Chapter 15
Saturday morning, Scarlet left Myrtle to puppy sit and met Everest for breakfast at the local hotel’s restaurant. After a quiet conversation over crab over eggs, benedict, and pancakes, they bundled up for a walk on the beach.
Everest pointed out the boats, telling her which ones were local and who was the captain. Several families played in the sand, dressed in warm clothes with blankets out and colorful kites staked in the sand.
“Does it ever warm up here?” she asked him.
“Yes. This afternoon will be close to ninety, so everyone will shed layers and change into flip-flops. But the mornings are almost always cold here. It’s nothing like California, where it stays warm all day and night, so you can even go outside in shorts after dark.” He sheltered his face against the wind that kicked up the loose sand. “It’s usually cold at night. Rarely is it that hot here. We just get too much wind.”
“Seems like more of a painful beach than a pretty one,” she remarked.
“You get used to it.” He shrugged. There are some great days, too, without wind or cold, where it’s warm and sandy here. But those are mostly in July and August.”
Everest led her around the rocks to a waterfall, then another, and past a few small caves. Then he pointed to a log. “Sea lion.”
“What? That thing? It just looks like wood.”
Everest nodded. “Some people don’t notice them because they think the same thing. But that plump, lazy critter is alive. Best stay away no matter how badly you want a picture.”
Scarlet squinted through a bit of ocean spray. “Gotcha.”
“Anyway, these caves back in here were where they found the boy, thanks to your aunt’s detective work. That’s why there’s a sign posted out by that one, not to enter.” He bent down and picked up a rosy stone. “Agate?”
Scarlet took the rock in hand and admired it’s deep, translucent amber color. “Kind of looks like your eyes, when the sun shines through them just right. Can I keep it?”
Everest’s gaze lifted to hers for only a second before he laughed nervously and scanned the rocky cliffs. “You can.”
He skirted a rocky protrusion in the shore and disappeared.
“Everest?”
“Thought you might like to get some taffy.” He motioned her up the staircase that wound through the hillside.
“Taffy?”
“Yeah, that sticky sweet stuff that gives you cavities and a sugar high?” Everest asked.
She slapped her forehead with a palm. “I know what taffy is. But where are we going?”
“To the other shops of Bourbon Bay.”
“Why do they call it that?” she asked as they hiked the steps.
“What does that agate look like to you?”
She held it up in the sunlight and smiled. “Bourbon.”
“It’s technically a banded agate. The beach used to be full of them. Many have been picked up. Others have washed away.” Everest offered her a hand as she reached the top of the stairs.
Scarlet took it and let him help her up the last metal step and over the rocky landing back to the sidewalk, but Everest didn’t let go.
He led her on by the hand into the taffy shop painted with wild swirls in vibrant colors. “You can get fudge, gourmet popcorn, ice cream, and all sorts of lollipops in here.”
“Isn’t it early for ice cream?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Never. I eat well, but I also make sure to have dessert after every meal.”
Scarlet gasped. “Every meal?”
“Life is short.” Everest ordered two scoops of rainbow sherbet, a bag of mixed taffy flavors, and a block of white chocolate toffee crunch. “Get whatever you want.”
Scarlet felt like a kid as she picked out a double scoop of chocolate chip hazelnut espresso, a bag of taffy, and one square of peanut butter fudge.
Only when Everest went to pay did he release her.
With their goodies in tow and ice cream cones, they followed the sidewalk past the other businesses. From kite shops to shells and specialty cookware, the town had a little of almost everything. Even the hardware store boasted a bench made out of a canoe and sold an array of tackle supplies.
Scarlet had not eaten ice cream after breakfast before, but with the sun rising into the sky and the cool morning fog fading, it was growing hot enough to enjoy it.
“Ready to head back?” he asked. “Or do you want to buy a kite and fly one yourself?”
She licked the last of the ice cream from her lips and admired the kites already in the sky. “Maybe another day.”
“Okay. It’s a date.”
At first, she wanted to tease him about calling it a date. But he’d paid for lunch at the café just a week ago. And every time they’d been together since, it felt a little more like a date than the time before.
