Sound of the Tide (26 page)

“Me? Oh gosh, they’re not seriously expecting me to square Daniel’s debts, are they?”

Kevin pulled a face.

“I’m afraid they are. Having said tha
t—
”

“Well, that’s just crazy! I never agreed to that stupid bet! No way, out of the question!”

He took my hand and patted it appeasingly.

“
Shhh
, Piper, relax! I already explained to them that they can’t take advantage of you like that.”

“Phew! Thanks!”

“Wait, let me finish!”

I grimaced.

“I thought we were through with this.”

“Just shut up already, or I’ll think of something to make you shut up,” he cautioned, leaning in dangerously close. His lips were close. Very close.

I held my breath and nodded weakly.

“They want their barbecue, Piper. They insist. There’s no two ways about it.”

He paused, and with anxious anticipation I awaited his next move. Our eyes merged, but I seemed to be the one getting lost.

“However—because you look so incredibly hot in wet clothes—I really put my back into it and negotiated for you.”

“This morning you didn’t even know that you were going to see me in wet clothes,” I pointed out.

I could only tell that he was smiling from the tiny laugh lines around his eyes, because his mouth was still way too close to mine.

“All right, so maybe my feelings are to blame, but I haven’t been able to think about anything else since I saw you in those wet clothes.”

Jesus, I was going to pass out any minute now! Couldn’t he just kiss me already? Did he always need to be such a gentleman and patiently wait for me to be ready? Maybe I
was
ready—had that ever crossed his mind?

“So what was the result of your negotiations?” I asked, trying to give our conversation a shot at being serious, but my voice came out hoarse like one of those sex hotline operators, and I felt a little embarrassed that I was wearing my excitement and arousal so clearly on my sleeve.

Kevin laughed and leaned back again. He played it cool, real cool, but his eyes were glowing, all warm and familiar.

“I’m not telling you. It’s a surprise, but we really need to get planning for Daniel’s last big party!”

S
ALT ON
M
Y
L
IPS

Late August

I
slipped off my shoes and sat down on one of the rocks by the cape. The wind carried up a fine spray of seawater from the surge below, and the rocks under the lighthouse descended into a monster roller wave though the structure stood solemn and strong.

My hair was swirling like crazy before my face, and so I weaved it into a loose braid while looking out over the sea. A handful of seagulls that nested up here in the white cliffs were circling in the sky above. They dive-bombed into the open ocean at irregular intervals and resurfaced half a second later, rising up and carrying captured fish in their beaks.

Tomorrow would be the big day—and I was terrified already. Cat, Marcus, Jenna, Frank, and Kevin had been busy all day getting things ready for the barbecue and, even though I hadn’t had a single moment of alone-time since this morning, I felt very much alone.

I was angry with them all for forcing me to host this stupid party, because I really didn’t want to have it. I had managed to make a fresh start, and now I had to take a step back? It was as if this party was raising demons from the dead that I was so desperately trying to leave buried. It was as if they were making me leap across the bottomless pit of long-lost dreams, with weights tied to my shoes—despite the fact that I was useless at sports and couldn’t even hop across a shallow puddle of water.

I saw myself fail and flounder and fall, right back into heartache and pain.

Why had Kevin allowed this to happen? Why didn’t anyone realize how hard it was for me to host a party in Daniel’s honor? Because that’s exactly what it was: a memorial party, a send-off, the kind of farewell celebration Daniel would have liked for himself. Spareribs from the smoker, handmade burgers, beer. All of his friends and coworkers would be there. Plus loud music and cheerful laughter to boot. Daniel would have loved it!

It was a nightmare!

I wished Amber was with me, but Cat was hogging her granddaughter today. And so I’d come here, alone. I thought it would be nice to have a moment to myself. Here, at the cape, where everything had started, in a manner of speaking.

When I came here with Kevin the other day, things had been great—but now I was sitting on these rocks, by myself and afraid to let my thoughts roam free. I missed the sound of his guitar, which had mingled so perfectly with the surge of the waves, and stared over toward the lighthouse. I wished I were as strong and invincible as it was. But I wasn’t. I laughed a bitter laugh. On the contrary! The tiniest wave could knock the ground from under me and carry me out to sea, and I was afraid that tomorrow’s party would make more than just tiny waves.

