Slow Burn - a Novel: The Elite (3 page)

He fired it up and it sounded brand new. “Thanks.” He grinned, in a self-satisfactory way and slid on a pair of aviators. “Got it at an auction. I was there for this sweet little T-5 Trainer, but ended up with this thing instead. Haven’t regretted it, although, it was a pain in the ass to find all the parts. Even with my connections. And, I take a little shit from Gemma about it being an old Army rig. She’s always trying to swipe the keys from me.”

“Gemma’s your girlfriend?”

“Fiancée,” he corrected, matter of factly.

“Congrats.” I nodded and added the tidbit to the mental file I was keeping on Aaron Rosen. He was my boss, and it was going to be imperative to impress him if I wanted to stick around past the project he’d hired me for. Something, I had a feeling, I’d want to do.

“Thanks man. She’s an Army vet. Now she works up at the hospital. ER.”

I let out a low whistle. “Rough job.”

Aaron shrugged, one hand on the wheel as he guided us down the winding road that cut through the hillside, before dropping us into the small town below. “She’s a champ. Doesn’t hurt that her ER is pretty slow most days. You’re new here, but you’ll learn fast, that there’s not a whole helluva lot going on around here.”

I shot him a sidelong glance but didn’t press the issue. Since meeting him, I’d been sitting on some questions relating to the recent media coverage of the museum. It had been about six months, and things had died down, but in my research—before accepting his job offer—I’d done a little digging and had more questions than answers about what had really happened.

Maybe it hadn’t been as big of a deal as the media had made it out to be. Certainly wouldn’t be the first story that got blown out of proportion.

“All I know is that it’s a massive upgrade from Fallon.”

Aaron laughed. “I’ll bet. I was out there for a few weeks back in the day…”

“Not a pretty place.”

“You got that right.”

His laugh petered off into a chuckle as he turned onto the main strip through town. “All right, so here’s what you need to know about Holiday Cove, it’s a small town in every sense of the term. The locals are passionate about keeping it small and while they are very welcoming to tourists—they just don’t want too many of them, which means there isn’t a lot of businesses or anything that would draw in big crowds…well, other than my museum. But they tolerate that because it’s up a little ways and most people just come up here for the day and don’t mess up the town.”

“Gotcha.” I turned my attention out the passenger window as Aaron continued his tour guide spiel. The town had a definite gingerbread-meets- the-beach vibe to it. The houses were mostly bungalow or Craftsman style, with cedar siding, white fences, and postage stamp yards, complete with gnome statues and bunny sculptures with painted on clothing. The businesses were all small, and seemed to be family owned, not part of a chain or franchise: Tom’s Hardware, Jenny’s Salon, Sal’s Butcher Block.

“Where’d you end up finding a place?”

“Up a few blocks from here.” I jerked my chin in the direction of the road unfolded out in front of us. “There’s a little set of three houses. Normally they’re rented out by the week, at a hefty price tag, but I talked the owner into letting me do a three-month rental and she gave me a break on the lease.”

Aaron nodded. “Nice.”

When he’d offered me the job, it was on a trial basis, just long enough to repair an F-4 he’d won at an auction and hadn’t had time to fix up himself. After that, it had been left open ended. Which was fine with me. After spending eight years with the Marines, I was in no hurry to get myself into another long term commitment. Of any kind. Freedom was new and it was sweet. I wouldn’t have traded my years in the service for anything. The skills, life experiences, and friendships were irreplaceable, but I wasn’t in a hurry to give up my newfound anonymity. If the job didn’t work out—or something better came along—I’d be free to make a grab for it.

Aaron pulled up in front of a shop with a small blue sign that read
The Siren
hanging above a doorway that was painted a matching shade of blue. A silver mermaid was stenciled onto the sign, giving it a nautical feel that would have translated even if the shop weren’t steps from the beach. Aaron hopped out and I hustled out to meet him on the sidewalk.

Aaron pointed up at the sign. “Now, this is important. This is Carly’s shop. She’s a fuckin’ genius with all things coffee, food, and especially desserts. Prepare yourself.” He grinned and pulled the door open.

