Full Circle (5 page)

Maybe he should have come back sooner, connected with his father to appease Mia and seen Ellie to get her out of his system, because he suspected his busy, successful world with its underlying emptiness had been a colossal waste of time. Except the old man would have been involved in not-so-marital bliss with whatever their names were, and wouldn’t that have been a horror show? Life was shit, he decided, and let his mind stray back to wondering if Ellie’s hair was as soft as it appeared. And if her breasts were as full as the material of her dress suggested they were, fitting snuggly across the mounds. The only benefit of Melissa’s snide remarks was the way Ellie sucked in presumably calming breaths, showcasing those splendid female attributes.

The heat of her against his leg, right through the fabric of his dress pants couldn’t possibly still resonate, but Heath touched his thigh anyhow, tracing the area, wishing she was in bed beside him so—god dammit! He rolled onto his side and punched the inoffensive pillow, pushing his face into the cool fabric. He wasn’t rubbing one off to the thought of Ellie Scott. Her sweet yet sultry appearance was misleading as he had good reason to know, and he’d fight this draw with all he had, because he was going back to Chicago in the next short while. Back to pick up his life away from comfortable little coastal towns and welcoming family. The only family member he cared to connect with could come and visit him—he’d send Mia a ticket.

As for the person who bothered him on a level he refused to acknowledge past this moment, he’d be content not to assuage his curiosity. Ellie had been pregnant, and obviously decided Heath would be the better catch—it didn’t matter who the real father was, despite the faceless and not-so-faceless individuals he’d obsessed over—and he’d caught her out. He’d avoided making love with her, no, avoided having
sex
with her so her plan didn’t come to fruition, passing him off as the father. Walking away had been the best choice, then and now. He’d get through the next several days and move on like he always did.

Chapter Five

Ellie flinched at the slamming of her front door. She couldn’t remember if she’d locked it or not. If she had, only one other person had a key.

“Ellie! Ellie, you here? It’s me,” Mia said from the small foyer, sounding mildly out of breath.

Hurriedly, Ellie shut the photo album she kept from her high school years, one she had no reason to be reminiscing through in the first place. Nothing good could come from revisiting the past. Especially, if that history pertained to Heath. She shoved it on a shelf under her coffee table just as Mia came rushing into the living room.

Alarmed, Ellie sprang to her feet. With her face pale and chest heaving, it looked like Mia had sprinted all the way from her apartment. “Mia, what happened?” She didn’t need to ask if she was okay. She already knew she was far from it. “Come, sit down.” She guided Mia to the couch and handed her the glass of wine she’d been sipping on for the past hour. “Drink this.”

Unladylike, Mia downed the glass and placed it on the table in front of her.

“Feel better?” Ellie asked.

“A little.”

“What has you so frazzled, honey?”

Mia slipped off her flip-flops. She proceeded to lean back on the cushion, curling her legs under her bottom. “I was making my way down the stairs from the apartment to the back alley on my way here. When I stepped off the bottom step, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I had a sort of unsettling feeling.”

“What kind of feeling?” Ellie asked, urging Mia on. She was tempted to get them both another glass of wine—possibly something stronger for Mia to help calm her nerves—but Ellie didn’t want to leave her friend’s side. “You’re scaring me.”

Mia let out a long breath. “I’m not sure exactly what I felt. Just that I wasn’t alone.”

“Did you hear something? See anyone?” Only the ice cream parlor shared the alley with Ellie, and they weren’t to open back up until the end of the month. Nobody else had a reason to be wandering around back there.

“No, not at first. I just had an eerie feeling. I made a beeline to the main street, knowing there would be more people out enjoying the warm weather. But before I could turn the corner, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was someone hunkered down next to
Frozen Confections
.” Mia shivered. “I think he’s been watching me, El.”

“What makes you think that? You need to tell me everything.”

“I can’t put my finger on it, except three or four days ago I was running along the waterfront. It was late, probably around ten or so. Nobody was out, but I was okay with that. You know me, I always run that late. Been doing it since I was a teenager.”

“Please tell me you carried your pepper spray,” Ellie said. Seaside had always been a safe town with the occasional teenage rebellion of course, but everyone took precautions as time drew closer to the tourist months.

“Work ran longer than usual, which had me getting home a lot later. I was trying to get my run in since I’d had to miss the night before because I was meeting with my boss, going over ideas for dad and Renee’s wedding. I don’t like to miss two nights in a row. Rushing out the door, I forgot it. But I didn’t forget my keys. That’s a plus.”

