The Space Between Us (Treasure Harbor Book 2) Read online

  “Everything in moderation, isn’t that what the experts say?”

  “Yeah, but the experts are constantly changing their minds.”

  Mallory arrived at the table with their drinks. “Sorry about the wait. The root beer had to be changed.”

  “Not a problem.” The longer she took, the more time he had with Avery, and he was enjoying the side of her that began to loosen up.

  “What will you have today?” Mallory asked Avery.

  “The veggie burger. No, make that the doubloon special.” When her eyes caught his, they held a challenge. “With a side order of cheesy bacon fries, ranch on the side.”

  “My favorite.” Mallory turned to him next. “What about you, Brody?”

  “The same.” He piled Avery’s menu on his and handed them to Mallory.

  “I’ll have them out as soon as they’re up.”

  The wait for their food was short, especially for the number of patrons filling the restaurant. Mallory had their plates in front of them within a ten-minute span.

  Avery lifted the top bun and examined the fried green tomato. “These look great. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. It’s been the bestselling special in over a year.” She placed a bottle of ketchup and hot sauce on their table. “Next months’ special is the Black Buffalo Burger, but I won’t be here to see how it does.”

  “Where are you going?” Brody drank a swig of soda.

  “My antique shop should be open by then.” A proud smile beamed on Mallory’s face. “Everything is almost ready.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Avery clapped her hands. “I’ll be one of your first customers.”

  “And you have my support. If you need help moving anything, let me know.” Seeing Mallory’s dream come true encouraged him. His seemed so close, but so far away.

  “Thanks guys. It means a lot to me.” Mallory glanced at their almost empty drinks. “I’ll bring you some refills. Anything else I can get for you?”

  Brody turned to Avery, who shook her head. “We’re good for now.”

  “I’m really happy for her. She’s worked so hard to make Buried Treasures a reality.” Avery’s lips straightened into a pensive expression. “I can’t imagine losing my parents. As difficult as my childhood was, at least my parents were there.”

  “We’re not all so lucky.” The second the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. Their friendship, if one could call it that, was fragile at best. He didn’t need to dump his sad story on her this soon.

  Chapter Five

  “We should do this more often.” Avery sat on her sister’s balcony with a hot cup of tea, enjoying an early Saturday morning. “I’m so happy you’re back for good.”

  “Me too.” Lara sipped her tangerine tea. “Ten years was too long to stay away, but I never realized it until I came home.”

  Avery nudged her with an elbow. “I’m sure falling in love with Ryan didn’t hurt with that decision.”

  A sappy smile hijacked Lara’s trained professionalism. “He’s the greatest, isn’t he?”

  “Ryan’s a good man. I used to think he had an arrogant side, but once you know him, he’s not like that at all.” Her thoughts switched to Brody. He wasn’t the man she’d thought him to be either, but hadn’t yet discovered the real him, only had gotten small glimpses of a deeper man within.

  “What about you?” Lara’s eyes twinkled with curiosity and mirth. “Any love interests yet?”

  “No. None.” It wasn’t a lie—she hadn’t heard from Brody since Sunday.

  “You were spotted at Ocean Breeze together.”

  “So?”

  Lara flattened her arms on the table. “The last time he came up in conversation, you mentioned how obnoxious and unmotivated he was, which for the record, doesn’t fit the Brody I know at all.”

  “A person has a right to change their mind.”

  “Are you saying you like him now?”

  Having a journalist as a sister could be the pits. Best to spit out the truth now. “There’s a very good chance I was wrong about Brody.”

  “Meaning?”

  She half expected Lara to pull out a pen and paper to take notes of the conversation. “Meaning I judged him too harshly.”

  “That much is obvious. You’re a tougher interview than the state senator caught in an embezzlement scandal.” Lara chuckled. “Tell me the good stuff. Is there a romance on the horizon?”

  “I don’t know.” She stared into her cup of tea, asking the same question. “He asked me to lunch on Sunday. Why, I don’t know because I haven’t been very friendly to him.”

  “Was it a date?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did it go?” Lara lifted her cup and took another sip.

  “I thought well, but I haven’t heard from him since.” The date left her confused.

  Had he started ignoring her before then, she wouldn’t have questioned his silence. If he had treated her the same way she’d treated him, she wouldn’t have called him. Yet, they’d gotten along well on Sunday. Had she bored him? This was the part of dating she hated.

  “He’s probably been busy. Ryan told me he works a lot.”

  Avery raised a brow. “You’ve talked about Brody with Ryan?”

  “Not in regards to you. He was catching me up on all the new ‘locals’ since I’ve been gone.” Lara stood from her chair. “If we’re going to make it to church on time to help with the treasure hunt, we better go.”

  “This is the one and only treasure hunt I can get into.” Avery followed Lara into the kitchen and deposited her cup into the sink.

  “I can’t believe they still do it after all these years. It was my favorite event to attend at church.”

  “Mine too. Remember the year I was twelve, and one of the treasures was a mirror with ‘I am a child of God’ and then ‘1 Peter 3:3-4’ written on it?” Avery rummaged through her purse and pulled out a mirror. “I still have and carry mine fifteen years later.”

