CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ben
I placed beer bottles into the racks inside the walk-in fridge. It was forty-five degrees in the freezer, and since I didn’t get a cold shower this morning, this was doing the trick. I needed to be cooled to the bone.
If I looked through the rows of brown bottles, I could see Chelsea at the register ringing up one of the beach customers. She was smiling at a mother and her three children loaded with plastic buckets and sandcastle molds. It looked like the kids were squabbling over who got to carry the shovels versus the sand pails.
Last night was a first, an absolute first. A flat tire turned into something I couldn’t describe. The wine on her lips, the music floating off her tongue, took hold of me like I was a man gone crazy.
I was going on three weeks at the campground. Maybe I couldn’t handle lonely like I thought I could. I tried to remember the last time I had spent the night with a woman and only made out with her. It was probably high school. I closed my eyes, and for a second, I felt her skin under my hands, warm and soft.
“Son?” I jolted upright at the sound of a man’s voice.
“Yes, sir?” I stacked empty boxes on the dolly. There were at least half a dozen more to unpack.
“My daughter tells me you’re the new hire. Welcome to Davis.” I recognized the white-haired man Chelsea’s father, the owner. I stepped into the cooler to shake his hand.
“Yes, I am. This is my third day.” I wondered why I hadn’t seen him before now. “You have a great business here. Thanks for having me on.”
“I’m real surprised Chelsea was able to find someone so quickly. Where are you from?”
I had been careful to dodge as many questions as I could, but I knew the more I immersed myself in Brees Island life, the more likely it was that people were going to keep asking normal get-to-know-you questions.
“Originally from Texas, sir, but most recently I’ve been living in Atlanta.”
“Is that right? I’ve always wanted to take a trip to Texas. Been to Atlanta before. What part?”
“East Texas, a small town called Shiner. Funny, Brees Island reminds me of home a lot.”
“How so?” Mr. Davis opened one of the cardboard boxes and started passing me a few of the beer bottles for the next section.
I grabbed a handful to stock. “It has the same kind of small town feel. Everyone is friendly like back home.”
Regardless of how standoffish I had been, the hospitality of the island wasn’t lost on me. Flo and Carl had been nothing but kind to me despite my two-week beer binge. Every one of those beers had been filled with a memory or a regret I needed to put behind me. They were necessary, but I felt like I had visited all my disappointments—some a few times too many.
“Nice to know you like the island. There are a lot of good people here.” He smashed an empty box. “How long you thinking about staying?”
“I have a place at the campground through the end of the summer. I haven’t thought much past that to be honest, sir.” I stopped the stacking process to look at him.
“You know, we need to have you over for dinner.”
“Oh, I couldn’t impose like that.”
“No imposition. My wife loves to entertain. I’m sure we could convince Chelsea to join us for supper. How about tomorrow night?” He smiled.
I knew when I had been cornered. “Sure. Sounds good. I appreciate that.”
Mr. Davis turned. “We’ll see you at seven. And again, welcome aboard.” He saluted me and exited the cooler.
The man I spoke to didn’t resemble the angry man I had witnessed the other morning on the docks. He seemed friendly and warm like all the other residents of Brees Island. It made me wonder why Chelsea disliked him so much. Then I thought of the unspoken rift I had with my father, and knew the layers in a family went much deeper than what anyone could see from the outside.
Families were like glaciers, bound together from an original formation, but each family member carrying unique layers. Those layers were deep and formed from the same storm, but even though one layer might melt for one person, it didn’t mean it melted for everyone or anyone else. The melting and healing was all up to you—how quickly you could face the sun and let it all go. I decided I wasn’t here long enough to get involved in the Davis’s family issues. By the end of the summer, I would be on my way somewhere else. I couldn’t stay on Brees Island forever.
I finished unloading the beer and sauntered over to the register. I had the afternoon shift at the rental booth, but I couldn’t pass by without snagging one smile from Chelsea. I had, after all, gotten lost in those lips all night.
