Wind Chime Café (A Wind Chime Novel)

Copyright © 2014 Sophie Moss

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Published by

Sea Rose Publishing

ISBN-13: 978-0615949253

ISBN-10: 0615949258

The Seal Island Trilogy

The Selkie Spell

The Selkie Enchantress

The Selkie Sorceress

T
aylor,” Annie Malone whispered, reaching for her daughter’s hand. “Wake up.”

Taylor’s green eyes fluttered open. “Are we here?”

Annie nodded.

Taylor sat up slowly, gazing out the passenger side window. Crickets chirped in the tall grasses around their new home. The crisp autumn air carried the scent of the Chesapeake Bay. “It’s quiet.”

“I know,” Annie said softly. “But we’ll be safe here.”

Taylor’s free hand drifted to her broom—the broom she hadn’t stopped carrying since the day everything had changed three weeks ago. It was lodged between her seat and the door. She tugged it back into her lap.

“Come on.” Annie kept her tone upbeat as she stepped out of the car. The sooner they put the past behind them, the sooner Taylor could begin to heal. “I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Taylor clung to her broom as they walked up the overgrown path. Moonlight slanted through the beams of the wide, wrap-around porch. The steps creaked as they climbed them, and when a cool wind blew through the empty streets, the windowpanes rattled.

Taylor jumped.

Annie laid a comforting hand on her eight-year-old daughter’s shoulder. She didn’t know how long Taylor would be skittish around loud noises, but it was one of the reasons she’d wanted to move her away from the city.

Heron Island would give them a fresh start, a place where they could build new memories and escape the ones that still haunted them both at night.

Pushing open the door, Annie found the switch on the wall, flooding the first floor café with light.

“It’s pink,” Taylor said, surprised.

Annie smiled, guiding her inside and closing the door behind them. “It won’t be for long.”

Taylor stepped into the small dining room, with its simple black and white checkerboard floor, silver counters, and glass display case. “We can paint the walls?”

Annie nodded. They’d never been able to paint the walls in their previous apartment. The Washington D.C. building had maintained strict codes, mostly to keep the dilapidated structure from falling any further apart.

She’d been working double shifts ever since Taylor was born, putting away a small portion of her paycheck each week so that one day they could get their own place.

A rush of pride swept through her. This house was theirs; it
belonged
to them. They could do whatever they wanted with it. “You can help me pick out a new color after school tomorrow.”

Taylor’s small hands squeezed the handle of her broom. “I don’t want to go.”

“It’s only one day.” Annie knelt in front of her. “Then we have the whole weekend to spend together.”

The counselor had recommended Taylor start back to school on Friday. She’d said it would be easier for her to make it through one day rather than an entire week. Annie waited for her daughter’s haunted eyes to lift back to hers. “I’ll go with you, and I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

“You promise?” Taylor whispered.

Annie nodded, brushing Taylor’s red hair back from her face. She wished she had the resources to homeschool Taylor. She wished her daughter didn’t have to set foot in another school ever again. But she needed to work. She needed to get her restaurant up and running soon or she’d never be able to make the first mortgage payment.

They’d find a way to get through this together.

She stood, taking Taylor’s hand and leading her through the kitchen. The back door stuck, but it swung open after a few tugs. They walked out onto a lopsided deck overlooking a yard covered with weeds and wildflowers.

“It’ll take time,” Annie said, gazing out at the quiet cove where a flock of geese chattered on the water, “but once the renovations are done, we can plant a garden.”

Taylor looked up at her. “With flowers?”