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“Yes, that’s right,” Curt said, leaning a hip against the counter as he unwrapped the candy bar. “I’m here to run the Sports Shack for my brother Seth, while he and his family are in Seattle getting a new store set up.”
“It’s too bad you couldn’t stay at his house.” Miss Landry turned to Jenna. “No offense, dear.”
“None taken,” Jenna said.
“I would have,” Curt replied, “but while Seth and his family are gone, they’re remodeling the house to add a bedroom for their new baby girl, and to bump out the kitchen, too. With construction going on, it made more sense to stay here.”
“Ah, I see,” Miss Landry replied, nodding. “So, what took you away from this lovely burg, in the first place?”
Miss Landry’s question hit him like a bullet and filled him with dread. Of course, he was going to have to explain things to people. But he couldn’t just blurt out the truth. It wasn’t as if he could say, “Oh, well, yes, I ran around town as a surly teen, creating trouble, crashed my motorcycle while drunk, and left with my tail between my legs and now I’m back ’cause I’m clean after three tries in rehab and I want to start over.”
He settled for part of the truth. “I’m a musician, and I went to L.A. to play in a band.” The heady lifestyle of L.A. had called to him. Especially after what happened with Dad.
“Hmm.” Miss Landry’s eyes sparkled. “A musician. I went steady with a musician once. He played piano.” She opened a candy bar. “What do you play, dear?”
“Guitar.”
Miss Landry nodded approvingly. “Excellent. An artist. And handsome. And single, I presume?”
Curt could only nod.
“Just as I thought—no ring.” Miss Landry slanted a glance at Jenna, who was checking the pies on the counter. “Are you paying attention, Jenna?”
Curt’s jaw fell. Miss Landry wasn’t wasting any time at trying to get him and Jenna together, was she? He’d have to keep his eye on her. She was sharp and dating wasn’t on his to-do list. Staying on the straight and narrow and proving himself capable was.
“Why, Miss Landry, are you matchmaking?” Jenna said without missing a beat.
“Well, maybe just a bit,” Miss Landry said with a sheepish smile. “I don’t want someone as lovely as you to be alone forever.”
“What makes you think I’m going to be alone forever?” Jenna asked, taking the teapot off the stove.
Curt’s ears perked up.
“Well,” Miss Landry said, “if you don’t come up with a more realistic checklist for the man you want, you’re never going to find him.”
Curt frowned. Jenna had a man checklist?
“I like to think I can keep my list and still find love eventually,” Jenna said, pouring boiling water into the flowered mug she’d set on the counter.
Apparently, she did. Huh.
“We’ll see,” Miss Landry replied with a quirk of her lips.
Jenna’s comment reminded Curt that with his troubled history, he wasn’t sure any woman with any kind of checklist would be interested in him. No way. The scars of his past ran deep and would be hard—perhaps impossible—to overlook. And with small-town gossip at work, it wouldn’t be long before Jenna knew all about his checkered past—or maybe she already did. His gut clenched at that idea.
Miss Landry turned to Curt. “So, what do you do for a living, aside from working with your brother? Music still?”
He geared himself up for giving his rehearsed answer. “I’m between jobs right now, and I want to eventually go to school to become a therapist.” He owed his life to his drug counselor, Marv, and wanted to help others in the same way someday.
“Oh, excellent. Very noble of you,” Miss Landry said with a warm look. “There’s always a need for compassionate listeners and advisers.”
“Well, thank you.” Curt figured it was about time he did something worthwhile with his life.
“Do you plan on staying in Moonlight Cove permanently?” Miss Landry asked, surreptitiously handing Sam another candy bar under the table. She winked at the boy. He grinned, showing he was missing his two front teeth.
“I hope to,” he said, giving the easy answer. But in a small town like Moonlight Cove, people often didn’t forgive and forget. He’d need both and was worried neither was possible. “Seth knew I was looking for something here in town, so he offered me the store job to get me started. My goal is to get a permanent job at my brother’s store, and go to community college part-time to work on my psychology degree.” He definitely had a lot of hard work ahead of him. He liked to think he was ready for the challenge. Or as ready as he’d ever be.
“And do you have family besides your brother still in town?”
Jenna brought a steaming cup of tea over and set it in front of Miss Landry.
“Thank you, dear,” she said to Jenna.
Curt hesitated, not sure how much to share about his dysfunctional family. Old habit, one he was going to need to break. Somehow.
“Forgive me,” Miss Landry said before he responded. “I’m way too nosy for my own good.”
“No, no problem.” He was going to have to get used to fielding questions like this, and to talking about his family; there would be no running from people’s interest here. “Yes, my parents are still in town. My younger brother, Ian, lives in San Diego.”
“So your family called you back?” Miss Landry asked.
“In a way. Seth and his wife, Kim, visited me in L.A., and I met my niece and nephew for the first time. I realized how much I was missing by being away.” That realization had surprised him; it had been a long time since he’d actually longed for the connection of family. Interesting how being clean had cleared his mind and made him want things that had never seemed important before.
