* * * *
Katherine woke the next morning wondering if she would ever feel rested again. It had been a late night, since she and the Braddocks were determined to sort through the whole box of papers she brought. The stack of recipes had doubled, and they found some old newspaper clippings which they set aside for the Harborhaven Historical Society, but they still hadn’t found anything about the trust.
Serena had told her that Mr. Welch called again, saying he would only give them till the end of the week to come up with what they needed. Then, the property would be officially put up for sale. Unless they found out where the trust was and how to access it before Friday, the building could be sold to someone else and there would be nothing they could do about it.
If only we could find that information. Katherine thought with a sigh. She dragged herself out of bed and curled up in the window seat with a blanket and her Bible. Opening to the book of Proverbs, she read,
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Her heart squeezed with conviction. Lord, I want so much for the Harborside to be restored, it feels hard to trust You. Help me to trust, help me to remember that You have a good plan, and help me to hold loosely to how I want this all to end.
Closing her Bible, she hugged it to her chest and gazed out into the inky blue of the early morning. After a few minutes, she let out a deep sigh, bowed her head and prayed, Thy will be done.
* * * *
"What?" Dishes rattled as Katherine rolled the tea cart over the kitchen threshold. “You mean there’s some sort of long-lost relative somewhere, and their Gran never told them?”
“That’s right.” Katherine helped Sally wheel the cart to the first table and started setting out plates and silverware.
“But why did he never come visit like she said for him to?”
“He never opened the letter.” Katherine glanced over at Sally, noticing that she now laid the silverware down with a quick, decided precision. I wonder when that happened? She suddenly felt she had missed something important in all the hectic struggle of the past week.
“Oh.” Sally shrugged then looked up to meet Katherine’s gaze with inquisitive eyes. “Well, what are they going to do about it?”
“Do?”
“Yes, I mean, are they going to write again? Or track down this long-lost relative somehow?”
Katherine frowned. “I don’t know. We were all just so excited at the thought of Captain Jeremiah’s journal, we didn’t talk about much else for a while.”
“But don’t you think they will want to meet this man?”
“I’m sure they will.” The old fear began quietly tugging at Katherine’s heart. Taking a stack of plates off the cart, she moved to a different table and began setting them out, trying to silence the nagging whispers of “What if?”
* * **
Katherine was well-ensconced in what the captain called “the land of arithmetic” balancing the ledger later that afternoon when the shop bell and a blast of cold air made her look up.
“What are you doing here?” Beaming, she jumped up and went to meet her visitors as Serena wheeled the captain in a wheelchair through the front door.
“He had an appointment today, and since we were already out of the house, we decided to stop by for a bit and say hello.”
Captain Braddock raised his bushy eyebrows. “Oh, is that the way it happened?”
Serena laughed. “I was trying to be generous, Jeremiah, and not let on how grumpy you got at the idea of going straight home.”
Katherine chuckled and moved the old armchair to the other side of the wood stove. “Well, however it happened, I’m glad you came! Let’s park the captain over here where it’s warm, and I’ll put the kettle on. It’s chilly out there, and besides, I have a surprise for you.”
Katherine breezed off to the kitchen, more butterflies in her stomach than she had felt for years. She put the kettle on, took down the teapot and reached for a shipping box on the counter. As she opened it, she breathed in deeply. The scent of cinnamon, chicory, and a spice she couldn’t place filled the closet-like room as she opened the pouch of tea. Yes. It’s time.
She had been wondering how to broach her new idea with the captain, and this seemed like just the right opportunity. Although both Braddocks had a strong family loyalty that led them to be reluctant to change anything about the Harborside, Serena had a sense of the practical and could usually help her brother see past his initial resistance to the thought of making even small changes to the Harborside.
While she waited for the water to boil, she rejoined the Braddocks in the shopfront. Picking up Tommy’s stool from where it usually stood tucked into a corner, Katherine set it at the captain’s feet. Carefully lifting his injured leg onto the stool, she noticed the sturdy boot-like cast. “This is new, isn’t it?”
“Yes. And the doctor says I can put weight on my ankle, but it hurts more than I like to admit whenever I do.” He grimaced, then put on his old expression of mock-sternness. “But don’t you go tellin’ her that.” He nodded toward Serena who stood near the shelves with a dust rag in hand. She wasn’t dusting though. She was standing completely still.
Katherine crossed the room and put a hand on Serena’s arm. “You knew about the Anne, right?”
“Yes.” Serena said softly, her voice catching. “But it didn’t seem real until now. Such a treasure…”
“I know,” Katherine whispered, not trusting her own voice.
Serena gave her a long look, then a little smile. “I believe you do know.”
Just then, the tea kettle began singing and Katherine rushed off to make the tea.
