Four

 

 

 

 

 

Colt woke to find his bedroom bathed in shimmering sunlight, glowing in a California tint he’d grown to expect from the coastal locale. Of course it wasn’t always sunny, especially this time of year. Troy and Zach had explained that rain and mist were the norm in November. But not today.

He rolled out of bed needing coffee and pulled on his jeans without buttoning them up. He stretched a T-shirt over his head and yanked on his work boots.

Before he could make it to the kitchen, though, someone rapped on the door. Reluctant to interact with anyone this early without a dose of caffeine, he was tempted to ignore whoever it was. But the knocking continued.

He stomped to the door, opened it, and he wasn’t surprised to see Cord standing on his porch holding a wriggling ball of fur in his arms. “I told you I’m not interested in taking care of a dog.”

“You said that about Skipper. This is Jelly.” Cord held up the adorable brown-and-tan floppy-eared dog with soft black eyes sunken just a bit from fear.

Colt recognized that look, beaten down and defeated. But instead of leaping to a connection, he did what he always did, deflected with humor. “Jelly? Really? Who names these dogs? You aren’t ten anymore.”

“Keegan and I take turns. Jelly was my idea.”

“No doubt named after your favorite food. Am I right? I’ve seen you dump an entire jar of jelly on two pieces of toast,” Colt pointed out. He crinkled his face up when the veterinarian set the puppy down on the floor and the dog scooted past him to set up shop in the living room. “Did Scott put you up to this?”

Disregarding the question and Colt’s demeanor, Cord quickly followed Jelly into the house. “I have three strays on my hands that need homes, even a foster home would do. You, my friend, have such a place to offer this needy four-legged critter during the holidays.”

“And what am I supposed to do with him while I’m at work?” Colt demanded as he made his way to the coffee pot to get rid of yesterday’s leftover dregs.

“Hey, take him with you. Ryder wouldn’t mind if he tags along with you to the boatyard.”

“Now see, I don’t like it that you went around my back to even ask him.”

“I didn’t. Ryder offered. What crawled up your ass anyway?”

“I worked until one and then came home to find Scott on the porch, getting in touch with his feelings and wanting me to follow suit.”

“Ah. As if that were even possible.”

Colt finished measuring out fresh water and several scoops of coffee before hitting the brew button. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s that supposed to mean exactly?”

“I didn’t come here to argue with you. I hoped to appeal to your sense of decency and drop off Jelly.”

Colt cut his eyes to the pooch, who by now was trembling. “He looks kind of sick. Will he grow into those ears?”

“You’d look scared too if you’d been left to die out on the highway. He’s about four months old and he’s had all his shots. When he reaches six months I’ll neuter him.”

Colt scrunched up his face and let out a sigh. “How big will he get?”

“I was afraid you’d ask.”

“That big, huh? Okay. Fine. You can leave him here. What does he eat?”

Cord’s mouth curved into a happy grin. “Keegan said you’d cave. I have a bag of dog food in the truck. Don’t resort to feeding him table scraps and junk food.”

Thirty minutes later, Colt had poured the dog a bowl of food and sat down to the table with a box of Life cereal for himself. “We might have to think about changing your name. Jelly. What kind of name is that anyway? What was Cord thinking? You look more like a Deke than a Jelly. Yep. Deke is a good, strong name for a dog like you. Come on, eat up. We have to get to work. Just don’t be surprised if Naomi Townsend drives us crazy today, changing her mind another dozen times before five o’clock. Woman doesn’t seem to know what she wants, can’t stick to one thing before she flits to something else every ten minutes. What are you gonna do, though, right? Argue with a client? That won’t go over too well with the boss.”

Deke’s big ears flopped as he trotted over to Colt’s chair.

“You’ll have to grow into these oversized ears. You look part basset hound to me, or maybe some sort of cocker spaniel.” He reached down to give the dog’s head a good rubbing and scooped him up in a hug. “Well, we’re a pair now. Let’s get moving. It’s gonna be a long day.”

 

 

Naomi had indeed spent the night tossing and turning, mulling over each item she’d decided on the night before. Her latest choices, from the white kitchen cabinets down to the birch wood flooring, were dissected and scrutinized until she felt a headache beginning to throb.

She studied the newly-created space Colt had given her without that annoying wall and tried to imagine all the improvements she could make now. But all she saw was the mess.

“I have no vision for this,” she admitted out loud. “Or patience.”

The doorbell interrupted her cluttered mind.

