Page 29 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“Makes sense.” Hazel gave Faith a sympathetic expression. “I bet moving forward you could find work as a lawyer that didn’t make you so exhausted.”

“Maybe.” Faith shrugged, not wanting to contradict Hazel, but feeling as though she wouldn’t be able to go back to that kind of work without ending up just as stressed and overworked as she had been before.

“What made you decide to visit Rosewood Beach?” Cooper asked her as he cut up another one of the large meatballs for Macey.

“Well, I—I didn’t want to stay in Boston,” Faith said. She didn’t want to confess that she hoped to be included in their family. It felt like too forward of a thing to say, and she didn’t want them to feel pressured to accept her. “I realize after my panic attack that I didn’t have any strong connections there, just some moderately good work friends.”

“Rosewood Beach is a great place,” Jacob said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and I have no complaints.” He laughed. “Where do you think you’ll go from here?”

Faith’s heart sank. If they were all expecting her to leave town after a while, maybe that’s what she would end up doing. She didn’t want to overstay her welcome, and being friendly and welcoming for an evening was not the same thing as wanting her to be a permanent addition to their lives.

“I’m not sure,” she confessed. “I’m usually a person with a detailed plan, so this whole starting over without a concrete agenda is really new to me. All I know for sure is that I needed a change from the way my life was in Boston.”

Vivian smiled at her reassuringly. “There’s no need to rush to try to figure it out. You’re here right now, and we’re thrilled you’re here. I’m so thankful that you’ve entered our lives again, even if it ends up being for only a little while. I’m grateful for whatever time you get to spend here in our small town.”

Faith had to blink back tears as she smiled back at Vivian. She felt overwhelmed by all the support and understanding shewas experiencing. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I’m really grateful I get to spend some time here and meet all of you.”

The meal continued, and most people had seconds of the delicious pasta. When dinner was over, everyone helped clear the plates and serving dishes and bring out what was needed for dessert. Vivian and Julia had prepared a treat of brownies a la mode, and even though Faith felt full from dinner, she realized she could definitely fit in some dessert as well.

“Smells incredible,” she said eagerly, inhaling the rich, chocolatey aroma of the gooey brownies.

“Thank you,” Julia sang out cheerfully. “There are peanut butter chips in this end of the pan, and walnuts in this end. Pick your poison. And we have caramel sauce, strawberry sauce, and chocolate sauce to go on top of the vanilla ice cream.”

“I recommend strawberry and caramel at the same time,” Samantha said. “But apparently I’m the only one who thinks that’s good.”

The group continued to talk and laugh while Julia and Dean dished out the brownies and ice cream. Faith blended all three sauces in a kind of Venn diagram across the top of her dessert, and she agreed with Samantha about the strawberry and caramel tasting great together.

“See?” Samantha said triumphantly when Faith told her so.

“I’m not opposed to it,” Dean said. “I’m just not willing to give up the taste of just caramel and chocolate sauce. It’s like, one of my favorite things in the whole world.”

“Hmm, noted,” Noelle said sweetly, and Faith had a feeling she was planning on making something for Dean involving chocolate and caramel.

Dean and Noelle exchanged an adoring glance. Faith felt happy for them, but she wondered if she would ever get to experience the kind of love they clearly shared. She’d spent somuch of her adult life without a partner, so it was more than probable that a relationship just wasn’t in the cards for her.

When they were finished eating dessert, they cleared the table together. Alexis, Dean, and Noelle volunteered to stay in the kitchen for a while to put everything into the dishwasher or wash it, and the rest of them went into the living room to decide on a board game to play.

“How about that one where we all play against the board?” Hazel suggested. “You love that one, right, Sam?”

The pre-teen nodded. “That board plays dirty. It’s always a pleasure to beat it.”

“Faith will probably be good at that one,” Jacob teased. “She’s used to trying to outsmart people who play dirty. All lawyers have to be good at that, right?”

Faith laughed. “Yeah, sometimes.”

“Good, let’s play that then,” Grayson said. “I wouldn’t want to have to play cards against Faith. All the lawyers I used to play in L.A. were absolute killers at poker. I’m still scarred for life from it. I have nightmares.”

Faith grinned at him. “I am actually pretty good at poker.”

Grayson pretended to shudder, and everyone laughed. Faith liked that they were teasing her about being a lawyer. It made her feel accepted.

By the time they’d set up the board game on the coffee table—the card game that the Owens had been playing when Faith had first walked in had to be officially abandoned, but no one seemed to care—Dean, Noelle, and Alexis had finished cleaning up the kitchen. They all sat down around the coffee table with cups of decaf coffee or tea and began to play the game.

Faith soon agreed with Samantha’s statement that the board liked to play dirty. They were soon all talking over each other and making good-natured suggestions about how to win thegame. Even when their opinions differed greatly, no one got irritated or condescending.

Faith was enjoying herself immensely. She had a quick mind, and it was thrilling for her to be able to use it for something fun and pressure-free. After an invigorating battle with the board, they won the game at the last moment. Everyone cheered.

“That was epic,” Samantha said, flopping back against the couch cushions. “I think we really outdid—” She didn’t finish her sentence because a massive yawn overtook her.

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