Lantern Beach Mysteries Box Set

by Christy Barritt

  She gagged again. Being a phony was so hard, especially since she liked to be a straight shooter. This wasn’t the way she preferred to live her life.

  “Of course.” He raised his chin and threw his shoulders back.

  Flattery could be infinitely useful.

  “Great.” Cassidy stepped away but paused. “By the way, where did you guys take the boat?”

  “It’s behind the station right now. The Coast Guard is coming to inspect it later. Either today or tomorrow.”

  “I see. How exciting.” She just couldn’t bring herself to leave, not until she knew this evidence was in good—she’d even take moderately dependable—hands. “By the way, there were some names on those papers.”

  “Names?” He shuffled the papers until he found them. “My guess is that these are some contacts these refugees had so they could get fake passports and things. We’ll double-check.”

  At least it was something. Maybe that was all she could ask for.

  Ty stared at Renee as she bustled around the room, arranging the flowers she’d brought and opening the curtains. She looked so much the same. Still perky. Still blonde. Still the essence of fun and lightheartedness.

  Yet there was something missing. What was it? Depth? Stick-to-itiveness? Integrity? Ty wasn’t sure, and he might not figure it out until these pain meds wore off some. They’d left him feeling loopy. Not to mention the fact that his shoulder was sore and he didn’t want to be here.

  “There. Isn’t it so much homier now?” Renee turned toward Ty and smiled sweetly.

  He wished he could return the action. But he couldn’t pretend that the past several years hadn’t happened. That Renee hadn’t broken his heart and left him when he needed someone the most.

  He rubbed his temple, his head pounding. “Renee, what are you doing here?”

  Ty hadn’t talked to her in forever. She hadn’t been interested in talking or explaining or even trying to work things out. And now she showed up and acted as if nothing had happened? That didn’t settle right with him.

  She sat beside his bed and took his hand, a pleasant—and maybe clueless—smile on her face. “I missed you, Ty.”

  “It took you three years to realize that?”

  She let out a lighthearted sigh and stared into the distance. “I know it might sound crazy, but I just had this realization. It literally struck me like a lightning bolt. I finally recognized what we had, and how much I missed you, and I couldn’t imagine my future without my Ty Ty.”

  He cringed at the pet name—he’d never liked it, but especially not now. “What caused this realization?”

  It wasn’t that simple. It never was with Renee. At one time, Ty had wanted to believe whatever she told him. It was almost like the woman had cast a spell on him. And that was the most dangerous kind of infatuation, mostly because it wasn’t grounded in reality or truth. But not anymore. He’d learned that lesson the hard way.

  “It was really just an accumulation of things.” She offered no more information, just a slight shrug. But Ty would bet her “realization” had something to do with another man and a freshly ended relationship.

  “You left me, Renee,” he reminded her, keeping his voice placid. He didn’t want to stir up any emotions by getting irritated or angry or impatient. No, he’d remain even-keeled for as long as possible—all for the sake of civility.

  Turn the other cheek. He’d read it in his Bible a couple of days ago, along with other verses about forgiveness and living out love.

  Renee leaned closer and lowered her voice. “And now I want to make things right.”

  A flash of irritation shot down his spine. She was greatly simplifying this situation. “Sometimes you can’t make things right. Sometimes you make choices and have to live with the consequences.”

  Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout that would have, at one time, twisted his resolve and tugged at his heartstrings. Not anymore. “What’s life without second chances?”

  “Renee . . .” Had she heard a word Ty had said?

  “Steve told me you were all about second chances. Said you’d become a new man since you got out of the military.”

  “Steve? When did you talk to Steve?” Steve was the mutual friend who’d introduced them. He’d been stationed back in San Diego before their breakup, but Ty talked to him every once in a while.

  “Last week. How do you think I knew where you were? No way I could have tracked you to the middle of nowhere on my own.”

