In Over Her Head: An Anchor Island Novel by Terri Osburn (reading eggs books .TXT) 📗

“It’s been tough but things are coming along.”

“Tough?” Lauren had made it sound as if things were easily falling into place.

“She’s hard to please, man.” The bartender approached and Jackson ordered a beer. “We must have made some of these dishes fifty times now, and she finds something wrong with all of them. I don’t know what she wants. Hell, none of us do.”

Nick understood the situation from both sides. No chef sent food out of the kitchen that didn’t meet their standards, but the staff couldn’t read her mind either. And there was a good chance the food she was rejecting would more than meet the customers’ expectations.

“I thought things got better after the adventure park.”

“You know about that?”

Well aware of his friend’s fear of heights, he leaned away and confessed, “That was my idea.”

Jackson spun on his stool. “You’re the reason I hauled my ass up a hill blindfolded?”

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“That’s cold, buddy. I’ll remember this.”

“Forget about the park. What about now? Is anyone thinking about walking?”

“No. She’s actually pretty cool to work for. Calm. Patient. We just don’t know how to get what she’s wanting.” The bartender returned with his drink, and he said, “Thanks, Cal,” before continuing. “When she tests the individual components, there’s no problem. But then we put them together and she either doesn’t like the flavor combination or the balance is off. The menus are printed and ready, but she keeps talking about making changes. If we have to start over, there’s no way we’ll be ready by Saturday.”

The woman was her own worst enemy.

“Maybe this is nerves. As the time gets closer, she’ll calm down and run with what you’ve done so far.”

“I don’t know, man.” He shook his head while lifting his beer. “She gets more anxious every day. This morning she started talking so fast that none of us understood a word she said.”

Just as she’d been on Sunday when she’d greeted Nick like a human tornado. This time, he couldn’t talk her down without revealing this visit with Jackson, and though his intentions were in the right place, Nick doubted she’d appreciate his efforts.

“Keep trying is all I can say. She’s bound to relax eventually.”

“That’s what we’re hoping.” The older man leaned his elbows on the bar. “After she pulled my scared black ass up that death hill, I’m willing to follow her into the fire. I just hope she doesn’t get us all scorched.”

That made two of them.

15

Lauren had no idea how long she’d been sitting on his front porch, or even how exactly she’d gotten there. All she knew was that on her way home from the bakery, she’d started to panic. Once she’d parked in front of her cottage, her brain had told her to go find Nick. So she did. Except Nick wasn’t home.

Growing cold, she lifted off the top step, ready to give up, when headlights appeared before her, forcing her to cover her eyes to block the glare.

“Lauren?” Nick said, bounding from the truck. “Are you okay?”

“I just stopped by,” she said, suddenly feeling like an idiot. “You’re probably tired. I should go.”

Before she took two steps, he cut her off. “What’s wrong?”

Heart racing, she shook her head. “I shouldn’t bother you.”

This wasn’t like her. When the anxiety hit, she dealt with it on her own. Men didn’t like messy, and if she wanted to keep whatever casual thing they had going, then Lauren needed to keep her mess out of sight.

“You aren’t bothering me. Come inside.”

She really wanted to do that. Conflicted, she crossed her arms, uncrossed them, then crossed them again. “Are you sure? I know it’s late…”

Nick pried her arms loose and took her by the hand. “I’m sure.” Tugging her toward the cottage, he added, “Let me help.”

How could he know those were the words she needed to hear?

Clinging to his hand, she followed him inside and Nick pulled her to the couch. “Sit down while I’ll get you some water.”

Lauren would have preferred whiskey, but alcohol would only make this worse. Her efforts to drink the demons away had always ended badly. While he fetched the water, she focused on her breathing. One breath at a time. In and out. Deep breath. Hold. Exhale.

“Here you go.” He put the glass in her hand and then sat down beside her. “Take your time.”

The man was a freaking saint. All the more reason she shouldn’t be here.

“It’s nothing, really,” she said. “I’m fine.” Her voice hitched and she took another deep breath.

“Why don’t we go out back? The moon should be bright on the water and we can sit and listen to the waves. That always makes me feel better.”

Sitting quietly in the dark sounded like a good idea so she nodded her agreement and followed him to the sliding glass door.

Once outside, he led her to the Adirondack chairs, then said, “Have a seat and I’ll be right back.”

Lauren didn’t want to be alone, but he was gone before she could stop him. Holding her drink with both hands, she perched on the edge of the chair and focused on the waves crashing in the distance. The moon was bright and glared off the water as if it were a shifting mirror. The rhythm of the ebb and flow matched her breathing and she felt herself begin to relax.

“Sit back,” Nick said, returning with a blanket. She did as ordered and he draped the heavy material across her lap, then tucked it in along her sides. “Good?”

The simple gesture nearly made her cry. Speechless, she nodded, and he settled into the chair beside hers. They stayed that way, in silence for several minutes. As time passed and the ocean continued to roll in and back out, Lauren’s lungs expanded and her heartbeat eased back to normal levels.

“Thank you,” she finally said.

“For what?” he asked.

Lauren looked his way. “For being so nice to me. I know I’m not easy to deal with sometimes.”

Nick leaned his head