Cape Cod Kisses (6 page)

“Are you Annabelle?”

“Yes. I opened the store two years ago, after finishing college.” Annabelle glanced around the store with pride in her eyes before straightening a display of scarves on the table in front of them. “I couldn’t wait to come back to the island. What about you? Do you live here, or are you just visiting?”

“I’m only here for the week, but I’m already in love with the island,” Shelley said. “And I think I’m in love with your scarves, too. They’re absolutely gorgeous.”

“This one would look fantastic on you,” Annabelle said as she handed Shelley a forest-green scarf with light green threading. “They’re my sister’s designs.”

“She’s very talented.” Shelley wound the colorful scarf around her neck and gave a sigh of delight at how wonderfully soft it was.

“That is definitely your color. It really brings out your eyes. And I have an emerald-green sundress that will go perfectly with that scarf. If you’d like to follow me, I’ll show it to you.”

As Shelley followed her to the back of the store, Annabelle said, “Since you’re here for a week, be sure to go to the fireworks display the day after tomorrow. The resort puts on a huge display three times a year. You can see it from almost anywhere on the island.”

Shelley took the green dress Annabelle handed her into the fitting room and was pleased to find that the halter top and midthigh length flattered her figure, with the scarf as the perfect accessory for the cool New England evenings.

Shelley felt so beautiful in the dress that she hated to take it off and reluctantly changed back into her shorts. “This dress is incredible. I’d like to buy the scarf, too. In fact, I think I’m going to wear these when I watch the fireworks.”

She had just walked out of the dressing room when a very attractive middle-aged blond woman came into the store. Annabelle waved to the woman as she began to ring up Shelley’s purchases. “Hi, Aunt Abby. Your new pants look great on you.”

“Griff said the same thing,” the woman said with a pretty little flush on her cheeks as she looked down at her black linen pants, which complemented her simple white scoop-neck T-shirt and ballet flats. “Thank you for suggesting them. I thought I’d come down and see if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow with me and Sierra?” After Annabelle said she’d love to, the woman pushed her side-swept bangs out of her eyes and smiled at Shelley. “That dress and scarf are just lovely.”

“Annabelle has a great eye,” Shelley agreed.

“I’m happy to take the compliment,” Annabelle said, “but you could wear tatters and you’d be gorgeous.”

“I agree,” Abby said, “especially with such great hair. My children have thick hair, thanks to my husband, but I wasn’t so lucky.”

Shelley had a love-hate relationship with her thick mass of dark hair. More love than hate since her teenage years, thankfully, but there was definitely a lot of frustration leading up to that point. She’d spent her youth trying to tame it, to make it straight and shiny, even going so far as to iron it to fit in with the other girls in her parents’ social circles. But when she was a teenager she’d given up and decided she was going to own her differences. At first it had been a way to rebel against her supremely prim parents, but it had quickly turned into something more. Shelley had come to appreciate all the ways she was different, from her taste in clothing to her spunky personality and inability to sit quietly and not give her opinion about things she didn’t agree with. By the time she was eighteen, she’d given up completely on the impossible task of pleasing her parents and had never looked back.

“I’m Abby Rockwell, by the way.”

Shelley smiled and held out her hand. “Shelley Walters.”

Abby studied her more closely. “You know what—the more we talk, the more I feel like I’ve met you before.”

Shelley would have remembered this vibrant woman if they’d ever met. “This is my first time to Rockwell Island.”

“Welcome to the island.”

“Thank you. I love it here already. Although if you happen to know where I can find a coffee shop, I’ll be in absolute heaven. I’m dying for a toffee latte.”

“We have a diner on the corner of West and Wells. Just down the street to the right one block, then two blocks to the left and you’ll find it. They won’t have specialty coffees, although they do offer flavored creamers.” Abby sighed. “I love living in a small town, but the truth is we could really use a nice specialty coffee shop.”

“With homemade pastries and cookies, too,” Annabelle added.

Abby nodded. “I know the island book clubbers would love to have another place to meet, and the Tuesday-morning ladies’ group could meet there, too. Heck, we’re all so desperate for a great café that I’m sure it would be mobbed from the moment it opened its doors.”

