Not All Who Wander are Lost Read Online Free PDF Page B

plane of existence.
     
    “In the Orkneys?” Finn inquired. “My Aunt Katie is from there. You’d love her. She owns a little curio shop downtown and sells mostly silver jewelry and things from Scotland.”
     
    “Kate is your Aunt? I actually know her. She was a friend of my uncle’s. She is helping me get settled in.” Crimson was taken aback. Surely, Kate would have mentioned this little tidbit about her charge. She certainly had some explaining to do!
     
    Just then, the waitress came with their food, it was a welcome distraction. Crimson took a few minutes to regroup. The burger was excellent, juicy and flavorful, and big, just as Finn had promised. But if the burger was good, the coke was incredible. Crimson thought it was even better than coffee. Sweet and bubbly. If the Human world
    had anything to recommend it, it was definitely the food and drinks.
     
    “You mentioned your uncle. I don’t think I ever met him. Did he live here long?”
     
    “He did, but he came home a few years ago because he was sick. He loved it here though. He was always a favorite of mine and when he passed away, he left me his house and Big Red. He used to tell me stories about the beach and how much he loved it here. His last request was that I come here to at least get to see it.”
     
    “How did your family feel about you going so far from home? “Finn asked.
     
    “Uncle Ian was always kind of a black sheep, preferring to live halfway around the world rather than closer to the family. I suppose I am too, now. It’s strange, being here, but I like it. So very new and different from what I’m used to.”
     
    “I’m glad to hear that you like Seaside. It’s a special place. It’s quiet now, but the tourists will descend in a month or so. It gets pretty crowded in the summer, but I think you will like that too. So many people feel a sense of otherness here. It’s really hard to explain, but it’s what brought me back. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”
     
    “Did you grow up here?” Crimson asked.
     
    “Yes. Katie actually raised me after my parents were killed. My Dad was a fisherman and they went down in a storm when I was five. Katie took me and my sister in.”
     
    “I’m sorry to hear about your parents. That must have been hard for you.”
    “It was, but Katie was great. She says that taking in strays is her calling in life. Between Mariah and me, the cats and dogs, and any other orphaned animals, the house was always full of life and love. She’s really amazing. She’s even raised a few injured harbor seals. Growing up with her was really an adventure. I went to Wyoming to go to college, but I missed it here so much, that I came back as soon as I was done. Katie helped me buy my shop, and I’ve been here ever since.”
     
    Crimson hid a smile. She knew about the seals. One of them had actually been her “uncle” Ian, who was actually more like a wayward and very distant honorary cousin, and very much alive. He’d been stranded by a storm with an injured flipper after venturing a little farther from home than normal and was surprised to find a kinswoman on such a far shore. She’d taken him in and healed his wounds. Of course, this would have been when Finn was very small, and Selkies are very good at hiding their true nature.
     
    “Do you have plans while you are here?”
     
    “Not really, I’m, what do they say? Winging it? Ian left me a tidy sum, enough to last quite awhile if I’m careful. I suppose I’ll actually get some sort of job eventually, but I’m not really sure what I want to do. Most girls in my family get married and stay close to home. There is a whole world of opportunities for me. But I have time to figure it out.”
     
    “Sounds like a good plan to me,” Finn mused. “I’m sure you have some very interesting talents.” When he said that, it seemed almost suggestive. But then, at this point, everything he said came out sounding that way.
     
    They finished