"Your father is here."
Four little words. Four little words with the power to ruin Kirsten's day. Or week. Maybe even her month.Shirley enjoyed
dropping unexpected bombshells, and catching the Ice Queen off guard was always a pleasure. It gave her an inflated
sense of importance knowing information before the boss's daughter, and it made her feel better about herself.Mrs. Cohen
may have the perfect figure, the perfect clothes and the perfect hair. But she, Shirley, slightly dour even by her own
admission, whose hair did not swing as she walked and frizzed madly into an uncontrollable mass the minute a sea fog
descended, was a closer confidante to the head of the Newport Group than his own daughter could ever hope to be. And
one day Shirley knew she'd be rewarded for it.Caleb Nichol had told her as much. That, in itself, made her one track life
worth it. She lived, breathed and slept this job. Aside from Mr. Nichol himself, she was the first person to arrive at the office
in the morning and the last person to leave at night. Keeping the company running smoothly was her main mission in life,
which was just as well, as she had very little else to occupy her. Her work, and the occasional visit to the website of the
retirement community she had picked out in Florida filled all her waking moments. Mrs. Cohen certainly looked surprised at
the announcement about her father, but now that Shirley was paying more attention, she could see that something had
already upset the second in command. Telltale red rings around her eyes, dark shadows below them and a slight flush to
her cheeks indicated that Kirsten Cohen had already been crying this morning.
"Dad, I wasn't expecting you back until next week!"
Caleb barely looked up, seemingly immersed in paperwork at his desk. His answer, however, told a different story.
"I thought under the circumstances that I should return as soon as possible."
Kirsten rolled her eyes.
"Dad…"
He didn't give her a chance to respond fully.
"So, when do I get to meet this street urchin, this juvenile delinquent, hmm?"
He shuffled the papers in front of him and still refused to meet her eye. Her father always had the ability to do this, to
reduce her to having to justify herself and her family. Now here she was defending a boy she barely knew.
"Dad, his name is Ryan. We would really prefer it if you didn't refer to him as a juvenile delinquent."
Now he looked up at her sharply.
"We?"
There was almost a snigger in his voice.
"Come on now, Kiki, I think we both know this had to have been Sandy's idea."
He knew her so well, just how to get to her, and she bristled with resentment.
"Sandy brought him home, it's true, but it was actually my idea that he should stay with us, at least short term. There was
no way he could stay where he was."
"In prison, you mean?"
"He was only there because his mother disappeared and there was no one to take care of him."
Caleb shook his head dismissively.
"You have no idea what you've got yourself into. Sandy may not see him as a juvenile delinquent, but didn't this kid burn
down my house? Did he not trash your car? Did he not get my grandson drunk and then almost get him shot? I cannot
imagine what the two of you were thinking. "
Her eyes were tingling dangerously. She debated leaving, if only to avoid her father seeing her reduced to a
quivering wreck. Her father ignored the silence between them and looked at her keenly.
"Sit down, Kiki. Something's upset you."
His voice turned so quickly from the accusatory to the mollifying that she was powerless to resist. If she hadn't been
so tired, if the monumental fight with Sandy hadn't continued early in the morning and drained her of the small amount
of energy she'd had left, she might have stood a chance of holding herself together. Instead, exhaustion kicked in. The
tears began to roll unchecked as she laid all the concerns and worries that had accumulated inside her over the last few
weeks firmly onto her father's shoulder.
Seth had been in the pool house for a full thirty minutes. Ryan, who was already very adept at filtering out all but the most
important and relevant information that emanated from him, was itching to finish the one way conversation and head out.
"So what do you think?"
"What do I think about what?"
Ryan was confused. Served him right for not listening properly.
"About my plan to woo Summer?"
Ryan shrugged.
"Sounds OK to me."
What Seth's plans were exactly, Ryan could no longer recall.
"Cool, then you'll hook us up with free lobster?" Seth asked, then rotated the office chair he was sitting on
a full three-sixty, and propped his feet up. Ryan's face went from confused to concerned.
"Free lobster?"
Seth backtracked, pulling his feet down off the counter top to sit up and face Ryan.
"Well, maybe it could just seem like free lobster. Maybe I could slip you the money earlier. We can just make it look like I
get free stuff at the Crabshack."
Ryan shook his head.
"I can't do that."
Seth put on his most pleading face. Ryan felt bad, but only momentarily.
"It's not that I don't want to, I just can't," he explained in a rush.
