Three Southern Beaches: A Summer Beach Read Box Set

by Kathleen Brooks

  Trey wedged himself through the window. Taylor could see the glass ripping his shirt as his shoulder got stuck. He pushed through and disappeared from view. The trailer was getting hot now and the smoke was making it hard to see. She crawled along the table and looked out the window. Trey was looking nervously at the fire licking the underside of the trailer.

  “Sweetheart, now is not the time to be fashionably late.”

  Taylor gave a quick nod and pushed her feet out the window. The broken glass crunched under the mat as she scooted farther out. Closing her eyes tight, she pushed herself out. She fell for only a split second and then Trey’s arms were around her. With a flick of his arm, he was cradling her and taking off at a dead run.

  “You can put me down,” Taylor tried to say jokingly but wound up coughing instead.

  Trey only held her tighter and ran faster. There was a creaking sound of metal melting and then a whoosh of a fireball. Taylor’s eyes went wide as she looked over Trey’s shoulder and saw her trailer explode. Trey leapt forward and tucked her beneath him. They hit the ground hard as metal rained down around them.

  * * *

  Trey kept his arm around Taylor as they waited for Sheriff Wilson to talk to them. Jim stood on the other side of Taylor. Even Grant and Melanie had shown up to see what was going on.

  The sheriff nodded his head and shook hands with the fire marshal before heading their way. “Mr. Everett, Miss Jefferies, have the paramedics checked you out yet?”

  “Yes. I’m okay and Trey just had a minor cut on his shoulder,” Taylor told him.

  “What caused the fire, sheriff?” Trey asked.

  Sheriff Wilson ran his hand through his hair and grimaced. “It appears one of the grounds crew was on a golf cart that had a can of gas on the back of it. It seems the gas can fell over when he was about ten feet from your trailer, causing gas to pour out as he drove past. We found the cart and the can. It matches up with the residue we found on the ground.”

  “So it was just a freak accident?” Taylor asked, sounding both relieved and disbelieving at the same time.

  “I want to know if either of you recognizes anyone in these pictures.” Sheriff Wilson held up three pictures and Taylor nodded.

  “I know all of them. They all work here at the resort. That’s Bubs, Mutt, and Gopher.”

  “Would any of them have a reason to hurt you?” Sheriff Wilson asked as he kept holding the pictures for her to see.

  “Goodness, no. Bubs always leaves fresh flowers in my trailer. He’s the head of the garden on the grounds. His wife just had their second boy and I was even invited to the christening. Mutt’s a great guy. He’s always puttering down at the marina and taught Trey how to sail. And Gopher? He takes care of the golf course. I don’t know him all that well since I don’t play golf. But we’ve worked together on charity golf scrambles and he seems like a nice guy. Why?”

  “It was Bubs driving the cart. He said the same thing as you did, but I needed to make sure it was two-sided and not a delusional fan issue. So far it’s looking like an accident. Go home and get some rest. I’ll let you know whenever we get any more information.”

  Trey and Taylor shook the sheriff’s hand and watched him stop to talk with his brother, who was also a deputy. The brother was currently giving her the once-over. She rolled her eyes. He was known for being a hound dog.

  “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get home and clean up.” Trey’s hand rested on her lower back with gentle pressure to lead her toward his car.

  “I’m sorry your date night was ruined. It sounded wonderful. I hope they’re here a little longer. I’ve never been to a carnival before. As a kid, I was afraid of clowns and when I was a little older, my parents had me working all the time.”

  “Well, we will just have to try again. And I’ll protect you from any wayward clowns,” Trey grinned as he looked down at her.

  Taylor smiled back, but then her stomach rumbled loud enough that Trey heard it.

  “Well, it may not be the carnival, but let’s go to the diner and get a big greasy burger and some beers.”

  “Right now, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve heard all day.” Taylor laced her fingers with his and batted her eyelashes as they both dissolved into laughter.

  * * *

  To say Trey was disappointed, upset, and worried was an understatement. But he tried to relax as he watched Taylor bite into the double bacon cheeseburger and wash it down with a beer. She looked so happy as she savored every bite. However, no matter how he tried to relax, the feeling that the other shoe was about to drop plagued him.

