“I don’t think we’ve ever had this many people in the boat before,” Chantelle remarked. “Four adults, one child, two dogs. And a baby in Mom’s tummy, of course.”
Emily laughed. “It’s quite the adventure,” she agreed.
Amy was quiet as they went, her arms crossed about her middle, her face turned out to the ocean. She wore an expression of deep contemplation. She was clearly lost in her thoughts, and Emily wondered again what they were. Being out on the ocean, Emily herself had discovered, invited quiet reflection at the best of times, and could easily lead the mind toward an existential crisis. She watched her friend anxiously.
Harry, on the other hand, either had nothing on his mind or was very good at hiding it. He was chatting openly with Daniel and Chantelle about the types of fish that could be caught in the ocean, about their plans for the island and boating in general.
“Now that we have a destination to boat to this will happen much more often,” Daniel was saying. “We’ll be ferrying people over here all the time, for parties and picnics.”
“Sounds awesome,” Harry said in his usual cheery manner.
Chantelle was looking up at her father with rapt attention. “Can we have Thanksgiving here?” she asked, wide-eyed.
“I doubt it,” Daniel replied. “It will take a long time to get the well installed, figure out the plumbing and the solar generators for power. It’s much more work than a few months, and the winter weather that’s coming soon won’t help. Sorry, kiddo, there’s just too much to do between now and Thanksgiving for it to be a possibility.”
Chantelle pouted, looking downcast.
“But we can definitely visit the island as much as the weather allows us,” Emily told her. “And since we won’t be sailing around in circles anymore, but have a place to head to, I think we’ll be able to come out more often than we used to.”
Chantelle pondered her words for a moment, then returned her expression back to happy.
Emily smiled at Daniel. He seemed relieved that she’d handled the situation so well and Emily felt a surge of pride. Her maternal instincts seemed to be sharpening as her due date grew closer.
After a while, they reached the island and the ancient jetty that was barely still standing. The faded sign that proclaimed the island was for sale was still there.
“You can start by kicking that down!” Emily told Chantelle.
Chantelle didn’t need telling twice. She leapt off the boat, ran at the sign, and yanked it out of the ground.
As he tethered the boat, Daniel gestured to a stack of old, rotting fishing crates. “Put it here. We can have a bonfire.”
The idea of a bonfire seemed to thrill Chantelle. She jumped up and down with excitement.
Emily stepped carefully from the boat onto terra firma, trying to absorb the strange reality that she now owned this island, that it was hers. Unlike the inn, which she’d inherited, and Trevor’s, which had come into her possession through his will, this was the first thing she’d truly ever bought, she and Daniel together. It was theirs, and the overwhelming relevance of that struck her even more deeply now that she was standing on its shoreline.
Behind her, Amy and Harry stepped off the boat. They were both wearing bemused expressions as they glanced about them at the scraggly, overgrown island, the strewn debris from years past. Amy in particular must have thought Emily had gone crazy buying this deserted plot of land, surrounded by ocean, filled with squirrels and birds. If she thought Sunset Harbor was uncivilized, what on earth must she think about the island?
“I know it’s not much to look at, at the moment,” Emily confessed. “But there’s so much potential.”
“Of course,” Amy said, looking perturbed as she stepped lightly along the uneven ground. Her high-fashion clothes looked more out of place here than usual.
“Do you guys want the tour?” Emily asked.
Harry nodded enthusiastically, but Amy made only a lackluster noise of confirmation.
“I’ll show you!” Chantelle cried.
She led the way, heading into the trees with Harry and Amy in tow. Their footsteps and noisy voices disrupted the black squirrels that inhabited the island, making them scurry up the trees.
As Emily trekked after them, slower because of her pregnant waddle, she could hear Chantelle excitedly making announcements.
“We’re going to have a tree house here,” Chantelle told them. “It will be a pirate ship for me and Charlotte to play in. And that will be where the magical fairy castle ballroom will be.”
Daniel, having finished securing the boat, came up beside Emily and helped her through the thickets. They drew up beside the others, Emily panting slightly from the effort and exhilaration she felt from being here.
Amy raised her eyebrows as they approached, surprised and interested.
“Are you doing all the work yourself?” she asked Daniel. “It sounds like there’s a lot to do. Too much for one man, especially a soon-to-be father.”
Emily smiled to herself; her friend always had her best interests at heart and knew how difficult Emily found it whenever Daniel was away from home.
“No!” Daniel exclaimed with a chuckle. “We have great contractors for it. Two kids, straight out of college. They’re desperate to add to their portfolio so we’re expecting really great things from them.”
“And other than pirate ships and magic castles,” Harry said, “where will the actual inn parts be?”
“Well, there will be a three-room cabin which we want to start as a sort of writer’s retreat. Tracy is also going to do some yoga workshops on the island, like day-long well-being retreats.”
“It sounds fantastic,” Harry said. “How much do you think you’ll get done over the winter?”
“Depends on the weather,” Daniel said. “It’s a shame it took so long to get the sale through, really. This Indian summer could have given us a head start, but I’m sure it will be over by the time we’ve organized all the machinery and materials.”
Thinking ahead made Emily worry. No longer was the island a fantasy or a dream. It was real. Now everything had to be practical. There was so much to organize and pay for, so many components that had to be in place. They’d barely finished the renovations at Trevor’s. It felt a bit like they’d jumped from the frying pan and into the fire!
But still, Emily was thrilled. She couldn’t quite believe she and Daniel had had the guts to buy the island. Not only had they been brave enough to make a child together, they’d been brave enough to follow their dreams, no matter how crazy they may seem. Emily smiled to herself, knowing that above all else, they were a team, and that together they were indestructible.
“Now, let’s go start a fire,” Daniel said, rubbing his hands eagerly. “Chantelle, can you collect all the pieces of wood on the beach?”
She nodded and hurried off, always in need of a task, always wanting to do her part to help. Then Daniel pulled a package of marshmallows from his jacket pocket. Emily laughed with delight, knowing how happy Chantelle would be when she got back from her trip to the beach to discover Daniel’s plan to toast marshmallows around the bonfire.
“You should have brought your guitar!” Emily said.
But Daniel just smiled and kissed her tenderly. “There will be so many more opportunities for songs around the bonfire,” he said, his eyes going dreamy. “You, me, and the girls.”
Emily gazed at him, awed by the man he was, the gorgeousness of him, and so excited for their future together, for all the adventures that lay ahead.
Mouths