by Lacey Baker
“You should have done more to help save her!” he yelled, standing up and slamming his palms on the table.
She startled only slightly, and Preston admitted he felt like an ass. He didn’t yell and he didn’t slam things, but today he was so on edge about everything he felt like exploding. Michelle hadn’t known it but she’d just walked into a hornet’s nest.
“I am not a miracle worker!” Michelle yelled right back. “I helped her start this place. I made beds and cleaned toilets, I cooked cakes and fried chicken on blistering-hot summer days even after the grease had splattered my hands so much I looked like I had chicken pox! I had coffee with her every morning and sat with her in church on Sundays while all of you gallivanted around the country doing whatever the hell you wanted. Don’t you dare stand here and tell me what I should have done, Preston Cantrell! You should have done more!”
She hadn’t stood up to meet him eye-to-eye or changed her position at all. Her eyes had followed him and blazed with anger as only a Cantrell’s could. And as Preston looked at her, heard the words she’d said, he didn’t know how to respond.
Everything she’d said had been correct. She had been the only one to stay in Sweetland with their grandmother. She had been with her every day, doing whatever was needed. And she’d worked at the inn making it everything it was today. She’d done more than her share, and he’d known that all along.
“I came back to help,” he said even though it sounded pitiful to his own ears.
“I never said you didn’t,” she told him. “I never faulted you or the others for following your dreams or for the fact that your dreams led you away from here. And neither did Gramma.”
“But she wanted us to come back here to stay. We all know that’s what she wanted.”
Michelle nodded. “You were born and raised here so, yes, Gramma thought no other place in this world was good enough for you to settle down and live in. I believe her.”
“How can you say that when you just said you didn’t begrudge any of us for leaving?”
“I don’t because I believe everyone should have the chance to follow their dreams. I managed to follow my dreams, but the love of family and of my family home brought me right back here. Now I’m doing both.”
She made it sound so damned easy. Like there weren’t other options, other considerations. “We should have that same love, is that what you’re saying?”
“We were brought up in the same home, by the same person. It stands to reason that would be correct.”
He sighed with frustration. “That’s not correct, Michelle. What’s good for you is not good for everybody else. What works for Savannah doesn’t work for Raine. We’re all different people with different roads to walk.”
“Savannah’s road leads in a circle right back to her every time. If she would sit still long enough, she’d realize that all that attention she’s been looking for all her life, she’s already received right here in Sweetland. But outside of that, I could understand if all of you had gone away and found happiness and contentment someplace else, but you haven’t. And at the same time you won’t give Sweetland a chance. You won’t give our legacy a chance.”
“I’ve always supported The Silver Spoon. Nothing would stop me from continuing to do that. I just don’t want to live here.”
“Just like Mama didn’t want to live here.”
“She stayed for all the wrong reasons,” Preston admitted reluctantly. “And first opportunity she had to break free she did. She never looked back and Savannah suffered for that, Raine suffered.”
Michelle shook her head. “You suffered,” she said quietly.
Preston didn’t respond.
“She left all of us, Preston. Not just you. She walked out on her family because she could only think about herself. You were raised differently than that. The fact that you came back even temporarily and did everything you could for Gramma to get this place up and running is proof of that. If you’re still holding a grudge against Patricia for leaving, you need to let that go. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know it wasn’t my fault. It was nobody’s fault but Dad’s.”
Now Michelle did look stunned.
“He should have never asked her to stay where she didn’t want to, should have never forced her to be here and have his children. She was a runner; he should have known that.”
Michelle had been shaking her head while he talked. “She was a selfish and inconsiderate woman who is still selfish and inconsiderate to this day. And the only thing our father did was love her!”
Michelle’s eyes brimmed with tears. Preston sighed, feeling like crap once more. Women and tears weren’t a good thing, on a normal day. Michelle who was always the strongest of them all, the toughest and the most resilient, couldn’t cry. She should never cry because it ripped at something so raw in Preston he almost cursed with the pain.
“I had a goal. I worked really hard to achieve that goal. And now, now—” He couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Now you don’t know what to do. Well, Preston, I can’t find that answer for you. It’s your life and you have a right to live it any way you please. Just don’t forget that you weren’t dropped out of the sky onto this earth. You were born into a family, and within a family there are ties and emotions and responsibilities that bind us all together. Whatever one person does will affect those ties and emotions, just like Patricia’s leaving affected us even though it was her decision and her life.”
She’d stood from the table then and took a deep breath, as if willing those tears that still brimmed in her eyes to stay away. “And let me tell you something else. If you don’t know what you’re doing with your own life, you probably shouldn’t be messing with Heaven’s. That girl is trying to get herself together after that traumatic event in her life. If you can’t commit to her, or at the very least try to give her everything she wants, you should leave her alone. Because I don’t care what your reputation is, playing with a woman’s feelings is wrong, and Gramma would not be pleased.”
