by Kay Correll
A shadow flitted across her face. “Oh, here and there. We’ve moved a lot.”
“I’ve lived here my whole life.”
“Really? You’ve never lived anywhere else?” Courtney looked surprised.
“Nope, never.” Tally rolled another napkin. “You have any family?”
“No.” Courtney looked down and concentrated on meticulously picking out exactly the right knife, fork, and spoon.
Tally knew vague when she heard it. “Just you and Bobby?”
“My grandmother raised me. She died when I was eighteen.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. She… well, she wasn’t very happy to be raising me and let me know it at every opportunity.” Courtney bit her lip, like she was sorry all that had tumbled out. Her face held a stony mask, struggling to pretend it didn’t matter.
“That must have been hard.”
“Not really. It’s all I knew.” She reached for a napkin. “I’m trying to be a better mother to Bobby than what I had growing up.”
Tally could see that Courtney was a good mother. Lots of hugs for Bobby and laughter. She played with him, and the other day she heard Courtney teaching him to count by fives. A person could tell just by looking at them that Courtney adored her son.
“Anyway, I want him to know that he’s wanted. That I love him.” She shrugged. “I think that’s what every child wants.”
“I think so, too.”
Tereza came up to the table. “That order of wine is here.”
Tally got up. “I’ll go check it. Thanks.”
“I’ll help Courtney finish these up. My last table just left.”
Tally walked away but paused and looked back at the two girls chatting with each other. It would do Courtney good to have a friend here in town, and Tereza was just the person to take on the job.
* * *
Courtney rolled another napkin and turned the conversation to the weather. She hoped Tereza wouldn’t ask questions about the other night—the night when she’d been hiding out from Sheriff Dave. Just thinking about him made her take a quick look around the cafe. She wasn’t sure she would ever feel safe again. She hoped she was making it so Bobby felt safe, though, protecting him as best she could.
She always worried if she was a good mother. It’s not like she’d had a good role model. Her grandmother had always let her know that it was her fault her mother was gone. Her mother had died in childbirth and Courtney had survived. As far as her grandmother was concerned, Courtney had killed her own mother. As she got older, she realized it wasn’t really her fault, but it did always nag in the back of her mind that if not for her, her mother would still be alive.
“You okay?” Tereza added a napkin roll to the pile. “You look lost in thought.”
“Oh, just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Mostly about Bobby.”
“He’s a great kid.” Tereza grinned. “He’s got a lot of energy though. I get tired just watching him zip around.”
“He never does stop. Until he does. He drops off quickly at night and sleeps like a rock. He is a great kid though. I’m a lucky mom.”
“Does he like going to Belinda’s?”
“He does, especially when the other boys are there in the afternoon after school. He can’t wait to start school.” Though she had no idea where they’d be this fall when school started back up. She kept reminding herself that they couldn’t stay here for long. She’d just save up as much as she could, then they’d move on.
“You have that look on your face again.” Tereza frowned
“What look?”
“The one that says you’re worried about something.”
“Ah… no, I’m not worried about anything. Well, a bit about money, but this job is helping with that.”
“You sure that’s all it is? Not that money problems aren’t a big deal.”
“That’s all.” Along with hiding out and making sure she and Bobby couldn’t be found. But she wasn’t going to share that worry with Tereza no matter how kind her new friend was to her.
Chapter 11
Julie sat out on the deck of their beach house with Reed. She really should be doing something wedding-wise, but exhaustion crept into her very bones. Besides just normal working at The Sweet Shoppe today, she’d baked two large cakes for events in town—an anniversary party and a sweet sixteen party. But the wedding was one week away. She should be doing something for it because the to-do list was certainly long enough.
“You look tired.” Reed squeezed her hand. “You work too hard.”
“No such thing as working too hard.” She held up a hand. “And don’t offer to help out with The Sweet Shoppe. I have to do it on my own.”
“I know. The offer is always there though. I can get you new ovens, hire more help.”
“Reed, some things aren’t about money.” Julie shot the words back at him, then instantly regretted it. She reached out to touch his hand. “I’m sorry. I’m tired and stressed. I appreciate your offer of help, but I really need The Sweet Shoppe to be my own thing. Make it successful on my own.”
“It is successful.”
“I want to make sure it stays that way.” She sipped her wine. “I don’t mean to be short with you. I don’t know what’s come over me this last month.”
“What’s stressing you? I want to help you in any way you’ll let me.”
Reed was always so patient, always so understanding. How could she tell him the wedding was stressing her out? Of course, weddings were supposed to be stressful, weren’t they?
“Julie?”
She sighed. “I admit I’m nervous about meeting all your friends and co-workers who are coming. You’re from such a different world than me. Your friends are probably going to wonder what you ever saw in me. And it’s not going to be a real fancy wedding, the kind you’re used to going to. And I really don’t like to be the center of attention.” Julie blurted it all out at once but then wanted to take the words back.
“I would be perfectly content to run off with you and get married.” Reed leaned over and kissed her. “I don’t need a big wedding. I just need to be married to you.”
