by Rose Wulf
Voice equally hushed, Brooke replied, “Unsuccessful.”
Earl chose that moment to step through the door, followed immediately by a young woman dressed in a crisp chef’s coat. The murmured conversations fell silent as they watched, everyone automatically assessing their newest addition.
The woman looked to be in her early twenties, and seemed to be several inches taller than Brooke. She had a lot of dark hair that was more auburn than brown rolled up into a messy bun on her head and bright, observant green eyes. The smile curving her lips was slow, careful, and somewhat awkward as she watched everyone watch her.
“Okay, okay,” Paula said loudly, earning everyone’s attention. Earl and the new girl moved to stand with her, in front of the doors that led to the back room, but stayed silent. “Thank you all for coming in a little early. Now, you’ve figured this out, I’m sure, but I’d like you all to meet Madison Price. She’s a permanent addition to our staff, so I expect each of you to be nice. And as everyone’s going to be feeling each other out today, I want everyone on their best behavior.”
She paused, her gaze lingering on the gathered employees long enough for her to words to hit home, before turning a smile to Madison and saying, “Madison, meet your new family. I promise, by the day’s end, you’ll wonder why this was ever awkward to begin with. Is there anything you’d like to say?”
Madison shifted her attention from Paula, back to the group in front of her, and lifted one arm in a small wave. “Um, hi, everyone. I promise I know how to cook.”
A few muted chuckles drifted forward, Madison’s arm fell back to her side, and Paula took over once again. “All right, all right. Let’s get everything set up and get those doors open, shall we?”
Just like that, the tension fled and the group began dispersing. Earl and the sous chefs took Madison into the kitchen, and Brooke, Georgia, and the other waiter on duty for the morning all made their way to the back.
As Georgia grabbed her apron, she said, “I kind of thought she’d be more my age.”
Brooke shrugged. “I hadn’t really thought about it at all, to tell you the truth.”
Their coworker agreed with a nod, and the room fell silent again until he’d slipped through the door.
As soon as the door was properly closed again, Georgia asked, “What did you mean ‘unsuccessful’? You didn’t find anything you liked?”
Brooke sighed, not at all surprised by her friend’s lack of satisfaction with her earlier answer. “No, I mean I didn’t find anything I was willing to buy on the spot. It’s hard justifying all that money in one place right now, since I still have so many things to try to replace.”
“But a car is important,” Georgia insisted. “Especially since you’ve got a roof over your head.”
Tucking her notepad into her apron pocket, Brooke said, “I don’t want Blake to think I’m taking advantage of his hospitality. We’re dating, not married. I promised I would be out as soon as I could find a place.”
Georgia’s hand hovered over her hair, which she was adjusting unnecessarily. “What, are you trying to tell me you’re actually looking around? I thought for sure you were just waiting for a ring.”
Well, that’d be nice, her mind whispered. Ignoring that voice, Brooke hedged, “Um, well … yes and no. I mean, no, I’m not just waiting for a ring. But the actual apartment search hasn’t really been my focus yet…” Saying it out loud suddenly made her feel guilty.
When she’d first moved in with Blake, she’d sworn to find another place as soon as possible. And though he’d told her not to pressure herself, she had honestly intended to do as she’d said. It was just that she’d gotten a little distracted with everything else that she needed, and everything else that was going on in general.
Oh God, what if he’s irritated that I’m not really looking yet? She sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case. And he certainly didn’t seem at all bothered. In fact, he’d never once even mentioned her non-existent house hunt. I don’t think he’d stay so silent about it if he was bothered… Surely he’d at least mention it?
“Well,” Georgia began, oblivious to her friend’s thoughts, “I think you shouldn’t worry so much about finding a new place. I’ve got a sense for these things, you know.”
Brooke pulled herself back to the moment and rolled her eyes. “Right.” Georgia was as bad as Paula when it came to her matchmaking desires. Blake and Brooke were living together—circumstances be damned. In Georgia’s mind they were probably soul mates. And the hopeless romantic living inside Brooke couldn’t help but hope her friend was right.
