by Cynthia Swan
She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders.
“I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me, I know how lucky I am.”
Her aunt touched Christy’s knee.
“Don’t listen to gossip. People who are jealous are typically mean as well. Ignore them.”
Her aunt tapped her chin, thinking.
“The picture of you on my desk is from when you five. You were in a pink toy car, wearing huge pink sunglasses.”
“I remember that car. It was my favorite. I rode it until I was too big to fit inside. That was from you?”
Her aunt nodded.
“It was the last time I saw you. You know, I never told anyone you were a model. People know I have a niece I don’t see often. I simply said you were in fashion.”
She grinned.
“I don’t know why I didn’t tell them. Probably because I didn’t want them asking me a thousand questions. But now I’m glad I didn’t. If they ask, what should we tell people you do?”
“I told the guy next door I was between projects, but I never said what I did.”
“Hazel said you met Dalton.”
She snorted. “Yes, he’s good-looking and yes, he’s snarly.”
“He has his moments.”
Her aunt laughed.
“Why don’t we tell people you’re a makeup artist? You can say you travel all the time and can’t discuss your clients because of confidentiality agreements?”
“Do you think it would work?”
“It will work, especially since you’ve changed your hair. I have to say, without makeup, you could pass for a high school student, you look so young.”
They sat and talked through the afternoon. Christy hadn’t decided what to say to her mom about visiting her aunt. She wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she was angry her mom had denied her this part of her family for so many years.
Alice hugged her goodbye.
“Where’s your car?”
“I have a rental coming tomorrow.”
She stood on the porch, the porch swing swaying in the breeze. Her aunt lived five minutes from the beach in a bright yellow bungalow. Christy hoped she would see the place in the spring when all the flowers were in bloom.
“I’m glad you’ll have a car, it’s going to turn cold again. Are you sure you don’t want to stay here? I wouldn’t cramp your style. You could come and go as you please.”
As much as she wanted to rush inside and never leave, Christy knew she couldn’t.
“I’ve never been by myself for longer than a few days. Living alone is something I need to try out.” She bit her lip.
“But I’d like to see you, make up for all the lost time.”
She smiled.
“I’ll try not to annoy you.”
“Don’t be silly, I’ll be the talk of the town with my mysterious niece visiting Magnolia Beach.”
Her aunt hugged her tight.
“Don’t worry, Hazel and I will make sure no one finds out who you are.”
Too choked up to answer, Christy nodded. Her aunt had offered to drive her home, but she wanted to walk. To explore the town her aunt called home. Her home for the next few months. To wander without worrying about anyone taking an unflattering picture of her, to be present in the moment.
The sun was setting when she passed a fast food place. A group of girls huddled around a table, laughing and talking. A pang of envy swept through her. She’d never had friends as a kid, only other models. Competition, her mother called the girls.
She came to the strip mall and smiled seeing the Sip and Shop. Curl Up & Dye was at the other end. In-between was a hardware store called Davey’s Locker, complete with nets and a giant fish mounted on the wall outside the red store.
Stacks was the storefront in the middle. It was a combination bookstore and diner. It smelled amazing, making her stomach growl. Before she could change her mind, Christy pushed through the door only to jump back before it hit her in the face.
Three boys ran out, laughing and shouting.
“Sorry, they’re a handful.” A woman with short black hair ran past her, yelling at the kids.
After dinner, she’d check out the books. She’d saved pictures on her phone of two books that were coming out today. Hopefully, they had them in audiobook as well.
So many delicious smells assaulted her, Christy groaned. It had to be the ocean air, that’s why she was suddenly starving for food. Not salad. Proper food.
A sign told her to seat herself, so she made her way to a table in the corner where she could people watch. When she sat down, she frowned. It was Mr. Surly himself.
Her shoulders tensed. No, she wasn’t leaving. It wasn’t like she could hide in the house for the next three months. Dalton was her neighbor, she was bound to keep running into him.
He was with another man. They looked alike. Enough that she decided they had to be brothers. It was clear by how they interacted that they cared for each other.
She would have liked siblings. Sara’s face flashed before her. A light snuffed out way too soon.
“I promise, Sara. I’ll enjoy life just like you wanted me to,” she whispered.
He caught her eye, and before she could raise a hand to wave, he frowned and turned his head away from her. Oh well, guess she couldn’t expect everyone to be friendly.
She held the menu in front of her face. Okay, maybe she was hiding, but this time didn’t count.
“You ready to order?”
A guy stood in front of her, a pad and pen in hand.
“Could I have the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, a biscuit, and a sweet tea?”
She’d lost seven pounds thanks to her hair, so for the first time, Christy was going to eat all the foods everyone had forbidden her for so long.
His face fell.
“I’m sorry we only have fried chicken on the weekends.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I saw the picture and didn’t even bother to read what it said. Let me figure out something else.”
The guy grinned at her.
“You look so disappointed. I know what it’s like when you have your heart set on something.”
His gaze darted over to a pretty girl with long black hair sitting with a friend.
