Page 26 of Sea La Vie (The Outer Banks #1)

Tate

T hunder booms outside and light flashes through my window, bright enough to illuminate the tiny room I’m in at Dave and Lucille’s.

The threadbare quilt covering me had me turning my lip up in disgust when I first saw it, but now I hold it tight under my chin, loving how soft it is and the warmth it brings.

Coming back to this town—and Lainey—had me skeptical at first, but just like this quilt, it’s something I’m growing more accustomed to each day.

I throw off the covers and stretch, noticing my muscles are sore from nights spent painting, getting the cottage back to its prime, and sleeping on a bed that was probably here when I was a kid.

The other night at the diner, I sat at the bar and watched Lainey in her element.

She chatted with every table in there, stopping every now and then to check on me.

The way Lainey loved this town was evident in everything she did, and it was obvious the town loved her back.

When Eden walked in and sat down beside me, an idea flashed to the front of my mind that I’d been thinking about all day, and while it might be tough, I can’t remember being this genuinely excited for something in a long, long time.

“Well, good morning,” Eden says as she wipes down the espresso maker. “You’re here early. Are you trying to beat Lainey to being the official taste tester for the day’s special?”

I grin. “That wasn’t my initial plan, but now that you mention it, it sounds like a great idea.”

“One ‘Lovestruck Latte’ coming right up,” she winks and turns back to the espresso maker.

“Have you seen Lainey yet this morning?” I ask, anxious to get started on this project.

Eden shakes her head and glances out the window. “This weather is something else. I hope she didn’t try to take the boat out.” Rain splashes against the window and thunder booms again in the distance. Eden tucks her bottom lip between her teeth and glances out the window once more.

“She wouldn’t try to do something like that, would she?

” I ask, feeling my heart rate pick up. It’s a monsoon out there.

Lucille’s news blared from the kitchen this morning, warning everyone on the southern coast of North Carolina to stay inside if possible.

Cars along Water Street have slowed to a crawl, and only a few brave people are outside, rain coats cinched tight around their bodies and scurrying quickly to wherever they’re going.

Eden blows out a puff of air and her bangs dance around her face. “Lainey hasn’t changed that much in a decade,” she says.

“Meaning…?” I trail off.

“She’s stubborn. You know that. She’s got a mind of her own, and she’s dead set on keeping her dad’s business running while he recovers.” Eden’s phone dings on the counter and she checks it, then lets out a sigh of relief. “She just texted me and said she’s headed over.”

Relief floods my body and my quick, shallow breathing steady. “Thank God,” I mutter, peering out the window once more. When I turn back to the bar, Eden’s watching me. She’s got one eyebrow cocked, and the corner of her mouth turns up into a smirk.

My face flames, knowing Eden’s able to read me like the books she keeps on the shelves surrounding us. She knows I’m crazy about her best friend. I swallow hard. “I was wondering if you could suggest any books on gardening?”

“Gardening, huh?” she asks, and crosses her arms.

“Gardening,” I repeat.

“Come here.” She walks around from the bar and motions for me to follow her through her neatly kept, colorful shelves full of books. She turns around and smirks. “You’re so in love with her it’s disgusting.”

“I didn’t tell you why I wanted it,” I lamely protest.

She stops at a particular bookshelf and spins to face me, the tail of her oversized flannel whirling behind her, and props a hand on her hip. “You didn’t have to.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“I think Lainey doesn’t open up to many people about how she really feels,” she says.

“I think she wants to paint the picture of having a perfectly happy life doing everything for everybody else all the time and nothing for herself. That’s who she is.

But I think you see right through it, don’t you? ”

I nod. “I want to do something for her for once.”

Eden narrows her eyes and cocks her head.

“You’re alright, you know that?” She turns around and steps on her tiptoes to reach above her.

She pulls down a hardback book with a green cover, then drops it into my hands unceremoniously.

“This will get you started. Let me know when you’re finished with it and I’ll give you another. ”

“Thanks, Eden,” I say. “Would you mind maybe not telling her about this?”

“Your secret is safe with me,” she promises. “Head down to Al and Miss Kat’s for some starters. Miss Kat grows some of the biggest Dahlias you’ve ever seen. You know those were her momma’s favorites, right?”

She grabs an ink pen from the mug beside the cash register then draws me a map on the back of my receipt.

