Meant to Be Yours

by Susan Mallery

  “It turned out for the best,” Renee said lightly. “I’m where I belong. I love my job and my clients.” And her new hometown, she thought, wondering how her mother’s show was going to change things.

  “But you would have loved working in fashion.”

  “Mom, let it go. I’m happy. That’s what matters.”

  Jasper met her gaze. She wondered what he was thinking, but didn’t feel this was the best time to ask.

  “Tell Mom about the book you’re writing,” she said instead. “Jasper writes about a grumpy detective and now he has to write in a love interest. It’s been a challenge.”

  Jasper chuckled. “He’s not grumpy, but he does have an edge. I’ve learned that I don’t write women well. It’s very humbling.”

  “Men and women think different,” Verity told him. “Men are very good at compartmentalizing. For women, it’s everything at once. When a man has a bad day at work, he can decide to not think about it that night, but a woman has more trouble letting go.”

  Jasper stared at her. “You’re right. I knew that but I never put it so concisely.”

  Renee smiled knowing that if her mother weren’t having dinner with them, Jasper would have excused himself to go make some notes. He would promise to be back in five minutes and wouldn’t resurface for hours.

  “Renee mentioned you’re getting a show on Animal Planet. What’s that about?”

  Verity waved her glass of wine. “I just had a wonderful conversation with my producer. They’re very excited. They already have several families with pets lined up. I’ll go into their home and observe the situation, then listen to what the pet has to say. After that, the whole family gets together and we try to work on whatever the problem is. We’ll have animal behaviorists there, along with family psychologists. Our goal is to help the entire family unit, not just the pet.”

  She glanced at Renee. “I just hope it’s not too difficult for you.”

  “It won’t be,” Renee assured her. “Mom, you deserve this. The show is going to be a big success and I want that for you.”

  “But everyone is going to know who I am. We have the same last name and you have a life here.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “No one is going to mind,” Jasper said. “If any of your friends figure out the connection, they’ll be good with it.”

  Renee was less convinced, but she hoped he was right. Either way, they were here and there was no going back.

  * * *

  “WE’LL HAVE MILES of silver tulle,” Renee promised from her seat at the conference table.

  “And fourteen Christmas trees?” Katya asked anxiously.

  “As requested.” And life-size nutcrackers and centerpieces of wrapped presents and blown glass ornaments and all things seasonal, Renee thought. “Katya, your wedding is going to be a magical day. We’re all excited to see it come together.”

  The slightly overweight blonde relaxed. “Thank you. It’s just I want everything to be perfect.”

  “That’s what I want, too,” Renee told her. “So you’ll get me your decisions by the middle of next week?”

  Katya nodded. “I promise. Thanks, Renee. Bye.”

  Renee disconnected the call, then looked at Pallas. “That went better than I thought.”

  “Uh-huh. You handled her well but she is going to be trouble. I like how you didn’t promise things would be perfect.”

  “Not a promise I can keep, but I can work in that direction.”

  Pallas gathered up her notes. “You don’t like them.”

  “Who?”

  “Katya and Jeremy. You think they’re far more interested in the wedding than the marriage.”

  “There’s no way you could know that without thinking it yourself.”

  Pallas laughed. “Fine. I feel it, too. It’s the weirdest thing, how we get a sense about our couples. There must be subtle signals they’re putting out. So far I’ve been right on every couple I thought wasn’t going to make it.”

  “Me, too.”

  “So we’re psychic. That makes us special. How’s your mom?”

  The change in subject, not to mention the recent mention of being psychic freaked out Renee just a little bit.

  “She’s fine.”

  “I saw her jogging through town on my way to work,” Pallas admitted. “I so need to get back into exercising. What does she do?”

  “My mom?”

  Pallas tilted her head. “I asked the question casually, but now I’m really curious. Is everything okay?”

  “It’s fine. Completely. She’s great. As for what she does...” Renee held in a groan. She wasn’t handling the situation well at all. “She, ah, used to be hairdresser.”

  “She seems young to have retired. Did she hit the lotto? Because that would be so fun.”

  “No, not the lotto.” Renee knew there was no point in not telling her boss the truth. “She’s going to get her own show on Animal Planet.”

  “What? Really? Her own TV show? That is so cool! What’s it about?”

  “My mom knows what animals are thinking. So she can figure out if something’s wrong.”

  She spoke as casually as she could, all the while bracing herself for derisive laughter or shrieking and pointing.

  “She talks to animals?” Pallas asked.

  “No, they talk. She just listens. It’s not a two-way thing.”

  “I’ve never heard of that. It could be a really useful skill. Remember when we had the zebras at the black-and-white wedding? We could have used someone to intercede with them for sure.”

  “I wasn’t here then,” Renee murmured. “But I heard about it.” The zebras had escaped and had to be rounded up.

  “It would have been nice for someone to give them a stern talking-to.” She rose. “A show on Animal Planet. Your mom’s going to be a celebrity and I can say I knew her before it all happened. Cool.”

