by Natalie Ann
“You did, which is why I’m talking to you about this. It was just general questions. Where I’m from and why I came here. And then when I was telling him, I realized I never told you or Kayla and I felt bad about that.”
“I figured if you wanted me to know you’d say something. We all have things in our past that we keep quiet.”
Not the first time she’d gotten that impression from Amanda and she wondered if that was part of the reason they got along so well. The same with Kayla who also had a past she hadn’t wanted anyone to know.
“Consider this the time. I’m from Montana. You know that.”
“Billings,” Amanda said. “Yes, I do know that. Country girl that really doesn’t look or act like one.”
“Yeah, something like that.” No reason to say more. It wasn’t the life for her and she knew it, yet she wrote about what it was like growing up in the country. The animals. The solitude.
Nope, not going there right now. That wasn’t coming out in this conversation either.
“Okay, so what did you tell him that I didn’t know?”
“That I went to the University of Montana. I studied English and Art.”
“Really?” Amanda said, looking almost pleased. She placed a plate of pancakes on the table in front of her. Sidney got up and got the syrup while Amanda grabbed plates and silverware. “Did you not want to work in that field?”
“I didn’t know what I wanted. Not to be a teacher though and my options were limited. I like to read.” She wondered if she could say more and decided to add a bit. “I love to draw.”
“I had no idea. I guess you could say we both have some creative genes.” Amanda got up and pulled open a drawer to get a pad and pen. “Draw me something. Anything.”
“You’re too much.”
“I am, but I want to see what you can do really fast. Or do you have things upstairs you could show me? Please pretty please.”
“Hang on,” she said and walked to her room. She pulled the storage bin out from under her bed that held her supplies and reached for one pad at random. Just things she doodled on at night. Then she returned to the kitchen. “Here. When I’m in bed watching TV at night I like to just draw things.”
Amanda snatched it out of her hand and started to flip through. There were a wide range of things. Animals, people, landscapes. “These are fabulous. I’m so mad I didn’t know. Why wouldn’t you say anything?”
“Don’t get mad. It’s just a hobby. It’s not like I’m making money on them.”
Just because some of those pictures were in her books and they were published—self-published—didn’t mean she was making a killing at anything.
“It doesn’t matter. This one,” Amanda said. “It’s the view from the ocean when we walked down there one day. I remember it because we were laughing over the girls in rainbow bikinis. You should frame this and hang it.”
“It is pretty and, yes, that was the day we were together. I’m surprised you remembered it.”
Amanda reached her hand over and laid it on hers. “I remember everything with my friends. Thank you for sharing this with me.”
Sidney took the pad back and pulled the drawing out from that day and handed it to Amanda. “For you.”
“Sign it,” Amanda said. “If you make it big I want to be able to say I had one of your first early ones.”
She laughed. “I doubt that is going to happen, but I’m glad you like it. And that we had this talk.”
“Me too,” Amanda said. “Now...when are you seeing Mac again?”
“I’m not sure, but I hope he doesn’t make me wait too long.”
3
An Old Soul
When Mac pulled onto his street he was freezing his ass off. The heater took longer to fully be effective in his SUV than the few blocks from the bar. He could have driven over in the police-issued one, but he hated being in it when he was off duty. Besides, he was off the clock and came home to change his shirt and leave his badge and the gun he wore on his hip locked up. He always had one concealed on his ankle though.
He was never really off duty and accepted that, even if the women he dated couldn’t.
When he pulled in front of his house, he saw his brother’s truck with the reverse lights on and hit the horn for him to stop and not back into him.
He pulled in next to his brother and hit the garage door to open it up and put his vehicle in there. He’d move the police SUV in later. Since it was such a tight squeeze, he wanted his own SUV in first.
“Where have you been?” Alex asked.
“Out,” he said when he got out of his SUV. “Go in the house while I move the cruiser in.”
Alex moved past him in the garage and through the door to the house. Mac parked the cruiser in the garage, hit the door and walked into the house to see his brother going in the fridge. When he pulled two beers out, Mac shook his head no at his brother.
“What?” Alex said. “You never turn a beer down with your brother. Least of all your favorite brother.”
“I’ve had two whiskeys at the bar,” he said.
“And two of anything is all you ever let yourself have,” Alex said, popping the top on the beer and taking a long drink from the bottle.
“Want a glass for that?” he asked.
“Nope. Then you’d just have to wash it. I’m being low maintenance tonight.”
“You’re low maintenance every night. And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit tonight? I’m assuming you got out late because of the fire?”
Alex was a fireman on the island, transferring here from Boston several years ago where he started out. Mac figured Alex would come back to the island at some point, but he’d enjoyed his life on the mainland, the playboy that he was.
“Yeah. Not a big deal. Just a kitchen fire and under control fast enough, but it was close to the change of shift so OT for me.”
“No woman you were supposed to meet since you’re here?”
“Nah. Not much during the week. This time of year it’s slim pickings anyway. But the bigger question is what you were doing getting a drink midweek?”
