by Kay Correll
“I wish we could just go back to how things were. Friends.” How had everything gotten so complicated for them?
“I need some time to process this.”
“So you think I took the cash?”
“Back then, or Lillian’s?”
“Either.” He stared at her, willing her to say she believed him.
“Before all this happened, I would have said of course you didn’t take it. Because I thought I knew you so well. But I don’t. You’ve hidden so much about your past. So… how can I be sure about anything about you now?”
Her words cut him, stabbed his heart like a physical pain.
He stood. “Okay, then… I guess that is that.” He also guessed there wasn’t anything between them anymore. Not if she didn’t believe him.
And why should she? She was right. He hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her about his past.
He walked away into the night.
Robin walked into the bungalow. She’d seen the hurt in Jay’s eyes, but she couldn’t just blindly say she believed him. Not after he’d hidden so much from her. She hadn’t even known that his grandmother had raised him. He’d never told her that. He hadn’t told her much of anything about his past. So how could they be good friends—or more—if he wouldn’t even talk to her about his life? Where was the trust? And what else hadn’t he told her?
She sank onto the couch and rested her chin in her hands. How had everything gotten so messed up?
She looked up when Charlotte came in. “Hey, you. Didn’t think you’d still be up.” Charlotte dropped her purse by the door and came over to sit on the couch.
“I’m up.” She said without much enthusiasm.
“I ran into Camille at dinner tonight. She said the strangest thing about Jay being in jail for stealing and Sheriff Dave questioning him for the missing money from the inn.” Charlotte kicked off her shoes. “So that’s just Camille being Camille right?”
“No, Camille is telling the truth this time. And, of course, she can’t wait to spread it all around town.”
“Jay’s been in jail?” Charlotte’s forehead creased.
“Apparently.”
“Did you know about it?”
“Nope.” She shrugged. “And I thought I knew him so well. That we were getting close. I just found out he was raised by his grandmother, too. He never mentioned that with all the times he’s said something was his grandmother’s recipe.”
“I guess he just wanted to keep the past in the past.”
“Even with me? I thought we were getting close. We kissed. We had that wonderful day at Lighthouse Point and I thought we were headed toward some new level in our relationship. But I feel so foolish.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t really know him and I was sure I did.”
Charlotte leaned forward. “Sometimes it’s hard to talk about our past. Remember how long it was before I told you about Reginald? That I’d been engaged to him and he stole from me? And you and Sara were my best friends, and I didn’t tell you for the longest time.”
“That was different.”
“No, it was something I was embarrassed about and didn’t want you to know.” Charlotte cocked an eyebrow. “But you still felt like you knew me, right? I hadn’t changed. It was just a piece of my past that I didn’t share until I was ready.”
Robin leaned back against the back of the couch. “But… I would have thought he would tell me important things. Like being raised by his grandmother and going to jail.” She frowned. “He did look absolutely gutted when he told me about his grandmother dying while he was in jail.”
“It probably hurts to talk about it.”
“He also said he didn’t steal from his last job. That he was innocent.”
“Do you believe him?”
“He asked me that, but I told him I didn’t know.”
“Ouch, that had to hurt.” Charlotte shook her head. “He had a right to choose when to tell you. It was a hard story to tell.”
“Lillian believes him.” Robin sighed, confused, wanting things to just be… like they were before.
“And she’s a good judge of character.” Charlotte stood. “But you need to know in your heart you believe him, believe in him, and trust him. And then convince him you do. Otherwise, there’s really not anything left between you two.”
Charlotte went to her bedroom, and Robin sat on the couch. Is that what she wanted? Nothing left between her and Jay but co-workers? She’d always known he kept a hard shell around him. But underneath all that he was kind and gentle.
Trust.
Trust was… complicated.
Jay didn’t feel like going home to his empty house, so headed over to The Lucky Duck. He was glad to see Ben sitting at the bar. He slid onto a barstool beside his friend and ordered a beer.
Ben nodded at him. “I heard you had a bad day.”
“You can say that again.”
“I heard you had a bad day.” Ben tossed him a wry grin.
“Very funny.”
“So how is Sheriff Dave these days?”
“He’s a jerk.” He reached for the beer Willie handed him and nodded his thanks.
“Yep. Pretty much,” Ben agreed. “So, rumor says Lillian found the missing money. The sheriff must have been disappointed. Crime spree averted. Now, what will he do?”
Jay looked at Ben. He didn’t want to break Lillian’s confidence and admit that Lillian had lied about finding the money. But then, he wasn’t big on keeping secrets right now, either. Look what that had gotten him. He settled on “Lots of rumors in this town.”
“Yes, sorry about that. Camille is having a great time spreading rumors about you.”
“Yeah, well, they are probably the truth.” He took a swig of his beer. “So, do you want to cut me out of your life, too? I never told you about the jail thing.”
“Hey, your past is your past. All I know is that you’ve been a great friend to me since you came to the island.”
Jay raised his beer bottle, and Ben clinked his against it. “You’re a good friend, Ben Hallet.”
“How did Robin take the news?”
“Not well. She’s mad that I never told her. There is so much I haven’t told her about my past. I just… well, I liked keeping it in the past.”
