Her appearance wasn’t the problem, of course. She was jealous and insincere by nature and this is what people found most objectionable about her.

“Of course you heard about the possibility of being a first round draft pick for Crawford?”

And uppity.

“Of course,” Gina said. “I guess congratulations are in order.”

“Yes, thank you. And he’ll be bringing Selena home. It’s getting more serious. She comes from such a nice family. Her father works for a congressman. He’s a lawyer.”

Gina ground her teeth. “You must be looking forward to that.”

She laughed a little bit. “We are. Yes, indeed.”

“Well, rest assured, Ashley won’t be at your party, serving or in any other capacity.”

“I compliment you, Gina. You and your daughter have both handled this situation so well. Rejection can’t be easy and Ashley has been so mature. A credit to you, of course.”

“And will your parents be attending the party?” Carrie asked.

“My parents?” she asked. “They don’t live around here.”

“Oh? Have they moved?” Carrie asked. “Didn’t they used to live between here and Bandon? Your dad worked on a big commercial fishing boat—he was a crabber. Your mother took in sewing and ironing. Right? Because I was just getting my business off the ground while still working here at the diner and they bought one of my first graduation cakes.”

“They wouldn’t come here for a cake,” she said, laughing nervously.

“I advertised,” Carrie said. “I ran coupons. I still have a picture of that cake. And they showed me your picture—so proud of you when you got your diploma. They wanted a flute on it—you played the flute. Nineteen years ago.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “That would’ve been twenty-two years ago.”

Carrie shook her head. “I was disappointed they didn’t try me for a wedding cake. I so love making wedding cakes. It’s not my specialty, but I think I do a fairly decent job.”

“You’re mixed up, but no matter. No, my parents won’t be coming. They’re not doing very well.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Carrie said. “Please, give them my regards. I’ll be bringing some other servers to your party, not my girls. Anything else you want to check? Still happy with the menu?”

“It’s fine,” she said a bit sourly. “I’d better finish my errands....”

“Till later then, Marjorie,” Carrie said.

When she was gone Gina turned to her mother. “What was that all about?”

“This isn’t her twentieth anniversary. It’s her nineteenth.”

“But Downy is nineteen!”

Carrie shrugged. “Must have taken some time to sort out. I know she didn’t graduate with her class. Her mother told me she dropped out and got a GED. She got pregnant in high school and didn’t marry her husband until after the baby was born.”

Gina was speechless for a moment. “After all the cruel things she’s said to me and about me?”

“I’m sure she thinks no one knows, she’s been lying about it so long. And when was the last time you saw Downy’s grandparents in town? They go visit them, they rarely, if ever, come here. But some of us have been around here a long time.”

“You’ve known this all along?” Gina asked. “And never said anything?”

“It’s not a good idea to make bad karma. It’ll bite you in the ass eventually. But I slipped—she just pushed me too far, bragging on that girl who sent texts of that awful picture of Ashley. In fact, I wouldn’t have taken on this job, but I can’t afford to turn away neighbors in a town of only fifteen hundred. And if they’re decent, I can keep their secrets, but Marjorie tries my patience.”

Gina let a huff of laughter escape her. “All this time...how on earth did you remember? Dates and everything?”

“I never forget a cake,” Carrie said with an innocent shrug.

Thirteen

Cooper set up the RV for Spencer and Austin to use on their upcoming weekend visit. Sarah helped him wipe down the dusty surfaces and she changed the sheets on the bed while he cleaned the bathroom and stocked the refrigerator. “If the boy is going to visit sometimes, he should have a house,” Cooper said. “He has a house in Texas.”

“Don’t be so jittery,” Sarah said. “He’ll love this.”

“It’s a tin can,” Cooper said. “Why have I never had a house?”

“Because you’re shiftless,” she told him with a laugh.

Not only did he make sure Rawley was on board to help him cover the weekend, but he also asked Landon to be there. He couldn’t serve drinks, but he could serve food and help with clean up. And Landon, trying to get ready to take his girl to the prom, was more than happy for the extra work.

Friday afternoon finally arrived and Spencer drove his rental car down the road to the bar. After parking the car, he and Austin headed to the deck surrounding the property. Spencer looked around the bay and promontories, took a deep breath of the coastal air and smiled. “You’re a lucky man, Cooper,” he said.

Austin was quiet, seeming very shy about the whole visit idea. He met the welcoming party—Sarah, Rawley, Landon—politely. He viewed the bay and ocean passively. “Are we going on that?” he asked, pointing to the Jet Ski.

“Sure, I’ll take you out on it,” Cooper said.

“What else will we do?” he asked, looking completely unimpressed.

“Well, we can take the Rhino into town. I can show you how to paddleboard. We can fish off the dock. We’ll find stuff to do.” Cooper felt as if he was drowning—this was not going to be easy.

Then Austin pointed at the toy hauler and asked, “Is that where we’re staying?”

“Well, it can be. Or, if you’re more comfortable in the bait shop, there’s a very small apartment upstairs—big enough for you and your dad.”

“Bait shop?” he asked.

