Driftwood Cove--Two stories for the price of one

by Debbie Mason

  “Because the man is an FBI agent and has his priorities straight. Important things like keeping your butt out of prison and your uncle safe from the mob. Plus, he called you at least twenty times during the day, but would you snap out of your woe-is-me snit long enough to pick up the phone? No, of course not.”

  “Whose friend are you anyway?”

  “Yours, and I’m trying very hard to help you get the wonderful life you deserve. A life with an amazing man who loves you, friends who care about you, and a family too. And you keep screwing it up.”

  “I didn’t ask you to fix my life, so stop trying. I like it just the way it is. No, scratch that, I like the way my life used to be…two years ago.” Before her sisters rejected her and Michael gave her a glimpse of what a future with him might look like and made her believe for one brief and shining moment that it was possible. And then his mother had once again shown her that Shay Angel didn’t deserve a happily-ever-after, especially one with Michael.

  “Are you forgetting who you talked to last night before you got it on with tall, dark, and delicious? Me. You were talking to me. And do you know what I heard? I’ll tell you. I heard a woman in love. A woman who needed her best friend to say ‘Hell yeah, you deserve a happy life. Go out there and grab your Prince Charming and make both of your dreams come true.’”

  “No, you told me to get, you know, and I got it. So I’m good.” It’d been so good, so flipping amazing, and now it was going to be awful because she remembered what she was missing.

  “What? For another ten years?”

  Shay’s phone rang. She glanced at the screen and declined the call. And then she did what she hadn’t been able to ten months ago—she blocked Michael’s number.

  “You’re sabotaging yourself, you know? You don’t believe you deserve to be happy, so every time you get close”—Cherry brought her hands together in a thunderous clap—“you do something to ruin it.”

  “It’s not me. It’s God, the universe, karma, whatever you want to call it. I did what you said. I opened up to Michael. I told him the truth. And we had an incredible night. It was the kind of night they write songs about, and then history repeated itself. His mother ranted about how I’d ruin his future, how she couldn’t die knowing he wasn’t with someone good and decent, a woman who has the ability to make his life happy instead of ruining it. And you know who Michael went to first? His mother.

  “And you know who Michael defended to me? Begged me to just give him some time to make her see reason? His mother. The woman who did everything in her power to have me locked up for the rest of my life because I made the mistake of loving her son. A man I would never, not in a million years, be good enough for in the eyes of her and the world.” Shay looked away, resting her face in her hand while surreptitiously catching a tear on the tip of her finger.

  Seconds later, she found herself enveloped in a powder-scented hug. “You leave it to me, Shaybae. I’ll fix everything. I promise.”

  “Thanks, but it can’t be fixed. It’s over. We were over years before, and I should’ve had the sense to leave it at that. I knew better.” She did, and usually that would be enough to stop her from doing something stupid. But she’d never been able to play it smart where Michael was concerned. The scientists were right; love really did make you stupid.

  “I know it feels like that right now, but you wait and see. Your BFF will take care— What?” Cherry yelled, nearly blowing out Shay’s eardrum in the process.

  The door opened, and Denise stuck her burgundy head inside and gave them a purse-lipped look. “Julia Landon is here to see you. She’s head of the Harmony Harbor Business Development Committee. She’s probably here looking for donations. Word of advice, you better not squander your uncle’s hard-earned money. He wouldn’t like it.”

  “Word of advice to you, Witchy Poo, if I was the boss and not Shay, your ass would be cash.” She shrugged when Shay stared at her. “Well, it’s something like that. And I’m just speaking the truth. You should fire her after what she said to Agent James. Either that or take her out back and off her.”

  Denise gasped, her face turning white as she stumbled into the hall and then ran down it.

  “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

  “Yep, now I can take Witchy Poo’s place, and Libby can take mine.”

  “Interesting. I didn’t realize you had any managerial experience or were working here in the first place.”

