Falling For You (Love In All Seasons #2) - Frankie Love Page 0,87

smile spreading across my face. “I sort of met someone.”

Willow’s Story

Chapter Fifteen

Waiting in the empty general store, I looked at the stacks of sweatshirts emblazoned with Eagle Cove, the resort’s name. I’d been dying to come here for months, ever since my co-worker Jenn visited the previous spring.

When Callie’s boyfriend broke up with her, and Courtney announced a weekend off from her magazine internship, I jumped at the chance to come with my two best friends.

Today, the air felt unseasonably cold. Needles had fallen from the evergreen trees covering the island, and I wore leggings under my Free People skirt to keep warm.

Jenn had come here on a kayaking trip, but I preferred hiking. Looking out the window, I saw an eagle swoop to a giant nest high in the tree. I smiled, knowing I didn’t need to get in a kayak to enjoy nature. There was plenty here on dry land.

“Shit,” yelled a voice from behind a rack of coffee cups, as one crashed to the floor.

I didn’t know anyone was in the store with me, so I jumped as the ceramic shards skittered across the wood floor. “You scared me,” I said as a guy stood, revealing himself.

“Sorry, I totally dropped that. Obviously.” He gave me a dimpled smile as I walked toward him. I instantly identified him as a lookalike to the guy Courtney had been majorly crushing on at her work.

“Do you think anyone works here?” I asked, looking around the still-empty general store.

“Someone does. I was in here earlier buying beer.”

“I guess I scared them away,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“I’m sure that’s it,” he said, laughing. He walked to the counter and called for help. “Anyone here?”

When no one answered we laughed again, and I momentarily considered stepping behind the counter and looking for a broom myself. That’s what I would have done at the coffee shop where I worked: step in and offer a hand.

But before I could grab a dustpan, a woman my age opened the door of a back room, wafts of smoke trailing her. She hadn’t taken a regular smoke break; she was getting high. I smiled, realizing exactly why my co-worker Jenn liked this place.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“I broke a cup,” the dimpled guy said. “A total accident. My bad.”

“No worries,” she said. She grabbed the broom and began sweeping. “Happens all the time.”

“Can I pay for the damages?”

“No way, man, it’s all good.” The cashier emptied the dustpan into the garbage can, then put the broom away.

“Thanks, and sorry again.” The guy gave me a little wave and said goodbye.

I couldn’t help but appreciate their laid-back demeanor. I needed more of that in my life, considering I’d just spent five hours traveling with Courtney and Callie.

To be fair, Courtney had been fine, as always. She had focus and drive, but not much got her revved up and out of her shell.

Callie, on the other hand, had been a complete nightmare the moment we got on the interstate.

If she mentioned me getting a “real job” one more time I might claw her eyes out. Apparently, since I was working as a barista I was wasting my talent.

Which was a familiar refrain considering I’d been hearing the same thing from my parents since we’d graduated college in June. Just because my job didn’t offer health insurance or a retirement plan didn’t mean I was flake. It meant I was twenty-two and just beginning to figure a few things out.

BFFs and all that jazz, sure, but Callie needed to stop being such a control freak. And even if I did agree with about fifty percent of what she said, there was no way I was going to give her the satisfaction of knowing that.

“So, how can I help you?” the cashier asked, covering a yawn.

See? I thought. This girl gets to hang out at an island oasis and smoke pot on the clock. Maybe my barista gig in the city was too stifling; if I really wanted to feel free, maybe I needed to get off the grid.

It wasn’t the first time I’d wondered this sort of thing. I was sick of living in the city. My skin was anxious for something different.

“I wanted to sign up for a hike,” I explained. “Are there any scheduled this weekend?”

“Yes, I know for a fact there are. A few guys just signed up. Hmmm, let me find the sheet.” She moved through a pile of clipboards until she found the one she wanted.