  With that she walked out, as if nothing had happened. They were just talking—sharing idle conversation. First Jasper and now Pallas. While the acceptance was nice, it was very unexpected. In the past, people finding out the truth had been a disaster. She’d lost so much, including her own father. But maybe things were different this time. Or maybe the disaster was lurking right around the corner.

  * * *

  AS ALWAYS, WHEN the writing started to be a lot more work than usual, Jasper headed for town. Now that the summer heat had eased into slightly more reasonable fall temperatures, the tourists were back, so there was always something interesting going on. Maybe when it got closer to dinner, he would text Renee and see if she was available. With her mom in town, they might have plans. Still, she could invite him along.

  He parked in one of the big public lots and headed for the river. Walkways lined both sides of Rio de los Suenos, as did stores and restaurants. The Boardroom was on the southeast side of the river, along with Chapel on the Green—competition for Renee’s Weddings Out of the Box. On the northwest side were lots of shops, including the Willow Gallery.

  He paused to watch a stretch limo cross the river, no doubt taking a wedding party to their hotel before the festivities began in a couple of days.

  He paused outside Starbucks, not sure he wanted coffee this late, then headed down the block to get a slice of pie. He’d just taken a couple of steps when he heard someone calling his name. He turned and saw Verity walking toward him.

  “I thought that was you,” she said, waving at him. “You’re in town.”

  “I am. Taking a break from the writing.”

  “I’m exploring. Happily Inc is a wonderful little town. So charming. Did you see that huge limo that just went by?”

  “It’s nearly the weekend. We’re all about weddings here. It’s big business.”

  “Renee has mentioned that but I had no idea it was so all encompassin
g.”

  He motioned to the 1950s-style soda shop up ahead. “I was going to get a piece of pie. Want to join me?”

  Verity smiled at him. “I’m not much into pie but I would love a milkshake.”

  “You’re on. Any flavor you want.”

  She laughed and let him guide her into the brightly lit café.

  “Brace yourself,” he said as they entered. “They take their time warp very seriously.”

  There was a long counter at one end and big, red vinyl booths in front of the window. A working jukebox sat against the far wall and “Rock Around the Clock” played on overhead speakers.

  “I love it!” Verity told him.

  A waitress waved toward the booths. “Take whatever’s open,” she said. “I’ll be right with you.”

  They sat across from each other. Verity looked over the menu, her lips curving up as she read. “Now I’m sorry I already had lunch. I’ll have to come back tomorrow for sure and have a burger. In the meantime I’ll indulge myself with an Oreo cookie milkshake.”

  “Just avoid the place on the weekends,” Jasper told her. “The wedding crowds pretty much take over. It’s easier to hunker down and wait them out.”

  “Is it really that bad?”

  “You’ll see for yourself. My friend Garrick is a cop in town and he spends his weekends chasing down people who’ve had too much to drink and want to pick a fight because of something that happened at a wedding or one of fifty-seven other crimes that aren’t much on their own but do tend to add up in volume. Come Monday, we return to our sleepy selves.”

  “How fascinating. Does everyone in town work in the wedding industry?”

  “Most. There are all the service providers, that sort of thing. Three brothers I know are artists, and Cade and his wife have a horse ranch just outside of town.”

  Their server appeared. She wore a red apron over a frilly white dress. “What looks good?” she asked cheerfully.

  “I’ll have the Oreo cookie milkshake,” Verity told her.

  Jasper glanced at the specials written on a blackboard. The pie selections were blueberry and apple.

  “Blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla.”

  “You got it. Want the pie warmed?”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  Their server left.

  “Did you grow up here?” Verity asked.

  “No. Montana. I got here via the army and my writing career. I was on a book tour, driving myself because I couldn’t deal with flying.” He paused. “Did Renee tell you about that?”

  “No.” Verity’s expression turned sad. “She’s learned to be very good at keeping secrets. She would never tell me yours.”

  “It’s not a secret. I was in the army for about ten years. Military police. I saw a lot of crap you shouldn’t have to see and when I got out, I was messed up in the head, big-time. I went through a lot of treatments. One day our assignment was to write. No subject, just try to get something on paper.”

  He smiled. “I started writing and writing. A few weeks later, someone gave me an old laptop. About a year in, I realized I might have something close to a story.”

  “The mind’s ability to heal is a miraculous thing,” Verity told him.

  “I agree. I managed to sell my first book and they sent me on tour, but I was still too shaky to get on a plane.” He shuddered at the memory. “Way too many people too close together, so I drove. My car broke down right here in Happily Inc.”

  He paused, wondering if Renee had told her Happily Inc’s origin story. “You don’t know how the town got its name, do you?”

  Sadness flashed in Verity’s eyes. It was quickly replaced by interest, but not fast enough. Jasper saw the emotion and wondered how much of her life Renee kept from her mother and why. Was it all about fear or was there something else going on?

  The server returned with glasses of water and their orders. Verity unwrapped her straw.

  “I don’t know anything about the town. Not really. Tell me.”

