by Jo Leigh
“I agree,” he said, meeting her gaze again with a different motive. “He just wants you to be happy. He’s so damn proud of you. He’d never want you to accept second best just to be nearer. You deserve your dream job.”
She studied his face, and although he could be exceptionally stoic, she was clever enough to know he wasn’t just talking about Ronny anymore.
Cricket gave him a smile that made his chest tighten. “A new job will mean lots and lots of hours. It won’t be easy to take weekends off, or to get away for any length of time. I do have to take that into consideration.”
He would have liked to weigh in on the side of her moving closer, but he had no business saying a word. He didn’t even know what the hell he wanted yet, and she’d admitted the same thing. The thought of her leaving was painful, though. He’d never expected anyone like her popping into his life—the simple life he’d imagined, owning a small bar on the beach.
But in all honesty, his life had already gotten more complicated the minute he’d made Becky and the kids his responsibility. Jesus, what was wrong with him?
“You know what I’m looking forward to?” she said.
“What?”
“Tomorrow morning. Scrounging on the beach. It’s not like a hurricane where everything is dead and it stinks for ages. This kind of storm? We’d all race out to be first at the shoreline. It’s a little like that Tom Hanks movie, Cast Away. Once hundreds of coffee containers and ramen noodles came ashore. Everyone was fighting over them, like they were real treasure. Seriously, there were fistfights. But I’ve found beautiful things, too.”
“What was your favorite?”
“A puppy, who’d somehow made it through that wicked storm. He looked like a drowned rat, but he was a good dog. Ronny tried to teach him how to surf, but I made him promise not to ever do it again.”
“How come?”
“Because Jessie didn’t have a vote.” Her big grin turned into an enormous yawn, which got him going, too. It was almost 1:00 a.m., and now that they had some airflow, it wasn’t all that unpleasant. Not even when she curled up next to him, leaning her head on his chest.
As everything got quieter, and the kids settled down, he watched her sleep. It seemed impossible to already know how much he’d miss her, and how quickly life could flip upside down.
Or in Adam’s case, end in a moment.
Chapter Twenty-One
THE BOAT HAD gotten through the storm like a champ. Ronny and Skip were busy going over the checklist, putting her back to rights with the electronics and assorted things they’d taken off her. But Ronny was in excellent spirits, which was a good thing considering it was just after dawn.
“Remember to take it easy,” Cricket said, staring at her father with the full measure of her I’m-not-kidding look. “I don’t want to hear that you’ve done anything that will get your ears wet. And you’re not to lift anything heavy. Understand?”
Ronny sighed. “I hadn’t planned on it. Jeez, Baby Girl. Enough.”
“Think again. If you get dizzy, you immediately let Skip know, and he’ll call me. If you fall, I swear to God...”
“All right, already. I’m not twelve.”
“No, you just act like it.” She turned to Skip. “I’m counting on you. He’ll want to help everyone else on the dock, but he’s not going to. Am I making myself clear?”
“Don’t worry. I take my job seriously.”
“Good. Where’s everyone else?”
“Some are on their way. The others are lazy asses who’ll pay for it. Trust me.”
Cricket smiled. She liked Skip. “Call if you need me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, saluting her.
When she turned to Wyatt, he was trying not to laugh. Not successfully, but she didn’t mind. He’d made her coffee this morning, and he’d already gotten in touch with Sabrina. Except for a downed railing, she’d given the bar a clean bill of health, which meant Cricket was free to steal Wyatt away for her traditional treasure hunt. She hoped there were more tiaras than ramen noodles.
“Come on, you.” Wyatt grabbed her hand and tugged her along past Ronny’s slip. “There are already people at the shoreline. We can’t let them win.”
