Backrush

by Jana DeLeon

  Given the perpetual stick up her ass, Bea had decided long ago there were lots of things Veronica probably wasn’t getting. Especially since her husband appeared to like her about as much as everyone else.

  “I just thought I’d check in on you,” Veronica said. “Since Carlson is on the city council, I figure it’s my duty to make sure the businesspeople on the island are doing well.”

  “I’m doing as well as I always have, and if you don’t need a book, I’d like to get back to my display.”

  Veronica frowned. Most people on Tempest Island showed her deference. She wasn’t used to being dismissed, but then she didn’t talk to Bea that often.

  “I heard that Alayna moved back,” Veronica pushed on. “I suppose after the scandal she had no choice.”

  “We all have choices. In fact, Carlson was asking me a couple weeks ago about security cameras for the bookstore. Would you please let him know that I priced them out but for now, I’m just sticking with that nine-millimeter I keep under the register?”

  Veronica’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “Well, I can see your manners are as good as ever.”

  “And I can say the same. Have a nice day, Veronica.”

  Bea turned around and walked back to her display, not even glancing behind her. A couple seconds later, she heard the door chime again and assumed the Wicked Witch of Tempest Island was off to find someone to gossip with.

  “Why was Veronica Whitmore in here?” Nelly’s voice sounded behind her, and she jumped.

  Bea turned around and sighed. “Why do you think?”

  Nelly shook her head. “Good Lord, Alayna and Melody graduated from high school over a decade ago. When is she going to drop this stupid one-sided rivalry?”

  “When she’s dead, which could happen sooner than she expects if she keeps coming in here trying to pump me for information on Alayna.”

  “Maybe you’d better take the rounds out of the gun and get a can of Mace. Just for a couple weeks.”

  “I could take that wimpy, fake-breasted, unnatural blonde with my bare hands.”

  Nelly laughed. “True.”

  Bea blew out a breath. “She’d better not start flapping her gums and causing issues for Alayna. That girl needs some peace and the time to regroup.”

  “How long is she going to be here?”

  “Given that all her belongings arrived this morning, I’m hoping she doesn’t leave again. And if Veronica Whitmore causes it to happen, you’re going to be posting bail.”

  Nelly looked confused. “All of her belongings? What about her restaurant?”

  “She lost it,” Bea said and filled her friend in on what had happened.

  Nelly’s eyes misted up and she had to grab a tissue before Bea was finished.

  “That’s horrible,” Nelly said. “Just horrible. All her hard work gone because she dated the wrong man without even knowing it. It’s so unfair.”

  “It is,” Bea said. “And I can tell that’s what really has her churned up. She says she didn’t love Warren, and I believe her, although I do think she cared about him and she said she’d considered him a friend. I think she feels like the ultimate fool where he was concerned even though everyone and their dog has pointed out why she’s not. But I think losing the restaurant is what really brought her to her knees.”

  “Oh Bea! What are we going to do to help?”

  Bea smiled at her friend and reached out to squeeze her hand. “You’re the best friend someone could ever have. You know that, right?”

  “I’m aware. And I’m also aware that Alayna is like a niece to me and like a daughter to you. So what’s our plan? We can’t just let her stir around in misery, especially with Veronica Whitmore lurking around, just waiting to rub it in.”

  “I know. I’m working on an idea. Come with me. I want to run something by you.”

  Alayna spent the rest of the morning and into the evening unpacking boxes. She managed, with some effort, to wedge all her kitchen items into the cabinets and drawers, although she did have to box up Bea’s stuff to do it. She knew her aunt wouldn’t mind and in fact, was hoping she had some space in the storeroom at the bookstore to house the boxes until Alayna vacated her beach house.

