Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“What chase?” Ruby asked.
Brax and I both froze, then looked at each other before looking back at Ruby. “We’re trying to find out who Ms. Seaside is,” Brax finally admitted.
Ruby nodded, put the check down, and then took our plates. “Have fun with that.”
When she walked away, I looked at Brax.
“She,” he said as he took my pen and opened up his list again, “just moved to my number one spot.”
Brax
* * *
THE SEASIDE CHRONICLES
February 14, 2023
RIP TIDE – SPECIAL EDITION
Seasiders,
My fishes, I know I don’t normally do two special editions in one week, but news on the docks is that we have a shark circling the waters of Seaside.
Take caution, dear shark, you may want to find other waters to feed in.
Fair winds and following seas!
Ms. Seaside
* * *
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I read the special edition gossip column. Picking up my cell phone, I pulled up Harlee’s number. What I was about to do was going to take some serious acting skills on my part. Hitting her number, I waited for her to answer.
“Hello?” she said.
“I think it really might be Ruby!”
“And good morning to you as well, Brax. Is this going to be a thing in our newfound friendship?”
“What do you mean?”
“This calling me and shouting out random things?”
I fought the urge to laugh. Damn, she was good. I had to hand it to her. “Harlee, did you see the special edition today?”
She feigned disinterest. “Yes, I saw it.”
“It was a warning—to us. I think you were on to something when you wrote Ruby’s name down.”
Laughing, she added, “Or a warning to you, since you’ve been the one digging around.”
“I have a partner now, remember?”
With a harrumph, she replied, “Oh, that’s right, how could I forget.”
“You’re not a morning person, are you?”
I was pretty sure she growled. “Why do you think it’s Ruby?”
“Because I set her up.”
There was a moment of silence before she asked, “You set her up how?”
“By telling her that we were looking for Ms. Seaside. So, she waited a couple of days and then issued this warning. It’s so obvious, I don’t know how you don’t see it.”
There was a noise in the background like the sound of a door shutting.
“Are you at work?” I asked.
“Uh, no. I’m at home. That was Thomas. He just left.”
An instant rush of jealousy nearly knocked the breath out of my lungs. “Thomas?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you two, um…back together or something?”
Harlee let out a bitter laugh. “Hardly. He stopped by to pick up a few things he’d left here.”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. The hardest thing I’d ever had to do was watch one of my best friends dating the girl I was…
I was what? What were my feelings for Harlee? I had tried to deny them for so long, I wasn’t even sure what they were anymore. I knew I’d hated seeing them together. Truth be told, I hated seeing her with anyone. But, at the end of the day, I was the one who’d pushed her away, and I had no right to be upset about any man she chooses to be with.
“Brax?”
“Yeah, I’m still here. Sorry.”
“Is…is everything okay?”
I cleared my throat and pushed away the image of Thomas and Harlee together. “Yep, everything’s fine. I got a text, and it distracted me.”
“Okay, so back to Ruby. You feel like you set her up and she took the bait?”
“Exactly. I think we should concentrate on her first.”
Harlee let out a breath. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”
Something was off. Harlee was being too…agreeable. “That’s it? You’re not even going to argue with me about it?”
“Nope. If you think it’s Ruby, let’s figure out a game plan.”
I ran my fingers through my wet hair. I’d gotten out of the shower right before going out to pick up my paper. “One of us needs to follow her.”
“Psh. Have fun with that.”
“Me? Why does it have to be me?”
“Because you’re the one who wants to find out who Ms. Seaside is, Brax.”
“If my memory serves me right, you also want to find out who she is. Or have you changed your mind?”
Harlee paused, and I could practically hear her thinking. “No, I haven’t changed my mind. I’m sorry. I’m just…not myself this morning.”
“You’re sure everything’s okay? Did Thomas do or say something to you?”
“No.”
As much as I dreaded her answer to my next question, I asked it anyway. “Are you upset that you’re not together anymore?”
She laughed once more. “I’m not the least bit upset about that. Thomas was a nice distraction for a while, and that’s it.”
It felt like someone had kicked me in the gut, but I ignored it. “Distraction from what?”
She exhaled, sounding so tired. “My loneliness.”
My legs almost dropped out from under me. I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting Harlee to say, but that certainly wasn’t it.