by Tess Oliver
I wrapped up the burrito, suddenly not feeling as hungry. “I’m sure he’ll recover. I’ll try and get as much done as I can before I leave. In fact, I should get back to it.”
As I stood, she grabbed hold of my hand, just like she had done the night before. But this time she held it longer. “I’ll miss you too, Seth.”
“I figure it should be easier for you to sort out your feelings without me around.” I wasn’t sure why or when I’d become so angry, but all of a sudden, this all seemed so fucking stupid. She was pining for a man who was never coming back to her, and I was trying to compete with a man who was only a memory, and fuck, what a formidable opponent he was. “Then you can dedicate all your time to thinking you’re doing the right thing by being alone.”
She bit her lip, it seemed, to keep from crying or berating me. I couldn’t tell which. “Fuck you,” she half cried. It was both. She went to climb out of the boat and I reached for her.
“Wait, Noelle.”
She spun around to look at me, and I expected her to slap me. I would have deserved it. But, instead, her expression softened, making her even more beautiful and making my throat tighten even more. Now instead of biting her lip, it trembled slightly. She stepped closer to me. Her face tilted up to mine, and I badly wanted to kiss her.
“I can’t kiss you, Noelle. And it’s your fault.”
She pulled back slightly, but I pulled her back toward me and smiled. “You should have told them ‘no onions’.”
Her lip curled up, and even that tiny bit of a smile, produced a flicker of hope inside me. We’d been so caught up in standing close to each other, we hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps on the dock. Greg gave us both a knowing, smug grin as he looked down at us. It took me a second to recognize the hunched over older man next to him because the last time I’d seen him he was unconscious and one step from death.
“Seth, I’ve brought someone who is very anxious to meet you.” Greg crinkled his nose. “Do I smell breakfast burritos?”
“You do,” Noelle answered. “There’s one for Pete too.”
They climbed on board.
Noelle gave Pete a hug. “Good to see you up and around. I’ll let you men have a nice talk over your burritos. I’ve got to get to the shop.” She climbed out of the boat. I didn’t pull my eyes away until she’d disappeared into the marina parking lot.
Chapter 24
Noelle
Business had been good at Maverick’s. I was thankful for the diversion of work. It had been several days since I’d seen Seth. Our last encounter had left me with muddled thoughts and I’d begun questioning myself. Why was I being such a coward? Was I using Hayden as an excuse not to try anything scary, namely scary like letting myself fall for Seth? Which I had. That was a cemented fact now. I liked Seth a lot. But my ridiculous wavering back and forth with my emotions had been just too much for him. And now he was leaving, not so much because of me, I was sure, but because there just wasn’t anything to hold him here. Stupid knucklehead that I was, I’d made sure of that. Of course, maybe I was being a bit too confident in thinking that he’d have stayed either way. But I liked to think that I would have been enough of a reason to keep him from going to Montana.
An hour of dismal waves and crappy surfing hadn’t done much to clear my head. After a long day at work and a surf break, I’d promised to go back and help Greg with his surfboard design. It would keep me from sitting around the house, getting depressed about how I’d blown things with a great guy.
I opened my dresser to pull out some shorts. The letter with its curled corners stared up at me. I picked it up, but I didn’t read it this time. I’d almost committed it to memory anyhow. That ache in my throat returned, as it always did, but I needed to learn to get past that pain. It was all right to feel it and for my eyes to burn when I thought of Hayden, but then I needed to get past it. I folded the letter up carefully and tucked it down deep in the drawer. Then I lifted his dog tags off over my head and I laid them down on top of the letter. I pressed my clothes over the two precious items and shut the drawer. I’d been keeping the dog tags near my heart to keep Hayden there, but I hadn’t needed to. Hayden was already in my heart, locked inside forever. The necklace had helped for awhile. It had given me something concrete that was Hayden’s. Something that had once hung close to his heart. And because of that, it had been a comfort to me . . . in those first months. But then it became a symbol of the despair. I was constantly touching it, kissing it. It would catch the light at times when I wasn’t expecting it, and every time it reminded me of the sadness. It reminded me of my horrible loss. It kept me there in that state of agony. I could be having a good day and enjoying myself, free of the burden I carried for a few minutes. Then the necklace would shift on my neck or the tags would tap my chest and I’d be reminded. I would put it away for a week, I told myself, to see if I could bear being without it. A week seemed fair enough. If it was too much, I would take it out and put it on again.
