“You mean the house?” Irving said with a glint of interest. “I heard a rumor it’s pretty snazzy.”
“I was going for snazzy,” Jo teased.
“I’m going to call my son to help me lug everything over. Already made my daily quota thanks to you two. I’d best tell the wife she’s on her own in the store awhile longer.” He was pulling out his cell phone as he went into the thrift store.
“Wait, hang on!” Ozzy started after him, but the door closed in his face. He looked down at the cash Irving had refused. “I’ll stop by later and give this to his wife.” He stuffed the money in his pocket and came over to Jo. “So you’re going to open a cantina at the construction site, huh?”
“Minus the alcohol.” Jo’s fingers itched to dig into that load of junk in Irving’s truckbed. “I guess I lucked out today. Who did you say this all belonged to?”
“Winston Pickering. Man was old when I was a kid. He died last summer and his kids are only now selling his property.” Ozzy grabbed the bike and hauled it over to his own vehicle. “No telling what the old man had stashed away. Though you realize you’re probably going to end up with a lot of old dingy furniture?”
“But there will be treasure among it.” If there was one thing Jo couldn’t pass up, it was a bargain. Or an opportunity. “You know, the original plans for the sanctuary included a children’s playground.”
“That idea got scrapped when the budget exploded.” Ozzy’s mouth twisted. “Any hope we had of saving it disappeared when the frame collapsed. It’s too bad, too, but there might be a way to get it further down the road.”
“Shouldn’t have to wait.” If there was a means to work the budget, she’d find it. “Um, what’s the story with the bike?”
“My friend’s daughter had an accident last week and totaled hers. She’s being quite selective about what she wants as a replacement.” He ran his hand down the line of the bike. “It’s just the right size for her. Bigger than the one she’d outgrown, but not quite full-size. I’ll fix it up like her old one and hopefully she’ll approve.”
Jo’s heart tilted at the wistful smile on his face. “I’m surprised you don’t give people cavities, Ozzy. That’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard.”
Ozzy’s cheeks went that adorable shade of pink before he glanced away and shut the back of his car. “Charlie’s a good kid. And it doesn’t seem right not seeing her zipping around town on two wheels.”
“So you like kids?” Now where had that question come from?
“Sure.” Ozzy shrugged. “They’re just miniature adults, right? Except for the brats,” he added with a chuckle. “I’ll walk with you to the beach. I need to stop in at Cat’s Eye for a book on bicycle repair.”
“You can walk with me any time if you want.” She eyed him. “You don’t need an excuse.”
“Was that an excuse?” He pocketed his keys and fell into step beside her.
“Whatever information you need for the bike you can find on the internet. It’d be cheaper and quicker.” At his cool shrug, warmth crept into her cheeks. So much for thinking he was flirting.
“True, but I have to pick up an order, anyway.” He slipped his hands into the pockets of his olive green cargo pants. That smile of his was back, and this time it came with a teasing glint in his dark eyes. “It’s nice to know I don’t need an excuse to walk with you, though.”
That odd shiver raced up her spine when he smiled at her. She tugged her sweater tighter around her, crossed her arms and felt her nerves jingle in a most unwelcome way. It wasn’t that his attention and friendliness were unwelcome. It was flattering to have an attractive man like Ozzy notice her. Despite his being younger, she sensed a maturity in him that she appreciated and that appealed to her. But she’d done her time with good-looking, superficial charmers. One charmer in particular, but Leah was right. Comparing Ozzy to Greg was useless. The two were nothing alike. Besides, she didn’t care for the afterburn one had left around her heart.
“Company would be nice.” She considered a diplomatic, inoffensive tack to steer him off any romantic route he might be walking. “Aside from Leah and you, I don’t have any other friends in town.”
Ozzy’s chin tilted up and he glanced away. “Ask anyone in town, and they’ll tell you,” he said, “I do excel at being a friend.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. Clearly she’d hit a nerve. “I’m sure you do. You strike me as a great guy, Ozzy. Great guys need friends, too.”
