Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Julia leaned down eagerly to sniff the plate of food that Allison, the head chef at The Lighthouse Grill, had just prepared for her.
“Ugh, Allison, this honey bacon smells absolutely heavenly,” she said. “Thanks a million.”
“Hey, I know we couldn’t keep this place running without you.” Allison winked at her. “Besides, anyone who asks for plain old avocado toast for breakfast deserves a little something extra. You were trying to make my life too easy there.”
Julia laughed. “I already ate breakfast at home, earlier, remember?”
“Yeah, at like five in the morning? That was hours ago. I need to feed you again.”
Julia laughed. “Well, thanks, Allison. Your culinary skills are very appreciated. Speaking of, don’t lie to me about plain old avocado toast. I can see that you’ve doctored this up with butter, pepper, and garlic salt.”
Allison shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. You’ll just have to eat it to find out.”
Julia grinned at her and left the kitchen. She’d been working at The Lighthouse Grill in the office for a few hours before her stomach had started to growl hungrily and she’d decided to take a break and ask Allison for a second breakfast.
She went into the dining room, looking around for Alexis. She knew that her sister had planned on coming into the pub that day even though she wasn’t waitressing at the moment because of her pregnancy. Alexis still spent a lot of her time making jewelry for her online business, but she’d confessed that she was starting to get bored with sitting at home so often. In an effort to keep her from rearranging her entire house out of boredom, Vivian and Julia had suggested that she come into The Lighthouse Grill to work on her jewelry.
Julia saw Alexis a moment later, sitting in a corner booth with a colorful array of jewelry spread out in front of her. Alexis was frowning in concentration, but she was also swaying slightly to the folk music playing over the pub’s loudspeakers, showing that she was having a good time.
“Hey, sis.” Julia sat down across from her sister, placing her plate in the center of the only free space left on the tabletop. “How’s your work coming?”
Alexis looked up and smiled. “Great. Coming here to do it was a great idea. I feel a lot more energetic surrounded by people.”
“Is that why you were doing so much rearranging? You needed to be surrounded by people, so you pretended the objects in your cupboards were dolls and moved them around?”
Alexis wrinkled her nose. “Stop, you. Go bring me some tea, would you?” She smiled sweetly, and Julia laughed.
“Okay, I guess I owe you after that dig. And I want to get myself some coffee. Be right back. Don’t eat any of my bacon.”
Alexis made a frowny face and Julia relented and gave her a piece of the honey bacon. Laughing, she went to get herself a cup of coffee and Alexis a cup of tea. When she got back, Alexis appeared to be even more deeply in concentration than before as she threaded beads onto a hooped earring. Julia set down the tea in front of her sister, having to wiggle some bags of beads out of the way first.
“So have you decided to transfer your rabid nesting energy to your jewelry business rather than wreak havoc on your and Grayson’s home?” Julia teased, bringing her coffee cup to her lips.
“On the contrary,” Alexis said grandly, raising her chin. “I’m only doing this while I mull over what color to paint the living room.” She gestured to all of the colorful beads spread out on the table in front of her. “Every time I pick up a new color, I picture it in the living room. Right now, I’m leaning toward blues and greens, because they feel so serene, but I might change my mind and pick a more cheerful color like yellow or maybe even pink.”
“Sounds like you have absolutely no idea what color you’re going to paint the walls,” Julia said, laughing.
“Hey, just because I haven’t made a decision yet doesn’t mean I’m not going to. I want to be absolutely sure before I start.”
“Fair enough. Are you going to test out a few colors first? You know, paint spots on the wall using sample jars of different colors?”
Alexis gasped. “Oh! Of course! That’s such a good idea. When we had our mansion in L.A., we had someone come in to do the painting, so I’ve never actually done this before. You know, besides the time I painted my whole room bright purple when I was thirteen.”
“Oh, I remember that. You didn’t tell Mom or Dad and they were not happy.” Julia laughed and took a giant bite out of the avocado toast. The soft avocado and the crunchy toast were a perfect pairing of textures, and the garlic and butter that Allison had added gave the food a delightful flavor. “Mmph, this is good.”
“Neither is Grayson about me painting the living room.” Alexis laughed. “But he’ll get over it. Mom and Dad did—and that room looked great.”
Julia shook her head, chuckling. “Eventually. When you finally got a white bedspread instead of a hot pink one.”
“No, it looked great the whole time.” Alexis pretended to bow.
