by Garcia, Rita
“She dropped by the bookshop several days ago. Wanted to inform me that she and Logan are a couple.”
“Not true. She and my brother are not together and never have been. This isn’t the first time she’s fabricated these stories.”
I felt her eyes on me. I turned. Lilyan gave me one final look and left through the side door. “Be right back.” I hurried out the same exit. “Lilyan, do you have a minute?” With a few short strides, I closed the gap between us. Goldie moved closer to me.
“I’ve already tried talking to you. But you’re determined. I know what’s going on.” She shook her finger in my face.
I clutched the packet of quilting instructions against my chest. “What do you think I’m doing?”
“You’re all chummy with Maggie so you can steal Logan.” Her brown eyes bore into me with enmity.
“I told you, I’m here to settle Anne’s estate.” Despite the urge to be rude, I tried to calm my tone, but not being able to hear my voice, I wasn’t sure I had succeeded. “Logan claims the two of you have never dated.”
“I know all about Anne—you’re exactly like her. These are my friends and you need to back off.” Her flushed face, along with her defiant stance, exuded anger.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and out of habit I turned. Maggie stood next to me. I pivoted back around as Lilyan sprinted away.
“Bizarre.” Maggie scanned the sidewalk until Lilyan turned the corner. “Ready? I need to get back to the shop. Linda leaves soon.”
We followed the walkway leading to the parking lot, not making it very far before two people approached us from the opposite direction.
Maggie waved as we met up with them. She motioned toward me. “I’d like you to meet Samantha Forrester. Samantha is Anne’s daughter. Sam, this is Pastor Jim Williamson, the shepherd here at Serenity Cove Community Church.”
Pastor Jim grasped my hand. “Well hello, Samantha. We’d be honored if you’d join us for services while you’re here.”
“Thank you, I look forward to it.”
Maggie placed her fingertips on my arm. “This is Dr. Ellie Clarimonde. Dr. Ellie is a counselor here at the church.”
Dr. Ellie clasped my hand, sandwiching it between hers. “I’m sorry for your loss. If I can help, please let me know.”
“I’m fine, but thank you.”
“See you on Sunday.” I’m sure Maggie had said more—I hadn’t caught it. Lilyan’s words taunted me as I tried to shake off what had happened. We continued on our way and stepped down to the asphalt parking lot. We stopped. Maggie’s car tilted to one side.
“Two flat tires? Really? I don’t believe this.” She grabbed her cell phone from her bag.
I had the feeling of being watched, and when I turned someone ducked behind the wall to the main entrance. I caught a glimpse of a cap, which made me rule out Lilyan as she hadn’t been wearing one earlier. I guess she could have put one on, but it didn’t look like her. Goldie inched in front of me and pressed against my knees.
“Maggie, someone was spying on us.” I pointed toward the front edge of the building.
“Are you sure?” Maggie’s eyes scanned the length of the property.
“Positive.”
“Good thing Logan’s on his way.”
One neat thing about a small town—twenty minutes will take you from one end to the other. Logan sped into the lot less than five minutes later.
“How does someone get two flat tires at once?” He walked around the car to check out the deflated tires.
“I don’t know, maybe I thought it would add some excitement to the day.” Maggie raised her eyebrows and shot him look.
“Doesn’t matter. Arnold’s on his way with a tow truck. Take my wheels and I’ll catch a ride with Arnold.”
“Thanks for the rescue.” Maggie held out her hand. “Keys?”
“In the ignition.” He glanced at me. “Hey, Sam, you doing okay?”
“I am.”
Logan reached down to greet Goldie and pulled his hand back. “She has her vest on.” Goldie stayed right next to me, but she looked at Logan wildly wagging her tail.
Logan smiled at Goldie and reached for me. “Let me help you get up into this cab.” His hands went out around my waist and applied a slight pressure. It seemed he meant to pick me up and place me in that passenger seat.
“Seriously? You really think so?”
