Moonstone (21 page)

“I wasn’t,” Kelsey said. She laughed when Joy looked over at her.

“That’s right. You were Too Cool Kelsey West.”

“Yep, ‘too cool.’ At least on the outside. On the inside, I was a mess like everyone else.”

“Fortunately we all grow up.” Joy doused her pizza slice with pepper and handed the container to Kelsey. The jukebox finished playing the songs Kelsey had picked and fell quiet. The boys turned up the volume on their radio in the kitchen. Beyoncé.

Kelsey sprinkled on the peppers and then took a bite. Her lips burned and her eyes immediately watered. She reached for the root beer.

“Extra spicy?”

“He wasn’t kidding,” Kelsey said. She took another sip of her soda. “I guess I’m too old for these peppers. Some days I forget how old I am.”

“Thirty-five isn’t old.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m thirty-six,” Kelsey said. She shook off a few of the peppers and took another bite.

“I’m okay with getting old,” Joy said. “This is one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.”

Kelsey watched Joy pull out of the parking lot. It was too early for their day together to end. She’d spent the drive from Romeo’s back to the marina wondering if it’d be crazy to ask Joy to spend the afternoon driving up the coast. She wanted any excuse to keep talking to her. But by the time they’d pulled into the marina, she’d lost her nerve. She didn’t want to come on too strong. They’d see each other tomorrow at Joy’s clinic although it’d be all about work then. It wasn’t until after she’d waved to Joy and headed to her car that she realized there’d been no mention of a second date.

Kelsey turned on her car and reached for her sunglasses. After three hours on the water, they should have been spotted with dried salt, but the lenses were completely clean. Somehow Joy must have swiped them when Kelsey wasn’t looking and cleaned them for her. Again. Thoughtful—add it to the list—along with smart, funny, and beside all of those things, she was a good listener. Kelsey had gone on and on about the first bad review she’d gotten when Joy asked how she liked her job and it wasn’t until Joy asked a question to follow up on something that it occurred to her how closely she’d paid attention. Kelsey sighed. And Joy looked perfect in a wetsuit. Of course she had a girlfriend.

“The Alpine lady’s in with Denise now,” Helen said, taking the file from Joy’s last morning appointment. “She already went through everything with me. Since Chloe called in sick, I told her to give me the Cliff’s Notes version. If I get desperate, I can resort to reading the book later.”

“It’s a slow read,” Joy said. “I thumbed through it and got stuck rereading the same paragraph. On the first page.”

“I’m sure it will put me right to sleep.” Helen smiled. “Probably better than taking medicine for my insomnia.” Helen handed Joy the day’s mail. “In case you were feeling like you didn’t have enough to do, I can always find something more.”

Joy sighed. “I think I’ll take my lunch upstairs and work through this stack.”

“I’ll ring when your one o’clock arrives.”

“Thank you.”

Joy glanced at Denise’s office. From her angle, she couldn’t see anyone. She could hear Denise’s voice and then Kelsey’s a moment later, but she couldn’t make out their words. Joy felt the pull toward the lounge. She wished she had an excuse to talk to Kelsey. She eyed the stack of mail and then the lounge again. The truth was, she didn’t have time for a distraction.

Joy heard the last stair creak and glanced up in time to see Kelsey pause on the landing. “Knock, knock.”

“Come in,” Joy said. “I never close the door. This office has always made me feel claustrophobic.”

“Are you kidding?” Kelsey walked over to the window and stared out at the water below. “Nope. I’m still not tired of the view. Even on a cloudy day.” She smiled over her shoulder. “I’d kill for an office like this. My car is my office.”

“We can trade. You’ve got a nice car.”

“Try spending half of your day driving around in that car. Then we can talk about feeling claustrophobic.”

“Point taken.” Joy stood up and went over to the window. “It is a nice view, I’ll give you that. But this place has always felt like my dad’s space. Sometimes I feel like he’s probably still looking over my shoulder…”

Kelsey pointed to a sailboat making its way out of the harbor. “I know the guy who owns that boat. The one with the four-leaf clover painted on the helm. He’s a dermatologist.”

“Let me guess, he’s running Alpine software in his derm practice? He must be doing pretty well if he takes Mondays off.”

“You got it.” Kelsey grinned. She stepped away from the window and scanned the office. “But I’ve seen the view from his office and your place is way better.”

