Heart storms, p.9
Heart Storms, page 9
Chapter 12
Jade was busier than she’d ever been at any job, but she loved the inn and working with Rick. Her only disappointment was he still made no move to go beyond friendship. A regular conversation between them, two to three times a week, went like this: “Rick, it’s been a long, exhausting day. How about we get a drink somewhere away from work?” Or she’d asked him to go to dinner or a movie, or walk the beach but his responses were always the same:
“Nice idea, but I still have work to get through.” Or, “Another time. I’m so tired I’m going home to sleep.” Or, “Where do you get your energy? Man, I’m beat. It’s home to bed for me, only after I finish this last job.”
Even though Rick consistently turned her down with different excuses, his eyes and mannerisms always spoke the opposite. His face lit up with a big smile when he saw her and hugged her. She’d see longing in his eyes, as if he wanted nothing more than to be with her. Just as quickly, he’d cut his feelings off and turn her down, as if suddenly remembering he was broken and unable to move forward in life.
***
Come mid-August, everyone had been working six to seven days a week, and they all needed a break. Gabe had evenings off after the cocktail hour, but Jade and Rick worked late into the night if they chose. She tried not to, but Rick usually did. Eventually, he hired a part-time manager to work nights and weekends to give them a break. Jade welcomed the respite and hoped they’d finally get social time together. But even after the manager had been trained and worked on his own, Rick kept up his grueling schedule.
Jade understood Rick stayed preoccupied with work so he didn’t have to deal with his issues, dodging his emotions, running from her, from life. She didn’t like it, but all she could do was ride those waves and hope come Fall and off-season, they might have a normal routine. She prayed he’d relax enough to want to spend quality time with her and take the next step. But with no action forthcoming, Jade spent her free time alone at her cottage, recharging with making a good meal, a little wine, chatting with Amy or Maggie, and enjoying the beach and her home.
Most nights, Gabe was alone during his time off. Sometimes after his shift ended and the patio emptied of guests, he’d have a beer by himself, sometimes chat with Roy, the bartender. Usually after a busy week, he’d let off a little steam and have some fun, physical female fun. He figured Jade was most likely home alone, too, but she was off-limits for that kind of fun for two reasons—their budding friendship, and her interest in Rick.
With no guys to hang out with who weren’t coworkers, Gabe drove down to Myrtle Beach or further south to have a good time without running into someone he knew. In San Antonio, he’d been used to lots of nightlife where he would drink, dance, flirt and sometimes pick up women. He always advised them he wasn’t relationship material. If the woman had a problem with it, he’d say adiós. He found no lack of women who wanted what he did with no strings attached, especially those on vacation just wanting some fun for a night. He always treated them with respect and to drinks, dinner, dancing, or whatever they felt like doing in these beach tourist towns and cities with so much to do. He also always gave them his ‘unavailable’ speech, and never took a phone number for a follow-up date.
Jade noticed Gabe took off a lot after his shift on Fridays. A few times she called him, and he wouldn’t be home even on Saturday or Sunday mornings, and his cell went to voicemail. But he always showed up for work on time and never hung over or tired, so she didn’t confront him. She assumed he was out on the town. The picture of him going out with or doing more than dating women bothered her only a little. She was too busy to examine why it bothered her. Until one night during the second week of August, exhausted from overwork, she saw Gabe in the bar sitting alone having a beer after the guests had left.
When Jade walked by him, she looked longingly at his drink. “Oh, your beer looks so good. What I wouldn’t give to have an ice-cold one and unwind for a while, but I can’t. I still have work to finish.”
Gabe perked up and pulled out the chair next to him. “Well, get over here and sit down.” He motioned to Roy. “Can we have another beer here?”
“I can’t. I have to get over to the store and wrap things up for the night.”
He stood to meet her eyes and his tone turned serious. “You need a break, or you’ll break. It won’t hurt to sit for ten minutes and relax. Besides, I need company.”
