Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (25 page)

“N
o clue. Maggi
e
would know
. S
he’s
done extensive studies of
early homes and furnishings. If she had chosen this house
,
she
’d have
restored the kitchen back to the original design.”

I looked around. “Where’s
Goldie?” We found he
r near the front door, apparently
tired from her adventures on the bluff
. “It’s not often she leaves my side.”

“She trusts me
.” He
ran his hand down the back of
my
head
,
thread
ing my hair through his fingers.

“Shall we head home
?”
I
step
ped
back.
Had
he felt the hea
t of the moment
?

In the truck,
Goldi
e
curled into a ball on the back seat and slept
until
Logan
turn
ed
in
to the alley
way
.
“
We need to install
motion s
ensor lights back here.
”

“
E
specially
considering
Maggie works late in the summer.
” I opened the door and paused when Logan still hadn’t moved. “
I can’t wait to see what
dessert Abby included—if we’re lucky, it’s something decadent and chocolate
.”

In the apartment, he
placed the basket on the
kitchen
counter.
“Abby included a thermos of coffee.”

“
I’ll get cups.” I eyed the hamper. “N
ever mind
.
I’m s
ure she included plates and cups
.
” One bite of the
triple layer chocolate cake
,
my
taste buds
were
tantalized with
pleasu
re, and if the disappearing piece
on Logan’s plate was any indication
, he agreed
.

We
finished
, and
I stuffed the plates into
the
carrier
and refilled our
cups. “It’s been a wonderful evening
.”

His teasing
smile
spoke to my out-of-
control heart. “A hint I should
leave?”

“
Will
you f
orgive me if I spoil the mood
talking about
my grandparents?”

“
Alec
and I
visit
ed
John
this afternoon
.
He says Anne dated
a
Roger Monroe
but
claims the guy isn’t
your father.
Didn’t have much else to say
.
”

“
I want
ed
to respect their wishes so
I’ve
avoided
the
decision
.
No
w
there isn’t an
alternative.
I
’m going to
visit my grandparents—
I have to find the
truth
.
”
Would
meeting me in person
change their minds?
I kept telling myself that when my grandparents saw me
,
the
y would realize
they still had a part of Anne—the daughter that they had lost.

Chapter Eighteen

I beeped the horn twice, waited and beeped it again. Our signal. When
Maggie
came out
on
her
porch, t
he big brother in me didn’t like kno
wing she was alone.
I had
my
own neurosis with commitment
.
M
aggie and I had
witnessed
two
people who obviously
adored and
love
d
each other
torn apart by death. Our
mom
never
fully recover
ed
, I believe a part of her
want
ed
to check out
and
be reunited with my fath
er.
S
he
n
ever
c
onsidered taking her own life
, I’m sure
. N
onetheless
,
she stood face
to
face with cancer and chose not to fight
.
Sam
wa
s the closest I’d
come
to loving someone
—and that story remained
unwritten.

Maggie
waved from
the porch
. “I hoped
you might stop by.
How’d
the
date
go
?”

“
W
atched
the
light show from the
bluff and enjoyed a great
dinner
.”
I omitted telling her about
the
personal
f
ireworks—s
ome adve
ntures were best left unshared
.

We sa
t in the matching
rockers. W
aves
crash
ing
onto the shore
served as a reminder of
the sea hidden by the darkness.

Lines formed on her forehead.
“Tell me about
Lilyan
.”

“Dr. Jeffer
ies refused to release
her for tria
l.”
I found myself taking up
Alec
’s habit—tapping my fingers on my leg.
Might be one way to
figure out the
warped
tune in his head.

“Sam and I chatted
online
earlier
. S
he’s
decided to go and see
John
and Elizabeth.
She believes she’s the
only one able to
repair the
breach.
Maggie’s rocker squeaked
rhythmically
against the wooden boards
.

“
D
o you know a Roger Monroe
?
According to
John
, Roger was a friend of Anne’s
in high school.
”

“
Don’t think so
.
I know
a
Tess Monroe. S
he lives in
Mariner Bay
,
but her sister once lived in Serenity Cove.
I
f I’m not mistaken
,
Tess
has
two grown sons. I purchased
a few
antiques from her
several
years ago.”

“One of the sons named Roger?”

“
I don’t recall hearing their
names.”

“
Send Tess’s
number and address to
Alec
.
”

“Will do.”
S
he
stifled a
yawn. “
Serenity
Cove is having its share of mystery for a quiet little town.”

“I’m taking off
. Y
ou go count sheep.” I stood
, and placed
my hands on my lower back,
stretching.

“Y
ou’re welcome to stay—t
he guest
room’s made up
.”

“
N
ot looking forward to getting back in my truck.”

“
Rest h
elps give one a new perspective.”
She gave me
what
Sam called
her
“
Maggie smile
.
”

“I intend
to
solve this mystery for
Sam
—she has a right
to get on with her life.”

“We need faith.
”
She paused. “P
rayer opens doors.”

“Love you
, s
is.”
I
trekked down
the hallway to the guestroom. Exhausted
,
I needed
to conne
ct my head with
a pill
ow. I
bre
athed a prayer before succumbing to sleep.

Much too soon,
the
c
oyotes howled
,
announcing
the rising sun
.
Showered and dressed
, I traipsed into the ki
tchen
,
glad
to find Maggie
up.

I sloshed coffee into
a mug, and
check
ed out the food on the stove.
“L
ooks great
.”
I stacked
a plate with bacon, eggs
,
and hash browns. “Busy schedule today?”

Maggie slid into th
e chair across the table, her plate
neatly arranged with smaller portions
. “A meeting with the Wheelers. They’re restoring her grandpare
nts
’
home
on the ridge
. They
pur
chased some furnishings from my shop
and
are
looki
ng for a couple of more pieces
,
although
I get the
feeling their budget’s a bit
cramped—it’s not easy for a young couple.
”

“Yeah, I met
Steve
and Audra
at Jake’s
. She seemed
familiar—couldn’t figure out from where.” I looked through the bay windows at the s
un doing a
morning salutation
to the sea
.

“They’re staying
in one of the summer cottages
.” Her dramatic sigh
caught my attention
. “
Consider yourself warned—I
invited
Sam
an
d Dr. Ellie to lunch
, together
.
” She rubbed her finger on the rim of her
mug
and lowered her eyes
,
like a child
caught stealing the teacher’s eraser from the chalkboard.

“
A
mbushing?
Does Dr. Ellie know?”

She began c
learing the table. “I’ll call and cancel
.”

I
shrugged. “I trust your judgment.” I
added my mug to the
dishes in the sink
. “
Gotta run. A
ppreciate the accommodations
.
Send
Tess Monroe
’s info to Alec
this morning.
”
I heard
I love you
and responded with
love you
,
too
along with
a
wave
in
her direction
,
a
llowing
the screen door to slam
.
My thoughts churned as I climbed into the truck.
Could
Roger Monroe
be
the break we
need
ed
? I
f he
held the k
ey to unlock
the past, would it only
further
complicat
e
Sam
’s life?