And now he was actually in the same room with her. His entire body thrummed with that knowledge. He felt the electric reality of it sizzling through every cell of his being.
He had no illusions that this was going to be some joyous reunion of childhood chums. No. She probably wanted to kill him.
She had probably been planning his demise since Henry had told her that he was coming to her father's will reading. He deserved it.
She had only been a child, only 17, when she had breathlessly confessed her teenage crush to him. What he should have done was calmly explain that their age difference made it impossible, but that he was immensely flattered, and that she was amazing, so it was nothing to do with her, and sent her away with her dignity intact. In short, he should have handled the situation with some maturity.
But, because of his own powerful feelings for her and his yearlong campaign to keep them under strict control, that was not what he had been able to do. No, he had yelled at her. Yelled! Screamed, even. He, who would never want to hurt her - who would die rather than hurt her - had sent her running away from him in tears.
And now that she was seeing him again, the very next time she was laying eyes on him after that long ago humiliation, she had gotten so upset that she dropped her tray, and didn't even seem to notice. Damn, Justin, he berated himself silently. You just cannot stop upsetting this girl!
He tried to imagine what she would do next. Would she walk up to him and slap him? That was fine. He deserved worse than that. Would she coldly and icily ignore him? He could take that as well. He did, indeed, know that he deserved that.
Would she scream at him? It would serve him right; she would only be repaying him in kind. He could deal with that.
It was what would come after the initial anger that scared him. A thousand years of ongoing resentment. Yes. He could deal with that. Spiteful snipes. Yes. He could deal with that.
But the worst possibility, too painful to even consider, was that once her initial residual teenage resentment had burned out, she would treat him as someone whom she remembered only vaguely. A passing acquaintance, ten years gone from her life.
What if, when all was said and done, it didn't really matter to her if he was around or not?
What if, when it came down to it, she didn't really care?
How the hell would he ever deal with that?
--- ~ ---
Amanda felt her senses coming back to her, not slowly or bit by bit, but rather in a rush of frantic fur flying past her. She felt a warm, furry bulk bump her legs as a dark and distinctly canine form barreled past her into the room, nearly knocking her feet from under her. She did a double take. Was that - could that be – Teddy?
Her calm, mellow black lab hadn’t moved in a way that could be described as faster or more frantic than “ambling” in probably two years. Could this be the same pooch? The question of what could have inspired this sudden burst of frenetic energy was not one that was difficult for Amanda to answer. Justin. Of course, Justin.
If there was anyone in the world who loved Justin even more than Amanda had, it was sweet Teddy. As a puppy, for the entire first year of his life, he had followed Justin around all day long, like a duckling trailing after its mama. As Justin went about his daily duties, performing tasks which took him to every corner of the sprawling property, Teddy had never been more than a few feet away. Amanda often joked that he was more Justin’s dog than he was hers. But she hadn’t minded. It had felt like just one more thread in the bond that wove them together.
But Amanda would never have guessed that the pup’s devotion, or even memory, would span the course of a decade. Yet here he was, graying muzzle and all, frolicking around Justin’s legs like he was a puppy again. Amanda couldn’t remember the last time she had seen so much joy in his eyes.
She found herself laughing along with the girls and Henry, and just like that, the tension was magically broken.
Henry walked over to Justin, gave him a hearty handshake, and said, “Welcome home, son. It’s been far too long. And I am happy to see you, although maybe not as happy as some people in the room.” He bent down and scratched Teddy’s head as he delivered this last quip, but the clandestine wink he made sure that only Amanda could see let her know that his words had not been referencing Teddy alone.
Amanda, blushing, turned and began picking up the mason jars, now empty of iced tea, and placing them back on the tray. She used the quick trip back and forth to the kitchen to put them in the sink as an opportunity to get herself back under control - as under control as she could be, at any rate. She vowed to herself that, even if she was a shaken mess on the inside, her face, voice, and gestures would not betray her. She needed to be strong, so that as far as Justin or anyone else in the room would be able to tell, the return of her childhood soulmate was nothing more than a blip on her radar.
