purse and slung it over her shoulder. “That’s
yah problem. Not mine.”
“Now, wait a minute,” Lora protested, following Celly and
imploring with Heath to help her. “You can’t just leave in the middle of the day
like that. You told Lilah you would cover her shift...”
Celly stopped and skewed her gaze at Lora. “I did. But yah out
of control. Learn some manners and I return.”
Manners? Lora stared after the woman as she walked out the
door. “What just happened?” she asked Heath. “Did she just quit?” Then hearing
the plaintive tone in her voice, she straightened and said, “Well, then fine.
She can be replaced. This is good, actually. I’ll just go through the
applications and find someone more suitable for our needs.”
Heath frowned, unhappy with her solution. “That’s not going to
work. Celly is like family. Just go apologize for messing up her desk and she’ll
come back. Her feathers are just ruffled.”
“Apologize?” Lora repeated, her ire returning. “Why should I
apologize to a staff member for trying to keep a workstation tidy? That doesn’t
even make sense.”
“She’s more than an employee, Lora. That’s your problem right
there. She’s family to everyone here, except you. You need to make this right or
there’s going to be hell to pay. Lilah is very close to Celly and so is Pops.
She does a lot to keep Larimar running smoothly.”
“I’m not going to apologize,” Lora said stiffly. She didn’t
care how much Celly coddled Pops. Seemed ever since Lora moved back to St. John
everyone and their uncle had been telling her to apologize for one thing or
another. Well, she was finished apologizing.
Heath saw the set of her jaw and shook his head in
disappointment. “You’re making a huge mistake.”
“Says you.” She sent a hard stare at Heath, irritated and hurt
that he wasn’t immediately on her side. Wasn’t that part of the deal when you
loved someone? They had to be on your side. She was pretty sure that was an
unwritten rule. “Well, I have phone calls to make so that puts you on reception
duty. Perhaps you could persuade Celly to come back. In the meantime, I’m going
to go through applications.”
* * *
“S O WHERE ARE WE GOING ?” Justin asked with a smugly
triumphant smile that should’ve been a put-off but admittedly he wore it well
enough for her to forgive him.
“Well, I thought we’d take a drive to Coral Bay. It’s a scenic
drive and there’s some cool history along the way.”
“A history lesson? Is it boring?”
“Would you like to walk?” she asked sweetly.
He chuckled. “I’m all ears as long as there isn’t a test
later,” he said on a yawn. “Sorry, I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Something wrong with the room?” Lilah asked, concerned.
“No, the room is perfect. My mind wouldn’t let go of a certain
someone...”
She blushed but kept her eyes on the road as she said airily,
“I slept like a baby. More relaxed than I’ve been in a long time.” She cast him
a mildly coy look as she added, “Thank you for that.”
“That’s me,” Justin said. “Helping women find a good night’s
rest since 2001.”
Lilah laughed and smiled into the sun streaming into the Jeep,
loving the warm kiss on her cheeks. She caught Justin staring and she became
self-conscious. “Something wrong?”
“Nope,” he answered. “Just wondering how I got so lucky.”
“You mean you were wondering if you were going to get lucky
again,” Lilah teased.
A grin broke out on his lips. “Well, there is that.”
“You’re impossible.” Laughter bubbled up inside her. It felt
uncommonly good to joke and smile and tease with someone who knew nothing about
her past. The freedom was intoxicating. “Okay, first part of the history lesson
starts now. You see that broken masonry that’s crumbling to dust.” She pointed
off road. “That’s what’s left of a sugar plantation. Back in the 1700s St. John
was known for its sugar
yah problem. Not mine.”
“Now, wait a minute,” Lora protested, following Celly and
imploring with Heath to help her. “You can’t just leave in the middle of the day
like that. You told Lilah you would cover her shift...”
Celly stopped and skewed her gaze at Lora. “I did. But yah out
of control. Learn some manners and I return.”
Manners? Lora stared after the woman as she walked out the
door. “What just happened?” she asked Heath. “Did she just quit?” Then hearing
the plaintive tone in her voice, she straightened and said, “Well, then fine.
She can be replaced. This is good, actually. I’ll just go through the
applications and find someone more suitable for our needs.”
Heath frowned, unhappy with her solution. “That’s not going to
work. Celly is like family. Just go apologize for messing up her desk and she’ll
come back. Her feathers are just ruffled.”
“Apologize?” Lora repeated, her ire returning. “Why should I
apologize to a staff member for trying to keep a workstation tidy? That doesn’t
even make sense.”
“She’s more than an employee, Lora. That’s your problem right
there. She’s family to everyone here, except you. You need to make this right or
there’s going to be hell to pay. Lilah is very close to Celly and so is Pops.
She does a lot to keep Larimar running smoothly.”
“I’m not going to apologize,” Lora said stiffly. She didn’t
care how much Celly coddled Pops. Seemed ever since Lora moved back to St. John
everyone and their uncle had been telling her to apologize for one thing or
another. Well, she was finished apologizing.
Heath saw the set of her jaw and shook his head in
disappointment. “You’re making a huge mistake.”
“Says you.” She sent a hard stare at Heath, irritated and hurt
that he wasn’t immediately on her side. Wasn’t that part of the deal when you
loved someone? They had to be on your side. She was pretty sure that was an
unwritten rule. “Well, I have phone calls to make so that puts you on reception
duty. Perhaps you could persuade Celly to come back. In the meantime, I’m going
to go through applications.”
* * *
“S O WHERE ARE WE GOING ?” Justin asked with a smugly
triumphant smile that should’ve been a put-off but admittedly he wore it well
enough for her to forgive him.
“Well, I thought we’d take a drive to Coral Bay. It’s a scenic
drive and there’s some cool history along the way.”
“A history lesson? Is it boring?”
“Would you like to walk?” she asked sweetly.
He chuckled. “I’m all ears as long as there isn’t a test
later,” he said on a yawn. “Sorry, I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“Something wrong with the room?” Lilah asked, concerned.
“No, the room is perfect. My mind wouldn’t let go of a certain
someone...”
She blushed but kept her eyes on the road as she said airily,
“I slept like a baby. More relaxed than I’ve been in a long time.” She cast him
a mildly coy look as she added, “Thank you for that.”
“That’s me,” Justin said. “Helping women find a good night’s
rest since 2001.”
Lilah laughed and smiled into the sun streaming into the Jeep,
loving the warm kiss on her cheeks. She caught Justin staring and she became
self-conscious. “Something wrong?”
“Nope,” he answered. “Just wondering how I got so lucky.”
“You mean you were wondering if you were going to get lucky
again,” Lilah teased.
A grin broke out on his lips. “Well, there is that.”
“You’re impossible.” Laughter bubbled up inside her. It felt
uncommonly good to joke and smile and tease with someone who knew nothing about
her past. The freedom was intoxicating. “Okay, first part of the history lesson
starts now. You see that broken masonry that’s crumbling to dust.” She pointed
off road. “That’s what’s left of a sugar plantation. Back in the 1700s St. John
was known for its sugar
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