Sound of the Tide (24 page)

The next morning, I called Kevin.

“Do you feel like turning back time?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t ask too many questions.

“How do you mean?”

“A trip—to the cape. Like we used to do,” I squeezed out. It felt pretty weird to me, too, but I had spent all night thinking about nothing but the days of my youth.

“Like we used to do?”

“Jesus, Kev! Do you want to go on a trip—yes or no?”

“Of course! Sure! I would love to. Want me to pick you up?”

“Yeah, and bring your guitar.”

There was silence on the other end, and I knew exactly why.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure! And Kev, hurry. Amber and I, we’re waiting for you.”

As I hung up, I held the handset pressed to my chest for a little while longer, and smiled. I looked down at myself, at my cutoff jeans and the pair of sunglasses hanging from the neckline of my low-cut top.

Kevin arrived a little while later, and just like back in the day he had his arm hanging from the rolled-down window, with his sunglasses hiding his eyes—and I could tell from his little dimple that he was enjoying this.

“Like we used to do, Piper? Seriously?”

He got out and sat on the hood of his car, like a teenage boy who was way too cool for his own good, sizing me up with a big grin.

“So. What now, Piper?”

I shrugged my shoulders and kissed Amber’s tiny head before looking at him again. I felt a little awkward somehow.

“I have no idea, Kev. I would like t
o . . .
escape reality for a while.”

He laughed in that new and exciting way I had noticed, and took Amber off my hands before breathing a kiss on my cheek.

“Get in! Today, we’ll just create our own version of reality.”

I grabbed my bag, and off we went.

We drove up to the cliffs at the cape, and spread our blanket close to the rocks—exactly like we used to do. The eternal wind blowing on the headland carried within it the powerful fragrance of the sea, and every now and again the pounding waves below hurled up a fine spray of seawater. Amber was playing with a handful of pebbles and a piece of wood that the tide had polished smooth.

Kevin sat opposite me, looking at me expectantly. The sun made his green eyes sparkle, and even though I wasn’t cold, the way he looked at me was sending shivers down my spine.

“Do you remember how we used to come here to swim?” I asked, peering over to the faded, rotting warning sign that expressly forbade swimming in this spot.

Kevin smiled.

“Of course! We were a reckless bunch back in the day, weren’t we? And only because we were trying to impress you girls!”

“Well, it worked on me!” I confessed as I thought back to those youthful days. Kevin had jumped into the sea right from this spot, ignoring the riptide and the primal force of the thundering waves below.

“Totally worth it.”

It was! I remembered exactly how I felt back then.

“Yeah, I thought you were reall
y . . .
cool,” I admitted, feeling a little jitter in the pit of my stomach.

He lay down next to me on the blanket, staring at me intently.

“Really? Tell me mor
e . . .
”

Shit, what was happening? I was feeling really hot, and my palms were sweaty. Oh my God, he was flirting with me!

“Hmm, all right. So, I thought you were cool, and sexy. Especially with your shorts all wet.”

Kevin laughed, and reached for my hand.

“Piper, I totally was not cool back then! I was crazy about you, and I jumped into the deadly current for one reason, and one reason only: I wanted t
o . . .
” He paused, giving me a mischievous wink.

“But I thought you only cared for your music!”

“Silly! I was just so overwhelmed by all these feelings that I thought the only way to express them was in music. And when yo
u . . .
When things were over between us, I got lost in my music, but it was never the same again. And so one day I stopped playing. I thought that if you realized how little I cared about the music, you woul
d . . .
”

He looked out over the horizon, and blinked his eyes. “But then Daniel arrived, and
I . . .
I didn’t want to take my chances. I didn’t want to lose
him
, and I didn’t want to lose
you
, and so I compromised.”

I didn’t say anything. It was difficult for me to imagine how things might have turned out if he had fought for me—because I had really loved Daniel very much. Maybe it was smart of him not to take his shot, because no matter what I felt for him back then, Daniel had descended upon me like a thunderstorm, and from that moment on I never once doubted our love. I wasn’t doubting it now.

“I would love to hear you play,” I said, trying to change the subject.

“Why? We were always fighting about my music.”

