Cars and trucks filled the parking lot when he pulled in ten minutes later. Located on Fender Drive, Masterson’s was the oldest restaurant in town. Opened in the 1950s by Lou Masterson, it started out as a small diner but had grown over the years. Now, the locals’ favorite could seat about two hundred people, and had an additional banquet hall as well as pub attached. Most days Lou could still be found lording over the restaurant, making sure everything ran the way he wanted it. Tonight, when Striker walked in, Lou’s granddaughter stood at the hostess station.
“Hi Striker,” Mara said when he approached. The benefit and the curse of spending your whole life in a small town was that everyone knew each other. “Table for one?”
Striker heard the question in her voice. He couldn’t remember a time he’d ever shown up here alone.
“Meeting Bates. Have you seen him?”
Mara pointed over her shoulder. “He’s in the pub.”
“Great, thanks.”
Unlike the main dining room and the seasonal patio tables, customers could go in the pub and sit at any open table or at the bar. Tonight, Tony sat at the bar. Striker passed by the bar’s other occupant without a word. He’d never liked Brendan Michaels. The guy had a short temper and a big mouth, both of which got worse the more he drank. And Brendan liked to drink. Although only Tony and Brendan sat at the bar, most of the tables in the pub were full. Down the opposite end of the room a few guys played a game of pool. The two large flat-screen TVs in the room had baseball games on. All in all, it looked like any other Thursday night at the pub.
Tony’s beer and what looked like an order of buffalo chicken tenders were half gone. “Figured you changed your mind and went home,” he said when Striker sat down next to him.
“Pop needed to talk.”
“Help yourself. I’ve got a burger on the way, too.” Tony pushed the appetizer toward him as well as the stack of napkins the bartender had left behind.
Striker didn’t hesitate. He’d eaten an early lunch and nothing since. Now the acid in his stomach was burning a hole though it. The combination of extra-spicy hot chili powder and smoked paprika scorched his mouth. No one made hotter buffalo sauce. A lot of customers couldn’t handle it and instead ordered the mild version, but not Striker and his friends. Reaching for a napkin, he tore off another chunk with his teeth.
“Looks like it’s your lucky night. Cora’s on.” Tony nodded toward the far end of the bar and the bartender.
Striker’s eyes slid to the attractive blonde filling mugs with beer. They’d hooked up numerous times before he’d gotten together with Ella, and Tony knew it. Back then, though, she’d worked at O’Leary’s Pub in downtown Salem. In fact, Tony had gone out with Cora when she’d worked at the bar, but that had been long before he got involved with his wife. Although sweet, the woman liked her fun and regularly hooked up with different men both in town and in Danvers, where she lived. The last time he’d been with her was more than two months ago. He’d known when he left her apartment it’d been a mistake. And he hadn’t stepped inside the pub since. Preoccupied tonight, he hadn’t considered she might be working when he agreed to meet Tony.
“Howdy, stranger,” Cora said, sliding a menu toward him, not that he needed one. The pub offered a limited version of the restaurant menu, and he’d eaten there enough times to have it memorized. “Haven’t seen you since you left my apartment back in June. Where’ve you been hiding?”
“Just busy. How’ve ya been?”
“Good. I’m going to start taking classes at Salem State in September. They accepted the credits I earned at UConn. I was afraid they’d be too old or something.”
Cora appeared close to his own age, so her college experience couldn’t have been much more than ten or twelve years ago. “Good luck.”
“Dreading the foreign language requirement. Skipping it this semester, but in the winter I’ll either need to do Spanish or French. They offer German, too, but my sister told me the other two will be easier.”
Striker held back a groan. “Go with Spanish.”
Yeah, he realized it was a long shot, but if Ella gave him another chance he didn’t want her to be his ex-lover’s professor. And he assumed Ella intended to return to the university. When she’d applied to the professor exchange program back in February, she said it’d only last one semester unless an applicant requested an extension. The semester was up.
