With another laugh, Levi hauled himself up to a seated position, looking around this space that was now all his. Admittedly, the interior décor still left something to be desired. He’d gotten the bed set up right away, but that was pretty much the only thing he had managed since getting to town a few days earlier. He didn’t have a dresser or a couch. He just had his bed, two bags of clothes that were half-unpacked on the floor, and his guitar.
What else did he need, though?
Well, coffee, actually, but fortunately he’d gotten a machine the day prior and had purchased a bag of beans at an adorable little local café that had smelled like heaven inside. He pulled on some warmer clothes, since the lack of furnishing included a lackof carpeting, and it was downright chilly in here. Also, winters were alotcolder in Massachusetts than they were in Nashville.
But an extra sweater and a warm pair of woolen socks quickly solved that problem, as did the steaming cup of freshly brewed joe in his hands a few minutes later. He inhaled the comforting aroma and gazed out the window over his kitchen sink.
Most of his house was private. Levi had reached a medium level of fame, and even though his face wasn’t plastered on billboards or anything, he’d learned to have the same healthy desire for privacy as did any public figure. Most of the house had big windows, which looked out over a sloping hill that was covered in trees.
But the back of the house looked out at the town, giving the house a perfect sense of being remoteandbeing close to people. He’d come to Magnolia Shore to take some time away, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be isolated.
He liked that he could stand here and see people walking on the street. He watched a person with a large golden lab exit the Sandy Paws Pet Shop, and he could see the brick siding of the local hardware store.
It was perfect, he thought as he saw the man with the dog stop to greet a woman walking with two young children. They all apparently knew one another, at least judging from the happy way the dog and the children approached one another with familiar joy.
Levi smiled as he turned away from the window and went to grab his guitar, which he took to the front stoop, playing to the yard just like he’d done when he was a kid.
He strummed aimlessly, pausing here and there to take a sip of the coffee. No song lyrics were floating into his head, but that was okay. It felt good to play with no purpose except for enjoying the music for the sake of the music.
So he sat, and sipped, and strummed.
It was a lovely way to spend a morning.
He had a really good feeling about Magnolia Shore.
CHAPTER THREE
June tugged down the way her scarf was wrapped around her face as she entered Juniper Café, sucking in a lungful of coffee, sugar, and butter… all combined into utter perfection.
Her high spirits from the night before had not yet faded, Benjamin was at a play date, and June had a paperback burning a hole in her pocket. Plus, there was coffee. And pastries.
Really, it ranked pretty high on her list of ways to spend a great Saturday morning.
And she was in luck, because things were destined to get even better.
No sooner had June unpeeled herself from her winter layers and ordered a coffee—and one of those cinnamon rolls that were basically as big as her face and oozing with icing—than a voice caught her attention.
“Hi, June!”
She glanced over. “Cadence, hey!”
Cadence’s smile was revealed by degrees as she too unwound a massive scarf from around her head and face. It had been particularly blustery this morning, although the shining sun and crisp blue skies had drawn half the town out of doors anyway.
“Good morning,” her friend said, coming in to wrap June in a hug. “Are you here by yourself?”
June chuckled at the very mom-like question. When you were the parent of a small child, especially a single parent like June, it was hard to go much of anywhere without your miniature counterpoint.
“He’s got a playdate,” June explained. “And yours?”
“It’s ‘Dad and Izzy day.’ They’re doing some sort of nature walk.” Cadence shivered at the mere idea of hiking in this weather, but her husband and daughter were both big outdoorspeople. They wouldn’t let a little thing like freezing temperatures stop them.
The two women got a table, and Cadence dropped off her things before heading to the front to order a chai tea latte and a cranberry scone.
“I feel like I’m playing hooky,” Cadence said with a laugh as she took a sip of her drink. “Like you and I are ditching out on gym class right now.”
“Cadence Meadows, you never ditched class a day in your life,” June accused with a laugh.
“Oh, like you did?”
