Page 80 of Beaches, Bagels & Babes
“No, not with what you’re paying me. I’m your partner, which means I’m here to help. But, please, don’t ask me to help you hurt yourself. I can’t do that.”
The authority in her voice was so absolute, so veryCandace, it brought Daisy back to herself. She touched her cheeks and realized they were wet with tears. Wiping them, she slumped back against the seat with exhaustion.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called you. This is so embarrassing.”
“It’s alright,” Candace told her with gentle acceptance. “I’m glad you did. And there’s nothing embarrassing about facing your fears for someone you care about.”
Out of the corner of her eyes, Daisy chanced a glance at Candace. The woman was back to wearing her business wardrobe. Which, if Daisy were being honest, part of her hadmissed. Today, Candace was dressed in the same outfit she had worn on her first day working at Bagel Bombs!, flared white slacks and a lavender sleeveless button-down shell.
She swore she was not ogling the subtle swell of chest. But a glimmer between Candace’s bosom caught Daisy’s eye. Sweet, savor-worthy relief washed over her as she realized what the object was.
“You kept it.”
“OfcourseI kept it! It’s my favorite gift anyone has ever given me. Just don’t tell Demi. She spent a fortune on those Lady Gaga tickets for us.”
Daisy did not reply. She stared at the sea glass pendant dangling from that eye-catching gold ribbon around Candace’s neck, and her mind wandered to distant shores.
After a beat, Candace asked, “Would you… be willing to try something else?”
Daisy cocked an eyebrow, feeling too drained to muster a front. Did shelooklike she could try something else? Maybe, with Candace, she could.
“I trust you.”
A small, satisfied smile curled the woman’s lips. “Let me make a call.”
To Daisy’s chagrin, the call Candace made was to her former ‘date’ and local narc, Ted Cando. They met him close by at some residential docks set along the bay.
Prior to his latching onto Candace, the last time Daisy saw him, he’d given her a ticket for smoking a legal joint behind the cafe. Now, he greeted her like they were old friends.
“Hey there, Zee! Long time no see! I hear you gals need a lift?”
“Yo, Cando. Yeah, you could say that. But wait… You mean for us to ride inthat?”
Daisy crossed her arms. Her gaze bounced between Candace and the old police boat she expected to make it across the bay. To be fair, it was not the worst vessel Daisy ever saw. Ted seemed to clean his boat, at least. But this was her grand plan?
“Just think about it,” Candace urged. “We’ll wear life jackets, no bridges or heights. If you fall in, we’ll fish you back out. Easy peasy.”
Ted suggested, “But maybe don’t fall out. It’s a choppy one.”
Candace shot the man a searing look that would have made Daisy laugh at any other point. Numb terror won, stealing her voice as she considered the wild proposition.
Around them, it was a regular summer day. Families loaded up with hoagie and beer-packed coolers bustled past them on the bobbing dock, heading for their own boats. A little girl wearing rainbow unicorn swimmers charged past. Dogs trotted about unleashed. This was no fancy marina, but more of a working-class shove-off point. For everyone else, it was a fun, sunny occasion.
Daisy locked eyes with Candace’s assessing eyes. “Alright. But if I go overboard, I’m taking you with me. Partner.”
“Naturally.”
The boat itself was a simple craft, with driver and passenger bucket seats portside behind the wheel and center console. Its belly was flanked by bench seating, and there was a single fisher’s perch on a platform atop the stern.
Nestled within their blocky life jackets, Daisy and Candace settled on the bench. The woman might have gone to the other side for weight distribution. However, with her hand trapped in Daisy’s vise-grip, they sat thigh-to-thigh. She squeezed back.
In the driver’s seat, wearing aviators and a beat-up rotary volunteer club shirt, Ted flicked the radio on. Buffeted by salt wind, they made their way.
The final notes of a divorced dad rock classic,Drops ofJupiter,played out over the radio. Ted had on Wonderwood’s local station, and Wild Wally took to the air once the song ended. He brought up the recently-named hurricane headed their way sometime in the next week.
“Mandy,”Wild Wally said in a suggestive drawl.“I had a girlfriend named Mandy in college. Sounds like this storm is gonna throw my stuff onto the lawn the same way she did, OOOooooooh yeah. So, make sure to have a plan, folks. Invest in plywood, ‘cause those boards should be flying off the shelves onto your windows. And remember, if Wonderwood calls for an evacuation, Cape Crest High is the spot to be. Get ready to cozy up and get frrrrrriendly with your neighbors….”
Casting a look over his shoulder, Ted spoke over the radio and boat motor. “People are getting real antsy about this storm, calling it the next Hurricane Sandy. I bet it’ll peter out, myself. But we’re gearing up over at the station. You doing anything special at the cafe?”
