"I love her, Ron. And she loves me. I'm sure she asks about me."
"No, she doesn't," Ron said flatly.
His words cut deep, but Zach didn't believe them for a second.
"If you loved Hailey," Ron continued, "you could have adopted her, but you didn't. You could have married Rebecca, but you didn't. You just lived with her, used her. The last time I saw Rebecca, she told me she wanted to be your wife, but you weren't ready to set a date or plan a wedding."
He didn't know if Rebecca had said that or if Ron was embellishing, but he was going to set the record straight. "Rebecca had a lot of problems she needed to work through. Getting married wasn't the answer. I realized that when she made her first trip to rehab a year ago."
"That's what you say now, but you never told us about her problems. You didn't let us know she was in rehab, that she was having issues. We were kept in the dark."
"That was Rebecca's choice. She asked me not to speak to you. She was embarrassed and ashamed. She was always worried about what people would think, so she kept her secrets very close."
"We're not people; we're her parents."
"But not parents she was close to. I saw you maybe five times in the four years we lived together, and she didn't see you any more than that. She had a lot of problems with Helen. She didn't want Hailey to spend much time with her. She never allowed her daughter to come to Whisper Lake for an overnight with you and Helen, no matter how many times you asked. I don't think she'd be happy that you're keeping me out of Hailey's life."
"We're doing what's best for Hailey. Rebecca was perfect until she met you. She didn't have any problems before that."
"Are you lying to me or just to yourself? Or maybe you really believe that. But having seen Rebecca try to work through her problems, I know they started a very long time ago, when she was a kid, when she was living with you."
"I don’t believe you," Ron said flatly.
"It's the truth."
"You want to smear Becca's name."
"I don't want to do that; I just want to see Hailey."
"So you can fight us for custody? Because that will never happen. Hailey is our blood. You have no legal rights."
"Why are you so afraid of me?" he asked wearily. "I'm not a monster. I took care of your daughter and your granddaughter for years."
"And I'm taking care of my granddaughter now, and my wife. Helen and Hailey are fragile, and I need to protect them."
"Because you couldn't protect Rebecca?"
"How dare you—"
"You're not to blame," he said, cutting the older man off. "It's not your fault that Becca was an addict."
His words put shock and wariness in Ron's eyes. "Well, I know that. I just said it was on you."
"It's not on me, either. Although, I have blamed myself. This disease belonged to Rebecca. She struggled with it. And, ultimately, she died because of it. We can't change the past. We can only control what happens now. Let me speak to Hailey. I'll come to your house. You can be in the room. It's a conversation."
Ron hesitated, then shook his head. "No."
"I'm going to keep asking, Ron, and I'm not leaving town."
"You'll have to do that if this project doesn't get approved."
He heard the threat in Ron's voice. "I'll walk away from the project if I need to. But I won't walk away from Hailey."
"We'll see about that," Ron said, full of bluster once more. He strode to the door, slamming it so hard on the way out that a piece of trim broke off.
He blew out a breath, not sure what to think. He'd had a chance to say more than he'd ever expected to say, but Ron hadn't agreed to let him see Hailey, and he'd threatened to hurt Hunter's project. He couldn't let that happen.
When he returned to the dining room, Hunter was sitting at the table, finishing up a sandwich.
Sitting down across from him, he said, "Ron Carver threatened to keep this project from getting approved in order to drive me out of town. I told him I'd walk away from it, and I'm thinking I should do that sooner rather than later."
"I'm not afraid of Ron Carver."
"Maybe you should be. Even if he can't sink the project, he can force you to jump through expensive hoops, he can cause you delays, who knows what else—"
"I won't let him bully me into accepting your resignation. You're my architect. And we move forward together—unless you're having second thoughts about staying in town?"
"I'm even more determined now."
"Then have a sandwich and show me the rest of your ideas."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"All right. I have to warn you that some of my ideas are going to be expensive."
