by Rula Sinara
It was nice. So much nicer than the underlying competitive attitude of people at her work. So much more relaxed. She slipped her phone in her pocket as she reciprocated the quick hug from Eve. Her pixie-cut hair peeked out from under a green beanie hat and little candy cane earrings dangled from her ears. She kind of liked Eve’s whimsical, boho-chic style.
“I saw you coming in here and was ready for a cup of tea, so I thought I’d say hi. How are you enjoying your trip so far? Faye told me she watched Damon’s dog yesterday, so that you could all go up to Manteo. Did you have fun?” Eve asked.
“Yes. It’s a beautiful town. I mean, so is Turtleback Beach, of course, but yes, we had a great time. We went to the aquarium and that boat...the old replica.”
“The Elizabeth II. Caden must have loved that.”
“He did. Sara came along, so they had fun. How are things at your bookstore today?” Zuri asked, wanting to change subjects. Word traveled fast and she didn’t want anyone making assumptions about her and Damon.
“Christmas shopping has been good this year. Reading time was extra busy because of parents wanting to buy gifts for their kids without their kids seeing what they got.”
“That makes sense.” Zuri glanced over to make sure she wasn’t holding up the line. She and Eve took a few steps forward. “Oh, you’d probably know. Where would I find a Christmas stocking around here? I forgot Caden’s back home.”
“Just go three doors down to the store that’s purple on the outside. It’s called the SEAmstress. Get it? Holly Mann owns it and sells everything for sewing and knitting projects and crafts, including material and yarn. She does alterations when needed, but this time of year she makes things like stockings, Santa hats, elf costumes and such and sells them. Her stockings are really cute and if there’s a specific design or theme you want that she doesn’t have, she’ll make it for you.”
“That’s perfect. Thank you. I panicked when I realized I didn’t bring his. I’ll go there next.”
“Any idea what he wants for Christmas?”
That was a loaded question. Caden had wanted his mother to be okay and Zuri had thought his top wish was to find his father, but he had lost his mother and when he found out Damon was his father, the boy fell apart instead of being happy. But he seemed to be coming around quickly. Almost too quickly.
She hadn’t expected Caden to go along with their outing yesterday, but not only did he go, he had called Damon “Dad.” He’d taken her by surprise. It was all good. It’s why she had told Damon the truth about having a son in the first place. She wanted them to have a connection. It was just that when she heard him say “Dad” a part of her got scared. What if Caden liked it so much here that he wouldn’t want to come home? What if he didn’t want her to have any say in his life, as guardian or aunt?
She could see why a teen boy would find a guy like Damon to be much cooler and more fun to hang around than an overly cautious aunt. The older teenagers got, the more defiant they could be, and she was starting to see his attitude toward her changing. She could already hear future Caden refusing to listen to her and telling her she wasn’t his mother. She loved that boy and she was going to lose him. And losing him would be like losing a part of her sister all over again.
Damon is his father. You’re only his aunt.
What did he want for Christmas? The problem was that what her nephew really wanted wasn’t anything she could buy or stick under a tree. She smiled at Eve.
“Honestly? I’m still trying to figure it out,” she said.
“Tweens and teens are hard. So many end up just getting money so they can get whatever they want, but I don’t think there’s any fun in that. Books are always a good gift, and no, I’m not trying to make a sale, so don’t take that the wrong way. Just trying to help.”
“Books are one thing he’s always loved, but I want to get him something unexpected.”
As if meeting his dad wasn’t, but that already happened.
An image of Damon sitting under her Christmas tree in his red ocean rescue swim trunks flashed in her mind. Talk about unexpected. Damon was not on her wish list. Well, maybe he used to be, and she had to admit he had been on her mind a lot lately, but no. No way. Picturing him that way was dangerous and would only lead to another crush, which would in turn lead to a crushed heart. She’d been down that road already. She was a scientist. If an experiment disproved a hypothesis, that was it. She wouldn’t keep trying the same experiment hoping for different results. That, according to Einstein himself, would be the very definition of insanity. And being around Damon was doing enough of a number on her brain as it was.
