by Tess Oliver
It was rare for my little brother to get nostalgic about Mom. He was only five when she left, but there was definitely some sadness in his expression.
I ripped off a piece of the roll. “Here, have some. I can’t stand to look at that stray puppy face anymore.”
He stuffed the piece in and sat back against the lounge. “Man, that tastes as good as it smells.”
“Well, you have to get in line early in the morning to get one, so maybe you should lay off the rum today. Then you can get up with me tomorrow to surf and wait in line.”
The glass door slid open. Reeve stood in the doorway scrubbing his hair with his fingers. “What smells so good out here?”
I held up the plate. There was only a sliver left, and I had no intention of sharing it with Reeve.
“Is that one of the witch’s cinnamon rolls?”
I lowered the plate wondering why I’d responded in the first place.
“Reminds me of something . . .” Reeve said.
Matt sat up and looked over the back of the lounge. “Those cookies Mom used to make at Christmas?”
“Reeve, shut the door. It’s cold in here,” a female voice called from within.
He slid the door shut and stepped outside. “No, it reminds me of that oatmeal we used to eat when there wasn’t any other food in the house. Mom used to pour cinnamon sugar on it and let us eat in front of the television.”
“Oh yeah,” I said, “the ‘cupboard is bare’ oatmeal. I used to love that oatmeal,” I said. I finished the last bite of roll and stared at the icing covered plate.
Matt looked over at it. “If you’re not going to lick that thing, Dude, send it my way.”
I handed it to him. Slowly, the fragrance disappeared with the breeze, and our sudden trip down memory lane seemed to go with it.
“Shit, it’s too early to be up.” Reeve turned to go back inside.
Several hours later, the waves glossed with sunlight and a decent offshore breeze coaxed even the most hung-over out to the sand. Except for taking her time to shoot an icy glare my way, Julie had decided to turn her full attention to Brandon. Reeve and Kiley were the last to trudge out of the house and throw their towels down on the beach. They were talking and sweet on each other for the moment, but with them that could change in an instant.
“No board?” I asked Reeve. “Come on, it’s hot enough outside to skip the wetsuits.”
“Nah,” Reeve grabbed Kiley and kissed her, “had a long night and I need my rest.” Kiley punched him on the arm as if she was embarrassed. It was a great act.
Matt was already in the water, and since the people on the beach held little interest for me, I joined him.
I wet my hair and paddled toward Matt. He was sitting on his board and still looked out of it.
“You don’t look that stoked to be out here.” I turned my board around and faced the beach.
“Beats sitting on the beach watching Reeve and Kiley grope each other.”
“You were doing some pretty good groping yourself yesterday with Courtney.” I glanced up on shore. Courtney was flopped out cold on her towel with dark shades. “I guess she had too much rum too.”
Matt shook his head. “Man, some people just can’t hold their liquor.”
I smiled over at him. “I’ll say. Especially when they are trying to out drink their two hundred pound older brother.”
Matt dropped down. “Save the lecture, Jay, here comes my wave.” He took off.
I looked toward the beach. Echo was walking along the water with her dog. For a moment it seemed she looked my way, but it was too fleeting to know for sure. Not that it mattered. She would only be upset to see me. My gaze shot across to the place where Reeve had sat down. He was out flat on his back still sleeping off the night. He hadn’t seen Echo and for that I was glad. She dropped her towel and fins and stripped down to her bikini. I could not look away.
Water splashed my face jolting me out of my trance. “You just missed a good one,” Matt said. “Why are you just sitting here like a statue?” Matt looked toward the beach to see what had my attention.
“Whoa there, I’d like to get me some of that,” Matt said. “Too bad she’s so weird, and I’ll bet you anything she’s cold as ice. If you know what I mean.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about her,” I said angrily. “And you think any chick who doesn’t jump into bed with you is an ice queen.”
“Well, yeah.” Matt held out his arms. “I mean look at me. What warm-blooded girl could resist this?”
I leaned down on my board. “It’s like Reeve cloned you.” I took off on the wave, and as I pushed to my feet, I caught a glimpse of Echo walking across the sand. Only she wasn’t really walking, marching with closed fists would have been more accurate. And she was heading toward Reeve. He was still sleeping on the beach.
I dropped down to move faster through the water and reached the shore just as Echo had reached my brother. Reeve had still not noticed her. I dropped my board on the sand and headed toward her. She stood over him a second and then kicked a cloud of sand at his face. I raced toward her, but it was too late. She had turned to run, but Reeve’s hand shot out and grabbed hold of her ankle. He yanked her foot back, and she fell hard on the sand. She was kicking and struggling to get out of his grasp by the time I reached them.
“Reeve,” I yelled, “let her go.” I could see patches of red underneath the coating of white sand on his face.
Kiley was standing and brushing the sand off her oiled skin. “Why should he?”
“Shut up, Kiley,” I said.
Echo pushed her face and upper body off the sand, but Reeve gave her foot another violent jerk and she was dragged face first a couple of inches.
I glared at Reeve. “Let her go now.” This time my words pressed out through gritted teeth. I stood over him.
Reeve grinned up at me and released her foot. “For now.”