“You did do a good job, I remember that. The lines were clear even though you used such an intense paint color, which was impressive for a teenager. I’ll have to tell Grayson that if he starts to get really nervous about you painting the living room.”
“I’ll take the compliment and ignore the teasing. How’s your toast?”
Julia shook her head. “You can have a bite, pregnant lady.”
“Thank you!” Alexis grinned and happily accepted the small piece of avocado toast that Julia handed to her. “Oof, you’re right, that’s fantastic. If I’m still here at lunchtime, I’ll order that.”
“If you are here that long, keep an eye out for Faith, will you? No one’s seen her since she stopped by that first day. I kind of feel like we should reach out to her, but then I find myself thinking that if she wants to talk to us, she’ll just come here.”
“Makes sense,” Alexis agreed, nodding. “Although she might be feeling shy. Maybe we should make the first move if we can. We could also show up at the bed and breakfast and leave her a note or something.”
“True.” Julia was quiet for a moment. “What do you think of her showing up after all this time? I mean really—not the polite version.”
Alexis chuckled. “Remember when we first came back to Rosewood Beach? Our big city lives weren’t fulfilling, and we felt disconnected and rushed in New York and L.A. I think Faith is probably feeling something similar. She saw Rosewood Beach online and realized that she could start over here, living a healthier kind of life where she’s more intentional about her time and her community. I can sympathize with her struggle to want to move away from her past. I know you felt the same way too.”
“You’re right.” Julia nodded. “The city seems like another planet to me now, one that I can’t believe I lived on for so long.” She laughed. “Do you think we looked as out of place as Faith does when we first arrived back in Rosewood Beach?”
Alexis laughed. “Oh, we probably did. I remember showing up in my stilettos and feeling extremely out of place.”
Julia grinned. “I can’t believe how often I wore heels. I mean, for hours. I would take the subway in those things. Don’t get me wrong, I still love wearing a good pair of heels—but not every day.”
“Comfort is the way to go.” Alexis nodded.
Both sisters smiled and then were quiet for a few minutes. Julia munched on her avocado toast and Alexis went back to stringing beads.
“I wonder what happened to Faith that led her here to Rosewood Beach?” Julia said thoughtfully. “Maybe a whole bunch of things shifted slowly for her or it was one big life upheaval.”
Alexis grunted sympathetically. “I know for me, it was both. I’d gotten so discontent with my life in L.A. and Grayson had been so distant, consumed by work. I really wasn’t happy, even though my life looked perfect on the outside. It took Dad’s passing away, and coming back to Rosewood Beach, to show me that though. Otherwise, I never would have been brave enough to move away from how people expected me to behave. Coming back here showed me how warm and welcoming people can be, and I knew I wanted to be part of that kind of community. Faith probably feels the same way.”
“That’s a good point.” Julia nodded thoughtfully. “She probably does. I wonder what her life was like back in Boston? Maybe she got fired like I did—it took two life upheavals to bring me back home to stay.”
“Two life upheavals and a handsome man who caught you in the rain,” Alexis teased.
Julia flushed, always happy to think about the day she met the man she loved. She felt grateful that circumstances had aligned the way that they had, bringing her to him. She never would have thought, when she was living in New York and focusing almost solely on her marketing job, that she would soon be wanting nothing more than to settle down with someone who often came home dirty and a little smelly from doing landscaping work. But now she knew that nothing could possibly make her happier than love, and living near to her family and Cooper and Macey was the best way she could spend the rest of her life.
“Whoa, speak of the devil,” Alexis teased with a laugh. “Cooper just walked in.”
“What? Really?” Julia turned, her heart leaping up in excitement. She still got butterflies whenever she saw her soon-to-be husband, especially when he showed up unexpectedly.
He was just entering The Lighthouse Grill, and she jumped up and hurried over to him.
“Hey, sweetheart!” She kissed him eagerly and gave him a hug. “This is a pleasant surprise.”
“Good. I’m happy to see you.” He smiled at her, but she could tell right away that there was something on his mind—maybe even something wrong.
“What is it?” she asked him. “Is something the matter?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s just—well, can we go somewhere more private?” he said as a large family bustled in through the front doors behind them.
“Sure.” She suddenly felt a little nervous, wondering what he was going to say to her. “We can go in the back.”
Alexis and Cooper exchanged a friendly wave as Julia led Cooper into the back of the restaurant. Once they were in a secluded little hallway near the refrigerators and walk-in freezer, she stopped and turned to him expectantly.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“Stop looking so nervous, it’s good news.” He laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, it’s big news, but it’s good.”