  “Today was my first day on the job. But you’ll see, I’m a fast learner. I’m so good, I had a premonition we were going to need someone for tonight, and Libby will be arriving any minute now.” She reached around Shay and started clearing off her desk.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Teddy and Gabby are coming too. They need a place to do their homework.” Cherry waved her off. “Shoo, go talk to the business committee woman. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Shay looked from Cherry to her desk and realized what her BFF was up to. She grabbed her cell phone. “Don’t even think about getting involved in this. It’s over. Done. Finis.”

  “Sure. Arrivederci. Over. Trust me, I know.”

  Shay made an aggravated sound in her throat. The woman was going to drive her to drink. But Cherry was right about Denise; she had to go. Charlie could hire her back when he came home. Her uncle, that’s what she needed to focus on. Not Denise and definitely not Michael and his mother.

  A woman with long, dark hair; sparkling, violet eyes; and a hundred-watt smile popped off the stool when Shay reached the bar. “Hi, you must be Shay. I’m Julia. I own Books and Beans.”

  “She writes mommy porn too,” Gerry said from behind the bar, waggling his eyebrows. Shay crossed her arms, and his grin faded. He cleared his throat. “Not porn, books mommies”—Shay angled her head to the side—“girls”—she raised an eyebrow—“women like to read.”

  “Enlightened men too. My fiancé reads my books. And FYI, Gerry, they’re romance, not porn. Which means you should be reading them too. They might help with that little problem you were telling me about.”

  “Yeah, well, okay, I’ll do that.” He wiped his flushed, perspiring face with a bar towel. “Uh, boss, Julia wants a mermaid cocktail. I’m not sure what’s in it. I just got hired this morning,” he said to Julia. “Shay punched me in the face the other day, and I had a come-to-Jesus moment. Like she said, if I didn’t change my ways, I was going to meet my maker before my time.”

  “Okay, let’s not tell every customer that story, Gerry. Don’t make me regret hiring you.” She’d regretted it at least five times already today. She reached across the bar for a pad and pen and wrote out the drink’s ingredients. “You sure you want one of these now? They’re pretty potent,” she said to Julia.

  “I thought I’d do a taste test with my girlfriends. I’m having a mermaid-themed wedding in July.”

  “Cool. Congrats. Denise told me you’re the chair of the business committee?”

  “I am. You know Denise quit, right? She told everyone you’d taken a contract out on her. I’m sure no one believed her, though.”

  “Why would they, right?” Gerry said, measuring out the spiced rum. “Shay doesn’t need to put out a hit on anyone. She just kills them herself.”

  Shay couldn’t figure out if it was the town or the bar, but she couldn’t remember dealing with so many quirky people in her life. Unless she factored in her time in prison. “So, Julia, what can I do for you?”

  “Well, first you can promise not to kill me.” The woman laughed. “I’m just teasing. I know who you are. My fiancé is Aidan Gallagher.”

  “Right, okay, so why don’t we go over here and chat?” Shay jerked her thumb at an empty table far enough away that they wouldn’t be heard. “Sorry,” she said once they were seated on the barrels. “I have to keep my contract work for the DEA on the down low. No one around here knows I was undercover then.”

  “Don’t worry, my lips are sealed.” Julia smiled and made a zip-it motio
n with her fingers before saying, “I’d love to interview you sometime. You’d make the perfect heroine for one of my books.”

  That might work well since Shay wouldn’t be having sex in real life for the foreseeable future, and from the sounds of it, she’d be having plenty between the pages of Julia’s books. Maybe she’d even get a happily-ever-after too. The thought surprised and annoyed her. Obviously, Michael had put the idea in her head. It wasn’t one she’d ever had as a teenager or adult.

  Then, as though to make a liar out of her, an inconvenient memory came to mind. It had been their first Christmas living with Charlie and their first Christmas without their parents. Charlie had spoiled them rotten. He must have cleared the toy store of everything princess related, from toys to dolls to clothes to books. It was like someone had thrown pink glitter over the living room, and Shay had loved it.

  “Only if you have time, though. I know you’re busy,” Julia said, breaking the prolonged silence.

