Five Years or So Read online

  Five Years or So

  Return to Lighthouse Point

  Kay Correll

  Zura Lu Publishing LLC

  Copyright © 2020 Kay Correll

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any matter without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental

  * * *

  Published by Zura Lu Publishing LLC

  080120

  This book is dedicated to all those dogs and puppies who bring us such joy in our lives.

  Kay’s Books

  Find more information on all my books at my website.

  * * *

  COMFORT CROSSING ~ THE SERIES

  The Shop on Main - Book One

  The Memory Box - Book Two

  The Christmas Cottage - A Holiday Novella (Book 2.5)

  The Letter - Book Three

  The Christmas Scarf - A Holiday Novella (Book 3.5)

  The Magnolia Cafe - Book Four

  The Unexpected Wedding - Book Five

  * * *

  The Wedding in the Grove - (a crossover short story between series - with Josephine and Paul from The Letter.)

  * * *

  LIGHTHOUSE POINT ~ THE SERIES

  Wish Upon a Shell - Book One

  Wedding on the Beach - Book Two

  Love at the Lighthouse - Book Three

  Cottage Near the Point - Book Four

  Return to the Island - Book Five

  Bungalow by the Bay - Book Six

  Click here to learn more about the series.

  * * *

  CHARMING INN ~ Return to Lighthouse Point

  One Simple Wish - Book One

  Two of a Kind - Book Two

  Three Little Things - Book Three

  Four Short Weeks - Book Four

  Five Years or So - Book Five

  Six Hours Away - Book Six

  * * *

  SWEET RIVER ~ THE SERIES

  A Dream to Believe in - Book One

  A Memory to Cherish - Book Two

  A Song to Remember - Book Three

  A Time to Forgive - Book Four

  A Summer of Secrets - Book Five

  A Moment in the Moonlight - Book Six

  * * *

  INDIGO BAY ~ A multi-author sweet romance series

  Sweet Days by the Bay - Kay’s Complete Collection of stories in the Indigo Bay series

  * * *

  Or buy them separately:

  Sweet Sunrise - Book Three

  Sweet Holiday Memories - A short holiday story

  Sweet Starlight - Book Nine

  * * *

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  VIP READER Signup

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Also by Kay Correll

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Robin Baker climbed the stairs to The Nest, the area of Charming Inn that Lillian Charm shared with her niece, Sara. Or used to share.

  Sara had just moved into Noah’s house after marrying him. Now Lillian lived here alone. Or would for a few more weeks, since she was marrying Gary at the end of the month and he would be moving in.

  Sara opened the door and tugged on her hand. “Come in. Charlotte and Ruby are here. You should see the dress Ruby is making for Aunt Lillian. It’s gorgeous.”

  Robin followed Sara to the main room where Lillian stood on a chair while Ruby pinned up the hem of Lil’s wedding dress.

  “Oh, Lillian, it’s gorgeous.” Robin gasped. “You look beautiful.”

  Lillian blushed. “Well, it’s Ruby’s handiwork that made the dress so special.”

  “She did a great job. The dress is perfect for you.” Charlotte stood to one side, her head tilted, as she eyed the dress. “That little bit of lace. Is that…”

  Lillian nodded. “I didn’t really want lace, but Ruby saved some of the lace from my sister’s wedding dress. You know, the one she remade for Sara, and she used it on mine. I love it. Just a touch of lace.”

  “That’s so nice.” Robin eyed the simple white dress with the tiny lace inset in the bodice.

  “I’ll feel like my sister is here in a way.”

  “Just like I felt Mom was at my wedding,” Sara agreed.

  “I love the style you came up with, Ruby. Simple, understated, but classic. And it’s very you, Lil.” Charlotte slowly circled Lillian, eyeing the dress from every angle.

  “And Charlotte is the best judge of clothes,” Sara added.

  Ruby stood and stretched. “Okay, you can get down from the chair now. All pinned up.”

  Sara and Robin rushed over to give Lillian a hand.

  “I’ve got it.” Lillian admonished them.

  “You don’t want to fall again. Not just weeks from your wedding.” Sara still held out a hand.

  “Okay, okay.” Lillian took their hands and climbed off the chair. “Let me go slip out of this, and we can go sit outside with some sweet tea.”

  Robin watched Lillian leave to change, her heart full of love for the older woman and the fact that she had found love. It was something to believe in that people could find true love at any stage in their lives. Lillian and Gary were proof of that. Ah, maybe she was just in a sappy mood today. She was just blissfully happy for Sara, for Lillian... and maybe there was hope that she’d find this illusive love some day.

