Hearts of Emerald Bay

by D G Barnes

  Dana took another swallow and recounted everything that had happened since George had given her the news at the awards ceremony, including her meeting with Cathy Jennings.

  “Well, what does that woman know anyway? Your books are all sorts of wonderful. Besides, she’s probably jealous because she’s never experienced the kind of things romance writers write about.”

  “Thanks for saying that. I knew I kept you around for a reason.”

  “You know it.” More chips crunched, and Dana wished she had a bag. “Sweetie, I can’t tell you what the best thing for you to do is, but I can tell you that long-distance relationships seldom work, especially when you’re just getting used to one another. That’s not to say yours won’t, but the odds are against it, and from what you have told me, it sounds like Mac may already have figured that out.”

  Dana sniffed. “Thanks, Jen. I already knew that I guess. I just needed to hear someone say it out loud.”

  “Good. But I don’t want you to rush to any decisions. Sleep on it, and when you get back, you and Mac need to sit down and have a serious talk. Find out where she stands, and how she really feels about you. And how you feel about her.”

  “I’m falling in love with her, Jen. Or, maybe I already have.” The words came out of her mouth as easily as if she were saying her own name.

  “Even more reason to talk to her, and for god’s sake, tell her how you feel.” There was a pause, and Dana could have sworn she heard sniffling coming from the phone.

  “Don’t you start crying,” Dana scolded. “You’ll get me crying again.”

  “Okay,” Jenny blubbered.

  Damn it. “Thanks, Jen! I told you not to do that. I’m hanging up now. I’ll call you when I land tomorrow.” She sniffed, and the tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Okay, sweetie. Sleep well. Love you.”

  “Love you too,” Dana replied and ended the call.

  She grabbed a tissue and cleaned her face, thinking about what Jenny had said. She needed to talk to Mac, needed to be with her. She picked up her phone and dialed the airline. There had to be an earlier flight home.

  ***

  Mac sat perched on her stool behind the bar. Gary and Mark chatted from their usual places at the bar, talking about the Blue Jays’ odds this year. She held the folded newspaper, tapping it with her pencil. Seven across, set of rungs, six letters. Mac thought for a moment. Ladder. Which left four down. Scully of X-Files, four letters. Mac scowled at the page. She should know this, but it wasn’t coming.

  “Hey, guys.” She looked over at Gary and Mark. “What was Scully’s first name on the X-Files?”

  “Dana,” Ricky answered as he wheeled a new draft keg in on a dolly.

  Her stomach tightened at the name. It seemed the more she tried to prepare for the fact Dana was soon leaving her life, the more things reminded her of her. She wrote in the missing letters and tossed the paper on the counter. The universe was being a bitch.

  Today was here and she was dreading it. Dana would be back soon, and she would probably want to carry on as if nothing had changed. They’d have to discuss their future, what little of it remained. She snorted. Sure, it sounded good in theory. Phone calls, and texts. Trips home on the holidays. It wouldn’t work. It never did. There was a reason why she had never allowed herself to become too attached to anyone in the past. She wondered if she would be strong enough to do what was coming next.

  After stretching, she helped Ricky replace the empty keg. She squatted and fastened the coupler to the new keg as he pulled the empty one away. When she stood again, she jumped with a start, not expecting to see the man who was standing at the bar.

  “I’m terribly sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “It’s all right. No harm done. Nothing like a good scare to get the blood pumping.” She grabbed a nearby rag and wiped her hands. “Can I get you something?”

  “No, thank you,” he replied. “I’m looking for a Miss Taylor Mackenzie.”

  Mac raised an eyebrow. She didn’t know this man and had no idea why he would be looking for her. “I’m Taylor Mackenzie.”

  He produced a manila envelope, seemingly from nowhere, and handed it to her. “You’ve been served.” His eyes were almost apologetic. He turned and left without another word.

  She stared after him, dumbfounded. Once the stranger was out the door, she turned her attention to the envelope in her hand.

