But wow . . .
That dream.
She’d spent the morning focusing on Scrappy and refusing to think about the dream, which was now playing in her mind like a perfectly choreographed water ballet. Ugh! She was determined not to get all hot and bothered again and lowered her gaze to the perfect distraction, her new furry friend happily walking beside her as they made their way down the hill toward the Bistro. She already loved the little dog, even though he’d peed on her floor, refused to be crated, and snorted all night as he’d slept curled up beside her. He was a great mood enhancer. He’d pulled her out of her drunk-on-dreamy-Brant stupor earlier, and an ice-cold shower had taken the edge off her far-too-lonely lady parts.
If only there were a shower available now . . .
She really needed to stop thinking about Brant. She focused on the colorful awnings and displays in the shop windows on her way to the Sweet Barista, her favorite coffee shop and bakery. It was just up the street from the Bistro and owned by one of her new friends, Keira Silver, whose parents owned the Silver House resort. Cait stopped in nearly every day on her way to work to get coffee and a blueberry Danish. She’d seen other people bring their dogs inside, so she picked up Scrappy to take him with her, and her attention caught on the funky little building that stood alone just beyond the shops. There was a DAILY NEWS sign on the building, but it hadn’t been open since she’d first come to the island, and the building was different from the other shops, which intrigued her. It had a slanted roof, higher in the front than the back, and a wide door made of horizontal wooden slats that appeared to open like a garage door, with rectangular windows above it. The sides of the building were half glass, but newspapers were taped to the inside of the glass.
A young couple came out of the coffee shop and held the door for Cait.
“Thank you,” she said as she walked in.
Keira looked up from where she was wiping a table, her light brown hair spilling over the shoulders of her pink SWEET BARISTA shirt. “You got a puppy!” She hurried over and took Scrappy from Cait, burying her face in his fur.
Scrappy looked a little anxious, but Cait knew Keira would win him over. “He’s not really a puppy. We think he’s five or six years old. I found him by the marsh.”
“He is the cutest! I love his name, too. Can I give him a puppy treat?” Keira asked. “They’re organic. I make them myself.”
Scrappy licked Keira’s cheek, putting Cait at ease. “Of course. Thank you.”
Keira nuzzled Scrappy as she went around the counter. “Do you want a yummy treat, cutie pie?”
“Hey, Keira, do you know what’s up with the Daily News stand? It’s never open.”
“It’s been closed for a couple of years. The Barringtons own it. They run the island newspaper, and they used to sell newspapers and magazines out of it. But everyone other than Aiden reads on their phones now.” Aiden read a physical newspaper every morning. She gave Scrappy a treat as another customer came in. Keira passed Scrappy over the counter to Cait. “You’d better take him. He’s adorable. Do you want your usual?”
“Yes, please.”
A few minutes later Cait was on her way down the hill toward the Bistro. She’d always loved walking. It cleared her mind and gave her a sense of freedom and control. No matter where she was, on the Cape or on the island, her surroundings were usually enough to distract her from her thoughts, which sometimes took her back to places she’d rather forget. As her thoughts turned to Brant again, she knew nothing could distract her from remembering how safe she’d felt in his arms. She’d spent hours picking apart those feelings, and she’d decided that she only felt that way because she’d been terrified of drowning.
At least that’s what she’d been telling herself since he’d dropped her off last night. He’d wanted to come by her apartment this morning to get Scrappy and had offered to drive her to work, but she’d nixed that idea. He’d gotten to her effortlessly when they were shopping yesterday, and she’d completely let her guard down. She knew better than to let that happen again and had asked him to pick up Scrappy at the Bistro instead.
She walked past the Silver House resort, which sat majestically on a bluff overlooking Silver Harbor, and the BISTRO sign came into view at the bottom of the hill. A sense of calm washed over her at the sight of the renovated-boathouse-turned-restaurant. She’d helped turn the Bistro into something special. She’d never had that sense of accomplishment before, and she’d done it with her sister. It was still unbelievable to her. She’d spent years imagining what it would be like to have siblings, and she hadn’t even come close to the way it made her feel or the ways her relationships with Abby and Deirdra were changing her.
The Bistro was built on the edge of Sunset Beach. There was a deck along the side and a patio across the front, which faced the water. As she made her way across the pavement, a salty breeze wrapped around her. She pulled open the heavy back door to the kitchen, and Abby looked up from where she was chopping vegetables.
Abby’s excitement lit up her pretty face. “You’re early! Faye! Cait’s here, and she’s got the puppy!” She took off her chef coat and hurried out the door in her shorts and tank top. Her thick brownish-blond hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. She crouched beside Scrappy and held out her hand. “Hello, cutie.” Scrappy licked her, and she scooped him up and rose to her feet.
“Hi, Cait! Let me see that little muffin,” Faye Steele said as she came out the door waving her hands, her layered blond hair bouncing around her rosy cheeks. She was as voluptuous and maternal as her ex-sister-in-law and bestie, Shelley Steele. Shelley had recommended Faye for the job with them, and Faye had moved to the island from Trusty, Colorado, just a few weeks ago.
Abby gave Scrappy one last kiss and handed him to Faye. “Isn’t he adorable?” She looked at Cait. “I’ve been dying to meet him. Aiden told me about him last night, but your lights were out when we got home.”
“I had a long day. Sorry about that.”
“I heard you and Brant had an interesting day,” Abby said with a knowing grin. “Aiden said Brant rescued you? You told me and Dee that you love the water. Did you really almost drown, or didn’t you want Aiden to know that you and Brant hooked up?”
Abby was always nudging her toward giving Brant a chance in a fun, sisterly way. “Ohmygod. I did not hook up with Brant, and I do love the water. But I don’t know how to swim, and I really did almost drown.”
“Oh, Cait, sweetheart. Are you okay?” Faye asked.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Abby hugged her. “I’m sorry I joked about it. How did it happen?”
“I was hiking at the refuge, and I sat down to sketch by the marsh and heard Scrappy crying. I went in after him, and suddenly I was underwater. I was frantically trying to get up to the surface to save him, but I kept going under. I thought we were both going to die, and suddenly Brant was there, lifting me to the surface. It was like a miracle. He saved us both.”
“You must have been terrified.” Faye squeezed Cait’s hand, nestling Scrappy against her chest.
“I was really scared. I kept thinking that I’d just found Abby and Dee and that was going to be the end of it.” Three months ago Cait wouldn’t have admitted being scared to anyone other than Tank. But Abby and Faye were easy to talk to. They made her want to open up about everything, but while she was glad to have people to share this type of fear with, she wasn’t about to bring the ugliness she’d suffered into this beautiful new life she’d been blessed with.