Kristen laughed.
“You don’t have to explain or apologize to me. I get it. Kate too. In fact, my sister is dying to talk writing with you and pitch is more fun if we have four people. I can’t promise the food will be good though. I’m just grilling burgers and dogs, but Kate’s bringing her famous clam dip.”
“Kate’s clam dip? How can I say no to that? I haven’t played pitch though. Is it hard?”
“No, we can teach you. It’s just high, low, jack, game, you get a point for each and you can bid up to 4 points if you think your hand is really good and then everyone has to follow your suit. It’s really fun. We can do a few practice rounds until you feel comfortable with it.”
“I’m in. What time and what can I bring?”
“Just bring yourself. I think they’re coming around six-thirty.”
Tyler grinned. “All right then. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll even shower and shave.”
Kristen ran out Friday morning to do her shopping for the cookout. She bought a box of Bubba burgers, some deli hot dogs, potato salad and on the way home, she stopped by Bradford liquors for wine and a six-pack of O’Doul’s beer for Tyler. Peter Bradford smiled when he saw her.
“Hi Kristen, how’s your mother feeling?” He asked and then added, “Paige told me she was fighting Lyme disease.”
Kristen had heard from her mother that Paige and Peter were spending time together. By the smile on his face when he mentioned Paige’s name, it seemed to be going well.
“She’s doing much better, thanks. How’s your kitten doing? I hear Paige adopted her brother?”
“She’s great. Bundle of energy. You should get one.”
Kristen laughed. “I could picture a kitten having a ball clawing my paintings.”
“Hmmm, yeah, maybe not such a good idea then.” He rang her up and handed her back her change.
“Thanks, Peter!”
Kate and Jack arrived a little before six thirty and Kristen had the grill just about heated up. She put the burgers and dogs on and then happily let Jack take over keeping an eye on them while she got everything else they needed, rolls and condiments and Kate set out the chips and dip.
Tyler was right on time at six thirty and surprised Kristen by bringing her a bottle of La Crema Chardonnay and a box of cannoli pastries from Mrs. Harvey’s Bakery. Kristen was impressed.
“Thank you. That’s actually my favorite chardonnay.”
“So, I hear. The owner of Bradford’s liquors suggested it. I’m clueless about wine. I was going to get some O’Doul’s too, but he said you already had some. So, I stopped and picked up the cannoli too.”
“You didn’t need to, but it was very thoughtful. Thank you.” Kristen put the cannoli into the refrigerator to keep the sweet cheese filling cold, opened the wine, pouring a glass for herself and Kate and got a cold O’Doul’s for Tyler.
The sunset was gorgeous and the weather warm and breezy so they decided to eat outside. Kristen had an old picnic table that she’d picked up at a yard sale earlier in the summer and they ate there and chatted easily until the temperature dropped as the sun lowered and almost disappeared. They went inside then and Kate got a deck of cards from her purse and they sat around the small round table in Kristen’s kitchen.
It didn’t take long for Tyler to get the hang of playing pitch and they played for several hours, breaking halfway through to sample the cannoli. Jack and Tyler were chatting like old friends and discovered they shared a love for fishing.
Kate glanced at Kristen and laughed. “I really think it’s a guy thing. Sitting for hours on a boat and odds are only fifty-fifty that you’ll catch anything. Yet, they love it.”
“It’s no different from spending hours on the beach,” Jack said. “That bores me to tears, but most girls love it.”
Kristen smiled. “What’s not to love? We usually chat for hours and read stacks of trashy magazines and eat junk food.”
Kate peppered Tyler with questions about his writing process. He didn’t seem to mind though and Kristen was glad to see that he was encouraging. She knew as a new writer that Kate struggled with finding her way and feelings of self-doubt.
“It never goes away,” he said. “I start each book wondering if I’ll be able to do it again or if it was all a fluke and I should give up and do something else. But somehow, it all comes together in the end. You have to get to the end, that’s the key.”
Kate nodded, and Kristen could tell she appreciated all of his advice.
“Do you find it easier to write here? Or do you miss Manhattan?” Kate asked.
“There are things I miss about Manhattan, definitely. There’s always a buzz of energy there. So many people. It’s funny though, I felt more alone there, even surrounded by all those people than I do here.”
“What do you mean?” Kristen was intrigued by his comment.
“Just that here, I can be alone, hunker down and write and no one will bother me. But if I go into town, go to the liquor store for example, the owner will chat with me and will know the people I’m meeting with. Everyone seems to know everyone here. I’m sure that’s not always a good thing, but I’m kind of liking it so far.”
“He recognized you as a famous writer you mean?” Kate asked.
Tyler laughed. “No, not at all. He just remembered me as the guy that buys non-alcoholic beer and that was having dinner with people he knew.”
Kate smiled. “I guess we take that for granted here. But, I know what you mean. I loved living in Boston, when I worked at the magazine. It’s great to be right in the heart of a city too, but I was always a little homesick for Nantucket.” She looked at Jack and added, “The best thing that happened to me was getting laid off from Boston Style. Though I didn’t see it at the time.”
