Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Audrey stepped out of the taxi and clasped her hands together. “Oh, Michelle—smell that! I swear the air smells better here in Coral Sands than it does anywhere else in the world.”
She watched her daughter with a radiant smile for a moment as Michelle tipped her head back and sniffed the wind. Audrey closed her eyes and inhaled, drinking deeply of the scent of the ocean mixed with faint traces of fresh bakery, newly mown grass, and the first spring flowers.
Audrey felt full of energy despite the fact that their flight to the east coast had been at an ungodly hour of the morning.
She didn’t know how much sleep she’d gotten—probably only a couple of hours—but she felt wide-awake and ready for action.
Returning to her hometown brought her a feeling of peace she couldn’t explain, as if she was stepping back inside her childhood, and into a world in which she was protected and secure.
I really needed this, she thought, smiling up a seagull that swooped across the clear blue sky overhead. It feels so good to come home.
The air seemed to be embracing her, with its serenely cool breeze paired with the warmth of the spring sunlight. All of a sudden, she couldn’t wait to hug her mother as tightly as she could.
“Come on,” she said, taking Michelle’s arm in hers. “Let’s start walking to your grandmother’s mansion. It’s not all that far from here, and the route is just about as scenic as you could ask for.”
Michelle shook her head. “I’m really excited to see Grandma, but I’m exhausted, Mom. I desperately need some caffeine—and sustenance.”
Audrey laughed. “Okay, breakfast and coffee it is. Either way, we should head in that direction—toward downtown.”
Michelle laughed, gesturing toward the main street of Coral Sands, which was lined with charming, colorful shops and a sidewalk dotted with flowering trees.
“You call that a downtown? Come on, Mom—there aren’t any swearing drivers or people rushing past talking on their cellphones like it’s the end of the world. Pretty sure it’s not a downtown.”
Audrey laughed and she and Michelle started toward the heart of Coral Sands, which Audrey felt a thrill about returning to. Seeing the old familiar places wrapped her in a feeling of happiness, as if she was putting on old clothes that were comfortable and still fit her perfectly.
It’s more than that, she thought, glancing around at the charming old buildings with a smile. It’s as if coming back is allowing me to step back into an older version of me. One who isn’t hurt, who feels more ready to take on the future.
As heartbreaking as losing her home and her husband in such a short timespan had been, Audrey felt a surge of hope for the future as she strolled down the sidewalks of Coral Sands with her daughter. It felt absolutely wonderful to be home again, even more wonderful than she’d anticipated.
“I remember that store!” Michelle said eagerly as she pointed toward Common Thread, a local clothing boutique. “I used to hide in the clothing racks in there, and the lady was always so nice. It smelled amazing too.”
“Like citrus and cinnamon,” Audrey said, remembering with a grin. “Definitely. We should come back here and do a little shopping.”
Michelle nodded and then pointed across the street at an old red brick building. “And The Seagull’s Nest Antiques! There was a dummy in there that I was absolutely terrified of, but that place was amazing. It felt like being surrounded by all kinds of portals to the past.”
Audrey nodded. She had always loved going antique shopping, and she thought eagerly of when she and Michelle would need to buy furniture and other items for their new house.
So far, she hadn’t heard of anything being available in Coral Sands, but she knew somehow that it was all going to work out.
Now that she was back in her hometown, she was absolutely determined to stay.
“Oh, let’s go there for breakfast,” Michelle said after a few more minutes, pointing across the street to an elegant white building with flowers growing in the front lawn and a sign above the front door that read “Brasserie Belle” in an elegant script. “It smells incredible.”
“It does have amazing food,” Audrey said, “but it’s basically gourmet—which means it’s not very speedy. We should absolutely come back there, but right now I’m just really anxious to get to your grandmother’s house. I can’t wait to see her. Is that okay?”
Michelle nodded, smiling. “Of course. I get it. I can’t imagine how crazy impatient I’d be feeling to hug you if we’d been separated as long as you and Grandma have been.”
Audrey’s heart warmed when she heard her daughter’s words, and she inclined her head toward another restaurant with a smile. “I know the perfect place for a compromise—Morning Brew over there makes incredible breakfast food. We could grab some breakfast sandwiches and coffee and eat on the way?”
“Mm, sounds good to me. Looks like a place with great coffee.”
“Oh, it is. They’ve got the best coffee I’ve ever had there.”
“Psh, sold. Let’s go.”
Audrey led Michelle toward the cozy little café, which let out a heavenly mixture of aromas out onto the sidewalk.
“Mm, fresh bakery,” Michelle said with a sigh. “And coffee! It even smells like incredible coffee.”
They pushed open the front door, and a bell jingled cheerfully overhead.
The delectable aromas became stronger inside the shop, and Audrey sniffed at the scents of sugar, cream, coffee, and frying bacon eagerly.
The front counter offered a charming display of delicious baked goods, all of which looked fresh and artfully made.
Audrey and Michelle ordered cappuccinos and ham croissants. Audrey felt her excitement grow as they waited for their order. She felt a tingling feeling of joy, anticipating seeing her mother and spending time with her in Coral Sands.
“Here you are,” the smiling teenage barista said, setting down a white paper bag and two to-go cups. “Enjoy.”