“It’s a good place for it.” Ben nodded.
“But now she says she didn’t know me at all. Doesn’t know me. Doesn’t trust me.”
“The timing could be better.”
“You can say that again.”
“The timing—” Ben grinned. “Sorry.”
“I guess it doesn’t matter. Robin deserves someone better than me. Who was raised in a normal family and hasn’t been in jail. What do I know about relationships, anyway?”
“You’re selling yourself short.”
“No, just being honest. I don’t know why I thought I could…” He shrugged. “That there could be something between Robin and I. Anyway, she doesn’t believe me.”
“Doesn’t believe what?”
“That I never stole the money before. That I was innocent of what I went to jail for.” He looked closely at Ben. “Though, I know that’s what everyone says. That they’re innocent.”
“Hey, if you say you are, that’s good enough for me.”
“I appreciate that.” They clinked bottles again, and he finally let the stress of the day begin to melt away.
At least he had Ben on his side. And Lillian. He always had Lillian on his side.
Just not Robin.
The one person he wanted to believe him.
Chapter 22
Lillian popped into Robin’s office the next morning. Robin looked up and shook her head. “You’re supposed to be taking the day off, remember?”
“I am… kind of.”
“Right, sure looks like it. What’s that in your hands?”
Lillian sheepishly looked down at the files in her hands. “Some orders I need to put in the computer?”
<
br /> Robin reached out her hand. “Give them to me. I’ll take care of it.”
Lillian handed her the files. “Did Jay talk to you? I told him he should. Asked him to.”
“So that’s why he finally talked to me.”
“I think he just hadn’t found the right time before… before all of this mess.”
“He did talk to me about his past. About how you found him at the restaurant and believed him.”
“He didn’t steal then and didn’t now. It’s that simple.”
“The sheriff sounded like he thought Jay did it. I’m sure he’ll keep questioning him.”
Lillian shook her head. “No, he won’t. I told him I found the money.”
“You found it?”
“Well, no. But I wanted this all to disappear.” Lillian shrugged. “Jay didn’t take it and Sheriff Dave wasn’t doing anything to find the real person who did. So I ended it.”
“You lied to the sheriff to help Jay?”
“I just couldn’t see that Sheriff Dave questioning Jay was going to do anything except make Jay feel bad, or get mad… or even decide to up and leave here. I couldn’t blame him. Especially now that Camille is going around gossiping about him and his past.”
“Camille is spreading rumors about Jay?” A surge of protectiveness swept through her. How dare Camille. That woman was nothing but trouble.
“She is. I guess my threats didn’t do much to stop her. Not that I thought they would.” Lillian sighed. “But I’m glad you know the truth now. Jay needs people to believe in him. He’s a good man.” She paused and narrowed her eyes. “You do believe him, right?”
“I— I’m just confused. I thought I knew him so well.”
“Don’t you know him? The kind of person he really is? None of this changes who he really is inside.”
She slowly rose from behind the desk. “I know that you’re right. I do. And I can’t imagine Jay stealing anything from anyone. I was just so shocked to find out there was so much I didn’t know about him.”
Lillian shook her head. “You two are going to have to find a way to work this out. Or not. But I’ll tell you one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“The man is hopelessly in love with you and has been for a long time. Whether you or he want to admit it.”
She sat back down in her seat, her mouth open. “But—”
“I’ve known it for years. But I think Jay thought, because of his past, that he wasn’t good enough for you. Which is nonsense. He’s a good man. An honest man. A caring man under all that gruff facade.”
Jay didn’t love her. They’d only had that one day at Lighthouse Point. How could he love her? Lillian was wrong. She had to be.
“I hope you two work things out.” Lillian turned to leave. “And, now, I’m headed to The Yarn Society. I wasn’t going to go, but I think a little break in my schedule is just what I need right now.”
Lillian disappeared and Robin stood staring at the empty doorway. Lillian had to be wrong. Jay didn’t love her. And he certainly hadn’t loved her for a long time. And right now, he didn’t even like her.
Lillian walked into the community center and found her friends already chatting and knitting. Dorothy jumped up when she entered the room. “Lillian, we didn’t think you were coming today. We figured you’d be busy with wedding to-dos.”
Lillian hugged her friend. “I should be. But I just needed some non-inn, non-wedding time.”
“You’ve come to the right place.” Ruby patted the chair beside her. “Come sit down.”
Lillian sat and took out her knitting. Soon the smooth motion did its magic and began to soothe her. Between the missing money, the sheriff questioning Jay, and all the wedding plans, she was about at her limit of stress she could handle.
“So, did you hear they’ve upped their prediction for this coming storm?” Dorothy paused her knitting. “Might hit as a hurricane instead of a tropical storm.”
Apparently she hadn’t yet hit her limit of stress. She frowned. “Are you sure? I thought I’d read it was getting weaker.”
“It hung over the islands in the Caribbean and gained momentum overnight,” Ruby added.
This was the last thing she needed. There was so much to be done to the inn if the storm was going to hit near here. Even if it hit further north, as predicted, the winds could do damage here and power could go out. What was she doing sitting here knitting with so much to do? She set her knitting in her lap.