Amanda stepped back into the living room and smiled at all of the laughing voices still raised in greeting. Karina in particular seemed quite pleased to see Justin. Amanda remembered that Karina and Justin had always gotten along. They had always appreciated one another’s sense of humor, and enjoyed a playful rivalry. Amanda hoped that this dynamic between them, still obviously fully in force, would serve as a buffer for her own interactions with Justin, until she could get a better handle on controlling her internal turmoil.
Geoffrey’s stiff voice cut through the merriment in the room. “Now that this person,” he looked pointedly at Justin, “has arrived - and with such fanfare - perhaps we can begin.”
Henry shook his head and chuckled ruefully. “Yes, son, you...for whatever doggone reason...will be happy to know that we can now get this show on the road.”
“Yeah, Go Free,” said Karina, as she settled into her place on the couch, “it’s a good point. Why are you so incredibly eager to start these proceedings? Do you think Amanda’s father left something to you or what? It’s kind of weird,” she finished with a shrug.
Geoffrey looked properly offended, “My anticipation springs solely from my concern for Amanda, I assure you, and not from any self-serving agenda. I can merely see how much of a toll the process is taking on her, and wish to discover the most expedient path to selling this property and moving on, together.”
Amanda looked at Geoffrey in surprise. “Selling? What? That's not what I plan to do! What gave you that idea?”
Geoffrey smiled an indulgent half smile. “Well, we'll discuss that later. Right now you're clearly much too emotional and overtired to think straight. You're even dropping trays of drinking glasses,” he paused and grimaced slightly, as if feeling suddenly a little sick to his stomach, “well.. jars...at any rate.”
He placed his arm paternally around Amanda's shoulder and guided her to the couch. He spoke soothingly. “Let's just get this started. Once we have heard the terms of the will, and have talked about the concrete values of the property and the business, we will have a much clearer idea of what we need to do.”
Karina, Sam and Lauren shared a suspicious glance as they took their seats. “We?” Karina mouthed to Lauren incredulously, and Lauren returned a slow shrug. This new attitude of 'togetherness' from Geoffrey was definitely something new.
As Justin settled himself in the recliner opposite the couch, Teddy jumped up into his lap and curled up in a ball. He chuffed contentedly as he settled his chin onto the arm of the chair, as if he didn't even notice that his curled up form was almost twice the size of Justin's lap.
Samantha smiled, “It's like he thinks he's a chihuahua!” she exclaimed.
Amanda smiled sadly, “No. It's like he thinks he's a puppy again.” She looked up, and her blue eyes locked with Justin's brown ones. He continued to scratch Teddy's head as they looked into each other's eyes, and a melancholy smile crept across his face until it matched the one that Amanda wore.
Henry cleared his throat and opened his briefcase. “All right, how about we get started then?”
Almost as one entity, every head in the room
swiveled to face Geoffrey. His tight face looked annoyed at the attention, but he made no comment.
Henry took a handful of papers from his battered briefcase and laid them out on the coffee table in front of him. He shuffled through them and pulled out one thick, official looking bundle. He looked around at the expectant faces in the room, and Amanda could swear that she actually saw a sparkle in his eyes.
“Well, Manda Bear, let's just cut to the chase. There are basically two main assets that your Daddy left you. One of them is this house and the property it sits on, and one of them is Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures. The house is straightforward, he left it directly to you. The Adventure park is a little more...interesting.”
“Interesting?” Geoffrey sounded suspicious.
“I think it's interesting,” Henry said with a small smile, “See, your Daddy left you 80% of Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures, and 20% to Justin here.”
“What?!” This surprised exclamation sprung from the lips of both Justin and Geoffrey simultaneously, although with very different undertones. While Geoffrey sounded horrified, Justin sounded truly shocked and taken aback.
