Tallulah Nights (Tallulah Cove Book 2)

by Casey Hagen

  “I can tell them you were struck with instantaneous diarrhea?”

  Kate burst out laughing through her tears. “Hitting me when I’m vulnerable… sure, why not? The next pamphlet will be all about rotaviruses. Maybe we’ll do brunch at home next time to spare the public the gruesome details.”

  Abby smoothed a hand over Kate’s hair. “You got it.” She pulled her in for a tight hug. “I love you, Kate. I’m always here.”

  Kate nodded and pulled open the door when Abby stepped back. “Thanks, kid.”

  Sebastian watched for her on Sunday afternoon, but she never showed. He sat on his balcony every day for the following three days, but no Kate.

  Worried something happened to her, he went to Tallulah Cove Dental, the office he thought he recalled her saying her sister worked at.

  He pushed through the door, causing the bell to jingle. Three people in the waiting room turned to him, one of the men’s eyes lighting up, but Sebastian made a beeline for the front desk.

  Normally he wouldn’t snub a fan, but this was an emergency.

  “I’m looking for Abby. Is she here?” he asked the young lady behind the counter. With her fiery-red hair and freckles, she looked twelve.

  “Uh, yes. Give me just a minute and I’ll go get her.” She hurried off into a back room, and moments later returned with a trim woman with cinnamon-colored hair who was wearing scrubs with molars all over them.

  When she spotted him, her smile slipped, and she glared at him. “You,” she said.

  “I guess you’re Abby.” She had the same dark hair and olive eyes as her sister.

  “You think? What the hell do you want?”

  And maybe a bit of her temper, too.

  “Why are you mad at me?”

  She glanced around, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the side. “You played games with her, and worse, she had to hear it from some bimbo who was all too eager to fill her in on how you were just using her to pass the time.”

  “What?” His voice shot up to a pitch he was almost certain he hadn’t hit since before puberty. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Some nitwit overheard your baseball buddies talking about how the goal for you guys this month is finding cougars to nail. Next month, it’ll be something new. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for her?”

  “We never made a deal like that,” he said. But he had talked to Randy, who was in a bar at the time, and if someone was listening in, like groupies, the message could have been misconstrued. Since the guys had arrived in town early Sunday morning, it was quite possible groupies had followed.

  “Right! You athletes are all the same. Users.” She crossed her arms. “Now, leave.”

  “Oh, no. Not until we get something straight. That conversation was one I had with my friend, Randy, over the phone no less, so whoever overheard him heard only the one side because I was in my bungalow here in Tallulah Cove.”

  “So what?”

  “So, we never said anything about finding cougars. We did say that from here on out none of us was interested in dating anyone under thirty. That would have been right before I told them about your sister, and made plans for them to meet her Sunday afternoon. She never showed. Where did she hear this tidbit?”

  “At The Sea Orchid. It’s a restaurant inside the Leaping Water Inn.”

  “Right where my guys are staying. Fucking groupies,” he muttered.

  Abby’s hands flew to cover her mouth, and her eyes went wide. “Oh, no!”

  “Yeah,” he said, shoving a hand through his hair.

  “She was so hurt.”

  He could imagine. When he thought back to all of those conversations—Jesus—could she have possibly heard anything worse?

  “Do you know where she is?”

  “She’s at the beach this afternoon. It’s her birthday.”

  He put his hands on his hips and sighed. “I was just there; I didn’t see her.”

  She shook her head. “Did you think she would go back to where you could find her?”

  “I suppose not.”

  “If you head up the Pacific Coast Highway about half a mile north of the Tallulah Cove city limits, there’s a pull-off up there. You’ll see her car.”

  “Any chance you can come with me?”

  She glanced over her shoulder then back to him. “Now?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Why?”

  He scratched the days’ worth of growth coming in. “For protection. She won’t harm a pregnant woman.”

  Abby’s eyes softened, and she smiled. “Do you love her?”

  “It’s only been a few days.”

  “So?”

  He nodded in affirmation. “Yeah, I love her.”

  “What are we waiting for, then?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  A Little Letting Go

  KATE TIPPED HER HEAD BACK and let the warm California sun beat down on her skin, burning away the sorrow of the last few days.

  The situation with Sebastian could have been prevented, had she just trusted her instincts. She may have screwed up, but something good came from it.

  She could let William go.

  She pushed herself up, picked up the urn, and headed for the water. A light breeze blew, making what she was about to do a whole lot easier.

  “I can let you go now. I’m strong enough. I’m ready to move on. I’m sorry I made you wait so long.” She slid the lid off the urn and found it full to the brim. She glanced away fast, not wanting to have the last memory of William be the dust he’d been reduced to. “I’m glad I waited. I got to turn forty with you after all.”

  She waited for a gust to sail through, then tipped the container into the sea. “Be well.”

