Here With Me (3 page)

“Well, if you can, stop by Cleaves Cove Beach around seven o’clock.  It’s right off Ocean Avenue,” Kenna told them.

“We’ll see if we can make it,” Ryan said and then Kenna grinned.

“I pr
omise it’ll be worth the trip.”

“We’ll see
what we can do then,” Ryan added.

Nate and Ryan finished the last of their beers and then stood up. 

“We’re going to head across the street and get a bite to eat,” Ryan said, looking over at Mallory. “Wanna join us?”

“I actually just ate,” Mallory answered.

“Oh,” Ryan said and Mallory thought she noticed a hint of disappointment in his voice. “Well, then maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I hope so,” she said, smiling at him.

“It was nice to meet you, Kenna,” Ryan said politely and Kenna waved to him before turning her gaze to Nate. 

“See you later, Nate,” Kenna said with a wink.

“It was a pleasure,” Nate replied with his southern charm and Mallory couldn’t tell if he was being serious or just being polite.

Ryan and Nate reached into their wallets and left their tab on the counter before leaving.  Mallory found herself watching them the entire way until they were no longer in sight.  Kenna
quickly scooted back to the seat next to Mallory and grabbed her arm, looking at her with wide eyes.

“Okay,” she began with a mischievous smile. “Why didn’t you tell me about that?”

“About what?”

“Ryan!”

“I didn’t think there was anything to tell, Kenna.  I didn’t think I’d see him again.”

“He’s totally into you!”

Mallory just shrugged her shoulders and looked away.

“Oh
, don’t be like that.  It was totally obvious and if I’m not mistaken, I think you like him too.”

“You’re acting as if we’re in junior high, Kenna.  In case you’ve forgotten, we’re grown-ups.  In fact, we’re 24 years old,” Mallory laughed. 

“That may be true, but there was definitely something between the two of you.  It was like a spark or something.”

“I don’t know about that.
  I just met him this morning.  We’ve hardly said two words to each other.”

“
When there’s a spark, there’s a spark. It doesn’t matter how much time you spend with someone.  It’s just there.  You’ll change your tune tomorrow night,” Kenna said, raising her eyebrows.

“Who knows if they’ll even show up?  I think you may have scared Nate away.”

“Oh, I doubt that.  He was into me,” she said confidently, taking a swig of her drink. “He’s just a southern boy who’s not used to someone like me, but something tells me he’ll want to get to know me better.”

“He’s got to be ten years older than us,” Mallory pointed out.

“What does that matter?  Did you
see
him?”

“Yes, I saw him and yes, he was handsome, but maybe you should just tone it down a bit.”

“No offense, Mal, but you’re not exactly the person I’m going to take advice from when it comes to guys,” Kenna said, finishing off her drink.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You know how it is.  You don’t have the best luck with guys.  Or maybe I should say you don’t always make the best choices when it comes to guys.”

“I resent that,” Mallory said.

“Take Cole for instance.”

“What does Cole have to do with any of this?”

“Cole has been in love with you since eighth grade.  He’s gorgeous
and
rich and yet you continue to push him away.  That is the perfect example of not making the best choices when it comes to guys,” Kenna said matter-of-factly.

“Did my mom and grandma
possess your body tonight?  You sound exactly like them.”

“No, this is all me.”

“Why don’t you date Cole?” Mallory suggested.

“Believe
me, I would if he would give me a second glance.  But, we all know he only has eyes for you, Mal.”

“Have I ever told you how irritating you are?” Mallory asked, standing up and gathering her purse.

“Not recently,” Kenna said with a smile.

“Well, I’m telling you now in case I forget to tell you later.”

“I love you too,” Kenna said, blowing a kiss at her. 

“I’ve
gotta go.  I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Mallory said and began walking to the door.

Kenna waved and Mallory stepped out into the cool night air. The sky was crystal clear and it was surprising
ly quiet for a Sunday night, except for the sound of the waves rolling gently onto the shore. No matter how many times she heard that sound, it never ceased to amaze her and it reminded her much she loved her home town, even if she didn’t always think she did.

She walked quickly to her car and drove through the narrow streets of downtown until she pulled in
to the driveway of her house.  A faint light was glowing from the front window and Mallory imagined her mother was either reading the latest Danielle Steele novel or watching a Red Sox game.  She turned off the car and walked up to the front door and was grateful her mother had remembered to turn on the porch light as she fumbled with her keys.  The keys were always sticking in the old brass knob and Mallory made herself another mental note to change out the doorknob.  It had been on her list of things to do, but hadn’t gotten around to it. 

