Reason Is You (9781101576151)

by Lovelace, Sharla

  And then there was that. Alex had spilled it all to me and then left distraught, which had me concerned for him. And Jason would be there tomorrow and would it be different? Had he talked to his son? Did he think about me? Yeah, I was pathetic enough to latch onto that last question, too.

  Miss Olivia was at the shop bright and early Monday morning, actually before I was.

  “Hey, Dani girl,” she called out as she climbed out of her blue Cadillac.

  “What on earth are you doing up this early?” I asked as I climbed out of my creaking tub that ten minutes earlier had lost electric window capability. How I wished for that old-fashioned crank.

  “Dropping off some soap before I head out for a couple of days.”

  I caught up with her in all her green-and-yellow glory. Green top with yellow pants and, of course, the straw hat.

  “At six in the morning?”

  “Afraid so. Going to see one of my brothers for a week or so, leaving Grady here—so heads up on that, by the way,” she added with a wink.

  “Good to know.”

  “I’m glad they’re bonding,” she said. “He may be going to school out here this year.”

  “Really?”

  “His mother’s a wuss.”

  I laughed. “Well, bonding is fine. As long as mating is out.”

  “I hear that. I love you but I don’t need to be related.”

  She linked her arm with mine to go in, and I had to admit that it did take the edge off seeing Jason after the hot dream from hell. There’s a reason girls travel in packs.

  “Hey, I heard that you and this one hit the nightlife the other night.”

  I heard the inner groan in my head. “No.”

  “No?”

  “I was there. He was there. We ended up at the same table and we ended up dancing.”

  “Ah, so yes.”

  “Well, Blaine Wilson threw shrimp on me, so by that definition he bought me dinner?”

  She held on to her hat as she got tickled. “Touché, my girl.”

  The bell jingled overhead and we walked in to the familiar sight of Jason behind the counter. He did a double take when he saw Miss Olivia and put on a charming smile.

  She chuckled and hauled her bag on top of the counter. “Marg wanted some more in the inventory.”

  “And good morning,” Jason said, still smiling.

  She swatted at him. “Oh, quit flirting with an old woman, Jason.”

  “I know where they go,” I said, digging in the bag.

  “Okay.”

  The two of them struck up a conversation and I couldn’t help feeling a little anticlimactic. He could have at least said hello.

  “Well, I’ll be back in time for the party next weekend,” she said, poking me.

  I looked at the two of them. “There’s a party next weekend?”

  Miss Olivia shook her head like I was so wearing. “The July Fourth party on the square, girly girl. Actually they still call it ‘party on the square’ but it moved to the river a couple of years ago. Over by where Ella’s is now.”

  I checked Jason’s expression for any kind of reaction to the mention of Ella’s, but he didn’t bite.

  “Well, I guess I’ll see you there. Be careful driving.”

  And she was gone. And Jason was left with me.

  “So, if you can get those put away, and the tide info ready,” he said. “I’m going to go finish cleaning up the back.”

  Well, of course. Aye-aye. “Oh, how did the bait room make out?”

  “Fine. I came in yesterday and swept the last of the funk out. Good call on leaving the fan. That helped.”

  I nodded. “Okay.” Yay for me.

  He went in the back. I continued to nod like a bobblehead doll. This is what I worried about all night (partially) and put on makeup for at the crack of dawn?

  “Damn, I could have slept another thirty minutes.”

  I did as I was told. I arranged the soaps, I pulled the tide reports, I called Jiminy and Hank and gave them their tour schedules for the week. I called the feed suppliers, I stocked the new Chinese yellow-bellied wigglers we got in that were supposed to make the fish offer themselves with a smile.

  Jason walked from the front to the back three more times while I did all that, and I watched him. So methodical. Like a robot. Like he’d been at first, before he learned to relax.

  “You okay?” I asked him on a fourth trip up front.

  “I’m fine,” he said offhandedly.

  “What are you doing?”

  “My job.”

