“Go get ’em, girl. The beach will do you good,” Jinx said. “Fresh air, sunshine, and sand. You’ll be in shape for CCW in no time.”
Maybe. Maybe not. But for now, Harlow Hayes wasdoingsomething with her life.
3
SEA BLUE BEACH
Welcome to Sea Blue Beach. Founded by Prince Rein Titus Alexander Blue in 1882.
He landed on our dark shores with the pieces of his wrecked yacht as a storm raged in the Gulf. Malachi Nickle, a young, freed slave, found him alone, half drowned, and gave him shelter. Together, they built Sea Blue Beach. The prince built the Starlight so Sea Blue Beach would never be dark or lonely again.
We’ve quite a history, you see. Besides a prince and freed slaves, we’ve hosted rumrunners and gangsters, hobos and drifters, families looking for a warm meal, families on holiday, and kids on spring break, all the while nesting our hometown folks in sunbaked cottages on sunbaked streets.
Look, there’s Harlow Hayes. We’d have put up a sign for her, but we didn’t know the supermodel was coming. It’s been a while since she graced our shores. Three years, perhaps, since she sailed down with Xander Cole on his fancy yacht.
So we whisper to Dale Cranston, owner of the Midnight Theater, to showTalk to Me Sweetly, Harlow’s movie with our very own hometown boy, Matt Knight. Yes, sir, an A-list actor grew up here.
After a run of horror flicks and B-cop movies, Dale needs to change the marquee anyway. Folks on a beach holiday want a comedy or love stories.
Harlow parks in front of 321 Sea Blue Way. We’ve kept our eye on that place for years. It’s special. The first and only home of our prince. When he left for the Great War, he sold it to Malachi and his wife, Ida, for a song. They passed it down to their son, Morris, and his wife, Harriet.
When the Beauty and the Billionaire bought the place and sent in men with hammers and saws, we hoped they wouldn’t turn all of our memories to sawdust.
While things are peaceful in town, something is afoot. A contingent of men in fancy suits are gathering at the town hall with the mayor.
In the last year, we’ve heard whispers. Change is coming. But know this, every little town has a secret. Sea Blue Beach is no different.
4
MATT
MARCH 1987
SANTA MONICA
Ugh. What time was it? By the angles of sun on the floor, it was midmorning. A hundred yards away, the ocean waves refreshed the southern California shore as seagulls circled, calling for breakfast.
Someone had opened the French doors out to his balcony, letting in the sounds of the street—a car door slamming shut, masculine voices tangling in tight conversation.
“Matt, bro, you got coffee?” A bare-chested man stood in the doorway, his jeans slung low, his hair standing on end.
“In the pantry. Coffee maker is on the counter.”And you are ... ?
Matt was no stranger to strangers in his place, but in the last year, his open-door policy had gotten wider and wider. What started as an intention to be gracious and helpful had turned into destruction. What started as trying to redeem himself by being a friend to many ended with strangers, looters, and squatters ruining his place. He’d replaced doors, windows, bathroom fixtures,carpet, tile, and at least four mirrors. He’d painted and repainted the bare walls and replaced the bare cupboards—bare because his housekeeper, Golda, hid all of his carefully curated art, fine china, flatware, and Egyptian cotton linens.
As Matt reached for his jeans, his brain sloshed against his skull in searing protest. Oh, man, what happened last night? He breathed through a wave of nausea and disgust, catching visions of a drag race.
What day was it? Sunday?
Last night, he’d dined at the Beverly Hills Hotel with the beautiful, sexy Cindy Canon. They’d been cast in a new romantic comedyDate for My Daughter, and through table reads and rehearsals, they’d discovered their sultry chemistry.
But that was on set as Mitchell and Clementine. So Matt invited her to dinner to test theirpersonalchemistry. Why not? She was gorgeous, with expressive eyes and full pink lips. He was, well,theMatt Knight.
During the evening, they sipped wine and talked about how her career took off after her second film and how she was shedding her small-town Mississippi ways and the rules of her father’s house and church.
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,”she said with a cute Elvis-like flip of her lip.“Dad, there’s a world out there tobe lived,you know? Toexplore. Like, time to loosenthe religious tie,old man.”
She laughed a lot, which made Matt laugh, which he’d not done very much of in recent memory. Laughter inoculated him from the general sense of unease he always carried with him.
