The Sunset Cottages: A Willa Bay Novel

by Nicole Ellis

  He surreptitiously glanced at Tia. Had she been like that too? Probably most girls had gone through that stage. But something in the way Davina wrote about Matthias seemed deeper than a casual crush.

  Their lunches arrived and he closed the journal, handing it back to Tia to make room on the table for the food.

  “What did you think?” Tia asked before biting into her French dip sandwich. She eyed him expectantly as she chewed.

  He popped a French fry into his mouth and thought about her question. “I’d like to know what happened to her. It seemed like she was quite wrapped up in this Matthias guy. Do you think their romance lasted, or did it end after the summer the two of them spent together?” He pictured a young girl living in Cottage Twenty, gazing out the window and recording all of her thoughts.

  A dreamy look came over Tia’s face. “I want to think she ended up with him.” She sighed and dipped her sandwich into a cup of au jus. “But, who knows. Maybe it was just a summer fling.” She looked down at the chair where she’d set the book after covering it back up. “I hope not though. It would be so romantic if they got married or something. Maybe that’s why she left the Inn and Celia never heard about her. I prefer that to thinking something bad happened.” Her laughter was self-deprecating. “You probably think I’m crazy, but I like the idea of someone following their heart and finding happiness.”

  “I don’t think you’re crazy.” He smiled at her. “I get what you mean.” He cocked his head to the side. “Is that why you moved to Willa Bay? To follow your heart?”

  She traced a fry lazily through a mound of ketchup on her plate. “Kind of. Not for love, but to pursue my career. I needed to get out of El Paso, and when I heard through a colleague about the wedding industry in Willa Bay, it sounded perfect.” She lifted the well-sauced fry to her mouth and shrugged. “I moved out here a few weeks later.”

  He studied her face. She still hadn’t told him why she’d left her hometown. “Were there not many event coordinator jobs back home?”

  She reached for her water glass and took a long drink before carefully saying, “There were jobs there, but it wasn’t the right place for me anymore.”

  “Why is that?”

  She sighed and stared down at her plate, before looking up at him. “My parents are a little overbearing. They didn’t really approve of my choice of careers.” She laughed. “They thought I should have been a doctor or lawyer or something else that involved endless years of college.” She shook her head. “That just wasn’t for me. I wanted to get out in the world and experience things for myself.”

  He nodded. While she may have been a few years younger than him, she seemed to have figured out what she wanted long before he had. “So you came out here to get a fresh start?”

  “Yeah, and it worked. I love it here. The first six months were rough because I couldn’t find a steady job and I didn’t really know anyone around here. Once I landed the position at the Inn at Willa Bay, though, things got a lot better.” She grinned at him. “What about you? What brings you to Willa Bay?”

  “I was tired of city life and I wanted to live in a place where things move a little slower.”

  “Where did you live before?” she asked.

  “Seattle.” He popped the last bite of his BLT sandwich in his mouth.

  Tia’s face brightened with curiosity. “You didn’t like living in Seattle? I’ve always thought it would be cool to live in a big city like that for a while.” She pursed her lips. “I don’t think I’d like it long-term either though. I prefer being in a smaller town, where you can get to know your neighbors.”

  “Me too.” He washed his sandwich down with a long swig of water.

  “So, did you work in construction in Seattle?”

  “No. I was a commercial real estate agent.”

  “Oh wow. That’s so exciting.” She peered at him. “Why did you decide to leave that field?” Her face flushed and she said, “I’m asking too many questions, aren’t I? I love to find out about people’s backgrounds, but I know it can come off nosy sometimes.”

