Sunkissed Page 5

  When Marla passed away, it drove the girls further apart. Nicolette blamed her mother’s death on Trista, telling her that the cancer stemmed from stress that her mother endured when she found out about the affair. Sam tried to stay neutral. He hated conflict and didn’t like the girl’s arguing day and night. He threw himself into his work and tried to avoid any fights.

  The night that Trista graduated high school was bittersweet. Marla had passed away the week before. Nicolette did not attend her sister’s graduation, electing to go back to school after the funeral. Only Sam was there. Trista remembered him hugging her and telling her that everything was going to be okay, that Nicolette would eventually come around.

  Sam then told her he thought it would be a good idea for them to start fresh. He wanted to move his operations to Blue Mountain Beach, where he had many business interests, including a small real estate office and a restaurant and bar. He was also beginning development on the land that he’d bought while Charlotte was with him during that first visit to the area. The land that he had bought seventeen years earlier had increased ten-fold in value. New houses and condo developments were popping up left and right, and Sam was eager to cash in on his investments.

  While Nicolette went back to college, Sam and Trista moved to Blue Mountain Beach. Sam bought a large gulf-front home, and Trista helped him decorate and furnish the home. She had plans to attend a local community college and major in drama. No one knew Trista in Blue Mountain Beach, and she saw this as an opportunity to start over.

  Everything was going well until Nicolette came home for the holidays a couple months after they had settled in. It had been almost nine months since Marla died, and Nicolette was still sullen and mad as hell. Nicolette told Trista she was coming home from college to live with her father. They had a huge fight, with Nicolette blaming Trista once again for her mother’s death. She told Trista it was time for her to move on and get out of their lives.

  Trista packed her bags that night and, early the next morning, left Blue Mountain Beach. She left a note for Sam, telling him she thought it was for the best. Nicolette needed time with her father, and having Trista around was only going to complicate things.

  With a small inheritance from Marla, Trista moved to New York City. She drove all night long, only stopping once to spend the night in Virginia. Trista made it to the Big Apple and decided to stay with a friend from high school who was attending Julliard.

  Immediately, Trista landed a small part on Broadway that lasted a year. That role led to another small part on a daytime soap opera, where a producer from a major network spotted her. He had a TV show that was in development—a role he thought she’d be perfect for.

  A week later, Trista Carmichael was on her way to Hollywood. She read for the lead part in You Only Live Once and was hired on the spot. It was the stuff dreams were made of.

  The show was an instant hit. The cast on the show became like family to her. Quinn Miller was her best friend on the show…and in real life. Shane Babineaux played her love interest on the show, and Cheyenne Young played her neighbor. They were all very tight and saw each other frequently off the set.

  Two and a half years after leaving Blue Mountain Beach, she was finally in a good place. She missed Sam though. She also missed her sister, despite all the bad things Nicolette said about her. Sam flew out to Hollywood to see her on a few occasions. On one of those trips, he convinced her to come home for the holidays. Sam told her that Nicolette was working as a real estate agent for his company and she was miserable without her sister in her life. Trista agreed to fly home for a few nights, hoping that Nicolette would be ready to put everything behind them. This was not the case.

  Trista’s visit home was a big mistake. Nicolette still harbored ill feelings toward her sister. She gave her the cold shoulder all weekend. The night before Trista left, Nicolette suggested it might be best if she never returned to Blue Mountain Beach. Trista accused Nicolette of being a jealous brat, promptly leaving Blue Mountain Beach and vowing never to return.

  ***

  Trista used her toe to pull the drain in the tub. Just thinking about the memories of Marla’s death and her troubles with Nicolette made her nauseated. Watching the water swirl down the drain, she thought of the conversation she needed to have with Nicolette. It was time to put all their differences aside and try to repair their relationship. It had been several years since Marla died. That was enough time for Nicolette to heal. Trista thought Nicolette had done a good job of moving on with her life. She was a successful real estate agent, following in their father’s footsteps, and she had blossomed into a beautiful woman. There was no reason why she should be jealous of Trista. The only thing Trista was unsure of was how to approach Nicolette about Riker. Telling her sister that she had sex with her boyfriend would certainly be a setback.

