by Sophie Love
“How’s life, though?” Emily asked as soon as there was a moment of silence. She wanted to know about actual stuff, not all this pointless TV gossip.
“It’s all right,” Jayne said. “I split up with Harry. You know that, right? Then I was seeing Brandon for a while. Still am. Kind of. We have a casual thing going on.”
Emily nodded and focused on keeping one foot pounding in front of the other. “And work?” she asked when she realized Jayne had finished talking.
“A constant stream of never-ending crap,” Jayne replied. “I’m so envious of you. I would love to have nothing to do all day.”
Emily frowned. “I work,” she said, though her shallow breath didn’t allow her to embellish.
“Oh, come on,” Jayne said. “It’s hardly comparable, is it? Twelve-hour days in a New York office compared to loafing around in an oceanside B&B!”
“I work,” Emily said more forcefully. “And I don’t loaf.”
Jayne looked over at her friend. “Are you red because you’re mad at me or because of the jogging?”
“Both,” Emily stammered.
Jayne drew to a halt. Emily stopped next to her. She bent over and gripped her knees, taking deep breaths.
“I didn’t mean you didn’t work,” Jayne said, her tone sounding like one audible eye roll. “I just meant that there’s clearly a slower pace to life out here. I’m telling you I’m jealous of you. That’s a good thing!”
Emily straightened up. Was that how she and her friends used to express themselves, through being jealous of one another? What was wrong with just supporting each other’s ventures, rather than comparing themselves constantly to work out who was on top at any given moment?
“Maybe we should head back,” Emily said.
“Because you’re pissed at me?” Jayne said, and this time she did roll her eyes.
Emily shook her head, though that was at least fifty percent of the reason. “Because I’m exhausted.”
Jayne didn’t seem convinced. She checked her watch. “We’ve only done three miles, Em,” she said. “Let’s do two more, then we’ll turn back.”
Emily shook her head. “I can’t do a ten-mile run, Jayne. It will kill me. I’m just happy to have gotten this far.”
Jayne seemed put out that she was cutting their run short. “Fine. Let’s head back. Go to a coffee shop to grab lunch?”
Emily thought of Joe’s diner, one of the few places in town to eat during the day. “Sure,” she said, uncomfortable at the thought of taking Jayne to a place she knew she’d hate, one that would only solidify her view of Sunset Harbor as a boring small town.
As they jogged back the way they’d come, Jayne talked the whole time: about the latest Vogue photo shoot, a new thriller she’d seen at the theater, her favorite designer’s new summer collection…
Emily just let her talk. She realized that no response was required on her part anyway.
*
Later that evening, as the two women sat side by side in the living room sipping wine, Jayne seemed restless. They’d had waffles and coffee at Joe’s diner—although Jayne had initially ordered a cortardo, much to the older man’s confusion—then had bought a basket full of dark green leafy vegetables from Karen’s general store to juice at home because there wasn’t anywhere in town that sold juices. “You should open a juice bar!” Jayne had exclaimed. “You’d make a killing!” Emily hadn’t bothered explaining that a town like Sunset Harbor had very little demand for such a place.
Then Emily had cooked Spanish omelets for dinner, using fresh eggs from Lola and Lolly, noting how Cynthia was completely right about people loving the idea of organic eggs but not about seeing the critters that produced them.
Jayne had changed twice throughout the day. Once out of her sportswear, then once again for dinner. She was now wearing a beautiful black dress, one that reminded Emily too much of the dress she’d been wearing the night she’d broken up with Ben. She herself was dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a sweater; it hadn’t occurred to her to change for dinner.
“So what can I do while I’m here?” Jayne asked once they settled into the living room with their bottle of wine. “Where are the best clubs? Lounges? Concerts?”
Emily began to laugh. “There’s a local pub but it closes at eight p.m.”
Jayne’s mouth fell open in shock. “Are you really telling me there’s nothing to do at night here?”