Troy was there, beaming as usual from ear to ear, while Zach and Colt unloaded a pickup truck filled with drywall.

“I thought installation wasn’t happening until Saturday morning?” Naomi muttered.

“Your new space has to have walls. Why don’t you stop worrying, head on to work, and let us make sure it all happens on schedule?”

He was right, of course. “I’m out of here then. Call me if you encounter any problems.”

“Will do. Have a good day.”

She waved to Colt and Zach as she started her little SUV and drove down the bumpy driveway. “Why am I so nervous about all this?” she mumbled to herself. “Why can’t I just relax and enjoy the process? Why do I keep second guessing myself?”

Annoyed at her own insecurity, she gave herself one final glance in the rearview mirror to see three guys invading her space. Determined to let go of her anxiety, she turned onto Main Street and headed for the bank. 

Naomi had found over these past few weeks that Pelican Pointe wasn’t all that different from Grand Island. People still sat on their front porches and sent up a good morning wave now and again. She waved back and tried to relax, even though she found them as nosy as they were friendly. But they meant well.

Driving past the diner, the smell of bacon made her remember she’d forgotten to eat. She decided to pull in and grab a breakfast sandwich to go. She found a parking place around the corner for her CR-V and hurried into the restaurant.

Drea stormed out of the front door, almost knocking her down. “Oh. Sorry.”

“What’s wrong with you? You look mad as a hornet.”

“Maybe because I am,” Drea fumed.

“Are you gonna make me guess why?”

Drea huffed out a breath. “Do you know what Tucker did last night?”

“So, you are gonna make me guess? Okay, I’ll bite. He went out with someone else.” Which prompted a furious glare from Drea.

“How did you know that? Did you see them out together, too? Because Margie and Max just told me Tucker came in here for ice cream last night with Ophelia Moore. Can you believe it? They must have left the potluck supper and stopped in here afterward. Seth Larrabee isn’t even three days out of the hospital yet and Ophelia’s stepping out behind his back with Tucker Ferguson.”

“And you’re really mad that you broke up with Tucker and now he appears to be dating Ophelia? Is that it? I’m sure glad I said no when he asked me out,” Naomi muttered.

“He did what?”

“Yeah. That was my first reaction. I thought it was a little too soon after the two of you had called it quits for him to ask. Plus, I just figured that here in Pelican Pointe it wasn’t a great idea. Turns out, this town’s way too small to go dating somebody’s ex. Besides, you and I are friends. Friends don’t do that to each other. But I suppose it’s tough for Tucker to find new blood. Although I’m kind of surprised at Ophelia. I thought she and the preacher were…you know…headed somewhere.”

“That’s what I thought. Tucker moving in on Ophelia behind Seth’s back is a new low even for him. Plus, Tucker could damn well wait two weeks before asking anyone else out, especially Ophelia.”

Naomi gave her friend a hug. “Maybe they just had dinner. Maybe it was an innocent thing between two people sharing a meal.”

“I’m not sure what to believe. Maybe I should just ask Ophelia. The thing is I don’t have a kid in the day care program, so I don’t have a reason to stop by the church.”

“Don’t look at me.”

“I should get Gilly to find out what’s going on. She has two kids there now.”

“Let me ask you something since it’s upsetting you so much. Do you still have feelings for Tucker?”

“That jerk? No way.”

“Are you sure? Because you’re basically red in the face and ready to charge the church to find out if there’s something going on between him and Ophelia.”

“No, no, I’m okay. I’m trying to calm down about it now.”

“I hope so. Because if you ask me, Tucker isn’t worth all this anger you’re building up. Don’t let him get to you.”

“It’s hard not to.”

“Why not take a different tack? Instead of rushing over to day care, I have a better idea. Why not go see Seth? The man got his throat cut by Ophelia’s ex. We’ll bring him some flowers, take him over some food, make sure he’s okay.”

“I’ve done that. The night it happened, I was the first one to show up at the hospital with a huge bouquet of chrysanthemums and a get-well card. He wasn’t even out of surgery yet.”

“You’re always on top of things. But I was thinking that today we should go by his house at lunchtime and make sure he gets something special to eat, maybe one of Max’s burgers and a large order of fries. We should check up on him, Drea. Make sure he knows we care. And if Ophelia’s lost interest, then we’ll set Seth up with someone else.”

“Oh, I like that idea. I’ll meet you here at noon. And since it’s Friday and your house is still such a mess, why don’t you plan to spend the night with me tonight? We could make it an old-fashioned slumber party.”

