Left Turn at Paradise

by Kristin Wallace

  Annaliese disappeared, and Layla turned…slowly. “Hi Tammy-Lynn.” She didn’t try for a fake smile, just stood her ground and vowed she wouldn’t show a reaction no matter what.

  Tammy-Lynn glanced beyond Layla’s shoulder. “This is one of our newer restaurants. I think you’ll like it.” She smiled. “I come here all the time.”

  Friendliness? A smile? Layla froze, unsure if she should relax… or prepare to bring up her shield for a coming attack. “I’m sure I will,” she said, wondering when Tammy-Lynn’s head would start spinning around. She had to be possessed by something.

  Another smile. “We’ve been trying to attract new businesses to our town, especially The Strip. Our hope is to bring in more tourists. It’s the Mission of the Downtown Business Counsel.”

  “Downtown Business Counsel?” Layla echoed. She’d never heard of it.

  “Yes, it was established a couple years ago. I’m the President, you know,” Tammy-Lynn said. “It’s one of the many civic responsibilities I’ve undertaken to help my father with his Mayoral duties.”

  “How nice for you,” Layla said. She glanced toward the restaurant, wishing she had made a run for it earlier.

  “I do like to keep busy,” Tammy-Lynn said. “I also write the advice column for The Shellwater Key Chronicle. It’s amazing how working there gives one access to the emails and phone numbers of newspaper editors all over the country.”

  Layla heard the clues, and a missing piece to a very big puzzle clicked into place. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You sent the article about The Paradise to all those papers?”

  Tammy-Lynn didn’t try to deny the charge. “Of course I sent it. I thought our town might be able to generate some good publicity out of the story. The revival of The Paradise is just the kind of thing people want to hear about right now. With economic times so hard, people want to know that communities are surviving and even flourishing. Hopefully, the publicity can help us attract even more businesses.”

  Layla nearly snorted in disbelief. “You don’t honestly expect me to believe you cared about anything except hurting me, do you?”

  The cool mask began to slip. “Honey, you have to stop thinking the whole world revolves around you.”

  “This wasn’t about civic duty,” Layla rasped. “It’s about jealousy and your stupid vendetta.”

  “I acted in the best interests of my hometown.”

  “Really?” she shot back. “Having Paparazzi roaming the streets like a pack of wolves is a good thing for Shellwater Key?”

  “That pack of wolves, as you call them, has been staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants, and buying souvenirs for their families.”

  “You’re unbelievable.” Layla didn’t care if she lost the fight. She had to get away before she punched Tammy-Lynn and added to the assault claims. “I don’t know why I try to talk to you. You just stay out of my way from now on.”

  Layla turned to leave, but Tammy-Lynn’s smug voice followed. “Now honey, just because you’re upset over Grayson Kendall leaving town with Skye Malone doesn’t mean you can start issuing threats.”

  Layla spun around. “What did you say?”

  “Was I unclear?” Tammy-Lynn asked, eyes widening in mock innocence. “Didn’t your boyfriend dump you and go back to his ex-wife?”

  Layla’s hands clenched into tight fists. “He had to take her away because she saw the coverage you created and wanted to make herself part of it.”

  “Sure he did. I know it’s upsetting to be humiliated like that, but what did you expect? Did you think you could compete with Skye Malone?” Tammy-Lynn let out a cackling laugh. “Besides, it’s not like he was going to stay here with you. He’s meant for Broadway premieres, not The Paradise Dinner Theatre.”

  “You don’t know anything about Grayson, or me.” How she hated Tammy-Lynn. Even more so because she was probably right.

  Tammy-Lynn sauntered closer, all pretense of friendliness gone. “You should be thanking me.”

  This time Layla didn’t bother to bite back a snort of disbelief. “For what?”

  “At least now you know how he really feels.” Tammy-Lynn leaned in. “Why, you might have gone and fallen in love with that faithless scoundrel, and then where would you be?”

  Layla sucked in a gasping breath.

