Trapped in Tourist Town

by Jennifer DeCuir

  “I’m no medic, but I think your leg is broken.”

  “No shit. Here. Take this damned cat and bring it to Mrs. Moulton.” Chase moaned as he shifted so he could scoop the kitten out of the shelter of his coat and hand it to Burke.

  “It’s so tiny. Cute little furball.”

  “Don’t be fooled. Damned thing has claws like meat hooks.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He couldn’t resist adding, “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Bite me, jerk!”

  In the time it had taken him to run around to the back of the house, find Chase and return with one LouLou Tomkins, the cat’s owner had already forgotten he’d been on a rescue mission. She seemed startled to find her kitten being handed to her by a man she swore she’d never seen before. Burke made note of her address. The folks at Kittredge Manor needed to know about Mrs. Moulton.

  Hurrying back to Chase, Burke was relieved to find that Mother Nature appeared to have worked off her temper tantrum. The wind had finally died down and the rain was little more than a drizzle. He slipped his phone from his pocket, intending to text Cady that he’d found her brother. But she’d want details and he didn’t want to worry them further.

  “Hey, I’m gonna call 911 and get you an ambulance. Why didn’t you call earlier? You must have been lying out here for hours.”

  “We don’t need 911. Save that for the emergencies. Just help me stand up and take me to the ER.”

  “This is an emergency, dummy! Your leg is ... aw, hell, that’s a compound fracture isn’t it?” Getting a better look at Chase’s injury, Burke might have thrown up a little in his mouth. Sure tasted like it, going back down.

  “Why the hell do you think I’ve been out here all day? Got knocked out when I fell. Then I may have passed out a time or two from the pain.”

  Chase gritted his teeth and pulled himself into a sitting position. He swayed a bit, and judging by the look on his face, Burke wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d keel over one more time. The guy was seriously green around the gills.

  “Where’s your phone? Couldn’t you call for help?”

  “Landed on it. Pretty sure there are pieces of it stuck in my ass.”

  “Nice picture. I told Cady I’d find you and bring you back. You’re on your own with that.”

  He reached a hand down and waited for Chase to grip it tightly. Together they got him upright, Burke widening his stance to keep Chase’s weight off his injured leg. It felt like years before they reached the front yard and were within sight of the car.

  “Why are you driving my dad’s car?”

  “Long story.”

  Helping his friend into the passenger side as gently as possible, Burke scrambled around and got behind the wheel. If he didn’t call Cady and fill her in now, the hospital would have to make up a bed for him too, after she got done with him. He dug out his phone, spoke quickly and passed it off to Chase when Cady explained Amanda needed to hear her husband’s voice.

  He wouldn’t be surprised if the guy had also broken a rib or two. He knew the fracture had to hurt like a sonofabitch, and Chase didn’t seem to be able to draw a full breath. He was panting and his eyes were scrunched tight against the pain.

  “You should try to get some rest.” He suggested, after Chase hung up with his wife and handed his phone back to him.

  “You seriously aren’t going to go there.” Chase coughed, his expression a mixture of pain and exhaustion.

  “Go where?”

  “I climbed a stupid tree to rescue a frickin’ kitten and I fell. During a rainstorm. You owe me for the raccoon thing. Just get it over with. Let me have it.”

  “No way. You’re in too much pain.”

  “Really? You feel too bad to razz me over this?”

  “Didn’t say that. I’m saying you’re too distracted by the pain right now. I’m going to wait until you’re feeling better and it’ll bother you much worse.”

  “Dick.”

  “Yup.”

  Burke pulled up to the curb right outside the ER. They had a welcoming committee waiting for them. Cady and Amanda stood on the edge of the curb. Wallace, May, and Auntie waited just outside the doors to the ER.

  As he watched, Cady directed two orderlies with a wheelchair toward the passenger side of the car. The men helped Chase into it, barely getting out of the way before Amanda flew at him, peppering his face with kisses.

