Chapter 3
The next morning Tori woke up slowly, trying to figure out where she was. The quiet was eerily unfamiliar. Ah, yes. The BB. She slid up and leaned against the fluffy down pillows, enjoying a moment of lazing in bed. Early morning sunlight streamed into her room, illuminating the quaint decor. She climbed out of bed and headed over to the window, looking outside at the bay that stretched between the island and the mainland. Pink hues tinted the clouds over the water. The ferry was approaching the island. She glanced at the clock. Seven. Much earlier than her usual time to get up, but then she hadn’t stayed up late into the night like she usually did. There was no need for that now.
She quickly got dressed in a pair of shorts and a simple blouse and went downstairs. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee, baked bread, and a hint of cinnamon led the way. Darlene greeted her as she entered the dining room. “Good morning, Tori. Hope you slept well.”
“I did. Well, I admit I ended up turning on a noise app on my phone last night. I wasn’t used to how quiet it was here. It’s always noisy in New York.”
“I bet.” Darlene motioned for her to sit and poured her some coffee.
“Just black, thank you.” Tori reached for the cup.
“Help yourself to what you want from the sideboard. There’s quiche, oatmeal, and cinnamon rolls. Or yogurt and granola if that’s more your thing. Oh, and freshly squeezed orange juice.”
“Thank you.” She went over to the sideboard, her mouth watering. Steam rose from the pot of oatmeal, and the light glaze on the cinnamon rolls tempted her. She self-righteously decided on yogurt and fruit, then with a shrug and a grin, grabbed a cinnamon roll. Why not?
A young couple came in, holding hands, looking at each other as if there were no other people in the world.
She slid into her seat, trying not to look like she was watching them. She could do that look the young girl had. She’d perfected it once. She could actually do about any expression someone asked of her. The look, the body language. All of it.
But there was a strong connection between the couple. She could almost feel it, see it. Had she ever felt that connected to a person?
“Good morning.” Darlene’s words interrupted her thoughts, and the couple broke their locked gaze to turn and look at her. “Breakfast is on the sideboard. Coffee?”
“Just coffee. Can we take it out to the beach?” The young man smiled and casually dropped his arm around the woman’s shoulders.
“Sure can. Let me get some to-go cups.”
Darlene came back with the cups, and the couple disappeared out the door. Darlene turned to her. “They got married here a year ago. They’re back to celebrate their first anniversary. Lovely young couple.”
“That’s nice that they could come back to celebrate.”
“I get a lot of repeat guests here. Some come back year after year. It’s nice to get to know them over the years.”
“I used to come to the island every summer, too. With my grandmother. I have such fond memories of those days.”
“Magnolia has a way of calling people back, again and again.” Darlene paused by the table. “Do you mind if I join you? Could really use a cup of coffee myself.”
“Yes, please do.”
Darlene sat across from her. “So any big plans for the day? Going to go explore around the island some?”
“I plan to. Though, I have to admit, I’m not too fond of driving. Not much chance to drive in New York City. I don’t even own a car.” And she had a driver back home to take her anywhere she wanted to go, but she didn’t mention that.
“It’s easy to walk to most places, but if you want you could rent a bike. That’s a great way to get around the island.”
Her brow creased. How long since she’d ridden a bike? But once you learned how, you could always ride one, right? “That sounds like a plan.”
“It’s not far from here. It’s called… The Bike Shop.” Darlene smiled. “Gavin, the owner, is all about simple and straightforward.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do. I’m looking forward to poking around and seeing what’s changed since I came here when I was a girl.”
“Well, some things change here in Magnolia, and some things forever stay the same,” Darlene said as she rose. “I should get going. Have a handful of guests coming in today and need to make sure their rooms are ready. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I’m good. Thanks.”
Bike riding. That wasn’t something she thought she’d be doing when she decided to come here. But what had she thought she’d be doing? She was used to her hours being filled. Her nights lasting long into the early morning hours. Now her day stretched out before her with nothing really planned. Now that was a new experience for her.
Gavin rolled out another bike and set it in front of the shop. A lady’s bike in a bright turquoise color. He placed it next to a pink bike. He wasn’t really into bike colors—he’d ride anything—but the women sure seemed to like the teal, the pink, and the yellow bikes, so he made sure to have them around.
He’d recently expanded into some electric bikes, although there wasn’t much need for them seeing as Magnolia Key was as flat as can be, but a few customers had rented them. He wanted to provide what the customers wanted.
He also had three-wheeled bicycles for those a little unsteady and unsure of the whole biking thing. Plus he’d purchased a handful of tandem bikes and some trailers to pull kids behind the bikes. If there was a market for it, he provided it.
He sucked in a deep breath of the sea air. He’d missed that when he lived in the city. But the city, with all its noise and commotion, had convinced him to move back to Magnolia Key. The island he’d grown up on but swore when he left for college that he’d never return to. And yet. Look at him now. He’d been back almost twenty years, and most days he was sure he’d made the right decision. Most days.
With one last look to make sure he had an enticing array of bikes outside, he headed back into the shop.
He moved behind the counter and shuffled through invoices. He didn’t mind this part of the shop. The business side. And working on the bikes to make sure they were in perfect shape to rent. Unfortunately, he did have to deal with the customers. He never could figure out how a non-people person like him bought a bike shop where dealing with customers was a constant in his job. At least he’d hired some help now. He usually had them deal with the customers.
If the new bridge ever actually got finished, he wondered if his business would grow—or possibly decline. A lot of people took the ferry over and rented bikes for the day. But when they could easily just drive over the bridge, would they even want to rent the bikes? He wasn’t big on change and kept hoping the bridge would continue getting delayed.
No use worrying about that now. He couldn’t change it.
Jonny, one of his workers, came out from the back of the shop. “Just heard from one of our customers. They have a flat tire. I’m going to run and get the bike so we can fix it. I’ll bring them a replacement bike.”
“Okay. See you in a bit.”
He went back to sorting through the bills. He startled slightly when he heard a woman’s voice. “I’d like to rent a bike.”
It was a melodious voice—lyrical, full of emotion. Lyrical? He smirked inwardly at the sudden poetic turn of his thoughts. His high school English teacher would be so proud.
He looked up and smothered his surprise, clenching his jaw. It was the woman who ran into him yesterday at Coastal Coffee. Just what he needed. A customer who couldn’t even walk out a door without running into people wanted to rent a bike.