Finding Haven (17 page)

Evan grabbed a handful from the man. “It has the same kind of small town feel. Everyone
is friendly like back home.” Regardless of how standoffish he had been, the hospitality
of the island wasn’t lost on him. Shug and Harry had been nothing but kind to him
despite his two-week beer binge. Every one of those beers had been filled with a memory
or a regret he needed to put behind him. They were necessary, but he felt like he
had visited all of his disappointments—some a few times too many.

“Nice to know you like the island. There are a lot of good people here.” He smashed
an empty box. “How long you thinking about staying?”

“I have a place at the campground through the end of the summer. I haven’t thought
much past that to be honest, sir.” Evan stopped the stacking process and looked at
his boss.

“You know, we need to have you over for dinner.”

“Oh, I couldn’t impose like that.”

“No imposition. My wife loves to entertain. I’m sure we could convince Haven to join
us for supper. How about tomorrow night?” He smiled at Evan.

Evan knew when he had been cornered. “Sure. Sounds good. I appreciate that.”

Mr. Owen turned. “We’ll see you at seven. And again, welcome aboard.” He saluted his
newest employee and exited the cooler.

The man he had carried on a conversation with didn’t resemble the angry man he witnessed
the other morning on the docks. He seemed friendly and warm like all the other residents
of Perry Island. It made Evan wonder why Haven disliked him so much. Then he thought
of the unspoken rift he had with his father, and knew the layers in a family went
much deeper than what anyone could see from the outside.

Families were like glaciers, bound together from an original formation, but each family
member carrying unique layers. Those layers were deep and formed from the same storm,
but even though one layer might melt for one person, it didn’t mean it melted for
everyone or anyone else. The melting and healing was all up to you—how quickly you
could face the sun and let it all go. Evan decided he wasn’t here long enough to get
involved in the Owen’s family issues. By the end of the summer, he would be on his
way somewhere else. He couldn’t stay on Perry Island forever.

Evan finished unloading the beer and sauntered over to the register. He had the afternoon
shift at the rental booth, but he couldn’t pass by without snagging one smile from
Haven. He had, after all, gotten lost in those lips all night.

“Hey.” He strolled to the counter. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

Haven jumped and dropped a stack of magazines in her arms. “Crap!”

“Sorry, hold on.” Evan hopped across the counter like it was the General Lee and he
was one of the Luke boys. He dropped to the floor and shuffled the magazines in his
arms.

“I’m a klutz today.” She began collecting the dropped magazines in a pile. “Look at
this garbage. Why do people even read this stuff anyway? I don’t get it.” She held
up a cover of
Celeb Watch
.

Evan’s throat tightened and he felt the familiar stabbing sensation under his lungs.

“I mean, really, do we care who Emmy Harper is dating? Personally, I’ve never seen
any of her movies but I don’t care. It seems like there are more pressing issues going
on in the world than her love life.” Haven rolled her eyes and continued to retrieve
the pile she had jumbled.

Evan knew the magazines were at the front counter. There was a line of them that came
up to his knees, but he also knew not to look that low. He didn’t want to see. He
didn’t want to know what was going on with his old Hollywood friends, especially Emmy.
Now those magazines he had been so careful to avoid were scattered at his feet.

“Jay? Are you ok? It’s not a big deal. I know you didn’t mean for me to drop them.”

He held the glossy photo in his hands. Emmy had made the cover for the umpteenth time.
Who could count that high? Her hair was blond again.

Hollywood heartache

Harper says she’ll do what it takes to get Carlson back

Under the picture of Emmy was a broken heart with Evan’s face split down the middle.
Evan blinked. Emmy had done an interview with the magazine. He flipped open to page
twenty-two.

“I want Evan to know how much I love him. He has every right to be mad at me. I know
what I did, but everyone deserves forgiveness. I know I broke his heart, and I’m going
to spend every day making it up to him and showing him that I would give him my last
breath.”

Evan choked on his next inhale. She was insane. What in the hell was she talking about?
They were done. Settled. And they were never in love.
Son of a bitch.

“Jay? Seriously, you look like you saw a ghost.” Haven reached over and rested her
palm on his wrist.

“Can I take a break?” He knew his voice was sharp, but he had to deal with this situation.

“Sure. I guess so.” Her mouth formed a frown.

“Ten minutes. I’ll be back to take over for Nell in the rental stand.” He stood and
shoved a rolled copy of the magazine in the band of his shorts behind the apron tie.

“Doing a little reading?” Haven teased.

“I’ll be back.” He turned on his heels and headed for the screen door. He kept his
phone in the glove box of the Jeep. There wasn’t any reason to have it on him at work.
He turned the lock on the compartment and pulled the phone out. He had Allan’s number
up in two seconds.

“Hey, man. Good to hear from you. How you feeling?” Allan sounded happy.

“Good,” he huffed. “No, not good. Emmy did some kind of expose article on us for
Celeb Watch
. I need to know what her angle is.”

“
Celeb Watch
? That rag’s a piece of shit. No one reads it, Evan.”

“Yeah, well I read it. She granted them an interview, and it wasn’t because she’s
in love with me.”

“Maybe she is. She wouldn’t be the first, brother.” Allan chuckled on the other end.

