Three weeks later Lucky Cove experienced a pleasant stretch of beautiful weather. There hadn’t been a cloud in sight, just bright sunshine and mild temperatures, which made being alive even more sweet for Kelly.
The days following her showdown with Liza in the storage unit were a blur. There was a string of sleepless nights, days when her mind concocted different endings that left her panicked and doing a lot of looking over her shoulder for Liza. Just in case.
“You made a nice little commission on the purse.” Ariel dipped her spoon into the sundae. The small cup of vanilla ice cream was smothered with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, nuts, and topped with a cherry. She’d stopped by the boutique with a mid-afternoon treat for them. And to check up on her friend, though she didn’t come right out and say that. Kelly just knew and she was grateful for her concern. And the company.
Kelly swallowed her mouthful of ice cream. She opted for a cup of plain chocolate ice cream. No frills. Even though she was tempted to pile on the extras, she remembered that summer was coming with sundresses and shorts. So, no extra calories. At least for now. Come July 4th, who knew what she’d indulge in. And given what she’d been through, she would be indulging big-time.
“And it sold in a heartbeat. It wasn’t up on the website for more than two hours when an offer came in.” After Kelly turned over the flash drive and Fendi purse to the police, Tawny’s brother contacted her. He gave permission to sell the purse along with all of Tawny’s clothing. He planned to donate the money from the sales to a charity in his sister’s name.
“Awesome!”
“It was a nice little addition to the boutique’s bottom line. Now to find more designer items for consignment.”
“I’m guessing Serena isn’t going to be any help there. Surely, she has a closet or two of clothes and purses she doesn’t wear.” Ariel scooped out another heaping spoonful of ice cream dripping in chocolate sauce.
Kelly frowned at her plain ice cream, resisting the urge to plunge her spoon into Ariel’s cup.
“Trust me, she does. And, no. She’s not going to be any help. She’s back in the city and back at work. My friend, Julie, texted me this morning. Serena is acting like nothing ever happened.” Kelly scooped up another spoonful. Her last encounter with Serena was at the rental house when she was led out in handcuffs after her second arrest. It turned out that she had visited Jason’s house and found him dead. Shocked, she fled. Her vehicle was spotted by a neighbor walking a dog who reported it to the police. After Liza confessed, Serena was let go and she left Lucky Cove without as much as a goodbye.
Ariel’s eyes bugged out. “After what you did for her? You almost got yourself killed.”
“I’ve learned not to expect anything from Serena Dawson. You know, like things that show she’s a human being.”
It was sad, really. Serena kept everyone at a distance and always seemed intent on being the one to strike the first hurtful blow. Kelly couldn’t imagine living like that. Sure, there’s always the risk of heartbreak and disappointment, but retreating into a self-imposed bubble seemed like it would be more damaging to a person. It was not how Kelly wanted to live her life.
And that was her choice. Just like it was her uncle’s choice to live his life keeping his secret about being Ariel’s biological father.
Kelly blinked. She couldn’t think about that. Especially with Ariel sitting across from her at the table in the boutique’s staff room.
Think about something else. Kittens. The new trends for summer. Anything!
“Hey, are you okay? You have a funny look on your face.” Ariel set her sundae cup down and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“Yeah…no…There’s something…”
The door swung open and Breena popped in.
“Kell, Detective Wolman is here to see you,” she said, saving Kelly from spilling her uncle’s secret and possibly destroying Ariel’s life. When she could afford it, Kelly needed to give Breena a raise.
“Wonder what she wants?” Ariel asked.
“Maybe she wants to tell you that you’re getting a medal for helping solve the murders. I mean, the newspaper article made you sound like a hero. Which you are!” Breena flashed a proud smile.
“Ella did do a great job with her article,” Ariel said after swallowing a spoonful of ice cream.
The day after Kelly’s near death face-to-face with Liza, she sat down with Ella for an interview. When she arrived at the Gull Café to meet the reporter, she was nervous but by the end of their meeting, Kelly felt good about the interview. After it was published in the Weekly, it was picked up by other news outlets. The boutique’s website had seen an increase in visitors and she had more interview requests. She’d been debating whether to do them. The bonus would be the exposure of the boutique. The downside would be the exposure of herself. She wasn’t sure how she felt about being the center of attention. Especially in a murder case.
“She did. Well, I better go see what Wolman wants now.” Kelly stood.
“No problem. I have to get back to the library. We can talk later.” Ariel grabbed her ice cream and navigated her wheelchair from the table.
