It's Complicated (Bigelow Bay Book 2) Read online

  IT’S

  COMPLICATED

  Bigelow Bay

  #2

  By JAKKI FRANCES

  Greg & Helene’s story is dedicated my fabulous beta’s Jackie & Tanya, who crack the whip and keep me on track; and to Danielle Norman’s obsession with post-it notes. An inspiration of the weird kind!

  PROLOGUE

  The pain had been steadily increasing overnight, pounding behind her eyes with every heartbeat. Crowds brushed by as she made her way underground, the bright fluorescent lights flickered here and there, miscellaneous debris scattered on the stairs and the slight odour of urine permeated the air. Moving to the end of the platform a slight cool breeze from the tunnel soothed the tight vice that banded her head. All too soon pain shot through her as the loud rumble and screech of metal on metal signalled an approaching train. Stumbling forward, a hand to her face covering one eye to the piercing light while the other eye strived and failed to provide a clear picture. Her vision blurred and tilted until all she could see was vague fuzzy forms moving here and there. Her stomach lurched along with the train; gulping breaths of stale air did nothing to settle the rolling of her breakfast and the garbled, chattering announcements through the overhead speakers were incomprehensible to her ears.

  Of all days why today? The migraines had been coming more frequently recently but usually eased with some medications and coffee; today’s was persistent. Hitching her bag on her shoulder she weaved through the crowds to an empty corner at the end of the carriage, she didn’t have the time or energy to be sick today. Her boss had been on the warpath the past few weeks, loading more and more work on her desk each day together with the threat of firing should it not get done. Three others had been let go in the past few months and she knew if she didn’t prove her worth, that she could do their work and her own; she would be next. The amount of work waiting on her desk when she left yesterday was sure to have doubled overnight and her 8 hours today would be closer to 12, without the benefit of extra pay.

  Standing propped up by the walls in the corner she rested her forehead on the cool metal of the train. If only she could make it to the office maybe some extra strong coffee and a few more aspirins would clear her head. Despite already having taken the maximum recommended tablets for the day she needed to try something, anything if she was to get through the day.

  A heavy thunk on the floor by her feet drew her gaze down; through a rising darkness in her vision, she noticed her shoulder bag now sitting by her feet. Strangely she hadn’t even realised she’d dropped it. Bending forward to claim her bag a sharp burning sliced through her mind like a red hot poker and the world turned on end. Blackness had enveloped her before she joined her bag on the dirty train floor.

  CHAPTER 1

  Loading his tools into the back of his truck Greg brushed the dust from his jeans and turned to wave. He was glad he’d been able to help Frank and Kasey out, Frank was probably the closest person to an actual friend he had. They worked together and Frank was one of the few people he knew that didn’t want to drink their downtime away in a bar, watching sports on TV, telling tall tales and hitting on tipsy women. Until recently Frank had spent his downtime renovating his home or quietly passing time with a book and music in his library. Greg and his truck had an open invitation to assist in hauling building supplies or lend muscle and sweat with the renovations in return for a quiet beer after work. Today’s project had involved the whole ‘Clean-up Crew’ as Frank had dubbed them. Months previously they had all stepped up and helped out Frank’s lady love Kasey when her home had been destroyed in a storm. They’d rescued as many of her belongings as possible and created her a new home in Frank’s granny flat, all without laying eyes on Kasey at all. Today she’d been front and centre, quietly directing her friends and dismantling their previous efforts as Frank officially moved her into his home and they created a home gym in the flat.

  Greg liked Kasey; he’d had many passing interactions with her over the years due to her work in the ER and his as a police officer. However now through Frank he had gotten to know her and called her a friend. She was quiet and thoughtful, shy at times and easy to startle but with a wickedly sarcastic sense of humour. Looking at the ‘happy couple’ today he knew that marriage couldn’t be too far away and he was glad they’d found each other. Marriage was not something he’d ever contemplated, relationships were much too complicated for his liking but it seemed to make Frank and Kasey happy and that’s what mattered. Double-checking his tools he relatched the large metal box on his truck tray and turned the car towards home. That Frank was not only willing but insisting that he share his space with Kasey was confusing and impressive to Greg. Her colourful furnishings were now scattered throughout Frank’s understated home along with that cat of hers! It was a tiny, spitting, scratching, bad-tempered black fur ball that stalked through the house complaining with a disproportionately loud howl. Not something Greg could ever live with but hey each to their own.

  Toeing off his boots in the garage he padded in socks directly to the bathroom, dropping his clothes in the hamper and quickly scrubbing himself down. Running through the next week in his mind, the back to back late/early shifts would leave little time for relaxing but he was determined that the desks he’d been building for the family shelter would be done this month. If that meant late nights between working shifts then so be it. His mind, now fixated on getting some work done as he pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, threw a quick sandwich together and headed for his workshop. The long nights might as well start tonight, as long as he was ready to deliver the furniture on his days off - that was all that mattered.

