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  Wayward Love

  Cedarwood Beach 2

  Rhys Everly

  Wayward Love, Cedarwood Beach Book 2

  Copyright © 2020 by Rhys Everly

  Cover Design by Ethereal Designs

  Editing & Proofreading by Alphabitz Editing

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  This book wouldn’t have happened without Ana Ashley’s support and sympathetic ear.

  To Anna and Lisa, my cheerleaders (who are also not afraid to speak their minds).

  And to everyone who loves a bit of sunshine in their lives.

  Contents

  1. Andy

  2. Kyle

  3. Andy

  4. Kyle

  5. Andy

  6. Kyle

  7. Andy

  8. Kyle

  9. Andy

  10. Kyle

  11. Andy

  12. Kyle

  13. Andy

  14. Andy

  15. Kyle

  16. Kyle

  17. Andy

  18. Andy

  19. Kyle

  20. Andy

  21. Kyle

  22. Andy

  23. Andy

  24. Kyle

  25. Kyle

  26. Andy

  27. Kyle

  28. Andy

  29. Kyle

  30. Andy

  31. Kyle

  Epilogue

  A Letter from Rhys

  Also by Rhys

  Audiobooks

  About the Author

  One

  Andy

  “Failure to make a payment may lead to the repossession of your assets.” I read the line over and over again.

  How had I come to this point? What had happened to me? Why could I not catch a break? Everything I tried, everything I did, whatever method I approached ended up in failure. Or even more debt.

  I need to find a solution to this. I can’t lose my bar. It’s been my baby longer than my actual babies.

  If Lucy were here to see me, to see what had become of our business, she’d die all over again.

  No matter how hard I tried to put the notice in the back of my mind, it just kept coming up over and over again until I physically had to hide it, lock it away in a drawer so that I couldn’t see it any longer.

  I counted the money in the register. If business didn’t pick up soon, I’d be royally screwed before it was even Christmas.

  I let my staff go home for the night and locked the doors behind them, but I wasn’t ready to go home yet. It had become a sort of tradition over the last few months, spending time here after all the doors were locked and everyone was gone. It had become a ritual of separation.

  I knew it was only a matter of time before something, anything, happened that would make closing Andy’s renowned bar in Cedarwood Beach inevitable. I hoped spending time here on my own would make that day easier on me, whenever that was.

  I still couldn’t believe the butterfly festival—or any of the others held during summer—hadn’t brought in the extra cash they did every summer. The town had been so busy for my sister, Melody, and her bed-and-breakfast, and for every other business in town for that matter, except for mine.

  Usually, the summer takings could carry me over the winter slump, but not this year. It was as if someone had cast a curse on me and my bar, and when you come from a superstitious Greek-American family, a curse is not as far-fetched as it sounds.

  I grabbed the broom and swept the floor under the couches, under the tables, behind the bar, picking up all the dirt and chips that my very few patrons had left behind. I rechecked that everything in the kitchen was switched off and all the surfaces were clean, and once I was done, I finally made the decision to go back home.

  I took a detour via the beach. September had almost just started, yet life in my small Virginian town had somewhat started to come to a standstill. If I hadn’t made it during summer, our busiest months, I didn’t know how I’d make it through fall and winter.

  Well, the letter was clear. If I didn’t pay the installment by the end of October, Andy’s Bar, the business I’d been running for more than fifteen years, would come to an end.

  I passed by Coffee Tops, one of the trendy coffee shops that had opened in the city center and the envy rolled up to my chest ungracefully. Even a coffee shop was doing better than me. This place had been here for no longer than a second, and it was already turning over more money than I had in the last two years. How was that possible? What was I doing wrong? If Lucy was here, she’d know what to do. She wasn’t afraid to take life by the balls and give it a good spin.

  Thankfully, my kids had all taken after her, because I definitely didn’t have any of that passion that she carried so naturally, and certainly not after her death. She’d been a natural at everything she did. Despite her slight disadvantage as a deaf person, she hadn’t let it control or dictate her life.

  I passed the Orangery, the little landmark of my small town that served more people in an afternoon than I did in a week. Oyster Club, Linda’s, Taco ‘Bout It—the taco place no one could resist—and with each business I walked past, I became more and more deflated. Would Andy’s Bar closure even leave a hole in this town? Would anyone even notice?

  Why aren’t you here, Lucy? You’d know what to do.

  She always had a solution for everything. There was no problem she couldn’t overcome. And me? I was useless without her. Anything I’d accomplished in life, I had because of her.

  Melody’s Bed-and-Breakfast, illuminated by the fairy lights hanging over its walls and canopies, drew me in, and before I even knew it, I was standing in front of the reception desk looking back at my sister.

  “Andy! Holy mother of…you gave me a scare and a half. What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “It’s been a long night,” I said.

