Love Finds the One (Sully Point Book 2) (2 page)

Cody and Julia unloaded the car while dark grey clouds went
skidding by quickly overhead. "Is it going to storm?" Julia asked in
a worried tone.

"Not a bad one, normal for this time of year. I'll show
you where the candles and flashlights are, just in case." He walked her
through the house, pointing out features, while she admired the layout.

"I love how spacious it is, without being too big."

"Yeah, Anna came up with the design and they both
picked out the materials and furniture. Here we are, back in the kitchen."
He opened the retro-styled blue refrigerator. "Holly told me to bring you
some groceries to get you started. I didn't know what you liked, so I brought
you the basics."

"Is there coffee?"

"Yes, here, I'll show you how this machine works. It's
just like the fancy model they have down at the bakery." He noticed Julia
shivering. "Hey, are you still too cold? I'll turn up the heat."

"Thanks. Is that the bakery Holly owns, and Anna worked
at?"

"Yep, the bakery made famous by Anna and Sam's romance.
Tourists and fans of his books come here just to buy something from the bakery,
if you can believe it. People can be crazy."

"Maybe, but it's perfect marketing."

"Well, I still say they're crazy. Of course, I don't
complain. Being Anna's brother, I get the overflow down at my shop."

"And what do you do? What kind of shop?"

"Bait and Tackle shop, down at the docks. I've also got
a little charter fishing business started up this year."

"Bait and tackle? Like slimy worms?"

He laughed at her repulsed expression. "We have more
than worms. Yes, there's live bait, but we focus a lot on the fishing gear
people need to go out for the larger fish you get around here. I gather you
aren't a fan of fishing."

"The idea of it doesn't appeal to me, but to be fair,
I've never fished in my life, so I don't know."

Cody shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.
"Never fished? Been a while since I met someone who never fished. We'll
have to change that while you're here."

Julia laughed. "I think you'll have to do some fast
talking to get me to fish."

"You don't know what you're missing." He watched
her as she hugged her sweater around her body and strolled over to the window.

"It looks pretty dark out there. Is this house safe, so
close to the beach in a storm?"

"Yes, all the materials are made of stern stuff, able
to stand up to the winds, even the glass is special. Plus, notice how the house
is perched up here, higher than the beach below. It's never been flooded by
waves due to the location on high ground. But the nice thing is, you just
follow the steps and walkway down to the beach, and you're right at the
water."

"That's good to know--about the strong materials they
used. I know I'm being a scaredy-cat about the storm. I've always been nervous
about thunderstorms. My mother always said that, as a child, I used to get
hysterical during them."

"I've found if you just explain storms to children you
can take away a lot of the fear. I have to do it sometimes when I'm out on a
boat with tourists and a squall comes up. Didn't she do that for you?"

"No, she usually just sent me to my room and told me to
face my fears."

Cody gaped at her in astonishment. "As a kid? Your
mother did this?"

"Yes...I guess it sounds bad...."

"Uh, yeah, it does. She sounds--look I don't even know
you or your mother, but that sounds like a hell of a way to deal with a child's
fears."

Julia turned away quickly and said in a bright tone,
"Coffee's ready--let me see if I can find some mugs."

He stared after her as she walked by him. She was about two
inches shorter than him, and yet with a frailty about her that made him feel
protective. Right then he decided to stay with her through the storm, which
announced itself loudly with a crack of thunder.

"Damn!" He heard the shattering of a mug where
she'd dropped it.

"No worries. I'll get the vacuum if you get the big
pieces in the trash."

"That thunder startled me."

"If you don't mind, Julia, I'll stay until the worst
passes us by. There's no point in my driving in this."

He observed how her breath went out in a little whoosh of
relief and her face lightened up. "That would be great. Do we have
anything here for lunch?"

Cody plugged in the vacuum. "Some deli meat in the
fridge, some rolls in the cabinet." He turned on the machine and had
everything cleaned up in minutes.

"Let's have sandwiches then, and ignore the
storm."