“Well, we can’t have Mr. Montoro sitting here alone and bored, can we?”
He grinned from ear-to-ear, took her hand and pulled her to sit with him. “No, we can’t.”
Roy placed the beer in front of her—it was a large frosted mug with amber liquid and a frothy top, begging to be sipped. “This’ll cure what ails you,” he said. Jade admired the mug, but made no move to drink, still clutching her files and laptop to her chest.
Gabe watched her stare at the beer as if there was nothing else in the room and blurted out, “Are you going to drink it or make love to it?”
“What?” She looked at him as if in a trance. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. Which is it going to be?”
The spell she’d been under broke. She put her things on the table and grinned. “Am I so overworked I looked at a beer like that? How pathetic.”
“It is, and proves you’re working way too hard. C’mon, come make love to this beer.”
She laughed, grabbed the mug and shook her head. “I don’t believe the way your mind works.”
“Always of love,” he said with a huge, loving grin.
With a couple swallows, the icy cold bubbles soothed her parched throat and she filled with delight. “I have to agree,” she said holding up the mug, “this is another kind of love.”
“I wouldn’t go so far.” Gabe laughed back. “But you do have a look of desire in your eyes.”
“Trust me, it’s the effects of the beer and nothing to do with being in love.”
“Good.” A smug look filled his face, like a father happy to hear his pre-teen daughter say she wouldn’t kiss a boy.
“You think it’s good I’m not in love with someone? How mean.”
He put his hands up. “I only meant I was glad to hear it because if you were in love, it would probably be with the wrong person.”
Jade put the mug down hard. “You can’t be serious. Who do you think you are saying such a thing?”
Gabe finished the last of his beer. “I’m a guy who knows a lot about love and hate, and who’s a great observer of human interaction, especially male and female.”
She shot him a look of disgust, her eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed. “Okay, Dr. Montoro. Obviously, you know who the wrong person is for me to love.” Jade guessed Gabe was implying Rick. “C’mon, spit it out. Don’t keep me in suspense.”
“You know who I mean.”
She tapped her fingers on the table. “Who you think is the wrong person might be who I think is the right person.”
“But you’re wrong, he’s not for you.”
Jade leaned over close to him and practically hissed. “Exactly who are you referring to?”
“Boss-man. I’ve been watching you two all summer dance around each other. I can see he appreciates and adores you, but he never does much about it. You’re the boss’s girl, and you love it. But you don’t love him.”
She took a long swig of beer and stared sideways at Gabe. “You’re wrong—I am falling for him, probably already love him.” She looked off into the distance. “But I won’t lie about him not pursuing me because you’ll figure it out anyway. There’s something wrong there.” Jade took another drink. “How do you know these things?”
“Magic.”
With the beer going to her head, she chuckled. “Whaat?” thinking she misheard him. But seeing his smirk, she realized she hadn’t and wanted to smack him. “Seriously, magic? That’s the best you’ve got?”
Gabe shrugged. “What can I say? I see magic. I know it; I feel it. It’s all around us here.”
“You’re crazy, dude, and making up stories to take advantage of a tipsy, tired lady.”
“I might be a little crazy, but no, I’d never make up stories and I’m not kidding. Did you ever ask boss-man why he named the inn ‘Spirit in the Wind?’”
Jade leaned back, relaxing, and cocked her head. “No, I haven’t. But I have wondered. It’s a pretty new-age name and not really his style.”
“I know why, without even asking him.”
“This I have to hear.” She mimicked his smug expression. “Now you’re psychic, too?”
Gabe’s joking demeanor turned dead-serious. “I sense things, and I trust what I sense. It’s never let me down before.”
“You’re acting too weird right now. You sound like my free-spirit mother with all her ‘sixth sense’ things—spirits and psychics and mediums, oh my.”
“Your mother sounds pretty cool, not weird, and like her, I’m not weird either.”
“So what do you sense about the name of the inn?”