"Why not? You can explain to your boss what you're doing. He'll be cool. He knows my mom, and he'd be broke if it wasn't
for us Cohens constantly ordering take out!"
Ryan shook his head again.
"No, it's not that. I'm not going to be working there any more. I'm just on my way now to quit."
"Quit?"
Seth's face crumpled in confusion.
"Why would you do that? The 'rents are totally OK about you working there, even after the gun wielding maniac debacle.
Besides, what about the whole 'paying your own way' thing you insisted on last week?"
Ryan picked up the freshly ironed Crabshack T-shirt and wedged it into his backpack.
"I don't plan on needing any money," he announced as he slung the bag over his shoulder.
"Because..?"
"Because I don't plan on going anywhere," he answered simply.
Seth was momentarily lost for words. Momentarily.
"So you're just not going to go out? Until when? Like till this blows over or what?"
Ryan shrugged.
"Look, Seth. Your parents have taken me in, fed me, clothed me. I'm supposed to keep my nose clean. I can't do
that when all this…stuff… keeps happening. I'm better off just staying home."
He hoped Seth would understand. He hoped the other boy would see that this plan of action was really the only one he
had open to him. He was too grateful to this family and too hopeful for his future here with them to screw it up.
"And by the way, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell your parents about this whole staying home plan. I'll tell them I'm quitting
the Crabshack, but I'd rather they didn't know the rest. I don't want them trying to talk me out of it."
Seth nodded soberly. He was actually very proud of how good he was getting at reading Ryan. He could tell, for instance,
when Ryan was wavering and he could head in for the kill, like when he tried to warn him off attending that party with the
Range Rover. He could also tell when Ryan had firmly made up his mind and couldn't be dissuaded, such as Long Beach
versus Austin as an escape destination. This, Seth felt, was another of those occasions.
"So, lots of Play Station marathons perhaps?"
Ryan grinned gratefully.
"I can't think of anything better."
Seth walked toward the pool house doors, looking back over his shoulder as he got ready to leave.
"Well, my friend, I'll just have to make a new plan. One that involves inviting Summer here, maybe? Shouldn't be too difficult
now that you and Marissa are dating."
Ryan's smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
"Um, we're not dating. We had one date. Not really a date," he floundered.
Seth scoffed."Come on, man, I've seen how you look at her, and how she looks at you. Don't think I don't know you want
to jump her."
Ryan's face flushed and he shifted uncomfortably.
"Yeah, maybe, but I don't plan on asking her for another date. Besides, you've got it wrong. She's into Luke. You saw how
she rushed to see him the other night at the hospital."
Ryan couldn't help but feel a little bitter about that whole night. He'd really thought they'd had a connection. He'd thought
she was into him. Ryan knew it was stupid to be bothered by it, especially since he had no intention of allowing the
relationship to develop further, but still, it hurt.
Seth laughed.
"Yeah, buddy, you keep telling yourself that! Dude? He's been her boyfriend for like, forever. Why wouldn't she check up on
him? Doesn't mean she's not ready to move on."
"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter now. I can't ask a girl out if I'm never going to actually go out," Ryan muttered.
"Well, if you're not going to slip her the Atwood tongue, could you maybe just play nice and be friends until I can
ensnare Summer?"
Ryan's face crinkled with distaste.
"That's disgusting. And you make it sound like Summer's a wild animal."
"Yeah, well, you'll see why when you experience one of her legendary rage blackouts!"
Seth pulled the glass door behind him. Ryan bent down to tie up his boot laces. He sighed heavily as he heard the door
open again two seconds later.
"I forgot to tell you, my Grandpa's coming to dinner. Mom called earlier."
Ryan's head shot up, his face pinched and white.
"Your grandpa whose house I burnt down?"
Seth waved his hand dismissively.
"Yeah, but don't worry about it, he has so many. Trust me, it won't even be on his radar…"
Before Ryan had another minute to consider this unfortunate turn of events, Seth was back yet again.
"Oh, and buddy? You may need to take a rain check on that whole quitting thing. Guess who's here to see you?"
Seth stood back to let Marissa enter the pool house.
"Thanks, Seth," she smiled lightly as she stepped through the door. Seth gave Ryan a conspiratorial wink before making
himself scarce. Marissa stood uncertainly, her hands thrust deep in the pockets of her jeans.
"I hope it's OK to come over. You look like you're going somewhere."
Ryan threw his backpack onto the bed. The Crabshack would have to wait.
"Yeah… no…I was going to..but..um… it doesn't matter. I can do it later."