He wasn’t sure how much he wanted to tell his younger brother but figured it might not hurt. Maybe Alex could help him out since Mac was at a loss on the next step after he’d told Sidney ‘until the next time.’ What the hell was the next time supposed to be?
“Budget crap put me in a mood.”
“Glad that is your headache and not mine.”
“You’ve got your eyes on moving up and you know it.”
“Us Bonds are forever overachievers. Well, some of us are,” Alex said, laughing. “Captain first. The Chief is in my sight but years from now. By then I might have more patience when it comes to politics and budgets. I’m young yet.”
“You’re only two years younger than me,” he argued.
“But younger at heart. You’ve always had an old soul.”
“And you always wanted to act like a teen.”
Alex was dead serious about his job but that was about it in life. Alex was the one always getting in trouble as a kid and Mac bailing him out. Guess he knew he’d end up in law enforcement.
Even their youngest brother, Jarrett, was a state trooper stationed on the island. Jarrett had said he wasn’t competing with Mac for the local police because he knew he’d lose so he went into the state police after college.
Mac wasn’t so sure, but he supposed the people of the island would always go with the older Bond brother. Jarrett was quiet like Mac, but actually more easygoing. Maybe being a hardass and grouch was why Mac was promoted so fast after his father retired. There had been another captain who was older and wanted the job and that caused some resentment.
Chris Stonebrook had worked under Bill Bond for twenty years and thought he’d get his shot when Bill retired three years ago. But nope, the town wanted someone younger and with a fresh view, not someone that could retire in two years himself.
At this stage, he’d felt Chris was
more like deadweight than a captain, but they got along well enough. Mainly because Mac just let Chris do his thing and they stayed out of each other’s way. But it would sure go a long way toward his budget if Chris did retire and Mac could bring on another officer and promote one he had that had more initiative.
“Someone has to in the family,” Alex said. “You and Jarrett are far too serious.”
“Just balancing out the fact you’re not. So what is your real reason for stopping over?”
“No reason. I felt like a beer and didn’t want one alone. Jarrett’s at the other end of the island.”
“A whole thirty minutes away,” Mac said.
“Which means nothing, but I wanted a beer. And Jarrett is working. I texted him first.”
“Figures I was second place,” he said to Alex.
“If I knew you were in the mood for a drink—which you normally aren’t—I would have texted you first. So two drinks instead of one. And whiskey? Guess it’s some serious budget headaches you’ve got. Just put your walking shoes on and smile for some of the rest of the family. There are plenty that would write that check. Starting with Scott, Mitchell, or Charlie Bond.”
Scott Bond owned Bond Reality that his sons Drew and Bode ran. Their youngest brother, Coy, was a dentist in town. Any of those three would hand over money just like their family would. Mitchell was Scott’s brother and owned lots of tourist ventures along with his sons. Eli had the casino, Egan was a helicopter pilot that did tours and trips to and from the island and their youngest brother, Ethan, sat in an office with their father overseeing multiple investments.
Charlie Bond owned the Bond Retreat with his son, Hunter, running it now. It’d be in his name at some point as the Retreat could only pass onto a male Bond.
His cousins were all multi-millionaires. He wouldn’t be surprised if a few in the family were closing in on billionaire status, but it was a conversation that was in poor taste.
It wasn’t him and he didn’t care what they had. They could all be traced back to Malcolm and Elizabeth Bond even though they were many times removed now.
Their closeness didn’t come from blood at this point, but rather a love of the island, and friendships they’d forged over the years. There were plenty of Bonds that didn’t live on the island that he was closer to by blood but didn’t ever see or talk to.
“They would and I know it, but I’d prefer to figure this out on my own before I go knocking on doors. The town needs to allocate more to me anyway. Maybe I’ll see if they can pull some from the fire department.”
“I’ll break your right hand if you do,” Alex said. “We need new equipment and busted our ass with those calendar sales.”
Mac started to laugh. “That was your idea and you were on four of the twelve months.”
Alex grinned and put his beer to his lips. “What can I say if I’ve got the best body in the department. I was happy just being on the cover, but four months worked for me. Some of the other men didn’t want to take their shirts off.”
Mac rolled his eyes and opened the cabinet to get some chips out, took a handful, and passed the bag to his brother. “You’ve never been shy about removing your clothes.”
“The women love me. Maybe if you got laid more often you wouldn’t be so uptight about things like budgets.”
It was the opening he was looking for and had to wonder if he should take it like flying through an open window during a burning fire or shut the pane down and suffocate in silence. It couldn’t hurt. “Speaking of women. I’ve got a question for you.”
“Oh. Big brother is asking me for advice. I need to write this date down so I don’t forget.”
“Nope, forget it, ass.”
“Shit. Sorry. I have to remember how touchy you are. I didn’t say it. Lay it on me. You have your eye on someone? Maybe that is what brought you to the bar?”
Mac sighed. “Yeah. The bartender at McKay’s.”
