“Right next to his parents’,” Bernie added.
“So that others could come and visit them,” Alex finished.
“Isn’t that cool?” Bernie looked very pleased with their retelling of the gruesome story.
Nicole wasn’t so sure. “I think it’s rather sad.”
“Do you guys remember what it says on Aiken’s bench?” Ryan asked Bernie and Alex.
They both shook their heads.
“‘Cosmos Mariner—Destination Unknown,’” he said in a somewhat dramatic tone.
Nicole shivered. “I still think it’s sad,” she said as the waiter approached the table with a tray.
“It’s Savannah,” Alex said. “We have our stories, our history. That’s what makes us what we are. The tragedies and the triumphs.”
She barely nodded as her plate of fish and chips was set down. For some reason she felt more like an outsider than before. Or maybe she was just homesick. Whatever the case, she just didn’t feel too chatty as they ate. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice, and the conversation moved along quite nicely without her. It was actually somewhat refreshing to see the brothers getting along so well. She’d been concerned that Alex hadn’t wanted his younger brother along.
“Well, this has been fun,” Alex said after they’d indulged in some rather decadent desserts, sharing bites of berry cobbler à la mode, key lime pie, and chocolate rum torte around the table. He pointed at Ryan. “So, little bro, since you crashed our party, should I assume you’re picking up the bill?”
Without missing a beat, Ryan reached for the check. “My pleasure.”
Alex looked slightly surprised and not entirely pleased. “I was just kidding,” he said quickly.
“I’m not.” Ryan placed a card with the bill and handed it to the waiter, who’d just returned to their table.
“Well, thank you,” Nicole told Ryan. “I really enjoyed it.”
“Even the grim tales?” Ryan teased.
“Yes, even the Aiken tale.” She turned to Alex. “You’re right, it’s all part of Savannah. I’m really enjoying learning the history. It’s so rich and unexpected. Sometimes I feel like I should be taking notes.”
“We can take you to see Aiken’s grave at the Bonaventure,” Bernie offered.
“Maybe not tonight.” Nicole smiled. “But sometime.”
“I want to go look in the basement here,” Bernie said. “It’s supposed to have real ghosts down there, and I promised Gina I’d send her a photo. Do you guys want to go down too?”
Nicole really wasn’t interested but didn’t want to be rude. “I might pass,” she said. “But I don’t mind waiting outside. It looks like a nice sunset right now.”
“Dad?” Bernie turned to Alex. “You have to come down there with me, okay?”
“Well, I—”
“Come on, Dad.” She reached for his hand. “You have to.”
He chuckled. “Okay then.”
“If you want, I can take you home,” Ryan told Nicole. “Then these two ghost busters can poke around as long as they like.”
“Oh, that’s not—”
“Thanks.” Nicole cut Alex off. “I’m happy to ride home with you.”
As Bernie tugged her dad away, Nicole told them both goodbye, and before long she and Ryan were in his pickup. “Do you want a better look at the sunset?” he asked as he stopped at an intersection.
“Sure,” she said. “It looks like a pretty one.”
They were soon parked along the river, where shades of orange, gold, and purple were reflecting on the water’s surface. “It’s so beautiful,” Nicole said as they sat on his pickup’s tailgate.
“Savannah is known for having some of the best sunsets,” he told her.
“I didn’t know that. But I can believe it.” She pointed at a riverboat that was slowly cruising down the river. “I just love those boats. Makes me think of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.”
“Have you ever been on one?”
“No, but before this summer is over, I’d like to.”
“You should. Some people, like my brother, make fun of them, saying they’re just a tourist trap. But there’s something very relaxing about cruising along . . . kind of like being transported in time.”
“You’ve obviously been on one before.”
“A few times, actually. My first time was with my best friend’s wedding party. That was pretty wild. But since then I’ve done a sunrise breakfast cruise as well as a sunset dinner cruise. Both were enjoyable.”