  The urn emptied, and she tucked it back under her arm as the current sucked what was left of William into the wild sea.

  Laughter bubbled up inside her at what seemed like lead weights heaped on her shoulders. Despite the sorrow of the past few days, she smiled with the freedom of it.

  She dropped to the damp sand and watched the waves carry William away, to where his dreams could finally come true.

  “Is this seat taken?”

  Kate jumped at the sound of Sebastian’s voice behind her. “What the hell do you want?” she said, craning her neck and scrambling to her feet to find not only Sebastian, but Abby, Ben, their kids, her parents, and five players from the Cobras. “What’s going on?”

  “You stood me up,” he said, handing her his Tallulah Brew cup.

  “I gave up coffee,” she said, raising her chin in defiance.

  He grinned. “Liar.”

  “Whore,” she spat the word at him, so he would know just what she thought of his womanizing ways.

  He winced, and pink tinged his cheeks. “Ouch.”

  God, she hated that she even cared that the words had hit him hard. “Truth hurt?”

  “Nah, you just made a fool of yourself in front of all these people” he said, gesturing to the group standing with him.

  A buzzing started in her ears as the audience stared at her.

  Ben and Abby with smiles. Her parents with shock. And the players…just quiet amusement and smirks.

  “Explain.”

  He took a sip of the coffee. “You were misinformed. You know those fetuses I warned you about? Seems as though you had a run-in with one who happened to follow my guys into town. They overheard a conversation, and understood maybe half of it before relaying it to you. I have witnesses,” he said, glancing back at the group he’d brought with him.

  The ease with which he stood there drinking from the cup made her want to pinch him. “Is this some kind of joke?”

  “Do you see me laughing?” he asked.

  She squared her shoulders. She had her pride, and she wouldn’t be some cheap piece of ass. “I’m not interested in being your ‘for right now.’”

  He tilted his head and squinted in the sun. “Funny, I recall the first day we sat on the beach t

ogether, that’s all you were interested in.”

  She set her hands on her hips. “You know what I mean.”

  “I would never use you for sex,” he said quietly.

  She caught sight of her father, flushing with embarrassment, and her mother, taking it all in with a warped fascination that made Kate wonder if she were planning for more grandchildren…other than the ones Abby and Ben were producing at breakneck speed.

  “Is it true?” she asked the group. “I’m not just some conquest?”

  The player in the front stepped forward and cleared his throat. “No, ma’am.”

  She lifted her eyebrow and regarded him. “Ma’am?”

  “Uh, sorry. I’m a Southern boy,” he said with the kind of accent that made women want to dance on tailgates in cowboy boots by a roaring bonfire with a good beer in their hand, “and we’re not supposed to address a lady by her first name until we’re formally introduced, but since my mama’s not here to box my ears, no, Kate. You’re not just a conquest.”

  “Oh, God,” she muttered, rubbing her forehead. “I just made a huge ass of myself.”

  Sebastian slid his arm around her waist and smiled down at her. “Maybe a little, but my friends won’t hold it against you.” He kissed the corner of her mouth, his lips sliding along her cheek to her ear. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”

  He pulled a box from his pocket and handed it to her.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” she said with a wary glance at the box. “It’s only been a few days, and we just had a colossal misunderstanding. I’m pretty sure neither of us is grown up enough to get married.”

  “Open the box, Kate.”

  She flinched as she opened the lid, and let one eye crack open.

  A platinum necklace with a convertible car charm dangling from the chain winked up at her in the brilliant sunshine.

  She threw back her head and laughed. “Our first date.”

  “First of many. Happy birthday,” he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. He glanced down at the urn in the sand. “You think William will approve?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her clean off her feet.

  The wind kicked up and washed over her. For just a split second, it was as if William were there, running his hand over her hair again, just like he used to.

  “I think he already does,” she murmured.

  Dropping her to her feet, he cupped her face and brushed his lips over hers. “I love you,” he murmured against her lips.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered.

  “For now?” he asked.

  She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes. “Forever.”

  EPILOGUE

  What’s Up Doc?

  “SO WHAT’S THE CONSENSUS, DOC?” Sebastian asked from the exam table.

  “It’s bad news, I’m afraid,” he said solemnly.

  Sebastian had been prepared for this. He’d told himself he wouldn’t freak out. He and Kate had been spending almost all of their time together exploring every facet of Tallulah Cove, and there was still so much more to explore in mid-coast Cali.

  Later that day, they were supposed to meet up with her friend Jeremy, the car guy, who had gotten his hot little hands on a 1967 Dodge Coronet convertible. One of only two made.

  Sebastian wanted that sucker.

  Other than frequenting local businesses and restaurants, they’d begun having Friday night game nights with Ben, Abby, and the kids.

  The kids had even gone so far as to call him Uncle Sebby, something that made Kate growly.

