The Way Back (5 page)

The bell chimed as she stepped inside the restaurant and her hopes were quickly dashed.

“Oy, it’s you again.”

“Hello, Zhanna. Nice to see you.”

“Sit,” the girl said pointing to an empty booth. “I’ll be with you when I choose.”

Gabby took encouragement she hadn’t been told to leave. If she was sitting, there was a good shot they would feed her. She didn’t allow herself to reach for the menu. She didn’t want to know the sumptuous specials they were offering tonight. All she needed was a salad. With the dressing on the side.

On the side. On the side.

“Don’t let her scare you.”

Gabby looked to the man sitting at the counter who swiveled his seat in her direction.

“Too late.”

He laughed. “It’s just her way. Deep inside she’s got a heart of gold. I’m pretty sure anyway.” He hopped off his stool and offered her a hand. “I’m Tom. I’m the lone vet on the island.”

She shook it and answered his smile. It was nice to feel a little welcomed. “I’m Gabby. Nice to meet you.”

“What brings you to Hawk Island?”

“She wants to expose Jamie to horrible ridicule and humiliation,” Zhanna stated, her order pad in her hand as she practically pushed herself between Tom and Gabby. “You don’t want anything to do with this one, Tom. I’m fairly certain she kills little animals for fun.”

Gabby’s jaw dropped. “I do
not.
”

Tom chuckled. “Don’t let Zhanna get to you. She’s all bark, Gabby. Good luck with whatever.”

“Do you want to get pie from me or not, Mr. Tom?”

His eyes twinkled. “Honey, I always want pie from you.”

“Oh, hush now. Go sit on stool and I’ll fix you something hearty. You are always too skinny.”

Tom wandered to the counter and Zhanna’s eyes stayed with him for a minute longer than was natural. Then, as if shaking herself out of a trance, she focused on Gabby.

“Now you. What do you want?”

“A salad. With the dressing on the—”

“Got it.” Zhanna walked away before Gabby could finish speaking.

Digging into her purse Gabby pulled out a pen and pad and started writing. One of the keys to weight loss she read was to document everything she ate in a day plus her amount of exercise.

Dry toast again this morning. Extensive jogging for five minutes. Salad with dressing on the side…

Zhanna plunked a plate in front of her. It sounded much too heavy for salad. It smelled way better, too.

“You did say hamburger and fries, didn’t you?”

“No.” Gabby looked at the plate of food and nearly wanted to cry. A large patty with cheese drooping down the side mocked her. Lettuce and tomato were merely camouflage. The big soft bun was made out of white flour instead of whole wheat. Not fair.

She stared at it and tried to ignore the rest of the plate which was teaming with crisp golden French fries.

She was starving. It smelled delicious. These women were evil.

The door to the café opened and Gabby glanced up to see Jamison enter. Zhanna turned and gave him a silly half smile.

He walked to her and clucked a finger beneath her chin in greeting. “Hello, brat.”

“Hello, my favorite customer.” The tone was sarcastic but friendly. These two knew each other well. Not a surprise given Zhanna’s loyalty to him. Once again thoughts of how Jamison might have seduced the young woman filtered through Gabby’s mind. But watching them, she did have to admit there were no sexual sparks between them. More like easy friendship.

“Gabriella.”

“Jamison.” Great. The one person who knew she could barely run for ten minutes spotted her behind a plate of artery-clogging—and very delicious-smelling—food. She felt her cheeks flame up and she blurted, “I didn’t order this.”

He laughed. “Then why did Zhanna bring it to you?”

Gabby figured ratting out his friend probably wasn’t a smart idea.

“Ah, I see,” he said, grasping the situation. “And what did you order?”

“A salad with dressing on the side. I ordered it…on the side.”

He nodded. Then gave Zhanna a slightly disapproving glare. “Having a little fun with the new person in town?”

“She wants to write about you,” Zhanna said sulkily.

“I know. How was the burger done?”

“Medium.”

Jamison lifted the plate and set it on the table in the empty booth behind her. “Bring her the salad, Zee.”

“Oy. Always the forgiving one.” With a huff she went into the kitchen.

Gabby could feel him settle down directly behind her. He wasted no time digging into
her
burger.

