This was why she was here in her home woods in Ireland, right now. They walked in unison, her and Lars. He took her mittened hand in his, wordlessly. She knew he was with her every step of the way, on the hardest walk she had ever taken through her childhood woods.
The trees cleared and they came to the edge of the lake. She had been afraid it would be frozen, but the water lapped gently against the shoreline. She stared into its depths and longing rose within her as a dark shadow. For a moment, she let it consume her. The longing for Orla would never go away, but she had to learn to live with it. Try to let her go. She took the backpack off and unzipped it.
‘Are you ready?’ Lars asked her.
Emer nodded, unscrewing the lid of the container Ethan had given her in New York.
She closed her eyes, waiting for the right moment. As she did so, she heard an incredible sound, a rhythmic beating above her head. She opened her eyes again and looked up to see two white swans flying above her. Intuitively, she threw the ashes out across the lake, watching them scatter upon its surface and sink.
They stood in silence for a while. The sky darkened and it began to snow. White, feathery ice, fluttering all around them. Emer smiled. Of course, Orla would bring some magic to the occasion.
She turned to Lars. His nose was blue with cold. He was there by her side. Her love for him was limitless. She knew that now. It almost took her breath away.
‘Come on,’ she said, holding out her hand. ‘Let’s go home.’
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Books by Noelle Harrison
The Island Girls
The Gravity of Love
The Adulteress
The Secret Loves of Julia Caesar
I Remember
A Small Part Of Me
Beatrice
A Letter from Noelle
I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read The Island Girls. If you did enjoy it, and want to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the following link. Your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
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The Island Girls is inspired by the love between sisters, and the bond between women while exploring both joy and darkness, in love and in loss and longing. The Island Girls refers not just to the sisters who grew up on the remote and very beautiful island of Vinalhaven in Maine, but also to the bond between women in male-dominated environments in the past such as at Harvard. These women were islands in a sea of male voices. They inspire me in all that I write as does the wild and lush autumnal landscape of Maine with its glorious foliage, piles of pumpkins and deep blue ocean.
I hope you loved The Island Girls, and if you did, I would be very grateful if you could write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it makes such a difference helping new readers to discover one of my books for the first time.
I love hearing from my readers – you can get in touch on my Facebook page, through Twitter, Goodreads or my website.
Thanks,
Noelle Harrison
www.noelleharrison.com
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, huge thanks to my editor Lydia Vassar-Smith for sharing her creativity and passion with me, and to my agents, the wonderful Marianne Gunn O’Connor and Vicki Satlow for their unerring support of my writing. Special thanks to the fabulous team at Bookouture for their dedication and skill. Thank you to my dear friend Becky Sweeney for travelling with me to the island of Vinalhaven and for her feedback as first reader. Special mention to my second reader and good friend Alyssa Osiecki, for her help in building an authentic picture of life in Maine. Gratitude to all the lovely people I met on Vinalhaven, in particular the Vinalhaven Historical Society. I wrote this novel while completing my Master’s in Creative Writing at Edinburgh Napier University. Huge thanks to my tutors, David Bishop, Daniel Shand, and in particular my mentor Laura Lam for their guidance and inspiration as well as my fellow cohort.
Without the support of all my friends and family all over the world, it would be impossible to continue in my work as writer. I am blessed to be surrounded by so many inspirational humans and really it would fill a whole book to mention everyone, but I am so grateful to you all, especially my close family, in particular Barry, Helena and Corey. Thanks too to all my gorgeous colleagues at Tribe Yoga in Edinburgh. What a joy it is to work with you all!
Most importantly, thank you to all my readers for picking up my books and engaging in the worlds of my characters. Every single word you read is appreciated. Namaste.
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