“I’m definitely going to do it.” She pulled out her phone.
“You’re booking it now?”
“No.” She laughed as she put her phone on camera mode. “I just want to get some shots of the boat. It looks so pretty with its lights reflecting on the river with the sunset colors. I think it’s something I’d like to try to paint.” She took several shots. “Sorry to act like such a tourist with all my photo snapping.” She slipped her phone back in her bag.
“I don’t mind at all. In fact, I do the same thing whenever I see an interesting piece of architecture. I’m sure some people have assumed I’m a tourist too.”
She chuckled. “And yet your family was here even before the Revolution.”
“Yeah, Mom’s been researching Dad’s family tree, and she’s fairly certain some of his ancestors came over on the Mayflower.” He chuckled. “But that might just be wishful thinking.”
“It’s quite a heritage, though.”
“Do you know much about your family’s roots?”
“Not really. I know my dad’s father has Swedish origins. His dad left Sweden to become a logger in Washington. My mom’s family is a mixture of English, French, and German. Not terribly interesting.”
“Sounds kind of like my mom’s family tree. She’s always playing it down. One time I even asked her if she was ashamed of her heritage.”
“Is she?” Nicole knew that Vivian’s family hadn’t been very well-off in Washington, but it seemed silly to be embarrassed by something like that.
He shrugged. “I know she’s not comfortable talking about her family. It’s probably because some Southerners put such great stock in family heritage. Descending from generations of prosperity is highly regarded in certain circles. But to be honest, I never really got that. I mean, think about it—if you descended from an old wealthy Southern family, chances are your ancestors were probably slave owners. Is that something to be proud of?”
“I never thought about it like that.”
“I know for a fact that my ancestors on Dad’s side were slave owners. No one talks about it, but the Grahams were an agricultural family. They had a huge cotton plantation. They might sweep it under the rug, but it’s a well-known fact that no one got rich growing cotton without slave labor.”
“I didn’t know your family owned a cotton plantation. I thought they were into shipping or something like that.”
“Yes, but that came as a result of the Civil War. After the bottom fell out of the cotton market, shipping was how they rebuilt their fortune. They ran their company through both World Wars and the Great Depression. That business was sold in the 1950s, back when my dad was a little kid. After that my grandpa started the investment company that Dad owns now.”
“And that’s where Alex works.” She was still absorbing all this family history. “That’s quite a heritage.”
“The investment company took a hit during the recent financial downfall. One more reason I’m glad I didn’t get pulled into working there.” He sighed. “Real estate got hit too. But I’d still rather invest my energy in houses. At least I can see where my money’s going.”
The sky was getting dark now, but the lights on the riverboats looked even prettier in this dusky purple light. “It’s so beautiful out there,” she murmured as she gazed out over the river. She almost added, “So romantic,” but she didn’t want Ryan to take it wrong. Or did she? Once again, she wondered about Cassidy. Just how serious was his relationship with her? It
wasn’t as if they’d kissed this morning. In fact, they hadn’t even hugged. Still, Cassidy was beautiful and seemed genuinely nice. Plus she was a children’s doctor. What more could a nice guy like Ryan want? Could a high school art teacher even hope to compete? Why would she want to compete anyway?
“Nicole?” Ryan said her name in a way that suggested she’d been spacing out.
“What?” She turned to see him grinning.
“I think you were daydreaming.”
“Oh . . . yeah.” She felt her cheeks grow warm and was grateful for the dim light.
“Dreaming about being out on that riverboat with Mark Twain at the helm?”
She laughed. “Yeah, something like that.” A different kind of impossible dream. “But it’s getting late and I have to work in the morning. I probably should get going.”
As Ryan drove them home, Nicole tried not to think about him as a potential boyfriend. It was better if she just focused on building a solid friendship with him. What was wrong with that? Who wouldn’t want a guy like Ryan Graham for a good friend?
19
“Where have you been?” Alex demanded when Nicole came into the house.
