CHAPTER 9

Lexie wasn’t surprised when Babs Kincaide, the weather-beaten proprietor of the Clam Shak, came strolling into the LMK on Tuesday, just after six in the evening. When she’d phoned Babs to ask her if she would judge the contest, the older woman had agreed and had promised her a visit at the LMK. Tonight, Babs was wearing a flowing blue-green dress, her shoulder-length white hair held back in a shell clip. The ensemble made her look ageless, regal.

“Babs,” she said, walking up to the older woman. “What a nice surprise. Did you close early tonight?” Lexie supposed the Clam Shak could be considered her competition, but only to a degree. The Clam Shak really was just that—a shack set on a boardwalk by the harbor where Babs served up fried clams and other seafood on paper plates. Tourists and locals alike loved it, and Lexie thought the food was very good, even if the menu was a bit limited. A woman of indeterminate age, Babs had been born and raised in Star Harbor, and the Clam Shak had been here longer than anyone could remember. Lexie treated them both with respect—they were fixtures of the town.

“Fall hours,” Babs said in her husky voice, her brown eyes crinkling up at the edges. Like many locals, Babs spoke with the typical Eastern Massachusetts accent; the letter “a” was broad in tone, the letter “r” was pronounced like “ah,” and sometimes even the letter “o” was spoken like “ah,” too. The first few months in town had been tough for Lexie as she sometimes struggled with the strange way people spoke, but slowly, and with Buster’s help, she’d gotten used to it. Besides, though Babs had a much thicker accent than pretty much everyone else, the older woman was so entertaining, Lexie would have done anything required to be able to understand what she was saying.

“So I guess you’ll be focusing on your art more, now that you have some free time?”

“That’s the plan. I’ve got some great ideas and the muse is calling.” Sculpture was Babs’s true love. The Shak was primarily a summer destination and in the fall, Babs reduced its hours. It would be closed all winter long beginning sometime around Thanksgiving so that she could spend the off-season sculpting.

“Wonderful. I hope you had a good season.” Like many year-round Star Harbor residents, Babs made most of her income from summer tourists. The money would have to last her for the rest of the year.

“Pretty good this year, thanks. I’ll be in no hurry to open up again in April.”

“Well, great.” Lexie smiled, motioning for Babs to follow her. “I know you like to have a booth,” she said as she showed Babs to the one farthest from the door. “I’ll send Rachel by to let you know the specials.”

“Can you come back and talk to me after I order?”

Lexie nodded. She gave Rachel instructions to cover the tables, and while Babs placed her order, she grabbed a cup of hot water and a tea bag. She figured she might as well have something to sip while she and Babs chatted. As soon as she returned to the booth, Babs started in.

“You wanna tell me what’s up with you and Seb Grayson?” Babs wasn’t known for mincing words.

Lexie sighed. “I wish I could, Babs, but honestly, I don’t know.” She ripped open the tea bag and plunked it into the cup. While it steeped, she curled her hands around the warm mug.

“Well, lemme give you a word of warning, girl. Those Grayson boys are nothing but trouble. You shoulda seen ’em back in the day, raising so much hell you’d have thought Star Harbor was their personal playground. Their black hair flying in the wind as they raced through town in their cars, windows open. Or drinking late nights on the beach. They were always doing something bad. And all of ’em are too good looking for their own good, ’specially that Sebastian.”

“I thought Cole was the big troublemaker. And look at him now! He’s the sheriff of Star Harbor.”

Babs grunted. “Cole’s doing all right, I’ll give him that. But he changed the minute he left town.”

“And Val. He doesn’t talk much, but he certainly doesn’t cause trouble. In fact,” Lexie mused, “Val is more likely to break up a fight than to start one.” A hint of a smile crept up onto her face. “And Theo and Seb don’t even live in Star Harbor anymore. Theo’s in San Francisco and Seb’s in New York.”

“That don’t matter. Old habits die hard, and Theo and Seb haven’t changed, far as I can tell. When they’re back in town, they cause trouble. Or trouble follows them.” Babs looked at her ominously. “I heard about the guy who went after you on the Green.”

Lexie blanched. “Who told you about it?”

“I know what goes on in this town, girl,” Babs said, cocking her head. “Besides, someone’s got to look out for you, a single gal living alone so far out by the pond. Cole know what’s going on?”

