“You’re lucky. When I remodeled that old fish hatchery of mine, I didn’t have the advantage of hiring local talent. I had to hire a contractor out of San Sebastian and rely on his carpenters. Ryder, Troy, and Zach are a cut above the ones I used.” Perry looked around at the space, the size of the kitchen, and the dining area. “This isn’t that roomy but you’ve utilized every inch of space.”
“Logan’s doing,” Thane explained. “I consulted him with an idea and he drew up a plan. Ryder, Troy and Zach followed through by stretching it into what we hope works on a daily basis. At least, I hope my chef thinks so too.”
“Who’d you get to cook?”
“Fischer Robbins from Café Papillon near the bowery.”
Perry nodded and smiled knowingly. “French background to Italian pizza, that’s a crazy chef for you. I’ve known a few in my time. Look, if you need anything at all, you let me know.”
“You shouldn’t offer that because I’m sure I’ll bug the hell out of you.”
“Bug away.” Perry turned his attention to Lilly’s drawings. “Longboard Pizza. Great name. I like it.”
“Izzy thought it up,” Jonah said, pointing to the figure standing in the doorway.
Thane followed his son’s stare and said, “Hey, we were just about to come over and check on you.” He looked her up and down in a thorough inspection. “Should you be out riding your bike with that bum knee of yours?”
“I’m fine. I had to get out. I felt too cooped up to stay inside. It’s such a pretty day I walked here. Besides, exercise is good for the circulation, works out the soreness. What are you guys up to?”
Thane made the introductions to Perry and Lilly. “Lilly’s working on my sign and Perry’s here to offer his critique.”
“No critique. I like what I see so far,” Perry said, turning to Isabella. “I hear you thought up the name.”
Izzy lifted one shoulder. “Seemed appropriate, what with these two loving to surf as much as they do.”
“Well, it works. What you want is a catchy name that stands out. People will easily remember Longboard Pizza, those coming up from L.A. or over from San Sebastian. How many tables are you planning?” Perry asked, making a mental measure of the room.
“Six inside and three out.”
“Outside? Where?” Isabella asked in surprise skimming the stingy amount of space. “On the street?”
Thane got up and walked over to the south window, shot a thumb in the direction of a weeded lot through a side door. “It doesn’t look like much I know. But it came with the property. My plan is to take advantage of every square inch by pouring concrete in the eight by twelve foot area and turn it into a garden-like setting with a few plants.”
Isabella and Perry went over to inspect the overgrown weed patch but it was Perry who noted, “It has potential. String some lights overhead. Give it an Italian sidewalk café feel and it’ll be perfect.”
“That would be one way to go,” Isabella offered in disagreement.
“What would you do?” Perry asked, leaving Thane out of the discussion.
“Just because you’re serving Italian dishes and pizza, doesn’t mean you have to play up the sidewalk café or bistro motif, especially here in a small town. People like the idea of something that stands out.”
“Go on,” Perry prompted.
Izzy opened the door and stood on the dirt surveying the overgrown lot. “For starters out here on the patio you’ll need more than a few plants. I’d say, start with a simple bed along the building to the border of the cement. Play up the outdoor setting with various herbs, like rosemary. It grows taller than you think and is often used as a hedge. And you’ll need an overhang in the event of bad weather.”
“Oh, I like this girl,” Perry decided. “So, no bistro angle then? It is a tiny space. What does he do for the inside?
She hobbled back into the place, tilted her head to study the windows and walls. “You’ll have tourists in the summer, but the locals will be your bread and butter. Play up the name of the restaurant, Longboard and Pizza. Make it a tribute to what you love to eat, what you enjoy doing, and that’s living by the ocean, making your life here.” She turned in a circle but then stopped short when she thought of something else. “Oh. Wait. I’m forgetting you obviously do love football. You are a former jock.”
