Chapter 5 #2
Cody was Mia’s friend.
Just her friend. He could convince his head, but his heart stubbornly refused to follow.
Walking this path to town was beginning to feel as natural as breathing. Cody walked alongside Mia, Maggie on his shoulders, Finn’s hand tucked into his. Maggie had woken from her nap shortly after he and Mia finished sorting the applications, whittling down the number to a more manageable size. He’d once again coaxed Mia out of the house and toward town for a walk. Nothing like a little evening sunshine to boost your mood. When Mia had cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders for the seventh time, he knew she needed some fresh air.
And he definitely did. His fingers twitched to rub the obvious tension out of her shoulders.
Fresh air. Put some space between them.
At least she’d allowed him to help her. Progress.
“C’mon. It’s almost golden hour. A perfect time to shoot some more video and grab some still shots for your social media.” Hopefully she hadn’t noticed the pleading in his voice. Spending time with Mia had become a lifeline. He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been since Troy died and their friend group splintered.
“What do you know about golden hour?” She’d put her hands on her hips and stared him down.
“I had to take a few charters out last summer on my speedboat to make ends meet. Those groups cared more about mugging for the camera than catching any trout.” They’d stiffed him on tips too.
“I really should get started on filling Dani in about our top picks from this afternoon.”
She’d hesitated and he jumped in. “You need a break, and the kids need some fresh air. It’s a beautiful afternoon.”
Soon, they were easing the kids into their shoes, and debating whether everyone needed a light jacket.
Except the fresh air wasn’t exactly working. Every step they took, the heat of Mia’s hand near his own nearly scorched him.
He took a deep breath and looked around. Flowers, ready to burst into full bloom, lined several homes they passed. A few of Mia’s neighbors were out mowing the grass and waved as they walked past. They turned onto Jonathon Boulevard, the road running straight into downtown. When they came to Poppy Place, he pointed down the block. “There are several of the houses in Dani’s plan down that block. Did you want to see any of them? Maybe take some pictures?”
“Sure. I’m game.”
Cody led her to the second house on the right. A blue single-story home he now knew contained two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a newly renovated front room, complete with a gas fireplace. “I think this place has been empty since the Hansons moved out just before the pandemic. Last I heard, they live in Minneapolis now.” He put Maggie down and opened the door.
The strong scent of paint hit them as they walked through the front door. He showed Mia around while she took notes on her phone, pointing out the new mantle he’d installed over the fireplace. They walked through the newly painted bedrooms, the kids scampering ahead of them.
“Thanks again for helping today,” Mia said. “I know you’ve got your own stuff going on.”
“I’m always happy to help you.” It was the understatement of the year, but he would never tire of trying to convince her he was there for her.
“Still. You’re trying to earn enough for your boat parts. I hate to keep you from making money for that. How’s it going?” She pointed her phone camera at the fireplace and took a shot.
Cody ran a hand over the wood panel on a doorway he’d replaced, the wood smooth under his fingers. “I’ve not been able to find the parts I need, but it won’t matter if Dad won’t let me have his license.”
She searched his face with her gaze. “He’s not going to give it to you? Why not?”
The knot in the pit of his stomach he’d been ignoring tightened. “I really don’t know.”
“You’ll just have to convince him.” She reached up and retied the bandanna holding her curls back. “What’s your plan?”
“Right now, the only thing I can do is pray.”
“Probably the best plan. I’ll pray too.” She walked a few steps. “Show me what else you’ve done here.”
Her excitement when he showed her the new wood floors in the kitchen filled him with pride.
“I think I’ve got everything,” she said. “These paint fumes are making me lightheaded.”
Once everyone was out, he locked the door. “Want to see some of the others?”
Mia squinted up at the sun and shook her head. “Not tonight. Let’s keep the plan to head into town while the light is good. It makes more sense to have the business locations take center stage. I’ll write up the housing info another time.”
Swinging Maggie back up onto his shoulders while Finn ran on ahead, they continued their walk to town. The air echoed with the sound of the construction equipment working at the Grand.
A few minutes later, they passed the old fudge shop.
“I miss your family’s fudge.” Mia bumped his shoulder and pointed at it with her chin. “I wonder why that storefront isn’t on the list of available spaces.”
