Small-Town Girl

by Jessica Keller

  “I know now it was more physical attraction than anything. She was beautiful and I was a man.” He looked at Kendall for the first time. You’re beautiful too, but it’s so much more than your appearance. “We would have been miserable together. She wasn’t a Christian. There’s no excuse. I was stupid. She was adventurous and she pressured me to go further and further. I thought I had finally found someone who wanted me. Someone who valued me for who I was.”

  His mother’s voice pitched through his mind. You were never wanted. My life would have been better if I hadn’t gotten pregnant with you.

  “You don’t need to tell me this stuff.” Kendall laid her hand on his knee.

  He tossed the rest of his ice-cream cone in the nearby garbage can. “I want you to know.” He shifted on the bench so his hand sat beside hers. “I asked Audra to marry me and she laughed in my face. I wasn’t good enough for her. I was a joke. She’d been using me the whole time because I paid for everything and bought her whatever she asked for. Money had become a form of love for me... We can thank my father for that.” After that he’d returned to Goose Harbor to live in the cabin alone, where he’d rid himself of needless possessions. He determined that if someone ever did come into his life again, he needed to know that money wasn’t part of the equation in their relationship.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  Might as well tell it all. “I found out later she was seeing another guy too. It cut me up for a long time. I wasn’t good enough for her. The life I had to offer a woman—it’s not good enough.” He focused on the sand at his feet. Anything to not look at Kendall as he spoke. “I don’t ever want someone to regret being with me. To feel stuck.”

  Like his mother had been. Stuck in her horrible life with her abusive husband, all because Brice had the audacity to be born.

  Kendall moved her hand on top of his and offered a squeeze. “Not every girl is Audra. I’m sorry she hurt you so much.”

  He slipped his hand out from under hers and raked it through his hair. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “It is if it’s holding you back.” She spoke softly.

  “It’s not holding me back. I don’t feel—”

  “I get that you’re scared, but you’re allowing something that happened a long time ago to drown you. You’re stuck until you forgive her, and I think deep down you know that.”

  They took the long way back to his car and didn’t speak much on the drive to drop her back at her office, where she’d left her car. Brice was too lost in thought.

  Forgive Audra? He clamped his teeth together. What a foolish idea. Audra held no power over him any longer. He was fine. He’d moved on. He had proven that he was better off without her the same as he’d long ago done where his father was concerned.

  Chapter Ten

  Kendall pushed the hold button on the third call and answered the incoming one. “Love on a Dime. Can I take your number and call you back?”

  “May I speak to Kendall Mayes?”

  Kendall wrapped her hand around her lukewarm coffee mug. She’d planned on starting the day slowly with some time spent drinking the caramel latte she’d made a special stop for at the cute, local shop, Fair Tradewinds Coffee. She counted the treat as her reward for all her hard work over the past month, but it looked as though a relaxing morning wasn’t going to happen.

  “Speaking.” She bit her lip and watched the blinking lights signaling the other waiting callers. The first one was a radio station from the nearby large city of Brookside wanting to schedule an on-air interview to showcase her company. The second was Joel Palermo, a Goose Harbor firefighter trying to schedule a sunset cruise date as a surprise for his girlfriend. The third was an energetic couple from Ohio who wanted her to plan an entire weekend for them full of what they called “romantic dune camping.” Kendall wasn’t sure how romantic camping on the dunes could be, but she’d research it and plan them the perfect getaway anyway.

  Ever since Jason’s article about Love on a Dime had run in the paper and had been featured on a few travel websites, business had been steady. More than steady. It was beginning to take over all her time. So much so that Kendall was considering the possibility of hiring an assistant soon. Who knew one little article could create such a stir? Then again, Jason had warned her that he’d be submitting his work for larger publications to pick up. She should have taken him seriously. Or maybe Sesser had other favors to call in with newspapers and that was why she was getting so much publicity. Whatever the reason, Kendall was thankful.

