Free A Sweethaven Summer by Courtney Walsh Page A

fluttered with anticipation. Would Meghan return if her dying friend invited her?
    “But I don’t want Campbell to come.”
    “Why ever not?”
    “I want to tell her about this place, but not everything. Some things would just hurt her. I won’t let that happen.”
    “She’s a grown woman now, Suzie-Q. Don’t you think you oughtta let her decide what she does and doesn’t want to know?”
    Suzanne shook her head. “She’s felt enough rejection over the years. Her father has his own life. My family—well, you know how that all turned out.”
    “But your history is her history.” How could Suzanne deny her daughter the beauty of this little town? “Just think about it.”
    “If she gets a hold of the scrapbook, she will be at your front door within a day,” Suzanne said.
    “Fine by me. I’d love to meet her.”
    “Adele. It’s a bad idea. Sweethaven is part of my past. Not part of Campbell’s future.”
    “Sweethaven has a lot to offer, my dear. And I think that daughter of yours might benefit from a little bit of this town’s magic. Don’t you?”
    Adele sent her home with a box of molasses crinkles and prayed she would make it to the first week of May. Now, she mourned the loss of her young friend and wondered why so many things in life seemed unfair.

NINE
Jane
    Jane gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. Five hours in the car with nothing to do but think.
    Alex
. She forced his face away every time it danced through her mind. She had to or she’d start crying.
    Twice she’d called Graham to explain why she needed to come back home. Both times he’d talked her into getting back in the car and continuing on to Sweethaven.
    “Are you worried I can’t handle the kids?” he asked, his tone light.
    “You know I’m not.”
    “Good, ’cause I’ve got it under control. The cottage is empty, hon. You could use the time to yourself.”
    Time alone seemed like the last thing she needed right now. This trip had already dredged up pain she’d long since buried—and she hadn’t even reached the town limits yet.
    She exited the interstate and turned left on Main. A wave of familiarity washed over her. She inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. Maybe she should’ve packed a paper bag. Just in case. She wouldn’t go down to the Boardwalk. Or even glance in the direction of the beach. Would that be enough to keep the pain at bay?
    She picked up her cell and dialed home but hung up before it rang. She could do this. She needed to do this. Graham had offered to come with her. In an unexplainable moment of strength, she’d refused.
    She regretted that now.
    As she drove down Main Street, she noticed some of the changes they’d made over the years. Old-fashioned lampposts. New brickwork that matched the original. No wonder tourists flocked here for the seasonal festivals. The Reindog Parade each winter. The Venetian Festival over the Fourth of July. And the Blossom Festival always on the first weekend in May. This weekend.
    She could almost smell the pink blooms on the crabapples that lined both sides of Main Street. The vineyards would be open, offering samples of their very best wines, and an old-fashioned carnival would be held all weekend down by the Boardwalk and the carousel. How appropriate for Suzanne to suggest this weekend for a reunion.
    But then, cancer didn’t care what season it was.
    She turned on Elm toward Adele’s cottage. Always warm and inviting, Adele Barber had been the glue that held them together on more than one occasion, the mediator in their silly arguments. Adele’s freshly baked chocolate chip cookies seemed to cure all the world’s ills. Suzanne’s and Lila’s mothers were busy with their luncheons and social functions, Jane’s mom had younger children to tend to, but Adele had nothing but time to get into their business. Even after Luke was born. Meg pretended to hate it, but the rest of them wouldn’t have had it any other way.
    She pulled