Sweet Talk Boxed Set (Ten NEW Contemporary Romances by Bestselling Authors to Benefit Diabetes Research plus BONUS Novel) (133 page)

“We’ve sustained considerable damage over the years since then, and the town is simply out of funds to keep it in a safe condition.

“The hurricane took the first two hundred feet. Shortening the pier was an option, but with this last nor’easter taking over two hundred feet from the middle, between pilings, strings and decking, repairs were expected to run over a $1,000 a foot, and that didn’t include stabilizing the rest of the structure that was already in disrepair. It’s just not safe.”

The noise level in the room got louder, and Elli wiggled her way between the bodies and met Pam halfway. “Let’s get out of here.”

They walked outside. Elli sucked in a lungful of air, and then tears of frustration fell.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t know all this was going down.”

“It’s not your fault. I know what they are saying makes sense in my head, but my heart is so broken. That pier has been a local landmark since the ’50s, a part of my family as long as I can remember.”

“Well, maybe there’s another option. Maybe Nana can put her things in the spa gift shop to sell. Or we find another location or something.”

“The only thing I know for sure is that I have piles of lumber that people paid to sponsor already purchased and ready to be personalized. This is one hot mess.”

“No one will expect their money back. We can still put those boards to good use in this town somehow. Give us a day or two. We’ll come up with something. We always do.”

“The guy I brought in to do that work for me, Brody, he was in there. He has got to be wondering what kind of kook I am to drag him all the way out here to work on something that isn’t ever going to happen.”

“You didn’t have any way of knowing, and even if it didn’t change the outcome, it was quite clear that this town won’t stand for that kind of behavior again.”

“At least Brody can start that little vacation he was hoping for early. I sure can’t just send him packing because everything just fell apart.”

“What was that you were saying about Holden in there?”

“I was hoping you’d forget that.”

“And why am I just finding out now?”

“I didn’t tell you or Nana because I didn’t want y’all to get all crazy-eyed thinking we might get back together or something. Or maybe I didn’t want the speech about how I shouldn’t go out with him.”

“So you really went out with him?”

“Worse. He cooked for me.” She closed her eyes. “At his house, and we walked in the moonlight.”

“Oh, Elli. No.”

“Yes. And we kissed.” She felt like such an idiot.

“Come on. This deserves wine. Follow me to my place.”

The other night ran through Elli’s mind the whole drive over to Pam’s. Had Holden just been trying to keep her on his side before things blew up? Why had she trusted him? Or maybe it had been his way of schmoozing her to ease his guilty conscience.

He knew what that pier meant to her…to her family.

He had to have known when he stopped her on the pier the other day. And yet he hadn’t said a word. Just let her ramble on about all she had to do. He’d even seen all those stacks of lumber.

Then again, it shouldn’t surprise her. It wasn’t so unlike that summer years ago. He only told half the truth, and he didn’t seem to care if the half he did tell was misconstrued.

But that was water under the bridge, or a dilapidated pier as it were. She ran the back of her hand across her mouth, wishing she’d never given in to his kisses that night. Just one more mistake.

CHAPTER TEN

It was close to eleven when Elli finally got back to the beach house. She’d called and let Nana know she’d be home late so she wouldn’t worry, and by the looks of the house she’d chosen to not wait up. The whole house was dark, and that was actually a relief.

She hadn’t had the heart to tell Nana what happened over the phone. She was pretty sure Brody wouldn’t spill the beans. He didn’t seem the type to stir up trouble or invite conflict. She’d have to explain to them both tomorrow.

“We have to stop meeting like this,” Brody said.

Elli stumbled backwards, half-startled. “
You
have to quit scaring me to death.”

“Sorry. I like it out here.”

“Apparently. Have you been sleeping out here too?”

“No, but I would be tempted if it was a little warmer.”

“Yeah, it is nice out here.” She walked over and stood next to his chair. “So you were there tonight. You know everything I know.”

“You didn’t see that coming, did you?”

“No,” she admitted. Maybe she should have, but even knowing it was a possibility, it had still come as a shock to hear it in certainty.

