The Posse

by Tawdra Kandle

  “Here, Mark.” She tossed the block of Swiss in her brother’s direction and went to greet the newcomers.

  “I’m so sorry we’re late!” Sandra hugged Jude and then held her at arms’ length. “And I’m a mess! My car broke down on the inter-coastal bridge, and I was standing out there in the heat...” Her eyes slid sideways. “Until my hero showed up.”

  Sandra’s dimpled smile turned full force on Matt, who flushed and managed to look both uncomfortable and pleased at the same time.

  “Matt! You rescued Sandra and Lily?”

  He shook his head, grinning all the while. “I just stopped to help. Anyone would have done the same.”

  “But no one else did except you.” Sandra laid one hand on his arm and smiled before she turned back to Jude. “I’d called for the road rescue, but they said they were going to be over an hour coming. Matt here put flares around my car, took Lily and me into his air-conditioned Jeep and convinced the tow truck to come sooner. He was amazing.”

  “That’s our Matt,” Jude murmured, meeting Logan’s eyes across the room. “Always a hero.” She stifled the urge to do a victory dance.

  “Let’s get you all something to drink and some food. You must be famished.” She smiled at the little girl. “Lily, the kids are all eating out of the deck, so they can run back and forth onto the beach. Why don’t you go out with them?”

  Jude maneuvered Matt and Sandra to a two-person table away from all the noise of the kitchen and went in search of drinks for them. As she bent to grab a beer for Matt, she felt a hand at her waist and knew it was Logan.

  “You couldn’t have set that up better if you’d tried,” he murmured into her ear. Jude shivered and caught her breath. She pulled herself together enough to turn and smile.

  “Funny how things work out sometimes, isn’t it?”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you messed with her car and made sure Matt was coming from the same direction.” He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t, right?”

  Jude rolled her eyes. “Right. God, Logan, what do you think of me?”

  He grinned down at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Before she could answer, Mark slid a basket of onion rings onto the counter in front of her.

  “Can you take these over to Cooper and Eric? I promised them a hot batch.”

  “Sure.” Jude spied the guys at a table in the corner, tipping back bottles. Sparring Logan one last glance, she picked up the food.

  “Onion rings to the dudes who clearly aren’t looking to get lucky tonight.” She dropped the basket between them.

  “Hey, don’t make assumptions. I’m going to take a few of these over to Janet. If she eats them, too, she won’t be able to tell the difference.” He winked at Jude and sauntered over to the bar where his wife was slicing hamburger buns.

  Jude took his empty chair and pushed the basket closer to Cooper. “What about you, stud? Don’t you want to keep your options open for the evening?”

  He quirked a grin at her. “No options tonight. Lex is with me.” He jerked a thumb in the direction of the deck. “She’s outside riding herd on the rugrats. Pretending to be annoyed, but she secretly loves it.”

  Jude glanced out the doors. Alexis was leaning against the deck railing, her eyes trained on the beach below, where Mark’s kids were playing. Her red hair was twisted into a braid that trailed down her back.

  “How’s she doing? Ready to start high school?”

  Cooper winced. “Don’t remind me. I tried to talk Jolie into sending to her to an all-girl Catholic school.”

  Jude laughed. Cooper and his first ex-wife were one of those rare couples whose divorce was far friendlier than their marriage had ever been. Alexis was a happy and well-adjusted girl because her parents worked together to raise her.

  “Good luck with that. You might as well face it, Coop. You’re going to be beating the boys off with a stick. I don’t want to scare you, but when Lex was working for me this summer, there were plenty of them looking at her. Don’t worry, I kept my eye on her—and them.”

  Cooper leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. “I’m choosing to live in a blissful state of denial. She’s still my little girl.”

  Jude laid her hand on his arm. “You keep telling yourself that. Don’t worry. She’s a good girl. I loved having her around here. Meggie did, too. She says Lex is the closest thing she has to a little sister.”