“Yes, they do.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “So do nice women.”
“I’m not sure your mayor would agree with your description of me.” She couldn’t help but grin. “We had a nice long chat this morning.”
“Set your ground rules, did you?”
“Who tattled?”
“No one.” Ozzy smiled. “I know Gil and I met you. You didn’t strike me as the type of woman who’d be wanting him to hang around and stick his nose in.”
“He took it better than I thought he would. Of course...” She turned the corner and kept the pace, made note of a cute little candle shop that offered original made-to-order items. “He might have still been a bit shocked when he saw I was pregnant. I’m surprised that tidbit of information hadn’t made the rounds.” She eyed him.
“Like you said, other than me or Leah, you hadn’t met anyone yet. And neither one of us is a gossip.”
She’d bet he considered that a badge of honor. And he should. “Hmm, in any case, I appreciated surprising him. Kind of leveled the playing field a bit. Do you think it’ll become an issue?”
“You being pregnant? Not in the way you expect.” Ozzy glanced at her. “People will be curious. They’re going to be nosy. And there will be advice.”
“About the baby?”
“Sure.” Ozzy’s lips twitched. “About that, too.” When she didn’t respond, he gave her a gentle nudge with his arm. “See? You are nice. You just used your filter. And for the record, I am an excellent judge of people. You want proof? I bet I can tell you three things about yourself you don’t think I could possibly know.”
Oh, yeah. He was definitely flirting. Not as well or effectively as she might have anticipated, but enough to keep a smile on her face as they continued walking. “All right. I’ll take that bet. But the obvious is off the table,” she countered, pointing to her stomach.
“Fair enough.” He gestured to a store across the street on the next block. “Let’s cross over. Observation one. You don’t have a lot of friends, but you’re incredibly loyal to the ones you have.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“You accepted the job because your friend asked you to,” Ozzy clarified. “You drove your entire house across state lines because Leah needed your help. That’s loyalty.”
“It’s also selfish.” She flashed him a smile. “If I do my job right, it puts me in line for a possible partnership. Taking the job here in Butterfly Harbor isn’t particularly altruistic on my part.”
“That doesn’t negate the loyalty. She trusts you. You trust her. But you don’t trust everyone. That would be observation two.”
“Only fools and hopeless romantics trust everyone.” She considered him and the somewhat starry expression she’d caught in his eyes when they’d first met. “I’d ask which you are, but I already know I wouldn’t call you a fool.”
“I like to think of myself as a hopeful romantic. Despite getting shot down by a beautiful woman only a few moments ago.”
She groaned, rolled her eyes and laughed. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
Ozzy chuckled. “Desperate times...”
There wasn’t anything desperate about the man that she could see. “Fine, that’s two things you’ve gotten right. Ready to take a stab at number three?”
He pointed up to the sign above the store’s wood-and-beveled-glass door.
The hand-carved sign showed a big-eyed cat curled atop a book. Ozzy reached around her and clicked open the door. His hand brushed the small of her back as he escorted her inside. “You’re lonely.”
CHAPTER FOUR
OZZY HAD ALWAYS wondered what it would be like to stun a woman into silence. Of course, in his imagination the circumstances would have been different. A perfect compliment, a life-altering good-night kiss. Presenting her with the ideal gift that left her speechless.
Declaring a woman lonely really shouldn’t have been on the list. But she was. He’d seen it on her face when she’d approached him outside the thrift store. She’d been curious, sure, but he’d also identified a flash of relief in her eyes when she’d seen him. Someone she already knew. Someone she could talk to. Like always recognized like.
“Hey, Ozzy. Figured you’d be by today.” Sebastian Evans, owner of the Cat’s Eye bookstore, zipped past him with his arms loaded with stock. “Just give me a second and I’ll grab your book.”
