Contents
Chapter 9
Overview
Fern’s first babysitting attempt collapses until Will arrives and effortlessly calms Owen, reopening intimacy between Fern and Will. On the deck, they discuss selling versus keeping Brookbanks; Fern agrees to work with Will and include him in a real-estate meeting. After Whitney and Cam meet Will, Fern begins reading Margaret’s old diary, reconnecting with her mother’s past and the resort’s legacy.
Summary
Fern babysits Whitney and Cam’s five-month-old, Owen, while they go to dinner. After joking with them about googling Will—and feeling rattled by photos of his glamorous past—Fern is left alone when they head out. Owen quickly spirals into nonstop crying, and Fern, frazzled and pantsless after a milk spill, begins to break down.
Will arrives after hearing the wails and offers help. Despite embarrassment, Fern lets Will in. He deftly soothes Owen—diapering, singing, feeding, and burping him—revealing unexpected baby know-how he attributes to helping his sister with her daughter. Once Owen sleeps, Fern and Will sit on the back deck with wine.
They discuss the resort’s future. Will assumes selling is on the table; Fern admits it feels impossible given Margaret’s legacy. Will proposes preparing two pathways—one for selling and one for running Brookbanks—so Fern can choose with clarity. Fern, recognizing the resort needs immediate expertise, agrees to work with Will and asks him to join next week’s meeting with a real-estate agent. They also touch on Will’s abandoned art, Fern’s long-held coffee shop dream, and their charged history.
Whitney and Cam return, meet Will, and warily assess him before heading home with a sleeping Owen. After Will leaves, Fern brings Margaret’s shoeboxed journals to her room and begins reading the last, sunflower-covered diary, written when Margaret was twenty-two. Entries recall early summers at Brookbanks, Peter’s presence, and the pull of the place, rekindling Fern’s connection to her mother as she lies awake thinking of Will and their new plan.
Who Appears
- FernProtagonist; overwhelmed babysitting Owen, accepts Will’s help, debates selling vs keeping Brookbanks, agrees to work with Will, begins reading Margaret’s diary.
- Will BaxterConsultant and past fling; calms Owen expertly, hints at helping raise his niece, proposes dual plans for Brookbanks, and secures Fern’s agreement to collaborate.
- WhitneyFern’s best friend and new mom; leaves Owen with Fern, later meets Will, protective and inquisitive about his background.
- CamWhitney’s husband; supportive, meets Will, helps ferry baby gear, lightly teases about Will and Fern.
- OwenWhitney and Cam’s infant son; inconsolable until Will soothes, sleeps peacefully afterward.
- MargaretFern’s late mother; her old diary draws Fern into memories of Margaret’s early adulthood and Brookbanks’ legacy.
- PeterFamily friend/mentor; previously gave Fern Margaret’s diaries, appears in diary entries from Margaret’s youth.