Love on Leave

by Leah McDonnell

  Copyright © 2019 by Leah M. McDonnell

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the owner/publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing, 2019

  Print ISBN 978-0-578-60605-7

  Publisher: LMCD Contact info available upon request.

  Portions of this book are works of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Portions of this book are works of nonfiction. Certain names and identifying characteristics have been changed.

  For More Information Visit: www.LeahMcDonnell.com

  In Loving Memory of My Dear Friend, Kristen

  I will always keep our adventures close to my heart,

  and our friendship embedded in my soul.

  “Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends leave footprints in your heart.”

  ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

  LOVE ON LEAVE

  Leah McDonnell

  CHAPTER ONE

  I close my eyes and step on, too afraid to look down as the numbers begin to climb. 186…187…188. Oh, come on! I groan as I stare down at 188.3 pounds. The number silently laughing as it beams up like a Times Square billboard. I fling my towel off and jump back on, praying we own the heaviest towels ever made. I watch as the number on the scale spins to 188.2. What the hell am I doing wrong? It’s probably a curse for calling the hundred and twenty-pound version of myself, fat in high school. Now I have the pleasure of battling the never-ending female “chub rub.” Yes, because nothing screams sexy like constantly digging shorts out of thigh fat!

  Defeated and slightly bitter two weeks in the gym hasn’t budged the scales, I carry on with normal morning rituals. Plucking grays and my daily Easter egg hunt for anything new growing, sagging or wrinkling on my face. “You’ve got to get this new 10X magnification mirror I’ve been using,” Lana said. “You’ll just love it,” she said. “It’s the greatest thing since men discovered the g-spot!” Blah, blah, blah...This thing is the damn devil!

  I’m pulled from my mid-life pity party as a traffic alert dings from my cell phone. My morning drive is going to be easy-breezy now that the tourists are gone. I smooth the front of my navy blue, pencil skirt and slide on my uniform-required beige pumps.

  I hold my head proudly as I snap the top gold button of my suit jacket and straighten my Katherine Vines name tag. I take one last glance in the mirror and smile. See! I may be forty-four, but I’ve still got it! You can kiss my lily-white butt, Father Time! I won’t mention the fact my feet are already killing me and I’ve had two hot flashes before I’ve even made it to the car.

  Pride and Prejudice spills from the speakers of my Tahoe, as I make the thirty-minute commute to Del Ray Island, Georgia, where I work as the General Manager for The Sun Crest. An upscale, all-inclusive beachside resort, boasting every over the top luxury money can buy. I pull into the parking deck just in time to catch Elizabeth Bennet turn down the douchebag, Mr. Collins.

  It’s late October and the final slew of peak season vacationers have checked out of their suites, leaving a battered hotel and exhausted staff in its wake.

  “Ah, Cody, it’s so nice of you to join us. Seagulls blocking the island bridge again?” Shaking off how annoyed I am at his tardiness.

  “Sorry, Ms. Vines. It was actually pelicans this time.”

  “Well, perhaps the pelicans can help you empty the ashtrays in the smoker’s lounge after we’re finished.”

  A huff escapes as he takes a seat. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The group makes a sad attempt to control their snickers as I pull out my notes and begin our weekly team meeting.

  “Now that we are all finally here, I’d like to congratulate everyone on a job well done. We made it through another crazy season!”

  A round of applause, high fives, and praise carries across the room. “Unfortunately…” I shout. The room, settling. “Y’all know what’s next.” Their smiles falling.

  “Ugh!” Landen throws his head back. “Freaking, inventory.”

  I lift my finger in the air and smile. “Ding, ding, ding! And Joe, I’d like you to head up the exterior year-end inventory. Start with large items… pool and beach loungers, umbrellas, and clam shades.”

  I take a sip of the overpriced coffee the resort provides, as the eyes of my management team gaze up from the massive conference room table.

  “Thanks to old man, Gibson and his love for the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet, we definitely have three loungers that’ll need replacing,” Landen teases, blowing out his cheeks to resemble the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.

  “You’d think with all that money he makes, he’d invest in a personal trainer,” Stewart, the catering manager chuckles out.

  As hard as it is, I refrain from joining in on the employee banter. I lean back in my chair and give a knowing smile. “The housekeeping team will log any items in rooms that need to be repaired or replaced. Stewart will work on food and beverage. In the meantime, I’ll be buried in my office working on next year’s budget and will make all necessary orders we need before Spring Break season begins.”

  “Whoa!” Brad’s eyes widen. “I know I’m still learning the ropes around here, but I thought we’d at least have a chance to catch our breaths from the summer and fall insanity before we start working on the next one.”

  The room erupts in laughter as Joe places his large, calloused, hand on Brad’s shoulder.

  “Welcome to the world of hotel management, Newbie. There are two things we do here… peak season and preparing for peak season.”

  After combing through the laundry list of to-do items, relief floods the team’s faces as I stand and stretch the ache out of my back. “Unless there are any further questions or issues we need to address, I’ll bring this meeting to a close.”

