The Path to Sunshine Cove (Cape Sanctuary #2) - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,24
it but as there were easier beaches to reach without the longish walk, few visitors ever found their way to the small beach.
Sophie was right. In many ways, it still felt like their own private little cove, shared only with the seals, otters and seabirds who sometimes visited.
“What will you do with a stopper if you find it?” Jess asked as they made their way down.
“I don’t know. Maybe a necklace or something, don’t you think, Gram?”
“Yes. We could find something fun to do with it.”
“Gram makes jewelry with the sea glass and agates we find. I have a bunch of cool earrings and a ring she made. She also has a display case in her house that contains some of the things we’ve found in our cove.”
“I’ll have to remember to show that to you,” Eleanor told Jess. “I believe that’s not something I plan to get rid of anytime soon.”
“Cherished treasures should definitely stay in the save category.”
Sophie held the leashes of both dogs as they trotted down the path first. That was another family rule. Though they could let the dogs off leash as it was basically their own private spot, his parents had always insisted dogs remain leashed until they reached the cove to make sure there weren’t any seals or sea turtles on the sand that the animals might bother.
Eleanor was next in line, which left him taking up the rear with Jess walking beside him. She didn’t seem particularly comfortable with the arrangement but he decided this was his best chance to apologize.
“I’m glad to have the chance to speak with you privately,” he said when his mother and Sophie had moved farther down the pathway ahead of them.
“Are you?”
Her tone wasn’t at all encouraging but he pressed forward anyway.
“I’m afraid we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I owe you an apology.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Whatever for? Threatening to call the police on me?”
Had he really done that? He winced. “I’m afraid I didn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for you. I do apologize. I was hoping I would have the chance to apologize last night, but you didn’t come to dinner.”
“I’m sorry I inconvenienced you.”
Her dry tone again made him wince. “I’m doing it again.”
“Doing what again?”
“Stepping in it. I’m trying to apologize and not doing a very good job of it. Let me try again. I’m very sorry I was a jerk. The last thing I expected to find when I came home to grab some blueprints and a sandwich was a stranger parking a trailer on the property.”
“Did Eleanor explain why she didn’t tell you I was coming?”
“Not really. Only that she was afraid of my reaction, that I might think she was trying to close the book on the chapters of her life involving my father.”
“Is that what you think?”
“No! Of course not. She loved my father very much. She was a loving, caring wife to the end.”
“I’ve only known your mother through correspondence for a month or so and in person for only a day but I received the same impression. She doesn’t want to forget those years, she only wants a fresh start as she prepares to move on with her life alone.”
He looked ahead at Eleanor smiling down at something Sophie was saying to her. Where would he have been after Michelle died without his mother’s calm, steadying presence?
“I’ve become a bit protective of her since my father died. She lives alone here. Though Sophie and I are technically on the property, our house is through the trees. Plus, I work long hours and Sophie has school and her friends. We’re not always here.”
“She has Charlie.”
He snorted. “Right. Her killer Cavapoo, who is more likely to lick an intruder’s face off than bite him.”
Jess smiled slightly, just enough for Nate to feel as if he had accomplished something remarkable. “Even without Charlie, your mother strikes me as someone who can take care of herself.”
“In most situations, yes. But she has a soft heart.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Not at all. It’s one of the things I admire most about her. But she can be too ready to always believe the best in people. I could easily see her opening up her property to someone down on his or her luck whom she met online or through her volunteer efforts. Someone who might have an ulterior motive for staying on the property of a widow who is financially comfortable.”