Grace was in the kitchen making a sandwich. “Rocko just texted me. He’s off the job.” She huffed in disappointment. “I guess that means Seth and Rocko will be leaving. Total bummer.”
I poured myself a cup of coffee. “Did he say what happened?”
“I think Rice is losing his ass on this project. He just told Rocko he’d be replacing him. He said the guy was acting like a psycho all day, like he’d been guzzling whiskey since breakfast.”
“That’s bad news for Rocko but good news for Maverick’s. It seems that this new shop is coming apart at the seams. Thank goodness.”
Grace looked down at my shoes. “Are you going out?” There was a spark of hope in her expression.
“Yes, you’ll have the place to yourself.”
She blushed faintly.
“You really like Rocko, don’t you?”
She shrugged, which was all the answer I needed. “I just thought he might want some company since he’s feeling down.” A wicked little grin turned up her lip. “Among other things.” Then she frowned again. “But they’re both going to be leaving soon. And even though you like to pretend otherwise, I know you’re bummed about Seth leaving.”
Duke heard me pick up my keys and got up to his feet with a dog grunt that sounded remarkably like an old man getting off the couch. “I won’t try and deny it. You’re right. It’s going to be dull around here without those two.”
***
Oddly enough, someone had parked a big box van in front of Maverick’s. Greg’s truck was in front of it, so I parked across the street. The new building had actually come pretty far, and I wondered why it was becoming such a money disaster. Of course, to me, the metal and wood framing looked like any other building skeleton. There might have been hidden issues that were giving the inspectors pause.
There was a dim light on inside the small trailer they’d hauled in as construction headquarters. Deep voices rumbled inside of it. Rice’s highly recognizable car wasn’t parked anywhere on the street. I could only figure that his bodyguards also stuck around at night to make sure the construction site was safe.
Greg was leaning over his art table when I walked into the shop. “I bought a new box of treats. Where’s Duke?”
“He had a long afternoon of chasing seagulls and I couldn’t get him to leave his pillow.”
“The guy wants flames coming out of a skull,” Greg said without looking up from his paper and colored pencils. “So cliché. But he’s paying good money, so I’ll draw a skull on fire.”
“Where did the box van come from?” I asked.
“No idea. Hopefully it’ll be gone by morning. Blocks the whole storefront. Do me a favor and sharpen these pencils?”
I walked over and picked up the sharpener and the green pencil. “I had to park on the other side of the street. There were people inside the construction trailer.”
Greg looked up from his work for the first time. “That’s strange. Maybe Rice is afraid that laying off so many workers is going to brin
g retribution. I think we might see a quick end to that project. Of course, that won’t be good because that eyesore will sit there unfinished for a long time before creditors reclaim the lot. Could become a big legal mess, and it’s right on our beach front.”
“It’ll be an eyesore, but the finished building would be too. At least in this state, it poses no threat to our business.”
I walked to Greg’s portable refrigerator and pulled out a water bottle. “Surf was terrible this afternoon. Wasted my time even suiting up. But I had some nice long moments of solitude out there. Time to reflect in between waiting for something that even resembled a wave.” I sat on the stool near his table. “I blew it, Greg. I had this great guy interested in me, and I gave him the brush off. I panicked. I was letting myself have fun and then Hayden’s letter showed up and I used it as an excuse to stop.”
Greg pressed down and finished shading in one eye of the skull before looking up from his work. “So, what you’re saying is, you’d like to stop moping and rejoin the human race. Welcome back, Elle. It’s about time. As far as I know, Seth hasn’t left town yet. And the way he watched you walk away from the boat the other day, I can tell you, he’s still interested.”
