Love Finds the One (Sully Point Book 2) (5 page)

"Yeah, but I meant, did you guys talk to her?"

"Nah, she was reading a book and eating her breakfast.
You definitely oughta be asking her out, Cody. Seriously," Joe said.

"Yeah," Cody said, feeling distracted.

The two men wandered off into the store, discussing the
merits of dating a model versus a gymnast. Cody shook his head at them.

The bell on the door rang, and he saw Julia walk in, looking
around. Cody walked toward her feeling pleased and brought her into the main
room. There were two rooms on either side of the main center one, filled with
fishing equipment. Cody waved her into one of the rocking chairs around the
table.

"What do you think? Is this what you expected?" He
grinned at her.

"It's way better than anything I expected. I have to
confess I wasn't thinking it would be so big. I never knew there was this much
equipment to do with fishing."

"Yes, a bit more than worms," he said with a
laugh. "Can I get you a drink? Some coffee? A donut?"

"No thank you. I just came from the Diner and I'm still
stuffed. How about showing me around the place?"

He felt happy at the request, and she got up and followed
him through to one of the rooms. Cody took her through rows of fishing
equipment, talking about how it was used. He stopped talking somewhere in the
middle of the second room of gear. "Julia? You don't have a clue what I'm
talking about do you?"

She grinned ruefully. "Sorry. You lost me some time
ago. I had no idea so much was involved in catching fish. I'm afraid I'd just
buy the shiniest, prettiest lures possible and hope for the best."

"Not a bad instinct, as that's what a lot of fish go for,
too. Come on. Let's sit in the other room by the wood stove."

"Who created the design for the store?"

"I did a lot of it, and I roped Anna in, to give it her
artist's eye. I wanted it to be a comfortable place to hang out. Between us we
got the right feel for the place I think."

"Yes, I'd say you did."

He waved her to the grouping of rockers and they sat down.
Cody heard male laughter and groaned inwardly. Captain Hank and Joe came into
the room and up to the chairs, then stood there staring at Julia.

"Guys? You leaving so soon?" Cody asked,
hopefully.

"Uh, no, uh you didn't introduce us," Joe said.

"To your friend there," Captain Hank finished.

Cody sighed. "Julia Tremaine, this is Joe Crawford and
Captain Hank Minnick. They work at the charter fishing business. We don't have
much of that at this time of year. Guys, this is Julia."

She smiled at them and they each stuck out a hand for her to
shake. Then they sat down in the rocking chairs. And stared at Julia.

Cody tried to think of how to get rid of them while Julia
said, "So, what do you recommend I should see today? Since I'm new in town
I want to get to know all the places people go to normally, not just tourist
stuff."

"Well, now, you've been to the bakery? Everyone goes
there," Joe said.

"Yeah, and you really should go out to the point to see
the ocean. We could take you out there--"

"That won't be necessary, guys. I planned to show it to
her," Cody said rather sharply.

Both men nodded knowingly.

"There's the mall, if you wanna go shopping,"
Captain Hank suggested.

"Or you could visit the gardens," Joe said.

"The gardens, for sure," Hank agreed.

Julia looked confused. "Gardens at this time of year? I
thought it wasn't quite spring enough to have flowers yet."

Cody said, "Not that kind of garden."

Joe and Hank nodded. Hank said, "There might be some
flowers out there, but it's mostly dead bodies."

"What?" Julia asked with wide eyes.

"It's a cemetery. Everyone calls it 'the
gardens,'" Cody explained. "It is one of the oldest graveyards in the
state. There are some fascinating headstones and statuary there, if you're into
that kind of thing. Some tourists like to go there and do rubbings of the
stones."

"Well, it sounds different all right," Julia said
with a grin.

"Of course, there's the fishing museum too. Always
interesting," Hank said helpfully.

"And the library if you're into reading," Joe
said, rather disapprovingly.

"Sounds like I have several options, thank you,"
she said and stood up.

"You're leaving?" Cody asked with a frown.

