Where Your Heart Is (Lilac Bay Book 1) (6 page)

“Happy?” Posey cried, matching my volume. “You’re kidding, right?” When I crossed my arms, holding her gaze, she shook her head at me. “You weren’t here, Iris. I can guarantee you, he wasn’t happy.”

I looked away, feeling strangely emotional. I didn’t want to think about those days. About the few, mad months of loving David the way only a teenage girl could. About the fight that had happened right before I left. Of the look on his face when I walked away. Like he was disappointed in me. Tired of me. Like he didn’t really know me, after all.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Libby said quickly, seeming to sense my mood. “We all make mistakes when we’re teenagers. It’s kind of the point of being a teenager, right?” She shook her head, a faraway look coming over her face. “You should have seen my high school boyfriend.” She smiled wistfully. “Donovan Tucker.”

Posey choked on her wine. “Donovan Tucker? As in the principal at the Island School? As in my boss?”

Libby nodded, grinning from ear to ear.

“Donovan Tucker who wears tweed blazers and turtlenecks every day? That Donovan Tucker?”

“He didn’t wear tweed blazers in those days,” Libby said, grinning wickedly. “He wore a leather jacket and played guitar. He was gorgeous. He had a nose ring.”

Now it was Posey’s turn to look like Christmas had come early. “Tell me you have photos. Photos I can reproduce for the teachers’ lounge. Please, Libby.”

I allowed their conversation to flow over me as I battled memories of a teenage David Jenkins. There was no way that Posey had any idea what she was talking about. David might have liked me for a while, but when it came right down to it, I wasn’t what he wanted.

The girls were moving over to the line at the fryer, and I followed, not really paying attention, thinking instead about the last time David and I had spoken, when he’d made it perfectly clear that I had turned out to be a major disappointment to him. I glanced around the square, feeling suddenly angry. All of these people in their picture-perfect little town with their quaint little lives. I would never be a part of it, never really belong here. And that had been enough to make David wash his hands of me entirely.

I caught sight of him across the square. He was standing at a table filled with baked goods, two older women talking to him, their hands waving around animatedly. They appeared to be plying him with extra slices of pie. I scowled. Of course. From Posey to Libby to those old ladies, everyone here clearly loved David Jenkins.

He looked up as I passed, his eyes barely meeting mine before glancing back at the white-haired woman next to him, who was now pressing a kiss to the back of his hand.

Well, there was one person on this island who wasn’t crazy about David. If I could get through the rest of my time here without having to talk to him again, I would consider it a success. And I was more than willing to do whatever it took to make sure I could avoid him.

I
f Monday morning
was any indication, my time on Lilac Bay was not going to go as well as I hoped.

I had told Posey I would be at the café by eight so she could introduce me to the staff before heading off to school. I woke up late, groggy after another night of dreams involving falling and murky water. I might have been okay, even managing a quick shower, if it hadn’t been for the phone call.

I had been careful about screening my calls since leaving Chicago, but I was in a hurry, and thinking it was probably Posey, I clicked on the answer icon without looking at the screen.

“Iris?”

I froze in the act of slipping into my wedge heels. Shit.

“Uh, hi, Dad. How are you? I, uh, thought you were in Europe.”

“
How am I
?” my father thundered. “How do you think? You haven’t been answering any of my emails or texts. And now I’m hearing from everyone in Chicago about some colossal screw up.” I winced. “But I haven’t heard a word from
you
about it. What in the hell is going on, Iris?”

“Dad, I know we need to talk. But I’m running late and—”

“Are you working?” he asked, sounding a touch less upset.

“Uh…not really. I mean, kind of…”

“Iris.” I had heard that warning note in his voice before. It was usually aimed at incompetent business associates, but it had been lobbed my way more than once over the years. A quick glance at the clock told me I was most definitely going to be late, but there was nothing to be done. I had no power to deflect my father, not right now. He had called me from Europe, for God’s sake. My father was the king of the text message or email and loathed talking on the phone. But apparently, my behavior had warranted an exception.

“Give me one second, Dad.” I pulled the phone away from my ear and pressed the home screen so I could send a quick text to Posey explaining my lateness. Then I took a deep breath. “Sorry, Dad. Back now.”

“Iris, what is going on?” He sounded entirely out of patience. “Where are you?”

Oh God. I had been hoping that we could avoid the subject of my location until at least after I’d broken the news about work. “I’m actually visiting Mimi Rose.”

“You’re on the island?”

“Um, yeah. Just for a while.”

“What about your job?”

I swallowed several times, trying to build up the courage to just tell him. Turned out my silence was enough.

