by Nicole Ellis
“Yes, Mom,” Tia teased.
Cassie walked away while holding the phone to her ear, and Tia picked up half of the pile of weeds she’d accumulated to deposit them in the wheelbarrow near the front porch. As she came around the corner of the house, Zoe was propping up her rake against the siding. Meg came around from the other side and removed her leather work gloves. “I’m so ready for dinner.”
Zoe chuckled as she examined the palms of her hands. “Me too. And I’m ready to take a break for today. My skin is getting torn up from all of this gardening, even with the gloves.”
Tia checked her own hands for calluses. “Mine too.” She surveyed the front yard. Zoe and Libby had made a ton of progress, mowing the scrubby grass and weeding the front flower beds. Judging by the pile of tree limbs in the corner of the yard, someone had been trimming branches as well.
“Are you ready to head out?” Cassie asked. She’d been pacing the graveled lane in front of the cottage while talking to Kyle. If the goofy grin on her face was any indication, all was well at the bakery—and in her relationship with her ex-husband.
“Yep,” Meg said. “Taylor’s going to join us for dinner too. He wanted to help out today, but he had some things to take care of at the Lodge.” Her face lit up as she said her boyfriend’s name, and Tia’s stomach twisted with envy.
Meg deserved all the happiness in the world and Tia didn’t begrudge her finding it with Taylor, but when was it going to be her turn? Stop it, Tia, she chided herself. Her life had already changed so much in the last year. She needed time to adjust to her new surroundings and circumstances. At the moment, there was no room for romance in her life.
The others started to walk toward the Inn. Zoe stopped and looked back at her. “Are you coming?”
Tia shook her head. She wanted a couple minutes alone to let everything soak in. “I’m going to finish up with what I was doing. I’ll be right along.” She gave them a little wave, and they continued walking.
She watched the three women talking and laughing together, until they’d disappeared around the bend in the road. She returned to the backyard, gathered up the rest of the weeds she’d extracted, and dumped them in the wheelbarrow. Instead of leaving immediately for dinner, she sat on the top step of the front porch and let her gaze drift.
Slivers of blue peeked through the trees and she could hear the water lapping softly against the shore below. The air was scented by the freshly cut grass and churned damp soil below the porch. The breeze she’d felt earlier intensified and she wrapped her nylon jacket tighter against her chest, but she didn’t want to leave yet. This was like her own secret garden, tucked away from the rest of the world.
Like the other times she’d been to this cottage, she was overtaken by a strong sense of peace and wellbeing. She’d never felt this way back home in Texas, where she was always under the watchful eyes of her parents and siblings. She frowned, thinking about how they’d reacted when she’d relayed the good news about her and Meg moving into the cottage.
Her mother had scoffed at the idea and warned against it. She insisted that Tia living in the same place as she worked could backfire and Tia could lose both her job and her home at once. As much as she tried to ignore them, her mother’s words had formed tiny seeds of doubt in her mind. Was she doing the right thing by moving onto the resort property?
At the periphery of her vision, a robin chirped as it fluttered from one branch in a tree to another. Grateful for the distraction, Tia pushed herself off of the porch step. She stood in the middle of the lawn and turned in slow circles, her head turned up to feel the last rays of sun on her face. The tension eased out of her neck and shoulders as she breathed in the salty air.
Recent memories flooded into her thoughts—how capable and confident she felt while solving problems during events, Zoe’s kindness in letting Tia share her small space, and the excitement on Meg’s face when she proposed sharing the cottage with Tia. The truth was, Tia’s family wasn’t in Willa Bay, and they couldn’t see how happy Tia was to work at the Inn and the friendships she’d developed there.
No matter what her parents thought, Tia needed the freedom to live her own life. Things wouldn’t always be perfect, but she’d figure them out as she went along, just like she always had. One day, maybe her family would recognize her strength, but until then, she wasn’t going to let their negativity ruin all of the happiness she’d found in her new hometown.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading A Haven on the Bay! If you’re able to, please consider leaving a review for it.
Wondering what’s in store for Tia? Find out what happens next with Book 4, The Sunset Cottages.
If you haven’t read Willa Bay’s sister series, the Candle Beach Novels, check out Book 1, Sweet Beginnings.
Happy reading!
Nicole
Acknowledgments
Thank you to everyone who’s helped me with this book, including:
Editor: Devon Steele
Cover Design: Elizabeth Mackey Design