  Ty was going to have to have a long talk with his friend. He decided to try a different approach to this conversation. “This is all very sudden and abrupt. I had no idea you were going to show up.”

  Renee squeezed his hand tighter and peered at him with her big, doe-like eyes. “I know. Isn’t it great?”

  “Renee—”

  “Look, I’m here, and my plane doesn’t leave for three days. Can’t we talk and make amends? I don’t know what that will look like or what that means. I just know that I hate the way things ended. I want to be a new woman as well.”

  She had to be kidding. “The way things ended? You mean the way you left things?”

  Her pout grew larger. “Please, Ty. It sounds so harsh when you put it like that.”

  Ty’s gut twisted. He started to tell her she needed to go, but before he could, Renee jumped to her feet.

  “You won’t regret this, Ty. And this is perfect timing because you need someone in your corner right now, and here I am.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek. “I can even sleep on that little couch here in your room while you’re at the clinic. I brought a blanket and everything.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” Ty said, exhausted at the mere thought.

  “Oh, I insist.” She glanced at the door. “In fact, let me run and get some snacks for us. I’m going to need to eat while I’m here. You still like kettle corn?”

  “No, I’ve never liked—”

  But, before Ty could finish, Renee was gone.

  He released a long breath and pushed his head back into the pillow behind him.

  How in the world had this even happened?

  The whole encounter made him realize how much he’d changed over the past few years. He wasn’t the man he used to be, and he actually liked the new person he’d become. When he’d been engaged to Renee, he’d been preoccupied a majority of the time with his job. When he’d returned home from his various deployments, he may have left the battlefield behind physically, but mentally he’d remained in Iraq.

  He hadn’t even realized it back then, but now those facts were as clear as day. He’d lived and breathed being a Navy SEAL. And then it was all gone—and so was Renee.

  Besides, the heartache and trials he’d been through—and he’d had plenty—had led him back to his faith. Led him back to what was important in life.

  So all of it wasn’t bad.

  But he had no intention of rekindling a romance with Renee. He just needed to make that clear to her. However, that wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

  Chapter 8

  As per her normal workday, Cassidy drove up and down the streets of Lantern Beach selling ice cream. She’d developed her pattern, one that allowed her to hit every road in town.

  She wanted to skip it all today and rush home to her computer to look up those names from the package Serena had found. But reality was that if Cassidy didn’t make some money, she wasn’t going to be able to buy any groceries. So she needed to put in her time making her rounds before she dug further into this mystery.

  If she was smart, she wouldn’t dig into it at all. But . . .

  As she drove past the clinic, her thoughts drifted to Ty. How was he? Was Renee taking good care of him?

  Cassidy’s stomach squeezed at the thought. Which was stupid. She and Ty were just friends, and nothing else. If he wanted to get back together with the woman who’d broken his heart then that was his right.

  Yet, despite that, her thoughts felt like they were stampeding out ahea
d of her and she couldn’t catch up to gain control.

  Had Ty called Renee? Asked her to come? Had they been talking before this?

  The thoughts bothered Cassidy, even though they shouldn’t. Ty wasn’t hers, yet somewhere down the line she’d begun to believe the lie that he was. A seed of hope had been planted that maybe—just maybe—they could have a future together. But Cassidy knew good and well that was an unlikely scenario.

  She pushed aside her feelings—they would get her nowhere. Instead, she headed down more streets. As she reached the road before her house, she slowed.

  Interesting. A Lexus was parked at one of the small bungalows.

  She might not have noticed it except for the fact that expensive cars like that usually showed up at expensive houses right on the water. The car and the primitive-looking rental didn’t belong together.

  She also passed a house with kids running back and forth through sprinklers. They squealed with delight, the sound of their laughter making Cassidy warm inside. So much of her career recently had left her feeling cynical and jaded. The simple acts of kids being kids and enjoying themselves made her work here more pleasurable than she could have imagined.