“Oh Jesus,” he said. “They fired you?”

I nodded before I remembered that he couldn’t see me. “Yeah. It, uh, was a pretty bad screw up.” What had his sources been telling him? “Colossal.”

It was his turn to be silent, for much longer than I would have thought possible. When he finally spoke, the anger in his voice sent a chill through me. “I need to make some calls.”

“No, Dad!” I yelped. The last thing in the world I needed right then was for my father to start calling his contacts to try to get me my job back. Like I wasn’t embarrassed enough about the entire mess.

“Iris—”

“Listen, Dad. I deserved it, okay? I really screwed up. It would have been bad business for them not to fire me.” I tried and failed not to think about the words I had heard screamed from my boss’s office while I waited in the hall. The client had been furious. So what choice did my bosses have? That client was worth millions.

“They could have at least called me,” he grumbled, still pissed. My stomach dropped. Would he always think of me this way—as an extension of his own reputation? Like any mutual business contacts needed to consider their relationship with him before forming an opinion on me. Would I ever get the chance to stand—whether in success or failure—on my own two feet?

“Dad, it’s fine, okay? I’m just going to take a little time and then—”

“Back up,” he growled. “Why in the hell aren’t you in Chicago working your contacts? Did you say that you’re on the
island
?”

I closed my eyes, leaning against the door. “I just needed to get away.”

“And
that’s
the place you chose?” His incredulity dripped through his voice. My father knew, better than anyone, how I felt about the island.

“I wanted to see Posey. And Mimi Rose.” If he thought it odd that I didn’t add my mother to that list, he didn’t mention it. I suppose he knew about my feelings for her better than anyone else.

“I really think this was a bad time to just leave,” he said. “Iris, these things happen. We all make mistakes.” I shook my head at the empty hall. I was pretty sure my father had never made a mistake in his life. Not when it came to business. Not one that cost a client millions. “But you don’t just run away. You stick it out. You make your next move.”

I felt a sick swell of shame spiral through me.
You don’t just run away
. That’s what I had done, no other way to put it. Things had gotten bad and I ran, too embarrassed and ashamed to fight.

“I know, Dad. And I will. I swear I will. I just… I needed some time. I haven’t had a vacation in ages and—”

His snort of derision cut me off. “You consider an attic room in that old house a vacation? Christ, Iris. You could have gone to Oasis if you needed a break.”

Of course, at Oasis, I would have been surrounded by business contacts pretending for their families’ sakes that they were getting away, as well. The resort in Cabo was one of my father’s greatest accomplishments. I’d been three times, always coming away with more work than when I left. The very thought was exhausting.

“I wanted to see Posey,” I said softly. “It’s been months. And you know Pops is still recovering.” I felt another shot of guilt using my grandfather as an excuse. I hadn’t even visited after the stroke, not coming to see him until I was in crisis myself. Some granddaughter.

My mention of Pops seemed to have the effect of softening my dad’s attack. He sighed. “I guess it could be a good place for you. Short term, of course.”

“Of course.” I breathed a sigh of relief, not quite believing that I was getting off this easy. I had half expected him to have a hired car outside the house by the afternoon, ban on motor vehicles or not.

“How short term?” he asked, an impatient note back in his voice. So much for getting off easy.

“I’m really not sure, Dad. I’m just…taking it a day at a time.”

He was quiet for a beat. “I don’t like this, Iris. You sound… I’m worried about you.”

My eyes flew open at that. He sounded almost…paternal. My dad and I didn’t really do the whole lovey-dovey family bit. I mean, we were close. We had always been close. We’d been working together since I graduated college. I spent more time with him than anyone else. And it wasn’t just a proximity thing—we
got
each other. We were the same, my dad and I. That fire to succeed, that all-consuming desire to constantly move forward, move up. I was pretty sure he understood me better than anyone else.

So why was I so sure, deep in my bones sure, that he wouldn’t understand this? Somehow, I knew that if I tried to explain to him how scared I was to come home, how exhausted I felt at the mere thought of looking for a new job, that there was no way he would get it.

“You don’t need to be worried,” I told him, my voice as bright as I could make it. “I’m going to spend some time relaxing and seeing the family. I told Mimi I would help out at the café a little, see if I can’t streamline some of their processes.”

He chuckled at that, and I knew I’d won the battle, if not the ultimate war. “Well, that sounds like my girl,” he said. “You just can’t resist whipping it into shape, can you?”

“I guess not.”

“How is your grandmother?” he asked, his voice polite. He cleared it. “And, uh, your mother?”

No matter how many years passed, there was always that note in his voice when he mentioned her. It had taken me ages to identify it, but I was pretty sure it was betrayal.

