Summer at Lake Haven

by RaeAnne Thayne

  Josh Bailey made a face. “Where am I supposed to go exactly? Haven Point isn’t that big and my store is just across the street. I spotted you from inside a few moments ago when you showed up with your mother.”

  “Anywhere but inside Samantha’s shop is fine.”

  “Have you had breakfast? I was just about to head over to the café to grab something and would love to have you join me.”

  Ian considered his options. He wouldn’t mind sitting on that conveniently placed bench outside the store with his book. On the other hand, he had been hoping for an opportunity to become better acquainted with his sister’s fiancé. Every other time they’d been together had been with Gemma as a buffer.

  “I already had breakfast with the children this morning but I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee.” He was going to say tea but decided coffee made him sound a little less British. “I only have to deliver these dresses to Samantha inside the boutique.”

  Josh looked confused. “Don’t people usually take dresses away from the boutique, not the other way around?”

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it over coffee. You had better wait out here. I’m afraid if you walked into that shop right now, there might not be a wedding and all this fuss over dresses would be for nothing.”

  “Probably wise advice. I’ll wait right here and keep my gaze carefully averted.”

  Ian had to admit, he liked the man. Joshua Bailey seemed smart, centered and chill, exactly what Gemma needed.

  When he pushed open the door to the shop, he saw his mother and Gemma had come out from the back room but he only had eyes for one woman.

  Samantha’s features seemed to light up when she saw him, her hazel eyes looking more green against the colors of the store. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he could put that look on her face all the time?

  “Thank you again. This is perfect. Brilliant,” she said.

  “I don’t know if having these dresses will help,” Margaret said.

  “Well, if nothing else, it will give me some insight into your tastes. Something must have appealed to you when you bought them.”

  “Right now as I look at them in your shop surrounded by all these lovely clothes, I have no idea.”

  Sam smiled as she took the dresses from Ian. He tried not to notice the scent of strawberries and clotted cream that swirled around him.

  “These aren’t bad,” Sam said, studying them carefully. “Not bad at all. Margaret, why don’t you try them on while I finish Gemma’s fitting and then we’ll see what we can do.”

  His mother took the dresses with a sigh and turned to head into a dressing room he could see at the rear of the store.

  “I bumped into the groom-to-be outside,” Ian told Samantha. “He and I are grabbing coffee at the café down the street. He’s waiting outside, as I knew none of you would like it if he followed me inside.”

  “Good thinking,” Samantha said.

  “Have Mother call me when she’s ready to go,” he said to his sister.

  “I can drop her off, if you have other things to do,” Gemma said, just as he suspected would be the case.

  It would be easy enough to say yes, go outside and tell Josh never mind on the coffee. He could head back out to the lake and perhaps log more salmon heading up to the Chalk Creek redds. But he was here and had already blocked off the morning to play chauffeur.

  Besides, when he returned to pick up his mother, he would at least have another chance of seeing Samantha again.

  “I don’t mind,” he said quickly before he could change his mind. “Besides, why would I pass up an opportunity to interrogate your intended?”

  “Behave yourself,” Gemma said, her voice stern.

  He always did, unfortunately.

  Maybe it was time he tried misbehaving once in a while.

  * * *

  “OH, MY DARLING. You look exquisite.”

  Margaret’s reaction to seeing Gemma in her wedding dress was everything Sam would have hoped for. The older woman’s features were soft, almost tearful, as she looked at her daughter.

  “I do, don’t I?” Gemma gazed into the mirror with a shocked expression, almost as if she didn’t recognize herself.

  Sam smiled as she adjusted the neckline a little more solidly on Gemma’s elegant shoulders and smoothed the small train that rippled out behind her.

  “It’s so much better than the pictures, which I thought were amazing enough. Oh, Samantha,” Margaret breathed. “It’s a masterpiece. An absolute masterpiece. What a marvelous dress.”

  She had to admit, she had outdone herself on this one. It looked like something out of a medieval fairy tale, with a scooping neckline, snug bodice and flaring skirt, all made of hand-embroidered fabric.

  No one else would be able to wear this dress so well. It highlighted Gemma’s ethereal features perfectly.

  “When he sees you in this, Josh is going to think he’s the luckiest man in the world,” Margaret said.

  “As he should.” Gemma spoke with a confidence Sam hadn’t seen in her before.

  “Oh, quite,” Margaret said tartly. “And you never want to let him forget that.”

  She had to smile at the woman’s tone. She genuinely liked Ian and Gemma’s mother. The past hour of working with her had been sheer delight. She was funny, kind and had a keen eye for fashion.

  “What about you?” she asked the older woman. “Are you happy with our plan to alter the peach dress instead of starting from scratch? I think those few changes we talked about to the neckline and the sleeves are all you really need to make it work for you.”

  “After seeing what you’ve done with that wedding dress, I have complete faith that you know exactly what you’re talking about. Gem has sent me pictures of her gown all along the way, from the time you showed her the first sketches, but I’ll admit, I didn’t envision the full glory of it until I had the chance to see it in person. Honestly, I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

  Sam glowed under the other woman’s approval. She wanted to lap it up like the puppies at their feeding bowl.