  “I’m glad. I really did appreciate you letting her work for you. It was a good way to get her feet wet, and I knew you were looking out for her.” Cooper covered Jude’s hand with his free one and held it for just a second longer than necessary.

  Jude smiled to cover her sudden discomfort and stood up. “If I don’t get back to cooking, my brother is going to kill me. I think he’s afraid if he gets behind the bar too long, he’ll end up never leaving. It’s a family thing.”

  “Jude.” She turned back, unease rising at the intimate tone of his voice. “This was really nice. Thanks for having all of us. Good to be together again for a happy reason.”

  There was a look in Cooper’s eyes that Jude hadn’t seen in a long time, and it certainly had never been directed her way. Not quite sure what to do, she nodded and got back to the kitchen as fast as her stumbling feet could carry her.

  Across the room, nursing his beer, Logan watched her go and frowned.

  ***

  Logan sat at his desk in the room he’d designed expressly for the purpose of designing from home. He had an office across the bridge in Elson, where he met clients and from which the day-to-day running of Holt/Hawthorne was accomplished. But he preferred to do his creative work here.

  The room was almost entirely windows, placed creatively so that he had the best light at almost any point in the day. His drafting table faced the beach, because he had always drawn inspiration from the mercurial surf. He was a beach kid, after all; he might not have embraced his inner surfer like Matt had, but it was no less in his blood. He simply preferred to take the moods of the ocean and translate them into homes that complemented rather than scarred the landscape.

  Home was important to Logan, had been since his own family had disintegrated when he was just thirteen years old. He didn’t talk about it, didn’t even think about it most of the time, but he knew his mother’s departure and his parents’ messy divorce were what had motivated him to build a house that was far too large for a man living by himself, as well as what drove him to design homes for others.

  He’d never experienced any kind of creative block, not really. Daniel used to kid him about being the temperamental artist half of their duo, while he himself was the muscle, but they both knew that it was joke. When a plan had to be drawn up, Logan did it. He didn’t have to wait for a muse. It was already within him.

  But tonight. . .he tossed down the pencil and stretched his neck. Thanks to the regularity of his morning jogging, he wasn’t sore anymore. But the tension in his shoulders was another story, and he knew the source.

  Jude. When they’d sat in here in his bar, over a month ago, and made that deal, he hadn’t been worried. He knew Jude, knew she wasn’t going to jump at the first chance for a new relationship. But getting everyone on board meant that when he was finally ready to make his own move, he’d do it with the full support of his friends. No one could get mad at him when he’d already gotten pre-approval from the posse.

  Logan rubbed a hand over his face. That comfortable feeling had lasted just until the day he spied Matt walking out of the Tide in the middle of the afternoon. Not that it was unusual; they all worked in such close proximity that not dropping in on the others would have been odder. But Logan had a gut-deep feeling that day. He had planned to stick his head in and say hello to Jude, let her know how the bed and breakfast was progressing, but it felt too much like one-upmanship after seeing Matt.

  So instead he followed up with a phone call to Matt on his way back to the office. He made small talk and then an off-the-cuff sugge
stion that they grab a beer and some steaks at his house that night, like they did on so many other evenings.

  “Uh, actually...” Matt replied, and Logan had his answer. “I’m taking Jude out to eat. Her kids went left today, so I thought...”

  “You thought you’d make your move.” Logan had not intended for the words to come out so harsh.

  “It’s not like that.” Logan could almost picture Matt running his hand over the shaggy blond hair. “I’m trying to do what we said. Hell, I paced around the shop today for an hour, trying to make up my mind to go and do it. Ask her. I mean, it’s Jude. I tried to figure out, do I think about her that way? Could I be with her? One part of me says no. She’s like one of my sisters, for God’s sake. But then another part says, maybe. Maybe we could be comfortable together. You know, grow old.”

  Logan nearly drove off the road. One word he never associated with Jude was comfortable. And growing old? Yeah, eventually, but they were a long way from that yet.

  “You gotta be sure, Matt,” he said aloud. “Think about it.” When his friend didn’t respond, Logan added, “Have a good time tonight. Catch you later.”

