A Stranger in the Cove

by Rachel Brimble

  Relief steadied him, and he blew out a breath. “Then why did you go? I was hoping to talk to you.”

  “I...had an epiphany.”

  “An epiphany?”

  “About you...about us.”

  He grimaced. “And?”

  “And you need to meet me halfway with Marian and with us. I’m not the type of woman to be ordered around. I’ve told you about my ex, and I told you how much he hurt me. I won’t stand for any man talking to me the way you did earlier. Not anymore.”

  He squeezed his eyes closed as shame poured over him. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m sorry. I was in shock after speaking with Marian, and I took my confusion out on you. It won’t happen again. Getting angry...” He opened his eyes, the vulnerability he felt since the accident gripping his chest. “It’s who I’ve been since I lost Jilly, but it’s not who I am, Kate, not really.”

  His heart beat out the seconds as the silence stretched.

  Finally, she cleared her throat. “Okay then. Well, now we’ve sorted that out, we need to decide what happens next.”

  “With Marian or with us?”

  Another beat of silence.

  She sighed. “Both. But let’s start with Marian. I spoke to a friend of mine after I saw you at the bakery.”

  “The one at the bar?”

  “No. That was Izzy. This friend works for a private investigator and has picked up quite a few strategies through her work.”

  Mac sat up, dropping his feet to the floor. “I don’t need a private investigator. I’ve found my grandmother.”

  “I know you have, but just hear me out.”

  He held his head in his hand. “Go ahead.”

  “She said it’s an extremely positive sign that Marian has tried to make contact with your dad in the past, but...” She exhaled. “Because she hasn’t reached out in over ten years, once you have told her who you are, you need to respect her wishes and walk away if that’s what she wants. Quietly. I need you to promise me you’ll do that. If you won’t, I’ll call Marian right now and tell her who you are and why you’re here.”

  Mac pushed to his feet and walked to the window. Light wisps of snow fell to the ground, the cars below slowly turning white in the darkness. “I’m not going to harass her. I realize now just how big a thing it is that she looked for Dad. I’ve no right to question her reason for stopping, but I hope, one day, she’ll tell me. For now though, I just want her to know who I am, who Dad was, and then the rest will be up to her.”

  “Good, because your outburst at the bakery scared me, Mac. Marian’s happy. She’s married to one of the gentlest and loveliest men on the planet. I have no idea whether George knows about the adoption, but I do know he’ll support her once the pair of you meet.”

  “I want to do this the best way possible, and cause the minimum amount of distress to everyone.” He paced the room. “The trouble is, I’ve got no idea how.”

  “Then it’s just as well I’m here to smooth the way a little...if you still want me to, that is.”

  Relieved, Mac smiled. “I do. So, what’s your plan? I’m assuming you have one?”

  “Not as such.” She exhaled. “First, I need to be absolutely sure of something.”

  “What?”

  “That you finding Marian and speaking with her is about you gaining closure. That you have no other agenda. Not anymore.”

  He hated that she still doubted him. “My anger’s gone, Kate. So is my resentment. Jilly dying was an accident. A horrible, soul-destroying accident, but it’s time I let it...let her go...and do all I can to live the life she would’ve wanted for me.” He pushed the hair back from his face. “I think I’ve been trying to find something or someone to pull me out.”

  Her tone was soft. “Pull you out of what?”

  “Out of my loneliness.” Mac moved to the bed and sat, his chest aching and his shame heavy. “Maybe part of me even hoped if I found my dad’s mum, she might be what I needed to hang on to for a while until I feel more like the old me.”

  “Marian could be that person, you know. She really is amazing.”

  “So are you.” Heat warmed his face. “I mean, who’s to say it’s Marian and not someone else entirely that I’ve been looking for?”

  Her breathing grew just a little quicker, and Mac gripped the phone. “There’s no pressure, okay? I’m just saying I like you, Kate. You’re kind and funny, beautiful and sexy.” He huffed a laugh. “There’s very little about you not to like.”

