by Melissa West
When he moved back to Crestler’s Key, the followers went with him, interested in this new life of his—running a dive shop, taking people on check-out dives, lessons, and then the farm. Hell if they didn’t love the farm.
So it made sense when he started playing around with the T-shirt designs, he would post them to his followers first. For a crowd of nearly four hundred thousand, they were surprisingly supportive. More so, at times, than his two brothers. Who were both watching him now.
“I don’t know.”
“You do,” Zac said, setting down a box. “And it’s awesome. Keeps the online orders coming each week. So you talk your talk and do your thing. This one’s just jealous he don’t have a tenth of your following.”
Brady scowled, but it was true. He was the social one of the brothers, Zac erring on the quiet-confidence side, and Charlie too laid-back to be overly social. But all that changed on Instagram, and he’d been offered countless ad deals because of it.
For now, the only ads flashing around that had anything at all to do with him were for Southern Dive. Of course, if he actually manned up and started the T-shirt business, he’d have to rethink his less-is-more approach to marketing.
“Seriously though,” Zac said as he unpacked the inventory, “what design?”
Every Monday they met at the shop to talk about sales from the previous week, unpack the deliveries for that day, and often it was the only chance they had to be brothers without the town or family or women around to distract them. Charlie missed his brothers, even though he saw them all the time. Seeing them wasn’t the same as knowing them, and he wasn’t sure he knew them anymore. Really knew them. Not like they used to know each other when they were younger.
Knowing they wouldn’t shut up, he reached into his pocket for his phone, clicked his photos, and tapped the picture he’d taken of his latest design.
He’d been playing around with logos and themes. T-shirts like Salt Life, and Simply Southern for women, were distinctive. If he hoped to be successful, he needed a look all his own.
“The one you saw wasn’t my latest. This is.” He passed the phone over to Zac and tried to ignore his brothers’ reactions, but there was no ignoring their excitement.
“Holy shit,” Brady said, plucking the phone from Zac’s hand. “Where’d you learn to draw like that? From one of those Instagram groupies?”
“Sure as hell not from you,” Charlie said, swiping the phone back and shoving it into his pocket. Not for the first time, he regretted telling his brothers about the Instagram account and his small walk with fame there, but too many people had popped into the store because of it, talking about how they loved his page and couldn’t believe they were meeting him in real life. A few even asked for his autograph, which had taken him the better part of a year to live down.
“Hey, I can draw,” Brady said with mock offense.
“Yeah, your own name maybe,” Charlie fired back, which resulted in Brady tossing a new Salt Life shirt at him and Charlie throwing it back, because clearly they were still idiotic boys instead of men.
Like always, Zac intervened. “Stop that shit. We have twelve boxes to go through, tag, and get on the shelves and racks. No time for you two fighting over nothing. Brady—he can draw and he’s more popular than you. Deal with it. Charlie—Brady is . . . well, we’re still trying to figure it out, but he’s bound to be good at something.”
Brady tossed the shirt at Zac now, who snatched it in the air, and another fight was about to brew when Charlie’s cell rang loudly and he all but fell on the floor trying to wiggle it out of his pocket.
“What are you doing?” Brady asked, clearly disturbed.
“Answering my phone, asshole.”
“Looked to me like you were having a seizure. But by all means, answer the call. Let us hear who you’re hoping is calling. I think I have a guess.” He waggled his eyebrows, and Charlie contemplated ways to singe those things off in his sleep.
Finally, he glanced down at the phone, and sure enough, it was Lila. But how was he going to take the call here, in the quiet store, with his two brothers staring him down, all too ready to rile him the moment he ended the call. Well, they could forget that crap.
The call ended, and immediately a text popped up.
Lila: Hey, off now. You at the shop? What time did you want to meet at the farm?
