Chapter 48
Summer
“Babe, what’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to my mom.”
Pushing past Whit, I reach for the door with shaking hands. God, what am I doing? Hooking up with Whit when I knew my mother was in danger? Who makes a choice like that?
It takes me a few tries but I unlatch the lock and rush into the hallway. It’s hard to see my mom through the thick crowd of people but I do manage to catch Shay’s eye. I wave at her to meet me but it’s not easy in the small, clustered shop.
A hand wraps around my arm and Whit says again, “Summer, what’s going on?”
“There’s been some threats…I thought it was just crazy fan mail, but now…”
My words are cut off by a scream.
It came from the signing area and the sound is gobbled up by the reaction of the crowd.
People start to move toward and away from the table and I dart away from Whit to get to my mother.
When I push through the crowd she’s standing, arm around Anita.
Anita’s eyes are wide and cast downward.
A stain seeps across her coral pink skirt.
“Nothing to see here,” she says in a wobbly voice. “Just my water breaking.”
My heart’s stuck in my throat and I’m frozen as Bobby and Justin rush forward and I barely hear my mother announce that due to the miracle of birth, we’re ending the signing early.
I catch a glimpse of Isabel and Jessica across the room—a scowl of disgust on Isabel’s pretty face.
Ms. Dorothy has a look of concern and Avery is slouched against the wall.
A shoulder brushes against mine and look over and see Shay with a wide smile on her face.
“Is this early?”
“A few weeks,” I reply. “I hope everything’s okay.”
“That’s not too, bad. My first was eight days late. This is way better.”
I watch as the crowd parts to let the pregnant lady pass through. Anita stops and ask, “Can you stay and close up?”
“Of course.” I grip her hand and pull her into a hug. “Good luck and I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
My mother rushes behind her with her phone to her ear. “Richard and I will head to your mom’s house to take care of Sibley. They’ll meet you at the hospital.” She glances at me. “Summer, you’ll be okay?”
“Of course. Go. I’ll close up here.”
“Alright people, clear the way,” Bobby shouts. Anita rolls her eyes but she also has her hands clenched around her stomach.
“Good luck, cousin.” I give her a quick hug before her husband whisks her off.
Justin stops and says, “I’m going to drive them. The last thing we need is Bobby driving into a ditch.”
“Good idea.”
He kisses me and then darts after his brother.
The crowd leaves and I still haven’t said anything about the flowers in my mom’s office. I didn’t have time—not in the craziness of Anita’s water breaking. When it’s over there’s just a few of us left. Pete, Whit, and Nick. Shay and Avery. Isabel and Jessica have vanished.
“Let’s get this place cleaned up so we can head to the hospital,” Pete says.
“You’re going to go?”
“Well, yeah. We went last time, too. It was awesome. Bobby was totally panicking. We could hear Anita cussing him out all the way down the hall. No way I’m missing a repeat,” Nick says as he tosses trash in the can under the bar.
He glances up at Avery. “If you’re sticking around, do something,” and hands him a trash bag.
While I close up behind the counter, totaling up the day’s sales and making sure to shut down everything, Shay stays to help, taking down the decorations and the book signing table while the boys break down the security system and tables.
Avery gets put on trash duty, which allows him time to follow Shay around, talking about meeting my mom.
“Julia’s a rockstar. She let me hang out and ask a million questions. No wonder she beat Gaskins. She’s strong and smart.”
“She is,” Shay says, handing him a stack of cups left on the table.
“Like, I thought she would be, but you never know when you’re reading a book if someone’s boosting themselves up, right? But Julia. She’s a survivor.”
He drones on and on and I’m thinking no wonder my mother made a bee-line for the door. Avery’s intense and a true fan but wow, he gets worked up.
Nick walks over with a box of cords and I say, “Hey, listen, did you see anyone come in with a vase of yellow flowers?”
He shakes his head. “No, but I was pretty busy talking to people all night.”
“Sell any photographs?”
“Yeah, I did.” His face lights up. “Thanks for giving me the opportunity.”
“You made that opportunity for yourself.”
Whit comes up and asks, “What had you so freaked out earlier?”
I look down at the computer. “Nothing. I heard Anita and panicked. I thought something was wrong out here.”
He frowns. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Pete comes out of the kitchen. “I put all the food in the refrigerator—there’s a bunch left over.”
“You should take some back to your apartment. We’ll never eat it.”
“Or take it to Anita,” Shay offers. “New moms always need stuff to feed the family.”
“Good idea.” I scan the room and it seems like everything is back in order—mostly. “I’ll come in tomorrow and do the rest.”
Everyone gathers their things and heads to the door. On the porch I lock up, and Shay stands next to me and says, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” I look at the guys. “Can you wait a sec?”
“Take your time,” Pete says and the others nod as they head to the parking lot behind the shop. Avery follows a few paces behind.
“Listen, I think I may have an idea who sent those letters.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, I was on my phone in the kitchen tonight when I overheard a conversation in the hall. It was two girls—the ones from the shop next door? It’s pretty clear they don’t like you.”
“Isabel and Jessica?” I frown. “You think they sent threatening letters?”
“Tonight’s not the first time I’ve seen them.
In fact, I talked to them a few days ago when I went into their boutique.
Once they found out who I was, they were more than happy to dish as much gossip on you as they wanted.
I ignored it—I’m not here to dig into your personal life, no matter how intrusive I can be.
They suggested I look into some incident with a teacher back at your old school and they dropped a lot of hints about who you were seeing in town. ”
“They told you all that? Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because it’s none of my business.” She gives me a small smile.
“I’m not used to a small town like this with everyone into each other’s personal lives.
That’s not the kind of article I’m writing.
I’m here to talk to your mom and you about her experiences and writing her book.
If I thought it was relevant maybe I’d follow up, but none of it was.
It’s all petty high school girl shit and I’m not interested. ”
“But still, breaking into my trailer, sending you postcards? That’s high-level mean girl.”
“The postcards came after I told them I wasn’t interested in their gossip.”
“Okay, wow. Okay.” The knot in my belly starts to unravel just a little. “I saw Isabel in the hallway tonight. Right after I found a vase of the flowers on my mom’s desk.”
Shay’s eyes light up. “See? Sneaky bitches.”
I laugh at that. “Okay, I guess I feel a little better. I’ll talk to my mom once everything with Anita settles down and we’ll figure out what to do.”
“Good idea.” She raises an eyebrow. “I’d definitely keep an eye on your men, those girls seems determined to get in the middle of that.”
I look over to the parking lot where they all stand in a group. Avery’s off to the side, scrolling through his phone. “Yeah, I don’t really have to worry about them, but thanks for the tip.”
“Well, I think I have everything I need for the interview, so I’m heading out tomorrow morning. Can you keep me posted about the baby?”
“Absolutely.”
She gives me a hug and surprisingly I realize that after all this time, I don’t hate Shay. I kind of like her. She’s a nice person just doing her job. I’m the one that struggles with sharing information about my life.
“It was nice meeting you, Shay.”
“You too, Summer.”
We step off the porch and Avery approaches. “Any chance I can get a ride home?”
She rolls her eyes and fishes her keys out of her bag. “Sure, come on.”
I leave them by their car and approach the guys, ready to wait for the newest member of the Ocean Beach family.