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“Mother, I’m thirty, not thirteen,” Elisabeth called from her bathroom. “I know how to dress myself, okay?” She was getting ready to go to a few local law firms for interviews. It had been a week since she and the children had arrived in Sunset Beach, and her mother had talked her into seeing about relocation. She hated the thought of leaving the firm she was a part of now, but she didn’t know if she would be staying in Chicago with Joshua or not. She stared in the mirror for a few minutes trying to decide if she looked professional enough. Smoothing down her hair a bit, she caught a glimpse of her wedding band and contemplated whether or not to take if off. She decided to leave it on; maybe they would be more likely to offer her a position if they thought she was happily married.

“Oh, sweetheart, you look dazzling,” Abigail stepped back to admire her when she came into the kitchen. “You’re going to knock their socks off.”

She gave her mother a tight smile. “Thanks, mom. I shouldn’t be gone too long, so we can go out for a late lunch or early dinner when I get back. Does that sound okay?”

“Yes, that sounds wonderful,” Abigail smiled. “I’m sure Katy and Jake will be looking forward to it.”

“Well, Jake will be. Oh, and Mom, if Katy goes down to the beach, make sure Dad and Jake go with her, okay? She hasn’t been including Jake and I really don’t like the idea of her down there alone.” Elisabeth didn’t wait for a response. She wanted to get this over with; it was like beginning her career all over again. Taking a deep breath, she climbed into her mother’s Denali and gave herself one last pep talk. “Come on Elisabeth…you can do this. You won’t regret it.”

***

Checking the clock, Elisabeth became a little anxious. She had to drive from Sunset Beach to Wilmington and she was running late. That wouldn’t be the ideal first impression she needed to make so she picked up her pace. Please, don’t let me get pulled over. Soon she was cruising steadily along at 70 miles per hour and praying to everything holy that she would get to Wilmington on time and without a speeding ticket. She should have prayed a little harder.

“Oh, no,” she groaned when she saw the blue lights flashing in her rearview mirror. “This is just wonderful.” Slowing down, she stopped right by the overpass and nervously began to chew her bottom lip. When she saw that the state patrol officer was almost to her door, she lowered the window and prepared herself for the worst.

“Good morning, ma’am,” he greeted in a stern but pleasant voice. “You do realize why I pulled you over, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. I’m so sorry,” Elisabeth began but he interrupted her.

“Well, then, I will need to see your license and registration.”

“You don’t understand,” she glanced at the name tag on his uniform. “Officer McMillan, I’m on my way to Wilmington for an interview and I can’t be late.”

“Well, if that’s the case,” he said, making her think she was off the hook. “I’m still going to have to write you a ticket. License and registration, please.”

“Please,” she didn’t want to cry, but she would turn on the waterworks if she had to. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to cry to get out of a speeding ticket. “This is my only chance at getting this job. I need to be on time.”

“Well, ma’am, I really wish I could help you, but you’re only holding yourself up by not cooperating,” he said, obviously losing his patience. “You were doing 72 in a 45. Now, if you’re aware of the law, I could take your license on the spot, but I’m trying to cut you some slack and just let you off with a ticket. Now, if you’d rather I handle it the other way, I will gladly oblige, but if not, I need to see your license and registration. And don’t bother crying, it doesn’t work on me.”

Half an hour later, Elisabeth was finally entering Wilmington and her mood was a far cry from being cheerful. “I can’t believe that asshole gave me a ticket. Okay, yeah I can, but c’mon. Give me a break.” She would have called ahead to the firm to let them know she would be a few minutes late, but she didn’t know the number. She just had to hope she didn’t get lost.

As Elisabeth drove through historic downtown Wilmington, her mind overflowed with long forgotten memories of her teenage years. Wilmington had been the setting for her first date when she was 16; springtime in beautiful Greenfield Park. She would never forget the park being filled with azalea bushes that were in bloom with various shades of pink and lavender flowers. It seemed as though every place she passed, there was a chest full of memories unlocked. Why did she wait so long to come back?

***

“Oh crap,” Nick flew out of bed and into the bathroom. He quickly stripped off his pajamas and jumped in the shower. It was nearly 8:45 and he was going to be late. He had promised David that he would be in Wilmington before 10 to get some supplies he needed for his shop. If he hurried and left in the next few minutes, he wouldn’t be late. He had to be back in Sunset Beach before 1:30. “Please, please, don’t let me be late.”

