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Charlotte took a shaky breath, still processing the news. "That was Sally from the bakery. She says she just saw my father there."
"Your father?" Simon repeated in surprise. He’d been privy to Charlotte’s search for the man, though there had been little to share recently.
Charlotte nodded, her eyes distant. "I haven't seen or heard from him in so many years. Not since..." Her voice trailed off.
Simon gave her hand a supportive squeeze. "I can't imagine how shocking this must be for you.”
Charlotte turned her palm up and clutched his hand tightly, as if drawing strength from his solid grasp. "I just don't understand. Why now, after all this time?"
Simon searched her face with compassion. “Do you need to go? I can meet up with you later, once you've had a chance to process this."
Charlotte nodded, not letting go of his hand. "I will. Thank you, Simon." With a final supportive squeeze, she released his hand and hurried off, her mind swirling with questions about the sudden reappearance of Henry.
Charlotte hurried along the harbor, her heels clicking against the weathered boards of the pier. Despite the summer heat, she felt chilled, questions swirling through her mind.
Why was her father here after all these years? Would he be shocked to see her? Charlotte had tried for so long to move past the pain of his abandonment, and his unexpected return threatened to reopen those old wounds.
She drew in a shaky breath as she approached the bakery, Sally's lilting voice drifting through the open door as she chatted with a customer. Charlotte steeled her nerves and stepped inside. The scent of freshly baked bread enveloped her, but she barely noticed, scanning the cozy shop for any sign of the man she once called Father. But he was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, Charlotte dear!" Sally bustled over, face alight with excitement. "You just missed him. Your father was here not fifteen minutes ago."
“Are you sure?”
"Yep!" Sally affirmed, nodding vigorously. "Rumor is he’s been seen chatting up folks over by the harbor and asking about The Crown, too. Quite the mysterious figure, if you ask me."
Charlotte's mind raced with images of her estranged father, a man whose features had blurred with time in her memory. The possibility of his proximity sent a jolt of adrenaline through her. She could almost picture him there, standing against the backdrop of Chesham Cove's rugged cliffs, a living ghost from her past.
Charlotte's heart sank. "Did he say where he was going?"
Sally shook her head, wispy gray curls bouncing. "No, afraid not. But he can't have gone far. I'm sure if you ask around town, someone will know where to find him. Agnes, maybe?"
Charlotte nodded, thanking Sally absently as she turned to leave. Back out on the pier, she pulled out her phone to text Simon.
"He's gone again. But I'm going to search the town to see if I can find him."
Simon's response came quickly. "I'm here if you need me. We'll get through this together."
Despite everything, his words brought a hint of a smile to her lips. With Simon by her side, she could face whatever was coming next.
Charlotte sent a text to her Cousin Agnes to check if Henry had come there, and then pocketed her phone and headed into town, hope and trepidation warring within her. Old Tom at the pub thought he had seen a man headed toward the cliffs.
“Plaid scarf. Light jacket, navy I think,” Tom said.
Charlotte hurried in that direction, the wind whipping her hair as she climbed higher. At the top, she spotted a lone figure gazing out to sea. Plaid scarf. Navy jacket. Heart pounding, she approached slowly. "Dad?"
The man turned, and Charlotte gasped. It wasn't her father, after all, just a random tourist. The crushing disappointment nearly staggered her.
She blinked back tears as she pulled out her phone again. "False alarm," she texted Simon. "It wasn't him."
His reply was swift. "I'm so sorry. Come back to the harbor when you're ready. I'll be here waiting for you."
Charlotte took a shaky breath, casting one last glance over the sea. She had been so sure this time. With a heavy heart, she turned and headed back down the cliffs. At least Simon would be there, a comforting constant amidst the chaos.
As Charlotte made her way back down from the cliffs, the weight of disappointment heavy in her chest, her phone vibrated. She pulled it out, seeing a call from Agnes. Her heart leapt with a mix of hope and anxiety. She answered quickly, "Agnes, hi. Have you seen him? Is Henry with you?"
There was a pause on the other end, and then Agnes' voice, tinged with concern. "No, Charlotte, I'm sorry. There's been no sign of him here. I've been asking around, but nobody seems to know anything. Are you okay?"
Charlotte felt a lump form in her throat. This was just another dead end, another moment of hope dashed. "I thought... I thought I saw him just now," she confessed, her voice barely more than a whisper. "But it was a mistake. Just a tourist."
