Chapter 9
TAYLOR
‘What did you go and do that for?’ Ray complained, as I watched Jack move through the tables back towards the bar.
‘He’s our neighbor,’ I replied. ‘I was being polite.’
‘No, being polite is saying thanks when he takes our order, or complimenting him on the décor. What you did is borderline weird. Inviting a stranger to join us.’
‘Again, he’s not a stranger, he’s our neighbor, and I want to find out more about the guy who’s living next door to my mother, if that’s OK with you.’
‘Now we’ll have to talk to him.’
‘What’s wrong with talking?’
‘I can’t be bothered with it. People natter on and on about the stupidest things.’
‘You mean like porridge?’
He glared at me.
I wasn’t about to admit it to Ray, but the invitation had slipped out of my mouth before I’d even thought about it, and Ray wasn’t the only one questioning my motives.
Yes, I did want to find out more about the guy my mother had invited to live in the family cabin, but was that all it was?
I couldn’t deny the fact that Jack was ridiculously good-looking, and our banter the night before had been fun.
The most fun I’d had in a while, in fact.
I couldn’t blame my subconscious for wanting a repeat performance.
‘I’m officially on a break and all yours,’ Jack said, sliding into the booth beside Ray. ‘Thanks again for inviting me. It makes a nice change from mindlessly shoveling in food while I go over the accounts in the office.’
‘Did you hear that, Ray?’ I said. ‘He thanked me. You could learn from him.’
Ray ignored me. ‘Are you sure our order went through?’
‘Of course,’ Jack reassured him. ‘And I’ve added mine to it. It’s all gone through to the kitchen and they’ll be preparing it as we speak.’
I leaned back against the vinyl, padded red bench seat, which was warm from the heat of the day, and studied him through narrowed eyes. ‘Let me guess, you ordered the sirloin steak.’
He shook his head. ‘No. Why?’
‘You just look like the kind of man who eats a pound of meat a day.’
He snorted, almost spitting out the mouthful of beer he’d just drunk. ‘What do you mean, I look like I eat a pound of meat a day?’
‘You know, you just have a healthy, outdoor, rugged woodsman look about you.’
‘Woodsman?’ he replied, amused. ‘Are they even a thing any more?’
‘One hundred percent,’ I assured him. ‘If the romance books I read are anything to go by. OK, so if you didn’t order the sirloin,’ I studied him.
‘It has to be the lobster.’ I flicked a sympathetic glance over at the live tank in the corner, from where people could choose their own live lobster to be cooked for their dinner. ‘Poor bastards.’
‘Wrong again.’
‘Burger?’
‘No. You’re really bad at this, aren’t you?’
‘Not normally.’ I protested. ‘This is like my superpower, guessing what food people are going to order. I’m stupidly good at it.’
‘That’s a weird superpower.’
‘Obviously. But still, I’m never wrong.’
He shrugged. ‘I guess I’m the exception.’
‘Like I said,’ Ray muttered, as he unrolled cutlery from inside a napkin and placed them in front of him in preparation for his meal. ‘People like to talk about stupid stuff.’
‘How long have you been working here?’ I asked Jack.
‘About eight months. I’m managing the place for a friend.’
I cast my memory back to who had owned the place when I’d lived here. ‘Cole Sullivan?’
Ray grunted. ‘You’re out of touch. Cole Sullivan died a few years ago.’
‘You’re joking.’
‘Why would I joke about that?’
‘He can’t have been that old,’ I said, shocked. ‘Maybe what, late fifties? I went to school with his kids. Gracie was one of my closest friends.’
‘Can’t be that close if you didn’t know her father had died,’ Ray said pointedly.
‘Well no, not any more. We lost touch after I left.’
‘You mean when you cut contact with everyone.’
I flashed him a warning look. ‘That’s not what happened.’
He made a sound that indicated he disagreed. I wasn’t about to argue with him about it in front of Jack, so I let it drop. ‘What happened to Cole?’
‘Heart attack,’ Ray replied. ‘Wasn’t that much of a surprise, the size he was.’
‘That’s an awful thing to say.’
‘It’s the truth. What, just because he’s dead we’re supposed to pretend he wasn’t fat?’
I turned my attention back to Jack. ‘So anyway, who owns this place now?’
‘A friend of mine, from back in L.A. Her name is Hannah.’
‘I do hope you’re only saying good things about me.’
Jack stiffened slightly when he heard her voice, but only for a fraction of a second before he relaxed again, smiling up at the woman who was standing beside our booth.
Her expression as she regarded us all, lingering on me in particular, was a mixture of curiosity and something else, something that instantly made me feel defensive.
She dropped her hand onto Jack’s shoulder and I realized what it was. She was marking her territory.
‘Hannah,’ Jack exclaimed, getting up and embracing her. ‘I thought you’d gone back to L.A.’