  “This is so good,” Taylor said for the fourth time before taking a fry and dipping it in some ranch dressing. “Casey, you’re the best. You’ve made a great night out of a horrible one.”

  Casey actually blushed slightly from behind the soda fountain.

  Trey pulled out his cell phone and skimmed the page. “We do have some good news, though. Tomorrow is the carnival’s last night. You’ll get to go after all.”

  “That’s fantastic.” Taylor paused to take another bite of her burger.

  Trey was going to agree when two shadows fell over Taylor, causing him to look up. The other shoe had just dropped. Looming behind Taylor and shooting daggers at him were none other than her parents.

  “My baaaaby!” her mother wailed, causing the diner to fall silent and stare at their table.

  Taylor’s face went white and quickly to red to show her anger. Her hands started shaking as her mother wrapped her arms around her in a hug that went just beyond concerned excitement to slightly painful.

  “Let go of me, Mother,” Taylor said quietly. Tourists were pulling out their cameras and flashes started to blind her. Her mother’s thin hands tightened on her shoulders, causing her to wince.

  “This man is trying to kill you. We’re here to take you home and protect you.”

  Trey pushed his chair back and slowly rose to his full height. He towered over her parents, even when he leaned over and placed both hands flat on the table. “Right now, you’re the only ones hurting your daughter. You’re also about to cause a scene. Let go of her and walk out while you can.”

  “You can’t touch me here. I’ll have you arrested so fast you won’t have time to blink,” her mother hissed.

  “He can’t, but I sure as hell can,” Casey said forcefully as she stopped next to Taylor with a shotgun resting comfortably in her hands. “Now get out of my diner.”

  Taylor felt the painful hold of her mother’s hand release as she looked around. The tourists may have been snapping their cameras at first, but now they sat side by side with the locals, wearing the same fierce expressions on their faces. They weren’t going to mock her; they were going to stand with her.

  “Mother, I’ve had enough,” Taylor said with a confidence she didn’t know she had. “I’m filing a harassment report with the sheriff tomorrow. And don’t ever touch me again.”

  Her parents glanced around and saw the tide had turned against them. With a quick tightening of her jaw, her mother spun on her heel and walked out of the diner with her father trailing after.

  “Something changed in you,” Trey said quietly as the diners went back to eating.

  “When the cameras came out, I didn’t panic. And when my mother’s hand tightened, I didn’t panic. Somehow I felt strong enough to handle it all and I plan to do just that. When Sheriff Wilson gives me an update tomorrow, I’ll tell him about my parents. There’s no need to be embarrassed about them anymore. I need to treat them as the threat they are. But for now, I want to get home and curl up on the couch with you and a bottle of wine.”

  Trey smiled at her as he paid the bill. “That sounds perfect.”

  Taylor wrapped her hand through the crook of his elbow and let him lead her home.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Trey and Taylor unlocked their door and froze. A beeping noise filled the living room. Looking around, Trey caught sight of his laptop sitting open. The beeping
started again and Taylor looked around the room.

  “It’s my computer. Someone is calling me.”

  “Probably Morris wanting to gossip,” Taylor joked.

  “I’m telling you, men don’t gossip,” Trey turned the laptop around and answered the call.

  “Worse than the Rose…” Taylor started before being cut off.

  “Hello? Are they there? Why can’t I see anything?”

  “I don’t know, Lily Rae. If you'd move your big head, then I could see.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Daisy Mae. It’s not like you’re fifty anymore. You don’t know about this anymore than I do.”

  “Wait, what does this button do?” Suddenly the screen came alive and three white heads came into view. “Oh, I fixed it!”

  “Good job, Violet Fae.” Miss Lily praised before leaning very close to the camera. “Can you see us, dears?”

  Trey tried not to laugh. “Yes, Miss Lily, we can see you.”

  “Oh, excellent. We heard our dear girl has had a rough day and we wanted to see how you’re doing,” Miss Lily said as the three white heads bobbed in and out of the camera.

