Page 20 of Just One Summer with the Grumpy

“It. Is. Okay. They got the cancer out. I’ll be walking around by tomorrow and working the fields again by Monday. This isn’t anything you need to concern yourself about.”

“But the people in town can worry instead? What am I, the family dog that you feed and send on her way to chase birds in the fields?”

Dad took two shallow breaths before responding, his voice strained. “Of course not. We just want you to lead a normal life.”

I snorted. “Is it normal for your boss at the ice cream shop to know more about your own father than you? The mayor’s wife, whose truck is parked out front? I even heard the mailman’s girlfriend in the living room. It’s good to know where I stand.”

“Daphne Porter, stop jumping to conclusions. We waited to tell you for your own good. Some secrets are meant to protect.”

Protect?I felt wetness on my cheek and wiped it angrily with my shirt sleeve. Here I stood, almost twenty years old, still living in my parents’ house and being treated like the four-year-old I’d been when they took me in. Clearly that was how they would always see me.

“Keeping me in the dark is not protecting,” I growled, taking satisfaction in the fact that his eyes dropped to the blanket. “And some secrets do nothing but hurt.”

ELEVEN

With the nextday’s schedule cleared with the departure of the bride, I found myself taking a walk into town, my favorite bag slung over my shoulder. The sky seemed a bright silver color today, the sun peering through the occasional crack in the clouds as if seeking an opening to break through. Lucious greenery surrounded me on all sides, a constant reminder that I was far from New York. Paradise indeed.

Upon returning to the waterfall area yesterday, I’d discovered that Chase had physically subdued Marcus until security could arrive, the man spewing all the while that he would sue. After the man threw a few punches, security had cuffed and dumped him off at the police station. The rehearsal dinner had gone on as planned despite the missing bride and groom, although that was likely because Chase had announced to the crowd that the couple had split amicably and wished everyone a wonderful vacation regardless. He’d even upgraded their alcohol package to keep everyone happy, something that wouldn’t have made me blink an eye except I knew what it would cost him.

We wouldn’t be getting paid. Not for the dinner, the wedding, the hotel rooms, nothing. Not without an expensive legal battle that would only cost Chase more money.

So why had he helped me with Kamia?

The question had haunted me all night. Walking wasn’t quite enough to distract me from Chase and his weird behavior yesterday. With the tourists huddled in their rooms, Kamia gone, and Marcus still in custody for another few hours, there would be little to do today until preparations began for the next wedding.

Ty’s wedding.

He’d be arriving tomorrow, and I still didn’t have a real plan. Between kayaking and Chase and Kamia and everything that came with this job, I’d barely had time to do anything but crash each night. But what could I do, other than look for the right moment to talk to Ty?

Hey, I know we broke up,I imagined myself saying,but I’m still in love with you, and I’ve decided you’re still in love with me. Plus, a fortune cookie and my horoscope both say we’re getting married, which pretty much means we’re meant to be. So ditch your beautiful model heiress with her millions and join me in poverty in New York, okay?

Yeah. Not likely to go well.

My phone buzzed. I whipped it from my pocket and frowned. My mom.

I lifted it to my ear, feeling that familiar jolt of worry. “Hey, Mom. Is Dad all right?”

“Hi, baby girl!” she exclaimed. “Of course he’s all right. Just checking in on that amazing promotion. Are you getting super tan and loving it? Seeing lots of crocodiles? Meeting lots of boys?”

Meeting lots of boys?I gritted my teeth. Mom still thought of me as thirteen years old. “It’s going great. As for the crocodiles…not really.” Mom was obsessed with crocodiles. She loved them like shark people loved Shark Week, and I still had no idea why. There were no crocodiles in Arkansas. “And yes to the tan, but I’m too busy to date right now.”

“Nonsense. It doesn’t take any time at all to flirt with a guy here and there. I’m sure those islanders are hunky and sweet.”

“Many of them are, but I’m not here to date.” I was here to steal a husband instead. No big deal.

“That’s when things happen, when you’re least expecting it. At least stay open to the idea, all right? You never know when Cupid’s arrow will strike. There’s something special about tropical islands. Not that I’ve ever been to one, but that’s what I’ve heard.”

I thought about Kamia and smiled slightly, wondering if she’d gone home with Afonso after all.

“Do you remember Ty?” I asked, regretting the question the instant I’d voiced it.

“Yes. Why?” I didn’t miss the false note of enthusiasm in her tone.

Because I’m going to sabotage his wedding. I’m stealing him away, and I won’t let myself feel guilty because fate wants us together.

But I worry that I can’t keep him.

That last part came from the dark recesses of my soul, and the strength of it surprised me. If I’d lost Ty once before, what would stop it from happening again? If I could tear him away from the woman he intended to marry so easily, didn’t that mean someone else could tear him away from me?

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