  She chuckled. “Charmer.”

  “I’m only telling the truth. We have something. You feel it too, don’t you?” Hope rose inside him. Finally, after three lonely years, he wanted to reach out a little and explore a maybe, if not a certainty. “Kate?”

  “I’m scared, Mac. I don’t want to get hurt again, and the truth is, somehow, you’ve managed to occupy my thoughts for much of the day and night. I’m willing to try, to see what happens, but...”

  “You’re wary. Good, because so am I.”

  She exhaled. “Okay then, even playing field.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Look, let’s tackle your conversation with Marian first and then move on to us afterward? You may want to flee Templeton immediately after you speak with her. Why don’t we meet at the bakery tomorrow afternoon? We can gauge her mood, and then maybe you’ll be able to judge how, when and where you want to tell her you’re her grandson.”

  Mac closed his eyes and massaged his temple. “Okay. That’s sounds as good a start as any. Shall we say two-ish?”

  “Perfect. I’ll see you there, okay?”

  “Okay. ’Night, Kate.”

  “’Night.”

  There was a moment’s hesitation before the line went dead. Mac tossed the phone on to the bed. Tomorrow he’d move forward both in his mission and in another area, one he’d thought impossible when he came to the Cove.

  The possibility of a new relationship.

  Chapter Thirteen

  MAC CARRIED HIS cup of coffee to one of the booths in Marian’s Bonniest Bakery, but bonny was the last thing he felt. Shrugging off his rain-soaked leather jacket, he hung it over the edge of the seat and pushed his damp hair back from his face. He sat and stared through the window on to the street, searching through the gloom for Kate. Although, considering he’d arrived three-quarters of an hour earlier than their agreed-upon time, he hardly expected to see her.

  He leaned back and picked up his coffee, glancing toward Marian as she cleared cups and plates, chatting with a young couple and their little girl sitting at one of the tables. With her steel-gray curls, rosy cheeks, bright smile and almost comedically buxom bosom, it was hard not to warm to the woman. Once a person heard her voice and her laughter and witnessed her care for the community, it was darn near impossible.

  Not to mention how Kate felt about her. He couldn’t think of anyone who had Kate’s instinct about people. She’d had him pretty much spot-on within ten minutes of meeting him.

  Marian waved the couple and their daughter off before her focus landed on Mac. He quickly redirected his gaze to the window. The comforting smells of sugar and cinnamon preceded Marian to his table.

  Mac took a deep breath and turned. “Hi.”

  She beamed and put the loaded tray she carried on to his table. “Hi, yourself. Can I tempt you with something to eat with your coffee?”

  “No, thanks.”

  “I make a mean brie and cranberry panini. Great comfort food for a wet and windy day like today.”

  He lifted his coffee cup and tried to ignore the sharp pang of remembrance that jabbed at his gut as he noted the crinkles identical to his father’s at the corners of her eyes. “Coffee’s good.”

  “Mind if I sit down?” Her smile faltered, and her eyes shone with curiosity. “I didn’t feel we had time to
get properly acquainted the other day.”

  He struggled for an excuse to stop her sitting with him. He wasn’t ready for more than a casual hello. “I’m kind of waiting for someone so...”

  “So I won’t sit with you for long.” She sat and pushed the tray to the side. Leaning her forearms on the table, she clasped her hands together. “I understand from Kate that you were quite the lifesaver at her fund-raiser the other night.”

  Deciding to play dumb in the hope it would deter any questions about him and Kate, Mac frowned. “Kate?”

  She laughed, her soft brown eyes twinkling. “Harrington. You can’t kid a kidder, Mr. Orman. A man would have to be half-blind to not notice a girl like her. As it is, you appear to have two working eyes, so don’t go acting the innocent with me. I won’t buy it.”

  A smile tugged at his lips even as his gut knotted. His father had used the exact same “you can’t kid a kidder” line whenever he wanted the truth out of Mac or Dana. Mac leaned back and crossed his arms. Now alone and face-to-face with Marian, why waste the opportunity to dig a little deeper?

