Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (21 page)

“I f
inally found a place to indulge
in
latte
bliss
.”
The air floated through my lungs at a normal pace
, for the first time since my encounter
with Lilyan
, and her gun
.

Maggie
flipped a stray curl over her shoulder
.
“Did you know
Julia
does the baking for the
i
nn
?
”

“Really? That lady
work
s serious
magic with pastries.
”
Concern still lingered in Maggie’s expression.
“
Maggie, thank you for your
friendship. You’ve been
my lifeline in
Serenity
Cove.”

Maggie pu
lled her plate closer and toyed
with
her
breakfast.
“
Y
ou’re like your mom
, easy to love.
”

My mom?
I was still working on the birth
mother concept.
Q
uestions
circled
my thoughts
, much like
a pinwheel twirling
in the wind
. “Maggie, you and
Anne
were good friends. Y
ou grew up here
,
in the co
ve.
So
you
know
Anne
’s parents?
”

“
Anne
, The
lma
,
and my mother
grew up together. From the stories I’ve heard,
the three of them were best friends.
Anne and I became close during my mother’s illness. I was
only
fourteen
,
and
about to lose my mom to cancer
.
Anne
was there for me.
She l
ist
ened to me. She a
ccepted my anger
. She h
eld me when I cried
.
”

“
L
osing your m
other so young, I can’t even imagine
.”

“T
he hardest
experience
of my life.
”
Sh
e sat silent for a moment
,
apparently
trying to
compose herself.
“Sorry, I got side
tracked.
I knew Anne. H
er
parents—not so much—
enough to
say hello if I saw them in town. I can’t recall ever having
a conversation with
either of
them.
” Maggie paused while the waiter cleared our table and brought fresh lattes. “
When we were younger,
Logan
and I often went to the
Sea Glass
for story
time.
And, oh, how
the
characters
leap
ed
off the page. Anne
kept us mesmerized
. She
gave
each
character a
unique voice,
adding movements and expressions
.
”

People kept painting a picture
of an extraordinary person
. More than outward beauty, they portrayed an inward b
e
auty and grace
. It wasn’t the portrait I’d prepared myself to find.
“
So you and Anne remained friends through the years
?
”

“
After college
,
I
returned to
Serenity
Cove
. When I visited
Main Street
,
I saw a
realtor’s
sign in the window of the a
ntique
s
shop
.
I
had always loved the antiques I’d grown up
around. So t
he opportunity was
like a chance to grab a dream—one I
didn’t even know I had
.”

“So
with both of you being shop
owners, you became close?”

She nodded.
“
Early mornings
,
we
often
c
hatted over tea
.
At the start of the summer season, w
e’d
discuss our
shop
window
s
.
We wanted
to
keep the displays
fresh and
new for the
seasonal
visitors.
In the pr
ocess
,
we became best friends.”
Maggie
eyes held a far away look, as though
lost in
nostalgic memories
.

“Did you see her parents much
after you opened the shop?”
I tasted the foam on
top of the warm mug
.

“
Not much
.
” Creases formed on her brow.
“
Anne
told
me
,
John
wou
ld drop her mom
off to visit her
,
while he went to
see Phil
at the barbershop. After getting his hair cut
,
he’d have
a sandwich at
Rubi’s
.
John never set
foot inside her shop.
” She hesitated a long moment
.
“
John
wasn’
t an easy person.
Anne
shared with me how she
’d
trie
d to talk w
ith him about you. He
t
old her to leave the past
where it belonged. U
sed clichés like
‘water under the bridge.’
Anne
said he’d had
difficult
y
looking at her when they w
ere together.” She reached
and touched
my hand. “Don’t be disheartened. T
ime has a way of softening people—even
mulish
old men.”

I was
n’t at all convinced
.
I fought back tears.
“Is
there
a chance I might run into them
,
here in town?”

“I doubt it
. Since
Elizabeth’s stroke
,
they don’t
often
come in
to town
, if at all. I stood near Elizabeth during
Anne
’s service and my heart
went out to her.
John
stood t
here with tears streaming—never
uttered
a word to anyone. My
guess is he found regret
to be a grueling opponent.”

Did
my grandfather
consider
me
an adversary
?
Maggie glanced
at her
cell phone
, which was how I normally checked the time.
“I’ve kept you too long with too many questions.”

“Not at all
. My assistant
open
ed
the
shop. But
I have a shipment
coming in around noon, so we should get going soon.
”

We waved
to Abby and retrieved Mag
gie’s car. The day was
filled with
crisp sunshine—the kind of day to take a book and
sit on the shore
. Exactly what I wanted to do, get lost in the pages of a story.

Logan had sent
a
text saying the locks were changed and the ke
ys were at Maggie’s shop. Again
,
he
had come to my rescue. When Maggi
e and I returned, I
retrieved them
and headed to the bookshop.

Panic halted my breathing
as I
inserted the key into the lock.
Goldie’s calmness
en
courage
d me
to go on up
.
Inside, a
ir hissed from my lungs as I
leaned against
the closed
door
,
preparing myself
for the havoc
Lilyan
had
unleashed on the apartment
.
Lord,
I need peace.

Geared to expect disaster,
I shuffled down the hall—m
y feet
feeling
heavier with each step
.
I f
orced myself to go in
.
My eyes roamed the room
taking a moment
,
like going into a theater and waiting for your eyes to
adapt
to the darkness
.
The unbelievable
made me smile.
T
he room
was
restored and orderly
. T
here could
only
be
one person responsible.
No wonder
my heart kept
reaching out for his.

I
s
ent Logan
a text.
“
Thank you isn’t enough
.” I
refrained from
say
ing
you make my heart soar on wings of delight.
That deceptive
foe uncertainty
made
way
too many decisions for me
.
Maybe, the
time
had arrived to
ventu
re into some
uncharted
waters?
I
t deser
ved more than fleeting consideration
.

Chapter Fifteen

Do I dare to dream?
Logan
keeps
coming to my rescue,
not because someone paid him, but because he cho
o
se
s to—because he cares
.
My heart called it love—could it
be
?
What is this word love that
encompass
es
so many facets
of depth and emotions?
~ Journal e
ntry

I place
d
the baskets
I’d
filled
with Anne’s
personal papers on a table in the supply room and took Goldi
e outside.
When
I felt a hand
on
my shoulder
,
I
flinched
and
stumbled
back
ward
, still edgy from my encounter with Lilyan.

Maggie
reached out and steadied me
.
“
I’m
sorry
.”

“It’s been an eventful morning
. My insides are settling down
—unless some
o
n
e sneaks
up
behind me.”
To
uching her arm
,
I laughed to put her at ease
.

S
he apologized again before sharing her real reason for coming over.
“
Logan
called.
H
e sent you
a text, but you didn’t respond?
”

I felt my pockets
and came up empty
-
handed
.
“
Oops,
my phone
’s
upstairs.
”