“And if you like tight spaces, this office is perfect,” Joy agreed. “I’ve decided that it’s probably an air flow thing. When you convert an attic and only pop in one window…” Joy paused. “I’m sorry. I got us off on a tangent. You probably had a reason for coming up here.”

“I wanted to make sure you haven’t had any problems—with Alpine—before I head out.”

“Not so far.”

“That’s great.” Kelsey seemed about to say something more, but Joy’s phone beeped with a text. “I should let you get back to work,” Kelsey said.

They both glanced at the phone when it beeped a second time. Vanessa’s name flashed on the screen. Joy had told Vanessa that she’d gone on a date with someone. Those were the agreed-upon rules. Vanessa wanted more details.
Was she cute? How cute?
Joy flipped the phone over.

“You have my number. Call if anything comes up.” Kelsey turned to head down the stairs. She paused and glanced back at Joy. “Do you have plans for Memorial Day? Denise and my mom are having a dinner party barbeque thing on their houseboat. I know Denise was planning on inviting you, but she always waits till the last minute.”

“They have a houseboat?” Joy wanted to say yes before Kelsey even explained. She decided to buy some time so she didn’t seem too eager.

“Well, it’s Denise’s boat, really.” Kelsey paused. “Anyway, dinner parties aren’t usually my thing but this one’s different…I’ll remind Denise to give you all the details and you can think about it.”

“Dinner on a houseboat sounds nice.” Joy glanced at her calendar. Memorial Day was in a week. Vanessa had wanted to come then because of the three-day weekend. “I have a friend who might be here then.”

“It’s no big deal if you can’t make it. You can let Denise know either way.” Kelsey waved and headed down the stairs.

Either Kelsey didn’t care one way or another if Joy had said yes or she’d done a good job faking it.

Joy waited until the end of the day to find Denise. She was camped out in front of her computer. “How did I not know that you had a houseboat?”

Denise opened the cupboard above the computer screen. Taped to the inside of the cupboard door was a snapshot of Denise and another woman standing on the helm of a boat. “Meet Trin—it’s short for Trinidad. I’ve had her for a little over ten years.”

“I swear you’ve never mentioned owning a boat. And how long has that picture been there?”

“About a year.” Denise smiled. “But how often do you open this cupboard?”

“Sometimes I think I’m a little oblivious.”

“Sometimes you are.” Denise laughed at Joy’s answering scowl. “Hey, I was only agreeing with you.”

Joy wondered if the other woman in the picture was Kelsey’s mom. She hadn’t seen her since swim team, but she thought the woman looked familiar. “Is that Kelsey’s mom?”

“Yeah, that’s Barb. She wanted to go sailing, but settled for trawling the harbor with me.”

“Kelsey mentioned some houseboat dinner thing this weekend.”

“I forgot about it with all the Alpine stuff today. Yes. You’re invited. Dinner at five. Monday. You don’t need to bring anything. There’s another couple coming but that’s it. We can’t fit many people on Trin.”

“I’m not sure I can make it. I may have a friend coming into town.”

Denise shrugged. “That’s fine. Just thought we’d invite you in case you were sitting around alone all day. We never really have functions like dinner parties, but it’s an anniversary of sorts.” Denise closed the cabinet and pointed to the computer screen. “Barb was diagnosed with cancer. It’s been in remission for three years.”

Cancer remission
. Joy thought of Kelsey’s expression when she’d mentioned the dinner. She’d seemed hesitant to ask Joy about coming and now it made sense why. “You sure Barb doesn’t want to keep this a close friends and family thing?”

“Barb loves having company,” Denise said. “You can let me know later if you can make it. There’s no rush.” Denise paused. “So, what do you think about Alpine?”

“So far so good.”

“And working with Kelsey West?” Denise smiled when Joy didn’t answer right away. “If it matters, she said she’s enjoyed working with you.”

Joy wondered how much Kelsey had said—and how much Denise could guess. They’d spent a lot of time together and Sunday had nothing to do with work. Joy had been on a high ever since.

“It’s been a long day, hasn’t it? And it’s only Monday. Computers…Anyway, if you can’t make it to the dinner party, we’ll have to find another excuse to get you out on Trin. It’s good to get out on the water. It’s good to get away from all of this.” Denise motioned to the computer and then to the rest of her narrow office space. “It isn’t easy running this place, is it? Your dad was always exhausted by the end of the day.”

