The Kiss on Castle Road (A Lavender Island Novel) (3 page)

CHAPTER 3

Natalie brought her sister a steaming mug of tea and a plate of unbuttered toast, setting them on the coffee table in front of Olivia’s new couch/bed setup, then returned to the kitchen to pour Lily a bowl of cereal.

“Is this all you have?” she whispered to Lily, scanning the selections of fiber-filled and whole-wheat circles and shapes. “Nothing good, like Fruity Pebbles?”

“I can hear you,” Olivia called from the couch.

Natalie held up each of the disappointing choices for Lily until she got a nod of approval, then rummaged around the fridge for some strawberries, for at least a little flavor. Olivia and Jon were already turning into nutty island health-food types.

“So, what are your plans for the day?” Olivia asked.

“That’s up to you,” Natalie said over her shoulder. “I can take Lily to school, then come back and help you with”—Natalie glanced back at Olivia, who was staring at her unbuttered toast—“whatever.”

Olivia sighed. “This bed-rest thing is going to kill me. What am I going to do all day?”

Natalie had no idea. Bed rest sounded like the worst possible thing in the universe. She poured milk into her and Lily’s bowls. “Want me to buy you some magazines or something?”

“Maybe I’ll design some baby announcements.” Olivia stared at her laptop on the fireplace hearth and sighed again. “I do need to go through Gram’s boxes in the back room. Maybe you could drag them out here, and I can look through them throughout the day?”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“Then why don’t you just explore today?” Olivia said. “I could definitely use your help picking Lily up from school, but other than that, just have some fun. I’ll come up with more of a schedule starting tomorrow.”

“I do have to find a new phone.” Natalie served Lily her cereal. She was crushed about the extra expense. It would set her back several weeks, and she was already behind financially as it was.

“Can we visit the sea lions after school?” Lily bounced in her chair with her pretty-please grin.

Natalie leaned against the kitchen counter and took up her own bowl.

“Lily, you have a Brownie Scout meeting,” Olivia reminded her from the couch. “Maybe tomorrow?”

Lily slumped into her chair as if she’d just been told Christmas was canceled. But Natalie nodded to her, and her silent smile returned.

Natalie herself had been obsessing about the sea lions since last night, wondering if they’d all been safely rescued. And, if she wanted to be honest with herself, she’d been thinking about Nerdy Awkward Guy, too. Last night, when they’d entertained Olivia with the story of their adventure as they’d unpacked Natalie’s things in the guest room, Natalie had tried to press Olivia for details about her new neighbor. She wasn’t sure why she was so curious, but something about his Clark Kent persona, the sincerity of his eyes, the way his passion had lit up about the sea lions as soon as she’d mentioned them, the way he was so young but in Dr. Johnson’s old house—it all intrigued her. She’d caught a glimpse inside the darkened house of columns, a baby grand, and elaborate furnishings that looked as if they’d been there forever. Were they Dr. Johnson’s things? Nerdy Awkward Guy seemed awfully young to have amassed all that. And he seemed too absentminded to have such good taste. Maybe the kindergarten teacher look-alike had decorated for them.

And, if Natalie was really being honest with herself, maybe her interest was partly because he didn’t seem interested in her. It was kind of a novelty to have a man’s eyes never land on her breasts, to not stare at her as if he was thinking of eight different ways to get her into bed. Nerdy Awkward Guy definitely didn’t seem as though he’d know. And there was something kind of sweet about that.

Natalie had tried to slip in a few sly questions, but Olivia didn’t know much about him. Said he’d been there only a few months. When Natalie threw in the phrase “and his wife,” Olivia had frowned. “I’m not sure he’s married,” she’d said.

Although all Natalie’s synapses began firing at that comment, she’d concentrated instead on hanging her favorite hats along the guest-room wall.

“Where would they have taken the sea lions?” she asked now, focusing on scooping tasteless wheat circles into her mouth. She had to buy some better cereal. And get Nerdy out of her mind. But she did want to see the animals again.