“It’s too late now. Invitations are sent. Along with emails and calls made to let everyone know the venue is changed. Susan said she’d have someone at the inn let people know to go to Magic Cafe if they show up at the inn. Besides, Susan and Tally would kill me if we eloped. Tally has worked so hard to pull the wedding off at Magic Cafe with just a couple weeks’ notice.” Julie rubbed her temple, then forced a smile. She wanted Reed to have the kind of fancy wedding he was used to going to. The kind of wedding people in his world had, the kind he deserved. She wanted everything to be perfect, and she wanted him to be proud of her.
“I’m sure everything will be perfect. My friends will love you. How could they not?” He grinned at her, then got up and stood behind her chair. He started to rub her shoulders and some of the tension began to seep away.
“Um, that feels good.” She tilted her head from side to side, working the kinks out. “You spoil me.”
“You better get used to it.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Now you sit here and relax. I’m going to finish up the salad I made us for dinner.”
“You really are the best.”
“Don’t you forget it.” He winked at her and headed inside.
* * *
Reed looked back to make sure Julie wasn’t following him. She’d leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. He hoped he’d chased away at least part of her worries. He’d love to help with expenses at The Sweet Shoppe, but she’d never let him. He understood how she wanted her bakery to be all hers, and he admired her for that. It was one of the many reasons he’d fallen in love with her. That, and the fact that she’d saved him from himself and the cold, lonely life he thought was his for eternity.
But he did know just what he was going to give her for a wedding present. Well, okay, he’d already given her t
his beach house, but, sue him, he loved to spoil her.
He had one more present in mind. It was just what she wanted. What she needed. Even if she didn’t know it.
He loved the woman with his whole heart and would do anything for her. Anything. He was so lucky he’d found her and had a second chance at love. It was way more than he deserved.
Sure of himself, he picked up the phone to call his assistant in Seattle. She was a miracle worker as far as he was concerned and would know just how to do this. After talking to his assistant, he called Tally and told her his plan. Tally agreed it was a perfect idea.
With the Tally seal of approval, he knew he’d made a good choice.
Chapter 12
Tally was crazy busy at the cafe making sure everything was ready for the wedding. She shouldn’t have said yes, but when Eddie asked if he could come over to her house later tonight after the dinner rush, she’d agreed. He said he’d gotten the photos scanned, and he’d return the album.
She hurried home about nine and found him sitting on her front step, waiting for her. He smiled and stood when he saw her. “I was a bit early, but it was a nice night to just sit.”
Tally looked up at the stars twinkling in the sky. It was a pretty night, the kind the island was known for this time of year. The night air was still, and the moon was approaching full moon stage, shining silvery light down upon the island. She did dearly love this island.
She climbed the stairs and opened the door. “Come on in.”
Eddie came in and handed the album to her. “Here. I appreciate you letting me borrow it.”
“You got everything you wanted?”
“I… well, I scanned them all.” Eddie shrugged sheepishly. “Couldn’t help myself.”
“There are more. We’ll look through them and you can scan any you want.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
Tally swallowed and screwed up her courage. Sometimes it helped to just face your fears and get it over with. “You want to go see his room? It’s… well, I haven’t changed anything in it. I just… never could.”
“I would like that.” Unmistakable eagerness shone in his eyes.
They climbed the stairs, Eddie’s heavy footsteps echoing in the stairway. Tally paused in front of Jackson’s room, her hand resting on the doorknob. She took a deep breath. “It’s this one.” She pushed open the door and stood back for Eddie to enter.
* * *
Eddie took in every inch of his son’s room. The stale air from being closed up. A poster of a band on one wall and a poster of a baseball player on another. A long shelf full of trophies. He crossed over and picked up one of them, wondering how many times his son had picked up this very same trophy to look at it. How many times had his son’s hands touched the very spot where he held it? He held the trophy against his chest, then set it carefully back on the shelf.
Tally sat on the desk chair, silent, and let him explore. He picked up the baseball bat in the corner, running his hand along it, wrapping his fingers around it. The same grip his son would have had. His heart beat in a tripping rhythm, and he took a deep breath to steady his nerves.
Tally popped up and crossed over to the window, staring outside, but Eddie didn’t think she was really seeing anything in the darkness out the window. She then turned and crossed back to sit on the bed. Within a minute, she was up and back by the window.
He crossed over to the desk and picked up a notebook sitting on it. Something slipped out and fluttered to the floor. He bent over to pick up a handful of photographs.
Tally walked over and peeked over his shoulder. A frown crossed her face as she reached for one of them. “That’s Jackson at college. I can see his dorm in the background. But I don’t know who this is.” She pointed to the blonde girl in the photo.
“He’s got his arm around her. I wonder if she was someone he was dating?”
Tally’s forehead creased. “I… I don’t know. He didn’t say anything to me. But then, he’d only been home from college one day when…” Her voice trailed off.
