Page 21 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“Uh, good. I just had the corn chili. It was really good.” Faith felt as though she was back in grade school, trying to make friends in the cafeteria. She cleared her throat, feeling unusually awkward.

“It’s so good.” Alexis nodded emphatically. “Right now, though, I’m craving blueberry pancakes and coleslaw, so I’m going to get that.” When Faith blinked at her in surprise, she laughed. “Oh, trust me, it’s been worse. At least now I know what I want—most of the time, anyway. For a while there, my cravings were like a great mystery that no one could solve.”

“Sounds frustrating,” Faith said sympathetically.

Alexis nodded. “I ate a lot of peanut butter. And brownies. Those were the staples. Couldn’t go wrong with those.”

Faith laughed. “So true.” Already she was liking the other woman a great deal and feeling as though they already had a connection of some kind.

Is that because we’re family?she wondered.Or is it just coincidence?

The waitress came by and took Alexis’s order. As soon as she’d left, Faith looked at all of the shopping bags next to Alexis with interest.

“What did you get?” she asked, gesturing to the bags. “Anything fun?”

Alexis grinned. “Well, technically no, but I think so. I was at Harvest Market buying painting supplies. I’m determined to paint my living room, so I got all the things I need for that. I bought paintbrushes, painter’s tape, sandpaper, rollers, paint sticks—you know, all the goodies.” She laughed. “My plan had been to go straight home and start washing the walls, but then I got really hungry, per usual these days. Eating for two.” She patted her stomach.

Faith smiled. “Well, you picked a good spot. I really like this place.”

“Oh, I do too. I mean, I do prefer The Lighthouse Grill, but The Salty Spoon is a close second. And I’m at the pub all the time, so it’s fun to come here and try something new. I really like their crepes.” Alexis frowned for a second, as if she was starting to change her mind on her order, but then brightened. “Besides, Harvest Market is closer to here than it is to the pub. As soon as I walked out of the supermarket, I thought to myself, ‘Blueberry pancakes.’ My cravings are still pretty strong—just as strong as my sudden obsession with nesting. I mean, fixing up my house. It’s like I’m craving food and organization.”

Faith laughed along with Alexis. Her cousin had a breezy, lighthearted manner that was fun to be around.

“Speaking of cravings! Thank you so much for that gift basket. That beef jerky that was in there really hit the spot for me. I wish I’d gotten a chance to thank you for it right away, but the hostess said you were already gone when she gave it to us.”

Faith nodded, hesitating before speaking her next words. “I wish I hadn’t left so quickly. I’ve been thinking that I probablyshould have waited around and presented it myself. It’s just that I felt a little sheepish about my surprise arrival at The Lighthouse Grill when I first came into town. I think I kind of spooked all of you. I wasn’t really sure how to undo the awkwardness.”

“It’s not awkward unless you make it awkward,” Alexis assured her, smiling warmly. “You have every right to move here if that’s what you want. We were surprised, that’s all. Ever since then, we haven’t been sure if we should reach out or not. Speaking of which, how about you finish your lunch over here? You can bring your food over to my booth if you want.”

Faith smiled, a warm feeling spreading through her core. “Yes, I—yeah. Thanks. I’d like that.” She stood up and hurried over to her table, bringing back her bowl of chili and glass of lemonade a moment later. “Thanks for offering,” she said, sitting down across from her cousin.

“Oh, for sure.” Alexis smiled at her sincerely. “I want to keep talking with you. Fate seems to have brought us together today, so let’s take advantage of it.” She paused to take a sip of her water, and then asked, “What do you think of Rosewood Beach so far?”

“Oh, it’s just amazing,” Faith gushed. “I mean, I’ve never lived anywhere like this—I don’t think I’ve even visited a place like this before. Everyone is so friendly, and it’s clear that people really care about their community. And it’s—I don’t know, it’s just nice. I know not everyone here has a lot of money, but everyone does their best to make the best of what they’ve got, you know? No one’s given up. I’m used to seeing a lot of people and places that have kind of given up in the city.”

Alexis nodded. “That’s a good way of putting it. People support each other here. I think that’s part of it—everyone knows that if they ever really were in trouble, their neighborswould be there to help them out. People don’t give up when they know there are people who have their back.”

Faith smiled, wishing that everyone in the world had that kind of community. She thought about all of the stressed-out people she’d represented in court. Sometimes she hadn’t really been sure if they were innocent or not, and that had troubled her deeply. She wished that people were better at helping each other, instead of suing or accusing each other.

Alexis seemed to notice her saddened expression. “What brought you here, Faith?” she asked softly. “We heard that you were trying to move away from how hectic things had been in Boston.”

Faith nodded. “I got completely burned out. I was working all the time, and the mental and emotional strain was getting to be too much for me. I had a panic attack so bad I thought it was a heart attack.” Faith chuckled wryly at the memory, but Alexis gasped in alarm.

“Oh no! Faith, I’m so sorry. That sounds just awful.”

Faith shrugged. “It was, but it was the wakeup call I needed. The doctors told me that I needed to start taking better care of my health, and I knew that I needed to totally change my life. So far, it’s been the best decision I ever made.” She smiled.

Alexis smiled back at her warmly. “I can understand that feeling. I also moved back here recently because I knew I needed to change my life. This is a good place to start over.”

Soon Alexis’s meal arrived, and the two women continued to talk as they ate their food. Faith found herself laughing often at Alexis’s cheerful commentary and jokes, and Alexis listened respectfully to everything Faith had to say. It was clear that there was a rapport building between them, and Faith felt as light as a feather with happiness. One of the Owens liked her at least, that much was certain.

“So,” Alexis said as she tucked what remained of her stack of pancakes into a to-go box. “I have a question for you.”

“Yeah?” Faith asked, feeling suddenly nervous. She told herself to stay calm and not expect something bad to happen, but at the moment, everything felt too good to be true. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“What are you doing on Wednesday night?”

“Wednesday night? Uh, nothing. I don’t really have any plans at the moment.”

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