Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters, with the addition of the local drunk, Richie Kaplan. He, too, is all mine.
Authors Note: I don't know what it was about this chapter, but while certain parts wrote themselves out with no effort, others made me feel as if I were crawling over broken glass. It was a very painful struggle.
I blame Shane and his pig-headed stubbornness. Go ahead, you can, too.
In any case, Chapter Five is finally done and I couldn't be happier. Enjoy!
She Knew Him When . . .
"You know what I can't stand?"
Looking up from the deck he'd finished cleaning, Jimmy Mance shook his head slowly.
"What's that, Shane?"
"These mainlanders."
Jimmy took his cap off and sat back against an ice chest.
He knew Shane had been working up to this conversation for a while now. In fact, he'd been expecting it; waiting for the bomb to go off. The explosion could be big, or small. Either way, Shane had been in a mood for weeks.
"Ok. What about them?" Hair fell across his face as he shrugged affably. "I mean, besides bringing in the money, changing the scenery up a bit, helping us put food on our tables, what evils have they committed now?"
From where he was gutting their catch of the day, Shane's head tilted to the side, face clearly showing agitation.
"Don't do that, man."
"Sorry. " Jimmy's smile was apologetic. "What is it then?"
"They treat the island like it's some novelty."
"Small town life on Harper's is a novelty for a lot of people. That's the appeal, " Jimmy pointed out, shrugging. "It's nothing new."
"It's stupid, man. Nobody born here leaves, and these summer kids think it's peachy keen to live and die on this rock."
"Some people leave."
"You're not going to bring her up are you?" Shane's gibe made his feelings clear on that subject. "It's been, what, almost two years? Face it." He picked up the last fish, waving it at his friend.. "Abby's gone, man. She ain't coming back. Not to you, not to this island. Can't say I blame her either."
Jimmy pointedly overlooked the shot taken at Abby, keeping the focus on Shane and his problem.
"Sometimes people come back."
"Yeah, well, they're no better for it."
"Are you going somewhere with this?" Jimmy asked curiously. "'Cause we could be shooting pool instead of the breeze."
"She's changed." Shane muttered, tossing the fish onto his cutting board.
"Who?" Then a light bulb suddenly went on in Jimmy's head. "Sarah?"
"Yes, Sarah. Have you seen her?"
"Ah, yeah." Jimmy grinned slowly. "It's a small island, remember?"
"Yeah, well, she's different now. The hair," he swung down hard at the fish, chopping off its head. "The legs and the," he held his hands out in front of his chest, cupping them. "Eyes."
Jimmy bit down on his lip to keep from smiling any wider. "She's a girl, Shane. Sarah's always had hair and legs and," he paused to swallow a laugh. "Eyes."
"But you see the people she's hanging out with now?" Shane didn't wait for Jimmy to answer as he continued on, picking up the fillet knife, slicing extra viciously into the small fish. "College guys-frat boys. Henry God damned Dunn's little pals. No more island folk for her, no sir." The knife slammed down tip-first into the cutting board. "Daddy must be over the moon."
"They're not so bad," Jimmy offered mildly. He pretended not to see the dark look Shane sent him. "They're nice once you get to know them. Besides, Henry's a good guy. You know that. He wouldn't bring anyone bad here."
"Whatever," Shane grumbled.
"What's the big deal anyway?" Jimmy moved to pick up some rope Shane had left out. "So she hangs out with some of Henry's friends. She's allowed."
"They're assholes."
Beginning to coil the rope around his arm, Jimmy looked through dark hair at his friend. "You know how you sound don't you?"
"No. But please," Shane straightened up, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Feel free to enlighten me oh wise one."
"All right." Jimmy stopped his wrapping motions. "You sound jealous."
The expression on Shane's face was comical. Crossed somewhere between horrified and dumbfounded, he blinked rapidly, shaking his head. "I'm not jealous."
"Didn't say you were," Jimmy replied smoothly. He continued to wind up the rope. "I said you sound jealous."
"Yeah, well," Shane rolled his shoulders, turning back to his work. "I'm not."
"All right."
"Who are you to be giving opinions on relationships anyway?"
Carefully ignoring the barb, Jimmy quashed his growing annoyance by deflecting the question.
"Maybe I'm not. Anyway, why would I give you advice on something you're not in?"
Shane hesitated, considering the question before nodding slowly. "Right."
"Exactly." Jimmy finished and set the rope down.
"That's what I'm saying."
