Under the Boardwalk

by Barbara Cool Lee

  What if she could get ninety percent? What if she could get ninety-five? Would it be enough?

  She thought of the vow she'd made to herself, to never again depend on a man for security and protection. It would be so easy accept this, to take this chance Kyle was offering her. Did she have the courage to do it? But to walk away—no admit it, to run away—from everything she wanted just because she was afraid of being hurt again, was that any answer?

  "Hallie!"

  "What?" She looked up.

  "It's your turn," Zac said, holding up the gray metal ring he'd just pulled from the ring machine. "Grab it."

  She looked down at the machine. The ring in the machine was brass, as shiny and golden as the day it was new.

  "Lucky dog," Chris said. "You got it."

  She stood and looked at the shiny brass ring, just waiting for her.

  "It's your turn," Zac said again.

  "Yes, it is," Hallie said, and took the ring.

  ~*~

  EPILOGUE

  Hallie opened the door of the storage unit and went inside. The horses lay there in the emptied-out space, all alone with their cracked wood and chipped paint and missing parts, just waiting for her. As they had waited for over sixty years for someone to come to them with an open heart. Someone to care.

  She closed the metal door behind her, shutting out the sounds of the amusement park outside. Over her head, the roller coaster clacked on its tracks, and the faint sound of the riders' muffled screams echoed through the building.

  She set down her satchel of carving tools and examined the bass wood in a neat stack in the corner. She picked up a piece and carefully checked it for quality. Yes. This would make a good replacement leg for Beauty. She carried that piece over to the rose-covered horse and set it down nearby. Her hands didn't hurt when she carried things, when she opened and shut doors, or even when she clenched and unclenched her fingers as she had day after day in physical therapy. No more pain. Still a little stiffness. Ninety percent recovered? Ninety-five? Who knew? Who cared? She would make up for any missing ability in careful, concentrated effort.

  She started her work.

  ~*~

  She looked up from Beauty's new leg hours later when the door opened.

  Through the sawdust in the air she saw Kyle silhouetted in the doorway, the sound of laughter and music behind him.

  "Lunch?" he asked. She saw the question in his eyes. Not just a question about taking a lunch break, but a question about them—would she try with him as well as the horses? Try to see if there was something between them that they could build into a lifetime?

  She brushed the sawdust off her tee-shirt and jeans and stood up. "Yeah, I'm game. Anything but veggie hot dogs."

  ~*~

  The blonde TV reporter from GB-TV motioned for Hallie and Kyle to stand side-by-side in front of the gold ribbon they were going to cut to officially open the carousel. "This will make a good shot, with the carousel behind you."

  Hallie patted down her curls self-consciously, then straightened her fuchsia suit and tried to relax.

  Kyle held a giant pair of scissors Tom had found somewhere (and Windy had helpfully spray-painted pink). He looked tense in his uniform of jeans, white shirt, dark jacket and bolo tie.

  "We're here with Kyle Madrigal and Hallie Reed of the Pajaro Beach Amusement Park. Today the park celebrates its grand re-opening, and behind us is the 1927 carousel found last year, and now restored and running for the first time today."

  The woman went on, asking Kyle questions about the history of the park, and Hallie about the carousel restoration process.

  All the while Windy and the twins stood in the crowd gathered behind the GB-TV cameraman, making faces at them while they tried to sound professional and answer the reporter's questions.

  Finally it was over, and the people gathered around all clapped when the ribbon was cut and the band organ, properly tuned at last, started playing.

  Kyle took Hallie by the hand and swung her up next to him on the carousel itself. They stood by the rose horse as the ride started to revolve. She could feel the horse's roses at her back as she leaned against it and looked up at Kyle.

  He kissed her.

  "Hey," she said. "This is a bit public, isn't it?" She noticed the cameraman was still filming, and no one else had gotten on the ride yet. "Don't you think we should stop the ride and let everyone get on?"

  Kyle shook his head. "The first ride is for you." He lifted her up and she sat on the rose horse. He stood beside her, holding her around the waist. The crowd around the ride was just a blur as they revolved.

  No one shouted, or cheered. They all stood and watched the carousel with its two riders. Funny.

  Kyle looked disconcertingly like his little sister at the moment, with a silly grin on his face like he was holding back some secret.

  "Aren't you going to grab the ring?" he finally asked when she just sat there, staring down at him. She reached out automatically as they passed the ring dispenser, and she caught the ring on the first try.

  It was brass, of course, gleaming like new. And attached to it by a white ribbon was another ring. This one was tiny, and gold, with the littlest diamonds around the band.

  He took it from her. "I'm hoping you weren't counting on something with five carats from Tiffany's," he said.

  She held out her finger and he slipped it on.

  "Let me guess: it was great-grandmother Rose's."

  He kissed her. "Of course. It's the ring for the matriarch of the Madrigal family."

  "That would make you the patriarch."

  "Yup," he said. "This is who I am and what I am. My job is to hold the family together for another generation—"

  "—until our kids take it over from us."

  He nodded. "It's a lot to take on, Hallie. A big family, a long history. You'd always be tied to one place and one family."

  It—and he—was everything she had every hoped for, every dream she'd ever dreamed fulfilled.

  "So you'll marry me?" he asked, a bit tentatively, as if there could be any doubt.

  "Of course," she said. "After all, who am I to stand between a man and his mission in life?"

  ~END~

  Spend Christmas in Pajaro Bay:

  Ashby Drew took the flyer the teenager handed her and looked for a place to sit in the crowd on the beach. The long walk from the bus station down to the oceanfront had tired her more than she expected. She hadn't gotten much exercise in a 6x8 cell.

  The beach held quite a crowd for such a tiny coastal town. If this year was anything like it used to be when she lived here, everyone in the village had shown up.

