AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ONE
HADLEY
Ice cream is cold.
It seems silly to say because the word implies an icy temperature, but when a cone of rocky road ice cream hits you right in the chest, soaking through your thin white cotton T-shirt,coldtakes on a different meaning.
“Shit!” I exclaim moments after a dark-haired little boy with big blue eyes collides with me.
It’s not surprising the kid bumped into me. This little town on the beach in Oregon is packed with people enjoying not only the sunny day but a festival. I’ve already been jostled once or twice but escaped a full-on collision until now.
“Oops,” he mutters as he watches the remnants of his frozen treat fall to the sidewalk. He glances back up, his eyes as big as saucers. “I can see your boobs.”
“What?” With my arms still outstretched, I glance down and sure enough, the outline of my breasts is visible because it’s laundry day, and I’m not wearing a bra.
Could this day get any worse?
“Colton!” A man too well-dressed for the beach runs toward us before coming to a halt behind the little boy. His gaze goes directly to my chest.
For a moment, I lose myself in the beauty of the complete stranger. He immediately reminds me of Clark Kent with his dark hair and piercing blue eyes, like the boy who assaulted me with rocky road. They must be father and son. They both certainly look as though they’ve stepped off the pages of a Brooks Brothers catalog. The man is overdressed for a day at a beachside event, wearing a crisp pair of khaki pants, a blue button-down shirt, and polished brown loafers, while his son is dressed in a navy-blue polo shirt and a pair of khaki shorts.
Seriously, who comes to the beach dressed like that?
The man clears his throat, shaking me from my lusty stupor and immediately, I cross my arms over my chest, hopefully ending my embarrassment.
His attention shifts from me to the little boy, Colton. “What kind of trouble have you gotten yourself in this time? I told you to stay put.”
“It was an accident,” Colton replies with a pout of his full lips.
“Accident or not, you disobeyed me.”
“Sheesh, mister. It’s only ice cream.” I can’t help myself. The words, and my Southern sass, come right out. I glance down at the boy, whose gaze is directed toward his feet. I’ve been in his position too often. How many times did my father scold me before he passed? And now, my older brother Curtis fills in for him, reminding me quite sternly of my family obligations and his unyielding expectations.
Yeah, kid, I know how you feel.
“It could have been a lot worse than ice cream. There are too many people around right now and anything could have happened.” I seriously hope this guy isn’t implying I would somehow harm his son. “Colton should know better than to run off.”
The man scowls as he reaches into the pocket of his khaki pants and pulls out his wallet, plucking bills from it. He holds them out to me, and I nearly choke. There must be at least four hundred dollars there, and while I certainly need all the cash I can get my hands on, I don’t feel right accepting it.
“Here,” he insists. “This should more than cover the cost of a new shirt.”
“It’s fine,” I say, pinching my T-shirt between my thumb and forefinger to keep it from sticking to my skin. He doesn’t accept my refusal of his money and insists I take it so, I tug one bill, a fifty, from the money in his hand. “Where exactly are you shopping? This shirt cost like a dollar at a thrift store.”
His mouth drops open as if he’s offended before he shoves the rest of the money back into his pocket.
An awkward moment of silence passes between us before I finally murmur, “Thank you.”
“Let’s go, Colton,” the man says, grabbing his son by the shoulders and turning him back into the crowd. A cynical thought passes through my mind as I watch them walk away. That man, whoever he is, taught his son Daddy’s money will fix any problem, no matter how big or little it may seem. Poor kid.
I tuck the money into my pocket and walk toward the lifeless van sitting in the back of the public parking lot. Sliding open the passenger door, I climb inside and hope to find at least one clean shirt, or a shirt that might pass as clean until I find a laundromat.
I wasn’t supposed to end up in Seaside, Oregon, but it’s where my van decided to break down. It could be worse; I could be stuck in the middle of the desert. Living in a van isn’t easy, but it was a choice I didn’t hesitate to make after finishing my MBA and graduating from Emory University. Business school was brutal, and I desperately needed a break before I committed the rest of my life to the family business.
“You know what’s expected, Hadley,” my brother Curtis reminded me moments after my graduation ceremony ended.
“Yes, I do but—”
He held up a hand. “I paid for your education.”
“How could I possibly forget?” He reminded me every day. I didn’t even want it. After finishing my undergraduate degree, I wanted to attend culinary school in France and become a chef like my cousin Tanner Gerard, but Curtis said there were already too many cooks in the kitchen.
“Let me have one final summer to myself,” I begged. To my surprise, my brother relented, but not before he cut me off financially, which is why I’m stranded in Seaside because I don’t have the money needed to pay for the repairs.
Suddenly, I regret not taking that guy’s money. It could have paid for a night in a hotel. My hand lifts to my hair. What I wouldn’t give for a hot, decent shower. This trip is the adventure of a lifetime, but it’s been weeks since I slept in a real bed or properly bathed. My body is as battered as my van.
There’s no time, though, to dwell on what I don’t have or the aches and pains shooting through my limbs. Instead, I focus on what I do have: my freedom. For a little while longer, I only have to answer to myself. For now, I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way which means stepping back out into the town’s festive atmosphere and gorging myself on deep-friend fair food.
Who knows, maybe I’ll run into Daddy Warbucks again. I bet he and his wife could use a babysitter.