“Don’t tell me not to look nervous, you look nervous. Tell me what it is, please.”
“I’m not nervous! Just surprised, that’s all. And it’s a lot to think about. My family has decided they don’t want to wait until the wedding to meet you. They’re traveling up for a visit, and they’ll be here soon.”
“Soon? How soon? As in, today?”
“No.” He chuckled. “Just sometime before the wedding. They haven’t set the dates in stone yet. But I wanted to come talk to you as soon as I heard.”
She managed a smile, but his news had made her heart start to pound faster with nervousness. She wondered if perhaps Cooper’s family felt that they were going to disapprove of her, and that’s why they wanted to come meet her before the wedding. What if they didn’t like her? What if they were the kind of in-laws who were mean and critical, and she would never be able to meet with their approval?
“Hey.” Cooper put his arm around her. “Are you all right?”
“Of course!” She forced another smile, a wider one this time. “This is great news, I was just thinking about scheduling logistics, that’s all. I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Well, they can’t wait to meet you either, clearly.” He grinned. “I just know they’re going to love you.”
Julia cleared her throat, feeling another surge of nerves. In order to draw attention away from the fact that she was feeling thrown off, she turned to the pie fridge, which was next to them. “My mom and Allison made some incredible banana cream pie this morning. Would you like a slice? On the house.”
“Wow, really?” He grabbed her and dipped her backward as if they were dancing. “First, she agrees to marry me, and now she’s offering me free pie? Gosh, I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
She laughed as he set her back on her feet. “Well, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. I’ve got a fiancé who stops over to tell me big news in person.”
She took a to-go box off the top of the refrigerator. Guests often ordered slices of pie to go, so there was a pie server in the fridge and to-go boxes handy. Julia put a slice of the banana cream pie into a to-go box for Cooper and handed it to him.
“Here you go, sweetheart. Let me know if you like this one better than the French silk. Then if you do, I can bring one over whenever your family visits.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she bit her lip. That wasn’t a good idea! She should bring something she’d made herself when she was meeting them. And it would have to be something that she made well, but nothing too complicated in case it went badly. Julia was still figuring out a lot of things when it came to cooking, which had become her favorite hobby since returning to Rosewood Beach. She wouldn’t want to attempt something too gourmet, only to have it not turn out when it was too late to make something else.
Cooper was looking down at the slice of pie with an eager grin, and didn’t notice the concerned facial expression that flitted across her face. “I will. I do really love bananas, so I might end up liking this better. We both know what Macey would prefer, though.”
The two of them shared a laugh. Macey was absolutely obsessed with French silk pie, which she pronounced “Finch Ilk.”
“Well, you’ll have to let me know. Maybe I can bring both.” Her mind had already jumped to the idea of asking her mother to teach her how to make both pies. That way she could bring some Lighthouse Grill classics and still have made them herself.
Don’t get too ahead of things here, Owens, she told herself. You don’t even know when they’re coming yet. Stay calm, okay?
But she could feel a sort of buzzing sensation under her skin as adrenaline coursed through her. She was determined to impress her in-laws and get them to like her, even if they might be coming because they didn’t think she would be good enough for Cooper.
“Thank you again, sweetheart,” he said, leaning down to give her a kiss. “I can’t wait for my family to meet you. I’ll see you later?”
“I can’t wait to meet them either! See you later. Have a good day, hon.” She smiled at him and waved as he left the hallway. As soon as he was out of sight, she leaned against the refrigerator with a sigh.
A pit had formed in her stomach at the thought of her in-laws visiting. She’d felt as though she had all of the events leading up to the wedding totally under control. She knew what to plan and when to plan it, and she’d been comfortably confident that everything was going to run smoothly. Now, however, she thought that perhaps she didn’t have the whole lead-up to the wedding in the bag after all.
She shook herself, telling herself firmly to give it some time. She would probably feel much more calm about the whole thing in a day or two, once she’d gotten used to the idea.
She left the back rooms of the pub and went back toward the booth she’d been sharing with Alexis. She’d already finished her avocado toast and honey bacon, but she still had some coffee left, and she found herself in need of it.
As she approached the booth, she saw something new on the table. It was a large basket, filled with various items. At first, she thought it was a basket of jewelry-making supplies for Alexis, but then she realized that it was a gift basket.
“What’s this?” Julia asked curiously, sliding into the booth. “A gift basket?”
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.