  He paused for a moment, wondering how much he should divulge on a first date. While he didn’t normally tell new acquaintances about the real reason he’d moved to Willa Bay, something told him he could be honest with her. He smiled at her. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.” He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin, folded it neatly, and set it to the side of his plate, then met her gaze head on. “When I was in real estate, I fell into some bad habits. It was pretty common for me to have a few drinks with clients during the day, then go out to happy hour with my friends or wife after work.” She shot him a confused look when he mentioned Marci and he gave her a sheepish grin. “Ex-wife, I mean. Marci didn’t take too well to my decision to quit my job and move out of the city. We’ve been divorced for almost a year now.” Tia nodded, and he continued. “Anyway, my drinking got out of hand, until I hit rock bottom.”

  He felt his vision cloud over as he remembered that fateful night a little over a year ago. He’d woken up in his car, parked on the side of the road in a bad part of town, not knowing how he got there.

  He remembered checking the time on his BMW’s in-dashboard clock with bleary eyes: two-thirty AM. He’d had too much to drink with a big client, but had thought he was okay to drive. Evidently, that hadn’t been the case. On the next street over, police sirens screamed and icy dread shot through his body. Had he caused an accident?

  A quick check of his body told him he was physically okay. He’d willed his hand to release the lever on the door and stumbled outside. No damage to the car either. The sirens hadn’t been a result of something he’d done.

  He’d leaned against the hood of the car and stared up at the night sky, no stars visible in the glare of the city lights. He’d been lucky – this time. Right then and there, he vowed that there never would be a next time. He was thirty-two and already burned out. Something had to change.

  He’d left his pricey car at the curb, knowing it might not be there by daylight, and called a cab to take him home. The next day, he’d attended his first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous and hadn’t had another drink since.

  Across from him, Tia said softly, “Are you okay? You don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”

  He shook his head vigorously, both to reassure her and to push away the bad memory. “It’s fine. I don’t mind talking about it.” He blinked a few times. “Anyway, one day, I just decided that I’d had enough of that life and I decided to make some big changes.” He looked around the small café. “And now, here I am. I’ve been in AA for over a year, and I’m grateful for this new chapter in my life.”

  He assessed her reaction. He hadn’t been out on many dates since his divorce, but in his limited experience, telling women he was an alcoholic tended to scare them off. He’d felt a real connection to Tia though, and he hoped she was different.

  Tia smiled warmly at him and reached across the table to put her hand on top of his. “Thank you for sharing that with me. It must have been difficult to leave your former life behind and move to Willa Bay.”

  “It was.” He inhaled deeply. “But it was worth it.”

  “I feel the same way.” She grinned. “I mean about my own move. There’s something special about Willa Bay. Maybe it’s being so close to the water, but I feel like I can breathe here – like there’s more space around me.”

  He nodded. “I get that.”

  The waitress came by with their check, and he gave her his credit card to pay. She returned quickly with the slip for him to sign.

  “Thanks for lunch,” Tia said. “Next time’s on me.”

  He raised his eyebrows and grinned at her as he stuck the credit card back in his wallet. “So you think there’s going to be a next time?”

  “I hope so.” She flashed him a smile, then stood, clutching the journal to her side. “We’d better get back to the Inn though. I have a meeting with Zoe in half an hour.”

  “Of course.
” He rose from his seat and put on his jacket.

  They returned to his car and he drove them back to the Inn, where he parked in the employee parking area, then walked with her to the stairs leading up to the Inn’s front porch. “I had a nice time today.”

  “Me too,” she said. The front door opened and she jumped back about a foot.

  “I thought I heard you out here,” Zoe said from the doorway. She eyed Cal with interest, her eyes dancing with mischief as she addressed Tia. “Did the two of you have a nice time at lunch?”

  “We did.” Tia shot him an apologetic glance. “Cal, I’ll see you later, okay?”

  He smothered a grin. “See you later.”

  As he turned and walked away down the lane to the cottages, he heard Zoe quizzing Tia about their lunch. With both Shawn and Zoe knowing about his impromptu date with Tia, he was sure he’d get some ribbing from them and the guys on the crew, but he didn’t care.

