Loving Eden (11 page)

“Whoa, Eden. Watch where you’re going.” He laughed as he jogged backward a few paces.

“I—I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” I stammered. Mason was shirtless, sweaty, and out of breath.

“No problem, sweetheart.” He shoved his shades on top of his head, making his eyes glisten. I noticed they were trailing my legs.

“Enjoy your run.” I scooted past him on a mission to reach our beach stairs before he pulled me into a conversation, or I saw his eyes creep up any further.

He rested a hand on the railing next to my hip. “Want to join me? I’m going to check out that end of the island.” He pointed to the open space of the park. “I still need a tour guide. Trying to get my bearings around here.”

“The beach is beautiful down there. You’ll like it.” The truth was I had no idea what kinds of things Mason liked. So far, he hadn’t shown much interest in maintaining the integrity of Padre. Why would a natural park appeal to him?

“You sure? I promise not to run too fast. I bet you can keep up.”

I shook my head. He had placed a foot on the bottom step and was inching closer. “No, thanks. You have fun.” I turned from him and took two more steps.

“Will do,” he shouted as he continued to run.

I trudged ahead. I hoped Grey hadn’t made another rogue attempt to get out of bed. All I needed was for him to see me chatting with his shirtless uncle to stir up the tornado that was about to spin out of this storm.

I looked up. He was standing at our bedroom door, propped with a crutch.
Shit.

I took the steps faster, but before I made it to the door, he was gone.

The next day I waded through more emails before checking the rooms for supplies. I had managed to drag the TV from the living room to the bedroom so Grey would have something to do while I was at work. He was on day two of bed rest and he was already completely stir crazy. He gave new meaning to cabin fever. I promised to come home to fix lunch and check on him.

I marked off the room keys from the lock box as I loaded them on the service cart. I still needed to clean the Shapleys’ room and make an inventory list. With Grey out of service, the room duties fell on me.

The first four looked fine. They were the ones closest to the street and the least utilized. I moved on to the next block.

By noon, I had completed one entire side of the motel and I was ready to take a break.

I pushed the cart into room twenty-four just as Mason was coming out of room twenty-three.

“In a hurry?” he shouted from across the parking lot.

“Going home to make lunch.” I smiled as I closed the door, turning the key quickly.

He held up a piece of paper. I couldn’t make out what was on it from across the parking lot, so I walked a few steps toward him.

“I was just coming to see you. Where’s that nephew of mine? Shouldn’t he be the one working on the rooms?” Mason stood next to his car. I wasn’t surprised he drove a convertible. Part of him seemed fast and flashy.

“Grey’s not feeling so well. I’m headed over to check on him.”

“Too bad. Tell him I said I hope he’s better real soon.” He handed me the piece of paper. “Here are the items in my room that need to be fixed.”

I stared at the list he had made.

“CFL bulbs in all fixtures? New sink faucet handles? A new toilet seat? Extra blankets?” I skimmed the rest of the list silently. This was complete bullshit and Mason knew it.

“If you could get those things done for me, sweetheart, while I’m out, I’d appreciate it. I’ll work on the second half of my list when I get back.”

“Second half? What are you talking about? Isn’t this enough?” There was no way I could do half the things on his checklist.

“I haven’t even gotten started on the motel. The icemaker is shotty. The pool gate creaks, but why am I telling you this now? Like I said, I’ll write it all down for you.”

“How thoughtful.” I twisted my lips from saying something nasty.

Mason chuckled before pushing the top down on his car. “It’s going to be a beautiful day. I’ll catch you later. Big investor meeting.”

I watched as he popped a piece of gum in his mouth before speeding off onto the highway.

I shook my head and folded the paper into a square, then shoved it in my back pocket. I would do what I could, but Mason was only trying to make a statement. The Palm was old and it showed. I huffed as I crossed over the dunes to the cottage.

Grey was sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of soup in front of him.

“Hey.” I smiled, ignoring the checklist that was burning a hole in my back pocket. “I thought you were going to let me make lunch for you.” I crossed the empty living room, wrapped my arms around the back of his shoulders, and kissed him on the cheek.

“I didn’t know how long you would be at work,” he grumbled.

I checked the clock on the microwave. It was only ten after twelve. “Ok. Can I get you something else?”

“No. I’ve got it.” He pushed the soup across the table.

“I have to make lunch anyway. I’m starving. Let me fix something else for you. A sandwich? Salad? Oh, I know. Grilled cheese.” I could definitely go for some comfort food right now.

“Dammit. I said I can feed myself.”