“Thank you.”

Around a mouthful of meat, he mumbled she was welcome.

“You should know if you hadn’t come in I probably would have eaten it. I don’t have much willpower.”

He didn’t comment.

She wasn’t sure why she felt the need to confess to him, but it was important she not seem hypocritical. At least with herself. She wasn’t perfect. There was no point pretending she was. If he knew that about her, it might make it easier for him to trust her.

Adel emerged from the kitchen a minute later. The salad was big and brimming with vegetables. The dressing was in a cup on the side.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

It seemed her relationship with Jamison’s dog was the best one Gabby had cultivated so far.

The café remained empty except for the two of them in the booths and Tom at the counter who was definitely taking a very long time to chose his meal. Despite the impatient way she’d treated Gabby, Zhanna did not seem to mind his indecisiveness.

As Gabby picked through lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes she could hear Jamison’s fork hitting the plate and imagined him diving into those decadent fries. It seemed awkward to have him behind her. But he hadn’t asked to join her and she didn’t want him to think if she invited him, she was doing so only to get information from him.

She wasn’t out for the story tonight. A little company, however, would be nice.

Picking up her plate and dressing, she moved booths and sat across from him before he could object. He raised his eyebrows to let her know she’d been a bit daring, but before he could speak she did.

“Relax, I’m not going to grill you for facts about your life.”

“I wouldn’t give them to you if you did.”

She ignored that. “It seems stupid the two of us eating alone.”

“I eat alone most nights.”

So did she. Most meals in fact. She preferred it that way. Or at least she thought she did. It had been the idea of him being there, only a foot away from her, but still separate that had bothered her. Two days of trespassing, two days of being left in his dust, yet Gabby was beginning to feel a connection. Sort of.

“Can’t we have a normal conversation?”

“We could. If you were a normal woman and not a writer. But then, if you were a normal woman, this might be a date and we both know you wouldn’t consent to that.”

Just the word
date
made her nervous. “It can’t be a date if neither person asked the other to be with them.”

“Right. You didn’t ask. You barged. Kind of like you did when you came to my house, then again on my beach. You know you what you are,” he said shaking a fry in her direction. “You’re a barger.”

“That’s not a word. But I have a solution. Tonight I’m not a writer or a date. Let’s call me a tourist.”

“And what am I?”

“You’re the local. You tell me what it’s like to live on an island.”

He pulled another fry from the pile and chewed while he contemplated her suggestion. Because she’d already told him she was weak-willed, she didn’t feel guilty at all about snatching one of his fries for herself.

It was delicious. Maybe a little more salt.

“Please, feel free,” he said as she sprinkled some salt on one corner of his plate.

“You want a cucumber in exchange?

“Is that a joke?”

“Right. So, tell me what it’s like here.”

“It’s quiet. What you would expect. A few small businesses, but most of the folks here are fishermen. Lobstermen to be exact.”

“Lobster. That’s right. This is Maine.” It was odd. Suddenly Gabby felt like Dorothy emerging from her tornado-tossed house. She wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

He scowled at her. “You don’t know where you are?”

“I know where I am,” she snapped. “I guess it just occurred to me where the place was. I’ve been more focused on the journey. By way of Philadelphia.”

“So what happened?”

She wasn’t sure what he meant and her face must have shown that.

“You. Here. The big story. Something sent you on your way. Turned you back into a newbie.”

She shifted in her seat. Telling him the story wasn’t as easy as it had been telling the women. “I got fired.”

“And you’re here to start your life over. I knew it.”

“Something like that.”

He shook his head and pushed away the plate. He’d devoured the burger and between the two of them they’d eaten every fry. Gabby took another stab at a tomato to counterbalance the fat.

“I’m nobody’s do-over.”

“I didn’t say that. Look, at first I thought this was going to be a simple retrieval assignment for my boss. But I realize there is something more here. Something bigger. I don’t want to write anyone’s story. I want to write
yours.”

“You’ll need to get used to the disappointment. Since I didn’t order the burger I figure dinner is on you.”

Vaguely, Gabby wondered how she might sneak it into her expense report. Although she didn’t imagine McKay would mind her buying their meal ticket dinner. “Done. But you need to leave the tip.”

