Safe Haven

The cottage where Katie lives is one of two that were once hunting cabins on an old plantation. The cottages have been long neglected, but the landlord gives Katie the materials to fix hers up. She works hard, both on the cottage and at the diner, saving half her earnings. She is eager to have enough money to escape Southport at a moment’s notice if it becomes necessary. She worries her past, the one in which she was a “former long-haired blond” (6), might catch up with her and she will need to run again.

Katie is surprised when a woman, about 30-years-old with long, unruly brown hair, suddenly appears on the porch of the neighboring cottage. The woman introduces herself: “My friends call me Jo” (7). They talk for a few minutes; although Katie is not interested in making friends, she finds Jo easy to talk to. 

Alex Wheatley is the gray-haired owner of Fisher’s, a local store, bait shop, and grill. Having inherited the business from his father-in-law, Alex remains competitive with chain stores by observing what his customers want and making it available. It is not the life he thought he would live when he left the army. He imagined he would become a police detective in a big city, using skills he developed in the army’s Criminal Investigation Division, but then he met and married Carly, a small-town girl who brought him home to Southport. Carly died three years ago.

Alex has two kids: Josh is seven and just about to finish his first year of school, and Kristen is five. Kristen spends her days in the store with Alex, sometimes even working the cash register. Alex’s life revolves around the children, and he sometimes worries that he isn’t giving them the life they deserve. He knows they need a mother, and he is ready to move on; he just doesn’t know how to go finding a new wife. However, there is a woman who has caught his attention: a pretty customer with “brown hair cut a little unevenly above her shoulder” (19). This woman has struck up a friendship with Kristen, who calls her Miss Katie. Alex tries to talk to Miss Katie, but their interactions are awkward and mostly focused on her purchases.

On a quiet Sunday, Alex keeps an eye on Josh, who is on the dock fishing; Alex can see Josh through the security cameras. Meanwhile, Kristen runs the cash register. Alex hears the front door open, and Kristen calls out a greeting to Miss Katie. Their interaction is brief and awkward, but Alex begins to make some headway until Katie is suddenly distracted by the security cameras. Alex looks to find Josh has fallen into the water. He rushes to his son, pulling Josh to safety. Katie stays behind to comfort Kristen. As a thank you, Alex offers Katie a bottle of wine, which she reluctantly accepts.

One day, Jo tells Katie she is a grief counselor. When Jo tries once again to ask about Katie’s past, Katie is resistant but tells Jo a little about her childhood growing up in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Jo then asks about Alex and the kids. Katie tells her about Josh’s accident. Jo reveals that she once had a relationship with Alex but won’t elaborate. Jo then prepares to leave but first invites herself over the next evening to share a bottle of wine with Katie.

As Katie walks to Fisher’s the next morning, she reflects on her conversation with Jo and some of the memories it conjured from her childhood. She had a good friend and enjoyed some carefree days, but her parents were alcoholics and there was a lot of fighting at home. Katie was once injured when her father threw a snow globe at her mother. When Katie turned 18, her parents threw her out of the house, ending her hopes of going to college. Despite everything, she does not consider herself “scarred” (42). She knows her upbringing could have been much worse.

Katie arrives at the store to find Kristen happily coloring at her little table behind the counter. Kristen insists that Katie take her finished picture before she goes. Alex tells Katie he found a lifejacket for Josh so he will be safer when he fishes. Then he presents her with a bag of vegetables grown in a local hothouse. At first, Katie is reluctant to take the vegetables, but then she agrees, her curiosity ignited because Alex mentions his wife and tells her that Carly died.

Alex notices that Katie is growing “less skittish around him” (47). He hopes that means they have a chance at developing a friendship. As he watches her shop, however, he makes note of the way she fiddles with a ring that is no longer on her left hand. He has seen this kind of behavior before when he worked with CID, and it makes him wonder if, added to her other behaviors, Katie might be a battered woman on the run.

Katie finishes her shopping and checks out just as a storm breaks outside. Katie starts to leave, but Kristen stops her to give her the promised picture. Kristen worries that the picture will become wet if Katie walks home and insists that Alex give Katie a ride. Katie refuses, but Alex insists. They talk a little on the drive. He drops her off and tells her to keep the umbrella he gave her from the store despite her protests. Back at home, Alex comes up with a project for the kids that will help Katie.