The Quietest Shop on Main (Shops on Main #3)

Chapter 23

23

T here was an earthquake. It was the only explanation Skyla had for the way her skull was thundering and bouncing. Pain like she’d never experienced before radiated from the side of her head and down her spine, leaving her breathless and struggling to move.

If her limbs had felt heavy when she left home, it was nothing compared to the tree trunks she seemed to be sporting now. Groaning, she tried to open her eyes, but they felt like they had weights on them. The kind of weights only someone like Luca McCoy could lift.

Distant, muted whispers caught her attention, and Skyla froze, her hand halfway to her forehead. Another jolt shook her, causing her head to bounce against the floor, and she realized she was lying on the ground.

Why was she lying on the ground? How did she get here? Had she blacked out?

Thud. Thud. Thud.

With each noise, her head bounced, and Skyla wracked her slow brain to figure out what was going on.

“Grab it,” a voice hissed, sending a jolt of panic straight through Skyla’s core.

The shot of adrenaline was exactly what she needed in order to finally push past her weakness and open her eyes.

The shop. She was at the shop, currently staring at the ceiling. The lights were still off, but…

“Dude, I don’t care about that,” a different voice ground out. “Grab the camera and let’s go. She’s gonna come to any minute.”

“I don’t know,” the first one grunted. “She hit her head pretty hard.”

“All the more reason to get out of here. We’re dead if we’re caught. This wasn’t part of the deal.”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Skyla slammed her eyes shut again, and she went limp. The footsteps were making her bounce against the floor, but she did her best to hold in the wince and keep her forehead from bunching.

Really, everything hurt so badly that it wasn’t as hard as she would’ve expected to let the new pain just meld with all the other pain.

The male voices were unfamiliar, but it didn’t sound like they planned to hurt her more, as long as she stayed knocked out…or pretended to be.

Her mind was still sluggish, but slowly things were coming back to Skyla.

Waving goodbye to Dalton and Grandpa and Analiese. The weight of fatigue and worry over Grandpa on the ocean at night. Dalton’s promise to take care of Grandpa and his urging of Skyla to rest.

Driving in the dark, wishing she didn’t have to come…then finding the door unlocked.

How could she have been so stupid? There had been several break-ins during the spring and summer all up and down Main Street. Why hadn’t she remembered that when the door was open?

More thudding and then a door slammed, the bell ringing like a beacon in the night.

Skyla held her breath, waiting to the count of one hundred before forcing her eyes back open. They had to be gone. The shop was utterly silent once more. No whispered words, no stomping feet.

A groan inadvertently slipped from her mouth as she rolled over and tried to push herself into a sitting position. She froze, a short burst of panic skittering down her spine in case something else happened, but the shop was still quiet.

By the time she got upright, Skyla was panting. Hard.

Sweat trickled down her back and something warm was running down the side of her head. Her stomach churned, and she thought she might be sick. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but the edges of her vision were growing dark and she was close to blacking out again.

Closing her eyes, Skyla took several deep breaths. The claustrophobic feeling only eased slightly. She didn’t have much time to get help before she was lost again.

Standing up wasn’t an option, so Skyla simply laid back down and did some breathing. When she felt like she was partially under control, Skyla worked her cell phone out of her coat pocket, fumbling only slightly since her fingers were shaking and clammy.

“Please,” she whispered into the dark. “Please…”

The screen hurt her eyes, but she didn’t look away. She had to find his number.

The phone began to ring, and Skyla began to regulate her breaths again.

“Hello…you’ve reached the voicemail of ? —”

With a short sob, she stopped the call. Dalton was obviously not within range yet. Who else? Who could she call?

Her head was swimming again. Her time was up. Three little buttons. A number that Skyla had never called before, and truthfully, had never thought she’d have to call for herself.

Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?

“This is Skyla Saunders,” she said, her voice slurring with the energy it took. “I’ve been hurt…the shop…”

“Ma’am? Can you hear me? Ma’am?”

