James was pulling his car into the Silver Sands Resort parking lot when his phone began to ring. The sun was slowly slipping down the sky in a riot of pinks and oranges, the silhouetted palm trees casting long shadows across the concrete as the daylight sang its last goodbye. He parked in a space next to the entrance and picked the phone up, frowning as he saw who was calling.
Alice Murray. Sara’s sister.
“Hello?”
“James. How are you? We haven’t heard from you for a while;. Mom and Dad were starting to worry.” Just hearing Alice’s voice made his breath catch in his throat. It was so similar to Sara’s.
“I’m fine,” he told her. “There’s no need to worry about me. I’ll try to call them this weekend.”
“They’d love that. We talk about you a lot. And about Sara and Jacob, of course.” Her voice lowered. “I still find it hard to accept they’re gone sometimes. I guess it must be the same for you, too.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offload on you. I worry about you. I think about you roaming around in that big house with all of its memories and it makes me want to cry. I don’t know how you do it sometimes.”
He swallowed, even though his mouth was dry. “It has been hard,” he said. It wasn’t a lie. Just because his life felt easier – lighter – now, didn’t mean he hadn’t gone through the darkness to get here.
“So I was just calling about next month. We were planning on flying to Angel Sands next month for the anniversary. Mom and Dad want to visit their graves, and to see you, too. I wanted to check your schedule to see if you’d be working on Saturday the twelfth.”
Anniversary. James blinked, and let out a mouthful of air. How the hell had he forgotten about that? Three years since he’d sat by Sara’s side and watched her die. Three years since he’d watched two coffins lowered into the ground.
What kind of man was he?
“The anniversary’s three weeks away.”
“I know.” She was always so gentle, the way Sara had been. “I’m sorry for the late notice. Mom was planning to discuss it with you when you called. I can’t believe it’s been three years.”
“The twelfth is fine,” he told her. “I’ll be around. Are you planning on staying the night?”
“I don’t think so. We’ll probably fly back that evening. Dad doesn’t like sleeping in any bed that’s not his, and I’m concerned it may all be too much for Mom. Maybe we can have dinner before we leave. I hear the new resort is up and running. Or we could go to Delmonico’s on the pier. Sara always loved that place.”
James looked up at the resort in front of him. The front door opened and a group of young women walked out, smiling and laughing as they made their way down the stairs. His stomach contracted when he realized they could be from the baby shower. With Alice on the phone it was like his past and future were trying to collide.
“We’ll go to Delmonico’s,” he said firmly. “I’ll call and make a reservation. Send me your flight details and I’ll pick you up from the airport.”
“Are you sure? We can rent a car.”
“I’m sure. I’ll be there.”
“Thanks, James. It’ll be good to see you again. And maybe we can find some happiness in talking about the old times.”
“I’ll see you on the twelfth,” he said, wanting to end the call as soon as possible. He didn’t like the way his old and new life were colliding. “Don’t forget to send me those flight details.”
“I won’t. In a weird way I’m looking forward to it.”
Yeah, he thought as he ended the call and slid his phone into his pocket. Well that made one of them.
As he headed up the steps to the main hotel and walked through the door, he tried to put the thought of Sara’s family out of his mind. Maybe it
had been a mistake to offer to pick up Harper and bring home all the gifts from the party, but it felt wrong to expect her to do it by herself. She was six months pregnant and there was no way he wanted her lifting things. That was his job. But as he pushed the door to the ballroom open he didn’t like the way people turned to look at him, either. Even though the shower had finished, there were still a lot of people mingling around. He pressed his lips together and tried to ignore their interested gazes.
There was only one person in this room he was concerned with, anyway. Or two if you counted their baby.
His eyes were drawn to her. She was standing with Caitie and Ember, one hand on her bump, the other reaching out to tickle baby Arthur under his chin. He swallowed as he watched her lips curl into a smile. Christ, she was beautiful. A beacon of light that refused to be dulled, no matter how many arrows life slung at her.
“James?” his mother said, touching his arm. “I didn’t know you were coming. I was just leaving and I saw you walk in.”
“Hey, Mom.” He smiled at her. “I offered to bring all the gifts home.”