by Carrie Elks
“She’s still there. And still screaming it.”
“Shut up!” Ally grinned. “She was old when I was at school and that was over ten years ago.”
“Maybe she’s one of those vampires that never ages a day,” Riley said drily. “All I know is she can’t hear any of us and she thinks it’s our fault.”
“Some things never change.” Ally took another mouthful of drink. “How are you settling in otherwise? Your dad said you moved down from Seattle. Do you miss it?”
“Seattle? No. I miss home, but that was never Seattle.”
Ally hesitated for a moment. Should she say something about Riley’s mom? She could remember how intense everything felt when she was a teenager. How she hated people offering sympathy about her mother when they hadn’t even known her. No, best to wait for Riley to bring it up.
“Well this isn’t such a bad place once you get used to it. There’s the beach for a start, plus the mountains. If you enjoy being outside there’s always something to do.”
“Did my dad ask you to tell me that?” Riley inquired, her expression suspicious.
“No.” The truth was, Ally was enjoying this conversation. Talking about Riley’s problems was a great way to distract her from her own.
“Yeah, well I’m not exactly the outdoorsy type,” Riley told her, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms in front of her.
“You looked pretty outdoorsy on the beach the other day.” Ally leaned forward. “Especially when you fell over.”
“You fell over first.”
Ally grinned. “Yep. And it was the most fun I’ve had in a while.”
“You should get out more.”
“I probably should. But I’ve got this new boss and I hear he’s a dragon.”
“Touché.” Riley nodded, her eyes serious.
The teenage girls who’d been standing by the register moved down the counter to pick up their drinks. Ally heard their laughter get louder as they approached. Riley slumped down in her chair, as though she was trying to avoid them.
Ally remembered how that felt, too. Trying not to be the center of the mean girls’ attention. On a whim, she grabbed a piece of paper from the pocket in her apron, and scribbled on it with a pencil. Leaning forward, she passed it to Riley.
“What’s this?” Riley asked.
“It’s my number. You’re new in town and you probably don’t know many people yet. But if you ever need some help, or someone to talk to you, please call me.”
“Why? I hardly know you.”
But I know you, Ally thought. Or at least I know who I used to be at your age. “My name’s Ally,” she said. “I’ve lived in Angel Sands since birth. I’ve worked here since I was fourteen and I hate beets. There, now you know me.”
Riley looked at her as though she was crazy, but slid the piece of paper into her pocket anyway.
“You’d better get back to work,” she said, raising her eyebrow as she looked over Ally’s shoulder. “Before my dad cracks the whip.”
Ally turned to see what Riley was staring at, and sure enough, Nate was watching them both from where he stood at the counter. Ally couldn’t quite fathom the expression on his face.
“Yeah I had,” Ally agreed, standing up and grabbing what was left of her drink. “But I meant what I said. Call me if you need a friend. Day or night.”
“Yo no entiendo,” Riley said, offering her a ghost of a smile.
“Your Spanish is better than your spinning,” Ally said, shooting her a grin. And for the first time, Riley smiled back.
7
“Hey big brother. How’s it going?” Nate’s sister, Kirsten asked. Nate balanced his phone between his shoulder and his ear and glanced at his watch. It was almost seven in the morning – which made it ten in Boston, where Kirsten was studying for her law degree. “Is the new addition to your empire looking good?”
He smiled and leaned on the counter. The coffee shop was due to open in twenty minutes. From the corner of his eye, he could see an old tattered box one of the subcontractors found at the back of the kitchen in one of the cupboards they hadn’t remodeled. He’d put it to the side and forgotten about it until now. He’d been about to throw it away when a photograph had fallen out and he’d recognized those familiar blue eyes staring back at him.
“It’s early days, but it’s going well so far.”
“And how about you?” Kirsten asked. “Are you enjoying the Californian lifestyle? Have you taken up surfing yet?”
“Not quite. I’m too busy working in the coffee shop for that.”
“I thought you had a manager. Weren’t you planning on working from home as much as you could?” Kirsten sounded confused. “You know, to spend more time with Riley?”
“Yeah, but I’m helping out too. Plus Riley seems to like it here.” After that first day of frowning from the moment she’d walked through the door, Riley had stopped complaining about having to come to Déjà Brew every day after school. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying it.
And she’d been spending a lot of time with Ally, he’d noticed.
Nate liked it here, too. He enjoyed sitting at a corner table with his laptop. Liked the atmosphere, the sound of the waves as they crashed against the shore.
And, yeah, he might have liked watching a certain manageress as she served the customers.
“Don’t the staff find it intimidating having you there all the time?” Kirsten asked him.
Nate frowned. “Why would they?”
“Because you own the company. They must feel like they have to be constantly on their best behavior.”
“You think so?” He wasn’t sure what to make of that. “I really don’t think I’m that scary.”
He frowned, thinking for a minute. The staff always seemed happy to see him. Brad had called him over when he came in yesterday to show him his new latte art, grinning like crazy when Nate had complimented him on it.
And Ally didn’t seem to mind at all that he came in every afternoon. She was all smiles whenever he walked into the shop, and he had to admit he liked that a lot.
