Hearts of Emerald Bay

by D G Barnes

  Sitting up, Dana stretched. “I’ve had such a good time tonight, Mac. I hate for it to end.”

  “Me too,” Mac whispered. “Let me walk you to your car?”

  “I would like that.” Dana stood.

  They slipped on their shoes and walked in silence down the stairs and out the back door. A cool breeze blew off the water, and Dana shivered at its touch. Mac moved closer and placed an arm around her, then as they reached the car, she turned Dana to face her.

  “Here, let me warm you a bit before you go.” Ever so gently she grasped Dana by the shoulders and pulled her in, meeting her mouth with her own. Dana eagerly accepted the kiss and wrapped her arms around Mac’s waist. Their mouths moved together as their tongues caressed. The coolness of the night diminished by the heat of their kiss, if only for a moment, and Dana moaned softly against Mac’s lips in appreciation.

  Mac pulled back, and Dana sensed her reluctance. “We need to do this again, soon.”

  “Kiss?”

  “That.” Mac chuckled. “But I was thinking the whole evening. You know, food, wine, movies.”

  “And more kissing? There has to be more of that, or the deal’s off.” Dana teased.

  “Lots more kissing then.”

  “Then you’re on.” Dana pulled her keys from her pocket.

  “Soon?”

  “Yeah. Soon.” She pushed a button on her fob, and the BMW chirped. “See, even my sexy little car agrees, and she’s never wrong.”

  “Far be it from me to argue with your car.” Mac gave her another quick kiss before she turned away.

  “Good night, Mac,” Dana said as she opened the door and slipped behind the wheel.

  “Good night, and sweet dreams.”

  Dana started up her little BMW and blew Mac a kiss, then waved as she drove off. She sighed contently. Tonight had been one of the best nights she had had in a very long time. She felt something when she was with Mac, something she hadn’t felt forever, and honestly, it scared the hell out of her. But as the universe as her witness, she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

  Chapter Seven

  Mac sat in her tiny office at the rear of The Rusty Anchor. She tapped her pen on the desk and stared at the numbers on her computer screen. “What the hell,” she muttered to herself.

  For the third time, she compared the stack of receipts and invoices to the inventory spreadsheet on the computer. She rubbed the ache in her neck as she looked at the clock. 7:00 PM. Damn. She’d been here for two hours trying to find the discrepancy.

  A knock on the door drew her attention away from her dilemma. “Come,” she called.

  The door opened, and Ricky entered. He smiled at her as he approached, handing her a large cup of coffee. “Hey, Mac. Thought you might be able to use a pick-me-up.” He sat in the chair across from her.

  She took the cup and sipped. “Um. You know me too well, Ricky.” She closed her eyes and breathed in the rich aroma, letting herself relax for a moment. She wondered if Dana would rub away the tension in her neck and shoulders if she were here. Her thoughts drifted, and it sent pleasant shivers through her, and she breathed a contented sigh.

  “Earth to Mac. Are you still in there?”

  Her eyes blinked open, and she saw Ricky looking at her, an eyebrow raised. “Sorry.” Heat rose in her cheeks. “Just enjoying the coffee.”

  “Sure, Mac. If you say so.” He chuckled. “You almost done with the paperwork?”

  “No,” she said with disgust. Her momentary reprieve from the discrepancy faded. “I’ve gone through this stuff a thousand times, and I can’t find the bloody error.” She jabbed the pile of papers with an angry finger.

  “Oh? What’s wrong?”

  “We're missing two cases of Scotch. Either we never received them or someone helped themselves to them.” She frowned. “Honestly though, I don’t think it’s the latter.”

  “Or,” he took a clipboard from its hook on the wall, “two cases fell off the truck and broke this morning. Replacements will be here tomorrow.” He pointed to a hand-written note at the bottom of the tally sheet as he handed it to her.

  “Son of a…” She groaned and leaned back in her chair, the palms of her hands pressed against her eyes.

  “Why didn’t you ask me when you first saw the discrepancy?”

  She took another swig of coffee. “You know me, Ricky. I like to solve my own problems.”