  Or maybe it was the hundred or so more times he’d asked her to marry him.

  He looked forward to the new and surprising ways she’d learned to say no. The most recent being a straight middle finger pressed against his nose while she sipped her coffee and stared out at the sea. It was a little uninspired, but totally her.

  Eventually, he’d get her to say yes, and he’d run, not walk, to the nearest courthouse and get it done.

  “Well, it looks like you’ve got a lot of travel ahead of you because you’re all clear to return to practice.”

  His ears buzzed, and his skin tingled. “What?”

  “You’re going to play ball again. You’ll need to take it slow and work all summer to get ready for spring training, but you’re healed,” Dr. Kentwood said with a confident smile.

  “No surgery?”

  “Nope,” the doctor said with a shake of his head. “We’ll continue to watch it, and you might need surgery one day in the future if you injure it again, but we’ll worry about that then, if it happens at all.”

  “Thank you,” Sebastian said on a whoosh of breath, reaching out to shake the man’s hand and pull him in for a hard hug.

  Sebastian burst out the exam room door and shot his fist into the air. “I’m cleared!” he yelled in the waiting room full of people there to see the multiple doctors who had offices in the building.

  The magazine Kate had been looking at fell to the floor, and she shot to her feet. “Really?”

  He picked her up and twirled her in the air. “You bet that sweet ass of yours!”

  She smacked his shoulder and glanced around. “Oh, my God…shhhh!”

  “What? Did I lie?” Sebastian said, casting a glance at the faces around them.

  An older dude with a long beard shook his head and grinned from right behind Kate. “Nope.” His gaze landed on Kate’s pinched look, and he held up a hand. “Meanin’ no disrespect. It’s just hard to miss with it spinning in my face is all.”

  “You’re forgiven,” she said, giving him a wink. “Now, you,” she said, turning back to Sebastian. “Put me down, you’re making a fool of yourself.”

  “Marry me.”

  Her lips parted on a gasp. “Bite me.”

  “Marry me,” he said again.

  “You’re not going to stop, are you?”

  He smiled and right there in the office pressed his lips to the swell of her breast rising over the neckline of her tank top while still holding her in the air, pinned to him.

  “Nope. As a matter of fact, I’m not putting you down until you say yes,” he said as he headed for the door with her in his arms.

  “This is ridiculous!” she said with a hard kick.

  The double doors slid open, and he carried her out into the California sunshine. “You should just say yes before my shoulder gives out carrying you, and you sideline me for good.”

  “So you’re saying I’d be saving you?” Her question came out in staccato as she bounced with each step.

  “From career ruination, yes.”

  “From your own stupidity is more like it,” she muttered.

  “That too,” he said with a laugh, stopping next to his car. “Marry me, dammit.”

  She cupped his face and smiled down at him. “You’re a persistent shit. I’ll give you that.”

  “And?”

  She sighed. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He let her slide to her feet, and the minute she hit pavement, he took that hot mouth of hers in a fiery, all-consuming kiss that had them both gasping when they finally broke apart.

  “Not that I want to jinx it, but what made you say yes this time?”

  “It was time. I think you’d be torn about going with your team otherwise, and you need to be on the field,” she said.

  “Trying to get rid of me already, woman,” he said, his throat thick with emotion that she understood just how much his career, his dream meant to him.

  “On the contrary. I’m banking on never having to let you go,” she said, memories storming in her eyes.

  “I love you,” he said with a kiss to her forehead.

  “And I love you…so don’t forget your way home,” she whispered.

  “Never.”

  Are you ready for the next Tallulah Cove novella, Tallulah Trouble featuring

  Sebastian’s sister, Graziella?

  Find it here:

  Tallulah Trouble

  Are you interested in checking out all

  Tallulah Cove has to offer?

  Click here:

  Take Me to Tallulah Cove

  ABOUT CASEY HAGEN

  Casey Hagen pens her snarky, passionate stories from the salty air of Kennebunk, Maine. She’s a born and raised Vermont native, a New England girl to the core, with Ben & Jerry’s in her heart and real Vermont maple syrup pumping through her veins.

  She’s the proud mother of three girls and a new, first-time grandma with an insatiable addiction to Fall Out Boy, and a new, rather concerning obsession with tattoos and piercings. Can you say “cool grandma?”

  The inked and pierced grandma spends her time tucked away in her office, coated in cat hair, alternating between tearing her hair out trying to find the perfect words and being one step ahead of her three scheming fur babies she is positive are plotting her demise with every swirl around her ankles at the top of her office stairs.

  She loves writing stories about real people, with complicated histories, relatable everyday problems, and giving them the hard-won happily-ever-afters they deserve.

  And she thanks every last one of you who picks up one of her stories.

  Casey is done talking about herself in the third person.

  *Casey out*

  You can find me online at

  www.CaseyHagenAuthor.com

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