As the duo turned toward the door, Georgia suddenly said, “Oh! You haven’t forgotten about Tuesday, right?”
“Of course not,” Brooke assured her. “I even already told Blake he’ll have to live without me for a few hours.”
“Good, because I called the rental place yesterday and reserved our boat,” Georgia declared. “It’ll just be the two of us, though. Emma can’t come.”
“That’s too bad,” Brooke replied with a brief frown.
Georgia shrugged as they neared the front of the diner. “Yeah, but it’s her loss!”
Brooke laughed and nodded. “Very true. She’ll just have to make sure to come with us the next time.”
When they reached the front, where Shelly was setting up, they fell quiet again. The diner would open in the next handful of minutes, and if the small line out front was any indication, it was going to be a busy day.
****
Blake was smiling when Brooke walked through the door after Georgia had dropped her off later that afternoon. “How was work?” he asked, rising from his stretched out position on the couch to greet her.
Brooke let her purse land on the floor beside the couch as he wrapped his arms loosely around her and covered her lips with his in a sweet, chaste kiss. When he pulled back, she sighed. “You’d think Earl put an announcement in the paper for Madison’s first day. Your parents even came in. I’ve never seen them there!”
Blake stepped back, one eyebrow lifted in surprise. “My parents really don’t eat out that much. Maybe Earl handed out flyers or something.”
Rolling her eyes, Brooke replied, “I doubt it. But we were so busy.” She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “And what were you smiling about, anyway? Did you get to come home early?”
“I’ve only been home for an hour,” Blake promised, holding up one hand as if he were swearing an oath. “But there is something I wanted to talk about.”
It was Brooke’s turn to lift an eyebrow. “Talk about what?”
Gesturing to the couch as he spoke, Blake said, “Well, remember how you told your parents you refused to let them buy you a new car?”
Immediately wary—it would be just like her family to ignore her wishes on something like that—Brooke lowered herself to the couch beside him as she said, “Yes…”
“I had this thought,” Blake began, watching her carefully. “And in fact, I might have only gotten off the phone a few minutes ago.” At Brooke’s suspicious look, he pushed ahead. “I know how much you wanted that Accord, and I know you fully intend to talk yourself out of it. But since I—we—respect that you don’t want to be some sort of burden on anyone, I was thinking: what if you put up the down-payment, like you wanted, and then your family and I split the difference? You can own it outright that way, and no one’s out some outrageous, crippling, sum of money.”
“Absolutely not! We’re still talking thousands of dollars!” Brooke exclaimed without hesitation. “I can’t, and won’t, ask anyone to put up that kind of money for me. I don’t know when I’d be able to pay it back.”
Blake shook his head, obviously not at all surprised by her argument. Nor should he have been, as he’d heard most of it from her side of a phone conversation with her family on Friday. “We’re offering, Brooke. That’s different than you asking. And it’d be a gift, not a loan.”
“No,” Brooke insisted firmly. “I know yo
u’ve got enough money, and I know my parents aren’t poor, but I don’t want anyone spending that kind of money on me. It wouldn’t be right.”
Frowning now, Blake asked, “How would it not be right? If we can afford it, then I don’t see the problem.”
“Because I can’t afford it!” Brooke reiterated stubbornly. “I still only have half a wardrobe!” Tears suddenly clouded her eyes as the reality of her words hit her. What was I thinking, assuming I could buy a car?
Her bank account was already dangerously low from the few hundred dollars she’d spent on clothing and the various bills she still had to pay because she hadn’t been bright enough to have had renter’s insurance. It was near enough to the end of the semester that she was having to think about next semester’s classes, and she would need money for those classes. A single semester’s worth of tuition and books was more than she could realistically afford at the moment. Which meant she might have to skip a semester entirely. And soon enough she really would have to think about finding a new apartment, and then she’d have to budget for rent, too.
It was going to be a long time before she was properly back on her feet.