“Grady,” Skyla’s hand started to fall from her ear. “Call Off…Montoy…”

“Skyla? Can you hear me?”

“Ow?” Skyla twitched when something pressed against her head.

Someone blew out a long breath. “You sure know how to give a guy a heart attack.”

She tried to open her eyes, but it just hurt so much. “Wh?—”

Something touched her head, this time gentler. There had to be multiple people around her from the amount of hands on her legs and body.

“Hang on, Skyla,” a vaguely familiar voice said. “Don’t try to talk, okay? It’s enough that we know you’re not in a coma. Hang on. We’re going to get you to the hospital.”

“I…” She cut off. It took too much energy to speak.

Someone squeezed her hand. “I’ve got you. It’s Grady, okay? I’m here. I’ve got you.”

Skyla almost nodded, but caught herself before she moved. “Okay,” she whispered.

“We’re going to lift you. It might hurt a little, but the guys here don’t think your neck has been hurt.”

Lots of voices began speaking at once, and Skyla couldn’t keep up with the conversation.

“Grandpa,” she wheezed. “Dalton…”

“Let’s get you to the hospital, and I’ll send a car for them, okay? But you need medical attention. Now.”

Skyla didn’t like that plan. She wanted Dalton now. And Grandpa needed to know what was going on. But…

“On the count of three…One…Two…Three.”

Her body went weightless for a moment, and she moaned without meaning to, right before landing on something hard and squeaky.

“Okay, Sky. Off we go.”

“Dalton. I want Dalton.” Her voice was a little clearer this time, but no one paid attention. Too many other conversations were going on and it became clear Skyla would have to wait this out.

Grady said he’d get them. She’d have to trust he would follow through. It was the only hope she had.

John stared long enough that Dalton had to fight the urge to squirm. He was trying to be an open book, but no one enjoyed being a specimen under a microscope.

After several long heartbeats, John slumped in his wheelchair. He ran a hand over his face. “I’ve got you right where I want you, but I don’t even know what to ask,” he grumbled with a light growl.

“I’m almost thirty,” Dalton said bluntly. “I’ve never been in a serious relationship.” He grunted. “Not because I didn’t want to be but because I never found someone I wanted to get serious with.”

John raised an eyebrow. “That’s a lot of looking.”

Dalton shrugged. “The modern dating world isn’t the same one you grew up in.”

John made a face.

“I started going to medical school, only to quit and become a boat captain because Analiese needed help.” Dalton took a slow breath. “Analiese says I have a hero complex, but I don’t think that’s quite right.” He looked John straight in the eye. “I suppose I like seeing people heal. I like helping provide a place for them to do that, but I would never be so bold as to say I had anything to do with that healing.”

John’s thick eyebrows went up. “Hmph.”

“I started falling in love with Skyla almost a year ago, but she’s so quiet that I was afraid to ask her out, until she finally let something slip, making me realize she wanted to be asked out.”

This time the old man chuckled. “Playing it safe?” he asked.

Dalton grinned back. “I suppose so. Maybe that makes me a coward, but it also meant I had a long time to make sure she was exactly what I wanted before taking the leap.”

“And is she?” John pressed. “What you want?”

Dalton nodded firmly. “I said I was in love with her.”

John waved him off. “Love comes in lots of forms and isn’t always as steady as literature makes it out to be.” He leaned forward. “Romeo loved Juliet, and look where that led them.”

Dalton leaned forward as well. “I’m not defying my family, nor would I choose to let Skyla think I was dead in order to do so. She’s my first priority.”

“First?” John questioned. “What about Analiese?”

Dalton sighed. “Analiese is my sister. I’ve spent the last couple of years helping her and am happy to help in the future, but Skyla will always come first.” He made sure John heard him clearly. “Always.”

John leaned back. “Maybe you are defying family.”

Dalton shook his head. “No. I’m giving Analiese a chance to free herself. Honestly, there’s not much more I can do for her. Maybe pushing her out of the safety of the nest is the best next step.”

John chuckled. “Now you sound like a parent.”

