“We are so glad to hear it,” Helen replies. “How is your mom?”
“Good. I’m nearly done renovating the other side of her duplex, so she should be ready to rent it out again soon.”
“That’s so great to hear. You’ll give her our love?” Helen asks.
“Absolutely. We’ll see you guys tomorrow for church.”
“Looking forward to it.” Helen smiles. She and Mom were thick as thieves growing up. The absolute best of friends. And when my dad died, Pastor Reeves and Helen were right there, helping us the best they could.
They’re family. The fact that they don’t bring up Tessa either means word hasn’t spread through town yet—which is surprising—or they don’t want to risk upsetting me. Either way, I appreciate it.
With a final smile, I turn around and scan the bakery for my sister. When I see her talking to a man I’ve never met, though, a shiver of unease runs up my spine. It doesn’t matter that she’s only two years younger than me and going on thirty-four years old; she’s still my baby sister.
She glances up from her conversation with him and beams at me. “Hey there, Big Brother!”
“Hey.” I cross over and stand beside the man. He smiles at me, his grey eyes friendly.
“Zane, this is Jack. Jack, Zane.” As Anastasia does the introductions, I reach out my hand to shake his. Unease continues to spread through me, and while he doesn’t look overly menacing, I can’t shake the feeling that this guy can’t be trusted. Though that could absolutely be due to the way he’s watching my sister as though she’s the single point of focus for his day.
“Nice to meet you,” Jack greets, shaking my hand tightly.
“You, too. I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new in town?”
“Just passing through,” he replies. “My parents used to bring me here as a kid every summer. They passed suddenly a few months ago, so I’m here trying to connect with old memories.” His expression turns sad, and a bit of my unease dissipates.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thanks,” he says. “Your sister here makes the best coffee around, and I was just telling her that.” He turns back to Anastasia, whose cheeks flush with color.
Oh boy.
“Well, I appreciate your compliment.” She turns to me. “Your usual?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
She smiles. “You’ve got it.”
As she turns away, I fix my attention on Jack. “So, where you traveling from?”
“California,” he replies. “Just outside of Sacramento.”
“That’s a long way.”
He laughs. “Don’t I know it. Didn’t seem like that long of a drive when I was doing it with my parents. We’d make a whole road trip out of it, stopping at a lot of sightseeing places along the way.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It was.” He smiles wistfully, then takes a drink of his coffee. “I’m in town for a few more days, so maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah, maybe,” I reply.
“Any recommendations as to what I should do while I’m here? Anastasia says I need to get out on the water. But I’ve never actually sailed a boat myself.”
“You can rent smaller boats at Nina’s Bait Shop. It’s down near the marina. She’ll give you a crash course on sailing, too.”
“Nina’s Bait Shop? Got it. Thanks.” He raises his coffee toward me, then calls out, “It was great to meet you, Anastasia! I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, Jack!” she calls out as she preps the two lattes I ordered.
