Serena's Choice - Coastal Romance Series

by Jennifer Ransom

  The oil spill. Serena knew now that there had never been an oil spill. She had known that from the very start when she didn’t see it on the news, but she had pushed the thoughts away. But she knew it for sure when she talked to Maria on the boat. She had enough sense to question Steven about it, but she had allowed him to convince her.

  Why would Steven lie about an oil spill? Why did he need to make that up? Because he needed a reason to go out of town to see his wife. She was certain now about that. The same was probably true about the supposed annual meeting in Tampa and this most recent visit back to Tampa.

  If only she had kept looking through the pages on her Google search of Steven. She would have found the wedding announcement just like Jeff did. She could have found out sooner, but it wouldn’t have saved her heart from getting broken. She was already deeply in love with Steven by that time. Her subconscious probably didn’t want her to go any further with that Internet search because deep down, she knew there was something to find there. Something she didn’t want to see.

  When her next thought came, she sat up straight in bed. Carlos! She finally figured it out. The Carlos situation had never seemed quite right to Serena, all the calls at all hours, the way Steven went to another room to talk to Carlos. But of course she had pushed her suspicions away. Now, she knew the truth. Steven wasn’t talking to Carlos at all. He was talking to his wife.

  What about that time when Carlos called so late and she saw the screen with his name on it? What about that? Wasn’t that Carlos?

  No, she answered herself. That was not Carlos. Steven must have put Carlos’ name in with his wife’s number, to be on the safe side in case she ever saw his phone. He had been very clever. He must have had a lot of experience at deception.

  It was very clear that day on the boat that Carlos and Maria were in love with each other. They weren’t plagued with the problems that Steven had told her about. But she had pushed all of those suspicions away, too. She chose to believe Steven. She didn’t want to know the truth, because if she knew the truth, then their relationship would have to come to an end.

  Serena felt very foolish.

  Chapter Thirteen—Steven

  Steven looked at Serena when Janet asked her if she was his girlfriend. He looked at her for the first time during that incident, but Serena had already turned away and started walking down the steps. He wanted to call out to her, to beg her to listen to him. But he couldn’t do that with Janet there.

  Janet still stood in the door with her arms crossed. Steven pulled her back inside and shut the door and walked into the living room. Janet followed him.

  “Was that your girlfriend?” she screamed.

  Steven wanted to say yes, that was his girlfriend. He wanted to tell Janet that Serena was his girlfriend and he loved her very, very much. But he knew it was best to lie to Janet. If he didn’t, things would get much worse. They would be bad enough as it was.

  “No, that’s not my girlfriend,” he said looking Janet in the eyes.

  “Why did she walk off like that then?” Janet said.

  “Maybe she realized you’re crazy and wanted to get the hell away from you,” Steven said venomously.

  “Maybe she’s your girlfriend. If she’s not your girlfriend, then why was she here?”

  “Her name is Alicia Howard,” he said, pulling the name out of thin air.

  “She said her name was Serena,” Janet said with a triumphant look in her eyes.

  “No, she said Alica. You heard her wrong.”

  “I didn’t hear anything wrong. But okay. Have it your way. Why was Alicia here?”

  “She was here to check on me because of the storm.”

  “How do you know her? Why would she be concerned about you?”

  “She and her husband own a little restaurant down the beach. They’re just friendly people who take an interest in the people that live here. They’ve been here a long time.”

  “She’s married?”

  “Yes. Didn’t you see her husband in the car waiting on her?”

  That stopped Janet for a minute. But just for a minute.

  “What’s the name of their restaurant?” she asked with a glint in her eye. She thought she had him now, but Steven was ready for her. He had learned to be ready for her the hard way.

  “Josie’s,” he said. “It’s just a little shrimp shack.”

  “We should go there for supper tonight,” Janet said. “I’d like some shrimp.”

  “We aren’t going anywhere, but you are. You’re leaving.”

  Janet walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine. Great, Steven thought. Let’s add alcohol to this travesty.

