Saving Simon (Tarnished Saints Series Book 5) (7 page)

“The Taylors?” That caught her by surprise for some reason. Now that she thought about it, the old woman on the cruise did say she was from the same town as Simon and his brothers. She really regretted coming here now. She didn’t want to see Simon’s family. Not when she was about to talk Mrs. Glover into selling the marina. Her father had already lined up a buyer who planned on knocking it down and building a five star hotel. “Do you know the Taylors?” she asked.

“Do I know them? Ha!” He laughed again, putting the nozzle back into the pump carefully, taking his sweet time. Then he pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and removed his glasses, cleaning them. This man probably couldn’t hurry if his pants were on fire. “Why I know all twelve of the Taylor boys and their families as well. Hell, Thomas is one of my best friends, and his youngun’ Daniel works here after school and on the weekends.”

“That’s nice,” she said, not really listening. She got back in her car, just happy that Simon was still on the ship and nowhere around here. She wouldn’t be able to face him if he knew she was here to close down the marina, even if it was not her idea but by her father’s orders. Water and boats were Simon’s life.

“Of course it’s after school now, but Daniel’s not here cuz I gave him the day off.”

“Thanks for the directions,” she said, starting her motor. “How much do I owe you?”

“Well, let’s see now,” he said, looking at the gas pump and scratching his head. The thing was so cloudy and dirty that she couldn’t see the amount on it, and sincerely doubted that he could either. “I can’t really see the amount with these glasses. I’ll have to go get my other ones in the house. I don’t usually wear them in the afternoon because I have Daniel pump the gas, but I couldn’t ask him to work with his uncle coming back to town and all.”

“Here’s fifty dollars,” she said. “I’m sure that’s enough.”

“Well, I’ll say,” he said with another whistle, holding the bill up to the sun to inspect it. “How bout a cola for the road, ma’am? I’ve got a cooler full up by the station.”

She glanced over to see an old cooler with the lift-type lid and felt like she was back in time or in Mayberry RFD or something. She needed to get out of here fast. And she wished the man would stop calling her ma’am. Why was it that everyone wanted to call her that lately?

“So whatcha goin’ to the marina for anyway?” he asked.

“It’s just business.”

“Are you the buyer that Bea said was coming to look at the place?”

“Oh, she told you?”

She told the whole town that she met someone on a cruise that was interested in buying the marina. Of course, I don’t want her to sell it, but she thinks she can’t handle running it now that old Eugene died. That’s why I told her to give Simon a call. He likes boats and that kind of stuff and he’s a sailor, so he could run that place with his eyes closed and still make money I’m sure.”

Her ears perked up all of a sudden when she heard this. “Simon? You’re talking about Simon Taylor?”

“Oh, you know him?”

“I . . . met him. On the cruise. I sincerely doubt he can do anything for Mrs. Glover. After all, he’s working on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean.”

“Well, he was, but he came home three days ago.”

“What?” Her mouth dropped open and her heart started beating rapidly. “So you’re saying he’s right here in Sweet Water?”

“He sure is. Actually, he’s staying right there on Thunder Lake. For a whole month that is, before he has to go back to the cruise ship. Wait here, I’ll go inside and give him a call and tell him you’re here. I’m sure if he knows ya he’ll want to meet up with you. What is your name, honey?”

“Pip . . .” She started to tell him, but thought she’d better give him a fake name or he’d be on the phone to Simon before she had a chance to even think about this whole situation. “Pippi Longstockings,” she said, starting up the engine and peeling out of there, wondering why she hadn’t fought her father on this one and just stayed in Chicago like she’d intended. It was probably because she didn’t think Simon would be here. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. He was a man who not only loved anything to do with sailing, but also the man she snuck away from without even saying goodbye when she’d left the Seduction of the Seas.

Chapter 6

Simon jumped out of the back of Thomas’s pickup truck, eyeing up the marina which he hadn’t seen in years. Instead of being freshly painted and the icon of the lake, it looked dingy with peeling paint and broken shutters on the windows. The piers in front looked old and wobbly and there were only a half dozen boats in the slips that usually held two dozen. This was not at all the way he remembered it.

“Thanks for the ride, Thomas,” he said with a wave of his hand.

“Just give me a ring when you want a ride home,” Thomas called out the window and took off down the road in a puff of dust with his middle sons, Zeke, Josh and Jake in the back holding on to two large dogs that were wagging their tails and barking at him at the same time.

Simon walked up to the building, eying up the old gas pump on the dock that was used to fill up the tanks of the rental boats. Boaters on the lake could buy gas here as well. The stainless steel counter and sink with a disposal system leading to a large portable tank underneath sat on the dock close to the building. Fishermen used this station to clean fish, and then hung them on hooks on a boasting board where they’d take a photo of themselves with their catch of the day.

Simon smiled, remembering all the times he’d stood in front of the boasting board for photos with his brothers. He always had the biggest fish not to mention the biggest smile.

He spied the two stand-up coolers by the door. One held juice, soda, and bottles of water, and the other had bags of ice. Next to that was a barrel that held dirt and nightcrawlers used for bait, with a big metal scoop hanging on a nail above it and little metal buckets with handles stacked up next to it. An empty fish tank sat on the ground that was usually used for live minnows that were sold as bait as well.

He took in a breath of crisp lake air, loving the lake just as much as he loved the sea. His eyes scanned the piers and boat slips that held so many fond memories for him.

Besides the rental boats, only two speed boats were docked at the marina, and he recognized those as being owned by some of the summer residents from across the lake. The Glovers had a few rental boats for the tourists to use which included two rowboats up on the beach, one speed boat, and a pontoon boat that could hold a dozen people easily. Two Jet Skis were tied up next to the pontoon and also an eighteen foot Catalina sailboat that Eugene Glover had purchased a few years ago.

