The Shore (2 page)

Ryan followed Cody’s truck down the highway, all the while second-guessing her decision to join them.

Were they really not serial killers? How the hell would I know? At least we’ll be in a public place and I have my own vehicle.

That thought made her feel a little better.

While Ryan was concerned with her safety that wasn’t really what was bugging her. She was attracted to Cody, and it was freaking her out. The last time that happened was with Jaxon, and it hadn’t ended well. At. All. She’d only just met Cody but there was something about him.

She had a decision to make: drive right past the driveway Cody just turned into, or suck it up and get over it. She couldn’t live in her shell forever.

Deciding it would be fine and that she needed to put her big-girl panties on, as her friend Madison would say, Ryan turned into the driveway and parked next to Cody.

Madison was a feisty redhead that started at the design firm where Ryan worked about four years ago. They became instant friends, even though sometimes they were polar opposites. Madison had a tiny diamond stud in her nose and several tattoos. The only way to know about the tattoos, however, was to see her in a bathing suit or naked. Ryan had seen Madison in her bathing suit, and knowing that girl, there were probably more tattoos hiding beneath the fabric.

Mad was extremely creative, but she liked to keep a lot of her art to herself. She was the most laid back person Ryan knew, unless it was about her art. In fact, every one of her tattoos was something she had designed, and before the tattoo artist could even get close to her with ink, she made them redraw the piece for her first.

Ryan, on the other hand, hated needles and hadn’t found the guts to get inked. Maybe someday. She just hadn't found
the thing
she wanted to have on her body for the rest of eternity.

Turning her to look at Cody's truck, she realized it was a Chevy Silverado. It was her favorite kind of truck and Ryan knew with complete certainty it had never been stuck in the sand. Thankfully, however, it had enough guts to pull her car out of it.

Ryan dug in her purse to grab her phone. The least she could do was tell someone where she was and who she was with. She may have conceded it was only dinner, but she wasn’t dumb. Ryan had seen enough cop shows to know she should let someone know her whereabouts.

She looked up to see Cody waiting for her but held a finger up as if to say, “Give me one second.” Cody nodded and walked with Wrigley toward the door as Riley walked through the entrance. Ryan whipped off a quick text to Madison.

Ryan: 
Hey. So I got stuck in the sand and this guy Cody and his brother Riley stopped to pull me out. Long story, but we’re at the Outer Banks Fishing Pier to grab a beer. Just wanted someone to know. Fill you in later.

Ryan tossed her phone back into her purse. “Shit!” Ryan said out loud to no one. She grabbed her phone again and pounded out another text to Madison.

Ryan: 
Cody drives a dark blue Chevy Silverado. Just in case!

She put her phone back in her purse and grabbed Berkley’s leash. Opening the door, she let the dog out.

“Everything okay?” Cody asked as she and the dog approached him.

Wrigley and Berkley did what most dogs do when they meet a new dog – they sniffed each other’s butts. Couldn’t they have come up with something else? They didn’t growl, and after a few moments, both of their tails flipped up in the air. Apparently they thought the other was okay.

“Yep. Just had to send off a quick text, you know, just in case you guys really
are
serial killers.” she teased and Cody gave a short laugh.

“I’m glad someone knows where you are,” Cody said as he opened the door. He couldn’t help but wonder though.

Who had she texted? A boyfriend?

He, too, had noticed there was no wedding band on her finger. And what guy would be okay with their girlfriend grabbing drinks with two guys she’d only just met? He wasn’t a caveman or anything, but he certainly would not have been okay with that.

As they walked through the door, Ryan wondered what she’d gotten herself into. They were in a tackle shop. Where was the bar? And Riley was nowhere to be found.

Cody walked to a second door and opened it. Wrigley walked through it first and Ryan tentatively followed. They had walked right onto the pier. There were tables on one side and a bar with more tables on the other. Straight ahead several fisherman had lines in the water. It was a cute place, and the ocean breeze and sound of the waves made for a relaxing backdrop.