She squeezed his hand. He’d not only gotten her up in time, he’d reminded her that she needed to get in touch with Grant, and although he raised his eyebrows at her purposely vague and deliberately exaggerated update on both Ronny’s condition and the storm damage, Wyatt didn’t comment. Which was good, because in truth, she wasn’t like that. Her anger at Grant’s duplicity hadn’t made the morning’s decision a hard one, but he’d still end up getting what he wanted in the end. She was going to follow her latest plan. She just needed a little more time with Ronny. And...other things.
By the time she and Wyatt were at the shore, there were quite a few beachcombers, mostly the artsy crowd who were picking through the driftwood and interesting flotsam and jetsam. So far, Cricket had seen the traditional seaweed bloom, which would be dealt with as quickly as possible before the rising heat would make it too stinky for the tourists. Kids and teens were playing in the water, which wasn’t the smartest idea, but she’d done the same when she was their age.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Wyatt said. “Is that part of the ritual?”
“I never thought about it, but yeah, I mostly did this solo. I had a very active imagination, and I used to be certain I’d find a mermaid, or a pirate, or a tiara.”
“Well, that seems about right for a kid.”
She turned to him, dead serious. “I was in my twenties.”
He cupped her nape and pulled her into his arms. “You’re nuts. Which is great, by the way.”
“I thought you said I was levelheaded and rational.”
“Sometimes. You know,” he said, rocking her gently, “I’m sorry Rose and Josh aren’t here. They’d have enjoyed the adventure.”
“Oh, do you think we can call and maybe get them?”
“It’s probably better to let them sleep in a little longer. Next tropical storm, I’ll be sure and remember this.” He pulled back, with a mildly worried expression. “Uh, I forgot to tell you. Becky wants us to go to dinner with her and the guy she’s started seeing. Ned.”
“The way you said his name, is that a clue that you’re not fond of him?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t met him.”
“Well, don’t be so negative. Becky’s a bright woman. She’s not going to pick some deadbeat to date. How long have they been seeing each other?”
“I’m not sure. All I know is he’s a Realtor, and she’s seen him at least once.”
“Wait, are you upset that she’s dating? Wyatt, hasn’t it been almost three years since her husband died?”
He shut down like a storm shutter, cloaking himself off to her both emotionally and physically. It was startling, because she’d thought they’d broken a lot of ground together, but she guessed Adam’s death was off-limits.
Without his touch, she continued down the beach, noticing that aside from the debris strewed across the sand, several shacks had broken windows, and a few were missing shingles from their roofs.
Wyatt caught up to her and grabbed her hand once more, pulling her to a stop. “Sorry. It’s okay for you to talk about Adam. It is. I’m just not prepared for Becky to be dating. I know she has every right, and I do want her to be happy, but...”
“You’re worried about her?”
He nodded. “And the kids, although I know they deserve to have a father figure in their lives. I get that it’s not easy for Becky to be a single mom. But it seems too soon, even though I know it’s not. Three years is a long time to grieve, and I honestly don’t want her to be miserable... It’s my issue, not hers.”
Cricket took his other hand in hers. “Do you feel as if you might be replaced?”
As always, he took his time before answering. Such an admirable trait. Maybe she could learn how to do that herself.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think that’s it. At least not all of it. I’m sure I’ll always be a part of their lives. And I’m happy to be the favorite uncle. That actually suits me better than anything else.”
“But you have to be the favorite, right?”
He grinned in answer, and she felt free to laugh. Somehow the bond between them just kept getting stronger. She needed a different name for what they were. It couldn’t be a relationship, not this quickly, and she didn’t believe in soul mates, but she’d also never felt like this with anyone. Not her best friends and certainly not any of her boyfriends.
He’d as much as told her he wouldn’t mind her moving closer. Truthfully, she’d like that, too. It wasn’t a probable outcome, though. Besides, she wasn’t sure this magic between them could stand the test of time. An exciting idea, absolutely, but it also made her nervous. She’d never made her love life a priority. Her focus had been on her career.
“I think it’s time we headed back to Ronny’s. I’d like to take one more look around the place, even though the storm surge only came up to the steps, I want to check underneath now that it’ll be easier to scope out.”