“Cora, another beer,” Brendan called from down the bar, interrupting their conversation.
“Let me get his drink, and I’ll come back for your order.”
“No need. I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger with fries, and whatever’s on tap.”
Tony waited until she left before speaking. “Mack said you weren’t getting any. Guess he was wrong.”
Mack Ellsbury, his best friend, wasn’t wrong. He hadn’t gone out or had sex since leaving Cora’s apartment in June. Tonight, he’d let Tony believe what he wanted.
“Bringing the girlfriend of the week to the wedding?”
“Going solo on Saturday.”
His friend’s eyebrow went up, but the reappearance of Cora kept him from saying more.
“Here you go, Tony.” She placed his burger down before turning her attention to Striker again. “We have two beers on tap tonight. I remember you like Sam’s better.” She set his beer down and leaned closer. “I know you’ve got the wedding Saturday, but if you’ve got some free time between tonight and then I’d love to see you.”
Next to him Tony dug into his meal, but he wasn’t fooling anyone. He was listening. “Already have plans. Maybe some other time.”
Cora shrugged a shoulder. “Whenever. You have my number and address.” Several stools over, two more customers sat down. “I’ll bring your food out when it’s ready.”
Amazingly, Tony kept his trap shut until Cora got out of hearing. “Did you just say no to sex? What the hell’s wrong with you?”
“Not interested.”
Tony laughed, attracting a few glances their way. “Since when?”
“Women and sex are not the only two things in life.”
“Did someone finally fill the void in your head?”
“Shove it, Tony.”
Tony made a sound in the back of his throat as he drummed his fingertips on the bar. “Guess I might owe Mack an apology next time I see him.”
Closing his eyes, he questioned his sanity for even thinking about the next words, never mind saying them. “Gonna share?”
“He said you’re still hung up on Ella. That’s why no one has seen you around with a woman. I told him you’d probably been hooking up with someone outside of town. Looks like he was right.”
Still hung up, a nice mild way of putting it.
***
The fading rays of sunlight filled the sky when Striker left the restaurant and pulled onto Fender Drive. Although he knew at least four different ways to get home from Masterson’s, he went with the longest route and headed toward Union Street. When he passed Mack’s house, he looked over. Socks, Grace’s dog, stood in the front yard, so someone was home. Neither Mack nor Jessie ever left the dog outside when they went out. When he reached the intersection of Union and Church Streets, he took a left. Nearly three years ago, the Stonefield Dam had let go during a hurricane and flooded the entire area, destroying most of the homes. No evidence of it remained today. Now new homes and apartments lined the once-drowned streets.
Ella lived in one of the new Cape-style homes built on Church Street.
From the stop sign at the intersection, he could see Ella’s and Jessie’s cars in the driveway while Cat’s car remained parked at the curb. He didn’t need an audience when he confronted her. Not that he’d planned on stopping tonight anyway.
His foot eased up on the accelerator as he got closer. Light spilled out of the kitchen window. In his head he saw Ella and her friends sitting in the bright, sunny- yellow kitchen. The room he’d helped her paint twice because the first time she’d hated the col
or. They’d have food spread out on the table she’d found at a yard sale and spent hours sanding before painting it a bright white. When Cat and Jessie left, she’d go upstairs and….
Don’t go there. Striker pressed the accelerator. Picturing her undressing or taking one of those long, leisurely baths she loved equaled a fucking bad idea. As it was, he woke up with a hard-on every morning and went to bed with one almost every night. He didn’t need to go to bed with one tonight, too. Two and a half months of celibacy evidently had that effect on a guy, because it happened frequently.
Striker followed the street all the way to Lincoln, another road rebuilt after the hurricane, and to his condo complex. Pulling into his assigned spot, he killed the engine. Saturday he’d see her at Mack’s wedding and use the time to feel her out. See how upset with him she still was. Afterward he’d ask her for a second chance. Hell, he’d beg if he had to.