“Actually,” Shelley said with a smile, “I own a coffee shop in Maryland, where we offer more than twenty different types of specialty organic coffees, and baked goods, too.” Maybe it was the fact that she was having one of the best mornings
ever,
but she suddenly found herself saying, “I hadn’t really given much thought to expanding before, but do you really think a café would do that well here?”

“Absolutely!” Abby said, while Annabelle nodded as well. “In fact, if that’s really something you would consider, you should meet my daughter, Sierra. She owns the Hideaway over on Main. She’s a chef, and she’s always talking about expanding the offerings on the island.
And
she’s a coffeeaholic. I bet you two would really hit it off.”

“Watch out, though,” Annabelle said. “Sierra’s a total island girl. She’ll convince you to pick up and move here in about seven seconds.”

“I’m going over there in about an hour,” Abby told Shelley. “Why don’t you stop by if you have time and I’ll introduce you?”

“I’d love that. Thank you.” Shelley could hardly believe how friendly the people here were and how vested they were in the island.

Between the idea of a sexy fling on a romantic island with the hottest guy she'd ever met—why not think positive?—
and
the new out-of-the-blue, but very exciting, possibility of bringing her coffee shop to the island, she was smiling like a fool as she headed out the door to see what else this magical island had in store for her.

QUINN SAT AT a table in the Hideaway with the rest of his family, discussing their grandfather’s latest mandate. They’d been at it for an hour already, and between the work he had to prepare for the RBE merger and this nightmare with the resort, his frustration was mounting by the second.

“Trent, honey, stop watching the door. Reese isn’t back on the island yet.” Their mother, Abigail Rockwell, smiled gently at her eldest son. “She’s still out in Oregon, helping her sister with her new baby.”

Trent and Theresa Nicholson, whom everyone called Reese, had married a little more than ten years ago, after a whirlwind romance the summer after Trent graduated from law school. They’d moved to New York City, and for reasons that none of the rest of them completely knew or understood, Trent and Reese’s marriage had ended before the following summer. Reese had moved back to the island, while Trent had stayed in the city. While it was impossible for them to completely avoid each other when he did come back for short visits to the island, both of them clearly did their best to stay out of each other’s way. For the most part, the Rockwells avoided talking about Reese around Trent, but Abby was obviously trying to put him at ease during his time on the island so that he wouldn’t be stressed about running into her.

Trent shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I’m not worried about running into Reese.”

Sierra touched Trent’s shoulder, her expression empathetic as she said, “First loves are hard to forget.”

“Right,” Quinn said under his breath. A little brotherly teasing was too tempting to resist. Especially when as far as he could remember, Trent and Reese had never been able to keep their hands off each other. The quickie wedding hadn't surprised any of them. Only the almost-as-quick divorce had.

“Can we get back to the matter at hand, please?” Trent cleared his throat. “We all have businesses to get back to, and the longer we put off our decision, the more power Chandler thinks he has.”

“Besides the fact that he can’t demand that the three of us give up our lives and move back to the island,” Derek said, “there’s no way I’m going to take part in anything that demeans Dad by completely cutting him out of the resort he’s given his entire career to. And the fact that he totally left Sierra out of the negotiations also rubs me the wrong way.”

“I appreciate where you’re coming from, Derek,” Griffin said as he met Derek’s angry gaze and also put a hand over Sierra’s and gave it a comforting squeeze. “But the responsibility for the resort, and the island, doesn’t have to fall on your shoulders.”

“Your father had an idea of what your grandfather was up to,” their mother told them. “He wasn’t blindsided by this.”

“Even so, it’s not right.” Derek turned his attention to Trent. “Did you read the edict?”

Trent reached into his briefcase and pulled out the document. “Every word, several times over. Look, I know we’re all angry and frustrated, but I think we need to focus on the things that matter most. We can’t let him sell the property to a conglomerate. Not when so many island residents rely on the resort to earn a living.”

“Listen,” Griffin said, “you kids don’t need to do this. I’ll figure out a way to get past his crazy plan so the island and the residents aren’t in jeopardy. I’d never let the people here down. The last thing I want is to see the island where we all grew up turn into a haven for big business.”

