by Lacey Baker
“Or is it because if I leave Larengetics you’ll have to find another way to finance your lifestyle?” Heaven asked in a cool tone of her own. Seems she’d learned something from her mother after all.
“My lifestyle is your legacy,” was Opaline’s irritated response.
Heaven shook her head. “Not exactly. Two years ago I considered buying a house. I scheduled an appointment with our accountant to figure out my financial options. Even though I didn’t intend to use any of the trust fund money, I knew I would have to disclose all of my financial information to any lending institution. He told me that my trust fund was the bulk of the fortune your father had left. When I asked how you were surviving since there was no way you could access the trust fund without my permission, he informed me of your monthly stipend from Larengetics. A stipend that was conditional upon my continued work and progress there.”
“That fool! As soon as I get home he’s fired. That is no business of yours,” she stuttered.
Yes, her mother stuttered, which gave Heaven a second’s pause.
“If I no longer work for Larengetics, the stipend stops,” she said clearly.
The heated flush on her mother’s face only confirmed what she knew to be true.
“I want you at Larengetics because you’re too smart to waste your life in this backward town. What are you going to do here, Heaven? Learn to knit or start a farm or some other such foolishness. You want to pretend my motives are self-serving, but I’m thinking about your future, about your well-being,” Opaline argued.
“No, Mother,” Heaven told her, shaking her head. “I don’t think you’ve ever truly given my well-being any thought. If you had you would have told me the truth about the explosion long before now.”
“The explosion? What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the meeting you had with Riordan after the explosion. The one where he told you he thought I’d double-crossed him and planned the explosion so I could sell my serum to the highest bidder.”
Opaline was shaking her head.
“There’s no use denying it. I talked to Riordan’s secretary before I came downstairs. I wanted to know why they continued to pay me when I was no longer working there. She told me it was because they didn’t have proof of my duplicity, but your stipend had been put on hold as a sort of punishment for not keeping me in line.”
Now Opaline’s face paled.
“So really, Mother, I should not have another kind word to say to you. After all, you’ve done nothing but use me my entire life. You controlled my every move, and tried to control my thoughts as well. As long as I continued to do what you wanted, you would stay rich and important.”
Heaven took a deep breath. She looked toward the back door, out the paned windows to where the dogs were in their pen, yipping and playing. Then she looked in the opposite direction to where Preston was standing beside her, watching her with curiosity, ready to support whatever she said or did, she supposed. And nothing, not Opaline, Larengetics, or even her trust fund, meant a damned thing.
“I resigned from Larengetics today. It’s official. I don’t know where that leaves you, and I don’t really care. In the coming weeks I will be traveling back and forth from Boston in an attempt to get all my things moved here. I will always be your daughter, but I will no longer be under your control,” she said with more strength than even she thought she’d had.
Preston’s hand was on her shoulder instantly, pulling her closer to him.
“Well said,” Mortimer told her.
“Mortimer?” Opaline began until he held up a hand to stop her.
“She knows, Opal, so you can give up the pretense. Frankly, I’m glad she knows. I told you not to accept that deal with Riordan anyway. But you didn’t want to live off my money. It’s never been enough for you. Well, I’m happy for Heaven, happy she’s found something for herself. And I’m certainly not going to let you stand in her way anymore.”
“I will not stand here and be treated this way,” Opaline said, turning to leave.
Mortimer shocked Heaven by reaching out to grab his wife by the arm. “You will say good-bye to our daughter properly. And you’d better get used to this backward town because we’re going to come visit her the first chance we get.”
Heaven smiled at that proclamation. “I’ll need to find a house first, Dad. Then you can come visit.”
The good-byes were stiff and cool on the part of Heaven and Opaline—she hadn’t expected anything different. As for her father, Heaven hugged him tightly once more, feeling the blossom of new beginnings prickle.
She was safe, Coco was safe. Preston loved her and she’d stood up to her mother. All was well in her world.
Chapter 27
One Week Later
“It’s perfect! Absolutely perfect!” Heaven squealed as she came bursting into the kitchen.