Echo jumped up, brushed the sand from her face, and turned to lunge at Reeve. Reeve jumped to his feet. As she flew past me, my arm wrapped around her waist and I pulled her against me. She kicked and struggled to get away.
I held her tightly. “Are you insane?” She finally relaxed but I didn’t dare let her go.
The veins in Reeve’s thick neck were bulging. I looked pointedly at his tightened fists. “Even you aren’t low enough to hit a girl, Reeve.”
Reeve stared at me with more rage than I’d ever seen. “You were right, Bro. This summer is not going to end pretty.” He turned and walked back to the house and Kiley ran behind.
My arm was still wrapped around Echo’s waist, and I found myself reluctant to release her. Not because I was worried she’d run after Reeve, although seeing her in action made it entirely possible, but because it felt good having her pressed against me. I finally let go, and she spun around to face me. Sand covered her forehead and chin, and she looked plenty mad too.
“Why did you do that?” she asked.
“What? Stop you from getting killed? You’re welcome.” I said. She had that pouty look that was truly irresistible. “Seriously, what were you going to do? Pummel him with your tiny fists? The guy is built like an army tank. He’d have flung you halfway across the beach before you had a chance to lay one hand on him.” My reasoning only seemed to make her more upset. I turned back to the shore to retrieve my surfboard. She walked up next to me but continued on to the water without saying a word. She dove into the waves and swam out past the break line.
I put my board back down on the sand and followed her into the water. Her head bobbed above the surface, and she watched me with those round, hazel eyes. I was sure she’d swim away but she didn’t. Her chin trembled from the cold. It was hard to tell if she was crying because she was completely soaked, but there was definite hurt in her face, and I hated to see it.
“You’re trying too
hard, Echo.”
She turned to me and I was not expecting the effect her soft, sad gaze would have on me. It took me a second to find my words again. “You’re trying so hard to show that you won’t take crap from him that you’re making yourself an easy target, at least for Reeve. And believe me, he’s merciless when he’s pissed.”
She looked at me a long time. It was not just the sea water, her eyes were definitely shiny with tears. “I hate that you guys came here.”
And I had thought her gaze had impact, her stinging words hit me even harder. “I know. I’m sorry.” It was all I could think of to say.
She dove under and swam away from me, surfacing again halfway to the shore then she stood on her long legs and waded back to the beach. Once again I could not look away. I’d finally met an incredible girl with passion and soul and whose every movement took my breath away, and she hated my guts.
Chapter 7
Echo
I stared absently out the window of the shop as the butter melted on the stove. The loud, ugly truck raced down the street taking the dip at the end of the road at full speed with eardrum rattling music blaring through the open windows. The tires popped off the ground and slammed back down against the asphalt before screeching around the corner and down the road. I waited a moment but the jeep didn’t follow.
“I smell butter burning,” Mimi called from the mixing room where she and Zach were busy making dough for tomorrow’s rolls. I grabbed the pot off the flame.
Mimi came out and looked into the pot. “Should be all right, but watch what you’re doing.”
“Sorry, Mimi, it’s just that it’s been a lousy day and my mind is not on my work.”
“Trouble with the Freely boys again? That one this morning seemed very nice.”
“That’s what worries me. Haven’t you ever heard of a wolf in sheep’s clothing?”
She reached up and pinched my cheek with her flour covered fingers. “Coco, you must learn to trust people. Maybe you need to stay down on this section of beach for your swim.”
I dropped the wooden spoon into the pot. “Then they’ll have won, Mimi, don’t you see? That’s exactly what they want.”
“Of course, Sweetie, you’re right.” She pushed the jar of brown sugar toward me. “Now finish the filling.”
Work was sometimes the best way to clear my mind, but this morning’s events still weighed heavily on me. It was probably stupid of me to confront that beast of a guy directly, but I just couldn’t stop myself. My ankle was still sore from the way he’d grabbed it. If his brother had not jumped in to help me it was hard to know what might have happened. But Jamison was the one I trusted the least. At least with the brother I knew what to expect, but Jamison was too good to be true. I wondered if it was all an act or if it was possible that he was different than his brothers. One thing was for sure, I had to learn to put up my guard more around him. He was so good-looking it was easy to forget who he was.
The dough had been rolled and filled and popped onto shelves for proofing. Two hours of rolling out stubborn yeast dough had pushed the awful incident to the back of my mind. The bell over the back door rang, and I recognized Gertie’s hurried footsteps.
Gertie’s face was flushed and she pressed her hand to her chest to catch her breath as she stepped into the shop. Zach walked in behind her but she didn’t notice. He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead as if he was an actress swooning in a movie. And I had to force back a smile.
Gertie finally took in a much needed gulp of air. She was clutching a pink flyer in her hand. “Where’s your grandmother?”
Mimi stepped out of the office and flicked Zach on the back of the head, startling him out of his comedic mime act. “Zach, why don’t you get Gertie a glass of water.”
Zach, looking a bit contrite, dashed off to the kitchen for the water.
“What is it, Gert? What has happened?” Mimi asked.
