Love Finds the One (Sully Point Book 2) (3 page)

"I see," Frank said, bemused by the catalog of
features delivered in such a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Yes, this would
definitely be worth watching.

* * * *

Julia spent the afternoon unpacking and then took a nap on
the couch where she could watch the waves. When she woke up, she was surprised
to find she felt refreshed by the nap--and hungry. She located a container of chicken
soup in the fridge among the groceries Cody had delivered. After heating it up
in the microwave, her best friend in the kitchen, she tasted it cautiously and
then took a larger spoonful. It was delicious, warming and comforting, with
just enough seasoning. Periodically dunking one of the bakery rolls in the soup
and munching on it, she felt like she was having one of the best meals of her
life.

Was it possible only a day away from the stress of the job
gave her a better appetite than she'd had in the past year? Shaking her head,
she pushed away all serious thoughts. If she were at home she'd have the TV on,
but here it was very quiet. The house had a snug feeling to it, and after
dinner she put some quiet alternative music on the high-end stereo system, and
searched the bookshelves for something to read. She found Sam Carter's series
of mysteries, which she'd never read. All she knew was the books had a psychic
detective as the main character. Grabbing the first book, she curled up in a
big comfortable leather chair, covered herself with an afghan, and began
reading.

Hours went by, and when she got up to get a drink of water,
she was shocked to discover she'd sat still reading a book for the past three
hours. Had she ever had the time to do that? Not really, she thought. Her whole
life had been one big push to achieve. Being an only child and living up to her
parents' expectations had not led to much time for relaxation--or fun.

She drank her glass of water and sat back down in the chair.
No, never much time for fun at all. It felt strange to be here in this place,
nobody looking over her shoulder, no deadlines to meet, no meetings to prepare
for with worry. To have the time to be, to sit and ponder, felt like something
precious and new.

Lulled by the waves she was watching under the moonlight, Julia
fell asleep in the chair with her feet on the ottoman. During the night she
woke up once with a bad dream, then stumbled into the bedroom and collapsed
onto the bed, fully clothed, diving back into sleep.

The next morning she woke up slowly. At first, she couldn't
remember where she was, then when she did, she also remembered she had no place
to be, no reason to hurry. It felt almost sinful to stay in bed thinking. She
could spend the whole day there if she wanted. A big smile spread across her
face. Not that she would stay in bed. Today she wanted to set up her computer,
make sure she was hooked into the wifi router, and see some news. Plus, she was
hungry.

She got up and took a shower, pulling on skinny stretch
jeans in lavender with a black tank top under a dark purple sweater with a cowl
neckline. Taking the time to brush out her long hair, she saw it looked rather
dull, not the shiny texture she remembered. "Time for vitamins and good
food, regular meals and sleep--all that's got to help," she muttered to
herself, as she walked into the kitchen. There was nothing immediately
available for breakfast, so, giving in to a whim, she got in her car and headed
into town. She knew Holly's bakery was on the square.

The minute she walked through the door of the bakery she was
hooked. The smells! The luscious pastries filling the cases offered too many
choices.

"Can I help you?"

Julia looked up and saw a girl with a nametag that said 'Kayla.'
"Yes, I'm starving for breakfast, but I don't even know where to start
with all this goodness in front of me."

Kayla laughed. "Yeah, it can be tough. Everything is
fresh. I'd suggest either the apple strudel which is really good today, or the
devil's food chocolate donuts with fudge icing. If you want something not as
sweet, go for one of the muffins. We have blueberry and pumpkin today."

"You didn't really make it any easier. Hmm. I think I
want a couple of the donuts to save for later, so get me those to go. I'll try
the strudel, and a large coffee, black."

Kayla nodded and proceeded to get her order. "Do you
want to eat here?"

"Yes." Within moments Julia was situated at one of
the little tables by the front window. Her first sip of coffee was as good as the
coffee from the machine at the beach house. She called out to Kayla, "Did
the same machine make this as the one out at Sam Carter's?"