“I can’t. I’m having dinner with Colton.”

Surprise danced in Drea’s eyes. “I didn’t think you had it in you. That’s my girl. Glad to see you didn’t waste any time going after what you wanted.”

“Right now, what I want is an egg sandwich.”

“Oh, sure,” Drea said, stepping aside so Naomi could enter the restaurant. “Where’s he taking you? Tonight?”

“Don’t know. But I want to look my best. I need to do something about these highlights Abby gave me.”

“Why not just recolor your hair?”

“Could we do that by tonight?”

“If you’re willing to take the afternoon off we could.”

“I’ll ask Nick. But after missing the potluck supper last night, taking the afternoon off might be pushing my own luck.”

“Why not make an appointment for Saturday morning then with my stylist in San Sebastian? Tell Andrea it’s an emergency.”

“How is it you don’t let Abby do your hair?”

“Because I’ve lived here all my life and I know from firsthand experience that Abby sometimes just doesn’t do color worth a flip.”

“You might’ve mentioned that before I let her do this.”

“You didn’t ask. Wait. I just had an idea. If you could push back the date until eight o’clock or so, I think we could get your hair back to its original color.”

“After work? That’d be great. Let’s do it.”

“You’ll have to run to the pharmacy and pick out your color. Then show up at my house as soon after work as you can. I’ll take it from there.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Drea. Maybe I’ll be able to sneak out of the bank thirty minutes early.”

“Don’t worry. When I’m done with you, you’re gonna blow Colt away.”

“I’d settle for stunning in my little black dress.”

“You will. You absolutely will.”

 

 

At that very moment in her own house, the date had slipped Colt’s mind. Focused on hanging drywall, he stopped to chug a bottle of water and wipe the sweat from his face. He poured part of it out for Deke into a plastic tray earmarked for paint.

“I can’t believe you brought a dog to work,” Zach grumbled.

Colt glanced over at Deke, who had chewed his way around the edges of a tarp, shredding the corner of the canvas. “Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a new tarp. If he’s bothering you, I can build him a little bed in the back of my truck.”

“Nah, I guess he’s okay as long as I don’t trip over him. If he starts getting underfoot, though, you’ll have to do something about it.”

“You could use a dog yourself, Zach. I bet Cord could let go of another stray just for you.”

“I don’t think so. I have trouble enough taking care of myself, keeping myself out of trouble, let alone a dog.” Zach’s nail gun whooshed as he drove another rivet into the wall. “You like Naomi, don’t you?”

“What’s not to like?”

“I used to go out with Drea.”

Surprised at that news, Colt stopped in mid-air, the tool dangling in his hand. “Really? What happened?”

“I sort of had a breakdown in the middle of it. Nothing like a mental collapse to get a woman running in the other direction. I found out I had to take medication to stay on an even keel.”

“Nothing to feel embarrassed about.”

“Says you.”

“You think I’m not embarrassed that my friends dragged me here because they thought I couldn’t take care of myself?”

“Maybe you should feel grateful somebody cared enough. In my case, it was my sister Bree. She’s the one who insisted something was wrong and made me see a doctor. Sometimes you have to admit you need looking after.”

“You really believe that?”

“Yeah. You don’t want to be around me when I’m off my meds. Trust me. Somehow Troy and Ryder stuck by me. Troy’s married to my sister, which makes him family, but Ryder, he didn’t have to, he could’ve let me go. I learned one thing from being down and out. Without family and friends, the world’s a cold, lonely place.”

Colt saw an opening. “That’s why you could use a dog. Man’s best friend would keep you company and out of trouble.”

“I gotta woman I see on the weekends. Her name’s Freida. She might like a dog…for Christmas…or her kids might.”

“There you go. Perfect present. What kid doesn’t like a dog? Want me to mention it to Cord?”

“Nah. I can pick out my own dog.”

It didn’t escape Colt that in a matter of minutes Zach had changed his mind. He’d gone from being opposed to the idea to maybe wanting one, even if it was under the guise of getting it for a girlfriend. “Want to go pick one out during lunch? I’ll keep at it here while you’re gone.”

“It’s way too early to pick out Freida’s Christmas present. We haven’t even been going out that long.”

“Suit yourself, but someone else could come along and snap up the best of the lot. Then you’ll be forced to take whatever Cord has on hand.” Just as he was making his point, Simon Bremmer appeared in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

Colt stopped to stare at his longtime friend.

