Free Long Way Home by Neve Cottrell Page A

she took refuge on a bench and closed her eyes to ease her pounding head.
    She absolutely hated lashing out at her sister. Betsy was clearly harboring deep resentment and Alexis didn’t really blame her. Her eyelids fluttered open and she took a moment to observe the shoppers more closely. She noticed a family of five trying to walk together despite the tide of people rushing around them.
    “Single file line,” she heard the father say. The three children scrambled into formation with the youngest at the front. Between that and the man’s crew cut, Alexis guessed they were a military family.
    “You look like you need a strong coffee,” an elderly man said, setting himself down beside her. He rested his cane on the end of the bench.
    “A strong drink,” she agreed. “Not sure it should be coffee, though.”
    He chuckled. “A woman after my own heart.” He took note of the absence of shopping bags. “Having trouble with gift ideas?”
    Alexis shook her head. “Not the kind of problem that would stress me out.”
    The elderly man smiled kindly. “I always accompany my wife on her shopping trips. Helen, she’s a real worrywart. What if little Jimmy is too old for this toy? What if I insult Janie with the size of the sweater I buy her?”
    “Let me guess, it always turns out fine.”
    He leaned back against the bench and sighed. “Always. She gets herself all worked up for nothing.”
    “I’ll bet you love being on the receiving end of that,” she commented.
    He scratched his chin. “You know what? That’s my job. I love her and that’s one of the ways I give her what she needs.”
    “You’re very sweet.”
    “Hey, I didn’t say it was a one-way street. She puts up with a lot of my nonsense, too. Nobody’s perfect, not even close.”
    Alexis watched as two little girls skipped ahead of their mother, singing and holding hands as they went. She and Betsy had never been that close. In fact, she couldn’t think of a single activity that they liked to do together. They didn’t even listen to the same music. Alexis had plenty of memories of disagreements and aggravations, but not much else, yet Betsy seemed to have so much bitterness stored up over Alexis’s voluntary alienation. Was it because she viewed the departure as a personal rejection or was it because Betsy actually wanted Alexis in her life? The former seemed more likely.
    “Do you know where the nearest bus stop is, by any chance?” Alexis asked.
    “Sure do. You got plans?”
    “I do, actually. I need to get back to Mangrove Island to meet a friend.”
    “Mangrove Island?” he queried. “Such a nice place. My wife and I have spent time there over the years. Good fishing.”
    “You couldn’t choose a better place for it.”
    “Don’t I know it.” He gave her directions to the nearest bus stop and Alexis thanked him before standing to leave.
    “I just need to do a little shopping first,” she said. “I came all this way, I don’t want to leave empty-handed.”
    “Good luck,” said the elderly man.
    “Merry Christmas,” she called over her shoulder as she hurried to find the much-desired scooter.
    Her phone rang as she studied the directory and, when she saw Ty’s number on the screen, an involuntary smile tugged at her cheeks.
    “Hey, stranger,” she answered.
    “Wow, have you fled to Madison Square Garden?” he asked.
    “Noisy, huh? It’s a shopping center. Betsy keeps a car on the mainland for excursions so I went with her.”
    “Last minute Christmas shopping?”
    “Can you blame me? I’ve been distracted by someone who keeps inviting me to spend time with him in the vain hope that I’ll remember him from high school,” she said.
    “Ah, you’ve seen through my ruse. Is it working?” She could practically hear him grinning.
    “Not yet. Listen, I hope I’m not late to dinner. Betsy and I had a fight and I’ll need to grab a bus to the water taxi once I’m finished. I have no clue how long that takes, but