Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

vegetables they sold to markets and at the farmer’s markets in the surrounding towns.
    “Everyone but her,” Blythe admitted. “Lissa said she’ll relocate as well. It will be hard for Lexi. She’s put so much into this place.”
    “Do you really think it will come to that?” Airiana asked. “Jonas did fairly well when he found out and he’s married to Hannah, Elle’s sister.”
    “That doesn’t mean Jackson is going to have the same reaction,” Blythe pointed out. “I’m their first cousin, a family member, and believe me when I say, they can close ranks just as we can. If Jackson can’t come to terms with Levi, Sea Haven’s going to become a difficult place for us to live. Rikki is very sensitive and she’ll feel it.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just trying to anticipate that it might happen.”
    “All of us have been worried,” Judith said. “I think Levi worries, but probably not in the same way. He wouldn’t care one way or the other if he’s accepted, and I suppose Rikki wouldn’t either if she could stay out of the village.”
    “A child would feel it,” Airiana ventured. “A child always knows when they’re being ostracized.”
    “I doubt if Rikki would consider having a baby,” Blythe said. “But at least we’re all in agreement. I’ll approach Lexi on the subject as well, just to be safe.”
    “It might be difficult to sell the farm,” Judith pointed out. “Times are hard right now, although the farm is making money.”
    “Which will make it easier,” Blythe said. “Showing a profit is going to be beneficial. But we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”
    “Have you looked at other places where we might all relocate together?” Airiana asked. “This works for us all. Can we find something similar somewhere else?”
    “We’ll find the right piece of property if we need to,” Blythe said with conviction.
    “Are you going to talk to Rikki and Levi about this?” Judith asked.
    Blythe shook her head. “Not Rikki. I thought I’d talk to Levi tonight, but not until I see Lexi. I thought I’d break it to her after I leave here. I just wanted to make certain the two of you were on board.”
    Judith looked around her house. She’d designed it from top to bottom, just as they all had. They built the houses together, each doing quite a bit of the carpentry. She’d planted her gardens just the way she wanted. She had a Japanese garden with a waterfall cascading down rocks into a quiet pool of koi, surrounded by every shade of green available. Each night, from her bedroom window she looked down to her night garden of white flowers, lifting their faces to the overhead stars. She loved the peace created, a midnight sky with white above and below just spoke to her soul. And there were all the gardens where riots of color reigned, so many blossoms vying for space and attention, a wild melody of color. It had taken every day of the five years she’d lived there to get her gardens the exact way she wanted them.
    It would be wrenching to leave—but family came first. Rikki’s needs were priority. As awful as leaving would be, Judith wouldn’t look back. She had learned the hard way that people mattered most, not where she lived or the job she did. “You know what Levi is going to say, Blythe,” she said gently. “He’ll say the hell with all of them.”
    “I know,” Blythe agreed. “But in the end, like us, he’ll do what’s best for Rikki.”
    Airiana cleared her throat, fiddled with the handle on the teacup and then forced her eyes to meet Blythe’s. “Couldn’t you talk to Elle? You are her cousin.”
    Blythe shook her head. “I’m not on the best of terms with the Drakes, Airiana. You all know that. We get along, mostly because they’re never impolite and neither am I. We were all raised to never be rude.”
    “Blythe,” Judith said gently, “they all love you. No one blames you for your mother’s death but yourself.”
    Blythe blinked back tears. “Maybe that’s true, but I can’t ask anything of them and I doubt it would matter if I did. They’d just say they aren’t forcing us out, which technically would be the truth. They would politely freeze us out.”
    Airiana hugged her. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I know this is a difficult time for you and it was inconsiderate and selfish of me to even suggest it. I really am sorry, Blythe.”
    “No worries, Airiana. I think it’s just that time of the year.” Her eyes met