Chapter 13

"CanI speak to the manager please?" a familiar voice said from behind Braxton. He dropped the inventory sheet and turned, a huge smile claiming his lips. "Niko? What the hell are you doing here?" He hurried out from behind the counter and pulled his childhood friend in for a tight hug.

"Looking for a kayak," Niko said when he pulled back, his face lit with amusement. "What else would I be doing here?"

"That's a long way to come from Florida just to get a kayak," Braxton joked. "Seriously, what brings you here to Befana Bay?"

Niko ran a hand through his dark curls and glanced away for a moment before he said, "I needed a change of scenery, and I figured what better place to go other than where my two best buddies are."

The weight of Braxton's troubles seemed to melt away as he stared at the friend he hadn't seen in over fifteen years. He, Niko, and Dante had all been friends in high school, but once Braxton and Dante went away to college and Niko moved to Key West to join his uncle's charter boat business, their lives had gone in opposite directions. And for some reason, they hadn't found time to visit. "I just can't believe you're here," Braxton said. "Have you seen Dante yet?"

"Not yet." Niko gave him a smug smile. "I literally just rolled into town."

"How long are you staying?" Braxton was already mentally trying to juggle his schedule so that he could make time to spend with Niko.

"A while."

"What the hell does that mean?" Braxton asked with a laugh as he led Niko through the store. "Are we talking a couple of days? A week maybe?"

"I leased a short-term rental for a month, so at least that long. Maybe more. We'll see."

Braxton stopped abruptly and turned to look at his friend. "A month, maybe more? Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"What about your charter business?" Braxton asked. Niko had taken it over from his uncle when he'd retired a few years earlier, and summer was his peak season. "Did you hire someone to run it?"

"Nah. It's closed. Like I said, I needed a change of scenery. This was my first stop." He glanced over at the bay. "Maybe I'll open a new charter business here. I don't know yet. I'm still thinking things over."

"Whoa, that is a big change," Braxton said, wondering what had prompted the move. Instead of prying, he said, "If you're looking for something in the meantime, we could use someone to manage our kayak tours."

Interest lit Niko's gaze. "Really?"

"Yeah. The guy who did it last season moved out of state, so we have an opening. It's yours if you want it."

"I'll think about it."

"You do that." Braxton clapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey," Niko said suddenly, "I ran into your mother on my way here. I thought you two weren't talking? What's she doing up here?"

Braxton swallowed a groan and then forced himself to say, "She's turning over a new leaf or something."

"Sounds sketchy," Niko said and then added, "I know she's your mom, but keep your guard up around her, okay, man? After the shit she pulled when you were a kid…"

He didn't need to finish the sentence. Braxton knew all too well that he was right. "Don't worry about it. That trust was broken a long time ago."

"Niko?" Dante called just in time, saving Braxton from his least favorite topic of conversation. "Hey, man, how the hell are you?"

They embraced and Braxton quickly caught him up on the little information he'd pried out of their friend.

"This is incredible, man," Dante said. "I can't believe you didn't let us know. We have to make plans immediately. What's it been, fourteen, fifteen years? We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Fifteen," Braxton said.

Dante put his arm around Niko and pulled him in for a sideways hug. "Tonight, the party is on."

"It better be. I hauled my ass all the way across the country to see you two," Niko teased. "But first, we have plans."

"We do?" Braxton asked. "When?"

"Right after you close this place down for the night." Niko glanced at his watch. "Which is in about five minutes, right?"

"Yes," Dante answered for Brax.

"Good. Meet me out front." He turned and walked out of the store, leaving Dante and Braxton behind.

"You really didn't know he was coming?" Dante asked Brax.

"Nope. No idea." They'd spoken on the phone every month or so for years, but life had gotten complicated for all of them, and getting together just hadn't worked out. "It's really great to see him though."

"It really is," Dante agreed.

The pair got busy shutting the store down, and when they stepped out of the shop, Braxton took one look at Niko and the enchanted broomsticks lined up against the building and let out a loud laugh. "I should have known this was what you'd planned."

"Broomstick races. Classic. What are the stakes?" Dante asked.

"He who comes in third has to buy all the beers tonight. Second buys food. First basks in the glory of knowing he's the king of broomstick racing," Niko declared. "Agreed?"

"I'm in," Braxton said.

"Hell, yeah." Dante walked over and grabbed one of the brooms.

"One last thing," Niko said. "These are rented from Brooms that Vroom, and if you break it, you buy it."

"Then don't get crazy like you did with those spelled skateboards," Dante added.

"Or the enchanted BMX bikes," Braxton chimed in.

Niko threw his head back and laughed. "Damn, I missed you guys."

They each mounted their brooms as Niko said, "The only rules are to fly to that shipping marker, then around that water tower, and then land back here on this sidewalk. Got it?"

"Got it," Brax and Dante said at the same time. "On three?"

Niko counted down, and the three of them took off like rockets over the water, nudging each other to jockey for position. Braxton found himself in the middle, getting squeezed by them both, but when he pulled up on the front of his broom, he shot upward and the pair of them crashed together. He leaned forward and shot into the lead, cackling like he was fifteen years old again and having the time of his life with his two best buddies.

Braxton was just circling the shipping marker when he was buzzed by Dante. "Hey!" He leaned forward, sending his own broom darting forward. But when he felt the wind shift, he looked up and spotted Niko right above him, waving as he shot ahead of him.

"Dammit!" he cried and held on with both hands, willing his broom to go faster. But no matter what he did, his broom seemed to lag behind. And when he rounded the water tower, he felt like he was riding on one cylinder instead of six. His buddies were ahead of him, battling it out for first place, each of them knocking the other in the shoulder hard enough to throw their opponent off course.