The door finally creaked open and she stepped inside the house.  Just as she had predicted, her mother was sitting in the faded blue recliner with a book in her lap and the baseball game on mute. 

“Did you have fun with Kenna?” her mother asked as she looked up from her book.

“Yes
.  I haven’t seen her in a while so it was nice to catch up.  We’re going to a clam bake tomorrow so that should be fun,” Mallory said, setting her purse on the end table and sitting down on the couch.

“Will Cole be there?” her mother asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m sure he will be.  He is our friend, after all,” Mallory sighed.  She could see a hopeful look in her mother’s eyes. “Please just give it a rest, Mom.”

“I didn’t say a word.”

“You don’t have to say anything.  I know what’s going on in that crazy head of yours and I wish you’d just knock it off.”

“Fine.
  I won’t say another word,” her mother said, closing her book and setting it down.  Mallory watched as her hands gripped the arm of the chair tightly as she struggled to pull herself up.  Her arms began to quiver and with a deep grunt, she managed to hoist herself to a standing position.

“Let me help you, Mom,” Mallory said quickly, rushing to her mother’s side.

“I’ve got it.”

“Please, just let me help you,” Mallory said softly, looking into the same deep brown eyes she saw when she looked in the mirror.  She knew it killed her mother to ask for help, especially from Mallory.  Claire Leyton may have always been quirky and carefree, but she was always independent and needing the help of her daughter with the everyday, mundane tasks of life was humiliating.  Mallory could see her mother’s resistance, but Mallory continued to stare into her mother’s eyes, asking her to allow her to help and she finally relented. 

Gripping her mother’s arm gently with one hand, she slid the other arm around her waist.  They walked wordlessly to the staircase and slowly made their way up to the second floor.  Mallory could feel her mother’s struggle with each step.  By the time they got to the top, she was nearly out of breath and stopped in the hallway to rest for a moment.

“How are you doing?” Mallory asked.

“I’m fine,” she answered. “I’ve got it from here.”

“I can help you get to your room,” Mallory said, prodding her mother to continue down the hall.

“I
said
I’ve got it from here,” her mother’s voice said assertively and Mallory knew not to press any further. 

“Okay, but let me know if you need anything.”

Her mother just looked at her and nodded.  Mallory turned and walked slowly down the stairs, stopping halfway to look up as her mother carefully gripped the wall and limped to her bedroom. 

Chapter Three

The sun was just beginning to go down when Mallory pulled her Corolla into the parking lot for the clam bake, instantly recognizing Kenna’s old green Volkswagen Bug and Cole’s shiny black BMW.  She looked around at the other cars as well and wondered if one of them might belong to Ryan.

Making her way down the path leading
to the ocean, she saw the smooth black rocks that dominated the beach and a small fire burning in the distance.  She trudged on the sand until she spotted Kenna and Cole among the small group of people, mostly from Kenna’s work, that she had invited.  Mallory looked around and realized she didn’t know any of them.  Cole was tending to the fire, getting it started and preparing the stones that would be vital to steaming the clams. 

“Hey,” Mallory said, setting her things down and looking around.

“Our boys aren’t here yet, if that’s what you’re looking for,” Kenna said.

“I wasn’t looking for anyone.”

“Sure you weren’t,” Kenna smirked.

“What are you guys talking about?” Cole asked, looking up from the fire.

“Nothing,” Mallory assured him.

“I just invited some people and Mallory was checking to see if they were here yet.”

“I was not, Kenna.”

“Who’d you invite?  Anyone I’d know?” Cole asked curiously.

“No, you wouldn’t know them,” Mallory answered quickly.

“How do you know that?”

“Because Mallory and I just met them yesterday,” Kenna answered. “Mallory helped save a dog and we ran into her cohort and his friend at the bar last night.”

“Oh yea
h?  Who is this guy?”

“I guess he’s here working for a while.  Kenna thought they should experience a New England clam bake while in town.”

“It would’ve been rude not to invite them,” she grinned and Cole just rolled his eyes and looked back to the fire as Mallory noticed a pair of oversized goulashes and a clamming rake against the black rocks.

“You brought clamming gear?” Mallory asked eagerly.  It had been ages since she’d been clamming.

“Of course.  You want to use it?” Kenna asked.

Mallory nodded and walked over to the
black boots.  Pulling them on, she knew they must look ridiculous with her knee length shorts and white shirt. 

“I’ll see you guys in a bit,” she said, picking up the bucket and rake and heading towards the water.

