“I’ll go over it and get back to you.”
“Okay.” What else could she say? She hated that she was at Piper’s mercy as far as money went, but that was the way Mrs. B. had wanted it. Lindsay did her best to hold in her frustrated sigh until Piper was out the door.
“And how’d that go?” Bridget asked, as she passed by carrying a cheese board littered with scraps of bread and a dirty knife.
“I am honestly not sure.” Lindsay pursed her lips.
“Unsurprising.”
“I guess.” Lindsay shrugged. While Mrs. B. would take a bit of convincing, Lindsay was sure she’d end up thinking it was something worth trying. She trusted Lindsay. Piper? Not so much. And Lindsay knew that, so she’d taken it into consideration when writing up her report (which she wouldn’t have had to do for Mrs. B.). She’d included everything she could think of. Cost of paying the bands. Cost of advertising. Cost of possible extra staff if things took off. Estimated increase of clientele, which led to estimated increase of sales. She’d Googled anything she could think of to help her. How to pitch a new idea. How to impress an investor. How to increase your business. A lot of it was junk, but there were a few diamonds, and she’d polished them up and used them to the best of her ability, doing her damnedest to ignore how annoyed she was that she had to do it in the first place. She and Piper were supposed to be equal at running things, but Mrs. B. had thrown in that one clause, that one caveat about needing Piper’s approval for things that cost money. That had instantly rendered them much less equal, even if Mrs. B. hadn’t realized or intended it.
Oh, well. She couldn’t dwell on it or it would drive her insane. Besides, she had a strategy planned out. Her ideas for Vineyard were extensive. She had lots of changes and alterations and tweaks to bring in more business and make more money. Her list was long. If she just kept bombarding Piper with a new idea every day or two, she’d get so overwhelmed that she’d probably approve some just to get them off her plate. Since Lindsay had never worked in business before, she had no idea if this would actually work. But it seemed like a good plan, so she was running with it.
Now all she could do was wait.
Chapter Eight
When Piper opened her email at home on her couch, she couldn’t help but grin. Another one from Lindsay, this subject line read Idea #5 with a smiley. The girl was persistent, Piper had to give her that. And—though Piper would never admit this, no matter how much somebody tortured her—oddly charming. This idea list had been going on for more than two weeks now, and the first of May indicated the official start of the summer season for all the businesses along the Lake Path. As Lindsay said a couple emails ago, it was time to kick it up a notch. And though Piper hated to acknowledge it, her ideas didn’t suck. Well, most of them didn’t. Piper was pretty sure a few were thrown in as either filler or an attempt at humor. Potted grapevines as décor was one. Wine Pong was another. They made Piper chuckle. Reluctantly.
Idea #5 was listed as better outdoor seating, and Lindsay went on to plead her case about how they weren’t using their view of Black Cherry Lake to its full potential. Piper had to agree on that one. There were a few mismatched chairs scattered around on the makeshift patio, but her parents had never gotten around to really sprucing it up, mostly because they couldn’t seem to agree on how best to lay it out. Once her father had passed, her mother seemed to lose any ambition to do anything with the space at all.
Might be time to remedy that.
She jotted a quick return email to Lindsay, doing her best to stay light and positive. Gina had brought to her attention recently that she had the tendency to treat all email like work email and that her responses could be abrupt, clipped, and cold. All things Piper felt she’d needed to be at work lately. It had apparently rubbed off on her non-work persona. She chose her words carefully, asked Lindsay if they could meet and look at the patio together, decide what they’d need. Maybe early next week? Monday, perhaps? Being open on Mondays was another new idea of Lindsay’s and Piper was curious to see how that was working so far. She sent the email just as her phone rang.
“You’re alive,” she said happily to her mother when she hit the answer button. “Where are you now? Timbuktu? The Bermuda Triangle?”
“Sweetie, do you think I’d be able to call you if I was in the Bermuda Triangle? Do you think the aliens would let me?” Her mother’s voice was laid back and relaxed, yet she sounded happy and vibrant.