  # # # # #

  Helene stood, stretching her stiff legs and back. The sun was moving closer to the tops of the trees and the air was cooling with the end of the day. Drawing in a deep breath she closed her eyes, the quiet rustle of the slight breeze through the forest, the occasional bird call was interspersed with the twitter of waking bats. This was the solitude that she loved, it was the exact reason she’d chosen this spot. At this time of the year hikers were few and tended to stick to the larger trails leading from the main carpark. This tiny patch of gravel at the head of a smaller trail rarely saw any other cars. The few times a car had turned into the entrance, the driver had taken one look at her brightly painted camper and promptly reversed direction. It amused Helene that the mere sight of her van dubbed her as undesirable in others eyes, but it also worked to her advantage. She’d been camped here for weeks without any bother, spending her days soaking up the sun while writing, hiking to the small creek she’d found at the end of the track, or simply doing whatever takes her fancy on the day.

  Bigelow Bay was a nice little town and she was enjoying the time she’d been here so far. It was big enough to have decent town facilities, banks, hospital, mall, a great bakery/café that she was rather partial to for the occasional ‘dinner’ cake and coffee. She’d been able to leave her camper parked in the forest without the worry it wouldn’t be there when she returned, and her pink vesper had her zipping from A to B around town whenever the mood hit. She really hated having to manoeuvre the somewhat cumbersome camper around the small town, but when supplies were required or an excursion enticed her further afield then the camper came in handy.

  Folding her camp chair and collecting her laptop and notes, the fading light putting an end to the workday. Helene watched as the sun dropped behind the trees, the shadows lengthened as the light dimmed and the air became noticeably cooler almost instantly. Another end to another perfect day, what a life! She thought closing the camper door. The idea that she could come and go when and where she pleased was a decadent concept that many would dream of but
never achieve. Helene loved her transient lifestyle; she liked her own company but enjoyed making new friends in the new towns she came across, though few truly understood her lifestyle. Generally, friends were happy to remain safely superficial, meeting for a drink or a coffee in whichever town she was currently based but those who ventured out to see her home were curious but reluctant and generally disappeared within a short period of time. Not that she really minded, they were welcome to live their lives how they chose and this was the life she chose and created for herself and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

  Settling down on the bed she ran through the week ahead. She needed to complete the last round of edits before sending her latest work off, she had hoped to finish today but a late start this morning and the loss of light this evening had ended her workday early. Not to worry, a few hours in the morning and she’d be ready to send it off tomorrow. She needed to stock up on food and refill the gas bottle within the next few days, and she really wanted to visit the small aquarium on the edge of town. Laughing she glanced at the calendar on her computer – completely blank, it was so nice to make her own schedule. A yellow post-it fluttered below the calendar, a short note scrawled in haste. Helene cast her eyes around the campers’ interior taking in the dozens of varying coloured post-its, each an idea, an inspiration, a plan, a person, place, a beginning or an end. The simplicity of the chaos surrounding her made her feel happy and alive and she took great satisfaction in its very existence.

  CHAPTER 2

  “What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen in the past year?” Greg smiled slightly, turning to Nick as they cruised along the main street in their squad car. It was a slow day crime wise in town and they were both glad of a chance to just cruise, chat and relax.

  “I don’t know man, in the past year? Have to be that naked guy a few months ago; you know the one who got stuck in the old lady's’ window? Gotta love the drunks in this town, they’re all idiots! Amusing, but idiots all the same.” Nick chuckled as he recalled the scene that had greeted them in the early hours of an otherwise quiet night. “How about you?”

  Greg smiled, raised an eyebrow and pointed ahead without saying a word. There parked on the street by the bakery was a multi-coloured monstrosity. The small camper resembled the colour chart from a hardware store, there had to be at least 10 different colours decorating its exterior. It wasn’t painted in any sort of pattern or picture, no murals or organisation to the colours; it looked like someone had just thrown as many colours at the sides as possible and where the paint hit it stayed. To add to its quirky appearance as they passed by Greg noticed a Barbie pink scooter attached to the back by a large metal bracket, and large solar panels covering the rear window shades.

  “What the hell is that?” Nick spluttered into his coffee, laughing along with his partner.

  “Who knows man; I’ve never seen it around before. Must be someone passing through, heading down the coast to camp while the weather is still nice.” Greg handed Nick a handful of napkins to mop up the cold coffee, the last thing they needed was sticky coffee attracting ants in the car. “Want to stop and replace that?”

  “Yeah, we might as well take a break, all this hard work of doing nothing today I need the caffeine to keep me going.” Nick declared and Greg swung the car back towards the bakery, a coffee and croissant wouldn’t go astray.

  As they neared the camper again Greg noticed a woman leave the bakery and approach the camper. Her long brown hair swinging down her back as she walked her hands full of bags and a cake box.

  “She doesn’t look like much of the camping type” commented Nick taking in her appearance. Greg had to agree, the ankle-length light cotton skirt, sandals and white tank top wouldn’t be most peoples’ clothing choice for ‘roughing it’, and certainly not anyone he’d ever seen when camping. They each gave the woman a slight wave as they passed by and parked their car a few spaces away. Locking the squad car Greg glanced back towards the camper shaking his head with amusement, the woman was headed towards them with bakery boxes in hand, the bags she had been carrying now hung off the campers side mirror.

