Winter at the Beach Read online

  Dino grinned and puffed out his chest, which was almost as massive as his belly. “The food here’s real good,” he said. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  He slipped a beefy arm around her and hauled her into the restaurant. Oh, boy. It was going to be a long night.

  “We’re doin’ the all-you-can-eat crab,” Dino informed their waitress, assuming Jenna was on board with that. Actually, she was.

  She wasn’t so on board with the beer he’d ordered, though, and switched that to Coke. “I have to drive,” she said, and he shook his head and told her she should’ve let him pick her up. Captive in Dino’s tow truck—when he’d had a bunch of beers. Oh, yes, she’d have loved that.

  Dino wasn’t shy and was perfectly happy to tell her all about his car restoration business and how good he was with his hands. This was accompanied with an eyebrow waggle that didn’t do anything for Jenna’s appetite. Neither did watching him inhale the pile of crab legs on his plate. Once they’d started eating, conversation stopped. Which was fine with Jenna. But after his second helping, Dino slowed down and decided it was time to chat again. Now the topic was TV shows. His favorites were Breaking Bad and Luther.

  The fact that her favorite shows tended more toward romantic series like Outlander didn’t leave them with much to talk about in that department.

  “I like Game of Thrones, though,” he said. “Lots of sex.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said noncommittally.

  “I like stuff with action,” he went on. “You into monster truck drag racing?”

  “Um. Not really.”

  Dino frowned. “Seth said you were.”

  Yep. She was going to feed Seth to the seagulls. “He must’ve misunderstood.”

  “I guess,” Dino said, looking like a man who’d been given the old bait and switch.

  Time for dessert. Dino was ready for ice cream. Jenna was ready to leave. She glanced at her watch. “You know, this had been great, but I really need to get going.”

  Dino’s thick eyebrows dipped. “Without dessert?”

  “I’m afraid so. It’s been...” The eyebrows had lifted hopefully. Okay, lie.

  No, don’t. There was no sense in raising false hopes. “The crab was excellent.” That she could truthfully say. “But I’ve got a lot to do back at the motel, and I have to get up early. Thanks for dinner, though.” He was looking disappointed. He’d probably been hoping they’d connect and eventually move on to sex à la Game of Thrones. Having bruised his ego, she hurried to put on some salve. “And thanks for coming through for us for our float. Without your help and expertise, we would never have been able to have one.”

  She wasn’t sure he was familiar with the word expertise, but he did know the meaning of help. He smiled. “Glad I had something that worked for you.”

  She wished she knew a woman who would appreciate Dino, who was probably a diamond in the rough. Alas for Dino, she didn’t. She thanked him again for dinner, took care of the tip and scrammed.

  The new base for their float was in the parking lot when she got back to the motel, but Seth’s truck was missing. Obviously, he was avoiding her. Very wise.

  But he couldn’t hide forever. She was waiting for him the next day when he got home from treating several of the locals’ houses for mold. “You are a skunk ball,” she told him.

  He didn’t bother to feign ignorance. “Come on, admit it, you had a good time.”

  “Is that what you call it?”

  “All you can eat Dungeness crab?”

  “Enjoyed with Dino.”

  “He’s an okay guy.”

  “Yes, he is, and I could tell from the minute we met that we were a match made in heaven.”

  “There you have it. Can I be best man?”

  “You can be on my doo-doo list is what you can be.”

  He chuckled, unaffected by the threat. “So, I got what we need to make our platform, and rented what we need to build it. Is Pete around?”

  Of course, Pete wasn’t around. Pete had a nose for work, and once he caught the scent of it he vanished faster than Bambi in the face of a forest fire. “No. He’s probably hiding out down at The Drunken Sailor.” It was everybody’s favorite pub, including Pete’s.

  “I’ll go over there and see if I can pry him away from the garlic fries,” Seth said. “Meanwhile, when you get a chance, go on down to the hardware store and buy the paint you want to use.”

