Seaside Hearts (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (20 page)

SUNDAY MORNING PETE and Jenna sat on the couch drinking coffee, neither wanting to leave before the other.

“Want some toast?” Jenna’s leg bounced nervously.

“You’re stalling.” Pete kissed her neck. “You have to be at the book sale in half an hour.”

“Do you blame me?” She set his coffee cup on a coaster and climbed onto his lap. Pete was bare chested, wearing just a pair of Levi’s. His skin was still warm and moist from his shower, and he smelled like heaven. Jenna nuzzled against his neck.

“I’m getting used to this whole wake-up-to-Petey thing.” She ran her hands through his wet hair and kissed each cheek.

He cupped her butt in one hand and rested his head back. She knew he loved when she stroked his cheek, and she did so now. He had shaved this morning, and his face was smooth and soft. Jenna ran her thumb over his lips and then kissed them lightly, feeling the effect of her love beneath her.

“Careful, or you’ll be late.” He opened his eyes and resituated Jenna so she wasn’t sitting fully on his erection, then kissed her deeply. “I’m getting used to us, too, Jenna. In fact, I never want to go back to not being us.”

PETE’S WORDS CARRIED Jenna through the chilly morning. By midafternoon the sun had burned through the clouds and crowds of people milled around the annual book sale—and Jenna was still smiling like a schoolgirl in love. Cars lined up along Main Street waiting to pull into the public parking area behind the church. The parking lot had been packed tight since eight o’clock in the morning. Churchgoers came decked out in their Sunday best, and families rode their bicycles through the quaint town, stopping to check out the titles, which were lined up three boxes deep in the alley, covering the tops of long tables and spread on blankets on the lawn.

“Everyone here is going to know you’re a dirty girl if you don’t get that stupid grin off your face,” Amy teased.

Amy and Jenna sat on metal chairs in front of Abiyoyo, a specialty shop with upscale toys, gifts, and clothing. Behind them was a waist-high brick wall with a New England garden boasting colorful flowers and verdant foliage of varying heights and types.

“You’d be smiling, too, if it were you and Tony.” Jenna handed a red-haired woman change for her purchase, and Amy bagged the books she bought for her two young children, who were tugging on her shorts.

“Thanks for stopping by.” Jenna watched them walk away and turned her attention back to Amy.

“So, anyway, it looks like I might be moving to the Cape!” She and Amy squealed and hugged for the hundredth time that day. No matter how many times she said it aloud, it still didn’t feel real.

“I’m sickeningly jealous, but so happy for you.” Amy had on a pair of shorts and a light blue tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and as she spoke, she tightened the elastic band, lifting her ponytail higher. She sat back with a sigh. “I can’t get over that you two are finally a couple. And when I see you two together, it’s like that’s how it’s always been.”

“That’s how it feels to us, too.”

“Have you told your mom you might be moving yet?” Amy asked.

Jenna’s pulse kicked up a notch. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that her mother was figuring out her own life, and that she wasn’t losing her mind. Relief came quickly as she recalled her mother’s confession. “Not yet. But I will. He just brought it up last night, and we didn’t make any final decisions. He just asked if I would consider it. If, or
when
, I move, my mom and I will still live close enough to see each other often.” 

“If? I would stick with
when
.” Amy smiled and eyed a handsome guy in bike shorts flipping through a box of books. “It’s not like you have any obstacles. You rent your house, and you’re an art teacher, so you can work anywhere. Or maybe you can start painting again.” Amy raised her brows.

“That would be like two dreams come true. Me and Pete
and
painting on the Cape. God, Amy, who would have guessed that our lives would turn out like this?”

 “Oh no. I just realized that if you move here, I’ll be the only one of us not living here.” Amy’s eyes filled with worry. “If you guys are always together and I’m the only one who’s not, I’ll start to feel like a fourth wheel.”

Jenna draped an arm around her shoulder. “Ames, you already
are
our fourth wheel, and I’m our third. We need all four wheels to make the girlfriend bus go. That will
never
change.  Besides, I can’t just quit work this close to the beginning of the school year. That would be irresponsible. Who knows when I can really move here?” The pieces of her life suddenly began swimming before her. She couldn’t leave the school without an art teacher, and she’d have to give her landlord notice. Neither was an insurmountable obstacle, and when she compared them to Pete’s declaration this morning, that it was time to put a stop to his father’s drinking, they paled in comparison.

