A Sweethaven Summer (30 page)

He hesitated and shook his head.

“Please.”

“Are you leaving me?” Tears filled his eyes, and Lila fought the urge to pull him into her arms and hold him tighter than she ever had.

“I don’t know yet,” she whispered.

He reached out and placed a hand on her cheek. “Please don’t. I’ll leave you alone, but I’m waiting for you.” He leaned down and brushed his lips softly over her forehead.

She blinked back fresh tears but said nothing.

As he walked past her, back toward the chapel, she inhaled his scent, clean and woodsy and distinctly
Tom
. Her tears came quicker now, and she wished she could’ve maintained the wall she’d built so carefully over the years.

This pain, though, hurt too badly to mask and too intensely to hide.

She heard the sound of people gathering behind her, and she quickly, quietly slipped away to put herself together. As she did, she glanced in the distance, where Tom had stopped to talk with his daughter, and the pain, with the precision of a sharpshooter, shot straight back into her heart.

No, forgiveness wouldn’t come easily—if at all.

Luke had closed the patio at the Main Street Café, sectioning it off specifically for those who’d attended Campbell’s mother’s memorial service. The service had been light-hearted, yet poignant, and it seemed to give her closure the funeral hadn’t. Surrounded by friends who days ago had been strangers, she put to rest not only a mother who had meant the world to her, but the questions that had plagued her ever since she was a little girl.

Tears fell throughout the entire gathering, not only tears of sadness over all she’d lost, but also tears of gratefulness for all she’d found.

Now, standing in the doorway of the café looking around the patio, she couldn’t help but smile. Friends and family gathered together, eating, celebrating, and sharing the stories that had brought them together in the first place. At the center of it all was the scrapbook.

Adele had put it back in order, had it bound in an album, and put it on display now for all to see. Meghan’s pages were still missing, but so many stories were well-preserved thanks to that collection of cardstock, stickers, and, most importantly, words.

Luke wrapped his arms around her and hugged her from behind. “This is pretty spectacular.”

“It really is,” she agreed. “Thank you for opening your café to us.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

She turned to face him.

“You’re kind of spectacular too, ya know.”

She laughed. “Is that the best you could come up with?”

“I’ve been working on that one all morning.” He grinned. “Fine. Let’s try this instead.” He leaned down and kissed her—right there in the doorway of the café—and for only seconds she wondered if anyone watched. One glance into his eyes, though, and the rest of the world seemed to disappear. She kissed him back, savoring the way his skin smelled, knowing that she very well could have met the one person who could steal her heart.

“Stay for the summer.” He pulled back to face her.

“Where would I live? My job, I—”

He stopped her with another kiss. “Just think about it, okay?”

She nodded, dazed. Coming to Sweethaven for the summer would give her time to figure out her next move. What if she actually did it?

She watched him walk away, smiling when he glanced back before disappearing behind the door.

Still reveling in his kiss, she started to walk as an arm linked through hers. “My darlin’.”
Adele
. “The honor of your presence is requested at a very special table near the front.”

Campbell smiled. “What are you up to?”

“Not a thing.” Adele walked her through the people and led her to the largest table on the patio. On it sat three gift bags. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.” Adele started to walk away. “And no peeking,” she called over her shoulder.

In only a few minutes, she returned with Jane, who sat next to Campbell and smiled. “Do you know what’s going on?”

Campbell shook her head. “No idea. Have you seen Lila?”

Jane frowned. “Not since the memorial service. Do you think she’s going to come?”

“Maybe. I still feel terrible.”

Jane laid a hand over hers. “Sweetie, stop beating yourself up. I’ve learned the hard way that is no way to live.”

Adele returned and sat on Campbell’s other side. “I can’t find Lila. Jane, can you call her?”

Jane pulled her phone from her purse and dialed. “Voice mail.” She left a brief message and hung up.

“I wanted us to all be here together, but it looks like the Southern belle is late to the ball. I wanted to do something to show you girls how much I have loved having you back, and I wanted to remind you what it was that brought us all here in the first place, so I put together gifts for each of you.”

“Can we open them?” Campbell took hold of her bag.

“Of course, Miss Impatient.” Adele laughed.