"Yes, things to do, places to be," she said, and
laughed at the look of surprise on his face. "Actually, I'm just going to
drive around and poke my head into any shops that interest me. I'm planning to
take it easy today. I'll be back at the beach house after lunch."

"Okay, you take care," he said to her, as he
walked with her to the door. "Thanks for coming by to see my place."

"I'm glad I did," she replied. Waving to the two
men, who had stood up belatedly, she left.

Cody turned back and walked to the center of the room

"Now Cody..." Hank began.

"Nice girl, really she is," Joe said and stopped
when Cody frowned at him.

"Guys, just...never mind!" he said and stomped
off.

Hank looked at Joe, and winked.

* * * *

Julia decided to go see the library after all. Growing up,
she'd always loved libraries. Her father had a library with deep leather chairs
and a long couch, in front of a fireplace. She'd always loved the smell of the
leather and books. When had she stopped going in that room?

Feeling bemused by the memories being stirred up, she parked
and walked up wide front steps into the red brick building. There were tall
windows and rich dark wood inside. She noticed a center section of the main
floor was supplied with some old model computers. As she walked through the
stacks, she enjoyed the smell of books and the old wooden shelves. Clearly the
library was not large, but she might find some things to read here once she
finished up Sam Carter's series.

Wandering down an aisle of mysteries, she overheard two
women talking in the next row.

"Yes, I heard she's a famous model coming here to
recuperate from plastic surgery."

"That can't be right because Kayla saw her in the
bakery...although she did say she had dark circles under her eyes. But I still
think Maelynne is right. Since she's staying out at Sam and Anna's, I bet she's
an actress. Probably from one of his films."

"Maelynne thinks everyone is a movie person," the
first woman said dismissively. "And did you hear Cody Grainger was talking
to her in the bakery? And he took her to the deli? You know how he is with
women. I wonder if she'll be like all the others."

Julia's eyebrows raised. Cody was a womanizer? The women
walked off down the row and she headed in the opposite direction. She thought
about Cody as she left the library and headed for the bakery. He was certainly
handsome enough to attract any woman he wanted. That easy charm, the blond and
blue-eyed playboy look, great body--yes, he was a definite attraction here in
Sully Point. But it irritated her to think of how the women talked about him.
She had the feeling there was more to him than a guy who dated around. And he'd
been a total gentleman around her. Of course, if she actually did look like she
was recuperating from surgery, there was no need to wonder why. She determined
then and there to get even more sleep, to banish the dark circles.

Later, at the bakery, Kayla greeted her by name and
suggested freshly-baked cookies right out of the oven.

"What kind are they?" Julia asked.

"Coconut thumbprint with strawberry jam in the
center."

"Those sound yummy. I'll take six, and also six of the
chocolate chip."

"Must be great not to have to watch your weight,"
Kayla said. "Is it true models barely eat anything?"

Julia managed not to chuckle at this innocent-sounding
question. "Some don't eat much that's true. Others manage with lots of
exercise."

"I see," Kayla said with interest. "Do you
get to wear all kinds of beautiful clothes? Being a model?"

"Well, I don't, since I'm not a model."

"You're not? I was positive--I mean--you sure do look
like one."

"Not me. I've never modeled," Julia said breezily.
"Is that pumpernickel bread? I do love pumpernickel bread. I'd better get
a loaf." She could see Kayla mulling over different job options besides
modeling.

As she pulled out money to pay, Kayla asked shyly, "You
aren't from, you know, Hollywood are you?"

She smiled at the girl. "No. I've visited but never
lived there. I'd better get going. See you tomorrow!"

Driving home she wondered at her delight in the town's
guessing game about her. She realized it gave her a sense of freedom, to think
of all the things she could be besides an ad executive. That afternoon she
snacked on cookies and read her book, and once again fell asleep on the couch.
She completely forgot about checking her email.

The phone woke her up with its musical, yet annoying, ring.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," she said out loud, digging in her bag for
the phone. "Hello?"

"There you are!" Holly's voice seemed too loud to
Julia.

"Yeah, I'm here. You woke me up."

"I'm sorry. I was worried about you."

