by KB Winters
Chapter Seven
Nick
“Let’s call it a day, Adams. I got a very hot date waiting at home for me,” Aaron said, tossing down the last of the tools in his hands.
I glanced up from the blueprints that detailed the engine specs and nodded at him. “No arguments here. It’s been a long ass day.”
“Especially for a Saturday…” Aaron commiserated. He came over to where I was working on taking some notes and threw himself down in the chair beside the desk. “Sorry about having you come in on the weekend.”
“Nah, it’s all right. I just hope we can get her ready in time…” I gave the F-4 an appraising glance. Aaron had received an offer to have a showpiece in an aerial show in LA and he’d decided that he wanted to get the F-4 in flight condition for the event in honor of his dad.
“We will.” Aaron lifted up from his seat and started for the door between the hangar and the museum warehouse. “You wanna lock up for me?”
“Sure,” I replied.
“Thanks. Don’t stay all night.” He flashed a smile and sauntered out the door, leaving me alone in the large space.
My first week at the museum had been a success. Aaron and I continued to bond and were becoming fast friends and now that there was a time crunch to get the F-4 rehabbed, we were working on the project together. He’d told me he’d honor our 90-day contract one way or the other, so I wasn’t worried about the job ending prematurely, and it was fun working on it together. We’d spent the entire day tearing everything apart and putting things back together one by one to determine where all the issues were after spending most of the week on a wild goose chase going from one theory to another without much success.
I’d overslept my alarm this morning, and didn’t have time to go to Carly’s before coming to the museum. I’d driven by the strip where her shop was nestled, on my way out of town, and had contemplated pulling in anyways. I doubted Aaron would care—especially if I brought him a coffee too—but had resisted the pull. I didn’t want to push my chances of getting an extension on my contract. The longer I stayed in Holiday Cove, the more money I’d make and a better chance at getting to know Carly.
I folded up my papers, tucked them into the large folder Aaron and I had been using to compile all of our testing notes, and then grabbed my keys and phone from the counter where I’d dropped them that morning. I flipped off the lights, set the security code, and locked up. I made it halfway to my truck when my cell phone started ringing. I fished it out of my back pocket and saw an unknown caller.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Nick!” The voice belonged to my younger brother, Nate. He was currently stationed with the Marines over in Japan and called every few months. Usually when he’d had a little too much to drink and got all sentimental.
“Hey Bro, what’s up?” I continued on to my truck and hopped inside to keep warm. The sun was getting ready to dip down over the ocean and there was a slight chill in the air.
“Not much. Just bored.”
“You stayin’ out of trouble?”
“More or less.”
I pressed my eyes closed. Not the answer I was looking for.
“You do realize you have a lot of eyes on you right now, right?”
Nate groaned. “Nick, I didn’t call you to get a lecture. If I was in the mood for one, I would’ve called Dad. He’s better at chewing my ass than you anyways…”
“Maybe you should listen sometime. Then you wouldn’t be in your position,” I growled.
“This was a mistake. I’m gonna go.”
“Nate, grow up. Don’t hang up just ‘cause you don’t like what I have to say. You fucked up, little bro, and you’re gonna have to live out the consequences.”
Nine months ago, he and some buddies got drunk, crashed into a General’s car with the rental they were joyriding in. He was lucky to still be in the Marines. He’d been punished, but in my opinion—he’d gotten off way too easily. Likely because one of his buddies was the son of a high powered officer. He had undoubtedly pulled some favors to get the entire fiasco glossed over and put away.
But, if Nate made one more wrong move—it would cost him his career.
Not that he seemed to care.
“I know! I know! Damn! I’m keeping my nose clean.”
I was skeptical, but he was thousands of miles away and there wasn’t anything I could do about his choices anyway. It didn’t stop me from worrying though. If anything, I worried more because I wasn’t there to bail his ass out like I was when we were kids.
“Glad to hear it,” I replied. “Have you talked to Mom and Dad lately?”
“No. Every time I call, Dad gets on and bitches at me. So I stopped calling.”
I set my jaw. That was the major difference between the two of us. Nate liked to run and hide from his problems. Whereas I preferred facing things head on, taking my hits, and moving on—lesson learned. He was nearly seven years younger than me though, and my parents had definitely babied him as a kid. At least in comparison to the way I’d been raised. Although, now that Nate had gotten into trouble, I think they were finally seeing that maybe that wasn’t the best route and my dad in particular seemed to be wanting to make up for lost time by swooping in and breathing fire on Nate anytime he stepped out of line.
Ten years too late, Dad.
My ear perked at the sound of bawdy cheers and ruckus in the background. There were some muffled sounds, as though Nate were holding the phone against his chest to block the sound. I heard him say something, but couldn’t make out all the words. It sounded a lot like a warning to hold it down for a minute.
“Listen, I gotta get going…” Nate said, returning to our call.
I rolled my eyes. “Something important from the sound of it. What is it? Last call coming up?”
“Goodbye Nick. Maybe next time when I call you can be less of a dick.”
