Page 30 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“Time for bed,” Hazel said with a smile. “You’ve got school tomorrow.”

Samantha wrinkled her nose but stood up. “Okay. I guess I am pretty sleepy.”

“We should go too,” Cooper said, glancing over at Macey, who was sound asleep in Julia’s lap. “Macey can sleep anywhere these days, but I want to get her settled in for the night sooner rather than later.”

“I can hardly believe the evening flew by so quickly,” Faith said, glancing at her watch. “That was amazingly fun.”

They all stood up slowly, all clearly a bit reluctant to leave. Faith thought wistfully that although the time had gone quickly, she felt rejuvenated and at peace. She was used to the sensation of time flying by, but she hadn’t realized it could pass quickly and still leave her feeling energized and relaxed. Her previous existence, filled with fast-paced work, had always left her feeling worn out and overstimulated.

She found herself wanting to stay in Rosewood Beach forever, with these people as her family. She wanted to keep having nights like that evening for the rest of her life.

I can’t stay here forever, though, can I?she wondered.I haven’t been invited for that. But at least I had tonight. I’ll never forget it.

“It was so great to get to talk with you, Faith,” Hazel said, giving her a hug on her way out.

The other Owens siblings expressed similar sentiments, and everyone hugged Faith or shook her hand. Vivian was the last one to say goodbye, and she squeezed Faith tightly the way only a mother could.

“Don’t be a stranger,” she said into Faith’s ear.

“I won’t,” Faith promised, and walked out into the night. Overhead, the stars were glittering and a cool wind rushed against her face. An owl hooted in the distance, and Faith found herself greatly looking forward to taking a bubble bath and drinking a mug of tea in bed. She always got up early in the morning, but she told herself that maybe the next day, she would sleep in longer. She had a feeling that she was going to be wide awake for a while, thinking over how magical the night had been.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Alexis brushed back loose strands of hair from her face, pressing her lips together in concentration. She was back in the pantry, inspecting all of the containers she’d arranged across the shelves. She’d purchased even more clear plastic organizers like the ones she’d picked up from the pub—some larger, some smaller—and reorganized many of the snacks and food supplies. It looked incredible, if she did say so herself, but she still wasn’t done.

In her hand was a bouquet of colored permanent markers, along with a sheet of paper that she’d scribbled notes all over earlier that morning. She was determined to color-code everything in the plastic bins, and she’d created what she considered to be a fool-proof system, using seven different colors.

“Sweetheart, where’s my shaving cream?” Grayson called to her from upstairs.

Alexis poked her head out of the pantry. “I moved it!” she called back. “There’s a new shelving system in the bathroom closet. It’s labeled!”

She heard Grayson groan from upstairs and she chuckled and went back inside the pantry. She picked up a stack of plainwhite stickers and began to write out her labels using her best handwriting.

A few minutes later, Grayson appeared in the pantry. “It does look nice in the bathroom closet, I have to admit it,” he told her with a half-smile. “What are you up to in here? I thought you finished the pantry already.”

She shook her head. “Almost, but not yet. Now that I’ve got these new organizers, I’m determined to label everything using my new color-coding system.” She held up her scribbled plan proudly.

He laughed. “You realize you just sounded like some manic mad scientist, right?”

“Shh, I’m brilliant.”

“Alexis,” he protested, taking another step into the pantry. “These bins are made out of clear plastic. You can see what’s inside of them. Why do you need to label them?”

“Because it’s necessary!” She didn’t look up as she wrote out the next label.

“Why?”

“Because it’s part of my plan.” She looked up and gave him a grin.

He shook his head. “I give up,” he teased her. “I have whiplash from trying to keep up with you. I thought we were going to finish painting the living room later today.”

“Oh, we are,” she said eagerly. “Absolutely. Don’t worry, I have plenty of energy for both.”

He chuckled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “That is definitely easy to believe.”

She grinned proudly and began to show him the work she’d done on the pantry. He agreed that it was impressive, and her color-coding plan was well thought-out.

“It just makes me so excited about having kids and hosting parties,” she said, her eyes shining, as she looked at her work.

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