Seaside Surprises: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters) Read online

  The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and chills ran through her. Was someone watching her? She turned around, staring in every direction. There was no one in sight, aside from some people in the waiting room minding their own business. Most of them had been there the day before.

  Tiffany turned back to the tank. She used the reflection from the glass to look behind her. Nothing looked out of place, but she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. No one even resembled Trent.

  Tiffany watched a bright orange fish chase a plant that moved back and forth in the water. Oh, to be a fish with no real problems.

  A hand rested on her back, and Tiffany jumped. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she turned around. It was just Luisa.

  "Sorry, honey. I didn't mean to startle you."

  "It's not your fault. Can we go back there and see him?"

  "She said that's fine. They've taken him off all the sedatives, and he's just starting to move around a little. He hasn't opened his eyes, but given his movements, they expect that any time."

  "I hope he's okay."

  Luisa squeezed her shoulder. "He will be. Are you ready?"

  "As much as I'm ever going to be."

  Vinny walked over to them. "We might get to see him wake up, Tiff. I think that'll help a lot."

  Tiffany nodded, too choked up to speak. They walked to his room in silence. Despite how upset she was, Tiffany still felt like someone was watching her. Not that it would have surprised her if Trent had someone staked out in the hospital to look for her. But he wouldn't be stupid enough to approach her there. Not with doctors, nurses, and plenty of security guards.

  She pushed the thought out of her mind as they approached Grandpa's room. The curtain was pulled back, and she could see him on the bed. He didn't look any different, but as she neared him, she noticed the restraints had at least been removed. He still had the breathing tube hooked to the ventilator and a maze of tubes hooked to both arms.

  Holding her breath, she walked up to the bed. "Grandpa?"

  He didn't respond. She put her hand on his arm. It was warmer than it had been the day before.

  Vinny and Luisa went around to the other side of the bed and rubbed his other arm, talking to him.

  Tiffany's vision went blurry. Would he ever wake up? She slid her hand in his. "Grandpa, it's Tiffany. I'm here. Vinny and Luisa are, too. We really want to see you open your eyes."

  A nurse stood next to her, checking his vitals. "It could be another hour or so. This isn't an exact science, and the drugs he's coming off are potent. Just be aware everyone reacts differently. We have reason to believe he'll be fine—the results didn't show anything obviously wrong. Sometimes, the readings don't come out perfectly." She gave Tiffany a sympathetic smile. "I have high expectations for your grandpa."

  Tiffany cleared her throat. "Thanks." She squeezed Grandpa's hand. "Did you hear that? It's time to wake up."

  The nurse typed into the computer, and then turned around, looking at Tiffany. "You guys might want to pull up chairs. It can take a while to wake up from a medically-induced coma." She left the room.

  Luisa looked at Tiffany. "Do you want a chair?"

  "I'll wait." She stood, talking to Grandpa for a while. He squeezed her hand every so often and moved his arms from time to time. It wasn't much, but the progress was a huge relief after seeing him not moving at all before.

  She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but her legs ached. It was probably time to get a chair. She looked around for one, and then her grandpa pulled on Tiffany's arm.

  Tiffany turned around in surprise. He moved his head, and she swore he tried to speak.

  "Did you hear that?" she asked.

  Luisa and Vinny both nodded.

  "We're right here, Alfy," Vinny said. "You missed our last card game, so you gotta wake up. You can't miss the next one."

  Grandpa moved around some more, but his eyes remained closed. Tiffany sighed, fighting back tears. Her grandpa was a tough, strong man. Seeing him like this just felt wrong—and it was even worse not knowing if he would ever go back to normal.

  She thought back to her last conversation with him. Why hadn't she told him how much he meant to her? She had never told him how much she appreciated him raising her in his retirement years. Those were years he shouldn't have had to deal with a resentful teenager who was angry at the world because her parents weren't around.

  Did he know how much she valued him? Tears spilled over and ran down her face. Would he ever know the difference he made in her life? Without him, she would have been a huge mess. Sure, she had problems and had managed to mess up her life by marrying a jerk when she was too young to know better. But without Grandpa's influence, she would have made worse, life-altering decisions in high school. She could have been in that car full of kids that crashed because they were all high. No one had survived.