  Now, standing at the window, watching the swirl of twilight waves, he pondered his next move. The early morning jogs and stops at the Tide had been part of the groundwork he was laying, sure, but it was also feeding a need he had, just to be around Jude, to talk with her. He had been reassured when she reported on her dinner with Matt, even more so when she fixed him up with her friend, but on the other hand, she had been shocked at the idea of having a dating relationship with Matt.

  Was it because of Matt himself, or was she not interested in anyone at all? Logan couldn’t be sure. When she had nearly flown into his arms at the Tide the night of her matchmaker dinner, he had lost his breath. Her dark hair damp, falling around her shoulders in tendrils as she ran down the steps had taken him back years.

  And just before she kissed his cheek, he almost thought he had seen something in her eyes...Logan shook his head. Sooner or later, he would have to do something more than just hang around her. Matt might be out of the picture now—Jude had gleefully reported that he and Sandra had seen each other almost every night of the past two weeks since their meeting—but there was still Cooper.

  Cooper with two marriages under his belt, and a teenaged daughter Jude had taken under her wing. That would be an in for him. Cooper, who, at Jude’s matchmaking dinner, had said something that flustered her, had her blushing.

  Logan sighed and sank into the chair that sat by his drafting table. Yeah, it was getting to be time to make his move.

  Only he wasn’t exactly sure what that move was.

  ***

  After Daniel died, Jude had worried a little about being lonely. She pictured long empty evenings, nights in front of the television, solitary meals at a silent kitchen table.

  But so far, that had not materialized. In fact, she was so surrounded by company and activity that it was beginning to wear on her nerves. She didn’t like turning people down, so she agreed to an afternoon of shopping in Daytona with Janet. And then an evening at some author’s reading at a nearby independent bookstore with Samantha. Dinner with Matt and Sandra, who insisted that she had brought them together, and they wanted to thank her.

  Between her friends padding her social calendar, her kids calling to check on her, and the normal hustle and bustle of the Riptide, Jude didn’t have a moment to hear herself think.

  So on Thursday night, she convinced Mack and Sadie to go home before she locked up by telling them she was staying in town for a little while for a business meeting. As much as she hated lying to anyone, especially to the couple who had been like second parents to her, she knew it was the only ploy that would work. If she told them that she was planning to stay late to give the kitchen a deep cleaning, they would insist on staying with her the whole time.

  Once she watched them drive away, Jude let out a long sigh of relief. She had already turned the sign to ‘Closed’ and switched on the outside lights, as though she were leaving. From the back room, she pulled out a basket of rags, a mop, bucket and a tote full of cleaning products.

  “How sad am I?” she muttered, half-amused and half-horrified that the prospect of an evening of cleaning was making her nearly giddy.

  She changed the radio station to the weekly ‘80s flashback show, cranked up the volume, pulled on rubber gloves and launched a full-force attack on the grill.

  Logan liked routine, and his hadn’t changed much in the years since he’d built his beach house. He left the office and drove over the bridge to come home. Twice a week, he stopped at the grocery store to buy food for dinners. On Mondays, he left early enough to pick up his dry cleaning and pressed shirts before the cleaners closed. Occasionally, if he were invited to a friend’s house for dinner or if he had another social engagement, the routine could vary. But most weeks, it didn’t.

  After Daniel got sick, Logan had changed up things a little. Once he crossed the bridge, he cut down two side streets so that he could drive past Jude and Daniel’s house, make sure everything was all right. Just seeing the lights on in the right places was somehow comforting. On the days when the lights weren’t on, he’d know something had come up, and more likely than not, Daniel was in the hospital. Again.

  Now, of course, no movement in the house just meant that Jude was out, and most of the time, Logan knew where she was. The posse was close enough that word traveled fast, and it wasn’t unusual for Mark or Eric to let slip if one of their wives had plans with Jude, or if something else happened to be going on.