"So there's no reason to be jealous."
"Yeah."
"So you are?"
"I'm what?"
"Jealous."
"Wha-NO!" Shane snapped. He tossed the fish into a bucket of fresh water, taking his gloves and apron off. "Stop trying to turn this into something it isn't."
"Ok." Jimmy went along agreeably. "You're not jealous."
"No."
"Angry?"
Opening the cooler Jimmy had been sitting near, Shane pulled out a beer, twisting off the cap with a little more force than necessary.
"No."
"You sound a little testy."
"I'm not testy," Shane mimicked.
"Are you happy?"
"What?"
"I asked if you were happy," Jimmy said repeated patiently. "That Sarah came back."
"Oh." Shane took a long pull from his beer and shrugged, looking down at the bottle. "It won't be bad having her around again, I guess."
"Great. Then if everything's cool there's no need to avoid her every time you see her."
"Do I do that?" Shane's attempt to look innocent may have fallen flat, but he had the decency to look a sheepish when Jimmy hit his arm. "Ok. Maybe I do."
"Can I ask why?"
"No."
Stifling a groan, Jimmy swore that being friends with Shane Pierce was sometimes the most exhausting job on earth. He was more stubborn than a barnacle stuck to the bottom of a boat.
"Stop trying to go all Dr. Phil on me, Jimmy." Shane polished of his drink and tossed it into a bin. Reaching back into the cooler, he grabbed two more long necks and handed one to Jimmy. It was his version of a peace offering. "Everything's fine."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Great."
"Good."
Opening their drinks, the clink of glass sounded as the two saluted one another on a hard days work. They drank without speaking, falling into a companionable silence as the sun started its descent into the horizon. It signaled the end of another day, and the start of the evening ahead.
"We did pretty well today," Jimmy commented after a while.
"Brought in nice looking numbers," Shane agreed. His eyes took in the boat they'd been working on for the past year. "Paycheck's going to be good. I'd say we could go in together and get better equipment, but you probably want to squirrel it away towards your dream boat."
"Give me a few more years and I'll have one," Jimmy said confidently. He brought the bottle to his lips, "Every man has his dreams, right?"
Shane grunted as he finished off his second drink, tossing it in with the first. Taking the opportunity, Jimmy grabbed his duffle and stepped up onto the dock. He waited while Shane finished putting things away.
"She looks nice."
"What?" Shane stuck his head out of the cabin.
"Sarah," Jimmy smiled broadly. He couldn't resist baiting his friend. "She looks nice."
"Drop it, man."
"I'm just saying-"
"Seriously." Shane joined him on the dock. "Not another word or I'm not buying tonight's rounds."
"That's mighty generous of you." Jimmy remarked. His face was filled with enough merriment to have Shane swearing.
"If it'll shut you up, I'll even buy you your damn dream boat."
************************************************************************
Three hours later they found themselves heading down the uneven walkway to Harper's Beach. Taking in the bonfire, the numerous locals and visitors, it was crowded. And loud. Music pulsed through large speakers resting in the back of someone's truck.
"Tell me why we're out here again?"
"The Cannery was too quiet and Nikki said it was going to be a big party," Jimmy replied. Glancing at Shane he gave a good-natured smile. "Could be fun. We don't see big gatherings like this anymore."
"There's a reason for that," Shane muttered under his breath. He surveyed the people milling around. Some he knew, some he didn't, and one particular person was headed his way.
"Damn."
"What?" Jimmy's eyes narrowed in concern.
"Kelly."
Catching sight of the frail, dark-eyed girl, Jimmy looked at his friend knowingly. "You shouldn't have hooked up with her, Shane. She gets attached easily, especially after her mom died. I tried to tell you-"
"Yeah, yeah, your concern is really touching."
"Just try to be nice, ok? She's headed over here," Jimmy said in a low voice, turning away.
"Then I'm headed over there." Shane pointed in the opposite direction, ducking through the crowd of party goers.
He wove his way around several times, trying to ditch his ex. He almost ran into Sarah, but despite his words to Jimmy, brushed right past her in his efforts to avoid Kelly. When he felt he'd succeeded, he made his way towards the drinks.
Standing by a makeshift bar someone created out of pieces of driftwood, Shane eyed his options thoughtfully.
"Sacred Turtle?" His eyebrows furrowed as he picked up the small bottle of amber liquid from a cooler. "Never heard of that one before." He turned it around in his hands, decided it looked good enough and wiped it of on his shirt. "What the hell."