  He shook his head. “I know, and it’s damn infuriating too,” he said with a huff. “There’s nothing wrong with asking for help occasionally. It doesn’t mean you’re weak.” He stood and paced, which was difficult as he only had about two square meters of space in which to do it. He plopped back down in the chair and leaned across the desk. “Mac, one of these days that stubborn-assed pigheadedness of yours is going to cost you dearly.”

  She looked at him, and he glared back. But it wasn’t anger she saw in his steely blue eyes; it was a genuine concern, and she loved him for it. Had anyone else talked to her like that, she would have tossed them out on their ass. “Stubborn-assed is not a word Ricky.” A grin slowly grew on her face.

  “Well, it is now,” he said trying to keep a stern demeanor. He failed, and they broke into laughter.

  After a few moments, Mac wiped the tears from her eyes and turned back to the computer. A few keystrokes and a couple clicks of the mouse, the discrepancy disappeared.

  Ricky settled back in the chair and watched her file the receipts in a nearby cabinet. “So how is it going with your new lady friend?”

  She chuckled at the question. “Her name is Dana. And things are going.”

  “Cryptic. But, okay. Do I get to meet her?”

  “If you’re lucky.” She returned to her desk and organized the remaining papers and put the pens in the holder. “Dana’s been coming over the last few nights to help Ellie with her story for that writing contest she’s entered, and she usually pops in here and says hi first.”

  Before Ricky could respond, they heard a soft knock at the door. “Come,” Mac said, and her mood improved when Dana entered the room.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting?” Dana looked first at Ricky then to Mac.

  “Not at all, Dana. Come in. I want you to meet someone.” She gestured toward Ricky, and he stood to greet her. “Dana, this is my best friend and right-hand man, Ricky. Ricky, this is Dana Lawson.”

  Ricky and Dana shook hands and exchanged greetings. “Well, I’ll get back to the bar and leave you two alone,” he said and headed for the door. “Nice to meet you, Dana. I hope we’ll see you around here more often.” He nodded at the women before closing the door behind him.

  The echo of the door closing had no sooner faded when Mac had Dana in her arms. Their lips met, and she pushed Dana back until she came up against the door with a thud, drawing a little oomph from her. Their kiss deepened, and Dana's hands roamed her back. Mac winced as her hand moved over the knotted muscle in her neck.

  “What’s wrong?” Dana pulled back, concern crossed her face and her brown eyes softened.

  “I’ll be fine.” She rubbed her neck. “Just stiff from sitting in front of that damn computer for too long.”

  “Let me see if I can help you with that.” Dana guided her to the chair Ricky had vacated minutes earlier.

  Mac closed her eyes at the sensation of Dana’s touch. She winced at first, then let out a long breath as tension melted away. Dana kneaded her shoulders and neck in silence, and Mac’s thoughts drifted away, her mind emptied. Damn, it felt good. It took several moments for her to realize Dana’s hands had wandered to the front of her shirt, undoing the top three buttons. Opening her eyes, she looked down in time to see her hands disappear inside.

  “Dana? What are you doing?” Mac asked in a soft voice, wishing they were alone somewhere other than her office and wishing she didn’t have to work tonight.

  “What? Don’t you like it?” Dana kissed the top of her head.

  She sucked a breath when Dana slipped
her hands over the cups of her bra and pinched her stiffening nipples. “Damn, Dana.” Mac groaned. “Don’t you have a date with my niece?”

  “This is more fun,” she whispered into her ear, then sucked on her earlobe.

  Mac closed her eyes again. Warmth spread from her core, and her pulse quickened. Dana’s mouth was on her neck placing little kisses along its length. Her tongue traced the outer edge of her ear, and her hot breath tickled her skin. Mac was on fire, and as much as she hated to, she needed to stop. Besides, she knew Dana was only being a tease; she wouldn’t go back on her word to help Ellie with her story. Taking a deep breath, she released it gradually. Grasping Dana’s wrists, she withdrew her hands from her shirt.

  Standing, Mac turned and faced Dana, who was now sporting big brown puppy dog eyes and a pouty lip. She laughed. “That won’t work.” She leaned in and gave her a quick kiss while doing up the buttons on her shirt.

  “Not fair.” Dana stomped a foot. “I was just starting to enjoy myself.”

