not-so-sparkling personality. The crowd was large tonight and Taylor smiled at some of the production crew from the movie set as she made her way into the small diner.
“Local or tourist,” a small blonde asked as she ran from table to table filling drinks.
“Nontourist,” Casey shouted from behind the old-fashioned soda fountain.
“What do I do with that?” the little spitfire shot back to Casey.
“It means they’re ahead of the tourists, but behind the locals,” Casey fired back.
“I feel so loved, like part of the community. Thanks, Casey!” Trey called out before receiving the middle finger.
“This way.” The new waitress grabbed two menus and the long line of tourists groaned as Trey and Taylor took the only empty table.
“New to Hung Island?” Taylor asked pleasantly. The blonde’s head shot up and Taylor was met with huge blue eyes and a slightly shell-shocked look.
“Yup. I’m Reece. This is my first day… well, kinda, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Give a shout when you know what you want.”
“Will do. Welcome to the island, Reece,” Taylor smiled. The poor girl. Starting a new job was never easy, but being a waitress during the peak of tourist season was brutal.
“So, tell me the story about Grant,” Trey chuckled with anticipation.
She had been wrong; he was way worse than the Rose sisters when it came to gossip. Taylor launched into the story of Grant rushing to save her from the harmless, but slightly psychotic fan as a ploy to get on TV. “I swear, one of these days I am going to come to work and have to break up a scuffle between Grant and Melanie as they fight for camera time. They are attention whores in the worst way. But just be warned that some of the sketchier gossip sites have already picked up the story that we’ve broken up and I’m with Grant now.”
Trey raised his hand and waved at Reece to let her know they were ready. “What is this, the sixth or seventh time we’ve broken up?” Trey asked as he grinned.
It had really bothered them when the first report came out. She had been in college and Trey had been training before his rookie season. But after discussing it, they were prepared when it happened again and again and again. “Seventh, I think.”
Reece stopped at the table and gave them a quick smile. “Y’all ready?”
Trey nodded and Taylor placed her order for the fried pork chop while Trey ordered the shrimp and grits. Reece was writing down the order when talk of the treasure started up again from one of her cameramen a couple of tables away. “I’ll get this out to you shortly,” Reece said as she topped off their iced tea and headed to the next table.
Her cameraman saw her, smiled, and waved. “Hey, boss. What’s all this talk about treasure?”
“Oh, it’s just this silly story that’s been exaggerated . . .” Taylor started, but the sound of forks hitting plates stopped her. She looked around and saw the angry faces of the people sitting around her.
“It is not a silly story. It our history .”
“Hi, Millie. I didn’t see you amongst this crowd. Thanks for your story and pointing out Grant’s obvious showmanship in front of press row.”
“No problem, but we will have a problem if you think Hung Island’s Treasure Hunt is silly.”
Taylor grimaced. How could she have forgotten PR 101? Don’t upset the locals, especially if you’re a nonlocal. “You know, Millie, it’s probably because I’ve never heard the full story. All I know is something about the full moon being closest to the Earth. Why don’t you tell us both so we can really get the feel of the legend.”
“Of course! The history of Hung is so interesting. See, it all started in 1790 when pirates ruled this part of the ocean. Dashing pirates with big . . . swords.” Millie grinned with excitement.
“Yes, a boat full of sexy pirates. I think we get that part,” Taylor said as she tried not to laugh.
“But it was the pirate captain who was