"I figured," Hunter said with a grin.
"And thanks," he added, meeting his friend's gaze. "I know this is not an obstacle you were anticipating."
"Maybe not. But I've spent the last ten years of my life running into burning buildings, where surprise was a given. I know how to work a problem."
"Then you better get ready to work."
"Always ready. On another note, tell me why you were in the antiques store yesterday. I thought you were going to deliver the furniture to the beautiful Gianna after you left on Thursday night."
"I did. But I just happened to be walking by on Friday…"
Hunter laughed. "Is that your story?"
"It is," he said with a smile. "And I'm sticking to it."
Chapter Nine
Gianna closed up the store at six o'clock on Saturday night, then spent another hour organizing the storeroom. She had finally located all the pieces that the Carvers had put on consignment and had priced them and put them in the showroom. She left a message to that effect on Helen's phone, relieved that she hadn't had to speak to her in person.
At a little before seven thirty, she locked up and headed downtown to Micky's Bar and Grill, a local brewery. Chloe had set up a girls' night for dinner and drinks, and she couldn't wait to relax and kick back with her friends.
When she walked into the restaurant, Chloe was standing next to a dark-blonde with pretty blue eyes—Chelsea Cole.
"Chelsea, Chloe," she said happily, as they exchanged hugs.
"It's been a long time," Chelsea said.
"Too long," she agreed. "I heard you're teaching in Whisper Lake now."
"Elementary school. It's fun."
"That's great."
"Lizzie is on her way. She just texted me," Chelsea added. "And she's bringing Hannah."
"Hannah is coming, too?" she asked with delight. "That's wonderful. What about Keira?"
"Unfortunately, no," Chloe interjected. "She has been out of town, and she's getting in later tonight. But she's having her annual pre-Fourth of July barbecue tomorrow, so you can see her then. Did you get the invite?"
"Yes. I'm planning to go."
"Great. I'll check on our table," Chloe said, heading to the hostess.
"I was sorry to hear about your broken engagement, Gianna," Chelsea said, giving her a sympathetic smile.
"Thanks. How have you been? You're not singing anymore?"
"I needed a change."
Shadows filled Chelsea's eyes, and Gianna flashed back on the beautiful guitars in her aunt's storeroom. As long as she'd known Chelsea, she'd been attached to her guitar. The fact that she would give up her instrument was mind-boggling. Something had happened, something beyond just Chelsea needing a change.
"Oh, look, here's Lizzie," Chelsea said with relief, as her sister entered the restaurant, followed by a beautiful redhead with pale skin and brown eyes—Hannah Stark.
As she hugged them both, she felt like she'd really come home. This was the friendship, the warmth, the love that she'd missed—people who had known her for a very long time, especially Chloe and Hannah, who she'd grown up with.
A moment later, the hostess escorted them to a round table in the restaurant.
"This place has changed," she commented, as she took her seat. "I remember it being dar
k and smelling of spilled beer. Now it's bright and airy, with an open kitchen, and good music."
"Micky's son Josh redid the inside after his father retired," Lizzie put in. "I've been sending a lot of our guests here. They all love it. Especially Josh's homemade brew, which we should definitely order."
"I'm in," she said. "It feels like the generations are all transitioning. New camp, new brewery, new inn…"
"It does feel that way," Chloe agreed, meeting her gaze. "I'm running the café for Kevin's parents. The world keeps spinning at its own pace, no matter how much we want it to go slower or faster."
There was a darkness to Chloe's words that sent an odd quiet around the table.
"Well, I killed the mood, didn't I?" Chloe asked more lightly. "Sorry about that. I'm super aware of time at the moment. I'm ready for this baby to be born, but I'm not ready to do it without Kevin. I want the days to go faster and slower at the same time."
"I can understand that," she said, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Did you speak to Kevin today?"
Chloe shook her head. "No, we didn't get a chance to connect." She squared her shoulders. "And that is enough about me. Tonight is for catching up."