  Tiffany shook, and then she felt arms around her.

  "He's going to be okay," Luisa whispered. "We just have to give him time."

  Vinny slid a chair over, and they both helped her sit. Luisa handed her tissues. Tiffany tried to blow her nose quietly, but it was pointless because the tears wouldn't stop. Guilt squeezed her, and many what-ifs ran through her mind.

  Luisa gave her the entire box of tissues, and she stayed at Tiffany's side. When Tiffany finally regained control of herself, she threw the pile into the trash, used some sanitizer, and then grabbed Grandpa's hand again. "It's time to wake up, Grandpa. We really want to talk to you. You can go back to sleep later, but we have to talk to you."

  "Yeah," Vinny agreed. "We don't have time to wait around all day. We got places to go."

  Tiffany cracked a smile, and Vinny winked at her.

  They spoke to him for a little longer, and Vinny continued to egg on his lifelong friend. Tiffany rubbed Grandpa's bald head, and she could feel bumps all over. "Come on. Wake up and tell us what happened."

  His eyes fluttered, and Tiffany gasped, jumping back. They watched, no one speaking, for several minutes until his eyes finally opened slowly. He looked around, obviously confused.

  Tiffany froze. She knew she should say something, or at least hold his hand again, but she couldn't get her body to cooperate.

  Vinny put his hands on Grandpa's arm. "Alfy, you're in the hospital, old buddy. Luisa and I are here with Tiffany."

  Grandpa looked around until he made eye contact with Tiffany. His eyes widened, almost looking fearful.

  "It's okay, Grandpa," Tiffany said, her voice shaking. Was he scared of her? "The doctors say you're going to be fine. You just needed some rest." She tried to sound more reassuring than she felt.

  He shook his head, and then tried to say something, but the ventilator made it impossible to understand.

  "Relax, Alfy," Vinny said. "You're going to hurt yourself."

  Grandpa moved his hands up toward his face slowly, and pulled on the mask.

  Luisa and Vinny both grabbed his arms. "Take it easy, Alfy," Luisa said. "You don't need to speak yet."

  He shook his head, looking frantic. Again, he appeared to try to talk, but no words came. He fought to get free from Vinny and Luisa's grips.

  Vinny looked at Tiffany. "Go get a nurse. Now."

  Tiffany ran to the door. "Nurse!" She looked around. The hall was empty—no one was even at the nurse's station. She could hear beeping and frantic conversation in a nearby room. She ran down the hall, calling for a nurse.

  A man about her age stepped out from the waiting room. They made eye contact, and Tiffany froze. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place him. He continued to stare at her but didn't say anything.

  He twitched, and for some reason, she realized where she knew him.

  "You're Trent's cousin. Josh, isn't it?"

  Josh turned around.

  "Wait."

  He stopped—much to Tiffany's disbelief.

  "Are you the one who's been watching me? Did you give me the tissue?"

  He backed up a couple steps.<
br />
  "Where's Trent?"

  Josh ran down the hall. Tiffany almost ran after him but remembered why she was in the hall. She turned around and looked in an open door. A doctor sat at a computer. "We need help," she said. "My grandpa just woke up, and he's struggling to—"

  The doctor stood up. "Take me to him. Where are the nurses?" He looked down that hall, irritation covering his face.

  Tiffany led him to the room. Grandpa was still fighting against Vinny and Luisa.

  The doctor went over to the bed and took one of Grandpa's hands. "I need you to calm down, sir. I'm a doctor, and I can help. If you relax, we'll be able to listen to what you have to say. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

  Grandpa stopped struggling and nodded. He remained still and continued to look at the doctor.

  "Thank you, sir," the doctor said. "Your nurse and doctor are both busy with another patient at the moment. I'm going to have your friends here explain your situation to me." He turned to Vinny. "Can you tell me about your friend?"

  Vinny gave a brief summarization while the doctor nodded and asked a few questions.