“Technically, Mom still rents it from Seb. The lease isn’t quite up yet, and she uses the kitchen for occasional catering orders. Her arthritis won’t let her do much more than that these days.” A pang hit his chest. “And I miss it too. Mom sure knew how to make magic with sugar and cocoa powder.”
“That she did. You know, we don’t have any applications for a candy shop. Maybe Lily should come home and reopen it.” Lily, his sister, had moved to Florida almost ten years ago to improve on her candy-making trade so she could eventually move home and reclaim their family fame as the Jonathon Island fudge makers. But then the family shop had closed. “Wouldn’t make the Kelley family too happy though,” Mia added with a chuckle.
“Nothing makes those people happy. It wasn’t enough for them to own all the other restaurants on the island. They had to move in on my family’s fudge operation too.” He threw a hand in the air. “To this day, even years later, my dad and Frank Kelley avoid each other whenever possible. That’s not a bad idea about Lily though. I’ll call her later and see if she’s interested. I know she’s coming home for a visit at the end of the month. Maybe she’ll want to take a look around.”
“If she applies, she could even have her own house for a dollar. I know there are more foreclosed houses than available storefronts, so it shouldn’t be a problem to assign one of them to the fudge shop,” Mia said. “It would be nice to know one of the applicants. I’d feel much better about recommending her to the town council than some random stranger.”
“She is strange though.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and was rewarded with a laugh.
“Brothers.” She rolled her eyes at him. They passed by two more empty buildings. One, a small building covered with green shake siding, boasted small flowers painted along the roofline. “This would be a good one to shoot,” she said. At that moment Jack came trotting toward them. “Perfect timing as always, pup. Cody, see if you can get him to sit in front of the building.”
Cody snapped his fingers and the dog followed him to the doorway. “Sit. Good boy.” He leaned down, mindful of Maggie still perched on his shoulders, and patted the mutt on his head. “Stay.”
He shifted back to Mia’s side and waited while she snapped several photos.
“These will be great,” she said. “I’ll bring you a treat next time I’m in town, Jack. Thanks for being such a good subject.”
The dog, seeming to understand her, stood, stretched, tongue lolling, and then loped off again.
“Do you want to go inside?” Cody reached into his pocket and held up his key ring. “I can let us in.”
“Actually, do you mind waiting outside with Mags and Finn for a minute or two before you come in? I want to take a video, and I don’t want my kids in too many of these social posts.”
“No problem.” He chatted with the kids for a few minutes before Mia came back out.
“Okay! The coast is clear.”
They all trooped into the space.
“I really like how you updated this. The white paint makes the whole place light up.” She walked to the center of the room, footsteps echoing in the empty building.
Pride swelled his chest again as he saw the room through Mia’s eyes. Most of the buildings on Jonathon Island’s main drag were small. This one, at four thousand square feet, was one of the bigger ones.
He lifted Maggie down and set her on her feet. “Who knew a tiny tot could weigh so much?”
“She does get heavy after a while. Don’t feel like you have to carry her everywhere. She can walk, and I can carry her too. You don’t have to do it.”
“Mia.” He touched her arm. “Carrying her is no burden. I like it. I like spending time with your kids.”
Her shoulders loosened. A small smile played around her lips. “Thanks.”
“Mommy, can I take some pictures?”
“Sure, bud.” She handed Finn her cell phone. “Careful.”
He aimed the phone’s camera around the room, taking several pictures.
“It’ll be interesting to see how those turn out,” Mia said quietly.
“It’ll be a different angle, that’s for sure.”
While they waited for Finn, Cody took the opportunity to point out different features of the shop for Mia to include in her descriptions for potential clients.
“Now I will take your picture,” Finn said. “Stand together.”
Cody moved next to Mia. Heat flared in him as his shoulder rested against her and their hands brushed.
“Get closer. I can’t see you.” Finn’s commanding finger pointed him closer to Mia. She turned an amused face up to him. He slung his arm around her shoulder.
Uh oh. Big mistake.
This photo was going to be ruined because of the sparks that were surely flying off him. He tamped them down. He and Mia were just friends, and he was going to do what he could to maintain that balance.
But try telling that to his traitorous heart. The one that was galloping away this very minute. Spending so much time with Mia was a bad idea.
