Free The Wishing Tree by Marybeth Whalen Page B

waved her hand in the air with a smile. “And he knew he’d just be underfoot down here with all this wedding business. He’ll be here for the wedding, though.” She suppressed a grimace after the words were out of her mouth. Why had she said that?
    “That’s good to hear,” Leah said, a strange look on her face that Ivy ignored. “Seen your sister yet?”
    “No. She and Owen were out last night when I arrived, and I pretty much passed out after my long drive down.”
I went to bed and watched the ceiling for hours as I tried to figure out what to do about my cheating husband and adjusted to the reality that I was actually back in Sunset
. “But I’m sure I’ll see her when I get back home in a bit.”
I can’t avoid her forever
.
    “I really just popped by for one of your cheese biscuits. It’s been too long since I’ve had one.” Her stomach rumbled as she said it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. Up to that moment, the thought of putting a bite of food in her mouth, chewing, and swallowing had seemed like too large of an undertaking. Suddenly, though, she could think of nothing else she wanted more than one of her aunt’s signature items, the perfect blend of cheese and dough, comfort food at its best. “Think I could get one of those and a coffee?”
    Leah was already in motion, ordering Lester to fetch a biscuit from the display case and heading over to thecoffeepot to pour a cup of steaming black liquid. Ivy knew there were just Folgers grounds in the filter, but something about her aunt’s coffee tasted unlike any other cup of coffee she’d ever had. The closest she’d ever come was that little B&B in Highlands she and Elliott had stayed in that time … She blinked until the image of the two of them sipping coffee in bed disappeared. No sense crying over past coffee.
    She accepted the cup with a smile and held it up in a toast. Inside she was thinking,
To pilgrimages
. But she didn’t dare say it out loud.
    After promising her aunt she’d come back to the bakery and help out with some shifts, she drove over to Shallotte to pick up a prepaid cell phone at the Walmart there, then went reluctantly back to the beach house, arriving a little after nine. Her stomach was full even if her heart remained empty, though the hug from Leah had done her good. She wondered when the last time was that someone had wrapped her in a hug that lasted longer than a second, the beat of a hummingbird’s wing. Somewhere along the line, she must’ve started giving off the vibe that she didn’t need human contact. Somewhere along the line, she might’ve even started believing that herself.
    Seeing her aunt and Lester flirting had brought a smile to her face, a real smile that wasn’t for show. Maybe she would ask Shea about Lester and Leah. Maybe talking about someone else would help the two of them stay in safe territory. That had worked with them when they werekids, when they’d mutually realized that Owen and Michael weren’t just neighbors, they were
boys
. The two sisters had become united in their mission to make the boys next door notice they weren’t just the girls next door. The joint effort had all but stopped their rivalry. They’d even agreed on who should be with whom. Serious, studious Michael with his brooding intensity and introspective philosophies was perfect for her. Jokester Owen with his charm and ease and sunny perspective was all Shea’s. And it had been wonderful, for a while.
    She pulled the car into the driveway, lifting her coffee cup from the cup holder and taking the final, lukewarm sip, frowning at the temperature as she got out of the car. She walked into the house, expecting to see Margot and Shea sitting together at the table, talking wedding. She’d seen the expected bride magazines lying around the house, had turned away from the image of the models dressed in white lace on the cover, the headlines boasting about a day where dreams came true.
Whose dreams
?