Page 9 of Saltwater Sweets
Dread swirled in Deena’s stomach as she peered out the front window of Saltwater Sweets and watched her daughter and Cole drive off.
“I don’t think our kids are on board with us being together.” She turned worried eyes to Chuck.
Chuck snugged a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “Now, now, it’s only day one. They’ll come around. Give it time.”
Chuck’s steady voice and kindly smile didn’t do much to soothe her nerves. “Maybe. Though I don’t think they like each other very much, either.”
“They just met. They’ll get along fine after a few days.” Chuck glanced uneasily out the window as if doubting his own optimism. “Maybe we should team them up for some of the games at the town celebration. That will create a sense of camaraderie between them. You know, being on the same side and everything.”
“That’s a good idea. Cole seems like a very nice young man. I don’t know why they wouldn’t get along.”
Chuck smiled, and she could tell he was pleased at her compliment of his son. “I think it’s hard for both of them to see their parent with someone else. Neither one of us has dated, and now, it brings up a lot of feelings for them. Even though they are adults, they still have those childhood feelings about their parents. That never goes away. Sam is a very nice girl with a good head on her shoulders. I’m sure she wants to see you happy and will give us her blessing.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Deena was starting to feel a little better about it now.
“And don’t forget we have that surprise. That’s bound to bring us all closer together.”
Deena smiled up at Chuck. He’d worked hard to make things perfect for this visit with their children. And what he said made sense, but she still had some lingering doubts. Even though Cole seemed nice, she could feel the disapproval radiating from him.
“My offer to share dessert backfired with Cole,” Deena said.
Chuck pressed his lips together. It had been his idea. “Maybe it was too soon for that. Don’t worry. Some time alone with each of our kids tomorrow is sure to loosen things up.”
Deena felt nervous at the idea of time alone with Sam. Normally, she would relish that, but she knew her daughter pretty well, and she’d sensed some serious misgivings about her relationship with Chuck.
She’d foolishly thought that Sam would take to Chuck right away, but she hadn’t. And Sam was a smart girl with a good head on her shoulders. She was a divorce attorney who knew about relationships. Had Sam seen something about this relationship that Deena had been blind to?
No. Chuck was probably right, and it was just a shock to Sam to see her with another man besides her father. Things would all turn out fine in a couple of days. Deena was sure of it.
CHAPTER7
The strawberry-rhubarb pie was cooling in the window, and Gina was just about to retrieve it when she saw Sam and Cole pull in. They parked at opposite ends of the parking lot, got out of their cars, and entered their rooms without even a nod to each other. That did not bode well for Deena and Chuck, but Gina had bigger problems to think about, like why someone would be searching for her.
She slid the pie from the windowsill and frowned at what she saw. The edge of the piecrust that had been facing out was crumbled off. What the heck? She looked out the window to see if it had crumbled onto the ground, but nothing was there. Maybe an animal had scurried off with it already. Had she made the crust too dry? Perhaps all this stress of trying to find Hugh was affecting her pie-making abilities. She made a mental note to pay more attention when making the next one.
Ellie Chandler would be here soon, and she didn’t want to serve pie that looked like it had been nibbled on. She cut it into slices and arranged it on a nice pie dish, leaving the pieces that had the crumbled edges in the fridge. Then she mixed up some fresh lemonade and carried it all out onto the back porch, where they could sit in the comfortable wicker furniture and gaze out at the ocean.
She settled into the wicker rocker and thought about what Ellie had told her as she arranged the plates, glasses, and pitcher on a low table in front of a settee. Why would someone be looking forher? Was it someone whom Hugh had screwed over, thinking that she might be part of it? A powerful real estate investor had a lot of money in a project, and Hugh had taken it all. Gina had heard rumors he was tied to organized crime, and if that was true, they might not wait for the law to get even.
Hopefully, that person would know that it was Hugh who had taken everything.
Well… noteverything.She had kept one document in a safety deposit box. She wasn’t even sure why, but when she’d found it in the safe in Hugh’s home office, she knew it was something important even if she had no idea what it meant. She’d instinctively known that maybe it was a bad idea to give the documents to the police who had come around with so many questions. And now, she felt that at least she had a little bit of leverage to force Hugh to do the right thing.
Thinking of Hugh dragged her down, so she pushed those thoughts aside and focused on her new future. Her life now was so much better. It was less complicated, happier. The old Gina would have been too scared to stand on her own and think about a future just for her. Had she changed that much? She hoped so.
Ellie pulled into the motel lot, and Gina waved her over to the porch. She took the large manila envelope Ellie handed her and stuffed it behind the cushion. Neither one of her cousins was at the motel today, but in case one of them came in, she didn’t want to have to answer any questions about it.
At Ellie’s questioning look, she said, “I’d like to keep this on the down low.”
Ellie nodded. “I understand. I’ll keep to small talk if anyone comes over. I have some feelers out, trying to find the person looking for you. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Thanks. Please have some pie and lemonade.” Gina slid a slice of pie onto one of the smaller plates and poured some lemonade into a tumbler.
Ellie hesitated. “You didn’t have to go to any trouble.”
“It’s no trouble.” Gina handed the pie over, and Ellie settled back in her chair.
“Well, if you insist. I’ve heard such great things about your pies from my mom.” Ellie eagerly forked up a piece of pie, her eyes closing as she chewed. That fluttery feeling that Gina got when someone was so obviously enjoying eating one of her pies settled in Gina’s stomach.