Releasing a heavy, defeated sigh, Brooke let her gaze land on the carpet and said, “Forget about it, please. It doesn’t matter, anyway; I can’t afford a car right now.” Oh God, she thought as she realized she was going to cry. She doubted she could make it to the bathroom before the tears slipped free.
Before she could move, Blake reached out and pulled her into him. She tensed and braced a hand on his chest but didn’t struggle to pull away. Quietly, Blake said, “I’m sorry, Brooke. I was trying to help, not upset you. The last thing I want to do is upset you.”
Her hand curled, fist clenching the fabric beneath her palm, and Brooke let her head collapse against his shoulder. She still struggled to hold back her tears, but she relaxed into his embrace. A part of her felt bad for making him feel guilty. She knew he’d only been trying to help. But at the moment that part of her was small, and easily buried, as she couldn’t focus past the reality of her situation.
Blake rubbed his hands lightly over her back and let his cheek rest against her head. He said nothing as he held her, and she offered nothing in return as she breathed deeply, fighting for control of her emotions.
****
“Brooke,” Blake began on Monday night as he walked into the kitchen, where she was sifting through the fridge. She wasn’t going to like what he had to say, but it needed to be said.
Brooke paused, her hand extended toward a row of bottled tea, and slowly stood up. It was obvious, as she eased the door shut, that she could sense his hesitation. She turned, her formerly raised hand landing on her hip, and asked, “Yeah?” Her tone was calm, non-accusatory, but her eyes were suspicious.
Blake swallowed and forcibly kept his arms at his sides. The last thing he needed was to send the wrong signal with his body language. “I’ve been thinking again about this boat thing you’ve got planned with Georgia tomorrow.”
One slim eyebrow lifted curiously, but Brooke said nothing.
Biting the proverbial bullet, Blake said evenly, “I don’t think you should go.”
Both of her eyebrows rose then, and she shifted her weight. “And why not?” There was an undeniable edge to her tone.
“It’s dangerous,” Blake explained, hoping she would actually hear what he was saying. “I know you want to go, but now’s a bad time to be isolating yourself like that. It’s been over a week since they’ve made a real move. There’s no way they’d ignore an opportunity like that.”
“I’m not cancelling on Georgia over a hunch,” Brooke argued stubbornly. “When they’ve come after me before, I was always alone. And besides, you’ll be on lifeguard duty the entire time, so you’ll be practically right there.”
Blake’s jaw clenched for a moment, but he forced himself to remain calm. She wasn’t going to even consider his words if he got too pushy or lost his temper. “We already know they’re willing to throw potential witnesses out the window, and I won’t be able to see you from my tower. I won’t have any idea what’s going on out there.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, Brooke replied, “But I think you’ll see if our boat is followed out of the dock, and unless they follow us in their own boat, we’ll be fine. I’m not cancelling.”
“Brooke,” Blake began again, more than willing to plead with her on the subject. “Please listen to me. It’s not safe right now to be doing something like that. Not for any of us. You have to reschedule.”
Brooke’s eyes widened for a minute. She released a heavy breath and said, “We’re meeting at the beach tomorrow morning. It’s a little too late to cancel, and I’m not making Georgia eat the expense for no reason. You’re being paranoid.” She uncrossed her arms and turned toward the living room, but after taking a few steps, she paused. “And for the record, I decide what I do and don’t have to do.”
Cursing his choice of words, Blake followed after her, saying, “You know I didn’t mean it like that. And you of all people should know I’m not just being paranoid. These people will take whatever advantage they can get!”
Brooke spun to face him, pointing her index finger in his direction as she argued, “Then why haven’t they burnt down the diner during one of my shifts? I’m there all the time, it’s not hard to figure out! And you said yourself they don’t care about bystanders or witnesses.” She dragged in a breath, dropped her arm to her side, and said firmly, “I refuse to let these bastards ruin my entire life. They’ll make their move or they won’t, and until that happens, I will be able to say ‘at least I didn’t cower inside this whole time’.” But there was a flicker of hesitation in her eyes now, like she was starting to doubt her own argument.