  Ricky had stopped at the doorway while the man was speaking and was now at her side. Hesitantly she tore open the envelope and pulled the document from it. Turning, she rested her backside against the counter and read.

  “What is it, Mac?” Ricky asked.

  As she looked at him, her anger grew, and tears welled in her eyes. “Doris,” she spat, “is suing for custody of Ellie.”

  ***

  Nervous and excited would be the best way to describe how Dana felt. She had changed her return ticket to an earlier flight Monday evening, opting to fly throughout the night to get her back in Emerald Bay early Tuesday afternoon. She was tired from not getting much sleep on the plane and from her thoughts rehearsing what she would say to Mac when she saw her.

  She stopped her BMW in the main parking lot of The Rusty Anchor, checked her face in the rear-view mirror, then headed inside. The place was quiet with only six people seated at different tables eating a late lunch. Another three people sat at the bar, talking, and enjoying their beer.

  Ricky looked up as she approached.

  “Hey, Ricky. Mac around?”

  “Yeah. In her office.”

  “Great. Thanks.” She moved past the bar, but before she could go any further, Ricky blocked her path.

  “Dana, before you go in there, there is something you need to know.” He took her elbow and guided her out of earshot of the patrons at the bar.

  Panic gripped her, and she glanced rapidly between Ricky and Mac’s closed office door. “What is it, Ricky? Is she hurt?”

  “No. Nothing like that. She’s fine…physically.”

  “Thank god,” she said placing a hand on her chest. “Then what is it?”

  There was a pause before he spoke again. “Doris is suing for custody of Ellie. She’s using the incident of Ellie’s drunkenness and her witnessing you and Mac being…well, intimate in front of her.”

  Dana stared at him in disbelief. “That bitch,” she muttered. She was angry as hell, but her concern for Mac was greater. “Thanks for letting me know.” She moved past him and headed for the office.

  She softly rapped on the door a couple of times, then opened it, not waiting for a reply from inside. She stepped in, and Mac looked up from the document she held in her hands. Her face was a mixture of emotions, anger mostly, but there was also worry and fear in her eyes. She didn’t move from her desk, just sat there and looked– glared would be a better term–at her. Dana took a step forward and swallowed. She wanted to wrap her arms around her, hold her, tell her everything was going to be okay. But she wasn’t getting a welcoming vibe. It would be best to tread lightly.

  “Hey,” she said softly. “Ricky told me what happened. I’m so sorry, Mac.”

  Mac didn’t respond. Her expression remained unreadable. She dropped the document onto the desk and straightened in her chair. “Yeah, well. I’m not surprised. I should have seen this coming.” Her tone was harsh, and Dana wondered if she was directing it at her.

  “So, what happens now?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll figure something out.”

  “Did you call your lawyer? What did he say?”

  Mac slammed her palms on the desk and stood quickly, sending her chair banging loudly against a file cabinet. Dana jumped, taking an involuntary step back as a bolt of fear shot through her.

  “No, Dana,” she snapped. The volume of her voice increased. “I didn’t call my god damn lawyer because I don’t have one. He retired last month, and I haven’t got a new one.”

  Once the shock of Mac’s unexpecte
d outburst had passed, Dana spoke, trying to maintain a calm voice. She understood why Mac was upset but not why she was yelling at her. “Let me call Jason. He might be able—”

  “No! This is my problem. I’ll take care of it on my own.”

  “Mac, please. Let me help,” she pleaded. “I want to be there for you.”

  Mac’s eyes flashed. “Be there for me? Be there?” she yelled. “How in the hell can you be there if you’re on the other side of the god damn country? Huh?”

  Dana stared at her, speechless. What the hell? The job? Was that it? Was this why she was on the receiving end of all this anger? If she could only explain. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her eyes welled. She took a breath.

  “But Mac, I’ve decide—”

  Mac held up a hand and shook her head. “Don’t,” she ordered. “The most important things in my life are Ellie and this bar. That is where my focus needs to be. Especially now. Had I kept it there to begin with, I might not be in the middle of this shit storm. It was a mistake allowing myself to get involved with you. For allowing this distraction to carry on as long as it has.”

