Page 24 of Shy Girl
Dagny followed just behind me, her head whipping around to take the place in, while Grady rambled about the wedding party, new arrivals, and Helene’s obsession with adhering to traditional wedding rules like a Best Man speech, something that gave me no fear. Public speaking? I got this.
In the golf cart, we cruised away from the small landing strip and over to a hotel plunked in the middle of an island. Coconut trees stretched high overhead and cast long shadows as the sun sank toward a crystal-blue horizon. A distant storm slanted across the far edge sky, but the rest of it was a clear, cerulean blue.
People dotted the beach here and there, but the white sand was largely quiet. White-capped waves made me want to plunge right in under the hot sun. My thoughts drifted to Dagny in a swimming suit, and I had to reel that line of thought back in real quick. The whole place was small enough we could drive the perimeter in two hours, I’d guess.
The warm air, bright sunshine, and gentle whisper of the surf made me itch to get in the water already.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the wind whipping Dagny’s hair out of her face and across her eyes in a charming dance. Her lips were turned slightly up in a half-smile as she ran her gaze over the shrubby trees and sandy path that led to the hotel. A far cry from the usual view at the Frolicking Moose, for sure. I wanted to watch her soak it up, like experiencing the world from a whole new lens.
“Bastian is flying in tonight,” Grady said as the golf cart plunked onto a blacktop path. The whine of the engine carried us closer to a small, circular bungalow set away from the hotel. A wooden porch ringed it, and grasses jutted off the top in a charming island display. “Won’t be here until later. I tried to get you separate rooms, but they’re all booked out with Helene’s family. She’s got a ton of the hotel, if not the whole damned thing. For an island getaway, it’s not that big.” Grady glanced in the rearview mirror. “I did, however, manage to move things around so the two of you got a bungalow with separate rooms. You can have it to yourself, Dagny, if you want. Jayson can bunk outside, with Bastian.”
“Outside?” she asked.
I smirked and said over my shoulder, “Bastian prefers to sleep in the open air.”
“He’s bringing a hammock,” Grady said, as if that explained everything. To Dagny’s credit, she shrugged.
“S-sounds fun.”
That didn’t leave the little matter of sharing the bungalow settled, but we could figure that out later. With weather like this, a hammock would be a dream. Grady stopped the golf cart after a ten minute ride, not far from the beach. A figure with a floppy hat and a light green dress stepped out of the bungalow as we approached. Grady grinned the sparkling smile that captured most women.
“There she is,” he murmured quietly, and bounded out of the golf cart with his too-large body. Seconds later, Helene let out a little cry as he swept her up and nuzzled her neck.
“S-so sweet,” Dagny said.
“So nauseating,” I quipped with a little wink, then stepped out of the golf cart. Dagny followed before I could offer to help. She reached for her bag, but I got there first. Apparently, she wasn’t going to make this easy. Even if I wasn’t sure whatthiswas.
She smiled. “Th-thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Her head tilted back to study the wooden house covered with a grass-thatch roof that sloped down just above my head. White lights draped the outside, already glowing. The smell of bacon drifted through the air from what appeared to be a gathering below. A few open doors and windows gave us a quick peek inside a spacious, mostly wooden interior. Beyond that lay the beach, studded with tiki torches and hotel staff wearing the same uniform.
Dagny ignored all of that and smiled curiously at Helene, who was tucked into Grady’s side. Dagny’s expression was serene, but something about it didn’t seem right. Her arms were a little too rigid at her side. Her face, a littletooneutral. Was she intimidated by Helene? Most would be, considering the family Helene had.
“It’s w-wonderful to meet you, H-helene,” Dagny murmured. “C-congratulations on the w-wedding and thank you f-for letting me be p-part of it.”
A moment of surprise registered in Helene’s honey-colored eyes, then she smiled. “Thank you for coming! It’s Dagny, right? We’re so excited to have you.” Her gaze darted to mine with another warm grin. “It’s been far too long since Hernandez extracted himself from his deputy cruiser to come and play with us.”
I wrapped Helene in a warm hug that earned a glare from Grady two seconds before he pulled her back.
“Long enough,” he muttered with a growl of warning. I laughed.
“Please, ignore my caveman fiancé and come inside.” Helene gestured to the bungalow with a wave. “I’m sorry we don’t have separate living spaces for you. Most of my family has taken up the hotel because Grady’s family preferred the bungalows. This one does have two rooms and a common area. I hope that’s okay?”
Fine by me,I wanted to say, but let Dagny respond first.
“Yes, of c-course. Th-thank you.”
Helene smiled and drew Dagny farther into the open room, which had a kitchen on the right. She left me and Grady behind. Grady stopped and glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes. I set Dagny’s bag aside.
“I like her.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve said five words to her. And it doesn't matter anyway,” I added. “She's just helping me out because of Victoria.”
He shrugged. “I like her. It’s weird to see her here, though, of all places. And with someone so far below her league it isn’t even funny. Does she still work at the Diner?”
Grady and his family left Pineville as soon as he graduated high school, and only returned when Vik and I pulled him back with a new, treacherous alpine climb or a white water rafting trip during the summer. For him to know anything about Pineville startled me.
