She opened the door and entered the dining area. It was apparent that Kayana and Derrick had changed the doorbell ringtone from the distinctive Big Ben gong to wind chimes. She hadn’t taken more than two steps when Cherie spied Leah Kent coming from the direction of the kitchen.
“Well, as I live and breathe. I can’t believe you’re really here,” Leah said, her drawl confirming that she’d grown up in the South.
Cherie smiled. “I know you didn’t believe me when I told you I was going to move here.”
“Kayana kept dropping hints, but to be completely honest, I really didn’t believe her.” Leah extended her arms, and Cherie walked into her embrace to press her cheek against the older woman’s.
Cherie inhaled the scent of the tall redhead’s perfume mingling with the smell of yeast clinging to the apron she’d put on over a long-sleeved T-shirt and slim-fit jeans. And because she was working in the café’s kitchen, Leah had covered her strawberry-blond hair with a white bandana.
Pulling out of the embrace, Cherie said, “Well, I’m here in the flesh, and this time to stay.” It felt good to say that; before leaving the island earlier that summer, she had said it in jest, not knowing whether it truly would become a reality. “If you could walk away without a backward glance, giving up the historic mansion, fancy dinner parties, and the bling, to move here and work in a restaurant, then the decision for me to uproot myself was a no-brainer.”
Leah made a sucking sound with her tongue and teeth. “You left out the cheating, lying, and verbally and physically abusive husband.”
When first meeting Leah Kent, Cherie resented that she had what Cherie always wanted: a wealthy husband and children, unaware that the woman had spent thirty years married to a man she’d despised. Now, in hindsight, she was ashamed that she hadn’t always gotten along with the recently widowed former headmistress for an exclusive Richmond, Virginia, private all-girls school and had sometimes attacked her without provocation.
Cherie glanced around the dining area. “Is Kayana here?”
“Not yet. This is Derrick’s two weeks to cook, and that means Kayana will come in just before closing to clean up for the next day.”
She noticed a rush of color stain Leah’s pale cheeks when she mentioned Kayana’s brother’s name. The redhead had always liked the handsome widower, and once she moved to the island, she and the single father had gone from friends to lovers and were now living together.
“I came in to see you guys, but to also eat lunch and pick up something for dinner.”
Leah gestured over her shoulder at the buffet table with its trays of hot and cold dishes. “There still may be some baked chicken and braised beef ribs left. We just packed up several takeout containers for the sheriff’s office. Select whatever you want while I get some to-go boxes from the kitchen for you.” She paused. “By the way, where are you staying?”
“I closed on my house this morning. I’m expecting the movers to deliver my furniture tomorrow morning.”
“You’re staying in an empty house?”
Cherie bit back a grin when she saw an expression of horror freeze Leah’s features. “It’s empty in the literal sense, but I did bring an air mattress, folding chairs, and a card table with me.”
“There’s no way in hell I am going to let you sleep on the floor, Cherie. You’re coming home with me and Derrick. You know we have three extra bedrooms that no one sleeps in.”
“Thanks, but I’m good.”
“You’re not good, Cherie,” Leah insisted.
Cherie did not want to argue with Leah. She’d done enough of that in the past. Now that she was going to live on Coates Island, she needed a comfortable and stress-free relationship with her book club friends. She didn’t mind if they disagreed when critiquing a novel, but she wanted none of the rancor that had been so apparent the first year she’d come to the island. And she didn’t need a therapist to tell her that she was still harboring a lot of anger and guilt for selling her baby to the man who had lied to her when he said he’d wanted her to have his child so they would forever be bound together.
“I was sleeping on the floor before I left Connecticut. I’d arranged to put everything in my condo in storage down here while I waited for a confirmation date for closing on the house, so I’m sure I can survive one more night.”
Leah narrowed the topaz-blue eyes in her lightly freckled face. “Well, if you say so.”
Cherie flashed a bright smile. “I say so.”
“As soon as you’re settled in, Kayana and I are going to host a housewarming party for you.” She held up a hand when Cherie opened her mouth. “Mama has spoken and means no back talk.”
Cherie couldn’t help but laugh. Leah’s voice had taken on the tone she’d heard countless times when mothers chastised their children, some demanding complete obedience. Leah, fifteen years her senior, was old enough to be her mother—that is, if she’d had her children at fifteen rather than nineteen.
She curtsied as if bowing to royalty. “Yes, Mama.”
Throwing back her head, Leah laughed loudly. “Go and get something to eat before someone else comes in and cleans us out.” The words were barely off her tongue when the door opened, and a man wearing a gray uniform and holstered handgun walked in. It was obvious he was law enforcement. Leah nodded to the tall, dark-complected man. A matching gray, wide-brim, Western-style hat was pulled low over his forehead. “We just finished your order, Deputy Matthews. I’m going to get it from the kitchen.”
Cherie gave the man a quick glance before averting her gaze and making her way over to the buffet table. When she’d met his eyes, there was something in his intense stare that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. She attributed it to his not seeing her before. And when Leah had addressed him as Deputy Matthews, she realized he was the same man Bettina Wilson had identified as Reese Matthews, the island’s newest deputy.
There was no doubt he would stare at her. After all, she was a stranger moving to an island with approximately four hundred permanent residents. Cherie was aware that many of the homeowners left the island to check into extended-stay rentals or went to live with relatives during the months of June, July, and August.
There were half-empty trays of chicken, beef ribs, yellow rice, mashed potatoes, string beans with smoked meat and white potatoes, smothered cabbage, succotash, and bowls of macaroni salad and coleslaw. There were more than enough selections for her lunch and dinner.
