Chapter 14
By noon, Natalie was struggling to focus. Jess had come by the Hideaway shortly after Trent left to check in and share photos of the men assigned to keep watch while Trent was out. Naturally, she refused to share any details about his work plans.
Annoying, yes. And also the right thing.
Natalie had to respect her friend’s professional boundaries.
After confirming there hadn’t been new problems from her ex-husband’s endeavors, she’d stopped stalling and ordered the foundations and pipe cleaners for the kids’ art booth at the music festival.
If she outgrew her space at the gallery, her sisters would let her stash boxes in their garage. It was only a couple of months away.
Without a project to occupy her hands, she was at a loss. She’d washed sheets and towels, changed her mind three times about what to wear tonight, and now she was desperate for some personal interaction.
She’d promised Trent a picnic dinner. A bold move, considering her cooking limitations. After a quick inventory, she called Celeste and got some meal planning advice. Online, she placed the grocery order, requesting priority delivery so she would have time to bake her favorite apple pie cake.
Maybe it was silly, but she wanted to impress Trent.
Something more than breakfast items most kids mastered with ease.
S’mores were way too simple. The apple pie cake was an all-around winner.
Super easy to make, with flavors and perfect texture that made folks think she’d slaved all day.
In some ways, it had become her signature dish.
The item she always brought to pitch-ins and community events.
More importantly, the cake was the one recipe her mother had taught her that she’d actually memorized and baked with confidence.
She could hardly believe she was going on a second official date with Trent in as many days. Being with him was amazing and she wasn’t just thinking of how well she’d slept in his arms. Yes, part of their timing was due to the threat against her. Well, nothing was perfect.
Except a little romance out on the water.
They would have the best time tonight. She just knew it would be a memory to carry with her for the rest of her days. The idea of him being so thoughtful and thorough—for her—was delightful. She wanted him to feel just how much she appreciated his effort.
Her sisters might label all of this as attention-seeking or her artistic flair seeking diva status, but she didn’t care.
Every minute with Trent was a joy. They had fun despite the circumstances.
She couldn’t recall the last time a man made her laugh so freely.
He made it easy for her to be herself. To open up and confess to whatever random thought flitted through her mind.
She hadn’t felt that safe with anyone other than her sisters in a long time.
At the chirp of something triggering the motion sensor at the driveway, Nat checked her phone. It was Celeste’s car. She had the slider open as her sister parked and cut the engine. “Hey!” She ran out and gave her sister a hug. “What are you doing here?”
Celeste grinned. “I was at the store when Carrie was bagging your order and I told her I’d bring it over. Besides, I didn’t see you at all yesterday.”
Nat wasn’t buying it. “You’re afraid I’ll wreck the Hideaway kitchen.”
“Not even a little bit.”
She waited, arms folded, for the full confession.
“Fine,” Celeste admitted. “Maybe a little bit. A teensy smidge. Just around the edges.”
Nat laughed, letting her off the hook. “It’s fair, really. I’ve messed up more often than not.” She looked at the back seat. “Let me help you get all this inside.”
In the kitchen, with the groceries unloaded, Nat gathered supplies for the cake as Celeste helped herself to coffee. “I promise all those lessons you and Mom taught me have taken root. Your kitchen is safe.”
“Our kitchen,” Celeste corrected gently. “Well, our guest kitchen, if we’re getting picky about it.”
“You don’t have to be picky on my account,” Nat said. She set the oven to preheat and pulled out the largest available mixing bowl.
“You’re making apple pie spice cake,” Celeste declared. “Is something going on at the gallery?”
Of course, Celeste would be able to tell with a glance at the grocery order what Natalie was up to.
“It is my signature dish.” She struck a pose.
“And it’s not for the gallery.” She didn’t want to talk about being stuck here while hands-on projects waited for her at the gallery, so she focused on the upside. “I have another date tonight.”
“With Trent, I assume.”
“Yes,” Natalie replied.
Dating another man at this point would be more than awkward since she was so in tune with Trent.
More than in tune, she was falling for him.
Hard and fast, no matter how pointless the endeavor.
This time, she would enjoy the ride without any pressure or expectations.
She could be smart and in love. It was about the balance.
“He rented a boat and we’re going to…” She actually wasn’t sure what the plan was. “Go cruise around and explore I guess.”
“He knows this protective quasi-lockdown situation gets on your nerves.”
“He does.” And wasn’t that a lovely thing to be accepted so quickly? “Sounds like we’re just going to relax and tour around the island.”
Celeste beamed. “Well, that’ll be fun.”
“I agree. He cooked for us last night, so I volunteered to pack a picnic and make dessert tonight.”
Celeste’s eyes danced as she sipped her coffee. “That’s wonderful. I’m sure y’all will have a great time. He seems like a solid guy.”
Nat was about to agree, with enthusiasm, when it clicked.
