Forever Love on Fireweed Island (Island County Book 4) (4 page)

I had a choice. Stay and live a life that wasn’t my own, where emotions hinged on others’ actions, or take a deep breath in and hold my head up high as I marched out the front door.

I chose the latter.

Natty let go of me and smiled.

“Lesson learned,” I whispered, pushing in my chair and grabbing my bag. “Besides, it was more than a little bit embarrassing to come back to Fireweed.”

Natty looked puzzled as we walked along the deck and out to the sidewalk. She knew not to ask for details until we got away from everyone.

“Why would you ever feel bad for coming back home?” she asked, her voice low as we stood on the sidewalk.

“If I hadn’t stormed off the island so madly in love, declaring I’d never return, I’d imagine coming back would’ve been a little less painful.”

Natty chuckled. “You did have a flair for the dramatic. Even Dad was impressed as Rich whisked you away on his speedboat. God forbid Rich take the ferry like a normal person.”

“There was nothing normal about Rich.” I cringed, remembering the moment all too well.

My ex-husband was twelve years older, and he had more money than sense, so when I told him I wasn’t ready for a serious relationship, he did everything in his power to convince me otherwise. Unfortunately, most of it involved money, and I was dazzled way too easily.

When my parents attempted to talk sense into me, I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to believe that Rich was everything and more than he’d ever said. So after a long weekend home, when I’d planned to tell my parents I was ready to move in with Rich, the conversation turned into a battle of wills. In hindsight, they only wanted the best for me and did everything in their power to let me know I always had a place to call home.

But I was too stubborn, and all I could think about was how I must’ve looked with my hair blowing in the wind as Rich whisked me off Fireweed, only to return with my tail between my legs, trying to piece my life together again.

“No, there really wasn’t anything normal about him,” Natty agreed. “But I have to admit that you had me fooled. I thought you two had it all. I never would’ve guessed you put up with so much.”

“Love makes people do funny things.” I glanced down at the sidewalk and watched the hanging baskets filled with red geraniums sway from the breeze that continued to pick up. “If my life had been filmed, I’m sure I would’ve won an Oscar for all the characters I played in that marriage.”

Natty smiled and gave me a peck on my cheek. “I don’t doubt it. In fact, you almost could’ve won an award with your fireman encounter. You can’t tell me he didn’t stop you in your tracks.”

“I said he was cute,” I protested.

“But you’re trying to act like you’re not the least bit interested in finding out more about him, and
that
is Oscar-worthy.”

“It’s not a performance. It’s the truth. I have absolutely no interest in Jake Harlen. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have books to shelve and cards to hand out.”

“Interesting that you already have his name memorized.” She grinned mischievously. “What color are his eyes?”

“Customer service is what I do. I can remember names, dates of birth, numbers of pets and children, time on the island, and all kinds of crazy details. His eyes are blue, but I only noticed because they’re such an interesting shade of blue.” I knew better than to admit any interest in Jake. The moment I did, my dreams of a quiet summer on Fireweed would be quickly extinguished with Natty’s handiwork, and I wasn’t about to let that happen.

I gave a quick wave to Natty and turned around to head to my sanctuary, where I could bury myself in all the men I wanted without ever risking my heart or sanity again.

I stared down at the front page of the Fireweed Chronicle, our island’s weekly newspaper, to see myself splashed across the front page, dangling from the maple with Jake standing below. Between my horrified facial expression and my legs splaying in opposite directions, I’d never have to worry about advances from the fireman if I did happen to run into him. The sight was enough to make any man run in the opposite direction.

I glanced around the quiet library and debated whether or not I wanted to place the stack of newspapers where they belonged. The Chronicle always delivered Friday night for Saturday morning distribution. What were the chances anyone would notice we were missing this week’s edition?

I’d like to think slim to none.

 “Ooh, the paper is here,” Valorie said, smiling across the lobby. “Rob’s letter to the editor got accepted. I can’t wait to see it in our official paper.”