His face reddened. “Why don’t I give you my arm?” He helped me onto the seat. For some ridiculous reason, we both began laughing. “See you later.” He shook his head as he closed the door.
Maggie rolled her eyes, and maneuvered out of the lot. “You and my brother.”
“What?” I tried to look baffled. If I’d been checking off attributes I wanted in a man, each item would have a huge check next to it. Logan had a kind nature and not only with people. The way he treated Goldie spoke volumes—at least it did to me. The person Maggie called when she needed someone, a huge point in his favor. He exuded warmth. And looks—he would’ve rated an exclamation point or three. I tried to suppress my smile and glanced at Maggie.
“Oh, I think you do know what I’m talking about. The dance has begun.” She parked in front of her shop.
“Send me a text when you’re ready to go home.” I waved bye and headed to the bookshop. Goldie and I passed Julia’s house. Her home separated Magnolia Antiques and the Sea Glass Bookshop. The bookstore had been divided and Julia rented the smaller portion for her coffee and pastry creations. Many of the shops on Main Street displayed benches out front. Red hibiscus shaded it all and created perfect places to sit on summer days. These plants, bold and bursting with color, were plentiful throughout Serenity Cove. Maybe hibiscus was the town’s official flower. I plucked a scarlet bloom and stuck it in the ribbon of my straw hat before going inside the bookshop. I flipped the switch, illuminating the overhead fluorescent lamps, and reminded myself of my mission to find answers.
The letters remained on Anne’s desk where I’d left them. Unwilling to revisit the deception and lies, I shoved them aside. With a move of the mouse, the computer came alive. Two new emails waited. I quickly scanned them both, and neither contained good news. At home, Allan Clifford, one of the board members for the school, would have called me through my videophone and we would have signed to each other. In this case, I preferred the email.
Doors were closing behind me, and even if my aunt welcomed me back to Stone Valley, I may no longer have a life there. I could fall in love with Serenity Cove, but the town scarcely mattered unless I solved the mystery of me. Miss Emmy taught me that when God slams a door, a window is sure to open. She also used to say, “Breathe out the negative and inhale His hope.” Where’s the window, God? Where’s the hope?
Chapter Five
In the passenger seat of Arnold’s tow truck, I buckled up and gripped the handle. How many speeding tickets did this guy have? “Any ideas on two tires going flat?”
Arnold lifted and adjusted the greasy cap covering his balding head. “We’ll know soon enough, once we get to the garage and pull ’em off. Could be Maggie drove near a construction site and picked up nails. Lots of building going on in Serenity Cove these days.” He swerved into his auto repair shop about a half-mile from the shops on Main Street. We exited the truck and met in the back where the red convertible sat on the flatbed of the tow truck.
I stepped back as Arnold unhooked one of the chains from Maggie’s car. “I’m going to Jake’s while you check out the tires.”
“Won’t take long. Bring me a sandwich?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten-dollar bill folded in half.
I waved away his money. “Appreciate your help.”
I trekked the half-mile to Jake’s, and returned as Arnold lowered the hoist with Maggie’s car. I put the bag from Jake’s on his workbench.
Arnold rubbed his greasy sleeve across his forehead. “Not a thing wrong with the tires. Someone must’ve let the air out.”
“Stra
nge.”
“It doesn’t take long to take the cap off and depress the stem with a key or something, a minute or two at the most. Only enough air was let out so the tires were too flat to drive on.”
“Sounds like mischievous teens.” I tugged my wallet from my pocket. “How much?”
He pointed at the bag from Jake’s. “Call it even—keys in it.”
“Good deal. Take care.” Compared with my truck, Maggie’s car was small and cramped. It mystified me why she preferred driving the thing. I waited for the cars to clear and swung onto Shoreview Drive.
The coastal road had recently begun experiencing rush-hour traffic. The growth of our town was changing the norm in many ways. With all of the new construction going on, it would soon be necessary to add to the police force. I pulled onto Maggie’s herringbone-patterned driveway.
