Page 59 of Too Far To Sea
“True, but I wanted to talk over something.”
“I’m not Mom, but will I do?”
“Remember that woman I told you about?”
“The bride’s sister?”
“Long story short, I know she will be in Lyme Regis on Friday and I didn’t get her phone number. I know where she works and can get it from them.”
“Awkward.”
“Exactly. Which had me thinking of getting a train ticket or renting a car?—”
“Yes!” Jen fist pumped the air. “That is the most romantic real-life thing.”
“But what if I don’t find her?”
“She is going to the Cobb, isn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“Then you only have to stake out one place.”
“Would you think it was creepy?”
“You’re my brother, so of course it is creepy. But if I were her and into you?—”
“I’d need to change my flight to leave on Saturday.”
“Do it. Mom’s surgery isn’t until Tuesday, so you’ll have plenty of time and frankly she’d tell you to miss her surgery for the right woman.”
As soon as McKay ended his call he opened his LegacyAir app and changed flights, claiming one of the last open seats on the early Saturday flight. It was the only one he could change to without a fee. After checking the train schedules, he opted for renting a car. Now he just needed an inconspicuous spot to wait without looking like some creeper and scaring other tourists.
The longer he studied satellite maps of Lyme Regis, the more he questioned his sanity. What if she didn’t come? What if he couldn’t find her? What if someone reported him for suspicious behavior? What if this was the dumbest idea in the history of bad ideas?
17
The Cobb stretchedout into the calm waters, not the stormy sea in Jane Austen’s book. Dana climbed the uneven steps to the sloping top. The wind caught her hair, lifting it into the air. Dana turned to face the wind. It smelled of sea and history. Echoes of thousands of sailors bound for far-off places and the women who waited for them. Of course, Jane hadn’t exactly seen or experienced the Lyme Regis sea wall as it stood today, since the last major rebuilding had been a few years after the author’s death. Still, the Cobb dated back to the 1300s, before anyone knew the nearby cliffs contained a wealth of dinosaur fossils, giving the town its popularity today.
This was the last stop of her whirlwind Janeite tour of southern England before returning to spend the night in Bath. The afternoon was perfect for her plan to watch the sea and perhaps record a video to send to her father and friends.
Dana walked along the wide top and looked across the water. It was hard to imagine the area as the bustling seaport it had once been. A few tourists passed her. As she planned, Dana sat on the harbor side edge and pulled up the reading app on her phone. She searched forPersuasionand found the chapter thatoccurred in Lyme. Reading an imaginary story in the real place that it occurred seemed somehow fitting. And Brit and Simone would be jealous. Too bad she didn’t have the paperback with her because then she could take a selfie of her reading it and send it to them.
“Don’t jump.”
Startled at the voice that filled too many of her daydreams and interrupted her as she was finishing the chapter, Dana looked down. On the walkway was the last person she expected to see. “McKay? What are you doing here?”
He held up his phone. “Walking along the Cobb and taking a video for Jen and Gracie.Persuasionis one of their favorite movies.”
“I thought you were supposed to be flying home by now.”
“I changed my plans to stay an extra day.”
“To film the Cobb?”
“No.” He looked up, his eyes searching hers.
He’d come for her. He didn’t say it, but the truth of the statement was in his eyes. She needed to get to him. The closest stairs were several yards away. Jumping down to him wasn’t such a bad idea, was it? A ten-foot drop to stone. Louisa’s fate in the book flashed through Dana’s mind. Nope! Bad idea.
