Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
By the time the dust settles over Silverlight Shore, I’m completely exhausted.
All the drama from last night, the lack of sleep, the discoveries this afternoon, and the hard labor of cleaning up flood debris from the stores nearest the beach have taken their toll on me.
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it, though.
I lean against the back of Caleb’s old truck and survey our handiwork.
The cobblestones are cleared. Driftwood, seaweed, and all the random debris that washed up overnight has been hauled away. The shattered storefront windows have been boarded up with plywood until the glazier can come reset the glass.
I helped several shop owners contact their insurance companies and start the claims process.
And everyone seemed genuinely happy to see us show up with helping hands — and with Caleb’s truck to haul away trash.
Not to mention the bread Rose and Posey baked last night.
Not that anyone in town is worried about Owen’s bakery losing business. His place is still the superior bakery and absolutely not in jeopardy of Romantic sister’s yeast based rivalry.
But fresh bread is fresh bread.
Even weirdly made cast iron bread.
A few people even mentioned that it reminded them of Grandma’s baking during the big storm over twenty years ago.
My sisters and I did our best to look surprised and gratified by that new information.
“Hey,” Caleb says.
Gunner trots up the sidewalk toward us, a yellow tennis ball in his mouth like someone’s been playing with him.
“The good kind of tired?” Caleb asks.
“Yeah, good tired,” I agree.
I rest my cheek on his shoulder like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“You want to head home to your sisters tonight?” he asks.
The question is loaded with meaning.
I pause and really think about it.
I should want to hang out with my sisters. I haven’t seen Hazel in months, and the four of us haven’t been together like this in a long time.
But I also haven’t seen Caleb in years.
And right now, I’d rather be with him.
“I should go home and help my sisters,” I say.
“We don’t need your help,” Posey pipes up.
I didn’t realize she was within earshot or I wouldn’t have said anything.
“Go with Caleb. We’ve got this. Besides, you’re too bossy. None of us want to hang out with you.”
I glare at her. “I am not too bossy.”
“Yes you are,” Rose calls from the other side of the truck.
She tosses something into the bed and wipes her gloved hands on her jeans before disappearing back into the shop she’s helping clean.
“I noticed the old Douglas’s house went up for sale on your street,” Caleb says casually to Posey.
“Yeah. That place is a mess,” Posey replies.
“Serious work needed.” She furrows her brow, and Snowball peeps out of her pocket before diving back in.
“I actually looked into buying it because I thought it might be fun to have my own place, but it’s too much — even for me, even with all the tools in my shop. No way, José.”
“Oh yeah?” Caleb asks, his professional curiosity kicking in.
“Oh, it’s real bad,” Posey says, stretching out the word, ramping into her favorite subject: things that can be fixed.
“Floors rotting, siding needs replacing, cedar shake needs to be redone, windows broken. And you know how the salt air ruins everything.? Pretty sure the AC lines are corroded too. It’s bad.
Really bad. I’m surprised they didn’t condemn it, but I guess it’s still technically standing.
” She shrugs. “I’m not in construction. I know enough to get my way around a project, but that one was too daunting. ” She glances at Caleb with a sly grin.
“I bet it’s fixable. Especially if I had someone with your abilities to help.” Caleb’s eyes dart to me. “I’ve always loved a challenge.”
Posey grins widens as she watches him. “I’m curious what you and I could do with a place like that. Don’t chase him off this time, Ivy,” she adds.
I roll my eyes. “I’m definitely coming with you, Caleb,” I say.
My sisters can fend for themselves. And they’re wearing me out with their bickering.
“Don’t forget you have your ingredient list,” Hazel calls as she hauls a box of soggy supplies into the truck. She’s still limping a little, but Posey managed to wrap her ankle pretty well and Hazel refused to be left at home.
“You should get started on that. Five days until the waxing moon.” A pointed look follows Hazel’s words.
“I know, Hazel,” I say. “Don’t forget to find the right cock.”
Caleb laughs at that as we head back inside the nearest shop to finish hauling debris. By the time we’re done, the truck bed is full again, and Caleb and I get in to take one last trip to the dump for the day.
The minute I sit down, exhaustion hits me hard.
“I should have grabbed clothes from the house. And toiletries.” I yawn, stretching my arms overhead.
“Nah, I got you.” The blinker clicks rhythmically as we turn out of Silverlight Shore.
“I don’t have anything to change into,” I mumble, already nearly half-asleep with my cheek stuck to the truck window.