“I don’t know why. I’d have given up on my crazy ass a long time ago.”
Greg searched around for something on his table. “We’re all a little crazy, Elle. That shouldn’t be a problem. Hey, do you see my new black marker on my desk?”
I walked over and shuffled through the scramble of papers. “Don’t see it here.”
“Must have left the bag of new pens in the truck. I’ll go get it. By the way,” he said on the way out, “I invited Seth to come here and hang out with us.”
My mouth dropped open as I watched Greg slide out the door. I reached up to my hair that was hastily tossed into a bun on the back of my head. I hurried into the bathroom, to the hazy mirror hanging on the back of the door. I’d expected to be just hanging out in the back of the shop. No makeup and wet hair tied up in a knot. Not my best look. I untangled the disaster at the back of my head. The bun had left some odd waves in my hair as it dried. I combed my fingers through it and sighed. Oh well. Then the butterflies started, the pesky flutters that always seemed to show up at the mere mention of Seth. He’d been the first man to make me feel like a nervous school girl since Hayden.
I had no idea what would come of this now. I’d been absurdly unsteady through it all, and he was leaving. The last thing I needed was to jump into this again with both feet and my heart, when he’d be gone soon. I’d thoroughly flustered myself at this point. I decided to stop over thinking everything and just see how the evening went.
I walked over to Greg’s table and picked up a red colored pencil and started filling in a flame. I needed to keep my hands and my head occupied before I let a bad case of nerves get the better of me.
The front door opened and shut. I continued with my task. “Hey, Greg, did you want this smaller flame to be red?” I called from the back. There was no answer. He was shuffling around in the front of the shop. I put the pencil down and walked out front.
“What are you doing in here?”
The big, menacing man stepped out of the shadows of the shoe shelves. He was one of the guys who’d been following Rice around.
“Get the fuck out of here.” I marched toward him. A large pair of rough hands grabbed my arm. I swung around with a free fist and clapped the other bodyguard on the side of his head. He retaliated with a massive hand smacking the side of my face so hard, I flew into the check-out counter. My chin hit the countertop and I dropped to my knees. The floor moved in waves beneath me and splinters of light shot through my now throbbing head. I pressed my arm against my stomach to keep from throwing up. Warm blood trickled down my chin and my eyes clouded with tears. I was trembling in terror as I reached up and grabbed hold of the counter. The room was still swaying as I pulled myself to my feet. “Where’s Greg?” I asked shakily.
The one who had clobbered me, a giant with a face that reminded me of a potato, lunged for me. I tried to duck away from his meaty hands, but his fat fingers circled my arms. I cried in pain as he squeezed my wrists so hard, I was sure the bones would snap.
In my haze of fear, I caught a flash of glowing light outside the window. Flames. I wondered if my head had been knocked hard enough that I was still seeing the flames of Greg’s artwork in my mind.
The man shoved me hard against the counter and I cried out again as my back smacked against the edge. Bitter bile rose up in my throat as he shoved both of my hands into one of his. He pushed his free hand up beneath my shirt.
I tried desperately to wrench out of his grasp. “What did you do with Greg?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“You aren’t going to see that old stoner in here tonight,” he sneered. “He’s busy.”
The second oversized thug walked toward us. He swung back around as the front door flew open.
“Seth.” His name burst from my mouth on a sob.
Before the huge guy could pull his arm back, Seth’s fist shot into his face. The giant stumbled back a few steps. Seth followed those steps and hit him again. Teeth smacked together and blood sprayed through the air like a fountain. The man holding me, let my wrists go.
“Watch out, Seth!”
The potato man flung his fist into Seth’s gut. He grunted and doubled over just as the second man got to his feet. Bloodied and filled with rage, the man growled an unearthly sound and rammed into Seth.
