First In Series Sampler, Volume 1

Chapter 3

With the memories guiding her, it didn"t take long before her aunt"s historic beach house could be seen in the distance.

The house was three stories, and in all truth was the focal point of the island. It could be seen from almost any position on the island as if it was standing tall and strong guarding against something.

Morgan"s feeling of homecoming intensified as she got closer to the house. When she reached the driveway, she stopped. Rather than pulling up towards the house, she got out of the car and just stood looking at the beautiful home. She knew the house had been in the family for close to a century, but it didn"t show the ravages of time or weather. Her Aunt Meredith kept the house in beautiful repair, and her gardens, which surrounded the home, were a horticultural delight. Tropical blooms could be seen from the roadway, and foliage of assorted greens and textures filled the planting beds. There were no structured hedges around this house, everything had a natural flow to it, as if one with nature.

Morgan"s eyes followed the path of a seagull soaring above the waves to perch itself on the balcony of the third floor of the house before her. The corners of Morgan"s smile tugged into a smile as memories of playing in that third floor came flooding back. It had always been her favorite part of the house, and her Aunt Meredith had let her have free reign to play where she wanted whenever she visited.

"Well, you"ve arrived," Morgan told herself. "Standing here staring isn"t going to get you settled. Let"s get a move on, girl."

Getting back into the car, Morgan pulled up to the front walkway of the house. Reaching across the front seat, she grabbed her backpack and laptop, planning to come back out for her suitcases later. Right now, she wanted to get inside and find her aunt.

"Hello?"

Morgan slowly opened the front door, not concerned that it was unlocked as her aunt had reminded her the doors were never locked. Silence greeted her, and she was puzzled; her aunt had promised to be here when she arrived. Making her way into the hallway, Morgan set her bags down next to the stairway as the old grandfather clock chimed the arrival of the half-hour. Surprised, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was indeed half-past two. Morgan had made good time on her drive to the southern part of the state.

She moved as if guided by an old memory and made her way down the hallway to the kitchen. The smell of fresh-baked cookies greeted her, and there was a huge bouquet of wildflowers sitting in an old mason jar in the middle of the table. But there was no Aunt Meredith.

Walking over to the large French doors that opened up onto a path leading to the beach, Morgan"s searched the horizon.

"There you are. I should have known you"d be along the shore," she mumbled to herself as she saw the silhouette of a woman walking close to the waves breaking on the shore.

Grinning to herself with excitement, Morgan opened the door and headed down the path to meet her aunt and reconnect after years of being apart.

***

"OH, MY GOODNESS, JUST look at you. You look just like a Seaver!"

Meredith Seaver had turned and watched her niece walk towards her across the sea dunes. Her voice called out to Morgan before she even reached her aunt"s side, the pride evident in her tone.

Morgan laughed outright at her aunt"s words and, without thinking, raised her hand to push her jet-black hair out of her face, her jet-black hair with a streak of deep blue that she had put in on a lark, just to be different. She could put money on it that none of her relatives past or present had ever had hair like this.

"Really? Even with this?" she asked her aunt with a laugh.

"Yes, even with that brilliant blue streak. But you know each of us Seavers have had something unique about us that makes us stand out from the rest of the crowd."

"Even my mother? I rather doubt that, Aunt Meredith." Morgan shook her head in disbelief to her aunt"s words. Then her disbelief turned to shock when her aunt answered her.

"Yes, even your mother. Did you know she had a birthmark? It"s in the shape of a seashell right underneath her hairline on the back of her neck."

Morgan looked at her aunt with interest; she"d never known about the birthmark, and somehow it made her mother seem just a little less perfect. Then she shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, not to worry. This blue paint will fade shortly and I"ll go back to being boring old me," she informed Meredith.

But her aunt just smiled at her, not saying a word as if she knew some secret.

Morgan made a move forward, ready to give her aunt a warm hug. But before she could take a step, her aunt turned away as if she hadn"t seen the movement and swept her arms out towards the sea.

"It"s time you came back to the island, Morgan. The sea knows you"re here, and things are now in motion."

"I"m sorry, I don"t know what you mean by that."

"You will. Things have already been set in motion. But for now, why don"t you go back to the house and make yourself at home?"

"Aren"t you coming?"

"Not right this moment. There are a few things I need to do. Go on and explore the house, pick out which room you want. There"s snacks in the fridge, and if you feel up to it, the library is there for you to look over."

Morgan gave her aunt a funny look, surprised that Meredith wouldn"t come up to the house with her. But her aunt simply blew her a kiss and turned and walked towards an outcropping of rocks. Morgan remembered from her youth these were an excellent place for hide-and-seek.

"Okay, Aunt Meredith, I"ll talk to you when you get back to the house. And thank you for welcoming me home," Morgan called out to the woman as she walked away.

Meredith raised her hand, acknowledging the words, but she didn"t turn around. Morgan watched the woman walk away until she went around the rocks and was lost from sight. Then with a shrug, she turned and made her way back towards the house, eager for the snack, and even more eager to reacquaint herself with her childhood home and to explore the vast library.