Page 64 of Tide Over

My heart lurches as I meet her warm brown eyes, so much like Theo’s. And despite the ache inside me, I find myself wanting to stay.

I nod, and her smile widens.

“Good. We’re making sourdough.” She gestures to two bowls on the counter. “We’re at two different stages here, so you’ll get to see it all.”

I step closer, peeking into the bowls. One is empty, and the other filled with a soft, fluffy dough.

“The thing with sourdough, is it’s so much more than just a recipe. You have tounderstandit,” she says, pulling the empty bowl closer to her. “That’s the secret.”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “You may have the wrong person to help you then…”

She laughs, pushing the bowl towards me. “I’m a good teacher.”

I chuckle, appreciating her confidence and hoping I don’t screw this up for her.

Cynthia pulls out the ingredients and walks me through the process of making sourdough. She tells me all about the starter and how it needs to be “fed”… which completely weirds me out.It’s kept in a jar and it looks like some kind of alien slime thing that could come alive at any moment. But I do as she says and measure out ingredients, mixing it all together while she pours brownie batter from one of the stand mixers into a pan, and slides it into the oven. And while we work, she tells me all about the store’s history.

Jimmy and his wife, Marie, both grew up in Torrin Cove, and were together since they were teenagers. Marie always wanted to own a store, and when they were just in their twenties, Jimmy made her dream come true.

“She passed about fifteen years ago, after a tough fight with cancer,” Cynthia continues, her voice softening as she closes the oven. “We all keep this place running for her. Theo’s dad, Lloyd, put so much into it before he passed, too. He absolutely adored his mother.” She sighs, looking out into the store as a weight seems to press down on her.

I slow my whisking as I watch her for a moment, knowing how that weight feels. “I’m sorry for all the loss you’ve had.”

She turns back to me and smiles sadly. “Thanks, honey. It’s been hardest on Theo. He was close to his grandmother, and even closer to his dad. They were more than just father and son, they were best friends.” She moves to stand beside me again at the counter, dumping the dough from the other bowl onto the floured counter. “And I know it’s still hard for him to be working in the job where his father died.”

My head jerks up and I look at her, trying to process what she just said.

She looks up at me with a furrowed brow. “He didn’t tell you?”

I shake my head. “No…”

Cynthia sighs, turning back to the dough. “I guess I’m not surprised. It’s still hard for him to talk about.” She pauses for a moment. “Lloyd died in an accident on the lobster boat.Thankfully Theo wasn’t with him to see it, but… losing his father like that, it just destroyed him.”

She releases a breath as she cuts the dough, and I just watch her and listen, frozen to the spot.

“I worried about Lloyd out there on that boat every day,” she says quietly. “And now I worry about Theo every day too. But just like we are doing in this store for Marie, he’s doing for his dad. And I can understand that.”

My heart pounds as I take this all in, and everything Theo has shared with me suddenly makes so much sense. How he feels this deep responsibility to continue lobster fishing, and like it wasn’t really his choice… and I see now why it wasn’t. His father died doing something he worked so hard for, so that Theo could be set for life and his family would be cared for. And Theo stepped up, continuing to build their business and confront the same danger that took his dad’s life. Every day.

This family has faced unimaginable loss. But instead of breaking them, it brought them even closer.

“Mom.”

Cynthia and I turn to see Heather standing in the doorway, tapping away at her phone looking frazzled.

“Chris is heading to Antigonish tomorrow to help his parents with their yard. He was going to take the kids, but it looks like he’ll stay overnight. Any chance you can take them in the afternoon?”

Cynthia winces. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I’m delivering a cake to Lunenburg tomorrow for a baby shower.”

“Oh, right.” Heather sighs. “I forgot about that. Maybe Grandpa can keep them entertained if I take them here for the day.”

“We can take them,” I say, the words coming out of my mouth before I can even think about what I’m saying.

Both of their eyes land on me, and I’m suddenly aware I may have crossed some line I wasn’t sure was there. But Theo loves those kids, and tomorrow is Sunday. He won’t be fishing, and we have time…

“We were just going to work on the house for the day,” I say slowly, wiping flour off my hands and trying to avoid their gazes. “They can play with the kitten.”

Heather chuckles lightly, and I lift my eyes to meet hers.

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