Suddenly he realized Finn was talking to him. “I got the picture. You can let go of Mommy now.” Oops. He dropped his arm from Mia’s shoulders.
“Time for us to get home,” Mia said. She looked flushed and wouldn’t meet his eye.
Was she as flustered as he was?
“I’ll lock up behind us.” Hopefully she didn’t notice how hard his heart had pounded when he was holding her.
He walked them to the corner, parting ways at the fudge shop. Nostalgia hit hard.
Using his master key, he let himself in. Two of the huge copper pots used for making fudge still rested near the front popout windows, and the two marble worktables were covered with old blankets. A fine layer of dust coated the shelves on the walls and the long counter near the old register. He and his family practically lived here when his mother ran the place. It looked smaller now, somehow. Like the past five years had pulled the walls closer together.
The scent of chocolate still hung heavy in the air. Cloying and sweet, it made his stomach rumble. Too bad it would be another bachelor supper for him tonight. No company, no laughter. Just a pot pie heated in the microwave while he surfed the net looking for boat parts. If he was lucky, there might be a pint of pistachio ice cream for after.
He grimaced. Since when had he been so dissatisfied? This single life wasn’t a new development. He was used to it.
Really.
He spun on his heel and walked out of the shop. After locking up, he dug out his cell phone and called Lily.
“Hey, big brother!” He could practically hear the sunshine in her voice. He wondered if that Florida sun had bleached her already blonde hair any lighter.
“Florida still treating you okay?”
She hesitated, then, “Yeah. It’s going fine. Why?”
“Hold on.” He tucked his earbuds into his ears and his phone back into his pocket before zipping up his jacket. The evening breeze coming in off the lake bit his exposed hands and nose. “I was just in Hart Family Fudge and was thinking about you.”
“What? Why were you thinking about me?”
“I was remembering all the good times we had there. Then I thought, maybe you should come home and reopen the place. There’s a push right now to revitalize the businesses downtown?—”
“I don’t think so, Cody.”
“Why not?” To his left, the late sunlight winked off the choppy lake water. He turned around and started walking on the boardwalk toward home.
“I’ve made a life for myself here. Besides, I’m on the verge of something big at my current company.”
“Aren’t you a glorified gopher?” Despite completing culinary school with an emphasis in candy making, she’d been an apprentice under the same guy for years without any promotion.
“Hey! I still get to make candy. But yeah, Roger does like to remind us that he’s in charge and we are lucky to be in his orbit.” She snorted. “But someday soon, I’m gonna knock his socks off with a new recipe, and then it’ll be my turn. Just you wait.”
“I don’t doubt it. You’re brilliant in the kitchen, Lil. I’m sorry Roger’s failed to see your potential.” His footsteps sounded hollow on the boardwalk.
“Everyone has to pay their dues. That’s just how it works.”
“Okay, but you always talked about being the next great thing in fudge on Jonathon Island.”
“Things don’t always go the way you think they will when you’re in high school. You of all people should know that. Hold on, I’m getting in my car and putting you on speaker.”
He heard the rustle of the car door, the grumble of her engine starting, and then the echo of the speakerphone. “Can you hear me now?” he teased.
She laughed. “You’re good to go. Sorry, I was just leaving my shift and didn’t want to stand in the parking lot having this conversation.”
“I get that. And you have a valid point. Plans change after high school.” He walked past the ferry dock. Normally the port bustled with activity this close to Memorial Day, but now, it was like a ghost town. Maybe Lily was the smart one. Building a life off this island. But if Dani’s plan worked…
“I know. I’m always right. Speaking of making a life for ourselves, what’s the news on your boat?”
He filled her in on the part he was still waiting for. “I might have a bigger problem though.” He hunched his shoulders into the wind that kicked up. “Dad is saying he won’t sell me the fishing license. He might sell it to an outfit on the mainland instead.”
“What?” A rustle came through the phone line. “Sorry, I almost dropped the phone getting it onto the holder. Dad can’t be serious. That license is a big deal. If he gives it up, there’s no guarantee you will get one for yourself.”
“I know.” That thought had kept him up more than one night since the argument.
“You have to get him to give it to you. Or at the least, sell it to you.” Her voice had risen an octave.