“Why?”

“They won’t take my money.”

He slid out of the booth and dropped a five dollar bill on the table. “You better get used to that, too. Folks around here won’t take kindly to what you’re doing.”

“What are they going to do? Kick me off the island?” She thought she’d made a joke. But he didn’t smile.

“They might.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“W
HAT
’
S
THIS
?” G
ABRIELLA
held out the neatly typed piece of paper to Susan the next day so she could see it clearly. “I found it under my room door this morning.”

“Yes, dear. It’s your bill.”

“But isn’t that typically something you give to someone at the end of their stay?”

Susan smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I’m sure you’ve seen all our little island has had to offer. Surely you have all the material you need for your book. Your
fiction
book.”

The jig was up. Either Zhanna or Adel had talked. Or word got out simply because that’s how a small town rolled. Now Susan was trying to be polite and sweet while at the same time kicking Gabby out on her ass.

“I’ll go pack my things.”

“Yes, dear. I’ll have your dry wheat toast waiting for you downstairs for your last breakfast.”

Gabby nodded and went to clean out her room. After choking down the toast, she loaded the rental car with her suitcase. She’d changed into her running clothes since the plan had been to attempt another late morning jog with Jamison. She could still meet up with him, perhaps farther along the beach. Her unphysical fitness would prove to be a blessing in this case because she didn’t need to worry about working up a sweat when she had nowhere to shower.

But she told herself not to be ridiculous. Surely there had to be some other place on the island where she could stay. A motel. Another B and B.

She would ask Jamison while they ran.

* * *

“N
OPE
.” J
AMISON
PUFFED
as they headed down the strip of beach together.

“No other place to stay on this whole island?”

“Not a one. Guess it sucks for you. Oh, well. You gave it your best shot. Good luck getting this career started in New York.”

Gabby watched him go from warm-up mode to high-gear mode. In the space of a minute he was yards and yards ahead of her. Eventually she came to a stop. She caught her breath and kept walking only to realize Shep wasn’t plodding along next to her. When she turned around she saw him lying on the sand.

Something about the way he was laid out bothered her though. She called for Jamison but he was out of earshot. No doubt trying to put her as far behind him as fast as possible.

Approaching the old dog, Gabby got down on her hunches. “Hey, are you okay?”

A soft wine and whimper was her answer.

She tried to give him a little nudge up on his feet but the dog only whimpered more. He wasn’t moving. He certainly wasn’t walking anywhere.

Now what was she supposed to do? Jamison wouldn’t loop back here for at least another forty minutes. She couldn’t leave the poor dog sitting on the beach. And she sure wasn’t going to wait around while something awful might be happening when she could have gotten him to a vet.

Decision made, Gabby began to use her foot to draw out some letters in the sand. That done she bent down and hauled what had to be forty pounds of German Sheppard into her arms and over her shoulder. As old as he was, he didn’t carry a lot of weight, but still he was as much as she could handle.

“Okay, boy, stay with me now.”

Carefully she made her way up the incline. Stopping a few times to catch her breath. This workout was way worse than jogging, but fortunately the old dog didn’t fight her, just laid over her shoulder with an occasional whimper. No struggle at all in fact.

It made Gabby feel worse. Obviously something was wrong for the dog to be this complacent. Reaching the top, she spotted Jamie’s truck. It would be a whole lot faster to use than making her way down the long driveway to where she left her rental car. Taking a chance Jamie was a leave-the-keys-in-the-car person—wasn’t that a thing most small-town people did?—she opened the passenger door and settled Shep inside. The poor dog simply curled in on himself and closed his eyes.

Running around the car to the driver side she opened the door and checked the center console for the keys. Nothing. She lowered the sun visor and found nothing there, either. Last shot was the glove compartment otherwise she would have to move Shep again—something she didn’t want to do.

Pay dirt. A fat key ring sat in the compartment but the car key was the heaviest and easy to identify. Partway down the drive, she realized when Jamie returned from his run he would need to follow her. She reversed to where her car was parked, dropped the keys on the front seat, then drove on.

She really had to hope the stuff about small towns being safe with low crime rates was true.

“Okay, Shep we’re on our way.”