“Can I help you?” The Rudolf lady grinned, then gave a small wave to Eve.
“Oh, yes. Hi,” Zuri said, approaching the counter.
“Hey, Darla. This is Zuri. Damon’s friend whose staying at Melanie’s bed-and-breakfast,” Eve said.
“Ah! You’re Zuri. It’s great to finally meet you.”
Darla clearly already knew who she was. Boy, that saying about word traveling fast in small towns and everyone knowing everyone was obviously a scientifically proven fact.
“It’s nice to meet you, too. I had some of your strawberry short—I mean, seacakes and other confections and they were utterly amazing.”
“Thank you!”
“She made my wedding cake—lemon chiffon and decorated with fresh lavender sprigs—and it was so good, Jordan and I ate the top the next day instead of saving it for our anniversary. I have no willpower when it comes to Darla’s goods,” Eve said.
“Um, my willpower wouldn’t be any better. I heard you made your own wedding cake, too, and I heard from Melanie that it was stunning,” Zuri said.
“Aw, you guys are really boosting my ego. Yes, I made mine, only Nora and I do have our top saved, but only because when you bake all day and live around all this butter and sugar, you become immune. Not entirely, but I’ve built some resistance to giving in. Now, what can I get you?”
That was her hint that a few more customers were waiting.
“I’ll take five bags of assorted saltwater taffy.”
“For gifts? I put them in cute bags if they are.”
“Yes, please. And I’ll also take a cup of coffee and a cream cheese Danish. Thanks. Oh, and can I treat you, Eve? You said you wanted tea, right?”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“I insist. You’ve been so helpful and nice. I’d really like to. Consider it my early Christmas gift. Darla, just add her order in.”
“Well, then next time it’s on me. Thank you,” Eve said. “I wish you weren’t only here for a vacation. I like you.”
Zuri pulled out her wallet and paid, while Darla’s assistant helped her put the order together. She smiled at Eve.
“If I lived here, you might get tired of me. I’m a boring geek, I’m told.”
“Damon told me you were an environmental chemist. And no, he wasn’t gossiping. That’s not his style. I asked him.”
Eve took her tea and held Zuri’s cup for her so that she could put her change away and carry the bag containing her order that Darla handed her. Eve carried the cups over to an empty table by the window. Zuri hadn’t planned on staying but she figured that meant Eve wanted to sit a bit longer. She didn’t mind, but the last thing she wanted was to get roped into talking about anything personal. She went ahead and sat. The aroma of baked treats made it hard to leave. She could always make excuses about needing to get errands done if the conversation veered in the wrong direction.
“Yep, that’s me. I work in a lab analyzing water samples and data and such.” She knew she was downplaying the fact that she was a successful researcher and professor at a university and on the brink of finding out if she’d get the tenure track position or not. The fewer people she told, the easier it would be on her if she didn’t get the promotion.
&nb
sp; “Wow. I wasn’t very good at chemistry. I was a liberal arts major back in college.”
“I’m a firm believer that one should pursue whatever makes them tick.”
“And for you, that’s water?” Eve teased.
“No one’s ever put it that way.” Zuri had to laugh. That really did make her sound boring. Bland like water. Funny, considering Damon’s passion was water, but not in such a plain way. For some reason, she’d never seen them as interested in the same thing, but they were. The same passion expressed in different ways. She wanted to protect earth’s water and he worked to protect those in it. Interesting. “I’m passionate about keeping contaminants out of the environment and water supply. I’ve been looking at rising levels of things like fertilizer in waterways.”
“You must spend a lot of time in the field collecting samples, then.”
“No. I used to, I guess, but after finishing my master’s degree and then starting in on my PhD, I ended up sticking to the lab. Where I work now, there are others who get the samples. I do more on the analysis end and, of course, the writing up of research papers and results. Grant applications, etc....”