  “We owe you, you crazy, stubborn fool.” Cady wrapped her arms around Burke’s waist as soon as he stepped from the car, pressing her cheek to his chest.

  Just stay in Scallop Shores and we’ll call it even. Burke wished he could voice the words out loud. He palmed the top of her head as he held her close, breathing in the scent of her shampoo and thanking God that his woman had escaped harm today.

  “Ma’am, we need to take your husband in for an X-ray, but you’re welcome to have a seat in the waiting room.” One orderly pushed Chase’s wheelchair toward the lobby of the ER. The other paused to speak to Amanda.

  “Tell you what, why don’t you get me settled in a room in labor and delivery and when you’re done fixing up my husband, you just park his bed next to mine?”

  Everyone turned to stare at Amanda.

  “My water just broke.”

  • • •

  Like any hardy New England town, Scallop Shores was business as usual the following morning. Folks helped each other clean up branches and other storm debris. Neighbors shored up fences and broken mailboxes. And Cady had made her father swear he wouldn’t allow Burke to use his chainsaw to dig out that shiny new sedan from under the tree in Chase’s drive.

  And, as if it were any other day, and they hadn’t just had a storm for the history books, Old Man Feeney and crew were seated along the counter. In between coffee refills, Cady forced them all to sit through another round of pictures on her phone. Her precious nephew, Willem Burke Eaton, had been born just before midnight, surrounded by family. She was the proudest auntie in the world.

  She thought back to the previous night. While Chase and Amanda got some recuperative sleep, Cady had taken the opportunity to bond with baby Will. She nuzzled him close as she settled into the rocking chair, nudging it into a comfortable rhythm with the heel of one foot. There was nothing like the smell of a new baby. She could actually feel her ovaries squeezing.

  She’d made a decision then. Burke would think she was settling, but she wasn’t. There was no way she could leave Scallop Shores. Everything and everyone that mattered to her was right here. And if she was worried that life would be too dull, routine? This summer had given her just about all the excitement one lifetime could handle.

  Sure, her pride would take a hit when she had to explain to Mr. Logan that she wouldn’t be quitting after all. She’d have to work ten times as hard to prove she wasn’t the ditz she seemed. But she’d have her espresso maker and her customers—who she also considered family—though she’d save them the embarrassment of actually admitting it out loud.

  What would Burke say when she told him she was staying? Her stomach filled with butterflies at the notion. Last time he’d gently insisted she go. But she felt they’d been through so much since then. Surely he’d change his mind now? They could be together. They could have a future.

  “I suppose you’ll be wanting one of your own now?” Old Man Feeney’s scratchy growl broke through her reverie.

  “Why? You offering?” She sent him a saucy grin.

  “You see that? Try to have a pleasant conversation with this sass and she has to go and ruin it.” He scowled.

  “For your information, Mr. Feeney, I am perfectly happy just being an auntie.”

  The bell over the bakery door tingled and Cady looked up. Burke stepped in, his sexy smile reaching in and giving those ovaries another good tug. Especially when she remembered the tears in his eyes when Chase had told him they’d given their son his name. Okay, perhaps the idea of motherhood wasn’t completely out of the question. Cheeks heating, she dropped
her gaze to the counter, attacking it with a wet rag.

  “Care to change your answer, Missy?” Feeney elbowed the buddy on his right.

  “That’s enough out of you.” She swatted him with the damp rag.

  “Cady, we need to talk.” Mr. Logan had come in through the back door and was standing right behind her.

  How long had he been there, listening, watching? Was he upset over her treatment of his customers? Surely that couldn’t have been construed as abusive? She bit her lip, looking at Burke in worry. His brief nod was reassuring. Head held high, she dropped the rag to the counter, wiped her hands on her apron, and led the way into the back office.

  Nervous energy had her perching on the edge of the desk as she waited for Mr. Logan to close the door behind them. He pulled out the computer chair and sat down, pressing his fingertips together in a steeple. After a moment he gave Cady his full attention.