Here in Angel Sands he felt like another member of the team. That made him feel welcome. He couldn’t remember the last time people had treated him like a friend rather than a boss.
“It depends how grumpy you are with them,” Kirsten teased. “Hopefully not too much. Talking of which, how’s Riley settling in?”
“Not too bad,” Nate admitted. “I think she only screamed at me four times last week.” And that was a massive improvement on the week before. “She’s made a few friends at her new school, too.” Another reason why he liked dropping into the shop. He’d pretend to be busy behind the counter, but seeing his daughter smile as she spoke to Ally made his heart swell about three sizes bigger.
Riley had the prettiest smile when she remembered to use it. He could barely recall the last time he’d seen it, but now she was cracking it out every day.
“Wow. Maybe California is good for the both of you. There’s something about that sea air.”
As much as he hated to admit it, there was definitely something about Angel Sands. He smiled to himself when he remembered Lorne’s words of wisdom back on his first day renovating the shop. What was it he’d said?
Once this place has its hooks in you, you’ll never want to leave.
Well he might not have a choice about leaving – he had a business to run after all. But right now he was happy to be here. And happy wasn’t something he’d felt in a long time.
It was one of those rare California early mornings when there seemed to be more white cloud than blue sky. The lack of sun had turned the air cool enough for the weather forecasters to be muttering about rain, something that was uncommon enough here in Angel Sands for it to cause an outcry. On her way into work, Ally had noticed that Deenie Russell hadn’t put her usual stands of books outside her shop on Main Street, and Lorne had only put a few of his brightly colored surfboards out on the boardwalk, leaving most of them below
the tattered awning that hung from his shop.
“Hey!” she called through the door. She eventually located him in the far corner of the shop, scowling at a dispatch note. “You doing okay?”
“As good as it gets when you get to my age,” he said, looking up from the sheet of paper he was holding. “They need to make WD40 for humans.”
Ally laughed. “I’ll bring you a coffee, since it’s pretty much the same thing,” she offered. “Milk, two sugars, the way you like it.”
“No need. I already had me a latte this morning,” Lorne replied, grinning. “It was all prettied up. Did you know they can draw a leaf in the foam?”
“Oh.” She tried to knock the expression of disappointment from her face. She’d been bringing Lorne coffee ever since she was a teenager, but that didn’t mean he had to wait for her to turn up like some kind of coffee fairy. “Is the shop open early?”
“Nope. Still shut. But Nate knows exactly how I like it.” Lorne nodded his head approvingly. “He’s managed to sweeten us all up with his drinks. Even Frank Megassey’s succumbed to him. I saw him accept a cappuccino with extra sprinkles yesterday. All the chocolate and foam clinging to his moustache.” Lorne raised his eyebrows. “He should act his age sometimes.”
In spite of her long run that morning, she felt her muscles tighten as though they wanted to do it all over again. She took a deep breath, inhaling the salty air as it rose up from the shoreline.
So what if the locals were accepting Déjà Brew? That was a good thing, after all. They’d point customers their way, as well as being customers themselves. Nate was doing the right thing in courting them.
Even if it made her feel a little bit forgotten, along with the old Beach Café.
“Well, if you want another coffee later, give me a shout,” she told him, smiling in spite of the tightness in her chest.
“I will. As long as you can make a latte as good as this one.” He widened his eyes and took another sip, smacking his lips together with pleasure.
Lorne had gone over to the dark side. Who would have thought it?
Just as he’d told her, the door to the coffee shop was still locked. She pulled out her keys and let herself in, locking it up again until it was time to open in twenty minutes. When she turned around something caught her eye and she tipped her head to the side, her brow dipping as she looked at the counter.
There was an old battered box on there, the corners bashed in, the lid barely able to close thanks to whatever was stuffed inside. She frowned at how familiar it looked. Biting her bottom lip, she took a step forward, wanting to look inside.
“It’s your day off.”
She turned to see Nate walking through the kitchen door.
“I just had two weeks off,” she told him, taking another glance at the box from the corner of her eye. “I thought I should probably make up the time.” She was getting used to the way her heart galloped every time she saw her boss.
“Yeah, but that wasn’t your choice,” he said, that half-smile still crinkling the skin around his eyes. “You’re an employee now. You don’t have to keep this place running single handed. You can have a life too.”
His words hit her like a slap in the face. She blinked, trying not to show her reaction. Maybe she should start wearing a ski mask every day. It had to be easier than forcing her facial muscles into expressions they didn’t really feel.
Did he know that she was crushing on him? Oh God, please don’t let that be true. Just the thought of it made her want to run again. Run and never stop.
She looked at the box for a third time, and this time Nate followed her gaze. “I found it in the store cupboard,” he told her. “I think it must belong to you.” He cleared his throat. “If you don’t want it I can throw it away, but I thought it’d be best to ask you first.”
Ally reached for the lid and pulled it off, looking at the mass of photographs stuffed into the box. She recognized them instantly, though it must have been years since she’d seen them. Her throat tightened as her gaze fell on the top one.