  A scimitar couldn’t have sliced any deeper than Mac’s words. Dana found it hard to breathe. No! This can’t be happening. Mac moved from behind the desk and approached. She felt like a prisoner inside her own body, seeing through her eyes but unable to do anything. The world seemed to move in slow motion, and she felt herself taking another step back, out of the office. Tell her you love her; tell her! The voice inside her head screamed, but she couldn’t move her lips to form the words.

  “I’m sorry, Dana, but this is the way it has to be.”

  The office door closed with a soft click, but the sound reverberated inside her head with the loudness and finality of a steel prison cell door slamming shut.

  “I love you,” she whispered to the door. The tears she had held now streamed freely down her cheeks. She stood there letting the reality of what had happened sink in. That was it then. It was over. The things she wanted to say to Mac, the feelings she wanted to express would go unspoken.

  So, what now? There was no reason for her to stay in Emerald Bay. She would return to the beach house and call Jenny, let her know what happened. Maybe she would come and stay with her, help her pack her stuff. Silly, of course she would come. Nothing short of Armageddon would stop Jenny if she needed her, and she did need her.

  She needed to leave before she broke down further and crumbled to the floor in a sobbing mess. As she turned to head for her car, a quivering voice spoke her name. Ellie stood at the bottom of the staircase to her loft. Her cheeks were wet with tears. Dana wiped her eyes and moved quickly to her, pulling her into an embrace.

  “Oh, sweetie, how much did you hear?” Dana asked softly.

  “Enough.” She sniffed.

  “I’m sorry, Ellie. I wish you hadn’t.” She kissed her forehead and rocked her gently.

  “Are you going to leave? Leave Emerald Bay?” She looked up with red, puffy eyes.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “But what about my story? You have to help me finish it,” Ellie said pleadingly.

  She gave her the best smile she could, wiping at her own eyes. “Your story is perfect. There is nothing left for me to show you. But, please, let me know how you make out with the contest. Okay? You have my number, right?”

  Ellie nodded, and Dana gave her another hug. “You can call or text me anytime you like. If it’s okay with your aunt, that is.”

  “Okay.” Her voice cracked. “I’m going to miss you. Maybe someday you and Mac can try and patch things up?” A glimmer of hope flickered in the girl’s eye, and it touched Dana.

  “Maybe,” she said, knowing it was unlikely, but not wanting to dash the girl’s hopes. “I’m going to miss you too, Ellie. Look out for Mac for me, okay?” She gave her another squeeze before heading out the back door of The Rusty Anchor for the last time.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The steady thump of the bass from the DJ’s speakers hit Mac and shook her body. She had her eyes closed as she swayed in her chair letting herself become lost in the rhythm of the music. When the song ended, she opened her eyes and tipped back the beer bottle in her hand, swallowing the last of its contents. The bottle hit the table with a thud as she set it down a bit harder than she had intended, rattling the two empties already there.

  It was a typical Friday night at The Rusty Anchor. The dance floor was full of twenty-somethings, their bodies gyrating and bumping against their partners in a ritualistic mating dance. Mac recognized her regulars, the ones that showed up on a Friday to party with their friends, looking to get lucky or to blow off steam at the end of their work week. There were also several people she didn’t know. Not unusual as The Rusty Anchor was extremely popular with the younger crowds from the surrounding communities.

  As if on cue, another beer was set in front of her. Mac looked up at Sara who was holding a tray with several drink orders. “When did you learn to read minds?” Mac asked, yelling over the music.

  Sara shook her head and leaned closer. “Not me. You have an admirer.” She pointed to an attractive young woman sitting at the end of the bar.

  Mac looked over and the woman raised her drink in salute and smiled sweetly at her. Not exactly what Mac had in mind for tonight but, whatever. She held up the beer and returned the gesture.