We ate in the gazebo-covered patio built a ways from the house, near the sea. My grandfather had built it for my grandmother—her quiet place.
“What happened with the tires?” Maggie forked a bite of food into her mouth and waited.
“My guess is some kids let the air out.”
Sam shot me a quizzical look. “That’s a rotten thing to do.”
My gaze rested on Sam. Her smile. Her eyes. She tucked strands of hair behind her ear—why did women do those things? My heart rate responded.
“I have an hour. Enough time to walk off some of this food—the three of you in?” I winked in Goldie’s direction and smiled at Sam.
“Great idea.” Samantha reached down and removed Goldie’s vest.
Maggie rested her elbows on the table. “Think I’ll sit here and make a few calls. I need to let Gina know her table arrived today. It’s a French marble top guéridon—the claw-feet are amazing.”
“It sounds awesome.” Sam stacked a couple of plates.
“Gina’s going to use it in her florist shop—imagine sitting around it with a bride and groom ordering wedding flowers.” Maggie motioned her away. “Go on your walk—we can talk antiques later.”
Sam and I strolled toward the beach, laughing as Goldie repeatedly tried to snap bugs from the air. We lounged on a driftwood log. Sandpipers ran along the tide, poking their slender bills into the sand, searching for dinner.
I shifted toward Sam. “You had an eventful day.”
“I enjoyed the morning—the rest of the day not so much.” She checked on Goldie and I waited for her to face me.
“Want to talk about it?” I readjusted my backside on the bumpy log.
“At the quilting class, Lilyan was watching me. Next—”
“Watching you?”
She shrugged. “Nothing really happened.”
“What else?” I’d been dealing with Lilyan’s antics since junior high school. I’d never known her to be anything other than a harmless crazy maker—if only she’d find a different object of her obsessive behavior. Many considered her a lovely person. She often volunteered to help with the town’s charity events, especially at Christmas.
“I received two emails this afternoon. Taylor Jones postponed our meeting—again. I expected to be back in Stone Valley by now. At this rate, it may take all summer. The next message informed me it doesn’t matter how long I need to be here.” She stared at the sea for a moment, then turned back to me.
“You lost me. What made it not matter?” The scent of her perfume washed over me, like the waves cresting and flowing on the shore. I willed the sledgehammer that had replaced my heart to slow down—it didn’t.
“The funding source for the school didn’t come through.”
“I’m sorry. What will happen with the students?”
“It’s heartbreaking. Besides working on their sign language and academic skills, the staff works hard to build their self-esteem. We want them to see themselves as not being able to hear—not as being disabled.” She paused with a heavy sigh. “This one child, Tucker, was so sad and introverted when he came to us. Now he’s signing and interacting with the other children. I’m worried where he’ll end up. I texted his mom, but I haven’t heard back from her.” She wrapped her arms across her chest and I noticed a shiver.
I draped my jacket across her shoulders and allowed my arm to linger there. “Maybe the school’s funding problems need more publicity—someone should step forward.”
“It’s much more—I started the school. In Stone Valley, our deaf school and blind school threaten to close almost every year. For some of the deaf children, their hearing parents never bothered to learn sign language and the children can’t lip-read much, especially the younger ones. So the deaf school is the only place in the world they can communicate freely in their own language, be around people like them, and interact with adult deaf role models.”
“I had no idea.” I hated the hopelessness her eyes held.
“If I had access to my parents’ trust, I could help the school until we found additional funding. My father formed a family trust naming my aunt as the successor trustee.”
“Your parents didn’t make provisions for the trust to be transferred to you at some point?”
“Not according to my parents’ attorneys.” She pulled the jacket tighter, as though it would protect her from more than the cold.
“Did your father help with the initial investment to start the school?”
“It’s non-profit and once we organized the board of trustees, we used a professional group to help obtain the needed funding.” The provocative way she ran her fingers through her hair made it difficult to concentrate on her words. “Don’t misunderstand. My life in Stone Valley was good. I’m the one who’s changed. When I finish here, I need to go home and try to piece the fragments of my life back together.”