  “Good afternoon officers” A bright smile greeted Greg as the woman slowed by their car. “It’s a great day for a bakery picnic don’t you think?”

  “Don’t know about a picnic ma’am but it’s always a good time for their coffee that’s for sure” Nick cheerily answered.

  “Well, coffee is no good without something sweet to go with it. As it happens I was thinking of coffee or carrot cake for dinner, the best of both really. But now I’ve suddenly realised that I’d really prefer a Cinnabon, of course by dinner time I might just want a cheese toastie; who knows?” Her sunny rambling left Greg at a loss for words.

  “So seeing as how I now have 2 boxes of cakes and I can’t decide which I really want to eat, here’s the deal. You guys should take this box; it has a bit of everything. Have a picnic in your car, back at the station or wherever you want to eat dinner. It’s great that you guys work so hard to keep this town safe and I think you deserve a thank you. So thank you!”

  And with that, a bakery box was deposited into Greg’s hands as he stood stunned on the sidewalk.

  “Well thank you very much, ma’am, but really we can’t take your cakes. “ Nick and Greg exchanged looks. Nick appeared as confused by this woman as Greg felt but at least Nick had retained the ability to speak.

  “Nonsense! I bought too many simply because I couldn’t make up my mind and I’m sure whatever you’ve been dealing with today you could both use a treat.” She waved away Nick’s refusal smiling.

  “Well it’s been a slow day, so no treats needed” Nick admitted, opening the box to check its contents. “They look much too good to give away I must say.”

  “No action doesn’t mean no treats; it just means you get a break from idiots today! That’s worth celebrating! Have a nice day officers.” And avoiding any further rebuttal the mystery woman turned on her heel and returned to her camper.

  Greg stood watching as she placed her remaining box and bags inside and after handing a pink cupcake to a passing elderly man, she pulled the camper onto the road and disappeared down the street.

  Nick placed the box of sweets in their car and braced himself against the open door laughing. “Well now we know who did the paint job on that camper, they kinda match don’t they?”

  Greg looked from Nick to the empty carpark that had held the camper, and back to Nick again and gave a confused chuckle.

  “Man I’m not sure what happened just then, that camper is no longer the strangest thing I’ve seen. A woman advocating cake dinner picnics is now top of the list!”

  # # # # #

  Helene sang happily as she drove up the hill out of town, steering the camper back to her small hidden carpark. It had been a great day, she’d gotten her revisions done early and emailed her latest work off to her publisher. Then she’d ventured into town, stocking up on groceries and a thick shaggy yellow and purple striped blanket at Walmart (it would be handy now the nights were getting cooler). She’d stopped by the library and donated the pile of books from the book store she’d found a month earlier.

  Smiling she eyed the passenger seat knowing that under the bakery bags and boxes there was a pile of pamphlets for various sight-seeing/touristy activities in the area. She couldn’t wait to visit the local aquarium, it was so interesting and relaxing to wander an aquarium and this one had a butterfly house attached for extra appeal.

  She had overindulged at the bakery, purchasing plenty of crusty rolls for the next few days, croissants for breakfast and a box full of gooey cakes for dinner. What better way to round off the day than to have dessert for dinner? She’d have to work it off tomorrow though, a few hours hiking should do the trick, she decided. To top off the day she’d been able to share her cakes with the local Policemen. They had seemed stunned that someone would even consider giving them baked goods. What a sad world it was that Police were so unused to being thanked for thei
r work. It didn’t take any effort to smile, say thank you and give a sweet reward for what must be a hard and apparently thankless job. Making someone else’s day a bit brighter was always the highlight of her own.

  CHAPTER 3

  Running her forearm across her face, Helene paused to draw a deep, pine-scented breath. Working off her decadent cake dinner from the previous night was always going to be hard going but it was made doubly so by the unforecast heat that had settled onto the mountains surrounding Bigelow Bay. The ocean breeze that would keep the town fresh and tolerable didn’t make it through the forest and up the mountain tracks. The air was still and offered no cooling for her hot, sweaty hike. But still, Helene smiled to herself as she lifted her arms above her head and stretched. Taking in the surrounding trees, her heart felt light, free, she really loved hiking the small lesser-used trails. She hadn’t passed anyone for hours, most hikers stuck to the easier, main trails to large picnic areas equipped with tables and fire pits. Helene preferred the smaller trails that were overgrown with lack of use. She never knew what she would find, a pretty hidden clearing full of wildflowers, a picturesque shallow brook complete with moss-covered rocks, the occasional deer that held no fear at her passing. She wasn’t silly enough to venture off the paths and once she chose a trail she stuck to it so as not to lose her bearings. She knew if she got turned around, she could wander for days without finding her way back to the camper.

  Gulping down some cool water from her pack she glanced at her watch. She’d keep going for another hour at the most before stopping for a lunch break and then turning back. The excess cake calories were well and truly dealt with and she was ready to take a break and refuel, she just needed to find the perfect spot. There was no point hiking and picnicking if you were just going to sit on a dirt track to eat, picnicking, like parking her camper was all about location, location, location. With renewed energy and a slightly less sweaty face, she started up the slight incline of the small trail, curious to see what lay ahead.