said. “I figured you must have seen him on your way over. He runs most mornings, past here, to the fish market. Sometimes he likes to hang out here or at the market, just to shoot the breeze.”
“Does he own Sam’s?”
Ronny nodded as he sipped his coffee. “Yeah. For a couple years now. Good guy.” A smile tugged at Ronny’s mouth. “As long as you don’t bother his waitresses or get rowdy. He doesn’t care if you’re a local or not, you have too much booze and act up, he’ll put a stop to it. Always calm, but tough. Like you know he could kick your ass, so you just might as well walk it off.”
“I’m sure that’s never happened to you.”
Ronny laughed. “I have many sins, Baby Girl, but overindulging in alcohol isn’t one of them.”
“I suppose that doesn’t go for the recreational weed I can still smell in the rugs?”
He laughed again but before she could tell him she wasn’t calling him out on his habit, there was a knock on the door. A banging, actually.
“Dammit, I told you guys to stay away today,” Ronny yelled, and goodness, his voice hadn’t weakened a bit.
“Ronny,” some guy yelled back. “Don’t be like that. Hector said your daughter’s hot. We want to meet her.”
“Beat it!”
“Besides, there’s a sweet two-foot swell coming in, and you’ll be sorry if you miss it. Come on, man.”
“You want to escape, now’s the time,” Ronny said, inclining his head. “I bet you can still crawl out through your bedroom window.”
Cricket grinned. “You knew about that?”
His look told her more than words.
“No. I’d actually like to meet these young hooligans. Make sure there are no unsavory characters.”
“Except me?”
“Except you.”
The front door, never locked to her knowledge, squeaked open. “So, it’s okay if we come in? It’s just me, Ted, Igor and Wendy. The rest of the guys are still out there.”
Cricket mouthed, “Igor?”
Her dad just laughed as the door opened farther. “Ronny?”
“Fine. But you don’t touch. Anything. Especially the fresh coffee. You want some, you heat up the stuff in that pot by the microwave.”
The boys and Wendy came in a rush, as if they’d all been huddled by the door. Wendy was a pretty girl in a very small bikini top and boy’s trunks. Her long hair was pulled into a braid down her back, and she was tan with bright green eyes and the pink lips of a teen. There had been a time when Cricket had looked a lot like that. Not the eyes so much as the innocence.
The boys were a range of heights and ages. One kid looked no more than fourteen or fifteen, and one might have gotten into the bar without a fake ID. But they all looked like surfers, as close to the California stereotype as they could get without a Malibu tattoo. It felt as if they’d all looked like that, from the time she’d learned to surf herself, at the tender age of nine.
Someone whistled. “You are hot.”
“Thanks. Also, too old and wise to get mixed up with surfers.”
“Hey.” That came from a chorus of voices.
“Besides,” she said, finishing her coffee. “I’ve got to get back to the hotel and meet the gang.”
“Who came?” Ronny asked.
“Everyone but Meg.”
“Jade?”
“Yeah. Even Jade. It’s great. Anyway, I’ll come by tomorrow, if you don’t have any charters or surfing lessons.”
“I’ve got an early evening charter, other than that I’ll be here.” He stood up and wrapped his arms around her again. “You be careful with those hill people, all right?”
She refrained from reminding him he’d married one of them. “I’m always careful.”
“Don’t go yet,” the taller surfer said, moving in closer. “We haven’t even been introduced.”
“Let me guess. You’re a surfer from New York or New Jersey who’d heard about the great surfing at Temptation Bay, and about Ronny Shaw in particular, and this is your first season on the beach, probably sharing a room at the motel with three or four of your new friends?”
“How’d you know I was from Jersey?” he said, in an accent so thick it could paint walls.
Cricket smiled. “You take care of him,” she said, nodding at her father. “And listen to what he says.” It was time to get away. Now, before the rest of them screwed up their courage. She wanted to take her time walking back to the hotel, and with any luck, she just might run into Wyatt.
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