He started to pop the top when Jimmy approached.
"Well, it looks like you managed to avoid Kelly."
"Here's hoping," Shane declared as he held out the bottle to his friend.
"New brew?"
"Guess so. Not local." Shane opened up a second one and took a swig. "Not bad either. What's up?"
"I spotted Henry near the steps." Jimmy gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. "You want to go say hi?"
"Let me see," Shane pretended to think. "Ah, gee, no. You go on. Have fun playing with your friends."
"Suit yourself," Jimmy sighed. "Word of warning, though. Don't touch those bottles down there." He pointed to a small group of beer bottles further form the others. "I heard Richie Kaplan thought it would be a good idea to, uh, relieve himself into a few of them."
"Gross man!" Shane saw the offender dancing by himself near the water. Jimmy was watching him too, chuckling at the local handyman and carouser.
"He's not all there is he?"
"Never was," Shane remarked. "Might have something to do with the fact that he spends all day inhaling paint fumes."
"Just might," Jimmy agreed. "See you later?"
"Maybe."
Clapping Shane's shoulder, Jimmy headed towards the bonfire. Watching him greet Henry Dunn and his band of merry morons, Shane's mood soured considerably.
"Losers," he muttered, sipping more of the tasty microbrew. He stood there finishing his beer, considering the possibility of leaving, when two of Henry's friends separated from the group, heading his way.
Maybe it was due to the crowd, maybe they were both wasted. But for whatever reason, their voices carried and grew louder. Shane couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
And it pissed him off.
"Dude, let it go. She's not interested." One of the guys sounded tired, as if the conversation had been had many times before.
"Come on, Danny!" The blonde, Sully, Shane remembered, glanced behind them, then back at his dread-locked friend. "Sarah's fine as hell, unattached, and she's totally feeling it. I can tell."
"Yeah, and I can tell that if you don't quit hitting on her soon, Trish is going to have your sorry ass," the other guy, Danny, warned. "And if she doesn't, Henry definitely will."
"Please." Sully scoffed at the notion of his friends making a big deal out of the situation. " Listen, you've seen the locals, right? Given the fact that we're on a remote island, and they're the only other option available, she's bound to wear down sooner or later. I just have to, you know, keep at it."
"Wow." Danny was temporarily rendered speechless. "You are something else, man. A real romantic. Can't imagine why Sarah hasn't been crawling all over you."
"All in good time." Sully sounded very sure of himself. "She's eighteen, Danny-the beginning of her sexual prime and," he leaned in closer, "I'm willing to bet no guy has ever tapped that ass."
"Hey!"
Jumping , the two fraternity brothers blinked at the burly man glaring menacingly at them. Unsure of himself, Sully gradually spoke up.
"Uh…Shane, right?"
"Yeah?" He continued to glare.
"Sully." The blonde pointed to himself, then to his friend. "This is Danny. We're Henry's friends."
And as if Sully's introduction seemed to make everything all better, Shane smiled. He smiled so nicely it made Danny and Sully shift on their feet . "Well if you're friends of Henry's…
He continued to stare with his smile, enjoying the obvious discomfort of the two men. Then as if the thought just occurred to him, he slapped a hand against his thigh. "Oh, hey! You guys want a beer?"
"Yeah." Sully looked relieved, even smiling back. "Sure. Thanks, man. What do you have back there?"
"Let's see…" Pretending to look around, Shane turned back with two beers in hands. "Here you go." He handed Danny a frosty one, then offering the second to Sully he said, "Sorry if your brew's warm, but what can I say? Some people don't have respect for good beer."
Sully took the bottle and nodded his thanks. "That's cool. Warm beer's better than none."
"I couldn't agree more." Giving another broad smile, Shane brushed past them, calling back, "Enjoy your evening."
"Later, man," Danny hollered, remarking to Sully," Nice guy."
Shane wove his way back through the crowd, feeling justified, then downright smug when he saw Sully sputter, visibly gagging. Even over the crowd he could be clearly heard.
"What the-this stuff tastes like piss!"
Chuckling, Shane turned to wave goodnight to Jimmy. He jumped up the last few steps up the walkway and headed to his truck, pulling out the keys. He'd just opened the door when a lone figure stalking down the road caught his attention.
Sarah, he thought.
It was the perfume that tipped him off.
He'd recognize her in the dark from the light scent alone. Aside from the slender, ivory legs and dark hair he also knew that walk.
