“I’m Bella.” Bella turned to the demure woman beside the more gregarious cousin. Shannon’s hair fell past her shoulders in waves. Between her high cheekbones, large round eyes, and small nose and chin, hers was a babydoll face. Like her cousin, she was thin, though a bit less muscular. “Ben mentioned having a lot of cousins.”
“Yeah, we’re a big family.”
Ashley tossed her hair over her shoulder. “So, Bella, are you visiting family here? Maybe we know them.”
“No. I don’t know anyone here.” She paused, her brain racing to fill in the silence so Ashley wouldn’t follow up with any other questions about what Bella was doing in Walker Beach. “That’s why it was so nice of Ben to join me for dinner last night.”
Shannon coughed. “I’m sorry, did you say dinner?”
“How did that come about?” Ashley’s eyebrows formed a V.
What was with their reaction? She stuffed her hands into her back pockets. “I was in the lobby with a pizza, and he came in, so I asked him if he wanted some and . . .” Bella shrugged. “He stayed for a bit.”
“Next.” The woman behind the counter greeted them. The line had moved faster than Bella had thought it would. Great. Not much time left to get to know Ashley and Shannon.
“Hey, Ms. Josephine.” Ashley stepped forward. “I’ve got a call-in order under my name. And you can add on whatever she’s having.” She hooked a thumb toward Bella.
What? No. “That’s not necessary.”
“I wouldn’t argue with her, hon.” Ms. Josephine winked, her eyes twinkling. “What’ll it be?”
“Oh. Um.” Her eyes flitted back to the menu. “The turkey club, please.”
“Coming right up.” She called out the order to her kitchen staff then swiped Ashley’s credit card.
The three women stepped aside so the next customers could order. Bella tugged at the strap of her purse. “Thanks. You didn’t have to do that.” I really wish you hadn’t.
“It’s no biggie.” Ashley shrugged. “We take care of people here.”
Where was she, Mayberry? “Well, thank you again.”
“Of course.” Ashley tucked her credit card into her wallet, which she dropped into a blue messenger bag. “Would you like to join us for lunch on the beach?”
Bella couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity than that to fall into her lap. Yet her tongue stuck to the top of her mouth as she pushed out her answer. “Sure.”
They chatted for a few minutes. Ashley was an events coordinator and Shannon a preschool teacher, and both had lived in Walker Beach their entire lives. Bella found herself nearly forgetting why she was here.
“Order up, Ashley Baker!” Ms. Josephine slid a bag of food across the counter. “You ladies have a nice day.”
Thanking her, Ashley snagged the bag. They headed outside, stepping onto the sidewalk that led between the buildings and met up with the boardwalk just beyond. Once they found an empty spot on the fairly crowded beach, they sat.
Ashley unpacked the bag and handed out the items inside. “So, if you don’t know anyone here, what brings you to Walker Beach, Bella? You vacationing?”
Ugh. The dreaded question.
Bella took a quick bite to keep from answering right away, and the delicious blend of turkey, bacon, ham, Swiss, and some sort of tangy raspberry chipotle spread distracted her for a few moments.
How to answer Ashley’s question?
Just tell the truth. As much as you can, anyway.
“No, not vacationing.” She paused. “I’m here because I want to find my dad.”
Shannon lowered her sandwich and placed a hand on Bella’s arm. The touch and her expression were so genuine that heat pricked the back of Bella’s eyes.
“Sounds like there’s a story there.” Ashley clearly didn’t want to pry, but she’d said the perfect thing, in the perfect way, to invite more conversation if Bella wanted to share.
Whoa. OK, this recon mission was quickly going south. She wasn’t here to make friends. Yet she’d made some anyway, without trying.
Bella bit into her sandwich again and looked out across the ocean. The waves lapped against the shore that had been invaded by toddlers and flirting teens and adults. But they never stopped going in and out. Despite their surroundings, the waves remained strong, undeterred, constant.
Just like Bella needed to be.
She returned her attention to Ashley and Shannon, who were watching her. “Why were you guys so surprised that Ben would eat dinner with me? Should I feel insulted?” She smiled to let them know she was joking, but Shannon’s cheeks reddened.
“That’s not what we meant at all.”
“Definitely not.” Ashley bit her lip. “My brother has been . . . well, not himself for the last nine months.”
“Why’s that?” Bella leaned in. She wanted to know the answers—and not merely for recon purposes.
Whoa, what? No, no, no. She could not develop feelings of any sort for Ben Baker, romantic or otherwise. Emotions clouded judgment, and she had to stay focused. Besides, the two of them had nothing in common. And he had seemed just to tolerate her presence.
The cousins exchanged a glance before Ashley spoke again. “Last October he was supposed to get married, but his fiancée ran away with an attorney from Seattle who was staying at the inn. She left a note in her bridal suite the morning of the wedding.”
Oh no. Poor Ben. No wonder he’d been so standoffish, so reticent to join her for dinner. He’d probably thought she was hitting on him. She held back a groan.
“That’s terrible.” Bella couldn’t imagine the heartache. Her most serious relationship had occurred during her senior year of high school, and she’d only casually dated since then. Sure, Jake had broken her seventeen-year-old heart, but at least she hadn’t been left at the altar.
Still, just enough of the bitterness remained that if Ben’s ex were standing in front of her she might have wanted . . . well, she didn’t know what, but it wouldn’t have been pretty.
Bella finished her sandwich. Ack. She swallowed around the sharp taste of onion that overtook the last bite as she tried to shove down her emotions.
You have a job to do. Don’t forget it.
Drawing another breath, Bella tried to ignore the sinking feeling that walking through this door would be a mistake. But how could it be a mistake if it led to her discovering more about her father?
Even these two women would understand that. After just a half-hour spent in their presence, it was clear that family meant everything to them.
And Bella wanted a family more than anything.
Bella forced her body to relax and smiled past the uncertainty. “So, is your whole family close?”
Chapter 3
He was the biggest idiot in California.
“The insurance agent called and told me the news this morning.” Ben tossed another pile of debris into the renovation dumpster he’d rented Saturday and turned to his friend Evan Walsh, who’d traded in his Monday work slacks and nice button-up shirt for thick pants, a T-shirt, and brown gloves. “I don’t even remember refusing earthquake insurance when it was offered. What kind of California business owner would do that?”