Just a Wish Away (6 page)

Braden's gaze darkened at the mention of another guy. At least, she thought that was the reason for the sudden shadows in eyes. She didn’t have a chance to ask. The waiter appeared to take their drink orders and announce the specials.

Braden ordered a beer, and the waiter said he'd be back in a moment to take the rest of their order.

She picked up her menu, perusing the large selection of entrees. "What's good here?"

"Enchiladas, super burritos, tamales. I haven't had anything bad yet," he replied, as he flipped through the menu.

"Do you eat here a lot?" she asked.

"Since I moved back, I've been here a few times."

"When did you return?"

"About two months ago."

The waiter returned with Braden's beer and asked if they'd decided.

"I'll have the chicken enchiladas," she said.

"Beef burrito," Braden said, handing over their menus.

After the waiter left, Braden raised his bottle of beer. "Cheers."

She clinked her glass to his bottle and said, "Cheers."

Feeling emboldened by the tequila, she asked, "So do I look different to you, Braden?"

"You're definitely not twelve anymore."

His gaze dropped to her breasts, and she self-consciously crossed her arms. She'd definitely developed some curves since she'd left Sand Harbor.

"You're beautiful, Alexa," he added, his tone husky as he raised his eyes to hers.

Heat ran through her body, warming her cheeks. "You don't have to say that."

"I know I don't have to, but it's true. I always knew you would be."

"I don't see how you could have known that. I had so many freckles when I was a kid, and my hair always frizzed in the salt air. I was too skinny. That stupid friend of yours, Paul, used to say I had horse legs."

"If it makes you feel any better, Paul lost all his hair by the time he was twenty-three."

"Well, good," she said. "I don't feel at all sorry for him."

"I didn't think you would." He paused, taking another swig of beer, his gaze growing more reflective. "You were cute at twelve, but even prettier at sixteen."

She stared at him in surprise. "How would you know that? You didn't see me at sixteen."

"I did see you," he replied. "But you didn't see me."

"What are you talking about? Where were you? Where was I?"

"It was at your high school in Virginia."

"You did not come to Virginia," she denied.

"It was the summer after my father died. There was a school trip to D.C. When the group went to tour the Pentagon, I took a bus to Alexandria. I waited in front of your school until the bell rang. I wasn't sure what I was going to say when I saw you –
if
I saw you. I was just about to give up when you came out with someone -- some guy." His voice turned cold. "He had his arm around you, and he said something, and you laughed. Then he kissed you." Braden shrugged. "So I left." He raised his beer to his lips again.

"Why didn't you say something?" she asked, amazed that he'd come to see her and she'd never known.

"You were with someone else."

"Well, why didn't you tell me you were coming? We could have set something up."

"I wasn't sure I was going to come until the last second," he replied.

She shook her head. "I don't understand, Braden. You told me earlier that you didn't call me back after your dad died because we weren't friends anymore."

"We weren't friends, Alexa. You didn't call or keep in touch. You moved on. So I tried to do the same. But when the trip came up, I thought what the hell, might as well check in. See if there's any reason to talk again."

"I wish you would have said something." Her stomach twisted into a knot of regret at the lost opportunity. "I know I broke my promise to you to keep in touch."

"We don't have to go over this again."

"We do, because you don't understand. My mother was a mess after the divorce. She cried all day and all night. Sometimes, she'd sit in her room and put her arms around her knees, and curl up into this tight, sad little ball, and she'd just rock back and forth and sob like her heart was literally breaking. And when she wasn't crying, she was furious. She moved me back east so that my father couldn't see me. She used me like a weapon, and I couldn't even blame her, because my father was so mean to her. I was the only one she had to lean on, and holding her up took every last bit of strength I had."

Now that she'd started to explain, she couldn’t seem to stop. "I felt like I was drowning in her depression, Braden. And I had no one to turn to. All my friends were gone, and you seemed like a million miles away. I knew my mom was never going to let me go back to Sand Harbor, because she and my aunt stopped talking to each other. So every time you asked me when I was coming back, I was lying to you, pretending that it was going to happen. And it just got too hard. I felt … hopeless." She drew in a ragged breath. "It was a bad time in my life."

He frowned. "I had no idea it was that rough. You should have said something."

"I kept thinking I'd wait until I had good news, but good news never came, and then the silence had gone on too long, and I thought you'd probably forgotten about me. When your dad died, I wanted to talk to you so much, but when you didn't call me back, I realized you really were done." Which brought her back to the same surprise she'd felt a moment earlier. "I can't believe you came to see me the next year."

"I didn't forget about you, Alexa. I tried, but I couldn't."

"I didn't forget about you, either. That's why I came here after college." She paused. "We have really bad timing."

"Yeah, we do." He paused. "I wish I'd know how bad your mom was."

"No one knew. She swore me to secrecy, afraid I'd tell you, and you'd tell your mom, who'd tell my aunt… She didn't want my dad to know how much he'd hurt her, at least, most of the time. When she was trying to make a point or asking for more child support, then sometimes she'd let him in on her pain."

"I guess that makes sense," he said slowly.

"Nothing in divorce makes sense."

"Well, that's true."

His response reminded her that he'd had his own share of problems. She sat back in her chair, studying him for a moment. "What happened with your marriage?"

