Sherryl Woods - Seaview Inn

“Grandma Jenny? You have to be kidding.”

Kelsey chuckled at her stunned reaction. “Not kidding. It’s true. She and Great-Grandpa could really dance. He sang, too.”

“In the church choir,” her mother said slowly. “I remember hearing him when I was little.”

“Not just in the choir. With a band. They played all over Florida. She showed me pictures.”

Her mother turned to her with a bewildered expression. “How did I miss all this?”

Kelsey shrugged. “Maybe you never asked or never listened.”

“Probably not.”

“Let’s never be like that, Mom, okay?”

“Never again,” Hannah said pointedly.

“I love you,” Kelsey said impulsively, giving her a fierce hug.

“Love you more.”

“Thanks for letting me come here. I know you’d be happier if I were in school, but I need this time to think and I needed to do that here. Not even in New York, but right here with you and Grandma Jenny.”

Maybe on Seaview Key she could start to understand who she really was and where she came from in a way that would be impossible anywhere else. Maybe she could figure out what family was supposed to be, so the thought of creating one of her own wouldn’t be so absolutely terrifying.

Chapter 6

Luke managed to avoid Hannah for most of the day. First, he’d gone to the mainland with Grandma Jenny to exchange the paint she and Hannah had bought. When they got home late in the afternoon, he made an excuse about needing some time to himself and walked into town.

Seaview’s official downtown, which was a few blocks farther away from the inn than the mom-and-pop grocery store he’d walked to the night before, had grown over the years, but it still wasn’t much. There were two or three new restaurants, maybe half a dozen clothing boutiques and gift and antiques stores, and a couple of places that called themselves art galleries. He was no expert, but the works on display seemed more like some of the crafts his kids brought home from school than high-end art. Still, it made him smile to see that Seaview had gone upscale. In the old days, those spaces had sold bait and tackle and cheap T-shirts.

Though he’d had no particular destination in mind when he’d left the inn, he found himself in front of The Fish Tale, an unpretentious place that used to offer the best grouper sandwiches he’d ever tasted, along with ice-cold beer. The memory of that particular combination drew him inside.

He aimed straight for the bar and was stunned when he recognized the man behind it. Jackson Ferguson—Jack to his friends—had opened the place thirty years ago. Luke could remember the occasion as if it had been yesterday. As rustic as it was, it was the first real restaurant, besides the local diner and a couple of hot dog and hamburger stands, that catered to beachgoers. There’d been one bar that had catered to a rowdier crowd, but for too many years the full-time population of Seaview had been too small to support anything more.

There’d been balloons out front to celebrate The Fish Tale’s opening, a small room with pinball machines off to one side to keep kids entertained, and a determinedly family atmosphere throughout. No one ever got drunk and unruly on Jack’s watch. If anyone had a few too many before Jack caught them and put a stop to it, they were escorted outside and tucked into the island’s only cab for a hasty ride home. If the cab driver—former New York cabbie John Blake—had gone home for the night, the cop on duty would provide the shuttle service.

Right now, Jack was busy at the far end of the bar, so Luke had a minute to study him. He still looked tanned and fit, though his face was more weatherbeaten than Luke remembered. He was filling orders with the alacrity and friendliness of someone who loved talking to people. When he spotted Luke, he blinked and then a grin spread across his face.

“Luke Stevens, I never expected to see you back in Seaview.”

Luke reached across the bar and shook his hand. “I never expected to be here, either. How’s Greta?” he asked, referring to Jack’s beloved wife, who’d worked this place by his side.

Jack’s expression fell. “Lost her last year,” he said gruffly. “Heart attack. Damn near killed me, too, but this place doesn’t run itself, and in the end, it saved me.”

“I’m sorry. How about your kids? Are they still in Seaview?”

Jack pulled a draft and set it in front of Luke without asking if he wanted it. “Bill left right after high school, same as you. He had big dreams. Made good on ’em, too. He’s a lawyer now. He works over in Biloxi. His home got hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, so the family came here for a couple of months, then went back to rebuild.”

“And Lesley Ann?”

“You stick around tonight, you might see her. She’s pregnant with her third baby and about two minutes from her due date, but that hasn’t slowed her down any. She’s over here once a day like clockwork to pester me about working too hard, telling me to hire more help.” He shook his head. “That woman can nag worse than her mama.”

Luke grinned. He’d had one memorable date with Lesley Ann and she’d done the same thing to him, nagged him from start to finish. Apparently some things never changed. “I’d like to meet the man she married,” he said. “He must be very tolerant.”

“That man worships the ground she walks on. He just lets all her talk roll right off his back. Maybe that comes with marrying later in life. They were thirty when they met, eloped two weeks later and never looked back.” He shook his head. “Listen to me going on and on. Did you want something to eat to go with that beer?”

“You still have fried grouper sandwiches and fries?”

“Put us on the map,” Jack said. “Of course we do. You want a table, you’d better get one now. This place’ll be crowded in another half hour or so.”

“I’m good here,” Luke said.

“I’ll put in your order and check in on you from time to time.”

“Thanks, Jack. It’s good to see you.”

The older man started toward the kitchen, then turned back. “You staying at Seaview Inn?”

Luke nodded.

Jack shook his head. “I feel real bad for Jenny. She loves that place, but I don’t see how she’s going to keep up with it now that her Maggie’s gone. I hear Hannah’s here now, but that she’s not staying.”

“That’s my impression,” Luke said.

“It’s a shame when there’s no one left to take over a family business. I’d figured on leaving this place to Bill, but ironically it’s Lesley Ann who’s taken to it. Once she has this baby, she’ll be back here full time, pestering me to modernize this or to experiment with the menu.” He shook his head. “I hope I don’t live to see the day when she refuses to serve fried food. She already carries on about transfats.”

Luke laughed. “I hear you.”

“I’d best get your order in so you can finish it before she turns up. Otherwise, you’ll be in for a lecture on what it’s doing to your arteries.”

Luke didn’t waste time telling him he already knew—probably better than Lesley Ann—the dangers of fried foods. But some food was meant to be cooked that way and he figured he’d survive anything in moderation.

Once he was alone with his cold beer and his thoughts, he tried to make himself focus on the future, but all that came to him was an image of going back to Atlanta to a life nothing like the one he’d left behind. Atlanta was big enough that he and Lisa could probably co-exist and maybe even manage to be civil to each other for the sake of his kids, but going back to his medical practice was out of the question. The man who’d once been his best friend and business partner had moved in on his wife the minute his back was turned. Luke doubted he’d ever be able to see Brad Reilly without wanting to punch his face in. He could hardly practice medicine with him.