“There’s plenty to do,” Emily replied. “Just not that kind of stuff. There’s hiking and boating, that sort of thing.”
“Hiking? Boating? Is this what you’re into now?”
Emily tensed. Jayne was starting to sound like Amy.
“What does it matter what I’m into now?” she said defensively. “I’m happy. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
Jayne reached out and touched her friend on the knee. “I’m not trying to be mean,” she said. “It’s just that you’ve changed so much I can’t help but think it’s because of your new man. I’ve known you your entire dating life and you have to admit that you do have a habit of changing for men—”
“That’s not what this is!” Emily snapped. “I haven’t changed for Daniel. I may have changed because of him but that’s entirely different. And if anything has changed me the most it’s this B&B. Can’t you see how much more purpose I have in my life now that I have something to work toward?”
Jayne sat back. “I can,” she admitted. “You seem good. Healthy. But from our perspective, you know, the friends that you abandoned, it looks a lot like you’re just running away from your problems.”
Emily pouted. She couldn’t deny that that was indeed how this had all begun. She had fled the apartment she shared with Ben and endured the most horrendous few days in the decaying house while in the bitter grip of winter just so she didn’t have to come face to face with any of her problems. But everything had changed since then. The house wasn’t an escape for her anymore, it was her future. And she wanted nothing more in the world than to see it succeed.
“Why don’t you come back to New York for a bit?” Jayne asked gently. “Spend some time in a city again. See how it feels now.”
Emily crossed her arms. “Did my mother put you up to this?”
“No!” Jayne sighed. “I just want my friend back, Em. Is that so hard to understand?”
It wasn’t. But what Jayne didn’t seem to grasp was that her old friend was gone. The old Emily had transformed, morphed into this new woman sitting before her.
“Look,” Emily said with a sigh. “I’m happy here. I have a purpose, a passion, at last. I’m determined to make this work.”
“I can tell,” Jayne replied. “But you’ve never run a B&B before. You don’t have any experience and—”
“Oh, here we go,” Emily interrupted. “I thought you coming here was to support me. But you’re just doubting me like everyone has my whole life.”
“Em,” Jayne said, her tone persistent, “I worry about you. That’s all. Do you really think this will work?”
Something about her words made Emily falter. She’d been able to express her doubts to Daniel only. To everyone else she was completely gung-ho, projecting the image of an unstoppable, determined woman.
“To be honest with you, no. I don’t think I can make this work. The world is against me and I don’t have the talent or the strength of conviction. But I’m not going down without a fight, Jayne. If there’s a one percent chance I can make this work, I have to take it. I have to know I did absolutely everything in my power to succeed. That’s the only way I’ll be able to walk away with my head held high.”
Jayne’s eyebrows rose. “Whoa,” she said. “I’ve never seen you like this about anything. Not even Ben and you were pretty determined to get him to marry you.”
Emily just shrugged. “Like I said, I finally have a passion.”
“I can tell,” Jayne replied. She seemed momentarily defeated, or at least as though her fears had been somewhat quelled.<
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“Come on,” Emily said. “We should be enjoying the evening, not arguing. Let’s make cocktails. Sit on the porch and watch the sunset. What do you say?”
“You mean I don’t need to go clubbing to have fun?” Jayne joked.
Emily laughed, relieved that the awkward conversation was finally over. She made up a pitcher of mojitos and the two women went to sit out on the porch. As the evening drew on, they talked about happier things, the pitcher of mojitos between them becoming emptier and emptier as their laughter became louder and louder.
Emily was bent over laughing hysterically at the anecdote Jayne had just told when she felt her friend’s hand suddenly grip her. She looked up. Jayne’s face had transformed and was suddenly pale.
“What?” Emily demanded. “What’s wrong?”
Jayne pointed down the drive. As Emily followed where she was pointing she noticed the flashing lights illuminating the gravel of the driveway. Then her gaze finally settled on the police car and the two cops walking slowly toward her.