“Everyone seems to be pretty good,” I said, that same fake bright voice sounding almost shrill in my ears. “Mimi is holding down the fort while Pops recovers. Posey is engaged, did I tell you that? And Mom is…well, she’s doing her thing, I guess. I haven’t seen her much, honestly.”

I was sure he could hear the sharpness in my voice. He might speak of her in bitter tones—mine would always be disapproving. Disappointed.

He cleared his throat again. “Well, say hello to everyone for me.”

“I will, Dad.”

“And make sure you let me know of any ridiculous happenings,” he added, chuckling a little. “Remember the pie-eating contest?”

I grinned even though it made me feel a little disloyal to Posey and my grandma. As far back as I can remember, my father and I had made it a practice to point out all the silly island events and behaviors, laughing heartily every time. If I had gotten my hatred of the place from anywhere, it was from him. He couldn’t conceive of living in a place without fine dining, museums, and baseball stadiums, let alone cars.
I feel you, Dad
, I thought, picturing the walk I had in front of me with a pang. I missed my Audi already.

There were muffled voices in the background, and I heard him barking at some underling. “I should go, Iris,” he said. “Lots to do.”

“Okay. Where are you, anyhow?”

“Taiwan,” he said. Then a snort. “A far cry from the island you’re on.”

I knew he was joking, knew it was the kind of joke we had made together countless times, but it still rankled. “True,” I said, forcing a laugh.

“I’m coming,” he practically hissed, mouth away from the phone. “Talk to you soon, Iris.”

“Okay, Dad.”

“I meant it, young lady. You need to get back out there. Don’t let this trip stretch on and on.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks for calling.”

But he had already hung up.

* * *

I
didn’t bother hurrying
to the café. Posey had texted back while I was on the phone, wishing me luck with the “fire breather,” as she liked to call my dad.

I’ll have the shift manager show you around,
she wrote
. See you after school!

The café was a ten-minute walk from Mimi’s house. Situated at the corner of Main and Lilac, it was in the best possible location in town. The Lilac Café had long been a popular place for tourists and year-rounders alike. As I approached the familiar brick façade, I couldn’t help but look at the sad, paper-covered windows to the right. Rose’s. Their old restaurant, long since abandoned.

It’s really a shame
, I thought as I entered the café. Such good real estate going to waste. The dining room at Rose’s stretched over two floors, the first giving a nice view of Main Street and the square out front, and the second level providing breathtaking views of the lake. My grandfather was famous for the food he served—and not just on Lilac Bay. It was the kind of food people used to make a special trip to the island for. Had I had a restaurant like that in Chicago I could have—

What are you doing?
A little voice in the back of my head whispered. It sounded suspiciously like my father’s. I shook my head and looked around the café. This was what I was supposed to be concentrating on today. Helping my cousin and grandmother out during a difficult time. I was not here to fantasize about restoring the restaurant. I was not here to be a developer. I was here to get a little time and space away from home before going back to the real world and finding a job.

You have enough ties here with the family
, I told myself sternly as I made my way to the back.
You don’t need to be tied down to some pet project, too.

I didn’t need to be tied down to
anything
else on this island.

There was a low rumbling voice from the staff office, and I wondered who was on schedule as shift manager today as I pushed the door open. Maybe it would be that Mike guy. He may have been too young for me, but I wouldn’t complain about having him to look at. Posey hadn’t said who to expect, not that I knew all that many of my grandmother’s employees but—

“Oh my God,” I groaned. “What are
you
doing here?”

But I knew as soon as David Jenkins turned that scowling face in my direction. He was sitting in the manager’s office, in the exact seat I had seen Posey sit in the other day.
He
was the shift manager.

“I work here,” he said, hanging up the office phone in his hand, eyebrows raised slightly as if in challenge.

“You work here?” I knew I probably sounded like an idiot, repeating the obvious, but I was too shocked to care. Why in the hell hadn’t Posey told me?

“You saw me here on Friday,” he pointed out.

“I thought you were like, a delivery guy or something.”

“Well, I’m not. So what are
you
doing here?”

“I told Posey I would help out here while I’m in town.”

His face tightened. “
You’re
the new girl I’m supposed to be training?”

His horror at the prospect couldn’t have been more apparent.

“I don’t need to be trained,” I snapped. “I’ve helped out in the café since I was twelve, for God’s sake. I know how to make coffee.” When he didn’t appear mollified, I crossed my arms. “Posey wants me to spend most of my time getting the books organized. I just need you to show me where everything is kept these days in case I need to help out up front.”