  The house at the end of the lane made her pause every time she passed. The place was probably a much-loved cottage at one time, but now it sat in the midst of largely overgrown brush and seagrass. She could hardly see the house because the shrubs and trees had grown so much. But it was there, hidden by nature.

  Something looked different about it today. She hit the brakes and stared at the place a minute.

  On the outside, there was nothing visible to hint at what nagged at her. All the shrubs were still in place. Had some of the grass been disturbed?

  Maybe that was it.

  It was probably nothing. Maybe some kids had gone to retrieve a wayward ball or something.

  Your mind always goes to the worst places, Cassidy.

  There were probably twenty or thirty homes on the island that hadn’t received visitors—or owners—in years. Maybe they’d been handed down from generation to generation. Maybe the owners’ lives had changed and they were no longer able to come. Who knew what their stories were.

  Still, this one had her attention for some reason.

  “Can I buy some ice cream?”

  The sound of someone’s sweet little voice on the other side of the vehicle nearly made Cassidy jump out of her seat.

  She turned to see a little girl standing there, her hand outstretched with a dollar bill.

  “It’s the perfect treat after playing in the sprinkler,” the girl’s mom said, running up behind her wearing a bikini top barely covering her fit body.

  “I think I need to get some sprinklers like that.” Cassidy smiled. “They look super fun.”

  “Even better, they’re motion-activated,” the mom said. “And please tell me you have Choco Tacos?”

  “As a matter of fact I do.” Cassidy shoved her earlier thoughts aside and plastered on a smile as she scooted to the back of the truck. “What else can I get for you?”

  Three hours later, Cassidy pulled up to the Crazy Chefette. Her friend Lisa Garth used her background in science to create fabulous food experiments. In truth, her combinations were genius. Especially her grilled-cheese-and-peach sandwich.

  Cassidy stepped inside and glanced around. To her surprise, Mac wasn’t there entertaining anyone who would listen with his stories or with his talent for saying the alphabet backwards and skipping every other letter.

  Cassidy did spot Serena, Skye, and Austin at a corner table. They waved her over, and Cassidy slid in beside Serena.

  “Did you turn it in?” Serena whispered.

  “I did. No problems.” Cassidy grabbed a paper menu with today’s specials. “How was your interview?”

  “In truth, it was a little boring.” Serena frowned. “But I’m determined to think of a way to make it interesting.”

  “It was with the parade organizer, right?” Cassidy asked.

  Serena nodded. “Yeah, but he doesn’t have great PR skills, and he mostly wanted to talk about the boat that washed ashore.”

  “Is that right?” Cassidy said. She could see where the boat would be interesting.

  “Niles isn’t the most personable guy,” Austin said. “I did some work on his house. He only likes the finest things in life, which is strange considering he lives here. Lantern Beach is a place for people who want to get away from it all, not for people looking for a slice of the fancy life.”

  “Well, what does he do full-time?” Cassidy asked.

  “I think he’s the city manager,” Serena said. “He does something with the local government. I guess I should have asked him more about that during the interview.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll think of a way to make the story interesting.”

  “I did hear that Martin Chaser is going to be the Grand Marshal,” Serena said. “That’s interesting.”

  “Who’s Martin Chaser?” The name sounded vaguely familiar.

  “He’s a racecar driver out of Charlotte,” Austin said. “He’s not the best out there, but he’s pretty good.”

  The waitress came to take their orders. Cassidy recognized her from the clinic. Melissa, if she remembered correctly.

  “Hey, I know you,” Cassidy said. “How’s your arm?”

  Melissa turned sideways and showed Cassidy her bandage. “A little medicine and it will be all better. Could have been worse.”

  “Glad to hear you’re okay.”

  “Me too. Now what can I get you?”

  Cassidy ordered the Burger with Butter—a hamburger topped with peanut butter. It normally wouldn’t be her first choice, but Lisa hadn’t let Cassidy down yet with her crazy combinations. The rest of the gang also ordered an assortment of food—fish tacos, crab-cake sandwiches, and hamburgers.