“Mom always says, ‘everything happens for a reason’,” Kristen said.
“There’s definitely some truth to that,” Kate agreed.
“All right, are we ready to dive in for another round?” Jack asked. “We could bet a dollar a round to make things interesting. Although, I’m warning you ahead of time, that I’m feeling lucky so prepare to lose your dollar.”
They played three more rounds and Kate was actually the lucky winner of all three but by the end of the third round, she couldn’t hold back the yawns and she and Jack decided to call it a night. Jack and Tyler exchanged numbers as Jack was eager to go fishing possibly over the weekend.
Once they left, Kristen’s house felt oddly quiet. She looked at Tyler and he smiled slowly and the air shifted as a chill danced across her skin, and her senses were suddenly on high alert.
“We should probably exchange numbers too,” Tyler suggested. “Since we’re neighbors and all.”
“In case I want to go fishing?” Kristen teased.
Tyler stepped towards her and reached a hand toward her face and she sucked in her breath as he brushed her hair off her face.
He chuckled, “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
She took a step closer to him and reached for a pen and paper on the counter. “What did you have in mind?” She meant for the words to come out teasingly, but instead there was a breathy quality to her voice and she wondered where that came from.
He closed the distance between them and looked into her eyes for a moment, looking for an answer to his unspoken question. Her eyes answered his and he smiled and brought his lips to hers. His kiss woke up all her senses. He kept it brief and went to pull back and end the kiss, but she wasn’t ready for it to end, and she leaned into him. He responded by putting his arms around her and pulling her close. The kiss went on a bit longer until they both took a break and looked at each other in surprise.
“I didn’t plan on doing that tonight,” Tyler said.
“I didn’t expect that you would. But, I’m glad that you did.”
“Are you ready for something? For this? It hasn’t been long since you were almost engaged.” Tyler looked at her intently.
“It’s fu
nny, I swore off dating for a while, after Sean. I thought I needed a break and I wasn’t in any hurry to get back out there. But then you showed up, and it feels right. I’d like to explore this, and just take it slowly if that works for you?”
“It does. Slow is good with me as I’m still settling in here. Maybe you can show me around, your favorite places?”
“I’d love that.” Kristen jotted her number down on a scrap of paper, ripped it in half and handed the pen to Tyler, who did the same, then handed it back to her and gave her another slow sweet kiss before heading home.
19
Ryan never really had a chance. He was a great guy, and if Chase was still with Lauren, maybe she would have tried harder to find that elusive spark. But when they were sitting in that pub and Chase told her it was over with Lauren, Beth would have given anything to stay there with him. But, she left and went on the date with Ryan, and it was fine, but he wasn’t Chase. And Ryan clearly sensed that she wasn’t feeling it. She felt badly about that, but Beth was done trying to force something that wasn’t obviously there. Especially when maybe, finally it seemed as though she might actually have a chance with Chase. Maybe he was finally seeing her differently.
Ryan didn’t even try to kiss her goodnight this time. They had a perfectly nice dinner, but her thoughts were elsewhere and he’d ended the night by giving her a friendly hug and the suggestion to call him if she wanted to get together again. They both knew that wasn’t going to happen and she felt a little guilty at the sight of his sad smile before he turned to walk to his car.
But Beth hardly slept that night. She was too excited to see Chase the next day, to see where things might go. She dressed more carefully than usual, put on a hint of makeup, not so much that anyone would notice but just enough so her lashes were a bit darker, her cheeks a little rosier, and she wore her favorite navy top, the one that made her hair look the color of a burning flame.
When Chase came into the office as usual around four, he smiled and asked how her day went and then he asked the question she was waiting for.
“So, how’d date number two go? Is this one a keeper?” He was leaning against the counter in front of her desk and as he smiled, there was a hint of mischief in his eyes.
She took a deep breath. “Not a keeper. I had to toss him back in the water. He’s a nice guy though.”
Chase looked surprised. “Oh, that’s too bad. It looked like you were getting along great the other night at The Chicken Box.”
“Abby says I’m too picky.”
“That’s not a bad thing. She says it to me too.” He grinned. “We make a great pair, don’t we?” He picked up his stack of mail and headed into his office.
“Yeah, we do,” Beth said softly and turned back to her computer. Chase hadn’t seemed as interested by her news as she’d hoped. The vibe from the other night was gone. Although maybe it was never there, maybe she’d imagined it, and saw something there that didn’t exist because she wanted it so badly.
And maybe she was being impatient. After all, she just told him it was over with Ryan. What did she expect? That he’d profess undying love and they’d run off together. She knew she needed to give it more time and see if maybe there could be something there.
A month later, after taking more care with her appearance than usual and going out for after-work drinks with Chase every week, Beth was beyond frustrated. She also wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her. More than once she’d gotten that vibe, a flicker of what seemed like interest from Chase, both in the office as he teased her and over drinks when hours would pass and they’d laugh and commiserate over the fact that Lauren’s confirmed new boyfriend Troy had indeed joined forces with David Wentworth and was going to be building his condos. Chase didn’t regret passing on the project, but he didn’t like all the attention Troy was getting as if he was the new hot thing on the island.
