“WHEN ARE WE going to get there?” Carys complained, as she glanced out the plane window. “I hate the long plane ride. It’s sooo boring.”
Lindy smiled indulgently at her soon-to-be stepdaughter and said, “I know but before you know it we’ll be at Larimar eating boiled bananas and playing in the surf. Just keep that in mind and the time will go by faster.”
“No, it won’t. It makes it worse,” Carys grumped, reaching into her backpack to grab her earbuds and iPod so she could at least listen to music while she watched the clouds go by.
The sparkle from Lindy’s engagement ring caught her eye and she smiled on the inside, lighting up from the joy that continually cascaded through her at the knowledge that she was going to become Gabe’s wife and Carys’s stepmother.
She couldn’t imagine loving Carys more than if she’d given birth to her. The kid was amazing and she was proud to be in her life.
Lindy had relocated to the Bay Area but she still made frequent trips to Larimar to help her sisters. Gabe never winced at the expense and encouraged her to go whenever she felt the need. He said someone ought to be able to cash in on the frequent-flier miles he banked from business trips, and she was happy to take him up on his offer.
Carys had insisted they all go to Larimar on this trip, saying she had to have her island fix if she was going to make it through the chilly Bay Area winters. And the kid was an island girl at heart. So much so that she scared the life out of Gabe but made Lindy laugh at her antics because they reminded her so much of herself.
It was interesting; once she left L.A. and moved to the Bay Area with Gabe and Carys, she’d discovered an awesome theater group who recognized her talent and not just her pretty face. She’d landed a small role in their last production and she’d learned that she had a passion for theater. Now she wasn’t chasing the nightlife in the hopes of gaining a career; instead she was studying acting techniques and becoming versed in the debate over Method acting and classical acting. It was a change she realized should’ve happened a long time ago if she’d ever hoped to be taken seriously in the acting world.
Lilah was doing well in her healing and Lindy was so grateful for the change. Lilah continued to see Dr. Veronica but the combination of art therapy and medication had lessened her need to see the doctor so frequently. For the first time in a long while, Lilah was in a great place and it warmed Lindy’s heart to know her twin was doing so well, though in a private place that she didn’t talk about she still worried that Lilah could relapse. Even thinking about the possibility gave Lindy the chills so she tried to banish the thought whenever it arose, but seeing Lilah’s sunny smile always helped allay her fears, too, which was another reason for the frequent trips home.
With the help of her paycheck from Paul Hossiter they were able to make the quarterly installment payment to the IRS but there was one final large payment looming over their heads, which was why they were all traveling to St. John on this trip.
It was time to put into place some sustainable practices to save Larimar.
The only problem? Pops was getting worse by the day.
Lora, Heath and Celly had their hands full with the day-to-day running of Larimar, not to mention the babysitting of Pops so he didn’t hurt himself.
Heath had proposed to Lora and had fashioned symbolic rings out of fused glass. Some rich guest at Larimar had seen it and commissioned his own. Now, Heath was creating fused glass rings for a decent sum of cash, which was nice for the resort and for Heath because he’d begun to worry that he’d made a wager on his talent and come up short.
But even as serious as everything was around her, Lindy couldn’t help the smile that constantly found her lips.
She was happy.
Blissfully, ridiculously happy.
And she knew that whatever came their way, they’d handle it as a family.
All of them.
Just the way it should be.
* * * * *
Be sure to look for Kimberly Van Meter’s
last book in her Family
Paradise trilogy,
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN,
available in January 2013.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of Unraveling the Past by Beth Andrews!