“No, don’t,” Ruby said.
“Don’t what?” Lillian looked at her friend.
“You were getting ready to pack up your knitting and leave. Stay for a bit and chat with us. Take some time and try to relax.”
She let out a long sigh. “But there is so much to do.”
“There’s time. And, on the bright side, the weather is supposed to be lovely on Saturday. Not too hot and a light breeze. Perfect day for a wedding.” Ruby nodded at her knitting. “Now, start knitting.”
Lillian picked up her knitting again and soon the familiar rhythm of her needles did soothe her jangled nerves. “So what do you want to chat about?”
“Camille is going around spreading rumors.” Dorothy shook her head. “That woman never quits, does she?”
“She asked if her invitation to the wedding got lost in the mail…” Lillian shook her head.
Dorothy laughed. “And what did you say to that?”
“That we were having a small wedding, just family and close friends.”
“Of which you have many.” Ruby smiled, her needles clicking away.
She did have many friends. Good ones. Like The Yarnies. She was a lucky woman. And soon, the day after tomorrow, she’d be married to Gary. Now if the storm would just dissipate everything would be perfect.
Chapter 23
The morning of Lillian’s wedding dawned with a delicate pink light painted across the sky and streaks of lacy clouds. A perfect sunrise for a perfect day. Robin hurried along the sidewalk, headed to the inn. So much to do today. Charlotte had promised to come in soon and help with the setup. That was Charlotte’s forte. Her own forte? Lists and checking off to-dos as near as she could figure.
She still hadn’t seen much of Jay. He’d been busy preparing for the wedding. They’d only spoken about inn matters or wedding things and she could feel the mountain of unspoken words between them. Or maybe they’d already said all that needed to be said. But she couldn’t think about that now. She just needed to concentrate on the wedding. Well, the wedding and also preparations for the coming storm. They’d had more cancellations for next week, and at this rate they’d have an almost empty inn. Bad for business, but it did make it easier to prepare for the storm.
She entered the inn and ran into Sara. “Sara, you’re here early.”
“Couldn’t sleep. The list of things to do kept playing over and over in my head.”
“Me, too.” Robin laughed. “But first, I really need some coffee. Join me?”
“Oh, yes. Sounds great.”
They headed to the kitchen to grab a couple cups of coffee. Robin glanced around, looking for Jay, and saw him over by the far counter, already at work. He looked up when they came in and gave her a small smile, then turned back to work. She shuttered her hurt feelings. But it was her fault anyway. She was the one who hadn’t given him the words he needed to hear.
But she missed how they were before. She would have gone over to talk to him for a bit. He’d tease her about something. She missed the ease of it all, the conversations, and she missed walking home with him at night. She wasn’t sure if they’d ever get back to that stage. A pang of loneliness twitched through her at the loss.
“You coming? I want to go find Aunt Lil.” Sara stood waiting, her hands curled around her coffee cup.
“What? Yes, I’m coming.” She poured herself a cup and headed out with Sara.
They found Lillian at The Nest, puttering in the kitchen. Sara walked over and kissed her aunt. “Morning. Ho
w are things here?”
“Just fine. I’ve been up for hours, though. I’ve straightened The Nest. Then straightened again. Gary will be staying here tonight before we head out on our honeymoon.” Lil frowned. “I hate leaving with the storm coming.”
“I’ll take care of everything. Don’t worry,” Robin assured her.
But Lillian still looked worried.
“Let’s just concentrate on your wedding day.” Sara hugged Lil.
Robin pulled a long list out of her pocket. “See, I have my mobile list. Let’s sit at the table and go through it. I want everything to be perfect.” She looked over at Lil. “And absolutely no inn work for you today. None.”
Lillian smiled as she sat down, but Robin was sure that if something came up, Lillian would jump in and take care of it. It was just the way she was.
Mason was glad his dad had decided against wearing a suit to the wedding. They were both wearing dress slacks and sports coats, but he planned on shucking the sports coat as soon as the wedding ceremony was over.
He’d prepared a best man speech, which had been amazingly hard for him. Here he could speak to a room filled with the board of directors, and he was the youngest man in the room. That didn’t faze him a bit. But talking about his dad and Lillian? Well, that was hard. He still couldn’t come up with an opening line to catch everyone’s attention. He’d needed some witty stories to tell about his father… and he knew… none. The whole ordeal had been an exercise in frustration.
Now he’d left the speech… without an opening line… and walked around the inn, seeing if he could help with anything. He ran into Charlotte out on the deck, decorating for the reception.
“Need any help?”
“I’ve got this. But maybe they need your help setting up the chairs?”
He headed down to the beach and was pleased to find Zoe carting chairs from a stack and setting them up in rows.
“Need some help?” he asked as he walked up to her.
She gave him a big smile. “I sure could use help. Uncle Noah was helping me, but Sara pulled him away to do something. I promised I’d finish setting these up. Then Charlotte, who I guess is the talented bow-tier, is going to come put bows on each chair. Then we’ll have mason jars of flowers lining the aisles.”