Somewhere between that statement and the time she vanished completely from the room she’d told him about the soiree’s change in venue. He’d cursed so loud and so fluently he almost thought she might turn back to come and continue to put him in his place. Since she’d already started she might as well finish it off. Instead she’d left him alone with even more to think about than had already been plaguing him.
At the window now, with papers and laptop long forgotten, Preston wondered if this day, this week, this year, could possibly get any worse.
Chapter 22
Tiny white lights danced in the moonlight. They’d been strung from the awning on the wraparound deck in back of The Marina to the edge of the three large white tents in straight rows. The lush green grass was an uncommon but comfortable flooring for such an elegant event. High-boy tables were strategically placed about twelve feet from the front entrance and every six or so feet in a zigzag pattern upto the opening of each tent. Tuxedo-wearing wait staff walked around greeting everyone with trays full of champagne glasses. Instrumental music played lightly in the background while the low murmur of voices created a festive atmosphere.
And for about five minutes as Heaven stood in the center of it all she felt like Cinderella. Like all the hard work and goals she’d continually met had paid off big-time because now she was at the infamous ball. She was alone—meaning no date in sight—but at least she was here.
That entire line of thought was crazy since this was not the first black-tie event Heaven had ever attended. As Mortimer and Opaline’s only child, she’d been obligated to attend all of their events from the time she was five years old. And the moment she turned sixteen the invitations to more dress-up-and-act-like-royalty events came to her attention. She’d been working the socialite network for more years than she could count.
Yet tonight was drastically different. She could feel it. All around her people mulled about. Women were dressed in gowns like she was, but t
hey moved differently. Their backs weren’t stiff, necks straight, heads held high. That’s because Heaven doubted very seriously any of them had ever attended Mrs. Everly’s Etiquette Establishment, which was kind of a coup for them since Mrs. Everly was perhaps one of the rudest people Heaven had ever had the opportunity to meet.
“You look stunning,” Delia said, walking up to Heaven. “That is a great dress.”
Heaven liked Delia because she felt like the woman was 100 percent; what you saw was exactly what you got with her. What Heaven and everyone else at the soiree tonight saw was Delia dressed in a red satin gown that looked like it may have been red ink poured over her slim, but curvy body. Her spiked hair gave the dress an even more vixen-like look. The deep plunge in the front that almost exposed her belly button definitely said Too hot too handle. The men of Sweetland were in for it tonight.
“Thanks, Delia. Your dress is … it’s…”
“It’s freakin’ hot!” she said with a deep chuckle and a toss of her head so that the diamonds at her ears glistened beneath the twinkle lights. “I haven’t worn it in over a year,” she continued with a shrug. “I actually wasn’t sure I could still fit in it.”
Hmmm, well, Heaven thought, the jury was still out on whether or not she was fitting the dress or the dress was simply fitting her.
“You look fantastic. All the guys in Sweetland are going to follow you around all night long.”
A waiter passed them, and Delia grabbed him by the arm. “Hold on there, cutie. I need one of those in a bad way.” She snagged a glass, then took another and extended it to Heaven.
“My sentiments exactly,” Heaven said, graciously taking the glass and an immediate sip.
“Wow, this is high-quality stuff,” Delia said, looking at her glass after the first taste, then putting it up to her lips for another.
Heaven did the same, the second sip going down smoother and sweeter than the last. “You’re right. This is the good stuff.”
“So they’re serving top-of-the-line champagne. Nice touch,” Quinn said as he and Nikki joined Heaven and Delia.
“They also have a couture dress shop. I’ve already planned to send in a spy to see what type of merchandise they’re hauling,” Delia said with a frown.
“But you have high-end things at your shop,” Nikki added. “And the women of the town already know you, they know your merchandise is good. A little competition in a town this small might be a good thing.”
Delia shook her head, then finished off her champagne. “There’s no such thing as good competition, whether it’s big or little. The Marina has one purpose in mind for Sweetland, conquer.”
“Don’t you mean divide and conquer?” Heaven asked. “I really think there’ll be a portion of the town that will remain dedicated to what they know. The older generations do not do change well.” She knew, her parents were of an older generation—one that was probably started by some crazy cult, but that was another story altogether.
When the champagne tray came by again, Quinn picked up another glass for Delia and one for his fiancée. He didn’t take one for himself but looked intently at Heaven. “I think you’ve got a point. Maybe we need to focus on that generation. They all have relatives that have left Sweetland. They could easily get them to come back, at least for a visit.”
“Not if they’re family members are anything like the Cantrells,” Nikki said quietly.
With the mention of the Cantrells and coming back to Sweetland, Heaven looked around. She wasn’t looking for Preston, had already told herself she wouldn’t look for him. She hadn’t seen him since early this morning and she’d overheard Michelle and Savannah talking about him wanting to go back to Baltimore. Still, she’d gotten dressed and planned to have a good time at the soiree tonight. Especially since this was her first official outing as a soon-to-be resident of the town. She wanted to meet people, and begin settling in as soon as possible.
The absence of Preston Cantrell wasn’t going to stop her. At least that was the plan.