It took everything in Charlie not to grab his keys, yell a see ya to his brothers, and head to the farm. But despite the fact that he was aching to see Lila again, to feel that contentment she brought him, he had to keep his head on straight about this. Lucas was half a world away, fighting for peace, and risking his neck in the effort. He’d made two requests of Charlie—protect his sister and keep his hands to himself. Surely he could honor those two small things.
“Dude, you’re grinning like an idiot,” Brady said, shaking his head. “It’s disgusting. What does Lila need anyway that could have you grinning that big?”
“You don’t even know that it’s Lila.”
“Um, yeah we do. She’s the only one that gets you all doe-eyed.” Then his own eyes went wide and a stupid smile took over his face. “Please tell me she sexted you. Love when the good girls turn out bad.”
Zac threw a water bottle at him, hitting him in the head, and Brady scowled. “Hey, that hurt.”
“Then stop talking like an ass,” Zac said, then he focused back on Charlie. “Seriously, does she need anything?”
And here it was. Charlie had hoped to have a little more time to prep Zac on him hiring her for the farm job. It wasn’t that Lila wasn’t qualified, it was more than Zac preferred not to hire friends close to the family. It made it awkward when pay raises (or cuts) happened or, worse, when he needed to fire them. Plus, Charlie’s focus was on Southern Dive, Zac’s the farm, so it wasn’t lost on him that he’d stepped on his brother’s toes a little.
“Well, actually, I was meaning to talk to you about that. I kind of... hired her.”
Zac set out a stack of shirts he’d just folded. “For the shop? Is she certified or something?”
And now Charlie really felt bad, but hell, they needed a vet and she was a vet. “No, actually, I hired her for the farm. That part-time vet job?”
Without any other sounds in the shop other than the A/C and Brady’s amused laugh, time seemed to stand still. Zac turned around, like he needed a minute, before facing Charlie again, obvious annoyance on his face, but he could bring it. He might be the eldest, but they were all equal partners in each of the businesses, and he could screw himself. Charlie had every right to hire her, and she was more than qualified. Okay, maybe that had little to do with it, but still. He shouldn’t need to ask Zac. Which was one of the reasons he was contemplating the T-shirt business in the first place: Finally, he’d have something again that was just his, like his diving business in the Keys. Where he didn’t have to answer for his decisions, where everything required a weekly meeting. Jade might have screwed that up for him, but he was happy there for a long time.
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Zac said. “Lila moves back into town, is here a little over a week, and you hire her without talking to us to look after the animals on our farm? The animals that we count on to help keep business up? Did you even talk to Baxter?”
Charlie crossed his arms and kept his attention on his brother. He was a lot of things, but scared wasn’t one of them. Even of his big brother. “No. That old man can barely see anymore, and you want him looking after our farm animals? That makes perfect sense. Why would I hire him, when I could hire Lila, young enough to come out in the middle of the night if we need her, and she has plenty of experience. What’s wrong with hiring her?”
He was offended on her behalf, and it wasn’t lost on him how concerning that was in light of his assurance to himself that he wouldn’t allow himself to have feelings for her. Clearly, he was already emotionally tied to her, but he hoped it was more in a little-sister way. He jerked back at the thought. Okay, ma
ybe forget the little-sister thing. Put that crap out of his mind right now.
“You know we have a policy to not hire friends. There’s a reason that’s in place.”
Charlie stared at his brother. “Yeah, you realize we’re in Crestler’s Key, right? Everybody in this town has known us our entire lives. And there are only two vets, Lila and Baxter, who’s knocking on seventy. You seriously would have preferred I hire the old man?”
“Yes.”
Gritting his teeth, Charlie switched his gaze to Brady. As much as it killed him to do it, Brady was always the deciding vote. “You?”
“That depends. Can I hit on her without risking some harassment lawsuit because I’m technically her boss?”
Rolling his eyes, Charlie turned around and grabbed his keys. “I agreed to show her the farm, so I’m going. For now, she’s our vet. Deal with it. If she screws up, I’ll take the heat, and I’ll be the one to let her go.”
