by Jo Leigh
Cricket took her time walking to Ronny’s, after seeing Wyatt off for his run. Since she’d given up her bedroom to her mother, she was staying at his place. And they’d taken full advantage of the situation, sleeping in an extra hour. They’d even managed to drink some coffee between dragging each other back to bed.
This third cup was much needed. Especially after watching Wyatt do his morning workout. God, what a body. She’d wanted him to do his routine in the buff, but he’d declined. After his run, he had stuff to do at the bar. Not only finishing up the railing, now that he’d gotten the right kind of wood, but he had to restock and do another inventory. The post-storm crowd had been thirsty.
She’d heard from Jade and Harlow, who’d wanted to know if Ronny’s shack was still standing and how they’d weathered the storm. Cricket had been tempted to tell them about Wyatt, but what was there to say really? She wanted to stay, needed to leave, wasn’t sure if there was a chance he was the one, but if she didn’t find out, it might be the worst mistake ever.
Ginny was still out of town. She’d taken Tilda somewhere inland before the storm had hit, though Cricket had a feeling Ginny’s need to get away had little to do with the weather. They’d promised to see each other before she returned to Chicago and Cricket figured she’d get the real story then.
Now Cricket was looking forward to spending some time with her folks. Just them. Ronny’s minions were out in the surf, since the waves had been so much better after the storm. It wasn’t easy for Ronny, but she knew her mother was keeping him entertained.
As she approached the shack, she heard them laughing. It was a little bizarre to see them getting along so well, and being so...well, chummy. Ronny’s attitude wasn’t a surprise, not after his admission that there would never be another woman for him, but her mom? She’d never been acrimonious but this was something else altogether. She looked happy to be with Ronny. And Cricket, of course.
Rapping twice on the door, she walked in to find her father at the stove, and her mom pressed against his side. She quickly stepped away and smiled.
Cricket quietly cleared her throat. “Pancakes? Again?”
“Yeah,” Ronny said. “This time, no chocolate chips. Unless you insist.”
“That’s okay. If you’ve got blueberries, I could go for that. I’m starving.”
Her mom, in a short sundress that showed off her great figure, looked as if she had never belonged anywhere but Temptation Bay. Her hair was swept up in a messy bun, she had a little color after just a day in the sun, and she was barefoot. Just like Cricket.
Glancing at her watch, she raised her brows at Cricket. “I’ll bet you’re starving. That Wyatt of yours is—”
“Stop right there, or I’m leaving.”
“I was just going to say he’s fit.”
Cricket felt her face heat, but she simply sipped her coffee and turned to Ronny. “Did you hear about your appointment yet?”
“They had a cancellation. The doctor is seeing him in two days,” Victoria said.
Ronny flipped two pancakes, then looked up. “I can speak for myself.”
“I know, dear,” she said, moving closer to the counter, where she topped up what looked to be a mimosa cocktail. “So you can see that everything is going to be taken care of, and you’re free to go back to work. I promise I’ll keep you up-to-date with every single thing that happens.”
Why her mother was so anxious to get rid of her, Cricket didn’t understand and it was really starting to bug her. The thought of leaving Temptation Bay for an indeterminate length of time made her ill. Especially knowing what she’d have to face once she got back home.
Although, to be honest, this run-down shack and this crazy town were more of a home to her than Chicago ever would be.
“Where is your handsome hunk, anyway?” Victoria asked.
“He does have a business to run, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be able to join us for dinner. Sadly, his backup bartender is off tonight, so that means he’ll have to go back to the bar afterward.”
“I hope he joins us,” Ronny said. “He’s a good guy. I’m not crazy about the fact that he’s been working so hard to get those storage shelves underneath the shack. I hadn’t realized how old they’d gotten.”
“He’s happy to help, and so am I,” Cricket said, debating making a pot of her kind of coffee, but choosing orange juice instead. “So, Mom, what’s the judge got to say about you spending all this time here?”
“He’s fine. Away at another one of his golf tournaments. I assure you, he won’t miss me a bit. And as much as I do love Paris, I was getting a little homesick. This feels like a real family reunion, only better, because there are no pesky grandparents or other relatives to contend with.”
“It’s really lovely to see you.” Cricket gave her mom a quick hug. “I’ve missed being able to come visit you so often.”
“Since I came to Chicago last time, you owe me a Paris vacation.”
“I’m using up all my vacation time here.”
“Which begs the question...” Her mother gave her a look that was almost scolding.
“I’m going back after Ronny sees the audiologist. And even if I didn’t, I’d still have enough vacation time to stay another two weeks if I wanted.”
Her mother’s brows arched. “You’re not going to do that, are you?”
“No, I’m not. But I do have things to do here, aside from going with Dad to the audiologist.” In fact, she needed to call Penny later. “After that, I should know when I’ll be going back to Chicago.”
“For heaven’s sake, don’t you trust me to take care of your father?”
“That has nothing to do with it.”
Her mother gave Ronny a sly look, but Cricket decided she didn’t want to know. So she didn’t ask.