I grunted, hauling with a quickness the stack of papers to the metal newsstand, snagged the top copy off the pile, and folded the paper back quickly to the editorial section before shoving it to her. No need for her to see the embarrassing front page right away. Val worked part-time, mostly in the children’s section of the library, and had a sense of humor that was great as long as it was pointed in the opposite direction.

“How exciting,” I said a tad too exuberantly. “What’s the letter about?”

Val eyed me suspiciously and swiped the paper from me, her eyes running down the editorial section.

“The plans for the marina expansion. He thinks they’ve underestimated how much the cost of construction will be.”

“He’s probably right about that,” I said, slowly moving in front of the newspapers to hide the photo from her direct view.

“He writes so eloquently,” Val continued, satisfaction spreading across her face. “See?”

I took the newspaper back and quickly read Rob’s letter, nodding my head in agreement. “Makes sense to me. I think they should raise the overnight moorage fees on visitors to pay for the expansion. He sold me on the bid.”

“Mind if I take a stack home?” she asked, her eyes falling to the papers behind me. A grin slowly grew to the size of the Joker’s, and I let out a huge sigh of defeat.

“You made the front page?” She closed the paper in her hand and refolded the pages to get a better look at me dangling from the tree before reading the headline aloud. “
Fireweed’s Own Head Librarian Takes Rescuing Animals to Dangerous New Heights
. Well, I don’t know about the danger part.” She tapped the photo. “That’s the tree you hung from? Why didn’t you just let go?”

“The photo distorts the distance between my feet and the ground,” I assured her.

“Sure it does.”

“What concerns me is who was snapping the picture? Couldn’t they have tried to help instead of making me front-page news?” I pointed out.

“Journalists are there to witness, not interfere with historical events. It’s more fun this way.” She wiggled her brows.

“This wasn’t historical.”

“It is now.” She grinned, and the front door opened, letting in a rush of warm evening air along with the Morton family. All six children and two exhausted parents made their way to the magazine section, grabbing the latest issues of their favorite periodicals to settle in for a Friday night at the library. Since it was summer, the fire wasn’t blazing in the fireplace, but the reading nook still felt cozy. Between the exposed timbers above and the warm slate accents throughout the building, it felt like a rustic retreat for our patrons, and I couldn’t imagine a better job or place to be.

“They’re so sweet,” she whispered.

I nodded and walked over to the return bin to empty out and get sorted, hoping my fifteen minutes of fame had fallen from her memory.

“So what was Jake like?” she asked, moseying over to offer a hand.

“Jake? Jake who?” I asked, hauling the books out of the bin.

“The man who apparently whisked you to safety.” Her brows quirked.

“He seemed nice and capable.” I walked the stack of books to the front counter and began scanning them back in and placing them on the rolling rack behind me. “Probably just like Rob.”

“Did you talk to him?” she pried.

“Not really. He had a call to go to. Why?” I asked, bringing my gaze to hers as she pulled out the children’s books from the stack.

“There’s a lot of rumors about Jake. I can’t imagine he’ll be happy to see himself on the front page of the paper, as much as he hides out.”

“It wasn’t the highlight of my day either.” I smiled, feeling my heart rate putter a little too fast at the mention of his name. “But why do you think it’ll bother him?”

“He moved back after a nasty divorce and bought about twenty acres at the south end of the island. I’m not even sure there’s a road to get to his house. In fact, I’m not even sure he has a house.”

“What? You think he lives in a tent in the middle of twenty acres?” I laughed. “With the amount of wind that tip of the island experiences, I highly doubt it.”

“All I know is that no one sees him around town. It’s like he doesn’t need food because he’s never been to the grocery store. He never goes to Seattle, because no one sees him at the ferry, and he never goes out to dinner, or even picks up medicine at the pharmacy. I mean, everyone catches a cold or something now and then, right?”

“People probably just missed him when he’s popped up in places.”

“Ha. With a face and body like that? Believe me. No one would miss him coming to town.”

