The Posse

by Tawdra Kandle

  It was quiet, and she thought it would have been a perfect night to enjoy takeout from her own restaurant here by the pool, along with a lovely glass of Riesling. She could finish the book she’d been falling asleep over for the past week. Call the kids and make sure they’d made it to Gainesville and Savannah.

  But no, instead she was going to haul her cookies back to her bedroom, scrounge up something decent to wear and go to a restaurant, the last place she wanted to be on her night off. She was going to put on a big smile and convince Matt that she was doing okay so that he could take that info back to the rest of the posse, and maybe she’d get a little peace.

  Jude sighed and drained the water from her bottle. Stalling just a little, she pulled her phone out and checked messages. Sure enough, there were several: two from Meggie, reporting the progress of her drive, and one line from Joseph that simply said, “We r here.”

  She smiled, missing them already, and texted back quickly. “Good to know. Having dinner with U Matt. Be safe, love you. Talk soon.”

  And then because she couldn’t put it off anymore, she pushed to her feet and went back to find something to wear, pausing only long enough to turn on her music so that it blasted from the kitchen to the bedroom.

  Florida beach dinner attire was simple. There were few places where Jude couldn’t wear shorts, but since it was Friday night and Matt was going to the trouble of taking her to dinner, she found a sundress that was both pretty and comfortable. She paired it with flat beaded sandals and some gold hoop earrings and decided she’d done her best.

  Dressing after a quick shower, she braided her hair, spritzed on perfume and grabbed a sweater. It was a given that the a/c would be running overtime; Jude never went out to eat without a jacket of some kind.

  David Bowie began singing about modern love over the speakers. Jude smiled, thinking that this was one huge benefit of having the house to herself. There were no kids to roll their eyes or moan, “Mom, seriously?”

  Dancing by the full-length mirror that hung on her bathroom door, she came to a halt. The last time she’d been dressed up for anything was Daniel’s funeral, over a year ago. She frowned at her own image, at the bones jutting out of her shoulders, the hollows in her neck. Eating had not been a priority for the last few years, but she hadn’t realized that the weight loss was so pronounced.

  The doorbell rang, jolting her away from the self-study. Matt stood on the brick porch, hands in the pockets of his khakis. He wore a black shirt, open at the neck, with the sleeves rolled to his elbows.

  His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as Jude opened the door. “Hey! Hold on, let me grab my bag and my keys and turn off the music. I’ll be right there.”

  Matt stood aside as she locked the door and turned toward the driveway. He almost ran into her back when she stopped suddenly.

  “Oh my God, you brought the ‘Vette!” She turned around, hand to her mouth.

  Matt grinned. “I wasn’t going to make you climb into the Jeep. Besides, you all give me so much shit about it, I figured it was about time you took a ride.”

  Jude followed him to the car and climbed in when he held the door. She ran one hand over the dash, smiling. Matt had bought the car after his divorce, and all the posse had teased him mercilessly about being a stereotypical middle-aged divorced man. He took it in stride, she’d thought, but seeing it now, she realized he’d never had any of them take a ride in it, never drove it around them after he first bought it.

  Matt dropped into the driver’s seat and turned the key. He backed out of the driveway, one hand on the headrest of Jude’s seat, and she caught a whiff of his scent, a mix of cologne and lingering sunscreen. It was both disconcertingly familiar and jarringly foreign; she knew it as Matt’s particular smell, and yet she was unused to it in such close quarters. For the first time, she felt unsettled about this evening, as Emmy’s teasing words rang in her ears.

  “In the mood for some garlic?” Matt slid a sideways grin her way, and Jude felt a little better. This was Matty, after all. She still saw him as the earnest little boy who came for breakfast every Saturday with his dad.

  “Sounds good,” she said, shifting in her seat. “I just hope I don’t bore you to death or fall asleep. Daniel used to say I was pretty useless on Friday nights. The whole week just seems to catch up with me.”

