Chapter 7

Kenna

I jammed another one of Aunt Maeve's trucker hats on my head to cover up my current disaster. This hat said Salt Life, which, even though I still didn't understand it, seemed better than the other one that had Florida Man embroidered across the front. I glanced at myself in the mirror above the fireplace, shaking my head at my image. I honestly did not recognize the woman staring back at me. She had dark smudges under her sunken eyes, neon hair poking through the back of the borrowed hat, and an ill-fitting T-shirt instead of office wear.

With a sigh, my gaze dropped to the ceramic urn sitting on the mantel. The busty mermaid had had the last laugh last night when I'd opened her up as part of my exploration of the house, thinking I might find a key to a hidden safe full of money Aunt Maeve hadn't told anyone about. When I'd gotten a puff of ashes to the face, I'd barely held in the scream.

"You are a hideous urn. Not a proper resting place at all."

The mermaid stared back at me with one eye. The other was sending me a perpetual lusty wink. A manic giggle bubbled up and I let it loose, happy to know I could still laugh.

"Ah, Aunt Maeve. You seem like you were a character." Not for the first time did I wonder about the true roots of her falling out with my mother. Mom said they just didn't get along, but I'd seen enough old photos growing up to know there was a time when they did. Considering our lack of family, I thought Mom might have tried harder to stay close to her sister before it was too late.

Mom had always been far too fanciful for my tastes. She'd be more likely to spend her last dollar every month on a new crystal or a candle she just had to have than on practical things like groceries. Or rent. I looked around at the plants that were taking over Aunt Maeve's house. Perhaps the two sisters were more alike than I'd ever considered.

The knock on my door saved me from further conversations with the urn. Or my dead aunt.

I swung the door open, letting in the morning sunshine and a waft of wet heat with it. Florida didn't play around in the summers. It was hot and humid every hour of the day and night. And Florida wasn't the only thing hot. Dec leaned his muscular shoulder against the frame of the front door, all confident and ridiculously good looking with his hands shoved in the front jeans pockets and arms flexing in a form-fitting T-shirt. The baseball hat was back and there was a sketch of a fish on it.

"Hey." Yep. That was my greeting. I'd lost the ability to flirt somewhere between college and being knifed in the back by my husband, but I hadn't lost the ability to appreciate a fine male specimen when I saw one. I could have done without the awareness that prickled my skin though.

A single eyebrow kicked up and those whiskey eyes that had looked at me with nothing but judgement, sparkled. "Ready to unglow yourself?"

I frowned at him, but that only made him smirk harder. I reached for the crossbody purse I'd packed and swung it over my head. The credit cards I'd stashed in there wouldn't do me much good, but if a gator got me, a driver's license to identify my body would be helpful. I also tucked a potted plant under my arm. One down, three hundred to go.

Dec stepped back to give me room to close and lock the door. I tucked the key in my purse and followed him to his truck. The fishing poles were still in the back of the truck.

"You fish a lot?" The question was one step above asking about the weather.

Dec shrugged and went to the passenger side to open my door. I looked at the running board and the height of the truck, backing up to give myself a runway. I'd need to build up speed if I was expected to jump up into that thing.

"I fish most mornings." He held out his hand, and after a second of hesitation, I slipped my sweaty palm in his. He helped me up into the truck like an actual gentleman, which flew in the face of what I thought I knew of him. He waited until I was settled before closing the door and heading over to the driver's side.

"I guess you eat a lot of fish, then." Yes, still with the inane stilted conversation. I couldn't seem to help myself.

I almost missed Dec's shrug as I was staring out at the tiny town flicking past my window. The place was quaint. The broken sidewalks, patched up with planks of wood here and there made me relax. A few people were out and about, but most of the place seemed sleepy. After the hustle and bustle of San Francisco, this place was a beachy ghost town in comparison.

"Not really. I let the dockhands have whatever I catch."

I spun in the fancy leather seat, eyeing Dec yet again. No, not because he was hot in a way I shouldn't be noticing, but because I was beginning to catch on that Dec Boggs did not have to worry about money. This truck alone was worth more than the Tesla SUV Justin had insisted he needed to drive in the city.

"Are you retired?"

Dec kept his gaze on the road with one hand on the steering wheel. "You could say that."

That was it. No further explanation. No turnaround in the string of questions to keep the conversation going. Which was fine by me. I'd said enough already. Crap, I'd practically given him my entire life story yesterday.