  He turned back to Grandpa. "Waking up in a hospital can be most scary. I've actually had that happen, too. It—"

  Grandpa shook his head and pointed to the device in his mouth.

  "It's too soon to take that out." He looked at one of the machines Grandpa was hooked up to. "Your oxygen levels do look good. We might be able to take this out shortly, after having some time to observe you in your awake state."

  Grandpa shook his head again.

  "Is there something you want to tell us?" Luisa asked.

  Grandpa nodded, eyes wide.

  Luisa looked at the doctor. "Can we let him write it down?"

  "Sure. I've got a pad of paper here." The doctor dug into his lab coat and pulled it out. He helped Grandpa with the pad and a pen.

  Grandpa's eyes narrowed as he wrote. When he was done, he shoved the paper toward Vinny.

  Vinny's eyes widened, and then he handed the pad to Tiffany.

  She took it. Grandpa's handwriting was messier than normal, but every word was legible:

  Get Tiffany out of here now.

  Twenty Seven

  Jake leaned against the building outside the shop and took a deep breath, trying to let the sun's warm rays dissolve his stress. It had been a horrible morning. Most of the customers had been angry about something. Thankfully, Bella was a cheerful employee, and she handled each person with a level of grace and kindness that Jake never could have.

  Some of the people had been so rude to her, he wanted to deck them. Yet she held her sunny disposition, and found ways for everyone to leave with a smile on their faces—or at least without the scowl they had come in wearing.

  Jake pulled out his phone. He'd missed a call from his mom. Still no calls or texts from Elena. He couldn't stop worrying. Something had to be wrong, or she wouldn't ignore his calls and texts.

  Had he done something to scare her off? They'd hit it off so well, but he had a tendency to say the wrong things to girls, especially when he wanted to impress them.

  If Elena wanted nothing to do with him, he would accept that, but he just wanted to know. Of course, he wanted to try to fix anything he had done wrong, but not knowing ate away at him.

  Then there was the thought of her ex. She was clearly scared of him. What if he had found her? Could that have been why she took off in such a hurry? What if her ex had forced her into the cab?

  Was she okay? They'd hit it off so well, that seemed to be the most likely scenario. She'd been so happy with him when they had parted ways.

  Jake let out a slow breath. He had no proof that she was in danger. The girl at the hotel didn't say anything about Elena going into the cab with anyone. Or about her looking scared.

  "Are you okay, my friend?"

  Jake jumped, and then looked over to see Dimitri headed his way. He shrugged, hoping his friend would take the hint.

  "How are your new employees working out?" Dimitri leaned against the building next to Jake, oblivious to Jake's mood.

  Jake grunted.

  "Must be nice to finally have some help, huh?"

  Jake took a deep breath, and then glared at Dimitri.

  "Why don't you look happy?"

  "Because everything sucks."

  Dimitri raised an eyebrow.

  Jake stared at him, almost daring him to keep talking.

  "Ah." Dimitri nodded knowingly. "You still haven't heard back from Elena?"

  Jake shook his head.

  Dimitri patted his shoulder. "I saw the way she looked at you. She'll call."

  Jake tried to give his friend a dirty look, but couldn't even do that right.

  "Hope is not lost, my friend. Even if the pretty lady doesn't return, you can find her. Everyone's on social media. Pick a site, and we'll search every Elena until we find her. If she's not there, we'll try another one." He pulled out a tablet. "Where do you want to start?"

  "If she won't answer my calls, what makes you think she's going to friend me online?"

  Dimitri looked into Jake's eyes, and then squeezed Jake's cheeks. "Because no one can resist that face." He burst out laughing. "Seriously, Jake, she has the look of love. Something came up, and she's just busy. You know, like all this stuff with your dad. You're hard to get a hold of, and you haven't spent much time with your friends. I should know."

  Jake ran his fingers through his hair. "Sorry. Yeah, I guess you're right."

  "Of course I am. Want to grab a drink with lunch? Dimitri's treat."

  "I don't know…I'm on the clock."

  "And you need a lunch break."

  Jake looked at his cell phone. "Bella's shift is almost over."

