Page 6 of Wild Tides
His chuckle echoed behind me.
The secret supermarket in Friday Harbor wasn’t my first choice for doing a full kitchen overhaul, but I didn’t have time to take the ferry to Anacortes to really stock up. Friday Harbor boasted two grocery stores, the King’s Market downtown for tourists, and the unsigned store for locals—both owned by the same family. It never failed to amuse me that they kept the larger store on the down-low. If I felt like bougie cheeses and wine, the downtown location was my best bet, but for basics, the locals store was better.
I spent a solid hour filling my cart with flour, milk, eggs, and enough vegetables and meat to craft dinners for a week. Even if Lee bounced back quickly, I could make up a few freezer meals to keep him fed. He had to get tired of protein bars.
Darlene laughed when I handed her his credit card at checkout. “That explains it. I couldn’t figure out why you needed so much food. I checkedWhat’s New, Friday Harborat mybreak and saw the post about this morning’s rescue. Is Lee doing okay? I’m guessing he’s the unnamed volunteer injured in the line of duty, given you’re carrying his credit card?”
The joys of small-town living. Everyone knows your business. Especially in the age of the internet.What’s New, Friday Harborwas our local source for official news and unofficial gripes. Usually about the ferry. Sometimes about a miles-long trail of mysterious hot dog buns. Our island contained multitudes.
“I’m just helping Lee out for a few days.” He wouldn’t thank me for sharing his business. Lee was too private for that.
Darlene arched one blonde brow. “I hope he realizes he’s a lucky man if you’re planning to cook all this for him.”
Darlene’s words echoed as I pulled out my phone after loading the groceries into my trunk. If she knew my family better, she might not consider Lee so lucky. Gran’s opening shot had started a cascade of messages.
Drew: I have other ways of inflicting pain on Lee. I’ll talk to him.
Mom: Leave your sister alone.
Zach: No one said anything about bothering Vi.
Mom: Leave that poor boy alone too.
Mom: It sounds like he was a hero today. He deserves some TLC.
My mom’s defense was welcome, even if I doubted my brothers would listen. I loved them. Most of the time. I just wished they could remember that I wasn’t a naïve sixteen-year-old anymore. I’d been managing my life and affairs for a long time. All their butting in didn’t really help.
Gran shooting her mouth off about manure was on brand. I’d expected more maturity from Drew and Zach. Especially when it came to their friend. It wasn’t like Lee had ever expressedany interest in me. Pretty sure he saw me as the fourth Fenwick brother, just with boobs, glasses, and longer dark hair.
My brothers had nothing to fear. Except me. If they messed up Lee’s recovery, they’d answer to me. And I’d learned a trick or two from their teenage shenanigans. Gran wasn’t the only one with a manure source.
Vi: Y’all are protecting the wrong person. Lee needs to heal. Knock it off.
I tossed my phone aside and drove the short distance to Lee’s house. My phone buzzed incessantly on the seat beside me. I parked and reached for it.
Drew: Wait. Do we need to have the birds and bees talk?
Zach: Gran makes a great chaperone.
Zach: Real boner-killer.
I snorted. Gran had moved in temporarily with him and Rae during a run of trouble last summer. To hear him tell it, Gran could cock-block like no other.
Mom: What – you think I’m a total failure as a mother?
Mom: Your sister knows her business.
Dad: Can second Gran as a boner-killer.
Mom: Gary.
A giggle burst out. I could practically hear my mom’s gentle disparagement. But as far as I was concerned, Dad was a saint, putting up with Gran full-time.
Gran: Lucky for you punks, Ollie and I are too busy *getting busy* to chaperone.
Gran: You’re on your own, kid.
Thank God for gentle mercies. And little blue pills. I shuddered. I didn’t need details of Gran and Ollie’s sex life, but if it kept her out of Lee’s house, I was all for it. He’d really lose his shit if two Fenwicks invaded his space. I’d barely convinced him to let me stay. If Gran tried to barge in, he’d have us both on the curb in seconds, bad ankle or no bad ankle.
