Chapter 6 Tessa
TESSA
Tessa was heading toward the veterinary clinic to pick up Misty when someone called her name from across the street.
“Tessa!” The familiar male’s voice yelled.
She turned to see Ryan waving at her from in front of the auto glass repair shop. He looked both ways, then jogged across the street toward her, a smile spreading across his face as he got closer.
“Hey,” he said as he reached her, slightly out of breath and clutching his side. “What brings you to town?”
Tessa felt her heart do a small flip at the sight of him, which was ridiculous considering everything that was happening. She forced herself to focus on the cover story she’d prepared.
“I came to buy some freshly baked bread,” Tessa said, keeping her voice casual.
“Lori’s loaves got burned when we rushed out of the house to see who was screaming.
You know, with everything that happened with Elias Dane.
” She gestured vaguely in the direction of the bakery.
“I also dropped Misty off for about forty minutes at the doggy daycare at the vet. She’s been missing my mother, Piper, and all her doggy friends there.
I thought it would be good for her to have some playtime. ”
Ryan’s expression softened. “That’s thoughtful of you. I’m sure she’s having a great time.”
“Are you getting your window done?” Tessa asked, nodding toward the auto glass shop behind him.
“Yeah,” Ryan said. “They’re working on it now. I’ve got some time to kill while they finish up.” He paused, then his eyes brightened. “Hey, do you want to grab a coffee or maybe take a stroll through the town gardens? There’s an ice cream vendor there. We could get ice cream instead of coffee.”
Tessa glanced at her wristwatch, calculating. She supposed Misty would only be too pleased to have some more time with her friends. And honestly, after the intensity of Sally’s story at the coffee shop, the idea of doing something normal and pleasant sounded wonderful.
“That sounds nice,” she agreed.
They walked together toward the town gardens, falling into an easy rhythm. The gardens were only a few blocks from the center of town, a beautiful green space with walking paths, flower beds, and a large pond where ducks and other waterfowl congregated.
The ice cream vendor was set up near the entrance, a cheerful cart painted in bright colors with a hand-lettered menu board listing the day’s flavors. They both ordered: Tessa chose mint chocolate chip, and Ryan got rocky road, and then they began to stroll along the main path.
“So,” Ryan said after a few moments, “that was quite a morning at Pelican Bay.”
Tessa nodded, licking her ice cream cone. “It was. Poor Elias Dane. I hope he makes it.”
“I think the EMTs managed to stabilize him,” Ryan said, his expression serious. “But he’s strong. He made it through whatever happened to him in that cove.”
“Enough to get himself up and move off the rocks,” Tessa added.
“Yeah, I think he’ll make it,” Ryan said. “I hope he makes it.”
They walked in silence for a moment, both processing the events of the day.
Tessa was acutely aware that she was keeping a huge secret from Ryan.
The meeting with Sally, the files, everything Sally had revealed about the Lanes and Barstow Security, and her past. But she’d promised Lori and Sally that they’d all sit down together with Mitch, Marcus, and Ryan at the house to discuss it.
“I wonder who took Marcus’s files,” Ryan said suddenly.
Tessa bit her tongue, literally pressing it against the roof of her mouth to keep from saying anything. She shrugged, trying to look puzzled.
“Someone who snuck in when no one was looking,” Tessa managed to say.
Ryan looked at her curiously, but Tessa quickly changed the subject.
“Do you think we could talk about something else for just a while?” she asked.
“Just be normal for a bit without all the danger and mystery hanging over our shoulders?”
Ryan’s expression softened immediately. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
They moved off the main path toward a quieter area of the gardens where a massive oak tree stood, its branches spreading wide and creating a shaded area that felt private and secluded from the rest of the park.
They sat on a bench beneath the tree, and for a few moments, they just enjoyed their ice cream in comfortable silence.
“How long are you staying in Nantucket?” Ryan asked eventually.
Tessa considered the question. “Until I’m sure Lori and I are out of danger,” she said honestly. “There’s no way I’m taking whatever this is back to Florida and involving my mother and Maggie. They’re safe there, and I want to keep it that way.”
“Are you going to mention any of this to Trent?” Ryan asked.
“Absolutely not,” Tessa said immediately. “It would get right back to my mother. You know how he is. He’d think he was helping by warning her, and then she’d come rushing back, and Maggie’s summer vacation would be ruined.”
