I’ll Stand By You: a retro romance novella by Karen Grey

Author:Karen Grey [Grey, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Home Cooked Books

Chapter 7

Danielle

12:55 a.m.

I can’t say no to Violet. It’s easy to say no to grabby-handed men or even cute boys with sweet words. No woman in my family has ever found happiness by saying yes to either, and I doubt it’d be any different for me. That’s why I keep ’em all at a distance. But Vi? She’s not just my best friend, she’s a damn general disguised as a mother hen.

So when she asks the staff for volunteers to search for a guest’s dog before clocking out, I say yes. I know for a fact that she worked a full day directing kids at theater camp before coming to work tonight, so if she can stay up, I can too.

I’m less enthused when she assigns a couple to walk the beach with me. She’d already announced that we’d be paired with a guest who knew the dog, but it’s still annoying. I’ve had to be outgoing and friendly all night. Dogs I can deal with anytime, but guests … I have a limit, and I’ve reached it.

I am charmed when the couple introduces themselves, though. Jessica is obviously a little firecracker. Her love for her man, Cal, is clear too. I’m impressed that a beauty like her would overlook the ugly scars that cover the entire left side of his face. He doesn’t seem too bothered about them, so I follow their lead on that subject.

At Vi’s direction, we head south. Jess and Cal take the part of the beach closer to the water, and I search the base of the dunes. Violet has already given clear instructions to the guests about staying off of them, but tourists never quite get how important the mounds of grasses are to the beach. A dog’s paws won’t crush the sea oats the way human feet will. Or a human couple rolling around. Which is what I find when I step closer to investigate a telltale rustle.

“Excuse me!” I call out. “Y’all can’t be doing that there. It’s against the law.”

A girlish squeal sounds from the other side of the sandy slope.

“Mind your own business, bitch,” a male voice threatens.

“It is my business. I live here,” I say, standing tall and hoping this guy isn’t going to come out swinging. “And my livelihood depends on these beaches staying the way they are. You messing around in the dunes endangers them. Plus, snakes live in there.”

With a shriek, the girl stumbles out to the pathway, pulling a dress over her head. The guy shuffles out, thankfully after he pulls up his shorts. After giving me a glare—and mercifully nothing else—he follows her as she stalks away down the beach.

“Y’all have a nice rest of your evening,” I say with a wave. After I yell “Ribsy!” into the dunes and get no response, I head toward the water to check in with my charges.

“See anything?” Cal asks.

“Thankfully, I did not.”

“Thankfully?” Jess asks.

“I didn’t find the dog, but I did find a couple. In flagrante, I believe, by the sound of things.

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