2. Sandway
SANDWAY
Jake got out of his car in the Sandway parking lot, scanning the storefront as he grabbed the reusable bags Isabel had given him out of the backseat.
The building was smaller from the outside than he expected, given the way Isabel had talked about it, but it was larger than the Eaton grocery store a little farther east, and there was a steady stream of people entering and exiting through the automatic doors.
Jake looked down at the list in his hand. All Isabel wanted were some staples that were probably difficult to carry back on foot, like rice and flour and milk. He got a cart and walked into the store, where he was instantly greeted by a colorful display of saltwater taffy.
Locally Made, read the large wooden sign above the display. All the bins were full even though it was the perfect season for taffy, and Jake wondered just how often anyone around here wanted a treat that was such a stark reminder of their life by the sea.
With the list still in hand, he began to search the store for everything he needed.
Everyone else marched around with such purpose, and it made sense.
They came here every week, always going to the same aisles to buy the same things.
Jake was the only one who had to wander around, checking every aisle regardless of the sign indicating what was supposed to be down it.
Three trips around the entire store later, and he was still looking for dry beans. He’d found the canned ones, but Isabel had specifically written on her list no canned beans. Jake couldn’t let her down now.
With a frustrated sigh, he went down the aisle with canned beans again.
The dry ones were there; he was just missing them.
They had to be there. He passed someone else carrying a basket and quickly lowered his gaze.
This man walking by didn’t need to know the shame Jake felt in his inability to shop for beans, of all things.
But the man stopped in his tracks, and Jake realized he was watching him. He looked up, offering a polite but stiff smile. That would surely be enough.
It was not.
The man, tall and statuesque, with light brown hair and piercing blue eyes, raised a single eyebrow. Then he smiled, flashing bright white teeth, and walked toward Jake.
“Hello.”
Jake narrowed his eyes. He would have been strikingly handsome if only he weren’t trying so hard to flaunt it. “Hi.”
“I couldn’t help noticing you look a little lost. I saw you on the other side of the store a few minutes ago. Are you looking for something in particular?”
Jake’s gaze dropped to the man’s chest, searching his shirt for a name tag. The rust-colored button-up was a far cry from the blue polo shirts all the Sandway employees appeared to wear. “Do you work here?”
“I don’t, but I’ve been shopping here for most of my adult life. If you just tell me what you need, I promise I can find it for you in seconds.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. Where are the dried beans?”
“Down the next aisle.” The man pointed. “Want me to show you?”
“Sure. Couldn’t hurt.”
Jake walked with the mysterious man to one aisle over where, at the end, sat a row of all sorts of bagged dry beans, from black to kidney to garbanzo. How he’d missed them twice before, he couldn’t fathom.
“There you go,” the man said. “Do you need help with anything else? Checking out, maybe, or loading your bags back into your car?”
Jake bit his tongue to keep himself from saying something rude to the person who had just helped him. “No,” he said, his voice clipped. “That’s all. Thanks.”
The man nodded, smirking a little. He was having more fun with Jake’s incompetency than he’d initially let on. “Sure thing.”
Jake grabbed the bag that Isabel wanted, hoping that when he turned around, the man would be gone.
“Hey, are you new in town? I’ve never seen you here before.”
Jake dropped the bag into the cart with a thud. “Yeah. Well, I’m helping my aunt out for a couple of months. I’ll be gone after that.”
“Oh, who’s your aunt?”
“Isabel Haver.”
The man’s expression changed instantly, his eyes brightening and his smirk dropping. “You’re her nephew? Small world.”
“Considering there are, like, 500 people living here, I’d say that’s an understatement.”
“Well, sorry for teasing you about the beans. I really thought you were just a tourist at first, but obviously I was mistaken.”
Jake glared at him incredulously. He didn’t believe for a second that this man, whoever he was, was offering a genuine apology. He probably just felt bad now that he knew he would have to see Jake around town for the next few months.
“I’m sorry about Marcus too,” the man added. “He and Isabel were a big part of the community before he got sick. Any time Isabel wants to come back to volunteering at the beach, we welcome her with open arms.”