Gabe leaned forward on his elbows closer to her and lowered his voice. “I know nothing of Rick’s past or how he got this place, or of his personal life. Nothing. Never talked to the man about anything but business. But I sensed when I first walked into this place, and to this day, there is literally a spirit around.” He whispered, “I think he might’ve had someone close to him die, someone he loved who worked here.”
“Rick is the last person who would think a spirit was haunting the inn.”
“True, but it might be unconscious on his part. Don’t you feel the sadness in the air? Sometimes I get a chill in the kitchen as if someone’s watching over my shoulder. I shiver when I almost see it when I see you and Rick together, being affectionate, him hugging your shoulder, holding himself back.”
Jade pushed her beer to the side. “I think I’m done and too tipsy because you’re scaring me. This is too wacky.”
“It’s nothing to be afraid of. A spirit is hanging around, comfortable here, and most likely it’ll move on when it’s done. Don’t you ever feel sorrow moving through the place?”
Jade glanced up, anguish in her eyes.
Gabe put a comforting hand over hers. “You know what it is, don’t you?”
She cleared her throat and looked down, nervous. “Not specifics. But I do know Rick lost a partner. He didn’t say who or how or why. But it was mid-season of his opening year and it devastated him. I never asked him any more than he wanted to share because we promised to keep our secrets to ourselves. He never asked me about my past, either. It’s been easier that way.” She looked back at Gabe, her eyes big as saucers. “Oh, God, I just told his secret he asked me to keep—about losing his partner!” Jade grabbed her head in her hands. “What a crappy secret-keeper, a horrible friend I am. Please never tell him I told you. Please!” Tears welled.
Gabe took both her hands in his. “Jade look at me. I promise you I will never say a word to him, okay?”
His warm hands, the look in his eyes and his attitude were of honesty, of being genuine. She also saw he cared for her, but in her hazy, woozy state she saw it as a friend and nothing more. “Okay. Thank you, Gabe.”
“You’re always welcome. I’d never take advantage of you in any way. But getting back to what we were talking about, even without knowing Rick’s ‘secret’, do you pick up on the sadness I’m talking about?”
Jade picked up her beer again and finished it. “Yes, I do sense grief washing over this place sometimes. I felt it the first time I was here interviewing. I assumed it was Rick’s emotions bleeding out.”
Gabe motioned to Roy for two more beers. “It is him, for sure, but from what you told me, we’re probably sensing his partner, too. Do you think he lost more than a business partner? Maybe he was married, she cheated and left him, or she died.”
Jade’s body shivered. “What a horrible, tragic thought, but it sure would explain a lot. I guess when I first met him, I was hurting so much I didn’t want to take on his grief, too. And vice versa.”
“It doesn’t make a great foundation for a relationship, does it? Affection, love, and attraction are one thing, but you both have secrets and there is so much you don’t know and understand about each other’s pasts. He doesn’t seem to want to share his past or ask about yours.” Gabe pointed out the windows toward the beach. “It’s like trying to build a solid relationship on those rolling waves out there, or on sand collapsing under the weight.”
“You’re right. I guess I didn’t want to face it.”
With fresh mugs in front them, she picked hers up and took a long drink. “But who knows? It can still work out. People change.”
Gabe tipped his mug up to clink against hers. “Here’s to people changing.” But his face turned solemn, because he knew it would never happen.
Another couple of swallows had Jade feeling much better. “Enough psychoanalyzing me and Rick. What’s going on with you? No woman or girlfriend on the horizon?”
“A few women here and there, nothing serious; just fun; good, safe, fun. But it’s my business, like we agreed, remember?”
“Then you don’t get to talk to me about Rick, either.”
“It’s different—you and Rick are obvious about your affection. Everybody sees it.”
Jade’s mouth dropped open. “No way! You’re exaggerating.”
“I’m not. Why do think I drive far away from here to have my fun? You’re having yours right here in front of the staff and guests. You better be careful.”