She recognized that look. He had a huge crush on the girl who wasn’t giving him the time of day. Poor kid.
“I’m sure we can make it for you if you don’t mind waiting a bit.”
“I’m not in a rush. Thank you.” She smiled when he blushed.
Her phone had beeped several times, so she closed her book and took the phone out, sighing. With three taps on the back of the phone, the messages and voice mails played as she waited for her meal.
Christy took a sip and blinked. The sweet tea was like nothing she’d ever tasted. Almost like syrup. She took another sip. It was heaven. The server refilled her glass three times by the time her meal was ready.
For a minute, she simply sat there, inhaling the smells, her mouth watering.
So many delicious flavors exploded in her mouth as Christy bit into the biscuit. This was what she’d been missing for so many years?
No wonder people rhapsodized over bread. And the fried chicken? It was out of this world delicious.
Bite by bite, she savored every morsel. Would anyone notice if she licked the plate?
5
“There. That’s her over in the corner.”
Dalton scowled at the beautiful woman seated at a corner table in Stacks.
“Can you believe her?” He turned to his brother.
“She does that all the time, puts her phone on speaker for everything. It’s so inconsiderate to everyone else.”
Colton grinned. “Methinks he doth protest too much.”
“Shut up.” Dalton frowned and took another bite of his burger while his brother talked about work.
“… So it’s been a busy time, taking over for Harrison. I’m going to miss him. He’ll have a great time in that monstrou
s RV they bought. First time I’ve ever seen the guy in casual clothes. He sent me a picture from the Florida Keys.”
Colton pushed the sleeves of his cashmere sweater up so they wouldn’t drag in the gravy.
“This meatloaf is delicious.” He waggled his brows at his brother. “Almost as good as yours.”
“Really?” Dalton speared a piece of meatloaf off his brother’s plate. He chewed, talking with his mouth full since it annoyed his brother.
“It is good.”
He looked down at his own plate. The chef at Stacks put a creative spin on traditional dishes. Innovative in her use of spices. Dalton knew he’d been a jerk lately, his foul mood infecting everyone around him, but normally he was easygoing. Happy.
With a sigh, he put his fork down.
“I’m sorry.”
Colton paused, the fork of mashed potatoes halfway to his mouth.
“For what, little brother?”
Dalton sipped his tea.
“Acting like an ass since the Mackenzie fiasco.”
He scrubbed a hand over his cheek, feeling the day old stubble. “I owe her an apology.”
Colton blinked several times, a sign Dalton had surprised him.
“You don’t owe that thief a thing. I can’t believe you wouldn’t let me take her to court. If that woman ever sets foot in Magnolia Beach again, I’ll see her in jail.”
His brother looked like a lawyer, even on his day off with his pressed navy slacks, gray cashmere sweater, and freshly shaved face. He squinted, yep, Dalton swore he saw a couple of gray hairs. Looked like Colton was taking after their mom, who’d gone gray in her twenties. Now she had long silver hair she wore with pride.
“Not Mackenzie.”
Dalton pointed with his fork, well aware of how rude it was to do so.
“Her. Christy, my next-door neighbor.”
His mom would smack his elbow with her knife if she caught him putting his elbows on the table. The thought made the corner of his mouth pull up.
Colton looked over to where Christy sat, reading a book while she ate.
“Ah yes. Her.”
Was her book upside down? Dalton squinted, yep, it was upside down. Was it some kind of trend now to have the book jacket on upside down?
He’d seen two women at the library last week sitting on sofas, reading with the book jackets upside down. When he walked behind them to look, the text was not upside down. Women were strange and mysterious creatures.
Dalton looked at his brother. “What do you mean ‘ah yes’?”
“Normally on my day off, we meet for lunch and we talk about work, our parents, our sister, and who we’re dating or not dating.” Colton finished his mashed potatoes, perfectly aware of how much it annoyed his brother when he didn’t finish his thought.
Nope, he was not taking the bait. Dalton forced himself to lean back in the chair and wait. Five agonizing minutes later, Colton placed his silverware at ten and two on his plate and continued talking as if he’d never made him wait.
“But this time.” Colton stopped speaking as their server cleared the plates and refilled their drinks.
“Thank you.” He smiled at the server.
“As I was saying. This time you haven’t taken your eyes off the newest resident of Magnolia Beach.”
“That isn’t true.” Dalton wiped his palms on his faded jeans.
“She isn’t a resident. That woman is only here for three months.”
Colton arched a brow.
“I know. Everyone has been talking about her.” He glanced over at the table as the woman they were discussing shut her book and left the table.
“She’s breathtaking. Even with the hack job on the hair and the awful dye job.”
Dalton frowned.
“That’s not her natural color? How do you know?”
“I can tell.”
Colton patted his mouth with a napkin.
Dalton watched her walk into the bookstore part of Stacks.
“She’s too pretty. The type of beautiful that eats a man alive.”
He turned to his brother.
“She might live next door to me for the next three months, but it doesn’t mean I have to talk to her.”
