by Kay Correll
Jay stayed silent, sipping his beer, knowing Del would continue when he was ready. He’d learned that about the man. He liked to process his thoughts and choose his words carefully.
It was a strange friendship they had. Del was rich—really rich—and came from a powerful family that owned a whole string of hotels. And Jay was just a cook at an inn on the island. But they’d met when Del had stayed at the inn for a week and they hit it off. Now they often met for drinks when Del was in town. Though he was vividly aware of the fact that Camille didn’t approve of him as a friend of Del’s.
Del spun the straw, swirling his drink a few times. “I know everyone believes the Montgomerys are renting the house out because they don’t want to come here as often.” He sighed. “Not to be talking out of place, but that’s not really the truth. They need to be scaling back on expenses. I probably shouldn’t have rented the place for them. I mean, the Montgomerys are going to have to learn to cut corners. Camille is having a hard time with that, and so is her mother. But I refuse to keep bailing Camille out. I swear that woman can go through more money in a day than I go through in a year.” He grinned and shrugged. “But, what can I say? She’s my weakness. I do adore her—quirks and all.”
Jay never could see what Del saw in Camille, but he kept his thoughts to himself.
Del took a sip of his drink and smiled. “So, Lil Charm would kill me, but my offer still stands to hire you out as a chef at the new hotel on Moonbeam Bay. Good pay, good benefits, and probably better hours than what you work now.”
“Thanks, but I’m pretty content where I am. I love my job at the inn.”
“And enjoying your job is an important part of a good life.” Del nodded and raised his glass. “To enjoying life.”
He clinked his glass with Del’s. It was a great offer, but he was content with life here on Belle Island. He had enough money for all that he wanted. While it did appeal to him to try his hand at fancier fare, he couldn’t imagine ever leaving Lil and the inn.
Charlotte sat out on the deck at The Nest with Robin and Sara. She propped her feet up on an ottoman, relaxing back in her chair. She really enjoyed the fact that now that the three of them were back on the island, they could get together like this again. She’d missed relaxing and chatting with them.
“How’s the painting going?” Sara asked.
“Pretty good. I’ve almost finished the one I’m working on.”
Robin grinned. “She painted when she was hiding out from her family this afternoon.”
“I wasn’t hiding. Not exactly. They were at the pool this afternoon and then… well, they didn’t say what they were doing for dinner.”
“Really?” Sara’s eyes widened.
“Hey, I evidently wore the wrong clothes to lunch, and I ordered a beer.”
Robin laughed. “Just trying to goad your mom?”
“I had to rush to order a beer before she ordered me another stupid Chardonnay.”
“You hate Chardonnay.” Sara frowned.
“Exactly. You know that. Robin knows that. Lil knows that. But my mother doesn’t no matter how many times I tell her.”
“Well, two days of them in town is over,” Robin said helpfully.
“Tomorrow we’re going out to Blue Heron Island with Ben.”
“That should be fun. A trip there is always a good time.” Sara took a sip of her wine. “Right?”
“Depends on how big a boat Ben has…”
Robin laughed again. “Maybe he’ll bring that trawler he has. He’d been working on fixing it up. It’s pretty nice now. You could go up top. You know Eva would stay down below in the cabin.”
“I can only hope.”
“Hey, did you drop the rent checks at the office?” Robin leaned forward, changing the subject.
“I did.” And she could do one more plus half the utilities. And food if she was lucky.
Robin frowned. “What’s that look?”
“What look?” She did her best imitation of an innocent expression.
“That look you had when I asked you about the rent.”
She let out a long sigh and turned to her friends. “I’m… I’m having a few money problems, is all.”
“Not to be nosey… but didn’t you make scads from your art in L.A.?” Sara asked.
How to answer that? “It wasn’t scads, exactly. And it’s expensive to live in L.A.” She paused, carefully choosing her words. “And I wasn’t… careful… with my funds.”
“Didn’t your agent—what was his name—Reginald? Didn’t he handle all that?”
She set her glass on the table. As long as they knew she was broke, they might as well hear the rest of it. “He did. I let him handle all of it. I was silly and naive. We were actually a couple.”
“You dated Reginald?”
“For a bit.”
“What happened?”
“My art started not selling, and he started not being interested in me anymore. Not as a couple, not as an artist he represented.”
“And the money?” Robin tilted her head to the side.
“I heard he’s in Europe these days. And I assume he’s there with what’s left of my money…”
“He stole from you?” Sara sat up straight.
“He came up with invoices and charges for this and that and reasons why most of the money was gone. But later I heard that he’d done the same thing to another artist or two. He was a charming scammer. I fell for it.” She still couldn’t believe she’d been so gullible. The show openings and being invited to fancy events in L.A. had gone to her head. Plus, Reginald was a good-looking guy and always managed to get invitations to every party. The more parties they went to, the more people they met who were interested in buying her work.
“That’s terrible.” Sara’s eyes shone with sympathy.
“I was… foolish. It was all good until things started to slide downhill. I got up one morning and checked my social media accounts and there was Reginald with some new up-and-coming—and gorgeous—artist on his arm. I was no longer invited to the events with him. And I found out most of the money was gone.”
