Page 7 of Searching for Sunshine (Crestbrook Cove #1)

WYATT

“ M an, where the hell have you been? I’ve been calling your phone constantly for the last hour,” Trent yells as soon as I open the door to The Sand Bar.

“Shit, sorry. I got caught up on the way here,” I explain, walking over to the bar where he’s sitting.

“Caught up? There’s less than a mile between here and your apartment. What in the hell happened?” Trent asks, making it clear he’s not letting the topic go.

I’m just opening my mouth to respond when Everett, my other brother and the owner of The Sand Bar, comes out of the stockroom in the back with a new bottle of whiskey.

“Hey, Wyatt, where have you been? Trent told me you were coming over an hour ago.”

“Well, I—” I start as Bennett, my best friend, walks over from where he was playing pool in the corner.

Bennett and I have been friends as long as I can remember, and he runs the local surf shop here in town.

He’s like another brother to me, and we usually meet up at least once a week for dinner, but I didn’t realize he was coming here tonight. Great.

“Hey, Wyatt, what took you so long? Trent told me you’d be here an hour ago,” he says, interrupting me.

“Holy shit. I didn’t know my whereabouts were such a big fucking deal,” I mutter, rubbing my hand over my eyes in frustration.

“Come on, man, don’t be a dick. You just weren’t answering anyone’s calls, and it’s not like you to be late. Everything okay?” Bennett asks, leaning against the bar while Everett grabs us all a beer out of the cooler.

I wince, realizing he’s right, before answering, “Yeah, everything’s fine. But I guess I do have some news. I wouldn’t make a big deal about it, but as soon as the news gets out this town is gonna go fucking nuts, and I’ll probably need y’all’s help anyway.”

Trent raises his eyebrows at me waiting for me to continue. “Uh, dude, what the hell happened?”

Bracing myself for their reactions, I sigh. “I’m getting married on Thursday. And I’m moving into the High Tide Hideaway for the next year.”

Both my brothers and best friend stare at me for a moment before they all burst into laughter.

“Damn, man, I know you’re not usually one for jokes, but that’s fucking hilarious. But in the future, you’re gonna want to make your pranks a little more realistic. Getting married on Thursday. That’s a good one, man,” Trent says before they all look up at me.

They must see something on my face, because after a moment Trent tells me. “Okay, joke’s over. You can laugh now.”

“I’m not joking,” I tell him, and the whole table freezes.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Bennett’s the first one to speak. “Uh, what? I don’t think I heard you right. Did you just say you’re getting married?”

“Yeah, I’ve only had two beers, but I must be a little tipsier than I realized because that’s what I thought you said too,” Trent says, scratching his head in confusion.

“Uh, I’m pretty damn sober, and I heard the same thing,” Everett interjects, and all three of them turn back to look at me.

“We’re going to need a whole hell of a lot more explanation on this one, Wyatt,” Bennett says, and Trent and Everett both murmur in agreement.

“Okay, fine. Do y’all remember Stella Hale?” I ask my brothers and they nod. I turn back to Bennett to explain, “Stella was Mrs. Betty’s granddaughter.”

“The one who ran the Hideaway for years, right?” Bennett asks.

“Yeah, that’s her. I know you weren’t always around during the summers while we were growing up, but our grandmothers were best friends. Stella came to stay with Betty every summer and since we were already living with our grandmother at that point, we spent a lot of time together.”

“God, the two of you were basically attached at the hip when she was in town. I remember our grandmother always told us that you had the biggest crush on her,” Everett says with a laugh, and I can’t resist the urge to roll my eyes at my younger brother.

“I did not have a crush. We were just friends,” I argue, turning back to my best friend.

“Basically, it started because our grandmother and Betty had a weekly lunch date. Even when they were taking care of us all, they only brought us along so they could see each other. And over the years, we just stayed friends when Stella was in town. Our grandmother volunteered us for odd jobs at the hotel as we got older, and Stella always kept us company because she didn’t know a ton of people in town. ”

“Yeah, I think I remember meeting her one summer.”

“That sounds right. Well, anyway, we all know Mrs. Betty died a few months ago, but Stella only found out today that her grandmother left her the Hideaway in her will.”

“Okayyy,” Everett says, dragging out the word. “That’s great and all, but I don’t understand what this has to do with you getting married. We haven’t seen Stella in what? Ten years?”

“I’m getting there, okay? Betty left her the hotel, but there were some strings attached.

In order for her to take over, she has to be married and she has to agree to live on the property and manage it with her husband for at least a year.

Otherwise, she forfeits the place and it gets sold to some money-hungry land developer. ”

“Damn, that sucks, man,” Trent says. “But have I missed something? I don’t mean to sound like a dick but what does this have to do with you?”

“Yeah, I mean, have the two of you stayed in touch? How did you even find out about all of this?” Everett asks.

“No, I haven’t seen her in years either. But when I was walking over here, I ran into her. I could tell she was upset, and once we started talking she told me everything. So I just suggested we get married.”

My brothers and best friend all stare at me again, before Everett asks, “Wait, wait, wait. So not only are you getting married, but it was your idea?”

