Sunkissed Days Read online

  “Mallory, just give me a minute to explain!”

  But she couldn’t listen. Didn’t want to. She had to leave. Now. Now before she broke down and made even more of a fool out of herself than she had all summer long. “I need to go.”

  Then she was running down the hall and out the front door. She heard Pops call her name as she ran by his office but she didn’t stop. Down the porch steps and across the gravel driveway, she didn’t stop. Even when she got in the car, she quickly started it and threw it in gear and sped away.

  This time she didn’t look back at the big plantation house.

  This really was goodbye.

  And maybe forever…

  Preview of Book One - Remind Me

  PROLOGUE

  Six Years Ago…

  Mallory skipped down the steps and breathed in the ocean air and smiled. No doubt she was going to miss all of this, but it had been a good summer – a great summer! And the memories of it would get her through until she could come back.

  Things between her and Jake weren’t the best. After their wild romp on the boathouse roof almost a week ago, things were strained and he was distant. They said their goodbyes last night. He said it would be for the best if he didn’t come by this morning.

  She had to agree.

  Looking over her shoulder toward the path that led to his house, she was tempted to run over and see him one last time, but she knew he wasn’t there. He was going to Wilmington today to visit some friends. And again, she had to remind herself that it was for the best. She already cried all night. There was no sense in making herself cry more while she drove.

  Like that’s not going to happen anyway…

  Grabbing her phone, she ran back up to the house and straight to Pops’ office. After another round of hugs, kisses, and promises to call when she got home, Mallory made her way down to her car and gave the big house one last look.

  A long breath whooshed out as she started the car. “I’m coming back,” she murmured. “This isn’t goodbye and it isn’t forever.” And with those words, she slowly drove around the large, circular drive and made her way up to the road.

  She hadn’t gone more than a mile when she groaned.

  “Dammit!” Immediately, she did a three-point turn and made her way back to Pops’ house. “Darn phone charger.” Berating herself for forgetting it, she shook her head. “As organized as I am, how could I have left it behind?”

  The answer was simple – she’d brought it down to the boathouse yesterday and left it there by mistake. All morning she kept reminding herself to go down and get it, but between breakfast with Pops and saying goodbye, it slipped her mind.

  Rather than going to the front door, Mallory pulled the car around to the Sound side of the house, since it was closer to the boathouse. No need to go inside and go through another round of goodbyes, right?

  It took less than five minutes, but as she was heading back to her car, she spotted Jake walking up the back steps of the house and going into the kitchen. Was he coming to say goodbye to her before she left? Her heart skipped a beat and she giddily went after him.

  Just one more kiss, she told herself. One more kiss and I’ll be able to handle anything.

  When she walked into the kitchen, he wasn’t there.

  Through the dining room, and he wasn’t there.

  Nope, not in the living room. What in the world?

  In the distance, she heard voices. Jake was talking to Pops. She heard her name mentioned and while she felt a little bad about eavesdropping, she was a little curious if Jake would profess his love for her to her great-grandfather or – at the very least – say how much he was going to miss her.

  “I hate this, Zeke. You know that.”

  “I know you do, but you’ll do it because you know it’s the right thing.”

  Silence.

  “It shouldn’t be like this…I hate lying.”

  Lying? What was he lying about? She thought.

  “You’re not lying, son. You’re doing what you need to do.”

  “Am I? Because it feels like a lie. I should have talked to Mallory…”

  “Leave Mallory out of this!” Pops snapped. “This has nothing to do with her and everything to do with you and your future. And if you actually want a future – a chance to make something of your life – then you’re going to take this and go.” He paused. “Don’t look back, Jacob. You know this is what you need to do.”

  Her stomach clenched and she felt like her breakfast was about to make a reappearance. What was she supposed to do? What were they talking about? What was Jake lying about?

  “Take the money and go,” Pops said.

  Oh, God! Pops was paying Jake to go away! How…why…?!

  The little voice in her head kept telling her to move – to go confront the two of them – but she couldn’t move, was almost paralyzed where she stood. And just when she thought she’d go mad, Jake stormed out of Pops’ office, walking right toward her. Only…he didn’t see her. He was looking at the ground and it wasn’t until he bumped right into her that they both seemed to snap out of their inner thoughts.

  “Mallory?” he cried, seemingly horrified at seeing her there. “What…I thought you were gone.”

  Her throat burned and she took a step back. “I was. I…I forgot my phone charger and came back for it.” She paused and glared at him. “And I thought you were going to Wilmington.”

  He glanced away guiltily. “Yeah, well…I had to…um…”

  “You know what?” she said with disgust. “It doesn’t matter. Really. Clearly you’ve got your secrets and I don’t mean enough to you to share them.”

  “Mallory…” he reached for her but she moved away.

  “It’s better this way,” she said, hating how her voice shook. “Now I finally know where I stand.” Taking another step back, she gave him one last look. “I think under these circumstances it would be best if we just called this what it was – a summer fling. Nothing serious, right?”

  “Mallory, just give me a minute to explain!”

