Sunset

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jasper

I run my hand down my face. This is not how I expected the first time I ran into her to go. f**k, she’s more beautiful than the last time I saw her. She had no makeup on, and her hair was thrown up in a messy bun, but it’s my favorite look on her. Always has been.

I rub my shoulder, where the second kiwi hit, and my face breaks into a smile almost all on its own. I taught her how to throw like that, when we were growing up, and she hasn’t lost her touch. A sick part of me hopes it bruises, so I have her mark on me.

I turn to the boy managing the stand and pay for the kiwis, before going after Brynn. I promised my mom we wouldn’t fight, and that I would talk with her and make things right.

My mom has always loved Brynn and seen her as a daughter, and I know after we broke up, she was there for both her and Lin, when their parents died. She has been working with Brynn the whole time I’ve been gone. It’s how I was able to get my updates on her, which I craved, while I was gone.

Now that I have moved back, there’s no way to avoid her. My family has worked with Lin and Brynn’s family with both Inns for years, and I know my mom is worried about that relationship. They send a lot of business our way. So, for my mom, I will fix this.

When my dad died, my mom begged me to come home. It took almost a year for me to convince myself it was time to head home, and to take over the family restaurants. It was always the plan, but I was too used to my life in New York City, and it was just far enough away from Brynn, and everything that reminded me of her and of us.

I turn the corner and find her stopped ahead of me, facing the harbor. From here, I can tell her eyes are closed, and I take a moment and soak her in. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and I’ve had many models pass through the kitchen in New York City. The restaurant owner dated them, like he was popping candy, a new one every weekend.

None of them compared to Brynn with her round face and dark, brown hair, which frames her face perfectly. She’s grown it out, and I love the look on her. I remember the summer she tried bangs and hated it, refusing to ever do it again, but I thought she looked just as beautiful then, too.

She takes a deep breath and turns, putting her back to me and starts walking down Main Street. Here, in Hummingbird Island, our Main Street is the centerpiece. To my left, are shops, restaurants, including both my family’s places, antique stores, and more. To my right, is the harbor, and the Atlantic Ocean just beyond that.

It’s postcard perfect, and the quintessential hidden gem location for a summer vacation, which is why, the town is packed with families from Memorial Day to Labor Day every year, like clockwork.

The mayor steps out from a shop just in front of Brynn. She stops and tries to turn around and walk back towards me, but it’s too late. Mayor Jones spots her.

“Brynn, just the person I was looking for.” Mayor Jones says.

For some reason, I don’t like the look on his face. It’s not friendly. I vaguely remember my mom telling me about the mayor’s plans to try and buy up the buildings on Main Street with a land developer, and then push out the Mom and Pop places and bring in large retail chains. That will mean putting us out of business, along with most families that live here year-round.

I guess, Lin and Brynn have been at the foreground fighting this, because their Inns are where most of the tourists stay, and they have almost more to lose than anyone else in town. The land developer would at least buy all of us on Main Street out, and we could start over, but their Inns would just die out.

I know they pitch the small-town life to their guests at both Inns, and that’s what Seaview is known for. So, many of their guests come here just for that experience.

“Mayor. What can I do for you?” Brynn says, turning back towards him. I know that tone. It’s the one that goes with her fake smile.

I don’t think she saw me, so I walk up behind her, but give enough space, so as not to draw the mayor’s attention.

“Miss Prescott has a meeting scheduled with me. Will you be joining her?” He asks, as his eyes run down her body, and I instantly know where his mind is.

I want to rip his eyes out for daring to leer at my girl. Wait, not my girl, but still mine to always protect. No matter what happens, she has always been mine to take care of, even if I’ve done a s**t job at it recently.

“No, Mayor, I won’t. But don’t you worry, I was the one doing the research.”

“I bet you were. You know I could help…” Knowing where his mind is going, I step in.

“I doubt she needs help from the likes of you.” I snap, and both of their eyes turn towards me.

“Jasper?” Brynn asks, and I give her a nod. She has to know no matter what has happened between us, I won’t allow another man to treat her like this.

“Mr. Adams, you can tell your mom I got her message. All twelve of them.” He says.

“Well, you can tell her yourself by calling her back.” I level him with a glare.

He stares back at me for a moment, before his cell phone rings.

“The wife always wants something,” he grumbles.

“Maybe, you should get back to your wife, then,” I tell him.

Without thinking, I put my hand on Brynn’s lower back, just like I always used to do, as I guide her away from the mayor and further down Main Street.

“Where are you parked?” I ask her.

“I was handling that just fine, you know.” She huffs.