"You're sure?" Marissa still wasn't sure if she was welcome.
"Absolutely. Come in…sit down…"
He gestured to the only seat in the room. She sat awkwardly on the edge of the chair as he sat down on the bed.
"So, I really enjoyed last night…" she began.
Ryan nodded earnestly. "Yeah, me too."
"And I wanted to thank you for calling me from the hospital."
"No problem."
Marissa bit her lip, unclear what to say next.
"I really needed to see Luke. Make sure he was OK."
Ryan nodded again. "I get that."
Marissa was obviously uncomfortable, and Ryan sat silently, waiting.
"But I wanted to say, you know, just because I went to see him, we're not back together or anything like
that…"
"Well, you guys must do whatever you think…," he acknowledged.
Marissa looked puzzled.
"Right, um, well, I just wanted you to know that. I guess I'll see you then."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you around, I guess."
He stood up when she did, attempting to ignore the hurt and confused look on her face. They exchanged a clumsy embrace
before she left. Ryan felt like a real heel. He knew exactly what she had been trying to say, and he'd let her sit there
floundering. He should have just been honest and told her he wasn't interested. OK, maybe not honest, but upfront about
how it was going to be, at least.
Seth and Ryan had been asked to move some large potted plants from the terrace to make more room for the family to sit
outside for dinner. Seth, muttering protests to heavy lifting, had left Ryan to do it while he went in search of tableware. It
was only when the sunshine disappeared that Ryan noticed the large man looming above him.
"You must be Ryan."
Caleb's tone was bordering on accusatory. Ryan stood up hastily, brushing his dusty hands against the legs of his slacks
before offering his hand to shake.
"Yes, um, Mr. Nichol, right?"
"Right," Caleb answered, pointedly ignoring the proffered hand. "So you're the kid who burnt my house down…"
"Oh Grandpa, give him a break. It was an accident."
Caleb swung around on his heels to face his grandson and Ryan breathed a sigh of relief at the welcome
interruption.
"Seth! I was looking for you. Met your new friend here instead."
"Yeah, Grandpa, Ryan. Ryan, Grandpa."
Seth waved his hands in way of introduction.
"We've already had the introductions," Caleb dismissed and turned his back on Ryan.
"Now tell me how your sailing is going…"
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief as the attention slid away from himself to Seth, who began an animated diatribe about his
latest sailing experiences. He finished moving the plants and kept himself busy setting the table and chairs around the
fireplace. When he ran out of useful things to do, he headed for the kitchen.
"Ryan, wait!" Caleb's voice traveled clearly across the patio and made the boy's heart sink.
"Come back over here. I've spent so much time talking to my grandson I've had no chance to ask you about yourself."
He gestured to two chairs that sat near the pool and Ryan had no choice but to drag himself back from the direction he'd
been heading. The last thing he could do was be rude to Kirsten's father. Ryan sat gingerly on the edge of his seat and
caught a pitying glance from Seth as he was dispatched by his grandfather to fetch drinks.
"So," Caleb leaned back in his seat, putting his hands behind his head as if to illustrate the casual nature of his
questioning, "where do you come from, Ryan? Tell me what brought you here…"
"He's from Chino. A little hotter, a little dustier and tragically, no ocean to surf, isn't that right, Ryan?"
Ryan swallowed in relief as the second Cohen to come to his rescue in as many minutes appeared beside them. Sandy
beamed at Ryan benevolently and sat himself on the arm of Ryan's seat. He passed a beer to his father in law and a
Mountain Dew to Ryan. Ryan didn't miss the look of irritation pass over the older man's face at the interruption but he was
thankful that, for now at least, the circumstances of his arrival in Newport were dropped.
"That's it. Ryan Atwood. Chino. I'd guess about 15 or 16 years old. Living with my daughter's family. Whatever you can find out,
Mike, his history, what he spends his time doing here in Newport. Thanks, I appreciate it."
Dinner with his daughter's family last night had not been as illuminating as Caleb Nichol had hoped. He'd gotten a little
background from Kiki in his office when she'd broken down, but only the barest minimum. He'd hoped to have some time
alone with the boy, but every time he'd engineered it, Seth or Sandy would appear from nowhere, butting in and
channeling the course of the conversation. By the end of the evening, he knew little more than he'd known at the
beginning. All he did know was that his daughter was unsettled with this kid in her home. After meeting him for himself, and
watching his furtive glances and edgy behavior, he was sure she had good reason to worry.
tbc