Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (4 page)

“Will do.
” She
made eye contact. “Logan says you need a place to stay for a few days.”

Evelyn finished making notations on my chart and flipped it closed. “I’ll be back in few. If you need anything let me know.”

It took a minute after Evelyn left the room
before I could string
together words in response to Maggie’s suggestion
. I had
n’t made the connection when Logan told me his name
, b
ut
Maggie had been
mentioned in several of the
emails I
’d received from Anne Makenna,
m
y birth mother.
My head felt
swim
m
y—f
rom the concussion or confusion
,
I wasn’t sure.

According to Anne
,
Maggie’s family
was
a part of
the
history here, with ancestors who pla
yed a role in
Serenity
Cove becoming
what it is today. How would they react when they le
arned I was Anne’s
daughter?
By a
force of will
,
I focused my attenti
on back to Maggie
to quiet the words churning
in my head. “I don’t want to impos
e
.
I’m fine right here.”

“
No imposition—w
e’re going
to be great friends. You’re as
pretty and sweet as Logan said.” She unfolded the garments. “I’ll
go
chat with Thelma while you g
et dressed
.”
I nodded and
she was gone as quickly as she ha
d arrived.

So
,
Logan thought
I was
pretty and sweet.
Strange—
I felt God’s peace
.
S
ure
hoped
it was His peace
an
d not a free pass to go direct
to disaster.

The check
out process went more quickly than I could have anticipated. I love
these small towns. S
oon
after, we cruised
along a stretch of coastal road
,
which according to the sign was called Shoreview Drive
. Maggie
suddenly
pulled onto the shoulder
of the road and pu
shed a button
,
allowing the
canvas top on her red co
nvertible
to disappear into the trunk
.
With the top down
,
the scenery was even more serene and inviting.

I
check
ed
on Goldie
in the back seat
,
though I knew she would never jump from an open car. J
udging by the look
on her little canine face, she
was enjoying
the wind whipping
through the car as much as I was. T
he
bright sun sparkling on the crystal-capped waves
caught my attention
.
I whispered a silent thankfulness
,
though
a
pprehension still
nagged
my insides
. How would the next few hours unfold?

Ma
ggie touched my
arm
, gesturing
to a house facing
the sea
.
T
he wind blew
her copper
y
curls
forward
,
making
it difficult to catch her words
. S
he tucked
her hair behind her ear
. “There’s home. See the Victoria
n lady?” She pointed
. “She’s graced that hill for many years. Chris
tened
Lady in White
by my great-
grandmother
.
”

The house
overlooking the
water
seemed
surreal,
like
a beautiful p
ainting of an era that had relinquished its crown
to make way for the new, modern
and contemporary. Enchantment captured my breath
,
as though
we’d time-
traveled
to the past. Living in a place
like the
L
ady
in White
was
the stuff of dreams
, at least my dreams.

Maggie gently took the car over the skirt of a
brick
driveway—t
he craftsmanship of the herringbone pattern was a sight in itself.
The front of the house faced the vast azure water a
s if
paying homage to
the sea. I
followed Maggie
up
to the wrap-around porch. The
opened screen
revealed a
decorative door
with
a
beveled
glass insert
. Inside
,
cream silk swags adorned paned
windows
.
“Maggie
,
I
’m in awe.”

De
light glow
ed on her face. “My great-
grandparents on my mother’s side built this
house. Logan lives in
our
pater
nal great-
grandparents
’
home—w
her
e
we lived growing up
. He gave me t
he choice between the two
, and I chose this one. Each day when I come home
,
it welcomes me with
warmth
.”

“T
he other
one can
’t
compare
with
this one
.”
My eyes roamed over every surface
,
taking
in the details.

“I
t’s a magnificent Queen Anne home,
with chandeliers an
d a winding staircase—it’s grand
. I love it, too. But similar to having
two suitors—t
his
one won my heart.” T
wo lines
hastened
between her
brows
. “I promised Doc to make sure you didn’t exert yourself. And here I am droning on and
on. You feel up to having
a cuppa on the front porch?”

“Cuppa?
”

“Short for a
cup of tea
.”
Her contagious smile reached her eyes.

Tempted to pinch myself,
I laughed. “
Teatime on the front porch of this splendid h
ouse? H
eaven
ly
.
” Merriment filled Maggie’s face—I
wanted
to
hear her
soft laughter.
V
ibrations
from an earlier era filled my imagination. Pictures formed in
my mind of a family
gathered around the dinner table
within these welcoming walls
. Exactly what I longed for—a hu
sband and children
chatting about all that had transpired in their day. Maggie’s hand on my ar
m brought
me back to my
reality.

“Make
yourself comfortable
, while I conjure up some
refreshments.” Enamored with
the
charm of the interior, I thought
to follow her to the kitchen
to see more
, except the pain screamed
go sit
, letting me know it was time for more pain meds. I pressed a hand
aga
inst the tape covering my ribs
and
retraced my steps across the dark cherry wood floor.

A fabric sampler graced the
wall near the front hall. Floss
,
faded by time
,
spelled out the Lord’s Prayer in elegant stitches. Thanks to
my nanny,
Miss Emmy
,
I had learned the prayer early in my childhood. Every Sunday morn
i
ng
,
she helped me pick out a dress and added ribbons to my hair
. After my
Sunday school c
lass ended, she would tuck me right next to her as we listened to the sermon in the main chap
el. We’d stayed in to
uch, but hadn’t seen each other
for
several years. A longing
whispered
through me. With a sigh
,
I pushed on the screen door and
strolled
outside.

A soft spring afternoon, the kind
that embraced the coming season
,
set th
e porch aglow. Two
c
hairs with a table between
looke
d like the perfect place for
a
cuppa
.
I smiled at
the new word, carefully easing
myself
onto one of the
white wicker
chairs.

From what Anne had written in her emails
,
she cherished Maggie’s friendship,
and now
I understood why.
Lord, I don’t want to disappoint Maggie and Logan.
Goldie
, who had been taking a break on the warm planks of wood,
nudged me
. I
offere
d to help Maggie
with the tray, although getting up again wasn’t going to be easy
.

“
I got it—you stay right there
.
”
S
he breezed over to the
t
able
, like fresh air sweeping across the waves
. “I picked up
pastries
from Julia at the c
offee shop this morning.
”
I smiled at the way she seemed to think
I would
know who
Julia was.
She
covered the table with
a splash of
lace
, adorning
it with
two rose buds
she took from the tray
.
From the porcelain
teapot
,
she poured a stream of
golden liquid into
the matching
floral cups.
We sat there for a minute
,
stirring our tea, though neither of us had put anything into it. The
ocean
waves curled down into little lines of foam.
“Did Logan pick up your car keys?”
she asked, turning back to me.

“He did. But he forgot mention
you we
re coming to the hospital
.” I smiled, wanting her to know I was glad she had.
Could there be a more serene place to recuperate?

“
He
’s having your car
dropped off
t
his afternoon.” She bit into a
pastry
and raspberry jam
ooze
d
from
the
flaky crust
.

“When you invited me
,
I never imagined ending up in paradise.”

“Y
ou’re
welcome to stay as long as you need to—
both of you.” She glanced
down at Goldie.

“We won’t put you out too long, I promise.
”

“You’re
not putting me out at all. L
ogan didn’t say
where you w
ere headed before your accident.”

“Here
. T
o
Serenity
Cove.
”
Had Anne told anyone about me or was I about to unleash her deepest secrets?

“I got the impression
you weren’t acquainted with anyone here.”