A Season of You Read online

  But she could see why Bill might not want her working alone. And to be honest, as she fought back another yawn as she pulled up in front of her cottage, she had to admit he and Callie had a point. Even though her head was recovering, she still felt about eighty percent steamrolled. The kind of tired she hadn’t felt since the first few blurry months after Adam had died. The kind of tired where you just want to fall into bed and disappear.

  Lou had been fussing over her, staying each night and cooking and making Mina rest. Spending so much time with her, it made Mina feel vaguely guilty. It wasn’t exactly a quiet time of year for Lou. The high school had Thanksgiving and Christmas activities looming as did all the other places Lou volunteered.

  But she couldn’t quite bring herself to chase Lou off just yet. Unlike Faith and Zach, Mina was more than happy to spend large chunks of her days alone. Grey definitely hadn’t passed on his extrovert genes to his youngest child, but sometimes it was nice to be fussed over.

  * * *

  Lou, curled up on the sofa working on her laptop, looked up, blue eyes smiling when Mina walked into the living room. “What’s the verdict?”

  “All clear,” Mina said. “I can go back to work tomorrow.”

  “So soon?” Lou pushed her black-framed glasses back up her nose. “Are you sure?”

  “Callie said it was fine,” Mina said, bending to kiss the top of Lou’s silver-cropped head. “I’m sure Bill will put me on day shift for a week, maybe a little longer. So other people will be there to continue Mina-watch.” Bill Morrison was a worse mother hen than Lou when it came to the well-being of his team.

  That didn’t seem to mollify Lou. “You need more rest. We need you well for the holidays.”

  No need to remind Mina of that. They were less than a week out from Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving celebrations rolled right on into Christmas preparation and then Christmas itself in Lou’s house.

  And maybe Mina was a grinch, but if she could use recuperating as an excuse to avoid some of the relentless holiday season cheer, then that could only be a good thing. She didn’t drink, but there’d been times over the last few Christmases when she’d wanted to. Times when pasting a smile on her face and pretending to enjoy herself so as not to be the weeping widow and ruin things for everyone else had made her want to run screaming from the house.

  “Mom, I’m fine. It was just a bump on the head.” Mina sat next to Lou. “It’s been lovely having you here fussing over me.”

  “Is that code for ‘but you can go home and leave me alone now’?” Lou asked with a smile.

  “Something like that. You know me, I’m the weird introvert daughter.”

  “You’re not weird,” Lou said. “Well, no more than any one else in the family, at least.” Her smile widened. “I will get out of your hair, though. You’re not the only one who likes some time to herself. Plus I need to finish my lesson plans.”

  “Gotta whip those kids into shape with their Shakespeare,” Mina said with a smile. Lou had taught English at the small high school in Lansing since Mina had been old enough to remember. In fact, Lou and Grey had met when he’d been looking for a tutor to teach Zach and some of the other Blacklight kids during a tour. Lou had applied on a whim, and the rest was, well, somewhat messy history.

  “First semester we do contemporary authors, not classics,” Lou said. “I leave the Bard until they’re well and truly tamed.”

  Lou’s students tended to adore her. Lou was tough but fair and went out of her way to help kids who needed it. Half the island had probably passed through her classroom at some point in time. She managed to instill them all with enough love for books and stories that the small bookstore in Cloud Bay did a booming trade even off-season.

  “Well, you can plot your world domination more easily without having to run around after me,” Mina said.

  “I will,” Lou said. “I’ll head home after lunch. I put lasagna in the oven earlier.”

  “I know,” Mina said, inhaling appreciatively. “It smells delicious. I’ll set the table.” She stood, waiting to see if Lou was going to object to her doing even that much but nope, apparently she was allowed to handle silverware as she only received a wave of Lou’s hand in the direction of the kitchen. Her stomach rumbled a little. Another good sign. She hadn’t had much of an appetite for the last few days.

  “Oh and there’s a message on your landline. The light’s blinking,” Lou said.

