Up to the Challenge (An Anchor Island Novel) (14 page)

Sid pictured the scene. The silver BMW fading up Highway 12. Her chest tightened.

“I can handle it.”

Will didn’t look convinced, but she caved. “Okay then. How can I help?”

Sid had never worn a shirt this tight in her life. And she did not want to know why Will kept a change of clothes and all basic necessities packed in her VW van. The bartender came by her moniker honestly, being as willowy as the tree that bore her name. And she was a B cup at best, which meant her shirt stretched across Sid’s double Ds was like wearing a neon sign over her head.

Look, everyone, I have giant knockers
flashing in bright letters.

At least the plain tee was olive green instead of orange or pink. Will might wear an arm full of bangles but she liked to pair them with army boots, which sounded strange but somehow worked on the lanky brunette.

The shorts were another matter all together. Will had cut the things so short, the white material of the pockets stuck out below the tattered denim. Sid wore bathing suits that didn’t show this much of her ass.

According to Will, the best way to barrel through a man’s morals was to make him too horny to hitch a ride on the high road. Which made it sound a lot like Sid was taking the low road, but if that low road led to sex with Lucas, she’d follow it to the end.

With part A of the plan in place, that being the new wardrobe, the time had come to initiate part B, which sounded way harder than a change of clothes. Pretend nothing had happened.

With a deep breath and a final tug on the T-shirt, Sid waltzed through the doors of Dempsey’s Bar & Grill attempting to look cool and unaffected. No kiss on the beach. No scaling Lucas like a drowning woman desperate for higher ground. And definitely no argument about who was or was not going to have sex.

The mission—to drive Lucas crazy with indifference.

“Sweet Cheez-Its, Mary, and Charlie, what are you wearing?” Georgette stared at Sid, wide eyed. “Did your dryer shrink all your clothes or something?”

Sid’s confidence waned. Maybe this was too much. But there was no going back now.

She held her head high. “I’m behind on laundry.” Right. That didn’t sound pathetic at all.

“Sure you are,” Georgette said. “Is this getup for Manny’s benefit? He was over at the house watching baseball with Milo last night and must have asked about you three times.”

Shit. Sid forgot about Manny. Another transplant from Florida, Manuel Sullivan worked at Anchor Adventures, Randy’s watersports business, along with Georgette’s husband, Milo. In contrast to the olive skin and dark hair of his Cuban mother, Manny possessed the bright blue eyes and endless charm of his Irish father.

Every young and not-so-young female on the island sighed as he walked past, and Sid could appreciate the pretty face, but the kid did nothing for her otherwise. Technically, he wasn’t a kid, being only three years younger than Sid’s twenty-eight, but Manny looked barely old enough to shave, which gave him the appearance of a naughty schoolboy most of the time.

Every Wednesday, Manny picked up lunch for the Adventure crew, and spent each brief visit trying to catch Sid’s attention. Will hadn’t mentioned making Lucas jealous, but when she thought about it, going into battle required being flexible. Adaptable. Maybe Manny could work in her favor.

Before Sid could correct Georgette on her assumption, Lucas appeared from the kitchen buttoning the cuff on his tailored shirt, which emphasized his broad shoulders perfectly. He glanced in her direction as he rounded the end of the bar. A second later, he walked into an empty bar stool.

“Damn it,” he barked, righting the stool before he and it hit the floor.

“Something wrong there, skipper?” Sid asked. The immediate sign part A of the plan was working bolstered her confidence.

“No.” Lucas slid the stool against the bar. “That’s … You …” He made befuddled look sexy and Sid’s blood began to hum. Like the purr of a powerful engine.

“I what?” Sid asked, hands on her hips, flashing what she hoped was an innocent face.

Lucas shook his head slowly. “Nothing.”

Sid smiled. A half smile, half grimace was Lucas’s response. As he moved about, righting already straight chairs around the tables, his eyes returned to her over and over.

“Oh, I see,” Georgette said. Sid jumped, having forgotten the other waitress was there.

“You see what?”