“No one’s asking you to cower, Brooke,” Blake tried, fearing he’d already lost the argument. He hadn’t expected her to react quite so angrily. He opened his mouth to say more, but Brooke beat him to it.
“And now that I’m thinking about it,” Brooke said, “if you’re so worried about them taking advantage of us, why have they never come after you when you’re working? That’d be just as easy as coming after me, only you’re more their target than I am, so really you’d still be the bigger target.”
All good questions, Blake admitted silently. “I don’t know the answers to those questions, Brooke,” he said carefully. “I just know that … I have a bad feeling about Tuesday, all right?”
Brooke locked her jaw tight as she swallowed her initial response. Seconds ticked by before she finally took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. And I appreciate your concern, I really do. I’m not trying to worry you. But I’m also not cancelling on Georgia. If I had thought of it that way before she’d booked the boat, maybe I would have, but I didn’t. I’ll keep my eyes open for anything suspicious, okay? That’s all I can promise.”
Blake ground his teeth for a moment, not at all satisfied with her answer. But, all the same, he knew it was the best he was going to get. He could see her resolution in her eyes. So, finally, he nodded and said, “Fine. I don’t like it, but short of tying you up and locking you in my parents’ basement, I can’t stop you. Just, please, be careful.”
Brooke allowed the corners of her lips to tip up. “I will.”
****
They were standing behind Blake’s Mustang the following morning, Blake dressed for work in his lifeguard-red swim trunks, and Brooke dressed for fun in a loose white t-shirt and denim Capri’s over her bikini. Blake’s eyes swept over the parking lot—which was mostly empty—as he said, “Remember—”
Brooke reached up and framed his face, cutting him off as she leaned up and pressed her lips to his. His hands found the exposed skin between her short shirt and her Capri’s and settled over her sides. Their tongues met and dueled for an instant, sliding along the other sensuously before she pulled away and smiled up at him. “I’ll be careful,” she promised quietly.
Blak
e opened his mouth to respond, but a voice coming from behind him interrupted their moment, calling, “No matter how cute you two are, the ‘no boyfriends allowed’ rule still applies!”
The couple turned to face Georgia as she approached, Blake’s nearest hand sliding around to the small of Brooke’s back as he lifted his other hand to wave. “I’m wondering if I should be concerned,” Blake said with a grin. “You’re awfully insistent on that rule.”
With a laugh, Georgia replied, “We’re hoping to pick up a couple of mermen, and of course we can’t do that with other types of men around!”
Brooke laughed, cutting a sideways glance up to her boyfriend. He met her gaze with a silently laughing expression of his own.
Turning her eyes forward again as Georgia came to a stop in front of them, Brooke said, “Good morning to you, too, Georgia.”
“That was implied,” Georgia assured them with a grin. She turned her attention back to Blake. “And not that it isn’t great to see you, but your girlfriend and I have a very important date to keep. So I need to steal her now.”
Chuckling, Blake turned toward Brooke one more time and pressed his lips to her forehead. When he pulled back, slowly retrieving his hand as well, he said softly, “Have fun.”
Brooke smiled. “We will. And I’ll see you when we get back.”
Their gazes held a moment longer, his eyes silently reminding her of the need for her to be careful. She offered him another smile, this one promising to do exactly that, and a heartbeat later, Georgia had hooked her arm around Brooke’s elbow and begun walking.
“We’re off to talk about you behind your back! But I’ll return her in one piece, promise!” Georgia called without looking back.
Brooke laughed, waving over her shoulder at Blake as she followed the eager, freshly dyed redhead.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“This is your boat,” the rental-place employee stated as they approached the boat farthest out on the dock. It was a simple speedboat, like all of the other rental options, with a dark-green-and-ivory paint scheme. He turned and held the keys out for Georgia to take. “You said you don’t need a driver?”
