Sea Glass Cottage (4 page)

“Don’t be absurd. I fell off my bike,” Isabella stated again. “I was daydreaming just as you said earlier and not paying one bit of attention to where I was going. I didn’t even realize I was pedaling down the middle of the street until you pointed it out.”

While Doc and Belle took note of the couple’s squabbling, it was Belle who reminded them both, “This is exactly what Isabella does
not
need right now. She needs quiet for the next several days without stressing out or arguing.”

“See, we should avoid discussing the entire incident while I drive you home,” Thane pointed out.

“Just call Logan or Kinsey. They’ll pick me up.”

“I did. They’ll be over later to check on you
after
I get you home. But right this minute Logan is dealing with an issue with his agent and Kinsey—”

“Has the babies,” Isabella finished through gritted teeth. “I get it. Fine. But I have to settle my account first and go back to Murphy’s to get my bike.” She reached in her jeans pocket for her debit card which she’d planned to use at the market.

But Belle waved her off and pointed to Thane. “He’s already taken care of your copay.”

“And I threw your bike in the back of my Rover.”

Isabella’s head began to throb again. She stared at the ex-football jock. “I’ll write you a check as soon as I get home. I’m no one’s charity case.”

“Who said you were? I just thought you might not feel like dealing with the bill once you were ready to leave.”

That had her feeling like an ill-tempered shrew. “Just tell me how much it is and—”

“You’ll write me a check as soon as you get home,” Thane mimicked her voice. “Yeah, I may have hit my head a time or two in football, but I get it.”

As the two headed out the door to the car still engaged in verbal battle, Doc shook his head. “Do they even realize they’re attracted to each other?”

“It’s probably too soon. What’s it been? A couple of hours yet since he almost hit her with the car. You have to admit it’s a distinctive way to start out but it’s not unheard of.”

“I suppose so. From what I’ve seen of Thane Delacourt, would you consider him to be a decent sort of guy?”

“Sure, I guess. I read he did have some issues in the NFL, dating a different woman every month and all that. Playboy bunnies one week, actresses and models the next. All the stories made me wonder why he came back here to settle down, here of all places when he could live anywhere in the world. Why do you ask such a question?”

Doc shook his head. “But no domestic violence issues during all that hype, right? I mean Thane was a helluva competitor on the field, but all those stories about him dating women had nothing to do with domestic violence issues, correct?”

Belle shook her head. “No, not one. They were geared more about the hunky bachelor who refused to settle on one woman. It was only when that model, Alyson Benning, I think it was, got pregnant with his child that he seemed to change his attitude.”

“Having a child gets your attention.”

“But even then there was no scandal about violence, just a few stories about his off-the-field antics. Want me to look it up on the Internet?”

Doc nodded. “Okay, that’s a start. As I recall he never failed a drug test either.” He looked around the empty waiting room, a rarity on a Friday afternoon. “It seems like we both have a chance to do a little research.”

“Is that code for fishing or maybe a quickie in the empty exam room if we lock the doors?”

Doc grinned. “I always did like the way you think. But no, this time, I really am turning on my computer to see what I can find out about him. You do the same and we’ll compare notes.” 

Inside Thane’s Range
Rover, there was a round of awkward silence until he finally wanted to know, “Mind if I ask why you don’t drive a car?”

“Who says I don’t drive? I drive.”

“But you don’t
own
a vehicle? That’s the buzz.”

“Maybe I have a Benz stored away somewhere gathering dust.”

He wasn’t quite used to her sense of humor yet. But he was getting there. “Right. It’s probably sitting at the same place mine is.”

Glancing around the interior of the older model Rover, she lifted a shoulder. “I’d ask you about your choice of vehicles but I figure that’s your business.”

“I prefer old cars.” He tapped the dash with a loving hand. “My dad bought this Rover used from a guy over in Santa Cruz in 1994. I remember making the drive over there with him to pick it up. We had to tow it because it didn’t even run. But together we fixed it up and look at it now.”

“So this has sentimental value? I get that. I don’t own a car because I haven’t gotten around to buying one yet. Look around you. It’s a small town. Getting from point A to B is fairly quick and simple.”

“Unless you’re riding down the middle of the road...”

“And encounter a crazy person. Don’t start with me again.”

“When you get ready to buy one, I know a guy who’ll give you a great deal.”

“Really? Sure.” She changed the subject back to him. “So you grew up here? In Pelican Pointe?”

Thane bobbed his head in answer. “Lived over on Landings Bay in the house I now share with Jonah. Graduated San Sebastian High School—where I hope to send him one day. When my mom died last year, I inherited the house. She’d been battling breast cancer for almost three years. Her death happened just about the same time in the off-season I found out that the narrowing in my vertebrae was a career ender. One more hit and I could suffer paralysis.”

He shook his head. “With a kid, it just wasn’t worth the risks. What with my mom’s death and that cheery news, both pretty much coincided with the need to get my son away from the spotlight. So I packed up everything and came back here.”

“And just like that decided to open up a pizza place? Do you know anything about making pizza, the good kind, not that cardboard crap?”

“I wouldn’t put my name out there to serve cardboard crap.”

“Do you even cook?”

“Are you kidding? With a kid, believe me I fix my fair share of meals. Just because I own a pizza parlor though doesn’t mean I’ll be the one making the crust. I’ll hire people to do that.”

