Love Finds the One (Sully Point Book 2) (4 page)

He sat up straight in his chair and leaned forward, arms on
the table. "Who's been showing an interest?"

"Nobody yet, but she's a pretty girl. Somebody will,
that's for sure."

"I don't think anyone should. She's not here for
dating. You tell whoever is interested, I said that."

"Okay, then. I'd better get back to work."

"Yeah," Cody said, distracted by the idea of some
man bothering Julia. "Thanks for the sandwich."

He didn't notice Deb smiling and shaking her head at him as
he left.

* * * *

Julia decided to change clothes before going to dinner at
the Grainger house. She put on her favorite long black skirt that swirled
around black boots. Topped with a cream blouse and red jacket, she headed out
to town, following the directions Cody had given her. As she drove, she thought
about what an amazing day it had been. All she had accomplished was to finish
the book she'd been reading. Afterwards, she'd taken a nap. She hadn't even touched
her computer--it was mind-boggling. She cringed a bit at the idea of just how
much email she must have by now.

But really, who says I have to answer any of it? I'm on
vacation. No email!
The thought gave her a thrill, as well as a touch of
fear at disconnecting from her world. However, if the plan was for her to relax
and get away from work, then clearly that meant no email. The only person she
really wanted to hear from while she was down here was Holly.
And that says
way too much about my choices of so-called friends these days,
she thought
glumly.

Taking a deep breath, she focused on the road and decided
that if she'd come here to think about her life, maybe it was important also to
look at who her friends were. Not a one had tried to call her since she
disappeared from the job. She wondered thoughtfully just how long that would
continue.

The Grainger house was a large, rambling two-story, painted
white. Two pots of geraniums stood to either side of the door on the porch,
which wrapped around one side of the house. She rang the bell and Cody was
there, opening the door in less than a minute.

"Hey, you made it here okay."

"Yes, good directions." She walked into the house.
It was a comfortable place, lived in, nothing fancy, and filled with good old
pieces of furniture. Cody led her into the dining room.

"Can I do anything to help?"

He laughed. "You've already confessed how you're a
disaster in the kitchen, so I'm keeping you out of there. Besides, everything
is ready to go. I'll get the salad and Dad will bring in our main dish."

She sat down at the table where he'd pulled out her chair. A
man with graying, dark blond hair came into the room carrying a large platter.

"Don't get up, I've got it." He set the plate down
on the table. "There we go. I'm Frank Grainger, and you must be Julia."

He held out a hand which she shook. "Yes, I'm Holly's
friend."

"Heard all about you from Cody and Holly both. We're
glad you came. And I'm happy to see Sam and Anna's beach house being used.
Seems like a crying shame to leave it empty for all those months."

"It's a wonderful place. Incredibly peaceful. I'm going
to enjoy being there."

Cody brought in a large wooden bowl filled with a salad and
they all sat down. "This recipe is one of Dad's specialties. He's about
the best cook in the family, except for Anna when it comes to baked
goods."

Frank began serving their plates. "Didn't have much
choice but to learn to cook, bringing up three kids. I hear you're not a whiz
in the kitchen, Julia."

She smiled at him. "I'm astonishingly bad at cooking
anything. But I do love to eat, and this looks delicious."

"Dig in, there's plenty."

Quiet reigned for a little while as they all concentrated on
eating. Julia took a sip of the white wine Cody had served them. "Mr.
Grainger--"

"Frank, please."

"All right, Frank then. This tastes great."

"Thanks! We have lemon meringue pie for dessert."

"We do?" Cody asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes. I mentioned to Maelynne that Julia was coming for
dinner and Maelynne offered to bake one of her famous pies." He faced Julia
and continued. "Maelynne is known for two things in this town. Being the
biggest gossip around, and she can bake the best lemon meringue pie in three
counties."

"Pie sounds lovely. I guess you have a lot of gossip in
a small town like this, where everyone knows everybody else."

