Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (14 page)

I slid into a booth and looked out the window at the
bookshop—g
lad to see the windows had been cleaned
.
Other than a few shoppers who
seem
ed
curious why the
bookshop was closed, nothing looked
out of the ordinary. I fini
shed my dinner—still a
little
early
for
my shift
, but a head start couldn’t hurt
.

A
gainst
department policy, I
use
d
my
truck to make my routine rounds. I
t wouldn’t stand out like the
b
l
ack and whites. I made a
couple of drives through Main Street between cruising my normal path. No luck.

The sun had set hours earlier and
the shops
we
re closed
by the time I made a turn
onto
Main Street
to check out the shops one final time
before the end of my shift
. About mid
way down
,
the
bookshop
caught in the beam
of my headlights—I came
to a screeching halt
.

Chapter Eight

Anne’s
apartment
feels like home. W
hy
?
Can a mother
who carried me
under the rhythm of her heartbeat
be considered
a
stranger?
Had w
e bonded during her pregnancy
with a
link
adoption couldn’t sever
?
Lord, help me
be
lieve what Miss Emmy
taught
me
. God’s love n
ever fails.
I don’t believe
God
’s
responsible for
the
deceptions of others,
but
where
does
He fit in
to
the overall plan
?
All I feel is His silence.
~ Journal entry

The polished room held
a glow
marred only by the dusty
bookcase.
With a
final
swallow o
f my
tea
,
I
grabbed a
cloth and began working
on the top shelf
,
resisting the urge to peruse each book.
I swiped the
rag
across the cover of a collection of
poems by Robert Frost.
I flipped it to dust th
e spine
,
and
a
bright
pink
envelope floated to my feet—m
y name
scrolled across the face of it
.
Curious
,
I folded back the flap and removed the card.
Happy
Sweet S
ixteenth
sparkled
in silver
underneath a pink
ribbon
.
I sat on the edge o
f the sofa and opened the card.

My darling daughter,
I’
ve never been able to think of you any other way. You turn
ed sixteen today and
I can only imagine how
lovely
you are. Have you gone
to
your first dance? Have you worn
lipstick for
the first time? Have you learned
to drive? So many firsts are still ahead of you. Next year
,
you’ll be a senior in high sch
ool. It doesn’t seem possible. In t
he last
letter and
picture I received
,
you were two
years old
. I can’t mail this card
, but
I had to
commemorate t
his special year. I
think
about you
every single day, and
whisper a prayer
for you. All my l
ove
forever
, Mom

An intense
s
adness flowed through me
, that I had missed the chance to know
this person who’d given birth to me.
My c
ell phon
e vibrated in my pocket
.
I was thankful texting was my form of communication—I couldn’t have spoken over the lump in my throat. Logan’s name read out
,
along with his message.
“
Need to talk. I’m out front
.”
I gulped a deep breath
—this couldn’t be good.

Melancholy
lingered as I rushed
outside
.
I squinted against the glare of the headlights from his truck.

He
motioned
toward
the windows.
You’re not wanted here. Leave NOW.
S
landerous
remarks
shouted
from the glass
. I jumped the fast track back to reality.
“Okay, this is
starting to
scare
me.” I fold
ed
my arms across my c
he
st. “Maybe I should
just
go home.”

He place
d
a
hand on each of my shoulders and looked into my
face
. “You don’t need to ru
n
.
I’ll find this
jerk and put a stop
to
it
.
”
He paused
.
“
We should
talk
.”

W
hat more could he
possibly have to tell me
?
“
Come
upstairs
.”

I brought another cup from the kitchen and poured us a
both a
cup of the chamomile tea from earlier.
I scooped Anne’s
card off the couch and pushed
it
into my pocket
,
inviting him to have a seat.

“
There’s something you don’t
know.”
He
studied
the
delicate
cup
lost in his
man-sized
hands.

My brain wanted to shut d
own and refuse to listen, but
I had to know.
“Okay…
”

“
Anne
grew up here in
Serenity
Cove.”

“She lived here when she got p
regnant?
I assumed she’d given me
away and moved somepl
ace new
.
”

“
T
here’s more
.
” Logan ran a hand over his jaw, fingers grazing his lips as if wishing he could keep the information locked inside.
“
Anne’s parents still live here.
”

“
I have grandparents
here in
Serenity
Cove?
Why—
”
My sudden intake of air stole my words. I had family? Ne
arby? My heart raced
.
“Do you think it has any
thing to do with
the
vandalism?”

“No. They’re both over eighty
.”
Logan winced. “
Sam—t
hey refuse to see you.
”

My thoughts spun
. Would
this nightmare never end?
How could this be true?
“
I have
to
change their minds. With Anne gone, I’m the only grandchild they’ll ever
have.
”

He reached out and drew me close to him.
My traitorous heart wanted to connect with his.
If only
.
I
want
ed
to remain protected in the strength of his
arms
.
But right now
I had to find
c
ourage within myself
.
“I need t
o absorb all of this—the windows and
now
suddenly
finding out
I have grandparents
.” I pulled a key from my pocket and handed it to him. “Lock the front door of the shop as you leave. Tak
e the key with you so if
there are
any more problems you can get back inside. I don’t want to end up lock
ed
inside with a madman.”

“
I
’ll sack out
on the couch. I won’t
leave y
ou alone with some lunatic
on the lo
o
se.”

“I have Goldie and—
”

“Not doable.
Leaving you unaided and unprotected
isn’t an option.
”

“Don’t you have to be on duty?
”

“
Alec
has it covered
.
”

“Y
ou
do
n’t need to sleep on the sofa. T
h
ere’s another bedroom. I guess
you’re going to insist on going
with me to take Goldie out
?
”

My furry friend skipped ahead of us
down the stairs
and tapped her paw against the door
.
Outside
,
my eyes wandered across t
he star
-
swept sky.
Logan’s touch interrupted my thoughts. I looked up at him.
“
Alec is driving my truck to the station. D
on’t want you to
worry about
the
gossip hour in the morning.
”

“You’
re robbing them of gossip fodder—I
’m already the
ir
favorite
hot
t
opic
.”

A
refreshing smile
settled on his face.
“They’re never short on tales to carry.”

Goldie finished her nighttime rounds an
d
ran
up the
stairs
in front of us
. “S
ee you in the morning.” I sc
urried down the hall
before he had a chance to suggest a movie or a late snack
.
I trusted him—I wasn’t so sure about me.

I fixed Goldie a spot at the
foot of the bed
, a
lthough she
always ended up
snuggled in
beside me. I
tucked into bed,
reached for the
tiny
knob and quieted the light
, glad
Logan
had stayed—I felt
safe
.
I thought about our earlier conversation,
and
fell asleep wondering why my grandparents had chosen to
reject m
e. T
hey’d never even met me
.
Much too soon
,
sunlight slanted through the window
.
I’m sure
the bir
ds
were singing
their
morning melodies, like the on
es I recalled from my childhood
.

I wanted to snuggle in for another few minutes, but t
he smell of coffe
e reminded me Logan had spent the night.
I pulled
my robe around me
and
followed the desire of my heart—a cup of coffee
.
A
man in my kitchen—I
could
get used to this.
Transfixed by his
tousled
dark hai
r.
I need
ed
coffee
,
now.
My pulse beat double
-
time to a jazzy
tempo
.