“The brunette with the smoking body that she tries to hide. Sidney, right?”
He narrowed his eyes. “And you know that how?”
“Relax. I’ve talked to her, nothing else.”
“Struck out?” Mac asked, hoping.
“Yep. She’s a cool one. Are you sure your ego can take being shot down too?”
“She didn’t shoot me down. We got talking more than before tonight. Guess it seems she might have a little thing for me. Could be she shot you down waiting for the better Bond.”
“Talk about being an ass. Whatever, I’ll let you take this one. If you think it’s more than a passing thing. You never date. I’m not sure you even know how.”
His brother spoke the truth. No one really knew about what happened with Colleen in Florida. Or many of the other women. The insults, the fights, the accusations that he didn’t have a romantic bone in his body and couldn’t put a woman first, let alone on a pedestal. How was he supposed to know so many women wanted to be there? What happened to equality? Guess he was way off.
“Yeah well, I’m not you. And we talked and we flirted and that is all you are getting out of me. But we left it with ‘until we see each other again.’”
“Oh, good one. You or her that left it that way?”
“It was kind of joint. Now I just have to figure out how to see her again. I suppose I could go in the bar for a drink, but doing it tomorrow seems desperate.”
“Definitely desperate. She’s worked there over a year. I know you stop in and out, so it’s taken this long to get that far, twice in two days is overreaching.”
“That was my thought. Not sure how long to wait. She works Wednesday through Sunday.”
Alex laughed again. “And you know this because you go in there quite a bit. Damn. Okay, let me think.”
He scowled at his brother. “Well?”
“I’ve got nothing. Give me a few days. You shouldn’t rush to see her anyway. You guys didn’t even exchange numbers?”
“No,” he said, wishing that he had. “We know where to find each other.”
“But the question is, which one of you will reach out first?”
4
A Hot Man
The following Monday Sidney was going to the store to pick up some groceries and personal items she needed. She had the list of stuff to get for the house that they all took turns buying.
She was just pulling into the parking lot when someone blew through and hit the back end of her car.
She pulled over to the side, the person who hit her did the same thing, and she saw the old woman get out. “I’m so sorry, dear. I didn’t even see you there.”
“You didn’t stop. You need to stop before you pull out into the traffic.”
“I know, but I’m in a hurry and I didn’t see you,” the woman said again, the wind blowing her scarf that was wrapped around her head. “I’m on my way for my weekly hair appointment and thought I was clear.”
“You weren’t though,” she said and looked at the rear quarter panel of her car that had a good-sized dent in it. “Let me call the police.”
“Can’t we just exchange insurance information and be on our way?”
“No,” she said. She played by the rules and if she wanted her car fixed without having to pay for it herself she was making sure she got a police report. “You might want to call and say you are going to miss your hair appointment or will be really late.”
“Young lady,” the woman said, “it’s not that much damage. My insurance is good for it. Or maybe I can just give you a check?”
Sidney walked over and snapped a picture of the woman’s car and license plate just in case the old lady decided to make a run for it. That thought made her smile as she called 911 and reported it.
The last person she expected to pull up on the scene was good old Mac Bond to come strutting over in his Amore Island Police-issued jacket, black jeans, his gun and badge on his hip. This was the first time she’d seen him looking remotely in uniform since she’d noticed him more like a man and less like goo
d old Mac. And she had to stop thinking of him that way too.
He was someone else completely on Wednesday night. Five long days ago.
Now he was Mac Bond, Chief of Police, that had ignored her for those five days.
Yep, there went her smile.
“Hey,” he said when he walked up to her. She was standing outside her car, the old lady still in hers with the heat on. “Problem?”
“As you can see, my car and hers over there decided to tango. I got my toes stepped on.”
Mac turned his head to see the big boat of a caddy with the lady sitting in the driver’s seat. She lifted her head and waved at him, a big grin on her face. “Mrs. Grady?”
“You know her?” she asked putting her hands on her hips. Great. Was the woman somehow going to get out of this and Sidney left with the bill?
“She’s well known in the department for vehicle infractions.”
“Oh. So this is added to the list?”
“It is.” He walked over and tapped on the window for her to roll it down. “Mrs. Grady, I see we meet again.”
“We really need to stop,” Mrs. Grady said with her smile huge. “I saw your grandfather the other day.”
“I’m sure you did since you live next door to him, but he can’t help you out of this ticket.”
Her smile dropped. “Can’t we just let the ticket pass? I might lose my insurance after this. I offered to just exchange information. Or better yet, why don’t I just pay for her damages and no one needs to know?”
“That is something the two of you should have discussed before I was called but now I need to check it out. I can already tell by the damage to both cars that you hit her.”
“I didn’t see her,” Mrs. Grady said. “I told her that.”
“Which is no excuse for not following traffic laws.” He held his hand out and she opened her glove box, handing over her papers. He returned over to where Sidney had been waiting, watching the show, listening and trying to hide her smile. “I’ll be right back. I need to just check her information and make sure it’s up to date. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warmer.”