  “Unless you already did.” Tammy-Lynn smiled, looking like every evil stepmother/sorceress/witch ever put on screen. “Poor Layla. I am so sorry.”

  Tammy-Lynn spun on her heel and strolled down the sidewalk before Layla could think of a good response. Of course, there was no good response. Grayson was gone, and he might not be coming back.

  And Layla really was dumb enough to open her heart to a man who might still be in love with his ex-wife.

  She let out a bone-deep sigh and turned to go find her lunch date. Except Annaliese was standing a few feet away, in the shadow of a palm tree. Her eyes were full of sympathy.

  Layla tried to smile, but knew the expression probably emerged as more of a grimace. “I don’t think I’m hungry anymore.”

  Annaliese didn’t say anything, only nodded and followed Layla back to the car. They drove back to The Paradise in silence.

  Layla barely noticed the bright blue sky or the light filtering through the leaves of the trees like golden sun drops. A few minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot and turned off the ignition. Instantly, the pounding of hammers invaded the quiet. She couldn’t face an army of workmen right now.

  “I think I’ll just go home,” Layla said. “I won’t get anything else done here today.”

  Annaliese put a hand on Layla’s shoulder. “You know that woman is full of it, right? She was just being mean for mean’s sake.”

  “Was she?” Layla asked, staring through the windshield. Then she dropped her head onto the steering wheel and sobbed like a baby. The confusion of her mother’s homecoming, finding her father and a whole new family, the knowledge of her grandmother’s actions, and the devastation of Grayson leaving, all caved in on her at once.

  A tissue appeared under her nose. Layla took it and mopped up her face. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to lose it like that.”

  “You’ve been dealing with a lot,” Annaliese said.

  “I guess.”

  Annaliese opened her door. “Come on, let’s take a walk.”

  “A walk?” Layla looked around. “Right now?”

  “Yes.”

  Annaliese got out of the car, and Layla scrambled after her. When Annaliese headed for the road, Layla paused.

  Annaliese looked back. “You coming?”

  “When you said go for a walk I didn’t know you meant dodging cars on the highway while we did it.”

  “An element of danger keeps everyone on their toes,” Annaliese said, with a playful smile. “It’s like getting an attack of nerves before a big show. That rush of adrenaline makes the performance better.”

  Thinking she’d definitely lost her mind, Layla nevertheless trotted out to where Annaliese stood. “You still get nervous when you go out on stage?”

  A semi roared past them punctuated by three air raid-like blasts of the horn. Layla jumped.

  “I usually throw up before I go on stage,” Annaliese said, as if she hadn’t noticed the truck.

  “Why put yourself through that every night then?”

  “Because I feel fine the moment the lights hit my face. When I know all eyes are watching me. That’s when I feel most alive.”

  Layla shuddered. “It would make my skin crawl.”

  A boat disguised as a car eased by them at a snail’s pace, making a wide arc around them to avoid any chance of a collision. A gray head peered over the dashboard and two hands clutched the wheel. The driver only released her grip long enough to shake a fist at them.

  “How much room does she think we need?” Layla asked, watching the ancient sedan, and even more ancient driver, slowly move past them. “Do we look like we need a twenty foot berth?”

  “Maybe
her depth perception is off,” Annaliese answered without slowing her pace at all. “Like a rear view mirror. Objects are closer than they appear?”

  “Another reason for us not to be walking out here. The population of Shellwater Key is littered with people like that old lady. Some of them probably haven’t taken a driver’s test since the 1950’s.”

  “At least we’ll have plenty of time to get out of the way.”

  “You don’t seem to take the prospect of death or dismemberment very seriously,” Layla said.

  “Of course I do.”

  “So why are we risking life and limb for a stroll? And why not pick something with a little better view? This highway isn’t very scenic—”

  A red Ferrari flashed by, engine grumbling and revving. A man leaned out. “Hey, baby, you lost? I’ll take you home.”

  Annaliese flashed a camera-worthy smile and swished her skirt. Ferrari man revved the engine again and shot off down the road with a squeal of rubber against asphalt.