  “I have every right to be here. I’m your wife, remember?”

  “I’ve tried hard to forget it,” Steven said, regretting it. Not that it wasn’t true, but it would only flame the constant fire going in Janet.

  “Janet, how much longer are you going to drag this out? I’ve been trying to be divorced from you for over two years now. I don’t feel married to you at all. Why would you want to stay married to someone who doesn’t want to be married to you?”

  “Because,” she said theatrically, pointing her finger at him. “Because you still love me and you know it. Now I’m willing to forgive your leaving me the way you did, but you’ve got to come on back home where you belong.”

  Steven decided to stop talking then. He wanted to call Serena. He wanted to go to her and explain everything, but he would have to wait until Janet was gone. And she would be gone. He was going to make sure of that. He got a beer from the refrigerator and took the wine bottle to the living room where he refilled Janet’s glass. He had noticed another bottle of wine in the refrigerator and he thanked himself for getting two bottles. He was going to need them. Janet loved to drink wine.

  “Let’s watch a movie or something,” Steven said picking up the remote. He found a classic movie station and left it there. Janet loved the dramatic black and white movies. “Oh, I love this one,” she said, settling into her side of the couch. “Do you have anything to eat? I’m starving.”

  “Let me check,” Steven said. He opened the cabinet doors and saw the half package of vermicelli that remained after the delicious pasta that Serena had made him. He’d be damned if Janet would have any of that pasta. He opened the refrigerator. “I’ve got some cheese and crackers,” he called to Janet.

  “I guess that’ll have to do,” Janet sighed. “Unless we go out somewhere.”

  “Everything’s closed today. That’s what Alicia was telling me. Because of the storm.”

  “Oh,” Janet said absently. She was getting involved in the movie. Steven made a plate of sliced cheddar cheese and grabbed a box of Ritz crackers. He put them on the middle couch cushion, between him and Janet. It was only cheese and crackers, but it always felt safest to have something between him and Janet. Of course, she could pick up the plate of cheese and throw it at him, followed by the box of crackers. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d thrown something at him. He still had the scar on his leg to prove it.

  “I love this scene, when she sticks her butt out to get a ride,” Janet said. They were watching It Happened One Night with Claudette Colbert. Janet munched on the cheese and crackers as she raptly watched the movie. She seemed almost child-like in her pure enjoyment. Of course, it was that very quality about her that had attracted Steven in the first place. She had been so full of life, so unexpected in her joy. He had loved her then.

  Steven kept refilling Janet’s glass, but she didn’t seem to notice. She kept drinking it, glass after glass. On the last refill, she said, “Steven Calloway, I do believe you’re trying to get me drunk.” Steven had a sinking feeling. Janet batted her eyelashes at him and smiled flirtatiously.

  Whew. It was okay.

  Toward the end of the movie, Janet began to slur her speech. “That was good,” she slurred. “Let’s watch another one.” The next movie came on, but Steven didn’t even register what it was. He
was waiting. Janet’s head began to nod, then she would whip it back up, only to nod down again. Finally, excruciatingly, she nodded and kept her head down. She was asleep. Or passed out. Steven waited a full fifteen minutes before he got up from the couch.

  Earlier in the evening, he had planned to leave after Janet passed out and call her parents to tell them where she was. But he realized that Janet might leave his house and then they’d never know where she was. He’d never know when she’d turn up. He had to do this methodically and right. He went into the back bedroom and shut the door. He locked it. It was late, but that didn’t matter. He dialed Janet’s parents’ number, which he kept on his phone just in case. Just in case had just arrived.

  “Mr. Welker,” he said when the old man answered the phone. He’d never called him anything but Mr. Welker.

  “Yes,” Mr. Welker said groggily.

  “This is Steven. Janet’s here and I need you to come get her.”

  Mr. Welker cleared his throat. “Janet’s with Steven, “ he heard him say to Janet’s mother.

  “You mean she’s in Tampa?” Steven had told Janet that his new job was in Tampa. He didn’t want Janet to ever be able to find him.

