Beach Lane

by Sherryl Woods

  Maybe she’d overlook the fact that they’d shared only one memorable, bone-melting kiss in all that time. He doubted she’d forgotten it. He certainly hadn’t. The heat and sweetness of it were burned into his memory. He’d never anticipated falling in love, much less with a vulnerable bundle of contradictions like Susie, but it had happened. It had caught him completely off guard.

  Now, however, with his financial prospects in doubt, proposing was out of the question. He couldn’t even think about marrying anyone until he figured out what he was going to do with the rest of his life. And right this second, with a couple of glasses of scotch dulling the pain of his firing, he didn’t even want to cross paths with Susie, who’d been telling him for weeks now that he was in a dying profession. Not that he’d ever contradicted her—how could he?—but he wasn’t quite ready for an I-told-you-so.

  When his phone rang repeatedly that night, he ignored it. When his cell phone rang off and on the next day, he ignored that, too. Messages were accumulating on both lines, but he wasn’t interested. Normally an upbeat, positive guy, he was in an unparalleled funk. He figured he was entitled to wallow there for a few days at least.

  Unfortunately, his friends Will Lincoln and Jake Collins had other ideas. After one day of not joining them for their regular lunch at Sally’s, they were banging on his door. Since each of them had a key for emergencies, Mack wasn’t surprised when they barged right in two seconds after knocking. Both of them stopped and stared at the mostly empty bottle of scotch and the box of half-eaten pizza, then took in his disheveled appearance.

  “What the devil happened to you?” Will demanded. “You’re not answering your phone. You didn’t show up for lunch. You didn’t call. And, sorry to say, you look like hell.”

  “Actually you look worse,” Jake added, regarding him speculatively. “When was the last time you shaved? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking less than immaculate. Did you and Susie have a fight?”

  “Susie and I don’t fight,” Mack said wearily. “This has nothing to do with her.”

  “Then explain,” Will said, sitting down and regarding him patiently.

  Mack knew that as a shrink, Will was perfectly capable of sitting there exactly like that for the rest of the evening, waiting him out. “Lost my job,” he said eventually. “I’m not taking it well.”

  Neither of his friends reacted with shock, which proved that they, too, had seen the handwriting on the wall.

  “Why would you be expected to take it well?” Jake asked. “Nobody likes being fired. I’m really sorry, man.”

  Mack sighed at the sympathy. It was exactly what he’d been hoping to avoid, but now that he couldn’t, it felt good knowing that his friends were in his corner.

  “I loved that stupid job,” he told them mournfully. “I was good at it.”

  “And you’ll find one that’s even better,” Will said. “Like you said, you’re good.”

  “Newspapers are a dying breed,” Mack lamented, taking another sip of scotch. “If I stay in the business, I’ll just be prolonging the inevitable.”

  “Now, that’s a cheery attitude,” Jake said, this time without a hint of sympathy. Taking his cue from Will, he’d apparently gone into booster mode, as well. “Can I tag along on your first job interview?”

  “Bite me,” Mack retorted, smiling despite his sour mood.

  “You have any more of that scotch?” Will asked.

  “Why?”

  “If you’re going to sit here and get drunk, we’re not going to let you do it alone,” Will insisted. He found two glasses, then poured the drinks.

  Jake took a sip and grimaced. “I hate this stuff. Tastes like medicine. Do you have any beer?”

  “Of course,” Mack said. “Why do I suddenly feel as if I should be playing host? I’m supposed to be sulking.”

  “Was the sulking helping?” Will asked.

  Mack shrugged. “Not that much.”

  “Then leave it to us to cheer you up,” Will said. “Or would you rather we call Susie? I’m sure she’d be happy to come over if she knew what was going on.”

  “Absolutely not,” Mack said at once. “I don’t want her to know about this.”

  Both men regarded him incredulously.

  “That’s crazy,” Jake said. “You can’t keep a secret like this, not in Chesapeake Shores.”