“Hey.” I strolled to the counter. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
She jumped and dropped a stack of magazines in her arms. “Shit.”
“Sorry, hold on.” I hopped across the counter like it was the General Lee and I was one of the Luke boys. I dropped to the floor and shuffled the magazines in my arms.
“I’m a klutz today.” She began collecting the dropped magazines in a pile. “Look at this garbage. Why do people even read this stuff anyway? I don’t get it.” She held up a cover of Celeb Watch.
My throat tightened and I felt the familiar stabbing sensation under my lungs. Holy fuck. It was Becs.
“I mean, really, do we care who Rebecca Campbell is dating? Personally, I’ve never seen any of her movies but I don’t care. It seems like there are more pressing issues going on in the world than her love life.” She rolled her eyes and continued to retrieve the pile she had jumbled.
I knew the magazines were at the front counter. There was a line of them that came up to my knees, but I also knew not to look that low. I didn’t want to see. I didn’t want to know what was going on with my old Hollywood friends, especially Rebecca. Now those magazines I had been so careful to avoid were scattered at my feet.
“Jake? Are you ok? It’s not a big deal. I know you didn’t mean for me to drop them.”
I held the glossy photo in my hands. Rebecca had made the cover for the umpteenth time. Who could count that high? Her hair was blond again.
Hollywood Heartache
Campbell says she’ll do what it takes to get Baldwin back
Under the picture was a broken heart with my face split down the middle. I blinked. Rebecca had done an interview with the magazine. I flipped open to page twenty-two.
“I want Ben to know how much I love him. He has every right to be mad at me. I know what I did, but everyone deserves forgiveness. I know I broke his heart, and I’m going to spend every day making it up to him and showing him that I would give him my last breath.”
I choked on my next inhale. She was insane. What in the hell was she talking about? We were done. Settled. And we were never in love. Son of a bitch.
“Jake? Seriously, you look like you saw a ghost.” Chelsea reached over and rested her palm on my wrist.
“Can I take a break?” I knew my voice was sharp, but I had to deal with this situation.
“Sure. I guess so.” Her mouth formed a frown.
“Ten minutes. I’ll be back to take over for Bertie in the rental stand.” I stood and shoved a rolled copy of the magazine in the band of my shorts behind the apron tie.
“Doing a little reading?” She teased.
“I’ll be back.” I turned on my heels and headed for the screen door. I kept my phone in the glove box of the Jeep. There wasn’t any reason to have it on me at work. I turned the lock on the compartment and pulled the phone out. I had Rick’s number up in two seconds.
He answered after the first ring. “Hey, man. Good to hear from you. How you feeling?” Rick sounded happy.
“Good,” I huffed. “No, not good. Rebecca did some kind of expose article on us for Celeb Watch. I need to know what her angle is.”
“Celeb Watch? That rag’s a piece of shit. No one reads it, Ben.”
“Yeah, well I read it. She granted them an interview, and it wasn’t because she’s in love with me.”
“Maybe she is. She wouldn’t be the first, brother.” He chuckled on the other end.
“Rick. Just find out. I need to know why she’s talking about us. Leave me a message if I don’t answer, ok?” I nodded at a fisherman walking in the store.
“Got it, boss. I’m on it,” he reported.
“Thanks.”
“It’s good to know you still need me for something.”
“Rick, you’re the best out there. Of course I still need your help.”
I realized that my new career decisions would affect Rick and everyone else on my team. They were still on my payroll, and I wouldn’t cut them loose until they found other jobs. Their families depended on those salaries—on the income my name and fame brought to them.
“Thanks again,” I added.
“Sure thing.”
I tossed the phone into the glove box and twisted the lock. I glanced around the parking lot before pulling the magazine out of my waistband. I leaned against the tail of the Jeep, opened the magazine, and picked up where I left off on the biggest web of lies I had ever read.