“Take him to court.” Robin frowned.
“I don’t think he’s planning on coming back stateside for quite some time. He’s over hitting the art scene in Europe. With that same gorgeous artist on his arm.”
“That’s not right.” Sara reached over and squeezed her hand.
“It’s not, but it’s what I let happen. I should never have given him that control.”
“Then you will absolutely let Aunt Lil pay you for all the work you did on the cottages.”
“I was just helping out.”
Robin set her glass down. “Sara is right. There is no question. You’re going to take money for the cottages. It was in the budget. And Lil wants to remodel two more rooms at the inn. We’ll hire you for those, too.”
“But—”
“Don’t argue with Robin. You won’t win.” Sara grinned.
She looked from Robin to Sara… uncertain.
“I don’t want charity.”
“We either pay you, or we pay someone else. So we’ll pay you.” Robin shrugged—and her shrug was nothing like the dismissive shrug of her mother’s. “And I still say you should show your new work to Paul Clark for his gallery.”
“Robin… I told you I’m not ready for any showings.”
“Okay, okay. But I’m going to keep bugging you about it.”
“I know.” She sighed. “I’d expect nothing less.”
“And I’ll win that argument soon, too.” Robin scooped up her glass of wine, her look saying that she was confident of her future victory.
Chapter 10
Charlotte got up early the next day and sat in the kitchen, sipping coffee, gathering up her energy for a day with her family. Robin came into the kitchen, yawning, and reached for a mug.
“Morning. You’re up early.” Robin slipped into the chair across from her.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
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“If you don’t watch out, the island and I might turn you into a morning person.”
A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I doubt it. But I do seem to be getting up a bit earlier these days.”
“You got up earlier than I did. That’s early.”
“I was going to paint for a bit. Catch the morning light. But… I’m afraid I’ll get all wrapped up in it and be late. I’ve been ordered by Eva to be on time.”
“She’s a bossy one.” Robin sipped her coffee.
“She’s—oh, never mind. She’s my sister. She’s never going to change.” She tapped her fingers on the table. “I am going to talk to them this trip, though. Enough of this telling me to get a real job—though I might have to—and criticizing everything about my life.”
“You go, girl.”
“I’m an adult and it’s time they treated me like one. I’m never going to fit into the mold they want. And I don’t care. I don’t want to be the person they want me to be.”
“Man, I’d love to be around for this conversation.” Robin grinned. “You going to talk to them today?”
“No, not with Ben around. I’ll talk to them tomorrow. Sometime when we’re alone.”
“That’s probably smart. You don’t need an audience.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Mmm. That’s good.” She took another sip.
“But I do need to figure out a way to earn a living. Especially while I don’t have paintings that are selling.”
“You know, you’re great at painting and fixing up old furniture. You could do that and sell it at Bella’s on Oak Street. Bella is Josephine Clark’s niece. Josephine is Paul Clark’s wife. Anyway, Bella has a shop in Comfort Crossing, Mississippi, but recently opened a shop here on the island, too. Vintage items, beach decor, and things like that. There are always people looking to find cute pieces when they buy new places here on the island. It could help tide you over until you sell more of your paintings.”
She chewed her lip. She did enjoy fixing up the furniture and painting it. She’d found a discarded dresser someone was throwing out, fixed it up, and painted it in shades of teal and mint green, then painted seashells on the front of it for her bedroom.
“I’ll get Bella’s phone number for you and you can talk to her.” Robin’s face was covered in a self-satisfied smile.
“For once, I’m not going to argue with you. I think that would be a great idea. I’ll talk to Bella and see if she’s interested and what she thinks might sell in her shop.”
“Perfect.” Robin stood. “I better go get ready. Why don’t you go paint for a bit and set a timer so you’re not late to meet up with your family?”
Charlotte stood and took her mug over to the sink. “That’s a good idea. I’m not up for another lecture on punctuality. I’m actually pretty much always on time… except when meeting up with my family.”
Ben got up early to get the boat ready for their trip to Blue Heron Island. He’d only taken Lady Belle out for a couple of short trips since he’d overhauled the engine. The boat had been his father’s pride and joy. An older boat, to be sure, but she was a beaut.
He’d refinished the weathered teak and replaced a few pieces. Put new flooring in the main cabin and recovered the seats in there. The galley had been updated. He’d also put a nice new mattress in the cabin below deck. He had plans to move out of the place he was renting at Bayside Bungalows and live on the trawler once all the renovations were finished. He had the end slip at one of the docks at the marina with a fabulous view of the bay. Perks of being the owner.
He balanced the bags with box lunches he’d picked up from Jay at the inn and climbed aboard. They carried ice, soda, and bottled water at the marina shop. He’d better go grab some of those.
As he climbed back off the boat, he saw Charlotte heading down the dock toward him, her arms full. He hurried to help her. “What’s all this?”
“I stopped by The Sweet Shoppe and got some cookies, and then I made this container of sweet tea. I didn’t know what all you’d have and what we’d need.”
“This is great. Let me put it aboard, then I’m headed to get bottled water and soda and ice from the shop.”
