An Invincible Summer (Wyndham Beach) by Mariah Stewart (e novels to read .TXT) 📕

was pregnant and that I’d kicked Jonathan out, but I was keeping the baby, he never questioned me. Never asked if I knew what I was doing. He just told me to be true to myself and do what I felt was right and he’d be there for me one hundred percent. And he was.”

“He always said that. And think before you act because you’ll have to take responsibility for your actions.” Grace winced. “No small bit of irony there.”

“Well, I do believe if he were here now, he’d encourage us each to live our lives and be true to ourselves.” Maggie leaned back against the counter. “Don’t think I haven’t been hearing his words in my head these past few days.”

“Mom, if you’re okay with selling the house and moving back to Wyndham Beach, I’m okay with it, too. I’ll miss having dinner with you on Sundays, and Daisy will miss seeing you so often, but you’re right. It’s your life. Your choice.” Natalie tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “I remember that house. I always loved visiting Gramma in the summer.”

“Me too. It was always fun,” Grace agreed.

“Well, don’t expect it to look much like what you remember. The new owners changed it a lot. Thank God, we can paint over most of the whiteness, which made the house seem so cold. And of course there’s the addition, which changed the second floor and the kitchen. But in retrospect I kind of like the new master bedroom and the bath, and the kitchen could be fun to cook in. Once we get rid of all the white, of course.”

“Mom, no offense, but you’re not much of a cook,” Natalie pointed out. “Dad and takeout saved us when we were growing up.”

“I can’t argue that your father was the real cook in the family, but I don’t remember any complaints the nights I put dinner on the table. Besides, I can learn. Yesterday I ordered all Ina Garten’s cookbooks. I’ve been watching her shows on TV,” Maggie replied. “She makes everything look easy, so I’m game.”

“Well, as long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” Natalie raised her coffee mug in a toast. “Here’s to your new life, Mom. May it shine.”

“I’m with Nat.” Grace joined the toast, then rinsed her empty mug out under the faucet and set it aside. “So let’s put that pack of sticky notes to work. Can we start in the dining room? There are a few things I’d love to have if you’re not taking them with you.”

“Me too. I’ve had my eye on that soup tureen you and Dad bought in Italy that time.” Natalie led the way.

“Wait, you mean the white one with the painted flowers?” Grace followed, her voice trailing behind. “I wanted that . . .”

Maggie smiled. She’d planned on taking the tureen with her. There would no doubt be negotiations ongoing all day—and hopefully no arguments—but in the end, it would all work out just fine.

Chapter Thirteen

GRACE

“Will you be living in Wyndham Beach?” the Realtor asked Grace after they’d completed the closing on the house on Cottage Street.

“I told my mother I’d stay and help her get settled, but I have a home in Pennsylvania,” Grace replied. A home she’d put on the market and was hoping to sell sooner rather than later, but no need to get into all that. And there was still that question of a job. Thank God for the rainy-day fund her father had left her.

“Well, it was good of you to stand in for her today. How lucky is she to have an attorney in the family.” Barbara closed her briefcase with a snap.

“I’m not here as her lawyer, just her proxy,” Grace explained. “Mom’s gotten several offers on her Bryn Mawr house, and she’s trying to decide among them. As soon as that house is under contract, she’ll be here. Most of her furniture will be arriving today, so I’ll have my hands full.” She glanced at her phone for the time. “Actually, I should be getting back to the house. The movers are due in about an hour, so I need to be there.”

“I will let you go then. Here are the keys.” Barbara handed Grace an envelope. “And a list of contractors who worked on the house, as your mother requested, so she’ll know who to call if she has any questions about any of the systems or whatever.”

Grace picked up the folder of documents that she’d signed in her mother’s stead. Once the FOR SALE sign on the Bryn Mawr house had been placed on the lawn, the phone had begun to ring nonstop. With the closing of the Wyndham Beach house imminent, Maggie had signed a power of attorney in order that Grace might take her place at the closing table in Massachusetts. She’d also asked Grace to oversee the arrival of the moving van. There’d be furniture to place and a number of boxes to be emptied. Since leaving her law office behind, Grace hadn’t had much to do other than help her mother pack up a lifetime of possessions. It had taken several weeks, but much had been donated, much had been sold, and much had found its way to the rented storage unit Grace and Natalie were sharing. Maggie’s house in Bryn Mawr was now empty—even the stager’s furniture had been removed. Maggie was staying with Natalie until the house was sold and she could leave Bryn Mawr behind.

Sometimes Grace secretly thought it was just a little strange that her mother could turn her back on thirty-some years of her life and move on—or move back, depending on how you looked at Maggie’s return to Wyndham Beach. She’d admitted as much to Liddy, with whom she was staying until the house was ready for her mother’s arrival.

“I can’t help it. I just think it’s out of character for Mom to just decide on the spur of the moment to leave Bryn Mawr behind and