  Trista stepped out of the tub and grabbed a towel from the warming rack. It didn’t matter how Nicolette reacted to the news about Riker. She needed to be told. And today was better than any other.

  Chapter Ten

  “Let me buy that outfit for you,” Trista offered to Nicolette. “It looks great on you!” They had just finished lunch and were shopping in nearby Seaside. Nicolette was celebrating a big sale that had just closed, a five-million-dollar beachfront home, once owned by a famous country singer. She modeled a gorgeous navy pantsuit that complemented her curvy figure.

  “I have my own money, Trista.” Nicolette picked up a gold brooch from the jewelry counter.

  “I know that. I just want to do something special for you.” Trista thought maybe she was doing it to soothe her own guilt about Riker as well.

  “Trista Carmichael?”

  Trista turned around at the sound of her name. She spotted a woman holding a bunch of dresses in her hands. “I heard you were in town.” It was like deja vu all over again.

  Word travels fast in a small town. “Just for a while.” Trista smiled politely, waiting for the woman to ask for her autograph or a picture.

  “If you don’t mind me asking, how long are you planning on staying?”

  “Who knows?” Trista shrugged. She was trying to be polite, but today of all days, she just wanted some peace and quiet. She studied the woman, trying to figure out whether she knew her or not.

  “She was fired from her show,” Nicolette whispered to the woman.

  “Do you two know each other?” Trista asked, startled by her sister’s comment.

  “This is Michelle Newhouse,” Nicolette introduced them. “I sold her a house last year. Michelle teaches drama at the local high school.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Trista said turning to Michelle. “I wasn’t fired, by the way. My contract wasn’t renewed. Let’s just leave it at that.”

  “Well, they’re missing out on some great talent.” Michelle handed her dresses to the sales girl. “Can you start me a dressing room please?”

  “What have you been up to?” Nicolette asked Michelle. “Still teaching those teenagers with raging hormones how to act?”

  “Yes, just not for the school district. I retired from teaching. I now run my own production company and also head up the Blue Mountain Beach Children’s Theatre.”

  “Really?” Trista asked, sincerely interested. “I’d love to hear more about it.”

  “We’re gearing up for our spring play followed by our summer acting camp. You should see the amount of great talent we have from the kids around here,” Michelle said proudly. “Why don’t you come by tonight? We’re having our first meeting for the spring play.” She reached in her purse and pulled out a business card, handing it to Trista.

  Trista took the card and put in her pocket. “I just might do that.” She thought it was the perfect thing to occupy her time until she could find a job in New York.

  “Nice to meet you, Trista. Hope to see you soon.” Michelle headed for her dressing room. “Bye, Nicolette!”

  Trista and Nicolette gathered their shopping bags and headed out. “Let’s h
ave a glass of wine before we head home. I know the perfect place,” Nicolette said.

  “Okay,” Trista agreed. She slipped inside the passenger seat of Nicolette’s Land Rover. While Nicolette drove, Trista checked her emails on her iPhone. She received an email from her agent about a voice-over job for a new commercial. She wouldn’t have to leave Florida. A small studio in nearby Panama City Beach agreed to provide the technical equipment and studio space for her.

  Trista was in the middle of replying to her agent when Nicolette said, “We’re here.” She looked up to see they were parked in front of the Liars Club.

  “What are we doing at this dive bar?”

  “This dive bar happens to be partly owned by Daddy, in case you forgot. And it is also where the most handsome man in Blue Mountain Beach works.”

  “You know, I’m really tired. Let’s just go home. We’ve got tons of wine there.”

  Nicolette shut off the car. “Come on. Just for a bit. You can visit your picture that’s still hanging on the wall by the restrooms,” she said with a laugh.

  Trista grabbed her bag. “Okay.” She wasn’t too crazy about seeing Riker again. She still needed to have a conversation with Nicolette. However, putting it off another day was looking better and better.