  Melody simply nodded, stood up from her chair, and opened the little fridge behind her desk. She passed me a bottle of beer, and I helped open them up as we walked out to the porch facing the bay.

  “Tell me about it. I haven’t been able to catch my breath today. Everyone is so interested in that new LOVEworks sign. I haven’t been so booked outside of the summer, ever,” Melody said.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Where do you live, big bro? There’s a LOVE sign installed down at the beach, and everyone is storming into town to take pictures of it. Haven’t you seen it?” she said.

  I shook my head as a response, and we sat down on the lounge chairs taking in the dark view of Mobjack Bay.

  “And what? A stupid sign has brought tourism back?”

  Melody looked at me like I was an idiot but nodded her head as she took a sip of her beer.

  “I didn’t believe it, either, but the number of bookings I’ve taken for the rest of the month are crazy. You’d think we have the Orlando Studios nearby,” she said. “But then again, a lot of people have been coming to town, anyway, since Leo and Dawson posted that picture online.”

  It had only been three months ago, but boy did it feel like a decade ago. Not only had I managed to reconnect with my brother but he’d also found the love of his life, and he was happier than he’d ever been. After all the trials life had given him, he’d managed to still come out on top.

  But had the fact that he’d found his love in Cedarwood Beach and posted about it online brought more tourists into town? I could believe that. Both Dawson and Leo were now international movie stars, so it wasn’t that far-fetched o
f an idea. But why hadn’t I seen any of those tourists? What was so unattractive about my bar that even the out-of-towners didn’t want to step foot inside?

  My chats with my sister usually made me feel better, but this one had made me feel even worse than I was before, bringing the words in that late payment letter prominently back to the front of my mind. If everyone was doing so well, then what the hell was I doing wrong? Why did no one want to be at Andy’s Bar?

  “How are you, sweetie? Were you busy today?”

  I shook my head.

  “The usual,” I said.

  “That’s disappointing,” Mel commented.

  I huffed. “Ya think?”

  “Maybe once the big crowds come in, business will pick up for you too.”

  “Sure it will.” I laughed without any spirit behind it.

  Melody glared at me with the “sisterly” look she liked to give all her brothers and that could sometimes rival our grandma’s.

  “Why don’t you get some flyers printed and distribute them out here or by the sign? Hell, if you’re up for a BBQ, we can set up a stall and get people to try those delicious steaks of yours,” she said.

  “Nah, it’s okay,” I said.

  Wouldn’t I love to do all that. But what if it ended up costing me a fortune and making little to no return? What if people hated it and it made business worse?

  “Okay, big bro. You know better. But I’m here if you change your mind,” she said.

  I nodded in appreciation and chugged the beer.

  “Still no news from Greg?” I asked.

  Mel’s nostrils flared and her breathing became louder.

  “Of course not. Greg can’t find him. The feds can’t find him. They probably never will,” she said.

  “Maybe you can try another bounty hunter. They might have better luck,” I said.

  I knew Melody wouldn’t rest until her ex-fiance was found and brought to justice, even if she never saw the money he’d stolen from her ever again.

  “I don’t know. I like Greg. He’s good. We’ll see,” Mel said and hugged her beer a little tighter. She always closed off at the mere mention of that mug of a fiancé.

  “Are you all right, though?”

  Melody let out a big breath and brought a smile back to her face. “Of course. Never been better. Since Leo gave me that relief loan, it’s been great being able to take a day off and not worry about going into bankruptcy, I’ll tell you that,” she said.

  Oh yeah, that loan Leo had so casually given her to save her from exhaustion. Was I resentful of the fact that my brother was a millionaire? No.

  Was I resentful of the fact that my brother was a millionaire when I was barely managing to make ends meet? Yes, for sure.

  But after so many years apart, after so many years of not talking to each other, I couldn’t just go up to him and ask him for a loan. I might be a little jealous of his financial success, but I was also too proud to do that to myself. Besides, my brother was not to be taken advantage of.

  “I’m happy for you Melody. I really am,” I said.

  “What about you?” she asked.

  “What about me?”

  “Are you all right?” Mel pierced me with her gaze, and I looked away from her.

  “I told you. Bar’s okay—”

  “There’s more to life than the bar, Andy,” she said.

  I turned to her and tilted my head. “You’re one to talk.”

  “I know. I’m no better. We’re both workaholics.”

  “Like father like…son and daughter,” I chuckled.

  Melody laughed, too.

  “Maybe we need to take a leaf out of Leo’s book and get back in the dating game,” she said.

  I snorted and the sip of beer I’d tried to swallow came out my nose.

  “For you maybe. I’m too old,” I said when I managed to wipe my face.