“Ah, so you have a young niece and nephew. No wonder you returned,” Miss Landry said.
“I’m looking forward to being in their lives.” He liked the fact that Dylan and Charlotte viewed him with a clean slate. A small thing, Dylan’s and Charlotte’s rosy views of him, but he was holding on to it like a lifeline. He desperately wanted to be good Uncle Curt, someone whom his niece and nephew could look up to in the future without the shadow of his bad choices shading their opinion of him.
He wanted that fresh start.
“Excellent. Children are such a blessing, though I was never fortunate enough to have any.” She stirred some sugar into her tea. “So you said your parents are still in town?”
His shoulders tensed. “Yes, they are.”
“Well, I’ll bet they’re thrilled to have you back.”
Mom, yes. Dad? Not even close. He thought Curt was a worthless loser, and while that opinion hurt, Curt knew he’d earned the attitude with his bad choices. No doubt about it—he had a hard road ahead proving his dad wrong.
But Curt wasn’t going to dump details of his and his dad’s dysfunctional relationship on Miss Landry. He barely knew her, and he sure didn’t want to shock her, or lower her opinion of him. Though...he had to keep in mind what Marv had drilled into him—that Curt had to own up to his past behavior to move beyond it. He’d have to ease into that approach; his shame still had the upper hand a lot of the time.
So, for now, he simply said, “Well, I haven’t connected with them yet, so that remains to be seen.” He did his best to sound relaxed when he was anything but. He and his dad hadn’t spoken since Curt left town.
“Oh, I’m sure they’ll welcome you back with open arms,” Miss Landry said with a knowing nod. She patted his hand. “What parents wouldn’t?”
Curt’s gut pitched. His parents wouldn’t. Well, not Dad anyway. Mom had always been more forgiving, and they’d talked weekly for the past few months. Curt only hoped he had the courage to deal with his dad—and the Graham family’s problems—while continuing to make good choices that would keep him on the path he’d mapped out.
Apprehension formed a knot in his chest. His resolve would be tested soon enough; he had no place to hide as he’d had in L.A. He was bound to run into Dad sooner rather than later. Curt preferred later. Or never, actually.
There would be no running for cover this time, no distance to soften the harsh reality that hung over the Graham family like a sickening haze. And that fact had him worried more than anything else he’d had to face since he’d OD’d and looked death straight in the eye.
Chapter Three
With nervousness eating away at him, Curt opened the door to the Sports Shack and stepped inside. The bells above clanged as the door swung closed behind him. Instantly, the smell of sporting goods—leather and rubber and something indefinable yet totally distinctive—hit him.
He paused and breathed deep, taking it all in, feeling as if his new life was actually starting. He’d saved himself from his messed-up old life, and he only wanted to see it in his rearview mirror.
Excitement bubbled inside, warring with gut-munching apprehension. This store would be his “home” for the next month—and maybe longer if things worked out the way he wanted.
He focused on the excitement, choosing to savor the moment, which had been so long in coming. There had been times in the past ten years he actually thought he’d die before he ever returned to Moonlight Cove, much less actually set foot in Seth’s store. Curt had burned a lot of bridges in his life—demolished them, actually—and this opportunity meant everything.
Seth was counting on Curt. He couldn’t screw this up.
Setting his shoulders, he moved forward. “Seth?” he called. “You here?” They’d made plans to meet at 9:00 a.m., before the place officially opened, so Seth could train Curt in the ins and outs of the daily running of the store.
Seth came out of his office at the back. “Bro!” He waved and headed toward Curt.
Curt felt something ease inside of him at the sight of his brother. He and Seth, and Ian, their younger brother, shared a bond not only as brothers but as survivors of the dysfunctional Graham household. Few others understood the scars their childhood had caused.
“It’s good to see you!” Seth said, embracing Curt.
Curt hugged his brother back. “You, too,” he said, choking up a bit, barely able to get the words out.
Seth let him go and pulled back, his blue eyes piercing. “Hey, now. Are you going all emotional on me?”
“Maybe a bit,” Curt said sheepishly. “I’m beginning to appreciate how good it is to have family around to support me.” In the past, family had meant trauma, stress and fighting.
“You haven’t had that in a long time. It’s been a rough road,” Seth stated.
“More like jagged.” Full of potholes and backsliding and enough excuses to fill a dump truck. “I finally feel like I’m on a smoother path.” Not perfect. But better. Rock bottom had had a way of making him appreciate that like never before.
Seth went behind the counter. “I hope so.” He gave Curt a solemn look. “I’d like my brother back.”
A lump sprouted in Curt’s throat. “Me, too.” He and his brothers had been close growing up, and Curt had always looked up to Seth, the oldest. “I...need to apologize.”
“As part of your recovery?” Seth asked.
“Yes, that.” There was so much more, though. “But also because...well, you did your best when we were in high school to keep me on the straight and narrow.”