“I don’t blame you, girlfriend.” The woman hugged her serving tray to her chest. “If I didn’t have Milo …” She gave Lucas an appreciative once-over. Sid managed not to punch her in the throat, but just barely.

“But you do have Milo, so back off.”

Georgette didn’t look worried. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. There isn’t a woman on this island who could compete with that body of yours. Just be careful.” She pointed toward Lucas. “A girl could lose more than her inhibitions with a man like him. I understand the temptation to play with his kind of fire, but don’t let yourself get too close. That singe can leave a permanent mark.”

While Sid tried to decipher Georgette’s cryptic message, the restaurant doors swung open. Tom Dempsey stopped just inside the entrance.

Looking Sid up and down, he said, “Patty, I’m going to need one of those heart pills.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

L
ucas saw his mom and dad enter the restaurant, then noticed his dad’s face when he caught sight of Sid. Nothing like testing the old ticker right out of the gate. She was definitely testing Lucas’s. Based on his body’s reaction to the new getup, all systems were up and running.

“Hey there, Dad. How are you feeling?” He knew they’d be home today, but didn’t know they’d make a stop at the restaurant. Tom moved with slow deliberation, his left arm held tight against his side. His pale face carried a pinched expression.

“I feel like shit,” Tom said, clearly shooting for honesty. Lucas couldn’t blame him, considering what he’d been through.

“He insisted we stop here on the way to the house,” Patty said, leading Tom to the bar and guiding him onto a stool. “The doctor said no stress and limited physical exertion for at least the rest of the week.” Turning to Sid, she said, “More outfits like that and we’ll have to install a defibrillator.”

Sid crossed her arms as if trying to hide, but that only made matters worse. “I didn’t—”

“We’ve been competing to see who can earn the most tips,” Lucas said, coming to Sid’s rescue. “She’s been kicking
my ass.” After hugging his mother, he moved behind the bar. “You need some water, Dad?”

“I’d rather have a beer, but doubt your mother will allow it,” Tom grumbled. “Make it an iced tea.”

“Unsweet,” Patty said.

“Coming right up.” Lucas snagged a glass from behind the bar, filled it with ice, then topped it off from a pitcher to his right. “I bet the nurses were happy to see you go.”

“Ha!” Patty said. “He’d charmed every last one of them. Even Bruce. But your father wasn’t too keen on Nurse Bruce giving him a sponge bath.”

Tom grumbled again. “That was not going to happen.”

Patty laughed, then turned to Sid, who stood a few feet behind the older couple. “I hear you and Lucas have been lighting things up around here,” she said.

Sid sputtered and Lucas rode to the rescue again. “We’re getting along just fine. Sid has a way with the customers you wouldn’t expect from someone used to bait, tackle, and tool boxes.” He smiled when her expression turned to defiance. That was his girl.

“I have to make up for Lucas’s lack of service skills.” She shot him an evil glare. “Just yesterday he offended an innocent group of little old ladies.”

“Those women were drunk and disturbing the other customers. They’d have been dancing on the tables if they could have gotten their walkers up there.”

Sid plopped onto the stool next to Tom. “Only Miss Frannie had a walker. And they were just having a good time.” She rested her arms on the bar. “I liked them.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” he said, sliding a glass of sweet tea to his mother. Sid would be one of those old ladies
someday. Drinking, swearing, and challenging everyone around her. Part of him thought she’d look cute with glasses on the end of her nose, shaking her geriatric moneymaker.

“You two sound like an old married couple,” Tom said, chuckling into his tea. After taking a drink, he addressed Lucas. “What do you think of the place?”

Lucas blinked, unprepared for the question. “What do you mean? The restaurant?”

“Yeah,” Tom said, leaning forward, then flinching back. “Damn stitches.”

“You need to be home lying down,” Patty scolded.

Tom bristled. “I’ve been cooped up in that hospital for a week. I’ll climb back into a bed when I’m ready.” Lucas had never heard his dad snap like that, and fully expected his mom to snap back. Instead, she rubbed his arm and held her tongue.