Amy rolled her eyes and lowered her voice as she rose to help a customer. “You’ll make it happen, or I’ll make it happen for you.”

Jenna didn’t want to breach Pete’s confidence and tell Amy about Pete’s father, but she was having trouble holding it in, and Amy was one of her most trusted friends. She’d never kept secrets from Amy or their other friends before, and as she thought about sharing what Pete was going through, she realized how her priorities had shifted. How her heart had shifted. She hadn’t thought she could ever love anyone more than Amy, Bella, and Leanna, but as she ferreted away Pete’s secret, she realized that he’d moved to the head of the line. She waited for guilt to pump her to share the secret that was weighing heavily on her, and when it didn’t come, she knew she was making the right decision.

She turned her attention to a woman holding a stack of books and helped her set them on the table. “Wow, that’s an armful. I’m glad you found some you liked.”

“I always do.” The petite, gray-haired woman pulled a leather wallet from her purse. “I time my vacation around the annual sale, believe it or not. Pathetic, I know.” She shrugged with a smile.

“Not pathetic at all. Thrifty and smart.” Jenna bagged the books as the woman paid Amy. “Enjoy your vacation.”

“I’m in Wellfleet. How could I not?” The woman waved as she walked toward the parking lot.

“See? Everyone knows Wellfleet is the place to be. I still can’t believe I’ve gone all summer without seeing the man I wait all year to see.
That
shows me how little I mean to Tony.”

Although Amy hadn’t said much to Jenna about Tony not being there this summer, Jenna knew how upset she was. If the tables were turned, and she hadn’t seen Pete all summer, her heart would have been broken, too.

“He’s been texting you, and I think that tells you what he thinks of you more than his stupid work schedule,” Jenna offered, but she knew it wasn’t enough, not when Amy wore her love for Tony on her sleeve.

“I know, and it’s not his fault, but being stuck in the friend zone was a little easier when you were there with me.”

Jenna put her arm around Amy again. “I’ll always be there with you. That, you can count on. It sucks that you haven’t seen him, and I’m really sorry. I wish I could fix it for you.”

“You have your own life to figure out.” Amy sighed loudly, her brow wrinkled. “Besides, everyone says absence makes the heart grow fonder, so my fingers are crossed.” She crossed her fingers and held them up.

Jenna crossed her legs, toes, and fingers. “I’d cross my eyes, too, with the hope that absence really does make the heart grow fonder—especially since Pete and I will also be separated for a while. I’ll have to go back home for some period of time to work things out there.”

Amy crossed her eyes. “There. Now we’re both covered.”  

PETE RAN HIS thumb over the rehabilitation and treatment counselor’s card for the millionth time in the past few weeks. He’d done it so often that the card stock was beginning to fray. Calling his brothers had been difficult, and listening to Grayson tell him it was
about goddamn time
had touched a nerve, but he knew Grayson was right, and Grayson’s anger had also confirmed that talking to his father alone this time in an effort to get him to seek help was the right way to handle the situation. Even though his siblings weren’t dealing with the effects of their father’s drinking on a near-daily basis, like Pete was, it had taken a toll on all of them, and it had definitely driven a wedge between them, even if everyone but Grayson pussyfooted around the topic. If they were going to heal as a family, it had to begin with his father’s recovery.

Pete considered calling Sky, but he’d protected her this long, what was another couple of weeks? He’d tell her everything once their father was on the road to recovery.

His cell phone vibrated with a text from Jenna. He wondered how long he would have let his father’s drinking ride if they hadn’t finally come together. Like most uncomfortable thoughts, he shoved it away, thankful that Jenna hadn’t turned tail and run when she found out.

The book sale is crazy busy and I miss you tons. How are you holding up? Talk to your family? I found a few books on surviving recovery written for the families of alcoholics. Want me to pick them up?

