Seaside Dreams (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book One)

by Melissa Foster

  She liked Evan, whether or not he was going through a tough time. There wasn’t a teenager on earth who didn’t go through trying times. She could tell by the way Evan handled himself around other adults that he would come out on the other side as a good man. He’d been raised by Caden, after all. Bella also knew that when he acted out around Caden, he did so because he felt safe doing it with his dad. Evan knew that Caden loved him unconditionally. No one could behave all the time, and if a child couldn’t act out occasionally in front of those who loved them unconditionally, then where could they?

  Bella took a deep breath and tried to push away thoughts about her personal life and mentally prepare herself for gaining TGG for the work-study program. Getting her professional life in order had to be her primary focus. Especially if I hope to stay here with Caden. Stop it. I’m making my career decisions separate from him!

  Yeah, right.

  Okay, she was trying to.

  TGG was the only computer shop within twenty miles of Wellfleet. They handled computer repair, designed websites, and handled a multitude of other computer-related services. Jamie had suggested that she try them, and as she walked into the one-room office, she wondered if they’d be able to afford to hire anyone at all.

  Five sets of eyes turned toward Bella when she stepped inside. Six desks were paired off, facing one another in the center of the room. The walls were lined with deep metal shelves, littered with CPUs, monitors, electronic gadgets, and other digital paraphernalia.

  A twentysomething guy with black framed glasses and jet-black hair cropped short on the sides and spiky up on top rolled his chair a few feet back from his desk.

  “Hi. Can I help you?”

  “Hi, I’m Bella Abbascia. I’ve got an appointment with Frank Kohler.”

  The guy peered around his computer monitor at the man sitting behind the desk across from him. “Frank, you’re up.”

  Frank had one hand on his forehead as he peered at his monitor with his thick blond brows drawn together. He held up one finger. “One sec, Bell.”

  Bell? While she waited, she quickly assessed the office. Four men, one woman, and one unoccupied desk. The employees appeared to be in their midtwenties and early thirties, dressed casually in shorts or jeans, and as far as Bella could tell, not at all bothered by the fact that she was standing there.

  “Holy shit.” Frank smacked the desk.

  “Frank.” The skinny blond girl who was sitting closest to Bella chided him. She smiled and Bella realized that she was probably closer to twenty than midtwenties. “He’s been crunching that program for hours.”

  “That’s okay.” She made a mental note to address foul language if by some miracle they were able to hire any of the students.

  Frank rose to his feet, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “Just one sec, Bell. I’ll be right there.”

  She wondered if he’d misunderstood her name. A few minutes later he waved her over and pulled a chair from the unoccupied desk.

  “I’m Frank.” His handshake was firm, but his hand was soft. Based on that and his pale skin, Bella doubted he spent much time away from his computer. He was just a few inches taller than her, with short blond hair and blue eyes that held the excitement of whatever issue he’d just solved. “Sit down. Talk to me.”

  “Congrats on whatever you’ve just accomplished,” she said to break the ice.

  “Thanks. I’ve been trying to crack that algorithm for days, not hours.” He shot a look at the blond girl, who rolled her eyes. “Stace doesn’t work on the weekends like I do. Anyway, tell me about your work-study program.”

  Stace. She assumed that was short for Stacy, and that Frank was one of those guys who didn’t need friendship or an invitation to shorten someone’s name. Bella explained the goals of the program and what type of commitment was required from each company that signed on.

  Frank leaned back in his chair and called to the guy sitting behind the desk to his right, “Sam? Whaddaya think?”

  Sam, a dark-haired, clean-cut guy, was poring over a manual of some sort. “Sounds good if they’re not morons.”

  Frank shrugged. “Not exactly a politically correct answer, but he’s pretty much right. Anyone we hired would need to be familiar with computers on some level. I’m all for on-the-job training, but they’ve gotta have the basics. You know, understand what batch files are, have some HTML knowledge. Any kid who has a real interest in computers will know those things, and experience with Python, Java, or Ruby is a big plus.”

  “Python? My friend’s son is learning that now.”

  “Is that the kid Jamie Reed is teaching? He said something about helping a kid learn Python when he told me about the program. We’d love to help someone that motivated.”

  She was surprised Jamie had mentioned Evan. “He’s not a senior, so he’s not eligible for this program, but if you’re interested, I’m sure Evan would love to shadow you. He was in the technology club in Boston and he’s just recently moved to Wellfleet.”

  “Sure. Why don’t you give Evan my number and we’ll see where it goes with him.”

  “I’ll do that.” She could barely contain her excitement for Evan.

  “How about an application that asks about the basic computer stuff? Any kid can go to Codeacademy online, and if they’re really driven, they can learn the things we need on their own.” Stace walked around the desks and put a hand on Frank’s shoulder. “My big brother’s a hell of a mentor.”

  “You’re siblings?” She ran her eyes between them.

  “Yeah.” The girl held out her hand. “Stacia Kohler. I go to UMass. I’m only here for the summer, but I’d be happy to work with you to outline the basic requirements if Frank says it’s a go.”

  “It’s a go,” Sam said over his shoulder.

