Promise Cove (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 1) by Vickie McKeehan Page A

managed to s p it ou t , “ Bed and B rea k f as t , S i s s y , n o t a m o t el. T h er e ’ s a dif f erence . ”
    “ W ha t eve r . I ca n ’t believe y ou really think a ny on e ’ s gonna p a y good money t o s t a y in a dump like that. I ’ d be insul t ed if a man even t r ied t o t a ke me t o a p l ace like that for the weekend . ”
    M ore like a quic k ie, thought J or d an. T emper f l a r i n g she bit her lip t o keep her nas t y thoughts t o he r s elf. “ Y ou ’ re ta l k i n g a bout our home, the p l ace where we live, S i s s y . I t ’ s supp o s ed t o be quain t . ”
    “ Quaint ’ s j u st a fan c y name fo r dum p . D addy s a y s you wo n ’ t make it a n yw a y . A nd you owe money to p ra c tica l l y e ve r ybody in to w n . I t m u st be s o emba r r a ss i ng fo r you. Sc o tt d e s e r ved bette r . ”
    J or d a n move d t o ge t b y th e woma n t o con tinu e her shop p i n g , bu t S i s s y ’ s o b s t ina t e s t anc e ha d he r bloc k i n g th e na r ro w a i sl e .
    “ Y ou ’ re w asti n g the ban k ’ s mone y , J or d an, and t oo s t u b born t o realize y ou ’ re thro w i n g good money down a r a bbit hol e . T h at hou s e should’ve been demol i shed y ea r s a g o . I t w as r undown when Sco t t lived there and it has n ’t improved one bit. N o one w ants y ou her e . W h y do n ’t y ou pack up and go back t o S an F ran cis co where y ou belo n g?”
    J or d an fi na l l y man a g ed t o p u s h th e ca r t pas t S i s s y and s ent the woman a sweet smile in spi t e of the w a y she fel t . “ I t w as nice s eei n g y ou a g ain, S i s s y . Be sure t o s et aside s ome time t o s t op by for the grand openi n g . ”
    Af t er that J or d an wr a pped up her shop p i n g in a mat t er of hur r ied minu t e s. M u r p h y w as w aiti n g at the checkou t . “ H ow are y ou, J or d an?”
    She breathed out a n a n g r y s ig h an d fo r the tim e bei ng le t her f r u st r a tio n w ith S i s s y g o . “ I shoul d prob a bl y thank y o u fo r s endi ng N ic k out m y w a y . H e ’ s rea l l y ma k i ng prog r e s s . T h e g u y ’ s alread y f i x e d the porch , ha s one o f the bathroom s alm o s t done an d h e ’ s bee n her e l es s than a wee k . I ’ m g r at e f ul M u r p h y . ”
    S heep i sh, M u r p h y w as n ’t a bout t o g ive a w a y N ic k ’ s s ecret. B ut he did n ’t w ant J or d an findi n g out his pa r t in the sub t e rf u ge and that fa c t blo w i n g up in his face l a t e r . H e cleare d h is throa t i n a n at t em pt t o hid e h is decei t. “ I ’ m g l ad h e ’ s wor k i n g out then . ”
    W hen o ther cus t ome r s s t a r t ed lini n g up behind J or d an, he let the co n ve r sation die a quick death. The t ownspeople did n ’t need a n y more fodder for the grap e v in e . N ic k ’ s a r r i v a l ou t a t The C ove had spread like w ildf i r e throug h t own. J or d a n did n ’ t nee d s p i te f u l g o ss i p ma k i n g thi n gs a n y wo r s e for he r .
    Once out s ide, J or d an pushed her ca r t t o w ard her F ord E xplorer and noticed a woman s quatti n g next t o it holdi n g a tire iron in her hand. S he w as t r y i n g despera t ely t o get the lug nuts off a f l at-as-a-pancake rear tire on a faded - out red Es co r t parked in the space next t o the S U V . The t r unk s t ood open. T w o s ma ll ch i ldre n w it h r un n y n os es wer e hunkere d do wn next t o their mother w a t chi n g as she st r uggled t o lo os en one of the bolts holdi n g the tire like glue on t o the wheel. The lug nuts re f u s ed t o budg e .
    “ I ha t e tha t , ” J or d a n commen t ed , pu l li n g th e ca r t t o a s t op at the rear of the E xplore r . “ Got y our milk and eggs in the ca r , y our pe r i sh a bl e s, and the car le a v e s y ou stranded . ” I t ha d happene d t o he r l a s t sp r i n g whe n H u t t o n ha d been just three months old. F o r t una t el y , sh e ’ d