I stepped inside the small shop and did a quick sweep. There was a similar color scheme on the inside. Blue walls, silver accents, and a few more mermaids laying around. The owner obviously had a thing for the mythical sea creatures. My visual tour was cut short, as I brought my eyes back to the central focal point—the dessert case and espresso bar—and found myself staring at a drop dead gorgeous woman with huge blue eyes, long blonde hair with streaks of bright pink, and a silver stud in her nose.

And she was wearing a smile that dripped with flirtation.

Unfortunately…it wasn’t directed at me.

“Hey handsome,” she purred at Aaron, flashing an even wider grin as he stepped up to the counter.

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

What happened to his fiancée? It wasn’t any of my business, but it certainly didn’t seem wise to be carrying on an affair with the coffee shop owner when you lived in such a small town.

“Who’s your friend?” she asked, her eyes giving me a once over.

Aaron laughed and turned towards me. He beckoned me forward, and I realized that I’d stopped in my tracks as soon as I’d seen her, leaving me two steps inside the shop. “This is my new mechanic, Nick Adams. He’s helping me restore that F-4 I got a few months ago. Things have been so fuckin’ crazy since everything went down that I haven’t had a chance to get to it, so I called in for backup. This guy was rottin’ away out in Fallon, so it’s a good deal for the both of us.” Aaron turned back to the woman. “Nick, this is Carly. The magician behind everything you see and smell right now.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Nick.” Carly laughed. “Although, Aaron flatters me…I’m really more of a mastermind.” She winked at Aaron and backed away in the direction of a gleaming espresso machine. She set her hand on the lever and looked back at Aaron. “The usual?”

He nodded and leaned against the counter, propped up on his elbows. “Yeah, then I’m gonna need a shit ton of desserts. Whatever ya got. Staff meeting.”

She nodded and then flicked her eyes to me. “What about you, Nick? Name a drink and I can whip it up, even if it’s not on the menu.”

“Thanks.” Carly turned to work on Aaron’s drink and I noted that she was using a manual machine. Impressive. She was old school. Then my eyes wandered away from the machine and down her full ass. Her curves were hidden under an all-black outfit, ankle length black pants hugged her thighs and hips and the white ties of her apron hung over a curvy ass that was hard to stop watching as she tapped out the beat of the pour on the shot she was pulling.

The menu was hanging above her workstation, a long chalkboard, framed with silver and large enough to hold the three dozen menu items, each one written out in loopy white lettering.

As I was still looking it over, the bell on the door jangled, and the morning breeze filtered into the shop. I turned to glance over my shoulder. A female was walking through the door, half of her face masked by enormous sunglasses. She was dressed in clothes that looked like they probably cost more than most people made in a week, and she had an air of impatience and irritability to her that made me sidestep out of her path without her so much as glancing my way.

“I’m here! Are you happy now?” She yelled out, her gaze seemingly focused on Carly’s turned back.

Carly’s shoulders tensed and when she turned around, her face was in stark contrast to the generous, flirtatious smile she’d been wearing when we’d first arrived. She narrowed her eyes on the girl who’d entered the shop and looked on the verge of snarling as she handed Aaron his coffee. “Aaron, you remember my sister, Alesha. She was here last summer.”

Aaron’s face was a comical mix of confusion and horror as he turned around to meet the eyes of the girl who’d just paused to remove her sunglasses. She glanced at Aaron and her entire expression changed. Her cold stare dropped away and she smiled at him. “Of course he remembers me.”

“Nice to see you, Alesha. I didn’t realize you were coming back this summer,” Aaron said, reaching blindly for his coffee, as if afraid to break her stare.

“Mmhmm.” She cut her glance to Carly and ice frosted over her matching blue eyes. “Carly and Daddy figured it would be best.”

Carly rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “What in God’s name are you wearing? I told you that you’d be working today. I meant here. In the cafe. Not on the Gucci runway.”

Alesha scowled at her sister. “I didn’t pack polyester…or whatever the hell it is you’re wearing.”

“Two words, Leash. Green. Jell-O.”

Alesha threw her hands up in the air. “Fine! I’ll go see what else I have, but don’t get mad if I’m gone for a while!” She turned in a dramatic circle, arms flailing, and I backed up a step to avoid getting caught in her warpath. Her eyes went wide as they landed on me. She clearly hadn’t noticed my presence on the other end of the counter from Aaron and her sister. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Please excuse me…” her voice went from sharp and shrill to sweet as honey.

