Sandpiper Way (Cedar Cove #8)(57)

“I imagine they were all excited.”

“Especially my dad.” Megan returned her attention to her knitting.

“If you’d like, I’ll help you with that after lunch.”

Their tea had steeped, and Megan put the knitting back in her bag, then filled their cups. “Thank you for meeting me like this,” she said, engrossed in the task of pouring tea.

“It’s my pleasure, Megan.” She strongly suspected it wasn’t merely—or primarily—the knitting question that had prompted Megan’s invitation. “Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked.

Megan leaned back in her chair. “I guess you could see through me asking to meet you.”

“Not really. If there’s something on your mind, though, I’d like to help if I can.”

“Oh, Faith, thank you,” she said in a rush. “I needed to talk to someone, and I’ve been on pins and needles.”

“I’m honored that you chose me.”

“You’re exactly the right person,” Megan insisted. “I know you’ll be honest with me and…and I trust your advice.”

“Thank you,” Faith murmured, although she did feel a little guilty.

“I told you how close I was to my mom when she was alive.”

“Yes.”

“I saw her every single day. By the end she couldn’t speak all that well, but she always listened. Dad and I were with her when she died and it was…beautiful.” Megan tried to blink away tears. “Death can be beautiful, can’t it?”

“Yes, I believe it can.” Faith reached across the table and squeezed Megan’s hand.

“Mom was sick for a very long time.”

“I know.”

Megan struggled visibly with her emotions and managed to control them. When she spoke again, her voice had gained strength and conviction. “Shortly after my mom died, my father implied there was someone he wanted to date. I can’t even begin to tell you how horrified I was.”

Faith’s guilt quotient rose several degrees. Obviously Troy hadn’t exaggerated his daughter’s reaction, and she understood more clearly why he’d hidden their relationship.

Megan pursed her lips. “At first I thought he was joking. Good grief, Mom had only been gone a few months.”

Faith hesitated, unsure what to do. Megan didn’t have any idea that the woman Troy had been seeing was her. Mentioning it now would be awkward beyond belief.

“As you said, your mother had been ill for a long time,” she said cautiously.

“I know, and I also realize how lonely my father must’ve been all those years. The thing is, he was completely dedicated to my mother.”

The waitress approached with their order and a spare plate. They spent a few minutes dividing the crab melt, tasting their soup, commenting on the food. Faith welcomed the interruption. She needed to think. It was wrong to accept Megan’s confidences without telling Megan about her involvement with Troy.

“Your father’s Troy Davis, the sheriff, isn’t he?” she asked. She had to introduce the topic somehow and this seemed a relatively safe way to start.

“You know him?” Megan’s eyes widened.

“I do. Your father and I went to high school together.” She held her breath waiting for Megan’s response.

Megan clapped her hands delightedly. “Oh, my goodness, I would never have guessed. That’s great!”

“Your father was a handsome young man.”

“I know,” Megan said, beaming with pride. “I looked through his high school yearbooks and he was just so cute.”

Faith had thought so, too. She still did.

“So your father wants to date again?”

Megan nodded. “I told him not long ago that I think he should, but I’m not sure he believed me, especially after the fuss I made earlier…. I regret that now, but it was such a shock. It didn’t occur to me that he’d be interested in anyone so soon after losing Mom.” Megan lowered her gaze. “It was probably selfish of me, but I couldn’t help feeling the way I did.”

“Everyone’s entitled to their feelings, Megan. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Megan swallowed a spoonful of soup before she responded. “Dad isn’t that old. He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life alone and I don’t blame him. I mean, it wouldn’t be easy seeing my dad with someone other than Mom, but I don’t want to be selfish, either.”

“I think your feelings are only natural,” Faith murmured. “The fact that you’re talking to your father about your concerns is important.”

Faith took a bite of her meal, then broached the subject. “This might come as a surprise, but your father and I dated in high school.”

Megan stared at her. “You and my dad?”

Faith paused ever so slightly, then nodded. “As you said earlier, he was a popular guy.”

Megan giggled. “That is so cool.”

“I liked him a lot back then,” Faith told her, using the past tense to keep the situation in perspective. Eventually, if there was an easy way to do so, she’d lead into the fact that they’d briefly reconnected following Sandy’s death.

“I think I could accept it better if Dad was dating someone like you,” Megan said, picking up her spoon.