The boots, which were at least two sizes too big for her, made her waddle like a duck, but she quickly found a spot, digging her feet firmly into the low tide.  It was still light outside, but the sun was dropping closer to the water, turning the sky a light shade of yellow.  The waves rolled in, the white caps breaking gently as the water crept up slowly over her feet, causing her to sink further into the ground.  With each wave, she felt more secure with her feet planted steadfastly in the gray sand.  Setting the bucket down, she began raking, searching for the hidden clams.  It wasn’t long before she found one and after rinsing off the gooey mud to reveal a dark gray shell, she tossed it into the bucket beside her and began raking for another one.

“Nice boots,” she heard a deep voice call from behind her a while later. 
Turning around, she saw Ryan standing a few feet away, just out of reach of the water.  He was smiling at her with a look of amusement spread across his face as his eyes scanned over her.

“Thanks,” she laughed, setting the rake down so it stuck into the sand. 

“I thought you could use one,” he said, holding up a can of Coke. 

“Yes,
thank you,” she said, trudging through the thick mud and taking the can from him, opening it and taking a quick drink.

“So,” he said, staring down at her boots again. “What exactly are you doing?”

“Clamming.”

“Clamming?  I’ve done a lot in my life, but I can honestly say that is something I’ve never done before,” and then he hesitated, but then a smile spread across his face. “Or something I’ve ever seen being done before.”

“That’s because you grew up in Arizona,” she said, walking back over to where she’d left the rake and shovel.  She pushed the soda can into the sand and began combing for clams again. “Wanna try?” she asked holding the rake out to him after she’d found another clam.

“Are you serious?” he laughed, looking at her skeptically.

“Yes, I’m serious.  Every well rounded person has to go clamming at least once in their life.  Give it a try.”

“Um…I don’t know.”

“What?  You’re not afraid of the water…or clams, are you?”

“No,” he said quickly.

“Then take off your shoes and get in here.”

“Fine,” he said, slipping them off.  He rolled up his jeans to his knees and began walking towards her.

“What do I do?”

“First, you need this,” she said, handing the rake to him. “The clams are usually a foot or so below the surface.  Just start scraping until you pull one up.”

Ryan looked at her skeptically, but did as he was told. 

“Am I doing this right?” he asked her as he continued to scrape. 

“I guess we’ll find out if you find a quahog.”

“Okay, you’ve lost me now.  I thought I was searching for
clams.”

“You are.  Quahog is another name for clam.”

“I know I just got here, but I’ve already discovered you all talk strange.  It’s like another language with all your different names for things,” Ryan chuckled as he continued to dig.

“You don’t even know the half of it.  Just wait till I introduce you to
stuffies and hot weenies.”

“Do I even want to know what those are?” he laughed. “They sound obscene.”

“They are not, I assure you,” she told him with a smile. “Stuffies are just stuffed quahogs and hot weenies are a special kind of hot dog you can only get in Rhode Island.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to take me to have my first
stuffie and hot weenie,” he laughed. “Hey!  I think I got one!” he exclaimed a moment later as he lifted the rake into the air.  He reached to the end of it and pulled out a large clam.

“I guess you were doing it right after all,” she said, taking the clam from him and adding it to the others in the bucket.

He grinned at her and began raking again.  He pulled up another clam a few minutes later.

“I think we’ve got enough,” she said as she put his latest catch into the bucket.

“What are you going to do with them anyway?”

“I’ll just take them home and steam them for my mom.  It’s too late to add them to the pot tonight,” she said, trudging out of the thick
, wet sand onto dryer land.  Ryan followed and she set the bucket and rake against a large black rock and then sat down and removed the boots.  Ryan sat on a rock next to her and unrolled his pant legs.  He dusted off his feet before putting his shoes back on. 

They sat quietly for a while, both of them staring into the ocean and she hoped Ryan would say something, but he didn’t.  She glanced back over to the fire, where Kenna and Nate looked to be engaged in a conversation.

“I think your friend’s got it in for Nate,” Ryan said suddenly and she saw that he was looking over at them too.

“Yeah, looks like.  Once Kenna puts her mind to something, there’s pretty much no stopping her,” Mallory laughed. “I just hope she doesn’t scare you guys away.”

“She might scare him away, but not me,” he said, bringing his eyes back to hers. “Kenna might do Nate some good actually,” he continued. “She might loosen him up.”

“They just seem like they’d mix together as well as oil and water.”

“Well, we’ll see what happens,” Ryan said, glancing over to them again.

It was quiet again and she pretended to occupy herself with counting the clams they had collected.