“No, it’s not. That’s it, I’m buying you one of those small cans you can put on your key ring. Kills two birds with one stone.” Ellie had already had this talk with Mia, but Mia being Mia always forgot something. It was a wonder she’d survived alone out in California those few years. “Now, back to your run.”

“I had my ear buds in, jamming to Mumford & Sons. I was passing where Henry Johnstone keeps his tour guide boat when I caught a glimpse of a man. He was leaning against the railing, facing the water. As I approached him, I didn’t think anything about it. But the closer I got, he turned toward me. He resembled someone who’d been living in the woods for the past year. Hair down to here.” Mia gestured to her shoulders. “A wooly beard that would put the Duck Dynasty boys to shame. And I’m not sure how I know this, but he came across as a man who hadn’t smiled in a very long time.”

Mia stayed quiet for a moment, seeming to be mulling something over. Ellie was about to ask if she was leaving something out about the mystery man—who she now knew wasn’t just a rumor being passed around town—when Mia closed her eyes and shook her head, as if clearing her thoughts.

“Now that I think about it, it was silly of me to run screaming in the night. It’s all because of dad. He put all these thoughts in my head, warning me of a stranger wandering the streets after dark. You know how much of a worry wart he is.”

“Doesn’t hurt to be cautious though. You never know about people,” Ellie said.

“I’m fine.” Mia brushed her long braid off her shoulder. “What about some more wine?”

“Sure. Be right back.”

The kitchen was situated in the back of the house. Ellie gathered the wine bottle and another glass for Mia. When she returned to the living room Mia was sitting cross-legged, the same photo album Ellie had been looking through laid open across her lap.

Without glancing from the book, Mia asked, “What did you have this old thing out for?”

“I was purging my closet and stumbled upon it.” She flat out lied. She purposely had rummaged through her closet in search for that treasured part of her childhood.

“Oh. My. God.” Mia squealed, holding the book up for Ellie to see. “Look at my hair! I can’t believe I let you talk me into a perm. Worst. Haircut. Ever.”

They both chuckled, causing Ellie to splash a few drops of wine on the coffee table. Using the bottom of her ragged T-shirt, she wiped it clean. After handing Mia her glass, Ellie palmed her own wine and joined Mia on the couch.

Mia’s mouth went wide. “You have a picture of Jacob Palmer, star quarterback for the Pirates? He was like the most popular guy in school.”

Ellie shrugged. “We went on one date when we were sophomores. He gave me one of his senior pictures.” If she recalled correctly, Jacob was the last guy she’d dated in high school. After that, she lost interest in any guy who wasn’t Heath. How sad that was, she thought now. She’d missed out on a lot those couple of years. All of her spare time went to
him
.

“You did? Why didn’t I know that?”

“It was one time. We decided there wasn’t a spark and we really just enjoyed each other’s friendship.”

“No spark?” Mia shook her head in disbelief. “Not possible.”

Mia continued flipping through the album, pointing out old friends—some they kept in touch with and others they were glad to see move on.

Katriana Miller’s senior picture—the one where she was posing on the docks giving her most provocative look—was on the next page.

Mia wrinkled her nose. “Eww. Why do you have a picture of
her
in here? I know we were all friends at one time, but she’s evil.”

“I’m a pack rat. I keep everything. I guess to remind me of the good and bad.” And Katriana was definitely the bad.

Mia sat up straight, chin raised high. “I should’ve kicked her ass in the school parking lot for kissing my boyfriend. Yeah, he was a participant in the whole deal, but I could handle him. She got away free and clear. I can’t say I was sorry to see her leave Seaside.”

“I think she got pregnant.”

“Really?” Mia said, not hiding her surprise. “By who?”

“Rumor was a tourist here for fall break. Probably why she left before the end of our senior year.”

“If it’s true I hope she’s changed her evil ways, for the baby’s sake.”

They were almost to the end, and Ellie was ready to close the book of memories. The ones of her and Mia and other friends and family she could handle. It was fun seeing how far they’d come. Ones of Katriana and friends like her she could do without.

“You have a picture of Heath stuck in here too,” Mia said.

Ellie’s stomach churned at the sight of a twenty-year-old Heath. Dark hair, dark eyes that made her come unglued. She’d remembered the day as if it was yesterday, a Saturday in August. She’d snuck away, telling her parents she would be at the library all day with Mia, gathering books for their senior year reading list. In actuality she and Heath had plans of taking his grandfather’s sailboat out. They could be alone out there with no interruptions. It had been one of the best days of her life.

