Her grandmother’s smiling face filled the screen a moment later, getting a little blurry when tears shimmered in Lucy’s eyes.
“Lucy! How are you, honey?”
“Better now,” she said honestly.
“Look at you in my cottage! I’m sorry I’m not there to hug you, but it makes me so happy seeing you there. Are you settling in okay?”
Lucy shook off the dismay she’d felt at being recognized in town. “I am. Nick took me to breakfast at Pete’s and then we went to the market.”
Even though she deliberately kept her voice light, Helen peered closer at the screen. “Did it go okay? Are you and Nick getting on okay?”
“Yes. He’s great, actually.” If a little on the grumpy side. “One of the girls in town—Felicity, I think her name was—recognized me, but Nick didn’t let her take a picture or video. I’m afraid I’m going to bring all that toxicity here.”
“Don’t even worry about it. Word will get around town you’re my granddaughter and they’ll watch over you, and that mess will all blow over.”
Lucy had been telling herself that for weeks and it hadn’t yet, but she nodded. Then she heard voices in the background on Helen’s end, and her grandmother held up a finger to tell somebody off camera to wait.
“Sorry about that. We’re supposed to have an at-home day to relax after all that driving, but there’s a big flea market a couple of towns over, and you know how it is.”
“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to talk to you and make sure it’s really okay if I stay here while you’re gone.”
“Of course it is! I’ve missed you so much, honey. Video chats and phone calls aren’t the same, but coming to visit you or having you come here for a holiday would have meant maintaining a relationship with Iris, and…well, we’re not close.”
Lucy wasn’t sure why, exactly, but she didn’t push. “I’m here now, and I promise I’ll stay until you get back. But don’t cut your vacation short for me. I’m looking forward to relaxing in Wayward Harbor for a while.”
Once they’d disconnected, Lucy flopped against the back of the couch and blew out a long breath. Until she’d felt the warmth and love coming through the video call, she’d been afraid Gran would be upset by having a relative she hadn’t seen in over fifteen years just show up without invitation.
It was going to be okay.
Probably. A lot hinged on how quickly the Fairee debacle faded away and, if it flared up again, how much Nick was willing to tolerate.
“I’m done,” she called to him. “You know, just in case you were being quiet because I was on the phone.”
Rather than firing up a power tool, Nick left the bedroom and walked over to the fridge for a soda before turning to face her. “How’d it go?”
“Really good. I convinced her not to change her plans, but she said I could stay for as long as I need to, and she said you’d already agreed?”
He nodded, though he didn’t look all that happy about it. But Lucy couldn’t tell if he regretted agreeing or if it was just his Resting Grumpy Face.
“It’ll be fun,” she promised. “I know you haven’t seen me at my best, but I’m actually a very happy, positive person, and I’ll be an awesome roommate.”
“That’s great to hear.” He looked at her for a few seconds and then gestured back toward the bedroom. “I’m just going to go…pound nails with a hammer or something.”
“Okay, I’ll probably—” She looked around the cottage. She’d been about to say she’d clean something, but everything was already very tidy. “I should start going through the stuff in my car.”
“If you need a hand carrying anything in, just shout.”
She nodded and watched him disappear into the small bedroom, closing the door behind him. Then she poured herself a glass of water, leaning against the counter to drink it.
It was time to unpack her car and start sorting out a new life for herself. She wasn’t sure what it would look like, but for now it was sleeping on the couch that belonged to her grandmother who wasn’t around. And sharing the cottage with a very attractive, but also very grumpy, man who was barely tolerating her presence.
Maybe she’d go through the stuff in her car and bring in the things she needed for now, but she decided against totally unpacking. That girl in town had recognized her. And Nick might have kept her from taking a picture, but she was going to tell all of her friends—and probably the entire internet—and word would spread.
Gran and Nick might claim they were willing to put up with it, but they didn’t know how bad it could actually get, and she wouldn’t do that to either of them.
She might have to leave, and the idea was so exhausting, Lucy decided to put off the car for now. Instead, she grabbed a random cozy mystery paperback from Gran’s bookshelf and curled up in a blanket on the couch.
Tomorrow she would unpack the car and find her passwords so she could put the apps back on her phone. She didn’t want to, but it was the only way to see if the world had finally moved on, or if the ugliness was going to follow her to Wayward Harbor.