Page 5 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #9)

CHAPTER FOUR

Sally heaved a sigh of frustration as she trotted along the sidewalk as fast as her legs would take her.

It was freezing cold outside, and even though she’d bundled herself up as well as she could, the wind still seemed to be clever enough to find a way past her defenses.

She pulled her hat down tighter around her ears and stuffed her mittened hands into the pockets of her coat.

Around her, the streets of Rosewood Beach were covered in a fresh dusting of snow.

It gave the world a clean, fresh feeling that almost made up for how bitingly cold it was that morning.

She reminded herself that for the rest of the winter she would have her car, and she wouldn’t have to take such a long walk in the early morning air again.

She was on her way to Main Street Auto, Rosewood Beach’s auto repair shop.

It was owned and run by Dean Owens, Vivian’s son, and it was an excellent, reliable establishment.

She reflected that at least she knew a good mechanic to go to.

Everything would have felt even more overwhelming if she’d had to take her car to a place that she didn’t trust to repair it properly or charge her a fair price.

She shook her head as she considered what time it must be.

She didn’t want to take her mittens off to check the screen of her phone, nor did she want to roll up her sleeve to see her watch, but she knew it must be a little past eight in the morning already.

She knew Dean wouldn’t mind too much if she was later than she’d told him she would be, but she was also running late to get to the café.

She sighed, trying to tell herself that it didn’t matter all that much. The café had already been opened for the morning, and her employees could get by without her for a little longer. They wouldn’t know what to list as the lunch specials yet, but there was still plenty of time for that.

She thought about all of the things she needed to get done for the rest of the day and felt her stomach slosh with a miniature sea-storm of stress.

She knew that she would be able to accomplish it all before the end of the day, but it meant a long, somewhat complicated morning and afternoon.

She would have to hustle and keep her wits about her.

She’d meant to leave for Main Street Auto a full twenty minutes earlier than she had, but she’d gotten a call informing her that her shipment of food supplies had been delayed until that evening.

It wasn’t a catastrophe, but it was bad news.

The shipment had included fresh avocados, which were an element in a lot of Ocean Breeze Café’s sandwiches.

She would have to put tags next to those items on the over-the-counter menu, informing customers that they were out of avocados.

She never liked to do that, since it felt unprofessional to her, but life happened and sometimes there were situations when it couldn’t be helped.

I just wish I didn’t have to do all of this alone , she thought, biting her lip and stuffing her hands deeper into her pockets.

I wish I had someone who I could ask to pick up this car with me, so I didn’t have to walk.

Or someone who could have run to the supermarket for a few extra avocados before the lunch rush.

She shook her head, knowing that having a partner came with its challenges along with its conveniences. Heartbreak, for example.

She’d been in love before, about a decade ago.

His name had been Hank, and he’d been tall and muscular, with a deep voice and a booming laugh.

At first, they’d gotten along incredibly well, and he’d told her that she was fun and he thought they were going to have a lot of adventures together.

But when he’d wanted to move away from Rosewood Beach because he’d said it was too small, she’d balked.

She loved her hometown and the people in it too much to ever move away from it.

He’d hung on for a while longer, trying to convince her to move away with him, but after a while he’d decided that not only was Rosewood Beach too small, Sally was too attached to her business.

“It’s all you ever think about,” he’d said, and while she’d protested that wasn’t true, she couldn’t deny the fact that it meant a great deal to her.

In the end, Hank had moved out of town, taking a part of Sally’s heart with him.

My café does mean a great deal to me, she thought . And I think in the right relationship, I wouldn’t have had to apologize for that. I could have been myself and my man would have understood and supported me. Maybe he even would have run errands for me if I needed help.

She sighed. The time for romance had passed her by, so there was no use in letting herself feel badly about it.

When she’d lost Hank, the blow had been shattering, but she’d learned to move beyond it and embrace her life.

Now she needed to move past the sadness she was feeling and fully accept her circumstances for what they were.

They might not have been what she’d once hoped for herself, but they were still incredibly good.