“That’s okay,” Thane said with a grin. “Everyone will expect a former player to cram his restaurant with football memorabilia. There’s a ton of players who do that. Let’s do something different, go another direction. I grew up here surfing long before I ever started playing football. I taught Jonah how to dog paddle out in the bay on one of the visits to see my mother. This will give customers a glimpse into the new me. I’ve moved on from football, they should too.”
“Are you sure?” Izzy asked. “Because we can certainly think up a name that reflects your time spent with the Giants.”
“Nope. I like the surfing idea. What about you, Jonah?”
“Yeah, I like that, too.”
“Well, I happen to think the girl knows her stuff,” Perry said in delight. “You should listen to her. I can’t wait to hear what else she has on her mind.”
“Really?” Isabella said, a bit astonished.
“Absolutely. What about the tables? If you lose the sidewalk café feel, what’s left for the tables?” Perry wanted to know.
“No tablecloths, that’s for sure, too formal and predictable. Instead, once again, play up the surfing angle.” She chewed on her lower lip and finally added, “You could buy old recycled tables, use old surfboards for the tabletops. Laminate them, that way it would be a lot less maintenance. Laminate is durable and keeps its gloss over time. Just wipe up and go.”
Thane’s mouth dropped open. “That’s…brilliant.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far,” Isabella said. “But I do know that just because you offer casual dining, it doesn’t mean that it has to look tacky or predictable.”
Perry nodded in approval. “Nice touch. My guess is though you’ll have a lot of takeout, the casual diner. Picture the phone ringing off the wall, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. It won’t hurt to be prepared for the weekend dine-in crowd though. And you’ll obviously stay busy during weekdays at lunch. Maybe you could create a few specials for that, offer smaller pizzas during the week. Then there’s the after-church crowd on Sundays. You will be open then, right?”
“Sure.” Pleased that they took such an interest in how the place looked, Thane took advantage of their expertise and presented them with another problem he’d been mulling over. “I hate leaving the walls white. But I have no idea which way to go in here. All I know is that I want it to pop. What would you suggest for the interior décor?”
Isabella thought for a moment. “To stand out, I’d go with a map on the wall depicting all the legendary surfing spots up and down the California coast.” Not waiting for a reply or reaction to her suggestion, she went on, “You could do actual surfing photos or a mural.”
Thane laughed and looked at Jonah, ruffled his hair. “Okay, I guess we know where to go for the best advice on decorating.” He glanced over at Lilly. “Could you do a mural like that if I provide a few pictures?”
“Absolutely. Or anything else you come up with. Everything you do in here sets the tone for the restaurant.”
“I’m excited, Daddy,” Jonah admitted.
“Me, too, Jonah. Me, too.” And for the first time since coming back home and starting this crazy project, he really meant it.
After Lilly and Perry left, Ryder, Zach and Troy broke for lunch, leaving a serene, peaceful cloud hanging in their wake.
Thane took the opportunity to turn to Isabella and opened the laptop he’d brought with him. He logged in, hit a few keystrokes to get to the website where he stored the pictures online he’d taken himself.
“You mentioned surfing photos and it got me to thinking. There’s this trip I took up the coast with a bunch of guys in high school
. We went to a place known as Mavericks near Pillar Point Harbor.” He angled the screen where she could see the photo. “Would this do for a focal point on the wall?”
She studied an image of a young man about seventeen, but even then he sported muscular shoulders. He wore a wetsuit, his hair wet and long and he stood smiling holding his surfboard. “This is perfect. This is exactly what represents that glimpse into your history and your link to California and ultimately your ties to the town.”
“You think so?”
“Definitely. People will love seeing this on the front wall. The great Thane Delacourt as a teenager before he made it to the NFL.” She began to hit the arrow keys which revealed more of his personal snapshots. When she landed on an aerial view of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges that spanned the East River, she looked over at him. “These are stunning shots. You’re a good photographer.”
“I took most of these the first year I played for the Giants.” He chuckled. “I remember walking around the city like a tourist with a Nikon strapped around my neck. It was fairly embarrassing because I wouldn’t go anywhere without it. Back then, I must have taken a picture of anything that moved and a whole lot that didn’t.”