CHAPTER NINE
A swirl of nausea rose in Emily’s throat. Her first thought was Daniel, that he’d gotten into a wreck during one of his drives up along the cliffsides. When she tried to set her drink down, she realized her hand was trembling.
But then she noticed that the cops weren’t alone. There was someone walking along beside them who was very familiar to Emily. Trevor Mann.
Emily let out a huge groan. “It’s just my neighbor,” she told Jayne, speaking in one huge, relieved exhalation. “He’s probably made a noise complaint.”
Jayne raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding? The cops will come out because some old guy doesn’t like the sound of two cackling women?”
Emily laughed, feeling her anxiety fizz away. “We’ll just smile sweetly, apologize, then finish our drinks inside.”
Jayne shook her head. “Sunset Harbor is a weird place! Are you always expected to obey your neighbors’ whims?”
“At the moment,” Emily explained. “I don’t have the energy to fight Trevor as well as try to keep the B&B afloat. He’s too well connected. It’s best just to appease him.”
Emily watched as the three figures approached the house. But then she frowned when she noticed another car pull up, a car that was very familiar to her. It was the mayoral car. It drew to a halt and out hopped Mayor Hansen and Marcella.
“What’s he doing here?” Emily said aloud as she watched the five figures congregate.
Together as a group they strolled up to the house. Trevor led them, looking proud and puffed up. The expressions of everyone else could be described only as ashamed.
“What’s going on?” Emily asked, standing, her question directed right over Trevor’s head and toward Mayor Hansen.
Of course, it made no difference to whom she’d addressed it; it was Trevor who answered her. “What’s going on, Miss Mitchell, is that you’re in breach of the town code signage regulations.”
From behind, Jayne spat out her laughter. Emily turned and hushed her fiercely.
Trevor continued, his voice even more terse and pompous thanks to Jayne’s mocking of him. “Your sign has to be taken down immediately or you’ll be fined one hundred dollars per day that it remains in place.”
The two police officers motioned forward as though to remove the sign.
“Now wait a second,” Emily said, holding up her hands to stop them. “What are you talking about? Mayor Hansen?”
The mayor shrugged apologetically. “I’m afraid he’s right, Emily. You need a special permit for the sign. Unless it comes down now, you’ll be fined.”
Marcella quickly pulled a piece of paper from her clipboard and thrust it toward Emily. “This is your cease-and-desist notification,” she said. Then she added quickly, “And I also brought you an application form to apply for the sign.”
“Thanks,” Emily said dumbly, taking both pieces of paper. She skimmed the application form. “It says it takes a month for the application to be approved. You mean to say you’re going to remove my sign for thirty days?”
“Or fine you three thousand dollars,” Trevor added smugly. “You really should have done your homework before you decided to open up this place.”
“Oh, that’s what this is,” Emily snapped at him. “You’ve spent the whole weekend researching ways to screw me over. This was the one thing you could get me on, wasn’t it? You’re a petty little man, Trevor. A sad, pathetic wretch.”
“Whoo!” Jayne cried, laughing. “You tell him, Em!”
Trevor looked like he’d sucked a lemon. But he placed his hands on his hips, standing his ground. Emily looked to Mayor Hansen appealingly.
“You’re not going to let him do this, are you?” she pleaded.
Rather than the mayor, it was Marcella who spoke. “He can’t bend the law for you, Emily. I’m sorry, but rules are rules.”
“Jeez!” Jayne cried from the porch. “You need to get that stick out your butt missy. Here, have a mojito.” She thrust her glass toward Marcella, spilling the majority of its contents as she did so. Marcella looked disgusted and didn’t even bother replying to Jayne.
Just then, Emily noticed the lights flick on in the carriage house. Daniel must have been disturbed by the commotion. The two policemen got to work removing the sign and Emily watched, her attention divided between them and Daniel’s approaching figure.