“That’s okay,” Caleb says. “You’ll survive. I’ll keep the potbelly stove lit so you don’t get too cold. And if you do? I can keep you warm.”
He gives me a long, slow look that makes me laugh.
“As fun as that sounds, I don’t think the town would appreciate that tomorrow,” I say.
“Could you take me by my house so I can grab an overnight bag? I know you have one million toothbrushes but I need clean underwear. And clothes,” I tack on, blushing.
“I’ve got a better idea,” he says.
“What do you mean?” I ask. “And if you say me naked all week that is a hard no.”
He smiles a little. “Hard, huh?”
I don’t dignify that with a response other than a little harrumph.
“Well,” he says, turning the truck down a side street, “you’ll see.”
“Have it your way,” I say, shrugging a shoulder. I’m too tired to care. Besides, I trust Caleb. If he has an idea for what we can do that doesn’t involve going back to my house right now and dealing with my sisters, I’m good with that.
With my stomach growling, I place a hand over it, ignoring the worried way Caleb glances at me. That man would stop me and ask every time he even thought I might be getting hungry.
Instead, I let the soft music piping through the speakers lull me into increased sleepiness. I rest my head on Caleb’s arm, and before I know it the motion of the truck and the heat from his arm have put me to sleep.
Soft lips brush against my forehead, and I blink, opening my eyes to find full dark and a bag full of what smells like bacon cheeseburgers and cheese fries on the center console.
“It’s not gourmet, it’s not pad Thai, and it’s not Italian, so I hope it will do.”
“I love bacon cheeseburgers.”
He holds up a drink in an old-fashioned paper cup. “Root beer float.”
“Oh, hell yeah. Heaven is a root beer float and a bacon cheeseburger,” I say gleefully, taking it from him. It tastes incredible, and I might be half awake, but I’m absolutely starving.
“I’m hungry too,” Gunner says.
“I know.” Caleb grins, his hands already in the bag.
“ Did you hear me order a plain patty and some bacon for you?” He unwraps one of the packets of food, revealing just that — bacon and two burger patties — and hands them back to Gunner, who sniffs them delicately before gently taking them from his fingers.
“Thank you,” I tell Caleb.
“For what? Feeding your dog?”
“Familiar,” Gunner corrects.
“Feeding your familiar,” Caleb says, giving me a long, amused look.
“For feeding both of us,” I say. “I could have paid for this. Option to pay with me around, okay?”
“Oh, you want to set rules up for our relationship, sure. Go ahead.” He glances at me and nods.
“How about this? If I decide to take us out, I pay. If you decide you want to go somewhere, you pay. Does that work?”
“We can pretend like that’s the ground rules.” Caleb shrugs. “If it makes you feel better. I will just have to convince you it’s my idea to take you out every time.”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t help the smile that crinkles my forehead. “You got yourself a deal. It might not be a financially stable deal, but it’s yours.”
He holds out his hand and shakes it, then replaces his hand with the hamburger.
“I am so hungry,” I say, and waste no time devouring the burger, which is perfect, as are the fries.
“Is this the place you used to get us burgers from?” I ask.
Streetlights wink on as we drive past
“You’re surprised it’s still here?”
“Yeah, I haven’t thought about these burgers in years, which is, truly, an oversight. Are we going into the next town over?” I ask, still bleary-eyed and half asleep.
“Yep,” he corrects.
I take another bite of my burger, then grab a fistful of fries and jam them into my mouth too, because suddenly caloric intake seems to be the only thing that matters. I am actually starving.
“I can’t get enough to eat,” I say, the words garbled by the amount of food in my mouth
“Well, yeah. You’ve had a long day. Not to mention all the stuff with your sisters.”
“What do you mean, all the stuff with my sisters?” I prickle slightly.
“It’s emotional. Lots to process. I think it would have worked up an appetite even if you hadn’t worked your ass off helping everybody downtown.”
I shrug, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
“Plus all the stuff you had to dig through with your parents. You did like — I don’t know — ten years’ worth of therapy unpacking in about one afternoon. That’s a lot for anybody.”
“Maybe I do need therapy,” I admit, then house another handful of fries.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Caleb says quickly then takes another bite of his burger before placing it back on the center console.
“Well, I’m not upset,” I say truthfully. “I am tired, though.”
“All right. Well hang in there, Susie Q. We’ve got two more stops before I can take you back to the lighthouse and get you tucked in.”
“No. Don’t you dare tuck me in your bed when I’m this disgusting,” I tell him seriously. “I’m covered in sweat. I smell worse than Gunner after he rolled on a dead skunk.”