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Authors: Lily Everett
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“And you weren’t,” Jo clarified, her voice quiet but unsurprised. “Well. That’s certainly … understandable. Thank you for coming anyway—it means a lot to me to have you here.”
“Look. I don’t mean to be harsh,” Ella found herself saying, even though she did mean to. Didn’t she? “But I don’t think there’s any point in beginning this visit under false pretenses.”
“So tell me, what you do want from this visit?” Jo Ellen said.
“I’m not here to act out some movie-of-the-week tearjerker.” Ella’s voice had gone raspy, the words ripping from her throat like bolts shot from an arrow. “I’m not going to fall into your arms and call you mom. I’m not here for you at all. I’m here for Merry. That’s it.”
She saw—actually saw—every one of those words strike home. That smile Jo Ellen had stolen from her youngest daughter melted away, leaving Jo looking up at the porch with an expression Ella couldn’t decipher.
“I see.” Jo stood tall, solid, completely unlike Ella’s memories of broken-down desperation. “In the interest of clarity, let me tell you what I’m expecting from this visit.”
Ella braced herself, ready to fend off her mother’s emotional demands for a renewed relationship, her desire to reconnect, to rehash the past, to apologize—Ella didn’t want to hear any of it.
Apparently, that wasn’t what Jo had in mind.
“I want you to get to know the island,” Jo said. “This place is part of your family history, and you deserve the chance to discover where you come from.”
It took Ella a long moment to switch gears. “Um, sure. It seems like a nice place.”
“It is,” Grady said. His deep, certain answer was aimed at Ella, but when she glanced at him, he was watching Jo. The two of them seemed to be having a silent conversation using only their eyes.
His hand still gripped her shoulder, and Ella fought a moment of vertigo. Was it weird to feel so much more of a connection to this man she’d just met than she did to her own mother? “And it’s small, too, which is nice. I can’t imagine it will take me long to see all the sights.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I bet it would take a month, at least, to really plumb the depths of what Sanctuary has to offer,” Jo said lightly.
“One week,” Ella countered, her inner negotiator zooming to the fore.
“Three weeks,” Jo returned, with a hopeful smile.
“Two. And that’s my final offer—that’s all the vacation time I’ve got.”
Technically true, although this wasn’t exactly a vacation. Paul Bishop had told her he didn’t want to see her back in the office until she’d put on five pounds and lost the bags under her eyes. But there was no way she was admitting that to Jo Ellen.
“Okeydoke.” Jo’s smile widened into a grin, and there it was again, that so familiar, much-loved smile looking completely out of place … and yet, right at home on Jo’s angular face. “I can work with two weeks.”
Somehow, Ella realized, she’d gotten the short end of this deal.
“I know you don’t want to hear this,” Jo said, staring up at Ella. “And I know you won’t believe me right now, because I destroyed any trust you ever had in me a long time ago. But I’m going to make sure you don’t regret coming to Sanctuary Island. That’s a promise.”
Ella felt herself seize up with tension, as if someone had strung a wire through her shoulder blades and pulled it taut. Grady, who obviously noticed, stepped up to stand beside her. His voice was a deep rumble in her ear. “And when Hollister women make a promise, they never break their word.”
Something like pain and regret shadowed Jo’s blue eyes. “I didn’t always live up to the Hollister name. But these days, I do my damnedest.”
Despite herself, Ella felt a twinge of curiosity. She knew almost nothing about her family on Jo’s side. It might not be a horrible chore to find out more.
“For now,” Jo
“And you weren’t,” Jo clarified, her voice quiet but unsurprised. “Well. That’s certainly … understandable. Thank you for coming anyway—it means a lot to me to have you here.”
“Look. I don’t mean to be harsh,” Ella found herself saying, even though she did mean to. Didn’t she? “But I don’t think there’s any point in beginning this visit under false pretenses.”
“So tell me, what you do want from this visit?” Jo Ellen said.
“I’m not here to act out some movie-of-the-week tearjerker.” Ella’s voice had gone raspy, the words ripping from her throat like bolts shot from an arrow. “I’m not going to fall into your arms and call you mom. I’m not here for you at all. I’m here for Merry. That’s it.”
She saw—actually saw—every one of those words strike home. That smile Jo Ellen had stolen from her youngest daughter melted away, leaving Jo looking up at the porch with an expression Ella couldn’t decipher.
“I see.” Jo stood tall, solid, completely unlike Ella’s memories of broken-down desperation. “In the interest of clarity, let me tell you what I’m expecting from this visit.”
Ella braced herself, ready to fend off her mother’s emotional demands for a renewed relationship, her desire to reconnect, to rehash the past, to apologize—Ella didn’t want to hear any of it.
Apparently, that wasn’t what Jo had in mind.
“I want you to get to know the island,” Jo said. “This place is part of your family history, and you deserve the chance to discover where you come from.”
It took Ella a long moment to switch gears. “Um, sure. It seems like a nice place.”
“It is,” Grady said. His deep, certain answer was aimed at Ella, but when she glanced at him, he was watching Jo. The two of them seemed to be having a silent conversation using only their eyes.
His hand still gripped her shoulder, and Ella fought a moment of vertigo. Was it weird to feel so much more of a connection to this man she’d just met than she did to her own mother? “And it’s small, too, which is nice. I can’t imagine it will take me long to see all the sights.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I bet it would take a month, at least, to really plumb the depths of what Sanctuary has to offer,” Jo said lightly.
“One week,” Ella countered, her inner negotiator zooming to the fore.
“Three weeks,” Jo returned, with a hopeful smile.
“Two. And that’s my final offer—that’s all the vacation time I’ve got.”
Technically true, although this wasn’t exactly a vacation. Paul Bishop had told her he didn’t want to see her back in the office until she’d put on five pounds and lost the bags under her eyes. But there was no way she was admitting that to Jo Ellen.
“Okeydoke.” Jo’s smile widened into a grin, and there it was again, that so familiar, much-loved smile looking completely out of place … and yet, right at home on Jo’s angular face. “I can work with two weeks.”
Somehow, Ella realized, she’d gotten the short end of this deal.
“I know you don’t want to hear this,” Jo said, staring up at Ella. “And I know you won’t believe me right now, because I destroyed any trust you ever had in me a long time ago. But I’m going to make sure you don’t regret coming to Sanctuary Island. That’s a promise.”
Ella felt herself seize up with tension, as if someone had strung a wire through her shoulder blades and pulled it taut. Grady, who obviously noticed, stepped up to stand beside her. His voice was a deep rumble in her ear. “And when Hollister women make a promise, they never break their word.”
Something like pain and regret shadowed Jo’s blue eyes. “I didn’t always live up to the Hollister name. But these days, I do my damnedest.”
Despite herself, Ella felt a twinge of curiosity. She knew almost nothing about her family on Jo’s side. It might not be a horrible chore to find out more.
“For now,” Jo
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