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“Grace?” Another voice called for me.
Oh my, what now?
I turned to see Marci approaching me, her look less than pleasant. I prepared myself for a tongue-lashing.
“Grace what’s going on out here?”
“I…” How did I explain that the two most important men in my life had collided right in her coffee shop? Marci stopped a few inches from me, her gaze traveling to Vic. Vic was not one to kow-tow and gazed coldly at Marci. Not really helping me much, Vic.
“I think you should take the rest of the day off, Grace,” Marci said cooly, her gaze still on Vic.
“What?” I exclaimed. “I’m only just started and the evening rush is about to hit.”
“I’ll call Daniella and she can cover for you.”
“But Daniella already worked this morning…” I muttered, voice trailing off. The way Marci looked at me made it clear that the matter was not open for negotiation. I untied my apron, feeling defeated. Making my way out from behind the counter, I faced Vic. “What do you want?”
“I was going to suggest coffee…” Vic put his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I see now that’s a bad idea. Why don’t we go for a walk?”
I frowned, regarding him with suspicion. Was this the olive branch I’d so desperately wanted? Why now? “I guess I’ve been here for a few months and still haven’t really seen the beach.”
Vic opened the door for me and I followed him out to the setting sun.
“So,” Vic said.
“So,” I repeated. We’d walked nearly a mile on the beach, the sunset our backdrop, and those were the first words we’d spoken. Awkward was an understatement. I continued, “Sunset’s nice.”
“Yep.”
I resisted the urge to scoff at his laconic reply. He was the one who had invited me, yet he offered no form of conversation. I plowed on, even though Vic wasn’t giving me anything.
“Do you like sunsets?” It was like pulling teeth with the guy. I was way past thinkin’ we were going to have that relationship I’d always dreamed of; now I was just hopin’ we could have a conversation. “I like sunsets. They happen every night so people get used to their beauty, but…” I trailed off; Vic was bent at an odd angle, as if reaching for something. “What are you doing?”
“There’s a sand dollar here, thought you might like to see it.” I shifted my perspective to see Vic trying to reach his hand into a small crag of rocks. “I can’t get it. My hand is too big. You can probably reach it though.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t really bend that way.”
Vic’s slowly stood up straight and narrowed his eyes. His gaze clocked me, as if not understanding. I had a hard time believing that.
“What?” I continued, my voice a little harsher than I’d intended. “You grew up with Daddy. You tellin’ me he never played a little too rough with you and yanked your arm a bit?”
Vic scoffed. “Playing? That’s a nice way to put it.”
I’d nearly had it with Vic. What had he been after when he’d invited me out on this walk? I stopped walking, planting my feet in the damp sand. “You want me to say that my daddy beat me so hard I can’t move my arm any more? What good does that accomplish?”
Vic chewed the inside of his cheek, refusing to meet my eyes any more. “It’s better than walking down a beach with your estranged brother and talking about the color of the sky for two fucking hours.”
“I’ve been trying to get to know you since I got here,” I spat. “It’s why I came! This is the first time you’ve tak
en an interest and all you care about is Daddy's anger. Forgive me if I don’t dwell on the less than pretty aspects of my past.”
Vic snapped his head to mine. “You ran away. You didn’t come here for me.”
His response stunned me to the spot. How dare he? He was the only reason I’d come to California. I may have built a life after realizing he didn’t want nothing to do with me, but I’d come for him. I’d traveled across the country to get to know him. After a few deep breaths, I ran after him, my feet stumbling in the damp, night-chilled sand.
It took me a few moments to reach him, as he’d climbed up some rocks. I grappled with the slick, sea-wet stone but eventually made it to him. Ignoring the spectacular view from the new vantage point, I rounded on Vic.
“How dare you?” I accused his back. I didn’t care if he turned around I could have the entire conversation with his back. It was still more than he’d shown me the entire time I’d been there. “After everything I’ve done?”
