The Midnight Garden: A Novel by Elaine Roth

Author:Elaine Roth [Roth, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2023-11-06T16:00:00+00:00

21

HOPE

It was stupid to get my hopes up. Of course, the locket wasn’t waiting for me at the local jewelry store. Of course, the owners—who’ve known me my whole life—would have called me years ago to tell me they had something of Brandon’s for pickup. Of course, they’d be offended I’d think otherwise.

I had known all of that. Why had I suddenly convinced myself otherwise? Why had I let myself start to hope?

The glares of the jewelry-store owner and his wife heat the back of my neck long after I turn the corner into the heart of downtown Kingsette, where the bars that dominate the street have set up outdoor tables and music pours out of open windows. It’s not quite as charming as Newport, but a close second, according to the pamphlets in Kingsette’s visitor center.

A few women sitting at a table across the street yell out my name, and I force a smile. Another table full of off-duty nurses calls out too. I wave and pretend not to hear the invitation to join them.

In another life I might have gone over. In another life, I would have had a drink and gossiped and compared notes about marriage and mortgages while killing time before meeting Tessa to hear a potential band for Noah’s party. That other life was easy, stable. It made sense.

There were no midnight blooms or Ferris wheels that spin against all odds in that life.

The awareness that it’s an either-or life lodges in the space beneath my ribs. The weight of it stays there, an uncomfortable invader, as my thoughts shift to Will.

He hasn’t said much about why he went to Maeve after Adventure Land, but I hope she was able to help him. He needs . . . something.

Despite the confident air Will puts forward, he always seems a little lost.

My phone vibrates with a text from him—as if just thinking about him made him reach out.

I just finished another useless manager interview. This is beginning to feel hopeless. Made me think of you. HOPEless—get it?

I roll my eyes and respond. I’m supposed to believe you were a writer for a popular TV show with that kind of joke?

His response is instant. Well it did get canceled. Thanks for that reminder.

I thought the first two seasons were phenomenal. You’ve got one fan dying to know what you had planned for season three.

This time, his response takes four long minutes. You watched?

Binged. You’re really talented.

It was a team effort. Another text arrives with lightning speed. What are you up to now?

I hesitate. Will would have come with me today. Thanks to that cultivated LA charm, he probably would have asked about the locket without insulting anyone too. But Will has his own problems at the Inn. Which he’ll solve, eventually, before returning to LA.

The queasy feeling that unfolds in the pit of my stomach when I think about that is the reason I didn’t ask him to come. That and Kingsette’s rumor mill. The last thing

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.