I didn’t know anything about Dan. Oh, God, Kailee, I am so very sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I wish I could take it all back. Please forgive me.”

  “What you mean is please don’t tell Ross that you called me. That you’ve been spying on me.”

  “I wasn’t following you, Kailee. I was just wandering around town. I apologize. And for what it’s worth, I didn’t mention this to Ross.”

  “Am I supposed to thank you for that? Well, I won’t mention it to Ross, either. He’d feel terrible. Unless you have any other news flashes, I’m going to hang up.”

  “Again, I’m sorry, Kailee.”

  When the conversation ended, Heather simply sat, staring at the empty fireplace. For the first time, she wished she had a television. It was so easy to take a break from problems by watching nature or game shows. She knew she could turn on her computer and watch something there, but she didn’t have the energy.

  She shouldn’t have come to Nantucket. She’d known Kailee lived here. Early on, she’d sensed that Kailee was uncomfortable around her. If Heather had rented a place on the Vineyard or in Maine, she wouldn’t have accidentally seen Kailee in another man’s arms. Had she been right or wrong to call Kailee? She really didn’t know.