  “So, what do you want to know about me?” He raised his eyebrows. “I get the impression you’re fond of knowing something about everyone around here.”

  “Ah, the observant type. Do you write?”

  “What?” Mac frowned, completely thrown by her unexpected question.

  “In my experience, the observers of this world are prone to pick up a pen or play at the keyboard. So, do you write, Mr. Orman?”

  “It’s Mac.”

  She smiled. “Mac.”

  He looked away from her soft, attentive gaze. “Songs. I write songs.”

  “I knew it.” She chuckled. “A comrade-in-arms then.”

  He returned his gaze to hers. “Pardon?”

  “When I was around about your age, maybe a little older, I wrote songs. Swapped songs for a diary as I got older, but I consider myself a writer all the same. I use my diary to remember the good times. The bad times. The pain.” Her expression grew shadowed before she blinked and smiled again. “But especially the good times. That’s what is important.”

  Mac’s heart thumped as he tried and failed to not be moved by her words and the knowledge his grandmother had written out her miseries and elations through music, just as he did. He took a sip of his coffee. “I gather you had some fun and games on your holiday.”

  She laughed. “You heard about that, did you?”

  He smiled, unable to resist her homey charm. “I was in here the other day when your shop girl was chatting with you on the phone.”

  She grinned. “Ah, George’s swimming trunks.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “I laughed so hard, I nearly busted my bra strap. Oh, lordy! What an eyeful those poor holiday-makers lying around the pool would’ve had if my bikini had let me down that day.”

  Bikini? This woman wore a bikini? Mac stared, all too aware his eyes were wide.

  She slapped her hand on the table, her body shaking with her laughter. “Look at your face! Hey, I may be the wrong side of sixty, but my George likes nothing more than to see a bit of flesh. Who says we have to stop wearing bikinis at a certain age or size? No one will ever tell me what to do. Not anymore.”

  Curiosity shot through him, and Mac leaned forward. “Not anymore?”

  She stared at him, consideration clear in her eyes. “Another time, maybe.” She stood and held out her hand. “It was nice talking to you, Mr... Mac.”

  He hesitated. Skin to skin contact was dangerous. This was his father’s mother. His grandmother. Lifting his hand, he reached for hers.

  “Mac! At last. This town might be small but, my God, I thought I was never going to find you.”

  With his hand in midair, Mac turned and the breath left his lungs. “Dana? What the—”

  Marian stepped forward, her arms outstretched. “Oh, my word. And who are these adorable babies?”

  Mac watched in slow-motion horror as Marian stepped forward and clasped his five-year-old niece by the hand. “You’re as pretty as a picture. What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  The little girl beamed. “I’m Lily, and this is my little brother, Mac. The same as Uncle Mac.”

  “Well, aren’t you two the cutest pair of buttons I’ve ever seen?” She looked to Dana. “I assume these beauties belong to you?”

  Dana arched an eyebrow at Mac before planting on a smile and facing Marian. “They certainly do. These are my children. Mac’s niece and nephew.”

  “You’re his sister? Well, that’s lovely. Welcome to the Cove. How about I leave you two alone for a moment and take these two angels to choose an iced bun each?” She looked to Lily and little Mac. “Does that sound good?”

  Mac’s stomach clenched with bitter nausea. “I really don’t think Dana is staying—”

  Dana clasped his shoulder, her nails digging through his T-shirt. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”

  “Mum says yes!” Marian leaned down and expertly lifted little Mac on to one ample hip before taking Lily’s hand again. “Come on then, let’s see what I can find for you, shall we?”

  Mac stared in shock as Marian walked away with her great-grandchildren as though she was already their proud Nana who saw them every day. Slowly, he turned to look at Dana. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We need to leave. Now.”

  Dana frowned and looked from Marian and her kids standing at the glass display counter to Mac and back again. “What’s the problem? She’s great.”

