Page 12 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“I stopped by the bed and breakfast later that day,” Vivian said. “I wanted to make sure she got there all right. Faith wasn’t there at the time, but Megan was working the front desk and she told me that Faith had said she needed a break from her fast-paced life in Boston.”

“I knew she was a city girl as soon as she walked in through the door,” Alexis said with a chuckle. “She definitely has that vibe.”

“Do we really know anything more than that about her?” Julia asked, looking somewhat troubled. “I have to admit, I feel kind of wary about the fact that she’s just showing up out of the blue after all these years. I mean, why now?”

“Maybe it’s the first time she’s had a vacation in a while,” Vivian said.

“But it’s not a vacation,” Julia pointed out. “She moved here. Don’t you find that odd?”

Vivian shook her head. “Sometimes people decide to reach back out randomly. I wish I’d reached out to her father much sooner, before he—” Vivian swallowed. “Well, anyway, she might seem like a stranger to you kids, but she doesn’t to me. Her father Lyle and I didn’t get to see each other too often when we were kids, but we went on some very memorable family road trips together. Wonderful places—like the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains and New Orleans. You sure bond with people when you’re trapped in a van with them for hours at a time, let me tell you.” She laughed.

“Oh, we know,” Dean interjected with a grimace.

Vivian winked at him. “Well, anyway, once we grew up, his family moved even farther away and then we kind of lost touch. That year they visited us when you were kids, it was because they were going on a trip along the East Coast anyway, and he called me and asked if we could all meet up for a while. It was a wonderful day.” Tears filled Vivian’s eyes for a moment, and Hazel gave her mother a sideways hug.

Julia nodded, but Alexis could see that her sister still had her reservations. “Cousin Lyle sounds like a great guy.”

“He was.” Vivian smiled. “I’m really glad Faith is here.”

“I just wish I knew why she was here,” Julia said.

“Hey, you people don’t get it,” Samantha said, shaking her head. “She’s an only child, right? Well, as an only child I can tell you that I definitely would be curious enough to move to a new place if I had family there.”

“That’s a good point, Sam. I’m sure she’s perfectly lovely,” Hazel said warmly. “I’m glad she’s here.”

Dean shrugged. “Yeah, I think she’s probably hoping to connect with us. Makes sense to me.”

Alexis didn’t quite know how she felt. It was almost jarring to have someone new show up out of the blue like that, especially someone who they were automatically tied to. But Faith had seemed like a very nice person, even if her arrival did feel oddly random.

Besides,she thought, feeling her heart stir with sympathy for her cousin.Wasn’t I just thinking about how good it is to be surrounded by family and how I don’t know what I’d do without mine? Seems like Faith is looking for a similar connection.

“Speaking of new arrivals to town,” Dean said, leaning back in his chair with a sigh as he finished his second helping of pie. “Ryan McCormick is back, at least for now. I guess he was working on some job out in Colorado.”

“And it’s over now?” Alexis frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

“What do you mean?” Hazel asked, spearing one of the strawberries that had slipped away from her salad.

“Well, if he needs a new job now, maybe that means he’s planning on jumping onboard the brewery team, to help with the family business.” Alexis grimaced.

“I see what you’re saying.” Julia nodded. “Three McCormicks working against us has been bad enough. Four would be even worse.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Vivian shook her head. “I’m hoping they’ve learned their lesson and won’t try to compete with us anymore. After all, I think their last few attempts have made it clear that our place in the community is secure.”

“Hear, hear!” Dean exclaimed, and they laughed and followed him in a toast.

“I agree that the McCormicks won’t be able to shake us again, even if they try,” Alexis said. “I just wonder why he’s back in town.”

“I think he lives here,” Dean said, frowning as if he couldn’t quite remember. “He’s just basically always away for work.”

“Until now.” Julia wrinkled her nose.

“He really has been away a lot, hasn’t he?” Alexis asked, taking another rich, flavorful bite of the sweet potato chicken pot pie. “He’s never around town. He wasn’t around for any of the last few stunts the McCormicks have pulled. I mean, we’ve never seen him act hostile toward us before. I don’t think anybody in town knows him very well.”

“True,” Dean said. “As far as I know, he’s a nice guy.”

“I see what you’re saying,” Julia conceded. “I shouldn’t make assumptions about him just because he’s a McCormick. But I do feel wary about him. I mean, our history with his family isn’t exactly great, and Seth and Brady are clearly loyal to their father. And all those apples fell off the Judd McCormick tree.”

“If he works that much, he probably cares a lot about profit, like his dad does,” Samantha pointed out sagely.

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