Faith walked down the sidewalk, looking in each of the store windows. She’d been in January Cove for months now, but she’d never taken the time to visit all of the local shops. One in particular she’d been avoiding just because she knew she’d put on an extra ten pounds if she got addicted, and that was Sweet Cakes.

Everyone in town had been talking about the amazing desserts at Laura Bennett’s bakery, so she decided today was the day. After all, it was her birthday, and she didn’t have any special plans.

She’d been thinking more and more about her birthmother today. Being that this was her first birthday knowing she was adopted, a part of her felt like it was missing. She wanted to find her birthmother, or any family member really, but that had been pushed to the back of her mind lately as she focused on working at HOPE.

Still, if she planned to stay in January Cove, she had to get a real, paying job soon. And that would mean less volunteer time, which made her sad.

Faith pulled the door open to Sweet Cakes and was surprised to see Olivia sitting at a table in the corner alone. Her always vibrant friend was solemn, her face almost blank, as she sat there with a cupcake in front of her.

“Olivia? You okay?”

Olivia looked up, surprised to see Faith standing there. “Oh. Hey, Faith. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Faith pulled out the chair across from her and sat down. “You don’t look fine. Did something happen?”

“Just having a tough day. But it’ll pass, and I’ll be okay.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Faith prodded.

Olivia smiled sadly. “No. But thank you. It’s just something I have to deal with.”

Faith hoped it wasn’t related to her marriage. Or what if it was about one of the kids?

“Is it about Amelia?” Faith finally asked, unable to hold in her concern.

Olivia smiled and touched her hand. “No, honey. She’s still in the group home. The judge is making final decisions on the case next week.”

“Oh.”

“I know you’re invested in Amelia. To be honest, I’m a bit worried about how you’ll react if and when she gets adopted.”

“I have to be okay with it,” Faith said. “I mean, I want what’s best for her.”

“So what are you doing here today?” Olivia asked, putting on a fake smile.

“Don’t tell anyone, but it’s my birthday,” Faith said.

“Oh, happy birthday!” Olivia said, squeezing Faith’s hand. “And here’s your cake!” She slid the chocolate cupcake across the table toward Faith.

“I’m not eating your cupcake!”

“Oh, I never eat it anyway.”

“I don’t understand. You come here, order a cupcake, look at it and then don’t eat it?”

Olivia laughed. “Long story, don’t ask.”

“Okay…”

“But I do have a birthday present for you!”

“You didn’t know it was my birthday, Liv.”

“I know, but this is perfect timing. I was going to come by Addy’s today to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Would you be interested in a full time position at HOPE?”

Faith’s heart skipped a beat. Working at HOPE would be a dream for her. “Really? But how can you afford that?”

“Well, Susan is leaving. Her husband got transferred to Texas, and that leaves the Assistant Director position open. You’d be perfect, Faith.”

“Assistant Director? Really?” Faith couldn’t get the smile off her face. This meant everything! She could keep working with Olivia and the kids, but get paid for it. This was her dream job.

Wait. Her dream job? She’d never had a dream job until she’d arrived in January Cove. Her life had changed so much in recent months that it was barely recognizable to her.

“I accept!” she said, still beaming. “Thank you so much, Olivia. You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Well, I hope you don’t mind that I told Brandon that I was going to offer the job to you. He’d like to have a celebratory dinner party tomorrow night. Is that okay?”

“Of course! I’m just ecstatic. I have to go tell Addy.”

“Not before you eat your birthday cake,” Olivia said, pushing the cupcake closer to her.

“Fine. But not unless you join me,” Faith said, squinting her eyes at Olivia.

“Okay, but this is really breaking my tradition,” she said as she pinched off one side of the dessert.

* * *

Brandon had thrown the perfect dinner party to celebrate Faith’s new job. Many of the Parker family were there, and of course Olivia was there.

“Dinner was fab, as always,” Olivia said to Brandon as she headed for the front door.

“Thanks for helping me organize it,” he said, giving her a quick hug.

“See you at work on Monday,” Olivia said to Faith.

“I’ll be there bright and early, boss,” she said, giving her best military salute.

They watched Olivia walk to her car and drive away. The house was now empty, and that always presented a challenge to Faith. The “almost kiss” on the beach had made things a little awkward for a few days, but before she knew it, they were right back to where they were.

“Let me help clean up,” Faith said.

Brandon waved his hand. “No, this was your party. You don’t clean up at your own party.”

“I don’t mind, really.”