Ryan continued to follow Cody to the table where Riley was already sitting with a light brown haired woman she assumed was his wife.

Damn, she looks familiar.

The woman looked to be a couple years older than her and Ryan could have sworn she’d seen those green eyes before. They looked like they could tear you apart and love you back to life in a heartbeat. Ryan couldn’t place her, and to be honest, she wasn’t sure if she looked familiar from the people she knew in Charlotte or the people she used to know here.

I guess it’s possible. Some people must have stuck around.

As she reached the table, the woman stopped talking and looked at Ryan, her mouth hanging slightly open. Just as Cody started to speak, she popped out of her seat, looked at Ryan and asked, “Ryan?”

Ryan looked at the woman, to Cody, and back to the woman who somehow knew her name.

“Ryan Blake? Is that you?” she questioned again. Her voice had a cute southern drawl to it.

Cody looked from his sister-in-law to Ryan. “You two know each other?”

“Yeh, yes, I’m Ryan,” she stammered quietly while raising her hand to her chest.

Who was this person?

“It’s me, Mac,” she answered but could still see confusion in Ryan’s eyes. “Mackenzie Maxwell. Abby’s sister?”

“Oh my God!” Ryan shrieked as she rushed over to hug Mac, finally connecting the face with the name. Abby was the same age as Ryan, but Mac was three, maybe four, years older than them. “I thought you looked familiar but I couldn’t place you. How are you?”

“Doing pretty well,” Mac said, hugging Ryan back. “Married to this lug here, so it’s Mac Calloway now.” She playfully poked Riley in the ribs who took her hand in his. Mac turned to Cody, “And apparently you’ve reacquainted yourself with Cody here.”

Cody and Ryan looked at each other in wonder.

Reacquainted? What was Mac talking about?

Suddenly Cody recognized the woman standing in front of him. She used to play with Abby when they were kids. He’d seen them on the beach hundreds of times. “You’re Ryan?” Cody asked.

“Well, yeh,” Ryan answered, looking at him.

Hadn’t they established that already?

“No, I mean, Ryan.” Cody stopped for a second then continued. “The same Ryan that used to come here every summer? I think your folks had a house down in Rodanthe – Salvo, maybe? The same Ryan that used to hang out with Abby?”

“Yep. That’s me,” she said slowly as the light bulbs started to turn on and she began to remember him, too. “And you’re… Oh my God, you’re Cody.” Ryan could feel herself turning bright red. She had the biggest crush on him when she was younger. How could she have not recognized him? She used to see him on the beach, playing volleyball and what not, and wondered what it would be like to be his girlfriend. She had been 12 and he must have been 16 or 17. Cody was nice enough, but he had regarded her as a kid back then. Well, she wasn’t a kid anymore.

“You helped us rebuild a sandcastle once.”

“I did?”

Ryan nodded quietly.

“Well,” Mac said with a huge grin on her face. “Who’da thunk it? After all these years we meet up again.”

Mac looked between Ryan and Cody, sitting back down. She could see a spark developing between the two and smiled to herself. Finally, she asked, “How’d you two find each other?”

“Oh, that,” Ryan said as she turned to sit next to Cody. “Well, that’s just embarrassing.”

Cody chuckled and gently put his hand on Ryan’s arm. She felt a tingle beneath his fingers.

“It’s not that bad,” he said. “Riley and I were driving up to meet you and saw Ryan standing next to her car. Then we noticed her tires were knee-deep in the sand. We stopped to pull her out.”

“Aww, how sweet of you two!” Mac said while giving Riley a side hug. Looking at Ryan and giving her a wink, Mac asked, “Aren’t my guys the best?”

“Absolutely,” Ryan answered, chuckling. “I figured I would have to call a tow company to pull me out.”

“Well, ya know, southern hospitality and all,” Riley said with a thick drawl and a wink.