“Do you miss it? Being out in nature, collecting samples yourself?” Eve asked, sipping her herbal tea. The scent of mint and lemon zest wafted across the table.
Zuri glanced outside. Even from this vantage point, she could see past the restaurant on the boardwalk and to the beach and ocean beyond. No matter where you stood in Turtleback, there was water and nature all around you. That was a fact for the entire Outer Banks, for that matter. A person was literally surrounded by ocean on one side and marshes on the other. The place was teaming with wildlife. Would she miss it? Did she miss life before she had decided to stick to the lab?
“I suppose a little. But working in the lab gave me more predictable hours when my sister was first diagnosed with cancer.”
“I heard about Caden and your loss. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. Being here has helped, I think. I hope, in his case.”
“Well, maybe you’ll love it so much you’ll never want to leave. If it’s water you want to study, we have plenty of it. You can live the rest of your days in our lovely town and when you marry, Darla there can make your cake and I’ll eat half of it.”
Marry? Here in Turtleback Beach? She thought of Damon and how it almost felt like they were a family at the aquarium yesterday. But marriage? No. She’d never consider it. It didn’t matter if she found him attractive. As a chemist, she understood that was just human nature. Hormones. Chemical reactions could change. It didn’t mean they were destined to be together. Did it?
After all, here she was despite the fact that she thought she’d never see him again. She shook her head. Nope. The only relationship she’d ever have with him was that of being aunt to his son. And if Damon tried to take her nephew away from her, she’d never forgive him.
“I already love it here, but alas, there are no labs out here and I’m up for a tenure track position at the university where I work in Boston,” she said.
She’d leave soon enough and, other than setting up visits for Caden with his dad, her and her nephew’s lives would go back to normal or some sort of post-funeral normal. She downed the rest of her coffee and pastry and pushed her chair back. “I’m so sorry to run, but I need to finish shopping and get back. Caden’s probably wondering what took me so long.”
Eve picked up her tea and followed her to the door.
“No worries. I need to get back to work. It was nice talking and thank you for the tea. Please, let me know if you need anything while you’re here.” Eve crossed the street and disappeared into Castaway Books.
You can live the rest of your days in our lovely town and when you marry...
Right. That sounded like a fairy tale. Eve was the kind of person who read, believed in and was probably living a fairy-tale life. However, Zuri knew life didn’t always turn out like a fairy tale. Her sister’s hadn’t. Damon’s parents’ marriage hadn’t worked out. There were so many other relationships and lives she knew weren’t going well. Basically, if Zuri were to look at data and analyze her life, the results would show what she already knew. That not everyone was destined to have a happily-ever-after.
CHAPTER NINE
“I TOLD YOU, it’s a surprise.” Damon unlocked his door and greeted Duck with extra belly rubs. It was his way of rewarding her for not jumping up. Jumping and a dog her size did not typically go well for the person on the receiving end. Zuri’s presence had emphasized that. He nudged Duck away from the door and stepped aside so Caden and Zuri could enter.
After their trip to Manteo, the tension levels between them all had dropped a few notches, at least he thought so, and he didn’t want to lose that momentum. He was headed in the right direction with his kid and he had a feeling Zuri was beginning to see that he wasn’t totally oblivious about children. He had, after all, grown up around younger siblings. Lucas. Damon shut the door a tad harder than necessary. He needed to stop all the negative, intrusive thoughts that crept up out of nowhere every time he tried to just be in the moment. His son was the one who was present in the here and now. Not Lucas. People learned from the past. History was full of lessons if one paid enough attention to them. He could do this. He could be a responsible dad. He’d use his history—from how he behaved in high school, to coping with loss, to all he’d learned in the navy—to teach his son and help him get through life.
“You got a tree?” Caden asked. He had seemed rather glum when Damon swung by Melanie’s to pick them up. The boy had been a lot happier yesterday and Damon really hoped this would cheer him up again.