“No problem,” I replied, waving a hand to indicate that her path was cleared.

She stayed rooted in place, her eyes wide and innocent. As though I hadn’t just witnessed her little tantrum. “I don’t remember you from last summer.”

“I’m new in town. Name’s Nick Adams.”

“Mmmm. Well it’s
very
nice to meet you, Nick. I’m Alesha Roberts.” She extended her hand and I shook it.

Carly cleared her throat and Alesha threw a dirty look over her shoulder, before flashing me another charming smile. “I’ll have to get to know you later. Don’t be a stranger. I’ll be here doing slave labor all summer.”

Before Carly could say anything else, Alesha crossed the few steps to the door, and was gone in a flash.

“What in the hell was that all about?” Aaron asked after a moment of stunned silence where we all three stared at the door.

Carly groaned and dropped her elbows to the counter. She buried her face in her hands. “Apparently I did something very, very bad in a previous life and these ever-so-charming summers with Alesha are my karma retribution.”

Aaron smirked and pat her on the back. “Come on, gorgeous, it’ll be all right. She’s just…” he floundered for the right adjective. He shot a glance at me, looking for help, but I held up my hands. I’d been in Holiday Cove less than a week. I wasn’t about to get in the middle of the drama.

“Seventeen. That’s what she is,” Carly said, her words mumbled against her fists. She looked up and stared over at me. “Sorry, Nick. What a terrible first impression…I promise you my shop is normally a quiet little oasis of calm.”

I laughed and held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I have a younger brother who thinks he’s hot shit too. I get it.”

“Thanks. I certainly wouldn’t want her to keep you from coming back again…”

Aaron’s lips quirked into an odd smile, but he stifled whatever he was thinking, and took a long sip from the paper cup in his hand.

Minutes later, we were headed back out to Aaron’s Jeep with two boxes of pastries in a paper bag for the staff meeting. Carly had whipped up a hazelnut latte for me and then boxed the desserts without another word about her sister and when we’d left, she was just as bright and cheery as when we’d first entered the shop. Aaron got everything packed into the back of the Jeep, behind his seat, and then hopped in with a big grin on his face.

“What’s so funny?” I asked him, my eyebrow raised as I buckled in.

“I think Carly likes you.”

I didn’t respond, but my eyes wandered back to the window of the shop, thinking about those big blue eyes and those heart-stopping curves under her apron.

The move to Holiday Cove was getting better by the second.

Carly

“Well,
that
was embarrassing!” Alesha pouted, storming back into the coffee shop, nearly an hour after her little tirade-slash-fashion show.

I smiled sweetly at the customer in front of me. “Here you go, Ms. Keen, two brown sugar scones, two blueberry muffins, and two apple tarts.”

“Thank you, Carly.” Ms. Keen, an elderly woman who ran an afternoon book club with her friends always came in on Wednesday’s for the snacks. Sometimes, when the weather was nasty, they’d hold their meeting inside the shop instead of on Ms. Keen’s patio. Her condo was too small to accommodate the group. “See you next week, dear.”

I waved to her as she turned to go, and only once the little bell tied to the door handle jangled her exit, did I shift my eyes to Alesha. “New rule. You do not get to come in here and bellow like a freakin heifer at me,” I hissed, keeping my tone sharp and pointed, but soft enough to stay out of ear shot of the handful of guests that were seated inside, drinking coffees, reading the newspaper, or working on their laptops. “This is my coffee shop, my place of business, and it’s not going to be disturbed by you making these dramatic entrances every day. You’re lucky Aaron and his friend were the only ones in here this morning. If we’d been in the middle of the morning rush and you’d done something like that, you’d be on a plane to Grandma’s house right now.”

Alesha rolled her eyes. “I haven’t even been here two full days and you’re already going to ship me off? You’re just like Dad.”

“What the hell do you mean by that?” The spark of sadness in her eyes as she cast her glance down at her open toed—and still totally inappropriate for work—shoes, caught me off guard.

She flicked her blue eyes back up to mine and shrugged. “He barely even said goodbye to me when he dropped me off at the airport. Him and Kelli were arguing about something that morning and both of them were doing their frosty, silent hate thing. He didn’t even get out to help me with my bags…or give me a hug goodbye.”