  Things with Tia had gone better than he could have hoped for. He’d been completely honest with her and she hadn’t even flinched. A small part of him still wondered though if this was the right time for him to pursue a romantic relationship. He’d been sober for over a year and felt ready to move on with his life, but his recovery was paramount. Did he have room in his life for Tia as well?

  10

  Cassie

  “What did you think of Antonelli’s?” Meg darted a quick glance at Cassie from the driver’s seat.

  Cassie groaned and rubbed her stomach. She hadn’t eaten that much food in years. “I think I may never eat again.”

  “They’re well known for having that effect on their customers.” Meg laughed and returned her full attention to the road.

  Meg had invited Cassie to go shopping at a restaurant supply store in Seattle with her on Friday afternoon, followed by dinner at an Italian restaurant downtown. Since it was Kyle’s weekend with the kids and Cassie’s assistant was available to close the bakery, Cassie had agreed to go. Besides, she needed some new commercial-sized baking sheets, and Fredrich’s Restaurant Supply had the best prices around.

  Meg hadn’t purchased anything at the store, only window-shopping for supplies for her new restaurant, but Cassie was now the proud owner of twenty new baking sheets and some other kitchen paraphernalia – all of which she would need during the upcoming Christmas season, if anything Edgar had told her about being slammed with holiday business was true. There was no way she was going to be understocked if there were customers willing and ready to buy her baked goods.

  “Did you want to drop off your purchases at the bakery before I take you home?” Meg asked, as she maneuvered through the always-heavy traffic just north of Everton. A car changed lanes suddenly and she tapped the brakes, causing the pans in the trunk to clang against each other noisily. Meg swore under her breath. “Why is this area always so bad? It doesn’t even look like there’s a reason for this slowdown.”

  Cassie shrugged and looked out the window at the cars crawling along the four northbound lanes of the Interstate. “No clue. But it’s one of the many reasons I’m glad I only have a five-minute commute.”

  “Did you want me to stop off at the bakery?” Meg asked again when they neared Willa Bay, her fingers still gripping the steering wheel tightly.

  Cassie glanced at the dashboard clock and shook her head. It was almost eight o’clock and she knew Meg had plans to watch a movie with her boyfriend, Taylor. With the kids gone, it would be a night in front of the TV for Cassie – with a bowl of popcorn, if she had any room left after the dinner at Antonelli’s. It sounded boring, but she was actually looking forward to it. Things had been going well with Kyle, and though she loved spending time with him and with their kids, she almost missed the alone time she used to get when he’d take the kids for the whole weekend.

  “Just drop me off at home and I’ll take them over to the bakery tomorrow morning.” Her mind flashed to the sizable quantity of bakeware in the trunk. There was no way she couldn’t carry all of it to the bakery at three AM when she walked to work to start the day’s baking. Still, she didn’t want to inconvenience Meg.

  “Are you sure?” Meg’s voice held a tinge of concern.

  “Of course. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Okay then.” Meg fiddled with the radio until she’d reached the only station playing Christmas music at the beginning of November.

  Cassie relaxed against the seat cushion and closed her eyes, letting the soothing notes of Silent Night fill her soul. Before she knew it, she’d be baking massive quantities of pies and yeasty rolls for Thanksgiving. For now, she just wanted to relax and enjoy what had been a successful week at the bakery, and a fun shopping trip and dinner out with one of her best friends.

  When they reached Willa Bay, Meg cruised down Main Street instead of taking the turn to Cassie’s house, a few blocks earlier.

  Cassie sat up. “Why are we going this way?”

  Meg shrugged, a hint of a smile turning up the corners of her mouth. “I don’t get to see all of the pretty lights on Main Street very often.”

  Cassie looked out at the town’s commercial district, which had been adorned with strands of warm white lights for the holidays. The Chamber of Commerce had already wrapped the light poles in bright red ribbons and hung small wreaths on each of them. The Christmas tree wouldn’t go up in the town square until the annual tree-lighting ceremony at the beginning of December, but it was beginning to look like Christmas in Willa Bay. It was Cassie’s favorite time of year, and she always looked forward to seeing her hometown so decked out.

