Page 50 of Where Sea Meets Sky

“Me too,” Noelle offered. “I think they’re cute.”

“Sure, but not in a dark alley at night, when they’re growling at you and their eyes are shining in the dark like some kind of monster.” Dean shook his head, pretending to shudder dramatically.

Alexis laughed. She loved having Faith there with them, and she could tell that the rest of her family felt the same way. The camaraderie between everyone was so obvious now, and it felt as though Faith had always been a part of their family.

And she has been,Alexis thought.She’s always been family—we just didn’t know that she could be part of our lives like this. I’m so glad she is.

“Faith,” she said, once there was a lull in the conversation. “What do you think you’ll do moving forward? Are you planning on staying in Rosewood Beach?”

“You wouldn’t leave, would you?” Samantha gasped, alarmed. “I thought you were going to move here.”

“Don’t make her feel pressured, Sam,” Hazel said gently. “Faith, we’d all love for you to stay, but you need to do what’s best for you.”

“Which, obviously, is staying in Rosewood Beach,” Dean teased, although Alexis could tell that he meant it. “There’s no better place on earth to live, especially since you’ve got all of us here.”

“Faith will decide what she wants to do when the time is right,” Vivian said with a gentle smile. “Right now, she’s figuring out a new direction for her life.”

Faith cleared her throat gently. “Actually, I think I have figured it out,” she said.

Everyone around the table froze, blinking at Faith hopefully.

“And?” Samantha asked breathlessly.

“I’ve just signed a lease for a place in Rosewood Beach.”

The table erupted into cheers.

“Faith, that’s wonderful!”

“Oh, I’m so happy you’ll be staying here.”

“This is fantastic!”

“Good for you.”

“Yay!”

Faith blushed and grinned, looking ecstatic. Alexis reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

“I’m so glad,” she whispered. “Our family is more complete with you here.”

Faith blinked back tears as she squeezed Alexis’s hand back. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I’m so happy I found all of you.”

Murmurs of affection rippled around the table. Alexis could tell that Faith was close to tears, so she made a joke to make her cousin laugh.

“I knew you were going to stay when I heard you met a man here,” she teased. “We’ll have to thank this Ryan guy for making you want to put down roots here in Rosewood Beach.”

Faith blushed. “Oh, it’s not just him, honestly. It’s all of you, and this town itself. I feel so calm and at peace here. It’s helping me restart my life at a slower pace.”

“I want to hear more about this Ryan,” Vivian said, dishing a second helping of the lemon chicken casserole onto her plate. “What’s he like?”

“Very nice,” Faith said. “He’s sweet, and considerate. He works in construction, although now he’s able to oversee jobs virtually, which allowed him to move back here to Rosewood Beach.”

“He sounds great.” Hazel smiled as she slathered her second dinner roll with butter.

“Wait a minute, we still don’t know his last name,” Alexis said. “I’m going to need that if I want to stalk him on Instagram.”

Faith laughed. “I’m so glad this is coming up in our conversation. I was planning on telling you more about him tonight, but I wasn’t sure how to bring it up without feeling like I was hogging the conversation.”

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