Penny Serenade (17 page)

“Goodbye dad,” she
sobbed,
her voice barely above a whisper. She rubbed the penny with the sleeve of her shirt and placed it against her lips, giving it a kiss. Audrey walked a few steps into the water and threw it out into the sea. “I’ll always love you.”

A flash of lightning streaked through the sky followed by an eerie, low rumble. She looked out to where the penny had disappeared and watched the water ripple as the rain started up. In a matter of seconds it had turned into a downpour and pelted against her skin like icy toothpicks. She untied the slicker from around her waist and thrust it over her head, trying to pry her hair from her face in the process. Somewhere in the time she shared her thoughts with her father, the sky had darkened and a storm had brewed. Water rushed up around her ankles, startling her. She gazed around, not realizing she’d walked out so far.

The water was rising fast. Audrey looked over her shoulder to see she was about a good five steps from the inlet. She tried to turn her whole body but her shoes were sinking fast into the mud. With a hard tug she managed to get one loose, but the motion propelled her backward and she fell hard on her butt. Damn that would leave a serious bruise.

Audrey managed to get up again and took a step toward the inlet, only to lose her footing and get knocked back down again, tasting dirt and sediment along with the faintest bit of salt on her lips. She really should learn to swim. The water raged around her and she felt pulled back into it further. Waves of panic shot through her. She thought of her father and how scared he must have been alone out somewhere in the sea with waves crashing all around him. If the water took her out far enough she’d meet the same fate.

Knowing this she struggled to find something – anything to help her. Audrey pushed her hands against the ground and found them sinking fast. She was on her stomach and the water came up and over her head. As it receded she caught her breath and flung her hair from her face. The salt of the water stung her eyes. This wasn’t how she wanted things to end. She never even apologized to Dominic. The last thing he’d have to remember her by was telling him she didn’t want him. How stupid was that? Again she tried to stand, only to have more of the ground sink away beneath her. She was much too far from shore. Audrey refused to give up and thrust her body forward, pushing and straining against the force of the water to get back onto land. She just couldn’t go out like this.

She’d scream but no, she’d picked a nice isolated place to be, during a storm, and maybe if she were lucky she’d be found weeks later. This wasn’t quite the closure she’d been looking for.

Fuck it, she thought and let out a shriek she hoped would be heard.

Chapter Eight

“It’s all right, I’ve got you,” a voice boomed, and a strong hand wrapped around her wrist. She tilted her head up, seeing the silhouette of a man reaching out toward her. His profile seemed familiar. Could it be?

“Dominic?”

“Take my other hand, I’ll pull you up.”

She wrapped her hand around his and he gave her a good yank. She stumbled for several steps, her feet clumsy among the wet rocks and pebbles. He pulled her along with him further until they were clear of the water.

When they’d cleared the water, he stopped walking and turned to face her, both his hands around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?
Miss?”

She looked at him through a curtain of wet stringy hair. No he wasn’t Dominic. What made her think he would be here? Hell, he didn’t even know she’d left
Oregon
.

“I-I think so,” she sputtered, wiping at her mouth. Grit scratched against her lips and she figured she must look a mess. “Thank you for getting me out of the water.”

Relief sprinkled his rugged features. “No worries. Glad I came by when I did. The storms can get nasty around here.”

“Yes, I’d forgotten,” she said more to herself, and shivered. The wind was merciless against her face.

“We should get you inside where you can warm up.”

“Um,” she started. The guy might’ve saved her life but she didn’t know him.

 
“My name’s Lucas Parks. And that’s Sammy, my collie in the truck,” he said, gesturing behind him.

“I’m Audrey,” she replied, feeling less anxious.

“You do realize the ferry doesn’t run at night, don’t you? Did you miss the last one out?”

Embarrassed she smiled. “Thanks but no, I have my car, it’s in the parking lot by the dock.”

“Okay, good. Do you have something dry to put on?”

“Yeah, I have clothes in my trunk,” she answered feeling disoriented. That had been a close call back there.

“Want me to drive you over?”

She looked down at her soaked clothes and winced. “I can walk.”

“That’s a good fifteen minute walk or so, and you’ll freeze before you get there. I have a towel for the seat if that will make you feel better. Now that I think about it, I should just drive you to the inn. You could change there, and grab some coffee?”

She scrunched her nose.

“Or tea,” he said. “And I’m going to have to brag, seeing as how my family owns the inn, but my wife makes the best cheesecake in the world.”

“Tea and cheesecake sound perfect. So you’re married?”

“Yep, happily married for five years, have two twin boys who just turned three last week.”

“Okay, yes to you driving me to my car. I’ll meet you at the inn from there.
Deal?”

“Deal.
Now let’s get you inside the truck.”

He sprinted to his truck and opened the door. From behind the seat he grabbed a towel and folded it over the seat. She climbed in, immediately assaulted by a face full of fur. Lucas got in on his side and drove to the parking lot.

“I’ll grab a table and order for you.
Any particular kind of tea and cheesecake?”

“Any will do. I’ll love it no matter what.”

She’d love anything right now just being alive.