“Yeah, probably not.”
“How’s it going there? How’s work? How’s Vineyard? Tell me you haven’t murdered Lindsay and hidden her body.”
“Things are going fine. I have not murdered Lindsay.” Piper flopped onto her back on the couch and stretched out her legs so her bare feet rested on one arm.
“You didn’t say ‘yet.’ I’m kind of shocked. You’re actually getting along?”
“We’re managing.”
“I had a feeling you’d like her if you got to know her a little bit.” Her mother sounded…smug? Maybe a little self-satisfied? Piper couldn’t quite put a finger on it.
“We’re not best friends, Mom. We’re adults who have to work together on occasion. That’s what we’re doing.”
“Okay, okay.”
Piper could picture her mother, hands up in surrender. It was the same body language she used every time she realized she might be pushing Piper’s buttons a bit too much.
“As long as the place hasn’t burned to the ground, I’ll back off.”
Piper softened her tone. “It hasn’t. I promise.” She took a breath and changed the subject. “So, tell me what you’re doing? Where are you exactly?”
“I’m back in Florida, which is why I’m calling. I’m leaving on a ten-day cruise tomorrow.”
Piper’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Yup. We leave here tomorrow afternoon and head to…let me think. Jamaica. A couple other places I don’t remember. Key West. I met some friends here that talked me into joining them.”
“Wait. You’re going on a cruise with people you just met? Mom.” Piper’s worry ratcheted up.
“Piper, I’m fine. They’re three widows, just like me. We have a lot in common and I think it’s good for me to be around people who understand my situation.”
Her “situation” being that her husband was dead. Piper got that part, she did. An internal battle began in her chest between being happy for her mom and being worried.
“I wanted to call,” her mother went on, “because I won’t have cell service on the ship.”
Piper cleared her throat, did her best not to sound as uneasy as she felt. “You call me the second you’re within range again. Understand? If I don’t hear from you, I’m going to panic. I’ll call the Coast Guard. I mean it.”
Ellen’s chuckle was warm as it rumbled over the phone. “Yes, Mom.”
“Ha ha. Very funny. You know you’d feel the same way if our roles were reversed.”
“I would.” Her mother got serious. “You’re absolutely right. I will call you as soon as I can. All right?”
“Fine. Does Gina know?”
“I just got off the phone with her.”
“Okay. Good.” There was a beat of silence. “Mom?”
“Hmm?”
“Have fun. Okay? Have a great time.”
Piper could almost see her mother relax. “I will do my best.”
They talked a bit longer, about mundane things, while Edgar walked across Piper’s body and began to knead her stomach. He settled down in a ball of cat just as Piper ended the call.
“Grandma’s going on a cruise with a bunch of single ladies, Ed.” She stroked his cheeks as his motor kicked into high gear. “Does that feel weird to you? It feels weird to me. I mean…what if some guy hits on her? Tries to pick her up? Those cruises, they can be like singles bars.” The reality was, she had no idea what a cruise was like, and she was probably being ridiculous. But the thought of her mom as the target of men was just…her body literally shu
ddered at the thought.
She wished it wasn’t going on eight o’clock and dark out. This was exactly the kind of thing that sent her to her kayak. Gliding along the water was the only thing she’d found that truly reduced her stress to manageable levels. Between her job, which had become increasingly tense, and the worry about her mother, she was feeling a little bit…edgy. Grabbing her phone, she checked the weather for tomorrow, then gave a nod.
She’d be on the water in the morning.
* * *
Lindsay had overdressed for their morning walk in the woods. She had taken her jacket off and tied it around her waist, leaving her in workout pants and a hoodie. They were almost back to the parking lot and it was a lovely morning, brisk temperatures in the high forties, but headed to near seventy. May was her favorite month. Well, mid- to late May. Early May was still too close to April, and April meant rain and wind and gray skies. Once it got to be mid-May, nature started to bloom, grass became greener, the sky seemed bluer, and the sun started to show up once in a while. Lindsay could feel her entire demeanor change with the weather. Spring was, by far, her favorite of all the seasons. It meant new life, a new start, freshness.