Braxton watched with amusement as they twisted and spun, clearly having the time of their lives as his broom puttered along, obviously in need of a serious tune-up. Finally, Niko glanced behind them and pulled up short when he spotted Braxton's broom struggling. He turned his attention back to Dante and held up his hand in a stop motion. They flew close together, no longer fighting for position, and then suddenly they both turned around and flew right toward Brax.

For a second, Braxton was sure they were going to unseat him. But instead, they split off and came up along either side of him.

"No man left behind," Niko said as he and Dante both held an arm out for him. "Grab hold. We'll get you back before you plunge into the sea."

"I'm not going to plunge into the sea," Braxton said, glancing down. Right? He really didn't think so. The broom was having issues but…

The broom sputtered, and sparks shot from the handle. It wobbled, and Braxton immediately grabbed his two buddies and wrapped his legs around the broom to keep from losing it. "I think maybe you were right."

"Hold on!" Niko said as he and Dante guided him back to the store. The three of them landed awkwardly, causing Braxton to fall to the sidewalk. He laid there for a long moment and then started to laugh. It was the kind of laughter that took over his entire body, making him shake with amusement.

"You think he's okay?" Niko asked Dante.

"Definitely. I think this is just a little stress reliever. It's good for him."

Niko looked concerned. "What's he stressing over?"

"The usual. His mom. His girl. The crazy women who keep coming onto him with their outlandish tactics," Dante said as if Niko was supposed to know what all of that meant.

Through his laughter attack, Braxton heard music start to play. As it got closer, he sat up and groaned when he recognized the song "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel. He scrambled to his feet and stared in horror as a woman in a trench coat crossed the street holding a boom box over her head.

"Would this be Brax's girl or one of the crazy women?" Niko asked Dante.

"One of the crazy women," Dante said with an incredulous smile. "I don't know what it is about him that's got all these women vying for his attention. He's not that good looking, is he?"

"Definitely not," Niko said. "How often does this happen?"

"This is the third," Braxton said. "Come on, let's get out of here." But the moment he tried to walk away, the woman jumped into his path and held up a sign that said, "Are You Free Friday Night?"

The three men stared at her in astonishment, and Braxton said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not."

The woman just dropped her sign, turned the volume up on her boom box, and started twerking.

Finally Braxton cleared his throat and said, "Wasn't this a facetious suggestion in an ‘Ask Endora' column earlier this month?"

Both of his friends indicated they had no idea. But Braxton was certain he was right. This was the advice in Lily's article, and he had to admit that as embarrassing as it was, it could have been worse.

Braxton wasn't paying any attention as he called Lily. The moment she answered, he said, "It's happening again."

"Is that ‘In Your Eyes' playing?" she asked.

"Yes. Boom box. Strange dancing. Any of this ringing a bell?" he said into the phone.

"I'm on my way." A moment later, Brax saw Lily burst out of The Salt Circle and run over to the strange woman.

The moment Lily placed her hand on the woman's arm, the woman stopped her dancing, blinked, and then stood upright and looked around. "What's happening?" the woman asked.

Lily whispered something to her. During their conversation the woman nodded and then looked over at Braxton, horrified. She glanced once at her boom box, but instead of grabbing it, she just shook her head and hurried off to a red Toyota Camry. As the woman was speeding down the street, Lily's sisters exited The Salt Circle and stood on the sidewalk watching as she went to talk to Braxton.

"Hey," she said as she looked down at the broom and Braxton's scuffed elbow. "What happened? Did you crash when you saw your stalker?"

"No. That happened before she showed up."

Lily's lips twitched with amusement, and suddenly she started laughing. She laughed so hard that tears started running down her cheeks.

Dante and Niko joined in, but Braxton wasn't amused. They weren't the ones who were being stalked by twerking randos.

"I'm sorry," Lily gasped out. "But the twerking. It was funny when I wrote it, but to see it live…" She wheezed and clutched at his arm, holding herself steady. "I really am sorry. It was better than being bitched out on the ferry, though, right? I've suspended my article for the time being, so there's less chance of this happening, but there's nothing I can do about past articles. At least this one was funny instead of tragic."

Braxton felt his tense body start to relax, and eventually he smiled at her. Even he had to admit that the twerking had been on another level. "I suppose I should be thanking you."

"You don't need to. That visual was quite enough." She smirked and then looked over at Dante and then Niko. As she focused on the newcomer, she held out her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Lily. I don't think we've met."

"We most certainly haven't," Niko said, giving her an approving glance. "I'd have remembered."

"Careful," Dante warned. "That's Brax's girl you're trying to flirt with."

Braxton took that opportunity to wrap his arm around Lily's shoulders and pull her in closer to him. After dropping a kiss on the top of her head, he said, "Thank you for coming."

She gazed up at him, her expression full of surprise. "Anytime."

He knew he'd been giving her mixed signals, but he was just tired of trying to stay away from her. If he was going to be embarrassed on the daily due to her columns, he might as well let himself enjoy his time when he was with her.

"What are you and your sisters doing tonight?" Dante asked. "Are you up for a few beers?"

Lily grinned at him. "Well, it just so happens we were headed for the bar ourselves." She turned her attention to Braxton. "Should we join you?"

"Definitely," Dante said before Braxton could answer.

Brax gave him an irritated look and then turned his attention back to Lily. "I'd love it if you could join us."

Lily patted his chest just over his heart and leaned into him as she waved her sisters over.