“Allan. Just find out. Leave me a message if I don’t answer, ok?” Evan nodded at a
fisherman walking in the store.

“Got it, boss. I’m on it.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s good to know you still need me for something.”

“Allan, you’re the best out there. Of course I still need your help.” Evan realized
that his new career decisions would affect Allan and everyone else on his team. They
were still on his payroll, and he wouldn’t cut them loose until they found other jobs.
Their families depended on those salaries—on the income his name and fame brought
to them. “Thanks again.”

“Sure thing.”

Evan tossed the phone into the glove box and twisted the lock. He glanced around the
parking lot before pulling the magazine out of his waistband. He leaned against the
tail of the Jeep, opened the magazine, and picked up where he left off on the biggest
web of lies he had ever read.

I
T WAS
Thursday. Haven’s day off. She pushed off on the deck and drifted across the porch
in her hammock. The problem was that on her one day off she couldn’t focus on the
one thing she waited six days to do—write songs. Instead, her stomach was in knots
thinking about dinner tonight with Jay and her parents.

The dinner invitation reeked of her father’s manipulation. She had probably smiled
a little too brightly when she described Jay to him. He was using that to get her
to the house.

Jay acted so weirdly at work yesterday that they didn’t make plans to get together
last night. However, they weren’t at that stage, yet. They weren’t at any stage. Haven
sighed. Two make out sessions did not equal a stage status. She couldn’t very well
let him go to dinner at her parents’ house alone. That would be the opposite of showing
her southern hospitality, and let’s face it, she wanted to see him again.

It didn’t seem to matter that he was leaving at the end of the summer. She was too.
It didn’t matter that he was a practical stranger that appeared on the docks out of
nowhere. It made him mysterious. Mysterious and hot.

The other night in her kitchen she could tell he was holding back with her. There
was a bad boy in there somewhere, and she was ready to know more about
him
. As soon as he was about to take her to the brink of something naughty and dangerous,
he would pull back, leaving her breathless and wanting more.

Haven stepped from the hammock with her guitar and today’s lyrics. With an hour before
dinner, it was time to start bracing herself for a meal at her parents’ house.

M
OST PEOPLE
would use their day off to fix their broken bike or run other normal people errands,
but Haven readily accepted she wasn’t most people as she pulled up behind Jay’s Jeep.

She looked down at her sundress with the deep V neckline and embroidered sailboats.
It was an attempt to catch Jay’s eye. She hoped it would. There were a few ways she
could rescue him tonight from the family gathering.

“Hi, Mom.” She pecked her mother on the cheek, and inhaled the smell of Old Bay and
shrimp. “We’re having shrimp tonight?”

“Why, don’t you look cute? Spin around in that for me.”

Haven obliged.

“Where is— Where are the guys?” They weren’t in the kitchen or the adjoining sitting
room. Like Haven, her parents lived on the cove, but their cottage was on the opposite
side of the semicircle. They only had a view of the marina near their house, but it
was one you could take in from almost every room in the house.

“Your dad already has that boy in the study. He’s showing off.”

“Mom, he’s not a boy.” Haven hadn’t asked him yet how old he was, but he definitely
wasn’t a boy.

“You know what I mean. Jay, the new clerk at the store. They are looking at photos
and heaven knows what else.” Haven watched as her mother dumped the pot of shrimp
into a colander. “He’s got a captive audience, so they could be in there for hours.”

“Do you mind if I join them, or do you need me here?” Haven knew her mother had the
kitchen under control, but she didn’t want to leave her without the customary offer.

“Go, go, go.” She sprinkled an extra dash of the red seasoning on the shrimp. “Hey,
he’s cute,” she whispered to her daughter before Haven darted down the hall in search
of Jay.

Something was up. Haven just couldn’t put her finger on it. The dinner, her mom’s
comment—it made her uneasy, but she knew her guard was up the minute she stepped under
the same roof as her father. Maybe it was her mistrust in him that made her feel this
way.

She stopped in front of the hallway mirror for one last touchup. The freckles on her
nose were mostly covered with makeup, but she grimaced at them. You couldn’t avoid
some things no matter how much sunscreen you wore.

“Hey.” She rounded the corner to her dad’s study. Her father and Jay were standing
in the center of the room. Her father pointed out a row of black-and-white framed
pictures.

“There she is.” Her father moved across the room to hug her, but Haven dodged the
advance.

“Hi, Dad.”

Denton cleared his throat. “I was just telling Jay about when your grandfather decided
to open the store.”

Jay smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled with warmth. “Yep, I’m getting your entire
family history.”

“Oh great. He hasn’t gotten out my baby album, has he?” Haven checked to see if it
was still in place on the bookshelf.

“No, but I put in a request for that after dessert.” Jay laughed.

“My mom will be thrilled.” Haven realized that once Jay started talking, she didn’t
even know if her father was in the room anymore. It all faded away. It was that smile;
everything was in his smile.

“Why don’t I go check on your mother and let you two talk?” Apparently, her dad was
still there.

Haven turned to face him.

“And I’ll take drink orders. Jay, what can I get you? Beer? Gin and tonic?”

“Beer sounds good, sir.” Jay slid his hands in his pockets. Haven liked the blue shirt
he was wearing with the khaki shorts. He looked relaxed.