“Yes, I talked to him.”

Babs seemed satisfied. “Good. I imagine it’s a relief having him investigate.”

Lexie nodded.

“Well, as much as I don’t care for Seb, I’m grateful that he got you out of that jam.” Babs looked at her consideringly. “He must like you if he helped you out. And he must respect you if he’s willing to compete against you. He don’t have that much respect for women, I can tell you that.”

“Really?” Lexie took a sip of her tea, maintaining eye contact with Babs. She didn’t want to miss a word of this.

“Well, except for his momma,” Babs amended. “But even ’fore he left Star Harbor, he’d been through all the local gals. I remember one summer, he took up with four different gals. Each of ’em knowing about the others. And not caring, neither. Can’t even tell you what he’s done since then.”

“I think I have some idea.” Lexie tried not to smile. When Babs gave her a suspicious look, she hurriedly provided additional commentary. “I mean, his reputation is well known.”

“And well deserved,” Babs supplied. “I knew that something was bound to get lost in translation when their momma, may she rest in peace, named all of ’em after saints.”

Lexie gave her a quizzical look. “They’re all named after saints?”

Babs nodded. “Oh yeah. But they’ve always acted more like sinners.”

“Now that I can believe.”

“They near burnt down the pier the Shak is on, you know that?”

“No! Really?” Lexie was shocked. “They couldn’t have done it on purpose.”

“Knowing those boys, I can’t say.” Babs took a sip of water.

“How’d it happen?”

“They started a bonfire half a mile down the beach. One of them—Theo, I think—had the bright idea to set fire to a piece of driftwood so he could use it as a torch. Took Maysie Pruitt underneath the boardwalk to do God-knows-what. ’Fore you could blink twice, the pier was on fire.”

“Wow.”

“Luckily, Andy Neiman smelled something burning—the Rusty Nail is right there, you know—and called the fire department. They got there just in time to put it out.” Lexie nodded. Andy had a nose for sniffing out danger.

“Oh, those boys were trouble with a capital T. I’m just telling you all this ’cause I like you.”

“I know. I like you too, Babs.”

“Just remember those Grayson boys have one thing on their minds, and it ain’t fishing.”

Lexie laughed. “I appreciate your advice, but I’ve already figured that one out.” She placed one of her hands over Babs’s, which was resting on the table. “I do appreciate you representing Star Harbor as part of the judging trio this Thursday. I’ll be proud to have you there.”

Babs cleared her throat and spoke gruffly. “No thanks are necessary, girl. Happy to do it. ’Specially for you. I know I’m s’posed to be neutral, but I hope you beat him.”

“I hope so, too.” Lexie glanced over at the kitchen. “I’ll go check on your order.” She slid out of the booth gracefully and picked up her mug of tea.

It did mean a lot that Babs was looking out for her. She thought of the older woman as an aunt and she appreciated her heartfelt advice. Even though she dealt with scores of people on a daily basis, she wasn’t close to many of them. She had a few friends, but she’d thrown herself so wholly into her work that free time was almost a foreign concept.

She’d been working so hard for so long, trying to forget her spectacularly failed relationship—her only relationship—that she’d also forgotten what it felt like to have someone care about her. Sure, her parents still did, but they were three thousand miles away and the last time she’d talked to them was a week ago, by email. Besides Seb’s embrace the night she was attacked, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d even been hugged.

She had no life to speak of outside of the restaurant. The thought made her incredibly sad. Maybe that was why she was drawn to Seb. He represented everything that she was lacking. He was worldly and dangerous. Given how sedate her day-to-day life was, it was no wonder she found him exciting.

No, that didn’t make sense. She’d had her fill of danger when she’d broken up with Frank. She was a different person now. Stronger. More grounded. And much less likely to lose herself in someone else. For the past three years she’d focused on making herself a better, more independent person. Her work was her life now. She wasn’t looking for thrills. She was looking to keep her nose to the grindstone and herself out of trouble. But that low heat she felt every time Seb was around was starting to make her wonder what she’d been missing. She’d thought she was immune to the charms of men, but it was impossible not to be attracted to him.

If she didn’t keep herself in check, the heat would turn into fire, and she’d soon be right back where she started.