Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
TANNER
“ I ’ll be right back,” I inform Wayne, and close the door of the gallery behind me. It’s been a slow morning, and I need coffee.
Over the past week, since Sarah and I started sleeping together, I haven’t been getting much actual sleep . But I’d have to be a complete madman to complain.
Because it’s not a simple case of insomnia or stress that’s keeping me up at night.
It’s a beautiful woman that I can’t keep my hands off of.
Sarah insists that she should still sleep in her little house, and she’s moved Petunia back over, as well.
But we end up in either my bed, or hers, every single night.
No, I’m not complaining, but I’d rather she just moved in with me. I don’t even need the income from the guesthouse, so if she wants to use it as a studio, I’m fine with that. I’ve almost suggested it a dozen times this week.
But it still feels too soon, and the last thing I want to do is scare her off.
I wave at Montana, who’s just setting out her menu board on the sidewalk for the day before I walk into The Grind.
The smell of coffee immediately consumes my senses, and I sigh in delight. Daisy, the owner herself, is manning the order station with a smile.
“Good morning, Tanner,” she says. “What can I get you? Your usual?”
“Yes, please. And let’s add a scone today. I’m surprised you still have some left.”
“You got it. How’s business?”
“Slow today. You?”
“Same, hence the scones. Mostly locals, but it’s just the calm before the storm. Summer’s coming fast.”
“You’re not wrong. When that happens, and the tourists flood in, I won’t have time to come down for a mid-morning coffee. So, I guess I’ll enjoy it while I can.”
“Exactly.” Daisy winks at me, then turns to greet the person behind me.
I love living in a small town, where I know everyone and they know me. It wasn’t always fun when I was a kid, and I thought I could get away with something without my parents being called, which was absolutely not true. But now, it’s great.
The businesses look out for each other. There’s no competition here, as there are usually plenty of tourists to go around for everyone.
I grab my coffee and scone and turn to leave, when I see my friend, Indigo, wave me over to his table.
“What are you up to?” I ask as I sit with him and take a bite of my scone.
“Waiting for a client.”
“Anyone I know?”
He shakes his head and sips his latte. “No. A woman from out of town is looking for a vacation home here on the beach.”
“Ah, a part-timer.” I nod knowingly. Huckleberry Bay has its fair share of people who own second homes here, and only come for a short time each year.
“I believe that’s the plan, yes. Anyway, how are you? Still liking your house, or do you need me to find you something else?”
I grin at him. Indigo helped me buy my house several years ago. He’s a great real estate agent.
But he’s also always the salesman.
“I’m good where I am. It couldn’t be a better fit for me.”
“Did I hear that Sarah’s been renting the guesthouse?” He sips his latte innocently.
“You looking for gossip?”
He just raises an eyebrow.
“Yeah, she’s renting from me.”
“Is that all that’s going on there?”
I narrow my eyes on him. “Why do you ask?”
Indigo just shrugs. “Listen, Sarah’s a beautiful, smart woman, and your relationship ended a long time ago, but you’re my friend. So, I’m asking if there’s anything there between you two before I ask her out on a date.”
“I respect you asking.” I purse my lips, staring at my half-eaten scone. “Yeah, there’s something there. She’s spent more time in my house than hers lately.”
I glance up to find Indigo grinning at me. “Good for you, man. Good for you.” His eyes dart to the door, and he nods. “Looks like my appointment just arrived.”
“I’ll leave you to it. Have a good day.”
I rap my knuckles on the table and then walk away with my coffee and nibble the scone as I pass by a tall brunette that’s all smiles for Indigo.
It shouldn’t surprise me that someone would find Sarah attractive and want to ask her out. She is amazing.
Hell, she’s everything.
I glance across the street, and it’s as though I’ve conjured her out of my thoughts.
Sarah is backing out of the doorway of Books on the Bay, a stack of books in all shapes and sizes in her arms. She has a tote bag slung over her shoulder, and a bouquet of flowers peeks out of the top of it.
She looks like she’s in a hurry. Her sunglasses slide down her nose, and she blows at them, as if the force will slide them back up again.
“Are you the heroine in a rom-com?”
She jumps, startled, and yells, “Shit!”
All the books fall to the ground in a jumbled heap, and Sarah stares down at them pitifully.
“Oops.” I cringe and bend to pick them up, just as she does, and we knock heads. “I think we really are in a movie.”
“Ouch.” She rubs her head as I squat and pick up the books.
“This is quite the eclectic collection,” I say as I pick up each book, one by one. “Art, romance, horror. There’s even a book on how to knit.”
“I like all kinds of books,” she informs me, and when I stand, she’s smiling at me. “I’m going to have a bump on my head.”
“Nah, we didn’t hit that hard.” But I lean in and kiss where she’s rubbing with her fingertips. “What are you up to, pretty girl?”