He blocked the doorway to the kitchen. “Nope. You go plop down in front of the TV, and let me finish up. I’ll put on a pot of coffee if you’ll stay awhile?”

“Sure. Sounds good.”

“Go sit. One of those singing TV shows is on. I know you like those.”

Faith smiled. “You know me so well.”

“I try.”

She walked to the other side of the house and sat down in one of the big fluffy armchairs. As she watched Brandon from across the open floorplan, she tried to imagine what it might be like if they were married. He’d do the dishes, she’d sit around trying to look pretty. Sounded like a fair compromise.

“I’m going to take this trash out,” Brandon called from the kitchen. Faith nodded.

“Where is the remote? This thing is so loud,” she said to herself. She stood and walked around the room. She picked up a magazine thinking maybe it was underneath, but instead she found a pad of paper. On it there were details about travel to the Middle East and the name of the charity Brandon had worked with in the region.

“Huh. This must be a very old pad of paper,” she said to herself again. Her attention was diverted by a loud ding, and she realized it was Brandon’s cell phone. An unknown person had texted him. She knew she shouldn’t have looked, but she couldn’t help herself so she glanced at it.

I know you don’t want to tell Faith about the plans you’ve made for your future, but time is ticking and she’s going to find out soon. Maybe you should…

“I’m back,” Brandon called as he came back into the house. He stopped and looked at Faith. “Everything okay?”

She swallowed and opened her eyes wide. “Yeah, of course. Listen, I need to leave.”

“What? Why? I just put on the coffee.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry but I’m just so tired. And I’ve got work coming up so I need to be fresh, ya know?” She started walking around the living room, searching for her purse while fake yawning.

“Faith, is something wrong? You’re acting a little… frantic.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“Then stay. Please. Just for coffee?”

She didn’t want to start a whole “thing”. He wasn’t her boyfriend anyway, so what say so did she have in his life? In her mind, he tried to kiss her, she rebuffed him and now he was planning to leave town. Why did she always drive the men in her life away?

“Okay. But then I really need to get home. It’s getting late.”

“It’s eight-thirty on a Saturday night, Faith.”

She looked at her watch. “Yep.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, still obviously unsure of what was going on with her. “Alrighty then. I’m going to get the coffee ready. You just chill out in there, and I’ll be in shortly.”

Faith went back to the room, but this time sat on the end of the love seat next to the table. She felt no pride as she craned her head to see if more texts had come in.

Keeping this a secret is only going to cause you more stress. I think you just need to tell her because this is a pretty big change you’re making. Maybe she won’t be okay with it…

Oh, God. He was definitely leaving January Cove and going back to the Middle East. There was no other way to interpret the messages. And who were they from? And why did the person even know her name? Her heart sank as she thought about life in January Cove without Brandon.

“Coffee with soy milk and extra sugar,” Brandon said, handing her the cup and saucer. “Oh, there’s my phone. I’ve been looking for it all night.”

“Phone? Oh. I didn’t even see it,” she said, worried that he’d look at her face and realize she was a terrible poker player.

Brandon sat down across from her in one of the chairs. “So, are you excited about your new job?”

She was thankful he seemed to be unaware of what she’d just seen and read. “Yes. Definitely.”

“I know you’ll do great, Faith. You’re a perfect fit at HOPE.”

“Thanks.”

“So, listen… Olivia told me I missed your birthday yesterday? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It was just a birthday. No big deal.”

“Well, I do actually have a gift for you. I hope you like it,” he said, pulling a white envelope out if his pocket and handing it to her.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.” Brandon was all smiles as he waited for her to read the contents.

Faith slowly opened the envelope which revealed a letter inside. She immediately recognized the handwriting. Her father.

“My Dad?”

“Yep,” Brandon said, his smile growing wider.

“But I don’t understand. How did you get a letter from my Dad?”

“Well, I know how it’s been bothering you that he wouldn’t allow contact. So I reached out to a buddy of mine up that way. He knows a guard at the prison, so I wrote him a letter and they…”

“Are you kidding me right now?” she said, her face turning red from anger.

“What? Faith, I don’t understand… You’re mad at me?”

“Of course I’m mad! You went behind my back and contacted my louse of a father without asking me first?”

“But you would’ve said no.”

“And that wasn’t a clue that you shouldn’t do that? I told you on the island that I wanted to leave it alone until he reached out to me, if he ever did.”

“I was only trying to help you, Faith.”