She was angry. Because of him.
"Damnit," he muttered, knowing the mess he'd created had to be cleaned up. Now.
Clearing his throat he called out to her. "Need a ride?"
Stopping in her tracks, Sarah turned to see Shane standing several feet behind her, hand resting on the handle of his truck's door. Tall, dark, and mean-that was Shane Pierce. If she hadn't already been seething, she would have been a little intimidated by him standing in the shadows of the trees. But tonight's snubbing had pushed her temper to the limit.
"So you're speaking to me now?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind. I'd rather walk."
"C'mon, Sarah." Shane's voice softened marginally, coaxing. "You don't want to walk on these roads when half the island is on their way to a crazy hangover."
"I'll take my chances with the lunatic drunks," she snapped. "But thanks for your concern."
"Ok." Shane slammed his door and started towards her. "Let's hear it. I know you have something to say, and I probably deserve it."
"Probably? Fine." Sarah's eyes flashed when he came to a stop in front of her. "Every time I've seen you since we arrived you've either turned the other way or completely ignored me. I know we're not what most people consider to be friends, but we've always gotten along reasonably well."
Rubbing a hand over the five o'clock shadow darkening his jaw, Shane closed his eyes, as if he were gathering infinite patience.
"Listen-"
"No. You listen. I'm going to talk now."
Sarah felt an odd thrill of satisfaction as Shane's mouth snapped shut. The tic in his jaw seemed to be starting up, but she didn't really care. She was going to be heard.
"I understand that you have a reputation to uphold for being the town jerk, and you pick people apart for kicks, but you've never…"she licked her lips, taking in a shaky breath. "You've never ever treated me as badly as you have been. I don't understand it."
"Sarah."
"You hurt me."
Those three words sent most of the heat right out of her.
"After Mother died, I didn't want to come here. Because Trish would be off with Henry, Shea would be with Richard, and Daddy-," she inhaled. "Daddy was just trying to keep our family together, though he was barely going through the motions. Despite that even he had someone to talk to. I didn't. I was ten and in their eyes apparently too young to fully grasp what was going on."
"That was stupid."
"Of course it was stupid," Sarah retorted. "But people do and think stupid things when they're upset or afraid."
Shane rolled a hand impatiently, gesturing for her to continue. "Getting back to the point?"
Sarah's mouth tightened at the corners, holding her temper in check.
"Do you remember how you used to let me stay on your boat while you worked?"
"Can't exactly forget when someone uses your autographed Yankee's jersey for a snot rag," Shane grumbled.
"You shouldn't have left it on the desk, and that's part of what I'm trying to get you to understand. Even when that happened, you didn't complain" Sarah took a step closer to him, blue eyes looking up at him. "You never told me I was being a nuisance, or made me feel as if I were a problem. Every day you let me go on and on and you never said a word to anyone. I thought that made you a better person than everyone else said you were."
"Stupid as it might have been, I considered you a friend, even though I know we weren't in the typical way most people are. You're someone I looked forward to seeing most when we came for the summer."
"You really didn't have high standards, did you?"
"Stop that!" Sarah threw her hands up in frustration. "Why do you do that? Do you really enjoy being such a pinhead?"
"Hey, I make no apologies for being who I am." Shane closed the distance between them, jaw jutting out defensively as his own temper rose. "Take it or leave it, sweetheart, I don't care. "
"Bull. We wouldn't be having this out if you didn't care. Besides, I'm not asking for apologies for you being you, Shane-I'm not asking for apologies period!" Sarah exclaimed. "You probably wouldn't give one even if I did."
"Then what do you want?"
"An explanation." She crossed her arms under her chest. "What I did, or why you think you have to avoid me. That way, if you really want to keep doing whatever it is you're doing, at least I can understand why."
A heavy silence hung between them as they stared one another down. Neither wanted to be the first one to break, but when Sarah's lower lip turned down into a pout it bothered the hell out of Shane.
"You've changed," he offered as an explanation.
"It's been almost two years," Sarah said, incredulous. "We've all changed."
"Yeah, well two years ago we were good enough to hang out with."
Sarah didn't seem to comprehend what he was saying at first, but then it sank in. "You're not serious."
"Yeah, I am!" Shane shot back. "You leave and when you finally deign to reappear, the only people you hang out with are those idiot prepsters Henry brought to my island."
Leaning forward, Sarah held up a hand for him to see.