“I don't understand this,” Justin said, “Henry, when you told me Parker left something to me, I thought it would be more in the neighborhood of a memento, a token. Something small and meaningful.”
“Well, son,” Henry said, amused, “you were expecting something small and meaningful, and what you got was something big and meaningful. I'd say that's better all around.”
“Who is this person?” Geoffrey's frustrated voice cut in.
“Justin used to live here,” Amanda interjected softly, holding her head a little higher. “he was my Dad's right hand man for many years. He was like a son to him.”
Justin gave Geoffrey a steely-eyed suspicious stare. “And who is this person?” he returned the inquiry.
“I'm Amanda's boyfriend,” Geoffrey said territorially, slipping his arm around her shoulder, almost as an afterthought.
The two men stared each other down for a moment, clearly sizing each other up. The atmosphere in the room became increasingly tense, until finally Karina said, “OK, guys, look...if you're really gonna do this, why not just drop trou and we can settle it once and for all. Whip 'em out and we'll see who has the bigger dick. Otherwise, let's just get on with the will reading, shall we? Amanda doesn't need this crap.”
“Fine,” Justin agreed, but his stare didn't waver.
Geoffrey quickly looked away towards Henry and said petulantly, “I don't understand how this person could possibly be given 20% of Amanda's business when he's done nothing to earn it.”
“Geoffrey, stop,” Amanda protested, “I don't have a problem with it, in fact, I think it's perfect.”
“Well, it's a good thing you feel that way, Manda girl. Because there's one more condition.” Henry continued, and this time Amanda was sure that it was not her imagination, she definitely did see a sparkle in his bright blue eyes.
“What condition?” she inquired.
“Simply this: although you, Manda, own 80% and Justin only 20%, you both do have to agree on big decisions about the property. For instance, selling. Both of you would need to sign off on that. Secondly, no decisions whatsoever about the future of the park can be made until you and Justin have run it together for at least one full month. After that time, if you both agree to sell, you can go down that road. But you're going to have to run it together for one full month before that.”
“What if Justin runs off before the month is up?” Lauren asked stiffly.
“Lauren!” Amanda exclaimed, her eyes wide.
“What?” Lauren shot back, “It does seem to be what he's good at.”
“I deserve that...” Justin began.
“You deserve worse than that,” Lauren cut him off.
“Lauren, stop it!” Amanda begged.
Henry put his hands up. “Okay, folks, let's settle it down. Emotions are running high right now, of course they are. It's been an emotional day. Why don't we stop this for the moment. Amanda has the memorial service to get ready for, and all of these details can wait until next week. I'll come over to the main administration building and Manda and Justin and I can have a meeting. We'll get all the details straightened out then.” Henry looked pointedly at Geoffrey when he made clear who the attendees of that meeting would be.
Amanda, shaken, nodded her head, “Yes, that sounds good. That sounds really good. I think I need to lie down.”
Justin nodded numbly, “I think I might need to lie down as well.”
“Where are you staying, Justin?” Amanda strove to keep her voice even as she asked Justin this question, even though everything inside of her was screaming for the answer.
“Well, I hadn't actually worked that out yet,” Justin said ruefully, “I walked straight over here from getting off of the bus, and dropped my bag in the front hall. I was figuring I'd walk back into town and see what I could scare up. Is Sue Ann still renting out the couple of rooms over the cafe?”
Amanda made a conscious effort to wipe all of the expression from her face before she spoke again, because it was imperative that he not read the desperation there, desperation for him to say yes to her next inquiry. She needed to be casual. She needed to play it cool.
“Well, you could do that I suppose,” she said, in as light a tone as she could muster, “Or you could bunk in your old quarters out back, if you like. It's empty.”
Justin looked at her carefully, “Would that be alright with you?”
Amanda shrugged, afraid to speak. This casual facade was difficult to keep up! She felt if she spoke, that her entire heart would be laid bare in her voice.