“Thank you so much,” Audrey said, grabbing her cappuccino in a hurry.
Part of her wanted to linger in the café, to talk to local people and learn what had been going on in Coral Sands since she’d left. She knew there would be plenty of time for that, however, and she was itching to see her mother.
I’m going to practically run out of this store, she thought with a smile. We’re not that far away from Mom’s mansion now.
She turned around so quickly it was almost a twirl, ready to make a beeline for the front door. What she hadn’t counted on, however, was the man standing directly behind her, his eyes glued to the stack of papers that were attached to the clipboard he held in his hands.
The lid of her cappuccino flew off as it bumped into the man’s clipboard and foamy, creamy coffee splashed all over the man’s clean blue shirt, the floor, and the stack of papers he was holding.
Audrey seemed to watch it all happen in slow motion, her jaw dropping in alarm and shock.
She felt a wave of terrible embarrassment even as she looked up at the man’s face and saw that he was terribly handsome.
At least, she thought so. His warm brown eyes were wide with surprise, but his neatly trimmed brown beard caused him to appear polished even in spite of the coffee stain that was spreading across his chest.
“Oh my goodness, I’m so incredibly sorry,” she gasped, reaching for his shirt for a moment as if she could rub the stain away and then jerking her hand back. “I had no idea you were there and I was in such a hurry—oh gosh, I’m sorry.”
The man’s brow furrowed, and she thought to herself for a split second that it was a shame his nice brown eyes were being clouded by such a look of irritation.
“There are napkins over there on the counter,” the man said dryly, looking down at her half-empty cup as if he was wondering if the rest of the cappuccino might jump out and attack him. “I can assure you, there was no need for you to use important township documents to mop up your coffee.”
Audrey’s mouth popped open in indignation for a second, but then she closed it again.
She could hardly expect the man to be polite when she’d probably just upended his entire morning.
“I genuinely am sorry,” she told him. “I should have been looking where I was going. It was completely my fault. Really, I’m so sorry.
” She kept talking, hoping he would interject some kind of response, ideally along the lines of, “It’s okay” or “I was standing unreasonably close behind you, it’s partly my fault too.
” He didn’t say anything, however, and when she finally paused long enough for him to realize she’d finished speaking, he just let out a grunt.
“Well, I sincerely hope I haven’t destroyed the future of the township by spilling coffee on those documents,” she said, hoping a joke could lighten the mood and also feeling unable to resist being a little sarcastic.
The man with the coffee-soaked shirt didn’t hold back any sarcasm in his response. “Too bad I’m not the mayor of Coral Sands and I have no ability to fix this,” he said crossly, and she realized with a pang of extra embarrassment that he actually was the mayor.
What a thing to do the second I get back in town, she thought, and despite her embarrassment, she almost wanted to laugh.
“I can always reprint these documents,” he said gruffly, “but I spent all morning gathering signatures. Those can’t simply be written back in.
Looks like I’m going to have to start over and explain to everyone that a red-headed tourist with no spatial awareness was determined to destroy important Coral Sands documentation. ”
Her mouth popped open again, and she wanted to protest. First of all, her hair was auburn, not really red, and she wasn’t a tourist, and there was nothing wrong with her spatial awareness, she’d just been in a hurry—but then she noticed that the corners of his mouth were curving up ever-so-slightly in the ghost of a smile.
Perhaps the man had something of a sense of humor after all.
“I really am sorry I made more work for you,” she said, feeling mortified that she’d slowed down Coral Sand’s mayor.
She felt flustered and desperate to remedy the situation in any way possible.
She set down her half-empty cappuccino cup and reached into the white paper bag for her ham croissant.
“Here,” she said. “Have my sandwich. It’s the least I can do. ”
Behind her, she heard Michelle stifle a snorting laugh, and she realized how ridiculous she was being. She didn’t rescind her offer, however, and continued to hold out the sandwich toward the mayor.
He blinked at her, seeming to be unsure of what to do, and then he hesitantly took the sandwich. “Well, thank you,” he said brusquely, and turned around and left the coffee shop.
Audrey watched him go, feeling her whole body buzz with a mixture of emotions, most of which she couldn’t even identify.
“Good gracious,” she said finally. “What a disaster.”
“Do you know him?” Michelle was laughing outright, seeming to be without pity for both the coffee-soaked mayor and her humiliated mother.
Audrey shook her head, unable to keep from smiling a little herself.
The whole thing was pretty funny, she couldn’t deny it.
“I don’t know him. He must have moved to town after I left.
Unless I met him once or twice and I just don’t remember, but I don’t think so.
I feel like I’d remember everyone who lived in town back when I lived here. ”
“Well, neither of you will ever forget meeting each other today, that’s for sure,” Michelle said with a chuckle. “Come on, let’s buy you another croissant and another cappuccino.”
Audrey smiled gratefully at her daughter and they got back in line.
She sighed as they waited, feeling more ready than ever to get to her mother’s house.
A few minutes later, she had a new cappuccino and a new sandwich, and she and Michelle were stepping out of the café and back into the sunshine.
She took another deep breath of the sweet, clean air and felt a spring in her step as they started toward her mother’s mansion.
She absolutely could not wait to get there.