Dalton lifted one shoulder. “I suppose it’s not that far off. She’s stronger than she thinks she is.”

“She’s trying to figure out a happy medium between who she is and who she thinks she should be,” John mused.

Dalton blinked. That was actually a really good way to describe Liese’s situation. She wanted to be tough and hard, but it went against the grain for her. Analiese was more expressive than Skyla was, but she was still good-hearted before her life had fallen apart. The persona of being bitter and mean was how she coped with her hurt.

All this time, Dalton had only hoped she was healing, but John’s words made him realize it was more about her finding herself. Interesting.

“You’ll be good to her?”

Dalton snapped out of his musings. “Of course.”

“She’s going to have a hard time when I die,” John pointed out.

“Somehow, I don’t think you’re going to die any time soon,” Dalton drawled. “But I want to be the one she turns to when she’s hurting. Is that what you’re looking for?”

“She cries.”

Dalton raised an eyebrow. “Don’t most women?”

John smirked. “Just one last question.”

“Okay.” Here it came. Better be ready for a doozy. This whole farce was a mess, and it was time for this to be over.

“When can I get off this boat?”

Dalton let out a relieved chuckle. He glanced out the windows behind John. “Shouldn’t be long. Apparently, no one else wanted to fish either because we’ve been heading into shore this entire time.”

Mr. Bowen huffed. “Yeah, well…if I actually wanted to fish, maybe I’d say let’s try again when it’s nice, but nope.” He shook his craggy head. “I don’t ever want to set foot on this boat again.”

Dalton laughed. “Maybe the boat feels the same way about you, huh?”

John’s laugh was strong. “Maybe,” he agreed. “Maybe there’s a reason I was always meant for a library.”

“It takes both kinds,” Dalton added. He put his hands on his hips. “I’ve got to go check on the crew. Do you want to wait here or come with?”

John screwed up his face. “If you’re asking if I want to brave those elements, my answer is no. I’ll wait here.”

Dalton couldn’t help smiling even as he shook his head. “Suit yourself. The night sea is beautiful, though.”

“I’m too old to be knocked around in that wet air.”

Dalton shuffled around the wheelchair and after glancing to make sure John was alright one more time, headed outside. The freezing cold wind immediately slapped his face. This time of year was much better spent inside.

In fact, he could have been in a nice warm house, holding Skyla instead of out here freezing his backside off, if only…

No. It wasn’t worth getting upset over. John should’ve found a different way to learn about and ask questions of Dalton, it was true. But what was done, was done. Dalton wasn’t going to let himself hold a grudge, especially now that he was ready to make plans to ask Skyla to marry him. Starting life together with a wedge between them wasn’t what he wanted, nor would she.

Dalton chuckled and he leapt up the ladder to the wheelhouse. Skyla would ticked when she found out what her grandfather had done. It might be kind of entertaining to watch, actually.

Instead of taking over the steering, Dalton stood just inside the door and watched, nodding to Dewey.

“About ten minutes out,” Dewey announced.

Dalton gave another nod. He glanced over his shoulder. “Where did Liese end up?”

Dewey pursed his lips and shook his head. “Not sure. She was helping put the lines away, and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Gotcha.” Facing forward again, Dalton relaxed…for about five minutes before his phone began to buzz. And buzz. And buzz.

Frowning, he pulled it out from the deep pocket it had been resting in and unlocked the front screen.

His eyes shot wide, and his heart nearly stopped when he realized how many calls he’d missed.

“Skyla called,” he murmured.

“Just worried about her grandfather?” Dewey asked.

“Maybe.” Dalton scrolled to the next one.

Montoya.

Montoya.

Montoya.

Swallowing back nausea, Dalton pressed send and put the phone to his ear, praying he was close enough for a good signal.

“Dalton! Where the heck have you been?” Montoya shouted into the line.

“On the boat,” Dalton growled back. “What’s going on?”

“It’s Skyla.”

Dalton nearly dropped the phone.

“She’s in the hospital.”