“Errands,” she replies and falls into step beside me. “I have an hour before I have to be at work. I won’t be able to come over this evening, by the way. I’m working late. Angela had to switch with me again so she could take her son to the doctor this afternoon. Poor thing is really sick.”
“It’s fine,” I assure her. “Although, I’ll miss you tonight. What can I do to help?”
She smiles up at me and bats her eyelashes. “Will you take these books home for me? That way, I don’t have to haul them all over town today.”
“You bet.”
“Will you also check on Petunia? I feel like I’ve been ignoring her a lot, since I’m not there much between work and being at your place.”
“Just bring her to my house,” I say before I can hold back the words. “She’s happier there anyway, with her view of the ocean. She’s the queen, and we’re merely her subjects.”
“Oh, I don’t think?—”
“How about this? I’ll get a litter box and some food bowls, and she can just come back and forth with you. Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” A slow smile spreads over her mouth. “Yeah, that would be awesome. We’d like that.”
To my surprise, she pushes up onto her toes and presses her lips to mine in a kiss that isn’t chaste, but also isn’t indecent.
It’s a sweet, familiar kiss that makes it clear to anyone watching that we’re together.
And I’m just fine with that.
“I’m going to get going,” she says. “I can relieve Angela early, give her a break.”
“Don’t be surprised if Petunia is at my place when you get home. She can hang with me this evening.”
“Thank you.” She walks away and blows me a kiss. “Really, thanks.”
“Have a good day, dear.”
When I walk back into the gallery, I’m pleasantly surprised to see several patrons strolling around, taking in the art.
Wayne’s eyebrows climb when he sees the books in my hands.
“You went shopping ?”
“No, I’m just taking these home for Sarah.” I stow them on my desk in my office. “How are things here?”
“They picked up a bit,” he says. “I sold a bronze sculpture.”
“Awesome. I can afford to keep you another day.”
He smirks. “Right.”
With the litter box and bowls set up, I walk over to Sarah’s with her books and let myself in.
Petunia comes running.
“Hey, baby.” I pick her up, and she cuddles right into my neck. “Aw, are you lonely? Okay, come on home with me. I just have to find your food.”
I open the pantry door and retrieve her food, then fill up the plastic bag I brought with me before locking Sarah’s door behind me and setting off for my place, with the cat and her food in hand.
As soon as I set Petunia on the floor, she scurries to the loveseat by the window, climbs into her favorite spot, and settles in to watch the sunset.
“It’s pretty great, isn’t it?”
Not surprisingly, she ignores me as I fill her bowls with food and water and then start making myself dinner.
Halfway into boiling pasta, my phone rings.
“Yello,” I say as I tuck the phone between my ear and shoulder so I can stir the pasta.
“I need some help,” Apollo says. “I’m trying to move some furniture here at my place, and I need an extra set of hands before I kill myself over here.”
“Do you need me to come right away, or can I come after dinner?”
“What are you making?”
I laugh. “Chicken scampi.”
“Do you have enough for two?”
“I’ll add bread. Give me thirty to finish cooking and pack it up.”
“Thanks, man.”
I sigh and glance over at Petunia, who hasn’t looked away from the view for an instant. She’s too enthralled by watching the people walk the beach, and probably by the waves themselves.
“Were you once a beach cat before you were rescued?”
No answer.
Before long, I have everything done and packed up, so I head out to Apollo’s place. He doesn’t live on the water, says it’s too much work to maintain a house that’s constantly exposed to direct salt air, and he’s right.
It’s a lot of upkeep.
I turn onto his street and park in front of the little place he bought close to ten years ago now, and climb the cement steps to the front door.
“Hey, thanks,” Apollo says as he opens the door. “For the help and the food.”
“It’s never fun to eat alone. Let’s move furniture after food.”
“Good call.”
I follow him into the small galley kitchen and see that he’s already set out plates and forks.
None of it matches each other.
With our plates loaded, we sit in the living room and dig in.
“You’ve lived here for a decade,” I announce after looking around the space.
“Yeah?”
“And you haven’t hung even one thing on the walls.”
He shrugs one shoulder. “I’m hardly here. I’ve been meaning to hang something.”
“For ten years. ”
“Not all of us are art experts, okay?”
“But most adults don’t live like?—”
“Like what?”
I chew my bread. “Like coeds.”
Apollo takes in his house and shrugs again. “It’s clean. That’s really all I need.”
“Someday, a woman is going to come into your life and turn it upside down.”
“See? Why do I have to hang anything? Someday, someone else will do it.”
“That’s a great way to think about it.”
When we’ve finished eating, Apollo puts the dishes in the dishwasher and then gestures for me to follow him.
“It’s in here.”
“If it’s the size of Alaska, I’m gonna be pissed, man.”
“Half the size.” He laughs and turns into his bedroom. “I’m getting rid of all of this furniture.”
“ All of it?”
“Well, except for the mattress and box spring.”
