Sunny

Chapter 1

Present Day...

Pushing the laptop away from her, Rhea Harris's head dropped to the desk in frustration, she couldn't do it anymore, there were no more creative ways to save the sinking ship. No matter how many times she had spoken to her father or her mother, they didn't seem to understand that it was only a matter of months before the bank swept in and took over the restaurant and the house.

Of course, when it was all over it would be her fault, something she had done, or had failed to do,  that had landed them in their current situation; destitute. Forcing herself to lift her head she pulled the computer close once more so that she could take another look. There had to be a way, there always had been in the past.

The door to the office flew open and her younger sister, Phoebe, let loose with an excited squeal. "It's true, the rumors are true, you'll never guess who just walked into the restaurant!"

"Fine, I'll never guess," Rhea said, barely paying attention to her sister's dramatics.

"Well, June told me the week before last that her father told her that the mayor told him that they were going to be shooting a movie in Savannah, and that one of the scouts had been looking around town for a place for everyone to stay-"

"Breath Phoebe," Rhea suggested at her sister's breathless rant. "I thought you and June were fighting this week?"

"No, that was last week, but I need you to focus, June isn't what's important."

"Poor June," Rhea said with all seriousness.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "As I was saying, they are filming a movie-"

"In Savannah..."

"Yes, and... wait for it." Phoebe dropped on to the battered sofa along the wall opposite the desk, clutching her order pad to her chest.

Rhea hid a smile at her sister's antics, she loved the girl dearly but she was a bit much at times, at twenty-two, one would think she would have matured a little, but she still looked and acted like a sixteen-year-old.

"I'm waiting." Rhea pounded the down arrow key, not like the numbers any more than she had five minutes earlier.

"Elias Emory..."

Rhea's heart clinched at the name and her breathing stopped as the numbers in front of her swam around the screen. She made herself breath once more before she passed out, making a fist and putting it up to her lips in an attempt keep her face void of expression.

"Are you alright?" Her sister paused her chatter as she looked at her.

Rhea forced a smile. "Yes, I'm not liking these numbers, the more I look the worse they get."

"Then stop looking." Phoebe shrugged.

"You like to eat, don't you?" Rhea muttered, trying to keep up her end of the conversation. No one seemed to understand the direness of the situation. At least the numbers had proven to take Phoebe's mind off of Elias Emory for the moment, giving Rhea a chance to regain control, but not for long.

"It's never as bad as you make it sound, besides, I think this movie might be a way to help us make some money."

"How?" Rhea didn't dare look away from her computer, afraid that Phoebe's next words were going to upset her even more, and she was right.

"Elias Emory is out there right now, in the restaurant, eating."

Rhea cleared her throat. "What else would he be doing in a restaurant?" She was quite pleased with how relaxed her voice sounded.

"You're missing the point. Once everyone finds out he's eaten here they'll want to eat here too."

"You think so, uh?" Rhea was once again amused by her sisters take on the situation.

"I know so, in the last fifteen minutes every table out there has filled up."

"Then shouldn't you be out there working?" Rhea needed her to leave so she could regain some semblance of control.

Phoebe's eyes grew wide and she jumped up with a yelp, "yikes! I forgot I was waiting on him!"

When the door closed behind Phoebe, Rhea put her head between her legs to keep from throwing up all over herself and the office. Her heart hadn't slowed any, even when she had been momentarily diverted by the numbers. There was no way she could see him, she had to get away from the restaurant. As she jumped up out of her chair, her attention was caught by her reflection in the small mirror on the back of the office door, and she couldn't help but groan at the image that she saw looking back at her. Five years of stress had taken its toll on her. She looked weary and much older than she should at twenty-seven. She reached up and unclipped her dark brown hair, watching as the curls fell to frame her face. How long had it been since she had had a simple haircut?

She had given up on make-up and clothes as the money had run out, it seemed an unnecessary expense, even though her sister and mother had felt otherwise and continued to buy the beauty aids necessary to keeping them looking their best. Her sister at least bought hers from the tips she made working at the restaurant, but her mother used owner's draw to get what she wanted. The only problem was that there wasn't very much to draw from, and as soon as the money went into the account her mother, or her father, was taking it right back out again.

The clock on the wall chimed and she realized, thankfully, that she had to go so that she could catch the ferry across the sound. It was as good a reason as any for leaving in a hurry. She had to make sure that the evening dessert and coffee was put out for the inn's guests. Bundling her hair back up on top of her head in a sloppy manner, she let visions of Elias play through her memory, and she wondered if he ever thought of her or if she had just been a brief moment in his overfull life.

When things got really bad she would think of him and for a moment she would be happy again. The thought that he was so near was exciting and frightening. Part of her wanted to see if he remembered her, but a larger part of her was afraid that he wouldn't; knowing it would crush her if he didn't. She knew that she had probably built their past into something that it wasn't, but it gave her an escape, it was her one coping mechanism. Some people read books or watched movies; she re-lived a past where in the end she got to keep the man of her dreams.

"Pathetic!" she said to her reflection in a disgusted voice before turning to slam the laptop shut with unnecessary force as she picked it up and shoved it haphazardly into her bag.

She would ignore what Phoebe had told her, act as if she had never heard it. Elias Emory, she had avoided the name for five years and she would continue to avoid the name and the man. The less she knew the happier she would be.

Taking the backdoor, she walked the three blocks to the ferry and greeted the captain, Otto, as she settled into her seat for the thirty-minute boat ride.