I looked into her eyes. The fullness of her lips sent an invitation. I inched closer with a need to taste her smile, but pulled away. It would only add to the complications in her life—and probably mine, too.
We began walking back toward the house, with her hand molded into mine. The faraway gaze in her eyes gave the impression she’d retreated into her world of silence—and I couldn’t hear anything over the hammer in my chest.
Sam was only passing through. Maggie wasn’t off the mark about not moving too fast—a little distance would be good. I liked my life and had no desire to complicate it with a woman.
Chapter Six
In the stillness of dawn, I love to imagine the birds singing their morning aria of joy. I’m flirting with make-believe—a relationship with Logan is not possible. The last thing he needs in his life is someone broken and damaged. And a life that turned out to be a mere façade, fronting deception and lies. ~ Journal entry
The celery-green kitchen walls complemented the light cream cupboards and added a touch of elegance to the natural cherry wood flooring.
Maggie, still in her vintage nightgown, set out apple-filled Danishes, left over from the previous day. “If you’re going into town this morning, I’m leaving a little earlier than usual.” She glanced across the table.
I sucked in a deep breath and tried to exude a confidence I didn’t possess. Maggie’s home had become a safe haven for me. “I’m going to drive myself this morning.” I waited for her to lodge a complaint.
“Sure you aren’t rushing things?”
“I’ve been here much longer than I intended, and I’m pretty certain you never expected having a houseguest for almost a month.” I’d come to adore Maggie in the few weeks I’d known her.
Concern flashed on her face. “Did something happen? Did I say or do anything to make you feel unwelcome?”
“Not at all. You’re wonderful. If I make use of Anne’s apartment, I can finish settling the estate more quickly. I intend to sell the bookshop, once the infamous Taylor Jones makes an appearance.”
“Life moves at a reduced pace in a small town.” She covered my hand with hers. “If you find living in town uncomfortable, you always have a home right here.”
“Believe me, I could stay right here and
be content.”
“I’ve enjoyed your company, too.” She folded and unfolded the edge of the placemat on the table. “You’ll love Anne’s place. I better get a move on—the shop won’t open itself.” At the mention of her friend’s home, sadness filled her eyes. People seemed to think I should be grieving, but my hurt was for something I never had, but now wanted in the worst way. I wanted to know Anne. I wanted to feel the loss. I wanted to grieve for my birth mother.
“Ready for a walk, baby?” My furry friend romped across the lawn, while I soaked in the view. A big part of me wanted to stay.
Goldie ran toward the house where Maggie stood in the opening of the back door. She waved to me. “Gotta run.”
I jogged over and hugged her. “Thanks, Maggie—thanks for everything.”
“See you in town.” She returned my hug and pulled her cloth bag to her shoulder. Inside, I peered out the window as she left. There should definitely be more Maggies in life—the world would be a softer and warmer place.
I forced myself from the window and showered, and stuffed my suitcases into the back of the SUV. “Hop in.” I held the passenger door open for Goldie and we were soon traveling toward Main Street. Within a few minutes, I turned into the alley behind the bookshop. “Okay, girl. Let’s go see our new living space.”
The tearful goodbye with Maggie dimmed in comparison to an unexpected avalanche of emotions as I hesitated at the white enameled door. I’d avoided coming up here and now I understood why. The other side possessed the heart of Anne’s private world—the closest I would ever come to meeting my birth mother in person. Like the Cowardly Lion, I searched for courage.
Anticipation moistened my eyes. I twisted the knob and crossed the threshold. Charm and warmth lay beneath layers of dust, whispering murmurs of love. The room sent an invitation to sink into the sofa in front of a fire, and chat with your best friend for hours.
I ached to know more about her, this woman who’d given birth to me. Why had she given me away? I saw so much of myself in the home she’d created. How was it possible?
