CHAPTER TWENTY
Chelsea
It was Thursday. My day off. I pushed off on the deck and drifted across the porch in my hammock. The problem was that on my one day off I couldn’t focus on the one thing I waited six days to do—write songs. Instead, my stomach was in knots thinking about dinner tonight with Jake and my parents.
The dinner invitation reeked of my father’s manipulation. I had probably smiled a little too brightly when I described Jake to him. He was using that to get me to the house.
Jake acted so weirdly at work yesterday that we didn’t make plans to get together last night. But we weren’t at that stage, yet. We weren’t at any stage. I sighed. Two make out sessions did not equal a stage status. I couldn’t very well let him go to dinner at my parents’ house alone. That would be the opposite of showing my southern hospitality. And let’s face it, I wanted to see him again.
It didn’t seem to matter that he was leaving at the end of the summer. I was too. It didn’t matter that he was a practical stranger that appeared on the docks out of nowhere. It made him mysterious. Mysterious and hot.
The other night in my kitchen I could tell he was holding back with me. There was a bad boy in there somewhere, and I was ready to know more about him. As soon as he was about to take me to the brink of something naughty and dangerous, he would pull back, leaving me breathless and wanting more.
I stepped from the hammock with my guitar and today’s lyrics. With an hour before dinner, it was time to start bracing myself for a meal at my parents’ house.
***
Most people would use their day off to fix their broken bike or run other normal people errands, but I readily accepted I wasn’t most people as I pulled up behind Jake’s Jeep.
I looked down at my sundress with the deep V neckline and embroidered sailboats. It was an attempt to catch Jake’s eye. I hoped it would. There were a few ways I could rescue him tonight from the family gathering.
“Hi, Mom.” I pecked her on the cheek, and inhaled the smell of Old Bay and shrimp. “We’re having shrimp tonight?”
“Why, don’t you look cute? Spin around in that for me.”
I obliged.
“Where is— Where are the guys?” They weren’t in the kitchen or the adjoining sitting room. My parents lived on the cove, but their cottage was on the opposite side of the semicircle than mine. They only had a view of the marina near their house, but it was one you could take in from almost every room in the house.
“Your dad already has that boy in the study. He’s showing off.”
“Mom, he’s not a boy.” I hadn’t asked him yet how old he was, but he definitely wasn’t a boy.
“You know what I mean. Jake, the new clerk at the store. They are looking at photos and heaven knows what else.” I watched as my mother dumped the pot of shrimp into a colander. “He’s got a captive audience, so they could be in there for hours.”
“Do you mind if I join them, or do you need me here?” I knew she had the kitchen under control, but I didn’t want to leave her without the customary offer.
“Go, go, go.” She sprinkled an extra dash of the red seasoning on the shrimp. “Hey, he’s cute,” she whispered behind me as I darted down the hall in search of Jake.
Something was up. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. The dinner, my mom’s comment—it made me uneasy, but I knew my guard was up the minute I stepped under the same roof as my father. Maybe it was my mistrust in him that made me feel this way.
I stopped in front of the hallway mirror for one last touchup. The freckles on my nose were mostly covered with makeup, but I grimaced at them. You couldn’t avoid some things no matter how much sunscreen you wore.
“Hey.” I rounded the corner to the study. They were standing in the center of the room. My dad pointed out a row of black-and-white framed pictures to Jake.
“There she is.” My father moved across the room to hug me, but I dodged the advance.
“Hi, Dad.”
He cleared his throat. “I was just telling Jake about when your grandfather decided to open the store.”
Jake smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled with warmth. “Yep, I’m getting your entire family history.”
“Oh great. He hasn’t gotten out my baby album, has he?” I checked to see if it was still in place on the bookshelf.
“No, but I put in a request for that after dessert.” He laughed.
“My mom will be thrilled.” I realized that once Jake started talking, I didn’t even notice my father was in the room anymore. It all faded away. It was that smile; everything was in his smile.
“Why don’t I go check on your mother and let you two talk?” Apparently, my dad was still there.
I turned to face him.