“So how’d we do?” Ryan asked, moving closer to her and looking in the bucket. 

“Not bad.  It’ll be enough for my mom and me,” she said, reaching into the bucket to pick one up. 

“Let me see that thing,” he said, taking the clam she was holding.  “How do you cook this little sucker?”

“You just steam it for a little while until the shell opens up.  Then you dunk it in butter.  It’s actually very simple.”

“So, do you go clamming a lot?” he asked as he set the clam back in the bucket.

“I used to go clamming all the time, but not so much anymore.  I’m a little too busy with real life.  If I want clams, I go to Mabel’s.”

“So what does your real life consist of, Mallory?” he asked.

“I’m an ER nurse.”

“Really?” he asked as his eyebrows raised.

“You sound surprised.”

“No…well, maybe a little.”

“And why is that?”

“I don’t know.  I didn’t think you were old enough to be a nurse,” he laughed.

“I guess I should take that as a compliment.  But, twenty-four is definitely old enough to be a nurse,” she assured him. “I’ve been doing it for two years now.”

“How do you like it?  It must be difficult work.”

“Sometimes it is.  Working in the ER has really shown me how fragile life is.  I’ve seen people’s lives change in the blink of an eye,” she said, thinking back to some of her more dramatic shifts at the hospital.

“I don’t know if I could do what you do.”

“It’s not always sad or tragic,” she told him. “Sometimes it’s amazing.  When you can help save someone’s life or see a baby being born, well…it’s like no other feeling.  It’s hard to describe, but it makes the hard times worth it.”

He was quiet, but nodded at her with understanding eyes.

“
Enough about me though.  What does your real life consist of, Ryan?” she asked, turning the tables on him.

“I’m in security.”

“I know that.  But that’s it?  Security?  No other details?” she asked curiously.

“I work for a company that helps train security guards.”

“How long have you done that?”

“A couple of years.”

“What did you do before that?”

“What is this?  Twenty questions?” he laughed and she looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if she’d been too pushy, but then he smiled and answered. “I was in the navy for six years.”

“A military man?  I can see that,” she said looking over his lean, strong body. “What’d you do in the navy?”

“I was a SEAL.”

“Really?” she exclaimed.

“Now you seem surprised.”

“I guess I am.  I’ve never met a Navy SEAL before.  I’ve heard about the crazy stuff you all do, but have never met one in real life.”

“Well, now you have,” he said, his lips turning up into a smile and they were quiet again.

“Special forces, wow,” she said softly a few moments later. “You must’ve seen some stuff,” she concluded, but as she looked at him, there was something in his eyes that said he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Yeah, it was interesting, but if I tell you about it, I’d have to kill you,” he laughed, but his eyes were no longer looking at her.  He was staring out towards the ocean.

“So, if you were in the navy for six years and you’ve been in security for two, that makes you…” she said, pausing to do the math in her head. “What?  26, if you joined right out of high school.”

“
Your math is correct.”

“Why’d you leave the military?”

“I just had another opportunity open up and decided to give it a try,” he answered simply and she couldn’t help but notice how guarded he was being.  She decided it may be time to get back to the group, before a round of awkward silence had a chance to set in.

“Do you want to head back?  The food should be ready soon.”

“We probably should,” he said, standing up. 

Mallory reached down and picked up the bucket and shovel.

“Here, let me get that,” he said, taking them from her and they walked back to the fire.

When they approached, Nate looked over at them and Mallory noticed he seemed more relaxed. In fact, he looked somewhat comfortable with Kenna, who was sitting next to him.

“So how was your clamming expedition?” Kenna asked.

“Very successful,” Mallory replied, gesturing to the bucket.

“I caught two clams,” Ryan said proudly.

“Wow.  I’m impressed,” Nate said sarcastically.
“Pretty good for a desert boy.”

“You should be
impressed,” Ryan said. “How much longer till everything’s ready?”

“Maybe fifteen minutes,” Cole piped in from behind and they both turned to face him.  “I’m Cole Hollins,” he said, extending a hand to Ryan.

“Ryan Scott.”

Mallory noticed
Cole was eyeing Ryan curiously before he turned to check on the pot.

She sat down in the sand near the fire and watched as Ryan took a seat next to Nate.  The sun was nearly set now and the temperature had dropped.  The heat from the fire warmed her up and her eyes continued to drift across the firelight to Ryan.  He sat quietly drinking a beer and the flames seemed to dance around his profile, casti
ng shadows across his face.  She quickly looked away before he caught her looking at him.