“Careful! That word again. You and Rick both telling me to ‘Be careful’ of the other. I’ve about had it.”
Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “He told you to be careful of me?”
Jade watched her mug as she spun it around. “Oops. I didn’t mean to tell you; it slipped out. Sorry.”
Gabe put his hand on her mug to stop it spinning. “Yes, you did. Now you have to tell me why he told you to be careful of me.”
She threw her head back in exasperation. “Aagh. Men.” She glared at him. “He saw you checking me out a couple times. And I told him I checked you out, too. No big deal. Everybody does it. He didn’t like how we looked at each other across the table at our first meeting the night we discussed menus. I think his imagination got the better of him.”
Jade expected Gabe to be upset or angry. Instead, he laughed and said, “How ironic—he’s the one you want—he probably is in love with you but won’t do anything about it; yet he warns you about me.”
“You got it. Ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not. I’m flattered. What do you say we give him something to worry about?”
Jade backed her chair out from the table and stood, having listened to enough nonsense for one night. “You’re nuts. I gotta finish up at the store and go home to bed.”
The devilish voice on Gabe’s bad shoulder teased her. “Want help? Getting into bed, I mean.”
Jade picked up her laptop and files, looking at him with daggers in her eyes. “I know exactly what you mean. And no. I do not want help.”
Gabe stood close to her. “Hey, Jade, I’m sorry. I was teasing.”
Her tone of voice turned so cold it could freeze water. “If you’re only teasing, why are you standing so close to me?”
Gabe backed off and rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. You seem so vulnerable and I slipped back into my old habits. To make up for it, I’ll buy you another beer and even answer your questions, which I don’t do for anyone. You asked what was going on with me, remember? Except we got right back on the subject of you.”
“Oh, yeah.” His unusual offer to open himself up to her assuaged her anger and raised her curiosity. She sat back down. “Just a minute.” She grabbed her phone and texted the store manager to see if she’d wrap up by herself. “Okay, I’m now free for the night and I need a fresh beer and a good story about somebody else’s crappy life besides my own. I’m all ears.”
Gabe took their empty glasses to the bar, and brought back two fresh, cold bottles. “You want to take these with us for a walk on the beach? Get out of this inn?”
Looking out over the lawns, further to the dunes and ocean, the sun was almost fully set below the horizon, casting gold into the dimming sky, and lured her out. “Sure, what a good idea. I don’t get much beach time these days.”
The evening air was warm and moist, and the moon began its rise in the east. As they walked through the lawns onto the decking over the dunes, Jade took in the wide swath of sand, seagrass, and ocean. The sky was halfway to the deep blue of night. From east to west, pink and orange clouds were strewn everywhere, and the almost-full moon presided over all of it—brilliant white as if lit from within. Jade felt as if walking through another world, a peaceful one far removed from the constant bustling of the inn. The quiet out there at the end of the land was restorative. The fresh ocean air and the sound of the waves were healing. The sand warmed her feet and the salt air went to her head. “We said someday we’d talk about your witch and my devil. You must have had an awful breakup with her.”
The sights, sounds and scents of the beach and the night got to Gabe, too. In a rare calm, content state of mind, he felt free to talk about things he’d never shared with anyone. Because Jade had treated him with respect, he trusted her in this moment in time. Maybe not tomorrow or next week or in the future, because he didn’t believe in the concept of trust long-term. People did what they did and if you trusted them, you got hurt and disappointed. But on that night with Jade, he trusted her not to hurt or betray him.
“The witch and I didn’t have a typical break up. We’d only been together a year and a half when she cheated. I found them in bed together. My bed in my house. I wanted to kill the guy, but I wasn’t about to go to jail for the likes of them. I kicked her out for good. I miss my daughter like crazy, though. She’s almost four, but I keep in touch with her regularly, phone, write, and send money every month so she has a good life. But I hate Consuela for what she did.”