  “Well, I need to know who has signing authority for TGG, because we’ll require legally binding signatures for the contract.”

  Both Sam and Stacia pointed to Frank.

  “Sure. If you can work with Stace to develop a general list of requirements, we can try this out. I assume it’s a set number of hours each week at minimum wage.” Frank glanced around the desk at the guy with black hair. “Mark, can you put together some type of—” He turned his attention back to Bella. “Is this by school year or by semester?”

  “School year.”

  He turned back to Mark. “A nine-month guideline of expectations, things we can teach them, that sort of thing?”

  “Sure.” Mark looked up at Stacia. “Stacia can help me this weekend.” He smiled in a way that made Stacia blush.

  Stacia put her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. “Okay, but I’m still not going out with you.” She turned her attention back to Bella. “Stop by my desk when you’re done with Frank and we’ll pencil in a date to go over things.”

  Bella went over the documentation with Frank and set up a time to discuss modifications to the application with Stacia. By the time she left the office, she had also received recommendations from Stacia for a bakery and a CPA office that might be interested in becoming part of the program.

  When she got in her car, Bella picked up her cell phone to call Caden and saw that she’d missed two calls from Kelsey Trailer, her old boss. She hadn’t spoken to Kelsey since she left for the summer. Kelsey had extended an offer for Bella to return to her old job. She refused to believe that Bella really wanted a change. Who wouldn’t? Bella was as stable as the day was long. She arrived early for work every day, missing only two days out of the last two years, and she stayed until her work was complete each afternoon. Bella had been good at hiding her secret hankering for something more fulfilling—in fact, she wasn’t sure she really believed she’d ever make the change. Until last spring, when it all clicked.

  Bella knew Kelsey wanted an answer that Bella wasn’t ready to give. She called her back before calling Caden.

  “Bella, how’s summer in Wellfleet?” Kelsey asked.

  She pictured Kelsey behind her desk
, her blond corkscrew curls framing her face, wire-rimmed glasses firmly balanced on the bridge of her nose, and a warm, hopeful smile on her thin lips.

  “It’s beautiful, as always.” There was no doubt in Bella’s mind. She wanted to be at the Cape, and she realized, she was proud to have made that decision before meeting Caden. Since she had no offer for permanent work here yet, she needed to keep the door to her old job open, even as a last resort.

  “I’m just going to cut to the chase here, Bella. Jay quit, so there’s no reason for you to quit. There was no reason before, but I understand why you wanted to get away from seeing him every day. So, what do you say?”

  Bella digested the new information. “He quit?” For a split second she wondered why he’d quit, but she quickly realized that she didn’t really care. She still wasn’t keen on the idea of going back to work in Connecticut or to a school where she’d dated a coworker, even if he was no longer there. She was excited about the prospect of the work-study program—and then there were Caden and Evan. The truth was, she couldn’t imagine not being with them. She closed her eyes for a beat to get ahold of her emotions. Separate mind and heart. Separate mind and heart.

  Nope. Didn’t work. They were tied together in a knot only an experienced boatman would be able to disassemble.

  “Yes. He gave his notice last week, and I waited to call in case it was a momentary lapse in judgment. But he’s serious. So does the offer look any better to you now?”

  “I…Kelsey, I need to think about it.” Five years she’d worked there, and in those five years she’d made close friends, and she’d bonded with families and students. She had a life there that was comfortable and safe.

  I have a boyfriend here who holds my heart in his comfortable, safe, reliable, strong, sexy, loving hands. Yeah, great separation there, Bella.

  “That’s fine, but I need to know before August fifteenth. We have another teacher on the line, and she needs a decision so she can move forward one way or another.” Kelsey sighed, and when she continued, her voice held the emotion of a friend rather than a boss. “Bella, we all love you. You know that. Don’t let one bad relationship throw you off course. You have a career and a family here.”

  Bella promised to give her a decision by the fifteenth, which was only two weeks away. She had a meeting with the Barnstable County school board on Wednesday, and now she felt like there was a fire under her ass. She drove down the road to the Chocolate Sparrow and called Caden on the way.

  “Hey, babe.” The smile in his warm voice eased the tension in her chest.

  “Hi. I’ve got good news for Evan. You know that company in Eastham, The Geeky Guys? They want to talk to him about shadowing them to learn more about programming.”

  “Really? That’s awesome, but what about Jamie?”

  “Jamie’s only here during the summer, so it works out perfectly. If Evan’s interested, of course.” She told him about the people in the office and the technical things Frank had mentioned as prerequisites.

  “I’ve been reading about HTML and other technical things that I’ll never have a use for, in those books we got at the bookstore.”

  She loved that. “You have?”

  “I have to do something to keep my mind off of you at night.” He spoke seductively quiet. “Not to mention, this way I won’t become the loser dad who is totally oblivious to Evan’s interests.”

  “You’re such a good dad. Did you talk with him about the beach?”

  “Not yet. I don’t want it to be obvious that you mentioned it. Besides, he’s in a very teenage mood right now. This opportunity should turn that around, though. I think you just got ten degrees hotter.”

  Bella laughed. “You’re so cute.”