“No rush. I have something else to look for.” Only now did he dare glance at Jo, who appeared caught between shock and consideration. “I shouldn’t be too long.”
“Take your time.” Jo waved him off, stepping back and lifting her chin to scan the upper perimeter of the store. “There are cats on the walls.” She pointed up at the maze of platforms and ledges. “Actual cats.”
“That’s Zachariah.” Ozzy indicated the fluffy gray cat with bright blue eyes. “And the smaller gray one is Tribble. Do you like cats?”
“In theory.” Jo looked confused by the question. “I’ve never had one as a pet, though.”
“Dog person?”
“Never had one of those, either. Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Cats always land on their feet,” Sebastian chimed in as Tribble took a gravity-defying leap up a level. “Trust me, they won’t fall. We had a cat named Rowena for a while who used to leap down on male customers’ heads. Thankfully, she got adopted out pretty quick.”
“Sebastian, this is Jo Bertoletti. Jo, this is Sebastian’s store. Well, his and his family’s.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sebastian.” Jo, still looking somewhat distracted, shook his hand. “Interesting combination...books and cats.”
“My daughter, Mandy, takes in cats and kittens to foster while they wait for adoption. Thankfully, not as many as she used to. Putting the two together made sense for us.”
Ozzy thought about asking about the box of kittens Mandy had been lugging over to the vet’s office yesterday, then decided not to. He didn’t want to give the impression he was in the market for one. It wasn’t just Mandy who had a tendency of pawning off cute little fur balls on unsuspecting customers.
Ozzy wandered off to the home repair section, passing a few familiar faces as he went. The wooden shelves that filled the store had always brought him a sense of peace.
He’d spent countless hours perusing the stacks in this place over the years; he knew every inch of Cat’s Eye by memory, and why wouldn’t he? Ozzy’s escape, even when he was a kid, had always been books, all kinds. Fiction, nonfiction, informative, instructional. Between this store and the town library, his imagination had been busy even as his social life had been empty. Friday nights would often find him curled up in one of the reading corners getting his fix. Books had been his best friends, never judging, always accepting and always there when he needed them. Books, he’d learned early in life, were something he could trust. Now, with his job, the only time he had to read was during his downtime at the station.
Plucking a few books out, he finally found one on restoring vintage toys that had a good section on bicycles and old-fashioned wagons. Flipping through the pages, he headed up to the counter, where he found Jo and Sebastian deep in conversation over a familiar title.
“Sebastian was just showing me Hunter MacBride’s book on the Liberty Lighthouse.” Jo indicated one of Mayor Gil’s pet projects, which had brought the well-known photojournalist to town last year. “I have to add that place to my list of things to see. The architecture and restoration look amazing.”
“Kendall did a fabulous job,” Ozzy confirmed.
Sebastian retrieved a book from the special-order shelf behind him. “Here’s the book you ordered, Oz.”
“Thanks.” Ozzy tried not to notice Jo’s curiosity as she examined the cover.
“I think I can now guess three things about you, too,” Jo teased. “You play D&D?”
“Not as well as I used to,” Ozzy admitted as he thumbed through the character encyclopedia for Dungeons and Dragons. “I’ve been getting back into it. One of the guys I work with is starting a group. I need a refresher course.”
“Has to be Jasper,” Sebastian observed. “Roman wouldn’t have the patience.”
“We’ve almost got our co-chief to commit to giving it a try,” Ozzy said. “Jasper and Kyle are super into it. Not that Jasper has a lot of extra time, but Kyle has more than his share these days while his leg heals.”
“Are you talking about Kyle Knight?” Jo asked. “I need to speak to him, actually. In person if possible.”
“Kyle’s been helping out at the sheriff’s office with his dad on the weekends. Office stuff while he recovers.” Ozzy paid the bill after Sebastian rang him up. “We can head over there now if you’re up for it.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll also take this.” She paid for the book on the town’s lighthouse and accepted her Cat’s Eye reusable bag. “How cute.”