“What?” She frowned, wondering why he felt he had the right to question her whereabouts like that. “I was with Ryan. But you knew that.”
“All this time you were with Ryan?” He scowled. “I thought you guys were going straight home from the restaurant.” His expression softened. “We were worried,” he explained. “I figured you’d have been here before us. And when Bernie couldn’t find you, she was concerned too.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” She explained about the sunset. “It was so beautiful on the river. And the riverboats were so pretty. It was hard to tear myself away.”
Alex rubbed his chin. “Ryan probably enjoyed it too.”
“Well, he knew the best spot to watch the sunset.” She held up her phone. “I got a lot of pictures that I might try to paint from.”
“Oh, there you are.” Bernie came into the kitchen, dressed in sleeping shorts and a tank top. She removed a soda from the fridge. “See, Dad, I told you she was just fine.”
Alex ignored his daughter, turning his attention back to Nicole. “Anyway, I wanted to see if you still want me to come to the gallery with you tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s right.” She remembered their earlier conversation. “To teach me how to do the bookkeeping stuff.”
“Yeah. You still want some tutoring?”
“I’d love it.” She smiled at him. “It would be really helpful, Alex. If you don’t mind.”
“But remember the deal?”
“You mean about Amyra?” She grimaced.
“If you learn how to do the business end of things, you won’t need her anymore.”
“I wish I could talk to your mom about it first.” Nicole frowned. “This is her business. She should be involved.”
“Believe me, Mom will thank you if Amyra is history when she comes home.”
Nicole wasn’t so sure.
“Anyway, I’m happy to help you.” He took a banana from the fruit bowl. “I guess Amyra is your business, but if you’re smart, you’ll figure out a way to lose her. The sooner the better too.”
Nicole still needed time to think this through. Firing anyone—even someone as disagreeable as Amyra—would not come naturally. Changing the subject, she told Alex when she planned to go to the gallery in the morning. “You can come in later if you like.”
“Sounds good.”
Nicole turned to Bernie. “You can come in with your dad if you don’t want to go in early. It’s up to you.”
Bernie shrugged. “Maybe I’ll figure it out in the morning.”
Nicole told them she was tired, and even though it was just a little past nine, she excused herself to bed. They probably thought she was a real party pooper, but the truth was she sometimes felt uncomfortable around Alex. It seemed like he expected too much from her. She just wasn’t ready for that. In fact, she would probably never be ready for it.
Learning the ropes of the bookkeeping program and financial side of the business was more complicated than Nicole had hoped. But by the end of Sunday, she’d made real progress. Alex turned out to be a good teacher, and having Bernie around to pick up the slack was helpful too.
By the time she drove home, she was really tired. Although Alex and Bernie invited her to join them for dinner, she was relieved to beg off, blaming it on weariness.
On Monday, Alex came to the gallery again, continuing to take her through the paces. Nicole felt like she was getting it.
“Lucky for you that I picked a very simple system when I set this up for Mom,” Alex said at the end of the day. “Like I keep telling you, there’s no mistake that you can’t undo—as long as you give yourself time. Don’t be in a rush. Take your time, and if you’re confused, go back to your notes. Or give me a call.”
“Except that you’ll be in Los Angeles when I go back to work,” she said. She also wanted to remind him that she’d still have Amyra to turn to, except she knew that would aggravate him. He was still hoping Nicole would be giving “Vampira” her walking papers this week, but mostly she’d skirted the issue. Fortunately, she didn’t need to think about that until Wednesday. Tomorrow the gallery would be closed, and she was ready for a day off.
Alex and Bernie left an hour before closing time. Their plan was to go pick up some more of Bernie’s things from her home, where Lori was supposed to be by now. Alex had promised Bernie to talk to Lori and convince her that Bernie should spend the summer at his parents’ house.
“Do you think Lori will have a problem with that?” Nicole had asked him earlier.