Aw, how endearing was that? she decided as she continued to click through the string of albums. Studying each shot, she focused on the panoramic view of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge lit up at night. One in particular caught her eye. “You must have taken this photo walking across the bridge toward the city.”
He enjoyed watching her eyes sparkle as she flicked through each folder. It was almost like touring New York with her by his side.
When her eyes landed on a view of the skyline at sunset, her enthusiasm burst out, “Oh, my God, this is beautiful.”
Thane peered around, smiled. “I took that from the terrace at The River Café, first-time diner and nervous about getting an invite to a black-tie private party to eat with the mayor. That’s the New York Harbor and across that is, Manhattan in the background.”
“The River Café, that’s the restaurant under the Brooklyn Bridge, right?”
Thane laughed. “Yeah. It was fairly impressive. That was before Hurricane Sandy hit though and closed the place down. It took them fifteen months to remodel the place to get it back to the way it had been. It only reopened this past February. But the memories I have of the night I took all these pictures are still with me.”
“Well, the view is absolutely spectacular. You captured the exact amount of light. It offers the best of both daylight and dusk.” She turned in a circle, faced the side wall. “You’ve come full circle here, haven’t you, Thane?”
“I guess I have. Look, if you’re free tonight, how would you like to come by the house and have a meal with Jonah and me? It won’t be River Café fancy, but you won’t go away hungry. I’ll pop in his favorite movie, Despicable Me, which is Jonah’s favorite movie at the moment. That changes with the tide…” His voice trailed off because he could see the invitation put her off. “Obviously, you aren’t interested. Sorry I misread all this, what we’re doing now, as interest.”
“I have to go,” she said with enough frost in her voice to form a small iceberg.
Nonplussed at her change in attitude, Thane watched her pivot on her bum knee and all but bolt out the front door as fast as she could manage to walk.
A couple of minutes later the guys came back in to finish up their work for the day.
“What happened with Isabella?” Zach asked Thane.
“What do you mean? Why do you ask?”
“Because I just saw her storm out of here.”
“She did, didn’t she? Damned if I know why. We were having a normal conversation about the images to use as wall décor and when I asked her if she wanted to come over to the house to have dinner and a movie, she couldn’t get out of here fast enough.”
“Hmm, I guess it isn’t just me then. She’s snobby like that to everyone.”
“Told you it wasn’t personal,” Troy tossed out as he went to pick up his drill to get back to installing shelving and cabinets.
“What are you guys talking about?” Thane wanted to know.
“Isabella. She’s been standoffish for months now, ever since she got here,” Zach grumbled.
“Ah, well, I didn’t know you two had a thing going on,” Thane stated.
“Not a thing at all, not with me anyway,” Zach said in denial. “I’ve tried to have a couple of conversations with her though. She’s always polite but…clearly reserved and not interested.”
“You called her snooty,” Troy corrected.
“Yeah, Zach took her attitude personally,” Ryder explained.
Zach skewed up his mouth. “I guess I did. But I’m taking Drea over to Santa Cruz tonight for dinner and a movie. I’m not interested in pursuing Isabella, although she is a looker.”
“No argument there,” Thane agreed.
Zach slapped Thane on the back. Then the door’s wide open for you, my friend.”
“I don’t think so. I have zero time in my life right now for a woman with an attitude, let alone a high-maintenance one.”
“High-maintenance? She doesn’t strike me like that,” Ryder said. “I’ve known women who were. But then, what do I know about the ways of the female mind? All I do know is that Julianne invited her to a barbeque on Memorial Day and she took a pass. There’ve been other functions where she did the same thing.”
“That day she rode her bike down the hill, stopped for two minutes to tell us she had somewhere else to be,” Zach added. “I guess she had other fish to fry.”
“We assumed she was headed over to Logan and Kinsey’s house at the time,” Troy offered. “Gotta be a logical reason she’s keeping to herself so much.”