“Probably the Friends of the Sea Lion center,” Olivia said. “It’s a new little rescue place on the south side of the island.”

“Do they allow visitors?” Natalie asked.

“I think so. They have a full veterinary hospital and outdoor pools where you can see the sea lions that are healthy enough to be released back to the wild. You should check it out.”

“Take me! Take me!” Lily bounced.

Natalie smiled at Lily and put her bowl in the sink. She might. It embarrassed her that she half hoped Nerdy would be there, too.

What was the matter with her? She’d barely gotten rid of clingy David of the Broken Motorcycle in LA, and now her mind was already wrapping around someone
else
? She was supposed to be on a “mancation”—no men for at least three months. She just needed to step back, reevaluate her life, and figure out why it had stalled at twenty-seven. Growing up, she’d always pictured herself having, by this age, a strong career, a decent apartment, a well-stamped passport, like-minded friends, and a fabulous boyfriend. Marriage and kids had never been on her life’s agenda—the phrase
settling down
had always made her feel rebellious—but she did hope to have some kind of exciting, forward momentum by now. A purpose. A goal. A life philosophy. Instead, all she had was a long string of disappointing dates, three pink slips, two eviction notices, five engaged girlfriends who could talk of nothing but wedding dresses, and a constantly packed suitcase. Which was now at her mother’s house. Under her childhood bed. Waiting for the next move.

“What street is the center on?” she found herself asking anyway.

“Canyon Road.”

Natalie nodded. She would go just to see the animals. She had to stop thinking about Nerdy. He wasn’t her type
at all
. Her type was much tougher-looking: facial hair that formed sharp, dangerous-looking angles, longer hair, tattoos. She tended to gravitate toward mercurial, dramatic Los Angeles types, although she didn’t know why. They were exciting for about five minutes, but ultimately they never worked out. And when they didn’t, they became unbelievably hard to shake.

“C’mere, Lily,” Olivia said from the couch. “Let me braid your hair. Are you done with breakfast?”

“Almost.” Lily scooped the remainder of her cereal into her mouth like a kitten.

Natalie rinsed the dishes while Lily scrambled onto the couch so Olivia could work two braids to her shoulders. Lily had on one of her EMT costumes from Halloween. She’d been a fireman, an ambulance driver, and then an EMT in rapid succession, and Olivia always let her wear the costumes to school if she wanted, as long as the school didn’t complain. Lily wasn’t allowed to bring her plastic fireman ax, of course, but she never whined about that.

Natalie smiled now and handed Lily her pink-rimmed glasses.

It would be relaxing to just hide here in Lavender Island for a bit with Olivia and Lily. She needed a vacation from her life, from her crappy apartment, from her go-nowhere jobs, from men. All her girlfriends were now getting married, making her feel as if they’d abandoned her, or abandoned their agreed-on mantra that they would be independent, successful career women first—at least well into their thirties. It was a mantra her mother had murmured into her ear when she was sixteen, and Natalie had carried the flag happily, moving from man to man, job to job, city to city. But now—with constant invites to wedding showers and friends “settling down” enough to not want to travel anymore—she was starting to reevaluate and question every decision she’d ever made. It would be nice to be on Lavender Island—away from all the advice, the voices, the opinions—and just be able to think for herself for a few months.

“I’m inviting Paige over tonight,” Olivia called over her shoulder.

“
Paige
is coming?”

“Yep, on the five o’clock ferry.”

“She didn’t give you one of her usual excuses?”

“Not this time. I told her you might need some cheering up.”

“
Me?
What makes you think
I
need cheering up?” Natalie couldn’t quite keep the irritation out of her voice.

“The ‘mancation’ and all—I thought there might be more to the story.”

