list.” She nudged me. “Look at that fine piece of man. Who is he?”
Two men had just strolled into the gym. Matt, one of the newest South Cove residents who worked at the winery and was also Darla’s boyfriend, and another guy, tall, dark, and handsome, with a touch of scruff on his face. Bad boy incarnate. I recognized the guy as one of the band members who were playing the winery this week. He’d come over to the table where Darla and Matt sat with Greg and I.
“One of Matt’s friends, Blake something. He sings lead for Atomic Power, the band playing at the winery.” I stretched over my straight legs, watching as the newcomer was introduced to the group. “Are we the only women in this class?”
Amy grinned and stood as the instructor called the group over toward the middle of the gym floor. “Isn’t it amazing?”
Chapter 2
Ninety minutes later, Amy and I were in our favorite booth at Diamond Lille’s eating lunch. I watched as my friend inhaled her burger and I went back to my fish fry basket. The food made me forget about the stiffness and pain my body was going to feel just as soon as I stood up. “I think your exercise class is going to kill me.”
“It’s a great workout. You have to be on a waiting list for months to get into Tony’s classes. I can’t believe Greg convinced him to come here.” Amy took a sip of her vanilla milkshake. “What’s up with that?”
“I have no clue.” I looked thoughtfully at the French fry in my hand. “I think they were college friends or something.”
After one class, I was already rethinking my decision to sign up for the class so I decided to change the subject. Amy and I had gone through a rough patch a few months ago and we were still being careful of each other’s feelings. Maybe a little too careful. I missed the ease our friendship had before the fight. Greg kept telling me to just be patient, that it would regain its temperament, but I wondered, not for the first time, if Amy and I could be who we had been. “Have you met Kathi Corbin yet?”
Amy served as the city receptionist, Mayor Baylor’s secretary, the city council’s scribe, and the city planner. She had a degree in the planning stuff, but it took all the jobs cobbled together to make a full-time position. She liked the freedom working for South Cove gave her. Especially since she got to surf most evenings and weekends. “Kathi’s been in the offices a lot lately. She’s definitely a looker. I swear, Marvin can be downstairs in the staff kitchen but as soon as she walks in the door, he’s right there. It’s kind of creepy.”
“I bet if Tina was there he wouldn’t be so quick to fawn over Kathi.” The mayor’s wife Tina had an iron fist when it came to her husband and their marriage. What Tina wanted, Tina got. And she didn’t take kindly to him even looking at other women.
“Tina’s out of town with the girls. They went to LA for a spa week.” Amy grinned. “They’re probably eating seaweed and doing who knows what to their bodies.”
“Our honorable mayor better watch his actions. Tina may be out of town, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have spies watching out for her interests.” Carrie, our waitress, stood next to our table. She’d worked at Diamond Lille’s since before I’d moved to South Cove. She refilled my iced tea glass and Amy’s water. “Tina won’t take kindly to him sniffing around the new shop owner.”
“Seriously? You really think Tina has someone watching him?” I stared at Carrie as she paused, perching the two pitchers on the edge of the table.
“I know she does. You girls are both naïve. Tina Baylor didn’t get to be the mayor’s wife by letting things fall to chance.” A man yelled her name out from the kitchen. “Tiny’s in a mood today. I better run. You almost ready for your checks?”
“Sure.” I waited until Carrie was out of earshot before turning toward Amy. I’d lived in South Cove for almost six years now but the ins and outs of life in a small town still surprised me. “Did you know about Tina’s spies?”
“No, but I wouldn’t put it past her. The woman reviews our phone records monthly. She says she’s looking for any potential campaign contributor so she can reach out when he’s running for office. But Carrie’s explanation makes more sense.” Amy picked up her milkshake, looked at the creamy concoction, and set it aside. “I’d dump Justin before I’d put myself through all that to make sure he was faithful.”
“You don’t need to worry. Justin adores you.”
Amy picked up her milkshake and drained it. “He does, doesn’t he?”
“Darn right. Hey, I wanted to thank you for pushing the council to support the library fundraiser. I know you were the driving force behind their covering the room cost.” Aunt Jackie and Sasha had gone to the last council meeting to ask for the funds.
“I didn’t do much. The grant funding was a no-brainer. The high school library has been out of date since before I went to school there.” Amy polished off her French fries. “I’m surprised you’re not heading up this project. Literacy is kind of your hot button.”
“I wanted to give Sasha the opportunity to put this one together, especially since it’s for the age group of her book clubs. She said she could use it for a project next fall in one of her classes. The woman’s a dynamo.” I glanced at my watch. “I better get home. Emma’s probably dancing in the kitchen waiting for me to let her out.”
I waved goodbye to my friend and headed toward the end of town and my house. I’d inherited the place from Miss Emily. She’d been the catalyst to my giving up a corporate law associate position and moving to South Cove. The woman had been a friend, mentor, and even surrogate mother to me before she died. I found out that not only had she willed me the house, she’d also given me her substantial fortune. I call the money the Miss Emily Fund and so far, the money has sponsored a couple scholarships as well as funded an anonymous donation to the South Cove Elementary library when the school board cut their book-buying budget to almost nothing last year. Sure, it was in my best interest for them to be able to order books from my store, but mostly, it drove me crazy thinking they’d prioritized sports over books.
Books should always win. I guess that’s why when I designed my perfect small business I made it part bookstore, part coffee shop. The idea was genius and I’ve never regretted it.
Strolling towards home, I thought how lucky I was to be able to walk to work. No fighting traffic, no crazy drivers, and no paying for parking. When I worked in the city, my monthly parking bill was as large as some people’s daycare budget. Here, my new Jeep didn’t even leave the garage most days. I watched as a tour bus unloaded passengers in front of The Train Station. Good thing we’d eaten early; Diamond Lille’s would be packed in about ten minutes. As the last of the group crossed the street, a motorcycle weaved through the pack, gunning his engine and zooming too close to a woman wielding a walker. Glancing up the road as I ran over to her to make sure she was all right, I thought it might be the same bike I’d seen that morning. When I reached the woman, she waved me away.
“I’m fine. The jerk just scared me, that’s all.” Then the gray-haired woman lifted up one hand and flipped off the disappearing back of the motorcycle dude. I smiled as she finished crossing the street and hoped I was as feisty when I got to that age.
Returning to the sidewalk, Harrold stood in his open doorway watching me. “That was almost a train wreck there.” His eyes sparkled at his joke.
“The speed signs are clearly posted. I don’t know why those types even
