Page 39 of The Cottage on Pelican Bay

Whenever her father used her full name, she knew he was not happy with her. “Oops,” she said, sharing a grin with Levi because the two of them knew better. “You are right, Dad. Sorry about that.”

Levi hid a grin and said, “I’ll be going now. Goodbye, Mr. Chelsey.”

“Goodbye, young man.”

“And I will see you out.” Margie led him from the kitchen.

When they reached the front door, Levi grinned and said, “I need to come by more often. I can’t remember the last time someone called me a young man.”

Margie laughed. “Compared to Dad you are a young man, and feel free to drop by anytime.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Again, she noted how tall he was. He had to be at least six-two, compared to her five-seven height. And he had a head full of hair with gray streaks at the temples. She was tempted to ask his age, but figured that wouldn’t be a nice thing to do. If she had to guess, she estimated he was maybe three or four years older than she was. However, he’d said that he cut her parents’ yard during the summer as a teen, which would make him older than that.

Another thing she noticed was that whenever he smiled, laugh lines appeared around his eyes and mouth, and they seemed to light up his entire face. No doubt about it, Levi Canady was a handsome man. The one thing her father had mentioned was that when Levi had been a cop, this area of town was his beat. Her father had also mentioned Levi was a widower. His wife had died a few years ago, but her father couldn’t recall what she’d died of.

“Goodbye, Margie.” He smiled, showing those laugh lines again.

She smiled back. “Goodbye, Levi.”

He was about to turn to leave, but then he said, “If you’re ever out and about, why don’t you drop by the Green Fig one day this week. We open for lunch and dinner, Mondays through Fridays, and just for lunch on Saturdays.”

She raised a brow. “The Green Fig?”

“Yes. It’s the restaurant where I work. It sells the most delicious soups you’ve ever tasted.”

“You cook for them?”

He shook his head, chuckling. “No. A young lady by the name of Sierra Crane does most of the cooking. She uses her grandmother’s recipes. I’m her assistant manager.”

Margie’s forehead bunched. “I remember some Cranes from years ago. I graduated with Sidney Crane.”

“That is her uncle. Her father’s younger brother. He’s living in Florida now. Sierra’s father, Preston, is a good friend of mine—my best friend, in fact. He and I finished school together. For years Preston managed the only gas station in town.”

“I remember Sidney’s older brother, Preston,” she said. “He began working at that gas station when he was still in high school.” And if she recalled, there was a seven-year difference in their ages. If Levi graduated with Preston Crane, did that mean Levi was about seven years older than she? If so, he definitely didn’t look it.

“You have a good memory,” Levi replied.

Margie thought Levi was friendly and easy to talk to. “I recall his mother, Ms. Ella Marie, too,” she said. “She used to make soup from her house and sell it in these cute containers that looked like kegs. I remember Mom and Dad buying her soup all the time. It was delicious.”

“Well, Ms. Ella Marie passed her soup recipes on to her granddaughter, and she came back to town a couple of years ago and opened the Green Fig Café, which specializes in all Ms. Ella Marie’s soups.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“We even put the take-out orders in those little kegs. Only thing, due to health department rules and restrictions that are now in place, we can’t use them for refills.”

“Thanks for telling me about the Green Fig, Levi. I might stop by one day this week.”

“I hope you do. Sierra and her husband, Vaughn, got married back in March and took a short honeymoon. They left yesterday for a longer one. As assistant manager, I’m in charge while she’s gone. That means I’ll be working longer hours for the next three weeks. I’ll be glad to see you again if you do drop by. Goodbye, Margie.”

“Goodbye, Levi.”

She closed the door and from the window she could see him walking down the sidewalk and noticed his slight limp. The nurse in her had picked up on it and wondered if it was due to an old injury. But then it just might be arthritis, or Father Arthur, as her dad liked to refer to it. That was one of the reasons she liked staying active and took walks every morning.

Margie smiled when she moved away from the door thinking she would make it a point to patronize the Green Fig one day this week like she’d told Levi she would do.

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