"One," she ticked off on her fingers, "there was a good reason didn't come back last summer, Shane. Two, I'll spend my time with whoever I want. And three, explain to me then why, on my first day back on your island-even before I was spending time with Henry's friends-you acted like you couldn't care less that I was back."
"I was surprised," Shane disagreed.
"You could have fooled me." Sarah looked at him through her lashes, voice quieting. "I was glad to see you but you…you sat on that damn bar stool and acted like it was any other day of the week."
"Yeah, well, maybe that's how it seemed, but trust me, seeing you standing there in The Cannery was a shock." Eyebrows raising to emphasize his point, he shrugged. "Really. You hadn't been here in a while and then, there you were, all pretty and-look, the thing is," he took a deep breath, "I acted like an ass."
Sarah looked at him, silent.
"I acted like a huge ass." Still nothing. "The biggest ass on the face of the planet, ok? I'm sorry."
Amazed that he actually said it and a more than a little preoccupied with the fact that he'd said she was pretty, Sarah acknowledged the apology with a small nod, feeling the last of her anger ebb.
"So are we done?" Shane asked gruffly. He was now standing close enough for her to feel the heat through his clothes.
"Yes."
"Feeling better?"
"Much."
"Good."
Shane opened his mouth to restate his offer of a ride home when the low boom of several small explosions came from the direction of the beach..
Recalling the last time she'd heard explosions on the island, Sarah jumped, clutching at Shane's shirt reflexively. His hands caught her as she darted forward and held her still.
"Hey," Shane murmured into her ear. Looking up, she was near enough to see how deeply the line of concern was etched in his brow. "It's just some idiots that decided the Fourth of July was early this year."
Sarah felt foolish as she processed what Shane was telling her. It was only fireworks.
Letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in, her head fell forward onto his chest. Relief flooded her senses and she inhaled deeply. Aided by the soothing strokes of a hand on her back, Sarah sank a little further into the calm and spoke without thinking.
"You smell good," she sighed.
A puff of breath brushed past her hair as Shane laughed. "Thanks. You don't smell too bad either."
Sarah's eyes flew open, horrified by how freely she'd spoken.
"Sarah?"
"Right. Sorry." Letting go of his shirt, she took a step back, regaining her space.
"It's ok. Women don't usually need fireworks to throw themselves at me, but whatever. It works."
Staring at him, Sarah felt a bubble of mixed emotions preparing to burst. It was such a Shane thing to say that in that moment, things felt like they used to. Normal.
She shook her head at him.
"Shane, you are so-"
"Charming, lovable-"
"More like arrogant, rude-"
"Offering you a ride home if you're still interested." Shane held up his keys, jingling them in front of her. He seemed pleased when she nodded.
"Thank you."
"It's not like I was going to let you actually walk back by yourself."
"So…what? You would have dragged me back to your truck? Even if I kicked and screamed the entire way?"
Shane's lips looked as if they were curling up at the corners as he replied, "Well, as long as you were screaming my name, sure."
"You're impossible, you know that?"
"Impossible to keep away from," Shane quipped, earning an eye-roll.
"Well, it's good to know some things don't change."
Sarah's cheeks warmed when Shane flashed her a smile. A real smile.
"That's one thing about the island," he opened the passenger side door, leaned against it. "Nothing ever changes."
Mulling this over, Sarah accepted his hand as he helped her up. Rough met smooth as her hand lighted on his. After she was in, Shane slammed the door shut, moving back to his side. He climbed into the cab, searching for the right key when Sarah spoke.
"I'm all right with things staying the same, you know. Consistency is good."
"Yeah, maybe." Shane started the truck, hand on the gear shift, though not moving it. "But…" He turned to look at Sarah, his expression intense. "Sometimes change can be good, too. Right?"
There was to be more to his words than he was saying out loud, and Sarah wondered how to respond. Something told her to choose her words carefully as they seemed to be very important.
"Change can be good," she agreed softly.
Seeming satisfied by her answer, Shane shifted the gear; his mood lighter as he pulled onto the quiet road.
"So…" His fingers tapped against the steering wheel as they drove further inland. "Are you sure you're ready to go back?"
"Maybe. Why?" Sarah turned in her seat to face him. "Do you have another suggestion?"
"Yeah, actually. I do."
Shane's grin was devilish as he eyed her.
"How about a good, long…game of pool?"
Flustered and amused, Sarah pointed back towards the docks with a bright smile. "You're on!"
"Damn right we are." Shane was in high spirits as he turned back around. "We are on."