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“Thanks. You know, when you cleared your throat, you sounded just like Maura. She does it when she’s nervous or needs a second to think about what she’s going to say next. I notice stuff like that after having someone in my life for so long.”
Nina and Sophie found more odds and ends but nothing earth-shattering and then she left Long Island. Sophie was not sure if she'd be gone for a few days or weeks. Her mother thought she was going on a trip with Nina to visit her daughter in Texas. Malcolm promised to visit her regularly.
Sophie followed the directions as they were told to her from the honeyed voice of the navigation system. She crossed from Baltimore over the Miles River, and first, she passed Easton as she entered Talbot County. She knew this from the driftwood signage with blue and gold lettering. It was storybook-quaint, and Talbot County seemed to be what places like Hempstead only dreamed of becoming.
“Entering St. Michaels, Maryland. Go straight past the town square, and your destination is on the left,” her navigator directed her. Sophie turned the thing off, happy to silence her friend. St. Michaels, as she learned online, was set up around a town square. At the time, most towns were set up in a grid design, so it was unique in that way.
Sophie pulled into the restaurant parking lot. Brian Farrell had arranged to meet her at Brine with the keys to her new home – at least, it was one-third hers. He knew the caretaker, Mr. Burns, who had taken off a week ago and said he should give the keys to whoever arrived first. Sophie was relieved that Hayley and Maura had taken a detour.
She walked into the seafood restaurant, which hadn’t yet opened for dinner. She looked at the posted menu, and it wasn’t cheap but not eye-popping expensive either. There was an outdoor deck looking out on the Miles River with a few tables set for casual dining. There were servers folding napkins, and then there were two men in her age range chatting at the bar. They were both easy on the eyes. So far, Sophie liked St. Michaels.
“Hi, I’m Sophie Cast, and I’m hoping one of you is Brian Farrell.”
They looked at each other and smiled before one of them said. “There’s no Brian Farrell here that we know of.” They folded their hands and watched Sophie look around and wonder if she had the right place.
“You poor thing. I’m Brian, and we were just kidding around. Forgive us for our sophomoric antics,” he said. He had tousled, brown hair, and he looked like he had just walked off a sailboat. Brian reached into his pocket and fished out the keys that he dropped in her hands.
Sophie took them into her hands and noticed the fob said – Allen/Cast house. She almost dropped them to the ground. It still hadn’t sunk in that she owned a home with two strangers.
“No problem. I’ll keep it in mind that the two of you enjoy a good joke,” Sophie said.
“I’m not usually like this, but Brian brings it out in me. I’m Evan Cashell, and I own this joint. Your first dinner is on me to make up for my initial behavior. You can bring a companion along, and I’ll even throw in a bottle of wine,” Evan said.
“I’ll probably come solo, and I must tell you that offering me a bottle of wine is not a good idea,” Sophie said.
“Oh, excuse me. I didn’t know you didn’t drink,” Evan said.
Sophie chuckled. “I was referring to the fact that I work at a wine bar in New York, and I have very expensive tastes.”
Evan smiled. “No companion and expensive taste in wine, maybe I’ll join you.”
“We’ll see. I’ll probably be here soon because there isn’t any food in the house, and I haven’t had the time to shop,” Sophie said.
“The grocery store is fine, but I’ll take you to the fish market some morning, and you can get something special that’s right off the boat. It opens at five, so you have to be up early,” Evan said. His dimples were deep, and his blue eyes sparkled.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sophie said with a smile.
Maybe she was making more of it than it was, but she thought that was a flirty exchange with a handsome man. Brian hopped in the car with Sophie and directed her up to her one-third of a new house.
6
“I walked down, so it’s just a few miles away. I live three houses down, and when you see it, you’ll understand why developers are waiting for one of our homes to go on the market. Luckily, it never happens because they’re passed down like yours.”
Brian turned onto Sandpiper Lane, and Sophie realized what he was talking about. She saw her house right away as she recognized it from the photo Nora had given her. The shingles were grey and weathered, and the shutters were periwinkle blue. It was more genteel and fit perfectly into the landscape. It had similar but not identical homes on either side and a sloping lawn in front. The pebble driveway and wild roses were inviting and not pretentious.
Sophie couldn’t figure out why in the world her father had kept this place a secret. He must have known she would have fallen in love with it at first sight.
“I’ll help you up with your bags,” Brian said. “I went in this morning and opened the windows and doors to air the place out. Before Mr. Burns left, he had it professionally cleaned, and all the beds had been made. There are five bedrooms, although it doesn’t look that big, and a fireplace, which is great in any season except summer.”
Brian continued explaining the basics about the house as Sophie looked around at the fully decorated home. Basic groceries were in the pantry and fridge, which was a relief, and a small boat bobbed in the river below. It came in and out of sight since it was surrounded by spartina and other grasses that grew in the brackish water.
“Have you lived in St. Michaels all your life?” Sophie asked.
“No, I’m from Baltimore, where I lived with my wife. She had inherited the place a couple of doors down, and we had been here once or twice. Cathy died, leaving me with our lovely daughter Bernice and this house. We moved here full-time. It’s a good place to heal, and the schools in Easton, where Bernice will go next year, are excellent.”
“It’s nice to know a neighbor, and I can’t wait to meet Bernice. I’m sorry about your wife,” Sophie said.
“Thanks, Bernie and I have become a powerful duo, and we rely on each other a lot. Life’s good, thanks to the friends I’ve made here in St. Michaels. Your story with your sisters is the talk of the town.”
