“Oh, my goodness. What has Agnes roped poor Wes into doing this evening?” Opal giggled and pointed over to where Sophia’s attention was already snagged. They watched Wes dish fried flounder and grits onto Styrofoam plates at the fire and rescue squad’s booth.
“What do you mean about Agnes?” Sophia questioned, watching as he handed over another plate. He wore a rescue-squad ball cap now and should have worn one earlier by the looks of his sunburnt cheeks and nose. It matched the dark-navy tee they must have given him. Snickering, she recalled the various tees he’d worn throughout the day with his perfectly pressed khaki shorts and Sperry boat shoes.
“Ever since he refused to hire you on Monday, she’s divvied out a world of pain and aggravation on the poor guy. He’s been doing her paperwork and anything else she decides he needs to do to teach him a lesson. Said he tried getting smart with her over the paperwork and so now she’s poured her wrath out on him full force. She’s the one who signed him up to work so many events today.”
“That woman is a piece of work. . . . How do you know all this anyway? Have you been hanging out with those women from the Knitting Club? I warned you about those gossipers.” Sophia was watching Wes fill another plate as he lifted his head and caught her. The glare he pierced her with certainly didn’t look like he was changing his mind about hiring her. She turned away and pulled Opal out of his line of sight.
“No, silly. I heard it straight from the horse’s mouth. Agnes and I are like this.” Opal held up two fingers and touched them together.
“Since when?” Sophia looked at her dubiously.
“Since way back.” Opal flicked her wrist. “If you ask me, she’s doing it so he’ll see how much easier life would be if he’d go ahead and allow her to retire in peace.” She shoveled in a handful of popcorn and chewed thoughtfully before adding, “She keeps this up and he’ll be at your door on his hands and knees begging you to work for him.”
Sophia couldn’t stop herself from glancing over her shoulder. Wes was swamped. Plate after plate he filled and handed out. She turned back around. “You go ahead and head over to Josie and August’s tent. I’ll meet you there later.”
“Where are you going?” Opal asked before Sophia made much headway through the crowd.
“I feel responsible for Agnes treating Wes this way. The least I can do is help him serve plates.”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll catch up with you later.” There was laughter in Opal’s voice, but Sophia paid it no mind. She was on a mission and needed to focus on it.
Apparently the Facebook posts Sophia had created this week weren’t enough to change his mind about her. She’d put several together, giving Carolina Pediatrics high accolades. Even went as far as putting together a profile post to welcome Dr. Weston Sawyer to Sunset Cove. She’d included a small yet impressive bio and a picture she copied from a medical journal he’d been featured in. The picture was four years old, but the man appeared just as clean-cut handsome as he did now.
Taking a fortifying breath of the salty air, Sophia made a beeline to the fire chief. “Hey, Billy. Can I give you guys a hand?”
Billy handed over the money-collecting duties to another firemen and gave Sophia his full attention. “Sure thing, sweetheart. You won’t ever hear us turning down help from a beautiful lady.” He winked and pointed to where a small portable sink was stationed near the rear of the tent.
She quickly washed her hands and eased her way into the service line right beside Wes. She took over placing golden-brown fillets of fish on top of the dollop of grits he dished onto the plates. He continued working without acknowledging her, but each time their elbows touched, she caught sight of the muscle in his jaw flexing.
As the supper rush dwindled, Wes pulled his apron off and spoke for the first time in the last hour. “Billy, looks like you men can handle it from here.” He shook the chief’s hand and then returned to Sophia and whispered, “We need to have a talk. Now.”
Her stomach did a somersault as if she were being called into the principal’s office for something she hadn’t done. Just like the time Opal thought it would be cute to rearrange their youth group’s room, yet Sophia was blamed for it.
“Umm . . . I thought I’d stay and help a little longer.” She picked up another plate, but he yanked it out of her hand and ignored her attempt at begging off.
Wes laced his fingers with hers, stalked off past the sand dunes, and didn’t slow until they were far enough down the beach for the music and lights of the festival to fade. He let go of her hand and pivoted around to face her.
“What do I have to do to get you to leave me the heck alone?” Wes tossed his hands in the air.
“I’ve not bothered you.” Sophia took a step back. She had learned the hard way not to stay within reach of an angry man.
“No?” Wes yanked the hat off just to shove it down on his head again before glaring at her from underneath the brim. He would have looked boyish and downright cute had it not been for the severity of that scowl. “This past week has been a nightmare!”
“I had nothing to do with how Agnes treated you this week.”
“No, but you did enough with those ridiculous media posts. Please, for the love of all good things, do not put anything else up about me.” His brows furrowed as he loomed over her.
“But it was nothing but positive accolades about you.” The wind whipped her hair around, so she pushed it out of her face and decided to put a little more space between them.
“That ‘bio’ read like a singles ad for a dating website. You do have a way with words, Ms. Prescott. The only thing it garnered was a plethora of single moms worrying me slap crazy. My recycle bin at work is filled with phone numbers.” Wes paced a tight circle and pinched the bridge of his sunburnt nose. Flinching, he dropped his hand and stopped short. “I’m a professional. And you’ve made a mockery of me and my practice.”
Sophia sucked in a disjointed breath and placed a palm over her heart. “That wasn’t my intention. You have to believe I was only trying to right my wrongs.” She burst into tears. “All I do is try my best, but all I do is fail!” A sob rushed out as she plopped down in the sand.
“Why don’t you take down your posts and just leave me alone and we can forget this entire mess.” He moved to stand in front of her, but she looked no further up than his tanned knees.
Sophia tried to dry it up but only produced another hiccuping round of sobs. “I need a job is why.”
Wes snorted like what she said was absurd. “Why? Because you’re bored?”
Sophia snorted back but wished she hadn’t. Using the back of her hand to wipe underneath her nose, she muttered, “No. I need a job because I’m broke and have a child to support all on my own.”
Wes grew still and planted his hands on his lean hips. “But what about your ex—?”
“But nothing.” She knew where that was headed. “Do you not watch the news? Or read your Yahoo! headlines?”
“I don’t believe in TV.”
“Of course you don’t, Dr. Perfect. If you did, you’d know my ex is being investigated for tax fraud. Our accounts have been frozen.” She sniffed and wiped her nose again. “So boredom is the least of my problems. I have an MBA and a stellar résumé, but I’m basically flat broke.”