by Rachel Hanna
“Fine. I’ll relax,” she said in an almost pouting tone. He wondered if she was married or engaged or dating someone, but he dare not ask. She’d probably push him right over the edge of the ferry. But still, he wanted to know if there was a man somewhere willing to put up with her attitude. Right now, she truly had no redeeming qualities as a person except for her beauty, and that made him sad to think. Beauty would only carry her so far in life.
She leaned into the metal railing and rested her chin on the top of her hand as she stared out into the water. And then she closed her eyes, and he could see her taking in deep breaths as if it was a struggle to relax. She was really trying, and the fact that it was difficult was painful for him to watch. Really, why did he care? He’d only just met her, and she’d be gone in a few weeks anyway.
But he did care.
A few minutes later, they pulled into the dock at the island and got off. Clay stayed aboard the boat and pulled off a few minutes later.
“Hey, where’s he going?” she asked, almost frantic.
“He’ll be back in about twenty minutes or so. He makes runs back and forth all day.”
“But what if no one’s there wanting a ride?”
“Then he just comes back.”
“That seems like a waste of time and fuel…”
“Ronni, relax. This is how January Cove operates.” She stood on the dock, still wearing her sandals, and looked at him for a moment before averting her eyes. There was something in that look that he couldn’t put his finger on, so he let it go. “Take off your shoes.”
“What?”
“You don’t want to ruin your new shoes, do you?” he asked. He slipped his shoes off as well before they stepped off the dock and onto the warm sand.
“Come on,” he said, urging her into the edge of the treeline in the middle of the island.
“Where are we going, Brad?” He just waved for her to come, and she followed without saying anything else.
“I want to show you my private area,” he said without thinking about his choice of words.
“Excuse me?” she squealed, stopping dead in her tracks and holding up her hands like she was about to be attacked.
“Poor choice of words,” he said as he turned around and saw her standing a good ten feet away from him. “I meant that I wanted to show you where I spend my time when I come here. I’ll keep my private area to myself unless you request a viewing.”
Shockingly, she started laughing. Actual laughter. Not a smile, not a smirk, not a giggle. A laugh. It was so beautiful to see her face and hear her laugh that he almost hugged her, as if she’d accomplished something big, like winning a Pulitzer Prize. Instead, he started laughing too.
“You’re a strange person, Brad Parker,” she finally said after she caught her breath.
“Thank you. And also thank you for laughing at the idea of seeing my private area. Really boosted my self-confidence. Come on,” he said, reaching out for her hand to pull her up the dune of sand he was on.
“I’ve got it,” she said, reverting back to her independence as she struggled her way up the sand.
“Suit yourself.”
When they got to the top, he led her about ten more feet to a misshapen tree. One of the limbs hung rather low in an L-shape over the sand. Still, it was a bit of a climb to get up there.
“I’ll have to help you at this point,” he said, reaching out to take her hand. She shook her head.
“I’m not climbing up there in a dress!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t look,” he said, hoping he could keep that promise.
“Absolutely not!”
“Oh, I see. You’re scared of heights?”
“I’m not scared of anything.”
“It sure doesn’t seem that way.”
“Honestly, you’re the most infuriating person I’ve ever met!” she said, finally taking his hand and walking toward the tree.
“Same to you,” he said with a laugh as he hoisted her upwards until she could pull herself onto the limb. His hand was squarely on her butt, and he turned his head as he’d promised, but dang how he wanted to look. Or squeeze.
He followed her up into the tree and sat beside her, the bark of tree scraping against the fabric of his shorts.
“What are we doing in a tree, Brad?” she asked, exhaustion apparent in her voice. “I mean, seriously, will you do anything to get out of working?”
“Look,” he said, leaning closer to her and pointing off in the distance.
“Oh, hey, there’s the bed and breakfast. And Jolt…” she said, naming off all the places she’d seen already that morning.
“January Cove is a small town, with everything compacted close together. I thought coming here would give you a better view of the town.”
“I see. So you weren’t just trying to get me alone in a tree to show me your private area?” she said, smiling at him. Finally, she seemed like a normal woman with a personality. He smiled back.
“Again, I’m open for viewing anytime.”
“That’s such a man thing to say,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Oh, come on. I’m sure your boyfriend has to have a sense of humor too,” he said, wishing he’d just kept his mouth shut for once.
She cleared her throat and stared off into the distance, not really looking at anything in particular.
“Sorry. Did I say something wrong?”
“No. But maybe we can keep the comments professional?” she said softly. “I don’t really want to talk about my private life with someone I barely know.”
Unable to shut his mouth off, he continued. “Well, okay, but has it occurred to you that no one can get to know you when you’re so… defensive?”
“Defensive? Look, Brad, I appreciate the tour and everything, but can we just head back? I have a lot to get done today, and frankly, so do you,” she said as she suddenly jumped down off the tree without warning. She must have thought the sand below was soft and flat, but instead it was a hill rolling down to the beach below. And it was peppered with small rocks and shells all the way down. Brad had never even tried to jump down that way, but today he did. He followed her down, narrowly avoiding a collision with a rock.