  “No, not Tampa. I live on the coast of Florida in the panhandle.”

  “I thought you were in Tampa.”

  “No. Listen, I need for you to come and get her. This has gone on long enough. She needs to be under someone’s care.”

  “Okay,” Mr. Welker said. “We’ll leave early in the morning.”

  Steven gave him the directions. “I’ll expect you sometime tomorrow evening,” he said before hanging up the phone.

  Then, while he had the free time from Janet, he texted Serena. “It’s not how it seems,” he wrote. “Please let me explain it to you. I love you.” He didn’t know what he’d do if Serena wanted to see him right away, because he still had to deal with Janet. His explanations to Serena would have to wait. He stayed in the dark room for an hour, hoping that Serena would text him back, but she didn’t.

  He went back to the living room where Janet still sat with her head on her chest. He lay her down on the couch and covered her with a blanket. In sleep, Janet looked angelic and sweet-faced. He went to bed in his own room, missing Serena. Missing the feel of her body against his. Missing her kisses.

  The next morning, he woke up to Janet jostling him awake. “What the hell?” he said.

  “Come on. Get up,” she said. She was still in her childish mode.

  “I want to go in the ocean,” she said with a delighted smile. “It’s not raining anymore and the sun is out.”

  “The surf’s still got to be rough,” Steven said, not wanting to spend the day on the beach with Janet.

  “Are you scared of it?” she taunted.

  “No.”

  “I found this bathing suit hanging on a hook in the other bathroom,” she said, turning around for him to admire her. “It’s too big, of course. It’s an eight and I wear a two, but it’ll do.”

  Steven looked on in horror as Janet turned. She was wearing Serena’s bathing suit. Serena must have hung it on that hook and forgotten about it. They hadn’t been to the water since that day they spent there, so she had no reason to need it. The fabric hung on Janet’s tiny figure, especially around the breasts. The blue bathing suit was garish against Janet’s pale skin. Steven thought with longing of Serena in that bathing suit, the peacock blue fabric complementing her olive complexion, hugging her curves. Serena!

  “I didn’t even know that bathing suit was there,” he said. That much was true. “I’ve never even been in that bathroom.” That was true, too. “The guy before me must have left it there. His girlfriend or wife.”

  “Let’s go,” Janet said excitedly, ignoring him. “Surf’s up!”

  Steven dragged himself out of bed. He checked his phone. Nothing. He found his bathing suit on the hook in his own bathroom and put it on. It would be good to take some drinks with them. It would be hot out there. He put the rest of his beers in the cooler along with a large bottle of Coke. He guessed they could walk down the beach to one of those little seafood shacks and get something to eat for lunch.

  He grabbed some towels and a blanket, the same ones he had used when he and Serena went to the beach. That made him sick, but he was working toward a mission today. Keep Janet placated, then get her out of there. He found the sunscreen in the medicine cabinet. Janet would need that more than he would. Steven handed the towels and blanket to Janet and picked up the cooler. Together, they walked out to the beach.

  The waves were rough, but people were in the water. He saw two teenage boys trying to surf on Styrofoam surfboards. They would get up on a wave for a second, then come crashing down, dragged to the shore in the waves. They did it over and over.

  Janet spread the blanket on the white sand and sat down. “Put the sunscreen on my back, Beachboy,” she commanded. Steven cringed at the nickname Janet called him. It was endearing before they got married. Now it grated on his nerves. Now it was a cruel joke. He sat on the blanket behind her and rubbed the sunscreen all over her back and handed the bottle back to her.

  “Don’t you want to rub it all over me?” she asked, giving him an impish look.

  “I don’t think that would be appropriate out here on a public beach,” he said. Remember, keep her placated.

  “You’re silly, Beachboy,” she said. “But I still love you.”

  It was going to be a long day.

  Janet stretched out on the blanket on her stomach. After a few minutes, she turned to her back. Then she jumped up. “I’m going in the water,” she said.

