by Tess Oliver
“Hey.”
I recognized his voice instantly. “Hey.”
We’d driven home from the river with hardly a word between us as if we were both trying to absorb how this whole thing was going to play out.
“I’ve got a lunch break at one. Why don’t you come to the marina and meet me then.”
“All right.”
“Jessa!” Sadie called from the front of the shop.
“I’ll see you then, Nico. Bye.”
After a morning of organizing porcelain cups and old prints, I decided to walk to the marina. It was only a mile from Aunt Sadie’s shop. Sundays were always slow in the village because most of the shops were closed. The sidewalks were nearly empty. As I strolled past the little grocery store, the door opened and Chase walked out with Susie.
A long, awkward moment of silence followed as we all looked at each other. I decided right then that there was no damn reason for Susie to hate me or for me to hate Susie. If Chase liked her then I was determined to do the same.
I smiled. “Hey guys, out for a Sunday stroll?” I glanced around. “I’d forgotten how quiet it was in the village on Sundays.”
Susie’s mouth twisted a bit, and she looked rather perplexed that I was speaking so easily to them.
“Where are you off to?” Chase asked.
“My mom’s working in Aunt Sadie’s shop. I’m headed to the marina to meet Nico for lunch.”
“Sounds fun.” Chase couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.
Susie made a show of cringing when I mentioned Nico’s name. It made me suddenly curious just how close she’d been with Nico. And Nico seemed to hate the idea that Chase was with her. Maybe they had fought over her, and that thought annoyed me greatly.
Another period of awkward silence followed, so I went to the customary ice breaking topic.
“Great weather, huh? Almost nice enough for a swim in the river. Although I’m sure the water is still freezing.”
I was grinning at Susie when I said it, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Chase fidgeting. But he knew me well enough to know that I would never rat him out. That bond of always protecting and keeping each other’s secrets could never be broken.
Chase and I’d had a couple of doozies too. Once, when we were playing tetherball in the fifth grade, he confessed to me that he’d been pouring his mom’s coffee cream into his sister’s nutrition drinks. They’d been prescribed especially by one of her nutrition counselors, but Chase thought the cream would help her gain weight faster. I thought the plan was brilliant, but there was one major flaw-- his sister had been secretly dumping her drinks down the sink. Chase, and only Chase, knew of my plan to sabotage one of my mom’s relationships because I’d hated the guy. I’d acted like a monster for weeks but my mom was on to me. She eventually dumped the guy anyway.
Susie finally untwisted her mouth long enough to talk. “Chase and I always spend every Sunday together, starting with a morning at church then we pick up muffins to take down to the river.”
“Sounds cool,” I said. “Well, I need to get to the marina. Have fun with your muffins.” I turned to leave.
“Wait a minute,” Chase said, and his tone worried me.
I twisted back and Susie was scowling up at him.
“I never go to church with you, and you’re wasting your time lying to Jessa because she knows everything about me.”
Susie opened her mouth to speak, but Chase pressed a finger to her lips. “Do you know where I was this morning?”
“Uh, Chase, ixnay on the--”
“No, Jessa, let me tell her. I went to the river with Jessa and Nico. You are going to need to accept the fact that they were a major part of my life, and I plan on seeing both of them a lot this summer.”
Susie’s face reddened, and I waited for her to explode but she didn’t.
It was definitely time for me to make my exit. “Yeah, maybe we can all hang out together,” I suggested weakly.
The look in Susie’s eyes did not convey that that would take place anytime soon, but at least it didn’t look like she was going to be too pissed at Chase. I would have hugged my friend for putting his foot down, but I was sure that would be pushing things a bit.
Chapter 8
A few families were suiting up in puffy life jackets while they waited for their rental boat to pull up to the dock. Anchored boats bobbed up and down as the wakes of other boats came rolling into the marina. I walked along the decking but didn’t see Nico. Someone was working inside the rental booth, so I walked over to ask where I might find him.
The round hazel eyes that stared back at me were totally familiar, but I could not think of a name to go with them.
The eyes opened wider. “Jessa! So it’s true. Nico mentioned you were back in town.” The girl grinned. “Mentioned is an understatement. He hasn’t stopped talking about you all morning.”
“Vanessa? How are you?”
Vanessa and I had never really been friends, but growing up she had been unabashedly crazy for Nico. Every Valentine’s Day she’d create a huge, glittery, three-dimensional Valentine for him, and he always accepted it graciously, even though I knew it embarrassed him. And he would always made a point to put extra candy hearts in her envelope to reciprocate without giving her false hope.
Vanessa stuck her hand in front of my face. There was a small diamond ring on her finger. “Do you remember Pete Vickers?”
“Hmm, the name is totally familiar. I’m sure if I saw a photo--”
She stuck her cell phone in front of my face. A blurry picture of a guy in a soccer uniform wavered on the screen.
I nodded even though I still had no clue who he was. “Oh yeah, Peter Vickers.” I took a closer look at the ring. “Are you two engaged?”