They walked back down a residential street with a few miscellaneous shops tucked away. Everest waved to an older man mowing his lawn. Then he motioned to the house closer to them, where an older woman sat, overlooking the ocean.
“Morning, Elena!” Everest waved. The woman waved back.
Everest guided Scarlet back toward the hotel, passing an auto shop. He looked back at Elena’s place. “She sits out there every day, looking at the ocean. Rain or shine. I think she sees her daughter out there.”
It was a saddening thought, one Scarlet could relate to. Being told her mother wasn’t coming home when she hadn’t seen the accident or her mother in the hospital was disorienting. But with time, she came to accept the truth.
As they started to cross the entrance to the auto shop, Scarlet’s hackles spiked. Something was wrong. Everest was still looking back at Elena’s place. So the shadow in Scarlet’s periphery was not him.
She back-stepped, snatched up his hand, and tugged him hard toward her.
Everest stumbled into her, surprise in his eyes.
“Sorry!” a young girl shouted as the sedan jolted in a stop-and-go fashion into the auto shop. “My brakes are super weird!”
Scarlet barely glanced at the girl. All she could feel was the heat of Everest against her and her heartbeat pounding.
“Quick reflexes,” he whispered. “Thanks.”
“A lot of cars don’t stop in the city. I’m used to watching my back there.” Scarlet ran her hands over his arms and scanned him up and down. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m alright. Are you?”
“Other than the adrenaline pumping through me right now, yeah, I’m pretty good.” Scarlet lifted a shaking hand.
Everest sighed and drew her against him. “That will go away in a few minutes. But water would help.”
His phone buzzed, making Everest step back. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
Scarlet listened as Everest paced across the sidewalk, away from the auto shop’s entrance.
“Okay. I’m on my way,” Everest frowned. I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”
“It’s okay. I can tell you need to go.”
“Scarlet—”
“I can find my way back,” she insisted. “Your job is important.”
“We’ve got a brush fire on the side of the road down south, so if you get an inkling to go that way, don’t, at least for a few hours.” Everest ran the backs of his fingers over her chin. “Wish I didn’t have to go, but no one else has answered the call. If we don’t stop it, it could turn into a wildfire.”
Everest took her hand in his and kissed it. “Thanks for today—for the fun and for saving me from ending up in the hospital.”
“I’m not ready to lose someone else I care about,” she admitted. “Just be careful.”
“I will. And I care about you, too. Give Athos an extra hug for me tonight.”
“Okay.”
Worry stirred in her chest as Everest rushed away. He had shown her a side of life she didn’t think could exist, a tender life of love, putting others before self, and joys that meant more than money and a cramped apartment in the city.
Plenty of people loved that life. Her mother did. But Scarlet could see why her aunt had settled in the quaint little coastal town. Scarlet decided it was time to make a call of her own.
Ms. Wesley sounded relieved, and it made Scarlet feel terrible. “Oh, good. Are you on your way here?”
“No,” Scarlet said, trying to keep her voice confident. “I have to extend my stay. There’s something else I need to take care of.”
“Ron isn’t going to like that.”
Scarlet licked a lip and considered her next words carefully. “Ms. Wesley, I deeply appreciate everything you’ve done to help me grow and become an important design team member, but Thea replaced me without trouble. I’m glad to know you find my assistance helpful during times of crisis, but I have found a place that needs me more. And I want to be here. I’m tired of the stress and the pressure. I think if you check your email, you’ll find my two weeks’ notice. I will be back before then to clean out my office.”
Ms. Wesley let out a breath over the phone, making Scarlet cringe at what she was going to say. “I’m proud of you.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You’re doing what I wished I had always done. I wanted to own a small town boutique and enjoy my work. My father raised me to strive for corporate positions. And as much as I’ve enjoyed the pay, I’m not sure it is, as you say, worth the stress—or the sacrifice to my health.
“I will check for your letter and have Thea box up your desk and take your things to your apartment so you don’t have to come in and face Ron.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Stay safe, Scarlet.” Ms. Wesley’s voice took on a dreamy tone. “Send me a picture of the shop if you ever get a chance.”
“I will.”