“What the hell is this?” Daniel said as he reached them. His expression was thunderous.
“They’re taking down my sign,” Emily said in an exhalation. “I’ve broken some kind of violation.”
“The town code signage regulation.” Trevor Mann sneered.
Daniel shot him a chilling look, and then his attention focused, as Emily’s had, on their hapless mayor. “Why are you letting him do this, Derek?” he demanded.
Mayor Hansen shuffled awkwardly in place.
“He can’t bend the rules,” Marcella said, repeating her words from earlier.
“I’m not asking you,” Daniel snapped at her. “I’m asking him.” He glowered again at Derek Hansen.
“Do you want to step back for me, sir?” one of the police officers said, approaching Daniel.
“Daniel,” Emily warned. She could tell by his stance that he was coming across as threatening, and what with his previous criminal record, he really had to watch himself. Harassing the town mayor would not look good for him.
Daniel took a step back, but he was still fuming. “And you, you little toad,” he said, pointing at Trevor. “You have some nerve. You’re here for what, two months of the year, and you’ve decided to use them to tear someone else down? I hope you feel proud of yourself!”
“Actually, I’ve decided to move here full time,” Trevor said, folding his arms. “I realized this dear little town needed more consistent vigilance to make sure such rules and regulations were being maintained.”
Even the police seemed irritated by Trevor. But they did their duty nonetheless, keeping a protective distance between Trevor and Daniel.
Daniel’s anger was starting to reach boiling point. Emily felt more than a little concerned that the police would get heavy-handed with him, which was the last thing she wanted to happen.
“Come on,” she said to him, softly. “Let’s just get inside.” She put her hand on his back and guided him up the porch steps.
“I can’t believe this,” Daniel barked over his shoulder. “You’re spineless, Derek. Do you know that?”
“Hush,” Emily said. “Jayne,” she added, addressing her friend, “let’s continue this inside.”
Jayne scooped up the mojito pitcher and glasses and followed Emily and Daniel inside, wobbling as she went.
As soon as they were inside, Emily turned to Daniel, needing his comfort now more than ever. Daniel already knew exactly what to do. He wrapped her up in his strong arms and held her. Emily pressed her face into his chest and squeezed her arms around his torso. She could hear his heart beating with anger, and co
uld feel the heat coming off of him.
“I can’t believe this,” she murmured. “How am I going to get customers without a sign? No one will be able to find me.”
Daniel pressed his mouth to the crown of her head with a hard, protective kiss. “It’s only a month. You can make it.”
“No, I can’t,” Emily stammered. “One month without any way of advertising the inn is a really long time.”
“You’ll just have to get creative. Advertise online. Make the directions really clear. It will be fine. Trust me.”
“Maybe I should go,” Jayne suddenly piped up. She was standing there looking awkward. “It looks like you have a lot on your plate here.”
“No,” Emily said, touching her friend’s arm, suddenly aware that Jayne was being left out. “It’s fine. I’m just annoyed because of my neighbor. I’ll calm down in a bit and make another pitcher of mojitos.”
Jayne gave her a small smile. “Honestly, Em, it’s fine if you don’t have time to hang out with me with all this sign drama going on. I can head back to New York.”
Now it was Daniel’s turn to look awkward.
“It’s not ‘drama,’” Emily said. “It’s my business. My livelihood.”
“Sure, sure,” Jayne said, sounding more disinterested than ever. “I just mean I’m clearly in your way. And it’s not like there’s a bar or club I can escape to.”
“You want to escape?” Emily said.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Jayne sighed. “I mean that I feel like you need your space to do B&B things. I don’t need to go anywhere. I could just hang out and watch TV but there isn’t one of those so I’m not sure where to go to occupy myself while you’re sorting this stuff out.”
“Don’t back-pedal now,” Emily said. “I can read between the lines, not that your opinions were particularly hidden between them in the first place. This has nothing to do with you wanting to give me space. You’re bored.”