Brody pushed a hand through his dark hair. “It’s a mess. After hearing all the stories about that pier from your grandmother, I have to say it kind of blew me away.”

“Well, then you know how I feel.” Rather than pull up a chair she sat on the deck cross-legged and set her elbows on her knees. “It’s such a mess. I’m sorry I drug you all the way out here for nothing.”

“You didn’t really. I had other reasons to be out here too.”

Probably, finding himself or something simple and uncomplicated like that. Must be nice to be of that mind set. What she’d give for one uncomplicated day like that.

He set his iPad on the table next to him. “Would it make you feel better if I said I think things will improve around here in the future?”

“You psychic or just an optimist?”

His laugh was nice. “Neither. There are always options. So, Elli, what are your options?”

“Bury Holden Moore up to his mouth in the sand and hope the sand fiddlers eat him alive from the inside out?”

“My. You have a little dark side. That was unexpected.”

“Sorry. I exaggerate a little when I’m mad.” She looked up at the stars. “Maybe I’m more disappointed than mad. And I feel guilty that I haven’t been back much to see Nana. I didn’t even realize the pier was in that bad of shape. I just whipped up a solution and didn’t even consider that things would continue to degrade while I raised money. Plus, I misled all of those people who donated to the project.”

“You didn’t knowingly do that.”

“But that’s what has happened. Does it really matter that it wasn’t intentional? At the end of the day, it’s all the same.”

“You’ll find another path.”

“You were there, Brody. You heard them. Even in the best-case scenario, if I hit the lottery, it’s at least a two-year project.”

“Never give up hope. You’ll think of something. Maybe an interim solution until the pier can be repaired. Keep your mind open. Think outside the box.”

She appreciated his optimism, but she was out of energy. “I’m going to call it a night. I hope you know that you’re welcome to stay here with us the whole time that we’d planned. It’s really the least I could do.” She stood.

“Great. I mean, if you don’t mind. I’d like to stick around for a while.”

She turned to leave and then stopped. “You didn’t happen to mention any of this to Nana, did you?”

“No. Not my place. And why don’t you wait to say anything to Nana for just a day or two. Let’s brainstorm some options first.”

“I don’t know that there are any, but yeah, let’s touch base after I get some rest. Good night, Brody.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The next morning Elli didn’t have any more answers than she had last night. But at least the house stuff was working out. The Lazy Daisy was perfect for Nana, and if Ed fell in love with the Sol~Mate like most everyone who ever visited did, then that would be a done deal.

Elli watched from the deck as Ed Rockingham pulled up in front of the Sol~Mate. He broke into a smile as he got out of his car and took a look around.

“Want to see the beach or the house first?” Elli called out from the deck.

“The house. I love it already.” He took the stairs at a quick clip, pushing his sunglasses on top of his head as he hit the top one. “Great place.”

“Aren’t the views terrific?” She pointed toward the water. “You can see right over the dune line. You’ll have uninterrupted views from upstairs. I’ll show you, but those dunes are a precious part of the land here. They’ve kept this place safe from storms for years.”

“I like it.”

“Wait until you see inside.” She opened the front door, and Nana’s famous chocolate chip cookies welcomed them. It was the oldest trick in the real estate sales handbook, but it really hadn’t been planned. Nana had done that on her own.

Elli led Ed through the first floor, ending in the kitchen where Nana offered him warm cookies.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Ed said. “Wow, these are really good.”

“So, you’re thinking of moving here to our little town, are you?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “Love your house.”

“Thank you. Are you married? Any little ones? It’s a lot of house for one. That’s the only reason I’m leaving it.”

“No wife. Two exes, but I don’t see me inviting them over. Especially not at the same time.” He laughed. “I do have a son. He’ll be twelve this year. I’d love to have a place where he and his cousins could come and spend the summer.”

“Oh, that would be great. All of my grandchildren loved staying here. Elli used to spend every summer here. I could even leave the bunk beds for you. I sure don’t have any use for them.”

“Nana, let me keep showing him around. He hasn’t bought the place yet.”

“It was nice chatting with you,” Ed said as they headed for the stairs.