Then there was the twenty-two foot South Coast sailboat – the boat that Simon once owned. He’d sold it to the Glovers when he enlisted in the Navy, thinking he was going to make a career out of the military and that he wouldn’t be back. He’d painted it sea blue, replaced the old sails with ones of blue and white, and even refurbished the inside of the cabin.

He loved this sailboat, as it had been his for many years and represented a time in his life when he was wild and carefree. He’d even sailed around Lake Michigan on it by himself, living on the boat for an entire summer. Yes, this boat was special to Simon and now he wondered why he’d ever given it up in the first place when it meant so much to him.

He was about to walk over and take a look at it when he heard shuffling and thumping noises from inside the marina. Instead, he turned and made his way into the building to find old Mrs. Glover dragging a suitcase toward the door.

“Mrs. Glover, are you planning on going somewhere?” he asked, hurrying to help her with her suitcase. It was heavier than he’d expected and he knew she’d packed for more than an overnight trip.

“Yes, Simon. I’m going to see my sister, Barbara in Columbus, Ohio. I just got a call from her and she’s got a herniated disc in her back. The poor thing is in so much pain she is using a walker and a cane and can barely do the stairs, let alone sit.”

“Well, I’m so sorry to hear that,” he said, picking up the suitcase and following her to the door. “I hope she’ll be better soon.”

“She will as soon as I get there and make her some of my medicinal chicken soup.”

Simon held the screen door for her and then followed her out to her car with the suitcase in his hand. “Mrs. Glover, your sister has more than a cold, and I sincerely doubt that chicken soup is going to cure her. She really should see a doctor.”

“She is seeing a doctor. Doctor Beatrice, that’s me.” She got into the old Chevy and Simon opened the back door and laid the suitcase on the seat.

“Well, what about your business? Who is going to run the marina while you’re gone?”

“Oh, dang, I forgot about that. Since it’s only the end of the September, we still have tourists on the lake, but usually mostly on the weekends.”

“You really can’t shut down now,” he told her. “The weather is still nice and people will want to rent boats. If you’re closed, they may not come back next year and that’ll hurt the economy of the whole town.”

“You’re right.” She dug around for something in her purse then held her hand out the window. “Here,” she said, handing him something.

Simon took the object from her, realizing it was a key attached to a plastic green fishing bobber. “What’s this?” he asked.

“It’s the key for the marina. Be a doll and watch it for me until I return. The rest of the keys are on the board inside for the rentals. The red bobber is for the pontoon, the white ones are for the Jet Skis and the orange one is for the small sail boat. The pink one is for the speedboat, and of course you probably remember that the keys on the blue bobber are for your old boat.”

She started up the motor, and Simon looked down to the key in his hand, wanting nothing more than to run the marina for her. The thought of it excited him, but he knew he couldn’t. She was about to drive away when he stopped her.

“No, Mrs. Glover, I can’t. I’m only here for a month and I’m expected back at my job on the cruise ship.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll have to work fast to heal my sister in the next month won’t I?”

Another car pulled into the parking lot just then, and when Piper stepped out of it in her high heels and business-looking skirt and blouse, he felt a sudden anxiety course through him.

“Piper,” he said aloud. “What is she doing here?”

“Oh, dang again, I forgot about that too. My mind just isn’t as sharp as it used to be in my old age, I swear.” Mrs. Glover scrunched up her face and shook her head, acting disgusted with herself. “That’s the daughter of that nice Mr. Westbrook I met on the cruise. Do you remember them?”

“Believe me, I remember.”

“Well, anyway, he said he was sending her out to survey my business. He told me if it didn’t look like I was going to be able to make ends meet, he’d take it off my hands for me quickly.”

“Did he.” Simon had at first thought Piper had come to see him, but now he knew exactly why she was here. And he would bet his bottom dollar it had nothing to do with trying to save the marina.

“Either way, I’m most likely going to sell it to him,” Mrs. Glover continued. “That Mr. Westbrook is a true godsend to say he’d take it off my hands. He even said he already had a buyer lined up who wanted to put up a hotel in place of the marina.”

Simon didn’t like to hear this news at all. He fastened his gaze on Piper who had the nerve to smile and wave slightly before making her way toward them. She pulled out her designer sunglasses from her purse and slapped them on her face as she got closer.

“I’ve got to go, but give me a call when you find out if they really want to buy it from me,” Mrs. Glover told him. “The number to my sister’s home is tacked up on the small refrigerator in the back room. You remember, that little room Eugene called an office with the fridge, microwave and couch in it, but it was really a place for him to have a beer and take a nap during the slow season. You’re welcome to stay there if you want. All the books and invoices are in that desk drawer in the back room as well. Thanks, Simon.”

Simon just stood there, staring at Piper and then looking down at the key in his hand, not knowing what to do. If he refused to help Mrs. Glover, Piper would probably have the marina sold in the next few days. If he agreed to help the old woman, that would put even a bigger wedge between him and Piper. No matter what he decided to do, he felt as if he would come out on the bad end of the deal.

“Mrs. Glover,” Piper called out as the old woman drove away. “Wait. Where are you going?”

“Talk to Simon, dear. He’ll tell you everything.” With that, she drove away, leaving Piper and Simon standing there together.

“Hello Piper,” he said, trying to break the ice.

“Simon. I’m surprised to see you here.”

“I’ll bet you are.” He realized she was no better than her father if she was the one to show up to survey the business. He’d seen this before. Big business owners more or less talked the mom and pop businesses into selling – usually the ones in prime spots. Then they make a low-ball offer, rip the place down, and put up a business that more or less hurts everyone living in the town. “I came to your stateroom aboard the cruise ship to say goodbye but you’d already left.”