Coming Home to You (The Rockport Beach Series Book 1) (35 page)

Ryan rolls his eyes at me. “Thought you’d
be up for sure, lazy ass,” he says.

I laugh. “Late night,” I answer. “What’s it
going to cost you?”

Ryan grins at me now. “Nothing I’m not
prepared to pay,” he says, pulling Erin against him.

I shake my head at the pair of them and
invite them in. We all walk into the kitchen and I put some coffee on just as
Kelsey walks out, dressed in a tiny pair of shorts and a tank.

“You two smell of sex,” Erin says, pulling
Kels into a hug.

Kelsey laughs. “Like you two don’t?”

Ryan grins, smacking Erin on the ass as we
all head out to the back deck to sit down.

“You heading back today?” I ask as he takes
a seat in one of the chairs and pulls Erin into his lap. She rolls her eyes,
but still settles against him, rubbing her ass in his lap in a way that makes
him groan.

“First thing tomorrow,” he says, his
fingers running through Erin’s hair. “I’m going straight to work.”

I stare at the two of them. They’re looking
at each other now, like a pair of love-struck teenagers, completely oblivious
to me and Kels. I glance at her, sitting on the bench beside me and she rolls
her eyes, laughing at them.

“Hopeless, aren’t they?” I say, pulling her
closer.

“Mmmm,” she murmurs, her head falling onto
my shoulder. “I wonder if they even realize?”

I laugh as Ryan and Erin finally notice us
watching them. “I doubt it,” I say.

“Doubt what?” Ryan asks.

“How whipped you both are,” Kelsey
immediately says, making me laugh.

Ryan snorts at the same time as Erin says,
“Don’t be stupid.”

Kelsey and I glance at each other again,
shaking our heads. They’ve got no fucking idea.

“Anyway, when are you coming back to work?”
Ryan asks, taking a sip of his coffee as he pretends to ignore what we’ve just
said.

I glance at Kels again and she gives me a
smile of reassurance. I don’t have any doubts though; I’m one hundred percent
certain that this is the right move for me.

“I’m not,” I say, meeting my friend’s
stare. “I’m leaving, Ryan. Moving back to Rockport.”

“What?!” Erin screams, jumping off Ryan’s
lap, grabbing Kels and pulling her in for a hug.

Ryan and I both watch them jumping around,
smiling and laughing. When I glance over at my now former partner, I can see he’s
watching Erin with a look on his face that could almost be interpreted as
hopeful. Almost as though he’s picturing the same thing happening in his
future.

“You okay?” I ask him.

Ryan runs a hand down his face, before
turning back to me. “Yeah, of course,” he says, smiling at me. “I’m really happy
for you man, I know this is the right move for you.” I smile, grateful he
understands why I need to do this. “You told the boss yet?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Not yet, calling him
today. Wanted to let you know first, make sure we were cool.”

Ryan nods. “We’re cool, Beck,” he says. “I
mean it’s gonna suck without you there, but I get it.”

Erin and Kels both sit back down, Erin
wrapping an arm around Ryan’s neck as she says, “You gonna be okay, baby, losing
your BFF?”

I watch as Ryan smirks at her and smacks
her on the ass as he says, “Guess this just gives me more reasons to come up
here, doesn’t it, Red?”

Erin smiles at him as she says, “Like I’m
not enough,” before kissing him hard on the mouth.

“God,” Kelsey mutters beside me. “The
sooner those two wake up to the fact they’re head over heels for each other,
the better.”

“Mmmm,” I say, turning to kiss her. “I’m
pretty fucking head over heels for you Kelsey Walters,” I say, kissing her
deeply.

“I know you are,” she whispers, her hand
sliding up my thigh and sending a shudder all through me.

We spend the next couple of hours hanging
out with our friends, talking about my plans for the pub and what’s happening
for the rest of the summer. Eventually they leave so Erin can claim her
winnings on the bet; Ryan grinning like he’s the one who’s really won.

“When are you going to tell Finn?” Kelsey
asks, sliding her arms around my waist as we stand on the front porch, waving
goodbye.