“You used to love your guitar. To lose something that you lov
e . . .
I now realize how much that must have hurt. I want you to play again.”

“All right then, I’ll play—for you. But I am
warning
you, I get unbelievably sexy with a guitar in my hands!”

“Better put up your own warning sign, then, because you’re unbelievably sexy even without a guitar!” I called after him as he went to get his instrument from the car, and pointed at the warning sign depicting a crossed-out swimmer.

“As if a warning sign ever stopped us before,” he replied with a seductive grin, sitting down very close behind me. Then he placed the guitar in my lap and embraced me with both his arms. With a kiss against my neck he started plucking away at the strings, and I leaned back against his chest, happy.

S
UMMER
R
AIN

August

J
enna, Frank, and I were sitting in the shade outside Franky’s Little Bakery, enjoying lattes. From here, we had the best view over the harbor, which was bustling with hectic busyness because that morning one of the fishing boats had drawn water and eventually sunk. Now there were lots of curious onlookers, several fishermen—who were wondering out loud how such a thing could possibly have happened—and a bunch of helpers out and about by the pier and in the water, doing their best to collect all the bits and pieces that were washing up on the shore. The fire department was at the scene, too, trying to prevent the boat’s fuel from leaking into the harbor.

While I was chewing on my straw, deeply lost in thought, Frank was entertaining Amber, who was receiving her first horse-riding lesson in his lap.

“Horsey, horsey, don’t you stop,” I heard him sing, and Jenna enthusiastically clapped along.

I aimed my own enthusiasm at Kevin, who was soaking wet from all the debris and wreckage that people were handing him from the harbor basin below. He loaded another big chunk of wood onto one of the pickups and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He glanced over and waved, before turning back to his job.

“How are things going between the two of you?” asked Jenna, who didn’t fail to notice my gaze.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Time will tell. We’re taking things slow, and it’s wonderful. I feel good, s
o . . .
safe, and everything is nice and easy. It’s like he’s healing me.”

I kept watching, and admired the play of Kevin’s muscles underneath his T-shirt. Saw how he joked with his coworkers, and noticed—with pleasant shivers running down my back—the power and strength of his hands. I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to feel those hands on my skin again, after all these years.

“So have you finally kissed?” Jenna kept pressing.

“No,” I confessed, and blushed. Kevin and I had been spending every single day together these past few weeks, but we hadn’t kissed. I didn’t expect Jenna to understand. Besides, I for one wanted our first kiss to be the start of something. The start of something amazing. And not the halfhearted finish to something that was perhaps over, but never really fully closed.

“You’ll be the first to know when the time comes, all right?”

She seemed satisfied and turned her attention back to Amber, who was excitedly tearing pages from the notepad that Frank normally used to jot down orders. Jenna took the squeaking bundle of joy into her lap and started helping Amber make tiny paper balls from the torn-out pages and throw them in Frank’s direction.

“So, tell us, how was your first day at work?” Frank asked as he tried to dodge the tiny projectiles.

“Well, it wasn’t a whole day,” I explained. “Only two hours. Cat is trying to ease me in gently and she’s still treating me with kid gloves. But it was fun—for all of us. It gives Cat and Marcus more time with Amber, and as for me, well, it gives me the chance to interact with people again. I’m really glad Marcus suggested it.”

“If I had known, I would have hired you as a waitress,” Frank offered, but I laughed and waved my hand dismissively.

“Thanks, but no thanks—I’m glad I’m starting to lose the baby weight. If I had to work here with all your delicious pies and cupcakes, I don’t think I’d survive it!”

One of the paper balls caught Frank’s shirt collar, and he pretended he had just taken a serious hit. Jenna cheered and Amber imitated her, and Frank swore bloody revenge. He started tickling the girls, which resulted in loud, happy shrieks.

I had moved around in my chair so I could get a better view of Kevin when Ewan arrived at our table with a blonde in tow.

“Hello, Piper,” he said, nodding to everyone around the table. “How nice to run into you here.”

Shit! There was a reason why Daniel had always called me chicken! Because I
was
one. I hadn’t really tried to avoid Ewan, but I also wasn’t exactly sad that he was busying himself with other ladies. It seemed easier than trying to explain tha
t . . .
Well, explain what exactly?