She put her hand on her chest in shock as if engagement had never even crossed her mind. “No, it’s a promise ring. He gave it to me the day before school let out.” She put her phone away. “So you’re here for the summer?”
“Yep. My mom and I are helping out at my aunt’s antique shop.”
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot Sadie was your aunt.”
“She’s actually my mom’s aunt.”
“Are you here to see Nico?” she asked before I’d barely gotten my last syllable out.
“Yes. Have you seen him?”
She leaned forward out of her little booth and pointed toward a boat. “He’s bringing in a broken down boat.”
I squinted out to the water. Nico was standing behind the steering wheel of a rental boat. Smoke was billowing out of the engine. It would have been moving faster with a sea turtle pulling it. I waited on the side of the dock and helped him tie the boat off.
He climbed out. “Piece of shit. I keep telling my dad that this one’s ready for a burial at sea, but you know how cheap my old man is.” He looked at me. “I’m glad you came, Duchess.” He motioned toward the sandwich shop with his head. “Come on, I’ll buy you lunch. Then we can take out one of the functioning boats.”
“Sounds good to me.”
As we passed by the rental booth, Nico stopped for a second. “Hey, Vanessa, I’m taking my lunch.”
“Okie, dokie,” she answered back.
“So of all people to be working with you,” I said once we were far enough away.
“Yeah, well, she’s a good worker. And fortunately, she’s madly in love with someone else now.”
“She was always super sweet . . . not to mention she was an extraordinarily talented Valentine maker.”
“I forgot about those cards. They were pretty cool. I haven’t gotten anything that custom on Valentine’s Day since.”
I grabbed his arm and pressed myself against him. “How sad. I’ll have to remember to send you something special next February.”
“It won’t be special unless
you’re wrapped inside of it. And don’t talk about winter already. I don’t want summer to end.”
I peered up at him. “Why? Does your job at the marina end in summer?”
He looked down at me with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, I don’t want summer to end because of my wonderful marina job.”
Sometimes I was a clueless ninny. “You’re right. I won’t bring it up again. Let’s just make the best of it while I’m here. No more mornings like this morning.”
“You mean mornings that include Chase?”
I dropped his arm. “That is not what I meant at all.”
“All right, all right. Sorry. Just as long as he doesn’t drag whats-her-name along.”
I stopped suddenly. He went a few paces ahead until he realized I was no longer next to him. He looked back. “Hurry, the sandwich shop gets busy at this time.”
“Exactly why do you hate Susie so much?”
“She’s a bitch.”
“That’s not good enough. Lexi told me you dated her. Just how close were you two?”
He smiled and walked closer. His finger traced my bottom lip. “That pouty face is so freakin’ cute. If you think that one date at a burger stand and one quick make-out session in my dad’s pool house is dating then that term is being thrown about pretty loosely.” He glanced around then looked back at me. “Look, I guess I just hate the way she treats Chase. It’s like she owns him, and I think the dude deserves better.”
I pointed up at him. “I knew it. You still care about Chase. Your coldness is all just an act.”
He walked away from me. “Come on, I’m starved.”
I ran to catch up to him but I couldn’t stop smiling.
He glanced sideways at me and laughed. “You look like that freaky looking cat in Alice in Wonderland.”
“It is called a Cheshire cat and I’m just happy.” Then I stopped again.
Again it took him a second to notice that I was not keeping pace. He twisted back. “I swear, Duchess, I’m going to pick your skinny butt up and carry you to the sandwich shop.”
“You made out with Susie in your dad’s pool house? On the couch we were just sitting on?”
“Technically.”
“How can you make out technically?”
He seemed to contemplate that question a moment. “Don’t know but it might be fun. I meant technically it was on the couch only we’d pulled out the mattress.”
I put up my hand. “So very sorry I asked. Will not bring it up again, I promise. I only hope I can still eat lunch.”
“Not all that much happened anyhow,” he said.
“Truly, let’s just drop it before I lose the donuts I had this morning.”
We bought sandwiches and drinks, and Nico led me to a boat. I helped him push off, and we putted out past the buoys.
I sat up at the front of the boat. Ripples of water rolled under us and the boat rose and fell rhythmically with the current. Picturesque Fortune Lake was surrounded by tall pines and quaint cottages. Nico waved at the driver of a wakeboard boat as we sped past it.
My hair flew all around me as Nico pushed the throttle. I laughed at the exhilaration of the wind and speed. “It’s been so long since I’ve been in a boat, I’d forgotten how fun it was,” I said loud enough for him to hear over the din of the motor.
“This lake and the boats are the best thing about Pinecliff,” he said. “I’d go mad with boredom if I couldn’t go wakeboarding. A bunch of us are going tomorrow morning. The water is like glass if you get out here early enough. You should come.”
“I’ll have to see if my mom needs help or not. My Aunt Sadie looked like she was having a hard time getting around.”
“We’ll be back by nine if that helps.” Nico slowed down the boat and coasted into Bear Cove, a small nook in the lake where the dark blue water was shaded by trees.