  She supposed it was silly, really, to unpack all her belongings. This wasn’t permanent. It probably would have been smarter to ask Bea to store her own stuff until she decided what she was going to do, especially since it was already boxed. But there was something about seeing her chef’s knives on the counter next to her KitchenAid stand mixer and blender that made her feel more settled, almost happy. Granted with the toaster and the can opener, that meant there was about a foot of space left for prep, but she didn’t care. Once the kitchen table was cleared off, she could use that, or put a cutting board over the sink.

  When she finished the kitchen, she moved into the bedroom to unpack her clothes. The tiny closet was designed more for vacationing than full-time living, but Alayna had gotten rid of the fancy dresses she’d worn to events she attended with Warren, along with the designer shoes and handbags. Most had been gifts from him and because of that, she never would have worn them again. But they fetched a great price for her at a high-end consignment shop. It covered her rent for three months, which helped bolster her diminishing savings. Five months of living in New York with no income didn’t come cheap. Neither did her attorney. And the FBI was hardly going to cut her a check to help out.

  She’d been really frugal and still had some money…enough to keep her afloat for a year or so if she didn’t run into car problems or health issues. And then there was Brad’s gift, which would add another two or three months to things. Not having rent to pay was a huge help, and utilities on the little house wouldn’t be much. She’d paid cash for the car as per her personal finance rule of not accruing debt, which was why she’d gone for a reliable late model. Her friends in New York had never understood her policy about money. Most young people living in the city had jobs that barely covered necessities. They lived their lives outside of work mostly on credit. But Alayna had a business she wanted to open, and she didn’t want to spend her thirties paying off frivolous choices made in her twenties.

  Besides, the one and only time she’d borrowed money, look where it had gotten her.

  She wasn’t ready to jump into the employment pool just yet, but still, she eventually had to start thinking about what to do for income. Bea had offered her a job at the bookstore, but Alayna knew that she didn’t really need the help. Bea never rented her personal beach house anymore, so wasn’t losing revenue by letting Alayna stay in it, but her aunt had already done so much for her that Alayna didn’t want her doing more. Especially if it meant dipping into bookstore profits to do so. As far as Alayna knew, the bookstore operated in the black, but there was no way it was making her aunt rich, especially with the bulk of the business being seasonal.

  Bea had always been careful with expenses and had taught Alayna money management skills that she’d leaned heavily on in New York. Her aunt always said she was planning for her retirement, but Alayna had a hard time picturing Bea slowing down, much less coming to a complete stop.

  Sighing, she opened the first box and took out a stack of clothes. She was unlikely to restructure her entire life standing in front of the closet with a pile of shirts to hang. Everything would come with time. That’s what Bea kept telling her, and she really needed to believe her aunt was right. Because so far, she’d been unable to think past the next couple days, and even that was fuzzy.

  When the last of the empty boxes was broken down and stacked in the storage shed, her stomach began to rumble. She checked the clock and was surprised to see it was a little past 7:00 p.m. She hadn’t eaten since she’d consumed the cinnamon rolls early that morning. No wonder she was hungry. Unfortunately, the last thing she felt like doing was preparing a meal, which would mean cleaning her currently pristine kitchen all over again, and a sandwich just wasn’t calling her attention.

  She glanced ou
tside and tapped her fingers on the kitchen counter. The sun would set in about thirty minutes, but if she hurried out now, that gave her time to pick up something downtown and bring it back for dinner. Restaurant prices on the island had a premium attached to them, but she decided she deserved a splurge. Now that all her kitchen items were in place, she’d make a trip to the grocery store on the mainland soon and do a bigger stock-up on groceries. Then she could get back to cooking. Maybe even remember the joy it used to bring her.

  She grabbed her purse, locked up the house, and headed out.

  Chapter Nine

  Alayna glanced next door as she climbed into her car, but Luke’s truck wasn’t in the drive. He’d surprised her, she thought as she drove into town. It was easy to be so focused on her own problems that she missed other people struggling. And even though he did a good job of downplaying the seriousness of his situation, Alayna hadn’t missed the clenched jaw and the involuntary flex of his hands when she’d asked about his recovery.