  “You shouldn’t tease people like that,” Layla said.

  Annaliese giggled. “I know, but it’s so much fun.”

  Layla sighed.

  Annaliese stopped, all trace of amusement vanishing in an instant. “You want to know why we’re out here? Because I don’t want you to take him for granted.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Annaliese took several long, deep breaths, as if gathering courage from inside. “My husband died while we were rehearsing on stage together. He just suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed in my arms. I remember hearing screams and people shouting to call 911, but I knew it was too late for that. He looked up at me, said he was sorry, and then he was gone. He was only thirty-five.”

  Layla sucked in a shocked breath. “What happened?”

  “An undiagnosed heart condition. The doctor said he’d probably been born with it. Everything happened so quickly. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. I stopped performing after that. In fact, the first time I was even on a stage since my husband died was the day I arrived and auditioned for you. It was like my voice, everything that made me who I am, went with him into the grave. My life was torn apart in an instant, and I haven’t found a way to put it back together again.”

  For a moment, Annaliese was stripped of every artifice. Her feelings were so raw anyone could see them. She was a living, breathing picture of grief.

  Layla had to look away. She couldn’t imagine watching someone she loved die in her arms. And yet, part of her envied Annaliese for having that kind of love in the first place. A relationship so intense she’d left her entire life behind. Layla had never allowed herself to be that vulnerable.

  Layla swallowed, fighting another bout of tears. “Why are you telling me all this?”

  Annaliese stopped and turned to Layla. “Because people can be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. Like your mother. She survived cancer, but it could come back. You don’t know if you’ll have her for thirty more years or six months. So, you should get to know her while you have the chance.”

  Layla sidestepped and started marching along the road. “It’s not so simple. You don’t know what she did.”

  “Grayson told me,” Annaliese said, keeping up with no trouble.

  “Of course he did,” Layla said through clenched teeth. “I’ll bet he confides everything in you.”

  “Usually.”

  “Really? Has he talked to you since he escaped town in the middle of the night with his wife?” Layla demanded to know. “Because he sure hasn’t talked to me.”

  “Ex-wife.”

  Layla threw up her hands in disgust. “Everyone keeps saying that, but the distinction hardly matters.”

  “It matters to Grayson,” Annaliese said, her breath emerging in tiny puffs at the exertion. “He won’t forget what she did just because she snaps her fingers and thinks she can erase the last nine months.”

  “Those fingers are attached to one of the most beautiful women on the planet.”

  “Come on.” Annaliese let out a sound that came dangerously close to a snort. “Like you’re so hard to look at?”

  “I’m nobody. I’m a failed businesswoman in charge of a broken-down theatre in a town that even a GPS can’t find.”

  “The Paradise isn’t so bad. At least it’s only half-bad. The dining room will look spectacular once the carpet’s installed. The kitchen…well…maybe you can just dynamite that and start over in there.”

  “You’re not inspiring much confidence.”

  “And you’re about to give me a seizure. Slow down, will you? I don’t have Amazon woman length legs like you do.”

  Layla shifted down a gear, but she didn’t stop.

  “I would give anything to have Matthew back,” Annaliese said. “Even for a few minutes. Sometimes I dream about him, and when I wake up it’s as if I’ve lost him all over again. I’ve loved him since I was sixteen. We ran off together to follow our dream of being on stage. Well, I followed him. He was the one who wanted a Broadway career. I never believed I was good enough, but Matthew did. He dared me to audition as a company member of Grayson’s theatre. If it hadn’t been for my husband, I wouldn’t have had a career at all.”

  “When did he die?”

  “Two years ago. Long enough that everyone tells me I need to move on. Find someone else to love. But it’s not that easy. I have tried. I’ve dated. I’ve gone on blind dates and fix ups. I tried computer dating, speed dating, and professional matchmakers. I even dated Grayson out of desperation right after Skye left him.”

  “Grayson was a last resort?” Layla asked, in wonder.