Nana was standing at the bottom of the stairs when they came back down. “It’s a great house. Such a great aura about it. Many, many happy memories here.”

Elli had to laugh at Nana’s attempt to sell the house. It didn’t need any help. It would practically sell itself on location alone.  “I’m going to take him down to the beach and show him the rest of the property.”

Ed grinned. “It is a great place. I really like it. It’s exactly what I had in my head.”

Brody walked in the door just as they were heading for it. “Oh, excuse me. Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Elli said. “I’m just showing the house. Ed here is looking to relocate to Sand Dollar Cove. Nana and I are going to be putting the Sol~Mate up for sale. He’s getting an early peek.”

“You’re selling?” Brody asked. “Is this …” He glanced at Nana and back at Elli.

“No. Nana just needs a few less stairs and a lot less space at this stage of her life. We’ve been talking about it for a while.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay. Well, I’ve only been staying here a few days, but I can tell you this place has a great vibe.” He reached for Ed’s hand. “Brody Rankin.”

“Nice to meet you. Ed. Ed Rockingham.”

“I knew you looked familiar. Nice to meet you in person.”

Ed seemed casually amused. “Yeah, most people don’t put two and two together.”

Apparently she was one of those “most people.” She’d have to ask Brody about that later. “Shall we?”

“Sure,” Ed said. “Nice to meet you, Brody.”

Elli kicked off her shoes as they headed for the dunes.

Ed didn’t say much as they walked over the dune and down to the beach. She thought he might explain to her his comment to Brody, but since he didn’t, she didn’t ask.

When they got to the top of the dune, Elli started down and realized Ed had stopped at the top.

He stood there staring out across the wide span of beach. “Wow.”

Low tide was always so impressive. Sometimes she took that for granted. She let him take it all in.

Ed took a moment and then headed down to Elli. “I’ve walked up and down this beach the last week or so. I love it, but nothing is as beautiful as this cove. This is the spot the whole town was named after, isn’t it?”

“I like to think so.” She walked closer to the where the water was licking the dry sand. “This is how Sand Dollar Cove got its name.” She dug her perfectly painted toes into the sand and shifted four small sand dollars to the top. “See.”

“No way.” He reached down and held them in his hand. “No one comes down to this part of the beach?”

“Not so much anymore. It’s private beach now. Part of Sol~Mate.”

“I’d own this?”

“Yes, sir. There was a time when you couldn’t do what I just did. People were taking the live sand dollars home for souvenirs, and they were diminishing. That’s when my great-grandfather built the pier and made this part of the cove restricted. He wanted to let them replenish. Now I think we might have more than we actually need. It’s like a sand dollar orgy down here, but Nana comes and gets the retirees and gives them a second life in her artwork.”

“Cool. So you just collect some of them? Like a certain size or something?”

“When they die they’ll wash up on the shore. We just use those.”

“This is amazing. What are all those buildings over there? Some kind of a shopping center?”

“Not anymore. There used to be a bait shack, a little restaurant, and my grandfather made surfboards in the bigger section. It was called the plaza. I don’t really know if it ever had an official name, but that’s what Pops called it. Matter of fact, my grandmother and grandfather lived in that building while the Sol~Mate was being built.”

“Those are with the property too?”

“Yes. The property line goes from over there, where that sand fence is, down to where that light post is then past the plaza. Your own private beach, and there used to be a parking area just beyond there. It was shell sand, still should be a pretty sturdy roadbed there although no one has really used that in years.”

Elli started heading up the beach. “Come on. I’ll show you around those.” She punched in the code and let him in. “My grandfather was using this place as a workshop. You can ignore all the lumber. That’s why Brody is here. He’s helping me on a project.”

“I love the house and the beach. Can’t say that I’d need these buildings.” But then Ed looked like he had an idea. “Or maybe there is something I could do with them. I’ll have to think about that.”

Elli hadn’t really thought about these buildings sitting out here not being used. Probably because they’d always just been that way. “It’s kind of sad how once things finish their time of use they just get let go.”

“Sound like that’s personal.”