Wyatt nodded. “Good idea. Besides, I could use another cup of coffee.”
By the time they could see the blue shack, Ronny was standing outside, giving it a thorough once-over. He called them over, but even several feet away, he started yelling out to them. “Tony’s boat got all beat up, and he’s going to pay up the wazoo to have his engine rebuilt.”
They finally got close enough that he didn’t need to shout.
“Penny’s house lost a window when a big piece of driftwood crashed right through. Lucky she wasn’t hurt.”
“Well, lucky us, then,” Cricket said, glad that there wasn’t a houseful of surfers, which meant half of them were still getting the Baby Girl back into shape.
“Damn straight.” Ronny looked a little smug as he eyed the porch and the exterior front of the shack. “The old girl has really held up all these years. Except for the Perfect Storm, but then only the front of the place got torn up. And half the roof. Didn’t lose a single shingle or board last night.”
Cricket’s smile was genuine, although not for a very nice reason. “Yeah, that’s right. It weathered the storm amazingly well. All thanks to Wyatt.” Feeling a bit smug herself, she took a step closer to her dad. “Do you know how many reinforcements and repairs he made yesterday before you got out of the hospital?”
Ronny’s glee diminished, not by much, but at least he was taking a closer look at the porch steps, the side of the house that had been woefully neglected, and even the newer looking shingles that now graced the roof. “Well, damn, son, that’s nice work,” he said, turning to Wyatt. “You have my blessing.”
“What?” Cricket asked, the same time Wyatt said, “Pardon me?”
Ronny grinned like the kid he was. “You can marry my daughter.”
Wyatt laughed, but Cricket blushed hotter than a sunburn. “Oh, for God’s sake, Ronny...” Although her censure didn’t seem to strike home. In fact, he was already looking past her with wide eyes and dropped jaw. “Holy shit, what is she doing here?”
Cricket turned around, spotting the taxi at the break wall. A woman stood by the open trunk. “Holy shit,” she echoed. “Mom?”
* * *
MOM WAS A very attractive woman who looked as if she’d had Cricket at an early age. It was clear where her daughter got that smile, but Cricket’s eyes were Ronny’s, just much prettier.
Cricket had pulled him along as she and Ronny walked to the brick wall that separated the beach from the parking area, past the trees—the green ash fully intact—to the cab, where Wyatt kept a short distance as Ronny and Cricket moved in.
“What are you doing here, Vic?” Ronny asked.
“We spoke yesterday,” Cricket said. “Why didn’t you say you were coming? We would have picked you up at the airport.”
She looked from Cricket to Ronny, then up at the sky before she shook her head, then pointed to the phone she was on. “I’ll have to call you later, Pilar, I’m being hammered with questions.” She disconnected and hugged Cricket, then gave Ronny a European double-cheek kiss. “Why don’t we get out of this terrible sun into the shack, assuming there’s a roof still on it.”
While Ronny kept right on talking to his ex, Wyatt got a look at the luggage in the cab’s trunk. He immediately picked up the two biggest suitcases. Cricket got two herself, and handed Ronny the overnight bag. The cabbie closed the trunk and got behind the wheel, just as Vic started walking, the rest of them following like a family of ducks. Until Ronny rushed ahead to open the door, and everyone filed in. Cricket put down the luggage in the living room, and Wyatt and Ronny followed suit.
“You look great, Mom,” Cricket said. “Seriously, but is something wrong?”
“Only with your father, as far as I know,” she said, looking at Ronny. “I’m here to see how you’re doing.”
“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. Mom, this is Wyatt Covack,” Cricket said, pulled him forward. “My mom, Victoria Danes.”
“Very pleased to meet you, Wyatt Covack.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, and she smiled, then turned to Cricket.
There was another hug, the kind his family tended to avoid, then Victoria brushed the back of her hand over her daughter’s cheek. “You look well, darling. I can’t wait to catch up.”