Campbell pulled the bag onto her lap and removed the pink tissue paper. Inside was a stack of cardstock, scissors, a paper cutter, a pack of patterned paper, and a small box of photos.

“I had the photographer from the art show make a few prints for me this morning,” Adele said. “I thought you might want to get those memories down in a scrapbook of your own.”

Campbell shot her a look.

“I know, you aren’t a scrapbooker, but maybe you could just give it a try?”

Jane held a similar package. Her photos were from the barbecue at Adele’s—mostly of her family and a few of the four women together. “Adele, this is so thoughtful. Thank you.”

“I know The Circle isn’t the same, but I thought maybe we could start something new. Our own circle. If you’ll let an old lady join, that is.”

Jane reached out and took Adele’s hand. “I can’t think of anything I would like more.”

Campbell smiled. “For you, I’ll give this a try. But only for you.”

Lila’s silver Mercedes pulled into the handicapped spot in front of the café. She quickly parked, bypassed the front door, and walked through the gate to the patio.

“Lila, you need to move that car,” Adele said. “You’re not handicapped.”

Lila waved her off. She sat in the empty seat at the table and picked up the gift bag that obstructed her view. “What’s this? Presents?”

They all watched Lila.

“Adele, is this from you?”

“It’s just a little somethin’ to remind you of your trip.”

She looked through the contents of the bag, stopping at the photos, most of which were from the night of the barbecue. She held up one of the four of them and smiled. “What are the odds we all look good in the same photo?”

Jane put a hand over Lila’s and stopped her charade. “Hon. How are you?”

Lila’s eyebrows raised. “I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?”

“We’re just worried about you is all.” Adele watched her.

“Marriages end every day. It’s not breaking news.”

Campbell’s heart sank. Tom had told her Lila planned to spend the summer in Sweethaven, but she’d practically forbidden him to come. Her heart twisted with guilt. Partly because she’d caused this rift and partly because she’d imagined spending time with him that summer. Sweethaven was closer to Chicago than Macon, Georgia.

Jane leaned forward over the table. “People throw marriages away too quickly these days.”

“I can’t stay after what he did.” Lila looked at Campbell. “No offense, Campbell.”

Campbell looked away.

“How weak would that make me?”

“Honey, leaving isn’t the stronger choice. Stayin’ is,” Adele said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Any weakling can walk away from a marriage when things get tough. It takes a truly strong woman to stay and fight for what’s hers.” Adele folded her hands on the table. “You take it from someone who knows.”

Lila held her gaze for a long moment, and Campbell prayed the older woman had gotten through to her.

“Just think about it, Lila. Don’t do anything rash.” Jane glanced at Campbell. “I have some news,” she said. “Adele, you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me. Turns out the Sweethaven Chapel needs a pastor for the summer, and Graham is working it out so he can take the position.”

Campbell appreciated the change of subject.

Adele’s eyes widened. “Jane, that’s wonderful. Are you sure you’re gonna be okay here all summer?”

“I think it’ll be good for me. And for the kids. It’ll be different. I don’t know many people here anymore.” Jane smiled.

“Oh, you’ll fit right back in, darlin’.” Adele glanced at Campbell. “What about you, hon? What will you do now that Sweethaven is in your blood?”

Three sets of eyes waited for her answer. She glanced through the windows and inside the café to where Luke alternately served drinks and glanced in her direction. What if she
did
come back here? She could give herself the summer. Just the summer. A summer to take pictures and explore new places and make new friends… maybe to fall in love?

“I think I may spend my summer here too,” she said.

Adele let out a little squeal, followed by Jane’s excited “Yay!”

“Maybe taking a little time to figure out where I want to land is a good idea.” Campbell loved their enthusiasm over her decision. It solidified her choice. Because in Sweethaven, she felt anything but alone.

“You are more than welcome to stay in my house,” Adele said. “But if you do, I’m gonna have to change the rules for my handsome son. I have a feeling he’d move back in with you around.” She patted Campbell’s hand.

“I’m coming back too.” Lila stared at them.

Jane grabbed her hand. “And Tom?”

Lila met her eyes. “I’ll think about it, Jane.”