“I don’t need your help or anyone else’s! I’m a grown woman. What you did was a betrayal of my trust, Brandon.” She stood up, grabbed her purse and moved swiftly to the front door.

“Faith, I’m sorry. I thought I was doing a good thing…” Brandon said behind her.

“Thanks for dinner, Brandon. But please, for the love of God, stay out of my personal life, okay?” She slammed the door behind her and walked down the road toward Addy’s.

* * *

“I honestly don’t know what I did wrong, Liv,” Brandon said as he sat with Olivia on his back deck. The waves were particularly hostile today, which went perfectly with his last interaction with Faith. He’d never seen her that angry before.

“I guess it invaded her privacy. She seems to be hurt by things in her past, so maybe it’s got something to do with that.”

Brandon hesitated for a moment. “She hasn’t told you why she’s in January Cove, has she?”

“No. I thought she just moved here for a new start or something. She did tell me about her father being in prison, but that was only recently.”

“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Faith is here to find her birthmother. When her father went to jail, she found out she’d been adopted as a baby.”

Olivia looked stunned. “Really? Why wouldn’t she mention that?”

“She just got so invested in HOPE and Amelia that I think she’s procrastinating on the search. It was a dead end. That’s why I contacted her father. I thought maybe he knew more. I don’t think he knows anything else, but I’d hoped they could mend fences a bit too.”

“Your heart was in the right place. So, her birthmother was from right here in January Cove, huh?”

“Seems that way. She grew up in Virginia. Not sure how she got all the way up there from this tiny town, though.”

Olivia was quiet for a moment. “And she couldn’t find any information?”

“Nope. Just that her birthmother was really young at the time. No other real information.”

“What’s she going to do now?”

“Well, before she bit my head off, I helped her do one of those DNA test kits she ordered in the mail. They take awhile to come back with results, though.”

“Faith’s a great person. I’m sure she’ll cool off soon and forgive you. After all, I think she has a little crush on the dashing Dr. Brandon James.”

Brandon laughed. “Not even my medical degree could’ve saved me on this one.”

“Give her time and a little space. She’ll come around. Besides, you’ve got a lot of changes coming up in your own life, right?”

“Right. And I’ve never been more scared either.”

* * *

Faith sat in her room at Addy’s staring at the letter. She hadn’t read it yet. Couldn’t bring herself to think about what Jim McLemore had written. Did she want an apology? Did she want to know he was okay? She didn’t know what she wanted anymore.

Tomorrow she’d start her new job at HOPE. She’d been excited about it just twenty-four hours before, but now she didn’t know how to feel about anything in her life, especially Brandon.

She couldn’t remember a time when she’d been more angry at someone, well maybe except for her father. Still, she felt a little guilty for lashing out at Brandon like she did. He’d done a stupid thing, in her opinion, but he’d done it for her out of the goodness of his heart.

He had no way of knowing that she was like a scalded dog having read his text messages. And she had been wrong to read them, so who was she to judge him?

It was all so confusing, but the one thing that was for certain was there was a letter sitting on her desk from the father who’d raised her and loved her. She needed to read it and see if he’d provided any more information on her birthmother.

She slowly walked across the room and picked it up, bringing it to her nose for a brief second in the hopes that it smelled like her father’s cologne. Instead, it smelled stale and a little bit like hot dogs.

She opened it, running her fingers across his handwriting. It looked the same as always - small and boxy.

Dear Faith,

My God, how I’ve missed you. I’m so sorry I cut off communication with you, but I thought it was best at the time. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to take care of me anymore, Faith. I thought I was making it easier for you, but your friend tells me I tore your heart out.

Please forgive me.

I’ve unblocked everything, and I hope you’ll write me back some day. I hear you’re living the beach life and doing great things in January Cove. I know your birthmother would be proud that you’re giving back in her town, and I sure am proud of you too.

Faith, I wish I knew more about your birthmother, but I don’t. But I have no doubt that your friend cares a lot about you and will help you find the answers you seek.

I hope you’ll write me back because I long to hear from you, even if it’s just in letter form. I miss you so much, and I hope there’s still a place for me in your life. If not, I’ll understand. You need to do what’s best for you. That’s really all I want.

Well, I have to go. It’s time to eat lunch, and it’s hot dog day here. If you don’t get first in line, you end up with shriveled up hot dogs which taste worse than they look.

I love you, my baby girl.

Dad

Faith hadn’t realized how hard she was crying until she saw two tears fall onto the page and smudge the ink. He still loved her. She’d been so mad at him all these months that she’d forgotten how much she still loved him too.