Sweet Success by Nicole Ellis

Author:Nicole Ellis [Ellis, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

Gretchen collapsed on the bed and hugged Reilly. “Am I doing the right thing?” He licked her hand. She lay next to him, enjoying his warmth. Sometimes it was nice to have someone to love you unconditionally.

She scanned the room. Maggie was right; the carriage house was small for one person, but downright tiny when you added in a medium-sized dog. She’d sacrificed their roomy house to get closer to her goal. How could she give up on something that would get her even closer to that goal?

“Reilly, let’s go.” She grabbed her coat and his leash off the hooks by the door. He raced to the door. She clipped the leash on his collar and they walked out through the gardens to the main street.

A walk usually cleared her mind. She hoped it would work its magic this time. They trotted at a brisk pace down the hill toward town and the beach access trail.

The tourists hadn’t arrived yet and the beach was practically deserted. Candle Beach had a strict on-leash policy, so she let out Reilly’s leash to give him the maximum length to run. Seagulls gathered at the shoreline, wading in the surf and squawking amongst them. Reilly tried unsuccessfully to reach them while leashed, but only succeeded in scattering a few.

The sun had fallen low in the sky and the temperature had dropped. She shivered and zipped up her jacket. Reilly pranced on the sand and she laughed at his antics. She couldn’t wait until summer came and she could take him to the beach more often without drowning in the rain.

Candle Beach, both the town and the beach itself, were breathtaking in the summer. She thought back to last summer’s Founder’s Day festival and how cute Maggie’s little boy had been in the parade. The whole town had come out to celebrate and Gretchen had ridden on a parade float herself. Labor Day weekend had been crazy with all the tourists, but there was something wonderful about seeing the whole town come together, townies and tourists alike.

Would she be able to find that sense of community in a bigger city? Would she have friends with whom to celebrate the good times and the bad? She could always come back to Candle Beach to visit, but it wouldn’t be the same. Maggie and Dahlia would move on with their lives and there would always be in-jokes and things that she was no longer a part of.

She sighed. Time to start walking again. Being alone with her thoughts wasn’t working so well.

She whistled for Reilly and tugged at his leash. He jogged over to her and stayed by her side as they climbed up the beach access stairs to Main Street. In front of Pete’s Pizzeria, a crowd of friends had gathered. They stood in a circle, chatting. One person must have told a funny story, because his friends all laughed in unison.

A twinge of pain shot through her. She’d miss the town and her family, but most of all, she’d miss her friends.

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