Seth flew back into the surf wax display. The rack and the cakes of wax went flying in every direction. I raced forward and jumped onto the back of the man who’d been holding me. He flung me off like a kid tossing his backpack onto the kitchen table after school. I rolled into the shoe shelves and a few of the boxes were jarred loose from their cubbies. They cascaded down on top of me. I pushed them out of the way and hurried to my feet. One of the bullies had Seth’s arms wrenched hard behind his back while the second man, potato man, was pummeling Seth’s stomach as if he was a punching bag at the gym.
Most of the window was blocked by the box van, but I could hear a flurry of activity outside. Seth was in horrid pain, and it was two against one. I raced over to him and tried to pry off the man who was holding him. It was useless. My fingers met arms of steel and there was nothing I could do.
Seth dropped to his knees, his face losing color fast. The asshole yanked him back up so his friend could continue the beating. It was all surreal, as if it wasn’t really happening to us, and the blow to my face had made me lightheaded. Seth groaned in agony as the beast’s big fist plowed into him again. I couldn’t stand by and watch it any longer.
The ugly faced potato man was grinning from ear to ear as he laid into Seth. I turned around and had a perfect shot at the other man’s leg. My foot kicked out, and I felt his knee slide sideways under my shoe. He yelled out in pain and released Seth as he dropped to the ground holding his leg.
It took Seth a second to regain his bearings but he recovered fast enough to lay into the man who’d been beating him. And he was damn pissed. I had no idea how or where he’d found the strength but his fist landed so hard on his attacker’s potatoey face, the man’s jaw snapped sideways and a stringy mixture of spit and blood shot out from his mouth. He dropped back and his heavy body thudded onto the floor like an elephant being knocked out with a tranquilizer.
Sirens neared and red flashing lights lit up the dark shop front. The acrid smell of smoke drifted beneath the front door. It was like a movie, an ugly movie and I wanted it to end. I needed to find Greg.
Seth held an arm across his stomach as his agonized blue gaze met mine. I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck, but he had a hard time staying upright. I dropped back. His eyes rounded as he looked at my face. He lifted his hand. The fingers were swollen and red, but he touched them lightly against my cheek. “You’re hurt, baby.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m fine. Thanks to you. But I don’t know wh
ere Greg is and I’m worried.”
“I think I know.” He was hunched over from the pain as I followed him out onto the sidewalk. It was packed with curious onlookers watching as the unfinished building across the street burned to the ground. Through a wall of smoke, the police were yelling at cars to turn back and having a hell of a time getting people who had made it through before the barricade to move out of the way. Two fire trucks had arrived, and a long fountain of foamy water arched over the flames.
It was hard to see and breathe, but the horrid smoke didn’t stop people from lining the sidewalk to watch. Seth led me through the chaos, and I held tightly to his hand. I felt incredibly secure with him. We ran between the two fire trucks and were promptly stopped by a fireman.
“You can’t go any closer.” Even in the unsteady illumination of the fire and the truck lights, the fireman could see that Seth was hurting. Without much fuel, the flames were nearly extinguished, but the heat and smoke flowing off the glowing remains was stifling. My eyes and throat burned.
“Are you in need of medical attention?” the fireman asked Seth.
“No, we’re looking for someone,” Seth said through gritted teeth. He kept his arm pressed tightly against him to staunch the pain. “An older guy with a lot of wavy hair and—”
“He was wearing a light blue t-shirt with a surfboard logo on it,” I added. “He’s the owner of the surf shop across the way.”
Another fireman nearby had overheard our conversation. “That sounds like the man the police are questioning about this fire. A witness pointed him out as the person who started this mess.”
“There’s no possible way,” I said, but then realized I was pleading to the wrong people.
Seth pulled me back between the trucks, and we pushed through the onlookers toward the three police cars lined up at the end of the block. Greg was leaning against a police car looking visibly shaken as three officers stood around him. Then I saw Rice. He was nearby, close enough to hear what they were asking Greg. He didn’t seem the least bit upset about the rapid disintegration of his dream.