  “Yeah. She’s just terrific.” Mac swiveled and pulled his jacket from the back of the booth. “We’re getting out of here. What possessed you to turn up here without warning? Why didn’t you call first?”

  Dana slid into the booth opposite him and glared. “Because I can’t believe what you’re up to, that’s why. Mum’s staying with Aunt Beverly for a few nights, so I packed up the kids and brought them here to try and talk some sense into you. You cannot keep up this futile search, Mac. It’s not fair to Mum, and it’s not fair to us.”

  He looked back at Marian, who had sat Lily and little Mac on the counter, crooning and fussing over them as if she knew they were family. Things had just gotten way out of his control.

  He faced Dana and tilted his head toward the door. “Let’s go. Now.”

  She gripped his arm. “Not until you tell me I’m not too late. That you haven’t already done something you can’t undo.”

  “Me? You’ve just managed to jump ahead at least one Christmas, if not two,” he hissed. “Why here, Dana? Why the hell did you have to find me here?”

  She frowned. “What are you talking about? I got off the train, the kids were hungry, and when I spotted this bakery—”

  “Did you spot the name of this bakery?”

  “No. Why?”

  He swiped a printed napkin from the metal holder beside him and slapped it in front of Dana. “There.”

  She dropped her gaze to the napkin. Slowly, her eyes widened. “Marian? As in Marian Ball?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Oh, my God.” She turned around and stared at Marian, currently stabbing straws into the lids of two cartons of juice. “That’s her? That’s our grandmother?”

  Mac blew out a breath. “Yes. Now can we leave?” He stood and swept from the booth. As he strode toward the counter, he forced a smile and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He addressed Marian’s turned back. “Um, we’re leaving. Could you tell me how much my bill is, please?”

  Marian turned, her eyes shining with happiness. “So soon? Your sister only just arrived. Why not take your time? I can make you a sandwich, or I have cake or pies. I bet a man like you loves a good steak and ale pie.”

  “Sorry. Things to do. Places to be. If I had my way my sister wouldn’t be here.”
r />   “Is that so?”

  “Yes.”

  “I see. Well, I hope to see you in here again sometime soon. Be even nicer if you saw to it that a certain Miss Harrington accompanied you next time. Don’t you think?”

  Mac froze. Kate. How could he have forgotten? “Um, if Kate arrives, can you tell her something came up and I had to leave?”

  Marian beamed. “So you were waiting for Kate? Not your sister? Well, that is good news.”

  “Uh-huh. The bill?”

  “I’m sure Kate would love to meet your family.”

  “Maybe, but if I’ve got anything to do with it, my sister will be on the next train out of here”

  She let her gaze roam languidly over his face. “It’s on me this time.” She lifted Lily and then little Mac from the counter. The moment they were on solid ground, they raced to Dana, holding their treats. “You know something, Mac? You really need to work on that attitude of yours. Family’s important. Family should be cherished. Not disregarded, nor taken for granted. Not ever.”

  She brushed past him, and Mac swallowed back his retort. Family? What did Marian Ball know about the meaning of family? Hackles raised, and fear his very shaky plan to speak with Marian on his own terms could be upended by Dana’s arrival, he slapped a ten-pound note on the counter. “Keep the change.”

  Turning, he held out his hand to Lily as he reached the table where Dana and the kids waited. “Let’s go.”

  * * *

  KATE PUSHED OPEN the door of the bakery and shook off her umbrella before stepping inside. She put her umbrella in the stand by the door and glanced around as she unbuttoned her coat. She frowned. She was running a little late, sure, but fifteen minutes past their agreed time and he’d already left?

  She walked to the counter. Maybe he was running late, too.

  “Hi, Marian.” She smiled at the older woman. “Could I get a latte?”

  “Sure.”

  Kate slid some coins on to the counter and looked around the bakery again. Nope, he definitely wasn’t here.

  “If you’re looking for Mac, he bolted.”

  “What?”