Thanks to the coincidental meeting in the café last night, she knew the island had a vet. Of course, she didn’t have a clue where his office was located. She figured she could simply drive into town and someone there would help her. If not for her, then certainly for Jamison’s dog.

* * *

J
AMIE
KNEW
THERE
WAS
something wrong when he reached his starting point. Shep should have been there waiting for him. Shep was always there waiting for him. And despite the fact he’d told her otherwise, he kind of thought Gabby would be waiting for him, too. He put his hands on his thighs and took some deep breaths. Walking it off for a while he whistled to see if maybe Shep had wandered into the bushes for a spell.

Then he saw the letters in the sand. Big letters hastily drawn that made his heart sink into his stomach.

SHEP TO VET

Running up the hill as if he hadn’t finished a five-mile run, Jamie cursed when he saw the truck was missing. She had to know he would follow her so he took a chance and sprinted down the driveway. Her rental sat at the side of the road as if waiting for him. He opened the door and gave a soft yes when he saw the keys.

There was only one vet in town. Tom had been treating every animal on the island for the past five years. Even if Gabby couldn’t find his clinic, anyone in town would know exactly where to find him.

* * *

P
ULLING
OVER
AT
Tom’s home Jamie felt a spurt of hope when he spotted his own truck already in the driveway. Good girl. Gabby had found the vet and hopefully Shep was being treated right now.

Jamie got out of his car and walked up to the home that used to belong to Tom’s parents. They retired a few years ago to warmer climes in Florida, leaving the home to Tom to do with it what he chose. He wondered how they would feel about his decision to convert the place into an animal retreat. Personally, with Shep getting older, Jamie was grateful.

Just starting out and not having the money to keep up with both a home and an office, Tom had transformed the large house so that it now contained a shelter, a treatment room and surgical facility along with an apartment for himself.

With dread in his stomach, Jamie made his way through the empty waiting area and peaked beyond the sliding door into the treatment area. Shep was laid out on the table not moving and Gabby stood over him stroking his coat while tears ran down her face.

Right then he knew.

He knew and wanted to walk out and pretend this wasn’t about to happen.

“Jamie, I’m sorry.” This was from Tom who saw him in the doorway.

No longer able to avoid the situation, Jamie slid open the door and stood next to Gabby. Jamie took in the vet’s sad expression and swallowed. Tom was good with the animals. He’d finished school and had come home to start his practice. Not something many people did after they made it off the island and saw what life on the mainland had to offer.

He was connected to the island and now to everyone’s pets. He had a reputation for being kind and gentle. He also knew when an animal had come to the end of his time and he didn’t sugarcoat the truth with the owners.

Jamie saw Shep’s eyes were open and though he was breathing he wasn’t moving at all. Not sitting up with his tongue hanging to the side and his tail wagging to greet his master. Jamie put his hand on the dog’s gray muzzle and he felt a small lick on his fingers, but it was followed by a soft sighing whine.

“You knew this day was coming. He’s nearly sixteen. For a German Sheppard that’s really old. He had a good long life.”

“Yep,” Jamie said tightly. He looked then at Gabby, who was wiping her nose on her jacket. “What happened?”

“He wouldn’t move. He just laid there whimpering. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t catch up to you.”

Jamie nodded. “You carried him up the hill?”

“He was heavy, but he didn’t fight me.”

“That’s because Shep knows how to treat a lady. Don’t you old boy?” Jamie met Tom’s sympathetic face. “Today?”

“He can’t walk anymore, Jamie. You might be able to carry him around for a time, but—”

“No. He wouldn’t want that. Can I have some time?”

“Sure.”

Gabby mopped her eyes then looked as if she wanted to say something, but didn’t. The two of them left the treatment room and Jamie said goodbye to the best friend he’d ever had. Even though he’d known this day was coming, the reality of it was way harder than he’d imagined. He knew this was the right thing to do, but selfishly he wanted Shep with him. As he stroked Shep’s fur, Jamie said everything he could think of to reassure him, make him understand this would be okay. That
Jamie
would be okay. Finally, when he ran out of words, he called out for Tom to return.