The line went dead and I tossed the phone into the passenger seat. I blew out a forced breath as I started the engine of the truck, shaking my head with leftover irritation. Damn it, Nate.
We’d been buddies all throughout growing up, even with the age gap, and I hated that we’d lost that somewhere along the way. From the outside, we appeared to have everything in common. He was a Marine, I’d recently gotten out, and he was my spitting image. Hell, we even drove the same brand of truck and dated similar looking women. But that was where it ended. While being a Marine had taught me discipline and responsibility, Nate was using it as a cover to run around, act like an idiot, and had fallen in with a very different crowd than the friends I’d made during my time in the Marine Corps.
There was a chance he’d grow up and pull out of his juvenile antics, I hoped it would happen soon, before he fucked something up that couldn’t be fixed.
* * * *
As I drove back through town to my rental, I passed the strip of shops that were nestled beside The Siren, and saw that the lights were still on inside the small coffee shop. I’d never bothered to look at the official business hours, but as I slowed and turned into the lot, I couldn’t help but wonder if Carly ever left the damn place.
I parked in front and spotted her at the counter, her head down, focused on something on the other side. I went inside and she didn’t even register the soft tinkle of the bell on the door. She was scrubbing furiously at a spot on the counter and appeared completely lost in her own world.
“Hey there,” I said, approaching cautiously, like a person approaching a loose tiger. I had no idea what she was upset about, but the tension was palpable, and I knew that I didn’t want that fire directed at me. “Everything okay?”
Carly jerked up at my question, a look of surprise on her face. “Oh, Nick. Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”
“No worries. Are you all right?”
She nodded, but the lines around her mouth were tense and tight. She dropped the sponge and it landed with a wet plop on the counter. Suds from the cleaner flicked up on to her apron. She scowled down
at her front and brushed away the bubbles. “Perfect,” she growled.
“What’s going on?”
Carly heaved a sigh and abandoned her mission to wipe away the suds from her apron. “Nothing.” She rolled her eyes, seemingly at herself. “Okay, not nothing,” she admitted.
“Hey, I get it if you don’t want to talk.” I pocketed my hands in the front of my jeans and shifted my weight to one side. “But if you do, just know that I’m here.”
Her jewel-toned blue eyes flashed to mine, as though startled by my simple offer to listen. I wondered if she ever let anyone in. From what Aaron told me when I first asked about her, she didn’t share personal details freely. But it was hard for me to imagine she didn’t have at least one friend that was a confidant to her.
Who was she? If it weren’t for her pink hair and piercings, I would’ve assumed that back in high school she had been the head cheerleader, homecoming queen, fantasy of every guy in school type of girl. She was the complete package. Full lips that led to an easy smile. Dazzling blue eyes that were wide and open, entrancing and intriguing. A figure that while possibly curvier than most airbrushed models on billboards and swimsuit campaigns, was lush and decadent, the stuff that real men dreamed about. Her features, porcelain skin, and sunny disposition all pointed to an outgoing, spunky, popular girl type.
And while I didn’t know her well enough yet to say for sure she hadn’t been a bubbly cheerleader, there was something about her that told me that wasn’t the case. There was something darker about her that had nothing to do with her somewhat alternative look.
“I’ve just been having a hard time with my sister,” she continued, shaking her head. “She has these new friends that she’s met since being here. She went out with them today and was supposed to keep her phone on her, and turned on. But, I’ve texted a few times to check in and she isn’t answering. I don’t know anything about these kids she’s spending time with and whenever I start asking questions, she gets all defensive. It feels like she’s hiding something and I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m sorry, Carly. She seems like a sweet girl but I can see how she might be a handful too.” Carly nodded in agreement, but dropped her gaze back down to the counter. “Sorry, I don’t mean to say anything against her —”
Carly interjected with a wave of her hands. “No, no, you don’t have to say that. I know what you mean. Hell, I should be apologizing to you for the way she’s been shamelessly throwing herself at you every chance she gets.”
To my surprise, Carly’s words had a glimmer of amusement in them and when she looked up, her eyes reflected that with a slight smile. “I would say I’m used to it, but that makes me sound like an arrogant prick.”
Carly laughed and the sound radiated through the coffee shop, lifting some of the heaviness that had settled between us. “It’s not like it would be a newsflash,” she replied, still smiling. “I see the looks you get around here.”
I held up my hands, feigning innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Nick,” Carly said, with a slight eye roll.
I lowered my hands and set them on the counter between us. “Okay, fine. But then again, I could just be getting looked at because I’m new in town.”
Carly scoffed and I couldn’t help but feel a little excited by her non-verbal confession that she was into me. If she wasn’t, there was no way she would have been paying attention to the way that other women looked at me. I decided against pointing that out though. I was slowly winning her back to a good mood and didn’t want to risk alienating her by pushing the issue.
That would be a conversation for another day.
“So, what are you going to do?” I propped my elbows on the counter.
She eyed me suspiciously. “You don’t really wanna hear about all that.”
I shrugged. “I just got off the phone with my boneheaded little brother. So, trust me, if nothing else, at least I’ll understand where you’re coming from.”
“How old is your brother?”