Victoria was very smartly dressed in a light linen skirt and silk blouse, with her golden hair worn up. Although he couldn’t see her eyes behind her large dark glasses, she seemed polished and elegant, much like his own mother.
“What’s all this?” Ronny said, standing by the five different pieces of luggage. “Haven’t you learned anything in all these years? Two bikinis, two pairs of shorts, two T-shirts, that’s all you ever need.”
“Ronny, you irrepressible idiot, that’s all the clothes I brought.” Her grin was wicked when she ran a hand down his back. “The rest is lingerie.”
“Hell, you know I always hated you wearing underwear.”
Cricket winced. “Stop,” she said, covering her ears. “You aren’t allowed to say things like that in front of me. Ever.”
Her mom laughed. “All right, sweetheart,” Victoria said, removing her sunglasses. “We’ll save it for when you’re away with your beau.” She gave him a once-over that reminded him a little too much of Lila. “Very nice, Jessica. Very...healthy.”
“Oh, God.” Ronny shook his head. “You’ve turned into a cougar.”
“You,” she said, turning to her ex, “have no room to talk. Lying to your daughter about Ira saying you didn’t have surfer’s ear when you knew perfectly well he did no such thing.”
“I didn’t lie. Not technically. I was just using lawyer talk, like Cricket.”
“Hey!” Cricket sounded outraged, which Ronny must have expected. “That wasn’t lawyer speak, it was a damn lie.”
“No it wasn’t. Think about it,” Ronny said, looking very sure of himself.
Glaring like only Cricket could, she opened her mouth, but quickly shut it again. “You were deliberately evasive. And I mean deliberately.”
Wyatt, turned away, although he didn’t quite muffle the slight clearing of his throat. Cricket looked at him, and he felt guilty as hell when she blushed. It wasn’t his place, and he had no right to embarrass her in front of her parents, no matter what.
“If I had known you hadn’t had it checked,” she said, in a much calmer tone, “it would have saved us all a lot of worry. As it was, you nearly had an unnecessary MRI, and that wouldn’t have even eliminated the need for the CT scan.”
“I know, Baby Girl. I’m sorry. I should have been more open.” He then turned to Vic again
.
“I’m parched,” she said, taking Ronny’s hand and pulling him into the kitchen. “Tell me you have some chilled wine in that fridge of yours.”
“Beer. Gatorade. Coffee.”
“Well, I guess we’ll have to fix that straightaway.” She opened the fridge door, and clicked her tongue as she shook her head. “I have to call and order some edible foods. What’s with all this kombucha and yogurt? Have you become vegan or something?”
“Vegans don’t eat dairy. It’s what healthy people eat instead of pâté de frog wa and truffle muffins.”
Wyatt and Cricket both laughed, but Vic didn’t look so charmed. “I can see we’re going to get on just fine.”
“So what are you really doing here?” Ronny asked.
“I’m going to take care of you, that’s what. Be your babysitter, because we all know you staying out of the water is going to be a struggle. But rest assured, I’m going to watch you like a hawk.”
“Why?” he asked, looking appalled, although Wyatt could tell it was about his surfing, not the company.
“So Cricket can go back to work, of course.”
Wyatt and Cricket looked at each other, both of them with a bit too much alarm, which they quashed immediately, which wasn’t easy, at least on his part. Now that he knew she had no more reason to stay, the thought of her leaving felt like a vicious kick to the head, one he wasn’t prepared for.
His only hope was that Cricket would find a way to delay her departure. Although, with her new plan to look for a job while still earning her salary, perhaps it was better for the both of them to cut their losses sooner rather than later.
Chapter Twenty-Two
IT SMELLED LIKE the sea and clean air. The volunteers who were clearing out the seaweed bloom had been working crazy hours since yesterday, and they’d already gotten most of it removed. It would be processed into fertilizer, which was wonderful for the whole community. The rest of the debris was still being worked on, but the Bay was mostly back to normal.