Ryan gasped, “He speaks!”

Everyone laughed at Ryan’s comment, and any tension she was feeling instantly disappeared.

“So what brings you to the shore, Ryan?” Mac asked.

“Just taking a little vacation. I finished a project at work and needed a break. I decided to come to the beach for the week. Since the season hasn’t really started yet, I figured it would be nice and quiet.”

“Ooh, is that good? That you needed a break?” Mac asked.

Riley elbowed Mac gently and gave her a look as if to say, “It’s none of your business.” Mac stuck her tongue out at Riley and turned her attention back to Ryan.

They were just cute to watch.

Ryan laughed. “No, it’s fine. And yes, it really is a good thing. I’m a web designer for a firm in Charlotte and we just finished a huge project. The last several weeks were pretty stressful and I racked up quite a few hours. The relaxation and time away is well earned.”

“A designer, huh?” Cody asked as he looked at Ryan.

“Yeh, why?” Ryan asked curiously.

“Oh, don’t mind him,” Mac said. “He’s some big time web person himself, always wanting to go sit and play on his computer. He calls it coding or something, but he’s probably just playing games.”

“Mac!” Cody exclaimed, exasperated, to his sister-in-law. “For the umpteenth time, yes, I really am coding, programming websites. Oh … never mind.”

Cody turned to Ryan. “She doesn’t get it. She thinks a person uploads a picture and voila! It’s a website.”

Ryan laughed when Mac threw Cody a dirty look. “Don’t worry. I get that, too. What firm do you work for?”

“I don’t. I’m a freelancer,” Cody answered.

“Yeh, Mr. Fancypants over here is apparently so good people seek him out to do the work. No firm needed,” Mac added on Cody’s behalf with a hint of pride in her voice.

Cody shot Mac another dirty look.
Really?

“Wow, that’s pretty impressive. I’d love to see some of your work,” Ryan said to Cody.

He nodded, “Sure.”

With the perfect timing some wait staff have, the waitress walked up at that exact moment to deliver four menus and grab their drink orders. When she headed back to the bar, Ryan looked to Mac. “So, Abby. What’s she up to these days?”

“Well,” Mac sighed, “that’s kind of a long story. But she’s here in the Outer Banks now. She graduated from Colombia with a business degree and was working at some big firm up there. Some stuff happened, and now she and her son are living back here.”

“Hmm,” said Ryan. “Sounds like she’s had a lot going on these past years.”

“Yeh, that’s true,” Mac responded. “We really like having her and Jake down here with us. It’s nice having the family back together.”

“Would you mind if I got her number from you?” Ryan asked. “It’d great to catch up with her while I’m in town.”

“Absolutely. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you,” Mac said, as she reached for her phone. “Maybe we can have a girls’ night out or something while you’re here.”

“That would be great,” Ryan smiled.

The rest of the evening flew by quickly as the four not-quite-strangers caught up. They ordered burgers, had a few beers, and enjoyed each other’s company. Wrigley and Berkley behaved themselves, laying under their respective owner’s feet. By the end of the evening, they were pretty much butt-to-butt.

As the sun went down, Cody started to dread the night ending. He couldn’t believe this was the same girl he had seen on the beach all those years ago, and he didn’t want to let her go. He never really paid her much mind back then, and he started to wonder why.

Oh, yeh, because she was 12 at the time, that’s why. She isn't 12 now. She’s grown into a damn beautiful woman.

The thought surprised him. He hadn't been interested in any women for some time. What he was sure of though, was that he wanted to get to know her better.

Ryan went to grab the bill when it came, but Riley slid it out from under her fingers and handed it back to the waitress with his credit card before she had a chance to grab it. “Hey!” she said a little loudly to Riley, “I’m supposed to take care of that.”

Riley just shrugged his shoulders and looked bewildered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ryan looked a little deflated and turned to Cody. “Will you help me with this?”