  “Fuck off. You’re, like, three years older than me.” Mel punched my arm. “We’re still young. We can still have a love life. Just because my fiance ran with my money and you lost your wife to—”

  “Can we-can we just not go there?”

  “She’d want you to find someone to love you, you know,” Mel insisted.

  “Who could ever love this?”

  “Shut up, Andy. You’re a hot daddy. And I can’t believe I just said that. I need to wash my tongue. And my brain,” Mel said and downed her beer. “I mean it, though. Lucy would want you to be happy.”

  “I am,” I said, but I didn’t even convince myself.

  “Uh-huh,” was all Mel said and dropped the subject. We’d been over it a hundred times.

  “I’m beat. I’m going home,” I said after a few painful seconds of silence.

  Melody got up to give me a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug that almost made me collapse in a heap beside her.

  “Goodnight, big bro. Tell Summer I love her and I’ll pop by over the weekend to play with her,” she said.

  “I will,” I said and then left.

  When I got home, it was past three in the morning, and despite what I’d told Melody earlier, I couldn’t sleep.

  If it wasn’t the repossession letter, then it was the electricity bill, or my liquor license, or my food suppliers.

  Or the conversation about moving on without Lucy. I couldn’t shut down. Life kept handing me blows like there was no tomorrow. What did I have to do to catch a break?

  By five in the morning and five bottles of beer later, I sat at the desk in my home office with all my finances spread out in front of me and tried to make some sense of them all. Of course I’d done that a hundred times already, so I knew it was a pointless effort. I was barely keeping afloat, and if I didn’t keep busy, I’d drive myself crazy.

  A loud noise infiltrated my ears and I opened my eyes.

  Where am I? What happened?

  I lifted my face off the desk, pulled off the post-it note stuck on my cheek, and looked at the clock on the wall.

  Twelve? How could it be midnight when it was five last time I checked?

  The light coming from the window gave me the answer I needed.

  Fuck!

  How could I have slept until midday when only moments ago I hadn’t been able to shut an eye? I was late to open the bar.

  I jumped up, knocking my chair over, and rushed out of the office and toward the bathroom. I had to go and let the staff in. They were probably waiting outside wondering where the fuck I was. Should I even bother showering?

  I sent a message to Rachel, my bar manager, to let her know I’d be there as soon as possible, and when I opened the bathroom door, I almost crashed into a guy.

  “Who are you?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off the young man in my bathroom.

  He looked barely legal, and his bright green eyes stared back at me in horror. His hair was short and slightly ginger, and freckles dotted his face as well as the rest of his body.

  Wait…Why was there a topless man in my bathroom? And why couldn’t I stop my gaze from being drawn to his chest and abs? And why was the mere look of him making me hungry for contact?

  Get a grip, Andy. You’re an old man.

  Also, you’re pretty fucking straight.

  Unless you’ve decided to have a midlife crisis, wipe the drool off your face.

  “I’m so sorry. Nathan said I could…” the man sputtered, trying to cover up his chest with a white T-shirt.

  “Oh, hey dad,” Nathan said behind me, and I turned as he leaned against the bathroom door. “I see you’ve met my friend Kyle.”

  Two

  Kyle

  “Mr. Brady,” he said as I tried to sneak out of the classroom. “A moment, please.”

  Well, my attempt at an escape had failed epically before it even started, so I took the hit. I tightened my grip around the handles of my bag and turned around to face Mr. Davies.

  “Hi, Mr. Davies. How can I help?” I asked.

  My professor dipped his head and looked at me through the top of his glas
ses, not entirely amused by my nonchalance. He urged me closer, and as I approached, I tried to sort through all of the excuses lying dormant in my head and pick one that’d be good enough.

  “Mr. Brady, you still haven’t submitted your senior project details, and it was due yesterday,” Mr. Davies said. “You’ve found a business to do your work experience, haven’t you?”

  I opened my mouth ready to reply, but my words didn’t want to cooperate. I’d known this was coming.

  “Mr. Brady, you need to find a company to do your thesis on. It is crucial if you want to get that honors on your degree,” he said.

  “I know, Mr. Davies. I’m sorry. I’ve tried—” I said.

  “I asked if you needed help finding a local company around the area when the semester started, but you said you had it all under control. What happened, Kyle?”

  He’d never used my first name before, and that took me by surprise. I’d always seen Gordon Davies as a scary, but smoking hot, older man who was sick and tired of babysitting college students and coercing them into doing their coursework.

  Of course, that hadn’t stopped him from taking the top spot on my list of favorite professors, and it also didn’t stop me from feeling embarrassed right at that moment.

  “There was actually a hair salon I was talking to for the last couple of weeks, but they sent me a text yesterday to say they can’t take me on. It’s not my fault Mr. Davies. I was just about to send you my email with the details when I got it, and I spent the whole evening trying to find a solution instead,” I told him.