Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Faith set down her glass of lemonade and picked up her spoon. Around her, the bustling sounds of The Salty Spoon filled the air—plates and glasses clinking, and people talking and laughing. Although it was later in the afternoon, the restaurant was still lively with contented customers.
She could understand why everyone seemed to be in good spirits. She’d ordered a bowl of corn chili with a slice of garlic bread for her lunch, and both were absolutely incredible. She’d quickly consumed the garlic bread, but she was still savoring the chili, which had an intriguing variety of flavors, many of which were mildly spicy.
She thought about the way she’d dropped off the gift basket at The Lighthouse Grill. It was something she’d thought about a great deal since it happened. The hostess had told her that Alexis Owens was just inside, in the dining room, and she could give it to her herself if she wanted. Faith had suddenly lost her nerve, however, and made up an excuse about needing to run to an appointment. It hadn’t been true, and she hadn’t even reached the end of the sidewalk before she’d regretted her decision. She’d come all the way to Rosewood Beach to be able to connect with the Owens family. Avoiding them had never been part of the plan.
She sighed and ate another spoonful of the corn chili. It was still warm, since it had been piping hot when it was brought out to her, and she felt bolstered by the invigorating flavor of it. She’d noticed, ever since moving to Rosewood Beach, that even the food there seemed more wholesome. It didn’t taste as though it had been made in a hurry, using heavily processed ingredients. It tasted as though the people making it cared not only about cooking, but about the people they were feeding. The food at the bed and breakfast where she was staying definitely matched this description, and even the restaurant food seemed to taste that way.
It’s a small thing, but it means a lot, somehow, she thought. People here do things intentionally. Not like they’re trying to get their tasks out of the way so they can rush off to do something else. It’s like they enjoy their work and want to do it well .
She smiled to herself, wondering what kind of work she could do that she would be able to feel that way about. There could be joy in a job well done, she knew that, but she would have to be careful to pick a job that didn’t start to demand too much of her time. She was determined to never live like that again.
In the next moment, she glanced up at the front doors of The Salty Spoon as someone walked inside. Her cheeks flushed pink as she recognized Alexis Owens. She felt suddenly overwhelmingly shy, and her mind started to race as she wondered what to do.
I know what I should do, she thought, swallowing. I should wave and call out to her. I should say hi.
Instead of doing those things, however, Faith continued to blink at her cousin like a mute fish as Alexis sat down in the booth across from her. Alexis was carrying several shopping bags and was so busy situating them that she hadn’t noticed Faith.
Faith took a deep breath, telling herself she needed to stand up and go over to Alexis and say hello. Before she could, however, Alexis looked up and saw her.
For a second, both cousins blinked at each other in surprise. Then Alexis smiled and waved in a friendly way.
Since Alexis was heavily pregnant, Faith didn’t want her to have to be the one to walk over. She stood up and went over to her cousin’s booth, sliding into the empty seat across from her.
“Hey,” Faith said, smiling shyly. “How are you doing?”
“I’m good.” Alexis’s eyes were shining as if she was excited about something, and her cheeks were flushed. “How are you?”
“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 probably should 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 neighbors would 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.”
“Perfect. I’m officially inviting you to the Owens family dinner night on Wednesday. It’ll be at my mom’s house.”
“Family dinner?” Faith’s heart started to beat faster. “Won’t it just be your immediate family there? I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
Alexis shook her head. “Nonsense. All of our partners will be there, and most of the time my mom invites her friend Terrence to come too. Between the two of us, I think there’s a romance brewing there, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
Faith still felt a little dazed, but excited about the invitation. “All right,” she stammered. “If you’re sure everyone else will be okay with it.”
“Oh, of course. We’ve been talking about inviting you for dinner. This’ll be perfect.”
Faith felt butterflies of nervousness and expectation flutter in her stomach. “Okay. Yes. Perfect.”