  Picking out paint wouldn’t be too hard since Jenna wanted to match the color she’d used for the motel. Of course, she did have to select the color for the base of the float. She supposed that would need to be some shade of turquoise to match the fringe for the bottom, something that would make people think of the sea. She could envision her little float sweeping along the parade route, people pointing to it with admiration.

  They could use it again and again, bringing it out for the Flag Day parade and the Fourth of July.

  They’d have to find a place to store the float. Seaside Storage had a couple of large garages for motor homes. She hoped they didn’t charge too much. Otherwise, she’d have to ask Dino if he had some place on his property. Ugh. How many crab dinners would she have to commit to for that?

  Well, never mind. One challenge at a time. She’d deal with where to store their mini Driftwood Inn once they had it put together.

  It wasn’t long before the float began to take shape. Unlike Jenna, Seth seemed to have a gift for actually getting work out of Pete, and from her post in the office, she watched them out there in the nippy fall air during the next few days, clambering over the evolving creation.

  Pete was definitely going to deserve praise for this. Which she was happy to give him, along with some cookies. Good behavior should always be rewarded. So should going the extra mile, which Seth was definitely doing. She gave him cookies, too, although she could think of other ways to show him her appreciation.

  It’s starting to take shape, Jenna texted her sister. We’ve got a cute bench for you right outside the office door. And we’ll put Sabrina and Aunt Edie in front of one of the rooms on either side.

  Celeste, the little ham, was now fine with the whole thing and was looking forward to being the resident mermaid. This didn’t surprise Jenna at all, but Aunt Edie volunteering to ride on the float did. Aunt Edie said she was looking forward to it, and the possibility of standing in the cold didn’t bother her in the least, although it worried Jenna. “I have a down coat and my knit cap. I’ll be plenty toasty in them,” Aunt Edie had told her. Even Sabrina was up for being on the float, especially after Jenna promised her a new outfit.

  I still think you should be on it, too, Celeste texted back.

  Too much to do behind the scenes.

  And that was fine with Jenna. She much preferred to be on the sidelines, where she could watch the parade she’d envisioned coming to life. Her committee was insisting that, as the organizer of the festival, she be up on the viewing platform with the mayor.

  The prospect didn’t excite her, but she was enjoying the planning process, meeting with her committee, watching the festival come together as they checked things off their to-do list.

  “The VFW’s gonna have some old Jeeps in the parade and the Rotary’s entered a float,” Brody reported when they met at Tyrella’s. “We’ve got the high school marching band, and the royal court from Harbor Days. Ellis, you’ve got your other guys lined up with the cars, right?”

  “Yes,” Ellis said. “But if it rains, the convertible tops are gonna be up. I’d give my all for Seaside with Santa, but not the upholstery in my 1958 T-bird.”

  “It’s not going to rain,” Jenna said, convinced that if she said it often enough it would be true.

  Kiki had the Facebook page up to show everyone. “We’re getting a lot of hits,” she reported as Tyrella poured more hot cider.

  “Ellie Greenwald wan
ts a booth for her Tupperware business,” Tyrella said. “Johanna Wright confirmed that PAWS will have a booth, and Lisa Griebel and Kerry Schanberger are going to be selling their yoga DVDs. And Mary Harms just reserved a booth yesterday for her home décor business. That brings us up to thirty vendors.”

  “Good news,” Jenna said. They had everything from roofers to wood carvers. “Between the vendors and the rides, and what the various shops and restaurants are offering, there should be plenty for people to do.”

  “And plenty of people to do it,” said Nora. “I ran into Patricia at the bank the other day when I was picking up their sponsor check, and she said she’s booked solid for the weekend. How are things looking over at the Driftwood?”

  “We’re almost at full capacity, too,” Jenna said happily.

  “I’m sure you and Edie are celebrating that,” Nora said.

  “You bet we are.”

  “Speaking of celebrating, don’t forget the Halloween bash at my place,” Brody said. “You got your costume?” he asked Jenna.

  “Not yet. I’ve been too busy to think about Halloween costumes.”