It was a cheery place, the Cantrell kitchen, with its yellow-painted walls and white eyelet curtains. The constant scent of something delicious being prepared made it homey and welcoming, a feeling that grasped Heaven immediately upon entering each and every time.
“I know I am,” Savannah said with a flourish and a mock curtsy.
She wore a long peach-colored sundress today with wedge heels and a large floppy-brimmed hat.
“I’m going into town today to have lunch with Delia and then to take that god-awful puppy of mine to the vet. I think he swallowed something, again,” she said with an exasperated sigh.
“A bit overdressed for a lunch date and a vet appointment, aren’t you?” Michelle asked.
“Nonsense, overdressed has never been an issue for me,” Savannah said.
“Um, I wasn’t talking about you or your dress, even though I think it’s very pretty,” was Heaven’s quiet reply.
Michelle laughed. Savannah pouted. Heaven nodded happily and went to take a seat at the table.
“I found a house. An absolutely perfect house for me and Coco,” she started.
“Really? Where?”
“It’s off Elm Road, a little way back, close to the water. I mean, I can literally walk about twenty feet from my back door and I’m at the water’s edge. It’s so perfect!” she said with elation.
“Elm Road,” Michelle said. “I’m trying to picture it.”
“Oh, don’t bother. I have pictures.” And Heaven happily pulled them out of the folder she’d slapped down onto the table.
“It’s blue,” Savannah squealed. “You want to live in a blue house?”
Heaven didn’t even bother to sigh, she was too used to Savannah’s mood swings and somewhat irritating candor.
“If you haven’t noticed, most of the houses in Sweetland have been painted some pastel tone, as if the town wanted to resemble Oz rather than a Chesapeake Bay resort town. Anyway, I like this house. It’s the perfect size, three bedrooms, one and a half baths. And look at those lovely trellises.”
“Three bedrooms. You plan on having roommates?” Savannah asked with a lift of an eyebrow.
“Well, I don’t know,” was Heaven’s reply.
Of course she’d thought of Preston the moment she’d seen the house. She’d thought of his truck parked in front, Coco’s pillow sitting in the living room, another one upstairs where she would undoubtedly sleep. She’d also thought of the back room on the first floor where she and Preston could share office space. But she wouldn’t mention that right now, not to his sisters.
“Come on, you’re hoping Preston will decide to stay in Sweetland and play house with you,” Savannah said with a smile.
“That’s none of your business, Savannah,” Michelle reprimanded.
“Right, like you aren’t hoping the same thing,” Savannah quipped, rolling her eyes at Michelle. “Look, Heaven, I like you. And I love my brother. So if this thing works for the two of you, I’ll be first in line to congratulate you. But if it doesn’t, if Preston’s not game for the happily-ever-after, don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”
With those parting words Savannah left and Heaven sat back in her chair, feeling more than a little deflated.
“She’s a barrel of sunshine,” she replied in what she hoped was a casual tone.
But Michelle was smarter than that. She came over to the table and sat across from Heaven. Picking up the pictures, she looked at the house.
“I’ve seen this house before. It’s pretty. Nice yard. You should check with Drew to see what she can design for you. That girl’s a genius with flowers. And you’re right, it’s by the water, Coco will love it there,” Michelle told her as she flipped through one picture after another.
“Do you think he’ll stay?” she asked quietly.
Michelle’s hands stilled on the table. “I would like him to stay. And if anybody can convince him to, it’s you.”
* * *
They walked along the water’s edge after dinner, Coco running in front of them. Preston held her hand as they walked in silence. Heaven’s heart beat rapidly as she planned what to say next.
All day long she’d been thinking of how to broach the subject with Preston. They’d never had the talk about their future beyond the fact that they were in love. For days that had been enough, but Heaven knew eventually this moment would come. The moment where she would have to assert herself, her wants, her needs, once more. With a deep breath she stopped walking, thinking she might just be getting better at this confrontation thing.
“I found a house today. Ethel’s putting in an offer, but it shouldn’t be a problem since it’s been empty for almost a year and the owners have already moved to another state.”
