Hometown Star (4 page)

“I need to go.” He set his glass on the counter, glaring at it as if it had held poison instead of liquor. “Thanks for the drink, and I’ll make sure that Brad and his friends don’t bother you again.”

At the door, he turned. “If you do find the need to shoot that gun, do us both a favor and aim it toward the sky. I’ll hear the shot and be here in minutes. Don’t take aim at anything on the ground. The place is crawling with kids and pets.”

From the window, Star watched Cade go, a different Cade, a more mature Cade. He’d been an angry kid, but she hadn’t realized he’d been acting out of grief. And while Cade’s grief didn’t excuse his bad behavior, Star did feel some compassion toward him now. Maybe his childhood hadn’t been as perfect as she’d imagined. Maybe they had more in common than she thought. Cade was raising his kids alone. All those motherless kids.

Star understood better than most how draining a houseful of kids could be. She’d been babysitting her sisters before she’d reached the double–digits. She’d taken over their care completely at age sixteen when her mother had disappeared with husband number four. Somehow, she’d held things together, getting the girls off to school, fixing them meals, putting them to bed while keeping her own grades up and working a part–time job.

She probably could have kept her mother’s disappearance a secret longer, but bills had come due. Not knowing what else to do, Star had called Patsy. Patsy had flown to Vegas, packed them up and taken them to Seward—their home away from home. It was a pattern they’d repeated over and over during Star’s childhood.

She’d never understood why her mother had had so many children; Star only knew she’d never have kids of her own. She couldn’t do it again. She had nothing left to give.

That’s why she was a single, city girl, and she always would be.

“Hurry up, Dad,” Brad said, one foot on the dock, the other on the boat. “I need to get home.”

“What’s the rush?” Cade took a minute to enjoy the view of the bay, of the blue–gray water and the azure sky dotted with white clouds. Sometimes he just needed a hit of the beauty. Instantly revived and in a better frame of mind to deal with Brad, he said, “We’re not done here. Get back on the boat.”

They’d just docked and had a good thirty minutes of work ahead of them before they made their way home. Trudy had picked their guests up in the van a few minutes ago, taking them back to the house so they could clean up. Brad knew the routine. They had to close up the boat and deal with the fish before they’d join the paying guests back at the house.

Cade glanced at Brad. The kid wore his trademark frown.

“The faster you work, the faster you get to go home,” Cade said.

Brad turned on the pump and quickly worked to scour the fish box.

“You’re grounded, remember?” Cade reminded him.

For a second, Brad looked like he wanted to turn the hose on Cade, but just as quickly the kid erased the hostility from his features. Cade turned away, biting back a smile. No matter how mad Brad was, he’d never openly defy Cade. Deep down Brad was a good kid. They were just going through a rough patch, growing pains. Brad was well on his way to becoming a man, whether Cade liked it or not.

The water shut off. Cade secured the cabin. He wiped down the table, and disposed of the last of the garbage. Done, he left the cabin, locking the door behind him.

He turned in time to see Brad put the plug back in the fish box. The kid snapped the lid closed, then straightened, before wiping his hands on his jeans. Cade oiled the fishing poles while Brad swabbed the deck, and then put away a stray life vest.

“Ready?” Cade asked when the boat was tidy.

“Yep,” Brad replied.

Cade stepped off the
Mary Rose
first, Brad behind him. Water lapped at the pier, the sound as soothing as the motion of the dock under his rubber boots. Cade inhaled, the salt air going deep into his lungs, salt air mixed with the smell of fish guts. Man, he loved that smell. To this day the scents stoked him, reminding him of warm summers and the days of endless free–time and fishing just for the pure joy of the sport.

Cade grabbed one handle of the cooler that held the day’s catch, Brad automatically took the other. They walked up the gangplank toward the parking lot.

“Good day, Cade?” Cy Alder called as they passed by. The retired fisherman spent his afternoons sitting on the same bench, asking the same question of each local fisherman as they stepped off the pier each day.

“The boat limited.” Cade grinned. They hefted the cooler of fish up into the bed of the truck. “No kings, but some impressive silvers.”

Cy nodded. “Good day then.”

