| |
Maeve pushed her glasses up onto her head. As helpful of an accessory as they were, right now they were driving her crazy. The numbers in front of her began to swim and she squeezed her eyes shut, pinching the bridge of her nose to try and set things right again.
Blinking rapidly, she tried again, but the numbers still swirled. “Ugh.” Reaching into her desk drawer, she pulled out some headache medicine and popped a couple of pills in her mouth, washing them down with a swig of warm water. “Bleh.” Maeve scrunched her nose and stuck out her tongue.
No one had to tell her that she was too old for that kind of behavior, she was fully aware. But she was by herself in her office and there was no one but the computer screens to see her acting like a child.
“I think I need a nap,” Maeve muttered, leaning back and closing her eyes. Her sleep lately had been less than peaceful. For some reason, her stress load felt extra heavy and Maeve’s brain was refusing to relax even though what she needed most was a break.
“You look like you need a piece of cake.”
Maeve cracked open one eye. “You’ve gotten sneaky. I didn’t hear the door open.”
Aspen smirked. “I had Austin grease the hinges.”
Maeve smiled. “Niiiiice. Way to put the hubby to work.”
Aspen plopped herself in a chair. “Eh. It keeps him close.” She frowned. “I’ve gotten used to having him at the shop. I hate when he works from home.”
“Spoiled,” Maeve shot out.
“Blessed,” Aspen retorted.
“Argumentative,” Estelle said, entering the space. She put her hands on her hips.
As the oldest daughter, she sometimes was a little too mother-like for Maeve’s tastes, but Maeve knew there was no one who had her back like Estelle did. Their oldest sister was the most trustworthy person Maeve knew...and since trust was something she struggled to give, that was saying a lot.
“Sisters,” Maeve said, essentially ending the conversation. She leaned back in her office chair. “What did I do to earn visits from both of you at once?” Maeve frowned. “Who’s running the front?”
Estelle sighed. “No one. It’s been busy and I was coming back to tell Aspen we need more mint chocolate chip cookies.” She raised an eyebrow at the baker. “But she was in here.”
Aspen nodded. “I’ll get right on that.”
“Thanks.” Estelle smiled. “I’ll get back to duty.” She pointed a finger at Maeve. “You have no idea how nice you have it back here.”
Maeve rolled her eyes. “We can hire a teenager if you want a break,” she said. “Our profit margin is enough to make that work.”
Estelle pursed her lips. “I’ll consider it. I’d really like to build the wedding cake side of our business. I’ve enjoyed decorating the last few we’ve done and having someone else in the front would give me more time for that.”
“Just let me know and we’ll get someone hired,” Maeve said easily. “I think Michael said there were a couple of kids at the school looking for jobs.” Michael, their cousin, was a middle school literature teacher, but their town was small enough that they only had one school campus. All grades, kindergarten through high school, were all on one piece of property, so Michael heard all the gossip whether he wanted to or not.
“I just might take you up on that,” Estelle said before sweeping out of the room.
“Okay, one sister down,” Maeve teased. “What brought you in here? Or was it only to scare me with your new silent door prowess?”
Aspen snorted in amusement. “As tempting as that is...”
Maeve shook her head.
“Actually...I wanted to see how you were doing.”
Maeve waited, but Aspen didn’t speak more. “How I’m doing with what?”
“How you’re handling things with Dad being home.” The words were quiet and filled with concern. Aspen and Maeve’s parents had recently gotten home from a long trip to Italy to see their father’s family. After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Antony Harrison had quietly slipped from the limelight as a famous chocolate sculptor and focused on family. Knowing travel would be difficult in the future, he and his wife Emery had gone to visit those who lived too far away for him to visit when the disease progressed.
Now, however, they were home and Maeve and Estelle were adjusting not only to having them back, but how to help their father. He’d been gone nearly a year and the disease had progressed a lot during that time. His life was more difficult than ever and Maeve had to admit the adjustment hadn’t been a fun one.