  “He was my last hope. I figured if I couldn’t love him, I couldn’t love anyone. Maybe I’ll be alone the rest of my life.”

  “I’m sorry for everything you’ve suffered,” Layla said, somehow wishing she didn’t know the other woman’s darkest pain. She couldn’t help but admire Annaliese and feel sorry for her. Even so, the story didn’t explain why they were dodging cars out on the highway. “I still don’t understand what this has to do with me?”

  Annaliese’s green eyes were suddenly infused with fire and brimstone. “I see how your grandmother became one of the first female surgeons, and why it took your mother half a lifetime to get her head on straight. Stubborn. It’s a trait you McCarthy women carry around like a suit of armor. Using it to knock everyone in your path out of the way.”

  “I’m nothing like my mother,” Layla said, her own temper boiling to the surface.

  “You are if you refuse to even try to forgive her. To see things from her perspective.”

  “So, nothing she did matters? It’s all water under the bridge because she finally found her conscience?”

  “It matters, but not as much as right now matters. You – the poor little abandoned girl – now have more family members than you know what to do with. You have an amazing opportunity to start fresh. You can be the one to break your family’s cycle of mistrust and disappointment. And that little boy you’re so jealous of – your brother—”

  “I am not jealous of him,” Layla almost shouted.

  Annaliese glared. “Of course you are. I even understand why, but you shouldn’t let those feelings keep you away from him. He’s the reason your mother is here after all.”

  “Believe me, I know.”

  “You should be thankful for that little boy, because he’s the one who gave you your mother back.”

  “I—”

  Annaliese held up a hand. “I’m not finished. Don’t let Grayson go without a fight.”

  “What’s to fight over? He left with Skye. He didn’t die like your husband. He chose to leave, and go back to that woman. If he’s fool enough to take the bone she dangles, then good riddance.”

  “Didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t do that? You need to have a little faith in him and what you have together.”

  “What makes you think there’s anything to fight for?”

  “Now who’s being
a fool?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Layla had spent her whole life wishing for a real family. She’d always wanted a normal mom-dad-brothers-sisters-go-to-grandma’s-house-for-Christmas kind of family. Like on TV. Yes, the people on those shows were entirely made up, but for years Layla had fantasized about being a part of a TV family. Even one of the dysfunctional TV families would have sufficed.

  She couldn’t help remembering a very wise person’s admonition about being careful what you wished for. Because now she had more family than any sane person really wanted. As her new grandmother had predicted, other members of Colin’s family had come to Shellwater Key to check her out. Colin’s sisters had shown up with their husbands. One of the husbands was a cop, and he’d spent most of the visit asking a lot of questions. One could have mistaken them for curiosity, but Layla felt certain the interview had been more of an inquisition to determine if she was indeed family. When she’d had enough, Layla had offered to give him a few hairs so he could run a DNA test. There hadn’t been any more questions after that.

  The maternal side of her family wasn’t much better. Beth didn’t push, but she wasn’t disappearing either. She continued to show up at work, and did whatever was asked of her. Mostly, she shadowed Noah or ran errands. Little Josh was usually with her, and he appeared at Layla’s side any time he could. She was no longer surprised to turn a corner and find him lying in wait. She pretended not to see him “sneaking” into her office, and answered endless questions about what she was doing, with more patience than she could ever have thought she possessed.

  Then there was Gran. Layla was bereft at the loss of the relationship she’d had with her grandmother. Disappointment, anger, and disillusionment seemed to have crowded out the closeness they’d once shared.

  Grayson was never far from her mind, either. He hadn’t called, and she refused to ask Annaliese again if she’d heard from him. After the dressing down she’d received along the highway the other day, Layla didn’t dare.

  So, she stewed over everything. The seesaw of conflicting feelings took their toll. Her emotions became volatile, swinging from cautious optimism to blinding fury, with alarming frequency. She could barely get down more than a few bites of food at a time. She continued to stay with Annaliese rather than face Gran and Beth, but even in a neutral house, sleep became impossible.