  The past hour truly had been a delight. She didn’t need therapy to understand why she was so drawn to Margaret, considering supportive older women in her life were fairly thin on the ground.

  That wasn’t precisely true, she corrected herself. She had dear friends in the Haven Point Helping Hands always ready to provide a positive influence. Eppie and Hazel. Charlene Bailey. Barbara Serrano.

  Still, Linda’s dominance and Sam’s own weakness and inability to stand up for herself cast a wide shadow over her life.

  “Thank you,” she said now to Margaret. “I’m so thrilled with the way it turned out. I’m never quite sure if everything will come together until the final fitting.”

  “Well, I can’t imagine a more perfect gown for my daughter to wear for her wedding,” Margaret said. “Well done.”

  After Gemma had changed back into her regular clothing, Samantha carefully tucked the gown into the long white custom garment bag emblazoned with the store’s swirly logo she had designed herself.

  Margaret watched the whole process with interest.

  “What a marvelous shop you have here,” she said. “I’m astounded. I’ll be perfectly honest, when Gem told me she was having someone local make her dress instead of choosing a more well-known designer, I was a bit concerned. She’s never cared much about what she wore and I worried about the quality she would be able to find in a little town in Idaho. I’m not ashamed to admit I was far off the mark.”

  “I’m so happy you like it,” Samantha said.

  “She’s going to be a gorgeous bride,” Margaret said as Gemma came back to join them. “You’ll be there, won’t you?”

  “Or course. I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “I know you told me you weren’t taking a date but have you changed your
mind yet?” Gemma asked on a teasing note.

  She made a noncommittal sound, not sure how to respond. She found herself suddenly reluctant to tell Margaret and Gemma that Ian had asked her to go with him, especially if he hadn’t told them himself.

  “What does that mean?” Gemma looked suddenly interested. “Have you changed your mind? Are you taking someone?”

  She could see no reason to lie. “Ian and I have decided to, um, go together.”

  “Is that right?”

  Margaret and Gemma exchanged a look that immediately put Samantha on edge.

  “Yes. He asked me yesterday on our hike. He said you were hounding him about taking someone. Something about seating arrangements and so forth. As he knows no one else in Lake Haven County, he asked me to go as his plus-one.”

  “My son, the romantic,” Margaret muttered.

  “It’s not a date,” Samantha assured them quickly. “He and I are merely friends.”

  “Too bad,” Margaret said.

  “Mother,” Gemma chided. “Stop.”

  “Why? I love my son and want him to be happy. Ian deserves to date a beautiful, smart, talented woman, after what he’s been through. You probably didn’t notice but he lit up around you yesterday in a way I hadn’t seen him do in years. You can’t blame a mother for wishing there could be something more between you.”

  Sam shifted, deeply uncomfortable. Margaret surely understood why anything between Sam and her son was impossible. Anyway, the other woman had to be mistaken about Ian’s reaction to her. Samantha hadn’t seen anything like that.

  “I’m afraid there’s nothing more than friendship,” she finally said. Her chest burned a little at the awkward lie but she certainly couldn’t tell Ian’s mother about the two delicious kisses they had shared...or how she ached for more.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you blush,” Margaret said.

  “Drop it, Mother,” Gemma said.

  “You’re right.” She hugged Samantha. “In whatever capacity, I’m glad you will be going with Ian to the wedding. Now, I believe finishing a gown of this caliber calls for a celebration, don’t you think? Let’s all three of us go to lunch or something.”

  Sam’s extensive workload flashed through her head. It sounded lovely but she had so much work. Before she could make her excuses, Gemma stepped in.

  “I wholeheartedly agree with you about the celebration,” Gemma said. “Unfortunately, I have a meeting in an hour I can’t miss so I have to go back to work.”

  “That Aidan Caine is a slave driver.”

  Gemma looked regretful. “He’s really not, we’re just in the middle of a big project right now and I’m trying to finish as much as possible before Josh and I leave for our honeymoon.”

  “If you can’t do lunch, what about dinner later?” Margaret asked. “Would that work for both of you?”

  Gemma appeared to consider. “Yes. I believe that would fit our schedule. We didn’t have plans tonight and were planning a quiet night.”

  “Perfect. Do you want to pick a restaurant? You know more about the best places to eat than I do, though I did enjoy the place we ate last night.”

  “Instead of going out again, why don’t we throw something on the grill?” Gemma suggested. “That’s what Josh and I had planned. I’ve got a couple of chicken breasts marinating. It would be no problem to stop at home before I head back to the office and toss a few more in.”

  Her mother beamed. “That sounds perfect. Samantha, what about you?”

  She had so much to do, including finishing the alterations for Margaret’s dress. A responsible business owner would refuse, citing her heavy workload.

  On the other hand, she had to eat. How much extra time would she pick up, eating by herself in front of the TV? She could work after dinner. Altering a dress wasn’t nearly the job she thought she would be facing, starting from nothing.

  Anyway, she had worked terribly hard on the gown for Gemma and wanted to celebrate a job well done. She deserved at least that, didn’t she?