  “If this is about Mr. Feeney—”

  His forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  “The fact that I closed up early yesterday—”

  He raised his eyebrows at that. Guess he hadn’t heard yet.

  “No, Cady, this isn’t about you. What do you think I’m going to do, fire you? You’ve got less than two weeks left here. What’d be the point?” He shook his head.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind clearing out of the apartment a mite early. I promised Ernie he could repaint it however he liked. Your parents wouldn’t mind putting you up for a week or so, right?”

  “You’re giving the apartment to Ernie?” She blinked in disbelief. Ernie was Mr. Logan’s deadbeat son, who’d been kicked out of three different colleges so far.

  “Yes, keep up. Ernie’s not going back to USM in the fall and he needs a place to stay.”

  Okay, make that four colleges.

  “I’ll start packing as soon as I close up this afternoon.” Cady’s breath started to hitch in her chest. Something told her she wasn’t going to be given the chance to ask for her job back.

  “Perfect. And if you wouldn’t mind letting Sophie and the others know we won’t be needing them after Labor Day. They like you. It should come from you.”

  “Excuse me?” Halfway between a squeak and a shout, Cady launched herself off the desk and began to pace the small room.

  “Yes, yes. I need you to let them go. I am closing the bakery. Well, converting it, I guess you could say. Ernie would like to turn it into one of those comic book/hobby type stores. I’m hoping I can convince him to just call it a toy store. But it’s his idea. Don’t want to cramp his style, you know.”

  Stunned, Cady could only stare at her boss. He had a good thing going here. He had regular customers that were already waiting outside when she came down to unlock the door each morning. Where would they go now? This wasn’t fair!

  “Do you really think this is a wise business decision? Are there enough people in town that will want to buy comic books on a regular basis?”

  “I don’t expect you to understand my business decisions, Ms. Eaton. This is about a father doing what he needs to do to keep his son out of trouble. When you have children of your own, you’ll see that sacrifices have to be made. I know I’m losing money on this venture. I don’t care.”

  He leaned back in the chair and peered up at her.

  “Besides, you’re moving to the big city. Getting out of this boring old town. What do you care what happens to the bakery?”

  Though she could go on and on about how much she cared, she recognized the question as rhetorical and locked her jaw to keep from shooting her mouth off.

  “Was there anything else, Mr. Logan?” She needed to get out of this office before she exploded.

  “Yeah, you keep that espresso machine plugged in until the last second of the last day we’re open. Got it? Get me one of those fancy sandwich boards and talk up your frou-frou drinks. Might as well earn as much as we can, while we can.”

  “Yes, sir.” Without a backward glance, Cady yanked open the door and stalked out.

  Unbelievable! Now he gives her the green light to make a big deal about her espresso drinks? She had half a mind to dump one of her frou-frou drinks in the odious man’s lap! The nerve!

  Taking a moment to compose herself, Cady ran a shaky hand through her hair. She blinked back frustrated tears and practiced a couple of fake smiles. She couldn’t ask for her job back when her job no longer existed. She was being kicked out of her apartment. She had no choice now. She had to move to the city. At least she knew she had a place to stay there.

  “Everything okay?” Burke’s voice was a gentle balm on her battered soul.

  “Oh, just peachy.”

  On autopilot, Cady made her way to the espresso machine, grinding beans and heating milk for Burke’s morning latte. The bottle of hazelnut syrup slipped from her hand and she caught it seconds before it smashed on the hard linoleum. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. She swallowed the tears, earning herself one hell of a stomachache in the process.

  She started to hand his drink over and was forced to meet his eyes when he wouldn’t immediately accept the cup. He looked concerned, but he also looked determined—and a little scared. She tore herself away and rang up the purchase. Making change, she forced a cheery smile and pushed the bills and coins into his hand.

  “Walk me to the door?”

  “Aw, shucks, boys. He’s courtin’ her.” Old Man Feeney grinned wolfishly at the couple.

  Cady rolled her eyes and made her way around the counter to stand in front of Burke.