* * *
Preston straightened his tie. He took two steps and straightened the vest. Another step and he checked his cuff links. He stepped again and …
“If you don’t stop fidgeting, I’m going to have to kill you,” Parker said in a cool tone.
“What are you talking about?” he asked his brother, who had been behaving a little off himself in the last two or three days.
“You’re acting like a nervous ninny. You’d think you’ve never worn a tuxedo before,” he told him as they made their way through the entrance.
“I’ve worn a tuxedo plenty of times. I just want to make sure I don’t look like I’ve never worn one.”
“You just want to make sure Heaven sees how good you look in one,” Parker said, moving a step ahead of Preston.
Tonight Parker had donned a tuxedo as well. Every man in Sweetland had probably headed up to Easton to rent a tux if he didn’t already own one. And even with his cane—probably because of his cane—Parker looked like a movie star dressed in his Calvin Klein tuxedo. All three of the Cantrell men had taken a couple of hours and driven to Easton to rent their tuxedos. Quinn figured it made sense to go ahead and try out the outfits they’d be wearing in the wedding in a couple of months.
Preston and Parker had the same tux while Quinn’s had tails. Each of them looked debonair in his own way. None of their ways could compare to how Parker looked. Nothing about him said city homicide detective—he looked so polished and clean cut. Preston looked down at himself again and silently admitted to being a little nervous. Not only would this be the first time Heaven would see him all dressed up, it would probably seem like the first time they’d seen each other in two days. Since the announcement that she was staying in Sweetland.
Preston had purposely stayed away from her, unsure of how to act around her at that point. Even though he recalled asking her if she was going to stay, the reality of the situation hadn’t really hit until Thursday’s announcement. She was going to make a home for herself here in Sweetland. She wasn’t going back to Boston. What that meant for Preston was that his easy way out of the fling they’d started had now grown extremely complicated.
“And you’re walking so fast so that Drew Sidney won’t get a chance to see you in your tux,” Preston said, elbowing Parker when he finally caught up to him.
Parker stopped and grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the traveling trays. He emptied the glass.
“I don’t hide from women,” was his eventual retort.
“And neither do I,” Preston said, looking around.
“So now you’ve decided to look for her.” Parker chuckled. “You are so gone over this one. And that’s a pretty amazing feat since you don’t normally give a female enough of your time to become this involved with her.”
“I’m not gone. And I’m thirty-three years old, I know how to be in a relationship with a woman.”
Parker gave a full-out laugh at that one. “I’m the same age and neither of us has ever been in a ‘relationship.’ We’ve had women, lots of women, but never one we wanted to keep. It doesn’t look so bad on Quinn. If you get your head together in time, you and Heaven might even make a go of it.”
“She lives in Boston,” was Preston’s instant reply. Then he closed his mouth tightly.
Parker was already shaking his head. “Not anymore.”
“Yeah, right. Did she find a house yesterday?” he asked as they’d begun walking again, this time toward the second tent where they’d seen Savannah and Raine walk in.
“I don’t think so. Savannah was rumbling about all the houses in Sweetland looking the same last night, and Michelle said it might take Heaven a little time to find something she’s comfortable with.”
“She’s used to condos and drivers picking her up,” Preston said.
“How do you know?”
“Her family’s pretty rich. Joe talked to his mother and mentioned I was dating a woman named Heaven from Boston. She remembe
red a pretty prestigious couple with a daughter by that name.”
“Damn, bro, how many people do you have looking into this woman’s background?”
“Just enough to find out what I need to know. Don’t you think it’s strange that the black SUV was never seen in town again and Heaven hasn’t received a call from that number you traced since then?”
“You mean the untraceable number since it belonged to a disposable cell phone. I do find that a little strange,” Parker added.
“The calm before the storm,” Preston said, then felt a clench in his gut. His mouth was suddenly very dry as he stopped just a few steps into the tent.
“And there she is,” Parker said. He clapped Preston on the back and took another sip from his glass. “Yeah, you might as well give up the fight, buddy. She’s got you.”
She did not have him, Preston convinced himself, leaving his brother behind. He was walking toward the table where Heaven stood with Delia, Savannah, and Raine.
She stepped away from the table and moved around to the other side to pull out a chair. Preston drank in every inch of her. She looked taller, which meant she must have been wearing high heels beneath the floor-length gown. The gown that didn’t have much color, but sparkled each time she moved. Her curves, the line of her back as it extended outward toward her delectable bottom, her torso as voluptuous breasts sat high showing a tremendous amount of skin above the sparkling neckline. He swallowed again, his groin tightening with desire. Her hair was pulled up in a stack of curls that were both elegant and sexy as hell.
“If we pull over two more chairs all of us can sit together,” Savannah was saying.
“This is not the type of event where you simply pull over a few more chairs,” Raine interjected.
“I was thinking the guys could sit at one table and all the females at another,” Delia added. “Your brothers are fine, but they’re all taken, which is completely killing my plans to find me a hot sex partner to go with this hot dress.”