  She’d seen the scar on his knee, even though she’d made sure he didn’t see her looking. The scar was still red and raised and it ran right across his kneecap. It couldn’t be that old but even though she’d watched closely, she’d never seen him limp. Since he was on medical leave, the injury must have been serious, so either Luke healed quickly and was just waiting for a doctor to agree with him or he was so hell-bent on not showing any weakness that he was careful to appear as if nothing was wrong.

  Even in the short time she’d known him, she could see him doing that.

  Still, he’d said they were both at a crossroads. Did that mean his current position with the military was in jeopardy if he didn’t get a medical release soon? Or was the injury itself the problem? That would account for the frustration she’d felt he had. She’d thought about asking him what he did with the Navy, but if he hadn’t been forthcoming with Bea, Alayna doubted he would open up to her. She didn’t even have a house to rent him.

  There was an open parking space in front of the pizza joint, so Alayna took it as a sign and pulled in. Pizza in Florida didn’t compare to pizza in New York but fortunately, Alayna had never developed snobbery on that front. Very few things that contained marinara and cheese could be bad. And just in case the marinara wasn’t to her taste, she’d double up on the cheese.

  She went inside and was pleased to see that things hadn’t really changed inside. The red-and-white-checkered tablecloths still adorned the tables. Pictures of the beach hung on the wall. Bea had told her the original owner had retired a couple years before and sold the place, but apparently the new owners were smart enough to leave things alone. If it’s working, don’t mess with it. General rule for all businesses, but definitely for the restaurant business. Changes in what appeared to be the most insignificant things could cause a shift in clientele.

  She headed for the counter and that’s when she noticed Luke standing there, talking to Melody Whitmore. Well, maybe ‘talking’ wasn’t necessarily the correct word. They were standing so close together that they could be dancing, and Melody was gazing up at him, wearing that sexy pout that had landed her the captain of the football team in high school.

  Alayna hesitated, then started to turn around and leave. For reasons Alayna had never really understood, Melody had taken an instant disliking to her when Bea moved her to the island. Jill, a girl who befriended Alayna the first day of school, claimed that Melody was just jealous because Alayna was as pretty as she was, but Alayna never really believed that. Whatever the reason, Melody had gone out of her way to poke at Alayna at a time when she was so tender, a gentle breeze hurt. The last person she wanted to see now was Melody, when that gentle breeze would be just as painful.

  But before she could turn, Luke caught sight of her and motioned to her with his hand. “Alayna,” he said. “I was just about to get us a table.”

  She stared at him for a moment, completely confused, but then caught the pleading look and realized what he was up to. The last thing she wanted was a potential confrontation with Melody, but her conscience wouldn’t allow her to walk away and leave Luke in the other woman’s grasp. Taking a deep breath, she plastered on a smile. Melody gave her a critical eye as she approached, the sexy pout now replaced with a frown.

  “I didn’t realize you were visiting,” Melody said.

  “I’m not visiting,” Alayna said. “I moved back.”

  “And after all that unpacking you did today, you must be starved,” Luke said. “Are you ready to eat?”

  Alayna nodded but Melody refused to take the hint.

  “I suppose it makes sense that you’d come back here,” Melody said. “I mean after everything that happened in New York you could hardly stay there. The media coverage was so harsh. You must be crushed by all of it.”

  Melody’s words were conciliatory, but Alayna could tell by her tone that Melody was totally relishing Alayna’s epic failure and embarrassment. Unbelievable. High school had been over a decade ago and Melody was still a total bitch.

  “I’m fine,” Alayna said, forcing herself to remain calm. “But thank you so much for your concern. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I owe this man a pizza. He lifted a ton of boxes today.”

  Alayna pushed past Melody and waved at a server, who indicated she could pick any table. Luke gave Melody a nod and followed Alayna to a table in the back corner of the restaurant. She could feel Melody glaring at them as they walked away, but when she turned to sit, she saw the front door slamming shut.