"Yes, it goes with the territory. But then small town
life also offers living in a safe environment, having people who care and help
each other out, and also a more reasonable pace of life than the city offers. It's
a real community."

"Even though this is only my second day, I can
appreciate the quiet and peace to be found here."

"It's different during tourist season, but I always
think it's a nice change for a few months. It seems to energize all of us who
live here full-time."

Cody offered everyone more wine, but Julia refused.
"I've got to drive home, so I'd better have coffee with dessert."

"Tell me, how do you plan on spending your time while
you're here?" Frank asked, as Cody cleared the dishes.

"I'm not sure. Today I read and slept. Maybe I'll turn
on my computer tomorrow--if I feel like checking my email by then. Being here
has made me feel quite free to goof off."

"Sounds like it will be good for you. Advertising can
be a real rat race I've heard."

She nodded. "It is filled with lots of pressure."

As Cody brought the pie in with a pot of coffee, he said,
"I'm hoping I'll get you to go out on the fishing boat with me at some
point."

"That's something I'll have to think about. Wow, the
pie looks good."

Frank began cutting it and placing the pieces on plates.
"You guys need to eat as much as you want, because I don't need to have a
bunch of pie left around here for just me." The other two began to eat and
he continued. "I expect to see you down at the hardware store the next
time you're in town. And if you need anything, have any trouble, you be sure to
call me--or Cody."

Julia had paused with her fork halfway to her mouth as he
spoke. "That's good to hear, Frank. And by the way this pie is great.
Should I send a thank you note to this Maelynne person?"

"No, no, I'll thank her for all of us," Frank
replied.

"Deb said you found some good things to fill your
fridge today," Cody said.

"Yes, she's going to be a lifesaver."

Frank looked at Cody. "You saw Deb today? How's she
doing? I haven't stopped to talk with her in a while."

Cody shrugged. "She's doing fine."

Frank told Julia, "Cody used to date Deb a while back.
That was before she fell for Claude, the guy she married. But she's still a
friend of Cody's."

"Dad, we don't need to go into my history, here,"
Cody protested.

"He somehow manages to stay friends with pretty much
every woman he ever dated," Frank said with twinkling gray eyes.

Julia grinned back at him. It was an interesting piece of
information. Not many men could maintain a friendship once they broke up with a
woman. But then, Cody seemed so easygoing, she could see how it might happen.

She finished eating her pie, but refused another piece.
"I'm completely full. Tell me, what are some of the things you suggest I
go see or do while I'm here?"

Frank and Cody began to describe various sights and
activities. The conversation flowed over her as she listened to them bantering
back and forth about which ideas held merit. They seemed very relaxed with each
other. When was the last time she'd been that relaxed around her father? She
knew she'd never had it with her mother, but hadn't she at one point had it
with her father? Struggling to remember, she felt sad at how she couldn't seem
to find any of those feelings in her memories.

"Julia?" Cody said quietly. "You okay?"

She jolted back to awareness, and realized they'd stopped
talking and Cody had asked her something. "Goodness, I'm sorry. I must be
more tired than I thought. Kind of spaced out there for a moment. What did you
ask me?"

Cody looked concerned and said, "I asked if you wanted
to visit my shop tomorrow as it is on the list of sights to see. But maybe we
should get you home. I can drive you and we can pick up your car
tomorrow."

"No, no, I'll be fine. I seem to get tired very easily
these days, that's all."

Frank said, "I think you need to listen to Cody and let
him drive you. You're still recovering from--" He stopped as he obviously
couldn't think of a word to use.

"Recovering from my collapse, you mean? How much did
Holly tell you, anyway?" She felt a bit angry at Holly and all of them,
which she knew was due to being tired.

"She didn't tell us much," Cody said. "But
she did say you'd fainted at work and the doctor was concerned about you. Come
on, let me drive you back this once, please?"

She gazed into concerned blue eyes and sighed. It was the
'please' that did it. "Okay, okay. Just this once. Because I plan on
getting my strength back soon enough. And I certainly will after meals like
this one tonight."