Charlotte eyed the boat with appreciation. “Wow, look at this. Your dad’s old boat. She looks beautiful.”
His chest swelled with pride at her compliment. “Thank you. I’ve been working on it off and on for a few years. I’m going to live on her when I’m finished.”
“On a boat?” She looked out at the bay. “With that view? That sounds like heaven to me.”
“I think so, too.”
He helped her climb aboard and she followed him to the galley. “Ben, this is wonderful. It’s like a tiny house… only a boat.” Her laugh rang through the boat. “I love it.”
“Here, I’ll show you around.” He proudly showed her how he’d upped the kitchen space by redoing the cabinets to a more efficient arrangement. He’d enlarged the bathroom slightly by taking out a closet but added more storage under the seating in the main cabin. He’d found new places to tuck items and increase the storage while still making sure there was plenty of room to walk around and the boat didn’t feel cramped.
“This is wonderful. It’s so pretty. I just love it.” Charlotte finished the tour. “I can’t wait to take it out to the island.”
“Let’s go grab those drinks, then we’re ready as soon as your family gets here. I’ve got some beach chairs and an umbrella stored so we can go to the beach on the island if anyone wants to.”
“I love going shelling there.”
He grinned. “Then good thing I put in a couple of buckets, too.”
They climbed off the boat and went to the shop at the marina. He loaded up on drinks and dumped them in a rolling cart that he toted back to the boat. After hauling the drinks aboard and stashing them in the fridge, they settled on the seats out on the stern, waiting for the Duncans to arrive.
“I know I’m early. I was late yesterday meeting them for lunch at Magic Cafe. Didn’t want to make that mistake again.” Charlotte flipped her hair back away from her face and dug a hat out of her tote bag. “I try and keep the sun off my face.” She placed the hat on her head, and he thought she looked like someone out of a beach life magazine. A healthy glow, and long tanned legs. She wore simple denim shorts and a chambray shirt tied at her waist. The bright red flip-flops completed her outfit. He noticed a few specks of teal and yellow paint on the back of her hands. Hazard of her career, he imagined.
“Oh, there they are.” Charlotte, oblivious that he’d been staring at her—thank goodness for his sunglasses—waved to her family. Her smile was a bit forced, though. He could tell that much.
He turned and hopped off the boat to help them aboard.
Chapter 11
Charlotte smiled and waved to her family, determined to have a fabulous day on this fabulous boat. Everything was going to be… fabulous.
Ben helped Eva and her mother aboard. Eva looked around the area on the back of the boat. “Oh, do we have to sit out in the sun?”
“No, come on into the cabin. It has air conditioning.”
“Oh, good. This Florida heat and humidity is killing me.”
Though, to be honest, Charlotte thought that Eva looked picture-perfect, as always.
“So, you’re on time today.” Eva looked at her.
“She was helping me get things all set up.” Ben defended her.
Though she didn’t need defending, not really. But it was nice to feel like at least one person on this trip didn’t think she was a total loser. She pasted on a smile. “Didn’t want to keep you waiting.”
Her mother and sister went into the cabin, closing the door behind them to keep in the cool air. Right then she decided she’d just relax out here on the seats at the back and enjoy the fresh air.
“Give me a tour of the boat, son. It looks good. I hear you’ve been working on it.” Her father and Ben disappeared inside.
She propped her fe
et up on the cushion of the seat beside her. Yes, this was a nice place to sit for the trip.
After giving her father a tour, Ben cast off the lines, and they headed out into the bay. The sea breeze picked up as they left the bay and headed out into open water. Before long, her father went in to join her mom and sister.
Ben motioned to her to join him up top on the upper steering thingy—whatever it was called up there. She climbed the ladder and stood beside him, one hand holding onto her hat in the strong breeze. She finally gave up on it and stashed it in a cubby Ben pointed to.
“This is… fabulous. I love it up here. It’s like we’re on top of the world.”
“I like navigating from up here instead of down in the cabin when I can.”
“My mom and sister found the bottle of Chardonnay you had chilling, so I’m pretty sure they’re set for a bit. Dad poured a scotch.”
“Did you bring your suit? You want to go for a swim on the island?”
“I have it on under my shorts. I’d love to go for a swim. I’m not sure that’s in the plans though. Eva doesn’t really swim in the ocean.” She frowned. She didn’t think her sister even liked to walk on the beach. Choosing this outing to Blue Heron Island seemed like a strange choice.
“Well, I love swimming in the gulf.”
A pair of pelicans sat on the channel markers as they passed by. Seagulls flew overhead, and she looked where Ben pointed and saw dolphins frolicking beside the boat.
“This is amazing. We never had a boat when we lived here. I only occasionally went out on one growing up when I’d get invited. I can’t believe you can just go out here like this whenever you want.”
“Pretty much. Well, as long as I can afford the gas.” He grinned and his eyes sparkled.
Blue Heron Island came into view. She turned at the sound of someone coming up the ladder. It was Eva.
“I see we’re almost there.” She came and stood right next to Ben, flashing him that smile of hers. The one that made grown men fall to their knees. “Do you think I could steer the boat?”