“Please. He’s not that great. I totally wouldn’t notice him pushing a shopping cart around.”

“You couldn’t even keep a straight face on that one,” Val teased. “Well, I guess Fireweed does tend to make a big deal out of things. Maybe he does have a legitimate reason for staying out of town.”

“Exactly. Maybe he’s self-reliant and grows his own food, makes his own soap, and beats his chest in the middle of his acreage.” I doubted it, but I felt obligated to stick up for the man who’d saved my life, or who’d at least made the landing less painful and somewhat enjoyable. After looking at the photo again, it slowly started to dawn on me that maybe my view of the situation had been a little warped, but it wasn’t my fault. I was certifiably afraid of heights.

“Maybe.”

“Or he doesn’t want to be Fireweed’s source of entertainment and knows to stay away. Look what happened when he did show up.” I pointed at the newspapers by the door.

“True,” Val muttered, opening a box from the post office. “More pretties.”

I laughed and pushed the cart over to the nonfiction section to re-shelve and daydream about what Jake might be up to that kept up his mysterious façade. It wasn’t until Val was tapping my shoulder that I realized I’d been in la-la land.

“I know you love this place as much as I do, but you were supposed to get off about twenty minutes ago. I’ll finish up.”

My eyes darted to the clock on the wall, and sure enough, I was going to be late to Natty’s for dinner.

“Thank you. I can’t believe even a Friday night doesn’t pull me away.”

“No hot plans?” she joked.

“Actually, tonight, I’m going to Natty’s for a girl’s night, plus Nick.”

“Is she trying to set you up with him?” Val asked, pushing my cart away from me.

“God knows. He’s just used to being fed by her and Cole on a weekly basis.”

Val laughed, and I walked over to my desk and pulled my bag out of my bottom drawer. I hoped that wasn’t her intent. I was actually looking forward to tonight until Val asked that question.

No way.

Nick was great, but he was the exact opposite of what I’d be able to handle, and I knew my sister knew that.

Of course she did.

By the time I pulled in front of Natty’s house, several cars were already there and soft music filtered out the open windows. I spotted Nick’s truck, Sophie’s car, and Tori’s new Jeep. Sophie was Natty’s best friend from school, and Tori moved back to the island a year ago. She went to the same school as us, but we’d never hung out until she returned to Fireweed. They were a fun group of girls, and thankfully, the paper wouldn’t be delivered until Saturday when the postman dropped it off with the mail.

I tapped lightly on the front door and gave it a push to see everyone sipping drinks in the living room, curled up on the couches and chairs. The slider was open, and the sea breeze drifted through the house. There was nothing better than spending summers on Fireweed.

“Hey, Jewels,” Sophie greeted me from the couch. “We’ve got a hard apple cider with your name on it in the fridge.”

“And a hot fireman in the kitchen.” Nick laughed.

I dropped my bag in the foyer and placed my hand on my hip. “Hardee-har-har.”

“I’m only teasing,” Nick said, giving me a quick wink. “He’s waiting out back on the deck.”

I pulled out chips and hummus and walked by them with barely a glance on my way to grab my drink.

“I slave away all day at the library making sure you all have books to read, and that’s the thanks I get?” I laughed.

“We do appreciate your service,” Natty hollered after me.

The kitchen was modern and overlooked the water. The granite countertops stretched in all directions, and a huge island rested in the middle of the kitchen, where several plates of appetizers and trays of cookies and brownies sat. I grabbed a bowl and poured out the chips.

I could hear everyone chuckling in the living room, already moving on to another subject as I fixed a plate and enjoyed the view of the coastline. I loved my little house, but it certainly didn’t afford these views. It was a coastal cottage sided with cedar shakes and boasted red shutters and doors. I’d even managed to anchor flower boxes on the two front windows, which currently overflowed with yellow, orange, and red zinnias and white geraniums. I lived in town, which was great because half the time, I didn’t even need my car, but I certainly could appreciate this view from the kitchen.