  They glare at each other and give the silent don’t you dare ask another question look.

  I grab my notepad and cell. “Well, alrighty! Have a good day everyone.”

  My sales manager, Shelby, the only person I don’t have to wear a “boss hat” with, and I walk out of the conference room and into the lobby of the grand Sun Crest exhibition hall.

  “How are group sales looking for next year?” I ask.

  She beams. Her dimples on full display. “Pretty darn good, actually. After the writer’s conference grabbed the open August date, it left us with only one weekend available. It’s Easter weekend, so I doubt a convention group will snag it up, but maybe a wedding party will.”

  “Sweet! One more reservation away. It doesn’t get much better than that! The higher up’s will be thrilled.”

  “Not to mention putting us one step closer to our bonus!” Her ginger waves bounce as she lifts her hand for a high five.

  I smack it. “Amen, sister!” Congratulating her on a job well done as I pile in my office to begin the daunting chore of year-end reporting.

  I’m three cups of coffee in when I hear my office door creak open. “Ms. Vines, I’m sorry to bother you when I know you’re crunching budget numbers…” Landen grimaces when he sees me lift a brow over my computer screen. “But there is a Mrs. Santos holding on line two.

  Says she’s a friend of yours.”

  I soften at the mention of my childhood friend’s name. “I’ll take it.”

  I place the phone to my ear. “And how exactly is my oldest and dearest friend in the world doing?
”

  “Oh, Kate! It’s so good to hear your voice! I feel like it’s been ages since we last talked!”

  “I know! Texting isn’t the same as a good old-fashioned phone call. How have you been?”

  “Well-LL,” Ashley draws out. “I have exciting news I wanted to share with you before it gets slapped all over social media. Our oldest, Savannah, got engaged Saturday night!”

  “Oh, congratulations, Ashley! I can’t even imagine how excited you and Nick are.”

  “Thank you! We couldn’t be happier for her. Tim is just a gem. Heaven-sent after the jerk she dated in college.”

  “So have they set a date yet?”

  She chuckles. “That’s actually the reason for my call. Savannah wants to have a beach wedding next spring and we couldn’t think of a more perfect place than The Sun Crest. We are going to invite the whole gang and make it a mini-reunion! Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

  Thirty minutes later Shelby’s bubbly voice echoes across my ocean view office. “Kate?”

  “Uh-huh?” I squeak out between long, slow breaths into the white paper bag I rummaged out of the trash.

  “Ummm…,” confusion setting in as she rounds the corner of my desk. “Do I dare ask why you’re hiding under your desk, hyperventilating into a McDonald’s bag?”

  I pull the crumpled bag from my mouth. “You know that open date we had for Easter weekend?” I ask, straight-faced.

  “Yeah?”

  “I filled it,” I say in disbelief.

  An ear to ear smile stretches across her face. “What!?” Her arms fly in the air as she turns a little happy dance. “Best. News. Ever!”

  “Yeah. Great.” I force out as I slowly crawl from my makeshift hole. “Just fantastic.”

  “Oh, try to contain your excitement.”

  I look up at her, unable to speak.

  She throws her hands on her hips. “Seriously, Kate. What’s wrong? You should be doing cart-wheels with me! Instead, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “No ghost. But, my past is definitely coming back to haunt me.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “You’ve been staring at that reservation calendar for months now,” Shelby says, breaking the daily torment the March 20th date has brought me since October.

  “Are you going to tell me who or what has you in this ridiculous state of anxiety?”

  “It’s a long story, Shelby.”

  “Yes. I know,” she groans. “You’ve been giving the same lame excuse for months. Now we’re only a week away and you could have told this so-called ‘long story’ fifty times already.”

  I jump, startled by the sound of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” blaring from my cell phone.

  “Saved by the bell!” I shout as Shelby gives an irritated side-eye.

  “Hello, Lana,” I grin, thankful for the interruption.

  “Busy?”

  “I’m always busy. Because us little people actually have to work for a living.”

  “I thought maybe you were drowning in your sorrows since today marks exactly one week until a certain you know who walks through those doors.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’m so sick of being reminded about this damn wedding, I could scream! Besides, how can you be so cavalier about it? I believe there is a certain skeleton in your closet who was invited to this little shindig as well.” “Ha!” she shouts. “Unlike you, I’m off the hook. My skeleton RSVP’d he couldn’t make it. So he’s staying in the closet, right where he belongs.”

  I fling my hand over my open ear. “Huh? I didn’t catch that.”

  “I said… HE’S. NOT. COMING!”

  “How many times do I have to tell you, Lana? I can’t hear you when you have the top down. It sounds like you’re driving through a hurricane!” I shout over the noise coming from her overpriced, Mercedes SLC.

  “Oh, Kate! Stop your bitchin’! I can’t help it that I get to enjoy this glorious spring day, while you’re stuck in…”

  Coughs, chokes, and spits blast through the phone.

  I laugh. “A bug flew in your mouth didn’t it?”

  “These fucking Georgia flies!” she chokes out.

  “You know they call that karma, right?”