Relief settled on Campbell’s shoulders knowing Lila might give her father another chance. Regardless, she’d already started concocting a plan to get the two of them back together. She knew Tom loved Lila—she just needed to help Lila get over her pride and see that for herself.

“Are we really all doing this?” Jane giggled. “We’re all spending the summer in Sweethaven?”

“The good Lord’s answered my prayers.” A smile spread across Adele’s face.

“Since we’re all going to be back for the summer, why don’t we reinstitute a new chapter of the Sweethaven Circle?” Campbell looked at them, one at a time.

Jane let out a slight gasp.

“No.” Lila held her hands up in front of her and shook her head. “Your mom already swindled me into doing that once.”

“But look at how fun it’s been to relive your memories through that book,” Campbell said.

“I love the idea,” Adele said.

“I’m in,” Jane said. “I’m still not promising anything artistic, but
I’ll give it a try.” She giggled. “Lila?” She moved closer to her friend. “Come on. We could have a whole section all about you.”

Lila laughed. “Fine. I’ll do it. But I have veto power on any photos that show my wrinkles.”

“Lila, you’re talking to a Photoshop master over here,” Campbell said. “I’ll be sure to make you look like the goddess you are.”

They sat for a moment, a contented silence winding through them, and Campbell couldn’t help but romanticize the summer that loomed on the horizon. In a matter of days, she’d grown to love these women and this town—and everything it represented.

Her soul felt at peace.

And that peace was worth far more than anything she could imagine.

A month had passed since she’d seen the girls, and now that June had arrived, excitement fluttered in her stomach. One by one, they’d all be arriving and she’d have nearly three solid months of constant joy. She’d already planned out every weekend’s meal and hoped to convince Lila, Jane, and Campbell to attend monthly scrapbooking crops with her in The Commons. They all claimed not to be scrap-bookers, but she’d find a way to convince them.

It had been months since her social calendar had been so full.

In the backyard, her grandchildren tugged at Mugsy’s ears in spite of the poor mutt’s protests. “Finn, not so hard with her. She’s as old as the hills,” Adele hollered out the window.

Finn’s four-year-old face scrunched in disappointment. It tickled Adele to see his personality start to bloom, even if she did see his mama’s stubborn streak in him. Nadia ran underneath the sheets that hung on the line, her giggles wafting in through the open windows.

The doorbell rang, and Adele glanced at the clock. Too early for Nick to pick up the kids. Maybe one of her girls had gotten in early as a surprise.

She wiped her hands on a towel and tried to calm the excited butterflies that zipped around in her stomach.

She reached the door and pulled it open, expecting Lila, Jane, or Campbell.

But as her eyes registered what she saw behind the door, her heart skipped a beat and she struggled to find her breath.

“Meghan?”

Her daughter leaned against the porch railing and stared at her.

“Hi, Mama,” she said. “I’m home.”

A couple of years ago, some very sweet friends gifted us with a long weekend in their cottage in a place much like Sweethaven. A community where the houses are passed down through the generations, rich with history and filled with stories. It was there that I began to imagine the women of this small town coming together in the Commons for evenings of scrapbooking while the summer sun waned over the lake and their children caught lightning bugs in the field out back.

Suddenly, I wanted to live in this place. With these women. And I wanted to uncover their secrets. To dive into their friendships and see how they’d begun, how they’d changed and evolved through the years. I wanted to give place to the preciousness of friends who knew me while I was still discovering who I was, and to explore the power of the bonds that are formed in those earliest years.

But most of all, I wanted to take a look at the redemptive qualities of unconditional love. Friends who let you make mistakes—who look on you with love when you do, who forgive and go on loving you anyway. Those kinds of friendships are so hard to find, but when you find them, they are better than gold.

Pulling in my love of memory-keeping was an absolute must, since at my core, I have always been a scrapbooker. Because of this, I have a record of many of the most important milestones in my life. And I’ve discovered, like the women of Sweethaven, that those records can remind me of what’s really important. They act
as therapy in the darkest hours. They serve as keepsakes when my memory fails. And they help my children understand a little more about their mom in a way no conversation ever seems to be able to.