He wasn't sure the storm could be ignored, with it blowing
hard right outside the big window in clear view. Rain smattered against the
glass and thunder rolled in the background. "So, what do you do in the
city? I bet you're a model."

She laughed, a full-throated laugh with her head thrown
back, long black hair cascading down her back. "Me? A model? Um, no. I
work in advertising. Tremaine Advertising Agency. I'm an ad executive, and I
handle commercials for products."

Cody frowned at her. "You mean you sell stuff? Like
deodorant and laundry detergent?"

She frowned back at him. "Hey, don't look down on it.
It's an art form, really."

"Selling deodorant is an art form?"

"We don't just sell--represent--deodorant."

"Sorry, I always wondered who worked on some of those
commercials that drive people crazy. I didn't expect it to be someone as nice
and as smart as you are."

She looked nonplussed by the compliment inside an insult.

He stood across from her at the bar that functioned as a
divider between rooms. "Look I didn't mean to imply--"

Julia began to make sandwiches. "Turkey, lettuce and
tomato okay?"

He nodded and watched her layer everything precisely on top
of the roll, which she'd split into exactly even halves.

She said, "I know some of the ads can be stupid, or
even aggravating. But some are very witty and enjoyable."

"And you like this type of work?"

"Do you enjoy selling worms to strangers?"

He smiled at her. "Actually, yeah. I get a kick out of
helping people get the right gear to go out and catch the big one. People come
here on vacation, looking for a fun time. I like to think I help them achieve
that. What about you?"

Her face had a thoughtful look. "You really do sound
like you enjoy what you do. I guess part of why I'm here is to figure out why
I'm in this job, when I really can't stand it."

"Aha, I knew I was right about you."

"Right about what? And here's your sandwich."

He settled on one of the barstools and immediately took a
big bite. "Hits the spot," he mumbled.

Julia sat next to him. She stared at the sandwich and
finally took a deep breath and began eating. He wondered if she was anorexic.
She didn't look like she wanted to eat at all. He decided to keep talking to
distract her. "As I was saying, there's more to you than a person who
creates commercials, that's all. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure you'll
figure out what you want to be doing."

She sighed. "I don't know. I hope so. I'd love to not
work for Mother anymore."

"Hold on--you work for her?"

"Yes. Don't even start on me. Holly has already put in
her two cents, and that's enough from the Grainger family."

Cody was quiet and finished eating his food. He drank his
coffee as Julia ate about a third of her sandwich and then pushed it away.

He said with a grin, "Holly does have a way of butting
into people's lives."

She gave a reluctant laugh. "The thing is--she's
usually right! It can be very irritating."

"You don't have to tell me, I'm her brother. Believe me
when I say I've had more Holly lectures 'for my own good' than I can
count."

"Somehow she says these things that from anyone else
would upset me, but from her they don't bother--"

He watched as she stopped talking and looked up at the
ceiling. "What is it?"

"I totally forgot about the storm. I can't believe it."

"I'd love to take credit for that, but I'm not sure I
can. It really wasn't a very bad storm to begin with."

"Bad enough for me, so thanks for staying. Has it gone
quiet out there?"

Cody walked over to the sliding glass doors. "Yep, it's
over, and we may even get some sun before this day is through. Thanks for the
lunch and the conversation."

"Thanks for bringing the lunch in the first place.
Seriously, you really helped me out today. I won't forget it."

Cody smiled at her. "Anything for Holly's friends, always.
I'd better get out of here. Someone might actually want to go fishing today
after all."

"Good luck--is that what you say to fishermen?"
She walked with him to the door.

"Yep, good luck, good fishing, good riddance--whatever
seems appropriate. One more thing. I wrote down my phone number, and Dad's, and
left them on the coffee table. Call us if you need anything."

She nodded, black straight hair swinging forward around her
face and shoulders.