Kayla tilted her head a bit to the side and gazed at her
customer. "You're the lady staying at Sam and Anna's beach house?"

"Yes," Julia replied, wondering how anyone knew
there was a lady staying out there.

"Yeah, it's the same model of coffee machine. Sam and
Anna insisted they needed one at home to get the best brew."

"I think I'm going to want one at my home when I leave
here."

"How long are you staying?"

"I'm not sure. Probably a month or so."

"Hope you like it here. Kinda quiet before tourist
season."

"That's just what I want." Another customer came
in and Julia turned back to her pastry. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest
breakfast, but it sure was scrumptious. She finished eating and sat back in her
chair to watch the town begin to bustle as the sun rose more fully in the sky.
About the time she finished her coffee she saw a blue Corvette drive up in
front of the bakery. She'd always loved Corvettes, but had never tried to buy
one, always choosing the conservative 'safe' models. When the door opened, she
was surprised to see Cody Grainger getting out of the car. Wasn't he driving a
pick-up truck yesterday?

He walked into the bakery and did a double-take at seeing Julia
by the window. "Good morning! I was going to call you in a while to see
how you made out your first night. I see you found the bakery with no
problem."

"Yes, I needed something for breakfast."

"Did I forget to buy you eggs and bacon?"

"No, but I don't cook. I'm rather notoriously bad at
it."

"You don't cook? Not even eggs?"

"Definitely not eggs. I headed here to sample what the
bakery has to offer. Really good stuff, by the way."

"Good, good. I always pick up some donuts for the
shop." He turned back to face Kayla who'd been listening raptly to their
conversation. "Three dozen, a mix of the chocolate and the jelly."

She nodded and went in the back to get more donuts.

Cody walked over and motioned to the other chair at the
table. Julia nodded and he sat down. She watched as he ran a hand through straight,
dark blond hair that flopped over one eye.

"So, you did okay last night?"

"Yes, I slept a lot. It was very peaceful out there. Also,
the chicken soup I found in the fridge--I want to know where to buy some more,
because I ate it all."

He grinned at her. "From what you've just said, I'm
guessing you'll be a big fan of Deb's Deli here on the square. She always has
soup, and some ready-made entrees."

"Sounds fantastic. A deli, huh? Outside of New York? Is
it any good?"

"According to my Dad, even better than a New York deli.
He lived there a long time ago. Always says he 'escaped' the city just in
time."

"I remember Holly mentioning that your mother died when
you guys were young. It had to be difficult for all of you to lose her when you
were just kids. It must have been hard on your father, as well, raising three
kids alone."

Cody leaned back in his chair, palms flat on his blue jean
covered thighs. "You know, he never made it seem like it was hard at all.
He was there for every game, every recital, and basically for anything we
needed. As I've gotten older I've grown to admire him immensely."

"You sound close to him."

"I am. I have dinner most nights with him, unless I'm
out on a date. We trade off cooking or getting take-out. He's an easygoing man.
I think you'll like him."

"I will? Am I going to be meeting him?"

"Well sure, you would regardless, but I wanted to ask
you to come to dinner tonight at Dad's house. He'd like to meet you, and I
talked him into cooking his famous fish dinner. You do eat fish, right? Just
not into catching them?"

She laughed. "Yes, I do eat fish. And I'd love to come
to dinner. Now if you'll show me where the deli is, I'll go stock up my fridge."

As they left together, Cody with three boxes of donuts piled
in his arms, Julia noticed how avidly Kayla watched them. "Is there a
reason Kayla stared at us the whole time?"

Cody grimaced. "The one thing you have to know about
Sully Point is that it's gossip central. I'm warning you about it because there's
no telling what rumors will start up about you, seeing as you are new in
town."

"Ah, okay. Since I'm only here to rest, I'm happy to be
the town's lady of mystery for a while."

He chuckled and then opened the car to put the donuts
inside.

Julia sighed wistfully.

"What is it?"

"Your car. I've always loved Corvettes. Never owned one
though."

"I decided when I was eighteen that I'd save up all my
money until I could buy one for cash. I kept the truck because it's useful. Took
me a long time to save enough, but it was worth it." He patted the hood.
"This here's my baby."