  “Really? Are you going to throw a tantrum now? Maybe I should put you over my knee.”

  “Oh, would you?” Dana replied excitedly. Her eyes widened with anticipation.

  Mac raised an eyebrow, and they stood there for a moment, looking at each other until she saw the corners of her mouth move upward, then they both laughed.

  “You’re so bad,” Mac said and moved them both toward the door. “Now, I must get to work before Ricky thinks I’ve gone AWOL, and you need to get upstairs to Ellie.”

  “Will you be late tonight?” Dana asked, playing with the collar of Mac’s shirt for a moment before running her fingertips down her arms and lacing her fingers with hers.

  Mac swallowed. “Doubt I’ll be home before midnight.”

  Dana moved closer, placing her mouth by Mac’s ear. “Okay. I’ll pop in and say goodnight before I leave then.”

  “I’d like that.” Her voice was raspy.

  Mac found Dana’s mouth and drew her in for a languid kiss. Dana felt so good in her arms as if she belonged there, as if she had always been there. All too soon the kiss ended, and they pulled apart. They stared into each other’s eyes for several beats, neither saying a word.

  “I should probably go.”

  “Um, yeah. Okay.” Mac opened the door.

  “Have a good night.” Dana gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

  “You too.” Mac waved, watching as Dana headed for the stairs. She sighed. Her body was thrumming, and she knew it was going to be a long night. She hoped it would be busy to keep her mind from flashing her images of Dana.

  ***

  Ten minutes later, Dana was sitting at the kitchen table with Ellie, the revised chapters spread out before them. What Ellie had written so far impressed her. She introduced the hero and the heroine in the first two chapters and had brought them to life instantly. Dana found herself captivated by the story thus far and several times, she caught herself reading instead of editing. For a fourteen-year-old, her grasp of the mechanics of writing was excellent, and she had not used her red pen as often as she thought she would.

  “This is wonderful work, Ellie.” Dana handed her the newly edited pages.

  “Thanks. I’m glad you think so.” Ellie shuffled through the pages examining the editor’s marks and comments.

  “Any questions?”

  “Nope, I don’t think so. All straightforward stuff.” Ellie straightened the pages and placed them in a folder.

  Dana glanced at her watch and was surprised they had only been at it for a little over an hour. “Ellie, do you like ice cream?” Silly question; who doesn’t like ice cream?

  “Only on days ending in Y.”

  “Okay then. How about you and I go for an ice cream run? My treat.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Just let me straighten this up first.”

  “Sure. You do that while I tell Mac I’m abducting you. Meet you at my car?”

  “Okay. See you in a bit.”

  It felt weird, Dana thought, entering the tavern proper from the staff entrance. Mac had given her permission to use the door anytime she wanted, so this wasn’t the first time. Still, it felt weird.

  Dana slowed her pace when she noticed Mac standing behind the bar at the far end, her knee propped up on the short counter that held trays of clean glasses and other bartending related items. She was talking to a woman who sat on a barstool across from her. She was blonde, attractive, and was laughing at whatever Mac was saying. The blouse the woman wore showed off far too much cleavage for Dana’s liking. Then blondie touched Mac’s bare forearm, letting her hand rest there.

  As she stood watching, she realized she was clenching her fists and a knot had formed in her stomach. Was she jealous? That’s ridiculous. She had no right to be jealous, but there it was. She drew a breath and swore to herself she was not going to be that person, the type that got jealous over nothing.

  She was unsure what expression she had on her face at that moment, but blondie quickly withdrew her hand from Mac when she noticed Dana, probably still glaring at her. Mac turned, following the blonde’s eyes and, seeing Dana, she waved her over. Dana gave herself a mental shake, walked toward them, and stood at the side of the bar.

  “Hey, you,” Mac said. “Heading out so soon?”

  “Sorta. I wanted to let you know that Ellie and I are on our way to get ice cream.”

  “I’m so jealous right now,” Mac said. “Oh, before you run off, I would like you to meet Kristen.” She motioned toward the well-endowed blonde.

  Dana turned toward the woman keeping her expression neutral. Mac knew her name. Her stomach tightened again. Don’t be stupid; she was a bartender and knew the name of many customers. The woman smiled brightly. Perfect teeth, naturally.