“I know you were, but that doesn’t mean you should have to deal with him either,” I say, keeping my tone soft.

She shakes her head. “I don’t need a ride. I walked.”

“I’ll walk you back to the Inn,” I tell her.

“I’m a big girl, Jasper. Been taking care of myself all these years.” She says.

The tightening of my chest has nothing to do with the guilt of leaving her to fend for herself. I’m just now beginning to understand what she went through, losing both her parents and Lin’s parents in the boasting accident five years ago. I couldn’t imagine both my mom and my dad dying at the same time. Losing my dad, has been hard enough.

“Humor me, okay?” I say, and she rolls her eyes at me and starts walking.

She still has the fire and spunk in her that drew me to her all those years ago. This is a dangerous situation.

Her Inn is on the water, so it’s a straight shot on the sidewalk from Main Street. The sidewalk curves along the water with benches scattered along the way. Because of the view, it’s a popular spot for people to take a stroll, or walk their dogs, and for joggers to run. The sidewalk dead ends at both Inns, which are at the end of the island. Our walk is over long, before I want it to be.

“Thank you for the escort, but I got it from here.” She says with a trace of sarcasm in her voice.

“Listen, my mom wants to have lunch with you one day next week. I’m not going to be there, because she made me promise. So, pick a day, and I’ll be banished to the restaurant.”

She purses her lips and looks over my shoulder.

“Okay, I’ll call her, because I like your mom. You, I can do without.” She says.

“Goes both ways,” I say and smile at her, before turning and making my way back into town.

Before heading home, I make a stop at the Farmer’s Market and get the items my mom asked me to pick up. I know I have been away too long, because I have forgotten just how fast news travels in this town.

“Why the hell did Brynn throw not one, but two kiwis at you today in town?” My mom meets me on the porch. This tells me she has been waiting by the window for me to show up. She has always done this, when I’m in trouble.

“I don’t know, Mom. Maybe, because I was breathing.” I try to joke, as I head inside the cape cod style home.

“Well, I told you to fix things with that girl and not make it worse!” She hits me with the dishtowel in her hand.

“I’m trying, Mom, but all of this won’t be fixed in one day. It will take time. She needed to throw the kiwis, so I just let her.” I shrug, trying to ignore how ridiculous this all sounds.

“Did you tell her I want to have lunch with her?” She says her voice still irritated.

“Yes, she agreed and said she’d call you to set it up. I promised I wouldn’t be there, so just let me know when, and I’ll spend the day in the kitchen at one of the restaurants.” I say.

“Good, good.” Mom pauses, lost in thought. “She really threw two kiwis at you?” She asks, and when I turn to look at her, she’s fighting a smile.

“Yep, just like I taught her, too. One to the forehead, and one to the shoulder.” I rub my shoulder, like it hurts.

That’s when my mom loses the battle and busts out laughing so hard, that she barely makes it to the dining room chair, before she collapses.

“That girl was always passionate. There’s a fine line between love and hate, dear. You will do good to remember that.” She says, when she finally calms down, and then stands to put the produce away.

I head to my room. I planned to stay in the space above one of the restaurants and turn it into a bachelor pad, but my mom guilted me into moving home and spending some time with her. She said the house is too big for just her. I think my mom knows I’ll give her anything she wants right about now.

I walk into my childhood room, which thankfully, my mom had redecorated. It’s no longer full of all the things that remind me of Brynn mixed in with photos of my dream culinary school and car posters. Now, it’s a respectable nature green guest room that I find calming.

I sit down at the desk, intending on going over the books again from the restaurants, but I find myself on the Sunset Inn’s social media page, hunting for any photo of Brynn that I can find.

Guests have tagged her in them, and she’s shared some of her and Lin. My favorites are last season of her around the evening bonfire with guests. I continue scrolling, until I end up two years back, and I’m thankful to not find a single photo of her and another guy.

I don’t know why, but that gives me some relief to think there hasn’t been anyone, since me. I could ask around in town, but the last thing I need, is it getting back to her that I’m asking about her. Or worse yet, anyone in town getting any ideas about us and trying to stick their nose in it. No, thank you.

I’m not sure how I’m going to fix things between us. I did screw it up pretty badly, when I left the way I did it, and then, got upset that she didn’t come with me. We barely spoke, when I came home for her parents’ funeral. By then, she had completely shut down, and I can’t blame her. At least, she let my mom and dad help her through it all. They kept me up-to-date, and I craved any little detail they would toss my way.

It shouldn’t have taken me over five years to come back, and hopefully, I’m not too late to make this right. I will fix this, and not only, because my mom asked.