Sweet Waters by Julie Carobini

Author:Julie Carobini
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2009-08-12T22:00:00+00:00

AFTER NORMA DROPPED ME off at my car, I wanted to go home, crawl beneath my quilt, and start this day again. Or at least head to the cove just down the block from our rental. Those calming, familiar waters draw me like nothing else ever has. Instead, I slipped into my new white cottons and went to work at the inn.

In the last two hours I’ve checked in a family of four visiting from India, an old woman with a very bad dye job (but who seemed happy about it, so why should I care?), and a middle-aged man with deep-set lines and a laptop computer.

So buried in paperwork that I don’t notice Nigel toddling in until he lays his cane across the front desk with a resounding clunk.

“Nigel!”

“Tara, dear.”

“I didn’t see you come in. It’s been busy today.” I force lightness into my voice. “You should be proud of how popular the Bayside has become.”

“A blessing from the Lord above,” he says, then proceeds to lean against the counter and watch me without a sound. I force a smile in his direction, all the while wondering if I’m doing something wrong. Finally he speaks again. “You seem troubled today.”

I swallow and muster up what probably looks like one more sad attempt at smiling. “Josh is in the hospital . . . did you hear about that?”

He nods. “I thought that may have been the source of your sober expression today.”

You don’t know the half of it. “Yes, well, I heard about it at church this morning and went to see him. He’s doing fine. Ornery, but fine.”

Nigel laughs. “I’m glad you two have become friends. Tell me how you like the church. I attend myself, when I’m able to, although the mornings have been getting more difficult for me these days.”

I cock my head to one side. “I’m sorry to hear that, Nigel. Anything I can do to help?”

“My dear, just your face around here has brightened the mood. No need to worry over me.”

I laugh, well, for the first time all day. “You make my day, Nigel, you really do.”

He slides the cane off the countertop and settles it beneath one steady hand until he’s sitting on the sofa across the room. He offers a slight sigh. “Now,” he says. “Tell me about church. Do you like it there?”

I glance outside to the distant horizon. Hm, do I like it at church? “Well, I didn’t stay long this morning, but overall, I don’t know. I’m drawn to it, because I attended there as a child. But I’m not all that familiar with the customs, so it remains to be seen whether I’ll continue.”

“You make it sound almost like a foreign country.”

“In some ways, it feels like one—like a strange and wonderful place from long ago.”

“Perhaps as you become more familiar with the service and step into a more active participation, then you will feel completely comfortable.”

Movement through the front window catches my attention. I pull my eyes

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