“Ah…sure.” Great. Now Kelly had to come up with something to talk to Ariel about. Lucky for her, she just had a breakup. That was always good for heart-to-heart, soul-wrenching talks.
The three of them headed to the main sales area of the boutique, and Ariel continued out the front door, passing the detective and giving her a little wave. Wolman returned the smile and then turned her attention to Kelly. Breena dashed away, far away, into the accessory department, so Kelly was all on her own with Wolman.
Hopefully, it was business that brought Wolman to the boutique but, by the looks of her outfit—jeans, a rose-colored sweater, and drop earring dangling from her ears—the chances of her being there for work seemed low. Kelly’s stomach twisted. The only other reason she could be there was because of Mark. Yep, she was there to gloat.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Wolman stepped forward, drawing Kelly’s attention to her white sneakers with splashes of rose gold. Look at the detective being all fashionable.
“Not at all. What brings you buy today? Something about Liza’s case?”
Wolman shook her head. “No. It’s in the hands of the district attorney now. I’m here to talk to you about Mark.”
Yep, Kelly was right. “I’m sure you know we broke up.” She dragged her gaze from Wolman and focused on a mannequin she just dressed in a pair of capri pants and blue button-down shirt. She didn’t want the detective to see her eyes water. Shoot. She thought she was done crying over Mark Lambert.
“I know, and that’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“I don’t understand.” Kelly looked back at Wolman.
Wolman took in a deep breath and moved closer to Kelly. For the first time since meeting her, Kelly saw uncertainty on the woman’s face. The nerves that had buzzed with seeing her in the boutique now morphed into a full-on anxiety. What was she going to say?
“Despite your irritating interference in my cases, you seem like a nice person.”
“But I wasn’t a nice enough person to date your brother.”
“No. That’s not true.”
Kelly cocked her head sideways. Her tears had dried up. Now she was angry. “Really? You’ve been trying to get me to stop seeing him. Remember our conversation in December?” She sure did. “You didn’t want to see him get distracted or have his reputation damaged in any way.”
“I said that to try and—”
“And what? Look, it doesn’t matter. We’re broken up. You got what you wanted.” Kelly moved away, heading to the sales counter.
“You’re probably still hurting. Maybe second-guessing what could have been done differently. Wondering where you came up short.”
Kelly swung around and faced Wolman. “If this is your idea of a pep talk…”
“Hear me out. This isn’t easy for me.”
“Me neither. Just say what you have to say.” Then they could both get on with their lives.
“I love my brother.”
Kelly shook her head. She had had enough. She walked behind the counter.
“You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” Wolman followed and rested her hands on the glass countertop.
Kelly flashed a what-do-you-think look as she crossed her arms over her chest and waited for Wolman to continue with whatever she was trying to say.
“Woman-to-woman, I think you’re probably better off without my brother. I love him, but he can be a…jerk.”
Kelly’s eyes bulged at Wolman’s characterization of her brother. Maybe their talk wouldn’t be a bad thing. “Go on, I’m listening.”
Wolman tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You should know this isn’t the first time he’s put his career, his ambitions, ahead of a girlfriend. He can be a bit of a control freak. He also tends to have unrealistic standards of other people.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“As I said, you seem like a nice person, and I didn’t want to see you get hurt, and that’s why I gave you a hard time about your involvement with him. I do hope you find someone who won’t have a problem with you being you.”
“Wow.” Kelly’s hand covered her heart. She never thought Wolman cared about her. “That’s a really nice thing to say to me. I appreciate it, Marcy.”
Wolman’s eyes narrowed.
“Just taking it for a test drive, Detective Wolman.”
“We’re not there.” She turned and headed for the exit. She opened the door and then looked over her shoulder. “Yet.”
Kelly was stunned. It seemed like they’d finally connected on some level, and there was hope that maybe someday they’d be friends. Despite her brother.
Breena reappeared as quickly as she had disappeared. “Is she gone? Was it bad?”
“Surprisingly, no.” Kelly waved her employee over to her. “I think we’re at a good place. Who knows? We might be friends one day.”
Breena gave her a dubious look.
“It’s possible.” The bell over the door jingled and a deliveryman entered carrying a package. He requested Kelly’s signature before handing over the box. Once he had it, he left and Kelly stared at the return address. “It’s from Bishop’s.” She looked at Breena and they both shrugged.