"See you later," he said with a wave and got into
his pickup truck. She seemed like a nice girl, he thought. She did however look
thin and worn out. He was beginning to understand why Holly had sent her here.
Nothing like the peace and quiet of Sully Point at this time of year.

Chapter 2

Frank Grainger was curious about his daughter Holly's
friend. Over the phone she'd made it sound like the woman might be a major
burn-out case. He recalled his own escape from the city all those years ago.
Moving to Sully Point and opening his own hardware store had been the best
decision of his life. Well, after marrying the love of his life. If only she
hadn't died so young.

His day had been busy with deliveries and organizing an
order for one of the local contractors. Unlike most of the town, Frank found
his business stayed pretty regular throughout the year. Of course, during
tourist season it did pick up some. The one thing that never changed was the
gossip in Sully Point. And, looking out the front window, he saw Maelynne
crossing the street heading right for his store.

Maelynne held the dubious honor of being the worst
gossip-monger in Sully Point. Others vied for the title, but Maelynne
consistently beat them all, in Frank's opinion. He gave her a cordial smile as
she advanced on him.

"Well? What do you know about this?"

He raised bushy eyebrows and said, "You'll have to give
me more to work with than that."

"There's a car out at Sam's beach house. I know those
two won't be coming back until May. Who have they got staying out there?
Somebody from the movies?"

Frank suppressed a laugh. Maelynne was a fan of Sam's,
especially because some of his books had been turned into movies. She loved
'movie people,' and had been disappointed when Sam didn't produce any once he
got married to Anna. "Sorry Maelynne, but she's nobody from the movies.
Just a friend of Holly's."

"Hmph. She must be something special if she's staying
out at their house. You know it was on
Entertainment Now
, plus it was in
that fancy architecture magazine. Do Sam and Anna know she's going to be living
there?"

"Yes, of course. Holly called them in Italy to be
sure."

"Italy! I don't know why Sully Point isn't good enough
for them."

"Now, Maelynne, you know the press and fans had swamped
them here. They both needed some peace and quiet to do their work."

"Well, tell me, who is this woman, what's her
name?"

"Julia Tremaine. I'm sure she'll be into town once
she's settled in out there."

"What does she do for a living?"

"I have no idea."

"You don't really know much, do you, Frank?"

"Sorry. I'm about to close up for the day, so I'll just
show you out."

"Pushy, that's what you are." She stalked out and
Frank burst out laughing.

That night he told Cody about Maelynne's investigation. Cody
was having dinner at his father's house as he often did. Frank asked, "Tell
me about her. What's she like?"

 "I think she's trying to figure out what to do with
the rest of her life."

"Well...that's different. Was she talkative about it?"

"Not really, it's just what I picked up. She's a nice
girl, seems to be a good friend of Holly's. She's in the advertising business
and wants to leave it. Totally burned out, and looks a bit sickly. I was
thinking we should have her over for dinner tomorrow or the next day. You could
make the baked halibut with the dill sauce. I'd bring the stuff for salad and
some bread from the bakery.

"Sounds like you've got this all planned out. But
didn't I teach you how to cook the fish?"

"Dad, you know you're a better chef than I ever will
be."

"Ha, if ever I heard someone trying to butter me up..."

They laughed and continued to eat, while Frank asked
questions. "What's she seem like? Smart? Funny? What?"

"Afraid of storms. I stayed out there with her during
the little blow we had around noon."

"You did?"

"Sure. I couldn't just leave her alone when she was
clearly not okay."

Frank stared at his son. He'd heard a lot of comments about
women Cody had dated through the years. But never had he heard such a
protective tone in the boy's voice. Add in the earlier comment about why she
might be here, and...this could be interesting.

"Pretty girl, is she?"

Cody looked up from his plate. "Pretty? Well, sure, I
guess. Needs to put on some weight, and she's not quite healthy-looking yet,
but yeah, I think she's pretty."

"Son, I meant to say, what does she look like?"

"Hmm, tall with long straight black hair, dark blue
eyes, straight nose, full red lips, very pale skin, long legs."