The final straw came when he got a text message from his friend Jim while they were out and he made a face at it, which made Beth ask about it.
“Jim wants to set you up with a single friend of his.”
“He does? Is he good-looking?” She teased him, expecting him to discourage her. But he did the opposite.
“He is, and he’s a good guy. Maybe you should go out with him.”
“You really think that’s a good idea?” She wanted him to say no.
“Why not? You’re single, he’s single? No reason not to, right?”
And just like that, the mood was broken. They’d been having such a good night. She’d thought that maybe finally, something might happen between them. And now she realized it never would.
“I’ll think about it. I’m not really keen on fix-ups. I’m kind of tired too. I think I’m ready to head home.”
When she got home, she cried buckets. Beth wasn’t a crier normally and it was like she’d saved up a year’s worth of good cries. It took her a long time to get to sleep but by the time she drifted off, she had formulated a plan.
Something was going on with Beth, and Chase couldn’t figure out what it was. She wasn’t her usual fun self and out of the blue, she asked to take two days off at the end of the week to visit a college friend that lived on the Cape. She had the vacation time coming, so he didn’t care about that, but he missed their Friday night after-work drinks—it had become a new habit he’d gotten used to. And the office seemed empty without her there for those two days.
He’d been thinking about Beth a lot lately and his feelings were confusing. They’d been friends for years now and she’d worked for him for the past three. He’d never thought of her as anything other than a friend, but lately, he’d found himself considering the possibility, wondering if maybe there could be something there. But, he wasn’t sure how she felt. Sometimes he sensed a hint of interest but then the moment would pass and one of them would make a joke and the moment would be gone.
He was also hesitant to go there until he was really sure of his feelings and of hers. He didn’t want to ruin a good friendship or jeopardize their working relationship. Beth was his right hand, he needed her in the office. Did he need her outside of it too? What if she didn’t want that or if he decided that he didn’t after they’d already started something up? The best thing, the safest thing, would be to do nothing. To keep things exactly the way they were.
The following week, that Friday, when he’d been assuming they’d go for their usual after-work drinks, Beth instead asked if he had a moment to talk when he walked into the office. He knew that nothing good ever came from a conversation that started that way.
“Sure. Of course, what’s up?” He leaned against her desk and smiled, hoping to warm up the chill that seemed to hang in the air.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to say it. I’m leaving, moving off-island. I was offered a position in Chatham, for another builder. It seems like a good opportunity, and as much I’ve loved working for you, I need more. I mean, I think it’s time for me to see what else is out there. To meet new people.”
“Oh! Wow. I didn’t know you were thinking of moving.” Chase was stunned. He didn’t see this coming, at all.
“I wasn’t, but I think it’s been a long time coming. It’s just time. I’ve lined up a temp for you, Marie is going to start on Monday, and I’ll train her during my last two weeks here so you won’t miss me at all, hopefully.”
“I’ll miss you.” Chase couldn’t imagine coming into the office and Beth not being there. But if this was what she wanted, and needed to do, he wanted to support her.
“I don’t want you to go. But if this is what you want, I’ll support your decision.”
“It’s what I need to do and I appreciate you understanding.”
“I don’t really, but you have to do what you have to do.” Chase had no interest in living off-island and he didn’t think Beth did either. She’d always talked about how much she loved Nantucket. But if she didn’t want to be there, and didn’t want to work for him anymore, ther
e wasn’t much he could do about that.
The next two weeks went by too fast. Marie started as Beth had said she would and she seemed nice enough. She was an older woman, about his mother’s age and Beth did a good job training her. The office already felt differently though and he hated that. He insisted on taking Beth out for a final after work drink on her last Friday but it didn’t feel the same. Even though she laughed as usual at his bad jokes and they talked about anything and everything like always, it was different, she was more distant, as if she was already pulling away from Nantucket, and from him.
He insisted on paying the tab, like he usually did and when they left, he gave her a longer, tighter hug and kissed the top of her head.
“I am going to miss you. Please keep in touch. If you decide you hate it there, you can always come back.”
“Thanks, Chase. But I don’t think I can come back.”
Saying goodbye to Chase was even harder than she’d imagined it would be. Beth had thought she was all cried out after her epic night of crying a few weeks prior, but she surprised herself by how long and hard she cried before finally falling into a troubled sleep.
She had a reservation on the slow boat, the one that took vehicles on it, the next day in the late afternoon, and she’d promised Abby she’d stop by to see her before she left. She went over to her house mid-morning and Abby had her front door opened before she even got out of her car.
“I was listening for your car. Come on in, I just made a pot of cinnamon coffee.” She poured some for both of them, added a pile of sugars to hers and offered the sugar to Beth when she was done.
“I just drink it black.”
“You’d think I’d know that by now. Let’s go sit.” Abby led the way into the living room and they got comfortable on her plush sofas.
Nantucket Neighbors (Nantucket Beach Plum Cove series Book 2) Page 14