  “You afraid you’re going to get lost on the way?” She managed to tease.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot since yesterday. God, was that crazy or what?”

  “Yup, crazy day.”

  “Anyway, I learned I’m a lot more selfish than I realized. And I’m not above begging.”

  She shook her head from side to side. No, he couldn’t do this to her now. He had to be the strong one for both of them.

  “Cady, stay in Scallop Shores.” He set his coffee down on the nearest table and gripped her fingers in his. “I thought I had everything I wanted. All my dreams were coming true. But it’s nothing unless you’re here to share it with me.”

  “Please don’t do this,” she whispered.

  “Don’t go, Cady. Say you’ll stay here ... with me.”

  “I can’t.” She slipped her fingers free and stepped back.

  “I thought you loved me. I thought you wanted to stay.” He didn’t bother to hide the anguish, on his face and in his words.

  Go away, Burke. I can’t do this right now.

  “You were right. I need to follow my dreams. I’ll miss you.” More than you will ever know.

  He stayed there, staring at her as though willing her to change her mind. When she stood her ground, refusing to say another word, he let out a long sigh. Picking up his coffee, he left the bakery without a backward glance.

  “Sophie, watch the front for me. Staff meeting at close. Make sure everyone stays until I get back down here.”

  Blindly, she pushed her way to the back stairs, stumbling up to the apartment that was no longer hers. The day had started out perfect, full of hope and new beginnings. And in the blink of an eye it had all changed. Sliding down against the door, Cady curled into a ball on the floor and gave in to the crippling sorrow that made it so hard to breathe. Sobs wracked her body, shaking her until her teeth rattled. Her head throbbed as if it would split open. Oh, if only it would.

  Chapter 20

  “Are you sure she’s not going to think we’re being just a tad manipulative?” Bree glanced out the window at the busy street for the umpteenth time.

  Burke looked up from where he was checking an order of supplies that had just come in.

  “This is her dream. We’ve just ... relocated it. It’s all still hers.” He opened a box of handmade mugs from a local artist that he knew Cady admired, pulling one out to examine it.

  “She
’ll get her back up about the money you’ve put into it. Make no mistake about that.” The elder Cadence pointed a gnarled finger at him.

  “You mean the money we put into it, don’t you?” He bit the inside of his cheek as he winked at her.

  “I told her I was helping her out. I didn’t tell her exactly how I’d planned to do so.”

  “Hey, where do you want these to-go cups?” Wallace held up a bulky box.

  “I want you to set it down. You aren’t supposed to be doing any of the heavy lifting, remember?”

  “The damned thing can’t weigh more than a few pounds. My new grandson weighs less than this box.”

  “Hands off, mister. Cady will have my hide if she knows you’re overexerting yourself on her behalf. You can help Auntie fill the napkin dispensers.”

  “Yippee skippy! Who died and made you boss?” Wallace grumbled, but set the box on the floor and shuffled over to the counter to help his aunt-by-marriage.

  “Here, sweetheart, you want to do something manly you can help me figure out how to put together this piece of sh—crap.” May put her hands on her hips and gave the toy kitchen set a little kick.

  “No offense, my love, but putting things together has never been your strong suit.” He chuckled, patting Auntie on the arm before heading over to remove the screwdriver from his frustrated wife’s clenched fist.

  Burke smiled. Good. The man had something to occupy him that wouldn’t tax him physically but still made him feel that he was contributing.

  The place was coming together quickly. They’d had to work fast to make sure they were done before Logan’s closed their doors. Cady was busy getting her apartment packed up, as well as the bakery, so that kept her focus away from what the rest of them had been doing. Everyone took turns helping out Burke when they could get away from their other jobs.

  Not that Cady would have noticed what Burke, in particular, had been up to. She’d made it a point to avoid him ever since she’d gotten the news about the bakery closing—news that he’d had to hear from everyone else but her. Stubborn woman had put on the blinders, assuming she had no choice but to move to New York now. There was always more than one choice.