  “By the way, how’s Ty doing?” Austin asked.

  Cassidy frowned when she remembered the events from earlier today. “He’s doing okay, especially now that his fiancée is here to take care of him.”

  Skye’s mouth dropped open. “His fiancée?”

  “Well, his ex-fiancée. But she didn’t look very exy to me. She was even wearing an engagement ring.” Cassidy had never been much of a gossip, but she felt like one now. She’d be wise to watch what she said.

  Gossip dies when it hits a wise person’s ears.

  Be wise, Cassidy. Be wise.

  “That is very interesting,” Skye said.

  “Isn’t it, though?” Cassidy needed to stop talking. She hadn’t intended on sharing that much, yet the thoughts had been dancing around in her head since Renee had shown up. “Who’s that man over there?”

  Cassidy nodded toward a man wearing a business suit in the distance. She might not have noticed him, but a gaggle of people had gathered around. Were they asking for autographs?

  “Smith Anderson,” Austin said. “He’s a news anchor for a station out of Raleigh.”

  “Is he here to cover the parade?” Cassidy asked.

  He wasn’t dressed like a vacationer. No, he looked all business.

  “I heard he was buying a house,” Austin said.

  “Happy house hunting,” Skye said.

  Lisa appeared just then. As usual, her lab coat—used in lieu of an apron—was splattered with evidence of her latest recipe inventions. “If it’s not my favorite group of people. Except for Will. Where is Will?”

  “He’s keeping busy with people’s pool pumps breaking down and hot tubs getting clogged,” Austin said. “Not to mention the sunset kayaking tours.”

  “So busy he can’t stop by and see us?” Lisa swung the paper bag in her hands.

  “I’ll fuss at him next time I see him,” Skye said.

  “You do that. I see you met Melissa.”

  “I did. She must be one of your newer employees,” Cassidy said.

  Lisa nodded. “Just came to town from somewhere up north. Kind of quiet, but I have hopes she’ll find
her place here. She just seems kind of lonely, you know? And accident prone.” Lisa turned to Cassidy. “Anyway, I don’t know where that came from. Cassidy, could you give these to Ty? It’s a new recipe I just came up with.”

  “Oh, yeah? What is it?” Cassidy asked.

  “Salt-and-vinegar sugar cookies.”

  Cassidy’s stomach turned at the thought.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Lisa said. “But they’re good. I promise. They’re sugar cookies mixed with an entire extra-large bag of salt-and-vinegar chips that have been crumbled. It has this great sweet and salty vibe going. Besides, have I ever let you down before?”

  “No . . .” Cassidy sounded uncertain.

  “Will you take them to him?”

  Cassidy hesitated, desperately trying to come up with an excuse and a reason to put distance between herself and Ty. “I’m just not sure I’m going to have time today. I have a full schedule . . . selling ice cream.”

  Everyone stared at her, and she knew not one of them bought it.

  Finally, she released her breath. “Of course, I’ll drop them off for him.”

  Lisa smiled. “Thanks. I gotta go!”

  Cassidy stared at the bag of cookies. She wasn’t sure what she dreaded more. Seeing Ty and Renee. Or knowing she was going to have to try one of these.

  Cassidy fanned herself with her hands against the heat outside. The sun’s rays seemed to reflect from every visible surface around her, causing solar waves to thicken the air.

  This was one of the few things that made her miss Seattle. The humidity here made everything feel ten times hotter.

  She paced to Elsa at the far end of the lot. It had been crowded when Cassidy arrived, so she’d parked partially on the grass and nearly blocked the dumpster. Thankfully, she knew today wasn’t trash day at the restaurant, so it would be okay.

  As she started to open her door, a voice in the distance caused her to pause.

  It sounded like a man. But where was he?

  She leaned forward and noticed someone had ducked behind the restaurant.