"Not only for catching up," Hannah said with a laugh. "We're going to do karaoke later—like we used to."
Gianna groaned. "I am the worst singer. I'll pass."
"You're not passing, and after a few beers, you'll be fine," Hannah said decisively. She'd always been a forceful personality in the group, but she combined that force with so much love and genuine caring that everyone usually followed her lead. "I'm sorry Keira couldn't make it. But we'll see her tomorrow. Everyone is going to her barbecue, right?"
"I can make it," Chloe said. "Unless this baby has other plans."
"I'm in," Lizzie said, glancing at her sister. "Chelsea?"
"I'll see," Chelsea replied vaguely. "I have some projects to work on for school."
"It's Sunday—they can wait," Lizzie said.
"Like I said, we'll see." Chelsea gave her sister a pointed look.
"What about you, Gianna?" Hannah asked.
"It sounds like fun. I'd love to see Keira."
"There will probably be other people there who you know. Keira loves to throw parties," Hannah said. "And she tries to make sure there are some single men."
"That doesn't interest me at all," she said.
"I'm sorry about Jeff," Hannah said. "I don't know if you want to talk about it…"
"I really don't. I'd much rather hear what you all are doing."
"Well, aside from Chloe here, we're all single," Hannah said. "Unless Lizzie or Chelsea have some news to report."
"I don't," Lizzie said. "I have been so busy opening the inn, I haven't had a second to think about dating."
"Me, either," Chelsea said. "I've been busy with school."
"It's summer now," Hannah pointed out.
"And there's summer school," Chelsea said.
"What about you, Hannah?" she asked.
"I was dating a paramedic, but that ended about two weeks ago, which is when he started to ghost me. What an idiot—like he's not going to run into me at the medical center," Hannah added, rolling her eyes. "And it's not like Whisper Lake is a huge city. Men are stupid."
"Sorry," she said, giving Hannah a sympathetic smile.
"It's fine. We didn't have much more in common than medicine, and better to end it now than waste any more time. What's everyone having to eat?" Hannah asked, picking up the menu. "I think we should order appetizers plus dinner."
"I'm game."
After perusing the menu, they ordered drinks and dinner and then Hannah started an hour-long conversation that began with, do you remember and then went off into multiple directions.
Gianna loved not only talking about the past but also hearing what the other women were up to. Hannah's tales from the ER were both gory and funny. Chloe provided more information than she needed to hear on pregnancy woes, and Lizzie had plenty of tales on unusual guests coming through the inn.
Chelsea spoke the least. No one seemed to want to press her, and Gianna didn't know if that was because they all knew what Chelsea had gone through, or because it was clear Chelsea did not want to talk about herself. There was definitely a shadow hanging over Chelsea's head.
After dinner, they moved into the bar and ordered another round of drinks as the karaoke began.
"I'm going to take off," Chelsea said, not bothering to grab a seat.
"Don't leave," Lizzie protested, giving her sister a pleading look. "It's early. And we never hang out anymore. You don't have to sing."
"I'm tired. It was a long week. You all have fun."
"Is everything okay with her?" Gianna asked Lizzie, as Chelsea took off.
Lizzie shrugged, an unhappy look in her eyes. "Not really, but she's very private, and I don't even know all of it. I just know it's been a rough year for her."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I guess that rough year has something to do with her not singing anymore?"
"I'm sure it does, but she doesn't want to discuss her decision to quit. I don't get it. But I am happy that she's living here now. I missed her the last few years when she was on the road."
"I'm sure she'll open up at some point," Chloe interjected. "She just needs whatever time she needs."
"I hope so. But my sister has always kept things deep inside. Anyway, let's talk about who's singing."
"Not me," Chloe said, patting her abdomen. "The baby does not want me to sing—burp maybe—but sing, no."
Gianna laughed. "That's too bad. Because, as I recall, you have the best voice of all of us."
"I don't know about that. Hannah is good."