“That’s my mom,” she said.
“I thought it was you at first.”
Ally glanced up at him, wondering if he was joking, but his expression was completely serious. “You think I look like her?”
He looked back down at the photograph. “Yeah. She was very pretty.”
Ally wondered if he’d realized what he’d said. She felt her face flush at his compliment.
She lifted the photograph out of the box, holding it up in the light. It was faded, but still clear. Her mom standing outside the Beach Café, wearing a tank and a pair of shorts. You couldn’t have placed her by the cut of her clothes alone – that kind of fashion was timeless. But Ally knew it must have been taken at least twenty years ago. Before her mom and dad split up.
Damn it, she was going to cry. And Ally rarely cried. Not when her father left. Not during the time she was trying to keep this place going and it felt like she was pushing huge rocks up a mountain. Crying meant people looked at you and asked questions. It was better to remain impassive.
She dropped her head and took a deep breath. Holding it for a moment until the emotions ebbed away, she looked back up at him.
“Can I have these?”
“Of course.” He looked bemused. “They’re yours.”
She nodded but didn’t reply. Didn’t trust herself to.
“You should take these home. It’s your day off, after all.” His voice was gentle, as if he realized the impact of the photos. “You need your rest the same as everybody else.”
“We have a late delivery tonight,” Ally reminded him. “I should be here for that.”
“I have it covered.”
“And it’s Tuesday. The historical society will be coming at four,” she pointed out.
“I know. I’ll have Jeff make some extra pastries.”
“And don’t forget Brad has a doctor’s appointment.” She frowned. “Are you sure you’ve got enough staff without me?”
“Go home, Ally.” His smile was gentle. She felt a flush of warmth rush through her.
“I will. But call me if you—”
“Home.” His voice was firmer this time.
“Okay, okay.” If her arms had been free she would have thrown them up in surrender. “I’m going already. You don’t have to throw me out of the door.”
“I will if I have to,” he warned, putting his hand on the small of her back, the pressure of his palm through her shirt sending a shiver up her spine. “Have a good day off and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Yes he would. And damn if she wasn’t looking forward to it already.
8
Ally shook her head and put the lid back on the photographs, carrying the box to her closet where she lifted it onto a shelf. She’d been sorting through them ever since she’d gotten home from the coffee shop, and her head was full of the memories and emotions they’d captured so perfectly.
Photographs of her mother, her father, of Lorne looking so much younger than she ever remembered him being. Then there were ones of Ally, ranging from when she was a baby cradled in her father’s arms, right up to when she was a pre-teen with crooked teeth begging out for orthodontic treatment. They’d brought back memories of things she’d tried long to forget. Christmases spent with both her parents, summers lying on the sand with her mom. For a few hours she hadn’t felt so alone any more.
But she was. Out of the three of them, she was the only one left in Angel Sands, and that thought sent a pang straight through her. Until her father had left town she’d still had something – someone – to cling onto. And right now, sitting in her empty condo as an unseasonal rain spattered against her window, she’d never felt more alone.
She laid the picture back on top of the others she’d piled up in the box. She wasn’t ready to do anything with them yet – whether to catalogue them or put them in a fancy scrapbook the way she always planned to with photographs but never did. Instead she put the lid ba
ck on, hoping she could shut away the emotions she was feeling along with the photos.
She’d just slid the box into a shelf in her living room when her cellphone started to buzz. As she walked over to grab it she checked her watch. Three o’clock. It was unlikely to be her friends – Ember would be working and Brooke would be at college. It was more likely to be Nate asking about the historical society.
But when she picked her phone up the screen showed an out of area number. Ally slid her finger to accept the call.
“Hello?” she asked, still a little unsure as to who was calling, but thinking it might be Riley since the area code was the same as Nate’s. Yep, she’d given the girl her number, but Riley had made no bones about the fact she wasn’t intending to use it.
She heard a muffled voice, followed by some others.
“Riley, is that you?” Ally asked, raising her voice.
There was a laugh and some stomping, before the voices became a bit clearer. Wherever it was, wherever Riley was, she must have found some better reception.
“… it’ll be fine. It’s not that far down.” Though the voices were clearer, they still sounded far away. It was only when she heard the reply – just as loud as Riley’s – that Ally realized she’d been butt dialed.
“It’s not that scary,” a voice said.
“Riley?” Ally called a little louder, trying to make herself heard. But still no reply. Just more muttering and a shout of laughter that reminded her so vividly of being a teenager. She smiled and went to end the call when she heard something that chilled her blood.
“Are you sure it’s safe to jump? The cliff is really high.”
That was Riley’s voice, she was sure of it. Ally sat up straight, her heart in her throat.
“Riley?” Ally shouted, not caring if she embarrassed the girl. “Can you hear me? Don’t jump off the cliff.”
Nothing.
“Riley? I’m calling your dad right now. Don’t do it. Don’t jump.”
Ally’s fingers were trembling as she ended the call and pulled Nate up in her contacts. She pressed ‘call’ and heard the dial tone repeat twice before his voicemail clicked in.