It was Colton’s turn to pay for lunch. He handed his credit card to the server, then turned his attention back to his brother.
“It isn’t fair to pass judgement on all womankind because of what that woman did to you.”
Dalton couldn’t resist.
“You never say her name. Mackenzie. Mackenzie. Mackenzie.”
“Stop. You’ll conjure her.”
Colton looked horrified, making Dalton laugh. The sound rusty from disuse.
“Anyway, you have to be civil to our new temporary resident.”
Dalton pulled his gaze away from a certain someone as she wandered through the stacks.
“What? Why?”
The infamous grin that had won his brother so many court cases flashed.
“Because that woman as you call her is Christy Jones. Alice’s niece.”
Dalton spit out an ice cube, choking on his tea.
“She’s Alice’s niece? I thought her niece was a little kid?”
This day just kept getting better and better.
Colton punched him in the shoulder as they made their way from the cafe to the bookstore section of Stacks.
“Alice told me yesterday. I offered to show her niece around. Actually, I said we’d show her around.”
His infuriating brother picked up the latest James Patterson bestseller, ignoring the steam coming from Dalton’s ears.
“You don’t speak for me.”
Colton ignored him as he read the first and last page. Why even read a book if you were going to read the last page before you read the entire thing?
“She’s hiding something.”
Colton put the book in his Stacks tote.
“So? Most people have secrets. Not all secrets are criminal or terrible.”
Dalton scowled.
“I don’t trust her. Pretty women lie and deceive.”
His brother put another book in his tote and sighed.
“You’re my brother and I love you.”
Colton placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Mom and Dad worry about you. So do I.”
Dalton’s shoulders slumped.
His brother kept his voice low. “Lots of people lie, usually it’s innocuous. If you’re not careful, you’re going to turn into a bitter old man.”
Dalton let out a huff. “Look who’s talking. You haven’t dated in forever. Not since she ran you over, hightailing it out of town.”
“We’re talking about you, not me.” His brother stiffened.
“Right. Whatever.”
They turned a corner.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I’m going.”
Of course. It had to be her. Fate was under the ocean, laughing at him.
Dalton caught her phone before it hit the wood floor.
“It was my fault.” Dalton handed her the phone. At least it wasn’t talking out loud for once.
“Thank you.” She smiled at him, a wide generous smile.
“We met at the house, remember? I live next door.” She held out a hand. “I’m Christy. Christy Jones.”
Her eyes twinkled, and he sucked in a breath.
“You’re Nosy McNosy, right?”
Colton snorted.
“That is a perfect name for my brother. I’m Colton James and this is my baby brother, Dalton.”
She shook his hand.
“My aunt works for you. You’re a lawyer.”
She stood there in knee-high boots, black leggings, and a thick sweater looking like she’d stepped out of a tv show. There was something about her, Dalton couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Not yet.
Colton nodded. “I am. Have you murdered anyone?”
She put a hand to her mouth, giggling.
“You’re funny. Aunt Alic
e said you were as nice as you were good-looking.”
Dalton scowled at the two of them.
“Colton is not nice. He’s a shark of a lawyer. He’s just pretending to be nice so Alice doesn’t rearrange all his color-coded files while he’s out of the office.”
Christy laughed again, making the books in her arms wobble precariously. Before they could fall, Dalton caught them. Up close, her big blue eyes had tiny flecks of dark blue and light blue mixed together. Her skin was so perfect she had to have a truckload of makeup on. He knew how long it took his ex to put on a face like that. She’d complained about it every time they’d gone out.
“Here. Let me hold them for you.” Dalton took the books from her.
She shook her hands to get the feeling back in them.
“Thank you, they’re heavy. I really should get an e-reader, but I love the feel of paper.”
“I know exactly what you mean though it’s nice to have an e-reader when you go on vacation so you don’t end up taking an entire suitcase full of books.” Colton handed her one of the Stacks tote bags.
“You get a discount on all your books if you buy a tote and bring it when you shop. From the stack you’ve got there, it looks like you’re a big reader.”
“Appreciate it. These totes are so pretty, I’ll put it to good use.”
Dalton trailed behind her like a lovesick high school boy as he carried her books while Colton told her all the places she should visit while she was in town.
He didn’t ask why no one had ever seen her in town before, especially since her aunt lived here. For a lawyer, he was awfully trusting. Good thing Dalton wasn’t.
6
The next day, Dalton was walking out the door to head in to work early when he saw Timmy from the Sip and Shop, arms full of groceries.
“Hi, bring them on in.”
Christy opened the door for Timmy, caught sight of him and waved.
Dalton jogged down the steps. He had plenty of time, so he went next door, passing Timmy on his way out.
“Hey, Mr. James.”
“No school today?”
Timmy grinned. “Nope. A pipe burst so we’re out for two days while they fix it.”
The kid jumped on his bike and pedaled away, looking like a giant marshmallow in his puffy coat, hat and scarf.
Dalton jogged up the stairs and raised his hand to knock when the door swung open. “Hello?”