“You get ten percent off your purchase if you bring it back,” Sebastian said. “It was nice to meet you, Jo.”
“You, too.”
“Look at that. You’re up to four friends now,” Ozzy teased when they left the store.
“I’m not lonely.” It was the way she said it, with that knife’s edge sharpness, that had him regretting his previous cocky observation.
“All right.”
“Being alone doesn’t mean you’re lonely. And I’m not alone, remember?” She tugged her sweater over her stomach. “I don’t need anyone feeling sorry for me, Ozzy. I’m perfectly happy with my life and circumstance.”
“Message received.” He could see the muscle in her cheek pulse, as if she were grinding her teeth. “Being lonely isn’t a crime, just so you know. I mean, if you were.”
Judging by the sour expression on her face, she certainly considered it one. “You got two out of three.”
“I’m not out of guesses yet.” They came to the corner of Monarch Lane, just a couple of blocks away from the Butterfly Diner. He stopped and waited, not for her to continue the conversation, but for her to notice they were standing in the best part of this town. He’d lived here long enough to recognize that moment of realization, of accepting that what lay before you didn’t exist anywhere else on earth.
The waist-high stone retaining wall meandered along the length of the main thoroughfare of Butterfly Harbor. With the ocean stretching out in front of them and the town standing tall at their backs, this particular spot was where Ozzy came to reconnect and remind himself why he would never leave.
He leaned forward, just enough to watch the haughtiness evaporate from her gaze, replaced by the same wonder and awe he still felt whenever he walked the streets of his home. “I’ve got my third guess,” he said. “You, Jo Bertoletti, just fell in love.”
Jo blinked in shock, her gaze locked on his. For a moment, everything around them faded into the distance. He scanned her face, looking beneath the surprise and beautiful wide eyes. When he lifted his hand to brush hers, she stepped back and turned away.
She checked both directions of the road and waited for two cars to pass before heading across the street. He followed, a bit behind, giving her the space she needed to absorb the sight in front of her.
“I knew it would be beautiful,” she breathed when he joined her at the wall. “I mean, it�
�s the ocean. I’ve seen it before, of course. Just...not like this.”
Even from a distance Ozzy could almost feel the sand under his feet. The desire to kick off his shoes and sink ankle deep never dulled. To one side the beach stretched out and around outcroppings of rocks that peeked and played their way into the distant shore. Looking in the opposite direction, the Flutterby Inn stood proud on the commanding cliffs. Its yellow and white paint, glistening like a beacon, highlighted its classic Victorian structure. At the inn’s base far below, he could envision the path leading to the “secret” caves where he’d played as a child and where, only a few years ago, his life had changed.
“There’s a history here,” Jo said. “I can feel it. The ocean on its own is a powerful force, but it’s what it brings to the town.” She glanced up as a bright orange butterfly fluttered toward her on the wind. “Together it’s... I don’t know.” Jo reached up a hand and the butterfly skimmed over her finger. “It’s magic.”
“I’ve always thought so.” His heart did this odd little jump as the butterfly circled Jo’s head a few more times before flitting off toward the cliffs. “And with the butterfly sanctuary and education center, even more people are going to come here and be witness to it.”
Jo nodded, as if she’d only realized that herself. “How do people not just stand or sit here for hours?”
“Who says we don’t? Let’s go talk to Kyle. Then I’ll take you where you’ll get the best patty melt you’ve ever had in your life.”
“Now that would be a tall order,” Jo said as she walked beside him, keeping her eyes on the beach and water. “My grandfather used to make the best burgers. I have quite the critical palate when it comes to food like that.”
“Noted. And challenge accepted.” Ozzy kept the conversation light, and as they strolled to the sheriff’s office, he pointed out the entrance to the marina as well as the recently razed property where a new corner building would be built.
Building a Surprise Family Page 6