Page 51 of Sanctuary at MacLeod's Cove
Jen half-laughed in amazement. But Liam had immediately turned to Sam, as if he hadn’t just tossed the biggest piece of information at Jen. ‘Sam, can I help you again tomorrow?’
‘That would be great.’ He glanced at Jen over Liam’s head before looking back at Liam again. ‘I need to get you working for me as much as possible before I lose you to school.’
Chapter Fifteen
Between her shifts at the café, all the work Sam was doing on the house, and spending time with her mother and Liam, the rest of the week had flown by. So when Jen awoke early Saturday morning, she lay for a few moments relishing the fact that she felt happier than she’d been for a long time.
Liam was settling in far better than she’d ever thought possible, she loved being back at home with her mother and working with Lucy, and the rest of her family were returning home today to celebrate her mother’s birthday. The one thing that made her feel uncomfortable was being around Sam so much.
He’d been great. About the work and with Liam. But whenever they spoke, there was an undercurrent to their conversations which they clearly both felt. It was there in his tone of voice, softer with her, and in his eyes, which lingered on her when he thought she wasn’t looking. The air practically crackled with electricity between them.
She wasn’t here for this, though. She didn’t want this. She had enough worries about Alistair — who she still hadn’t heard from — without complicating her life any further.
So, as she quickly showered, wanting to make a start on the food prep before Lucy arrived, she felt relief that there was no possibility of her being alone with Sam. It was her mother’s birthday, and a big family celebration had been planned. She wouldn’t have a chance for any awkward one-on-ones with Sam. Her siblings would see to that.
After a few hours spent in the kitchen, Jen was relieved to see Lucy arrive, arms full of fresh flowers.
‘Here comes the cavalry!’ called Jen as Lucy dumped the flowers on the kitchen table. She turned to Jen with her hands on her hips and scanned the kitchen with an expert eye.
‘You’ve been busy!’
‘I’ve done the grunt work — peeling and chopping and made a few dips — but I’ve left you to combine it all.’
Lucy laughed. ‘Ha! People often say I’m a good combiner.’
‘You know what I mean,’ said Jen.
‘I do and thank you. That’s great. Now, tell me, what time are the others arriving while I start on the first course?’
‘Dan should be here shortly, but Matt will be a no-show for sure. He’s still in Africa somewhere. And I’m not sure about Ellie.’
Lucy grunted. ‘Who is? We won’t know about the elusive Ellie until she’s here. Or not here. You’d think a lawyer would be more detail oriented.’
‘I can’t believe she ended up being a lawyer. I mean, of course she’s really clever, but her art? That was out of this world, and she simply let it go.’
The house phone rang, and Jen scooped it up. ‘I bet that will be her.’ Smiling, she pressed a button. ‘Hello! MacLeod’s residence!’ Her smile faded a little. ‘Hello? Ellie?’ The phone died, and so did Jen’s heart.
Lucy took the phone from her. ‘Wrong number?’ she suggested, understanding Jen’s fears without having to be told. ‘It’s bound to be.’
Jen nodded. ‘Yes, of course it will be. No doubt Ellie’s mobile signal got cut off as she went through one of the train tunnels.’
‘Yep, that will definitely be it. She’ll ring again in a minute.’
But Jen frowned, unable to shake off the sick feeling the phone call had given her. The number was ex-directory. No one knew it who shouldn’t. No one.
‘Hey, you,’ said Lucy, clearly trying to jolly Jen along. She held out her necklace. ‘You know you admired this stone the other day. Well, some tourists came into the café the other day and commented on it. They knew what stone it was. I wrote it down.’ She dug into her pocket and retrieved a note. ‘Petoskey stone.’
‘Never heard of it.’
‘Me neither. But apparently where they come it’s pretty famous.’
‘And where’s that?’
‘Michigan. There’s even a place of the same name where most of the stones come from. Petoskey. I thought when they told me it must be from Eastern Europe, but it’s not. People from Michigan are pretty proud of it. Apparently it’s unique to that region.’
Jen grunted. ‘Interesting. But…’
‘But what?’ asked Lucy, tasting a dip Jen had made and nodding appreciatively.
