LJ Maas - Rebecca’s Cove

“Sorry. I’ll try, but frankly, the people on this island are just giving me too much to work with right off the bat.”

“So what do you think about the rest of our island?”

“I think that if what I’ve seen of the people so far is as deep as the gene pool gets, then somebody is gonna bash their head open by diving in.”

“Oh, stop. I’m glad to see the two of you have made friends,” Evelyn said with a nod in Hobie’s direction.

“Yeah, well.” BJ smirked. “We kind of...ran into each other.”

Hobie returned BJ’s half smile and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t elaborate. It was one more thing for Hobie to ruminate over, however. BJ seemed to love humiliating people. Why hadn’t she told her grandmother that Hobie was to blame for the broken ankle?

They sat and talked for another hour until Evelyn grew tired. Hobie mentioned that they should be going anyway since she had to be in her office in a couple of hours.

Evelyn thanked her granddaughter once more for caring for her cherished home. “Take good care of Arturo,” she said just before the two younger women left. “And take better care of yourself, Baylor. You sound as if you’re becoming accident prone.”

BJ ground her teeth together. She detested having her grandmother think the broken ankle was her own fault, but for some reason, she didn’t have the heart to implicate Hobie. The funny thing was that she had no idea why. She kissed her grandmother’s cheek and said she would be back as soon as she could.

“So where to now?” BJ asked once they settled into the red Jaguar.

“After I take you home, I was going to swing by the Cove and get some lunch, then I have to get to the office.”

“Oh.” BJ sounded disappointed. “You just ate there a few hours ago.”

“I have to eat a lot of meals. They’re not all as big as breakfast, but I usually eat about every three hours. You’re welcome to join me.”

“Nah, I’m not too hungry yet.”

“Look, if your leg feels up to roaming around downtown, I could eat lunch while you browse. Then I can take you back home and get my truck.”

“Hmm, I’m sure that would be about as exciting as watching grass grow, but I guess it’s better than looking at that cotton ball of a mutt for the rest of the day.”

“That reminds me. I fed Arturo while you were taking a shower this morning. His food is in the cabinet over the fridge. He gets fed in the morning and at dinner time.”

“Check. So what do you think about the Jag?”

“I think I’m spoiled after one morning of driving it.”

“Yep. You really do get what you pay for with these things. It moves like you’re sliding along silk.”

“I know, it handles great. Earlier this morning, I thought I was in heaven.”

“What do you mean, earlier?” “What?”

“You said it handled great earlier. What do you mean? Earlier when?”

“Um...”

BJ straightened up in her seat. “Mack didn’t drive it to Tanti’s house, did he?”

Hobie shook her head. “You did!”

Hobie slowly nodded.

“Holy shit, woman! What is wrong with you? Every time we talk, I catch you in a lie. Is this a compulsive problem?”

“When have I lied?”

“Every single time we talk! Let’s start with the whole ‘I am a doctor but’ conversation, then there’s that coach you delude, the nutty woman and her hamster. And you didn’t tell my grandmother why my leg was really in a cast.”

“Well, you didn’t tell her to start with.”

“You sure weren’t jumping in to make any admissions.” “Look, I didn’t mean to lie about the car. It’s just that I’d

never driven a Jag before, so Mack took my truck and…shit! I’m sorry.”

“Sorry you did it, or sorry you got caught?”

“Well, both, I guess, if you’re gonna put it that way.” “How did you ever get a medical license?”

“I’m a very good doctor!” “Who can’t tell the truth.”

“I bet no one tells the truth when they’re around you.” “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you wouldn’t know the truth if it was right in front of your face on a billboard written in letters fifty feet high! The truth is, Baylor Warren, you are the most opinionated, self-centered, unfeeling person I have ever met.”

“Stop the car,” BJ cried out. “What?”

“I said stop the goddamn car!”

Hobie looked in her rearview mirror and pulled into a deserted sandy lot. “Are you okay?”

“Get out.” “What?”

“I said get out of my car right now!”

“Are you insane?”

“I am not going to sit here and let some hick animal doctor from jerkwater USA tell me—”

Hobie removed her seat belt, shoved open the car door, and jumped out. “You know what? You do have to listen because you don’t have a choice. For once, someone is going to tell you just what they think of you!”

“Shut up!” BJ shouted.

“Oh, yeah? Who’s gonna make me?” “I swear I’ll hit you with this crutch.” “But you can’t reach me, can you?”

“Don’t make me throw this thing at you.”

“I’ll bet you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with it!” “Hey, I played softball.”

“I’m surprised! Seeing as it’s such a girly sport!” Hobie shouted at the top of her voice. “I am not going to walk two miles back to town just because of your...your...bruised ego!”

“It’s my car! I’ll be the one to decide who drives and who walks. Let me tell you another thing—”

“Forget it! I’m outta here! You can have your fancy car and the attitude to go with it. If I never see you again, it will be too soon!”

“Good, go!” “Fine!” “Fine!”

They glared at each other, neither wanting to be the first to admit defeat. Each woman had apparently concluded that she was in a fix without the other.

“Okay, I think we’re gonna need to rethink this, temporarily at least.”

Hobie silently sat and slammed the car door. “Okay, but the minute we get back to town, I am never speaking to you again.”

“That’s just fine with me.”

Moments after they were under way, both women felt foolish—not that the emotion did anything to dull their anger, but they did at least feel a small amount of regret. Of course, being the rational women they were, neither was willing to admit it. They looked at each other but quickly looked away.