Rocket was doing his usual run-ahead, run-back thing, which Lindsay loved. Not only because it was adorable, but because he ran himself ragged and then slept for much of the day. She’d learned the hard way that the key to a happy and relaxed dog was plenty of exercise, that they got destructive or mischievous when they were bored. Lindsay had thrown away two pairs of sneakers, a pair of boots she’d been in love with, a bathroom rug, and two throw pillows to back up that theory. Once she started running Rocket through the woods or in a park or even playing lots of ball with him in the yard, he’d stopped eating her things. Thank freaking God.
A lot of people disliked spring, especially around the lake, because it was messy. Wet and muddy and brown. Lindsay knew this firsthand because, well, she had a dog. Not just any dog, a Labrador. And if there was one thing Labradors loved, it was water. Rocket was no different, and he preferred to walk as close to the lakeshore as he could, no matter how much he sank into the mud. He’d venture in daintily in the early spring (the water was cold) and then splash in like a surfer dude in the summer. He would swim for hours if Lindsay let him, and he was fun to watch. In the summer, he’d just get wet. In the spring, though, he’d get wet and caked with mud and leaves and any other dead vegetation lying on the ground near the water. The first few times it happened, Lindsay had tried to keep him from going into the water at all, to save herself the hassle of cleaning up after him. But then she realized how much fun he had, how happy he was doing what he was bred to do, and she decided she was willing to deal, that his happiness and joy were worth the trouble. So she invested in a waterproof cover for the back seat of her Camry and she converted the small screened-in mudroom at her back door to a sort of shower area for Rocket, complete with a hose and a drain in the floor. Totally worth it.
Today was a “venture in carefully” day for Rocket, and Lindsay watched with a smile as he trotted in until the water reached his doggie knees. He stood still and looked out over the lake, his stance all handsome and regal. Lindsay wished she had a camera to capture the pose, but before she had any more time to regret leaving her phone in the car, Rocket broke into a series of barks and bolted full-force into the lake.
“Rocket,” Lindsay called, scampering toward the shore. She skidded to a halt when she saw the lime green kayak gliding by, heading toward the shore near the parking lot, Rocket all the way in the water and swimming to it. “Thank God she’s not in the middle of the lake,” Lindsay muttered with a shake of her head. Piper was actually not that far offshore at all, probably because she was just about finished with her ride and was very close to where she’d exit the water, and Lindsay watched as she propped her paddle across the kayak and reached a hand out to pet Rocket. Strangely, Lindsay was almost happy to see her. She chose not to analyze that, and when Piper looked up and met her gaze, she was able to let it go. For the moment.
“Good morning,” Piper called.
“Good morning to you. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. I wish my cat seemed this happy to see me.”
Lindsay smiled. “He’s probably going to swim with you to the end there.”
“Well, I best keep moving then, huh?” And with that, Piper picked up her paddle and made her way the remaining thirty or forty yards to where Rocket could touch the bottom. She was careful with her paddle so as not to bonk him, and Lindsay warmed at the consideration as she trotted along until the path spit her into the parking lot and she could curve around to meet up with her dog and that pretty girl in the kayak.
It was still so odd to see Piper in clothes that weren’t designer and didn’t make her look like the poster girl for entrepreneurial women. Not that Lindsay didn’t appreciate that look because she did, in a big way. There was something untouchable about it, something unattainable. Maybe that’s why this change, this other look, seemed so dramatic. The outfit was similar to last time, all skintight nylon, though today’s bottoms were shorts and left Piper’s legs bare from the knees down. As before, all her curves were on display, which Lindsay had no choice but to appreciate; the woman was beautiful. But overall? Out of everything? It was the ponytail. The ponytail was what made the change of styles seem so polar opposite. Something about all those waves harnessed into one elastic band, bouncy and loose as they hung from the back of Piper’s head…something about that ponytail was what made her seem so much friendlier, so much more approachable. Lindsay tried to shake it all away, not wanting to stare, but finding it hard not to.