“And I’ll take drink orders. Jake, what can I get you? Beer? Gin and tonic?”
“Beer sounds good, sir.” He slid his hands in his pockets. I liked the blue shirt he was wearing with the khaki shorts. He looked relaxed.
“Ok, and sweetie, I know you’d like a glass of wine. I’ll be back.” He walked out of the study.
I bit my tongue. My dad was using this setting to act like things were the same as two months ago. I couldn’t correct him in front of Jake. For now, I would act like a daughter who wanted to have dinner with her parents.
“Your parents are great. I met your mother earlier.”
“Yeah, she’s the best.” I knew my father would waltz back in any second, but I was fighting a growing urge to reach up and kiss Jake. Not seeing him for twenty-four hours had that effect on me.
“You look nice.” His eyes dipped to my throat and trailed along the V of my dress.
It was a heated stare my reveled in.
“Ok. Ok. Here we go.” Dad appeared with drinks in hand. “One beer for you, Jake. And here you go.” He handed me a glass of wine.
“Thank you, sir.” Jake tipped the glass against his lips. My parents were really going all out. The beer was in a pilsner glass.
“Mom says dinner is ready, so why don’t we head to the dining room?” My dad waved his hand toward the door.
“Dining room?” I looked at him. We only ate in the dining room at Christmas and Easter. Sometimes, if all of my aunts and grandparents were over, but it was rare that both sides of the family gathered at the same time.
“Come on. Let’s go.” He put his hand across Jake’s shoulder. “Wait ‘til you taste this sauce Cindy makes. It’s an island legend.”
I rolled my eyes. I was behind them so no one could catch this one. At least I got one freebie.
***
“Mom, that was so good. Thanks for making dinner. You sit and I’ll take care of the dishes.” I placed my napkin on the table and pushed back my seat.
“Yes, Mrs. Davis. It was delicious. You should bottle and sell that sauce at the store.” Jake smiled.
My mother blushed. “I’m just glad everyone enjoyed it. Chelsea, you don’t have to do the dishes.”
“Yes, I do. You sit and relax.” I began collecting plates.
“I’ll help.” Jake stood before I reached his plate.
“Why, a man that helps in the kitchen. That’s nice to see on the island. Isn’t it, Chelsea?” My mom beamed at me as Jake piled Dad’s plate on top of the stack.
“Mom, that is so sexist.” I knew it was true, though. It was rare to find a man on the island who helped with domestic duties. Add that to the list of reasons to find love off this piece of sand.
“I didn’t mean it that way.” She giggled. Her cheeks flushed from a glass of wine. “I’d have to pay your father to wash a dish.”
“Who wants to do dishes?” He chuckled from the head of the table. I fought the impulse to fire back. It was pointless.
Jake followed me to the kitchen and began rinsing the plates.
“My dad is such an asshole,” I seethed.
“He doesn’t seem that bad. But I don’t know what’s going on.” He tilted his head. “There’re always two sides to every story, right?”
I didn’t want to tell him that the other side of this story was dark and ugly. My father’s affair with Eileen was something that had permeated the happiness I once felt in our family home. It hung in the air like mold, growing darker and more disgusting the longer it was left on its own.
“Right.” I opened the dishwasher and tossed the silverware in the basket.
“You seem awfully quiet.” He nudged me with his arm.
“I can’t really talk about it right now.” The salt in my tears stung the corners of my eyes. I wasn’t going to cry. I couldn’t. “Is that ok?”
Jake turned the water off. “Hey, come here.”
Before I could turn my face from him or reach for another handful of dirty dishes, his strong arms wrapped me in against his chest.
I exhaled into the broad surface of his upper body. He smelled so good—like clean soap and cologne. I circled my hands around his waist and settled into the embrace. I felt the anger that had gripped me release with every deep breath I shared with him.
“Is that better?” he murmured into my hair.
I looked in his eyes, feeling calmness wash over me. It was as if Jake had steadied all the tipsiness, and with a new sense of balance, I lost my breath.
“Yes,” I whispered.
It was only a hug, but suddenly it felt like the single most earth-shattering moment of my life.