Memories in Sea Glass: Driftwood Key Beach Reads #2

5. Glory

Glory hopped out of Becca McKinnon’s convertible and stood in front of the resort’s welcome center for a moment, suddenly feeling more nervous than she had on her first day.

“Did you forget something?” Becca called to her cheerfully.

“No,” Glory said quickly. “I just missed this place.”

“We all missed you too,” Becca told her fondly. “I can’t believe you’re here to stay.”

Hopefully,Glory thought to herself.

They headed in together, and Glory willed her racing pulse to slow. Maybe it was seeing all her so-called friends in Aynwick after the funeral, but worry was edging in on her happiness at being back here. She was suddenly feeling sensitive about how she looked and whether anyone really liked her at all.

What if no one but Becca is happy to see me? she wondered as she came into the impressive lobby and turned down the hall to look at employee schedules.

What if they decided I wasn’t cool anymore while I was gone?

But those thoughts were pulled out by the roots when Allie, her lifeguard bestie, came sprinting down the hallway with a smile on her face.

“Glory,” Allie yelled, giving her a squeeze so hard Glory was afraid she’d end up with bruised ribs. “Come on. We have to stop by the cafeteria before we hit the pool.”

“We’re on together?” Glory asked.

“Totally,” Allie squealed. “All week, since we didn’t know when you were coming back. Becca said I could keep the shifts so you could ease back in.”

Suddenly Allie’s face fell.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “Here I am all happy, but I know you must be bummed about your dad.”

“It’s fine,” Glory told her right away. “My feelings for my dad were kind of complicated. But I guess it’s good he’s not suffering anymore.”

Glory was working through the grief. In a lot of ways, it had been a relief to know that at least he had a reason for leaving them all, even if it was a stupid one. But she was still more angry about it than anything. And that wasn’t what you were supposed to tell people when your dad just died, so she mostly kept that part to herself.

“I get that,” Allie said, nodding. “Okay, come on.”

Glory let herself be led to the cafeteria. She’d had a bowl of cereal already this morning, but after a run on the beach and a cold shower, she could definitely eat again.

A bunch of the other kids yelled happily as she entered and ran over to greet her. Fortunately for her ribs, none were quite as enthusiastic as Allie had been. But they all seemed genuinely glad to see her.

“Oh wow,” she laughed. “Hi, guys.”

She basked in all the attention, feeling a little weird accepting sympathy, but happy that everyone had missed her and she was still part of the group. Someone put a bowl of fruit and yogurt in her hands and someone else led her over to one of the tables where they all gathered to share the gossip she had missed over the last few days.

Glory laughed and felt all her worry from earlier melt away.

She couldn’t help noticing that the boss’s son, and her personal crush, Tristan had taken a seat across from hers, and was studying her with his soulful brown eyes while she chatted with everyone. His intense gaze made her feel like she was floating inside.

Too soon, it was time to head to work. One by one, everyone headed off to their various tasks until Glory and Allie were the last two at the table.

“Can I steal you for a sec?” Tristan asked her, stopping by her seat on his way out.

“Take your time,” Allie said, patting Glory’s shoulder as she got up. “I’ll take over duty until you get there.”

“Thanks,” Glory said, her stomach fluttering at the idea of being left alone with Tristan.

“I missed you,” he said to Glory, as Allie headed off.

His voice was a little husky, and there was a half-smile on his lips.

“Me too,” she said, feeling awkward for some reason.

“So, do you want to talk about how you really feel about your dad?” he asked, half-sitting on the table, his hand almost touching hers.

She looked up at him, wondering if she could actually tell him the truth. There wasn’t a hint of judgement on his handsome face.

“Mad,” she heard herself say.

“At your dad?” he asked, nodding.

“Yeah,” she said. “And my sister.”

“Liberty?” he asked, looking a little surprised.

“No,” Glory laughed. “Liberty’s like Mary Poppins or something—practically perfect in every way. I’m mad at Anthem.”

“Why?” he asked.

“She was talking to him,” Glory said. “Behind all our backs. She was talking to him the whole time.”

“I thought he wouldn’t talk to any of you,” Tristan said, his brow furrowed.

“He wouldn’t talk to any of us,” Glory said. “But he talked to her. He even paid her tuition. And she never told us.”

“That’s really weird,” Tristan said thoughtfully. “Why do you think he did that?”

Glory hadn’t really stopped to ask herself that question.

“Anthem is just so laid-back, I guess,” she said after a moment. “She never gets mad at anybody. He probably called her since he knew she wouldn’t get upset with him. I definitely would have.”

“That makes sense,” Tristan said, nodding.

“The worst part is that he was making her spy on us for him,” Glory went on furiously. “She practically said so.”

Among the other things Anthem spouted out while she was blubbering during that trip to Pennsylvania was that Dad had asked her to keep an eye on everyone, and make sure they were all okay.

Of course, Anthem had agreed instead of telling him to stuff it. And she’d been off at college anyway. How was she supposed to tell him that Glory wasn’t okay?

“I’m sorry,” Tristan said gently.

“I’m fine,” Glory said, shaking herself out of it. “I’m glad to be back.”

It did actually feel kind of good to unload some of that.

“Hey,” Tristan said. “I was wondering if, when you’re feeling better, you might want to go out sometime?”

He was smiling, but he also looked a little nervous. It was so endearing that Glory couldn’t help smiling back.

“Definitely,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, there’s a Movie-by-the-Marina night coming up,” he said. “Everyone sits in rafts and boats and watches a movie. The next one is Jaws. It should be pretty awesome. Unless you don’t like scary movies.”

“I think I can handle it,” Glory said.

“Great,” he said with a grin and a wink. “I’ll text you the details. Maybe we’ll leave straight from work so we can grab something to eat first?”

“Yes,” she told him. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he said, hopping up and pinning her with one more smoldering look. “You have a good day, Glory.”

He headed back out toward the front desk and Glory got up and practically floated out toward the main pool.

Have a good day…

How could she not?

As she stepped out onto the deck overlooking the crystal blue water and the rows of snowy white deck chairs, she had to admit to herself that no matter what Dad and Anthem had done, it was hard to stay unhappy here.

After all, she had friends, a boy she liked, and work she loved.

She was literally in paradise.