“Thought I might go and tell him now,” I
say, turning to face her. “You wanna come?”

Kelsey smiles up at me. “Nah,” she says.
“Now I know you’re sticking around, I’ll let you go do this yourself.”

I grin down at her, my hands sliding down
to her ass. “You bet I’m sticking around,” I say. “And when I get home tonight,
we’re gonna celebrate.”

Kelsey laughs. “Didn’t we do that last
night?” she asks.

I press a quick to her lips. “I think it
requires a week long celebration,” I whisper. “Maybe even longer.”

“Yep,” she murmurs, her fingers gripping my
ass and holding me against her. “I think that’s an excellent suggestion.”

I eventually make it into town and head
straight for the station, knowing Finn is likely to be finishing his shift for
the day. He’s walking out as I get there and he smiles when he sees me.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I say to him. “Wanna grab a beer?”

“Fuck yes,” he says, running a hand through
his hair.

“Bad day?” I ask, laughing.

Finn shakes his head. “Lots of them in
summer. Fucking tourists are always doing the dumbest shit,” he says.

I chuckle. “Like we never did stupid shit
when we were kids.”

Finn laughs. “Yeah, but at least we were smart
enough not to get caught.”

I nod my head. “Kinda important when your
dad’s the chief of police.”

Pop looks up and smiles as the two of us
walk into O’Loughlin’s. It’s pretty busy, so after Finn and I grab a couple of
beers, we head to a quiet corner in the back so I can fill him in on my plans
for the future.

“How’s everything going?” he asks as we sit
down. “Shoulder okay?”

I nod. “Yeah, still pretty sore and I can’t
really drive, but it’s getting there.”

“And Kels, she doing okay?”

I meet my brother’s stare, nodding again as
I say, “She’s getting there, too. And I wanna thank you, Finn, for watching out
for her. Not just for the last ten years, but for the week I was in hospital
too.”

“No need to thank me, bro,” he says, taking
a long pull of his beer.

“Well I am,” I tell him. “And I want you to
know how much I appreciate it.”

Finn stares at me for a few seconds before
nodding. “Any idea about what happens next?” he asks. “With work, and…” He
trails off as though he isn’t sure how to say it.

I take a deep breath and fill him in on
everything I’ve decided to do. “I’m still staying in Rockport, Finn,” I say. “I’m
gonna quit the force.”

Finn’s face is shocked, his eyes locked on to
mine as he says, “Quitting or transferring?”

I laugh. “Quitting, bro. Not sure Rockport
could handle the two of us running it.”

“Not sure we could either,” he mutters and
I know he’s right about that too. “So what, you’re really serious about taking
over this place?” he asks. “How’d Pop take that?”

I glance over at Pop; watch him for a few
seconds as he serves a couple of customers. Eventually, I turn back to Finn. “He
took it well,” I say. “I’d even go so far as to say he thought it was the
smartest move I’d made.”

Finn stares back at me, not saying anything
and for a second I start to worry that he’s pissed I’m taking over the family
pub. It never occurred to me that maybe Finn saw this as his right, the job to
do when he eventually retired from the police force. Maybe he didn’t really
believe me when I brought it up in the hospital, who knows. But then he smiles
at me, a big grin that tells me I’ve got nothing to worry about.

“You’re okay with that?” I ask, just to
make sure.

Finn starts laughing now as he says,
“Fucking great idea, Beck.”

I exhale, my body relaxing knowing he’s
totally onboard with my plans. “Good, because I didn’t want to step on your
toes or anything,” I say. “And you know, this is a family pub, so it’s still
half yours.”

Finn nods, but it’s in a way that says, don’t
worry about it, I trust you. “Yeah, but it’s your baby now,” he says, smiling.
“And at least I won’t have to worry about looking after all the drunken
tourists that stumble in here now.”

We both grin as a loud cry comes from the
pool table in the corner, where a group of tourists is playing. “Nope,” I say,
shaking my head. “You won’t.”

Finn smiles and raises his glass in a
toast. “It’s good to have you back, Beck,” he says, his eyes meeting mine.
“Really good.”