Not having to assign a name to this relationship Kevin and I were having felt nice. We weren’t really together, but we
belonged
together. Maybe that was the best way to describe it. But I also didn’t feel the need to discuss it. Not with Jenna, and certainly not with Mr. Heartbreak himself, my fine-looking neighbor. I could feel the blonde’s evil eyes on me as I turned toward Ewan.

“Hi, Ewan. Are you here to bear witness to the most exciting thing that has happened to Blue Hill in the past few years?” I pointed toward the fishing boat that the workers had by now hauled onto the beach. “What a story, huh? We’ll still be telling our great-grandkids about this! The day that Larry’s fishing boat sank!”

Everyone laughed, and Frank reached for Jenna’s hand. Though she was having sex dreams about Ewan not so long ago, Frank really seemed to be winning the race for her heart.

“You know, Jenna, if we wanted to have great-grandkids,” Frank said, “we’ll need to have a child first. What do you think? Should we get to work right here, right now?” He pulled Jenna and Amber over and into his chair, oblivious to her objections. His smile was wicked, and Jenna blushed. “A cute little bambino? What do you say?”

“Frank!” she protested, motioning in Ewan’s direction. “What will Dr. Palmer think?”

“As long as you don’t want to have great-grandkids with
him
, I don’t care!” Frank responded, completely unconcerned, and kissed first Amber then Jenna on the cheek.

I winked at her, and grinned from ear to ear. “And here I was thinking that Frank no longer kisses every girl who orders something sweet!”

“Only the pretty ones!” the Italian explained, blowing me a kiss across the table. Ewan’s blonde turned away with a sullen look on her face, snorting in contempt (probably because Frank hadn’t blown her a kiss).

Ewan seemed to feel a little out of place, because he was still standing next to me and looking quite uncomfortable. He could have pulled up a chair, but he didn’t.

“Yeah, so much going on here,” he said, bringing the discussion back to the topic of the fishing boat, and pointed toward the pier. Kevin was still down there, and we noticed him approach us.

Oh great, just what I needed! I didn’t want Kevin to be jealous of Ewan, and I didn’t want to feel even the hint of a negative vibe between Kevin and me. Everything was perfect just the way it was. All right, fine, maybe I should have expected this to happen. Every time things were going really well, something bad was
bound
to happen.

“What are you doing tonight?” Ewan asked, probably not because he was looking for a date but rather to keep the small talk going.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” Kevin said, pushing past Ewan and standing right next to me. His T-shirt was wet and clinging to his chest, and his firefighter pants were dirty, with the suspenders casually dangling over his hips. He smelled of salty sea, and his intense workout in the sun had caused a little blush on the bridge of his nose. He looked incredibly handsome. Handsome and ready to take on Ewan. As if that were necessary!

I shook my head. Men! Blondie seemed utterly confused, because even though Ewan knew full well that nothing would ever happen between the two of us, he didn’t seem inclined to back down.

Jenna nudged Frank with her elbow, unashamedly staring at the scene unfolding in front of her.

The air was heavy with testosterone, and I could almost hear the sound of a harmonica playing like in one of those westerns where two men stood and faced one another, each with his finger ready on the trigger.

This was so silly that I giggled. In my mind’s eye, I could even see the tumbleweed drifting through a ghost town and smell the cheap whiskey through the saloon’s swinging doors.

Because I hadn’t replied, Kevin made the first move and put his hand on my shoulder. “This town isn’t big enough for the two of us,” he seemed to growl at Ewan.

With my straw I sucked the last of the milk foam from my latte. I had to get rid of this stupid western fantasy inside my brain!

Ewan shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

“This really messes with my statistics, Piper,” he said in mock regret. “Maybe I’ll come to the bookstore sometime to get one of those self-help books. Know what I mean?”

Yeah, I knew what he meant but Kevin didn’t. All Kevin heard was that Ewan was planning to keep on seeing me. And so I put my hand on Kevin’s arm, hoping this would appease him while at the same time showing Ewan what the story was.

“Well, since I’m messing with your statistics, I can at least try to give you a discount on your self-help book,” I suggested amicably. “Ewan, this is Kevin, by the way. He’s very important to me. I mea
n . . .
very
important.”