  She hadn’t meant to bring up Daniel as a defense against any ideas Matt might have, but not talking about him would have been unnatural. Matt didn’t seem to mind. He lifted one shoulder.

  “That’s okay. If you conk out on me, I’ll carry you home.”

  They were quiet for a moment then, both lost in their own thoughts. Jude searched for something else to say, annoyed that she felt she had to make small talk.

  “The kids got to school without any problem,” she heard herself say. “I bet they’re happy to be back with their friends.”

  Matt took a smooth corner. “Meggie’s finishing this year, right? And what happens with Joseph now? Does he lose any time with taking his classes here last year?”

  Jude nodded, pursing her lips. “Just a little. He’ll be about a semester behind, unless he takes summer classes next year to catch up. I didn’t want him to take the leave, but when he insisted...well, it was good to have him living home with me this last year. Even with Meggie coming home every weekend, the between times would have been harder without Joseph. But I hope he doesn’t regret it.”

  “He won’t. He’s a good kid.” Matt turned the car into a small parking lot next to a two-story house that was flooded with lights. People stood in the side garden, holding drinks, and a line snaked around the porch.

  “Wow, this place is hopping,” Jude said as they made their way up the steps. “Wonder how long we’ll have to wait.” Her stomach growled on cue, and Matt laughed.

  “No wait for us. I called ahead. I have a friend here.” He led her to the podium and gave his name to the maitre’ d, who grinned and pointed them inside.

  Just within the doors, a hostess waited with two menus in hand. “Good evening, Mr. Spencer! Won’t you come this way?”

  They followed her down a narrow hall to a wide room in the back. The light was dim, and several other couples sat at tables for two. Matt held Jude’s chair, and once again she had that sense of foreboding.

  This is not a date. This is one of my oldest friends taking me out to dinner so I don’t have to be alone the day my kids left.

  Jude scanned the menu, trying to focus her mind on food and not the tumbling feeling in her stomach. Her eyes caught on one entry in the appetizers column as she remembered what Matt had told her earlier.

  “Why don’t we get some of this roasted garlic to start? It looks good.” Ordering garlic should make it clear that I know this isn’t a real date.

  Matt glanced at her, a furrow between his brows. He nodded and turned to the waitress who appeared tableside.

  “We’ll start with the roasted garlic, and Jude, what do you want to drink?”

  “Ahhh...” She looked at the wine list. “Just a glass of the house white, please.”

  Matt ordered a whiskey sour, and the waitress left them alone again.

  Jude glanced around, taking in the ambience and trying to avoid seeing the other couples nearby, who were holding hands or murmuring softly to each other. There was no denying the romance of the place, and it made her all the more uneasy that Matt had brought her here.

  He was watching her, she realized. Shifting in her chair, she clutched for something to say, some safe topic of conversation.

  “The bed and breakfast is really coming along.” There, that was a good start, bringing up their mutual interest in the business of Crystal Cove and the project spearheaded by her late husband.

  “Yeah, I saw Logan out there today. I guess he was checking up on stuff.”

  Jude frowned. “Logan was at the site today? That’s strange, he almost always comes by after he’s been there, to catch me up on how it’s going.”


  Matt shrugged. “Maybe he was running behind today.”

  “Maybe.”

  The waitress returned with their drinks and appetizer. The head of garlic sat in the middle of a round red plate. The ends had been cut off before it was roasted, and the aroma made Jude’s mouth water. She pulled off a slice of the crisp wheat bread, captured a clove of garlic and spread it. It was still hot and felt like heaven in her mouth.

  Matt helped himself to a piece, too, and swirled his drink before taking a swig. Jude watched his hands, so different from Daniel’s. Matt had a perpetual tan, and that included his hands. In the dim light, she could barely make out the dusting of blond hairs on the backs of his fingers.

  All in all, she had to concede, Matt was a good-looking guy. She caught a few other women in the dining room sneaking peeks at him. He looked a good ten years younger than he was. His athletic lifestyle and frenetic pace kept him in shape. But Jude thought the real attraction was the kindness in his soft blue eyes.