  “My name is Sandy. I’m one of the feature writers for Midwestern Traveler. Have you heard of us?”

  Kendall choked on her sip of coffee and started to cough. “I’m sorry.” She caught her breath. “The award-winning travel magazine? You’re only my favorite resource for travel planning! Of course I’ve heard of you.” Midwestern Traveler had been the publication that started her love for Goose Harbor. They’d featured Ring Beach, Goose Harbor’s pristine oval-shaped swim area complete with powdery beaches and calm waves, in their top five places to visit in the entire Midwest, and the next article followed up with a feature dedicated to the tourist town. Those two articles had made Kendall’s decision about where to start her business easy. Goose Harbor had been highlighted as a friendly place filled with beauty. It had lived up to all her dreams.

  “We’d like to run a feature on your company.”

  “A whole feature article? On me?”

  “Yes. I’d planned an outing to Goose Harbor for this weekend before I heard about your business, and now it seems like perfect timing. Would you be able to meet me for an interview?”

  “Yes. Of course. Name the time.” Kendall scribbled down the time and location as she ended the call and switched over to the first one on hold. She and Sandy would meet at Fair Tradewinds Coffee on Friday morning, and Sandy said she was planning to write the article that same day in order to send it on to her editor so it could be squeezed in for the next publication.

  It was long past noon when the bells over Kendall’s front door jingled, letting her know someone was entering her side of the divided storefront. Brice’s sister offered a hesitant wave as she walked toward her desk.

  “Laura.” Kendall pushed her pile of paperwork to the side of her desk and smiled. “It’s so nice to see you, but is everything all right?” As much as the sight of Brice’s little sister made Kendall happy, she had to wonder why she was here. Was Brice hurt? He wasn’t good about using his cell phone. Perhaps he’d sent Laura to relay a message for him. Kendall’s heart sped into a double-time march. “Is Brice okay?”

  “Don’t know.” Laura shrugged. “Haven’t seen him.” She plopped into the empty seat on the other side of the desk. “Haven’t talked to him today either.”

  “Oh.” Kendall forced herself to take a few longer breaths. Maybe Laura had stopped by to find her other brother, but Evan wasn’t in his woodshop? He tended to close up around lunchtime to eat at one of the diners in town. “And Evan...?”

  “He’s in his shop.” Laura bit her bottom lip. “I came to see you.”

  “I’m glad you did. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you weren’t welcome. I hope you know that.” Kendall backpedaled. She’d never been great at having friendships with other women, let alone speaking to them. Hopefully she hadn’t sounded rude. “How can I help you?”

  “I want your advice.” Laura let out a puff of air that stirred her long bangs.

  Kendall swallowed hard. She didn’t consider herself the best role model for a teenage girl. She’d made one too many mistakes in her life to be able to offer sound counsel to anyone. “You want advice? From me? Laura, I’m—”

  “Of course from you. You’re basically my brother’s girlfriend, so I know you know a thing or two about relationships.”

  Brice’s girlfriend? She gulped. She could
n’t let Laura have the wrong impression. She and Brice were friends—good friends—but that was all. “We aren’t dating. Seriously, it’s only business.”

  Laura leaned her head so she was looking up at the ceiling and spun the wheeled chair in a circle. “You two are so dating. Don’t even deny it.” She put her feet on the ground, stopping the spinning as she faced Kendall again. “You’re all Brice talks about anymore.”

  “I am?” She fumbled the pen she’d been holding and it bounced off the desk, falling with a clank to the floor.

  Laura grinned and picked up the pen. “Does that surprise you?”

  “I just...” Kendall shook her head. “What did you want to talk about?” She pressed her hand against her stomach as it grumbled. She really shouldn’t have skipped lunch.

  “So, there’s this guy in the youth group that I really like.”

  Ah. Okay. Boy problems. “Go on.”