“You’re probably right,” Ryan agreed. “Your brother means well, but he’s never been great at keeping things from Carrie.”
They fell into a comfortable silence again. Tessa was surprised by how easy it was to just be with Ryan like this, without the constant verbal sparring they usually engaged in. It was nice. More than nice, if she was being honest with herself.
Ryan turned to look at her, and their eyes met. He smiled, a genuine, warm smile that made her heart skip. “You have ice cream on your nose,” he said softly.
“What?” Tessa reached up to touch her nose, but Ryan was already moving closer.
“Here, let me,” he said, pulling a napkin from his pocket. He leaned in, gently wiping the spot of ice cream from the tip of her nose.
Their eyes locked again, and Tessa felt her heart start racing. Blood pumped through her veins as if she’d just run a marathon, and the butterflies in her stomach went absolutely wild. She couldn’t look away from him, couldn’t move, couldn’t even breathe properly.
Then his head drew closer, and his lips closed on hers, and the entire world melted away. She was dimly aware of the park around them, of the distant sounds of people and birds and traffic, but it all faded into background noise as she was swept up in the kiss.
Something wet and cold and sticky plopped onto Tessa’s hand, making the world come tumbling back into their bubble. Another plop, and Ryan sucked in his breath as something landed on his chest.
They drew back, both laughing when they saw her ice cream cone tilting dangerously, melting in the summer heat, and dripping everywhere.
“Oh no,” Tessa giggled, trying to save what was left of her cone. Ryan was already pulling out more napkins, and they both scrambled to clean up the mess before it got on more of their clothes.
They were still cleaning up and laughing when a familiar female voice split their bubble even more completely.
“Ryan! Ryan! Yahoo!”
“Oh, no,” Ryan and Tessa muttered in perfect unison.
They looked at each other, and Tessa saw mirth and mischievousness shining in Ryan’s eyes that she was sure was reflected in her own.
“Do you think we could run and pretend we didn’t hear her?” Ryan asked in a low, conspiratorial whisper.
“I think she’s so eager to speak to you that she’d probably just follow us,” Tessa pointed out. Her grin grew wider as another thought occurred to her. “Oh, and I kind of told her you were still engaged.”
Ryan’s eyes widened. “That’s why she mentioned my fiancée earlier today when she brought me those cookies!”
“She brought you cookies?” A feeling of red-hot something akin to jealousy stabbed through Tessa, surprising her. She’d never been jealous in her entire life. Oh wait. She’d gotten that same feeling when she’d lied to Clara about Ryan still being engaged.
“Yeah, chocolate chip and sea salt in some fancy floral hand-painted tin,” Ryan explained, his eyes darting in all directions as if trying to plot an escape route as Clara drew nearer.
“The ones from that fancy homemade goods store on Main Street?” Tessa asked, her eyes widening. “Those things are delicious and cost a small fortune for a tiny tin.” She glanced over to see Clara getting closer, weaving between other park visitors. “How big was the tin?”
“What?” Ryan looked at her as if she were crazy. “Does it matter?”
“Yeah,” Tessa said, nodding seriously. “The bigger the tin, the more money she spent, which gives an indication of how bad she’s crushing on you.”
“Crushing on me?” Ryan’s brows furrowed in confusion. “No, no, she was just grateful that we saved her pages from blowing away on the beach...” He stopped mid-sentence and closed his eyes. “Oh, drat. She’s crushing on me.”
“You think?” Tessa teased him, then turned as Clara, panting slightly from her dash across the park, stopped in front of them.
“Hello, Clara,” Tessa said brightly. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Hello, Tessa,” Clara said, barely sparing her a glance.
Her gaze immediately zoned in on Ryan like a heat-seeking missile.
“I didn’t know you liked coming to the park.
I come here all the time because I love looking at and sketching the ducks.
” She flipped through her sketchbook eagerly. “And I wanted to give you this.”
She pulled out a picture from between the pages and extended it toward Ryan.
Ryan took it reluctantly, his discomfort obvious. “Oh, no, Clara, this is your picture for your project. I couldn’t possibly take it.”
“But you commented on how much you liked it the other day when you saved it from blowing away,” Clara insisted, her voice taking on a slightly pleading tone.
“I said it was very good,” Ryan corrected gently.
Tessa saw the hurt expression flash across Clara’s face, and even though the woman was clearly hitting on the man Tessa was in love with...
Whoa. Back up.