Dec pulled the truck into a parking spot in the main downtown area. I hadn't gotten down this far on my bike yesterday. The storefronts were a little nicer, the paint fresh and the sidewalk no longer a trip hazard. The store right in front of us said Hair Today Dye Tomorrow and I instantly loved it. Anybody who can weave in a good pun was all right in my book.

I pushed the truck door open and slid out, landing on the one and only pair of sandals I brought with me. "Thanks for the ride!" I shut the door before Dec could respond, which probably wasn't very nice after he'd given me a ride, but I couldn't think of any further conversation starters.

"Wait." Dec came jogging around the back of the truck. "Take my cell number. Call or text when you're done and I'll come get you."

We exchanged information and I felt bad for almost running off. He even walked over and held open the salon door so I could stroll into the place with my potted plant with ease. Who knew Dec had a hidden gentleman under that baseball hat? The air-conditioning worked on cooling the sweat that had kicked up on the back of my neck while in Dec's presence. The salon was all white and glass, looking bright and cheery and modern, which was a relief. I watched Dec walk back to his truck, filling out those jeans like a Wrangler ad out on the range in Montana.

"You must be Kenna!"

I spun back around to see a woman coming from the back room, her bright red hair the most beautiful thing I'd seen on a woman in years. She had it styled with full-body curls and a little scarf that matched her black high-top Converse shoes as a headband.

"Hi." I gave an awkward wave and offered her the plant. "Yes, I'm Kenna and I probably have the worst home dye job you've ever seen."

Char put the plant on one of the stations and grabbed my hands, pulling me to a chair. Her face split with the kind of smile that made you instantly relax, as if you'd found an instant friend. "Girl, I've seen a thing or two, don't you worry. We have some women from Jersey who come in when they vacation down here during the season. If I can get through that level of hairspray, I'm sure your dye job won't phase me."

Despite her reassurance, I saw the wince on her face in the mirror when I pulled my hat off. She covered it quickly though, running her hands through my hair to get a handle on what had happened.

"It's not the best, Kenna, I'll tell you that. But your hair is super healthy despite the bleach, so I think we can fix this without anyone knowing what happened." She looked up and locked eyes with me in the mirror. "What do you say we go back to your regular auburn, but phase in some honey highlights to soften you up?"

My shoulders finally relaxed away from my ears. "Sounds perfect."

She smiled as bright as the sun. "We'll have Dec Boggs falling all over himself when we're done with you!"

My face went up in flames. "Oh no! No, you have the wrong impression. We're just neighbors and he offered to give me a ride."

Char's smile didn't fade as she got busy pulling bottles and bowls and brushes out of the cabinets to the right of the mirror. "Oh, I don't know, Kenna. I spied him opening the door for you and I nearly came without my vibrator."

I just about choked on my own spit. Where I was from, we never talked this freely. Justin and I definitely hadn't. Maybe if I had, I might have kept my husband's attention. No. Fuck that. I was not to blame in any way for his infidelity.

"Yeah, well. He is pretty and the tattoos are intriguing, but I'm still married. Currently in the middle of a divorce."

Char mixed dye in her bowl, coming back over to me with an entire cart full of foil sheets. "Oh lordie, tell me all about it, sweetie. I've got nothing but time and an insatiable need to know the juicy details."

I had a feeling Char knew a lot of juicy details about the residents of Sunshine Key. She had an open, friendly way about her that led one to word vomit their entire life story while they sat in this chair. By the time I stood to wash out the twenty pounds of foil in my hair, she'd had some choice words for my soon-to-be ex and his new lady. She'd also bolstered me up about my soon-to-be gorgeous hair and my skin, saying Justin was a fool to step out on me. I didn't know that I believed her, but it sure was nice to hear.

My stomach was growling, but there was no time to stop for a snack. I texted Dec that I would be ready shortly, but he didn't text back. Char had the round brush in my hair, working on blowing out the last section before she'd let me spin back around and see her creation. Literally anything would be better than what I'd walked in with, but nothing prepared me for when she spun me around.

A woman I didn't recognize sat staring back at me. In a good way this time. She had a stupid Sunshine Key T-shirt on, but the hair looked like I'd walked straight off the pages of a celebrity magazine. Controlled beach waves of auburn, laced in just the right spots with honey highlights made me look a full five years younger. Back before life and jackass husbands had worn me down.