‘I had planned on it, but decided to stop off and visit an old college friend in Washington instead.’ She lowered her voice, intending her next words to be for Jack’s ears only, but I could still inadvertently hear everything she said.
‘I told her about our last interaction,’ she told him.
‘She made me see how ungrateful I’ve been.
I had to come back to say sorry in person and make sure you weren’t upset with me. ’
‘It’s fine,’ he told her. ‘Already forgotten.’
‘You’re so good to me.’
‘Are you hungry?’ he asked. ‘We’ve just ordered, you’re welcome to join us.’
‘No,’ she replied. ‘Just tired. I think I’ll head upstairs and make up the bed.’
‘Of course.’ He smiled. ‘Do you need any help?’
‘No, I can manage. Don’t let me interrupt your lunch.’ Her eyes dropped to mine. ‘He’s so protective of me, even though I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.’ She held out her hand. ‘I’m Hannah. Proprietor of this place.’
I shook her hand. ‘Taylor. And this is Ray.’
‘How do you all know each other?’ Her question was delivered casually, but the underlying sharpness was there.
‘Jack and I met for the first time last night,’ I told her. ‘Although I didn’t recognize him with his clothes on.’
Her eyebrows shot up. ‘Excuse me?’
‘Taylor’s family own the cabin I rent,’ Jack explained. ‘I came across her down in the swimming hole on the beach last night.’
‘I see.’ She stared at me. ‘And now here you are.’
‘Yes, here we are,’ I confirmed cheerfully, ignoring her clear insinuation that I had engineered this meeting. ‘But I didn’t know Jack worked here until Ray dragged me in off the street to eat.’
‘A decision I have come to regret,’ Ray said.
The waitress chose that moment to arrive with our food, forcing Hannah to step to one side so she could put Ray’s bowl of chowder and plate of cheesy garlic bread down on the table.
‘Hannah,’ she said warmly. ‘Welcome back.’
‘Lucy.’ Hannah hugged the waitress. ‘How is everything?’
‘Great. Jack’s doing an amazing job of running this place.’
Hannah smiled up at Jack. ‘Of course he is. I never doubted he would.’
‘Are you sure you won’t join us?’ Jack asked Hannah again as Fiona headed back to the kitchen for the rest of our order. ‘There’s nothing to eat upstairs.’
She shook her head. ‘It’s fine, Jack. I’m not hungry. I’ll go and unpack, freshen up, then do a shop later.’
‘Do you need a hand with your bags?’
She looked briefly tempted, but shook her head. ‘No, you eat. I’m fine. Can we catch up later?’
‘Of course.’
‘Enjoy your lunch,’ Hannah said, as the waitress arrived with our food.
‘She seems nice,’ I said, as Jack took a seat again.
He nodded. ‘Yeah, she is.’
‘How do you two know each other?’
‘Her husband Alex and I were old friends.’
My ears pricked up, sensing a scandal. An illicit affair, perhaps. Enough to destroy a friendship. ‘Were?’
‘Yeah, he uh, he died.’
‘Oh.’ I hadn’t been expecting that. ‘So she’s…?’
He nodded softly. ‘Widowed.’
‘Damn.’ Immediately I felt bad for prying. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘No, it’s fine. But I’d rather not talk about it. Hannah is still grieving. I don’t want to risk her or one of the staff hearing us, if that’s OK.’
‘Of course. Totally understand. Let’s just eat.’
Ray slurped his chowder. ‘Ahead of you there.’
There was an awkward silence while we ate. The food was insanely good. My tuna was fresh and perfectly marinated, served with rice, cucumber and avocado and a sesame dressing.
‘So,’ I said finally, trying to break the silence and remind him of the fun banter we’d been having before Hannah had arrived. ‘You got the fish tacos. That was going to be my next guess.’
Jack laughed, and I was relieved to hear it. ‘You really expect me to believe that?’
‘It’s true,’ I protested, laughing with him, glad to have lightened the mood.
‘Don’t believe her,’ Ray advised him. ‘She lies a lot.’
I didn’t answer him, my attention caught instead by the sight of the woman who had just entered the restaurant and was now looking around the room.
‘Oh shit,’ I muttered, looking around for an escape or cover of some kind. There was nowhere to go and nothing to hide behind. There was only the floor underneath the table, and it was sticky with spilled food and drinks and God knows what else. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.
Jack gave me a puzzled look. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘If I disappear underneath the table, just go with it,’ I hissed, starting to slide slowly down the seat.
‘What?’
‘Play along. Pretend you never saw me.’
‘Why would I—?’
But it was too late. I locked eyes with her, watching her frown as she tried to reconcile what she was seeing with what she hadn’t been expecting to see.
Realization dawned, then she was on her way over.
I had about five seconds to brace myself before she was standing in front of me.
I stood out of habit and we hugged stiffly.
‘Taylor,’ she said, looking me up and down after I pulled away. ‘What are you doing here?’