  The house pass was followed by a detour that led him to Beach Street, where he checked out the Riptide. On weeknights, the parking lot was usually empty, with only the security lights still burning. Fridays were a different, of course, but he still made certain that Jude’s car had vacated its normal spot, meaning that Emmy had taken over. Since Jude typically followed her own routine, it was reassuring on a very basic level to know that she was safe.

  So when Logan drove past her house that Thursday, he was only a little surprised to see just one light in the kitchen. He assumed her car was safely in the garage where it belonged, and that Jude herself was probably there in the kitchen.

  But as he made the pass by the Tide, he frowned. Jude’s car was still in the lot, and he could see lights throughout the restaurant, as if it were still open. He pulled in and parked next to her beat up compact—though Daniel had tried to convince her to buy a newer model, Jude claimed it was pointless to have a new car when she lived at the beach.

  He saw the ‘Closed’ sign on the door as he approached, but then he heard something. Logan cocked his head. It sounded like...drums. Loud drums. And a woman’s voice.

  He tried the door handle. He wasn’t surprised that it was unlocked; Jude was notorious for not locking doors. As he stepped into the empty restaurant, the music assaulted his senses. The drums pounded in his chest, and his ears rang.

  Across the room, he spied Jude. She hadn’t heard him come in, and no wonder. Logan took advantage of the chance to watch her, unseen.

  Her hair was up in its typical ponytail, and it swung in time with her movements. She was wearing jean shorts and a deep green t-shirt, with the rounded neckline she usually favored. She swung her hips and arms in time to the drums. And she was singing at the top of her lungs along with Sheila E.

  Logan was transfixed, watching her denim-covered rear wiggle and gyrate. The shirt had ridden up a little on her back, and he could see a small slice of tanned skin. His fingers itched to touch it, and he clenched his fist to keep from reaching out, as if somehow he could from this distance.

  As she spun and shimmied, he was suddenly back in high school, standing down at the old pavilion where the summer dances were held. Every Saturday night, the whole posse met at the Riptide and walked down the beach toward the sound of the music. A different business sponsored the dance each week, so they never knew what the decorations would be: one
Saturday it might be sea shells and shimmery green bunting, while another there might be album covers and ads from the local record store.

  Regardless, the dances drew most of the teens in the Cove. Everyone brought blankets, and as the evening wore on, couples would drift away from the lights and music, returning some time later, often disheveled and slightly sandy. But Daniel and Jude were seldom among those, only because Jude adored dancing. She didn’t wanted to miss even one song, and if Daniel begged off, she had no compunction about pulling another one of the posse in to join her.

  Remembering, he moved toward her now, pulling loose his tie as he went. The music muffled his steps, and he might have reached her entirely undetected, except that Jude chose that moment to execute a perfect spin.

  She saw him, and her hand flew to her throat. She screeched in shock, and for a moment, Logan thought she might pass out. He knew the minute surprise was superceded by annoyance, but before she could say anything, he stuck out one hand.

  “Dance with me?”

  Jude’s face melted into a smile as she took his hand. Logan spun her once, and then simply held her hand, moving in synchronicity to her steps and swings as Sheila E. continued to tout the benefits of a glamorous life.

  After a few moments, the drums gave way to the more mellow guitar of Madonna’s Crazy For You. Logan pulled Jude close, wrapping his other arm around her back, just he had wanted to do over twenty years before. In those days, when the music slowed, Jude always turned away, her eyes searching for Daniel until he found her on the dance floor.

  But tonight, her wide green eyes fastened on Logan’s. For a moment, he feared she might pull away; confusion and a hint of trepidation clouded her face. Then she relaxed and rested her forehead against his shoulder, slipping her hand around to press against his back.

  Logan wondered if she could hear the pounding of his heart. How many years had this been his dream? All through high school, definitely. Even when he had known that Jude would always love Daniel, that he would come first in heart for the rest of their lives, he had still dreamed. He had never betrayed how he felt in any way. He had stood up for them at their wedding as Daniel’s best man, offered the toast, kissed the bride on her cheek. He’d been there for first Meghan’s birth and then Joseph’s.