“Sorry, sis, I don’t think anyone has ever gotten Dad to do something he didn’t want to do. Maybe not even Mom.” He’d reached his shop and reached out to unlock the door.
“Mom! Great idea. Get her on your side. Dad will never have a chance.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s already on my side. You should have seen her face when he said he was giving up the license.” He’d only ever seen that look once before, shortly after the boating accident when Dad told her that Steve, and then Troy, had succumbed to their wounds. A stark grief.
“Well, when I come home, all three of us can work on him.”
He took off his jacket and hung it on the hook next to his front door. It fell to the floor. “I don’t think that will work. I’m just going to have to figure something else out.”
“Mm-hmm. Hey, you’re quite the internet sensation.” Lily’s teasing tone made a refreshing break from the seriousness of the conversation so far.
“What are you talking about?”
“That video Mia took. Evie forwarded it to me.”
He suppressed a groan. It seemed he did that a lot lately. “I can’t believe you saw that.”
“Based on the view count, over three million of us did. So?” Across the line he could hear her blinker clicking on and off.
“So what?” He poked his head into his dorm-sized fridge. A half-eaten jar of pickles, some mustard, and wilted lettuce stared back. In the freezer, his last potpie boasted a layer of frost. Yum.
“So, you and Mia? She called you a ‘local attraction.’ Is there something I should know? Spill.”
“Nothing to spill.” He unwrapped the potpie and popped it into the microwave on top of the fridge.
“Come on, the girl you’ve pined after for years takes a video calling you a local attraction and there’s nothing to spill?”
“I didn’t pine.”
“Uh, yeah. You did. Totally pined. Which was too bad because if you’d made a move, you probably would’ve gotten the girl instead of watching her be swept away by your friend.”
“I was happy for them.” And he wasn’t lying. He had been happy that they were happy. His misery at watching Mia and Troy together was no big deal compared to their joy in their relationship. “Friends support each other. Besides, there’s too much between us—Troy being the biggest thing. There’s no way anything will happen between us now. And I made peace with that a long time ago.” Though lately, his mind and heart had been struggling to remember that…
“That’s because you won’t make anything happen. I don’t know what you’re afraid of, but I do know you don’t have to step aside anymore. You can go for the girl.”
“I don’t think so.” The microwave beeped. Using a towel to protect his hand, he grabbed the hot food. The scent of processed chicken filled the air.
Lily sighed. “Why not? You need to fight for what you want for once.”
“It’s just not that simple. I don’t want to take advantage of her. She’s a widow. A single mom. Besides…” he stopped next to what passed for his kitchen table, a card table shoved against the wall of the shop. A few pictures lined the back of it. A snapshot of Troy, Mia, and him at their wedding took center stage. In it, Mia had her arms around Troy, pregnant belly round and full, eyes full of love. Troy wore a big, goofy grin, and he himself stood to the side, hands tucked into his pockets. He kind of envied the kids in the photograph—their whole lives stretched before them. It was a good thing they didn’t know what was coming. “You know I’m responsible for her even being free.”
“Cody Nicolas Hart. Do not even start with me. You are no more responsible for Troy’s death than an ant in Timbuktu.”
If only he could convince his heart of that. Every time he passed by Mia’s house, his chest constricted. “She probably blames me.”
“There’s no way she blames you. It was just a stupid, horrific accident. Not even Michigan’s most talented meteorologists predicted that storm. You couldn’t have known.”
“And someday, maybe, I will convince myself that is true.” Sure, he didn’t control the weather and couldn’t have known there would be a freak storm that night. But he should have had the experience to know how to keep them off the rocks.
“Dad has been fishing a lot longer than you. If anything, it would’ve been his fault. But, Cody, I’ve read all the reports.” He heard her car door open, a rustle, then it slammed shut. “Everyone knows the whole thing was just a fluke accident. That’s what the insurance report says, that’s what the Coast Guard report says, and I bet that’s what the old guy coffee club down at Good Day Coffee says. You’re not to blame.”
Lily knew him best. Knew just what to say to convince him with her words. A glimmer of hope began to shine. Because if he could believe her words, if he could truly let go of the guilt, maybe he could move forward.
And that would be amazing.