  “Dana, this is Kristen, my cousin. She’s up from Boston visiting her folks.”

  Relief, as well as some well-deserved embarrassment, washed over Dana, and she stepped closer to the woman. Her stupid petty jealousy disappeared, and she accepted the hand Kristen held out to her. “Hi, I’m Dana. Nice to meet you.”

  “Dana and I are...” Mac paused, seemingly lost for words. “Close friends.”

  Kristen gave a nod in understanding. “Do you live in Emerald Bay, Dana?”

  “No. The city. I’m here on vacation.”

  “Well if you’re looking for peace and quiet, Emerald Bay is certainly the place.” She downed the rest of her drink. “Well, I must be going. My husband, Robert, is probably wondering where I’ve gotten to.”

  She slipped off the barstool and moved to meet Mac who had come from behind the bar. The two women hugged, and the black leather mini-skirt Kristen wore drew Dana’s attention. Maybe skirt was too generous a description. It wouldn’t be wise for her to bend over.

  “It’s been good seeing you again, Kristen,” Mac said. “We need to get together when you have more time to chat.”

  “I would like that,” Kristen said. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Dana. Maybe the three of us could hang out sometime. A girls’ night out.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Dana said to be polite. She followed Kristen with her eyes as the blonde waved and made her way to the exit. Although Kristen had a nice ass, she wondered how much of her was plastic.

  “Dana, you’re drooling.”

  She turned quickly to Mac, glaring at her. “I am not.” Just in case, she put a hand to her mouth to check.

  Mac laughed. “You looked so cute just then. All embarrassed that I caught you.”

  Her face burned, and she gave Mac a playful punch on the shoulder. “Stop teasing me.” She stood a little closer.

  “Ow! Okay,” Mac said rubbing her shoulder. “You know, most of Kristen’s assets are fake. Her husband is a plastic surgeon.”

  “I’m not surprised.” She gave Mac a quick kiss. “I better get going. Ellie will think I’ve stood her up.”

  “Right. You two have fun eating ice cream, and I’ll go back to slaving away behind the bar,” Mac said w
ith an exaggerated sigh.

  Dana rolled her eyes and gave a playful wave over her shoulder as she headed for the exit.

  She found Ellie leaning against the car and tapping away on her phone. Ellie looked up as she approached, pushing the phone into her pocket.

  “Ready to motor?” Dana asked.

  “I was about to send in a search party, but then I assumed you had ulterior motives for going to see Mac.” She jumped into the passenger’s seat.

  “I plead the fifth, or whatever the Canadian equivalent is.” She got into the shiny little sports car.

  The evening was warm, and Dana decided to leave the top down for the short drive to the ice cream stand. Ellie grinned like a kid with a new toy as they zipped down Main Street, and Dana laughed when she leaned out of the car and called out to two girls walking down the sidewalk. Ellie waved at them frantically, and the girls returned the wave with an equal amount of exuberance.

  “Friends of yours?” she asked, looking at Ellie who was typing away on her phone again.

  “Yeah. From school. They’re going to be so fucking jealous.” She froze and gave Dana a horrified look. “Oh, my gosh! I am sooo sorry.”

  Dana laughed and patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Not the first time I’ve heard the word.”

  “You’re not going to tell Mac, are you?”

  “Your secret is safe with me.” She pulled into the large gravel parking lot of the ice cream stand.

  “Thanks. Mac would ground me for a month if she knew I used the f-word.” Ellie sighed and put her phone away.

  The stand wasn’t big, and from what Dana could tell from where they stood, only two people worked inside. The sizeable soft-serve machine took up most of the interior. There were many customers there, mostly parents with young kids, which kept the two employees hopping. A handful of teenagers sat on one of the many picnic tables, laughing and goofing around, typical teenager stuff. They kept to themselves and didn’t bother the other patrons.

  Although the place was busy, they had only a short wait in line before it was their turn to order. Ellie ordered a chocolate-dipped cone while Dana opted for a small hot fudge sundae with extra nuts. Frozen treats in hand, she scanned the rows of picnic tables for a place to sit. No luck.