“You were hanging out with a bad crowd, making bad choices, and I was worried. Especially when I found the drugs in your drawer.”
Curt flinched. “Not my finest moment.” He remembered the day during his junior year of high school that Seth, a senior, had showed him the drugs he’d found and confronted Curt about his wild behavior. Regret burned a hole in his gut. His life had been a series of bad moments. “I know I told you this when you visited L.A., but I have to say I’m sorry again. And that I’m going to stay clean. I want to turn my life around.”
A year ago, Curt had ended up in the hospital from an overdose. The E.R. doctor had told him that if he kept abusing drugs, he’d die sooner or later. Probably sooner.
Terrified of dying, Curt had gone directly into an inpatient drug treatment program, and had then moved into a halfway house run by a local church charity. The best life decision he’d made until that point. His life had been littered with bad choices.
Finding God hadn’t been one of them. The Lord had saved Curt, and he would never forget that God hadn’t judged him. He had forgiven him completely, and now Curt was trying to forgive himself and move on to a better life.
“Look how far you’ve come,” Seth replied, pressing his hand to Curt’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you, bro.”
Curt’s eyes tingled. He couldn’t remember anyone ever being proud of him. Certainly not himself. “Don’t be, yet. My recovery journey isn’t complete. Be proud of me when I prove to you that I’m staying clean.” For once he needed to show others he was reliable, in control and sober. He desperately wanted to be a good Christian man, hard worker and the kind of person who put his family first, no matter what. He alone was responsible for that.
A pair of pretty green eyes came to mind. Jenna. Look what she’d accomplished on her own, all for the sake of her grandparents’ home, because of her staunch love for them. She was a perfect example of the kind of person he hoped to emulate—
The bells over the door rang.
“Uh-oh,” Seth said under his breath but loud enough for Curt to hear. “Brace yourself, bro.”
Curt frowned, the bottom of his stomach sliding sideways. He froze, his eyes wide. “Why?”
“Because Dad just walked in, and from the looks of the glower on his face, he’s on the warpath.”
His shoulders bunching, Curt turned. He steeled himself to see the man he hadn’t laid eyes on in more than twelve years. After Curt had rammed his motorcycle into a tree, Dad had come to the hospital to tell him not to bother coming home, seeing as he was now a druggie with a record. Worse yet, by virtue of her dead silence, his mom had agreed. It had been a cruel blow to an eighteen-year-old Curt, and he’d never really been the same since.
Angry and hurt, Curt had done just as his dad had asked. He’d gone to live with a friend until he healed, and then he’d left town, sure news of his accident would spread and everyone in town would be judging him and talking about him. He’d told himself he didn’t need his family or Moonlight Cove.
Hitting the lowest point of his life recently changed everything.
Sure enough, his dad stood there in the store entryway, looking tired and bitter. Old, too. He’d gone completely gray and had put on a paunch that stretched his dingy shirt tight over his middle. As usual, he was dressed haphazardly in too-short pants, mangled, mud-spattered tennis shoes that looked as if they’d been made when dinosaurs roamed the earth and a beat-up bright orange fishing vest. His face was tanned to a leathery finish by all his hours spent in the sun—while fishing, Curt presumed, if tradition held true—and deep wrinkles fanned out from his eyes and across his forehead. An oncologist’s field day.
“Heard you were back in town,” his dad said by way of a greeting. He had his face pressed into a tight scowl. A perpetual scowl, if Curt remembered correctly, usually accompanied by harsh words and follow-up criticism.
Curt inclined his head to the left. “Yes, I got in yesterday.” He was determined not to let his dad throw him into a tailspin. Duking it out verbally with Dad wouldn’t accomplish anything, and Curt was trying to prove himself a changed man. And that meant approaching Dad with a cool, calm demeanor that wouldn’t ruffle his highly ruffable feathers.
Although it might throw his dad to discover Curt wasn’t going to be his verbal sparring partner anymore. They’d always had a contentious relationship; Curt had been the son his dad was never happy with. Growing up, disappointment had been Curt’s middle name.
His dad came closer, his jaw noticeably tight. “Where are you stayin’?”
“At the Sweetheart Inn.”
“He’s here getting caught up on details before Kim and I leave for Seattle tomorrow,” Seth interjected.
His father shook his head and looked at Seth. “I still think you’re crazy for bringing him on. As the guy who started this business, I know this place needs someone responsible.”
That fire-tipped arrow hit home with perfect accuracy, zinging a familiar lance of pain through Curt’s gut.
“He’s been clean for six months, Dad,” Seth said.
His dad snorted. “So he says.”
Curt saw red tinged with the shadows of his misspent past. “It’s true,” he forced the words out. “Rehab took.”
“How many other times have you relapsed?” Dad asked.
A rock lodged in Curt’s throat. “Three.”
Dad flung his hands up into the air. “See? It won’t last. It never does.”
“Maybe you ought to give him a chance,” Seth replied quietly. “He’s worked really hard to get here, and we’re his family. We need to support him in any way we can.”