  “Doing better now that I see you three,” Taylor said with tears filling her eyes. This was family, not the woman clawing at her for money.

  “Oh don’t cry, dear. We’ll take care of you,” Miss Violet cooed as she leaned forward filling the computer screen with her puffy bosom. A tear ran down Taylor’s cheek. It really was just like being at home.

  “When we heard about your day, we got you something,” Miss Daisy said as she pushed her sisters out of the way of the camera. A knock at the door had Trey and Taylor looking at each other in confusion. “Ah, right on time. You two enjoy it and know we’re here for you if you need us.”

  “That’s right!” Miss Lily and Miss Violet said as they battled for camera time.

  “Okay, turn it off.”

  “How do you turn it off?”

  “Can’t you just hang it up?”

  “How do you hang up a computer?”

  “Maybe if we click…” The screen went blank and Taylor found herself crying for a completely different reason. She and Trey were laughing so hard they forgot about the knock at the door until it sounded again.

  Trey shook his head in wonder and opened the door. “Nabi! What are you doing here?”

  “I come bearing gifts from the Rose sisters.” Nabi held out a huge basket and set it on the coffee table.

  Taylor gave him a quick hug and then opened the basket. She pulled out a pitcher of Rose Sister tea minus the ice, a container of chicken salad, and a chocolate chip pecan pie. “You flew all the way here just to give this to us? Thank you so much.”

  “The pleasure is mine. The kids have decided to wage war on the security personnel. Zain and Gabe have decided they want to be spies and are constantly trying to take us out with water balloons while they lay siege to the cottage. Their goal being to overrun and take control of the cottage where we control all the farm's security. They told Abigail she couldn’t play with them because girls couldn’t be spies. Trouble is, little four-and-a-half-year-old Abby is much sneakier than both boys. She actually got into the cottage today and locked down the whole farm until Ahmed and Mo were able to break into the cottage. Abby was twirling on the chair and looked up at the two men and said, ‘Mommy was right. I am better than the boys.’”

  Taylor laughed. She laughed so hard tears threatened again. Abby was beautiful with Ahmed’s tan skin, Bridget’s blue eyes, and the cutest little braid for her hair. “Oh, she’s going to be so much trouble.”

  “Going to be? She already is. Dani was so furious at the boys for starting this that I thought it would be a good time to offer my assistance to the Roses while the kids get their punishment tonight.”

  “How did the Rose sisters even find out? I guess it was on the news,” Taylor wondered.

  “John found out an hour before it hit the news. The ladies were upset to say the least, but they feel they won the battle since they sent food.”

  Taylor pulled out a knife and brought some plates and glasses into the room. She cut up the pie and poured everyone a glass of special tea. “Well, we appreciate this more than we can say. I’m just sorry we had to take you away from a young lady, perhaps?”

  “Smooth, sweetheart,” Trey whispered as he tried not to laugh.

  Nabi didn’t bother to look embarrassed. He was single and lived in Keeneston. He would be asked about it everyday. Heck, there were active bets being placed on it at the café already.

  “No one yet. But, I am only thirty. There is plenty of time for me to settle down. Besides, I don’t have much time to date. I’m, how do you say it . . . married to my work. Speaking of which, I must be going. I am flying to Rahmi to pick up Princess Ameera and her son. They are visiting Keeneston for a couple weeks.”

  Trey and Taylor stood along with Nabi and walked him to the door. “We can’t thank you enough. We’ll see you in Keeneston soon. I don’t think I can stay away until Thanksgiving.”

  “As always, it will be a pleasure.” Nabi walked down the path and slid into his car.

  “Let’s see what else is in there,” Taylor said excitedly as she rushed back to the basket.

  Trey sat down next to Taylor on the couch as they pulled out some issues of the Keeneston Journal from Gemma, a stun gun from Cy, crayon drawings from Riley and Reagan, and a binder full of new plays and workout routines from Cade and Will.