  She had felt like crap for days after she had ended things with Dana. When she had closed her office door, she had leaned against it and sunk to the floor. She sat there and cried for a long time, the emotions becoming too much. There had been instant regret for what she had said to Dana. Though she held true to her conviction that her focus needed to be on Ellie and the Anchor and that ending things with Dana had been the right choice, by no means had Dana been just a distraction. Maybe at first, but it had quickly become more than that, and that was what tore at her.

  The people who were closest to her had supported her when she told them it was over with Dana. She could tell they didn’t necessarily agree with her reasoning. Her mother had sat her down shortly after and Mac had poured her heart out. “Ellie needs you and the Anchor needs you. That is true. But my dear, they don’t need one hundred percent of you. You have room in your life for the other things that matter to you, things of the heart. You need to let yourself let them in,” she had said. Her mother was probably right; she usually was. Ellie had outright refused to speak to her for three days, opting instead to communicate with short texts and preferring to be where Mac wasn’t.

  It had taken a couple of weeks, but things were slowly returning to normal. Ellie had started the new school year, and the excitement of seeing classmates after a long summer, meeting her new teachers, and all the things that came with it kept her mind busy. Ricky had stopped walking on eggshells when she was around. He was sympathetic but had reminded her she still had a business to run.

  Mac was glad for that, but for her, things wouldn’t be completely normal until this business with Doris and the court appearance were over. And of course, there were the constant reminders of Dana: the sofa in her loft where the first spark ignited; the rear parking lot of the Anchor where they had first kissed; her bed where they had spent many wonderful nights. The biggest reminder was the caricature Dana and Ellie had posed for, the one Dana had put into a proper frame for Ellie and hung over her desk. The one drawn so well and with such detail that each time Mac looked at it her stomach pulled, and she found herself missing Dana all over again. There were the numerous Dana sightings that had her doing a double take every time a brunette with Dana’s general build walked by. It was ridiculous, and she knew it; Dana was living on the other side of the country by now, out of reach forever.

  Mac needed to let loose and burn off steam too, and tonight was going to be it. Ellie was sleeping at Monica’s, so she booked herself off from bar duty and settled herself at a small table not far from the bar.

  “This seat taken?”

  She looked up, drawn
from her thoughts by the voice. The young woman, no more than twenty-five she guessed, stood beside the chair opposite her, smiling. Mac motioned toward the chair and lifted her beer. “Please. And thank you for this.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said as she sat. “You looked lonely sitting over here by yourself.”

  Mac raised an eyebrow. “I did, did I?” She studied the woman. Straight black hair hung just past her ears, and her dark skin appeared smooth and flawless in the subdued light of the tavern. Her dark eyes glimmered, and full luscious lips pulled up showing pearly white teeth.

  The woman took a sip from the glass she held. “Yeah, you did. Am I wrong?”

  Mac shrugged. “Maybe. But I guess you’ve solved that issue now.” The stranger stood and pulled her chair around the table closer to her.

  “That’s better,” the woman said, leaning close to her ear. “Now we don’t have to scream to hear each other. My name is Kayla.”

  Whatever scent Kayla wore was intoxicating. Mac drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. Certain parts of her body were already making demands on how this evening needed to end. “Mac,” she replied.

  Kayla pulled her head back and gave her a puzzled look. “Mac?”

  “My last name is Mackenzie. I go by Mac.”

  “Oh! Okay. So, your first name is?”

  “Not important.”

  Kayla nodded in appreciation. “So then, not important. You live around here?”

  “You could say that. How about you? Where are you from?” Mac asked, not breaking eye contact.

  “How do you know I’m not from around here?”

  “Oh, trust me; I’d remember if I’d seen you around here before.”

  Kayla pulled back and glared. “Was that a racial thing you just said there?” She pointed an accusatory finger at her.

  Mac’s eyes widened as panic set it. “No! No! God no! I didn’t…I mean…” She stopped sputtering when Kayla laughed and took great pleasure from her discomfort. Soon Mac was laughing with her.

  “That was too easy,” Kayla said. “But to answer your question, I live in White’s Bay.”