“It depends on her frame of mind.” He sighed. “Lori is mostly about Lori. If she senses that Bernie’s relocation will have a negative impact on her world, well, it could get nasty. Hopefully it won’t.”
“I hope not too. If there’s any way I can help, please let me know. Maybe it would reassure Lori if she talked to me—to know that Bernie isn’t just being left on her own all summer.”
Alex frowned. “Lori’s probably not concerned about that. Not as much as she would be concerned about you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. A pretty young woman living in my parents’ house, helping with Bernie . . . well, knowing Lori, she would jump to conclusions.”
“But I could explain to—”
“You don’t know Lori. I suppose you should be grateful for that. Trust me, the less said about you, the better it will go for Bernie.”
After Alex and Bernie left the gallery, Nicole said a silent prayer that it would go well for them. She knew how badly Bernie wanted to continue working at the gallery and staying at her grandparents’ home. It would be such a disappointment if Lori pulled the plug.
Nicole was relieved to see that Alex’s car was parked in the driveway when she got home. Hopefully that meant Bernie was with him. But when she went inside, she only saw Alex, and judging by his expression, it had not gone well with Lori.
“Is something wrong?” she asked cautiously.
He glowered at the beer in his hand and nodded.
“Is it Lori?” She set her purse on a barstool.
“She wouldn’t let Bernie come back with me.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s Lori. Because she can.”
“Didn’t you explain about Bernie working at the gallery—”
“Bernie tried to tell her about it. I think that’s about the point where it started to unravel.”
“Why?”
“Because Bernie was singing your praises, Nicole.” He looked up at her with a creased brow. “Lori got jealous.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Bernie was crushed when I had to leave her behind.”
“But don’t you have shared custody?” Nicole asked. “You’re her dad. Don’t you have a say in this?”
“According to my attorney, I shouldn’t be rocking Lori’s boat. The more
it looks like I’m cooperating with her, the better it will go at the hearing.” He sighed. “I just feel so bad for Bernie. I haven’t seen her cry like that for a long time.”
“Oh my.” Nicole sat down. “Isn’t there anything we can do? Is there anyone Lori would listen to?” She bit her lip. “I know she wouldn’t listen to me, but I bet if your mom was here, she might listen to her. Your mom’s such a wise woman.”
“Maybe. But that’s pointless.” His eyes lit up. “But there is someone.”
“Someone Lori respects?”
He nodded. “Ryan.”
“Why don’t you ask Ryan to intervene for you?”
He slowly shook his head and took a sip of his beer.
“Ryan loves Bernie,” she persisted. “I’m sure he’d be glad to talk to Lori for you.”
“Yeah, maybe. But I hate asking my little brother for a favor.”
“Why?” she demanded.
“You know.” He blew out a sigh. “Old sibling rivalry. I’m always picking on him. Why should he want to help me?”
“Because he cares about Bernie. Because he’s a nice guy.”
Alex locked eyes with her. “You really like Ryan, don’t you?”
Nicole looked away.
“You do, don’t you, Nicole?”
She turned back to him. “Of course I like Ryan. I like both of you guys. Your parents raised some very nice young men.” She smiled stiffly.
“But you’re into Ryan, aren’t you?” he continued.
“Oh, Alex.” She rolled her eyes. “You sound like one of my high school students. I do like Ryan. We’re friends. That’s all there is to it.”
“Well, that’s good. Because Ryan is probably going to marry Cassidy.”
“Oh?” She studied him closely. “They’re really serious then?”
“They’ve been going together off and on since they were kids. My mom and Mrs. Sherman are always talking about what kind of wedding they want for them. I’ll bet they’re discussing it right now on the cruise ship.” He chuckled. “I guess that’s pretty serious.”
Nicole wasn’t so sure. “Back to Bernie. If Ryan could have a chance of changing Lori’s mind, I don’t see why you can’t swallow your pride and ask him.”
Under a Summer Sky--A Savannah Romance Page 16