Mia looked as if she wanted to say something Ellie was going to hate.

“Don’t, Mia.” Ellie couldn’t control the break in her voice.

“We haven’t talked about dinner from last night,” Mia said, ignoring Ellie’s request to drop the conversation about Heath.

Ellie closed the album, seriously regretting her decision to bring it out, and placed it on the coffee table. As soon as Mia left she was walking it up to the attic. Going back there, especially with Heath was a waste of time. “What’s there to talk about? We drank too much, we enjoyed a nice meal, and you got to see your brother.” Ellie tried to muster up a smile, but knew she failed.

“I think a lot more happened than that. I told you we were going to discuss it later.” Mia eyed her as she took a sip of wine. “This is later. It’s the whole reason I’m here.”

“It is?” Ellie actually had forgotten about Mia at dinner. She tried to forget the whole damn thing, but all the wine in the world couldn’t stop her from reliving the dreadful night.

“We had plans of consuming wine and catching up.” Mia tilted her head to Ellie. “What did you think that meant?”

“I guess I don’t really see the point in bringing up the past.”

“I would normally agree, but that past—namely my brother—is now in your present. You’re going to have to deal with him. I think it might be good if y’all could—”

“If we what, Mia? Forget all the reasons we’re all wrong for each other? We didn’t work the first time.” Ellie was still unsure of why. That’s what bugged her the most. He just left without giving her an explanation. It couldn’t just be because of their three year age difference. “He left, I stayed. End of story.”

“No, it’s not,” Mia said. “He’s back now.”

“Not for me. He has another woman,” Ellie said. Why couldn’t Mia see her side of things? “He’s here with Melissa. You know, the blonde beauty? Why, I don’t know. He doesn’t seem very happy with her.” At dinner Ellie noticed Melissa was the only one showing affection. Heath barely seemed to tolerate her.

“Forget about Melissa. I wish I knew what was going on there, but he doesn’t share those things with me anymore.” Mia grinned. “I do know he still cares for you though.”

“I thought he didn’t tell you things like that?”

“Oh, he doesn’t have to. I’m his sister and that bond still remains. He could stay away for another thirteen years, and I would still be able to pick up on some things. I remember how he looked when he liked a girl. I know how he looks when he’s in love. I’ve seen it before, all those years ago, with you.”

Thirteen years ago Ellie would’ve given anything to hear those words come out of Heath’s mouth.
I love you.
And for him to mean them. Although they’d spent lots of time together, acting like lovers, those three little words were never spoken.
She’d
thought them all right, but never dared repeat them. She didn’t know if Heath thought them too. Back then she liked to think so.

She prided herself on having a tough exterior. She had to have one to deal with Heath’s betrayal, and then after her parents decided to leave Seaside to travel the country she was faced with being totally alone for the first time. Her heart, still fragile, she kept close, not willing to give it to anyone else.

“I highly doubt that. And I don’t want him to love me.” Ellie sighed heavily. “It’s easier if he doesn’t.”

“What are you going to do when he finally tells you how he feels?”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself and saying things you can’t possibly know. He has Melissa.” Ellie couldn’t help but think if Heath had really wanted her he would’ve come back a helluva lot sooner than now.

“I’ve already told you, Melissa doesn’t mean—”

Ellie held her hand up, signaling for Mia to stop right there. “I don’t want to talk about Melissa.” What she really didn’t want to do was think about Melissa on Heath’s arm, pressing her model-perfect body against his. Her in his bed, being the one underneath him while he probably did amazing things to her. It didn’t concern Ellie if he had loved
her
in the past, because he’d picked Melissa—or women just like her.

“Okay. I won’t bring her up again.”

Pressing a hand to her chest, Ellie tried rubbing away the ache taking up residence there. She imagined that pain would never fully go away. It was a permanent break that would never heal. “Thank you.”

Boom, boom, boom
. A pounding came at her front door. Ellie looked at the clock hanging on her gallery wall. She and Mia exchanged looks. “Who would be here this late?”

“Oh, no!” Mia put a palm to her forehead. “It’s probably dad. I was supposed to call him when I got here. I made the mistake of telling him I would be coming here after dark. He’s been worried about the mystery guy.”

Another knock pounded at the door, as if someone was using their fist. “God, he must be worried. He’s about to break my door down.” Ellie swung the heavy wooden door open, and lost all words.