Even the thought made Charlie’s insides sour. But he didn’t need to worry about firing her. Lila was dedicated and driven, and she refused to fail at anything. If she agreed to help around the farm, then she would help and she would do an amazing job at it.
“Fine, but it’s on you,” Zac said.
“It’s on me.”
The brothers nodded to each other in an agreement, and then Charlie set off back to his truck, his insides already lighter, his thoughts becoming clear. He pulled out his cell, hit Lila’s last text and replied with meet you there, and then he started down the road, his speed increasing, a wide smile on his face.
Chapter Seven
Lila couldn’t stop bouncing, that wild imagination of hers getting away from her. She pictured walking with Charlie as they toured the farm, laughing and talking, and while it was a job, she couldn’t get her heart to slow down. It would be the longest amount of time she’d spent with him since they were kids and maybe the longest amount of time she’d ever spent with him without Lucas around. And she couldn’t wait.
Which was silly and stupid, but there it was.
She had just turned onto the main road that led to Littleton Farm when her phone rang. Quickly, she eyed the call, and all the bubbles in her stomach quickly popped. Her lawyer.
“Steve, hey,” she said, her heart picking up speed now for an entirely different reason.
“How are you liking Crestler’s Key?” he asked.
“It’s good. Nice to be away from things.”
“Right . . .”
“So, Steve, I saw the news. A disappearance? Do you think . . . ?” Lila couldn’t bring herself to say his name, but she couldn’t prevent his face from appearing in her mind. A shudder worked through her.
“Honestly? I don’t know. Authorities are on it; the investigation seems to be top priority, but there isn’t a lot to go on.”
“Okay . . .” Lila tried to breathe, but the air wouldn’t reach her lungs.
“Try not to worry, and remember, you’re far away from all of this. If you need anything, call, okay?”
Lila nodded though he couldn’t see her. “Okay, thanks.”
They hung up, and Lila’s grip tightened around her steering wheel. A girl was missing and they had no idea who was responsible or where she might be. The excitement she’d felt before was replaced with worry, and she wondered if she would ever be able to go an entire day without fear or worry or doubt taking over her joy. But then maybe that was everyone. Maybe every person had something hanging over them, something that threatened to take their joy. She wondered how they pushed it away, how they brought themselves back to center. For a while, she’d taken antidepressants, and they helped, but she never felt like herself when on them. Then she tried yoga and meditation. But her mind refused to settle. That was when Lucas suggested self-defense classes, and finally, she found something that helped. It empowered her, made her feel safe, in control. Alive. And only one other thing made her feel that way—or, rather, one other person. Charlie.
At the thought of him, her heart felt lighter, so when her phone rang again, and she thought it could be Charlie, she almost ran off the road trying to grab it, eager to hear his voice and feel the comfort it brought her. “Hello?”
“Hey!” Lila smiled at Audrey’s voice, forever loud and filled with giddiness. “I just passed you and waved, but I don’t think you saw me. Where are you headed in such a hurry? Hot date?” Audrey asked with a laugh, and Lila realized how laughable the excitement curling and swirling in her stomach was.
This was Charlie. Char-lie. Lucas’s best friend, a boy who watched her grow up through all the embarrassment that was adolescence. There was no way that he thought about her . . . the way she was thinking about him. But that ended today. No more thoughts about Charlie.
“Nowhere. Well, somewhere, but nowhere big. Charlie offered me a job at Littleton Farm as their part-time vet. I’m headed there now to check out the place and see if I want to take the job.”
“Do you want it?” Audrey asked, her voice muffled now.
“Um, why does it sound like you just walked through a cloud?”
“Hold on.” A ruffling sound hit her ears, before Audrey returned. “Sorry, lipstick application. Takes talent to do that while holding the wheel and the phone.” She laughed.
“Lipstick? Maybe I’m the one who should be asking you where you’re going. Since when do you wear lipstick at the salon?”