  “I think it’s too rough,” Steven called to her. But she didn’t hear him because she was almost at the water’s edge. She walked in slowly, pulling water up in her palms and splashing it over her body. Steven noticed the teenage boys looking at her. She was a stunning woman, that was true. But she was also cunning and manipulative and mentally ill. Couldn’t tell that just by looking at her, though.

  Steven popped open a beer and took a long swig. He watched Janet, now waist-high in the water. She turned around and waved at him. He waved back half-heartedly. She motioned for him to join her in the water. He shook his head. She turned back around and Steven took another swig of beer. He looked down the beach one way, then the other. When he looked back at Janet, she was in up to her neck.

  Should he go in and get her? She didn’t have any kind of float or anything. Then she started swimming and was beyond the waves. Her head bobbed in the water and she seemed a long way out. Too far out.

  Steven jumped up and ran to the ocean and into the water. He started swimming as soon as he could in strong strokes. When he reached her, she was treading water and smiling at him with one of her effervescent, movie star smiles.

  “Did you come to rescue me, Beachboy?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said. “You’re too far out. Come on. Let’s go back.”

  Janet held onto Steven’s arm as he worked his way through the water. When they hit the surf, the waves beat down hard and separated them. He came up out of the sandy water and looked all around. No Janet. Panic seized him. This was not how he wanted things to go. Then Janet popped up beside him. “Here I am,” she said. “Were you worried?”

  Steven was so relieved he smiled at Janet. He needed to deliver her to her parents whole and without injury. “Yes, I was worried. Let’s go sit on the sand. I don’t like that water today.”

  She grabbed his hand and practically skipped back to the blanket. “I need more sunscreen,” she said handing him the bottle. He had a vision of rubbing sunscreen on Serena’s back. He had rubbed over her shoulder and reached into the top of her bathing suit to her breast. She had turned around and kissed him.

  Janet got the Coke and a plastic cup from the cooler and poured a drink. Steven finished his beer, then popped another. He needed to stop after that one. He needed his wits about him for the evening ahead.

  “I like this white sand,�
�� Janet said. “It’s like sugar. Sand is so different in different places. Remember that pink sand in Bermuda when we went on our honeymoon?”

  “Yes,” Steven said. He had been happy then, newly married to the most exciting woman he’d ever met. His happiness had soon turned to anger and sorrow.

  After a while of baking in the late August sun, Steven suggested they go get something to eat. “We can get a late lunch at this restaurant on a pier down the beach,” he said. Janet put on the shirt she was using as a cover-up, one of Steven’s shirts. He would have found that cute at one point, but not now. “Is it okay if I’m wearing this?” she asked gesturing at the shirt.

  “Oh, yeah. It’s a real casual place. People go in there with their bathing suits on all the time.”

  They gathered up the blanket, towels, and cooler and took them back to Steven’s house. Steven took his wallet and cell phone out of the plastic bag in the cooler. Janet took his hand and they walked hand in hand down the beach.

  It was cool inside the restaurant and ceiling fans were going full blast. They got a booth looking out on the water.

  “I think I’m going to have a strawberry daiquiri,” Janet said. She was feeling festive. Steven was starting to feel guilty about what would happen later. If Janet had been a reasonable person, he would have told her that her parents were on the way and she needed to leave with them. But Janet was not a reasonable person and never had been. She was a narcissist to the core and she had to win every battle.

  When the waitress came to their booth, Janet ordered a strawberry daiquiri and a seafood sampler. Steven ordered a beer and a basket of fried shrimp. His feeling of dread and doom made it feel like the last supper. And it would be the last supper with Janet, if he had anything to say about it. This marriage was going to come to an end.

  Janet chattered endlessly during lunch and Steven barely took in a word she said. “And then she gained fifty pounds!” she said incredulously. “Fifty! She looks awful. She’ll never get another man like that.” Steven had no idea who Janet was talking about. She popped fried shrimp and fish and oysters in her mouth as she talked. Her lips were greasy. It was disgusting.