He shook his head, a steel glint in his eyes. "My marriage is not up for discussion, Alexa."

She didn't like his abrupt answer, but Braden had always been private, even as a kid.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm not married, if that's the question."

"Significant other?"

"No."

"That's hard to believe."

"I've been busy making a career."

"As an accountant?"

She frowned. "Don't say it like it's a dirty word."

"I just don't get it." He rested his arms on the table as he leaned forward. "You had such big dreams when you were a kid – the biggest dreams I'd ever heard."

The reminder brought a wave of sadness. She felt as if her life could be divided into parts -- the time before the divorce, and the time after.

"When my family fell apart, my dreams went away, too," she said. "There just didn't seem to be any point. I had to grow up, so I did. You should understand. You were the man of your family long before your dad died. You used to take care of your mom and your brother and sister. You were responsible, realistic, and I was just a silly dreamer."

"I wouldn't say you were silly."

"Well, thanks for that. Is your family still living here?"

"My mother and sister are. My brother is in Portland. He's in law school."

"Law school? In my mind Matt is still five years old."

"Twenty-two now."

"Well, your mom and sister must be happy to have you back."

"They are."

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their food.

"This looks good," she said, picking up her fork. The delicious smell made her stomach rumble, and she realized how long it had been since she'd last eaten.

They ate in silence. As usual, Braden inhaled his food, cleaning his plate before she was halfway through her enchiladas. She smiled. "You were always fast," she said.

"Got faster when I was in the service. I never knew how long I had to eat."

"Where did you serve?"

"I was in Iraq and also in Afghanistan and a bunch of other places you've never heard of."

"How did you get injured?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You have a lot of things you don't want to talk about."

"Yes, I do," he said bluntly.

She set down her fork. "Fine. So let's talk about the robbery. I assume Drew didn't give you any new information."

"No. He's been looking into a link between the shipment from the Wellbourne estate and the break-in, but he hasn't found any ties. Wellbourne's sons seem to have no argument with the items being sent to your aunt. They indicated that their father was quite fond of Phoebe."

"Really? That's interesting."

"The lawyer said no one else has come forward to contest anything in the will. Drew thinks it's a dead end."

The spark in his eyes told her he didn't agree with his friend. "But you don't?"

"The only thing that was different about yesterday was that delivery. It could have been the trigger or just a coincidence, but I'm not ready to rule it out."

"What about the wife? Wasn't Jack Wellbourne married at some point?"

"He was married twice, once to the mother of his sons. She died a long time ago. He divorced his second wife, Roberta about six years ago. Drew spoke to Roberta as well, and she doesn't seem to have a problem with anything."

"So everyone is happy."

"That's what they say."

She thought about the castle-like house on the bluff. "I loved the Wellbourne's house on the beach. Remember all the stories we made up? Remember Ariel -- the beautiful woman with the long red hair? I thought she looked like a mermaid or some ghostly bride. We used to see her standing on the balcony wearing that floaty white dress." Alexa could see her so clearly. "Was she a Wellbourne?"

"No, but it's interesting you brought her up," he said slowly, a thoughtful expression entering his eyes.

"Why is it interesting?"

"I haven't thought about her in a very long time, but she died at the end of that summer. Her body washed up on the beach near the pier."

"She drowned?" Alexa echoed in surprise. "That's so sad. She was young. What happened?"

"No one seemed to know. The press descended on the town. It was news, because she was an actress. Rumors were flying for weeks, but it was ruled an accidental death." He sat back in his seat, a contemplative expression on his face.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I'm not sure."

"She was such a mysterious figure," Alexa continued. "She was always on the widow's walk or the deck, looking out to sea, as if she were searching for something or waiting for someone. I used to imagine she was waiting for her lover to come to her." Goosebumps ran down her arms, and she shivered. "But she died a long time ago. Her death couldn't have anything to do with what's happening now."

"She was connected to that house," Braden said. "And she was fighting with someone that last night we were on the beach."

"You're right." The argument they'd overheard had seemed very much like the constant battles being fought by her parents, and it had made her feel a little sick to her stomach. "I wonder who she was fighting with."

"I have no idea. I didn't see anyone. Did you?"

"No. I just remember her yelling something about secrets, and there wasn't just anger in her voice, but pain. She seemed like she had been betrayed."

"I think you're starting to embellish," Braden said with a small smile.

"Maybe. Did you tell anyone about that fight after she died?"

"No. I didn't think about it. I was back in school, and I wasn't paying attention to the news. I'm sure my mom didn't let me go near the beach when the investigation was going on."

"We need to find out more about Ariel."

"I don't think that will be difficult, but as you said, it's doubtful her death is connected to the robbery at your aunt's store."

"But you're as curious as I am," she said, seeing a new light in his eyes.

"I'm a little interested," he conceded. "But I've also been bored out of my mind the last few weeks so that's not saying much."

"The transition from soldier to citizen hasn't been easy for you, I take it."

"Not in any way."

"Do you have any idea what you're going to do next?"

"Well, the next thing I'm going to do is pay the check."

She made a face at him. "You know that's not what I meant."

"It's as far ahead as I'm looking right now." He pulled out his wallet as the waiter set down their bill. "This is on me."