  A woman with curly red hair carrying a ginger-haired baby in a front carrier waved to her.

  Ashby looked around, but didn't see anyone else the woman could be waving to.

  "Yeah, you," the redhead said. "Have a seat."

  Ashby sat down on the folding chair next to her.

  "I've been new, too," the woman said.

  Ashby started to correct her, but then just said, "thanks."

  The woman nestled the baby closer, and he sighed in his sleep. He was comfy in his baby blue carrier, his little sailor hat shading his face from the brilliant sunshine. Ashby felt tears sting her eyes. Must be the brightness of the sun. Or something else. After all, it had been nine years, ten months and eighteen days since she'd last been this close to a baby.

  "He's dressed for the occasion," the woman said. "Perfect fall day on the California coast, isn't it?"

  Ashby nodded. She had dreamed of this kind of day for so long. The women's prison in the Central Valley was stale and dark, hot in summer and cold in winter.

  A day like this was a gift, with the sky a rich blue, the sun already warming the sand under their feet, and the breeze wafting the tang of ocean air gently toward them. It was a dream. A dream needing only one more wish fulfilled to make it perfect.

  She uncrumpled the flyer in her hand and looked at it. Official Ki
ck-Off to Pajaro Bay's Christmas Season: The Cowabunga Kid and Canine Surfing Event, Hosted by Santa. Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to Whenever. Followed by beach picnic and pie-eating contest.

  Farther down the beach the driftwood campfires for the hot dog roasting were already going strong. The sharp smell of the smoke mingled with the sea air, and she was suddenly far away, with Xander O'Keeffe whispering to her by a long-ago campfire. The memory was so vivid she could feel his breath against her ear, and she had to focus hard on the flyer to bring herself back to the present.

  Then she noticed what had been right in front of her all the time. The flyer was in bright, happy colors, with a photo of a grinning little black-and-white dog balanced on the front of a pink surfboard, surrounded by frothy white surf.

  And on the back of the board stood a girl. A girl with a grin as big as the dog's. Even in the still picture Ashby could see the high energy in the kid, the excitement in her eyes as she perched effortlessly atop the longboard. The girl had long golden hair in twin braids brushing her shoulders, and a tan that spoke of too many days at the beach without enough sunscreen. She wore a pink-flowered bikini like a second skin.

  Ashby caressed the caption under the picture with one finger: National Youth Champion Ria O'Keeffe will be special guest at this youth surfing event.

  National Youth Champion.

  Ashby rested her palm on the photograph. To be a national champion youth surfer was quite an achievement for a little girl who was only nine years, ten months and eighteen days old....

  Christmas in Pajaro Bay, a full-length romantic mystery, will be available this winter.

  (Yes, Pajaro Bay folks, that friendly redhead is Camilla Stewart-Knight from The Honeymoon Cottage and that's her new baby with Ryan! You'll see more of them in the Christmas novel, as well as Hallie & Kyle from Under the Boardwalk, and Lori and Matt from Shadow's Lady. But Christmas in Pajaro Bay is mainly about newspaper editor Alec O'Keeffe, his daughter Ria, and Ria's long-lost mom, Ashby Drew. Can they become a family at last, or will the danger from Ashby's past keep them apart?)

  Send an email to barb@BarbaraCoolLee.com if you'd like to know when the next Pajaro Bay story is released (and get first notice of free book giveaways and contests).

  ~*~

  A Note about Carousels

  Marcus Charles Illions was a real person. His Illions Supreme carousel is considered by many to be the epitome of the carousel carver's art. In reality, there were only three Supreme carousels ever produced (only one, last displayed in Pomona, California, has survived the ravages of time). Pajaro Bay's fictional fourth Supreme carousel, with its signature "flower horse," is based on the Pomona carousel. To learn more about the history of carousels and the artists who created them, I recommend:

  Art of the Carousel by Charlotte Dinger

  Painted Ponies: American Carousel Art by William Manns (that's the Illions rose horse on the cover)

  Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses by Murray Zimiles

  ~*~

  Recipe

  A recipe from each Pajaro Bay book is posted on Barb's website. Featured recipe from Under the Boardwalk is Huevos Ranchero, Madrigal Style. Go to http://www.BarbaraCoolLee.com to try it yourself.

  ~*~

  Charities

  10% of the proceeds from every Pajaro Bay novel is donated to charities whose work is connected to the topic of the book. The following charities will receive quarterly donations from sales of Under the Boardwalk:

  Foster Care to Success (http://www.fc2success.org), providing college funds and support for foster kids. Many people don't realize how many foster kids "age out" of the system without ever being adopted. These resilient young people need support and encouragement to continue their educations so they can succeed in life.

  Santa Cruz Mission Park & Castro Adobe (http://www.thatsmypark.org/projects/castro-adobe/ and http://www.thatsmypark.org/projects/santa-cruz-mission/). The Castro Adobe is the model for the fictional Madrigal Rancho, and is being restored by volunteers interested in preserving California's past for future generations.

  Thank you for supporting these organizations through your purchase of Pajaro Bay stories. You can find links to all the charities receiving donations from Pajaro Bay by visiting http://www.BarbaraCoolLee.com.

  ~*~

  And, finally, Thank You

  I know you have a lot of choices of books to read, and I appreciate you giving Under the Boardwalk a try. Thanks so much!

  I really appreciate honest reviews from readers. If you have a couple of minutes, I would love it if you'd rate and review Under the Boardwalk at Amazon.com, Goodreads.com, or any other site you use to find new books and authors. That really helps me improve my writing, and of course it helps other readers to find my books, too!

  Thanks again.

  ~Barb

  Table of Contents

  Section 1