Page 10 of Chasing the Sun

The scent of fresh water, sand, and the faintest trace of pine wrapped around me like an old sweatshirt—familiar, comforting, impossible to shake. No matter how much I tried to outgrow this place, it still fit.

Blueberry fields whizzed by, and slowly the towering dunes crept higher and higher. Billboards along the highway enticed tourists to shop local, visit a distillery, or experience the local legends for themselves.

“Have you ever seen her?” Jeb asked after passing a billboard advertising a local ghost tour.

I hummed, knowing exactly what he was asking.

“The Lady,” he clarified. “Surely someone born and raised there is bound to have seen her.”

The Lady of the Dunes.

Our entire town revolved around the mysterious legend. A ghostly woman, dressed in a billowing white dress, who walked along the sandy dunes, carrying a bouquet of wildflowers. She was believed to be searching for her lost love who’d disappeared in a shipwreck in the early 1900s, but he’d been lost in the storm.

People swore they’d seen her—floating through the dunes at twilight, barefoot and heartbroken, her white dress glowing in the moonlight. Some believed she was searching for her lost love. Others claimed she was searching for vengeance. The tale had twisted and morphed with time until no one knew for certain who she was or why her spirit had been tethered to Star Harbor.

Our town’s entire existence hinged on the mysterious woman in white.

“I’ll tell you this.” I leaned forward, lowering my voice just enough to make Jeb’s knuckles go white on the wheel. “If you stay long enough, Star Harbor has a way of making a believer out of you.”

Just ask my brother Hayes.

A dull ache for my oldest brother bloomed under my ribs. The entire town may think him cursed by the Lady, but really it was just shitty luck.

It had to be.

A visible shiver rolled down Jeb’s back.

“Just keep your eyes open and your hands on the wheel,” I warned, biting back a playful grin.

His attention remained laser focused on the last few miles of the drive. Slowly, the rolling highway gave way to rural country roads, and houses were interspersed with farmland.

We cruised past the old cemetery, and I shook my head, noting the wrought iron fence was still bent and rusted from where Hayes’s accident had damaged it. It had been nearly seventeen years ago, but that night still haunted him.

Literally.

We drove past Star Harbor Farm and a shockedawwescaped me, drawing Jeb’s attention.

I pressed my finger against the window, my heart squeezing at the sight of it. Star Harbor Farm used to be magic—hayrides, pumpkins, apple cider doughnuts so good they should’ve been illegal. Now the farm looked like it had simply been forgotten.

“I used to love that place,” I murmured. “Mrs. Stafford had a farm stand where she’d give out samples of the best apple crumble ever—like, life-altering crumble.People would drive in from three towns over just to get a bite.”

Jeb huffed a laugh. “Doesn’t look like much now.”

I watched as the overgrown farm faded into the distance. A strange sense of loss washed over me—some long-forgotten childhood memory that would forever live in the past. “Yeah ... that’s too bad.”

Jeb’s GPS brought us to the residential street where my sister lived. He rolled to a stop in front of Selene’s duplex. Jeb got out to retrieve my suitcase from the trunk, and I thanked him with a handshake as he climbed back into his car.

I playfully pointed two fingers at my eyes and then to his. “Look out for ghosts.”

Jeb chuckled and closed the door before driving away. I turned, staring up at the duplex where my sister and niece lived. It was a pretty European-style two-story house split right down the middle. It had been built to accommodate multiple families, with her place on the left and another residence on the right.

The front door opened, and Winnie bounded down the porch steps. “Aunt Ellie!”

While Selene’s hair was more of a lighter shade, Winnie had the same deep brown as me. She launched herself into my arms with all the force of a wrecking ball in a sparkly tutu. A very unladylike grunt rolled out of me.

“Happy birthday, bestie.” I squeezed her and rocked, sharing in her birthday excitement. “How old are you now? Twenty-seven? Forty-two?”

Winnie giggled and squeezed me back.“Five.”