  “Back in the 1950s, the town was going under. There was no industry, no tourists and no hope. Frank Dineen owned the local bank and he refused to lose everything, so he invented a history for the town. He talked about how a stagecoach taking brides to the gold fields back during the gold rush had a breakdown. Back then it took a long time to get parts and by the time the coach was ready to go again, all the brides had fallen in love and the stagecoach left empty.”

  “That’s a nice story, but it’s not true?”

  “Not a word of it. Frank got the town to officially change its name to Happily Inc, then sold the whole thing in Hollywood. A few big stars came out here to get married and the wedding destination idea was born. The town’s been growing ever since.”

  Verity smiled. “That’s wonderful. Not the lie, of course, but the rest of it. So when your car broke down, you were experiencing your version of the origin story.”

  “I didn’t know it at the time, but yes. I was stuck for a couple of days. The mechanic loaned me an old clunker car to get around. I went up the mountain and found a house for sale.” He took a bite of pie. “I had my advance money burning a hole in my pocket. Between that and my savings, it was enough to buy the house. I bought the place, drove back to LA, packed up and returned here.”

  “You sound happy.”

  The statement surprised him. Jasper didn’t think of himself as happy. He was broken or damaged goods or whatever variation of that made sense in the moment. But happy?

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “I would.” Her tone was firm. “Have you been married before?”

  “What?” He put down his fork. “No. I’m not the marrying kind.”

  “You don’t like children?”

  “What? No. Of course I like kids. Why would you ask that?”

  “Just curious. It’s a reason not to get married.”

  “You never remarried,” he pointed out.

  “That’s different.”

  “How?”

  Verity sipped her milkshake for a minute. “At first I didn’t want to hurt Renee more than she had been already. You’re very accepting of my...”

  “Gift,” he said firmly.

  “Fine. My gift, but not everyone is. Renee’s father left because of it. I’m not so sure he wouldn’t have left anyway, but my abilities gave him something to blame.” Verity looked away, as if trying to keep him from seeing what she was feeling. “It was hard on her. Renee loved her dad.”

  “They didn’t keep in touch?”

  Verity returned her attention to him. “No. He was simply gone. I suppose I could have forced him to visit her through the courts, but to what end? It wouldn’t have been better for her. My point is, getting involved with a man seemed to invite more heartbreak into her life and I didn’t want that. I suppose by the time she grew up, I was out of the habit of dating.”

  “You could start now.”

  Verity laughed. “I see. Because you’re writing about a relationship, we all have to be in one?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Do you expect us to be serial killers, too?” She shook her finger at him. “I’ve been reading up on you and I know what you write.” Her humor faded. “There’s darkness in those stories.”

  “There is, but to quote Shrek, ‘Better out than in.’”

  Verity laughed. “That’s an excellent point. How do you know about Shrek?”

  “I’m friends with a kid in town. His mother and I used to be involved. Hunter always claimed to be too old for animated movies but he would bring them up to the house for us to watch together.” Jasper thought about Hunter’s most recent visit and grimaced. “I miss the movies. He’s growing up too fast. He’s thirteen and the last time we hung out he mentioned a girl in his class. I’m not ready for him to be interested in girls.”

 
“You can’t stop time.”

  “I can try.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  He finished his pie. “Why didn’t you ever go into animal consulting?” he asked. “You could have done well with something like horse racing. Or maybe helping with the big dog shows.”

  “I never thought about it,” she admitted. “I suppose I could have...after Renee left for college, of course.”

  Because Renee didn’t like that her mother was so different. No, he mentally amended. She didn’t like the impact it had on her life. He wondered what other pain Renee had inadvertently suffered.

  “I’m happy with the show,” Verity said. “I want to help and I think it will be fun.”

  “You’re going to be a big success.”

  She ducked her head. “I don’t really care about that. I’m just ready for a change. I’m not getting any younger.” She took another sip of her milkshake. “Are you in love with my daughter?”

  Jasper nearly bolted. He felt his muscles tense as fight-or-flight kicked in. As there was no way he was going to fight Verity, and running was stupid and cowardly, he was left with an uncomfortable adrenaline rush and nowhere to put it.

  Love? No and no. He didn’t love Renee and they weren’t going there. That was the point. Sex with a few laughs and nothing more. Not that he could say that to her mother.

  “That’s a pretty personal question.”

  “Is it?” She studied him. “You care about her a lot.”

  “She’s, ah, great and we have fun together but I haven’t known her very long. Besides, it’s not like that for us. Renee doesn’t want anything permanent and I can’t.”

  “What do you mean you can’t? You said you weren’t married.”

  “I’m not. I’m single. It’s what I told you before. About coming back broken. The therapists warned me I would get better, but I might never be normal.”

  “That’s ridiculous. You might have had issues before, but there’s nothing wrong with you now, Jasper. Anyone can see it.” She sighed. “You young people today. Why are you so afraid of commitment? Loving someone is a wonderful thing. I would like to fall in love again at some point. Don’t hide from one of our greatest blessings. The ability to love and be loved is what gives us our soul.”