Strange.

“Yes, the restaurant,” Tom said, picking up the conversation again. “You’ve been gone long enough to see it with fresh eyes. What do you think of it?”

Lucas looked around, taking in the neon signs and empty tables. Upon agreeing to run the place, he’d thought of the job as filling drinks and keeping the staff going. He hadn’t even considered analyzing the actual business.

With a shrug, he said, “I think it runs like a well-oiled machine. The staff is capable. Customers haven’t complained about the food or service since I’ve been here.”

“The drinks have come out a little slow,” Sid said, shooting him a challenging look, daring him to fire back.

“That’s something I have to give you credit for, Dad,” he said, keeping his eyes on Sid an extra second before turning
to his father. “I can see now why you had the heart attack. A long day in court is nothing to working behind this bar. I think you need help.”

“You volunteering again?” A corner of Tom’s mouth curled up, but something in his eyes said he wasn’t kidding.

Lucas broke eye contact, grabbed a rag, and started wiping down the bar. “Not this time. You’d better get home before the crowd rolls in and you try to weasel your way back here. I’d hate to see Mom drag you out by your ear.”

“He’s right,” Patty said. “If you don’t want to lie down we’ll set you up on the porch. I’m sure once the locals find out you’re home, they’ll be coming around to console and commiserate.”

Sid hopped off her stool. “Let me help you to the car.”

Tom moved slowly to his feet, then wrapped an arm around Sid’s shoulders, dwarfing the tiny woman beneath his six foot five frame. Lucas thought she might buckle under the weight, but Sid moved with little effort beside his weakened father. A man he’d thought of as a superhero once upon a time.

No one liked to think about the mortality of their parents, including Lucas, so he pushed reality to the back of his mind. “Mom,” he said, sliding up beside her once his dad was out of earshot. “I’ve never seen Dad talk to you like that. Are you okay?”

Patty sighed. “I’m fine. It’s a side effect of the heart attack and surgery. The doctor warned me he’d be a bear for a while. Feeling weak and vulnerable isn’t easy for any man, but especially not your father.”

Lucas gave her a hug. “Everything is going to be okay,” he said, not sure if the words were for her benefit or his own.

“Yes, it will.” Patty gave him an extra squeeze before pulling away. “He’s my life, you know. I’m not sure what I’d do without him.” Tears floated in her eyes and Lucas’s heart clenched. Just thinking about life without his dad made his mind revolt. There was still too much ahead—weddings and grandchildren and holiday gatherings—that Tom needed to be a part of.

“That man will outlive us all,” he said. “In a few months he’ll be behind this bar barking orders and keeping the tourists in check.”

“But maybe he shouldn’t be.” The words were spoken so softly, Lucas almost didn’t hear them. “I know he loves this place, but I can’t let it be the death of him.”

Lucas slid a finger beneath her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “We won’t let that happen. Let’s just get him healthy for now and cross that bridge when it comes.”

His mom gave his hand a squeeze. “You being here means the world to him. I can’t thank you enough for that.”

“Make me your roast and potatoes with homemade slaw, and we’ll call it even.” Lucas dropped a kiss on his mom’s forehead. “Then I’ll whip up my latest specialty—chicken marsala. I found an amazing recipe, then gave it a kick to make it even better.”

“I guess that’s one good thing about you being away from home. You have to feed yourself. Joe’s version of cooking is ordering a pizza.” Patty walked with Lucas to the door. “About Sid’s outfit? Is that for your benefit?”

“Not going there, Mom.” He tried to shuffle her out.

“You could do a lot worse,” she said, stopping just inside the door. “She’s rough around the edges, but you could use
a woman like Sid. You’ve gotten too polished up there in the city.”

“If you keep this up, I can be on the next ferry out.”

“Fine. Fine. But that girl has had a thing for—” Just then, the front door flew open, cutting Patty off and sending her headfirst into Lucas’s chest.

“What the …” Sid came around the door and spotted them. “Sorry, Mrs. D. I didn’t know you were there.”