  Lillian changed clothes, and they all went out to the deck with their tea. A warm breeze blew in from the sea and a large umbrella blocked the sun on one end of the deck. They settled onto the cushioned chairs in the shade.

  “Do you have most of the decisions made for the wedding?” Charlotte asked.

  “I do. I’m getting married here at the inn, of course. Jay is doing a simple buffet for the reception. I ordered white hydrangeas for flowers… with some teal flowers added in.”

  Robin grinned. “Of course, you’ve got to have your teal.”

  “She’s wearing teal flats with her wedding dress.” Sara’s mouth curved in a smile. “And we’re having teal bows tied on the chairs out on the beach.”

  Lillian shrugged. “What can I say, I love teal.”

  “And such a well kept secret.” Robin looked at the teal cushions they sat on and the off-white umbrella with teal trim spread above them. Not to mention inside The Nest—teal picture frames crowded Lillian’s shelves and the vases scattered around were all various shades of teal.

  “Charlotte helped me get the invitations out. Her handwriting is so beautiful. Though we’re just having family and a few close friends.”

  “Yes, how did you get away with a smaller wedding than mine? Our wedding list just kept growing and growing.” Sara shook her head.

  “I
just want it small. And Gary is only having his son, Mason. He said he didn’t really have more friends to invite and didn’t want to start inviting business associates.”

  “Is he going to commute back and forth from Seattle for work like Julie’s husband Reed does?” Charlotte took a sip of her tea.

  “Hey, maybe they could ‘jetpool’. Is that a thing?” Sara laughed.

  “So far Mason hasn’t convinced Gary to go back as CEO. So I’m really not sure how that’s all going to work out. Gary says he loves living here on the island.”

  Robin understood that feeling. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. She adored Belle Island and had lived here her whole life. She glanced out at the water and caught a group of seagulls swooping by in the wind. The waves danced to shore in the easterly wind today. A beautiful day on the island.

  She set her glass down. “I should go. I’m working the dining room tonight.”

  “She took my shift because Gary is taking me to dinner.” Lillian tossed out a small laugh, then shrugged. “Or maybe it’s because I’ve been so scattered with all the wedding planning. Yesterday I gave the same room to two different couples. I can’t remember ever doing that before. And when a couple asked for a table by the window in the dining room last night, I told them sure… then seated them in the middle of the room.”

  “You’re entitled to have your mind on the wedding instead of the inn. You just let me take care of things at the inn while you concentrate on the wedding.”

  “You’re the best hire I’ve ever made, Robin. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Don’t let Jay hear you say that. He’s convinced he’s the best hire you’ve ever made.” Robin grinned and headed to the main part of the inn.

  Jay Turner knew he should give the new assistant cook more responsibility. Okay, not really new. Dana, the cook they’d hired almost a year ago, was competent enough. He just didn’t like to turn over many—if any—of the responsibilities in the kitchen.

  She’d offered to help with ordering and making menu plans for events. He’d turned her down, of course. That was his job.

  He grudgingly admitted she could now make his cinnamon roll recipe and no one would know the difference. He’d been training her on pie crusts, and she did make a good one—not as good as his, but good. And he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but Dana’s sourdough bread was better than any he’d ever made. It annoyed him slightly, but at least they had great sourdough bread and rolls to serve.

  They had other help in the kitchen, too. A couple people who cleared tables and ran the dishes and served the food. Extra help on the weekends or during events who did whatever job he barked at them to do. He’d been told he wasn’t the easiest boss ever. Robin never failed to remind him of that fact. But he didn’t ask any more of them than he asked of himself.

  He pushed away from the computer in the corner of the kitchen where he’d double-checked the orders for Lillian’s wedding. He would let nothing go wrong for her wedding. He owed her so much. She’d given him this job and trusted him when no one else would. And he could spend forever paying her back for that great kindness and still not feel like he’d done enough. She’d allowed him to turn his whole life around, and he loved the life he’d finally made for himself here on the island.

  Robin breezed into the kitchen, snagged a sugar cookie, and came over to him. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was pulled back today in some kind of twist thing. “Everything going okay in here?”

  “Of course. Just checking on the orders for Lillian’s wedding.”

  “I just saw the wedding dress Ruby is making her. It’s gorgeous.”

  He didn’t doubt that Lillian would look beautiful. She was that type of woman who looked healthy and fit, and her eyes sparkled with warmth. The type of person everyone loved. Okay, he might be a bit biased because he adored the woman. He was so glad that she and Gary had found each other. He’d thought she’d be a confirmed single person for life. That had all changed when Gary came to the island.