Simon stood six-one with a crop of brownish-blond hair. His expressive blue eyes didn’t miss much. The two men had that in common. Maybe it was because he and Colt had seen and done things they didn’t want to talk about, not to anyone, not even to each other.

“Don’t let this guy sell you anything you don’t want,” Simon warned Zach. “I’ve seen him outtalk a politician and get a used car salesman to buy back his own car.”

Zach grinned. “I figured Colt was a smooth-talker the first day he was here.”

Colt feigned hurt feelings. “Who, me? I’m a saint. Ask…not Simon. Ask Keegan. Or Jordan. The women love me.”

“That’s the problem,” Simon grunted as he gave his friend a sly smile. “I’m here to ask a favor.”

“After insulting me?”

“It’s for my mom.”

Colt’s face turned serious, but softer in concern. “That’s different. What’s Gretchen need?”

“Mom found an excellent assisted living facility in Santa Cruz for Aunt Lorraine. It’s less than an hour either way. Mom’s determined to be closer to Delaney and Jayden so she can be a regular grandmother. That means she’s moving here before Christmas.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Colt noticed Simon put his hands in his pockets and shifted his feet, reluctant to continue. “Why are you feeling so uneasy? Does it have anything to do with the guy Gretchen’s dating?”

“Yeah. No. Maybe. Not because the man’s a bad guy but because I don’t want to picture her dating anyone. But she’ll be packing up soon, which means I’ll be heading to Rhode Island to help her get everything situated for the move. Which means Gilly and the kids are flying out there with me. That means I need you to look after Merlin while I’m gone.”

“That’s it? Dog sitting? Sure, what’s another four paws in the grand scheme of things? Maybe he’ll teach Deke how to handle himself.”

Simon narrowed his eyes. They’d had a buddy by that name who died in the Kunar Province, gunned down by snipers. “Deke? You named the dog Deke?”

“Don’t go there,” Colt cautioned. “It’s the first name that popped into my head. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

Simon knew Colt well enough to keep his mouth shut and not press the issue. “If you say so. How are you settling in? Everything okay with the house? Anything you need you don’t have?”

“I’m a big boy. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time now. Sometimes I even took care of you, Mr. Bremmer, so back off. When will you be leaving?”

“Next week. We’ll fly out and help Mom pack, then let her and John deal with the actual move.”

“How’s she handling putting Lorraine into a home?”

Simon ran his fingers through his longish hair and whooshed out a knowing sigh. “It’s gotta be done. Mom can’t keep up the home care forever. For one thing, Lorraine is getting more forceful every day, pushing, shoving, not wanting to take her medication. It has to be done. There’s no other way.”

“I get it. You resent the fact that this John guy was able to talk her into something you’ve been trying to do for months…and got nowhere. Now, suddenly, she’s seen the light.”

“That’s not it at all,” Simon protested, even though that was exactly it. “Mom simply decided that she wants to live near Delaney and Jayden and be part of her grandchildren’s lives.”

“Right. Sure. Whatever you say. I gotta get back to work. Bring Merlin around the day before you’re scheduled to leave so he can settle in.”

“Thanks. I hear you have a hot date tonight.”

Colt twisted up his mouth at the reminder. “Jeez. I need to make some sort of plans, don’t I?”

“Good news. I hear The Driftwood is playing that chick flick about Harry meeting Sally.”

Cord made another face. “Why do women like that crap so much?”

Zach, who’d been left out of the conversation thus far, piped up, “Because it’s the quintessential film that proves how men and women cannot, under any circumstances be ‘just friends.’”

Colt gestured a thumb toward Zach. “Listen to the expert on females.”

“It only took Harry and Sally twelve and a half years to reach the conclusion they deserve to be together,” Zach continued unfettered. “Since those two had been through all the friendship angles, women love dissecting that kind of stuff.”

Simon shook his head. “Damned if he isn’t probably right.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Colt stated emphatically. “That only means I’ll have to spend tonight watching every slow, agonizing minute of it.”

“What’s the alternative? A war movie?” Zach prompted. “I don’t think so.”

Simon slapped Colt on the back. “You’ll muddle through it, I’m sure. Don’t forget to encourage her to talk about her feelings.”

“Bite me,” Colt muttered as he got back to work. All the while his mind tried to work through a scattered list of alternative things they might do on a first date. He decided to start with the basics and took out his cell phone.