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After they’d settled on the name and even began twittering about with a plan—Kate moving back and acting as innkeeper, Clara pitching in after school, Megan joining on the weekends and maybe even bringing Sarah along to help with little repairs and painting projects—Amelia had an idea.
“We could hire Jimmy, you know,” she suggested, her face clear and hopeful, but her heart held hostage by something. Their reaction?
No.
Her own dreams?
Maybe.
“Over my dead body,” Clara declared, crossing her arms over her chest.
Amelia flushed. “We could tell him exactly what to do,” she added weakly.
Kate gave her a stern look. “If there’s one thing we have all learned this week, it’s that Jimmy is a problem, not a solution.”
Sighing deeply, Amelia couldn’t help but flick a glance to Michael. Talking about Jimmy in his presence felt... perverse, somehow. Like there was a matter of loyalty, and to even mention Jimmy’s name was a sin.
A buzz tickled her leg. Thankful for any distraction, Amelia reached down into her purse to check who the text or call was from.
It was a text. From her agent. Rather, Mia, who was her pseudo agent. And friend.
“Oh my God,” Amelia whispered.
“What?” Kate asked. “What is it?”
Amelia looked up, embarrassed. Humiliated. Horrified.
“Is everything okay?” Michael asked.
Willing herself not to totally lose it in front of him, she simply shook her head. “I didn’t get Lady Macbeth.”
Silence came in reply. Kate, who sat next to her, rubbed Amelia’s back and pulled her in for a hug.
Megan uttered a quiet apology. Clara did the same.
Michael, the handsome, aloof lawyer, broke the silence. “Were you auditioning for a part in New York?”
Amelia could have sworn she heard something in voice. Was he... impressed?
She nodded to him, lamely.
“I’m sorry to hear. I actually sponsor our community theatre here in Birch Harbor. The Birch Players.”
Whipping her head to him, she replied, “What? There was no community theatre when I lived here.”
Amelia caught Clara’s eyes light up, as she added, “Yes, there is. Some of our kids from the high school are involved in their productions. I think our drama teacher is the one who founded it.”
Weakening at the news, Amelia overcame the urge to cry. “That’s... cool.”
“If you ever move back here, I can connect you,” Michael offered. It was a curious thing to offer, in light of Amelia’s own sister claiming a solid connection to the company of thespians.
She met his gaze, and a smile formed on her lips. He seemed to grow red, and Amelia smiled broader. “Thank you. Maybe we can... maybe we can exchange phone numbers?”
He nodded dutifully then cleared his throat.
Kate broke up their moment. “Amelia, the paper. Mom’s diary entry. What does yours say?”
It was the briefest of the notes, and, initially, Amelia wondered why Nora Hannigan had left it at all.
But as her eyes danced over the words and her lips formed full sentences aloud, she came to life with the information.
An adventure.
A project.
***
April
I had a thought today, but I’m not sure if I’ll have time to find the answer. It’s a big project, and it demands someone who is willing to go on a bit of an adventure—someone who isn’t afraid of a project.
I never did find the deed to the lighthouse. In case I don’t get to it, please have one of the girls go search for it.
As far as I know, it’s part of their inheritance. The lighthouse on the lake, that is.
***
Amelia’s eyes flashed up at her sisters and at Michael.
No one knew what to make of it.
“The lighthouse?” Kate asked, perplexed.
Amelia shrugged. “It was the Acton’s, right? It belonged to Dad’s parents.”
“And it’s where Dad stayed when we went to Arizona,” Megan added.
Silence spread between the three of them. Amelia frowned. They’d arrived at so many answers in such a short span of time. Megan and her peculiar obsession with her phone. The mystery of whether Amelia would be the next Lady Macbeth. Hah.
Clara’s absence from the will was the most tragic. The most upsetting. Clearly, poor Nora was in worse shape than any of them knew, and the associate Michael had hired back whenever Nora had gone in to make and adjustment wasn’t able to offer much help. That besides, Sharon the receptionist was all but useless. Sweet, but useless. Fortunately, the solution was at hand.
“How will this affect our plan?” Megan asked, reading Amelia’s mind.
Kate answered, “It doesn’t. We’re going to tackle the house on the harbor together. After that, we can start chipping away at the other properties. I’ll take over on managing The Bungalows. If everyone agrees, still, Clara can help me start clearing the cottage, too. And then she can move in eventually.” Kate dipped her chin and looked at Michael. “Maybe you can help us make sure that’s on the up and up?”
He nodded, his face serious.
Clara glanced around, nibbling on her lower lip nervously.
Megan and Amelia patted her hands on either side of her, and Amelia whispered, “The cottage is yours. We can start dealing with the other properties. Together.”
A smile spread around the four women. Peace, at last. After a lifetime of tepid sisterhood made more complicated by a cutthroat, domineering mother, they shared a realization in that moment. Nora wasn’t trying to be some evil queen. She was tending to a secret, and that secret nearly broke her, so much so that she tried to pick it open. She tried to set things right.
She was just a little too late.
Amelia felt a sob climb up her throat despite the new, tranquil energy. Or maybe, because of it.
Michael cleared his throat. “I don’t want to overstep my boundaries, here, but... I can start looking into the lighthouse, if you four would like?”
Kate let out a sigh. “It’s a big project,” she answered, her smile fading as she stared across her sisters. "As far as we know, our father still has a claim to it. Wherever he is."
“I could help,” Amelia offered, the lump in her throat sliding back down. She winked at Megan, lifted her dark hair off her neck, rolled her shoulders back and stared directly at Michael. “No boyfriend. No Lady Macbeth. I think I could use a project.”
***
Find out what happens in Birch Harbor next. Order The Lighthouse today.