  Oh honey. Hot dream or not. Hot moment or two on a dance floor or not—that was nasty and arrogant and—ugh! Men are freakin’ pigs.

  I plucked his half-eaten blueberry muffin off the counter, and dropped it into the garbage can.

  “Oops.”

  I snatched a rag left over from Saturday’s cleaning and blindly wiped down the counter till you could probably eat off of it. Too bad he didn’t have anything left to try that out with.

  And I didn’t have time to get any angrier because the bell jingled and in walked Riley and Grady. I looked at my watch, then back at her.

  “Something blow up?”

  “Ha-ha,” she said, making a face.

  “What on earth are you doing here?”

  “I have to ask Mr. Miller something,” Grady said, stepping up with a grin. A sweet, cute, melt-your-pants-off grin that made me want to tell Riley to run. Fast.

  Instead, I just eyeballed him a second or two, hoping it intimidated him. Probably not. Crap.

  “Hang on.”

  I turned to go get Jason, and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right there. Again.

  “God!” he yelled as I landed on his foot. “What is with you and running into me?”

  “I’m sorry!” I said, backing up, but the laugh came up anyway. A giggle I couldn’t contain.

  He looked at me like I’d lost my mind as I stood there and laughed like a fool, and then Riley got in on it.

  “Sorry—” I tried to think of something horrible to make it quit. Cleared my throat. “Sorry. Grady needed to—talk to you.”

  “Come back here,” he said to Grady. “It’s saner.”

  Riley raised an eyebrow when they had made it to the back. “What’s with Mr. Roboto?”

  “I told you he wasn’t all that.”

  “He seemed cool the other night.”

  Yeah, he did. Night after that, too. “The other night was different—but he’s evidently over it.”

  “So, did y’all step it up?”

  I frowned. “Did we what?”

  “Did y’all do anything to make it awkward now?”

  “No! And so not your business. And no.”

  She snickered. “You said that.”

  “Okay.”

  “No kiss good night or anything? I mean, I did leave y’all alone—”

  “Oh my God, we are not having this conversation. But let’s talk about you being up at seven thirty in the morning.”

  “So?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “So, are you attached to his hip now?”

  “Please.”

  “I’m serious. Are you ‘stepping it up’?”

  She rubbed her eyes. “You did not just say that. I’m so never saying that again.”

  “Riley.”

  “Mom.”

  Oh, standoffs were cooler when she was six. Sixteen gave me a headache.

  “Miss Olivia is out of town. Where are you two hanging out?”

  “I was gonna help him over at Mr. Personality’s boat till I have to go to work.”

  “Oh no.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Because no one is there, either.”

  There came the look and the disgust. “We don’t need a babysitter, Mom.”

  “You don’t need to be alone where there are bedrooms, either.”

  “Oh my God. You are such a spaz.”

  I shrugged and held my hands up. “Call me whatever you want, you
aren’t doing it.”

  “You know, there’s a big flat rock down the street that would work just as well. You gonna go dig that up or just forbid us to sit on it?”

  Everything in me went still, and she knew it. It wasn’t our first rodeo.

  I took a deep breath and lowered my voice. “Go park yourself on that bench outside until it’s time for you to go to work.”

  “Mom!”

  “Now.”

  She narrowed her eyes and jutted out that famous hip. “You can’t put me in time-out like I’m a child.”

  “You get up from that bench, you’d better be bleeding from the eyes, otherwise you’ll be grounded to the house for a week.”

  “What’s going on?” Grady asked as they emerged from the back.

  “I’m grounded to a bench all day so that we don’t accidentally trip and fall into a bed and have sex,” she spat, glaring at me.

  It was Jason’s turn to snicker, and he turned around.

  “What? I’m—never mind.” Grady cut himself off when he saw my expression. A smart choice that Riley had yet to learn.

  “God, I knew better than to show up here and try to hang out with you,” she said, fighting tears I knew she hated.

  “Save the drama. Go.”