  The black shirt set off his blond hair. The sleeves were snug enough that Jude could see the muscles in his arms ripple as he reached for another slice of bread.

  “I think it’s going to bring a lot more business to the Cove, even to Beach Street.”

  Jude, absorbed in her study of him, was just briefly lost by what Matt said. Then she remembered and picked up the thread of conversation, grateful for something to do.

  “Without a doubt. That’s why Daniel and Logan decided to go that route. At first they were thinking restaurant. Not anything to compete with the Tide, of course. I’d have wiped the floor with them, anyway, if they had gone that way. More upscale, more a fancy-dinner night place.” She waved her hand, indicating the room. “Kind of like this, I guess.”

  “The B-and-B will attract more business. More people staying right there in town and spending their money there, rather than taking a room at the chain hotel off the highway. It’s going to be good. I had the organizer of a surfing event call that woman who’s managing for you guys. She booked rooms for a week next February.”

  Jude smiled. “Thanks, Matt. I don’t know what Crystal Cove would do without you. You’re like our business rep these days. I hope people appreciate it.”

  Matt ducked his head in that way Jude remembered from back when he was in middle school. “It’s no big. The town is part of my family. Everyone’s been there for me, supported me. It’s nice to be able to return the favor.”

  Jude squeezed another piece of garlic onto her bread. This stuff was seriously good. She took a bite, chewed and swallowed before asking Matt another question.

  “Do you ever think back and wish you’d done anything different, Matt? Maybe loved the Cove a little less?”

  Matt chuckled and leaned back in his chair. “You’re talking about Renee, right? Nah.” He shook his head. “No regrets. Except maybe that we both should have been clearer from the beginning about what we wanted. I thought she wanted to stay here, help me with the store, have some kids. She thought I’d eventually get tired of this life and be willing to move somewhere else. We were both really, really wrong.”

  Jude reached across the table and squeezed his hand before snagging another piece of bread. “Do you ever hear from her?”

  “Not for a long time. She lived in New York for a while, and then she moved to southern California. Got remarried about five years ago, had a baby. Birth announcement was the last thing I got.”

  “Does it still hurt?” Jude thought for a moment about how it would have felt if Daniel had chosen to leave her behind, instead of being taken away against his will. She imagined pain and betrayal.

  Matt looked over her shoulder, considering, and his eyes grew distant. “Sometimes I think about what could have been. Renee and I weren’t cut out for the long haul, I know that. But I would have liked kids, I think. Yours are pretty cool.”

  “Yeah, I like them most of the time. Truthfully, I couldn’t have made it through these last few years without them.”

  “Well, I hope they’re up for taking care of Uncle Matt in his old age. My sisters’ kids are going to have their hands full with their own parents.”

  The waitress finally returned to take their entrée orders. Jude went with a penne and cream sauce, and Matt ordered veal piccata.

  Sipping her wine, Jude studied him across the table. He was still uncomfortable about something, she could tell.

  “Have you ever thought about getting married again?” Her words were more abrupt than Jude had intended, but Matt’s reaction surprised her. His face turned red, and he choked on his drink.

  “Sorry,” he sputtered, wiping his face with the white linen napkin. “Went down the wrong pipe.”

  “The idea of getting married again is that scary?” Jude laughed and shook her head. “Typical Matty.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair. I liked being married. I date enough, and if someone came along who I could trust, who I could see building a life with...hell, yeah. I’d dive in without another thought.”

  “You should find a younger woman. One who still wants to have children. It’s not too late for you, Matt. You’d make a great daddy.”

  He looked down, and Jude sensed she’d touched a nerve. She drained her wine glass and gave him a minute to recoup before she changed the subject.

  They stuck to the comfortable topics of Crystal Cove gossip and politics all during the entrée. Matt knew everyone in the Cove, from the elderly lady who lived in one of the tiny original houses in town—Jude suspected Matt helped pay her taxes—to the United States congressman who had just bought a beachfront condo.

