Chapter 18
JACK
The community center was already bustling with people by the time I arrived, but I found a vacant aisle seat in a row near the back and settled in, checking my phone to make sure Hannah hadn’t sent any messages of SOS out yet, and to switch the sound off.
I had no idea what Celia Hamilton did to people whose phones went off during one of her meetings, and I had no desire to find out either.
The woman had a reputation around town as a no-nonsense ball buster, and judging by the way she was with Taylor the other day, the reputation was warranted.
The hall was old and in dire need of renovation.
Concrete walls, with small, high windows, one of which was missing a pane of glass.
The curtains were navy and ripped in places.
The whole place smelled like instant coffee and sweat, thanks to its daytime use as a dance class venue.
Sunlight streamed inside and dappled the floor with warm, yellow light, and the breeze that wafted through the open doors was gentle and caressing, though not particularly refreshing.
I felt beads of sweat already start to form in the center of my back.
At the far end of the room, a long table had been set up.
Several of the town’s art council members were already seated at the table, talking among themselves while they waited for their esteemed leader to arrive.
Another table was set up along the side wall, with jugs of ice-cold water, a coffee urn, mugs and teabags and small jugs of milk.
‘Is this seat taken?’
I smiled at the sound of her voice, relieved that she was still in town.
She hadn’t come down for a swim at all the last three nights, and if it wasn’t for the fact her motorbike was still parked in the garage – I knew because I kept taking the long way off the property, just so I could check – I would have been sure she’d upped and left and gone back to the city without even saying goodbye.
‘So, you are still here,’ I said, moving my leg so she could scoot past to the empty seat.
She picked up the printed agenda that someone had laid out onto every seat and sat down. ‘Were you worried I’d left?’
‘A little,’ I admitted. ‘It’s been really quiet at the pool at night.’
‘Aw, you missed me,’ she said.
‘Weird, I know, considering how annoying you are.’
Her mouth dropped open, and I laughed at her outraged expression. ‘I am not annoying,’ she said.
‘Where am I supposed to sit?’ a voice demanded.
Taylor rolled her eyes. ‘He, on the other hand.’
‘Hi, Ray,’ I greeted him smoothly. ‘You can take my seat if you like.’
‘Good, thank you. I’m better off by the aisle in case I need to dash to the bathroom,’ he said. ‘Taylor, move along, will you.’
Taylor shifted along a seat, and I followed. Ray sank down into the folding chair with an oof. He was wearing slippers, I noticed.
‘You’ve never “dashed” anywhere in your life,’ Taylor said, leaning forward to speak over me to Ray. ‘And you’ve just been to the bathroom. Surely you can last an hour before you need to go again.’
‘It’s a figure of speech, you dingbat.’
‘Hey, this dingbat drove you here, remember. A little gratitude would be nice.’
‘I told her to stay in the car,’ Ray told me. ‘But she never listens.’
‘It’s too muggy to sit in the car,’ she protested. ‘Besides, I thought there might be snacks on offer. Don’t they usually have snacks at these kinds of meetings?’
‘Just beverages today, I’m afraid,’ I told her.
She leaned forward, stretching to see the table for herself. ‘That’s disappointing.’
‘Budget cuts, probably,’ Ray said. ‘Damn council keep increasing property taxes, but where does the money go? Eh?’
‘You don’t even pay rent, let alone property tax,’ Taylor retorted.
I took the opportunity to study her surreptitiously.
She was wearing blue denim shorts and a cute white top with straps that showed off her toned arms. Her hair was up today in a ponytail that revealed her long, slender neck.
I stared at it for a moment too long, wondering how it would feel to kiss her there.
‘What?’ she said, lifting a hand to touch her chin. ‘Have I got something on my face?’ she asked.
‘No.’ I felt my cheeks redden at being caught. ‘Sorry. I got… distracted. Why are you here?’
‘Ray dragged me along,’ she said. ‘Apparently the food options at last year’s festival were not to his liking, so he wanted to voice his displeasure and request more “Ray-friendly” food this year.’
‘Ray-friendly food?’
‘Yeah. He’s not a fan of anything he deems to be “fancy”.’
‘He’s a complicated man, isn’t he?’
She sighed. ‘You don’t know the half of it.’
There was a hive of activity near the door and a murmur swept through the crowd, before Celia Hamilton swept into the room and up the aisle towards her seat at the top table.
‘She always has to make an entrance,’ Taylor whispered.
‘Yeah, I’ve kind of noticed,’ I whispered back, trying not to focus on the fact that our knees were touching.
Her denim shorts showed off her long, slender, smooth legs.
‘When she comes into the restaurant, she stops at every table to say hi to people, as if they’re guests at a dinner party she’s hosting. ’
‘That doesn’t surprise me.’
‘Will you two stop whispering,’ Ray growled. ‘As much as I can’t stand the woman, I’d still quite like to hear what she’s saying.’
Taylor rolled her eyes again, and I had to stifle laughter.
‘Welcome to the final meeting for the twenty-first annual Pine Harbor Summer Arts Festival,’ Celia announced. She looked sideways to one of the men sitting at the end of the table. ‘Don’t we have a microphone, Doug? I’m worried the people in the back rows won’t be able to hear me.’
Taylor scoffed quietly. ‘No chance. The people in the next town can probably hear her.’
‘Shush,’ Ray hissed at her, frowning.
‘This isn’t a library,’ she told him. ‘You don’t have to shush me every time I speak.’
Doug pushed back his chair, scurrying off into the small side room where the sound system gear was kept beside brooms, extra toilet paper and props for the kids’ dance classes. People murmured amongst themselves while we waited.
‘Sorry, everyone.’ Celia smiled tightly. ‘This was all supposed to have been set up before we started. It’s hard to get good help these days.’ She tittered with laughter to show she was joking, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.