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Back The Summer Cottage
Chapters (75)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. About the Author
  6. Dedication
  7. Quote
  8. Prologue
  9. Part One
  10. ONE
  11. TWO
  12. THREE
  13. Part Two
  14. FOUR
  15. FIVE
  16. SIX
  17. Part Three
  18. SEVEN
  19. EIGHT
  20. NINE
  21. TEN
  22. Part Four
  23. ELEVEN
  24. TWELVE
  25. THIRTEEN
  26. Part Five
  27. FOURTEEN
  28. FIFTEEN
  29. SIXTEEN
  30. SEVENTEEN
  31. Part Six
  32. EIGHTEEN
  33. NINETEEN
  34. TWENTY
  35. TWENTY-ONE
  36. Part Seven
  37. TWENTY-TWO
  38. TWENTY-THREE
  39. TWENTY-FOUR
  40. TWENTY-FIVE
  41. Part Eight
  42. TWENTY-SIX
  43. TWENTY-SEVEN
  44. TWENTY-EIGHT
  45. TWENTY-NINE
  46. Part Nine
  47. THIRTY
  48. THIRTY-ONE
  49. THIRTY-TWO
  50. THIRTY-THREE
  51. THIRTY-FOUR
  52. Part Ten
  53. THIRTY-FIVE
  54. THIRTY-SIX
  55. THIRTY-SEVEN
  56. THIRTY-EIGHT
  57. Part Eleven
  58. THIRTY-NINE
  59. FORTY
  60. FORTY-ONE
  61. Part Twelve
  62. FORTY-TWO
  63. FORTY-THREE
  64. FORTY-FOUR
  65. Part Thirteen
  66. FORTY-FIVE
  67. FORTY-SIX
  68. FORTY-SEVEN
  69. EPILOGUE
  70. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  71. AUTHOR NOTE
  72. Reader’s Guide
  73. Questions for Discussion
  74. The Heirloom Garden
  75. Abby

I slide off the bed and gently lay the letter on the dresser in the newly painted bedroom. I glance up and see my reflection in the mirror.

“You are not conventional,” I say to my face. “This cottage is your castle. Seek your own stars.”

I stop and pinch my cheeks like my mom used to do before someone would take a photo, so it looked as if her face were flushed and full of life.

“Paint your cheeks with rouge,” I suddenly laugh, my face as bright as the sunshine filtering into the bedroom. “And endeavor that a smile is forever upon your face.”

I awake that night with a start. I have been dreaming of Sadie.

In my dream, she is trapped in the turret of the cottage, standing at the window, her breath steaming the glass. I am standing on the front lawn, staring up at her, my arm stretched out toward her. She holds her hand to the window and then, suddenly, pushes it open. I gasp. She is just a girl, her skin dewy and pale, raven hair falling from beneath a bejeweled hat. Sadie stares at me: her eyes are dreamy, hopeful, just like the one of herself in the drawing.

It is nighttime, and stars fill the sky and illuminate the earth in soft light. But in my dream, the world is split in two, like two halves of a film. My half of the world is in full color—modern-day CinemaScope—while Sadie’s is in black-and-white.

Sadie steps up onto the bench seat and smiles at me. I know she is going to jump. I know I must catch her. I hold out my arms. Just as she is about to leap, a man’s hand reaches for hers from behind. Sadie stops, turns, nods and steps down. As she does, her outfit changes: her hat disappears, and her body is draped in a formal dress with leg o’ mutton sleeves.

I take off running toward the lake and don’t stop when I reach the water. I swim far out in the lake and when I turn back toward the shore, I can see Sadie waving to me from the turret before the lights in the cottage go dim. As it does, my world changes to black-and-white, and I am swimming in the lake in the dress Sadie was just wearing. I try to swim, but the fabric is heavy. When I extend my arms, the leg o’ mutton sleeves weigh me down, and I begin to sink into the lake. I scream, and that’s when I wake with a start.