  “I’m sorry for putting you on the spot,” Luke said. “You don’t have to stay. I just figured the quickest way to get rid of her was to be meeting someone else. Not exactly the most heroic of moves, but I didn’t realize you two had history.”

  “Is that what you call it when someone sets their sights on you in high school with the hopes of making you miserable? Apparently, high school never ended for one of us.”

  He frowned. “I guess some people never grow out of it.”

  “Melody was spoiled by her rich parents and taught to believe that the entire world should cater to her. And since most people proceeded to do exactly that, she was never disabused of that belief.”

  “I take it you weren’t interested in being one of her followers?”

  “I never got the opportunity. When I was fifteen, I moved here to live with Bea after my parents were killed in a car accident. Melody didn’t like me from the moment she set eyes on me. Apparently, that hasn’t changed.”

  “I’m guessing she didn’t like the competition.”

  “Ha. You sound like Jill.”

  “Who’s Jill?”

  “My best friend from high school. Only friend, really. We lost touch when she went off to college and I went to culinary school.”

  “That happens,” he said. “I’m sorry about your parents. I didn’t realize Bea had raised you. Well, at least partially.”

  Alayna nodded. “Bea has always been my rock. I suppose that’s why I’m back here to regroup.”

  “Well, the good thing is, a place like this isn’t exactly a compromise and I imagine Bea’s a great person to have your back. But seriously, you don’t have to stay and eat. You probably had plans and I don’t want to disrupt them. I’ve already messed up your evening by placing you in the line of fire.”

  Alayna glanced at her watch. It would be dark by the time they finished eating, and that bothered her more than she wanted to admit. But she’d promised herself that she’d work on normalizing things again when she came here. Maybe now was the time. Besides, Luke lived right next door. With any luck, he’d be going straight home afterward and if anything was amiss, he and his gun were only a yell away.

  “No way I’m leaving now,” she said. “Our luck, Melody would see us and the jig would be up. Unless, of course, you think you might want to make a play for her later on.”

  Luke grimaced. “God no. Stop scaring me. I ran into her in the island grocery right after I rented the cottage. Let’s just say her moves were mo
re than obvious and, since I’m not even remotely interested, made me a little uncomfortable. I faked a doctor’s appointment to get away, but that one wasn’t going to work tonight.”

  “She’s very pretty and has a nice body.” Alayna continued to rub it in.

  “Women like Melody don’t have relationships. They have conquests. I’ve been caught in that kind of aftermath before, and no way am I doing it again. The Middle East is easier to navigate.”

  Alayna couldn’t help smiling. She hadn’t wanted to like Luke. Hadn’t wanted to like any man, really. But he was hard not to like. He had a relaxed way about him, which was surprising given the intensity she’d seen at their first meeting. Despite having his own issues to deal with, he still seemed to be able to derive pleasure from life. Even the simple things, like fresh lemonade and cinnamon rolls from a can. Maybe she could take a lesson from him. Start focusing on the little joys that filtered through every day, and then maybe one day, that feeling would take over.

  A server stepped up to the table and Luke looked over at her. “You up for pizza or were you planning on something else?” he asked.

  “Definitely pizza.”

  “What do you like on it?”

  “Everything but the kitchen sink.”

  He nodded and looked up at the server. “You heard the lady. One large pie with everything you’ve got on it.”

  They both ordered sweet tea and declined a salad, and the server hurried off with the order.

  “How long were you in the Middle East?” Alayna asked.

  A flicker of something, sadness maybe, flashed over him and she chided herself for asking the question. He’d probably been injured in the line of duty, and since he didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t want to talk about the place it happened, either.

  “I’ve been in and out for the past ten years,” he said. “I’m a specialist, of sorts, so I’m rarely in one place for a long length of time.”

  “That must be hard on your family.”