Secrets in the Sand by Carolyn Brown

            ***

            It took Angel a moment before she realized Clancy was sitting beside her, but there was the same tightness in her chest and a catch in her breathing that she’d had when he showed up at the dam back when they were teenagers. She jerked off her sunglasses and looked right into Clancy’s eyes. And all the pieces of the puzzle tumbled into place. She couldn’t decide whether to fire her friends and watch them starve to death or simply shoot them and get it over with quickly. But one thing was for sure: when she got back, every one of them would be facing her wrath, and it wasn’t going to be a pretty sight. All five were going to see her breathe fire before Monday morning was over.

            “Small world, isn’t it?” Clancy flashed a bright smile.

            “Which one of them called you and told you I was here?” She reached over and smudged the two hearts. She was here for closure, not to reunite with her old flame.

            “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” He didn’t blink, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that made her heart flutter even more.

            “Yes, you do.” Angel was so mad she could have chewed up driftwood and spit out toothpicks. She quickly gathered her things and stuffed them into the beach bag. “I’m checking out of the motel right now and driving my rental car back to the airport. I’ll be home by morning and my so-called friends will be facing the firing squad.”

            “Sit down, Angel.” He patted the towel before she could yank it up. “You can’t run from me forever. Stay and get to know me. I’m a man now, not the scared young boy who didn’t know his own heart. I come down here for a few days in the summer every year, just to relax. Please give me a chance to show you that I’ve changed from that young stupid boy who walked out on you. Let me show you around town, and then, when we go home, if you don’t ever want to see me again, I’ll stay away.”

            She glared at him. “Did you send the roses?”

            “No, I didn’t send flowers.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that or be here either, since you accused me of stalking, but your friends think we need to get this thing between us settled, and if we don’t, neither of us can ever really move forward with our lives.”

            “All right, then.” She nodded. “You’ve never lied to me, so I believe you.” She plopped back down, not because he told her to, but because she’d be damned if she let his presence run her away.

            “Thank you for that,” he said.

            They sat in silence for a full five minutes, and then her phone rang. Expecting it to be Patty, she had a fiery speech ready, but it was her old friend Red.

            “Good mornin’, Red,” she said.

            “You ready to let me buy you out, or else at least sell me back the building you’re in?” he asked. “I’m willing to give you fifty percent more than you paid me for it.”

            “Not in your wildest dreams,” she answered.

            “Then I guess I’d better go lookin’ for another building.” He sighed. “Hey, I hear that you and my friend Clancy are taking a little vacation together.”

            “Not together, but at the same time and place, thanks to my best friends,” she told him.

            “I’ll give you until you get home to make a decision about selling to me.” He chuckled. “You and Clancy have a good time. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

            “That leaves me a broad range, now doesn’t it?” Angel smiled. “So you know Clancy?”

            “I hope so.” Red chuckled. “Ask Clancy about our history if you want to know. Bye, now.” He ended the call.

            She laid the phone beside her and turned to Clancy. “That was Red. Just how do you know him, anyway?”

            “He grew up in Milburn and was my dad’s best friend. Dad owned a chunk of stock in Texanna Red Oil Company. He’s been after me for years to come work for him instead of teaching high school,” Clancy answered.

            “He knew we were both in Florida. Is he in on this too?” Angel asked. “Did he tell you where I was?”

            “No, he’s not in on it, but I imagine he and your girls have been talking,” Clancy answered. “But I don’t mind who knows that we’re here for a couple of weeks.”