  Mina paused. “Who from?” Most people she knew would call her cell, not the landline. She only kept the landline because occasionally Lansing got a storm bad enough to knock out cell service.

  “I didn’t play it. Whoever it was called while I was out back throwing a ball for Stewie.”

  Curious, Mina headed for the phone. “Probably just a telemarketer,” she said. But when she hit the replay button, it was Will Fraser’s voice, calling to ask how she was feeling.

  Mina listened to the message, which was perfectly polite and friendly and felt herself start to blush. She hung up hastily and headed to the kitchen, busying herself with digging out silverware so as not to think about why she might blush at the sound of Will’s voice.

  “That was nice of him,” Lou said behind her.

  Mina dropped the knives she was holding with a noisy clatter. “Don’t sneak up on me,” she said reflexively, scooping up the silverware.

  “I didn’t sneak,” Lou said, shaking her head as she came to stand next to Mina, reaching up to the cabinet where Mina kept her plates. “He’s got good manners that one. What are you going to do to thank him?”

  “Thank him?” Mina’s mind was blank for a moment.

  “For rescuing you.” Lou shivered. “I hate to think what might have happened if he hadn’t seen you.” She put the plates on the counter and squeezed Mina’s hand briefly.

  Mina didn’t really want to think about that either. Or about Will. In fact, the few times he’d crossed her mind since the accident, she’d deliberately turned her attention to something else. Because each thought had brought a little jolt that she didn’t want to think about. Just like now when she’d heard his voice.

  “I hadn’t really thought about it,” she said. “But you’re right, I should do something.” She frowned, trying to think of something appropriate. She was out of practice with how one might thank a man. Especially when that man was barely a friend. She didn’t want to send the wrong message.

  “What’s the frown for?” Lou asked.

  “It’s just—”

  “It’s a thank you, not an invitation. Not that an invitation would be the worst thing in the world.” Lou hesitated. “It’s been a long time, Mina.” Her blue eyes were kind.

  “Mom. I don’t care how long it’s been. I don’t—”

  “Okay.” Lou held up her hands. “It’s your life. I’m just saying Will Fraser seems to be a good, smart, hardworking guy. Faith likes him.”

  “He owns a bar. He makes whiskey.” Mina says flatly.

  “Oh, sweetie,” Lou said. “That’s—”

  “Mom, I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not looking to date and if I was, then I wouldn’t be dating someone who makes booze for a living.”

  Lou bit her lip, clearly wanting to argue. But then, she just sighed. “Then just make the man some cookies or something. Men are easy enough to please if you feed them.”

  * * *

  “What kind of cookies do guys like?” Mina asked Faith as they headed to the beach early the next morning. The weather was still cool, but Faith had turned up at Mina’s front door as she did a few times each week anyway. Her concession to Mina’s still recuperating head was to propose that they walk not jog.

  Itching for some movement, Mina had accepted. With Callie’s warnings in mind, she’d donned sunglasses and a cap to shield her eyes. At least the gray morning meant there was little glare. Between that and the cap, her head was happy but cold. Still, cold was better than another bout of concussion headache. But even the cold couldn’t compl
etely drive away the thought of Will and how she was going to say thank you that had been bugging her since yesterday. So here she was, asking her big sister. Who had always known how to charm anyone she chose. Not that Mina was trying to charm Will, of course.

  Trying to act casual—there was a small chance that Faith would think the question was no big deal if Mina acted normal—she kept her eyes on Stewie who had bolted ahead of them as he usually did on their morning walks. In the early morning sun, the new red collar Faith had brought for him gleamed around his pale fur. It looked good from a distance when you couldn’t see the cartoon turkeys printed on it. Apparently Faith thought everyone should be dressing up for the holidays this year. She probably had a Christmas-themed collar ready for Stewie too. Knowing her sister’s sense of humor, it would be humping reindeers or something. Mina threw the ball she was carrying in Stewie’s direction and started to move down to where the sand was damp and it was easier going.