  “I want to have something new lined up before I see her,” Mack insisted. “I will not have her pitying me or hovering over me. Besides, she’s been predicting something like this for a long time now and, in her own less than subtle way, trying to get me to plan for it. I’m not up for the gloating.”

  “Gloating?” Will shook his head. “Do you really think that would be Susie’s response?”

  “Probably not, but even gloating would be better than pity.”

  “Has it occurred to you that Susie has a pretty level head on her shoulders? She could help,” Jake said. “I think she’d want to.”

  “No,” Mack said flatly.

  “How are you planning to avoid her?” Will asked reasonably. “You two have practically been joined at the hip for a very long time. If you check your messages, I’m quite sure you’ll find that several of them are from her. I’m sure she’s already worried. She’s called both Jake and me to see if we know what’s going on.”

  “You could let her know I’m okay,” Mack suggested. “Tell her I had to go out of town or something.”

  Jake immediately shook his head. “I don’t think so, pal. The way I hear it, Mick is inviting you to the family Thanksgiving next week. Turn him down at your peril.”

  “Why?” Mack asked, feeling panicked by the thought of his news coming out amid all those well-meaning O’Briens. “I mean, why me? Why this year? I’ve never been invited before.”

  “Bree’s theory is that Mick’s decided it’s time for you and Susie to get off the dime and move this relationship forward,” Jake said, obviously quoting his wife. “Bree thought Mick ought to wait for Jeff to do it, but you know how Mick loves trumping his brother on anything. Sadly, you also know what Mick’s like when he starts matchmaking. His tactics have as much finesse as a bulldozer.”

  Mack moaned. “Can I get out of this? Maybe I really will go out of town.”

  Will chuckled. “Bad idea. I don’t see how you can get out of this, at least not without offending Susie, which I don’t think you want to do.”

  “If she knew what was going on, she’d understand,” Mack said, a note of desperation in his voice.

  “But you don’t want to tell her,” Jake reminded him. “You’re pretty much between a rock and a hard place here.”

  It was a catch-22, all right. If Mick officially issued that invitation to Thanksgiving dinner, Mack would have to be there. And while everyone else was counting their blessings, he could be praying that his news didn’t leak out with a serving of humble pie for dessert.

  Or he could bite the bullet, call Susie and fill her in. Maybe she wouldn’t hover over him as if there’d been a death in his family. He supposed in some ways losing a job could rank right up there with the loss of someone important, but he didn’t need pity or well-meant advice right now. He didn’t know what he did need, but it wasn’t that.

  The third option would be to get out of town tonight so the invitation could never be issued in the first place. That one held the most appeal, but it smacked of cowardice. Mack might be an unemployed member of a dying profession, but he was no coward.

  Suddenly Will’s gaze landed on the jewelry box sitting on the coffee table. His expression brightened. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Jake followed the direction of his gaze. “An engagement ring? You bought an engagement ring? Is it for Susie?”

  Mack scowled at the question, “Who else would it be for? I haven’t been out with another woman for a long time now.”

  Jake shrugged. “You could be dating a whole slew of them. People have secret lives that not even their best friends know about. I
heard about it on Oprah.”

  Will and Mack both stared at him. “Since when do you watch daytime television?” Will inquired, his eyes alight with amusement.

  “Bree has it on at the flower shop sometimes,” Jake responded defensively. “I see it when I make deliveries there. It’s not like I race home to watch every afternoon.”

  Mack grinned. “Good to know.”

  “Hold it,” Will said. “How’d we get away from the real question here? Are you planning to ask Susie to marry you?”

  “Not anymore,” Mack said, sinking right back into despondency. “How can I? The timing sucks.”

  “I doubt Susie would agree,” Will said. “She’s been waiting for a very long time for you to wake up and see the light. I don’t think your temporary unemployment would deter her from saying yes.”

  “It wouldn’t be right,” Mack insisted. “I need to get my life back in order first.” He frowned at his friends. “And if either of you mention a word about this to anyone, I swear you’ll live to regret it. Am I clear?”