As Chandler’s only son, Griffin had always been expected to follow in his father’s footsteps and run the resort. Only there was no stepping into Chandler’s shoes. Not when he kept his fingers in every nook and cranny of the business, often upsetting negotiations and disgruntling employees and distributors. Everyone, except maybe Chandler, knew that Griffin worked behind the scenes like an undercover superhero smoothing over relationships and keeping the employees happy. If it weren’t for Griff, the resort would have lost its loyal staff long ago.

But Griffin Rockwell had never sugarcoated his father’s harsh antics where his children were concerned. Not when they’d see right through any veil of protection he tried to extend. Quinn and his siblings knew that their father had lived a life he’d never wish on them. That was why he and their mother had supported—and encouraged—each of their children to move away from the island, and more important, to create their own successful paths. Sierra and Ethan, however, had always felt such a strong kinship to the island that they had returned right after college.

Quinn knew his father meant everything he said. He’d take one for the family, as he’d been doing for years. But Quinn didn’t like the idea of it. Not one bit.

“Dad, we aren’t going to leave you in a lurch. Hell, I still can’t understand how you’ve put up with Chandler for so long.”

“And I can’t believe he’s doing this,” Sierra said, her jaw clenched so tight that Quinn thought she might crack her teeth. “Not just to you guys, but to me and Dad, too. I’m the only one who goes out of my way to be nice to him, and he completely cuts me out of everything? Especially after having the gall to tell me that my restaurant is a
cute hobby
? As if it’s just a holdover until I get married, or like it would be more meaningful if I were a man.”

Trent draped an arm over Sierra’s shoulder. “One thing is for sure—if we even entertain this situation, we’re not doing it unless all five of us are part of it.”

“Agreed,” Quinn said as his other brothers nodded, as well. “Dad, we’re not going to let you take the heat alone anymore. You’ve held down the fort and sheltered us from his wrath long enough. You and Mom are the reasons each of us got out from under his thumb in the first place. As much as I don’t like being forced into anything, it’s our turn to shoulder the burden of Grandfather
and
the resort. We’ll figure out a way to manage our businesses while working here.”

“All or nothing, though,” Trent said. “Five of us or none of us.”

Ethan nodded. “I’m in.”

Sierra sat up a little taller. “I’m all in, too, but I’m not giving up my restaurant.”

“Don’t worry, sis. We’re not going to give up any of our businesses,” Quinn assured her. “We’re five savvy businesspeople. We can do this, and I’m sure all of us don’t have to live here to make it happen. He’s going to have to forget the part about living on the island ninety-five percent of the time. At least for me.”

“All or nothing,” Derek finally relented. “But it’s for Dad and the residents, not for Grandfather.” Their father held his hand up, silencing them all. Their mother placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Griff?”

Their father had such a friendly face that even when under duress he possessed underlying warmth. The warmth showed now in his dark eyes as they traveled slowly over each of his children’s faces, his love for each of them as clear as could be. Setting a softer gaze on their mother, he took her hand. Silent, effortless communication passed between them, speaking volumes of the strong relationship Quinn had always admired.

“What you are all trying to do is admirable,” their father finally said, “but I won’t let you take the brunt of my father’s overbearing plan.”

But Quinn had watched his father take enough heat from Chandler. More than enough. So even though he wasn’t keen on any part of their grandfather’s plan, he wasn’t about to let his father continue handling this alone. At the same time, he also knew that demanding wouldn’t get them very far. That was Chandler’s way, not his father’s.

“Dad,” Quinn said, “let us do this for you.”

“There comes a time for power in numbers,” Trent agreed. “It’s time to finally take Grandfather’s power away and lay down some ground rules. It’s only a year. We can figure this out.”

“Trent, Quinn, Derek, Ethan, Sierra,” their father said, “you know how much I respect all of you. The choices you’ve made, the way you live your lives, the incredible men and woman you are. But Chandler is
my
father. He’s
not
your responsibility, and I’m not going to give him the power over each of your lives. If we allow this, he’ll treat you like his puppets forever. I’ll handle it.”