I spun on my heels. “Why are you giving me a hard time? I’m trying to help you.”

He sighed. “Sorry. I’m just tired of this damn thing.” He pointed to the boot on his foot that extended to his knee. “And I don’t think I’m a daytime TV person. Do you know how many shows are women talking about current events? I’m going crazy in here.”

I sat in the chair across from him. “I know this sucks, but you have your appointment in less than a week. In the scheme of things, that’s nothing. Try to relax so you can heal faster. You’re only going to make things worse if you walk before your body is ready.” I tried to use my steady voice, but I didn’t know how receptive he was to any of my voices at this point. We weren’t exactly connecting.

“All right. Whatever you say.” He pushed against the table to stand. “I’ll go back to my cell.”

“Grey, don’t say it like that.”

He was already on his crutches and out of the room. Damn, this was hard.

G
rey’s week in bed was difficult for him, but I wasn’t sure it wasn’t just as hard on me. His sour mood only worsened. I tried to stay positive. I kept trying to put myself in his position. He wasn’t able to work for the rental company, do upkeep at the Palm, or take me out on my promised night on the town. Then there was that little issue of Mason. It was enough to make anyone a weeklong grump.

After his orthopedic appointment, he got the green light to resume any activity he could tolerate on the crutches. In another two weeks, he might be able to go without them. I hoped that meant he would stay off rooftops for a while, but I wasn’t about to lecture him on work safety. We had enough to worry about.

Today, he was checking on the rental properties, and I hadn’t seen him smile like that since the accident. It was nice to see the gleam in his eye and his pretty white teeth again. I wasn’t sure how much more grumpy Grey I could take.

I was in full accounting mode. I used the calculator I bought for my first statistics class at Carolina to project the expenses for the month. We needed more income.

My phone rang. “Taylor, hey.”

She squealed into the phone. “I did it! I finally did it.”

“Did what?” I was completely distracted.

“Last night, I broke up with Jesse.”

“Oh, wow. How do you feel?” I put the calculator aside.

“Amazing. Fantastic. Invincible. Why didn’t I do that sooner? And the timing couldn’t be better.”

“Why’s that?”

She huffed. “Because I’ll be in South Padre next week! I will be arriving single and one hundred percent a-vail-able.”

Oh crap.
With everything going on, I forgot Taylor would be here soon. “Yes, perfect timing.” I closed my eyes. What kind of friend forgets her best friend’s travel plans?

“So what are we going to do first? Shopping? Beach? Oh, I know. You can take me to that bar you always talk about…Paul’s.”

“Pete’s. It’s Pete’s.”

“Right. It doesn’t matter to me. I can’t wait to see you and be at the beach. It’s already getting cool here. The leaves are changing and everyone’s drinking pumpkin spice lattes.”

I felt the pang like a cramp in my heart. I loved fall. It was one of my favorite times in Chapel Hill. So far, South Padre felt like perpetual summer.

“Eden, you there?”

“Yep. Yep, I’m here.” I was trying to shake the vision of cashmere sweaters, scarves, and falling leaves.

“I’m headed to class, but had to tell you about Jesse.”

“I’m glad you did. Call me if you need me. You know, breakup remorse.” The way Taylor sounded that didn’t seem possible.

“Oh, I’m good. I’m going to start packing tonight for Padre. Call you later, girl.”

“Bye.” I tossed my phone on the desk. Taylor would be here in less than a week. I had a lot to figure out between now and then.

I closed the office door for the evening just as Mason whipped into the parking lot, kicking up gravel with his fancy convertible. He stopped in front of the office.

“Need a ride?”

“No, thanks. I can walk fifty feet.” I slung the laptop bag over my shoulder. I needed to respond to a few more emails tonight.

“I don’t mind.” He flashed a killer smile.

“I can handle walking home.” I turned for the sidewalk in front of the Palm’s neon blinking sign. We really needed to get rid of that thing. It suddenly seemed tacky and low-rent flashing on Mason’s slick convertible.

“The offer always stands, sweetheart.” He revved the engine lightly and rolled toward the back of the parking lot to my former room.

I tried not to think about the fact that I put Mason in a place that held such dear memories for me, but I needed him to be close to the ocean. I needed him to fall in love with this place. I wasn’t about to let him stay in room twenty-four. Grey probably would have exploded on the spot. It was bad enough having Mason traipse in and out of the motel every day. It was a constant reminder to Grey that there was a legal battle on the horizon. I already regretted my offer. Every day he slipped a new list under the office door. Each one was longer than the last.