  “Sorry. Yeah, I can make some time for you once my uncle’s back. I’ll be sticking around for a week or so after he’s home.” She hadn’t been idle while she’d been hiding out in Charlie’s office today. She’d scoured his files and computer for a name, for someone who was connected to Tony and Eddie. When she’d come up empty, she’d read every article published on the New England mob, writing down the names of anyone who had some connection to the Costello family. Her next step was to investigate each and every one, after she tracked down her uncle’s best friend. Her messages were piling up on Don's voice mail. His second wife had recently left him and didn’t care whether he was alive or dead.

  Julia drew her from her thoughts. “I have a confession to make,” the other woman said. “I’m the one who told Aidan and his cousin Michael that I saw Jasper with Charlie last Tuesday night. I hope I didn’t make things worse for you and your uncle.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s a small town. No doubt someone else saw them and would’ve eventually come forward.” She thought of Teddy and realized she hadn’t told Michael what the teenager said. Shay wasn’t exactly in a sharing mood now.

  At the familiar click, click, click, she looked over to see Cherry approaching with Julia’s drink, and Shay covered her face.

  “This is really good,” Cherry said around the straw. Taking one last sip before handing the drink to Julia, Cherry pulled out a barrel to sit. “Hi, I’m Cherry Blossom, the new manager of this fine establishment.”

  “Perfect, just the person I wanted to talk to,” Julia said as the two women shook hands.

  Cherry gave Shay a smug smile. “I guess my reputation precedes me.”

  “I don’t know how—you’ve been manager for less than ten minutes,” Shay said, wondering why Cherry was perfect to talk to and not her.

  Cherry waved her off. “Don’t listen to Shay. Tell me what I can do for you, Julia.”

  “As I’m sure you’re well aware, V-Day is fast approaching.”

  Okay, so now Shay knew why Julia had chosen Cherry over her. It was probably obvious that Shay wasn’t a hearts and flowers kind of girl.

  “Ugh. V-Day is right. I’d rather have a venereal disease than have to spend another one alone. That’s the one day I’m guaranteed to hear from my mother. As if I don’t feel bad enough if I’m dateless on the most romantic night of the year, she manages to make me feel worse than I already do.”

  “That’s it! Oh, I like you, Cherry. We’re going to get along just great. You too, Shay.” Julia smiled and patted Shay’s hand. “Anyway, I was talking to my friends who own businesses in town, and a couple of them were bemoaning the approach of Cupid’s birthday. So we decided to shake things up this year. Having a man in your life is lovely—I adore mine—but come on, we don’t need one to have fun and celebrate love. Why can’t we celebrate the love of our friends, family, or our pets? And that’s where the Salty Dog comes in. We were hoping you’d be willing to host a singles’ V-Day party.”

  “Yes! It’s just what the pub needs to liven things up. I’m planning to make some big changes around here,” Cherry shared with Julia, ignoring Shay’s What the hell? stare.

  “Yay! This is so exciting. We’ll probably have some competition from the manor, but once the auction is over, the single ladies in town will be anxious for a diversion.”

  Cherry leaned in, elbows on the table, hands cupping her chin. “What’s our competition doing? Maybe we can get some ideas.”

  “I doubt you’ll be able to compete. They’re auctioning off the bachelor of the month, Michael Gallagher. He probably has no idea, but the auction is just a ruse. His mother and the Widows Club are looking for his perfect match. I heard from Sophie—she’s Greystone’s manager—that women have been crashing the manor’s website signing up for the auction. I don’t blame them. He’s an FBI agent, and don’t tell Aidan, but the man is double-oh-seven hot. He has this chill vibe and—”

  “He’s hot all right. Just ask Shay—she knows,” Cherry cut off Julia with a ticked-off tone. “And he’s already found his perfect match. Her.”

  Julia’s eyes went wide. “You and Michael are together? Aidan never said anything.” She sighed. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. Guys never really talk about this kind of stuff, do they?” She glanced over her shoulder as two women entered the bar and waved. “Over here. Gerry, two more mermaids…Wait, do you guys want one too?”

  The conversation changed so fast that Shay thought it best to let the comment about Michael go, especially with Cherry sitting right there, poised to argue and no doubt make incredibly embarrassing and inappropriate comments. “I should get back to work. Thanks for the offer, though,” Shay said, and stood up. “Cherry.” She nudged her head. There’s no way she was leaving her alone with Julia and her friends.