“Why?”
He tries to act nonchalant, but then he rubs his hand over his face.
“A family down in Newport had a house fire. Lost everything.”
“So, you’re giving them your bedroom furniture.”
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Like I said, I’m hardly here. All I need is the bed to sleep on. I’m buying them a new mattress. They wouldn’t want my old one.”
“You know, you’re a nice guy, Apollo.”
“Let’s not let it get out. I need to move this stuff out to my truck so I can take it down to them.”
“All of this won’t fit in your truck. It’s going to take several trips.”
He worries his lip and then sighs. “Maybe I should just rent a moving truck. That would be easier, and probably better on the bank account.”
“I bet we could get a few people to come over with their trucks, and it could be a caravan situation.”
“You think?” he asks.
“Sure. Let’s call around, and see what we can come up with.”
Twenty minutes later, we have four additional trucks on the way over, despite it being dinner time.
“June’s on board,” I announce as I hang up the phone.
“You called June ?” he demands with a scowl.
“Well, sure. She has a truck. What is your problem with her, anyway? All you two do is go at each other’s throats. Kiss and make up already.”
“She’s a difficult female,” he mutters. “So fucking stubborn.”
“And you’re not stubborn.” I smirk. “Right. Anyway, sounds like we’ll have a bunch of help.”
And I’m not wrong.
Four trucks, with eight pairs of helping hands, along with other furniture that they all want to donate, show up to Apollo’s place inside of an hour.
“You guys, this is… incredible. You don’t have to do this.”
“This is just what small towns do,” Luna reminds him as she stands next to June, who she rode with. “Not to mention, I had stuff that I wanted to get rid of. Now I know it’s all going to someone who really needs it.”
“Agreed,” Harvey, the owner of Lighthouse Pizza says. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
In a matter of minutes, we have Apollo’s furniture loaded into the trucks, and then we’re off, driving the couple of hours down to Newport.
“What made you decide to do this right this second, and not early in the day on a weekend?” I ask Apollo from the passenger seat. “I didn’t even hear about a house fire down there.”
“It happened last night,” he says. “I got a call from a construction friend down there, who told me about it.”
“Did you know the people?”
“Not exactly.” He clenches his jaw, and I turn to face him.
“Is this about a woman?”
“No. Hell no,” he says, shaking his head. “I don’t always think with my dick, you know.”
“Okay. What kind of fire was it, Apollo?”
The muscles in his forearms bunch as he grips the steering wheel tighter. “Electrical fire.”
Fuck.
“And let me guess, you did the electrical in that house?”
“Six years ago,” he confirms, and it all starts to make sense.
“You don’t know that it was something that you did wrong.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t know that it’s not something that I did wrong. We won’t know until there’s an investigation. They might have had too many things plugged into one outlet for all I know, but it’s a house that I wired, and it burned to the fucking ground because of an electrical issue, so, yeah, I feel obligated to do something. I’m not a rich man like Wolfe. I can’t give them money, or hell, offer to build them a new house, but I can do something.”
“They’ll have insurance, man. Did anyone get hurt?”
“No. No one was home.”
“Well, that’s something, then.”
We spend a good part of the drive in silence, watching what we can of the scenery as it gets darker and darker.
I shoot Sarah a text, letting her know what’s up, and before long, there are signs of more civilization as Newport comes into view.
Apollo leads the other trucks to a storage unit where a couple is waiting, and when Apollo gets out of the truck and walks over to them, they shake his hand and offer him smiles.
They’re not angry with him in the least.
I hop out and join the others who have pulled in behind us, and we wait for instructions.
“We’re just going to put everything in here,” Apollo says as he joins us, pointing to the large storage unit. “Tetris-style. They have some more donations coming in the next few days, so we’ll pack this stuff tight and try not to take up the whole storage space.”
Less than thirty minutes later, the trucks are unloaded, and everything is packed neatly in the unit, leaving plenty of room for more donations.
“Thank you,” the man says as he shakes all of our hands. “We really appreciate your kindness.”
I notice that June smiles at him, and without a glance back at Apollo, walks to her truck, and with Luna in the passenger seat, they drive away, headed toward home.
It’s late when I walk back into my own house. Sarah isn’t quite home from work yet. I offered to come pick her up, but she said a coworker would give her a ride.
So, I sit on the loveseat next to Petunia, and wait for her to come home.
I wake up and immediately realize that it’s morning. The sky is lightening with the sunrise, and someone draped a blanket over me.
I must have fallen asleep before Sarah got home.
And I must have been out , because I didn’t hear, or feel, a thing.
Coffee sounds like the best thing since sliced bread as I stretch my arms over my head and yawn, then sit up and scratch my scalp, but then I see movement through the window, down on the beach below, that catches my eye.
Sarah.
Walking down to the sand for a stroll along the water.
I grin and push the blanket aside.
I do believe I’ll join her.