“Uh, yeah…” I answer, hoping they’ll let this go but knowing that’s pretty unlikely.

The three of them are my best friends in the world and I can appreciate why they’re worried about such a big announcement out of the blue, but I’m not in the mood to spend the rest of the night defending my decisions.

And to be honest, I’m still not really sure why I offered to go through with all of this, but seeing Stella reminded me of everything my grandmother did for my brothers and me—andI know that this is something Betty and my grandmother, Meredith, would have wanted.

Plus, if I’m being truthful with myself, I always liked Stella, and I couldn’t stand to keep seeing her as upset as she was earlier tonight when I knew I could fix it.

“So you saw this girl for the first time in ten years and immediately offered to marry her and move in with her? The same guy who hasn’t been on a date in over a year?” Trent asks incredulously.

“Yeah, I mean I know you’re trying to help her out, and I think that’s great. But you’re also pretty much the least spontaneous person I’ve ever met,” Bennett says, and I have to admit he’s right. “Are you sure this is something you want to do?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Listen, I’m not trying to make light of the situation, but it doesn’t have to be a big deal. We spend the year married as friends, and then as soon as the year’s over we get a divorce and she keeps the Hideaway,” I tell them, taking a sip of my beer.

“Okay, that’s your decision. And I always liked Stella. I think we’re just surprised,” Everett says, and the others nod in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s safe to say that none of this was really on my bingo card for the year either,” I mutter under my breath and all three of them chuckle before I continue. “But I promise I’m good. I think this’ll be good for all of us.”

“Okay, well, if you’re happy, we’re happy,” Bennett tells me.

“Good, because I'm going to need a favor or two from y’all to make this work.”

All three of them look at me, waiting for me to elaborate. “Yeah, man, whatever you need, we’ll make it happen,” Trent says, and I don’t miss the uncertainty in his voice.

“Cool. In that case, I’ll let y’all flip a coin to decide which one of you is getting ordained online to marry us. Oh, and we’ll probably need help getting moved into the Hideaway later this week too.”

“Damn, I hate moving shit,” Bennett says then adds, “but sure. Between all of us, I’m sure it won’t take us too long to get it knocked out.”

“God, you were right earlier. The people of Crestbrook are going to lose their shit when they hear about this,” Everett says, and I groan at the reminder.

“Shit, I’m not looking forward to that. I just wish everyone in this damn town would mind their own business,” I mutter.

I’m already imagining Miss Agatha, the town's busybody, tracking me down for all the details as soon as the news starts to spread. I love Crestbrook, but despite living here my whole life, I still don’t think I’ll ever be used to how fast gossip spreads around this place.

“Yeah, right. We all know better than that. You’ll be lucky if you make it through this dinner before Miss Agatha has a marriage announcement on The Cove Column ’s social media page,” Trent teases.

The Cove Column is the local newspaper that Miss Agatha runs, but she likes to drop some other town gossip on slow news days on the social media pages.

“You know, for being in her seventies, she’s incredibly tech-savvy,” Bennett muses.

“Okay, enough about weddings and Miss Agatha. Can we talk about something else now?” I ask, shifting my attention to Everett. “Also, can I get a burger or something? I’m fucking starving.”

“I put your usual in the computer when I grabbed your beer. It should be ready in a few minutes. Trent and Bennett already ate since you took forever to show up.”

“Thanks,” I mumble, tipping up my bottle for another sip of my beer.

“So, Wyatt, Trent said that you’ve been having problems out on the Fin and Tonic . Do you think she’s good to go now?” Bennett asks.

“Yeah, I hope she’s good to go for a little while because I sure as shit don’t have the extra cash to fix anything major,” I admit as I pull my phone out of my pocket.

“Sure, now you decide to check the damn phone,” Trent mumbles. I flip him off in response before turning my attention back to my cell. I have a text from an unknown number, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s from Stella.

Stella: Hey, it’s Stella. I realized when I got home I never gave you my cell number. Just wanted you to have it in case you come to your senses and realize this plan is probably a terrible idea. Either way, thank you for taking care of me today.

Wyatt: Hey, Stella. I have no intention of changing my mind, but I’m glad you texted. And no worries. Did you make it home okay?

Stella: Yeah, I’m home now. About to start packing our apartment. Another plot twist— my best friend is going to move down to Crestbrook too. She’ll be living in the hotel for a little while.

Wyatt: Oh, that works out. I’ve already got a moving crew ready to help y’all when you get here.

Stella: Look at you swooping in and saving the day again. I guess that’s the theme of the day, huh?

Wyatt: No problem.

Stella: Okay, I’ve gotta get started on packing but I’ll see you Wednesday evening before the wedding.

Wyatt: That sounds good. I'll see you then, Stella.

“Oh my god, Wyatt, are you seriously smiling at your phone screen right now?” Trent asks, staring at me from across the table.

“He definitely doesn’t look that happy when he’s texting us,” Bennett jokes.

“Fuck off,” I mutter, flipping them off as I tuck my phone in my pocket.

“Yeah, I feel like this summer just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting,” Trent says, and I try to ignore the feeling that he might be right.