The Vineyard Mothers by Grace Palmer

Author:Grace Palmer [Palmer, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grace Palmer

Jill waited twenty minutes before sending the message.

She and Matt hadn’t exchanged phone numbers yet. The details of their date had been worked out in the messaging feature of the dating app. So Jill typed up a message to Matthew there. Or tried to, at least. But if “Where are you?” sounded a little aggressive, then “I’m waiting at the counter. Are you coming?” was a declaration of war.

She settled on, Hey there! Are we still on for lunch?

It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t pathetic. Jill sent it off and waited. Matthew’s cartoon avatar was grayed out, which meant he wasn’t online. If he didn’t have notifications on, it could be hours or days before he’d see this message. Still, Jill stared at the screen.

“Do you want anything to drink?” The man behind the bar was slicing limes and lemons, getting the bar ready for the afternoon.

It was too early for a drink, and Jill knew she’d be drowning her sorrows in plenty of them at the May Day party that afternoon. Fiona was a notoriously heavy pourer.

“Just a water, thanks.”

He offered a silent nod. Jill thought she saw him glance at her phone knowingly, as though he could read what was on the screen. Was it that obvious she was being stood up?

She was at the bottom of her second glass of water when finally, blessedly, Matthew’s avatar went from grayscale to color. Three flashing dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, followed by three messages sent one after the other.

Hi Jill. So sorry this is getting to you late. I’m going to have to cancel.

You seemed like a lovely person, but I’ve actually met someone else (not on the app).

Sorry again. Good luck to you!

Jill exited out of the app without responding. What was there to say?

As soon as the bartender disappeared back into the kitchen, Jill tipped and left.

The temperature had dropped since she’d last been outside. She lowered her head against the damp, cold air and hurried to her car. Going home was the responsible thing to do. She had time to finish the budget before she needed to get herself and her mom ready for the party. But Jill didn’t want to go home.

She wanted to do what her mom had said—go have some fun.

Like a woman possessed, she drove towards West Chop Lighthouse for the second time that week. This time, a tall man in a dark blue uniform met her in the middle of the front walk.

“A repeat offender, eh?” Caleb asked with a smile. “I thought I taught you a lesson.”

Jill’s chest warmed. She stood a little taller. “You did, actually. I’ve learned that rule breakers get free private tours.”

He chuckled and then turned on his heel. “Well, come on, then.”

Caleb led her across the lawn and into a side door of the main house. The hallway was narrow with a hardwood floor that squealed under their feet, revealing its age. Jill traced the broad shoulders of his back with her eyes as he walked ahead of her.

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