“I’ve seen women act that same way after they’ve spent time in an abusive relationship,” Ryder proffered. “My mother’s a nurse, dragged me to one of those women’s shelters a couple times where she forced me to volunteer to put on a new roof at one.”
Thane started to disagree with that but then thought of yesterday at the doctor’s office. There had been something odd about Doc Prescott’s reaction to finding him there waiting when she came out of the exam room that seemed off. Doc’s attitude had bordered on chilly. At the time, he hadn’t thought much about it. But now it made him wonder, not just about Doc but about the woman with the sultry green eyes. Could that be it? Could Isabella have been physically abused? Maybe she wanted nothing to do with men.
“If that’s true, it’s a shame she’d put up with that,” Zach said. “Makes me want to find the bastard and give him the same type of payback.”
Troy nodded. “I could get on board with that.”
“Make it three,” Thane admitted. “With no problem whatsoever.”
“Well, if we find this guy he’d be surrounded and outgunned, that’s for sure,” Ryder noted. “No offense, Thane, but I don’t even think the three of us would need your muscle.”
“None taken, but you can’t leave me out entirely. Do you suppose it’s true? Or are we jumping to a conclusion where there’s no proof?”
Troy made a sound in his throat that had Thane eyeing him with open interest. “If you know something about her past now would be a good time to mention it.”
“Nothing definite, but I did overhear a conversation once when I stopped by Logan’s house. I was there to pick up a set of plans he’d done to redo my kitchen in the house I’m remodeling. When he left the living room to get them out of his study, I heard him talking to someone. It was Isabella’s voice talking about a guy by the name of Henry. It was obvious by the tone of their voices neither one of them cared for this guy too much. It was odd. As I stood there waiting, Kinsey walked through the door and called out that she was home. Right away, Isabella and Logan stopped talking and came out to the hallway, dropping the subject entirely.”
“That doesn’t mean much,” Thane pointed out. “Isabella often goes over there to babysit the kids.”
“I guess you had to be there. It was like the two of them had a secret they didn’t want Kinsey to hear. Not only that when they came out of the study, Logan had forgotten to bring the blueprints. He had to go back and get them.”
“Maybe Logan’s stepping out on Kinsey. Maybe they’re having an affair,” Zach volunteered.
“Whoa. I’m not prepared to go down that road,” Thane said. “That’s a huge leap.”
“Me either,” Ryder proclaimed. “First of all, I don’t think Logan would ever do that to Kinsey.”
“That’s not the kind of secret I meant,” Troy said, throwing a glare at Zach. “Don’t you dare go out of here repeating gossip like that, understand?”
Zach held up his hands. “Okay. Okay. Just thinking outside the box here, offering suggestions, reasons why she’d act like she does.”
“Well, don’t go down that path,” Thane warned. “I know how rumors get out of control enough to cause major damage, especially if it’s nothing more than speculation.”
“I’m not out to hurt anyone,” Zach said in his own defense. “I guess I decided last spring, Isabella might be gorgeous but she’s just too complicated for me to handle right now with everything else. That’s all I’m saying. I might’ve wanted to ask her out, but something always held me back. I’m glad now I didn’t.” Zach shrugged and added, “Sorry but I’m just being honest. I think I’ll knock off early, go get ready for my date with Drea. Hopefully my self-imposed abstinence has an end in sight.”
“Thanks for planting that image in my head,” Thane grumbled as he watched Zach pack up his tools and disappear out the doorway. “Is it just me or does Zach enjoy stirring things up?”
“It’s his specialty,” Troy clarified. “If it wasn’t for the fact that he’s about to become my brother-in-law in November, I might try and take him down a peg.”
“His attitude doesn’t cause rancor between the three of you?”
“Not really,” Ryder answered. “Troy and I are used to all the different personalities that come together on a construction job. But with Zach, it’s true you never quite know what will fall out of his mouth.”
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