Chapter 2
Kelsey refilled her water glass and sat back down at Ella’s kitchen table. With someone waiting for them at home, both Cat and Jessie had left a half hour ago. Having arrived later than her two friends, though, she’d stayed. Besides, it wasn’t like she had anyone waiting for her at home. Nope. All she had was a big empty house full of memories.
“I missed you guys,” Ella said, her words half cut off by another yawn. “I’m glad you all came by tonight.”
They’d all missed Ella, too. Especially her and Cat. They’d been friends for most of their lives. “We’re glad you’re home. It’s not the same around here without you.”
“So what’s new? You haven’t said much tonight.”
Cat, Ella, and Jessie had dominated the conversation over dinner. Truthfully, she hadn’t minded. She’d enjoyed the noise. Her house was always so quiet. Only when she turned the television or music on did she hear any other voices there.
“Same old thing. Getting ready for the start of school. I’ve been working at Masterson’s five or six nights a week all summer, and I did some tutoring during the day.”
“Wow.” Ella popped open another fortune cookie, pulling out the paper slip inside. “Love is around the corner,” she said, reading the message. “Yeah, right.” She flicked the paper away and popped part of the cookie into her mouth.
Other than perhaps Ella, no one had been more shocked than Kelsey when Striker broke up with Ella. Even now, she suspected one of these days he’d come to his senses and knock on Ella’s door again. A prediction Kelsey wisely kept to herself. “You never know. Maybe a handsome new professor will be on campus this year.”
“Right now I’m focusing on the new semester and nothing else. I’m teaching a few extra courses this term. And I’m teaching two ballet classes and two hip-hop classes at Prism this year.”
Kelsey had never understood Ella’s love of dance. She’d rather be shooting hoops or tossing around a football. Ella, though, had danced all her life, taking her first ballet class before she could even tie her sneakers. Kelsey remembered it well because Mom had signed her up, too. She’d hated every minute of it, and thankfully Mom hadn’t forced her to do it again. Ella had been the opposite. She’d asked her mom to sign her up for more and more classes every year. Even after high school, Ella had continued to dance. After college, she’d switched from taking classes to teaching them at the local dance studio, Prism.
“Thankfully, classes at Prism don’t start up until after Labor Day. Like you, I need to get ready for the new semester.”
They both might need to get ready for classes but, unlike Ella, she wasn’t looking forward to it. While Ella had double majored in French and Spanish with the intention of teaching at the college level some day, Kelsey never planned on being a schoolteacher. She’d majored in biology and chemistry with the intention of obtaining a doctorate degree someday and going on to do research. Unfortunately, life had other plans for her and now she taught middle school science.
“What’s with all the extra hours at the restaurant? I get wanting something to do over the summer, but five or six days is a lot plus the tutoring,” Ella asked.
Kelsey didn’t want to go into her financial troubles tonight. While her closest friends knew money had been tight for her since both her parents passed away, she had not gone into just how bad. She’d rather not start tonight.
“Trying to build my savings back up before I go back to school.” Kelsey hated to lie, but she didn’t want to go into the specifics. “I’m hoping I can do that soon.” More than anything she did want to return to Brandeis and get the doctorate degree she’d planned on. Unfortunately, she didn’t see it happening in the near future. Heck, she didn’t even see it happening in the distant future.
“Have you thought about selling the garage?”
When her parents passed away they’d left the automotive garage they owned to her. Originally, her dad had planned to have her older brother take it over. After Ian’s death, her parents changed their will and the deed, removing Ian’s name and leaving only hers. For the most part the garage did well. The former employee who’d taken over day-to-day operations after her dad passed knew his way around cars and the office. Unfortunately, she had not only the home equity loan on the house to pay off that her parents had taken out and she’d also cosigned on when her brother got sick, but she also had the loan they’d gotten when they decided to expand the business six years ago. A loan they’d taken before Ian’s cancer diagnosis.
“If you did you’d probably build your savings a lot faster than killing yourself with two or three jobs.”