I tap my glass against his. “Thanks bro, it’s
good to be back,” I say, knowing both of us is talking about more than what’s
happened in the past couple of weeks.

I’m finally home.

The
renovations on O’Loughlin’s are underway as tourist season draws to a close. It’s
Labor Day weekend, the unofficial end to summer, something that would usually
cause my mind to wander and a sadness to creep in.

For the
last ten years I spent it alone on the back deck of the inn, bidding summer
goodbye and thinking about all the amazing times I had with Beck when we were
kids.

The
fireworks begin to burst out over the water as I feel Beck slip his arms around
my waist from behind and I lean back against him.

My eyes
close as I recall exactly how this all started and where we ended up.

Young
love, that was wild and free and careless, somehow formed into a bond built off
a need for each other. Completeness and a mutual respect, that only grew as we
aged. It turned into something most people never find.

Their
soul mate.

I met my
soul mate at age fifteen, the person I was meant to spend the rest of my life
with and although it took ten years to realize it, none of that matters now.
The past is the past and making a future with Beck has been more than I could
have dreamed of. Although we still struggle with what happened during my
kidnapping and with Beck getting shot, we try not to dwell on it too much. It
won’t define our relationship and it won’t consume our lives.

“You
ready?” he asks.

He’s
been acting strangely all day and I turn around and give him a questioning
look. “Ready for what?”

“We’re
taking the boat out. Watching the fireworks from it. You know, like we did as
kids.”

He
shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and I take his out stretched hand.

On the
way down to the dock and even as we step onto the boat, he’s quiet. Oddly quiet
for Beck and I begin to worry.

When he
told me he’d quit his job and was planning to stay in Rockport for good, I had
serious reservations. Could he really leave his fast-paced life in Boston to
settle back into small town existence? Where you’re only known for what people
gossip about? Would he miss the bright lights of the city and his big shot
detective position on the police force?

Maybe
today he’s realizing the ramifications of what he’s done after making such a
hasty decision.

I sit
down and fold my hands in my lap, trying not to pick the skin around my fingers;
an anxious habit that faded immediately upon Beck’s return. I can’t let these
thoughts consume me. I told myself when he left ten years ago and when he
returned, if we’re meant to be then we’ll find a way.

Beck
pulls the boat away from the dock, his back to me and his eyes focused straight
ahead. But when I look at his hands on the steering wheel; they’re gripped
around it so tightly his knuckles have turned white.

I’m
completely baffled by this man and what is going through his head.

Before I
can question him, I look around and I fall speechless.

We’re
drifting as Beck drops anchor and my eyes can’t stop checking to make sure what
I’m seeing is real.

“How’d
you find this place?” I ask. I begin to get choked up, but it subsides after a
few slow breaths. “I’ve tried for years, but never could.” My voice grows shaky
again, so I stop speaking.

Without
looking at me, Beck says, “I found the coordinates written on a slip of paper
tucked in an old pack of cigarettes I found on the boat.”

I
chuckle to myself. As much as my dad liked to claim he quit smoking, I knew he
hadn’t because every time he’d go out fishing on the boat, he’d come back reeking
of cigarettes.

“His
fishing spot,” I whisper. “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t
sure this was it, but I snuck away a few days ago so I could be sure.” He
smiles at me for the first time today and it’s that perfect smile, the one that
makes my knees weak and my heart race.

Beck
paces along the deck of the boat before running his hands through his hair. The
fireworks are booming in the distance and lighting up the sky. I can see the
worry on his face and it grips me.

“Baby,
you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah,
Kels. I’m fine.”

He sits
down next to me and takes my hand in his and that’s when I notice it’s
trembling. This is so unlike Beck and I need to know if something’s wrong. But
before I can ask, I’m quieted by his words.

“I have
to tell you something,” he suddenly says. “Actually, I have to tell you a
story.”

“Okay.”

“Remember
when we snuck out after curfew to go swimming in that old quarry?”

“Yeah,”
I answer, smiling a little as my memory brings up a picture of us, still so
young and naïve.