  “He’s cute. I’m talking tall, star-of-the-basketball-team cute.” Laura played with the pen, making it weave through her fingers. “You know what I mean, right?”

  Kendall winked at her, trying to calm the girl’s nerves. “I think I know the type.”

  “I can’t talk to my brothers about this because...well, they’re my brothers and they want to pound any guy who looks at me.”

  “I could imagine they would.” She pictured a teenage boy cowering between the strong pair that made up Brice and Evan and had to bite back a laugh. With Brice’s muscular build and Evan’s quick wit, a poor guy wanting a date with Laura wouldn’t stand a chance. Kendall pushed back against the hurt she felt every time she was reminded that she’d never had a man in her life—no father or brother—who wanted to protect her like that. Though she no doubt found it annoying now, Laura didn’t know how blessed she was to have them.

  Laura’s eyebrows dove. “You won’t tell Brice, will you?”

  Kendall didn’t want to make a promise to withhold information from Brice, so she hedged with “What would there be to tell?”

  Laura leaned forward in her chair. “His name is Drew Foster. That’s a good name, right? He goes to the private high school in Shadowbend, but his family comes to our church.” She lowered her voice. “He and I have been sneaking out of youth group when everyone breaks into their small groups and we’ve been going for walks out behind the church. There’s a trail that leads down to the beach.”

  Alarms sounded in Kendall’s mind. She wanted to hunt down Drew Foster already and give him a piece of her mind for dragging Laura out of church, but Kendall bit her tongue and nodded, encouraging Laura to share more. Shutting down the girl now would only lead to her hiding information, and if Kendall was going to be of any help, she needed to know everything.

  “A few weeks ago it went from going on walks to us rushing down to the beach to make out.”

  No, no, no. “Oh.”

  Laura stabbed the pen through the bun on top of her head and frowned. “But he says we can’t be boyfriend and girlfriend, at least not in public. Supposedly his parents aren’t cool with him dating in high school, so we have to keep it a secret, and our friends at youth group can’t know because he has a reputation to keep up. What does that even mean?”

  Kendall’s mouth opened and then closed and then opened again. Which one of the multiple issues should she begin addressing? How could she speak the truth in love without scaring Laura away? She wanted to be a safe place for Laura to share, especially if the girl had no women to talk with about these situations, but she also couldn’t encourage the behavior Laura had shared with her.

  Please help me say the right words. To say what she needs to hear. Let me be Your hands and feet for Laura.

  Kendall traced her fingers over her day planner. She needed to tell Laura what she wished someone had told her so many years ago. “It means that you should steer clear—very, very clear—of Drew Foster.”

  “But—”

  Kendall held up her hand. “Believe me, Laura, I hate to admit it, but I’ve been down that road with a guy or two and it never leads to anywhere good. Take it from a girl who’s had her heart broken one too many times. A guy who won’t acknowledge his tie to you in public is not worth any piece of you. Not your attention and definitely not your affection.”

  “I think...” Laura stared down at the floor. “I think he loves me, though.”

  Yes, Kendall wanted to find Drew Foster and give him a huge talking-to. “Has he told you that he does?”

  “No, but he wouldn’t want to make out with me so much if he didn’t.”

  Kendall sucked in a shaky breath. “Some men—not all, but some of them—actually will. God says we’re supposed to guard our hearts, and that means that we have to be careful about the type of guys we hand our hearts to.” Guilt surfaced in Kendall’s heart. She had no right to say this to Laura, not when Kendall had done a terrible job guarding her heart. But she pressed on anyway, saying the words she wished someone would have cared enough to say to her as a teen. “Do you think a guy who pulls you away from your small group at church and asks you to lie to everyone and only spends time with you doing physical things is the type of guy God wants you to spend time with?”

  “But he’s the only guy who likes me.”

  “That’s probably not true. A lot of the good guys are shier and quieter about liking someone. It takes time to find the really great ones, but I promise you, the great ones are never the guys who take you away from something like church time.”