  Instead of continuing on down the street, Meg turned and went down the alley behind the bakery. “I thought I’d better just stop here so you don’t have to worry about carrying everything over tomorrow.”

  Relief rushed through Cassie. Although she hadn’t wanted to ask for the favor, she appreciated Meg’s kindness. “Thanks.”

  After Meg parked in Cassie’s assigned spot in the rear of the building, Cassie jumped out and unlocked the bakery’s back door, then jogged back to the car. Meg popped the trunk, and between the two of them, they managed to balance all of the restaurant supplies in their arms.

  Cassie used her foot to fully open the door, but only made it a few feet into the hallway before she halted abruptly. Christmas music rocked through the space, Mariah Carey belting out Cassie’s favorite song, “All I want for Christmas is You”. The tantalizing spicy-sweet aroma of gingerbread permeated the air – odd, since Cassie hadn’t started her seasonal baking yet. Light leaked out from under the door leading to the retail area.

  Meg came into the dark hallway carrying her own load and bumped into her. “Whoa, I didn’t see you there.”

  In a daze, Cassie said quietly, “Someone’s been in here while I was gone.” What kind of burglar played Christmas music and baked gingerbread while they were robbing a business?

  “Maybe your assistant?” Meg’s winter jacket rustled against the wall as she shifted her weight.

  Cassie shook her head to clear it. Her assistant. Of course. That made sense. Cassie hadn’t asked Danielle to make gingerbread, but she was a talented baker in her own right and may have wanted to try out a new recipe. “Oh. Yeah.”

  But if Dani had been here, why hadn’t she turned off the lights and music? They weren’t open for business at this time of night, and Cassie didn’t want customers to get confused. She nudged the light switch next to the entrance to the kitchen, providing illumination so bright that she had to blink her eyes to make sure of what she was seeing.

  Two trays of gingerbread men cooled on the racks. The sink was full of dishes, making Cassie seethe a little. She was fine with Dani trying out a new recipe, but she needed to clean up after herself. Cassie set everything down on the counter a few feet away from the cookies, and Meg followed suit.

  On the other side of the wall came the sound of footsteps in the retail area. Was Dani still here?

  “Do you hear that?” she whispered to Meg.


  Meg tilted her head to the side to listen. “I don’t hear anything but the music.”

  “I think someone’s in there.” Cassie looked at Meg, but her friend’s face held that same glimmer of a smile she’d had earlier on the car ride home from Seattle. What was going on?

  Cassie took a deep breath, then walked over to the door to the retail area and firmly pushed it open.

  She sucked in her breath and her eyes widened as she took in the room’s transformation. When she’d left for Seattle, it had looked like every other day since she’d opened the bakery in July – but now she stood in a winter wonderland.

  A six-foot tall Christmas tree had been placed on a long rectangular table in the corner closest to the front windows. Bakery-themed ornaments of all shapes and sizes hung from its branches, including miniature glass baguettes, fluffy donuts crafted from pink felt, and tiny plastic mugs of coffee. A toy train chugged slowly on its tracks, circling the tree and the Christmas village at its base. Behind the tracks, ceramic houses snuggled into drifts of puffy snow and small figurines stood in groups outside the buildings. Paper snowflakes dangled from threads in the bakery’s front window, twisting lazily in a draft of air that seeped through the old, leaky window frames. Colorful lights had been strung along the tops of all of the walls and around the doors.

  “What in the world?” Her words hung in the air, mixing with Mariah belting out her final notes. Cassie had been looking forward to decorating the bakery for Christmas, but had also found the idea of it intimidating. With everything else going on, she wasn’t sure she’d have the time – or money – to do what she’d wanted to do. This was everything she’d imagined for the space – and more.

  Just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, Kyle stepped out from behind the counter wearing dress pants, a button-down shirt, and a festive red Santa hat.