Page 20 of Where Sea Meets Sky

Alexis looked up from where she’d been working on another earring with a grin. “Yes! I wanted to wait until you were back to start digging through it.”

“It’s for both of us?” Julia asked, confused.

“It’s for the whole family,” Alexis said. “From Faith.”

Julia raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Huh. I guess she did reach out first. Is she here?”

Alexis shook her head. “The hostess came over and said this was dropped off at the front of the restaurant. I guess Faith just brought it here and left right away.”

Feeling curious, Julia stood up and began to take items out of the basket. There was a beautiful bouquet of daisies tucked into the back of the basket, along with fancy cookies, fun-looking beverages, a bottle of wine, and beef jerky.

“This is so nice,” Julia murmured, feeling touched. “Really thoughtful of her.”

“Ahh, I’ve been craving beef jerky,” Alexis said, eyeing one of the beef jerky packages hungrily. “Could I have some right away, do you think?”

Julia chuckled. “Go for it. Hazel and I don’t like beef jerky, which means there’s plenty to share amongst you and Mom and Dean.”

Alexis eagerly unwrapped one of the beef jerky packages and took a large chomp out of the expensive snack. “Mmhmm,” she said, nodding and sighing in satisfaction. “This hits the spot.”

“You look like a pregnant pioneer, sitting down after a long day of labor,” Julia teased.

“I’m still in the middle of my day of labor, thank you very much.” Alexis gestured to all of the jewelry-making material in front of her. “This is really high-end stuff. Faith must have spent a lot of money on this basket. It’s really thoughtful.”

“Maybe we should invite her to dinner,” Julia said. “I mean, now that she’s reached out in such a considerate way, I think we owe it to her to reach back out.”

Alexis nodded. “She’s clearly making an effort to connect with us. That’s nice.”

“It is.” Julia thought to herself that a dinner with Faith would be good practice for her. She needed to get better at conversing with relatives she’d never met before she had her first conversation with Cooper’s family.

CHAPTER TEN

Faith set down her glass of lemonade and picked up her spoon. Around her, the bustling sounds of The Salty Spoon filled the air—plates and glasses clinking, and people talking and laughing. Although it was later in the afternoon, the restaurant was still lively with contented customers.

She could understand why everyone seemed to be in good spirits. She’d ordered a bowl of corn chili with a slice of garlic bread for her lunch, and both were absolutely incredible. She’d quickly consumed the garlic bread, but she was still savoring the chili, which had an intriguing variety of flavors, many of which were mildly spicy.

She thought about the way she’d dropped off the gift basket at The Lighthouse Grill. It was something she’d thought about a great deal since it happened. The hostess had told her that Alexis Owens was just inside, in the dining room, and she could give it to her herself if she wanted. Faith had suddenly lost her nerve, however, and made up an excuse about needing to run to an appointment. It hadn’t been true, and she hadn’t even reached the end of the sidewalk before she’d regretted her decision. She’d come all the way to Rosewood Beach to be able to connect withthe Owens family. Avoiding them had never been part of the plan.

She sighed and ate another spoonful of the corn chili. It was still warm, since it had been piping hot when it was brought out to her, and she felt bolstered by the invigorating flavor of it. She’d noticed, ever since moving to Rosewood Beach, that even the food there seemed more wholesome. It didn’t taste as though it had been made in a hurry, using heavily processed ingredients. It tasted as though the people making it cared not only about cooking, but about the people they were feeding. The food at the bed and breakfast where she was staying definitely matched this description, and even the restaurant food seemed to taste that way.

It’s a small thing, but it means a lot, somehow,she thought.People here do things intentionally. Not like they’re trying to get their tasks out of the way so they can rush off to do something else. It’s like they enjoy their work and want to do it well.

She smiled to herself, wondering what kind of work she could do that she would be able to feel that way about. There could be joy in a job well done, she knew that, but she would have to be careful to pick a job that didn’t start to demand too much of her time. She was determined to never live like that again.

In the next moment, she glanced up at the front doors of The Salty Spoon as someone walked inside. Her cheeks flushed pink as she recognized Alexis Owens. She felt suddenly overwhelmingly shy, and her mind started to race as she wondered what to do.

I know what I should do,she thought, swallowing.I should wave and call out to her. I should say hi.

Instead of doing those things, however, Faith continued to blink at her cousin like a mute fish as Alexis sat down in the booth across from her. Alexis was carrying several shoppingbags and was so busy situating them that she hadn’t noticed Faith.

Faith took a deep breath, telling herself she needed to stand up and go over to Alexis and say hello. Before she could, however, Alexis looked up and saw her.

For a second, both cousins blinked at each other in surprise. Then Alexis smiled and waved in a friendly way.

Since Alexis was heavily pregnant, Faith didn’t want her to have to be the one to walk over. She stood up and went over to her cousin’s booth, sliding into the empty seat across from her.

“Hey,” Faith said, smiling shyly. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good.” Alexis’s eyes were shining as if she was excited about something, and her cheeks were flushed. “How are you?”

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