“Have you already filled that position?”

He turned his eyes from the road long enough to look at her. “You want to make pizza? For the asshole neighbor who almost ran you down? That’s a one-eighty from this morning.”

“We both know it was a close call for both of us. Besides, I could use a job and something to do with my time.”

“I thought you worked for Logan and Kinsey as their nanny.”

She filled the car with a loud sigh. “I’m not officially the nanny. People spot you pushing a stroller a couple of times along the sidewalk and automatically figure you’re the nanny. Hasn’t anyone noticed Kinsey works out of her house every day?” She waited a beat. “I guess not. I go over there to help her out with the kids, give her a break from diaper duty and feeding. Anyway, sometimes I watch the twins to give her and Logan a chance to have a little alone time. Having two babies is a handful. That’s all there is to it. You didn’t answer my question.”

“About the job? I have the position filled. A friend I know from New York wants to make a new start somewhere else. He was here in August to check the place out. He’ll be back in a couple weeks to set things up.”

“So he knows how to make pizza?”

“Fischer Robbins knows how to make just about anything from pan-seared Ahi to a perfect grilled steak. He worked as the sous chef at the bar I used to hang out at, makes the best New York pizza you’ll ever put in your mouth. That’s how I got the idea.”

“I still can’t get over it. Thane Delacourt moves here and opens a pizza parlor. That’s a mighty big drop in limelight. Although I suppose people will probably come from miles around just to get a chance to eat at your place and get an autograph. The legend of Thane Delacourt will always be a force around these parts.”

He grinned. “Every town needs a good legend, don’t you think? What’s your story?”

She stiffened. “I don’t have one.”

“Sure you do. Everyone has a story. You just don’t want to share it with me while mine, mine’s an open book for anyone who goes online to judge or enjoy as they see fit.”

“I wouldn’t like that at all.”

“Not many do.”

“When did you lose your father?”

“A couple months after Jonah was born. By that time my dad had discovered he had pancreatic cancer at a routine doctor’s visit. He died within the year.”

“So your mother took over caring for your son before she died?”

He nodded. “That is, until she got too sick to do it. She and my dad were living with me in New York during the season. That way when I would go out of town on road games, my parents could watch Jonah, get to spend some time with their grandson. I’m glad they got that time with him even if Jonah doesn’t remember my dad. There are pictures though so I’ll be able to tell him about the grandfather he never knew. Now, Jonah has no living grandparents. But he does remember my mom reading to him and playing certain board games with him, which is good.”

“I’m so sorry. It sounds like you’ve had several rough years back to back. I know what that’s like. I lost my dad three years ago.”

“I’m sorry. What about your mother?”

“She died in a car accident when I was in my teens. You never quite get over the traumatic loss of your parents.”

He pursed his mouth. “Very true. But you don’t know the half of it. If losing them wasn’t bad enough, I had to come to the realization that my string of less-than-stellar life choices had to come to an end. During the time I played football I wasn’t exactly known for my restraint. I did a lot of stupid things with a lot of stupid people. I’m willing to admit I made some bad decisions, bad choices. Alyson was one of those. Of course, if I hadn’t met her, I wouldn’t have Jonah. So, in a way my, recklessness had an upside. When I found out about Jonah, that’s when I straightened my life out. Once he entered the picture I knew I had to become both mommy and daddy.”

“You know, you can’t say something that profound and not get the ultimate question. Where is Jonah’s mother?”

Thane felt himself flinch at the question. “You don’t know? For real? You might be the only person on the planet or at least in town who doesn’t know. Alyson’s gone. She was heavily addicted to drugs even before I met her. One night she called me up at two in the morning after a road game, dropped the bombshell that she’d had my baby. Of course, I didn’t believe her. I thought she was running a con and just wanted money. But she persisted until I had my lawyer ask for a DNA test. One day I got a call after practice. The test confirmed Jonah’s paternity and a few other things I didn’t want to hear.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that Jonah had major health problems.”

Isabella sat back as if deep in thought. Then it hit her. “Oh my God. She was on crack before the baby was born?”

“Yeah. I found out later the crack made Alyson psychotic. Jonah was born addicted to the damn stuff. He had a rough go of it for the first year of his life. But he’s like his old man. He’s a fighter.”

“Poor little guy.”

“After learning about the drug use, I fought for full custody. When he was a little over four months old the judge made it official. He was mine. About a month later though I got the call that Alyson had overdosed.” He took his eyes off the road long enough to send Isabella a lethal stare. “Don’t look at me like that. My winning custody had nothing to do with what Alyson eventually did to herself. I’m convinced she didn’t give a shit about Jonah. And before you ask, I didn’t know when I got together with her that she was that heavy into cocaine. She didn’t have a sign on her forehead that read, ‘danger, danger, I’m a crack addict.’ All I knew was that she had made the cover of a couple magazines, hung out with famous people, did the name-dropping thing. So if you’re thinking of judging me, it won’t do you any good because I’ve judged myself about seven hundred and fifty times already. It’d be a little hard for anyone else to catch up.”

“I wasn’t going to judge you. We all make mistakes we regret.”

He narrowed his focus on those lovely green eyes. “Which makes me ask, what were yours?”