Hobie took a deep breath. Even when she was a child, it had been up to her to play peacemaker. She and Mack had fought incessantly as children. It usually started because of his unmerciful teasing, but Hobie’s mother had taught her that it took a much stronger person to extend the olive branch first.

Another deep breath and Hobie knew what she had to do. “Um...do you still...you know, want to walk around town?”

“I don’t know. Will I be safe? Do you plan to do much driving?” BJ replied sarcastically.

Hobie closed her eyes and gripped the wheel tightly. “Okay, Baylor, here’s the deal.”

“Must you always call me that?”

“What, Baylor? I thought that was your name.”

“It is, but I detest it. Tanti is the only person I can tolerate it from.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize. Well, Bay—um, BJ, what I was going to say is that it seems pretty obvious, from the interaction we’ve had so far, that we grate on each other. I don’t know why, but I guess it happens. We’re in a situation, though, where we’re kind of stuck with each other for the time being. This is a small town and I don’t see either of us getting far without interacting with the other at least once in a while.” Hobie could hear BJ grinding her teeth, but the other woman still sat with her arms folded across her chest, staring straight ahead.

“I propose that we do our level best to avoid each other. Again, I understand that it’s a small town and that we may run into each other eventually. It may be more than we care for, but I ask that when we are in the same company, we treat each other with a small amount of respect and keep a civil tongue. Even ignoring each other may be easier on our stress levels than what we’ve been experiencing. How does that sound? I mean, how do you feel about my offer?”

“Like I’m making a deal with Satan.” Hobie sighed. “So you disagree?”

There was a long pause before BJ answered. “I...suppose not.”

“Okay then. Do we have a deal?” She held out her hand.

BJ counted to ten before she answered. It wasn’t that she was still mad at Hobie, but something inside her never let go of an argument. When BJ took a step back, inside her head, and looked at the situation, she realized she really didn’t want to fight with Hobie.

“Deal,” she finally said. Perhaps staying away from Hobie was the best thing after all.

“Okay,” Hobie said. “Do you still want to look around while I eat?”

“Yeah, why not. Beats a sharp stick in the eye.”

They agreed to meet back at the car an hour later. Hobie walked off to the Cove and BJ grabbed her crutches and decided to explore the town.

“Well, that was fun.” BJ leaned against the car and glanced at her watch. She shook her wrist to make sure it was running. “Now all I have to do is think of something to do for fifty more minutes.”

BJ yawned, stretched, and listened to her stomach rumble. Damn! She looked longingly at the Cove’s entrance. She stopped a passer-by and asked the man if there was anywhere else to eat in town.

“Anywhere else?”

“Yeah, besides Rebecca’s Cove,” she said. The conversation didn’t hold a lot of promise.

“The Cove’s open,” he said in confusion.

“I know, but...it’s a long story. I just want to find out if there’s anywhere else to eat in town.”

“Why would ya want to eat somewhere else when the Cove’s right there?”

BJ sighed and seriously thought about asking the man if he was Rod Serling, but she figured the sarcasm would be lost on him. “Right you are,” she said loudly. “What could I have been thinking? The Cove it is.”

Walking into Rebecca’s Cove for the second time that day was an entirely different experience. No one seemed to notice her, except for the man who held the door open for her. “Whaddaya say, Coach?”

“Middle linebacker.” Walter Cassidy pointed a finger at her. “Right again.”

Once inside, BJ saw that nearly every person in Ana Lia came to the Cove for lunch. Two additional waitresses scurried around the tables and booths, while JoJo minded the counter. The sounds of noisy conversation and dishes banging together filled the air.

She scanned the restaurant for an empty seat, but there was none available. A narrow booth opened up, but she knew she could never get her casted leg inside the tiny space. She was about to turn around and leave when she spied an empty seat at the counter. She was halfway across the restaurant when she realized who the empty seat was next to. This is the story of my life.

Hobie turned to smile at whoever sat beside her. The smile froze on her face. She arched one eyebrow.

“Look, I don’t like this any more than you,” BJ said. “I’m only sitting here because it’s the only seat available.”

Hobie shrugged and turned away. “It really doesn’t matter.” “I’d sit somewhere else if I could.”

“S’okay.”

“It’s just that with this cast, well, the booths are kinda out, and—”

“Look, I really don’t care!”

“Okay, okay. Touchy. What’s good to eat here for lunch?” BJ asked, looking around at the surrounding patrons’ plates.

“Duck’s breath burgers.”

“Well, if you’re not going to even be serious—”

Hobie grabbed the menu from BJ’s hand and pointed to the sandwich section.

“Oh...duck’s breath burgers. Okay, now what’s good to eat that wasn’t quacking around in the backyard yesterday? Okay, okay...don’t give me that look. What the heck is it, anyway?”

At that moment, JoJo set a plate on the counter in front of Hobie. It contained a massive hamburger and a generous helping of thick-cut French fries.

“It looks good, but why the name?”

Hobie lifted the plate and held it under BJ’s nose.

“Whoa, mama!” BJ declared at the overpowering odor of garlic. “I hope your patients don’t mind.”

“I’m a vet. I see animals all day. They probably just think I’m one of them.”

Hobie went back to ignoring BJ, and BJ continued to peruse the menu. The distinctive strains of conversation lifted above all the other background noises and BJ looked above the register to see a television mounted on the wall. Her eyebrows came together after she had listened for a few moments.