  “I think I can make dinner work tonight,” she said.

  “Perfect.” Margaret beamed. “Shall we do it at our cottage? Last night we had a lovely view of the sunset over the mountains and I expect tonight will be the same.”

  “We can do it at my place,” Gemma said. “Same view, with a little more space. Plus Josh knows how to work my barbecue grill and I doubt Father can say the same.”

  “That works. But I’ll take care of dessert and all the sides,” Margaret insisted. “Should we say seven?”

  “Yes. That should be great,” Sam said. It would give her just enough time to go home and check on the puppies before she left again for dinner with them.

  Before Margaret could respond, the bell on her front door chimed and a moment later Ian walked inside, his hair messed a little by the breeze.

  She wanted to smooth it down, straighten his collar, then mess it all up again with a kiss.

  “Ian, darling. Tell me you don’t have dinner plans,” Margaret ordered. “We’re planning a dinner party to celebrate the fabulous dress Samantha has created for your sister. You and the children must be there.”

  “Must we?” he said faintly.

  “What Mother means is you’re invited to dinner,” Gemma said with a grin. “I’ll have Josh grill chicken and would love to have you and the children and Mrs. Gilbert join us.”

  “Well, in that case, of course.”

  He didn’t look at Samantha but she somehow sensed his attention, anyway.

  Margaret looked pleased. “Do you know Gemma’s address?” she asked her. “I can write it for you.”

  “I know where it is,” she said, declining to point out that Haven Point was small enough that she knew where nearly everybody lived.

  “Great. We’ll see you there, then. Or better still, you should ride with Ian and the children, since you live just next door. I don’t see the point in taking two cars.”

  “Think of the environment,” Gemma said, a teasing look in her eye as she looked at her brother.

  He frowned at her. “Right. The environment. I guess that seals it. What time is dinner?”

  “Seven.”

  “Shall I pick you up at 6:45?” he asked Sam.

  “That would be good. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” he said solemnly.

  She was becoming more enmeshed in his life with every passing day, Sam thought after they left and her store was quiet again. First with the children and Ian, now with his mother.

  She liked them all so much. She liked being part of something, even though she had to remind herself it wouldn’t last.

  Except for Gemma, the Summerhills would only be here a few more weeks. She had to keep that in mind. Her relationship with all of them was temporary, as fleeting as the Haven Point summers. Ian and his family would return to England when the wedding was over, leaving her alone with only her memories.

  How on earth would she go back to her solitary life when they left?

  CHAPTER TEN

  AS IAN WAITED on Samantha’s doorstep for her to answer Thomas’s vigorous ringing of the bell, he felt ridiculously tongue-tied.

  “Do you think she forgot we were coming?” Thomas asked anxiously.

  “You only rang the bell fifteen seconds ago, son. You have to give her time to answer.”

  “I hope she didn’t forget. I like Miss Fremont.”

  So did Ian. Entirely too much. That must be why he had butterflies jumping inside him as he waited for her to open the door. He couldn’t say that, of course. He didn’t even want to admit it to himself.

  A moment later, the door opened and Sam stood there.

  “Hello.” She smiled, looking as fresh and lovely as a summer day. He wasn’t the kind of guy who usually paid attention to things like clothing but
he couldn’t help noticing she had changed her clothes from work and now wore a turquoise sundress and carried a navy jumper over her arm. Her messy bun of earlier in the day looked softer somehow, more enticing. He again wanted to pull the whole thing free.

  More than that, he wanted fiercely to step forward and kiss her. The urge was an actual ache in his chest. Only his children’s presence stopped him. What a relief that they were there to keep him from making that mistake again, he told himself, but wasn’t quite sure he believed it.

  “Hello,” he answered, feeling as if his thoughts and words were as slippery as fish out of water.

  “It’s very kind of you all to give me a ride.”

  “It’s no trouble,” Amelia assured her, as if the eight-year-old would be doing the driving.

  “It’s really not,” Ian had to agree. “It’s not as if we had to go far out of our way.”

  “We didn’t have to go out of our way at all,” Thomas said. “You’re just next door. How are the puppies? Are they in their room?”

  She gave him a soft, warm smile that didn’t help Ian’s turmoil. “Yes. Safe and sound for the evening.”

  “They were silly this morning when we played with them,” Amelia told her. “You should have seen them. Coco was running around in circles and Oscar kept jumping on everything.”

  “We played fetch with them and Calvin always caught the stick first but wouldn’t bring it back.” Thomas giggled at the memory.

  “You’ve both helped me so much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you watching over the puppies for me. You’ve done me such a huge favor.”

  She was the one doing the favor for them. She had to know it. The puppies would be the highlight of this particular trip for the children, besides Gemma’s wedding, of course. Without the distraction of three cute balls of fluff, Amelia and Thomas would have been bored and troublesome.

  “I wish we could take one home with us,” Amelia said, her voice subdued.

  “So do I, sweetheart. But I’m afraid all three have been promised already to other homes. Plus, that would be a very long airplane ride for a little puppy.”