* * *
DINNER HAD BEEN WONDERFUL, especially since her mom had toned down the innuendos. Wyatt was so charming Cricket wanted to haul him back to his place, but she held steady. He won lots of points with her mother, including bringing her favorite wine. Her enthusiasm about Wyatt was understandable; he was great, and would continue to be great even after Cricket left. The thought made her sigh, and to hide it, she had another spoonful of pistachio almond ice cream he’d brought, yet another thing to love about him.
Like, she corrected. Like far too much.
Wyatt looked at his watch. “I’m going to have to leave in a few minutes, unfortunately. Everything was terrific. Victoria, Ronny, you outdid yourselves.”
“It was wonderful having you here,” Victoria said, smiling happily. “A military man wasn’t anything I ever imagined for Jessica, but I think you two make a beautiful couple.”
Cricket winced, but when she caught Wyatt’s gaze, it appeared he didn’t mind them being considered a couple, if only a temporary one.
“She’s been great. Told me all about pirates, the local folklore and made me remember that I really do love the sea.”
“I thought you were in the Navy,” Ronny said.
“Yep. But I think in my case, it was difficult to equate the ocean with pure pleasure.”
“I see. Just like fishing is the last thing I want to do with my time off.”
“And yet,” Victoria said, “a day without surfing is a day of woe.”
“Well, that’s different. That’s me and water, doing our thing. That’s like flying, like dreaming.”
Cricket almost made a comment, but she didn’t want to spoil the basic truth of what her father had said. Letting him wax on about it for too long would take him to a dark space, though, and that she didn’t want. “Ronny, you mentioned someone was interested in buying the shack and land. Was it the people who own the resort?”
He snorted, which told her a lot. “Like I would ever sell.”
“I spoke to Penny the other day. She asked me for some help defi
ning the offers and contracts some of the elderly fish people have been given. I hope to be able to make things clearer for them, but it would help—if you wouldn’t mind—for me to have some idea what these people are offering.”
“Well, first time around, they offered me over a million bucks. The second time, it was another guy, and the price had doubled. Maybe that had something to do with me laughing my ass off at the offer.”
“Huh. A million sounds low for all the land you own, but two million, maybe. I wonder what the going price is for regular beachfront properties. Guess I’d better find out before I go see her.”
Ronny frowned. “She can’t be thinking of selling.”
“I’m not sure. She implied she was asking for someone else. But since she’s alone now, I think it might be worth her while to consider it.”
“Penny?” Ronny sounded affronted. “Nah.”
Cricket finished off her ice cream as she thought about it. “I don’t know. That amount of money can change your life, Ronny. It could set you up for whatever comes your way, and you don’t have to sell all of it. You could always keep a small plot along with the shack.”
Ronny looked at her as if she’d just said surfing should be banned. But that was him all over. When she met her mother’s gaze, it seemed as if she was just as aghast. Even Wyatt looked at her funny.
“I just meant that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a nest egg for further down the road. It would give you options, in case of another Sandy or Perfect Storm, that’s all.”
“That’s an interesting notion, honey, but do you really think Ronny could ever be happy away from his beach, his people? It’s a huge part of what makes him whole.” Her mom smiled. “I was going to mention that it’s obvious even you do better when you’re here. It’s so clear in the way you look, the brightness of your eyes. How happy you are...”
Cricket didn’t dare look at Wyatt. “I didn’t suggest he’d have to leave.”
“I know you mean well,” Ronny added, “but that’s not something I’m willing to entertain. So how about we drop it.”
Her mom put her hand over Ronny’s, and it sent up another flag, although Cricket’s misstep, which she didn’t think was so outrageous, had changed the atmosphere of the whole evening.
Wyatt stood up, lifting his and her bowls to take to the kitchen, but Cricket wasn’t about to make him wait on her when he had to face customers until one in the morning. “Put those down, please, and tell me what time I should come meet you at the bar.”
He moved right next to her, and she felt his big warm hand on the small of her back...sliding down. “Anytime is good. Don’t hurry on my account.”
“I actually thought that might spur you into leaving early, but that wouldn’t be fair. I really have taken up most of your time.”
“You had a little help from a tropical storm.”
“True.”
He leaned down to kiss her, and if they weren’t with her folks, she’d have gone for the gold, but there were rules about such things. Instead, she walked him to the door and watched him for a long minute.
When she turned back, both of her parents gave her exaggerated hubba-hubba looks. “Real mature, you two. I swear, I’m the only adult in this family.”
* * *
SOMETIME AFTER TEN, Cricket walked to the bar, still reeling from her latest discovery. Wyatt was serving someone, but Bobby Cappelli offered her his prime seat, and moved a couple of stools down. “How you doing?” he asked. Like a regular person instead of a sleazy pickup artist.
“Good, thanks. You?”
“Same old, same old,” he said, then he was pulled into a conversation with the guy next to him.
Tiffy nodded at her with a smile, as did Lila and Viv. She knew some folks in the bar, but there were tables of tourists, too, and a table full of single ladies having a blowout. All in all, it wasn’t that busy, which was good, because she needed to speak to Wyatt.
He arrived with two bottles in his hand. One was a cold beer, the other was the Lagavulin. She wanted the latter, but she chose the beer.