“Yep,” Cade agreed. He liked it when the boat limited, when all the customers were happy. Happy customers meant repeat business.

Brad climbed into the truck, in the driver’s seat.

Cade was trying to decide if he wanted to pick a fight with Brad and tell the kid to slide over when he spied Star and Brandi coming out of Finnegan’s Restaurant. The two women chatted away. Brandi’s hand rested on her huge belly. When was she going to have that baby anyway? It seemed like she’d been pregnant forever. He couldn’t help but notice the difference between the two sisters. They looked nothing alike, and why would they? They didn’t share the same father. Brandi had dark brown curly hair and brown eyes. And while Brandi was pretty, Star was a show–stopper, a real looker just like her mom.

Brad honked the horn to get Cade’s attention.

Both Star and Brandi looked right at him.

“Hey, Cade.” Brandi waved. She took Star’s arm, practically dragging her across the street.

Cade went to the driver’s door of the truck, yanking it open. “Slide over.” The honking of the horn had doubled his irritation with Brad.

“I want to drive,” Brad whined. “What good’s a license if I never get to use it?”

“I said, slide over. Driving is a privilege, one you have to earn. After last night, I’m not sure when driving is going to be part of your life again.”

“Cade,” Brandi said, forcing him to acknowledge the sisters.

He turned and noted that Star looked about as happy as he did at the forced meeting. “Ladies.”

“Any chance you could give Star a lift home?” Brandi asked, the words coming out in the rush.

His gaze cut to Star.

“It’s really not necessary.” Star shot her sister the “death” look. “I can drop you off, Brandi, and take your car.”

“But he’s going your way.” Brandi turned her doe eyes on Cade. “You’d be doing me a favor. Sally called in sick and I can get an extra shift at the diner if I can get over there ASAP.”

“Brandi—” Star started to protest.

“Hop in,” Cade said, cutting her off. “It’s no problem.”

“Are you sure?” Star’s brow wrinkled as if she were unconvinced.

“Positive.” Cade leaned into the truck. “Jump in the back, Brad.”

Brad sighed, loudly and rudely, before he got out of the truck and into the rear seat.

“Thank you, Cade,” Brandi said. To Star she said, “Bye.” The two sisters hugged. “I know we didn’t get as much done today as we wanted, but I’ll get back over tomorrow. Then we’ll tackle Patsy’s room. I promise.”

“Only if you’re up to it,” Star said. “You need to rest. You don’t need to be working extra shifts.”

“We need the money.” Brandi patted her belly. “Babies aren’t cheap.”

Cade walked around the truck and opened the passenger door for Star.

Star finally separated from her sister. “Thanks,” she said as she climbed into the truck.

Cade closed her door. A minute later they pulled out.

“I don’t think you’ve officially met Brad,” Cade said, giving a head nod toward the back seat. “Brad, this is Star White, the woman you nearly scared to death last night.”

Star twisted around. “Hi, Brad.” She extended her hand.

Cade glanced in the rearview mirror, watching as his son shook her hand.

“Sorry about last night,” Brad said, the words clipped and forced—expected. “We didn’t know anyone was there.”

“No harm done,” Star said in a business–like tone. She twisted back around, but Cade didn’t miss the way Brad’s eyes roved over Star. The kid thought Star was hot.

Cade stole a glance at her.
She was hot
. Her long legs were poured into dark denim jeans, and like yesterday, her strappy black sandals had absurdly high heels. Wasn’t there a lewd name for shoes like those? The shoes were totally inappropriate for a town where people lived in boots much of the year. A soft pink T–shirt hugged her breasts. She’d always had great curves in all the right places. And nice legs. His body tightened. His hands clenched the steering wheel. Man, he couldn’t control his own reaction to her. No wonder his kid looked all love sick.

“Catch many fish today?” Star turned her pretty green eyes on Cade, and he instantly remembered every mean thing he’d ever done to her. Even now he didn’t fully understand how things had spiraled so out of control between them. When he looked at her now, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt or embarrass her. Despite how he’d treated her, Star had managed to shake off her awful childhood and rise above it. She didn’t belong here, she never had. And maybe that was one of the reasons he’d given her such a hard time. Even dirt poor, with a family so lousy you couldn’t have made them up, she’d always held her head high, always letting him know that she was as good as he was, better than he was. He knew it. She knew it. End of story.

