Chapter 12
Everest hustled toward Scarlet, eagerly pulling the door to the café open for her. “After you.”
She thanked him and stepped inside the café. The sun had shown up that day, giving the misty clouds of fog that hung over the ocean below a mysterious glow that Scarlet couldn’t stop staring at. “Lalia was right. It is very pretty here when it’s not raining.”
Everest was in uniform that day, complete with the radio clipped to his collar. “Care to sit outside after we get our food?”
“That sounds nice.” Scarlet clutched Athos in one arm and ordered a club sandwich and a hazelnut latte.
Everest squeezed in and paid before she could object.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
His smile was genuine as he tenderly scratched the puppy’s head. “You had your hands full with that little guy.”
Everest picked up their orders when they were ready and carried the trays outside to a small table with two chairs under a light gray awning. “How are things going at the shop?”
“Getting it organized to the point that I’m starting to make sense of it. I found her date books last night.”
“Anything listed with Ed Hayworth?” he asked.
“No. Who’s that?”
“Fire Marshal.”
“Oh.”
“He asked about you yesterday after we got back.”
“What about?” she asked as she picked up her sandwich.
The salted breeze curled around her and combed through her loose hair. She’d changed into leggings and a sweater so she wouldn’t stick out in the growing summer crowds. And today, she was grateful for something warmer.
“What would it take to get you to stay and re-open the shop?”
She chewed and thought about it. “I don’t know anything can. I built my entire life back in NYC. My stepfather lives there. My job and apartment are there.
“Any pets, friends, or serious interests that might not want you to leave? Everest asked.
“Not really. Never had time for much of anything other than work. I studied textiles in college and got hired on with Ms. Wesley’s department of the crafting supply company right out of school. It has been a slow climb to the top with long hours of reworking the best warp and fill thread counts and types for various bolts of fabrics we sell. But lately, I’ve spent more time doing print pattern matching to ensure designs are printed evenly on the bolts. A lot of things are done by computers now. But my main job has been to transfer my boss’s sketches and reworks of previous designs into the computer system. I draw up the schematics for the manufacturing facility.” Scarlet finished her food and sipped her coffee. “Among so many other things.”
“So you’re a multitasking creative type that doesn’t know how to slow down?” Everest asked.
“Sounds about right.”
“Huh.” Everest drummed a finger on his lips. “Sounds so familiar.”
His sly grin made Scarlet chuckle and roll her eyes. “I am not my crazy aunt.”
“Oh, you think she was crazy?” Everest burst out laughing. “She was the most fun of anyone here, and everyone knew it. You know she used to do an annual squirt-gun fight in the parking lot as part of her summer party? She let everyone set up camp chairs and watch the fireworks over the ocean. We barbequed and had a potluck. Everyone in town came.”
Scarlet leaned back in her seat, shaking her head. “Is there anything she didn’t do? I’m starting to feel a lot of pressure to stay and try to make something of this place, but stars, this is an insane amount of work she put in. There’s no way I could ever run it at half her capacity.”
Everest motioned toward the ocean. “She never went on a boat. She didn’t know how to swim.”
Scarlet remembered something about that. “Grandpa’s version of teaching them to swim was to throw them in the river. My mom ended up saving her.”
“Must be why she wanted you to have the shop. A life for a life.” Everest downed the last of his coffee and set the cup down. “Ann believed in balance. She had this magical gift of being able to see everything from everyone’s eyes. I can’t believe she never wrote her own books.”
“Sounds like she didn’t have the time,” Scarlet remarked.
“That was likely a problem. She had very little free time. But she did tell me once how she wished she could have one more chance to do something for your mom. She never mentioned why, only that she regretted outliving her sister before having a chance to give life back to her.”
Everest packed up their tray. “I’m sorry to eat and run, but I am on duty today.”
“I figured because of the radio.”
Everest rested a hand on it and smiled. “Right. Any chance you’d be up for a stroll up the lighthouse tonight?”
“I can do that.”
“Meet you at the B and B at, say, five tonight?
Scarlet packed up as he bussed their table. “I can do that.”
“Great. Sorry for the short lunch.”
Athos squirmed in her arm. “That’s okay. I’m used to the fast pace.”
Everest petted the puppy’s head once more and backed down the street. “See you soon, Scarlet.”