“We’re making it,” she said. Aspen had gotten married while their parents were gone and didn’t live at home anymore, so she wasn’t there for the day to day struggles. Maeve didn’t blame Aspen for it, but she definitely felt the added weight from having one sister gone. One less set of shoulders to bear the weight was still one less set of shoulders.
“How bad is it?” Aspen asked.
Maeve shrugged. Her head hurt too much for this conversation. “He’s struggling to do things like feed himself,” she admitted. “And I think he fell while getting dressed two days ago, but he won’t admit it.”
“Do we need to build an addition on the main floor?” Aspen’s dark brows were pulled together. She might not still live with them, but Maeve knew her sister cared.
“It’s something to think about,” Maeve murmured. Her brain began to run the numbers. If they hired a teenager, it might be a bit tight to do an addition, but the master bedroom was on the upper floor and those stairs wouldn’t be manageable for much longer.
Maybe I can help out in the front for Estelle so we can save the money.
The thought made her shudder. She wasn’t made for working with the masses.
Aspen snickered.
“What?”
“You were thinking about talking to people, weren’t you?”
Maeve huffed and folded her arms over her chest. “How would you know that?”
Aspen mimicked the movement. “Because I know you, dear sister. Your mind immediately went to paying for the addition, which led you to realize you had just told Estelle we could afford a worker.” She pushed on past Maeve’s snort. “I’m guessing you decided paying for an addition and a worker might be too much.” She held out her hand. “Which means you considered whether or not you could bring yourself to helping out front... Spoiler alert, you can’t.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
Aspen shrugged. “It was either that or you were thinking about Ethan.”
Maeve stilled, then forced herself to relax. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Aspen stood, her grin a little too amused. “Said every person ever, who didn’t want to talk about a certain subject.”
“That many people are talking about Ethan?” Maeve gasped in mock astonishment. “I didn’t realize he was famous.”
Aspen shook her head. “Someday, you’ll tell me why you dislike him so much.”
“Yeah, well...someday is not today.”
Aspen chuckled and slipped out, leaving Maeve to her rioting thoughts. Ethan was the last person Maeve wanted to think about, but once he was in her head, she struggled to get him out. She’d been struggling for nearly eight years, and yet the fight continued.
Someday she’d be strong enough to let it go, but like she’d said earlier...today was not that day.
*****
“YES, SIR...” ETHAN pinched his lips together. “I understand. Thank you so much for calling. Uh-huh...we’ll catch you next time.” Ethan nodded even though the customer couldn’t see him. “Yep. Right. Have a good time. Thanks.” He pressed the button on his business cell and dropped the phone on the counter.
That was the third cancellation this week. The whole summer had been rough, but these last few weeks were the worst. The cold weather was moving in a little earlier than normal and it was driving people out of the water, making Ethan’s surf lessons drop off several weeks earlier than normal.
He grabbed the mouse in front of him and woke up his computer screen. Maybe he had an online order or two to help offset this latest setback. He frowned. Traffic on his website was staying similar to other years, but orders had been low.
All in all, the year had not been one of his best. Just what he was going to do about it, however, remained to be seen. Fall should be one of his busiest times of year, not his slowest.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. He had a group lesson in an hour. That should help. It was a full class, which should definitely help keep him going even with the cancellations. Personal lessons were more money, but group lessons were more steady.
Grabbing his bar of wax, Ethan headed out to the pile of equipment. He’d get the boards ready for the group so they could get into the waves right away. His helper, Parker, would be showing up soon and together they would handle all the newbies.
Popping in his ear buds, Ethan jammed out to his favorite music, rubbing down the boards. It was one of his favorite things in the world. There was nothing like getting a board ready for a smooth run on the waves. This time of year was perfect for catching a clean wave without risking hypothermia just to be in the water.
A tap on his shoulder startled Ethan and he jerked out his earbud. “Geez, Parker,” Ethan said with a laugh. “I didn’t hear you arrive.”
Parker grinned. “You were too busy dancing.” He leaned in. “I know they say dance like nobody’s watching, but...” He raised his eyebrows and pointedly tilted his head to the side.
