by Amie Denman
“So,” she said, “open the contracts and remove the clause that’s alienating me and all the other vendors, and we’ll talk.”
“You can’t use those contracts to drive a wedge between us.”
Gus took a deep breath and let it out, focusing on the smoke billowing from the passing train. “Everyone else is,” she said quietly.
Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you think I don’t know what it’s like to be torn between two things—both of them valuable, one of them...”
“One of them what?”
He sat on a steel bench by the fence where they stood. “One of them so important you couldn’t give it up even if you wanted to.”
Gus pulled off her sunglasses and stood directly in front of Jack. “I don’t want to choose sides. I wish I could be on everyone’s side.”
“That’s not possible sometimes.”
“I’m a Sagittarius. We always think it’s possible.”
The train cleared the tracks and people rushed by their bench, probably never noticing them. Gus stood still, watching Jack’s face.
“I should go,” she said. “It’s a busy day and I left a small crew up front. They’re probably elbow deep in dough and wondering where I am.”
“I think I’ll sit here awhile, watch the crowds.”
“It’s your park—do what you want.”
“I wish I could.”
She turned to walk away and he grabbed her hand. “Augusta, it feels like there’s an ocean between us right now, but I believe you’d be there with a life ring if I needed it.”
“You’re a good swimmer, Jack,” she said, pulling her hand gently from his and walking away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“I’M TOAST,” HANK SAID, handing Gus a hot dog. It had been a quiet weekday at the Point. Most guests had already eaten and were lining up for their last rides. Gus had enough cookies in the case for the evening rush as people stocked up for the car ride home. And she was tired, ready to call it a night.
“My bookkeeping is a nightmare and I’m never gonna get my June reports done by the July fifteenth deadline,” Hank continued.
“Sorry to hear that,” Gus said. She reminded herself to thank Evie, who had completed the monthly statement practically before the month was over. Gus didn’t love handing over twenty percent of her profits to Starlight Point. But, she reasoned, Starlight Point was the reason she had those profits. The revenue from her stands at the Point was bolstering her downtown shop and getting her closer to her dream of making Aunt Augusta’s Bakery a success.
Hank smiled at Gus, his eyes wide. “You know anything about the computer program that does those spreadsheets?”
“Just enough to get by. I’ve handed it all over to my summer accountant.”
“Who you got?”
“Evie Hamilton.”
“Oh. Thought she just worked for you.”
“Nope. Manages my hotel bakeshop and does the books for all three shops here at the Point.”
Hank handed Gus the ketchup bottle. “Not worried about sleeping with the enemy?”
Gus winced. “Evie isn’t anybody’s enemy.”
“I don’t know,” Hank said. “Not sure I like the idea of a Hamilton sticking their nose in my business.”
“Starlight Point is their business, the bakery is mine. I’m trying to keep my feet on the right side of the line,” Gus said.
Ricardo and Tosha walked over. Gus wondered if they’d been watching from their stands across the midway. When it came to confidential information, Hank was definitely the weakest link. His secret sauce recipe was no secret, and it was just as well, because he would crack under pressure faster than a microwaved hot dog.
“You don’t want people nosing around your business, Hank,” Ricardo said. He looked pointedly at Gus. “Especially when you’re not a hundred percent sure what side they’re on.”
“We told you last night we’d help you with your computer spreadsheet,” Tosha added.
“Almost forgot that,” Hank said. “I was in a hurry to get out of there after the meeting because I forgot to set my DVR for my favorite show. Best Places for a Hot Dog in North America. Hoping they’ll take the suggestions I sent in after last season.”
“Another meeting?” Gus asked.
Tosha rolled her eyes. “I didn’t think you’d be interested,” she said.
“I thought we were going to make plans together—if not for this year’s contracts, then for next year.”
Ricardo shoved his hands in his pockets. “You said yourself that Jack Hamilton doesn’t have to dirty his hands by talking to us. We signed the contract and we have to live with it.”
“That’s not exactly what I said.”
“General idea.”
“So, if that’s not what you talked about at the meetings I’ve missed, what did you discuss?”
“Things,” Tosha said.
“Like what?”
“Like the same things we’ve been talking about for ten, fifteen, twenty years. You’re new this summer, so I guess you wouldn’t have some of the same interests as those of us who’ve been here practically our whole lives.”
Gus felt as if she’d been kicked in the back of the knees. She was speechless.
“And since you’re so cozy with the Hamiltons, maybe you can tell us why an appraiser’s been hanging around, measuring up our shops,” Tosha said.
“An appraiser?”
Tosha and Ricardo nodded. “Been making his way down our side of the midway all day. Doing inspections, taking notes, asking questions.”
Gus looked at her uneaten hot dog on Hank’s counter. Her appetite was gone, replaced by a Titanic-sized sinking in her gut.
“Maybe,” she said, “he’s from the insurance company?”
