AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Honestly? Marv screwed me up pretty good. I have trust issues. Watching Jacob and Lexi makes me wonder what it would be like to care for and trust a man.” She sucked in a breath. “Zander, I have to admit, I’m using you to rebuild my broken trust. Everyone who knows you likes you. I think that makes you trustworthy. You’re my practice. Kind of like a rebound guy.”Whew! Enough soul baring for one day.
He winced.
Interesting.
“Good to know. I appreciate you agreeing. Maybe you’ll learn to trust again, and I can get some peace. Old ladies are coming out of the woodwork to flaunt their eligible daughters.” He shuddered.
King raced back and dropped the tennis ball at their feet. Zander didn’t seem to notice so she picked it up and threw it as far down the beach as she could. She laughed as he yipped once and raced after it. She still wasn’t comfortable around the black lab, but she was doing better. Unless she and Zander went out to eat, the dog was always around. This was their official fifth date, and she was warming up to the gentle giant. His jumbo enthusiasm still made her nervous and other dogs might always freak her out, especially the small yappy ones.
Nerves clenched in Heather’s stomach. She’d been right. This was a mistake. She was enjoying Zander’s company. Lying to his family bothered her conscience.
Despite all that, it was nice to ‘date’ without pressure. Zander seemed to be financially solvent, and they shared expenses when they went out together. They often walked along the beach. It beat sitting at home alone or hiding in the public library when Quinn had Duke at the apartment. It was great, but his brothers didn’t know they were dating. Derrick was sure to be upset.
They strolled toward the Crab Shack for an early lunch. “Do you think Derrick would let me use the garden to grow tea ingredients?”
“How would I know? There’s a ton of unused space. Why don’t you ask him? Or ask Jacob. As manager Derrick might defer to Jacob as landowner. I can’t imagine it would be a problem. If you’re going to try and sell the teas, you better research the public health requirements first.”
“The inn’s kitchen is food certified. I will have to find a place to dry the herbs.” She sighed. There was so much to consider and so much she wanted to do. Working in the inn’s kitchen was so much more satisfying than she thought it might be. It was an entirely different atmosphere than a city kitchen. She adored the Bellamie family and their guests. Having total control over the menu was invigorating and satisfying. She could be happy there, career-wise, if she had a way to create the tea blends she dreamed of. Maybe she could work out a tea partnership with the inn.
“I guess I’ll come up with a plan about my tea,” she said. “I’ll ask for a meeting with them both and see what they say.” She paused. “After the July long weekend. I have enough on my plate for that already. No pun intended.”
“I think that’s a great plan.”
“How’s clinic life? How’s that fox?” she asked, not wanting to focus the entire conversation on herself.
“Little Red is amazing.” His enthusiasm was inspiring. “She whelped yesterday. Four perfect kits. She hates her cast, but since the kits arrived, she’s not chewing it so much. I’ve started looking for a veterinarian who might want to hire on. Tourist season is ramping up and I’m getting busier. I find that I want more time away from the office.” He smiled at her making her heart sing.
“Are you thinking you’ll get a partner?”
“I was actually thinking more like becoming a teaching hospital with a focus on recent grads. They’d be paid a good wage and could upgrade their skills until they felt ready to branch out on their own. I’m not ruling out a partner, but I’d like to give new grads a hand up in their careers, like the one I got fresh out of uni.”
“Very nice.” And so perfectly typical Zander. Always helping someone else out. She wondered if his idea would free up more time or take more. They barely found time to ‘date’ as it was. He was always running off to fix something. Last night, he’d cancelled because Ella needed help with her science project.
It wasn’t the last-minute cancellation that bothered her, it was that he didn’t invite Heather to join them. There was a lot of science in cooking, and she might have been able to help. She also knew that Ella had procrastinated starting the project until the last minute. At the same time, it was probably best if they didn’t spend too much time together around the inn and jeopardize her job.
“There she is,” Zander declared, drawing Heather’s attention from her self-pity and inner griping. “The Crab Shack.”
Heather looked up at the building in the distance. She’d never walked this far south on the beach. The crab shack did indeed look like a shack. It sat high up on stilts with a deck surrounding it that ran out, down some steps, to a long dock. The building and deck looked weathered and almost as if they would fall down any minute.
“Are you sure it’s safe to eat here?” she asked doubtfully.
Zander chuckled. “Absolutely. It’s only six years old and it is rock solid. Jeremy built it to look old. As they climbed the steps, she noticed a wheelchair ramp running up the back from a paved parking lot. Okay, maybe it wasn’t as bad as it appeared. The steps were solid, and the railings were wrought iron and rust free.
“You’ll like Jer,” Zander said. “He used to cook somewhere in New York. I think he was even onIron Chefonce.”
She stopped at the top of the stairs and grabbed his arm. “Are you telling me that Jeremy Osten lives in Half Moon Bay? Tell me you aren’t pulling my leg!”
“Ya, that’s him. Why the excitement?”
“He’s only my favorite chef of all time.” She did a happy dance. “I can’t believe I get to meet him. Oh, I hope he’s here.” She giggled. “Best day ever. Hurry.” She dragged him toward the door.
“Slow down.” He laughed. “King, go under the deck and stay.” The dog whined.
“I swear he understands English,” she said as the dog loped back down the stairs.
“I’ve had dogs my whole life. He’s the best behaved of all of them. He was training to be a bomb dog but failed out. He doesn’t have a suspicious nature. He loves everyone. But he listens well. Every command I give him has been reinforced with treats and pats. We come here a lot. He knows the routine.”
They went inside. The décor was pure beach cliché with fishing nets, anchors, lobster pots and lanterns hung everywhere. A glass fronted bookcase held a selection of marine textbooks and novels, including at least five copies ofMoby Dick, none of them the same. It was adorable. The air was heavy with spices and unless she missed her guess, fresh fish stew.