  "And she can see how stressed you are. She won't mind staying a few extra minutes."

  "I can't."

  "You're a lost cause." Dimitri walked past Jake and went in the shop. Less than a minute later, he was back out. "She's more than happy to help you out. Come on, pal. We're getting lunch."

  Dimitri dragged Jake to a nearby bar that served mouth-watering appetizers. Once seated, Dimitri ordered drinks and their largest snack platter. Five people could eat from it and still have leftovers. He spoke about some of the town gossip while they waited.

  Jake nodded, but he could tell Dimitri knew he was barely listening. When the beers arrived, Jake drank his like it was water. The alcohol relaxed him, and he finally joined his friend in the conversation.

  Soon, they were laughing about the antics their old schoolmates had pulled back in the day. By the time they left the bar, Jake was not only relaxed and happy, but he was full, and ready to tackle the afternoon shift.

  When they got back to the shop, Dimitri gave him a good-natured whack on the back. "Glad to see you smiling again. You remember this next time you see Dimitri down."

  "Will do. Thanks, buddy." Jake punched his arm lightly. "We have to do that again soon." He went inside and thanked Bella for staying late.

  "No problem. I hope people are nicer to you this afternoon."

  Jake leaned against the counter. "I can handle them, either way."

  "Oh," Bella said, gathering her things, "some girl came in looking for you."

  "What? Who?"

  "A pretty brunette with green eyes and freckles. What did she say her name was…?"

  "Elena?"

  Bella's eyes lit up. "Yeah. Elena. Like, from the Vampire Diaries. I told her you were out for lunch. I'm sure she'll be back. She looked pretty anxious."

  "What do you mean? In a good or bad way?"

  She scrunched her face, looking deep in thought. "Like…well, she kept looking over her shoulder. It was weird. I asked her if she was okay, but she said yeah."

  Jake looked around. "Do you know where she went?"

  "No. She didn't say. You want me to stay longer so you can find her?"

  "I don't want to do that to you. You've been here long enough."

  "Doesn't bother me. I can't
wait to get my first check to have spending money. The more I work, the more I can buy." She smiled.

  Jake looked up at the clock. "I don't want to break any labor laws. I don't know how many hours we can even let you work in a day."

  Bella pulled out a phone. "I'll look it up."

  "No, no, no. You need to get some lunch. Calvin will be here in a few. If I need to find Elena, I'll just wait for him."

  "Your call." Bella put the cell phone back in her pocket. "See ya tomorrow, boss." She went to the back room, and came out with a beach bag, waving as she left.

  Jake went around to the register and sat down. The next few customers he rang up were all pleasant and happy. Maybe the town's grumpiness had subsided. Calvin arrived after a couple rounds of ringing up items. No sooner did he arrive than the afternoon rush hit. The next time Jake looked at the time, nearly three and a half hours had passed.

  Calvin gave him a high-five. "We handled that like pros. I've never seen it so busy."

  "Some days it gets worse."

  "Really?" Calvin asked.

  "Yeah, like on the weekends. Saturday mornings can be terrible with half the people leaving and others coming in for the next week. Sometimes Friday evenings are just as bad."

  "Awesome. Can I work Saturday?"

  Jake arched an eyebrow. "You want to work on Saturday?"

  "Yeah. This is so cool."

  Jake held back a laugh. Give the kid a few weeks, and he'd be moaning about Mondays soon enough. "If you want. I really need to look into child labor laws."

  "I'm no child." Calvin frowned.

  "You're a minor, and I know there are strict laws about how many hours you can work."

  "I don't care. When's the lull over? I'm already getting bored."

  "Really? We have some boxes in the back room that need to be stocked on the shelves."

  "Cool. Thanks." He headed in that direction.

  Jake chuckled. To be young and that excited about working. He looked out the window and saw a band playing on the beach. A large crowd gathered around. Hopefully, that meant things would be quiet for a while.

  He grabbed his phone and scrolled to Elena's number. His finger hovered over the call button. He'd already called several times, but that was before she'd stopped by looking for him. She might actually answer this time.