  But she couldn’t listen. Didn’t want to. She had to leave. Now. Now, before she broke down and made even more of a fool out of herself than she had all summer long. “I need to go.”

  Then she was running down the hall and out the front door. She heard Pops call her name as she ran by his office but she didn’t stop. Down the porch steps and across the gravel driveway, she didn’t stop. Even when she got in the car, she quickly started it, threw it in gear and sped away.

  This time she didn’t look back at the big plantation house.

  This really was goodbye.

  And maybe forever…

  * * *

  The Next Morning…

  “I expected more from you than to have you run away like that.”

  It was pointless to argue. Mallory had expected more from herself too. “I know,” she replied softly.

  “You heard a small portion of a conversation and reacted rather than getting the facts. Are you willing to sit and listen to them now?”

  She nodded.

  “Mallory?”

  Oh, right. Pops couldn’t see her nod through the phone. “I am.”

  “Jake didn’t get his financial aid for school and he didn’t want to burden his parents with helping him. I offered and he accepted,” Pops explained in his usual no-nonsense way.

  “Why didn’t either of you tell me?” she demanded quietly, knowing better than to be disrespectful and yell at her great-grandfather.

  “I can’t speak for Jake, but I didn’t think it was any of your business.”

  Yup. No-nonsense.

  “Pops…”

  “It’s true, Mallory. If you had known there was an issue with Jake’s tuition, are you telling me you wouldn’t have tried to change his mind about going so far away for school?”

  “Well…”

  “You would,” he said before she could answer. “I know how close the two of you were all summer and if you wo
uld have asked, Jake would have caved and done what you wanted to make you happy.”

  Was it wrong that she saw it as a good thing rather than a bad one?

  “You and I both know it would have been wrong, Mallory,” he said, as if reading her mind. “Jake lost out on a lot due to the financial struggles of his family. He’s not a kid going away to college. He’s a twenty-four-year-old man and he’s waited long enough. I’ve offered him help in the past and he’s always turned it down.”

  “Then why did he suddenly accept?” And yeah, her tone was a bit bratty, but she couldn’t help it.

  There was a weary sigh from the other end of the phone and she knew there was a bit of a lecture coming.

  “The Summerfords have always been prideful, Mallory. All the years Jake’s father was out of work and they hated getting a handout from anyone—no matter how much they needed it. That’s what Jake learned growing up. He would have kept right on working for me at Coleman Construction and he might have even been happy doing it, but there’s a lot more to that man and he deserves to discover that for himself.”

  “I know, Pops, I just wish…”

  “No,” he quickly interrupted.

  “You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

  “You would have said how you still wished someone would have told you,” he replied and dammit, he was right. That was exactly what she was going to say. “And I’m here to tell you that Jake needed to go with a clear conscience and to have his chance to finally do what he wants to do and make what he wants of his life without anyone’s interference.”

  She was about to point out that by Pops giving Jake the financing, he was interfering.

  But she didn’t.

  “So you can be mad and you can pout all you want, missy,” he scolded, “but the only one in the wrong then is you.”

  Again, it was on the tip of her tongue to argue, but she didn’t.

  “Now the way I see it, you need to call Jake and apologize. He was a damn wreck after you left and I had to stop him from getting in his truck and chasing after you!”

  “You…you did?”

  “What good would it have done for him to get in the car when he was that upset? Someone would have had an accident with the way he was behaving!”

  Oh, God…what have I done?

  She’d been home for less than twelve hours and had ignored any calls and texts that came through on her cell phone for the entire eleven-hour drive back to her home on Long Island from Magnolia Sound. When she’d come downstairs this morning for breakfast, however, her mother handed her the house phone because Pops had been calling all day yesterday and all morning.

  “Pops, I…I don’t know what to say,” she admitted, her voice small and trembly. Tears stung her eyes and she hated the whole situation.

  Walking away from Jake after everything they’d shared this summer was hard enough –knowing they weren’t going to see each other again until next summer was almost unbearable. But to hear him talking to Pops yesterday–especially after he had lied about where he was going to be–something had just snapped in her.

  And broke.

  Yeah, her heart was definitely broken.

  But now she had to consider calling Jake and at least hearing his side of the story. There had been about a dozen calls and texts from him and maybe…just maybe…once she was off the phone with Pops she’d call and they could talk this out.

  “Sweet pea, you know I love you,” Pops said, interrupting her thoughts, “and I don’t want this to come between us.”

  “It won’t, Pops,” she promised. “Nothing could ever come between us.”

  “Okay then,” he replied, sounding pleased. “And we’ll talk just like we always do and you’ll come to visit next summer, right?”

  Mallory smiled. “Always. You know I’d never miss a chance to come see you.”

  “Good. That’s good.” He paused. “You go and get settled in and visit with your mother and brother and we’ll talk soon.”

  “You know it,” she replied softly. “Love you, Pops.”

  “Love you too.”