Ewan would be here—maybe with Whitney as his date, which would hopefully prevent another standoff between him and Kevin. Still, it would have been damn impolite not to invite him, because he’d been such a crutch for me during my darkest days. And I didn’t want to lose him as a friend, even if he had never become an essential part of my life.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was giving me the creeps about tomorrow. To me it felt as if I would also have to face Daniel at my party. As if he himself would show up, helping himself to a rack of ribs or two. And then he would demand an explanation.

He would accuse me of never truly having loved him. Of getting over him too quickly and generally being a horrible person all around because I had developed feelings for Kevin. How could I ever weather
that
storm?

“I have loved you, Daniel, with every fiber of my being! You must believe me!” I whispered into the wind.

And it was the truth. Nothing I would do or say in the future would ever change that. Not Kevin, not time, not anything or anyone else.

I took a deep breath, tasting the salt on my lips and remembering the tears I’d cried. I had left my tears behind, but that didn’t lessen or betray my love for Daniel. Not ever.

I got up and wiped the sand off my pants. The lighthouse was still engulfed in the immeasurable power of the elements, and the current below was still too dangerous to swim in. And yet, there had once been a time when I had done just that. I watched the waves break against the towering structure, and smiled.

Sometimes, you just had to be brave and do what you needed to do—in spite of the odds. I looked around me, and there was no warning sign that read, “Danger! No Loving!”

But even if there had been . . . When had a sign ever stopped us?

One hell of a racket woke me the next morning, and it wasn’t even sunrise yet. Somebody—a crazy person, obviously—was pressing down on my doorbell. Everything within a mile cringed and held its ears—including me!

“Jesus Christ, what the hell’s going on?” I muttered, digging my way out from under the covers. The ringing wouldn’t stop, and I felt as if the shrill sound was turning my brain into pulp.

Amber was crying, and I hurled out a massive curse that I hoped she was too little to ever remember and repeat. I took her out of her crib and stroked her back. Crying and screaming was exactly what I felt like doing myself.

Making my way downstairs would take too long, and besides, there was a good chance that I would strangle that bozo with the belt of my dressing gown if I came close enough. And so I yanked open my bedroom window and yelled outside.

“Stop! Stop it! Take your dirty goddamn fingers off my doorbell right now, or else!”

The noise stopped, but the ringing in my ears didn’t. Unfazed by my hostile welcome, the man outside my door strained his neck and stared up at me.

“Delivery for”—he leafed through a bunch of papers on a clipboard—“Colby, Piper. Where’s a good place to unload?”

I raised my eyebrows and followed the man’s eyes down the street, where I spotted a large truck with a full load of lumber.

“
I . . . I . . .
There must be a misunderstanding!” I called. “That’s not for me!”

“Well, are you Piper Colby, or aren’t you?” the guy asked gruffly, tapping his clipboard.

“Uh, yeah, sure, that’s my name, but this deliver
y . . .
I have no idea what that’s supposed to be, or why you would think I would order all that wood!”

“Well, miss, we’re going around in circles. Why don’t you come down and take a look at the delivery slip—while I unload.”

“No, no, no, you can’t unload here!”

Was I speaking Chinese or something?

“I didn’t order anything, and I’m having a party today! I can’t have all that wood blocking my driveway, and by the way I didn’t order it to begin with!”

He was getting impatient—I could tell even from up here.

“Since I wasn’t invited, I don’t really care about your party, to be honest. Every minute you’re wasting here is delaying all the other deliveries I still have scheduled for today, and so I would really
appreciate
it if you could come to the door.”

“I can’t. You woke me up. I am not decent yet!”

He stuffed the clipboard under his arm, completely unimpressed, and shrugged his shoulders.

“Whatever—I don’t mind!”

“Goddammit!” I grumbled, and slammed the window shut. I ran into the bedroom and put Amber down on the bed. Frantically, I tore a pair of jeans from the closet and slipped into the first T-shirt I laid eyes on. A quick leap into the bathroom, where I rinsed my mouth with mouthwash. That idiot really didn’t deserve all this effort, but I didn’t want him to think that I had a mouse die and rot inside my mouth!

