Page 105 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
“I’ll call the Coast Guard.”
Pulling his radio from its holster, Ted power-walked to the adjacent corridor. Candace followed. She listened to his conversation with the very distracted-sounding Coastie, biting her tongue until the end. Then, palm up, she put her hand out in front of him.
“Hm?”
“Keys. The roads are flooded, so I need to borrow your boat.”
Understanding dawned on the man. He shook his head, saying, “NO… Not a chance, Candy. I can’t let you do that for so many, many reasons! That’s a terrible plan.”
Demi, Rio, and some others filtered in from the gym. They waited off to the side while Candace threw the tantrum of a lifetime.
“I don’t give a damn! Right now, a terrible plan is all I’ve got. You heard the Coast Guard, they’re dealing with a million other catastrophes. How high do you think Daisy is on their list? They won’t find her in time, but I know exactly where to go. I can save her! It has to be me.”
“But my boat—”
“I swear, even if I have to claw my way back from a watery grave, I’ll buy you a new boat! The freaking Taj Mahal of boats! Ted, please… I love her. If something happened to her because of me, I’d never forgive myself. And now it’s on you, too, so give meyour keys.”
Candace could see the waver in his conviction. If nothing else, Ted understood fighting for the person he loved. Shaking his head, he muttered something about her being a spoiled, heroic brat as he fished the keys from his pocket. “The far boathouse.”
However, before Ted could hand them over, Ed Cando’s familiar voice called out.
“Now, son, you can’t let a little lady go off and get herself hurt.” Ed sauntered between Ted and Candace. Hands on his hips, he scolded, “Candy, this behavior is why your uncle is so concerned. Let the good people from Pleasant Meadows evaluate you, that’s all he asks.”
“Have them evaluate you, you prick,” Demi spat. She threw out a rude gesture, which prompted Rhonda Moss and some of Peter Perry’s Wonderwood Works political friends to jump to Ed’s defense.
“There’s no reason for insults! Aren’t yoga teachers supposed to be calm?”
“We’ve been calm for too long,”TheiaThea chimed in. She stood beside Demi, proud and firm. “Peter Perry has treated this town as his personal toy box for years, putting good people out of business by being a bully and a cheat—with help from people likeyou.”
It was a sight to behold. Two sides of the shore community devolved into passionate arguments. Candace was caught in the thick of it all, with Ed Cando and others blocking her way.
“Babe, catch!”
Ted threw his keys to Maddie. She caught them with ease and feinted around her father-in-law-to-be. “Sorry, pops. Girls’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!”
Thanks to Maddie, Demi, and a few others, Candace managed to break out from the swell of people. She booked it for the exit. As she threw the door open, Demi’s call for her to be careful could barely be heard over the storm’s roar. It was an impossible promise to make, so Candace settled on blowinga kiss. Then, she was in her stolen Land Rover once more, gunning for the Cape Crest Marina.
Hold on!
This time, Candace was running towards Daisy, and there was no time to lose.
Chapter 26
Daisy
This was not how Daisy wanted to go. Not that she wanted to do any kind of going, but drowning in a drunk tank was nowhere on her metaphorical “I’d be cool dying like this” list.
Fucking Janice.
The woman’s sweaters were as ugly as Candace claimed. After meeting Demi, Daisy went to shake Perry’s secretary down for information. Before she could get more than a word out, the woman called security, and they tossed her into a glorified closet. Then, clearly, they had forgotten about her.
A minor inconvenience turned deadly thanks to the hurricane that flooded the pier offices. Whether it was rain or ocean, water found its way inside, and it was surging. Daisy, meanwhile, was trapped. Kicking the reinforced entryway gave her a jammed toe. There was a door window; however, it was too small to be useful. Her phone sat within sight atopa desk right outside of her cell, but there was no way she could get it. As it vibrated, each missed call was a gut punch of someone trying to reach her. Demi was the only one who might have any idea where Daisy had gone, and it would be a Sherlock-level guess.
“Goddamnit,” Daisy yelled. “I don’t have time for this!”
It was hard to gauge how long it had been. Every second was one that took Daisy further away from saving Candace. Sheneededto rescue her; to prove, after everything they had been through, she would try. By now, that bastard Perry could have stashed her anywhere.
In the end, there was nothing Daisy could do. While the water continued to pool under the door over her feet and up her ankles, she wallowed in dread.Why?Just when she’d found drive—foundlove—life had to hit her with a new, fresh tidal wave of bullshit. As the water rose higher, and her breaths grew shorter from panic, Daisy clung to thoughts of Candace.