Nick was out of the shower five minutes later. Rushing around his scattered bedroom, he grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of khaki short that he thought might be clean. A few wrinkles never hurt anybody. Besides, who am I trying to impress? He quickly grabbed his keys and rushed through the kitchen, making sure to grab a Poptart to hold him over until he could eat some lunch.

“Nicky, what’s the hurry?” Winnie asked in a worried tone.

“I’m late, Gram. Don’t tell David, okay? I love you.”

He was out the door before she had the chance to respond. Shaking her head a little, she smiled and went back to reading the paper. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do when he moves out.”

***

Nick cranked up his radio when Good Charlotte’s “The Anthem” began streaming through his speakers. It was another beautiful summer day that he had to waste shopping. To be totally honest, he complained about having to run so many errands, but it wasn’t as bad as he made it sound. He would do anything for his grandmother and David and they were well aware of that. He just had to give them a hard time sometimes.

Bobbing his head to the catchy beat, Nick rolled down all four windows and enjoyed the warm breeze. He hated having to run the air conditioner because he loved the fresh air, but in the afternoons, the humidity was too high to be comfortable with just the windows down. He figured he would enjoy the fresh air while he could stand it. A pair of flashing blue lights half a mile up the highway caught his eye and Nick thought he should buckle his seat belt before the officer decided to give him a ticket as well. Poor soul, they must not be from around here, he thought as he passed the white Denali. They must be from the big city where you have to drive 100 miles per hour everywhere you go.

Nick made it to Wilmington with ten minutes to spare. He would have just enough time to get David’s supplies for his shop and maybe stop by the mall to check out some new surfing gear he’d had his eye on for the past month or so. He resolved that he would only stop by the mall for that; he’d go in, get what he needed, and leave. It was simple and everyone would be happy. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was 9:53. “I’m gonna be home with plenty of time to spare.”

***

“Great, thank you,” Elisabeth smiled and shook Joseph Winters’ hand before exiting his spacious, glassed in office. The firm was unbelievable; it was the most similar to her firm back in Chicago and everyone seemed to know exactly what to do in every situation. Unfortunately, they also knew how to let someone down as easy as possible. They just didn’t have any positions to fill at the moment. It’s funny; neither did the first three firms. She hoped that her fifth and final interview went better than the other four.

She had no problem finding the office building and showed up twenty minutes early. That was always a plus. “Be as early as possible as often as possible,” her father had always told her when she was younger. She had to snicker just a little at his motto. After all, it had gotten her where she was today.

*Later*

Elisabeth smiled to herself, feeling more confident than she had all day long. It was 12:23 and she had a good feeling about her interview. It wouldn’t have been her first choice under other circumstances, but she couldn’t afford to be picky with this. Besides, she would be happy working there if she did in fact get the position. They were honest and upfront about their expectations of her and told her they would be in contact with Anderson and Walker. Once inside her vehicle, she rested her head on the steering wheel for a moment; she had to pray she would get this job. It was her first step in getting away from all the negative things in her life. Maybe once she had relocated and the kids got used to living down south, Kaitlyn would be more open to her as well. She had to have a sliver of hope.

“Gracious,” she said pressing her hand to her rumbling stomach. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” She decided that since the day had turned out much better than she thought, she would make her trip business and pleasure. “I’m gonna hit the mall.”

***

Nick walked around the small surf shop that opened up every spring, looking at the boards and other gear he had wanted since he’d spotted it the month before. He’d saved his money to get it; he was determined. David paid him well and he didn’t need to work anywhere else, although he’d told his grandmother and David many times that he could go out and get a real job to support himself. He hated feeling like he was mooching off of them. He was 23 years old and he still lived with his grandparents. Granted, he’d only moved back in two years earlier to help his grandmother when David had a heart attack. He kept up with business at the shop until David was okay-ed by the doctor to return to work, and he actually could have moved back out after about six or seven months. It just seemed much easier for all three of them if he lived there.

Nick was gathering up the things he’d picked out and was about to go pay for them when he heard someone ask for the time. 12:44. “Oh, shit,” he said, quickly dropping his merchandise on a display in the middle of the store. He had to be home by 1:30 so he could watch the shop while David took his grandmother out. He’d promised he would be back in time for them to leave and enjoy the rest of the day. Now, he only had forty-six minutes to get home to Sunset Beach and he knew he’d be late. His grandparents never got to go and enjoy a night together, and Nick was about to ruin it for them even more. “They’re never going to trust me again.”