Nico turned off the engine and sat next to me at the bow. I leaned over the side and looked down at the clear water of the cove. A school of silver fish swam out from beneath the boat.
I sat up. “Remember when we used to sit at the marina and try and catch those little fish with a bucket. I still don’t know what we’d planned to do with them if we’d ever caught any.”
Nico unwrapped his sandwich. “I thought we’d decided to pool our money and buy an aquarium so we could keep them like pets.” He took a bite.
Nico had been one of those kids who was always dying to have a dog, but his father would never let him get one. His father was such a jerk.
“I’m sorry you never got that dog you wanted.” I unwrapped my sandwich.
“Actually, I sort of had one for awhile. My mom had this cool, big mutt named Cisco. He went everywhere with me. Having a dog was just as awesome as I thought it would be. But when Mom died, her best friend had to take Cisco in. There was no way I could bring him back with me, and I had no place to keep him. He’s got a good home, and that’s all that matters. But I do miss him slobbering all over my dashboard and leaving wet nose prints on my windshield.”
He’d already gobbled down both halves of his sandwich so I handed him my other half.
He lifted it up. “Are you sure?”
“Go ahead. It’s a big sandwich. You’ve got a much bigger appetite.” I looked at his arms. “I guess it’s all those hunky muscles you’ve got now. As I recall, you used to pick through your school lunch like your fork was going through a mine field. The only time I ever really saw you chow down was when you came to my house for dinner.”
Nico swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I loved your mom’s fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I swear I still dream about them. To be honest, I loved everything she cooked, mostly because it was the only home cooking I ever ate back then.”
Amazingly that had never occurred to me. I, of course, loved Mom’s cooking because she was my mom, and I thought everything she made was delicious. I’d just assumed that was why Nico liked her food so much.
“I’ll have my mom make you some chicken and potatoes one night.”
“Sounds good. Although your mom didn’t look too thrilled to see me this morning.”
“I forgot to warn her about the tattoos. She was expecting sweet, tattooless Nico. But she has always liked you.”
He finished the sandwich half I’d given him. His shoulder and chest muscles flexed beneath his t-shirt as he wadded up the wrapper. Shoulder to shoulder, we leaned back against the seat running along the front of the boat. The motion of the boat and the warm sun was so relaxing, I rested my head against his shoulder and had to fight to stay awake.
He searched for my hand, and he laced his big fingers between mine. “It’s so weird, Jessa. I feel like it has been so long that we should almost be strangers, but sitting here next to you, it’s like you never left. Everything about you is so damn familiar, the scent of your hair, your smile, the sound of your laugh. It is like you are lodged so tightly in my memory, no amount of time can erase it.”
I squeezed his hand tightly. “I know exactly how you feel.”
We laid there in comfortable silence for a few minutes then Nico fished his cell phone out of his pocket and checked the time. “I’ve got to get back.”
I sat up groggily. “Darn it, I was just about to fall asleep.”
Nico walked back to the captain’s seat and started the engine. “What are you doing for the rest of the day?”
“I guess I’ll head back and help my mom at the shop. I told Lexi I’d hang out with her after she gets off work.”
“Oh.” It was always easy to read disappointment on Nico’s face.
“I’m just glad she’s still talking to me.”
He spun the boat around. “Yeah, lucky you.”
I walked over and motioned him out of the captain’s chair. “Give me a driving lesson. And why do you dislike Lexi?”
“Well, I already told her that we would meet, and besides, I can’t spend all of my spare time with you.”
“And why the hell not?”
I tilted my head back to look up at him. “Yes, Susie.”
He stepped to the back of the boat and sat down.
We floated slowly out toward the center of the lake, and I panicked as soon as I saw another boat. I glanced back at him. “Hey, Grumpy, there’s another boat coming.”
“Make sure you don’t hit it.”
“Nico, get over here, otherwise I’m just going to turn off the engine.”
His shadow loomed over me. “Scoot forward.”
I moved to the front of the chair, and he threw his long leg over the back of the seat and sat down behind me. When we were younger, it was how he’d taught me to drive a boat, but this was definitely not the same. The heat of his chest pressed against my back, and he lifted my hair up in his hand as he’d always done years ago. It kept my hair from flying into his face. Normally we would be laughing wildly. But this time we both seemed to be breathing faster than normal, but there was no laughter. Without warning he planted a kiss on the back of my neck. It felt right, his mouth on my skin. His arm wrapped around my waist and I relaxed back against his chest. There were no more kisses and no more words, but gliding over the scenic lake with the crisp breeze tickling my skin and my best friend holding me made me feel like I’d truly come home.
As the marina came into view, Nico dropped his hold on me. “Shit.”
I looked toward the docks and saw Nico’s dad, Mr. Harris, standing at the edge with his hands on his hips. He was still a big man, but now there was a lot more middle and a lot less hair. His stern brow and permanent scowl stood out from a more weathered face, but they still had the same chilling effect.
I quickly slid out from under Nico’s arm. “Holy crap, he looks mad.” I ran and sat at the back of the boat.
“Uh, it’s my dad. He always looks mad, remember?”