  A sly smile crept its way across Laura’s face. “The quiet ones like my brother, huh?”

  “He’s a good one,” Kendall acknowledged. Brice was the best man she’d ever met.

  “He is. Don’t break his heart.”

  “We’re not...” Kendall leaned back in her chair. Laura would badger her until she gave in, so she added, “I don’t plan on hurting him.”

  Laura nodded. “It’s kind of nice, talking to another woman about this stuff. My mom’s not...not the type you want to share with.”

  “Mine either.” Kendall picked up her now-cold coffee cup and worked it around and around in her hands. “You need to know that you have so much worth, Laura. You’re a smart and determined young woman. Don’t settle for being treated poorly. Don’t settle for anyone who isn’t proud to walk through the center of town with his arm around your shoulders, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “And don’t make out with a guy until you’re in a committed relationship. Or married. How about married? Just stick with that.” Kendall winked.

  Laura rolled her eyes. “Now you’re sounding like an old person.”

  “That’s because I am an old person.”

  * * *

  Brice slipped his hands into his pockets as he exited Goose Harbor Bank and Trust. With a wave, he passed Caleb Beck and his obviously pregnant wife, Paige, on the sidewalk as they were leaving the Cherry Top Café.

  In the past, Brice had avoided the downtown portion of Goose Harbor at all costs. Fighting through the tourist crowds and being stopped by other locals for chitchat hadn’t appealed to him. Lately, though, he hadn’t minded it so much. He’d never be an extrovert, it simply wasn’t his personality, but he’d discovered he could be around people, even large groups, for a short time span and enjoy the experience. Apparently Kendall was rubbing off on him.

  In fact, a lot of pieces in his life had changed so far this summer. A month and a half ago he was discussing the possibility of having to sell off some of his boats and perhaps rework his company altogether in order to survive. Now he was socking away money into a new savings account each week, and his dream of fighting Sesser and building a second working pier in town finally didn’t look so far out of grasp. Sure, it wouldn’t be possible for another year or more, but still, he had hope now, and hope was powerful.

  Members of th
e Goose Harbor Chamber of Commerce were busy setting up a music stage and booths in the square for the three-day Venetian Festival that took place midsummer every year. The streets were already roped off and open to pedestrians only, and the event didn’t even start until nightfall. The carnival atmosphere culminated on the third evening with a boat show just off famous Ring Beach and a fireworks display.

  Brice veered down the sidewalk toward the building that Kendall and Evan shared. As much as he was warming up to being out and about more, Brice wasn’t ready for the crush of people the Venetian Festival would draw. He hadn’t signed any of his boats up for the event, even though he probably should have to advertise the sunset cruises.

  He pushed through the front door of Love on a Dime and then froze. His sister and Kendall sat together around Kendall’s desk, sharing a bag of microwave popcorn. “Laura? What are you doing here?”

  His sister tossed a piece of popcorn at his chest. “Hanging out with this woman, who, might I add, is far too good for the likes of you, Grumbly Bear.”

  Brice’s eyes met Kendall’s, and his heart kicked against his ribs at the sight of her wide smile. “You’re right—she is far too good for me.”

  “You guys! I’m standing right here.” Kendall got to her feet and crossed her arms over her chest in mock offense.

  “Seriously, though.” Brice winked at her and stepped closer. “What were you guys talking about?”

  “Oh.” Kendall grinned at Laura in a conspiratorial way. “Just girl stuff.”

  Brice grimaced, making them both laugh. They could have their girl talks without him. “I don’t want to break up your fun, but I have some news to share.”

  Laura patted the chair next to hers. “So spill.”

  Brice stayed standing near Kendall. “I got word today. We’re finally set to move our boat to the pier in town and start running our sunset cruises from there.”

  Kendall clapped her hands, screamed in a high-pitched way and then launched herself into his arms for a hug. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”