Chapter 3

Josie sat at her desk, gazing at the cloudy sky and wondering if it was going to storm. She'd reached a lull in her workload—everything had been tucked away into folders, all emails had been responded to, and all tasks met for the day. So far. She was sitting and waiting for the next crisis to appear so she could wave her magic wand and make it go away.

But the crisis that appeared wasn't the kind she expected, and she felt completely powerless against it.

Her phone began to ring, and she set her mug of tea down and frowned at her phone screen. She didn't recognize that number.

"Hello?" she said as she answered the call, her tone tentative. It was probably a spam caller. She was probably about to hear a robotic voice tell her that there was a problem with the warranty on her car.

"Hi, is this Josie Garner?"

Josie's eyebrows rose. "Yes, this is she." For some reason, her heart started beating faster. The voice of the woman on the other line sounded clinical. Josie had a premonition that something was wrong.

"My name is Tess Jones," the woman said. "I'm a social worker from Portland, Maine. I'm calling about your sister, Paige Garner. Is this a good time?"

Josie felt her heart start hammering. Paige? Was she okay?

"Yes, now is a good time," Josie said, trying to keep her voice from sounding breathless. Alissa glanced up at her from her desk, her eyes worried behind her glasses. Josie smiled reassuringly at her as she stood up. She wanted to get out of the office. She didn't want to take this call where Alissa or Dane could hear her. "Just one moment."

Josie stepped out of the front door. The wind whipped against her body, cold and strong, and she wrapped her free arm around herself, shivering. "What's going on?" Josie asked, feeling her stomach tighten with anxiety.

"Your mother has been given a court order to go to rehab," the woman said, her tone somewhat sympathetic but mainly just brisk.

Josie sucked in her breath. She should have seen this coming. Her mother had always struggled with addiction. She felt a pang of guilt that Paige had still been there dealing with it while she was gone—free.

"While she's away, someone needs to care for Paige. Since she's only seventeen, she's not able to be on her own. We need to find a place for her to stay, as well as a guardian. It would be best if she could stay with family."

"Of course." Josie said the words quickly, before the question had really been asked. She felt her stomach drop. She hadn't realized things were like this. She felt a rush of guilt, wishing she'd done more to look out for Paige after she moved away.

She doesn't want to talk to me though,Josie thought, biting her lip and wondering how all of this was going to go.

She'd left home when Paige was still very young, since there was such a large gap between their ages. Josie knew that their mother had said things against her to Paige, hinting that Josie abandoned them.

Josie had never meant to do anything of the kind. She'd tried to look out for Paige, but when her phone calls kept getting ignored, she'd reached out less and less. She'd tried to make sure that Paige was okay, but obviously, she'd failed.

"She can stay with you?" the woman asked hopefully.

"Of course," Josie repeated, hugging herself tighter. She felt her stomach twist. "Of course she can stay with me."

"I'm happy to hear that," said the woman. "We'll be in touch with a local social worker and arrange for Paige to come stay with you. Where are you located now?"

"Blueberry Bay," Josie said.

"Blueberry Bay," the woman repeated slowly, as if she was typing it. "Sounds charming."

"It is," Josie assured her. She hoped Paige would like it there.

She and the woman talked for another couple of minutes, exchanging details. Josie found it difficult to focus. She just wanted to talk to Paige.

"Does she have a cell phone number I could call?" Josie asked.

There was a brief moment of silence. Josie winced, guessing that the woman was wondering why on earth she didn't have her sister's number already.

"She does," the woman said. "Are you ready for me to tell it to you now?"

"Yes." Josie didn't need to write it down. She had a great memory for numbers.

The moment her call with the social worker ended, Josie dialed her sister's number and listened to it ring, feeling her heart hammering in her chest.

Please pick up, she thought.

"Hello?"

Josie felt a rush of warmth at the sound of her sister's voice. It sounded husky and deeper than she remembered. Maybe a little shaky, as if Paige might have been crying.

"Hey, Paige, it's me. Josie." She held herself tighter, feeling the wind rush against her face, while she waited for her sister to respond.

"Hi, Josie." Paige's tone was crisp and a little hard. Josie thought she detected some breathlessness as well, which confirmed her suspicions that her sister had been crying.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Paige drew in an audible, shaky inhale. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Listen, I just got a call from a social worker. She said that Mom's going to rehab and you need somewhere to stay."

There was silence for a few moments. Josie wanted to ask why Paige hadn't reached out and told her herself, but she decided to keep silent about that.

"So I said that you could stay with me. Is… is that all right with you?"

Paige didn't answer. Josie pressed her lips together.

"You'll like Blueberry Bay, I promise. It's a great town."

"I don't want to move anywhere!" Paige's voice broke a little. "I don't want to leave Portland. Everything I have is here. My school, my friends—I have a job. I can't leave."

"I understand." Josie spoke slowly. By now, she felt chilled to the bone, but she didn't move. "You don't want to be uprooted. Starting over is scary, but it can be good."