  The bar was more crowded this time. Being a little after five o’clock, most of the patrons were just getting off work. During the off-season it was a mix of blue-collar workers and business types. Come spring break the bar would be overrun by tourists. Trista and Nicolette chose seats in the middle of the bar. Riker was working with another bartender, a pretty girl who Trista didn’t recognize.

  “That’s Maya,” Nicolette whispered in Trista’s ear. “I was worried at first when I found out that Riker was working with such a pretty girl. She’s part Asian, part Irish.”

  “She’s pretty,” Trista observed.

  “He’s assured me that I have nothing to worry about.” Nicolette lowered her voice even more. “She’s a lesbian.”

  “I’d still be worried,” Trista commented. “She’s gorgeous.”

  Nicolette playfully punched her sister on the arm. “Thanks for the support, sis.”

  “I’m just kidding,” Trista said.

  “How are my two favorite people?” Riker greeted them with drinks. “Margarita on the rocks for the blonde,” he said, referring to Trista, “and a glass of chardonnay for the brunette.”

  Nicolette smiled. “We just finished up a round of therapeutic shopping.” Nicolette leaned in for a kiss on the cheek from Riker, and he obliged. Trista gave him a warning look to back off when he started to lean in to kiss her. She didn’t need any special attention from him in front of her sister.

  “How’s your day been?” Nicolette asked him.

  “Busy as usual.” Another patron yelled for Riker to bring him a beer. Riker held up a finger indicating that he’d be there in a minute. “Can’t talk right now. But I’ll be back to check on you in a few minutes.”

  “Looks like Sam made a good investment in this place,” Trista said. “If the bar is this crowded on a weekday in late February, I can’t imagine what kind of business they do during spring break and summer.”

  “Oh, it gets crazy. Double the bartenders plus a staff of bouncers and a valet. Weekends they usually have live music.” Nicolette twirled her wine glass around. “Daddy has been trying to buy the lot next door to expand the restaurant and bar and put in a huge parking lot. But the owner is being stubborn. He doesn’t want to sell.”

  “Who owns the lot?”

  “Carlton Hathaway.”

  “Why does that name sound familiar?”

  “Hathaway is Dad’s nemesis—the other big land owner and real estate guru in the area. And he hates Dad with a passion. Last I heard, he wants to put his own restaurant on the piece of land. Daddy says Hathaway doesn’t know anything about running a restaurant.”

  “Well, in all fairness, neither did Dad.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s smart enough to hire other people to run his businesses for him. This guy just wants to do it to piss Daddy off.”

  Trista remembered when her dad bought the land to build the seafood restaurant and bar. Actually the bar came first. Her father wanted a place to hold his famous poker nights, hence the name: the Liar’s Club. The seafood restaurant was just an afterthought, a way to cash in on the tourists. The seafood restaurant, Lucky Catch, ended up being an award-winning place with a talented chef. It was packed every night from May to September.

  “There are a lot of people who want to piss him off. I’m sure he’s used to it.” Trista took a long sip of her drink, relishing the sweet and tangy mixtures swirling around her mouth. “Why don’t you just find Daddy another piece of land? There are plenty of vacant lots up and down the coastal highway. He can relocate the bar and restaurant.”

  “Don’t you think I’ve tried? It’s not about finding him something else. It’s about him winning. Having the upper hand.”

  “Winning what?”

  Nicolette laughed. “You just don’t understand the way things work around here. That’s why Daddy trusts me to handle his business.”

  Another zing at me. Nicolette would always remind Trista that she was Daddy’s little girl. Not Trista. Nicolette would never forgive her for intruding on their lives. In her twisted mind, she thought Trista was trying to take her mother and father away from her. When Trista’s own mother died, she thought she had no one. She was only three years old, for fuck’s sake. She didn’t ask to be relocated to Florida with a father who never wanted her and a sister who hated her guts. It was ironic that Marla was the only one who truly wanted Trista.

