Page 1 of Sea Glass Serenade

CHAPTER ONE

Alexis Bennett brushed wisps of her reddish-brown hair back from her face and let out a long sigh. She felt giddy, almost close to giggling, despite how tired she was.

“That was a whirlwind, wasn’t it?” Allison, one of the cooks at The Lighthouse Grill, said, chuckling. “You look like you’re in a daze.”

“I’m doing fine.” Alexis laughed. “I haven’t really waitressed since I was a teenager. It’s been a little tricky getting the hang of it again. It’s fun, though.”

The Lighthouse Grill belonged to Alexis’s family. Her parents, Vivian and Frank Owens, had run it together for years until Frank’s recent and unexpected passing. After returning to her hometown of Rosewood Beach for the funeral, Alexis had decided to stay and help run The Lighthouse Grill. Her siblings, Julia, Dean, and Hazel, had made the same decision. Shortly after the funeral they’d discovered that their father had had many secret gambling debts, and they were determined that their mother wouldn’t have to deal with keeping the pub on its feet alone.

“It’s nice that all our customers are good people. Rushes aren’t fun when you’ve got people complaining and making ascene.” Allison shook her head. “This is the best place I’ve ever worked.”

“Well, no wonder you’ve been here so long,” Alexis teased, and Allison grinned at her.

“I’ll be here forever. Besides, that fundraiser put wind in everyone’s sails. It was so good to know how much the people of Rosewood Beach love this place. It makes me that much prouder to come to work every day.”

Alexis smiled. Shortly after her father’s funeral, she and her siblings had organized a fundraiser for the pub to help cover some of Frank’s gambling debts. It had been an astonishing success, and she could heartily agree with Allison’s sentiments. It felt great to know how beloved the pub was, and it made her proud to work there.

“You go sit down for a little while. Have a snack.” Allison handed Alexis a small bowl filled with fruit slices. “You’ve just got a little bit of a breather before it’s time to prep for the dinner crowd.”

“Oh, you’re heartless.” Alexis pressed a hand to her chest in mock dismay before her smile slipped free again. “Thanks for the fruit.”

She left the kitchen through a door that opened onto a back hallway. The hallway led to the office that had once belonged to her father but now belonged to her mother. Vivian was at home that day, since the Owens siblings were determined that their mother would stop working too much for a woman her age.

She plopped down in the desk chair and leaned back in it comfortably. She was sweaty and tired, but her body seemed to be buzzing with adrenaline. She was thrilled to be doing something interesting and fast-paced and getting her hands dirty again.

I felt like some kind of princess trapped in a tower back in L.A., she thought, letting out a long sigh.

She wondered what her husband, Grayson, would say if he could see her. He’d always thought that Rosewood Beach was provincial, and he’d always expected her to be grateful that he supported them so well that she didn’t need to work. But the truth had been that once her modeling career had become more of an occasional hobby, she’d felt restless in their big mansion. She didn’t feel cut out for a life of ease and luxury. And once her marriage with Grayson started becoming strained and distant, all of the extra time had meant that she had nothing to distract her from worrying about her relationship with her husband falling apart.

She plopped a strawberry slice into her mouth and chewed it thoughtfully, enjoying the sweet, tangy flavor. She knew she’d made the right decision when she’d told Grayson that she wanted to extend her stay with her family after the fundraiser. Working as a waitress after experiencing the glittering society of L.A. might seem like a step down, but she didn’t feel that way in the slightest. It had been wonderful to stay active and have something to do with herself, not to mention how cathartic it had been to be able to work alongside her family.

She finished her dish of fruit and stood up again, stretching. Despite how tired she was, she was looking forward to working more. She knew that along with more customers would come a renewed surge of adrenaline, and that her dinner and her bed were both going to be particularly pleasant that evening after a long day of hard work.

She went back out into the dining room, checking to see if she had any new tables. No new customers had arrived yet, but she set to work helping clear some of the tables.

As she was stepping back out of the kitchen, she saw her mother Vivian enter the pub. Her mother’s short brown hair was streaked with gray and pulled back simply with a couple of clips. Vivian’s blue eyes twinkled as she caught sight of Alexis.

“Hey, sweetheart! How are things going over here?”

“Mom!” Alexis protested, even though she was happy to see her mother. “What on earth are you doing here? You were supposed to be at home today, working in your garden.”

A few days earlier, the Owens siblings had sat their mother down and told her that she needed to start taking more time to herself, since it was becoming clear that she did entirely too much work at the pub, especially for a woman of her age who had earned a rest. They had all agreed that they would take on more work at the pub so that Vivian could rest without worrying that the pub was understaffed.

“I have been tending to my garden.” Vivian smiled. “And I’ve been having a wonderful time, and I’m grateful that you kids are making me try to rest. But I started to get restless after a while. I want to know how things are going here. It feels strange to not be in the middle of everything like I usually am.”

Alexis smiled fondly at her mother. “Nothing’s burned down, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not worried.” Vivian chuckled. “I just felt a desire to come over and be here in the middle of everything.”

“But you’re not supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be resting.”

“You serve food, don’t you? Could I have a tuna melt?”

Alexis grinned. “Why yes of course you can. I’ll put in an order for you right away.”

While they waited for Vivian’s food to be made, they sat together at the counter. Alexis brought them both a couple of iced teas, and they sipped the cool drinks gratefully.

“Thanks for all the hard work you’re putting in here, sweetheart,” Vivian said, reaching out and squeezing her daughter’s hand. “I really appreciate you sticking around. The way that all of you children have pulled together to help out after Frank’s death is so touching. It means so much to me.I don’t know how I could have coped with finding out about his gambling debts without the support of you four. It’s been especially sweet to have you and Julia staying here, instead of going back to L.A. and New York. It makes it feel like our family is almost complete again.”

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