“Asked him that,” Ricardo said. “He said no then clammed up.”
“So what could be the reason?” Hank asked. “Hamilton owns all our shops already. We just lease ’em. Why’d a guy appraise his own property?”
“Could be he wants to see how valuable it is so he can offer our spots to someone else next summer. We only have a one-season lease, and I think we’re getting an idea of just how important we are to the new owners,” Tosha grumbled.
“Wait a minute,” Gus said. “Is it just the vendor shops being appraised? No other parts of the property?”
“Far as we know,” Tosha said, “but we don’t exactly have our fingers in the rest of the business.” She crossed her arms over her chest, covering up the cheerful ice-cream cone on her pink apron. “If Jack Hamilton thinks we can be easily replaced, he’s got another think coming. He’s about to find out just how valuable we all are.”
She and Ricardo stalked off toward the long line of lease-vendor stands on the other side of the midway.
“Don’t know what to think,” Hank said. He picked up Gus’s hot dog and took a big bite. “Trouble always makes me hungry.”
A group of teenagers lined up at the counter, breaking up the conversation and providing an escape for Gus. She was done for the day.
She headed straight for the park gate that led to the marina. The eight o’clock ferry would leave in ten minutes. Plenty of time for her to hand over a buck fifty and find her favorite spot. On the starboard side, there was a single seat carved out between the door and a cabinet for life-jacket storage. Since most people enjoyed a day at the park with friends or family, she usually had no competition for the single-rider slot.
Until tonight. When she stepped onto the boat, the first thing she saw was a man sitting in her seat. Mel Preston.
She paused in front of him. The mood she was in, it was tempting to plant her foot under him and shove him out of her seat.
He glanced up, his eyes widening in
the quickly fading daylight. He grinned, and Gus felt some of her tension slide off her shoulders.
“Must be my lucky day,” he said. “Didn’t think so this morning when I had to take the ferry to work like a teenager with no car privileges.”
Gus sat on the bench across from Mel. “I take the ferry every now and then. And I’m no teenager.”
“What about your pink van?”
“It’s a gas hog. The ferry’s a lot cheaper.”
The boat horn sounded twice and the captain backed the half-empty ferry out of the slip. It was a beautiful July evening, with most employees staying until closing, even after their shifts had ended, and most guests choosing to do the same.
“My son likes to stop in your downtown bakery and get a treat—if it’s still open when we get home from the Point,” Mel said. “He likes the apple fritters.”
Gus glanced across the water at Bayside as the ferry swung around. “I haven’t spent much time in my downtown shop this summer.” She looked back at Mel, who smiled sympathetically and nodded. “I have a habit of taking on more than I can handle.”
“One of the things that makes you interesting,” he said. “And you have help downtown, right? Your aunt—the real Aunt Augusta—runs it.”
She nodded.
“Thought so. I read the article about you in the paper. Gonna have to get your approval on a cake in a couple weeks. My son turns five July twenty-ninth.”
“I’m sure it’ll be wonderful.”
“Hope so. You know, I thought this year’s STRIPE topic might be the worst one yet, but then I got to thinking. Since my ex drops into town a couple times a year when she’s feeling guilty, I’m pretty much the only parent my son’s got. Guess it’s not a bad thing to know how to make him a birthday cake.”
“What’s your son’s name?”
“Ross.”
“It must be fun to have a little boy.”
“It is. His mother happens to be in town this week. Which is why I’m taking the ferry. Her car died, and I left her with my truck so she could take Ross to the park. Guess I’ll have to fix her car if I want to get rid of her and get my truck back.”
Gus said nothing, watching the sunset on the bay and replaying the scene at Hank’s stand over and over in her mind.
“Sorry I’m boring you with my family saga,” Mel said after a few minutes of silence.
Gus laughed. “I’m not bored. It’s nice to have someone to talk to on the ferry. Where does your wife—”
“Ex-wife.”
“Ex-wife,” Gus said, “go when she leaves?”
“Anywhere that’s not here. She’s not from Bayside, doesn’t see what’s so great about Starlight Point... I guess she likes the city, seeing new faces. I’m content to see the old faces and the friends I’ve had forever.”
“I’ve moved around a lot, but Bayside has always been home base for me.”
“And you’re here to stay?”
“I hope so. I’m tired of following my parents wherever Dad’s job takes them. I have to settle down and build a life for myself, and I don’t have any other family aside from my aunt. Living here, I’ve got a loft above my bakery and a great view.”
“And Starlight Point?”
“That’s part of the view.”
“I mean, is that why you want to stick around?”
Gus’s glance strayed from Mel and lingered on the retreating lights of the Point. Could she see herself working at Starlight Point next summer and the summers that followed, seasons stretching before her like waves? Running her bakeries and coming up with new cookies and treats? Was it even an option? She turned back to Mel.
“Do you have any idea why an appraiser might be nosing around the vendor shops on the midway?”