Both Cat and Ella had suggested either selling the business or the house since her parents’ death. On some level, it made sense to. She didn’t need the large house she lived in alone. But her grandmother had grown up in the house before leaving it to her dad, and she couldn’t bring herself to part with it. The same was true of the garage. Her dad had learned all about cars there before taking the business over from her grandfather. And although it’d been intended for Ian, it was one of the few links she had left with her parents. She wasn’t ready to lose it, too.
“Ella, I’m not killing myself. A lot of people work two jobs. You do.”
Ella unwrapped another fortune cookie. The Jade Orient had put ten of them in the take-out bag, and Ella always insisted they were the second-best part of Chinese takeout. In her opinion, the first was the spring rolls. “Teaching dance one or two nights a week isn’t exactly the same as what you’re doing.”
Kelsey shrugged. Ella had a point, but she’d had enough of this particular conversation. “Have you heard from Striker? I haven’t seen him in the restaurant all summer.” She’d noticed Cat hadn’t mentioned her brother tonight. However, she was curious as to whether or not Striker had contacted Ella.
“No. And he’d better not call me. I don’t want to talk to him.” She tossed the uneaten cookie down. “I’m dreading seeing the asshat at Jessie and Mack’s wedding. If it was anyone but Jessie, I wouldn’t go.” Instead of picking the cookie up again, Ella reached into the container with the spring rolls. Knowing what a favorite they were among the group, Cat had wisely gotten two large orders of them. “What about you? Is Drew still calling?” Ella asked, referring to Drew McKenzie, North Salem’s hometown sports hero and Ian’s best friend.
Well, she deserved that question after bringing up Striker. “Yeah, he called on Monday. He calls every stinking month. I didn’t answer it, though, and I haven’t called him back. And I don’t plan on doing it.” Kelsey rested her chin on her hand. “He means well, but I wish he’d stop.”
He’d started calling her every month after Ian’s death a little over three years ago. The calls were always short and more or less the same. He asked how she was doing and if she needed anything. In response, she told him she was all set. Numerous times she’d hinted he could stop calling. Either he didn’t pick up the hints or he didn’t care what she wanted. After each call, she hoped it’d be the last one. Then the next month came and another call. Fifteen years ago she would’ve lon
ged for each and every call. At the age of ten she’d fallen hard for him. She still remembered the day she stopped seeing him as only Ian’s best friend. He and Ian had turned fifteen earlier in that month. Since their birthdays were so close together, their dads had taken them to Fenway Park rather than buy them a present. Ian and Drew came back that night and her ten-year-old heart decided someday she’d marry him.
Of course, Drew never noticed her as anything but Ian’s little sister. Over time her crush on him dimmed, and she realized how silly she’d been. She hadn’t seen him since her parents’ funeral. While she’d never say it, she kind of liked it that way.
Chapter 3
Ella put on the first thing she grabbed from a suitcase. The night before, Cat and Jessie had stayed until well past ten. Kelsey, who’d arrived an hour after Cat, had stuck around until almost eleven. Exhausted, she’d fallen into bed without even bothering to brush her teeth, never mind unpack a bag. Today, she’d tackle them along with the number one item on her to-do list: food shopping. First, though, coffee and some breakfast. Always three steps ahead of everyone, Cat had shown up last night with Chinese food as well as a container of coffee, milk, and cereal. All the essentials she needed to get through the morning.
Holding up her coffee mug, she inhaled the chocolaty aroma. Cat hadn’t only brought coffee, she had brought one of Ella’s favorite kinds. A dark chocolate, nut-flavored blend, which always reminded her of German chocolate cake. Before she did anything else she took a sip, savoring the sweet, nutty taste. There was just something about that first sip of coffee in the morning. It managed to wake her up better than any shower ever did.
Three more sips later, she focused on her cereal. She’d never been able to skip breakfast. Lunch yes, but she needed something solid in her stomach before she started her day, even if it was only a piece of toast.
In His Kiss (Love On The North Shore Book 4) Page 2