Natalie sighed. There was. But she didn’t feel like going into it right now. Her sisters were always on her about the serial dating. Not to mention the terrible boyfriend choices and her inability to stay at one job. Although Natalie felt as though their mom encouraged “experimenting” and finding where you felt comfortable, she was the only one who’d taken it to an extreme. And, as nice as it was to be invited to live Olivia’s life for a while, she really didn’t feel like doing it if it meant coming under criticism.

“Well, I don’t need cheering up.
You’re
the one on bed rest. I think you’re projecting.”

Olivia laughed in her good-natured way and tugged on Lily’s braids to let her know she’d finished. “You might be right.”

“Either way, I’ll be here tonight to join you and Paige,” Natalie said. “Let’s get going, kiddo.” She reached for Lily and guided her into the back bedroom to get her shoes on.

In a half hour, Natalie and Lily were both out the door with an almost-forgotten library book, a Hello Kitty backpack, a pink-and-orange lunch box with a toy stethoscope in it, a construction-paper poster Lily had to turn in about flowers, a list of four things Olivia needed from the grocery store, and the address of the Brownie Scout meeting after school. They piled everything into Olivia’s golf cart—the only mode of transportation allowed on the island—and began bumping along one of the back roads toward the school.

“So can we go see the sea lions soon, Aunt Nattie?”

“Let me call and check on them first, okay?”

Natalie wanted to make sure all the pups had survived before bringing Lily by. Plus, she had to decide what to do about Nerdy Awkward Guy. Would he be there? Did he work there? She might have to do a little more research.

She was only two days into her mancation, after all. And thinking this much about a normal guy couldn’t be normal.

Natalie pulled into the dirt parking lot, her golf-cart tires popping over gravel. Leaning forward, she peered from under the brim of her fedora through the open windshield. Was this the right place?

She didn’t normally come down Canyon Road—these back areas had always been a little mysterious to her, even as a kid. Lavender Island was twenty miles long and eight miles across at its widest, but almost the entire population lived in the three-square-mile town shaped like a
D
that faced the harbor. The wealthier families lived in the coastal homes, plus in the hills that rose up along the curved part of the
D
, while the worker families and middle class lived in the center, in the C Street through G Street cottages. Although Natalie’s grandmother had some property up in the hills, she’d always made her main home on C Street, and the girls mostly stayed there when they visited. They knew all the shop owners on Main, which intersected the town and catered to tourists all summer. When she was small, Natalie had loved running to the candy shop, the ice-cream shop, and the toy shop that lay between E and F. Some of the original owners were still there.

But Canyon Road rose off the back of the town, leading up toward the island’s interior, which was sparsely populated. The only things back there were the Castle, which was a high-end hotel and bar; the island’s only airport, which was run by the odd Mason family; and three herds of free-roaming bison, which had been brought to the island in 1952 for a movie and never removed.

Natalie peered farther through her windshield, and—through a row of massive oak trees that bordered a tiny stream—she could see a small red barnlike building set well off a dirt road. She set the cart’s emergency brake and took a deep breath.

The April sun fell gently through the oaks, dappling the brick walkway with delicate shadows as she chose her steps up the uneven path in her high-heeled espadrilles. Natalie didn’t dress up much—today, in fact, she was just in cargo capris and a T-shirt with one of her beloved fedoras shading her eyes—but she loved wearing high sandals. The height, added to her already tall stature, always made her feel brave.

In the distance, she heard barks that sounded a bit like dogs but had a sharper, hoarser upswing on the end. Seals. Or sea lions. Dozens, it sounded like. She quickened her pace through a small wooden gate and came upon another walkway that led to a large brick courtyard with four fenced pools, shaded behind a tall stand of silver-leafed eucalyptus trees and a few palm trees. Before she got to the first fenced pool, a silver-haired woman in a half apron and bright-blue T-shirt with “I’m a Friend!” across the front came hustling over.

“Hellooooo!” the woman said in a cheerful soprano. “Are you here for the tour?”