Audrey announced at age six that she wanted to be a hair stylist and immediately took a pair of scissors to her Barbie dolls’ hair. For the next several years, every doll Audrey owned suffered at Audrey’s hand, but her love for hair never went away, so she went to cosmetology school after she graduated high school, and soon became the most requested stylist in town. A smile crept across Lila’s face at the memory of Audrey on her first day of work. Though they hadn’t seen each other much in the last eight years, they were still the same people in a lot of ways. Audrey still experimenting with hair and makeup and clothes. Lila was still oblivious to all that mess.
“Oh, you know, since I started cutting Brady’s hair. And he has an appointment with me in fifteen minutes.”
“Brady?” Lila wasn’t sure if she should get onto her friend for having interest in the Littleton bad boy or not. The Littletons attracted women like moths to a flame, and of the three Brady was the most likely to burn you. Plus, Audrey was the very opposite of careful when it came to her heart.
Zac and Charlie were the more mature ones, more sensitive and responsible. Brady, while not exactly irresponsible, had never cared about having a relationship. Of course, Lila had only been back in town for two weeks. Maybe he’d changed. She decided to tread carefully.
“You do remember his nickname in school, right?” Brady was in her and Audrey’s grade, so they knew every rumor surrounding him, and while some were sure to be just that, rumors, others . . .
“So?” Audrey said, a hint of aggravation in her voice, and Lila contemplated keeping her mouth shut. For all of two seconds.
“So, that a guy was called Dirty Heartbreaker isn’t concerning to you?”
“That was in high school. He’s changed. We’ve all changed.”
And that was Lila’s cue to mind her own business, which she would do, so long as Brady didn’t try to hurt her friend. Then she’d be in his face faster than he could flash that smirk of his.
“Plus . . .” Audrey said, pausing as she messed with something on her end again.
“More lipstick?”
“Mascara.”
“Ah.” Lila grinned wide. She’d have to allow Audrey to give her a makeover one of these days, but Lila was afraid she’d come away with pink hair and more eye makeup than eyes. “Just promise you’ll be careful.”
“Sure thing, Ms. Littleton Farms. Should be telling yourself that, don’t you think?”
Yes, yes she did, but she would never admit it. “We’re just friends.”
“Sure you are. Anyway, gotta run. Call me later and give me the details of your
hot date.”
“It’s a job interview.”
“Riiiight.” She kissed into the phone. “Love you, chat later.” Then she hung up, and Lila dropped her phone into her lap and went to work tapping her steering wheel, her thoughts going back to Charlie and her decade-old crush and how very stupid it seemed to take a job with him, where that crush would be placed under the spotlight again and again. She couldn’t do that to herself, and besides, she wasn’t ready to be close to someone again. Not that Charlie would go there anyway.
She pulled onto the long stretch of road that led into the farm, turned into the small parking lot that Charlie had mentioned to her in a text, and parked her car. “Ugh, this is so frustrating!”
“Um, is this one of those female episodes that require men to retreat slowly for fear of getting their heads chopped off?”
Lila’s cheeks burned as she glanced out her window, which she’d rolled down because she could never resist fresh air, to find Charlie grinning back at her, his light brown hair a ruffled mess, those green eyes flashing with humor. Stubble covered his jaw, and he was tan from working outside and fishing. In short, he was temptation personified, and Lila needed to find a way to resist him before she lost her mind . . . and her heart.
It was high time she come up with a game plan, a means of defense, against Charlie, and that plan began right this second.
She pushed out of her car, not bothering to take her purse or her keys, because this was Crestler’s Key, and not a soul would dare steal from anyone else.
“Just damn Baxter again,” she said, answering Charlie’s questioning stare. She hated to lie, but what was she supposed to say? Sorry, can’t stop thinking about you, and it’s freaking me out? Yeah, no.
“Want me to kick his ass?” Charlie flashed a wicked smile that made Lila’s heart dance, before she could order herself to settle down.
“He’s sixty-eight!”
Charlie shrugged. “Eh, be our little secret.” He winked and Lila’s heart picked up speed again.