“My old job was easier,” Joy agreed.

“Miss it?”

“Some days.” But Kelsey West wasn’t a sales rep at her old job, she thought immediately. “I’ll let you know about Memorial Day.”

Joy went upstairs to her office. For the first time, she was ready to leave only minutes after she’d finished up with the last patient. She found her cell phone where she’d left it on the desk and quickly punched in Kelsey’s phone number. Then she hesitated calling. Texting would be easier, but Kelsey never seemed to text. After a long minute, she texted:
Finished early. And it’s a clear night. Want to join me for a walk?

Minutes ticked by without a response from Kelsey. Joy stared out at the skyline. The sun was dropping on the horizon, but it was likely over an hour before sunset. Finally she packed up her things and tried to push away the thought that she was crazy for even texting Kelsey. What was the worst-case scenario? Kelsey had read the text and ignored it because she wasn’t interested? The appointment for Kelsey’s eye exam on Thursday might be awkward, but if all went well, that might be the end of it.

Denise had left already and the front door was locked. Joy set the alarm and then let herself out, wondering whether she should pick up groceries or go for takeout. She glanced one last time at her cell phone and then dropped it in her pocket.

“Hey, Joy, over here.”

Joy spotted Kelsey parked in front of the building. She had her window rolled down and climbed out of the car once Joy turned in her direction.

“I got your text while I was driving.” Kelsey was still wearing the same business suit she’d had on earlier but had changed out of the heels she’d worn earlier. “You’re on my way home. And a walk sounded nice. I’ve had a long day.”

“I’ve had a long day too, but I figured it was too nice a night to miss the sunset. No fog…”

“Hop in. I’ll drive.”

Joy hesitated for a moment. Usually she liked to drive. She watched Kelsey slide into the driver’s seat and then peek through the open window. “Or we can meet somewhere if you don’t want to go in the same car.”

“No, of course we can drive together.” Joy opened the door and climbed in. She buckled her seat belt and then glanced at Kelsey.

“Let me guess: you like to be the one who drives?”

Joy smiled. “Maybe.”

“Control thing, right? I’m used to it. Doctors.” Kelsey laughed, then hastily added, “I’m not used to dating them—usually I only stick to working with them.”

“I try to avoid dating people I work with,” Joy said. “I’ve never liked the idea of having to work with someone after you’ve broken up.”

“So you assume a breakup is predetermined when you start dating someone?”

“Based on past experience, yes,” Joy admitted. “But even if there wasn’t a breakup, I think dating someone at work would make everything too complicated. Have you ever dated someone you worked with and had it go well?” Kelsey’s expression immediately steeled and Joy knew she’d said the wrong thing. Joy added, “Sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”

“It’s fine.” Kelsey paused. “Yes, I have dated someone I worked with. More than once.”

“And? How’d it go?”

“Fine at first. The breakups were messy.” Kelsey shrugged. “I seem to be particularly good at messy breakups. But I had pretty much sworn off dating anyone I knew through work after one particularly bad disaster.” She smiled. “This job has helped. Most of the time I’m out in the field alone and I can’t really ask a customer out.” Kelsey stopped as soon as she realized what she’d said. She added, “Not to say that I haven’t thought about it…Anyway, I haven’t been out on a date in six months. Exactly how long I’ve been with Alpine.” Kelsey turned on the car and then glanced at Joy. “Where are we going?”

“Moonstone Beach. It’s my favorite spot for a sunset.”

Kelsey backed out of the parking place and said, “I was going to text you tonight but then…I didn’t know if you’d text me back.”

Joy could see the blush on Kelsey’s face even though Kelsey was checking the mirrors as she pulled into traffic. After they’d gone a few miles, Kelsey turned on the radio. She kept her eyes on the road. Joy thought of all the questions she wanted to ask, but she settled back in her seat and watched Kelsey instead. The slower pace of Raceda was beginning to rub off on her. There’d be time for questions later.

The sun was still well above the ocean’s line on the horizon when they pulled into the beach parking lot. Two cars were in the lot, but the angle of the shoreline and the huge boulders that spotted the beach hid whoever belonged to the cars. Joy waited for Kelsey to get out. She seemed to hesitate and finally Kelsey said, “Something’s been bugging me for a while now.”