He booked it towards the Sears wing of the mall and made his way out to his Jeep. “I cannot let them down. I’m always late,” he grumbled to himself. For some reason, he always seemed to lose track of time and ended up being late. He was never more than half an hour late and he always called to let them know what was going on, but he still couldn’t help but feel terrible about it. Amazingly, David and his grandmother never seemed to get upset or lose their temper; they always smiled and accepted his many apologies telling him that it was okay and he shouldn’t worry. Sometimes he thought he had been blessed with the wrong grandparents. He wasn’t about to give them up though.

Starting up the Jeep he saw that it was 12:50. “Oh, no,” he moaned. Picking up his cell phone, he dialed his home and waited for Winnie’s sweet voice to answer at the other end.

“Hello?”

“Gram…” he tried to sound sweet.

“What’s the matter Nicky?” she sounded concerned. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, but I, uh, I’m gonna be a little late,” he felt guilty already. “I’m really sorry. I know you and David don’t get to go out that often. I swear I’ll make it up to you, Gram.”

“Darling, don’t swear. And don’t worry, either. It’s okay if you’re a little late. David and I can still go out, okay? Just be careful coming home.”

“I will, Gram. I’m really sorry. Gosh, is David upset?” he questioned as he backed out of his parking space. When he looked to the left, he almost fainted. A large, white SUV was pulling out at the same time and apparently the driver didn’t see him, because it backed right into his front end. “Shit!”

“Nickolas!” Winnie scolded him. “What’s going on?”

“Damn it…I just got hit by another car. Stupid idiot just backed up all on top of my Jeep. Damn. Oh, sorry Gram. It just scared me. I’ll call you back in a little while. Love you.”

Getting out of his Jeep, Nick looked at the front and wanted to cry. How fast had that guy backed out of the parking space? “Geez…why the hell did this happen today?”

“Oh my God,” he heard a soft, feminine voice coming from behind. “I’m so sorry.”

“What the hell were you thinking? Didn’t you look before you pulled out of that space?” Nick shouted before he realized what he was doing.

“I beg your pardon?” the woman’s concern quickly turned to anger. “Who the hell do you think you are? I’ll have you know, I did look and there was not another car when I put my vehicle into reverse. Did you stop and look to see if another car could be backing out at the same time?”

“Look, lady,” he turned around and found himself staring into an oddly familiar pair of dark brown eyes. All of a sudden, he forgot whatever had been about to roll off his tongue. “I…uh…”

“Well,” she was becoming impatient. “Spit it out.”

“Have we met?” Nick asked as he studied her beautiful features. She had creamy brown eyes, with just a hint of green and her skin was slightly tanned. Upon closer inspection, he could see a slight smattering of freckles across her nose and on her forehead. Her dark chestnut hair was pulled half up and there were a few wisps falling into her eyes. She didn’t look much older than him, but he couldn’t be sure of her exact age.

Placing her hands on her slender hips, the woman sighed in annoyance. “Excuse me?” She was getting tired of playing games with this guy.

“Haven’t I seen you somewhere?” Nick asked, taking in her beauty. He didn’t know what it was about her that made him want to stare, but there was something. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he was sure this couldn’t have been the first time he had ever laid eyes on her. “You just look so familiar.”

“Well, I’m afraid that you’ve got me mixed up with someone else. I’m not from around here.”

As soon as she said that, he knew. She was from Sunset Beach. She was the beauty that he bumped into leaving Pizza Village the night he broke it off with Dee-Dee. The one he had mistaken for the bitchy girl that had plowed him over at the beach that same day. “I knew I’d seen you before! You’re from Sunset Beach.”

Her eyes went wide when he said that. “Well, no, I’m only visiting for the summer. How did you know?”

“I bumped into you the other night. Look, I’m sorry I got so mad; it just doesn’t seem like this day can get any better. I’m Nick,” he said politely extending his hand. “I’m not always like this, I promise. I guess we both had to bump into one another somehow.”

Smiling at his goofy grin, she placed her petite hand in his. “I’m Elisabeth.”

“Well, it was nice to finally meet you. Now, how ‘bout we figure this mess out?” he asked with his most charming smile.