  “I do, too, but I keep it on my dresser. Every time I would get discouraged, I would hold it up and repeat the verses.” Lara removed her keys from a hook on the wall. “It got me through my awkward teen years.”

  “I’m so glad those days are behind us.” Avery replaced the mirror and slipped her purse over her shoulder. “Although times like this, I feel like I’m a sixteen year old again waiting for Alec Williams to call me.”

  “Oh, wow. I forgot about Alec.” Lara opened the door to her condo. “Whatever happened to him?”

  “Moved to Florida and married a supermodel.”

  Lara’s mouth gaped. “No way. Pimply faced Alec Williams married a supermodel?”

  “He invented a popular computer program and got rich beyond his wildest dreams.” Avery nudged Lara to keep moving. “We’re friends on several social media sites and chat occasionally. He’s still the Alec we’ve always known, unchanged by success. His wife is nice too—they came last year for a fundraiser.”

  “I’m happy for him, even if still in shock. Anything else I should know about anyone?”

  “Hmm…. There’s this guy named Ryan and this geeky girl who used to have a crush on him.”

  “Knock it off,” Lara said through her laughter. “But I bet he didn’t marry a supermodel.”

  “He’s not married yet.” Avery winked. “But I did hear he’s marrying a pretty great girl.”

  ***

  Avery walked with the group of five kids she’d been assigned to for the treasure hunt. “We’re almost done, only two clues left.”

  “But it’s not over for an hour. They must be really hard,” one kid whined.

  “Just wait and see.” Avery smiled, knowing where the next clue led. The wording might change year to year, but the verse at the location didn’t. “Who wants to read?”

  “I do, I do.” A curly haired second grader jumped up and down with her arm waving.

  “All right, Kenzie. Here you go.” She handed the little girl an index card.

  Kenzie held it proudly. “In this room you share with friends, while to your needs, someone tends. So grab a chair and sit at a table and tell your friends how God is able.”

  “The fellowship hall,” a boy shouted. “That’s where we eat and food is made.”

  “Let’s see.” Holding the youngest child’s hand, Avery led them to the door of the fellowship hall then pointed to the envelope labeled Team C—her group—taped to the white siding. “What’s that?”

  “I’ll check.” Gavin, a nine year old, snagged the envelope and took out a piece of paper. “Should I read it?”

  “Go ahead.” She watched the young faces for their response—she loved this part.

  “In John six thirty-five, Jesus says, ‘I am the bread of life…No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.’ When you enter these doors, you’ll find lunch waiting for you. Unlike what Jesus can offer, it won’t keep you nourished forever, but we are blessed to serve you a meal. Enjoy!”

  The kids pumped fists in the air.

  “Woohoo!”

  “I’m hungry.”

  “Let’s eat.”

  Avery took them inside, lined them up on one side of a table. “Everyone wait here, and we’ll bring the food to you.”

  She helped two of the other ladies from church distribute deli meat sandwiches, bags of potato chips, apples and juice boxes. While the children ate, she took the opportunity for adult conversation with the ladies. Soon, the kids finished and begged for the last clue.

  “Here it is. ‘The wise man builds his house upon rocks, the foolish man on sand. Though both are found near the docks, you’ll find your loot where plays the band’.”

  “The band?” Kenzie’s forehead wri
nkled. “I don’t get it.”

  “On the stage inside?” Lilly, the youngest, asked.

  “No, it has to be outside somewhere.” Logan, the second boy in the group, pursed his lips. “Why else would it mention sand?”

  “I know.” Gavin started to run ahead, waving his hand behind for the others to follow. “Last year, they did an outdoor concert.”

  “Good memory, Gavin.” Avery caught up to him and applauded his efforts.

  A box waited for them at the crudely constructed amphitheater on the beach, guarded by… Brody.

  Their eyes locked. His eyes were too expressive, told her he missed her, but a spark of anger also glinted.

  What is going through his mind? Now wasn’t the time to figure it out.

  Logan tugged at her arm. “Miss Avery, can we open the box?”

  “Go ahead.”

  Each kid huddled over the box while Logan opened it. “Birdhouses?”

  “Is there a note?” The kids often got over excited, and she’d have to remind them each treasure had a card with a corresponding verse.

  “I see it.” Gavin pulled out a gold envelope then emptied it of the notecard. “Though you have reached the end of our treasure hunt, we can rejoice because there is no end to the eternal life God offers. In John fourteen two, Jesus says, ‘In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you.’ If you are not sure you have a home in Heaven, please talk to your leader today.”

  “I have a home.” Kenzie grabbed a birdhouse. “My daddy told me all about it, and I accepted Jesus last year.”

  “That’s great.” Avery smiled broadly, loving every second of helping with the children’s treasure hunt. When she heard comments such as Kenzie’s it reminded her why she did it every year. A child’s simplicity in faith could teach many adults lessons.

  “Okay group, make sure you have your loot bags and everything in them.” She clapped her hands to quiet them. “Your parents will be waiting at the church to pick you up.”

  She cast a last glance toward Brody, who’d remained quiet unless one of the kids spoke to him.