  “Cute? Totally not what I was going for. Do I have to come over dressed as another Village People, YMCA guy?”

  “You’re already a cop. Wasn’t there a cop in that group?” She narrowed her eyes and grinned, even though he couldn’t see her. “Maybe tonight we’ll play cops and robbers.”

  “I’ll bring my handcuffs,” he said in a teasing voice.

  “Don’t bother. I have my own.” She said it just to hear his reaction. She did have a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs that she’d bought in Provincetown as a gag one night with the girls, but she’d never used them with a man. Come to think of it, she thought they were in her house in Connecticut and no longer at the Cape.

  She was met with silence.

  “Um…Caden?” Shit. She wondered if she’d crossed a line.

  He cleared his throat. “Hold on. I’m trying to get an image out of my mind.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief, and after they made a plan to get together later in the evening, she drove toward her next appointment revved up in more ways than one.

  CADEN WAS GETTING ready to go see Bella when Evan threw the front door open and slammed it shut. Goddamn it. He was already tired of this teenage attitude.

  “Hey.” Caden shot him a look.

  Evan stalked into his room and slammed that door, too. Caden had had just about enough of this behavior, regardless of if it was typical or not. He knocked on Evan’s door, and when Evan didn’t answer, he walked into the room. Evan stood at the window with his back to Caden.

  “What’s going on, Evan?”

  Evan slid his hands in his pockets and rounded his shoulders forward.

  “Ev?” When Evan didn’t acknowledge him, he took a step closer and forced himself to tether his anger. “Evan, look at me when I’m speaking to you.” Caden didn’t like having to pull the parental look-at-me card, but he liked being ignored even less.

  Evan turned with his neck bowed, eyes trained on the floor.

  “What’s going on that’s got you slamming doors?” Life was so much easier when Evan’s biggest issue was fighting over a toy car in a sandbox or wanting a new cell phone. This world of him having a life that felt separate—and far too secretive—from Caden was bullshit.

  It’s normal teenage bullshit, he reminded himself.

  I fucking hate this.

  Evan shrugged.

  “Look at me.” Evan lifted his eyes, and Caden hated the feeling of what he did next—looked for bloodshot eyes and heavy lids. He was relieved that Evan’s eyes were clear, even if brooding and angry.

  “I know you’re going through a lot right now, but I won’t have you slamming doors and ignoring me. If you want to talk, I’m here. If you want to keep it to yourself, that’s fine, too, but I won’t be ignored when I ask you a question. Got it?”

  “Whatever.” Evan sat in front of his computer.

  Caden blew out a frustrated breath and paced the small bedroom. “No. Not whatever, Evan. That’s not even an option as an answer.”

  “Fine. I’ve got it.” He clicked something on his monitor, and a PC game emblem filled his screen.

  “Ev.” Do you want to talk? He knew him well enough to know he didn’t, but leaving the room without talking felt wrong. Too wrong.

  Evan looked up at him and opened his mouth as if he were going to say something; then he turned back to his computer.

  Aw hell.

  “I’m right here if you want to talk.”

  Evan pushed back from the computer and fidgeted with the edge of the chair.

  Caden sat down on Evan’s bed and waited.

  “Can we take a trip back to Boston soon?” Evan asked.

  “Absolutely. Want to see your friends?” Stupid question. Of course he did, just as Caden wanted to see his parents.

  Evan nodded.

  “We’ll plan a trip, but, buddy, is something going on with your friends here? You never used to come home angry after hanging out with friends.”

  Evan shifted his eyes away. “The kids here aren’t my friends, Dad. They’re just kids to hang with, shoot the shit. You know. But they’re not my friends. They don’t even like the same things I do. It doesn’t matter. I’m not hanging out with them anymore. They suck.”

  Caden felt a little guilty
for being relieved, and that guilt merged with the realization that this was his fault for moving them out of Boston.

  “That stinks. I’m sorry, Ev. Hopefully, when you start school, you’ll meet kids who are interested in the same things you are.”

  “Whatever.” He turned back to his computer.

  Caden rose to his feet. “It’s not whatever to me. It’s important to me that you’re happy, and I’m sorry we moved, but I still think it was the right thing to do.”

  “Because of Bella or because of the job?”

  The question hit him like a punch to the solar plexus, but it was the innuendo behind it that pissed him off.

  “I’d never jeopardize your well-being or your happiness for anyone, Evan. Not even Bella.” He strode out of the room, then hesitated, as the words hit a little too close to home. He drew in a deep breath to calm his anger and turned back to his son.

  “Listen, buddy, I can stay in tonight if you want to hang out.”

  “No thanks.” He didn’t miss a beat in his game.

  Caden stood in the doorway, mired in guilt and struggling with indecision. He knew that staying home wouldn’t help. Evan would be chained to his computer for the next few hours regardless of where Caden was. He wrestled with the message he’d be sending by leaving. Would Evan think he was less important than Bella? Or was Evan using Bella as a manipulation to derail Caden from whatever was behind his bad mood?

  Caden studied him, fully engrossed in a PC game, and decided this was probably a case of the latter. “I’ll see you later, buddy. Call if you need me.”