Even though Gertie’s normal breathing had returned she place a bracing hand on the stainless steel counter I’d spent the last fifteen minutes cleaning. She held up the pink flyer with the other. “I was walking around handing out flyers for the town’s dance and barbecue this weekend, and I stopped in at Peggy’s Diner for a soda.” She fanned herself. “It’s terribly hot out today. And I can tell you I needed it. I was parched.”
“Yes, of course, Gertie,” Mimi sounded slightly annoyed at having left her paperwork to hear about Gertie’s dance flyers and dry throat. “You didn’t run all the way from the diner to tell us you were thirsty.”
Zach walked out with the glass of water, but Gertie shook her head at it. Zach shrugged, pulled up the work stool, and drank the water himself.
Gertie sighed. “No, no. One cherry cola and I was good as new. But while I was standing at the counter talking to Peggy about her new curtains, which she had Beverly hand sew with the cutest little rose pattern--”
“Gertie,” Mimi said sharply.
Gertie waved her hand as if she was waving away the last thought. “Anyhow, I was standing there sipping my cola and those boys walked in, or I should say they burst in like gunslingers taking over a saloon. Loud and rambunctious and with the worst manners I’ve ever seen. The big one all but demanded for Peggy to come and take his order.” Gertie stopped to take a breath. “And poor Peggy, they just about ran her ragged. Those awful girls that came in with the boys kept sending their food back.” Gertie wrinkled up her nose and raised her voice to a squeak which from the little I’d heard, sounded remarkably like the girl on the beach, “not cooked enough, cooked too much, too much salt.” Gertie leaned forward and lowered her voice as if the trays of yeast rolls had ears. “I think Frank, the cook, might have put a little something special in the last plate Peggy carried out. And then do you know what that awful boy did? He said the service and food were so bad, he refused to pay.”
“Jerks,” Zach muttered. We turned around and found him licking the giant glazing spoon. He lifted it in the air. “Please, continue, Gertie.”
“You stuck around the entire time they were in there?” I asked. “That must have been a giant cherry cola.”
“Well, I was worried for Peggy. She looked so shaken by the time they’d left, I had to step behind the counter and wait on the few guests that hadn’t been scared off.”
“So they left without paying?” I asked.
“Well, they would have, but then Frank stepped into the dining room. He’s not as big as the blond brother, but he can look pretty menacing with those thick forearms and that scar across his cheek. The rude pig finally threw a hundred dollar bill on the table and they all left. The table looked like a tornado had swept across it.”
“I’m sure Peggy has to put up with her share of rude customers, and at least they paid for it all.” Mimi returned to her office.
Gerite waved the flyer in the air. “Those boys are pure trouble.”
“Did you finish passing out the flyers?” I asked. Angel Beach always had a big dance and barbecue to welcome in the summer season.
“You bet. I found the easiest thing to do was to put them on car windows. That way everyone can feel invited.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Everyone?”
“Man, if those guys show I won’t get a dance all night,” Zach said.
Gertie’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my, you don’t think those awful boys will come?”
“I doubt one of our town get-togethers would hold much appeal for them.”
Gertie actually looked insulted. “And why not? We put on a pretty good shindig.”
I smiled. “I don’t think they are the type of guys to attend a shindig. I think we’ll be safe for that evening at least.”
Gertie folded up the flyer and slid it into the pocket of her dress. “Well, I should get home. Some of the girls are coming over to make centerpieces for the party.” She turned to lea
ve.
“Gertie,” I called to her.
She stopped in the doorway and looked back.
“The boys in the diner-- was the tall one with black spiky hair and earrings with them?”
“I think so.”
Her answer disappointed me far more than I’d expected it to. I was right then, Jamison was no different than his brother.
Gertie turned to leave then spun back around. “Except he wasn’t all that tall and he wasn’t wearing earrings. Handsome boy, though. They kept calling him Matt.” She waved her hand in dismissal. “I could be wrong. My memory gets worse each day.” She walked out the back door.
Zach hopped up off the stool. He smiled up at me. “Interesting.”
“Oh, shut up, Zach.”
I grabbed an apple from the kitchen table, walked out onto the back steps, and sat down. Riley came and sat next to me. The dog rested his head on my thigh, and I stroked his fur. It was hard to know for sure but it seemed that Jamison had not been a part of the diner bunch. I was absurdly glad about it. Of course, it really didn’t mean a thing. He might have been off doing his own horrid deeds.
Mimi leaned her head out of the screen door. “It’s still a nice day. Why don’t you take a bike ride? If you ride out to the farm stand you could get some strawberries for tomorrow’s breakfast. Zach could go with you.”
Zach walked out just then. “I’ve got to get home and help my mom with some stuff.” He pressed his hand against his stomach. “Besides, I think I had one spoonful too many of the icing.” He hopped down the steps, grabbed his bike, and rode off down the path.
“A bike ride sounds like a good idea, Mimi. And strawberries sound good too.”
Chapter 8
Jamison
So far I wasn’t impressed with the waves at Angel Beach. I knew Reeve and the others would be home from terrorizing the local diner soon, so I decided to take a ride along the coastal highway to see what some of the less traveled beaches looked like.
