Christmas Ever After (Puffin Island 3)

She loved her friends. “I think so.”

Zach nodded to Alec. “I hear you rescued her. Nice work.”

Sky hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. “Excuse me, he did not rescue me, I rescued mys—”

“She rescued herself.” Alec finished her sentence and hefted their cases into the plane. “I provided backup. Let’s do this before we ditch in the frozen ocean.”

They strapped themselves in for the short flight over the bay to Puffin Island.

The bay, always crowded with boats in the summer months, was mostly empty. She knew that only the hardiest of fishermen worked their lobster traps in the winter. Ahead of her the ocean stretched forever into the horizon.

Home, she thought. It felt like home. So many of her favorite memories featured this island. Long, happy days on the beach searching for sea glass, relaxed, cozy evenings talking around the kitchen table while Brittany’s grandmother cooked at the stove.

Beneath her she saw the forest, now white with snow, saw tiny inlets and rocky shores.

Puffin Island.

Zach executed a perfect landing and moments later Sky was standing on the tarmac, shivering in the bitter wind.

“Holy crap, this is so much colder than London.”

Zach handed Alec a set of keys. “Your car is in the car park, delivered as requested. Are you going to drop Sky at the cottage or do you want me to give her a ride? Brittany is out choosing paint with Emily but she won’t be long. They’re fixing up Doug Mitchell’s old place on Main Street so Emily can start setting up her shop.”

Alec raised his eyebrows. “I bet he’s charging her a small fortune in rent.”

“Don’t you believe it.” Sky swung her bag over her shoulder. “Emily looks sweet, but she negotiates so hard you’re lucky if you don’t lose layers of skin along with the clothes on your back. She’ll leave Doug bleeding. And thanks for the offer, Zach, but I’m not staying at the cottage. I’ll call Brit later. If there is decorating to be done, I want to be there.”

And this time she needn’t worry about Richard phoning, making her feel guilty for being there.

Zach’s eyes narrowed. “I assumed you’d be staying with us.”

“Not this time.”

Alec picked up his suitcase. “She’s staying with me.”

“Right.” Zach absorbed that without comment. “In that case, you can both join us for dinner. That’s if they’ve cleared the roads enough for you to make it over to us without landing in a ditch.”

Skylar loved hearing the “us.” Zach had lived his life alone for so long that hearing him use the word so naturally warmed her. “Dinner sounds good. Thank you.”

They parted company and Alec took the coast road that wound along the west side of the island.

“It’s a different place in the winter. Every bit as beautiful, but different.” Sky huddled in her seat, looking at the landscape. The familiar now seemed unfamiliar, snow altered shapes and blurred edges, softening the sharp and obliterating dips and curves. Landmarks disappeared, as if winter was playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek. “Is your house warm?”

“Yes, but I’m sure we’ll find ways of generating heat, don’t worry.”

She felt her skin prickle with awareness. “Do you mind having dinner with Brittany? I should have checked with you.”

“You mean because she’s going to take you to one side and demand every detail? That’s your problem.” He slowed as they approached a bend. “I’m not the one answering the questions.”

“Do you think it will feel awkward, because we’ve all been friends a long time?” Except for her and Alec. And that was the irony. Out of the six of them, theirs had been the most difficult relationship. “I wouldn’t want to damage that.”

“It won’t be awkward.”

The road crested and beneath her in the distance she could see the familiar curve of Shell Bay, with Castaway Cottage nestled just beyond the beach.

Winter, summer, spring or fall, it was a special place.

Instead of continuing down, Alec took a sharp left. The road narrowed and steepened and on the headland she could see the lighthouse that had guarded this part of the island for centuries. To the right of it, sheltered by a dip in the coastline, were two fishermen’s cottages that had weathered the wild Atlantic weather.