“Ronni!” he yelled, trying to let her know he was coming. She was in a heap at the bottom of the dune, her leg scraped up from the rough landing. He was surprised she didn’t break anything with the height of the fall. When he finally got to her, she was in tears, her beautiful face stained with a mixture of water and sand.
“It hurts!” she yelled, pointing at her right leg. He gingerly took her leg and put it in his lap, blowing the sand off of the cut area.
“God, Ronni, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were going to jump that way…”
“It was my fault. Everything is always my fault…” she murmured through her tears.
“Ronni, what’s going on? Why are you running away like this?” he asked softly, much more worried about her mind than her body for once. She looked at him, big crocodile tears still escaping her eyes. “How can I help you?”
There was tension between them as she stared into his eyes, her breathing slowing down as if she was about to kiss him or something. It was confusing and thrilling all at the same time. The jagged edges of her breath caused his heart to pound against his ribcage. Their faces were no more than a few inches apart when Clay’s ferry horn started blaring in the background.
“You guys ready?” he called from the other side of the trees.
“Let me help you, Ronni,” Brad said softly. She nodded and he carefully picked her up into his strong arms. “I’ve got you, okay?” She nodded again, and he carried her back to the ferry.
Chapter 4
“I think you’re going to be just fine, Ronni,” Clay said just after they’d pulled into port. Luckily, Clay had some EMT training, a necessity for him to be carrying people around on a ferry. It wasn’t the first time someone had gotten hurt climbing those misshapen trees or gotten stung by a
jellyfish. He kept an ample supply of first aid supplies on the boat.
“Thanks. I appreciate your kindness,” she said, her face still stained from tears and sand still caked on her legs.
“Ronni, I’m so sorry,” Brad said, for the tenth time since they boarded the ferry. Clay tied the vessel up as Brad and Ronni stood to start walking back to his truck.
“No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have jumped suddenly like that,” she said as they walked slowly to the parking lot. She leaned against the side of his truck as he located the keys in his pocket. “I’m not good with personal conversations, Brad.”
“Yeah, I believe that now,” he said with a half hearted smile. “From now on, I’ll keep it professional. Okay?”
“Okay. And thanks… for the view of January Cove. It did help me.”
“You saw it for like ten seconds,” he said as he opened her door. “Hardly enough time to really understand it.”
She climbed into the truck, and he went back around to the other side. He cranked it up, and they headed back toward the theater.
“Actually, it gave me some marketing ideas for when we finally open. For instance, we could partner with some local businesses to give them discount coupons for tourists.”
“Good idea,” he said, “but first we have to convince the community that this attraction is going to be a good thing.”
They rode mostly in silence for the next few minutes. When they parked at the Lamont, she got out before he could open the door. In fact, by the time he was out of the truck, she was inside the building, injured leg and all.
* * *
Addison loved nothing more than staring at her baby girl. Anna Grace was the most beautiful human being she’d ever seen. She had the prettiest, albeit toothless, grin, and the tiny wisp of hair on top of her head barely held the little pink bow Addison had put on it today.
“Hello, my two beautiful ladies,” Clay said as he entered the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Addison’s waist. She was standing in the kitchen cooking dinner with Anna Grace in one hand and a big spoon in the other. Clay deftly took the baby from Addison’s arms.
“Hey, don’t steal my baby!” Addison playfully chided as she pushed up onto her tip toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. But it was too late. Clay was already enamored with his new baby daughter.
“So what’s for dinner tonight?” he asked. Now that they were real bed and breakfast owners, Addison was responsible for feeding them and their only guest, Ronni Blair.
“Grilled chicken with a Greek marinade, roasted cabbage and wild rice with a ginger spiced seasoning.”
“Wow, that sounds great,” they heard Ronni say from the doorway of the kitchen. Ronni was a nice lady, but very different from most people in town. She was fairly quiet, kept to herself and seemed to be harboring some emotions that were just on the edge at all times.
Addison couldn’t figure out if it was just because she was from California, and that was so different from her own Southern roots. Or, did she have some big secret that was eating her up inside?
One thing Addy knew for sure was that her brother had it bad. He wanted Ronni already, but it was killing him because he didn’t WANT to want her.
“Oh, hey, Ronni. Dinner should be ready in about half an hour. Why don’t you have a seat and keep me company?” Addison said, pointing at one of the bar stools on the other side of the counter from where she was stirring the rice.
“Okay,” Ronni said as she walked carefully to the bar stool and sat down.
“Are you alright?” Addison asked, suddenly noticing how slowly Ronni was walking.
“She had a little mishap today,” Clay said with a smile before kissing Anna Grace again.
”It was nothing, but your wonderful boyfriend here saved the day with his first aid kit,” she said with a thankful smile.
“What on Earth happened?”
“Well, I sort of fell out of a tree.”