After it was done, Tom told him he would handle the body. Shep would be cremated and Jamie thought he’d spread the ashes on the beach where the dog used to love to run. When he left the treatment room he was surprised to see Gabby still sitting in the waiting area.

His eyes were red and, while he wasn’t ashamed to say he’d shed a tear for a fine and loyal dog like Shep, he was guy enough to be embarrassed by it. Clearing his throat he scowled and hoped his voice didn’t crack. “You didn’t have to wait.”

“I thought you might need someone.”

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t. But he would be. Shep had lived a long and good life. It was his time, and, like Tom said, this was inevitable. Jamie just hadn’t counted on Shep passing today. He sure as hell wished he hadn’t been off running, leaving the dog on the beach alone.

Of course, he hadn’t been alone. Gabby had been with him. And she had petted him and soothed him until Jamie arrived. Shep had been comforted and cared for. That meant a lot to Jamie.

“Thank you.”

She nodded and with the tissues clutched in her hands wiped her eyes again. “I have extra.” From her pocket she pulled out a wad and held it out to him.

It was one thing for a man to cry over the loss of his dog. It was another to actually use a tissue.

“I’m fine. Here’s your key.” He tossed it over and she missed it, then handed him his key ring.

For a moment he stood not really knowing what to say or do. He’d thanked her and that was all he was obligated to do. Still, he felt like a pile of horse manure. After all, she had offered to give him some company.

“Maybe…maybe you could come back to the house. We can have a drink. A toast to Shep.”

“Okay. That sounds like a good idea.”

Silently they left the clinic and climbed into their respective cars. For the first time, she drove up the long driveway and parked next to his truck. When he opened the front door an overwhelming sense of wrongness hit him.

Something was missing. Some
one.

He wondered how long it would be before he stopped expecting Shep to greet him every time he returned.

“Preference?” he asked over his shoulder as he made his way to the kitchen. He didn’t have a fancy bar. Just one cabinet where he put any alcohol he had on hand—usually only a bottle of Jim Beam and that old bottle of single malt Scotch he’d gotten as a Christmas gift one year. He knew he had some beer in the fridge and probably a bottle of wine somewhere. He hoped to hell she didn’t ask for something like a margarita.

“Whatever you’re having is fine.”

He brought back two bourbons in short glasses and handed her one. She raised it in the air with a sad smile. “To Shep. Please tell me you didn’t name him that because he was a German Sheppard.”

“Alan Shepard, first man in space.”

“Much more appropriate. To Alan Shepard.”

Jamie’s throat closed up again, but he nodded and took a deep gulp. The heat and fire running gave him a good excuse to cough out the hoarseness. He sat in his favorite chair and thought how it wouldn’t be the same when he reached down to offer a pet because his friend wouldn’t be there.

“There was a time when Shep was literally the only friend I had in this whole world. It was me and him against everyone. How do you repay an animal like that?”

“With love,” Gabby offered. “I know after we lost our family dog I cried for three days.”

“Did you ever get a new dog?”’

She shook her head. “I never wanted to feel that way again. I knew Shep for five minutes and I’m sad.”

He smiled. “Well, Shep did have a way with the ladies.”

For a time they nursed their drinks and kept their thoughts to themselves. Eventually Jamie poured himself another and, without asking, filled Gabby’s glass, as well. He had to admit she was good company for a time like this. Not chatty, not trying to say the right things. She was simply there with him and he thought he would be grateful to her for a long time.

Not that he had any plans to tell her. She’d probably try to turn it around and get him to confess his secrets as a result. That was never going to happen. His secrets were his and he intended to go to the grave with them.

“So what are you going to do now you’ve been kicked out of the B and B?”

Gabby sighed as though she’d just remembered she was homeless. “There really is nowhere else to stay on this island?”

“Nope.”

“Not some rental cabins, something?”

Plenty of them, but none he would tell her about. Suddenly it seemed really important she leave now and not later. It was bad enough he’d been fantasizing about her for the past few days. Now he was actually beginning to like her and that would never do. Maybe if she was a regular stranger who wanted nothing more from him than a little time, a little conversation and, with a pinch of luck, some good sex. But Gabby really did want something from him, something big. She wanted to poke around at all that crap he’d locked away.