Let Me Burn (Angel Sands 1)

“What a day,” Ally said as she cleaned the tables with a spray and a cloth. “This morning you couldn’t move due to so many tourists. Then, as soon as the rain started it was like a ghost town, never a dull moment here in Angel Sands.” She wrinkled her nose. “I guess it was a good thing. We’d sold out of ice cream by lunchtime.”

“Did you speak to your dad about the inventory?” Ember asked her, knowing how close the café was to closing.

“He transferred some money, enough to pay off the debts at least,” Ally told her, moving over to the counter to clean up the sticky spills there. “But he doesn’t seem to have a plan going forward, and frankly that scares me.” She walked behind the counter, putting the cleaning products away. “I’m thinking about putting my résumé out to other places. I hear rumors that somebody’s going to buy up the Silver Sands Resort.”

“They are? I hadn’t heard that.” Ember frowned. The Silver Sands resort was right around the coast from the town. Built in the 1920s to capitalize on the increased wealth in cities like Los Angeles and San Diego, in its heyday the Art Deco hotel had attracted Hollywood’s rich and famous for week long breaks. Since the 1970s, though, it had been abandoned. Nowadays it was a ghost of its former glorious self.

“Yeah. Apparently some hotel group wants to rebuild it and make it a luxury hotel. Didn’t you hear?” Ally frowned. “Anyway, they’re gonna need some staff eventually, aren’t they? I think I’d be good at that.”

Ember gave her friend a warm smile. “You’d be great. And if there are lots of vacancies you could probably take the staff from here with you.”

The smile slipped from Ally’s face. “I guess. Though most of them have been working here for years, they’d hate to leave as much as I would.” She sighed. “In my head I know the best thing would be to cut our losses and tell my dad he’s on his own, but I grew up in this place. It’s always been part of my life and it breaks my heart to think of leaving it.”

“That’s so understandable.” Ember frowned, trying to find the right words for her friend.

“Ember Kennedy?” The voice came from behind her. Ember turned to see a small brunette standing at the door to the café. Her hair was tied back and wet from the rain, but Ember would have recognized her anywhere.

Ember frowned. “It’s Norah, isn’t it?”

The brunette gave her the smallest of smiles. “Yes, that’s right. I wondered if we could talk for a moment.”

Ember glanced at Ally. Her friend must have been more sensitive than usual, because she left the counter and headed into the kitchen. “Would you like to sit down?” she asked Norah, remembering she was pregnant.

The two of them took a booth on the far side of the café. Norah shrugged off her wet jacket and laid it carefully beside her. “You must be wondering why I’ve come to talk to you.”

Ember shrugged. “I’m guessing you’re going to tell me.”

The small brunette wrung her hands together. “I wanted to say sorry.” She bit her lip, not quite meeting Ember’s eyes. “For what happened at the party. Richard wasn’t supposed to say anything, not so soon.”

Ember stayed silent, because really what was there to say?

“And I’m sorry, too, for what happened between me and Will.” Finally Norah looked up. “I had no idea he was engaged to somebody else when we met.”

Ember stared at her for a moment. This supposed love-rival she’d once agonized over, the woman she’d thought had ruined her life.

And she felt nothing, apart from a sense of relief that she wasn’t in her shoes right now.

“It’s water under the bridge,” Ember said, her voice low. “I wish you both the best of luck with your family.”

Norah blinked. “You do?”

“Yes.” Ember didn’t add that Norah might need it. What happened between her and Will in the future wasn’t Ember’s problem. She had no interest in them at all.

She just wanted to move on, wanted to see the man who haunted her dreams at night and her thoughts in the day.

The past was over and done with. She wanted her future to begin.

“Well I guess that’s it,” Norah said, standing, though her voice was still unsure. Ember wondered whether she’d expected a fight, and whether she was disappointed she wasn’t getting one.

“Okay.”

“I’ll probably see you around sometime. When Will and I visit, I mean. It’s a small town…”

Ember nodded. “Yes it is.” From the corner of her eye she could see the door to the kitchen was slightly ajar. So much for Ally giving her some space. Not that she could blame her, Ember would have done the same thing, if only to make sure her friend was okay.

And she was. More than okay. “Goodbye, Norah,” she said, watching the woman hurry out of the café and back into the pouring rain. As soon as the door closed, Ember sat back on the bench seat and sighed.

She was facing all her demons this week. God only knew what was going to happen next.