“You spoke with Jess. Vetted him.” Celeste’s gaze dropped to her coffee, her cheeks turning red with guilt.
“Hey, whatever.” Nat reached across the island and caught her sister’s hand in a warm squeeze.
She refused to let this bother her. There were worse things in life than having sisters who loved her.
“If you stick around and keep me company you can take half the cake home and enjoy dessert with Roni and think of me.”
“Out on your date.”
“Sure.” Natalie winked. “It won’t be weird for me,” she teased.
Celeste relaxed as Natalie stirred the cake mix with the other ingredients. “We could talk about it.”
Natalie tasted the batter, then added a bit more cinnamon. “The cake?”
“Come on, Nat.” Celeste sighed. “You can talk to me. About Trent or the cake. Maybe even—”
“Do not even bring up my ex-husband’s name,” Natalie warned. “Unless you discovered he’s tied to that low-ball offer for the Hideaway and you want to plot his death.”
“Nothing so dramatic.”
What Celeste considered dramatic, Nat thought of as practical.
“No. We haven’t found anything more than the original loose connection. Nothing indicates he’s working with the team that made us the offer.”
Natalie grumbled, unconvinced. He’d come to the Hideaway, gotten in her face for a reason.
To rattle her, obviously, but likely to scope out the situation.
“Thanks, I guess. I feel better now that we have cameras all over the property. If he shows up again, we can charge him with trespassing and kick him out of town.”
“Right there with you,” Celeste muttered.
With an effort, Natalie put Jackson out of her head. He didn’t deserve another thought and she refused to let anything sour her happy, pre-date mood. Pouring the batter in the pan, she slid the pan in the oven. Once the timer was set, she moved to clean up.
“What can I do to help?” Celeste asked.
Natalie nodded at the dish towel. “Dry?”
“Sure. But that’s not what I mean.” Celeste joined her at the sink. “Your thinking face is in overdrive. Is it the situation or Trent?”
Once more, she was grateful she hadn’t been the one to put her sisters on alert. “Not Trent. He’s with the Guardian Agency. Is there a better character recommendation?”
“Probably not,” Celeste mused. “So what’s on your mind?”
Natalie rinsed the sink and leaned back, staring out the window as she gathered her thoughts.
“A lot,” she began. Royer was out there somewhere, a threat to her and Trent.
Corey was probably involved with Royer, likely another example of her trusting too easily.
And she was way too attached to Trent, whose career would take him away as soon as this case wrapped up.
Once all of that came to light, it would be the same old song with a new verse.
Celeste rubbed Nat’s shoulder. “Starting with?”
“Starting with my reputation for moving too fast, for leaping first and looking second,” Nat summarized.
Celeste snorted. “That’s bullshit.”
She gawked. Celeste was the sister who didn’t swear.
“I mean it, Nat. You’ve always seen the world through a happy-filter.
There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s one of your many gifts.
You were a healthy, happy kid raised in a loving home.
There are so many reasons to punch Jackson in the face, but top of the list for me is the way that experience makes you second-guess yourself all the time now. ”
“Not all the time,” Nat murmured.
Celeste raised an eyebrow.
“More than either of us would like,” she allowed. “Thanks for that image of you busting up his face. That’ll hold me for some time.”
“Glad to hear it,” Celeste said. “But I’m not done. I’m guessing that you’re dwelling on the past because you have feelings for Trent.”
Nothing slipped by her oldest sister. She wanted to be annoyed and couldn’t manage it.
That bubble of joy in her chest whenever she thought of Trent was too powerful.
“It’s too early for feelings, but yes. I like him.
” She pressed her hands to her face, then pushed them through her hair.
“Too early,” she repeated, determined not to let her heart have its way.
“But we both know me.” She shrugged. “I’ve been daydreaming about how things might go if he wasn’t passing through. ”
“Time is a construct,” Celeste quipped. “Grab as much of what makes you happy as you can.” She wrapped her in a tight hug. “For now or forever, there’s no way any man will fool you again. Your ex was a one-time fluke, I promise.”
Natalie clung just for a moment more. “Thanks.” Celeste always knew what to say, exactly how to comfort.
It was her sister’s superpower. “You’re the best. I’ll be okay,” Natalie promised.
“Forever isn’t the point because Trent is so much fun right now, despite the circumstances.
And you’re right, it’s important to enjoy the time we have. ”
A lesson all three of them had learned during their mother’s illness.
While the cake baked and then cooled, Natalie and Celeste chatted about other things, including ways to combat what would likely be an increase in traffic and nonsense when the condos were completed on the lot next door.
The topic wasn’t quite as fun as thinking about her hot date, but it was necessary and interesting.
She enjoyed hearing about her sister’s goals and dreams and she tucked the information away, mulling on what she might do to help see those dreams come true.