Frank nodded, and Cody looked relieved. He asked, "Do
you want a piece of pie to take home with you?"

"Please, do take some," Frank encouraged her.

"All right, you convinced me. Not that I needed much
convincing. Thanks so much for dinner, Frank. It was perfect."

She and Cody left shortly thereafter, and she got to ride in
the Corvette. It was just as fine as she had thought it would be.

"Your Dad's nice. Were you always close?"

Cody thought for a moment. "We had our difficulties
when I was a teenager, but I grew out of them with time. He's always been a
great father. The kind you know will be there for you, no matter what."

To her complete surprise and mortification, Julia burst into
tears.

Cody glanced over. "Julia? What's wrong? What'd I
say?"

She waved a hand at him and wiped at her eyes. "Not
you, just something I realized tonight."

He continued driving while he waited to hear more.

"It's just, seeing you and your father together--I
don't have that kind of relationship with my own father. Seems like I should,
but I don't know how. He's wrapped up in his business, and I was always focused
on working for Mother. We stopped talking somewhere along the way."

"None of my business I know, but I will say this.
Things change. Nothing says you have to continue not talking to him. You can
give it a try."

"Maybe. You must think I'm a total nut job, falling
apart like this."

"Not at all. Here we are, already home. Let me walk you
to the door--"

"No, no, I'm okay. Thanks for driving." She pulled
the keys out of her bag. "If I'm out and about tomorrow I'll stop by your
shop."

He smiled at her. In the darkness of the car it felt
intimate and warm, and she felt like she could stay there talking forever. He
proceeded to give her directions on how to get to the docks. Twenty minutes
went by as they talked about the town, without either of them noticing.

Suddenly she yawned and Cody said, "Look at the time,
and you were already tired."

She nodded. "I think I'd better go. Thanks again."
She got out of the car and waved to him. He waited until she was in the door
before driving away.

Julia walked into the house and set the pie on the counter.
She couldn't stop yawning, and quickly got out of her clothes and into silky
blue pajamas. Crawling into bed felt like heaven. She snuggled under the covers
and thought about her talk with Cody in the car. It had been easy and
comfortable. He was a great guy, she thought drowsily, and then blanked out
into sleep.

The next morning she woke up, heard the wind blowing hard
outside, and realized the house was a bit chilly. She jumped out of bed,
hurriedly got the coffee machine going and turned up the heat. Through the
window in the kitchen she saw her car sitting in the driveway, and realized
Cody and his father must have returned it while she slept. She looked around,
and sure enough, the keys were on the kitchen counter.

She grabbed her laptop and the book she'd been reading and
set them on the bed. Finally, getting her cup of hot coffee and setting it on
the nightstand, she got back into bed and piled the pillows behind her.
"Now, this is living," she said and then laughed at herself. She
glanced once at the laptop and decided avoiding her email was working great so
far. Instead, she picked up her book, and began to read and sip coffee.

After a while, her stomach began growling and she debated
about whether to bring the lemon meringue pie into bed also. Deciding she
wasn't quite that decadent yet, she got up and pulled on her old flannel robe
with heavy socks on her feet. The pie tasted just fine eaten at the kitchen
counter. She knew she needed a better breakfast than super sweet pie, however,
and she picked up the phone book to see if there was a diner in town.

Finding out there was--and it was called simply The
Diner--she got dressed and put on her warmest boots. She stuck the book in her
purse and left for town.

* * * *

Cody was looking over an inventory report on his laptop when
Joe Crawford and Captain Hank came in. "What's up guys?" he said,
still looking at the computer.

"Guess who we saw at the Diner this morning?" Joe
demanded.

"Dunno, who?"

"The new lady at Sam and Anna's beach house. She's a
looker, that's for sure."

Captain Hank stared at his friend. "A 'looker?' How old
are you anyway. She's hot is what she is. Looks like a model."

Cody had looked up and focused on them. "You saw Julia?
This morning? How was she?"

Captain Hank looked puzzled. "She was pretty, we've
just been saying that."