Like One of the Family. Kimberly Meter Van
known a different side of her, a softer side, so he’d been doubly shocked and brokenhearted when she’d given him the cold shoulder on his return. It hadn’t been his choice to leave the island; his parents had abandoned him and he’d gone looking for them. It wasn’t exactly a typical situation but Lora knew none of that. He’d never told her and she’d never been interested enough to ask.
That’s not true, a voice whispered, reminding him of that day…
Stop! Resurrecting a childhood memory wasn’t going to help him deal with the Lora Bell of today, he growled to himself. Annoyance at his own useless mental sojourn down Useless Memory Lane, made him want to do something reckless, like give Lora a piece of his mind for neglecting her family when they needed her the most. But as much as it would feel good to abrade her for her actions, he knew the satisfaction would only last a moment. The Bells would stand by Lora—as they should—and he’d lose out on the only family he’d ever known.
He drew a deep breath but his chest remained tight. Lora had only been back for less than an hour and already she was turning his life upside down. The smart thing would be to keep his distance. If they weren’t around each other, they couldn’t rub each other the wrong way. Sounded like a plan—even if Heath knew following through was going to be damn near impossible. What Lora didn’t know was that Heath had been running the resort in a shadow capacity since Pops had started to show signs of dementia creeping on. He knew more about the day-to-day operations of Larimar than any of the Bell girls. And as soon as Lora found out, he was willing to bet his firstborn, she wasn’t going to like it.
* * *
THE©FOG©IN JACK’S©MIND scared him. Why would Lorie say that her Grams was dead? Why would his sugar bird say something so mean-spirited? He’d known Lorie to be a little on the no-nonsense side, unlike her sisters who were happy-go-lucky most times. “Lana?” he called out again, the silence bouncing back at him scared him more. “Lana? Where are you?” he said, rounding the corner to her favorite sunning spot. Maybe she went to town to get supplies, or even Lorie’s favorite beef pâté from Simon, the guy who made them from scratch in his kitchen and sold them out of his cooler. A smile found him as the explanation for Lana’s absence made sense. Lana always went out of her way for her sugar birds. Of course, that’s where she was. Relieved, he let his fear and confusion melt away and detoured to the shop where he could hear Heath tinkering on something. Jack had known Heath since he was a skinny, starving boy hanging around the resort looking for work.
He entered the shop, smiling as he saw Heath pounding out some nails from a board he was going to repurpose for something else needed for the resort. Heath was no skinny boy now. The boy had morphed into a strong, able man whom Jack and Lana considered family even though they didn’t share a drop of blood. If only Lorie saw what they saw in the man. “Whatcha working on, son?” he asked, forgetting his earlier moment and eagerly looking to Heath. The man was a whiz with his hands. If it could be built, Heath could build it. If it needed fixing, Heath found a way to fix it. Larimar was lucky to have him and Jack knew it.
“Just a new mailbox. I found this in a stack of wood being tossed out. Thought I’d fix the mailbox out front,” Heath answered, his focus on pulling the nails from the wood. But Jack knew the man pretty well and could sense something was eating at him.
“Lorie’s home,” Jack said, brightening. “You ought to see her. She’s pretty as the day is long. You remember, Lorie, don’t you?”
Heath jerked a short nod and continued to work but Jack wanted to chat. The boy worked too hard. “Let’s take a break,” he suggested, smiling. “What’s the drink of the day today? Is it that vanilla rum and banana drink that tastes like a banana smoothie with kick? I love that drink. Very refreshing, yah?”
“You go on ahead, Jack. I’ve got to finish this and then get on home.”
“Stay for dinner at least,” he said, liking the idea of Heath seeing more of Lorie. He and Lana thought the two would make a great couple. Although Lana said Lorie was too focused on her career to ever consider the slow, laid-back life on the island but Jack held out hope. His sugar bird had island in her blood. She just needed to be reminded what made it special.
Heath gave the offer some consideration before shaking his head. “Sorry, Jack. Another time, maybe.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Jack said with mock seriousness. “All right, I’m off to find out if Lana brought home an extra pâté, or two. I’m starved.”
Heath gave him a tight smile and short nod, then went back to pounding nails.
CHAPTER THREE
LORA©CLOSED©THE©DOOR behind her, leaning against the wood. Pops was losing his mind. There was no getting around that fact when the evidence had just slapped her in the face. Her breath hitched in her chest as the pain spiked in her heart. How could she pretend for Pops’s sake that Grams was still alive when she’d worked hard to put that grief behind her so that she could cope with the loss?
No, Grams, no…I can’t pretend you’re still here…it’ll kill me… Lora sank to the floor and clutched her knees to her chest, hating how lost she felt. Losing Grams had been far more painful than losing her own mother, if that was possible.
She remembered her mother’s funeral as if watching a scene from someone else’s life. The memories she had of Lisa Bell were fogged and distorted, snatches of a life she barely recognized. At one time, her mother had laughed with joy but the Lisa Bell Lora remembered had tears in her eyes from her husband’s abandonment. Lora hated her father for that. Cancer had taken her mother, but Lora always believed that a broken heart had been the true killer.
Lora shuddered, gulping against the tightness in her chest. She was stronger than this, she told herself fiercely. Get up! Get off this floor and stand tall. There were people depending on her to figure things out. Wiping the tears from her face, she struggled to her feet with the fragile resolve of someone pulling themselves together with little more than grit and determination. This, too, felt familiar.
Snatches of her earlier conversations with Heath came back to taunt her without mercy. Why did he bring out the worst in her? Granted, she wasn’t a girl who was known for her niceties but there was something about Heath that had always made her snarl.
But even as the thought ran through her head, something nagged at her. No, she hadn’t always disliked Heath. In fact, once… She shrugged off where her mind was going. It was so long ago, she could hardly remember how she’d felt then about Heath Cannon. All she knew was that today he rubbed her the wrong way. And he seemed stuck to her family like a pervasive mold.
Lora dragged her luggage to the bed and swung it on the bed. She popped the lock, slid the zipper open and threw open the top. Everything was packed with military precision, making it easy to find what she was looking for—her bikini and cover-up. Grateful to get out of the constricting and smothering business attire she wore for the plane, she made quick work of slipping into her island clothes, then put away her packed clothing into her dresser. She didn’t plan to stay long but she never kept her clothes tucked in her luggage. She liked everything to be where it belonged, if even for a short visit. After she’d hung her blouses and put away her luggage, she took a quick survey of her room. Nostalgia tugged at the corners of her mind but she pushed it away. She’d spent half her childhood here, in this room. Her mouth softened as a small smile threatened. She closed her eyes and drew in the soft scent of coconut suntan lotion that seemed a part of the wicker furniture and let the peace that followed permeate her soul, if even for just the barest of moments. She would allow herself that small comfort.
The sound of her youngest sister’s voice echoed below in the terrace. Lora’s eyes opened. She needed to speak with Lilah immediately and seeing as Lilah had failed to meet her at the ferry, that told Lora her baby sis had deliberately avoided her to circumvent a confrontation. Well, time to get this out of the way… .
Lora headed downstairs to have a chat with the youngest of the sugar bird Bells.
* * *
LILAH