  Faith’s hand on her arm stopped her. “Oh no, I think this is a conversation we need to have standing still, little sis.”

  Mina stopped and turned to face her sister. Faith’s eyes were shielded behind her hi-tech sunglasses. Their mirrored surface showed only Mina’s own reflection, but Mina was pretty sure if she could see her big sister’s eyes, they’d be looking way too interested. Damn. She’d thought she might be able to get away with the question without getting the third degree.

  Do not blush. “Why?”

  “Because you just uttered the word ‘guy’ in a sentence in conjunction with something that suggests there’s a guy you want to please with cookies. This is news.”

  “It’s not news, it’s a reasonable question.”

  “A question that requires context. So, spill.”

  “How much context can a question about cookies possibly require?”

  “Well, for a start, who’s the guy and what’s the purpose of the cookies?”

  “Purpose?”

  “What are you trying to achieve? Like, are these seduction cookies?”

  Mina smiled, though her stomach tightened. “Seduction cookies?”

  “Seduction cookies are totally a thing,” Faith said. She pulled down the sunglasses and looked sternly at Mina over the rims. “A thing you should know about at your age.”

  “Adam didn’t have a sweet tooth,” Mina said. She waited for the familiar pang that using his name always brought. Still sharp. Though lately, perhaps there was a little ease to it too. A touch of sweet to the salt that made speaking his name not quite so hard. “For him, it would be seduction pretzels. Or seduction potato chips.” She left off the rest of the sentence. The part explaining that she’d never been serious enough with anyone other than Adam to have to try and seduce them with food. Faith knew that part well enough.

  “Does this guy have a sweet tooth?”

  Mina shrugged. “I don’t really know.”

  Faith waved her hand, as if brushing this problem away. “Most guys do. Let’s assume he does. Which brings us back to the purpose of the cookies.”

  “I’m just trying to say thank you. So these are non-seduction cookies.”

  “Thank you?” Faith sounded puzzled. “Wait, you’re making cookies for Will?”

  Mina didn’t like the look of the smile blooming across her sister’s face. “He did rescue me. Saying thank you is only polite.” She sounded like Lou now. Well, there were worse things in life than being as nice as Lou.

  “Cookies for Will Fraser,” Faith said. “Are you sure you don’t want them to be seduction cookies?”

  Mina’s stomach went from tight to rock hard. “Why would I want to seduce Will?”

  “Have you seen Will? The man is not exactly ugly.”

  “I didn’t see you snapping him up when you were single,” Mina pointed out.

  “Not my type. But he could be yours. A bona fide knight in shining armor. A hot knight.”

  Mina decided to ignore that last comment. “Not sure a coat and beanie constitutes shining armor. He does have a cool steed though.” Grey had quite the collection of cool and expensive cars most of their lives. Mina had never admitted how much she liked them. Adam had been into boats not cars. And it wasn’t like she needed a fancy car on the island. Her Jeep was enough. But Will’s pretty blue Mustang made part of her itch for something a little more exciting.

  Faith rolled her eyes. “I think if you’re fixating on the car rather than the man than your priorities are wrong.”

  “Maybe but I’m the one who gets to decide my priorities. And dating isn’t one of them.”

  “Will’s a good guy. And he’s…” Faith trailed off, biting her lip.

  Alive. Mina’s gut tightened. That was probably what her sister had just stopped herself from saying. Unlike Adam.

  “Lou already tried this speech. Will owns a bar.”

  “Oh, Mina.” Faith’s voice was equal parts exasperation and sympathy. “That doesn’t make him a bad person.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “He’s not like Grey. He’s not an alcoholic. He doesn’t even drink a lot.”

  “He and his brother make whiskey.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’s downing bottles of the stuff every night.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I don’t drink.” She’d never been a big drinker. And since Adam’s accident, the thought of alcohol turned her stomach.

  “And I respect that. But that doesn’t mean you can avoid everyone who does. I mean, you don’t avoid me. Or Lou. Or you know, just about everyone else who lives on this island.”