“I think I will do that then, if you don't mind,” Justin said, retrieving his bag from the front hall, “It will be like old times.”
--- ~ ---
Amanda walked Henry out to his car, and he gave her a big hug. “Manda Bear, don't you fret. Your Uncle Henry is going to make sure this all comes out all right for you,” he said comfortingly.
Amanda fell apart at that, and began to sob on Henry's shoulder. This was what she had been missing most since her father's death, the sheer luxurious comfort of resting in the strong arms of someone who was assuring her that everything would be fine. When her Dad was alive, she had the privilege of being able to have that any time she wanted. She swore to herself in that moment that if she were ever blessed enough to be able to have that in her life again, she would never – not for one moment – take it for granted. She would treasure it, with every cell of her being.
Geoffrey came down the steps of the front porch at that moment, straightening his coat and pulling on his gloves. He sniffed disagreeably at the sight of Amanda crying. “Really, Amanda, there's no need to come apart. That ridiculous will is never going to stand up in court. Honestly, Henry, I think it verges on malpractice that you would even draw up such a document.”
Henry glared at Geoffrey, “Well, son, your legal expertise aside, the fact is that in order to see if the will would stand up in court, you would actually have to challenge it in court.”
Geoffrey looked unfazed. “We have no problem with that.”
Henry looked at Amanda, “Manda girl, is that what you really want? Forget for a moment whether this will is on legal ground that's as shaky as quicksand or as solid as granite. What we know for sure is that this document represents your Daddy's wishes for how he wanted to see things turn out. Do you really want to go to court and ask for their help in throwing his wishes aside like they don't even matter?”
Amanda was horrified, “No! God, no! Geoffrey, we're not going to court! I don't even mind that Justin owns 20% of the resort. Daddy loved Justin. I wouldn't care if he had half!”
Geoffrey gave Amanda an exasperated sigh, “Amanda, weren't you listening? The real travesty of this document is not merely that it gives away 20% of your hard-earned profits to this person, but that it gives him veto power over selling the property. It also delays t
he ability to sell for at least a month!”
Amanda looked confused, “Geoffrey, I don't know where you got the idea that I wanted to sell Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventures. It's my home. It's where I grew up. It's Daddy's legacy. I don't want to sell it. I never want to sell it!”
Something hard glinted in Geoffrey's eyes. It was something Amanda had never seen there before. Sure, he had never been the warmest person, and he certainly did have a knack for making blunt pronouncements with little regard for tact, or for the feelings of the person on the other end of his assessments. But she had never seen anything truly cold, truly cruel in his soul. Not until now.
“We'll see,” he said flatly as he strode to his car, before peeling off in a cloud of dust.
Chapter 6
Amanda tossed and turned in her bed that night. She felt as though she were having a nightmare, except for the part where she was still awake. Heat coursed through her body, alternating with freezing cold flashes, until she felt she would go insane. She wondered idly if she had been suddenly stricken with some debilitating physical ailment, if she were coming down with some sort of rare strain of flu, perhaps, or the bubonic plague.
It wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Her every joint ached and her stomach felt queasy. She couldn't catch her breath, and when she put her hand to her forehead, she could swear she felt feverish.
Still, the one big difference between what she was feeling and a true physical ailment that, even in her condition, she could not fail to notice was that, alternating with the shaky sick feelings were sensations of overwhelming exhilaration and pure joy. Her joints and muscles traded off aching with tingling.
No, if she were honest, she had to admit to herself that this was a case of good old fashioned love sickness. Every sensation coursing through her body tonight, both positive and negative, could be attributed to the return of Justin Barnes.
Damn Justin.
Her life had been going along calmly enough. She had a handle on it, it was moving forward, she knew where it was going. And then Justin had walked back into her life. Just as she had finally gotten over him, he had waltzed back in.
Sweet Reunion Page 4