  ______________

  CHAPTER ONE

  Present Day…

  Mallory threw her satchel on the sofa as she kicked off her stilettos. It was good to be home. It had been a really long day, but it was a good one though. Great, even! After two years, she was finally getting the promotion she’d been after and a big fat raise to go with it. It felt so good to have all of her hard work recognized and a week from now, she’d have a brand-new office to go with her new executive position.

  Of course, that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to be going out into the field and working on computer systems anymore. It just meant she would be the one overseeing a team and she wouldn’t have to be pulling long hours on jobs that were technically beneath her. It was a great feeling.

  There had been a cake and champagne to celebrate her new position and her co-workers all congratulated her, but she turned down their offers to go out and continue the celebration. She just wanted to come home and relax for a bit and then call her family to share the good news.

  It was after seven and she was starving. The smart thing to do would have been to stop and pick up some takeout on the way home, but getting home was more of a priority. And now what did she have to show for it?

  “Ugh…looks like I’m having a sandwich for dinner,” she murmured, walking toward her kitchen. “Not exactly the celebratory dinner I should be having.” This was becoming the norm lately–not taking enough time for herself and certainly not eating right. “Something’s got to give. I can’t keep living like this.”

  Mainly because she wasn’t living–she was working long hours, coming home, sleeping, and repeating.

  Definitely not the life she wanted to live.

  Although, with her promotion, life should get a bit better. Just another few days and it would all kick in. Come Monday morning, there would be light at the end of the tunnel.

  Off in the distance, Mallory heard her cellphone ring and sighed. It would be easy to ignore it, but what if it were something important? Making her way back to the living room, she fished her phone out of her purse and smiled when she saw her mother’s name on the screen.

  “Hey, Mom!”

  “Hey, sweetheart! Am I catching you at a bad time?”

  “Not at all,” she lied. “I was just making some dinner.”

  “Oh, you’re busy.”

  “No! Really, I’m not, Mom. What’s going on? Everything okay?”

  The first response was a sigh. “Well…we’re having to evacuate.”

  “What?!” Mallory cried. “When? Why? I thought the hurricane was going to miss you?”

  “It’s one of those things…it took a turn to the west and now…” She sighed again. “I’m having a hell of a time with Pops, though. I was hoping you’d talk to him.”

  Two years ago, Mallory’s mother had sold the home on Long Island and moved down to North Carolina’s Magnolia Sound to take care of Pops. Susannah Westbrook took her responsibilities and her family seriously and after years of living so far away from her family, she’d finally made the decision to move back to her roots on the Carolina coast.

  “Mom, I doubt anything I say will convince him. Surely there’s enough people there who can do it. I mean, Aunt Georgia and Uncle Beau can surely talk to him. They’ve always been the ones to deal with him before, right?”

  “In most cases, yes. Believe it or not, he’s never evacuated before.”

  “How is that possible? Parker and Peyton have talked about those evacuations a lot over the years,” Mallory argued.

  “Well, your cousins–along with your aunt and uncle–always did listen to the warnings and left when they were supposed to. Your great-grandfather, however, has not, and he’s refusing to do so now. Honestly, Mal, I don’t know what to do. Can you talk to him? Please?”

  “Of course I will.” Not that it was going to do any good, Mallory already knew th
is. Her great-grandfather was as stubborn as they came and she knew she could talk and beg and scream and cry until she was blue in the face, but she wasn’t going to change his mind. Nothing would. Still, she never turned down an opportunity to talk to him. Not since…

  “Hey, sweet pea,” Pops said, his voice a little weak and raspy, but that had been something she’d been noticing for some time now.

  “Hey, Pops! How are you?”

  “How am I? I’m fed up with everyone fussing at me! I’ve lived in this house for almost a century and no storm has ever forced me out and this one won’t either!”

  Yup. He was stubborn.

  “I know you never had to leave, but…how about just this once you do?” she suggested. “I know it would put everyone’s mind at ease and…you know Mom’s never gone through a hurricane there. At least, she hasn’t in a really long time. She’s stressing out about it and I know it would mean a lot if you would go with her.”

  When he didn’t respond right away, Mallory was sure she had him and he was going to agree with her. She was ready to high-five herself when…

  “No one’s telling her she can’t leave,” Pops said defiantly. “Heck, it would be a lot easier if she’d go with Georgia and Beau and leave me alone! There’s plenty of food here and I have a generator and if I need anything, Jake’s right next door!”

  Just the mention of Jake Summerford was enough to make Mallory’s heart squeeze hard in her chest. It had been six years since they’d had their…what? Affair? Summer fling? Whatever it was, she had ruined it by acting immaturely and Jake hadn’t hesitated to remind her of that when she tried to reconcile with him.

  She’d given up after three months.

  Oh, she’d still gone back to Magnolia Sound to visit Pops and her relatives, but Jake didn’t come home at all during his four years of college. The first time she saw him again was two years ago when he came back to work for Coleman Construction. It had been a shock to her system to see him, but it didn’t take long for her to realize she had never really meant anything to him. He’d gone back to treating her like nothing more than his neighbor’s great-granddaughter.