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After he’d accepted the job with Hartwell SD, Michael was considering taking on a short-terh it would eat into his savings However, thankfully, Jeff found hie on the outskirts of town The lawns and trees around the three sets of buildings that housed the condos were i space, and there was a private gy pool, a day care center, a convenience store, health food deli, and coffee shop Apparently, there was a list of people waiting to rent there, but Jeff pulled sos, and the co-op board was happy to have an experienced police detective living in the village

So he got burudged paying the extortionate rental costs for it He’d have to look elsewhere for a long-term solution, but for noould have to do

Yesterday he’d driven into town for so visited Hartith his ex-wife last summer, he’d seen most of the town center, so there was no reason to explore But he’d wanted to familiarize hi off-season, the place was busy with tourists co in for the weekend

Michael had found a parking space at the top of Main Street and had gotten out at the boardwalk He knehere Dahlia’s shop was It was highlighted on Google Maps, so he strolled along the fahtly weathered white-painted shingles and the porch was typical New England design Hart’s Inn sat next to it, a larger version of Dahlia’s building, and Michael wondered about its owner Bailey He wanted to get to know the woman who had saved Dahlia’s life inthere when he wasn’t

That thought ut churn with self-reproach He stared back at Dahlia’s store It was open And she was inside

The urge to go to her was overwhelht ti what it was like on the inside Aproclaimed Hart’s Gift Shop in a fen herself Probably

Fro, he could see ite in the low February sun Jewelry Probably Dahlia’s jewelry Forcing his curiosity aside, Michael had turned back down the boardwalk The ocean had been cal the soft sand Having found Dahlia, knowing she ithin reach, Michael had relaxed enough to take in the rest of the boardwalk

It hadn’t changedit in When he’d been there with Kiersten, he’d been so uptight and stuck in his own head over their failing s

Beside Dahlia’s shop were a candy store and arcade, and froe bandstand sat at the top of Main Street Michael had remembered the bandstand—next to it was a plaque that told of a town legend about one of its descendants of the founding family

> Michael had stopped to peer at the plaque 1909 Eliza Hartwell He’d realized then that Eliza Hartwell must have been Bailey’s ancestor The story went that she fell in love with a steelworker called Jonas Kellerman He was considered beneath Eliza in social station, and they were forbidden to marry Instead, Eliza was betrothed to the son of a wealthy business, a devastated Eliza walked into the ocean By chance, Jonas was up on the boardith friends, saw Eliza, and went after her Legend said he reached her, but the waves took theain

Michael thought it was a pretty fuckin’ depressing tale, but Kiersten had gotten all moon-eyed over it The plaque further said Jonas’s sacrifice for his love created enerations since the deaths of Eliza and Jonas, people born in Hartho met their husbands or wives on the boards stayed in love their whole lives It told tourists that if they walked the boardwalk together and they were truly in love, it would last forever, no matter the odds

Kiersten made them walk the boards hand in hand after that

Of course, minutes later she’d discover Dahlia’s existence and realized Michael had already met the one years before her

Wincing at the memory, Michael had headed toward the boards Main Street ide enough for cars to park in the middle, which here Michael had parked his Honda, and along either side were cos Trees lined the street, where restaurants, gift shops, clothing stores, fast-food joints, spas, coffeehouses, pubs, and roomed tourist environment you’d expect from a popular vacation destination like Hartwell

Michael had decided to get his supplies at the grocery store later and kept heading along the boards He’d passed the s beside it he didn’t ree classical signage along its roof that read The Boardwalk A banner across the blacked-out s told everyone COMING SOON If Michael could guess, it was probably a restaurant