  “No, please stay. I want you to meet my friends.” Julia stood up. “We’ll just move another couple of barrels over, if that’s okay?”

  “Of course, it is. Gerry, make that four mermaids,” Cherry called out as she stood to help Julia, but not before giving Shay a light elbow to the ribs on her way by and whispering, “You sit back down right now or I’ll tell them all your secrets.”

  “Trust me, you do not want to take that tack with me.”

  Cherry rolled her eyes and then turned a wide smile on the two women who approached the table. “Hello, ladies. Welcome to the Salty Dog. If you’re friends of Julia, you’re friends of ours.”

  Oh God, she should’ve known what Cherry was up to. If she couldn’t give Shay a man to love, she was going to give her more friends. Lots and lots of friends. Shay cringed at a vivid mental image of hordes of women clamoring for her attention and time. Why couldn’t Cherry get it through her head that Shay was happy just the way she was?

  A woman with perfectly styled shoulder-length auburn hair and pale green eyes frowned at Shay. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but when she opened her mouth and a husky voice with a sultry Southern accent came out, Shay was sure they’d never met before. Until the woman pressed a hand to her chest. “Shay. Shay Angel. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

  Beside Shay, Cherry stiffened. No doubt, like Shay, she was anticipating the friends thing going downhill fast from here on out. In Cherry’s book, the woman already had two strikes against her. One, she wore a pale pink coat and Burberry pink and gray checked scarf that screamed classy Southern belle. And two, she obviously had money. Factor in that, from her shocked expression, Shay assumed she’d heard she’d done time. If that was the case, this wasn’t going to end well. She had to get Cherry out of there now.

  “Yeah, that’s me. We’ll leave you to—” She bowed her head and swore under her breath when Cherry’s hand went to her hip, her upper body moving in a You wanna piece of me? I’ll give you a piece of me threatening stance.

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Do you not think she’s good enough for you because she did time?”

  Shay stifled a groan at the same time grabbing Cherry by the arm. “So
rry, she started sampling the product earlier than usual. Drinks are on the house. No,” she said when Cherry got a stubborn look on her face and opened her mouth.

  “Wait, don’t leave,” the woman said, reaching for Shay. “I wasn’t being rude. Don’t you remember me?”

  “Sorry, no, should I?”

  “Now I’m offended. Shay, it’s me, Jenna Bell. We used to be best friends.”

  Cherry snorted a laugh. “Yeah, right. You’re a little too shishy poo poo for my Shaybae, if you know what I mean.” Cherry mimed drinking a cup of tea with her pinky raised.

  The elegant blonde standing beside Jenna laughed and extended her hand. “You probably don’t remember me either, Shay. I’m Arianna Bell. My sister Serena and I own the wedding shop, Tie the Knot, on Main Street.”

  Jenna stood smiling beside her sister, but Shay had witnessed a small shadow crossing her face. For some reason, it appeared her sister had hurt her feelings. Which, sadly, Shay was not the only one to notice.

  Cherry frowned, looking from one sister to the other. “So, what’s up with you two?”

  Jenna looked like she’d just been caught running naked down Main Street. “Nothing, why?”

  Cherry frowned. “Well, you sound like you grew up in the South, and she sounds like she grew up here.”

  “Jenna’s mother married our father. They moved to Charleston when…” She glanced at Jenna. “How old were you, twelve?”

  “Yes, twelve.” Jenna nodded, her smile strained, but it became less so when she looked at Shay. “Which is why you probably don’t remember me.”

  Jenna’s sister laughed, and it wasn’t a particularly nice laugh. “Right, like it doesn’t have anything to do with you losing thirty pounds of baby fat”—she made air quotes around the word baby—“and Daddy paying a small fortune to have your nose and teeth fixed.”

  “Look, here comes Gerry with our drinks and pretzels. You guys are going to love the Blue Mermaids and the garlic cheese pretzels,” Julia said in an overly enthusiastic voice. “Sit down, sit down. Jenna, sit beside Shay so you can catch up.” She patted the barrel beside her. “Arianna, you sit here.”