  “Got it,” Jake said.

  “No one will hear it from me,” Will agreed.

  “Thank you.”

  “But I am going on record telling you that waiting is a mistake,” Will said. “Life’s short. Don’t waste a minute of it.”

  “Says the man who took forever to get around to asking Jess O’Brien to go on a date, much less marry him,” Jake commented.

  “Different situation entirely,” Will claimed, then grinned. “But, yeah, I wasted too much time. Don’t follow my example. Learn from my experience.”

  “The timing’s all wrong,” Mack reiterated. “And I don’t want to talk about any of this anymore. What do you guys think about that backup quarterback the Ravens picked up? He’s looking good, don’t you think?”

  Will and Jake exchanged a look, then sighed.

  “Real good,” Jake agreed.

  “I was planning to write a column about him next week…” Mack began, but his voice trailed off. He reached for his scotch again. It didn’t seem to matter what they talked about. Right this second, his entire life sucked.

  “You guys might as well go,” he said. “I’m lousy company.”

  Both men shook their heads.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Jake said. “We stick together.”

  “Jake’s right,” Will said. “But if I’m going to drink any more, we’d better think about ordering a pizza. This disgusting day-old glob sitting on the table is starting to look downright tasty to me. And if I don’t eat, I’ll wind up falling asleep on your floor, and Jess will be on the warpath.”

  “Ditto with Bree,” Jake said.

  Mack saw the determination on their faces and sighed. “I’ll make the call.”

  “Extra sausage,” Jake said.

  “Extra cheese,” Will added.

  Mack chuckled. “I know you two don’t order like that when your wives are around. Last I heard, you were limited to the veggie specials.”

  “Sadly true,” Jake said despondently. “That’s why we love you. You don’t judge us for our disgusting eating habits.”

  “Who knew that pizza was the bond that would keep us together for a lifetime,” Mack said wryly.

  “That, and knowing too many of each other’s deep dark secrets,” Will added. He held up his glass of scotch. “To friends.”

  Mack and Jake tapped his glass with their own. Maybe there was one part of his life that didn’t suck, after all. He had some of the best friends around.

  That one of them also happened to be the woman he loved was just a bonus. He’d have to think about that after these two went home. Maybe talking to Susie about all this wouldn’t be quite the disaster he’d been envisioning.

  Then again, a man had his pride.

  2

  Susie had to admit she was a little freaked-out when she didn’t hear from Mack as usual. He’d gotten into the habit of calling on his way back from Baltimore. Most nights they made plans to have dinner together. Sometimes she cooked. More often, they grabbed a bite to eat at one of the cafés along Shore Road, then went for a walk or sat somewhere by the bay and talked. Once in a while they played Scrabble or cards. It always astonished her how competitive Mack could be over a silly game.

  As quiet and relaxed as they were, she’d grown to count on these evenings. Of course, that had probably been a mistake. It wasn’t as if they had any kind of commitment, for heaven’s sake. It was just dinner and conversation, night after night, for what seemed like forever.

  Though she felt thoroughly foolish doing it, she swallowed her pride and walked into Sally’s at lunchtime to see if Mack was there with Will and Jake. The three of them had been claiming the same booth ever since Jake and Bree had split up years before. Will and Mack had done it to support their friend during the roughest period of his life. And the tradition had stuck. Only after lunch did Mack occasionally make the drive to Baltimore to put in an actual appearance at the newspaper office.

  Since he did his interviews from home or in team locker rooms, then emailed his columns, going into the office was purely to remind people what he looked like, or so he claimed. Since the paper had plastered his face on billboards and bus benches, it seemed unlikely to Susie that there was a person in the region who wouldn’t recognize him, but Mack thought it was important to show up in person from time to time. She thought he enjoyed the interaction with his colleagues and the bustle of the newsroom more than he wanted to admit.