  That woman was a saint. To take in the baby of the woman who had an affair with her husband was the ultimate act of forgiveness. She had treated Trista like her own daughter since the day she moved in, loving her unconditionally.

  Eventually, Trista and her dad became close. It was more of Marla pushing him to do the right thing, but in the end, Sam became the father that Trista deserved, and that’s all that mattered to her. Marla was the only mother that Trista had ever really known, and she treasured each and every moment she had spent with her. That’s what made it so hard for Trista to understand why Nicolette never wanted to pursue a better relationship with her. It really hurt.

  “Sorry if I’m seeing the simple solution to this problem. If Hathaway doesn’t want to sell, then find someone else who will,” Trista said.

  Nicolette laughed. “Let’s talk about something else.”

  “Speaking of Daddy,” Trista took a sip of her margarita, “have you heard from him lately?” She hadn’t seen her dad since she’d arrived in town. He had been on a ’round-the-world cruise with friends. Trista had one brief phone conversation with him the week she left California. He was happy to hear that Trista was staying at the beach house for a while and promised to have dinner with ‘his girls’ when he got back next month.

  “Heyyyy…I know you!” a male voice boomed behind Trista, interrupting their conversation. His words were slurred. “You’re that gurrrrl…from the offfther…night.”

  Trista turned to come face to face with Crazy Jack. His breath was ripe with whiskey. His teeth were stained a sickening yellow that matched his eyes and the tips of his fingers.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Trista said. She glanced around the bar for Riker, trying to get his attention. When Riker saw Crazy Jack, he walked over to them. Trista breathed a sigh of relief. “We’ve never met,” she told Crazy Jack.

  “Of course we have. I never forget a purrrty face. I gots a good memory…”

  Nicolette was watching the exchange with a look of curiosity on her face. If Trista didn’t get this guy out of here, Nicolette would start asking some questions—questions Trista wasn’t ready to answer. She felt relief when Riker came around the bar and headed toward them.

  “Hey, Crazy Jack. Quit bothering the ladies. The boys have a little game going on in the back r
oom,” Riker said, grabbing Crazy Jack by the elbow. “Let’s go see how much trouble we can get into.”

  “But…I was jus’ trying to talk to the purty lady…” Crazy Jack was saying as Riker led him off.

  “Huh, what was that all about?” Nicolette asked, watching the whole scene unfold.

  Trista tried to laugh it off. “You know how I always attract the loonies.”

  “When did you meet Crazy Jack?” Nicolette asked, not willing to let it drop.

  “I’ve never met that man,” Trista said. Which was technically true. Crazy Jack had been passed out almost the entire time she was at the bar that night. He only woke up for a few minutes while Riker was helping him get safely into the cab. She didn’t think he would remember her; they hadn’t even spoken to one another. “He probably saw me on the show.”

  Nicolette laughed. “I don’t think Crazy Jack has ever watched You Only Live Once, let alone any kind of meaningful television.”

  “That’s not true,” Riker said, catching the tail end of their conversation when he returned to the bar. “He’s a big fan of Duck Dynasty. He seems to think he’s kin to Silas.”

  “Exactly my point!” Nicolette exclaimed.

  “Hey, can we get going? I’m not feeling too well.” Trista pushed her drink away.

  “What’s wrong?” Nicolette asked.

  Riker also looked at her suspiciously, waiting for answer.

  “Just a headache. I need to lie down for a bit.”

  Nicolette reached in her wallet to pay the tab. Riker waved her off.

  “It’s on me, ladies.” He kissed Nicolette on the cheek again. “Have a nice night. I’ll call you later.”

  Trista walked out of the Liar’s Club feeling like the biggest liar of all of them.

  Chapter Eleven

  The children’s theatre was located in downtown Blue Mountain Beach. It had a small indoor stage with seating for a hundred-twenty people. There was also a larger amphitheater with lawn seating for outdoor performances and concerts, which was great when the weather was nice. The beach as a backdrop provided the perfect place to enjoy cultural arts. Trista arrived a few minutes before everyone else. Michelle Newhouse was still in her office.