“You sure?”
“Yep. Although, I do need to get over a recent trauma.”
He opened the beer and set it down, leaning closer to her, a look of concern on his face.
“I’m pretty sure my parents are...doing it.”
“Doing what?”
“It. I had to go into my bedroom to get something, and the bed hadn’t been touched. Then my mother, my married mother, walked into Ronny’s room to get a clean dress after she spilled some wine. I swear, I don’t know what to make of it. She said everything was fine between her and the judge, but I don’t think she’s ever been secretive with me before, not about divorcing husbands. Of course, she probably wouldn’t tell me if she cheated, but it doesn’t seem like something she’d do.”
“Do you think your folks would ever get back together? They seemed very comfortable with each other, at least to me.”
“I don’t think so, but then, everything’s been so weird lately. Ronny’s accidents, my mother showing up out of the blue.”
“Well, it must be Parents Being Weird Week because the admiral called me again, which is unprecedented. He asked me about the storm, even though it’s been on the news that it wasn’t much of anything here in the Bay. I actually considered that maybe he and my mother might be having problems, or getting a divorce. Tomorrow I’m going to call my brother, find out what he knows.”
“Huh. You don’t think it could be that he’s heard about us? Maybe Becky or Adam’s grandparents?”
“What? No. Even if he did, he wouldn’t care.”
She sipped her beer and watched him fill drink orders. Watched people, nodded at those who nodded at her. But by her second beer, close to midnight, Wyatt caught her yawning.
“Why don’t you go on up? Get ready for bed.”
“Yeah,” she said as she stood and started to walk out, but he caught her at the end of the bar.
In a low voice, close to her ear, he said, “I’ll wake you up when I get up there, huh?”
Smiling, she kissed him, and he kissed her back. It wasn’t earth-shattering, but at least by now, no one paid them much mind.
When he leaned back, she didn’t let him go. She hated for the night to end in a downer, so she decided to tell him the news now, before he came upstairs.
“Something up?”
She looked down, before she was brave enough to meet his gaze. “I’m calling Grant tomorrow, letting him know I’ll be flying back by the end of the week.”
Wyatt inhaled, and held it, his face going stoic in that way he had.
She forced herself to do the same. No use letting the bar staff know there was trouble in paradise. Not when they both knew this was inevitable. So why did the thought hurt so damn bad?
Chapter Twenty-Three
THE FIRST THING Cricket noticed when she rolled over was that Wyatt wasn’t in bed. Cranking an eye open, she realized it was late—the sun coming into his room was far too bright to be early morning. Probably on his run.
As she stretched her neck, a rush of pleasure filled her with the memory of their predawn lovemaking. The way he’d teased her until she’d begged, and how she’d returned the favor, glad no one had been downstairs to hear the noise.
Ah, she remembered now. He’d told her that he had to be downstairs by ten thirty to accept deliveries, and it was almost eleven. Cricket was due at Penny’s at noon. Before she left, she had to call Grant. The idea made her want to pull the covers back over her head, but instead, she grabbed a shower and had a good strong cup of the coffee Wyatt had so kindly left her, along with a note hoping to schedule a nap for this afternoon.
Yeah, as if they’d get any sleep.
As soon as she saw her cell phone charging on the counter, she sobered. Grant was still her speed
dial 2, which she would change, pronto, but her job at the moment was to get her head straight. Now was no time to botch her plan of action.
Unfortunately, she got his voice mail.
“Grant, it’s Jessica. Call me back, please.” She almost said more, but changed her mind quickly. She needed to hear his reaction live.
The scant time she had left was spent eating a bagel, doing her makeup—not the real deal, just some mascara and lipstick, and picking out the right sundress. This was business, after all.
It was only a few minutes’ drive to Penny’s, where there were an awful lot of cars parked just behind the seawall, bracketing the path to Penny’s house. Shouldn’t everyone be selling their wares at the fish market?
It took a minute for Cricket to find a space for Wyatt’s truck, but her cell phone rang with Grant’s tone as soon as she started walking. “Hello?”
“Thanks for the call,” he said, the sarcasm evident. “Finally. So, when are you coming back?”
“Over the weekend. Sunday night.”
“What? Why do you need to stay that long? Victoria’s there to take care of Ronny. I thought she talked some sense into you.”
She hadn’t spoken to Grant about her mother’s visit. So, what the... “Why would my mother need to talk sense into me since she knows nothing about what’s happening at work?”
The weight of his silence slowed her step.
In fact, her mom and Grant had never met.
“Sorry, I have another call. But take the weekend, since we’re still strategizing our defense so we don’t need you for that, but be here on Monday. No later.”
Grant disconnected and she stared at the cell phone as if it could make sense of the steamroller that had run her over. They didn’t need her for strategy sessions? When she would be sitting at the table with the defendant?
No, of course not. She was just window dressing. How stupid of her to forget.
And her mother?
That was the real kicker. Cricket knew something had been wrong since day one. She should have said something the minute Victoria stepped out of the cab. But in her wildest imagination she never would have thought her mother had some connection to her work. It made no sense. None.