  “He loves the Cove, and it wouldn’t hurt to have someone in our corner with all the encroaching development.” Matt leaned forward, keeping his voice low. “So I take him to lunch now and then, give his boy a free surf lesson. He’s a nice guy. Doesn’t hurt to have friends in high places, right?”

  Jude took one last bite of her penne. “You amaze me. I mean, I know all you guys love this town. Daniel used to tell me sometimes the stuff you did, helping people get businesses off the ground, making sure no one was hungry or without a/c during the summer. But I think you’re probably the most passionate about it. I’m proud of you, Matt.”

  His eyes were glued to the table. “That means a lot. Daniel used to say no one can build up a man like Jude. He said he never would have done half what he did if you weren’t there cheering him on.”

  Jude hadn’t really cried in weeks, but sitting there, hearing his words quoted to her, she missed her husband with a new keenness. She fought back the tears and instead grinned at Matt.

  “Does that translate as I nagged the hell out of him until he got it done? Probably closer to the truth.”

  Matt shook his head. “Never. Daniel didn’t ever say anything but good stuff about you. Made the rest of us hate him, sometimes. He was always the first one to go home at night, because he had someone worth going home to.”

  The waitress returned along with a busboy who cleared their plates. “Coffee? And may I bring our dessert tray? We have a delicious tiramisu tonight.”

  Matt looked at her with raised brows, but Jude just laughed, holding her stomach. “It sounds great, and I wish I could, but I’m so stuffed. Plus, I need to get home. Four AM is going to come early tomorrow.”

  She sat back in her chair, studying Matt as her took the check, glanced at it and then handed it back to their server along with his credit card. She hadn’t been lying earlier when she told him he should get married again. And she could see him with a younger woman, one who would be willing to start a family. She only hoped someone would come along who could appreciate him.

  “Are you sure I can’t pay for my own? Or at least leave the tip?”

  Matt looked wounded. “What kind of guy do you think I am? No, thanks. I take a lady out, I pay. I’m just old-fashioned that way, I guess.”

  The ride home was relaxed and quiet. Matt showed off the Corvette’s state-of-the-art audio system as Prince crooned a
bout purple rain. Jude leaned her head back against the seat and ran through the list of unattached women she knew. There weren’t that many, none she could imagine settling down with Matt.

  The ‘Vette purred into her driveway, and Matt turned off the ignition before he hopped out and came around to open Jude’s door. He trailed behind her as she walked toward the back door.

  “Matt, you don’t have to walk me to the door. I’m fine. I come home by myself pretty much all the time, you know.”

  Matt held the screen door while she worked the lock. “Will you stop? I’m seeing you home safe. Just like my dad always told me.”

  Jude laughed, shaking her head as she turned the knob. “Okay, well, mission accomplished. I’m inside, and all is well. I’d invite you in, but I really do have to get to bed. I’m sorry, I guess I’m not very fun these days.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s not every night I get to have dinner with a beautiful, fascinating woman.” His eyes fastened on hers, and once again Jude felt that thin line of dread from earlier in the evening.

  “Well, clearly being fascinating is also exhausting, because I need my sleep.” Jude tiptoed up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Matt caught her arm, and for a moment, Jude’s heart pounded.

  Then he released her, patted her back and smiled.

  “Thanks for the nice evening, Jude. See you around.”

  ***

  Stopping in at the Riptide in the early morning had become part of Logan’s routine. He had always been an occasional jogger, running sporadically a few times a week, but for the last month, he’d been at it every day. Seeing Jude first thing in the morning was worth missing an hour of sleep and walking around with sore muscles.

  As he made his way down the beach, his footfalls echoed against the dunes between the crashing of the waves. There was something nearly mystical about the surf at this time of day, before the sun rose and while a few last stars still twinkled in the black velvet of the sky. Logan could almost imagine that he was alone in the world.

  He followed the bend and caught sight of Tide, nestled just beyond the edge of the sand. As he drew closer, he saw a figure silhouetted by the door. She paused, glancing over her shoulder, and Logan dared to hope that she was looking for him.