She had a café that she was proud of, wonderful customers, and now she had a new, dear community of friends.

And on top of that, she was learning to make deeper connections with all the people in Rosewood Beach that she interacted with, knowing how much joy was possible when she let herself really open her heart to friendships.

Not to love though , she thought, turning the corner onto Main Street. She was almost to Main Street Auto. I couldn’t open my heart up to romantic love again, not after Hank. That was my last chance at love, and I lost it.

She shook her head, tucking her head deeper into her coat as if she was a turtle.

Losing love had been too painful, and she wasn’t willing to risk getting hurt like that again.

Besides, she was too old for that sort of thing.

Who would be interested in a quirky older woman like herself?

Hank had liked her so much because she was fun, but it had turned out that she wasn’t fun enough for him.

She was probably just the type of person that wouldn’t really be the right fit for anyone.

She arrived at Main Street Auto a few moments later. She stepped inside the lobby hurriedly and breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the balmy, heated air touch her cold cheeks. She was just pulling her mittens off her hands when Dean stepped out of his office.

“Good morning, Sally!” He grinned at her as though they were old friends. Sally liked the feeling of camaraderie that she had begun to share with the Owens family ever since she’d started going to their dinner nights.

“Hi, Dean.” She rubbed her cheeks with her hands, which was still warm from being inside her double-layer knit mittens. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Don’t even worry about it.” He smiled warmly at her. “It’s not like I wasn’t here anyway.”

“True.” She smiled, glad she hadn’t inconvenienced anyone besides herself with her lateness. “How’s she doing? Back to normal?”

“That starter is as good as new—as a matter of fact, it is new. You shouldn’t have any more car problems for quite a while. We did a full inspection and nothing else seems to be the matter or in danger of falling apart any time soon.”

“Wonderful.” She loved peace of mind when it came to vehicles. “Thank you, Dean.”

She was happy to see the young man looking so energetic.

Dean had recently been diagnosed with early onset osteoarthritis, which had been a terrible blow to him and his whole family.

His troubles had a wonderful silver lining, however—it was his fatigue and muscle aches that had led him to physical therapy, where he’d met Noelle Calhoun, who was now his fiancée.

Noelle was just about the sweetest, kindest person in the world in Sally’s opinion, and Dean was head over heels for her.

Of all of the Owens family couples, Dean and Noelle were the two most likely to be found in a corner, whispering and laughing and staring adoringly into each other’s eyes.

Noelle was no longer Dean’s physical therapist, since he’d switched to a man named Chip before starting to date her, but his physical therapy work along with his reduced labor hours at the shop had done wonders for his osteoarthritis symptoms. With Noelle and his family’s support on top of that, he was now thriving in all areas of his life, and Sally couldn’t have been happier for him.

Dean printed out Sally’s paperwork and she had just finished paying her bill when the front door of the shop opened.

Along with a gust of cold air, Noelle tumbled into the lobby.

The beautiful young redhead was wearing a bright pink hat with a pom-pom on the top and a puffy coat that was nearly the same color as the hat.

“Hey!” Dean lit up like a firework when he saw her and hurried around from behind the front desk to give her a bear hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to surprise you with lunch,” Noelle said. Dean’s jaw dropped in an expression of delight, and Sally had to chuckle quietly, it was so charming. The love between Dean and Noelle was really something special, she thought.

Noelle held up a brown paper bag. “I didn’t have time to cook, but I swung by The Lighthouse Grill and got you a tuna melt with coleslaw and waffle fries.

Tom made it special for you—he remembered you mentioning that you prefer your coleslaw extra tangy, and he added a touch more vinegar just the way you like it.

He also said to tell you that the anti-inflammatory spices in the tuna melt should help with your joints on a cold day like today. ”

Sally smiled warmly at the mention of Tom’s thoughtfulness. She didn’t know the man well, but she knew he had been working at The Lighthouse Grill for years, and it sounded like his reputation for going above and beyond as a chef was well-deserved.