“It used to be a bait shop with a bar in it and now it’s a bar without any bait. Let’s take a look at the RV first.” Inside, Cooper’s heart sank a little bit. He didn’t have anything good enough for a son and he felt unprepared and a little like an underachiever.

They grabbed the luggage and headed over to the RV. Cooper opened the door of the toy hauler and let Austin step in first, followed by Spencer.

Austin stood in the middle of the living room and turned full circle, looking around, taking it in. Cooper was prepared for him to say something about it being a trailer, which it was. Then he turned to Cooper with bright eyes and said, “This is awesome!”

* * *

The weekend went better than Cooper had dared hope. The weather cooperated and they spent a lot of time on the water. Despite sunscreen, Austin got himself a little color. The toy hauler was full of sand from all his running in and out and so was the bar. Cooper’s upstairs apartment was like an indoor beach. They were going to have to revisit foot wiping. Austin not only loved the Jet Ski, but also bonded with Hamlet, who spent a lot of time at the bar over the weekend. Austin got to drive the Rhino across the beach with Landon as co-pilot. At night, they had a fire on the beach and roasted marshmallows.

“I don’t know if I can compete with this,” Spencer said.

“I didn’t think I could compete with ten years of history so let’s go ahead and write up a noncompete clause,” Cooper said, only half-serious.

Cooper hadn’t even considered the importance of having fun himself—he felt a huge responsibility to give fun. But, in the end, the weekend was satisfying. Spencer took off on his own a couple of times, exploring the general area, leaving Cooper and Austin on their own.

Once the weekend was done and he was back on his own, Cooper settled in to do the thing he’d been working up to. Knowing his parents were early risers, he phoned them early Tuesday morning—it was barely 7:00 a.m. in Albuquerque.

“Hey, Dad,” Cooper said. “You and Mom both up? Had your coffee?”

“Up and caffeinated. How are you, son?”

“Excellent. Listen, can you get Mom on the phone or put me on speaker? I have something to explain to you.”

“Okay, you’re on speaker.” Then his father said to his mother, “He has something to explain.”

“Cooper, are you all right? You’re not sick are you?” his mother asked.

“No, I’m fine. Perfect. Listen, this surprised the hell out of me so I know it’s going to really shock you. Um. Remember Bridget...?”

* * *

On a sunny Saturday afternoon in May Frank Downy walked a few blocks to Ashley’s house. He had a backpack and a soft cooler. When Ashley came to the door he asked, “Are you busy?”

“Not really. I was helping my grandma make cookies. Want one?”

“Yeah. And how about putting a few in a baggie and come with me.”

“Where?”

“Just to the beach and the south promontory,” he said. He lifted the cooler. “I came prepared for a little adventure.”

She eyed him suspiciously, but she couldn’t help her smile. She had no idea little Frank would grow into his looks and become a hottie. “What are you up to, Frank? Shouldn’t you be going to the prom?”

“I’m not going to the prom, Ash. Why would I? You’ll need tennis shoes—we’re going to take a little hike. You’ll like it, I promise.”

“You’re just trying to take my mind off the prom. You don’t have to,” she said. “Landon even offered to have two dates, but I’m still happy with my decision. I don’t want to go this year. Next year, maybe. Not this year.”

“Well, I’d love to take credit for doing something so chivalrous, but it’s a total coincidence. I was down on the docks this morning talking to a couple of the crabbers—the gray whales are running heavy. One of them said yesterday they saw several breach. They’re feeding on crustaceans close to shore on their way back to the Bering Sea from Baja. One of the guys said he thought more than the usual number is hanging around our coastline and not migrating this year. I thought we’d go out to Ben’s point.”

“Oh, that’s private....”

“I asked Cooper if he’d mind. We won’t disturb anything. Dusk is a good time.” He turned around. “I have everything we need. Blanket, binoculars, flashlight for getting back, Duraflame for the beach afterward. There’s a path out to the point. Not a good one, but a path. Come on—the flora is in bloom out there. Let’s go.”

“Flowers.” She laughed.

“Flowers, plant life, flora—whatever. And the birds are all in love, I can tell you that much.”

“What about the whales? Are they in love?”

“They took care of that in Baja,” he said with a grin. “I’m going. Want to come?”

“Yes,” she said, smiling.

“Put on some long pants and grab a sweatshirt,” he said. “There are lots of berry bushes out there. They’ll scratch up your legs. And you know, when the sun goes down—”

“I know, Frank. I’ve lived here my whole life. Should I make us a couple of sandwiches?”

He lifted the cooler just as Gina was coming up behind Ashley. “I did already. We’re set. Sandwiches, chips, case of beer...” He smiled at Gina. “Kidding. Diet Coke and green tea.”

“Just give me a minute,” Ashley said, whirling off to her room to get changed.

Gina stepped toward the front door. “This is very nice of you, Frank.”

“Thanks, but I was going out there, anyway. I went from the marina to the bait shop to ask Cooper if he’d mind if I hiked out to the bird sanctuary, and then I thought, maybe Ashley had nothing to do.” He could feel a little color on his cheeks. Being sixteen could be a royal pain. He’d been killing himself trying to think of something that might distract her on prom night and just lucked into the whales.