“Not just the vendors,” he said. Then he shut up.
“Why is Starlight Point being appraised?”
Mel pulled a tape measure off his tool belt and played with it, pulling the tape out a few inches and letting it snap back. Over and over. He didn’t look up. Gus wanted to reach over, grab the tape measure and throw it overboard.
“Fine,” she said. “You know something, but you’re not going to tell me. I know you’re a loyal friend.”
“You’re Jack’s friend, too. More than a friend.”
“Is that what Jack thinks?”
“Don’t you know what he thinks?”
She sighed, not answering. She wondered how much Jack confided in Mel. Didn’t matter. Mel seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn’t hand over info in exchange for a bribe.
“I’d kill for beer and pizza right now,” Mel commented. “Or one of your cookies.”
Then again, maybe he could be bought. But that was cheap, beneath her, even in desperate times.
The horn sounded and the ferry bumped the Bayside dock a second later. The other passengers lined up at the low, swinging door, waiting for the captain to clear them to get off. The line of people between Gus and Mel ended their deadlocked conversation, and neither of them renewed it as they walked up the dock.
“Need a ride?” Gus offered. “The van is parked one block up.”
“Nope. Believe it or not, the ex is waiting for me in my truck. Wonders never cease.”
“People surprise me all the time,” Gus said. “Good night, Mel.”
“One thing... You’ve got more influence with the other vendors than you think. Might come a time when you have to put your friendship to good use.”
“For which side?”
“Everybody’s.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“HOW MUCH DO you think the repair will cost?” Jack asked, hoping the maintenance man had good news for once.
“Couple thousand for the new lines, fuel meters on top of that. Should probably get a new pump while we’re at it.”
Jack sat on the edge of the marina dock and let his feet dangle. His dress shoes almost reached the water. “Too much for this year. If we just cap the gas line that runs to this set of docks, boats could still fuel up on the other dock. Right?”
“Guess so.”
“And we could save this job for next summer,” Jack said.
“Fine by me. Summer’s half over as it is.”
“Save what for next year?” Evie asked.
“Fixing the fuel lines for Dock A. This marina’s getting old,” Jack said. “Hate to do it, but...” He shrugged.
“It won’t kill boaters to pull up to the other dock,” Evie said. She leaned closer to Jack and lowered her voice. “We don’t need one more expense this year.”
“That’s what I thought, too.”
“I’m picking up Mom and getting some dinner. Want to come?”
“Nope. It’s a nice evening. I might knock off early and take the kayak out since the boss isn’t around.”
Evie ruffled his hair as he swung his feet back and forth. “I love you, Jack. You’re my favorite brother.”
She started to walk away but then her footsteps on the decking stopped. “Hey, Gus. Heading home?”
“Catching the ferry.”
“I’m going out for a quick dinner then I’ll be back to close the shops for the night.”
“Thanks. I have some flowers to make for an upcoming wedding cake. Fancy gum-paste lilies that’ll take me all night. Unless my aunt got them done already.”
“Hope so, for your sake,” Evie said, her voice trailing off as she walked away.
Jack stood and stepped in front of Augusta as she made her way down the dock.
Gus blew out a breath. “I have to get in line for the boat.”
“I should warn you about the ferry,” he said quietly, his lips close to her ear.
She stepped away, out of the circle of temptation.
> “Oh?” she asked.
“Heard you rode with Mel Preston a few nights ago,” he said, grinning. “I advise you to steer clear of him.”
“I thought he was your best friend.”
“He is. But when it comes to women, he’s always after the unattainable.”
“Really?”
Jack nodded. “Long history. Seems to choose the ones who want to get away, but he likes it right here.”
“That’s what he said.”
Jack’s phone rang. He ignored it.
“For a long time, I thought he was in love with my sister June,” Jack continued.
“The one who’s not here,” Gus said.
“See what I mean?”
“Could be a coincidence.”
“She’s coming into town tomorrow for a few days, but she’ll be in a big hurry to get back to New York. Hope she doesn’t break his heart while she’s here.”
Gus wanted to ask why June was coming. Tomorrow was July 18, one day before the day Evie had mysteriously asked for off. This time, it wasn’t her mother’s birthday or her brother’s birthday, and she’d been completely closemouthed about her plans. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to know that some serious family business was happening on July 19. How could she ask Jack to fill in the details?
His phone rang again.
“You should answer that,” Gus said. “I have to go or I’ll miss the ferry.”
* * *
THE LAST THING Jack wanted to do was answer his phone, but he hoped to get rid of whoever it was and catch up with Gus. They had too much unfinished and unsaid between them.
Distracted by the evening light on Gus’s hair, Jack needed a moment to understand what his chief of security was saying. The incoming ferry—which mercifully had only ten people on it—had engine trouble and was being towed back to Bayside that very moment.
Not a disaster, but if Gus didn’t get on the one leaving in about thirty seconds, she was in for a long wait.