Whale Harbor Sisters

WHALE HARBOR SISTERS SALTWATER SUNSETS BOOK TWO FIONA BAKER Copyright © 2023 by Fiona Baker All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Published in the United States of America First Edition, 2022 fionabakerauthor.com CONTENTS Join My Newsletter 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 Fiona Baker About the Author JOIN MY NEWSLETTER If you love beachy, feel-good women’s fiction, sign up to receive my newsletter, where you’ll get free books, exclusive bonus content, and info on my new releases and sales! CHAPTER ONE “What do you think, Peaches?” Marty Sims murmured, placing a decorative pumpkin first one way and then another in the window box display. Her orange cat, Peaches, looked up at her inquiringly, her eyes huge and adorable. Marty smiled down at her, cooing at her for a moment and setting aside the pumpkin for the time being so that she could scoop Peaches up and scratch between her ears. Peaches began purring, vibrating gently in Marty’s arms as Marty snuggled her. “You’re the best work associate ever, do you realize that?” she cooed. “So sweet, aren’t you?” Peaches purred even harder, if that was possible. Marty petted her a few more times and then set her down, picking up the pumpkin again and finally settling on placing it jauntily on a decorative chair in the window display. Next, she picked up a wreath decorated with orange, red, and yellow leaves and played around with it, trying it first in one spot, then another. She was putting up a few fall decorations in her nautical interior design shop, Sand ‘n’ Things. Her shop was mostly beach themed, but she figured she should add in a few fall decorations for some festive autumn flair. It clashed a bit with her meticulously curated beach themed items, but she knew what would sell, and it was fall, so fall decorations needed to make an appearance in her shop, like it or not. Peaches rubbed against her legs, winding between them in figure eights while Marty arranged a cute wooden sign that said “Hello Fall!” next to the wreath. Slipping outside, Marty looked at the window display from the sidewalk, studying it carefully and then giving a firm nod. She was pleased with the way it had turned out and she knew that it would lure many shoppers into her store. Stepping back into her shop, she locked the front door behind her and flipped the sign around so that it read “Closed.” It was past seven in the evening and she knew she should really go home—it wasn’t like the work she was doing couldn’t wait until tomorrow—but it wasn’t like she had anyone to go home to. Well, she amended in her mind, not any humans, that is. Marty looked around her shop, checking to see that all was in order. As always, everything was neat as a pin, the way she liked to keep it. Darla called her obsessive, but Marty couldn’t help it. She liked things to be just so. It made her feel safe, and what was so wrong with that? She wandered over to a display and adjusted a picture frame a fraction of an inch, nodding in satisfaction with how it made the display look more polished. Pausing, she looked around at her little shop, satisfaction filling her as she took in the fruits of her labors. Her satisfaction, however, was mingled with a certain sense of melancholy. She loved her shop—it was her dream, and she had worked very hard to make it as successful as it was—but there was something sad about not having anyone to share her success with. Well, no one besides Peaches, and Peaches didn’t really count. Not for the first time, she wondered if quietly minding her little interior design shop was going to be her only lot in life. She appreciated stability, perhaps more than anyone else she knew, but she was also lonely. I’d like to be married, she admitted to herself silently. Yes, Marty would love to be married, but so far no one had ever really fit the bill. Her mouth turned down as she considered the various failed one-time dates she had gone on. Most men wanted women who were more adventurous and exciting than she was, or at least that was what she thought privately. Maybe if I was more fun-loving, I would have already found a husband. The thought made her stomach clench, and she hurried to her office to power down her computer and finish locking up the shop, not wanting to dwell on that disconcerting thought. It only made her feel worse about herself, and she already did feel bad about the fact that she wasn’t more adventurous like other people she knew. She knew she had many wonderful qualities, knew that there was plenty that was good about herself and her personality, but she felt like those all got overshadowed by the fact that she was so cautious and risk-averse. “Come on, Peaches,” Marty called. “Let’s go home.” Peaches trotted to the back of the shop and waited for Marty to scoop her up. Marty bent down and gathered her cat into her arms, dropping her into her large tote bag and then left through the back of her shop, locking the door behind her. Outside, the sun had already set but the sky was still streaked in pinks and oranges. Marty took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the twilight sky and then