  Robin tapped his shoulder. “Where did you go?”

  “What? Oh, just thinking about wedding things. I want everything perfect for Lillian.”

  “I’m sure they will be. Your food never disappoints. You’re a fabulous chef.”

  “I’m okay.” He shrugged.

  “You’re great. And you’re still horrible at taking compliments.” She slapped his arm playfully and walked away, snagging another cookie as she left the kitchen.

  He grinned at her retreating back. There was really no reason to argue with Robin. She always won.

  Robin stacked dirty dishes onto a tray after the last customers left the dining room. They’d had a good crowd as usual. Jay’s cooking was well-loved by the locals as well as the tourists who came to the island. She bumped open the door to the kitchen, balancing the tray on one hip.

  Jay looked up from where he was cleaning up the kitchen. “Last one?”

  “Yep.”

  “I’ll just rinse those off and run them through the dishwasher in the morning.” He nodded toward the washing station.

  “I can do that while you finish what you’re doing.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I offered.” She headed over to the dishwashing station with the dirty dishes and rinsed them all while Jay finished his chores. She finished first and perched on a stool beside the counter, watching him work.

  “The rosemary chicken special was a big hit.”

  “My grandmother’s recipe.” Jay paused in wiping down the counter. “Though I hate it when I run out of the special before the night is over. I’ll have to plan better when I do it again.” He scowled.

  She knew how he prided himself on estimating the right amount of food for his specials each day. She laughed. “So this is what, the first time in weeks—maybe months—you’ve been off on your estimate?”

  He looked at her with an incredulous expression. “I still hate it.”

  She got up off the stool. “You’re too hard on yourself.”

  “No, I just expect to get it right.”

  “Too hard on yourself,” she repeated. “I should head home.”

  “I’m finished here, I’ll walk home with you.”

  She quickly hid her pleased smile. She enjoyed their walks home after they finished their work at the inn. It didn’t mean anything, though. They just both lived in the same direction, but she did enjoy his company.

  Jay hung up the towel he was using and glanced around the kitchen. She knew he was running through his close-up checklist in his mind. He led her to the back door, locked it behind him, and they headed out.

  The night sky was filled with stars and streaked with a few thin clouds drifting across the heavens. A light breeze blew in from the sea. She loved nights like this on the island when the breeze blew away the day’s humidity.

  They fell into step, walking in and out of the light of the street lamps.

  “So, you working early tomorrow?” Jay asked.

  “I’m headed over to the mainland tomorrow. I’ve got errands to run. I’ll be back at the inn by early afternoon, I hope.”

  “That’s surprising. You usually work twelve-hour days. At least.”

  “You’re one to talk. You’re at the inn before me and leave after the dinner crowd.”

  “What can I say? I love my job.”

  “You ever going to let Dana take over more so you can cut back a bit?” She eyed him.

  “Probably.” He shrugged and his t-shirt stretched across his broad chest. Not that she noticed.

  “No, you’re not.”

  He pointed to his t-shirt. She glanced at the shirt, just noticing the saying on it. The correct answer is: Yes, Chef.

  She grinned at him. “Okay, yes, chef. But I don’t mean it.”

  Chapter 2

  The next day Robin headed to the mainland with one main objective—find a dress to wear to Lillian’s wedding. Nothing in her closet had seemed right. Or she’d worn i
t a dozen times before, which rarely bothered her, but she wanted something special this time. While they did have a few clothing stores on the island, she’d scoured their racks several times over already, with no luck.

  Once on the mainland, she tried on a dozen dresses and couldn’t make a decision. This one was too fancy, that one wasn’t fancy enough. And one dress she couldn’t decide if it was fashionably funky or maybe weird funky and didn’t trust her own eyes about what looked good on her. She finally realized she should have brought Charlotte with her to help her choose, so she came away empty-handed.

  Her stomach growled, and she decided to grab lunch. She sat outside at a new trendy restaurant just over the bridge from Belle Island. She wanted to check out the place to see how it compared with their dining room at Charming Inn. Not that the dining room would ever try to be a trendy place, but it didn’t hurt to check out the competition.

  She looked over the menu and grudgingly admired their choices. They’d put some interesting combinations together. Between the menu and the fabulous view of the harbor, she could see how they’d become so popular so quickly.

  She looked up from her menu when she felt someone standing beside her table.

  “Hey, Robin.”