Ewan nodded, and Kevin grinned from ear to ear. I shot him a glare because he could really have tried to make an effort not to seem quite so arrogant and triumphant, but fortunately Ewan did not seem particularly impressed.

Instead, he pointed at his companion. “And this is”—he seemed to search for her name, and Blondie gave him the evil eye—“Britney.”

“Whitney!” she reminded him in a shrill voice, and yanked her hand away. “My name’s Whitney, you jerk!”

She angrily stormed off, digging her high heels in with each step. Ewan looked after her and shrugged his shoulders.

“Guess I better go after
Whitney
to calm her down. See you around, Piper.”

“Yeah, see you,” I cheerfully called after him, and everyone at the table chuckled. Everyone except one.

“Or maybe not,” Kevin muttered to himself, following Ewan with his eyes. He then sat down with us.

Frank and Jenna stared at me with their eyes wide. As if this incident was my fault!

“Was that really necessary?” I asked Kevin, but he only grinned.

“Jeez, Smokey, you drove the poor doctor away!” Jenna said teasingly, straining her neck to see if she could catch another glimpse of Ewan.

“He’s handsome enough to handle it,” Kevin retorted. “Okay, so maybe his ego will suffer a little. As will Britney’s!”

“Whitney’s,” I corrected him, and everyone snorted with laughter.

“Hey, that’s easy enough to get mixed up!” Frank chimed in, siding with Ewan over the general laughter.

I shook my head, secretly feeling relieved that Kevin now knew how I felt about him and that nothing serious had ever happened between Ewan and me—and never would.

Kevin took Amber on his knees and tousled her curly hair.

“So, honey, what else are we doing today? And how do we convince your mom to have dinner with me tonight?” he asked and nodded somberly when Amber started babbling.

“Why don’t you get her a bunny rabbit, Smokey?” Jenna suggested brazenly, quickly seeking shelter in Frank’s arms.

Kevin glared at her, and I put my hand on his upper thigh, trying to calm him down.

Apparently, he was never going to get over this hang-up with bunny rabbits that had earned him his nickname. Seriously, though, people should really acknowledge his selfless heroism for what it was rather than turning it into a stupid nickname and teasing him about it.

Years ago he had saved a little girl from her burning house. The child had screamed and cried because her bunny rabbit was still inside, but by that point the flames had already reached the roof, and the entire house was ablaze. Against express orders from his boss, Kevin had returned into the fire to save the little girl’s pet. He succeeded but suffered severe smoke inhalation—plus temporary suspension from his job. He had put himself in unnecessary danger, risking his life, but I knew why he had done it. The girl had lost both her parents in the fire that day, but at least she would keep her beloved bunny. Not much of a consolation—but for the child perhaps the only thing that would save her tiny soul.

The incident had earned Kevin his nickname and ridicule from every single one of his coworkers. But to me, he had done everything right.

Which was why I ignored Jenna’s unnecessary taunting and interrupted her silly banter by asking Kevin, “Have you finished your shift already?” I was feeling confused because I still saw people working down by the pier.

“Yeah. I just need to get back to the station real quick to take a shower and get changed. But after that, we can relax if you want and have a nice evening all to ourselves.”

Did I ever want that! After watching him in action for most of the day, I couldn’t wait to spend a little one-on-one time with him. I wanted him to laugh and joke with me like he had with his coworkers. I also couldn’t get his strong hands out of my mind.

“Amber and I walked here from Mellos Cove. Feel like walking us home?”

“Sure thing. Will you wait here? I’ll be right back.”

I nodded, and followed him with dreamy eyes as he jogged down the street toward the fire station.

“Call me on my cell!” Jenna’s voice yanked me from my contemplation.

“Huh, what? Why?”

“When you kiss him, I mean. You said you’d keep me posted.” She winked as if we were coming up with a conspiratorial plan.

“Oh, shut up! I’m not going to kiss him today! It’s not the right time yet! Things like that don’t happen overnight!”

“No, I guess they really don’t!” Jenna moaned and shook her head. “Piper, it’s been ten years with the two of you!”

She leaned in and whispered, “Live a little! I bet that if and when you do, you’ll realize that it’s exactly the right time!”