“The boat limited,” he said, forcing the past from his mind. “This is our busy time of year.”

“I remember,” she said almost wistfully.

“We need to make a quick stop at Logan’s to drop off the fish,” Cade said.

“Logan’s,” Star said. “They do the packaging for you, right?”

“Right. How many summers did you spend here?” Cade asked, wondering if her memories of her time spent here were as vivid as his.

“Four, maybe five?” She sounded uncertain. “I’m not sure. We came and went from here so many times. I do remember I turned seventeen that last summer. The following summer I started college at the University of Washington. That much I remember.”

His mouth went dry. “I remember, too.” He remembered how she’d driven him crazy in her short shorts and halter tops. By then, she was totally off limits. He’d already met Marissa, already gotten her pregnant and was headed down the aisle.

“You were home from college that last summer. You worked on the boat.” Star turned to Brad. “Looks like you’re following in your dad’s footsteps.”

“I guess,” Brad said sullenly.

“It’s nice you have a family business,” Star said with obvious envy. “The closest thing I’ve got to a family business is a mother who deals blackjack and a sister who’s a Vegas showgirl.”

“You have a sister who’s a showgirl?” Brad asked, suddenly interested in the conversation. “Cool.”

Cade exchanged an amused look with Star.

“What do you do, Star?” Cade asked, curious about the woman Star had become.

“I’m the production manager for
Update This!
” she said with obvious pride. “Have you heard of it?”

“Nope.”

“It’s a cable show. We take a room in an older house and update it. You should tune in sometime.”

“I don’t watch much TV,” Cade said, almost wishing he did. He wanted to find some kind of common ground with her, some way to bridge the gap he’d created between them.

Star gave him a tight smile. “Believe it or not, O’Brien, there’s a great, big world out there that doesn’t revolve around fish.”

“Do you know any movie stars?” Brad asked.

“Some. From time to time we feature celebrity homes on
Update This!
Oh, hey, I met Katy Perry once. My boss got me backstage passes and I took my sister to her concert in Vegas.”

“She’s hot,” Brad said.

Star’s hand slid down her thigh. “I guess she is.”

Cade’s gut tightened. How many times had Star filled his teenage fantasies? Too many to count. He put his focus back on the road.

“So you’re from Vegas?” Brad asked.

“Not really. I split my time between Vegas and Seward when I was a kid. I live in Seattle now.
Update This!
is filmed in Seattle.”

“I’ve been to Seattle,” Brad said. “I’ve been to the top of the Space Needle.”

“I worked there when I was in college,” Star told him. “I was a photographer.”

“Cool,” Brad said.

“Brad’s looking at applying to the University of Washington,” Cade interjected.

“You should,” Star said to Brad. “It’s a great school. Lots of fun, too.”

“I’ll bet the parties are awesome.” Brad had really perked up now, his obvious enthusiasm for anything Star said starting to annoy Cade.

Star shrugged. “I wasn’t much of a party girl.”

Cade found that hard to believe. She was her mother’s daughter after all.

When they reached Logan’s, Cade and Brad quickly offloaded the fish. Back in the truck, Brad and Star continued to chat until Cade pulled the truck into Star’s driveway.

Star reached down to retrieve her purse, and Cade caught another whiff of her light, clean, citrus scent. Again, his gut tightened. She straightened, set the purse on her lap, then opened the truck door. Before she exited, she turned to Brad. “Nice to meet you.”

“Same here,” Brad said, giving Star a head nod.

“Thanks for the lift, O’Brien.”

“Anytime.”

Star smiled, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. She still hated him, and he didn’t blame her.

But that didn’t stop Cade from watching her walk in those ridiculously high heels to the mobile home. How did she do it? Those shoes had to be four or five inches high. She was a city girl all right. Beautiful and expensive.

“Dad?”

“What?”

“Can we go now?”

Giving himself a mental shake, Cade put the truck into reverse and backed down the driveway.

The following morning, Star rose early, eager to get a jump on her day. As usual, when she thought about work, a fire lit inside her. She loved her job, loved going to work every day, even when her work did take her to her hometown.