  She wheeled around and knocked over a map stand on her way out. Probably on purpose. It didn’t really matter. I turned to the two men who stood bewildered behind me.

  “Sorry you had to witness her sweeter side like that.”

  “Ma’am, we weren’t gonna do anything—” Grady began, but I held up a hand.

  “It wasn’t about that, Grady. She got in trouble for her mouth, that’s all. It overrides her brain sometimes.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  The kid had manners, that’s for sure. He left, after a few words with Riley outside, not lingering long. He probably didn’t want her bad luck to rub off. Jason stood next to me, as we watched Grady walk down the street and Riley sulk.

  “He wanted to borrow my keys so he could fix them something to eat.”

  I must have sported a crazed expression because he added, “I told him no, too.”

  “Lord.”

  “Of course, I didn’t banish him to a bench for it.”

  I closed my eyes and sighed. “She got ‘banished’ for—”

  “Her mouth, I know.” He nudged me with an elbow. “I was joking.”

  Now he was joking? Who the hell could tell?

  Chapter 12

  THE morning went on like any other morning with Jason, which irritated the hell out of me because it wasn’t supposed to be like any other morning. It was supposed to be electric and full of innuendo. Wasn’t it? I mean, who was I to guess at that? I wasn’t exactly dripping with experience.

  And I was clearly focused on the wrong person, because then he asked, “Who is Riley talking to?”

  My head jerked to follow Jason’s gaze, and there was Riley still perched on the bench out front. Chatting it up with Alex. Laughing. Great.

  “Does she have a Bluetooth or something?” I heard him ask from behind me because I was already under the counter and halfway to the door.

  “She’s just—” I flailed a hand in his direction as I walked outside.

  They both looked up at me as I waited for the door to fully close. Alex was at a far end of the bench to avoid contact, and he rose to his feet.

  “No, sit back down,” I said as I held a hand out and made sure I faced Riley.

  “Mom?”

  “What are y’all doing?” I felt my last nerve begin to shred.

  “Talking,” she said, the toxicity back in her voice. “Is that against—”

  “Don’t finish that sentence,” I said, locking eyes with her. “Put the attitude to rest, I’m telling you now.”

  “Fine,” she said, visibly pulling inward. I could see all the little doors latch up. “It’s almost time for work; can I go now?”

  Her face was blank. It broke my heart just a little to see her know how to shut down like that. I saw my reflection in the window behind her, and then immediately dismissed the idea as soon as it came. It wasn’t the place.

  “Sure. But we have to talk tonight.” Oh, that made my stomach hurt.

  “Bye.”

  She got up and left, and I took her spot on the bench, mindful of what Jason could see out the window.

  “Why do you keep putting me under the gun like that, Alex?” I said in a low voice. The street wasn’t crowded, but there was enough foot traffic to notice a woman talking to herself.

  “I was coming to see you. I didn’t know Riley’d be standing guard.”

  I looked his way, then remembered to face forward again. “Coming here why?”

  He ignored that as he watched a kid walk by with an ice cream cone.

  “If I could be alive again for one day, I’d eat thirty of those.”

  “I’d think you would be more concerned with other things,” I said with a smirk, and it pulled an intense sensual expression from him. Enough to make my insides go all liquidy.

  “I’m good at multitasking.”

  “Dani?”

  Jason’s voice came around the door I didn’t even hear open, and I jumped like I’d been shot.

  “Hey,” I said, popping up.

  “Now you’re talking to yourself. Where’s Riley? What are you doing out here?”

  I felt like I was being torched, I felt so overcome with heat. “Just taking a break. Riley went to work.”

  Alex stood up with us and stood next to Jason, looking from him to me. It was disconcerting to see them like that, and even weirder was Alex’s expression. Like he was fighting something. Sizing him up.

  Jason waved a hand. “Dani, where are you?”

  I blinked. “Sorry.”

  “Ask him,” Alex said, his voice barely audible.