Eddie flipped the photos over, hoping to see something written on the back. A name. Something. But the reverse side just had the year stamped on them.
Tally peered at the back of the photo she was holding. “That was the last year he was… here. I wonder who she was.”
Eddie rifled through the notebook to see if any more photos were stuffed in it. “That’s all of them.”
“She didn’t come looking for him after he was gone. If she was his girlfriend or a good friend of his, she would have wondered where he was and tried to find him, right?” Tally trailed a finger over the image of her son in the photograph. “I guess we’ll never know.”
They’d probably never know. Eddie’s heart clutched in his chest. There was so much he’d never know about his son.
* * *
Long after Eddie left, Tally sat on the couch, holding the photographs they’d found. She held one under the light and looked at it once again. The pretty blonde girl was laughing, and Jackson’s face was covered in a big goofy grin. He looked completely happy and at ease.
Who was she? She certainly looked the part of a girlfriend, but Jackson hadn’t said a word about her. Maybe they broke up right before he came home for the summer? But he hadn’t seemed upset when he came home. As she remembered, he’d seemed happy. More than happy.
But then why hadn’t the girl come looking for him?
She sorted through the photos, looking at them one by one, searching for a clue. So strange to see a snippet of Jackson’s life that she’d had no knowledge of, a glimpse of his life she wasn’t a part of.
Then her heart caught, and a thought struck her with the full force of a hurricane. She dropped the photos onto the coffee table.
Eddie. He must feel just like this. He must feel like this about Jackson’s entire life. She could only show him glimpses of it from old photographs and from telling him stories. He could only grasp the fleeting moments she’d captured with the camera or the stories of Jackson that were flooding back into her consciousness.
Eddie had missed so much, and she felt responsible for that. If only she would have left with him when he asked her all those years ago. Eddie would have known his son, and Jackson would never have lived here on Belle Island by the ocean. He would have been tucked safely in the middle of Texas. Okay, not exactly the middle, but inland and away from the murderous sea.
Tally looked around the room. The room that hadn’t changed in over twenty years. Faded couch, worn area rug on the old weathered floorboards, yellowed lampshade on a lamp that had been in that very spot since she’d been a little girl.
Tally rubbed her face, suddenly overtired and close to tears. She couldn’t deal with the out-of-control feeling these last few days. She slowly pushed off the couch, feeling older than she’d ever allowed herself to feel before.
Chapter 13
“Come, take a walk with me.” The next day Eddie stood on the steps to Magic Cafe. “I waited for the lull between breakfast and lunch.”
“Oh, Eddie. I have so much to do.” Tally shook her head.
Tereza looked up from cleaning the table next to them. “You should go. You look like you could use a break. I’ll be here and Courtney should be here within a half hour. I’ve got this.”
“Are you sure?” Tally didn’t look convinced.
Eddie reached out his hand. “Come on. Come play hooky for just a little bit.”
“Well, I can’t argue with both of you.” Tally set down a pitcher of water. “But not for long. I need to be back before the lunch crowd.”
“You’ll be back. I swear.” Eddie crossed his heart and Tally laughed.
“Let’s go then.” She kicked off her shoes. “Here, leave your shoes with mine.”
Eddie slipped off his shoes, the welcoming sand wrapping around his feet. A few fluffy white clouds floated across the sky. The spring sunshine bathed them with gentle warmth. They fell into step and crossed the sand to
the shoreline. Tally stood at the edge and let the waves wash over her bare feet. The breeze tossed her hair around her face, just like it had so many years ago, only now it was laced with gray. The face looked so much the same, and yet so different. She turned and caught him staring at her and smiled.
“So, which way?” He looked up and down the beach.
“This way.” She pointed.
They started walking slowly along the shore. Tally paused every so often to pick up a shell.
He laughed. “Still a shell collector, I see?”
“I can’t help myself. They are always calling to me. It’s not like I don’t have thousands of shells in every imaginable container at home. There are some shells that still insist I pick them up.” She grinned sheepishly.
“I would expect no less of you.”
They came to an outcropping of land with a handful of large rocks jutting out into the sea. “Want to sit for a bit?” Tally pointed to the rocks.
“Sure.” They climbed up on the rocks and settled down facing the ocean.
Tally shielded her eyes to watch a blue heron slowly, methodically flap its way down the shore. Once the bird was in the distance, she turned to him. “So, how about you tell me a bit about you? Do you still live in Texas?”
“I moved on from Texas years ago. I’ve lived all over. I’ve been in sales. Lots of sales. I think I could sell anything.” Almost anything. He hadn’t been able to sell Tally on coming with him when he’d left Belle Island all those years ago.
He pushed the thoughts away and continued talking about himself like Tally had requested. “I lived out of Los Angeles, a brief stint in San Francisco, a handful of years in Kentucky. Oh, and Chicago and Memphis.”
“Wow, you’ve moved all over.”
“And you never left Belle Island?”
“No. Stayed here the whole time.”
“Well, you have a lot of family history here. Generations and generations of your family lived here.”