"Why? I'm in Sully Point. Nothing can happen to me
here. All I do is eat and sleep."

Holly laughed. "That's good to know. You've needed it.
I didn't know how you were since you haven't answered any of my emails."

"I haven't answered anybody's emails. I haven't turned
on my laptop since I've been here."

"No! Really? That's amazing considering..."

"Considering how obsessive I am about emails? Yeah I
know. But I feel free here, not tied to work or emails. It's a good feeling.
I'll get around to reading the work emails in the next day or two but I'm not
rushing into it."

"Good for you. Has everyone been helpful?"

"Yes, very. By the way, your bakery is awesome. And I
had dinner last night with Cody and your father. It was very nice until I
couldn't keep my eyes open. Cody drove me home, and he and your dad dropped off
my car this morning. I got up and it was waiting in the driveway for me. So,
yes, they've been very helpful."

"That's good, they should be."

Julia laughed. "Does everyone always do what you tell
them to do?"

Holly was silent a moment, and then said, "Pretty much,
yes."

"Well, I'm awake now. I think I'll go take a shower and
wash my hair. Talk to you soon, okay?"

"Yes, sounds good. Bye."

Julia thought about Holly as she hung up the phone. One of
these days Holly would meet someone who might turn the tables on her. That
would be something to see.

* * * *

Cody was shoving salad around his plate and not listening to
his father.

"Son--are you just going to play with your food? Good
grief, I haven't said that to you since you were a kid." Frank shook his
head.

"I'm not very hungry tonight. I wonder if Julia got
some food for dinner."

Frank said, "Well, she is a grown woman. I think she
knows how to buy food for herself."

"You know what I mean, Dad, she's still not healthy and
maybe she forgot and then everywhere was closed. It could happen."

"I see. So you're thinking you should maybe go check on
her, make sure she had a proper dinner, that sort of thing."

Cody looked up with a bright smile. "Yeah, it does
sound like a good idea."

Frank held up a hand. "I don't think she'd appreciate
you treating her like you're her parent."

"But I'd just be--"

"Cody, you usually have amazing instincts with women.
Use them. She didn't come here to be treated like a child. Treat her like a
woman, a friend."

Cody sighed. "My instincts seem to have flown the coop
lately."

"For what it's worth, here's some advice. Take over a
couple of board games and invite her to play. The woman clearly needs to relax
and have some fun. And don't treat her like she's sick."

"You know, that's not a bad idea at all."

"Great! You take off and I'm going to watch some
basketball."

"Yeah, Dad," Cody said vaguely. "See you
later."

When Cody left, Frank gave a sigh of relief. Lately, dealing
with Cody was like walking in a minefield. It was perfectly clear his son was
falling head over heels for this woman. And for some reason, was in total
denial about it.

* * * *

It was around seven in the evening when Cody drove out to
Julia's. He had Monopoly and Scrabble on the seat next to him. Definitely not
his usual choice for a first date. But, this wasn't a first date, he reminded
himself. He was being a friend, that was it.

When Julia opened the door and smiled at him with those
plump red lips, he felt his heart give a big thump. "Hi, thought maybe you
could use some company."

She motioned him in and looked curiously at the boxes in his
arms. "Is that Monopoly?"

"Yep. And Scrabble. Feel like a game?"

She laughed. "That would be perfect."

Inside his mind he gave thanks to his brilliant father.

"I just finished eating supper and was wondering what
I'd do for the night. I had a long afternoon nap, so I'm wide awake,"
Julia said to him. She led the way into the living room, and then said, "Wait
a minute, can we use the coffee table or would the dinette set be better?"

"Which game?"

"Monopoly, definitely," she replied. "I
haven't played since--well, I don't know when."

"Let's use the dinette table. It will give us plenty of
room."

They set up the board and the paper money, and Cody couldn't
help but notice how Julia's blue eyes sparkled with pleasure at the idea of the
game. She didn't look as tired tonight as she had last night.

"What did you have for dinner tonight?" he asked,
nonchalantly, he thought.

"You've been dying to ask me since you walked in the
door, haven't you?"