The rain has started subsiding and more people are moving around Water Street now.

“Thanks again, Eden!” I call over my shoulder right as Lainey bustles in, her yellow raincoat leaving little puddles in her wake, and Midge dancing circles around her feet.

“This weather,” she mutters to herself. She shakes off her hood, then each arm, before finally realizing I’m standing there. “Oh, hey Tate.” She rocks back and forth on her blue rain boots and peers down at my bag. “Anything good in there?”

I quickly move it behind my back in a very suspicious way. Smooth.

“Nope.”

“Then…why’d you buy it?” she asks, attempting to peer behind me.

“He asked me to special order a book for natural remedies on constipation!” Eden hollers from behind the bar. Lainey’s bent down, unbuckling Midge’s leash from her harness.

“Seriously?” I mouth at Eden. She smiles brightly in return, then doubles over in silent laughter.

“Hey, what are you doing today?” I ask, Lainey, in an attempt to distract her from Eden.

“Not fishing, apparently,” she huffs. She runs a hand through her damp waves and trudges over to the bar. “I don’t know how we’re ever going to make it through this season.”

“Lainey Adams always finds a way,” Eden says and takes her rain jacket.

She hangs it up on a hook by the register and immediately starts pouring Lainey a cup of the day's special.

After she slides it over to her, she squirts some whipped cream into a cup and lays it on the floor for Midge who happily laps at it with her tongue.

“I don’t even want to think about it,” she says with a shake of her head. “The only good thing to ever come out of this crazy unpredictable weather is the sea glass.”

“Here, here,” Eden says with a lift of her own mug.

“Sea glass?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Lainey answers. “It’s glass that turns smooth after tumbling around the ocean for who knows how long.

Some of it is old and comes from shipwrecks, some is from bottles that have been thrown into the ocean.

It’s kind of hard to find on a normal, clear day around here, but after a storm, it’s pretty common. ”

“Interesting,” I say. “I’m surprised I never found any when we were kids.”

“We can look for some,” Lainey says. “If you want, I mean.”

“I’d love that.” I look over at Eden who’s scurried down to the end of the bar, out of Lainey’s vision. She shoots me a thumbs up, a Cheshire Cat grin spreading across her face.

“The weather seems like it should be calming down enough for us to take the ferry over to Cape Lookout,” Lainey says. “We might be able to find some conch shells, too, but we’ll probably need to rent a Jeep to get to the side of the island that’s best for finding everything.”

“Sounds good to me.”

The ferry dumps us and a few other brave souls off at Cape Lookout an hour later.

I follow Lainey up to a small, weather-beaten cabin.

“Be right back.” She hands me Midge’s leash then disappears inside, and I watch as she greets the older man behind the counter.

A few minutes later, she waves goodbye and steps back into the sunshine, twirling a set of keys around her finger.

“He’s my dad’s second cousin or something like that,” she explains. “He always lets me rent for free.”

She hits the unlock button and scans the Jeeps available until a candy apple red one lights up. Its top and doors are already off and Lainey slides behind the wheel, Midge jumping in behind her.

“What if I wanted to drive?” I ask, playfully.

“Tate, do you happen to remember swerving to avoid hitting a squirrel and demolishing the underside of your car?” Lainey says, arching an eyebrow.

“Touché,” I answer, but in reality I’m thinking that the squirrel, flat tire, and broken control arm are the best things that have ever happened to me.

Because looking at Lainey right now with her sun-bleached blonde hair floating around her tan shoulders, Ray-Ban aviators slipping down her freckled nose, and overall strap dangling down her arm, I can’t help but think…

this is what I want. This is what I’ve been missing out on.

“You ready, City Boy?” Without waiting for my answer, she hits the gas and we’re off, trailing down the hazy beach.

We cruise along and I admire the dunes, some as tall as a house.

On my other side, a shrimp boat floats along, pelicans yapping overhead.

Finally, Lainey slows then shifts the Jeep into park.

“This is it,” she says. “The best place on the entire east coast to find sea glass and conch shells.”

We walk side by side along the beach, the waves gently lapping at our toes.

Midge runs freely ahead of us, stopping to stick her nose in the sand and dig every few feet.

The gray sky has dropped the water's temperature and Lainey kicks at it with a bare foot, droplets spraying against my shins. “Days like today make me question what I’m even doing,” she mumbles.