She still had a serpent-size ache in her heart.
“How long do you think it’ll take to mend the sails?” Ree asked.
Marin opened the door and poked her head into the shop. She heard the whirr of a sewing machine and spotted a young man with curly hair seated behind it. He was focused on feeding fabric beneath it, as he pumped on a pedal that caused a wheel to spin and the needle to plunge down, then up. Softly, she called, “Hello?”
He paused and looked up.
“Do you fix sails?” she asked.
After everything was arranged with the tailor, Marin and Ree headed back to the bakery to meet Dax. Seated on a stool inside thebakery, he’d shoved a cinnamon bun into his mouth. Sugar dotted his cheeks.
“You could chew,” she told him.
“It’s delicious,” he said around the gob of pastry.
The baker beamed at him, then at her and Ree. “Free cinnamon bun to every new arrival. And can I offer you some fresh soil, my good shrub? I can have Tobin dig some up for you, if you’d like. I’m Bryn. Tobin’s my nephew.” She waved her hand toward the window, as if her nephew were lurking outside, ready to dig soil as needed. Perhaps he was.
“The sails won’t be ready until tomorrow,” Ree told Dax.
“I’m Marin,” Marin said to the baker. “You’ve met Dax, and this is Ree. They’re my crew.”And Perri.She felt the lump in her throat again, and she forced herself to smile anyway as she accepted the cinnamon bun.
The winged cat curled around her ankles, and Marin thought of her home island, suddenly missing it so much that she could barely breathe. She realized the baker was studying her, and she bit into the bun.
Sweetness filled her: light, flaky pastry, and cinnamony sugar. It was perfection in a pastry, and she felt like crying again, which wasn’t like her at all.
Gently, Bryn said, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Ree piped up. “We miss our friend.”
“Ahh. I’m so sorry.”
“He’s with his family, recently reunited,” Marin said quickly, so she wouldn’t think there had been a death. It didn’t require that kind of sympathy. “He’s fine. He’s happy.”
“But you miss him,” Bryn said. “Understandable.”
A woman with red hair stuck her head through the back door. Heat poured out along with her. She was sweating, and her hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead. “I hate your ovens, Bryn.”
“You’re supposed to bake the dough, not yourself, Radane,” Bryn said.
The woman she’d called Radane fixed her eyes on Marin, Dax, and Ree. “Oh, hello. You’re new. Pretend you didn’t see me. I’m not here.” She ducked back into the kitchen.
“She has family issues,” Bryn said to them. “Hoping for the opposite of a reunion.”
Dax nodded. “We didn’t see her.”
“See who?” Ree asked.
Marin thought he was being sweet until she realized he was on the floor behind Dax’s shoes and probably hadn’t been able to see the red-headed woman. At any rate, whatever the situation was with Radane, it wasn’t their problem. Their problem was how to spend the time until the sails were fixed without dwelling on Perri too much. “Any suggestions for what we can do in town until we’re ready to sail again?” Marin asked.
“You should visit Kiela and Caz’s Jam Shop,” Bryn said. “Caz would love to meet your chlorophyll-filled friend. Also, the jam is excellent, and I’m not just saying that because Kiela’s my best friend.” She gave them directions before going through the back door to help with the ovens.
Finishing off the cinnamon roll, Marin licked her fingers. So far, two people had told them to go to this jam shop. She didn’t see any reason why not to.
Dax shrugged. “I like jam.”
Marin climbed the picturesque stairs on the side of a cliff. At the top, the cliff was edged with beach roses, all past their peak. Their branches were dusted with snow, but red rose hips still clung to them like little jewels. She stood looking out at the sea while Dax and Ree climbed up after her.
She realized she was looking for a certain sea serpent and made herself turn away.He made his choice, and I’m happy for him.She was going to keep repeating that until she believed it.