  “You’re an asshole!” she spits.

  “Yeah, but you love me.”

  “I’m pulling up to the gym, so I need to run. But I was calling to see if you wanted to meet at The Docks for dinner?”

  “If it will get me off this wind-tunnel of a phone call, fine!”

  “See you at six!” she shouts, hanging up before I have a chance to preemptively parent her on the importance of timeliness.

  Our favorite seaside restaurant is buzzing with vacationers, their stress-free chatter carries through the room as our server, Collin, pours us each a glass of Pinot Grigio.

  “I can’t believe it’s Spring Break already,” Lana says, giving Collin undeniable bedroom eyes.

  “Yep! Off-season flew by,” I agree, letting out a heavy sigh as he walks away. “It was almost as fast as your fling with our, oh so, attentive server.”

  “I know, I know! Two weeks was a little fast to end it, even for me. But he wouldn’t stop trying to put his fingers in my butt!”

  I choke on wine. “Oh dear God, Lana! Ever heard of a thing called TMI?”

  She snarls her nose. “I’m all for games… but damn! He serves my food!”

  I shake my head as we both keel over in laughter. “I think I lost my appetite.”

  After finishing off our bottle of wine and an appetizer, we’d caught up on all the latest island gossip, the scoop on my ex-husband’s new ‘lady friend,’ and how the college term is going for my daughters, Olivia and Gentry.

  Lana leans in, her face unflinching. “So changing the subject to one you are so clearly trying to avoid. Are we going to talk about this big reunion of sorts, or are we going to continue to ignore it?”

  “No.” I shrug her off. “I’m hoping I will wake up and realize this was all a terrible nightmare.”

  “No such luck, my friend. It’s definitely happening. And the sand is quickly running out of the hourglass.”

  I throw my head back. “I know I’m being ridiculous,” I groan. “It’s just… it took me so long to finally put that chapter of my life behind me, the mere thought of having to open it back up, downright scares the hell out of me.”

  Her eyebrows raise. “But you have to admit, Kate.” Her perfectly manicured hand lifts an empty glass in the air. “It was one helluva chapter.”

  I nod as an uncontrollable smile grows. We tink our glasses.

  “It most certainly was.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “How was dinner with Lana last night?” Shelby asks as we sit on the floor of my office, stuffing plastic visors into Sun Crest welcome bags.

  “Oh, you know Lana. It’s never a dull moment!” I chuckle, a vision of Collin popping in my head.

  “Y’all have been friends since you were little, right?”

  “Yep! She has more dirt on me than a colony of ants. You wouldn’t believe the crazy stuff the two of us used to get ourselves into when we were younger.”

  “Well, ya know… now that inventory is complete, budgets are finished, the hotel is pristine and ready for the weekend, you’re officially out of excuses.” She gives a shit-eating grin. “And since we’re just sitting here filling bags, I can’t think of a more perfect time to tell me about one particular story.” Her eyes pleading for the scoop.

  I shake my head. “Fine! You win! I’ll tell you. But it’s a long roller coaster ride, so you better buckle in.”

  “Finally!” she shouts, kicking off her beige heals as she settles in for the proverbial stroll down memory lane.

  I crawl off the floor and slide into my black leather chair; unsure where to even begin. “It all started after the spring term of my sophomore year in college. I’d been back in Alpharetta for two weeks after completing semester finals at the University of Georgia…”


  “Wait! I didn’t know you went to Georgia. I thought you were a Cornell grad?”

  “I was.” I glance at the 1996 Cornell University diploma proudly displayed on my office wall.

  “But I did my core classes’ in-state.”

  I stand and slide my suit jacket off. “Although academics came naturally, I was in no way, shape, form, or fashion, a bookworm. I was driven, but didn’t let it consume me. I had goals, but didn’t let them strip me of the best years of my life. I was responsible, but didn’t let it stand in the way of having some good ole fashion fun every now and then.”

  “So how old were you when all this happened?” she asks.

  “Well, unlike the chubby mom bod I have now, I was a lanky, string bean, twenty-year-old. I’ve always been tall like my dad, but got the brown curls and hazel eyes from my mom. I guess you could say I was above average in the looks department, but I was never branded as a head-turner. I was excruciatingly flat-chested and after spending years incessantly trying to hide it with padded bras, I finally learned to embrace it. Unfortunately, it didn’t stop the guys from calling me ‘Fried Eggs and Ant Bites.’ And of course, I was a card-carrying member of the ‘Itty Bitty Titty Committee.’ My only hope was one day I’d marry a man who had plenty of money to buy me a set, or at the very least he’d be an ass man.”

  Shelby lips purse. “Boys could be such dicks! I was called ‘Speckles’ in middle school because I had coke bottle glasses and a face full of freckles. It haunted me for years!”

  I grimace. “That’s awful!”

  I pull us each a bottled water out of my mini-fridge and settle back into my chair.

  “Luckily for me, I wasn’t easily offended and could rock a dirty joke or throw out a dig as fast and funny as the guys did.”

  “I knew it!” She points her finger.