"I'm just loud," Hannah said with a grin. "I can't help myself. It feels good to belt out a song. You're excused, Chloe, but not you two." She wagged her finger at Gianna and Lizzie. "You're both going on stage with me. It will be fun."
"I don't think she's taking no for an answer," Lizzie said, glancing at Gianna. "Shall we be a girl trio?"
"I guess we could," she said, not wanting to let them down.
Before they could get up, a man came over to the table. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair and striking blue eyes. He wore dark jeans and a gray knit shirt.
"Adam," Lizzie said. "It's nice to see you out of uniform."
"I heard you and Chels were hitting up this place. Where is Chelsea?"
"She took off," Lizzie said, exchanging a concerned look with Adam.
"Too bad." His gaze swept the group. "Hello, ladies—Hannah, Chloe. And you must be Gianna."
"I don't know if I must be, but I am," she said.
"I'm Adam Cole, Lizzie's brother."
"Right. I don't know if we ever officially met when we were kids. Although, I have a vague recollection of three Cole brothers jumping off the dock and splashing us when we were trying to sunbathe on the pier at Pelican Point."
Adam grinned. "That was probably me. The good old days. It's nice to see you again."
"You, too. You Coles are taking over Whisper Lake."
"Lizzie is determined to get us all here. She's also working on the Callaway side of the family, too."
"Yes, I met Hunter at the camp. I'm thrilled he's going to open it up again."
"The whole family is getting involved," Adam agreed. "Anyway, I don't want to interrupt ladies' night, so I'll leave you all to it."
"Actually, we're going to do some karaoke. Care to join us?" Lizzie asked.
"No way. I don't sing."
"I'm not singing, either," Chloe said. "You can keep me company."
He gave her a warm smile. "Now, that's an invitation I like."
"You can have my chair," Lizzie said, as she got to her feet. "Let's go, girls."
While she would have rather hung out at the table with Chloe and Adam, Gianna followed Lizzie and Hannah to the stage.
While the guy before them was singing, they looked over their song choices.
"This is perfec
t," Hannah said with a grin, pointing to a title. "'Girls Just Want To Have Fun'. What could be better? It describes us perfectly."
"I don't think we've been girls who just want to have fun for a long time," she said with a laugh. "We've all been really busy with work the last decade or so."
"True, but we can be fun tonight, can't we?"
"I'm in," Lizzie said. "I have been working a lot. I could release a little tension."
"I could, too," she admitted, although it was her personal life that had been adding to her stress levels, not her profession.
As they moved onto the stage, her gaze swept the room, and her stomach tightened. Jeremy had joined Chloe and Adam, which was not awesome. She now had her own personal heckler in the crowd.
Thankfully, as the stage was lit up, she couldn't see Jeremy anymore, only a blur of lights and shadows.
As the song began, she concentrated on reading the music and trying to keep up with Hannah and Lizzie. Hannah, as predicted, was the loudest. Lizzie was actually pretty good, and she just tried to blend in.
Although, it struck her that one of her biggest faults was always trying too hard to blend in, to be whoever people wanted her to be.
A surprising amount of applause followed their act, probably because Hannah had sold their performance with her big smile. As they stepped off the stage, she was surprised to see Hunter and Zach heading in their direction, and her heart skipped a beat. When had they arrived?
"Good job," Hunter said with a grin. "Are you girls having fun?"
"Ha-ha," Lizzie said, giving her cousin a hug.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Hannah asked, giving both men a curious look.
"Sorry," Lizzie said. "This is my cousin, Hunter Callaway, the new owner of the camp, and his friend and architect, Zach Barrington."
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Hannah Stark." She paused, giving Zach a thoughtful look. "Your name sounds familiar."
"Does it? Maybe you met me at camp? I went to Echo Falls when I was sixteen."
Gianna's stomach tightened as Hannah's questioning gaze swung to hers.
Always With Me Page 9