  “I don’t date them though. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. It’s my life. So I get to pick. Anyway, you spent years not dating anyone on the island and avoiding a relationship because of Dad. You had your hang-up and I get to have mine.” She folded her arms.

  “I changed my mind when I met the right guy.” Faith said gently.

  “Yeah, well, that’s the difference between you and me,” Mina said.

  “What is?”

  “I’ve already had the right guy. And now he’s gone.” Not waiting for Faith’s answer, Mina turned and ran down the beach toward Stewie.

  chapter four

  “Will, someone here to see you.”

  Will looked up to see his brother Stefan standing in the rear door of Salt Devil, apron around his waist and an amused look on his bearded face. He straightened from where he’d been unscrewing the rear seat of his Mustang.

  “Who?” he asked, kind of irritable. He was freezing his butt off out in the small back lot of the bar but needed to get the seat out to assess the damage. It was proving harder than he remembered from when he’d originally replaced the seat. Probably should have done it the day after Stewie had decided the Mustang was his new favorite chew toy, but they’d been busy at the bar all week and the weather had been wet. Today being Saturday, it was also going to be busy, but he’d stolen time he didn’t really have to work on the car. So he didn’t really need the interruption.

  “Her,” Stefan said, nodding his head to the right.

  Will turned and saw who was standing at the end of the alley that led from the customer lot out the front of the bar to the back of the building.

  Mina Harper. Jesus. Just as well that he’d moved away from the car or he would have probably banged his head on the door or dropped the socket wrench in his hand. Way to make an impression.

  He flicked his eyes back to Stefan and bit back the ‘Thanks for the heads-up, bro’ on the tip of his tongue. He’d never outright told Stefan about his crush, but his brother wasn’t dumb and Will was fairly sure Stefan knew which way Will’s affection lay. Stefan nodded once then disappeared back into the kitchen, closing the door with a not-so-subtle thud.

  Leaving Will alone with Mina.

  “Mina, hi,” he said, trying to sound unsurprised she was there.

  She nodded, smiled tentatively, and held up a square Tupperware container. “I wanted to say thank you. For the other night. I ma
de you cookies. Chocolate chip. I hope you like chocolate?”

  “Um, yes.” She’d made him cookies? That was … kind of adorable. “I mean, thanks, I love cookies.” That much was true. He did. Stefan made a mean oatmeal raisin that they sold in the bar during the day, and they flew out the door. Will always tried to steal a few before they went out for the customers, much to Stefan’s exasperation. But chocolate chip was his favorite.

  He smiled at Mina. She looked a lot better than when he’d left her house the morning after her accident. There was some color back in her face, so she was just pale rather than ghostly white. She’d brushed her dark bangs over her forehead but the wind blew them up briefly and revealed a neat pink line covered with a couple of small butterfly strips, which was a definite improvement over the bloody cut he remembered. A starting-to-fade bruise marred the skin around the cut and bled down to the top of her razor-blade cheekbones, but otherwise she looked healthy, her gray green eyes clear, not foggy with pain.

  Granted her faded jeans looked about a size too big and, combined with well-worn Doc Martens and a navy blue sweater that looked hand-knitted, the overall impression was of an urchin being somewhat swallowed by her clothes. A gorgeous urchin, all big eyes and cheekbones and … that mouth that he was suddenly finding very hard to look away from, but an urchin all the same.

  An urchin who was still holding out the container of cookies while he stood there like an idiot staring at her. Smooth.

  He cleared his throat, closed the distance between them with a couple of steps, and reached for the Tupperware. “I can get Stefan to put these in a—” But Mina wasn’t paying attention to him, she was looking past him. At the Mustang. At the open rear passenger door and the seat. Which even from her distance about ten feet away was clearly more than a little worse for wear. Stewie had chewed quite the hole near the top on the passenger side and torn a series of strips off the back of the seat on the driver’s side to top things off. The dog hadn’t done as much to the base of the seat, presumably because it was hard to chew on something when you were lying on it.