Ethan turned and his face flushed, even though he laughed. A small crowd, more than likely his upcoming group, were standing around watching his antics. He rubbed the back of his hot neck. “I suppose I should have paid attention to the clock.” He turned away when a teenage girl smiled and waved.
That was one of the downsides of his job. He definitely fit the stereotypical surfer look. His skin was brown, his hair bleached by the sun and Ethan was self aware enough to know that his looks didn’t drive away people very often. He also was able to admit that he was attracted to younger women...or at least, a younger woman...and she wasn’t sixteen like the girl in the bikini, waving at him right now.
A picture of dark hair and golden brown eyes, hidden behind fake glasses, flashed through his mind. The usual pain pinched his chest as Maeve’s stunning face came into his mind’s eye.
That woman had no idea how gone he was over her... She also didn’t care. Of all the women in the world, she was the only one that frowned back when he smiled. Truth was, there were days that Ethan was sure Maeve hated his guts. It didn’t make a lot of sense. She was a wonderful woman. She cared for her family, ran a successful accounting business, was a genius with numbers and would give a person the shirt off her back...all except him.
Back when they were teenagers, Ethan had made the worst mistake of his life and it had cost him the girl he was falling for. The problem was, he’d continued to fall even as she pulled away.
Now here he was, eight years later and still pining for the one thing he couldn’t have. It was ridiculous and yet no other women had been able to turn his attention away from Maeve. He sort of wished it would happen. He prayed his heart would heal and he could find someone to be with, but time continued to pass and his heart stayed the same, and the chemistry between the two of them refused to dim.
“Welcome, folks!” Ethan said, pushing his signature wide smile on his face. He loved his work. Getting into it a few minutes early would help clear his thoughts where a certain difficult woman was concerned. “I’m so glad you’re here today. I’m Ethan.” He put a hand to his chest. “This is Parker, my assistant.”
The young man waved and winked at the teenage girl who had been eyeing Ethan.
I’ll have to remember to give him a bonus for that one.
“Let’s get you set up with wetsuits and a board and then we’ll begin our instructions.”
It took twenty minutes to get everyone settled before Ethan was able to start giving instructions. “We’re going to start by learning how to do a pop-up,” Ethan said loudly.
They spent another twenty minutes practicing technique before they began to go into the water. Ethan walked over to a group with several young children. “How about I go out with you guys and get you started, okay?”
“That’d be great, thank you,” the mother gushed. She looked a little nervous and Ethan kept them moving so her worries wouldn’t stop the kids from having a good time. He’d seen it all before, but never once had anyone been hurt on his watch.
Except Maeve.
“Not now,” he muttered under his breath. He had a job to do and letting Maeve invade his thoughts would hinder his ability to focus. He held out his hand to the youngest one. “Ready to ride a wave?”
He bit his bottom lip but nodded.
“Perfect. You’re gonna rock it.” Ethan picked up the boy’s board and guided him to the water. They wouldn't go too deep for someone his age. Ethan’s head wouldn’t even go under the water. Just enough to catch a mild wave.
“That’s it!” Ethan shouted as he pushed the boy off the front of the wave. “Now stand up!”
The little guy jumped to his knees and wobbled before putting his feet under him. Almost immediately he landed in the water, the board shooting off to the side.
Ethan ran as best as he could through the water, picking the kid up so he could get a good breath of air. “You were amazing!” Ethan cried, giving the boy a fist bump. “Good work.”
“I fell,” the boy grumbled, wiping the water out of his eyes.
“Dude, I’ve been surfing since I was three and I still fall sometimes.” Ethan grinned. “You did awesome. Each time you do it, it’ll get easier.” He nodded toward deeper water. “Ready to try again?”
The boy smiled, a bit of eagerness flashing in his eyes, and nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
Ethan grabbed the board and out they went. This was why he loved his job. Surfing had been Ethan’s passion since he was a little boy and sharing it with others was the most amazing feeling in the world.
The only thing that couldn’t possibly be better would be having Maeve forgive him. Some dreams, however, were a little far out for anyone to believe they were attainable. And Maeve Harrison was one such dream.