Yeah, Kayak Piper? Total turn-on.
“Isn’t the water cold?” Lindsay asked as she approached the shore to grab Rocket’s collar and clip his leash on.
“Very,” Piper replied. She waded through water that was almost to her knees. “But I hate scraping the bottom of my kayak on the pebbles, you know? I mean, I could. It’s made to withstand that. But the sound is just awful.” She brought her shoulders up in a full-body cringe as she wrinkled her nose. “Makes it seem like I’m doing all kinds of damage.” She tugged the kayak behind her as she exited the water, then pulled a small bag out of it. When she met Lindsay’s curious gaze with those hazel eyes, she held it up. “Waterproof. My phone and a couple granola bars.”
“Ah.” Lindsay nodded.
And then Piper heaved up the kayak, held it over her head, and carried it to her SUV.
Lindsay swallowed. Hard. With a clear of her throat, she caught up and asked, “Can I help?”
Piper’s face showed relief. “I’d love that.”
Lindsay grabbed one end, and together, they hefted the kayak up and settled it into the two-kayak rack on the roof.
“I can do it myself,” Piper explained. “Been doing it myself for a while now. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t awkward as hell. I need longer arms.”
“That would probably help. Hard to find them, though.”
“Right? Surprisingly, Amazon doesn’t seem to carry them.” Piper began strapping the kayak into the rack.
“And I thought they carried everything.”
Piper smiled at her, Lindsay felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach that was not unpleasant, and for a moment, she wondered if this wasn’t really Piper. She was so nice, so friendly. Was there a twin maybe? An alternate version of the Corporate Barbie persona? She immediately felt guilty for thinking such a thing, though, and was brought back to the present when Rocket shook, sending mud and lake water flying everywhere.
“Okay, pal, time to get you home and cleaned up.” Lindsay glanced at Piper. “Unless you need more help.”
“No, I’ve got it. Thanks.”
“All right, then.” A beat of silence passed. “I guess I’ll see you Monday.”
Piper nodded and gave her another smile and a little wave before she pulled on a strap to tighten it.
What is happening? was all Lindsay could think
as she tugged Rocket to the car and her stomach continued with the fluttering thing. She belted herself in, a bit bewildered by it all, and they headed home.
* * *
As Piper pulled off her kayaking attire, she found herself smiling at the muddy paw prints on her shorts. Having Rocket swim right to her was wonderful and reminded her how nice it might be to have a dog. Edgar was great. She loved her cat, wouldn’t give him up for anything. But it wasn’t quite the same. He was happy to see her when she got home because that meant it was time for food. And once he’d eaten, he was happy to cuddle her. But dogs were happy to see you, period. No caveats like “Feed me, and then I’ll love you.” Which Piper had to admit, she admired about Edgar.
And then her smile grew wider when her thoughts shifted to Rocket’s owner.
Lindsay was growing on her. She had to admit that, even though she hated to.
As she pulled open her closet door and chose an outfit for the day, her brain handed her an image of Lindsay from earlier. It was the first time Piper had seen her in yoga pants, but she hoped it wouldn’t be the last because they…were good to her. A simple white T-shirt had left her long arms bare. Lindsay’s skin was pale, but more creamy than starkly white, and, Piper had noticed, very subtle freckles dotted her skin. The black jacket tied around her waist was casually cute, and she must have tucked her hair behind her ears a dozen times—something Piper now realized was a nervous habit.
Wow. She’d noticed a lot of detail about Lindsay today, and wasn’t quite sure what to do with that.
Before she had a chance to mull over the why of it, her phone pinged, and she opened a text from Ian Parsons, another manager at her workplace.
Get here soon. Merger has a new wrench.
“Shit,” Piper muttered. She typed up a quick response and got herself into the shower.
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