Page 18 of Windward Hearts

“Sorry,” the waiter told Hope sheepishly as he took Miriam’s credit card. “She’s scarier than you.”

“Don’t I know it,” Hope said, waving him off with a laugh.

As they exited Riverstone Kitchen, Jared wasn’t visible through the window, which sent another pang of disappointment through Hope, although she very sternly told herself that it was only because she wanted to thank him for the delicious meal and offer her compliments.

Miriam was looking too tired to risk hanging around, however, so Hope got them loaded up into the car and headed back for her grandmother’s house. Along the way, Miriam played tour guide for all the sights in Magnolia Shore.

“Oh, that’s Carter Rose,” she said, pointing at an older gentleman who was walking two dogs dressed in sweaters. The sweaters matched, but that was the only thing similar about the dogs; one was a tiny dachshund, its ears flapping with each jaunty step, the other a massive, shaggy dog whose breed Hope couldn’t identify beyond big mutt. “He used to play the tuba in all the local parades for, oh, at least thirty years. But he gave the job over to his niece, and she does a fine job, although she always looks as though the great big instrument is likely to tip her right over. And, oh!”

This time, Miriam pointed at a couple sitting on a bench. The man was strumming casually on a guitar, while the woman looked at him adoringly. Hope thought the man looked a little familiar, and wondered if she’d met him on one of her previous trips to visit her grandmother.

“And there are Levi and June,” Miriam said, waving as the car drove past, although the couple seemed too wrapped up in whatever they were doing to notice the world around them. “Oh, they have the most romantic story. June is a single mom; she lost her husband a few years ago, and she was raising her boy all by herself. Then, a few months ago, Levi comes to town because he’s tired of the country music scene, and the two fall in love after he hears her singing at an open mic night. And,” Miriam added proudly, “I helped, because I was the one babysitting Benjamin the night they met. He keeps me up to date with all the hip things that the kids are into these days.”

Hope was focused on using her turn signal and navigating a four-way stop, which meant that it took her a minute to put together the pieces.

“Wait,” she said, once they’d turned onto the next street. “He’s a country music singer named Levi? You don’t mean Levi Hawkins, do you?”

Hope wouldn’t consider herself a huge country music person, but even she knew about Levi Hawkins. He’d had one hit a few years back that Felicity had sung so much that Hope had threatened to tape her sister’s mouth shut… which was an indictment on Felicity’s less-than-superb singing voice, not the quality of Levi’s song.

“Yes, that’s him!” Miriam said happily. “He’s a very nice boy.”

“He’s a super famous ‘very nice boy,’” Hope said, astonished. “And he just… moved here? And fell in love?”

“With our June.” Miriam sighed. “And things seem to be going so well for them. They actually are making music together now, which was June’s dream for the longest time. She just never thought she would get to have it. But now, the sky truly is the limit for them both. It’s so wonderful.”

Wow, Hope thought. That was astonishingly romantic, actually. It made her ache to rub away the pang in her chest.

One of the things that Hope had liked least about working in the service industry was the hours. Most people went on dates in the evening, which was always when she was working. And when she was free, people with office jobs were at their desks. She still didn’t regret her career choice in the least, but it made it hard to meet someone, to have a romantic connection. Any happy couples she’d known at Sharp’s had made it work because their partner was also in the restaurant world, and Hope had just never found someone she connected with who had that kind of job.

As a result, she hadn’t had a significant romance in a long time. She’d had boyfriends here and there, of course, but the relationships had always been casual enough that she’d been far from heartbroken when the mismatched schedules meant that those relationships inevitably ended.

It would be nice, though, to have her person, to have that one special somebody who she could go home to at the end of the day.

Her mind remained fixed on what it might be like to have someone worth changing her life over as she helped Miriam into the house, and then into her room to take a nap. Levi had to have been so brave to take that leap… and June too, in letting someone into her life after suffering such a loss.

Hope suddenly saw her own reason for not having a relationship as being a little silly. So, she worked weird hours. So what? People managed that every day.

While Miriam napped and Hope tidied a bit around the house, she found herself returning to this question. And every time she came back to it, she also found Jared’s face floating through her mind…

She supposed it would be fair to call what she felt for him a crush. It wasn’t as though she knew him very well, after all. They’d only had a few short encounters. But in each of those encounters, she’d felt pleasantly drawn to him. He just seemed kind, what with his easygoing manner and his nonchalant teasing. There was just something about him, something that made her want to see him again and again… something that made her burn with disappointment when she thought she might not see him again.

Although she had made that promise to herself to go back and try the quiche Lorraine at Riverstone Kitchen…

She smiled just thinking about it as she wiped down the kitchen counters, which still held a little bit of mess from that morning’s breakfast.

When Miriam emerged from her room after sleeping for an hour or so, Hope could immediately tell that her grandmother wasn’t feeling much better. Hope’s stomach twisted with worry.

“How are you feeling, Mimi?” she asked, already crossing to the kettle to make some tea. There were few troubles in life that couldn’t be made a little better with a cup of hot tea.

“Ugh, it’s hard getting old,” Miriam said, sounding defeated in a way that Hope didn’t like. “When I was your age, I used to be able to do everything I wanted to do. I always had the energy. And if, for some reason, I felt tired, I would just rest, and then I was good as new. These days, it can feel like no amount of rest is enough to bring me back to full pep.”

Hope reached out to squeeze her grandmother’s hand.

“I’m not counting you out yet,” she said, feeling fierce protectiveness surge through her. “You’re Miriam Landers, for goodness’ sake! We’re going to get you back in fighting shape soon enough, and then you’ll be able to go back to doing all the things you enjoy… which is everything, if the people of this town are to be believed,” she added, hoping to tease her grandmother into better spirits.

To her relief, it worked.

“That’s true,” Miriam said. “And while I can’t say that I’m enjoying being sick, especially not when spring is right outside my doors, but I am pleased that you’re here. I’ve got the best nurse in the whole Northeast to tend to me.”