Brushing my hair was out of the question, though, as I heard the truck pull into my driveway in spite of my protests.

“Cover your ears, baby, because Mommy is very angry right now!” I called, and stormed down the stairs with Amber tightly clutched in my arms.

Just as I yanked open the door, he unloaded a whole pallet of lumber.

“Stop!” I screamed. “I said stop!”

The guy turned around, but continued, completely unfazed.

“Don’t worry, ma’am, your husband just arrived. He said it’s fine for me to unload.”

My husband? Jesus Christ, was I still stuck inside a dream? A nightmare, more like it! And where the hell was that chainsaw-wielding psychopath when you really needed him, the one who had it in for lumber delivery guys? Even nightmares couldn’t be trusted these days!

“Listen! There must be some kind of misunderstanding!” I objected, but he ignored me.

“Go ask your husband,” he replied distantly, and continued unloading.

“My husband?”

I cringed under Kevin’s touch when he put his arm around my waist with a wide grin on his face.

“It’s all right,
dear
. It’s our wood. I ordered it,” he explained calmly, and his tone of voice would have been perfect for a loving husband in one of those old sitcoms. He gave me a conspiratorial wink, and I realized that he was enjoying this tremendously.

“How about you tell me what we’re supposed to do with all this stuff,
dea
r
?” I growled between clenched teeth, and thrust my elbow into his ribs.

He gasped, but laughed.

“That, my sweet, is something you’ll find out in good time.” He took Amber from me and kissed the tip of her nose—surely so he could use her as a shield against my wrath!

The delivery guy gave an approving nod.

“That’s right! A man shouldn’t have to explain himself all the time!” he threw in, handing Kevin the delivery slip, which Kevin passed on to Amber without a moment’s hesitation.

When the guy finally backed out of my driveway after his work was done, my “better half” quickly withdrew to seek shelter.

“Have I told you that you look lovely this fine morning,
dea
r
?” he asked with a smile on his face, pointing at my still-unbrushed, tousled curls.

He was lucky that he had brought some distance between the two of us, because I felt the overwhelming urge to knock that grin off his face.

“I think,
Smokey
, that you’re playing with fire!” I warned him, and he pretended to stumble backward as if he’d been hit.

“Ouch! That really hurt, Piper! You’ve never called me that before!” he said in mock outrage, and I tried my best to keep a straight face.

“Well, you had it coming,
hubby
dear!”

“All right, all right, I give up! Since all that wood seems to bother you so much, I shall try my best to get rid of it by tonight.”

“What are you planning to do with it anyway?”

Right that moment the lead fire truck from Blue Hill Fire Station pulled up into my driveway, and a whole lot of Daniel’s former coworkers climbed out.

Everyone was in a cheerful mood and said a friendly hello, and I had to endure quite a few hugs and expressions of sympathy, but also belated congratulations on giving birth to Amber.

I became aware of my awful bed head, and blushed.

“Shouldn’t you have made a bit of an effort,
dear
, what with us having company over and all?”

I gritted my teeth, and suddenly I understood the motivation behind some of those murderers on my Thursday night police procedural. If only I had the backseat of a car and an a
x . . .
who knows what ideas I might have come up with!

But since I was missing the ingredients for a fun, early morning killing spree, I had to content myself with ramming my elbow once again into Kevin’s ribs, snagging my daughter, and fleeing inside with what remained of my dignity.

Of course it was nice to see all of Daniel’s former coworkers again, but they didn’t seem to have come to make small talk and so they didn’t mind that I retreated. With determination they got working on the pallet of wood, and started carrying bits of it down to the beach.

I peered out the window and wondered what they were up to.

After I had made Amber and myself presentable and she had enjoyed her breakfast, I felt my own stomach grumble. I snatched the telephone and dialed Jenna’s number.

“Hi! Did I wake you?” I asked cautiously, and was glad to hear that I hadn’t.

“Feel like having breakfast together? I’ve got coffee and an entire beach full of half-naked men—if you bring bagels, I think we’ll have all we need.”