Paige didn't say anything.

"It's all going to be okay, Paige. I'll find you a job here, and the school here is great. Okay?"

"Okay." Paige's voice was thick with tears now. Josie winced, wishing she could hold her sister. "I know I don't have a choice."

Josie felt a pang of sadness, wishing that Paige wanted to come be with her. Not everything Paige had was in Portland. Her sister wasn't there. Her sister was here, waiting for her.

Then again, Paige probably felt like she didn't really have a sister. Josie felt another rush of guilt.

"It will be a good experience, I promise," Josie said. "We're going to have fun together. You'll see."

"Okay." Paige didn't sound convinced.

"I'll let you go, hon. They're going to be in touch with both of us about details. I'll talk to you again soon, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you," Josie said, but Paige had already hung up the phone.

Josie stood for a moment, holding her phone tightly and staring into space. Her mind was racing. There were so many things she needed to do before Paige arrived. She would need to make space for Paige in her spare room. She needed to buy more groceries. She needed to call the school, to arrange for Paige to start taking classes there—

Josie felt as though she'd just been handed a whole new world of responsibilities. She was a little bit in shock.

Feeling herself shiver, she decided that it was time to go back inside. She wanted to finish her tea. She wanted to start writing out a list of all the things she needed to do to prepare.

She started back toward the office door, concentrating on making sure she didn't look sad. She didn't want Alissa or Dane to notice that something was wrong. She didn't want them to worry, and even more than that, she didn't want them to ask questions. She didn't feel ready to answer any questions yet. She forced a small smile onto her face and stepped through the door.

* * *

Alissa glanced up from her desk as Josie stepped back inside The Outlet. Alissa noticed an odd look in her friend's eyes. Josie's long blond hair was tousled by the wind, and she was shivering.

Why was she out there in the cold so long?Alissa wondered. She answered the phone and then ran out to take the call outside. I hope everything's all right.

Josie noticed Alissa watching her and gave her a quick smile. Alissa smiled back but kept her eyes on Josie as the other woman sat back down at her desk and picked up a pen and paper.

Alissa turned her eyes back to her own work, but she found that she was too curious about Josie to concentrate. After a few moments, she looked up again. Josie was staring into space, holding the pen in her hand near her mouth, as if she had been nibbling on the end of it.

Alissa's toes began to tap against the floor. Curiosity and concern were like two butterflies fluttering around in her chest.

Alissa liked Josie. She admired her. Josie had a kind heart and a sparkling personality. She was always friendly. But Alissa didn't know her much beyond a surface level. She wished she knew her better—then maybe she would feel more free to walk across the office and ask her friend what was going on, and if she needed anything.

I should ask her anyway,Alissa thought. This is a good opportunity to get to know her better.

At that moment, her cell phone began to ring. Alissa glanced down at it, expecting it to be some kind of nuisance call, but when she saw the name on the screen, her heart rate picked up. It was Seashore Press, the small press publisher who had published her first novel.

"Hello," she said, using her most professional-sounding tone.

"Hi, is this Alissa Lewis?" The speaker was a man whose voice she didn't recognize.

"Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?" Alissa was surprised to hear from the publisher. Her book had sold well for a while, but since the initial burst of interest, things had died down a bit. It was far from being a bestseller. She didn't mind so much though—she was immensely proud of it.

But now the publishing company was calling her out of the blue. For what? Alissa wondered. Do they want to try to do some publicity for the book, to try to boost sales again?

Across the office, Josie glanced at Alissa. As soon as their eyes met, Josie smiled a quick smile, but Alissa had caught a glimpse of her friend's eyes looking troubled. She felt again a desire to know what was happening with Josie, so that she could help. She only half-listened as the man on the phone introduced himself as Chuck, an acquisitions editor with Seashore Press.

"We have a proposition we'd like to discuss with you," he said. "Do you have a

moment?"

"Certainly," Alissa said. She leaned back in her chair and began to restlessly tap the edge

of her desk with her fingertips.

"We're interested in contracting you for another book," Chuck said. His tone sounded as though he was grinning expectantly. "We'd like to publish another of your works, and we'd like you to start writing it for us as soon as possible."

"Oh," Alissa said, a little breathlessly. This was not what she had been expecting. Her fingers stopped drumming against the desk. "I…"

As she trailed off, Alissa realized that she wasn't sure if she wanted to do it. Despite the initial burst of excitement she had felt when she'd seen who was calling, she felt herself hesitating. Writing another book would be a huge undertaking. There were many things to consider. It was a big decision, and she would need time to make it.

"You know, could I have some time before I give you an answer?" she asked. "I'm not sure. It's something I need to think about."

"Oh." Chuck cleared his throat, his tone turning a bit more serious. "Of course. Take some time to think about it, and get back to us with your decision, all right?"

"Great." She felt a flutter of relief. "Thank you so much."

Alissa said goodbye and hung up. She sat there for a moment, lost in thought. When she looked up again, she could see Josie staring out the window at the dark sky.