I leaned toward the mirror and pinched my cheek, just to be sure it was me. Char threw her arms around me in a surprise hug from behind.

"Your ex is going to rue the day he looked at another woman."

She said it so fiercely I internalized the idea and let it roll around in my head. Char and Liz had both been right. This whole shakeup with my job and my marriage might just be the best, most painful thing that had ever happened to me.

"You are my new best friend in Sunshine Key," I whispered, squeezing Char back, not the least bit joking.

"And you're mine, Kenna girl. Take my number. We can go shopping together." She released me with a giggle.

I stood and caught sight of my outfit in the mirror. I looked like a tourist trap had vomited all over me. It felt good to laugh with her. "I desperately need that, thank you."

Dec's big truck pulled up outside in the same spot he'd dropped me off in. He climbed out, coming inside the shop and stopping short when he saw me.

"Whoa." His gaze swung to Char. "Nicely done."

As far as compliments go, it was subpar, but at this point, beggars couldn't be choosers. As Dec pulled out his credit card to pay for my hair at the desk up front, I bumped his arm purposely.

"Thank you," I murmured.

His head swiveled, bright brown eyes burning into me as he stared. "My pleasure."

Something about the way he said it, the words smooth as top-shelf whiskey, made my whole body shiver. Char handed back his credit card and caught my eyes, waggling her eyebrows. I hoped Dec didn't catch the way my cheeks gave away my embarrassment. Damn this pale skin.

I hugged Char with promises to call her soon to get together. Then Dec opened the truck door and helped me up. As we zoomed across town to the marina, the storm clouds were gathering quick in the sky above us.

"Does it always rain in the afternoons?"

He took a hard right into the parking lot without so much as touching the brakes. I grabbed the handle over the passenger side window and prayed for safety.

"Pretty much. Summer in Florida is the rainy season. It'll let up in a couple of months, and with any luck the hurricanes will miss us this year."

"Hurricanes?"

The look Dec shot me as he pulled into a parking space at the marina said he didn't think much of my question. Certainly, I'd heard of hurricanes hitting Florida, but I hadn't given it any real thought before flying out here. We didn't have hurricanes in California. Earthquakes, sure, but hurricanes were as foreign to me as blizzards.

I looked around at the marina, taking in all the boats lined up, some much bigger than others. I knew almost next to nothing about boats too. I liked to look at them as they sailed by under our tall bridges in San Francisco, but that was the extent of my knowledge.

Lightning cracked and the thunder right after had me feeling jumpy.

"Best get inside before it pours." Dec slid out of his truck and came around to help me out too. He reached into the back seat for a leather portfolio of some sort before shutting my door. We hustled in the direction of a small building built at the base of the marina. A few raindrops fell as a warning and then the entire sky of rain clouds seemed to dump all at once.

Dec grabbed my arm and held the portfolio over my head as we began to run. Perhaps I'd misjudged Dec my first day here. Only a gentleman would try to save a woman's new hair.

As soon as we made it under the overhang of the building, he let me go, shaking off his portfolio. I jumped as another crack of lightning lit the suddenly gloomy afternoon. The only good thing about these storms was they cooled off the temperature by at least ten degrees.

Dec gestured to the white-and-blue sign affixed to the gray plank siding of the building. "Welcome to Captain's Boat Club, sunshine."

Mom: Well??

Me: It's kind of complicated. I get the house and financial accounts, but only if I run her boat club with the next-door neighbor for a full year.

Mom: WHAT? Oh, honey, just come home. Don't let Maeve manipulate you like this.

Me: I'm taking some time to think about it. It's not a horrible idea…

Mom: What's so great about staying in Florida and running a boat club? You don't know the first thing about boats.

Me: I know you have to lower the prop before you give it some gas…

Mom: That's oddly specific, honey. I feel like I should fly out there. You're in over your head.

I rolled my eyes. I'd been taking care of Mom since I was eight years old. If anyone was in over their head at any given time, it was Mom. A separate text came through, distracting me.

Dec: We need to come up with a plan. Are you in or out?

A surge of crackling energy filled my veins. Maybe it was my shiny new hair. Maybe it was the kindness of Char or having absolutely zero reasons to go back home to San Francisco to the shambles of my life. Whatever it was, I was ready for adventure.

Me: Count me in. Let's meet up tomorrow morning after you're back from fishing.