“She’s actually busy trying to get her life back in order after Mark’s death,” Jake said coldly. “She needs to work on her own place before she helps out at the beach.” He paused, sensing the tension between them growing.
This was not what Isabel wanted for him, and even Jake knew he didn’t need to make enemies on his first day in such a small town. He took a deep breath. He had to at least try.
“I’m Jake, by the way. What did you say your name was?”
“Just call me Robbie.”
“Robbie…”
Robbie sighed a sigh that was far too weighty for having to give out a simple last name. “Eaton.”
Jake raised his eyebrows. “Oh, so you’re the Eaton who owns every other business around here.”
“That would be my parents—sort of. My dad inherited most of the businesses from my grandfather.”
“So you’re just a nepo baby.”
Robbie grimaced. “I guess you could say that.”
“You don’t shop at your parent’s store?”
“No. It’s hard enough to get away from them as it is. I’m sure as hell not buying my groceries from them, too.”
“And they don’t, I don’t know, sneak you stuff from the back for free?”
Robbie looked like he was about to laugh, but instead he just smiled wryly. “You haven’t met them yet, have you?”
Jake shook his head. “I just got into town today.”
“Probably for the best. You want my advice?”
“Not really.”
“Avoid them like the plague. They won’t like you, and you definitely won’t like them.”
“Okay.” Jake glanced around awkwardly. A woman pushed her cart between them, the child in it staring back at Jake with big brown eyes. “So what do you do when you decide you’re bored, besides shopping for…” Jake looked closer at the items in Robbie’s basket. “Chocolate and yogurt?”
“Actually, I work at the Book Nook. I manage the store.”
“For your parents.”
“Yes, for my parents.”
Jake snorted. He couldn’t help himself.
“Do you have a problem with that?” Robbie asked sharply.
“You were just complaining about your parents, and yet you feed straight out of their hands.”
Robbie shook his head. “If you need anything else, ask an employee. At least they’re paid to help pricks like you.”
Jake opened his mouth to say something in retort, but Robbie had already disappeared around the corner, and he wasn’t about to abandon the cart full of items he’d worked so hard to find just to insult a man he barely knew.
Jake got back to the house later than he’d anticipated, but Isabel didn’t seem too worried. She sat in the living room reading a book, a dust cloth and some sort of cleaning spray resting on the coffee table.
“Hi Jakey, how did it go?” she asked as the door opened, not even looking up.
“Great,” Jake puffed. “Where do you want all this?”
“Leave the bags in the kitchen. I’ll put everything away in a bit.”
“I can do that.”
“I have a different chore for you right now.”
“Fine.” The word came out as little more than a breathy pant as he dragged the numerous heavy bags into the kitchen. Carting around beans and flour was not for the weak. He set them down on the counter, then returned to the living room.
Isabel was still sitting on the couch, but she’d set her book down on the coffee table and was leaning forward. When Jake approached, she patted the spot next to her. “Sit.”
Jake quickly obeyed. “What’s up?”
Isabel picked up the rag and cylindrical yellow spray bottle. “I want you to start cleaning this house from top to bottom with me. Most of it I can manage, but it’s just so overwhelming to start, you know?”
Jake nodded. He did not, in fact, know, as he rarely cleaned his last apartment beyond what was necessary to live in and bring guys home to. It might have been overwhelming to him had he ever tried, but Jake never worried much about little things like that.
“If you could just start by cleaning off that built-in,” Isabel continued, “and then maybe the coffee table and any other surfaces that look dusty, I would feel much better about picking up where you leave off later in the week.” She smiled.
“The last time I dusted properly, Marcus was still up and about helping me.”
“That has to be tough.”
“Not nearly as tough as it was a few months ago when I still woke up every morning to get him his medication before remembering he was gone. But that’s neither here nor there. We all have to move on from what once was, right?”
She patted Jake’s arm. Jake nodded again, forcing a smile. “I guess we do. I’ll start on the dusting, but if you need any help in the kitchen, just call me. That’s what I’m here for. Oh, and if you want me to, I’ll take all that stuff on the built-in and pack it in a box while I’m at it.”
“No,” Isabel said quickly. “No, I think I’ll leave it for now. I’d like to enjoy it a little while longer.” She walked over to one of the framed photos and picked it up.