  “Get busy,” Nora told her. “We celebrate down here.”

  She was right. By the time Halloween arrived, all of Moonlight Harbor was dressed up and ready to party, with jack-o’-lanterns on house porches, garbage bag ghosts dangling from trees and skeletons hanging around in restaurant lobbies while scarecrows guarded cornstalks and pumpkins. Kids, both big and small, all over town had their costumes ready.

  The Driftwood Inn was decorated with lit ceramic pumpkins in the office lobby. Aunt Edie had the house decorated as well, candles and pumpkins everywhere, and a vintage life-size plastic skeleton named Sylvester, who dangled in a corner by the window and creeped out Sabrina. Jenna had brought home a ceramic black cat she’d found on sale at Tyrella’s hardware store and thought was adorable. But it had made Jolly Roger very nervous, so the cat had been transferred to the motel office to keep watch over the pumpkins.

  Everyone in town got into costume and into party mode. Aunt Edie and Pete were going to The Drunken Sailor, Aunt Edie dressed as a pirate and Pete as her parrot, looking scary in neon-yellow jogging shorts, yellow tights that showed off his scrawny legs, a yellow leotard, big cloth wings and a beak.

  “First prize is fifty dollars and a gift certificate for a free dinner. I hope we win,” Aunt Edie said.

  If they awarded a prize for the most fearless costume, Pete had to win. Jenna was surprised that he was willing to go out in public looking like that.

  She sent her aunt off with good wishes, then preapred to chauffeur Sabrina to a party at her friend Jennifer’s house. Tristan had offered to pick Sabrina up, but Jenna was sticking to her guns; her daughter would not be dating until she was fifteen. Besides, she wasn’t sure that turning the two of them loose alone in a dark car was a good idea, especially with her daughter looking more like eighteen than fourteen in her Wonder Woman costume.

  “She’s growing up so fast,” she said to Seth when they ran into each other in the Driftwood Inn parking lot. “I’m not ready for it.”

  “No one ever is.”

  Jenna watched as her daughter came running toward her, coat parting to reveal long, slender legs. “She’ll be grown before I know it.”

  “Make sure you’ve got a life. Then it won’t be so hard,” he advised.

  She cocked her head at him. “How do you know all this stuff?”

  He shrugged. “Beats me.”

  “No, seriously. That was profound.”

  “Yeah, that’s me, profound,” he said, clearly not taking her compliment seriously.

  And sexy, she almost added. The only nod he’d given to Halloween was a pirate’s patch over one eye. With his swarthy skin and dark hair, it was all he needed. Like Aunt Edie and Pete, he was on his way to The Drunken Sailor, where he’d most likely get swarmed by several man-hungry wenches wanting to play pool with him.

  Jenna brushed away the moment of jealousy as she and Sabrina got in the car. She had no hold on Seth the pirate.

  Brody, however, was a different matter.

  “Are you, like, dating Brody?” Sabrina asked as they drove to her friend’s house.

  “Honey, this is just a chamber of commerce party.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “We do things together,” Jenna hedged. She wasn’t sure that really counted as dating.

  “Do you like him?”

  What was not to like about Brody? “We’re friends. Of course, I like him.”

  “I mean, as a boyfriend.”

  “Where are we going with this?”

  “I just want to know. Daddy’s got a girlfriend.”

  “Who you don’t like. So, are you worried I’ll hook up with someone you don’t like, either?” Brody hadn’t managed to rack up the teen approval points Seth had. If Sabrina disapproved of her getting serious with him, that would be a definite roadblock to taking things further.

  Sabrina looked out the window and shrugged.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking.” Maybe it wasn’t as much about Brody as it was about her daughter simply not wanting another parent bringing a new person into the equation.

  “I don’t want you to be, like, miserable all your life.”

  Jenna had to smile. “Is there a but in here somewhere?”

  “I guess Brody’s okay. He’s just kind of swog.”

  “Swog?”

  “Uncool.”