  Curling up in Trey’s arms, Taylor took a sip of Rose Sister ice tea and read the gossip while Trey flipped through the new plays. It was the perfect end to a horrible day. All thanks to their adopted family.

  * * *

  Trey wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans as he and Taylor moved forward in line. Finally, everything was perfect. Taylor was eating cotton candy, he’d won a pink unicorn for her, and the lights from the carnival were casting a warm glow on them as they stepped up to the Ferris wheel.

  Taylor laid her head against his shoulder and took a pinch of her cotton candy before they stepped closer to the ride. Trey handed over their tickets and reached his hand into his pocket as they took a seat. The bar was locked in place and the time was finally right.

  “Isn’t that the weirdest thing?” Taylor said with a bit of a shiver.

  “What?” Trey asked as they rose into the night sky.

  “That clown.”

  “What clown?”

  “The one with the rainbow hair and big red nose,” Taylor pointed over the side of the Ferris wheel and Trey looked over.

  Sure enough there stood a clown with big oversized hands on hips and one big red shoe tapping the ground as it stared up at them. “It’s watching us.”

  “I know. It’s giving me the creeps. I hate clowns.”

  “I’ve never minded them, but this one is bothering me. Why won’t he look away?”

  Taylor looked down at the clown and locked eyes with it. “It won’t stop staring,” she said in wonder.

  Trey slipped his hand over the ring, but the damn clown wouldn’t look away. There was no way he was proposing when Taylor was creeped out by this clown tapping his foot and staring at them. Then to hammer the last nail into the proposal coffin, Taylor’s phone started beeping.

  “Oh! The set has been cleared and we’re filming in an hour. I’m sorry. Tonight has been so much fun, but we’ve already fallen behind in filming.”

  “It’s okay. I understand.” Trey pushed the ring back in his pocket and put his arm around Taylor for the last part of the ride. The clown was nowhere to be seen when they got off the Ferris wheel.

  Trey drove Taylor home in silence. His mind was thinking of the past. Taylor had come to every single one of his games—even when she was in the middle of studying. She’d hide out in the crowd, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, and cheer for him. And now, when she deserved to be in the spotlight, he can’t seem to find the moment. He was a failure at proposing.

  * * *

&nb
sp; Taylor smiled at the cameras as she left the resort. Grant was still in front of the tired reporters giving them a reenactment of his heroics from the other night. She was exhausted. Filming had gone well and Melanie had finally done what she was told. But that had only come when she saw Cyndi Lu in the bushes. Thinking it was a photographer, Melanie amped up her acting skills.

  “Taylor? Are you okay?” The soft words spooked her and she spun around so fast she almost lost her balance. Cyndi Lu stood behind a trashcan, one large red shoe poking out the side.

  “Yes. But you have to stop scaring me, Cyndi. Popping up like this,” Taylor looked pointedly at her shoes, “Following me to the carnival with Trey. You’re a great fan, and I appreciate the support, but…”

  Cyndi Lu sighed. “But you don’t want me around either.”

  “I didn’t say that. I just ask that you pick your moments better. You’re a sweet girl, but you should be in college somewhere driving the boys crazy and hanging out with your friends. Not following me around. As you’ve noticed, I’m kinda boring,” Taylor smiled kindly.

  “Okay. I’ll give you space. But he doesn’t deserve you. No one does, including me.” Cyndi Lu hung her head and disappeared into the shadows.

  Taylor’s shoulders slumped. She was such a sweet girl who had so much more potential than following her around and diving in dumpsters. Taylor got in her car and was thankful it was just a couple minutes to her house. She turned on the music and opened the windows as she pulled onto Hangman’s Highway.

  The salt air washed over her face as Taylor sang a Maroon 5 song playing on the radio. The moon was almost full and reflected off the ocean so brightly she almost missed the headlights filling her rearview mirror.

  Taylor stopped singing when the car behind blinded her. She tried to wave them around, but the large truck just ignored her and closed in even more. Fighting the urge to speed up, Taylor started to slow down as she entered a curve on the road. The truck’s large engine revved and the horrific sound of metal and fiberglass crunching was the only thing she heard before being shot off the road.