“You fell out of a tree?” Addison asked, half laughing even though she was trying so hard not to. “Why do I assume my brother had something to do with this?”
Ronni shrugged her shoulders, and Clay made his way out of the kitchen as he was certain this was about to turn into “girl talk”.
“Brad wanted to show me the town from a different angle, he said.”
“In a tree? Good Lord. He’s nuts.” Addison laughed, memories of her craziest brother running through her head. He had always been into something, and their mother had gained many a gray hair from raising Brad. He’d even toilet paper rolled the hospital grounds on a dare once. There was nothing Brad Parker wouldn’t do to get a laugh.
“I think he had good intentions…”
“How did you fall?” Addison asked as she poured more seasonings into her made-up rice dish. She hoped it wouldn’t choke Ronni.
“Well, I guess I didn’t fall exactly. I jumped.” Before Addison could respond, Ronni started laughing.
“Wow. I know my brother is a bit much sometimes, but did you really need to jump out of a tree to get away from him?” Addison giggled.
“Apparently, yes,” she said, joining in the laughter.
“Listen, if there’s one thing you need to know about my brother, it’s that he’ll do anything for a laugh… even if it means taking a woman he just met up into a tree.”
“I don’t think he was trying to be funny. At least he didn’t seem to be.”
“That’s a first. Brad is serious about nothing,” Addison said offhandedly.
“Oh. Really? What about… relationships?” Ronni said, trying to sound nonchalant.
“You know, Brad hasn’t had a serious relationship in a while. He’s always dated a lot. I mean, even though he’s my brother, he seems to be fairly good looking.”
Ronni said nothing. She didn’t want it getting back to Brad that she thought he was more than good looking, and the thought made her mad at herself. “You mean, he’s never even had a broken heart?”
Addison thought it was a strange question, but she answered it anyway. “Once, but he doesn’t like to talk about it. More times than not, he might have broken some hearts along the way, but he never gets invested enough to get his heart broken anymore. Still, I hope he settles down one day. He deserves it. It’s going to take one special woman to tame my brother!”
Addison’s phone rang and interrupted their conversation. She excused herself to answer it, turning off the burners on the stove as she walked into the next room.
Ronni was left wondering why she cared about Brad’s love life. She had no interest in her own love life anymore. That part of her was closed off. Work would have to be the love of her life, because she sure wasn’t opening her heart to anyone anytime soon.
* * *
The next day was one of the Parker family’s favorite days of the year - the 4th of July. Full of fun and festivities, Addison couldn’t wait to host not only her family, but many of the townspeople, at her new B&B.
The place was decorated to the max outside, and Clay had set up multiple tables for some local vendors to offer food and crafts to the visitors. The Parker family arrived around noon, including Adele, who brought her new beau, Harrison Gibbs.
Addison and the Parker brothers enjoyed having Harrison around. He told all kinds of stories about their father, and it was good to hear those memories from someone who had known him for many years.
“Where’s my baby?” Adele asked as she passed an apple pie into Addison’s hands before almost pushing past her to take the baby from Clay. Addison laughed. Her mother was baby focused these days, that much was sure.
“Hello, Addison,” Harrison said with a deep laugh as he bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m sure your mother is happy to see you too.” Adele turned around, clutching Anna Grace to her chest.
“Oh, of course, sweetie,” Adele said with a smile as she whisked the baby away to the rocking chair on the large front porch of the B&B. Addison stood watching her mother love on her new gran
ddaughter, and she was so thankful for the way things had turned out.
Coming home pregnant with another man’s baby - who wasn’t her husband - had been hard. She had been so embarrassed and ashamed at her behavior, but in the end it had all worked out for the best. Now she was with the love of her life, Clay, and running her new B&B. Life couldn’t get any better.
* * *
Ronni sat in her rented room in the B&B and looked out the window, being careful not to let anyone see her there. She didn’t want to look like some kind of stalker, staring down at the festivities in the garden behind the house. Dozens of townspeople crowded the space, talking, laughing and eating.
Addison and Clay had both separately invited her to join the family in a 4th of July picnic, but she just wasn’t feeling all that jovial today. Most people would think she was homesick or something, being away from California, but she wasn’t. In fact, she was glad to be anywhere but California at the moment.
Getting to come on this business trip had been a godsend, coming along just at the right moment. Literally.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like living in California. She enjoyed it for the most part, but it could get lonely for a woman like her. Having no stable family to speak of and being an only child, Ronni had spent much of her life taking care of herself.
She had pulled herself up by her bootstraps, gotten her college degree and conquered the corporate world all by her mid twenties. By now, she’d have expected to have been married with kids, but things had happened that had gotten in the way. Mostly her career, but probably more than that was her personality quirks.
As she watched the Parker family interact downstairs, she longed deep in her soul for something like that. A family that laughed together. A man in her life who supported her work, but took care of her.
What kind of thing was that to say? She was an independent woman. She didn’t need a man to “take care of her”, yet she seemed to long for it anyway.