Page 12 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
Nodding at a couple he knew from somewhere in his past, he made his way to the counter. But as he approached the glass display cabinet brimming with the sort of pies fit for a working-man’s breakfast — maybe it was a pie-kind of day? — something made him pause mid-stride.
Turning, he saw a vision that stopped him cold. Moving away from the display of savoury muffins was Jen. Jen. He repeated her name to make himself believe he wasn’t seeing things.
Sam’s heart hammered against his ribcage as if trying to escape. She was the last person he expected to find here in MacLeod’s Cove, the place she’d left so many years ago. She should be 18,000 kilometres away. She should be living a life away from here, away from him… just away. His mouth dried, and he swallowed. What the hell was she doing here?
She had her back to him as she leaned in to talk to Lucy, who immediately looked up and smiled at him. He got the sense they’d been talking about him.
‘Sam!’ Lucy called, her voice slightly forced.
Sam barely heard Lucy; he couldn’t shift his gaze from Jen. She was chewing on a croissant and glanced up at him.
‘Hello, Jen,’ he said.
She mumbled something before quickly moving away from the counter and taking a seat at a table, studying her croissant as if her life depended on it.
He looked away. ‘Lucy! How’s things?’
‘Excellent,’ said Lucy. ‘Couldn’t be better,’ she added. She nodded towards where he knew Jen was sitting. ‘My big sister’s come home.’
‘Oh.’ The sound came out more strangled than he’d intended. ‘That’s…’ He trailed off because he had no idea what that was. Gut-stabbing, confusing, heart-wrenching? He shook his head. He couldn’t afford for it to be the latter. ‘That’s nice.’ His hand fumbled for the wallet in his back pocket.
‘Why don’t you go say “hi”,’ Lucy said. ‘I’ll bring your order over to the table.’
A glance over his shoulder revealed Jen had now transferred her intense focus to her coffee. He also noticed that she’d chosen to sit at the only one-seater table even though there were plenty of others free. He glanced at Lucy and shrugged.
‘And I’ll bring a chair over, too.’ Lucy leaned in so only he could hear, her smile softening. ‘Go on, she’d love to chat. I know she would.’
He wasn’t so sure. ‘Um, I don’t know. She didn’t say much to me just then.’
Lucy waved an airy hand. ‘She was eating. You probably didn’t hear her say it was good to see you.’
‘She said that?’
Lucy smiled brightly in response. ‘And she asked me whether you still lived around here.’
‘She did?’ He turned to Jen, his eyes drinking her in. Waves of shoulder-length chestnut hair fell forward as she stared at her plate. It caught the light like silk. He remembered it felt like silk, too. Diamond earrings glinted from between its strands, sending shifting rainbows across the room.
‘Go on over. I’ll be with you in a minute,’ said Lucy.
Nodding his thanks, he circled the table to stand before Jen, taking in each new glimpse of her—the curve of her cheek, the straight line of her nose and the fullness of her lips. His gaze lingered there, noticing how she nibbled her lower lip as if she were anxious about something. But of course she was. Him.
And then she looked up at him, and all thoughts that he knew this woman before him fled. While her face was still heart-shaped and delicate, and her eyes a vivid blue, their expression had changed. They revealed a person he didn’t recognise. Then she blushed and smiled, and that different person vanished.
‘Sam.’
‘Jen.’ His voice sounded rough, as if emotion clouded it. He cleared his throat.
She rose awkwardly in the narrow space, her wooden chair toppling to the polished concrete floor with a clunk. ‘Oh!’
‘I’ll get it.’ He righted the chair.
‘Thanks.’ She remained standing. She pushed another strand of hair from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. ‘Still as clumsy as ever, you see.’
‘And Sam’s as chatty as ever,’ said Lucy with a grin, bringing a spare chair to the table. ‘There you go. You two can find out what else has changed between you now.’
Jen shot Lucy a black look, and Sam suddenly felt awkward.
‘Hey, I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I didn’t mean to force myself on you. I’ll take another table. You probably want…’ A glance at the table showed no phone out, no paper open. He shrugged. ‘To be left alone with your thoughts.’