“Just turned twenty-two. But he acts like he just turned sixteen. He’s still in that party animal phase and it’s not a good look.”
Carly frowned. “I’m sorry.”
“I can’t say too much ‘cause I was the same way. Once upon a time. Feels like forever ago…Nate’s in the Marines, stationed over in Japan and the whole crew has too much time on their hands. At least from the sound of it. Out drinking and tearing it up anytime they’re not on duty.” I heaved a sigh. “Exhausts me just thinking about it. I’m getting old I guess.”
Carly laughed and the thrill of victory swept through me. “Sounds familiar. Alesha is probably out there doing the same thing, but trust me, it’s even less cute since she’s underage.”
“And a female.”
Carly grimaced. “Yeah. A thousand times scarier.”
“Does she throw your past in your face? That’s Nate’s favorite thing. Any time I get on his case he gives me the same fuckin’ line ‘it’s not like I’m doing anything you didn’t do.’ It’s infuriating.”
“Right. Like that’s a reasonable excuse.” She shook her head, staring off into space for a moment. God, she was sexy. Real sexy, no matter what she was doing.
Carly propped her elbows on the opposite side of the case and leaned into her hands, raking her fingers into her hair.
“How come she stays with you in the summer? She said something about it the other day, but I don’t remember. I was a little distracted…” I smiled at her, leaving my meaning unspoken—but obvious.
Carly blushed and looked away, before pouncing on her sponge to continue her scrubbing. “Our dad is remarried and his wife, Kelli, has family over in Greece. So, for the past two summers, they’ve gone over there for two or three months to spend time with family. My dad works for an international bank, and he works out of the Athens office while they’re there, and Kelli runs a fashion blog and does a lot of promotion stuff while they travel.”
I nodded. “All of which would be a lot trickier with a cranky teen in tow…”
“Right.”
“Damn, that must be nice. Travel for three months every summer. You ever go over to visit?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I’ve never even been out of the country before. You?” She paused and interrupted herself before I could answer. “Oh—duh. Of course you have.”
I laughed. “A time or two. You don’t do eight years in the corps without taking a few trips overseas. I’ve been to Japan, Kuwait, and Afghanistan. But, I can safely say that none of those trips were any fun.”
Carly smile slightly. “I’m sure you made the best of it.”
“Did my best. My buddies and I were always getting into something, but still…not my idea of fun.”
“I suppose not.” She scrubbed the counter once more and then turned to dump the used sponge into the sink by the espresso machine. “Where would you go if you could go somewhere just for fun?”
“New Zealand is at the top of my list. Something about the wide open space and the green landscape appeals to me.”
Carly came back over and leaned on the case opposite me once again. “And then you might as well hop over to Australia. I mean, you’re right there.”
“Exactly!”
“Sounds fun. Is that your plan?”
“Someday. Yeah. Why not? I don’t have anything concrete mapped out, but I got another three months to figure it out.”
“Why three months?” She asked, wrinkling her nose.
“I’m at the museum for the next three months. Rosen only needs me for the next ninety days. It’s more of a contractor position.”
“Oh.” She frowned and my heart jumped at her disappointment. “What happens after that?”
“I don’t know. I like it here though, so maybe I’ll find a way to convince him to keep me on longer. All I know is I’m not going back to Fallon.”
She laughed. “Well that’s good to hear. Aaron’s a smart guy.
I’m sure he’ll keep you. If nothing else, I’m apparently in desperate need of a bus boy…” she said, gesturing to the dining room that looked like a tornado had ripped through. Each table was stacked with plates and discarded mugs.
“Woah.”
“Yeah. It’s been an insane day.”
I turned my attention back to her. “You’re just about ready to close up, right?”
Carly nodded. “In about a half an hour. It usually drops off around this time, so I tend to take advantage by getting a jump on the cleaning.”
I shifted forward and braced myself against the dessert case, staring down at her on the other side. “So, tell me what there is to do around here on the weekends. I was asking around at the museum, but no one seems to have much in the way of suggestions. Do you all just camp out on your couches with your Netflix account all night?”
“Something like that,” Carly replied laughing. “Most of the fun happens outside of Holiday Cove on the weekends. If you want to get out of town, you can usually find some fun just a little way up the coast.”
“Is that what you’re going to do?” I asked. Carly flashed me a suspicious look., “I’m just asking hypothetically. I’m not inviting myself along on your weekend plans. Unless you wanted me to.”
“It’s gonna take me another two hours just to get this place put back together.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” I said, grinning over at her. “I’ll help you clean this place up and then you come out to dinner with me.”
“Nick, I…”
“It’s not a date,” I insisted, interrupting what had sounded like the start of an objection. She pursed her lips. “Just two new friends hanging out. Come on, consider it a random act of kindness. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to go out wandering aimlessly up and down the coast and that would suck. It’s either come out with me, or go home and pace around worrying about your sister.”
Her eyes wandered back to the messy tables and then back to me. “Well, I guess…”
“Excellent. Let’s do this.” I marched over to the trash cans, grab a black bin that was stashed on the second shelf off to one side, and started clearing tables.