“I did. It’s artificial, but it’ll have to do for now. That box is full of decorations and I thought you guys could help me make this place more festive. Dinner, hot chocolate and marshmallows are on the house.”
“Awesome,” Caden said. He went straight for the box.
“Aren’t you worried that Duck will knock over the tree like you said she did at the station last year?” Zuri asked.
“She hasn’t bothered the one at the station so far this year, so I figured we’d give it a try.”
He wasn’t sure what had spurred him to do it, but right after his shift at the beach, when his team was going over plans for the town’s holiday parade, he had decided that if his son was going to be here for Christmas, Damon needed to make it a memorable one. Decorating his place was the least he could do. And if that storm ended up getting forecast to arrive sooner and Caden and Zuri had to evacuate, then at least Damon would have had the chance to create some holiday memories with them.
“Lights go on first, right?” Caden asked.
“Yep.” Damon went over and rummaged through the box with the ornaments, while Caden opened the one with lights. Zuri set her purse down, gave Duck a scratch, this time on the slobber-free top of her head, and joined them. She seemed to be getting more and more comfortable around Duck.
“Do you have a theme?” she asked.
“Theme? Are you kidding? I just bought whatever was left at the store. Which wasn’t much. You do themes?”
“Aunt Zuri’s tree is always organized.”
Damon chuckled. “I don’t doubt it. Your aunt was born organized.”
“You said you were in the navy. Don’t you have to be real organized for that? Like, bounce a penny or quarter off your bed and stuff?” Caden asked, as he started wrapping a string of lights around the tree.
Damon took the end from him and continued wrapping when it got too high for the kid to reach. Zuri started hanging ball ornaments, standing back every so often to judge placement. She looked so beautiful standing there. It felt so right having her around again, in his home...in his life.
He cursed himself silently for having blown their friendship apart when he was eighteen. What if he hadn’t? What would his life be like right now if he had accepted whe
n she’d asked him out? Would they still be together? Would he have ever joined the navy and become a SEAL? Probably not.
Guilt settled like ice-cold snow on his chest because as much as he regretted their blowout, he didn’t regret his years as a SEAL. It had made him who he was today. Stronger. More resilient.
Zuri brushed her long hair over her shoulder then hung another ornament. She was different, too. She’d also grown into a more confident individual. She had done well for herself.
Everything happens for a reason. Maybe their time apart allowed him to appreciate her so much more now. Maybe he had needed that time in the navy to build enough courage to face the fact that Zuri had always been special to him...had always filled a special place in his heart. A fact he wasn’t afraid of anymore. The only thing he was beginning to fear was losing her again. Losing them both.
He looked over at Caden, realizing he’d been lost in thought and hadn’t answered the coin bounce question.
“Yep. You do, at the beginning. It’s all about discipline and training.”
“You have to be smart to be a navy SEAL, don’t you? That’s what Chase Falcon says in that book series I’m reading. The character has this super high IQ.”
The book series, again. The one his aunt didn’t approve of. The one Damon wrote. Tell her. Trust her. It’ll be fine. Fine wasn’t good enough. Courage or not, he couldn’t handle Zuri being disapproving. Maybe if they didn’t have a past where he’d disappointed her so ruthlessly it would be different, but they did, so her approval meant a lot to him. While he trusted her on one level, the cynic in him, who’d learned enough from growing up in a lawyer family, had to consider that if she ever thought about suing him for custody, knowing he was a bestselling author with deep pockets might tip the scales against him. He’d heard plenty of stories where individuals sold information to the press. Media loved gossip about famous people—secret babies, surprise weddings and such. Zuri wasn’t greedy though. At least the girl he used to know hadn’t been. Not that he’d hold back from supporting his son. On the contrary, he wanted to give him everything and more. But he’d seen celebrities getting made out to be the bad guys and taken for every last dime. Sure, he had a private lawyer and a family of them, but he didn’t want to deal with that kind of chaos and he needed to protect his son from it, too. What if his name got out there? Zuri wouldn’t do that to him, would she?