  He stared at Jason so hard, I couldn’t believe he didn’t feel it. I wanted to ask “what?” but I couldn’t, and I started to sweat.

  “Ask him what you want to know. If the other night was something or not.”

  How did he know that? Why did he know that? He wouldn’t blink and it was freaking me out and Jason was about to call the loony bin on me, I was sure of it.

  “Whatever,” Jason said then, stepping away.

  “The other night,” I blurted, stopping him. “Was it—I mean—”

  Crap. I sucked at that even more than Jason did. But I looked at his face, and it told me he could read past the babbling.

  “Was it just a—I don’t know. It seemed like there was a moment.”

  That last sentence trailed off to a whisper, as Jason didn’t jump into the conversation with me. And how the hell was I supposed to do it with Alex hovering? And not just hovering, but glaring. Almost like he was daring Jason to be good enough to replace him.

  Jason looked around him, looking very uncomfortable, and just as he opened his mouth to probably suggest medication, someone walked past us and into the store. He turned and followed them in.

  I just wanted to stand there, very still, and I flashed back to feeling that way every day at school. Fantasizing about being so still that I could disappear.

  “Why did you make me do that?”

  Alex moved slowly, coming to a stop in front of me. His eyes looked troubled. Conflicted.

  “I’m sorry.”

  I rubbed my arms and tried to shake off the humiliation.

  “Have to go back to work.” I breathed in deep and let it go slowly as I walked back under the jingle.

  DAD and I sat at the kitchen table, each lost in our own thoughts as we waited for Riley to come home. I hoped that Alex would come around. But I felt like at least having Pop verify it might give it more credibility.

  I looked at the round-faced clock above the door and sighed heavily to realize it was still thirty minutes till she’d get off, and another ten home. I was antsy, and I got up and hugged his shoulders.

  “I’m gonna go upstairs and surf the interne
t or something non-productive till she gets here.”

  He chuckled, but it was kind of a sad sound. I pulled out my laptop, perpetually plugged in but rarely visited. I have always thought my life was interactive enough without adding the internet to it.

  But occasionally, I’d wallow in it. Check on my old company, see what else was going on in the world outside Bethany. Sometimes I’d even play games. Google things just to see what I’d find.

  I Googled “Jason Miller” and found more than a few, but he was in the mix. Nothing more exciting than a camera bought on eBay. Then I thought of something I was surprised never occurred to me before.

  I Googled Alex.

  I typed in “Alex and Sarah and Alyssa Stone Key West Florida” and then held my breath as the links came up. As usual, there was a multitude of web garbage and the link up of every plausible match of “stones” and “keys.”

  But just before I moved on, there was a sentence that caught my eye because of the date.

  Key West: Monroe County School District presents honorary diploma for deceased Alyssa Stone on April 16, 1980. (read more)

  Well, of course I wanted to read more.

  Archive: April 16, 1980. Mayor Sonny McCoy presented an honorary diploma to longtime friend Charles Alexander Stone, in memoriam of his granddaughter, Alyssa Stone.

  “Alyssa would have been eighteen this year, graduating no doubt with honors,” he said in a brief acceptance. “I may be biased, but she was a bright, bright girl, and the shining star of our family. This means more to me than you could possibly know.”

  It was ten years ago on this date that eight-year-old Alyssa and her parents, Alex and Sarah Stone, were drowned at sea while on a boat outing. Reports said a freak storm with beach-damaging waves came out of the Atlantic, causing natives to scramble at the last minute with very little warning. Several vessels were casualties, and the Stones were three of five lives claimed that day.

  I know I read it again. I’m sure I read it three or four more times. The ringing in my ears got so loud, I wasn’t sure anymore.

  Alex and Sarah and Alyssa died on April 16, 1970. The day I was born. The day my mother died.

  “No.”

  That couldn’t be right. I went back to Google and typed in “Key West boat accident April 16, 1970 storm” with shaky fingers. Six unrelated matches, then the seventh said “Key West Citizen Archive.” I clicked on it and held my breath.