“Go on, open it!” Breena handed Kelly a pair of scissors to cut through the tape.
When she got the package open, Kelly found a shoebox inside and a note card. She flipped the card open and read it.
“Out loud,” Breena urged.
“You are so nosey.”
“Look who’s talking.” Breena laughed.
“Fair enough. It says, Thank you, best Serena.” Kelly lowered the card.
“That’s all? You saved her from going to prison and you almost got yourself killed and all she said was thank you?” Breena’s face scrunched up in disgust. “She should be ashamed of herself.”
“No, you don’t understand. This is huge for Serena. She actually said thank you and sent me a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes!” Kelly’s heart raced as she pulled the cover of the shoebox off and reached in for the shoes. She could swear she heard angels singing when she touched the shoe. Serena had sent her a pair of patent leather, four-inch stilettos in the classic beige shade.
“OMG! Let me see!” Breena grabbed the shoe. “It’s beautiful. Look at the red sole!”
“I know. I’m really shocked she did this.” Kelly took back her shoe and set it gently in the box with its mate.
“Well, you deserve them. I am totally jealous. Too bad we don’t wear the same size.” Breena wrinkled her nose and smiled. “You’d let me wear them if we did, right?”
Before Kelly could answer the question, she was saved by the bell. A customer bustled in with two bags of clothes to consign. She tucked her unexpected gift away while Breena sorted through the clothes. For the rest of the afternoon they worked as a steady stream of customers came and went.
When the boutique quieted down, Kelly took a break. She wanted to check on her roof, again.
Outside, she inhaled a deep breath of fresh spring air while a warm breeze flitted by.
Out on the sidewalk, she glanced up and admired the new roof. It was the most important and expensive purchase she’d ever made, but it was well worth it. Buck had worked overtime without any additional charge to make sure she had a solid roof in time for spring and for the upcoming start of hurricane season, which was only a couple months away.
“Miss Quinn.”
Kelly spun around and saw Detective Barber approaching with a coffee cup from Doug’s in his hand. Unlike Wolman, he looked as if he was on duty in a lightweight sports jacket over dark gray pants.
“Good afternoon, Detective.”
He slid off his sunglasses and glanced up at the roof. “Looks good.”
“Thank you. It’s one less thing I have to worry about. What brings you by? Or, are you just out for a stroll in this gorgeous weather?”
“I thought I’d check to see how you’re doing. You got yourself into a very dangerous situation.” He slipped his sunglasses back on and took a drink of his coffee.
“Yes, I did. I’m doing okay.” The Louboutin shoes definitely helped boost her mood, but he wouldn’t understand that. “I’ve had some bad dreams but they’re happening less and less. And I have some really good friends to get me through this.” One of them was approaching from the direction of the bakery.
“Good to hear. Well, I better get back to the PD. Hopefully, I’ll see you around, but not at one of my crime scenes.” He grinned before heading off. His swagger was cool and confident. Kelly tore her gaze away from his swagger and the view of his backside.
Liv hustled to Kelly and gawked at Detective Barber walking away. “Who was that?”
“Nate Barber.”
Liv hit Kelly on the arm. “You didn’t tell me he was cute.”
“Ouch! It doesn’t matter if he’s cute or not. I’m not interested.” No, she planned for the foreseeable future to remain unattached. Relationships were too much work, too complicated, and ultimately too painful.
“Well, then give him my number.” Liv giggled.
Kelly rolled her eyes. “Will do the next time I see him. What are you up to this afternoon?”
Liv tilted her head upward. “It’s so nice I’m thinking of taking a drive to the beach. How about you play hooky with me?”
Playing hooky sounded like fun and Kelly was tempted. “As much as I’d love to, I can’t. I really should stay and work.”
Liv pouted.
“Oh, no, that’s not going to work.” Kelly tried not to giggle but Liv looked so silly.
“It’ll be fun. Come on. Don’t forget, you were almost killed three weeks ago. Life is short. Let’s go to the beach.” Liv tugged at Kelly’s arm. She could be such a bad influence on Kelly.
“Okay.” Kelly relented. She’d call Breena from the car; make up some excuse for her sudden disappearance. “But I have to be back to close up.”
Kelly had learned a few lessons over the past month, and one of those lessons was never to take anyone or anything for granted. Like her hometown.
They linked arms and walked toward Liv’s car. Hanging out with her friend was a great way to spend the afternoon. Wasn’t that what living at the beach was all about? Sun, sand and good friends.