  As she started to walk away, he reached out to touch her arm. “Could we talk before you leave?”

  Her pulse slowed, and she fought against the dread gurgling low in her chest. She didn’t know what to make of his absence, followed by this. A few more minutes and I’ll know. There’s no reason to get worked up yet. Even if he tells me something I don’t want to hear, don’t get upset. Trust in God.

  The two-minute walk to the church sanctuary, followed by a fifteen-minute wait for all the children’s parents to arrive, dragged by as she watched the clock. Okay, I admit, I’ve watched the second hand tick for longer than I care to admit.

  At long last, all the kids had been claimed by a parent. The church was eerily quiet after having been filled with fifty kids for most of the morning. Avery walked between the pews, collecting pieces of trash. She sensed someone watching her, and when she looked up, Brody stood at the back, arms crossed.

  She felt the need to explain why she hadn’t met him immediately after the children left. “I was just cleaning up a little so there were no candy wrappers all over for the service tomorrow.”

  “Need help?”

  “I’m almost done.” She picked up two wrappers from lollipops in the last row and threw them in the trash. “What did you want to talk about?”

  He shifted his gaze to the adults on the other side of the room. “Can we go outside?”

  “All right.” She pointed to the side door. “There shouldn’t be anyone out there.”

  She held her breath until they were outside and then released it as she leaned against the wall.

  “Why did you give me the wrong number?” Brody launched a fierce scowl at her. “If you didn’t want to see me again, you could have said so.”

  The accusation took her by such surprise that she jerked her head. “What are you talking about?”

  “When I dropped you off at your house Sunday afternoon, you wrote your number on a slip of paper, only you didn’t give me your real number.”

  She rubbed her temples. “I didn’t give you a fake number.”

  Rolling his eyes, he snorted. “You can’t even give me the decency to tell the truth? I’m a grown adult—all you had to do was say that instead of making me feel like a fool.”

  Torn between confusion and anger at his attitude, she pulled out her phone. “I’ll prove it to you. Call me now.”

  He tapped his phone several times. “It’s ringing.”

  The gotcha smirk on Brody’s face was almost more than she could handle, and she waited for the call to patch to her phone. But it never did.

  “Let me see your phone,” she told him reaching for it.

  A defiant expression crossed his face, but he handed it over.

  She looked in his call log. “That’s not my number. It’s off by a digit—the last should be a four not six.”

  “That’s not what you wrote.” Taking out his wallet, he reached for a slip of white paper. “See?”

  Her heart sank when she saw the numbers. “I did write the last digit wrong. Trust me, I didn’t purposely do that.”

  He didn’t look convinced.

  Wracking her brain, she thought back to that moment, searching for a clue as to why she wrote the number wrong when she’d had the same one for a decade. “That’s it. We were talking about how long you’ve been in Treasure Harbor as I wrote my number. You must have said six months just as I wrote the last digit of my phone number, and my brain heard six and that’s what came out.”

  His brows rose.

  She touched his arm. “I’m not proud of how I treated you up until last week, but I promise I didn’t intentionally give you the wrong number.”

  “I guess it does happen. I’ve written down the wrong thing before while multitasking.” The doubt started to leave his face, replaced with shame. “If so, I owe you a huge apology for my boorish manners.”

  “No more than I do to you.” Her pulse returned to normal now that the problem had been worked out.

  “I’m sorry, I really am.” He rubbed his neck. “We can’t seem to get off on the right foot.”

  “Don’t give up yet.” The boldness came from nowhere, but she didn’t regret it.

  “One more try?”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Tonight?” He paused like he wasn’t sure of his upcoming statement. “I work until eight. Will you come out with me after that?”

  She nodded. “Where?”

  “To the beach, for a nighttime picnic.”

  The romanticism of his idea sent pleasant shivers down her spine. “Perfect. I’ll take care of the food.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” He waved his hands so that they crossed. “I asked you, I’ll take care of it.”

  “You’d probably bring pizza, and as much I love it—I think there should be a food group devoted to pizza—it’s not what you eat on the beach.”

  “Fine, I’ll let you win this round.” The smile he flashed anchored to her heart.

  “Where do you want to meet?”

  “Is my place okay? I can be ready by eight thirty.”

  “Perfect.”

  Chapter Six

  Eight hours after reconciling with Avery, Brody still wanted to kick himself for how he’d acted. He’d jumped the gun and accused her of lying. Why? He’d been trained not to make rash decisions.

  What he should have done was ask her kindly or not at all, but instead, he’d acted like a child and Neanderthal. If he was meant to be in a relationship with Avery, fate was making sure they had a difficult time coming together.

  They were so different in personalities and upbringings. Could they close the space between them and find equal footing? There’d be work involved. They’d have to embrace their difference and find similarities.

  What did they have in common? They both loved history, food and the beach. More importantly, they both loved God. If they had that for them, who could be against them? With renewed hope, he changed out of his work uniform and prepared for his date on the beach.

  At eight thirty on the dot, a knock sounded on the door. He opened the door without checking, knowing it was Avery. She wore a white sundress that emphasized a natural tan that came with living at a beach. A gathering of hair was pulled back and secured with a clip. Her feet were bare.