The Shell Collector

Sometimes they need an old lady’s advice.”
His laugh was nice.
“Well, thank you,” he said. “I’d be happy to arrange transportation when you come visit if you need it.” He reached into his pocket and handed her a card. “Call me.”
She took the card. “Careful, now. I might take you up on that.”
“It would truly make my day if you did.” The words came across as sincere. “Please do.”
“That’s very kind,” she said. “I know it doesn’t mean much, but I’m very proud of you. I wanted to meet you and thank you personally for helping bring something positive to Whelk’s Island. I was born and raised here. I love this town, and that old shopping center was just a mess.”
“Hopefully, other businesses will be inspired to consider ghost boxes now.”
“Wouldn’t that be great? Honey, I won’t keep you. Thanks for giving an old gal a minute of your time. You have a nice day.” When she squeezed his arm, his bicep was as solid as a coconut.
Maeve walked out of the building satisfied for doing her part. She did love these meetings. It was way better than sitting in front of a television, watching something that meant absolutely nothing. Why didn’t more people care about what happened in their town?
Walking home, she thought about how Paul must feel knowing he was responsible for helping two groups—animals and veterans—who’d served our country and fought for our freedom.
Only a very special man would recognize that need and be able to find so many ways to contribute.

4
As Amanda went over the dune, it made her happy to finally see the outside of her house shaping up. The overgrown yard had been wrangled into something close to order. Goodness knows they’d had enough barrel fires to get rid of the debris. So many that the kids considered gathering brush a precursor to hot dogs and s’mores for dinner…again.
The freshly painted front door, the same color as the geraniums she’d planted, added life to the place.
“Doesn’t our home look pretty today?” Amanda said out loud.
Hailey gave a halfhearted “yep” as she tried to catch up.
The day the real estate agent showed them this house, Hailey and Jesse had been hesitant to go inside. She couldn’t blame them, but she’d felt an immediate kinship to the place. Like her, it had seen better days but now seemed sad. Unloved. Unwanted. Uncared for. The sellers hadn’t even tried to put lipstick on the pig, but a Marine sticker on a surfboard and a dirty old postcard of Mount McKinley in Denali National Park on the closet floor were all the signs Amanda needed to know this was where she was meant to be. She and the house would take the journey to restore their futures together, and they were off to a good start.
The kids took turns dancing under the cool water from the spigot before going inside.
“Mom, it’s hotter in here than it is at the beach,” Hailey complained.
And she was right.
“Everyone put on shorts and sneakers,” Amanda said. “I’ve got a plan.”
She changed too and then piled Hailey and Jesse into the car. As she drove down the old beach road, she noticed a whole display of fans blowing red streamers in the hardware-store window. “What do you think about that?”
Hailey and Jesse perked up. “That looks cool!”
Cool was exactly what she had in mind. The kids hadn’t complained one bit up until today, but summer was showing its strength. Amanda had underestimated how miserable it could be with no central air in North Carolina. This was nothing like the lake in Ohio when she was a kid. Not having AC had been no problem back then. She couldn’t afford air-conditioning with the price she’d paid for the house, and she’d thought they could get through one summer without it. That clearly wasn’t going to work.
She parked in front of the store and they went inside. An hour later, she had the two box fans she’d gone in for, and the owner had even hooked her up with a great deal on a used AC window unit for the kids’ room.
She drove home and sent Jesse to bring his little red wagon around to the car.
He kicked up sand while running through the yard and came back with the metal wagon clanging behind him.
She lifted the AC unit out of the trunk and placed it in the wagon. The two box fans were light, so she stacked them on top.
“Okay, let’s roll these up to the house.” She took the handle and let the kids push from behind. Jesse’s cheeks were puffed out and red. “Breathe, Jesse. You don’t have to push too hard. You might knock me over.” That was unlikely, but he sure did put his all into everything he did.
She propped the air conditioner in the children’s bedroom window and plugged it in. To cover the gaps on each side of the small unit, she cut cardboard strips, covered them in a heavy trash bag to waterproof them, and then duct-taped them into place. For good measure, she pounded a single nail above the sash to keep the window from sliding out of position. She’d sleep better knowing there was no chance of that thing falling on the kids.
“Ready to try this thing out?” Amanda held her hand at the power button.
“Yes.” Jesse walked over and put his finger on top of Amanda’s. “I’ll help.”
“Here we go,” Amanda said. The old window unit chugged, sputtered, and then revved up like a race car before it started blowing icy-cold air into the room.
Jesse loved the noise. He hopped and waved his hands in the stream of air.
“Mom, this is so cold!” Hailey closed her eyes and stood like a statue in front of the unit. “I think it could blow snowflakes!”
“It’s heavenly.” Amanda picked at her shirt, letting the cool air sop some of the dampness from her. “This will feel so good.”
“It’s kind of loud,” Hailey said.
“Maybe