  “Ah.” Jenna nodded. “Well, who do we know my age who isn’t swog?”

  “Seth.”

  So her daughter had a favorite. “Seth and I are friends, too. I don’t know if we’ll ever be more than that. Anyway, I’m not in a hurry,” Jenna said. “My number one priority is you.”

  Sabrina smiled. “Thanks, Mom. But if you want to be with somebody, it’s okay with me. I hope you pick Seth. And if you want to have sex with him...”

  Whoa there. “I don’t think you have to concern yourself with who I have sex with.”

  “You do with me.”

  Oh, so was that the deal? Sabrina was hoping that if she gave her mom permission to go at it with someone, she could do it, too. “You’re still underage,” Jenna reminded her.

  “And you’re not getting any younger.”

  “Oh, ha ha, Miss Smart Mouth,” Jenna said as they pulled up in front of Jennifer’s house. “Get out of here and go have fun with your squad. And behave yourself,” she couldn’t help adding.

  “I will, promise.” Sabrina leaned over and hugged her. “And if you want to kiss Brody, it’s okay. But I bet he won’t want to kiss you. You stink.”

  She did, indeed, thanks to Aunt Edie’s vintage witch costume that she’d insisted Jenna would look adorable in. The short skirt and fishnet stockings were sexy, and she liked her witch’s hat and the cape appliqued with black cats and pumpkins. Sadly, she didn’t smell as good as she looked. But Aunt Edie was pleased.

  Brody had gone all out, dressing up as a devil for the chamber of commerce party at his place. He was more than a little tempting in his shiny red cape.

  “You look bewitching,” he told her as they started a slow dance to “Witchy Woman.”

  “Even if I smell like I’ve been hovering over a cauldron full of mothballs all day?”

  “I can’t smell a thing,” he said—obviously a lie. He drew her closer and whispered, “So, what can I tempt you to do with me tonight?” his breath tickling her ear.

  Bubble, bubble, I’m in trouble. “Stop that, you devil,” she replied, keeping the moment light.

  Brody might not have been her daughter’s favorite, but he was becoming increasingly more appealing to her. She could get serious with him.

  If it wasn’t for Seth... At some point she was going to have to quit standing at the fork in the road, he
sitating over which way to go.

  Not tonight, she decided. Tonight she was going to enjoy herself, right where she was.

  After several dances, a lot of fattening goodies, and a ton of laughter, she was smiling when she left the party to go pick up her daughter. She wore the smile to bed that night.

  She still had it on the following morning when Aunt Edie announced that she and Pete had won the costume contest.

  “And how was your evening?” Aunt Edie asked. “Did you have fun?”

  “I did, indeed.” Life was great at the beach.

  Until Jenna’s phone started playing “Bad Boys,” Damien’s ringtone. There went the smile.

  Chapter Seven

  “Damien.” What an unpleasant surprise to hear from you. Of course, mature adults who were taking the high road and trying not to be bitter about their exes’s selfish and immature behavior did not utter those words. Although sometimes Jenna felt that maturity was overrated.

  “How are things going down there?” he asked.

  As if he cared? They’d hardly talked since Sabrina’s summer visit fiasco.

  “Sabrina’s doing great in school. I’m sure she’s texted you about all her adventures.” Hopefully, not all of them.

  “She has. Who’s the boy?”

  Now he was going to morph into a concerned father? Well, better late than never, she supposed. “He goes to her school.”

  “She says he’s a senior. That’s too old.”

  “They’re not dating, Damien. They hang out at school, and he comes over here to see her. Is that why you called? If so, you don’t need to worry. I’m keeping an eye on things.” No way was she going to tell him what that eye had seen and why she was monitoring them so closely.

  “Just like you did last summer?”

  Her hand squeezed her cell phone tightly. “Do you really want to go there?”

  “No, no. But you watch him. I know what boys are like.”

  “Don’t worry, I will. Now, tell me why you’re calling.” It couldn’t have been about his transitional support check. She sent those off right on schedule every month, along with a double helping of resentment.