  At Sally’s, she found Will and Jake in their usual spot, but Mack wasn’t with them. His absence alone was enough to give her another disquieting twinge. She slipped into the booth and studied them intently.

  “Why do the two of you look hungover?” she asked bluntly. “Now that you’re married, I thought your carousing days were behind you.”

  “Just a late night,” Will said with his usual circumspect caution.

  “With Mack?” she inquired pointedly. She noted that Jake and Will were a little too careful to avoid each other’s gazes. “Okay, what’s going on with him? I know you know. Maybe you didn’t when I called to ask you, but you do now. I can see it in your faces. Heaven help either of you if you ever decide to play high-stakes poker. You couldn’t bluff worth beans.”

  “Susie, anything I know, assuming I do know something, would be confidential,” Will said piously.

  Susie rolled her eyes, then turned to Jake. “And you? Have you taken some oath of confidentiality, as well?”

  Jake simply held up his hands. “No comment.”

  She glowered at the pair of them. “This is ridiculous. I haven’t been able to reach him for two days now. It’s not like Mack to vanish without a word. Can you at least assure me he’s alive?”

  “Of course he is,” Jake said. “I’m sure he’ll give you a call soon.” Though he sounded certain, his expression showed unmistakable skepticism.

  “Of course he will,” Will added. Unfortunately, his upbeat tone sounded forced, as well.

  “Has he started seeing someone else?” Susie asked, laying her worst fear right out there. These men might be Mack’s friends, but they were hers, too. It wasn’t as if they didn’t know how she felt about Mack. Maybe asking for reassurance made her sound pitiful, but she needed to know the truth. If it was time to move on, she’d rather hear it from them than from someone else.

  “Absolutely not,” Will said with satisfying conviction. “Don’t let your imagination run away with you, Susie. Mack just needs a little time.”

  “Time for what?” she wanted to know. It wasn’t as if Mack were prone to long periods of introspection. To the contrary, he generally talked everything to death, then moved forward or put it behind him. He wasn’t all that complicated, except when it came to figuring out how he felt about her. That seemed to elude him completely.

  “Susie, just give him a little space,” Jake advised.

  She frowned. “Time? Space? From me?”

  “No,” Will said. “This has not
hing to do with you.”

  “It does if he’s shutting me out,” she said, then shook her head. Talking to these two was pointless. They’d apparently sworn some oath of silence, which they were unlikely to break no matter how many ways she asked all the questions they’d stirred up. “Never mind. I suppose he’ll fill me in whenever it’s convenient for him. I guess it was too much to hope that he’d consider me the kind of friend who’d want to support him if he’s in some kind of trouble.”

  She stood up.

  Will regarded her with alarm. “Susie, please, don’t get the wrong idea here. You know how Mack feels about you.”

  She met Will’s concerned gaze. “No,” she said softly. “Actually, I don’t, and that’s precisely the problem.”

  She walked away before either man could see the tears that were building in her eyes. Crying in front of them would be just too darned humiliating to bear.

  “They were lying to me,” Susie told Shanna after she’d left Sally’s and walked to the bookstore down the block for moral support. “Right to my face.”

  “I don’t think they were lying,” Shanna said reasonably. “I think they were following Mack’s wishes, as misguided as those might be. You put them on the spot, sweetie. What were they supposed to do? Betray their friend?”

  “I’m their friend, too.”

  “Of course you are, but they’re guys. There’s some kind of loyalty oath they all take when they’re, like, eight. We don’t stand a chance.” She set a cup of coffee, heavily laced with cream and sugar, in front of Susie. “What are you really worried about?”

  “That Mack has made a decision finally to cut me out of his life,” she said. “What if he’s just working up the courage to tell me?”

  “Has there been even the tiniest indication lately that he’s tired of spending time with you? Last I heard you were still inseparable, which has caused no end of confusion for the rest of us.”

  “Not really,” Susie admitted. “But come on, Shanna, this can’t be normal. We’re supposed to be friends. It’s the one thing I’ve been able to count on all this time.”