"Careful," she said with a smile. "You'll get
a fingerprint on your shiny finish."

Cody walked with her to the deli and introduced her to Deb.
Then he apologized, but said he had to open the shop. When he left Deb looked
curiously at Julia. "What can I do for you?"

Julia said, "It's simple. I'm going to be here for a
month. I don't cook. Anything. I heat up things in the microwave really well. Plan
on seeing a lot of me if you have ready-to-eat meals."

"Don't cook at all, huh?"

Julia shook her head.

"Well, that's no problem. Today I've got some nice
lasagna and some sesame chicken. How does that sound to get you started?"

"Sounds heavenly." Julia proceeded to pick out
more deli meats and cheeses, along with two different pasta salads. Deb
recommended getting more rolls from the bakery, especially since today was the
day of the week they always made onion rolls.

"You're a friend of Holly's?" Deb asked as she
began putting containers full of food into a large brown bag with handles.
"From the city?"

"Yes, we've been friends for quite a while. She asked
her sister if I could stay out at the beach house."

"That's Holly for you, always doing a good deed. Well,
here you go. It's gonna add up to some total."

Julia looked at the ticket and was surprised it wasn't a
higher amount. She handed over her American Express card, and then quickly
asked for it back. That was her company card. Instead she pulled out her
Discover card and gave it to Deb. "Sorry. I don't want to use my company
card for this." Deb looked interested, but when she didn't say anything
more, turned to the register.

By the time Julia returned to the house and unpacked her
food, she was wilting. "I can't need a nap in the morning--I just woke
up!" She said to the room. "And I'm talking to myself--what does that
mean?"

She stretched out on the couch intending to get up in just a
few minutes to work on her computer. She fell asleep almost instantly.

* * * *

Cody spent the morning listening to Captain Hank Minnick,
and his pal Joe Crawford, regale the crew in the rocking chairs with tales of a
tuna that got away, 'bigger even than the one on the internet, I swear!' At
times he found his attention wandering, thinking about how Julia might be
doing. She had looked a bit more substantial today at the bakery, like she had
gotten some sleep and felt better. He found he was looking forward to the
dinner tonight.

"Cody? What do you think?"

He realized Joe was asking him his opinion about
something--he just didn't know what. "Sorry, wasn't paying
attention."

"Mind on a girl, huh?"

"Well, yes, but not the way you think."

"Ha ha. Right. Here's the deal. Do you think if we used
the heaviest tackle you have, we could've brought that fish in or not?"

The conversation proceeded into an analysis of different
types of gear. By the time the men left the shop it was nearing lunch time.
Cody went to Deb's Deli for a sandwich. Deb motioned for him to sit down while
she waited on other customers. She knew what he liked, and clearly wanted a
word with him, so he sat.

Deb sat down across from him a few minutes later, shoving a
ham and cheese on rye at him. "Okay, what's the story?"

"You mean, Julia?"

"Of course I mean Julia, you blockhead. Are you dating
her?"

Cody stared at her. "Deb, whatever gave you that idea?
Holly sent her down here, she's Holly's friend."

Deb gave a short laugh. "I was Holly's friend too, but
you still managed to date me rather intensely for a few weeks."

"And aren't you glad we're just friends now? Otherwise
you'd never have married Claude."

"True. So, you don't know much about her?"

"No, why?"

"She's interesting. Those clothes she had on certainly
didn't come from a discount store. And she basically told me I'd be making a
lot of her meals since she doesn't cook. She's skinny as a rail, but she bought
a lot of food to take home with her."

"Yeah? That's good. Look, she's just a little
burned-out and needs to rest up."

"And you have no interest in her?"

Cody said, "No, I mean yes, but not the way you mean.
I've sworn off women for a while. Haven't had a date in months."

"Believe me, all your friends have noticed. What's
going on?"

"Just taking a break to figure out what I want."

"And...what if someone else expressed an interest in
this Julia person, you'd be okay with it?"