“Got it.
Take your time, there’s no rush.”

“Okay. Thanks again.”

“You don’t need to keep thanking me. See you at the inn, the restaurants to your left when you come through the doors.”

She slid out of his truck and walked on rubbery legs to her car.

Wanting to get out of her wet clothes she started up the car and drove to the inn. She’d be sure to give her aunt a quick call to make sure she didn’t worry.

The inside of the spacious inn was warm and cozy. A fire blazed in the middle within a large stone pit. She vaguely remembered being here as a young girl, though she didn’t remember much. The walls were painted in soothing earth tone colors with dark wood furnishings. Not wanting to drip all over the floor, she followed the diamond patterned carpet to the women’s bathroom and almost startled herself with her own reflection. Talk about a drowned rat. Her hair lay plastered against her head, dirt streaked her face and her clothes were stuck to her like a second skin.

She did her best to rinse out the sediment from her hair, but the water had left her hair a stringy, tangled mess. When she got back to her aunt’s place, she’d take a shower. In the bathroom stall she peeled off her soggy clothes and put on a pair of faded jeans with a soft green sweatshirt. The fleece lining soothed her. Audrey wadded up her wet stuff and put it into a couple plastic bags she always brought for dirty clothes. She felt human again.

After reassuring her aunt she’d be fine and home soon, she joined Lucas at the table. He’d changed to into a pair of khakis with a white pullover sweater, looking like he’d stepped from the pages of GQ. She quickly raked her gaze over his lean build and steel gray eyes. God she missed Dominic.

Audrey sat across from him, concealing her bag beneath the table. “Thanks for ordering.”

“No problem.”

The large piece of cheesecake looked delicious and she longed to take a bite. A woman dropped off a cup of tea and she took a sip.

“Audrey, this is my wife,
Kirstie
. Honey, this is the woman I told you about.”

“Pleased to meet you sweetheart,” the strawberry blonde woman said. “Tonight anything you want is on the house, so don’t you worry about paying for a thing.”

Surprised, she scrunched her face up. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, sweetie.
I’m grateful my hubby happened on you when he did.”

“I am too,” she said and reached for the tea.

Lucas blew his wife a kiss and then propped his elbows on the table. “Isn’t she lovely?”

“Yes, she is.”

“Feel free to tell me if it’s not my business, but what possessed you to be out there? It’s dangerous during a storm.”

“Um, revisiting the past.”
She wished she could come up with something that sounded far more extravagant.

“Oh yeah?
How so?”

“I used to live here,” she explained. “You may have heard of Colleen Kessler?”

“I certainly have.
Makes a mean clam chowder if my memory serves correctly.
My wife refuses to make her own because she knows nothing can touch Colleen’s. How do you know her?”

“She’s my aunt.”

His eyes widened. “Then you’re Charles Denton Kessler’s daughter?”

She nodded. It had been ages since she’d heard his full name spoken out loud.

“And the small town keeps getting smaller,” he half mumbled.

“Pardon?”

“You don’t remember me I’m sure, but I was a grade ahead of you in school. Your dad saved my dad the night he went…err…missing. He’ll always be considered a hero.”

Audrey swallowed down her tea hard, almost choking.
“Yeah?”

“Yep, he saved my dad, Paul Bakers, and Matthew Ulrich. They wouldn’t have made it if he hadn’t rescued them when he did.”

Guilt settled in. She’d never thought kindly toward any of the men or their families. “I uh, didn’t know the names of the people he saved, or I might’ve recognized yours.”

Lucas shrugged. “No worries. We were both pretty young then.”

“Yeah.”
She dragged the plate of cheesecake toward her and picked up the fork. “You know, there’s a part of me that only wanted him to be
my
hero, which in retrospect sounds terribly selfish, but it’s nice to hear that he was thought of so highly.”

“I guess it doesn’t give you much consolation. Seeing how he died trying to save others. I think I’d have felt the same way as you if in your shoes.”

“Thanks. I understand it better now, but I didn’t back then.”

“Death is complicated, and worse when you’re a kid and don’t understand. Someone is there and then they’re not. How do you make it okay?”

“I still don’t know if it ever becomes okay,” she murmured. “I spent a lot of time angry with him.
So much so that the grieving didn’t come until years later.
I came here to let go.”

“Have you let go?”

One minute she thought she had, and the next minute she wasn’t certain. “In my own way I think I finally have. Or maybe one never really let’s go, they just find a way to survive.”

“If it helps in anyway, my dad was always very grateful to your father for saving him. He hoped you found the money he sent
useful,
however you chose to spend it. He knew it wouldn’t replace your father, but he wanted to do something.”

Her brows furrowed. “What money?”

“The uh…money he sent you.” Lucas’s face reddened. “Um, maybe I wasn’t supposed to tell you?”

“Are you talking about the savings bonds?” Audrey’s pulse pounded. His dad had sent her money?

“Yeah, right, that’s right he put that into savings bonds. I forgot about that.”

“Wow. All this time I thought my Aunt Colleen gave me the money. She never said one way or another. She just said the money was meant for something special, so not to waste it.”