He never realized how much he could love a person, but he lived and breathed for Jenna. She’d not only supported his decision to take a firm stance with his father, but she’d also offered to skip the book sale to be there with him.
And now she is spending the time she should be focusing on customers finding books for me
. It was time for him to deal with this head-on. Jenna deserved a life free from his father’s disease, and he would do everything he could to ensure that she had it. Hell, he deserved a normal life, too, and he wanted that life with Jenna.

He sent her a text.
I miss you, too. Talked to everyone except Sky. Calling the counselor now. Thanks for finding the books, and sure, please get them. Can’t wait to see you.

Pete patted his thigh, and Joey bounded to his side. Together they walked out to the barn. Pete pulled open the doors, inhaling the pungent smell of old wood, varnish, and paint. The aroma that he’d hoped to associate with his father’s recovery now left him a little empty. He ran his hand along the bottom of the boat, calculating the time his father would be in the rehab center if he agreed to go. The rehab counselor had said to plan on three to five weeks of inpatient care, depending on his father’s progress. His father had been in complete denial when his brothers had staged a full-on intervention, and he could only hope that with enough love—and enough one-on-one pressure—this time would be different. He had to believe that somewhere in his father’s heart he wanted Pete to have a chance at a full life with Jenna, just as he’d had with Pete’s mother.

His cell phone vibrated again, and he withdrew it from his jeans pocket and read another text from Jenna.

I know this is hard. Your mom would be proud of you, and one day your dad will realize all you’ve done and he’ll be proud of you for it, too. Xox.

He had his doubts about his father being proud of this particular effort, but with Jenna’s encouragement, he held on to a shred of hope that one day they’d both look back and the past two years would be history. A glitch in an otherwise warm and loving family history.

Pete took another long look at the boat—
I’m not giving up on you, Pop—
pulled the barn doors closed, and headed down the sandy path to the rocks overlooking the bay. He and Joey sat side by side on a large rock as he called the emergency number for the counselor and left a message. As the minutes ticked by, Pete’s anxiety mounted. He felt like a traitor, turning to the counselor behind his father’s back. Someplace deep inside, he knew he wasn’t a traitor. He was probably saving his father’s life, and he was definitely saving his own, but that knowledge didn’t quell the tightening in his gut.

Joey laid her chin on Pete’s lap and he stroked her fur. Since day one, Joey had trusted he’d feed her, care for her, and keep her safe from harm. She trusted him like he used to trust his father. Jenna’s words whispered through his mind.
I think for some of us—me with my mom, and you with your dad—we have to learn to be just as selfless as our parents were. Maybe now it’s our turn to rescue them
.

He turned her words over in his mind, and his perspective began to change. He rose to his feet as he pushed the guilt aside with a sense of finality, and by the time the counselor called back, Pete was bound and determined to get this done, but first he had one more phone call to make. Being worthy of someone’s trust meant more than protecting them from the life’s brutal realities. He dialed Sky’s number.

 “Hey, big brother. What’s up?” Sky’s smile came through in her voice.

“Hi, sis. Do you have a sec, or are you busy?”

“You sound so serious. Is everything okay?”

Not even a little
. “I always sound serious, don’t I?” He tried to laugh it off, and knew he failed when she remained silent. “Are you someplace you can talk or are you out?”

“Actually, I just pulled up behind Dad’s store. I know I told you that I’d wait to come out, but my hours got canceled at the co-op this weekend, so I figured, why not go see Dad? Besides, it’s Mom’s birthday. I thought he’d be lonely.”

Shit
. How could he have forgotten? So much for Pete’s plan of heading over to the store after talking to Sky and getting this thing over with.

“Really? You’re in town? Great.”
Fuck
. He eyed Joey. “Come to my place. I have a new puppy who’s dying to meet you, and I’d love to catch up.”

“Okay, let me stop in and see Dad. Half an hour sound good? I just want say hi to him and then I’ll come over.”

“Perfect.” Pete never thought he’d count himself lucky that his father was a functioning alcoholic during the day, but knowing that Sky wouldn’t see anything different from what she’d seen during any other visit drove the thought home.

Sky showed up thirty minutes later and ran across the grass toward Pete and Joey. She was wearing a long patchwork skirt, a tank top, and an enthusiastic smile as wide as Julia Roberts’s. She dropped to her knees and smothered Joey with kisses. Joey pawed at Sky’s hair and licked her cheeks.