Preston let her hand go. He stooped to pick up a yellow ball Coco had just dropped at his feet. When he stood up again and tossed the ball, he looked at her but still did not speak.
“It has three bedrooms and is right up against the water, just like here. I love walking by the water after dinner. And it’s a nice nightcap for Coco, too.”
He nodded. “Yeah, Coco loves the water. Crazy dog.”
“So I was thinking that there’s a room in the back on the first floor. We could share the space for our offices, run separate phone lines and things like that. It isn’t huge, but I think it’ll work, especially since I only need space for a desk. There are lovely built-in bookshelves in the dining room where I can store my research texts so you could use the majority of the space.”
“You’re going to work from Sweetland?” he asked with a somber look on his face.
There was a light breeze, an almost cool one tonight. Mr. Sylvester had warned at dinner that a thunderstorm was coming. Her hair blew with the breeze, and she tucked it back behind her ears.
“I’m going to do some freelance writing. I’ve already spoken to an agent who can coordinate speaking engagements for me. So yes, I’ll continue with research and writing about my findings, and when there’s a speaking engagement, I’ll travel and come back.”
He nodded as if he agreed with that idea.
“You have everything all planned. Your life, I mean,” he said.
Tonight he wore gray slacks and a white dress shirt. He’d removed his tie and rolled up his sleeves when he came into the dining room for dinner. He’d talked about his meetings with Price Griffin, the owner of the spa, and Drew. He’d also mentioned something about a woman named Pia who wanted to host an ice cream social for the regional Girl Scouts meeting next month. Michelle, Nikki, Raine, and Quinn had been very excited by his progress. And for him, Preston had even looked pleased. Heaven had taken that as a sign he was really getting into the business of marketing the inn, hence contemplating staying in Sweetland.
“For too long I’ve let others plan my life for me. It’s time I took charge of that.” She shrugged. “So the house is down on Elm. It’s blue, and Savannah almost had a cow about that fact. I mean she really flipped like she’d never lived in a colored house before. Or like that was a fact that should even matter.”
“You sound really happy about this.”
She was happy about it. Until she looked up into his eyes. Heaven knew what was coming before he took the deep breath and said her name. Thoroughly disgusted with herself for believing, for wanting so desperately to believe that everything would fall smoothly into place with him, with her life, she held up a hand.
“Let me save you the trouble. You’re not staying in Sweetland. You have a job in Baltimore that you love, and practicing law here in Sweetland, or even helping your family keep this inn alive and thriving by continuing the marketing ventures you’ve started, isn’t an option.”
“Heaven,” he started.
“I know, you love me but this won’t work because we’ll be a distance apart. You never meant for this to get so serious and you wish you had been able to stop before it went this far. You’re very sorry but happily-ever-after is not in your life’s plan. Did I cover everything?”
Her heart was racing but Heaven wouldn’t show it. Her eyes stung from the tears she was trying desperately to hold back. Coco came back with the yellow ball, dropping it on the ground and sitting back on her bottom, looking up at the both of them expectantly.
“I usually like to speak for myself,” he said finally.
She shrugged. “Why waste time? I knew what was coming so I saved you the trouble.”
“I don’t consider talking to you trouble. Heaven, you’ve got me all wrong. You may think you know all there is to know about me, about how I think, but you don’t.”
“Really? Then tell me what part of what I said was incorrect?”
He was quiet.
“That’s what I thought.” She sighed. “Look, Preston, it’s fine. I’m a big girl, I can take it. We had fun, we fell in love, but that wasn’t the plan. These things happen but we’re both adults and have the capacity to move on.”
She stopped talking to bend down and scoop Coco into her arms. She needed that comfort, needed to feel her warmth against her as she threatened to break down completely.
“Heaven, I need for you to understand,” he started.
“Understand what, Preston? That you don’t want to live in the small town you were born in because you want a bigger, better life. You need me to understand that while I feel at home here, you don’t. It’s okay, you have a right to your feelings. You were living with them long before I came along. I shouldn’t have thought that I’d be able to change you or how you feel.”
“Stop putting words in my mouth!” he yelled. “Dammit! This is not how I wanted to do this. I wanted to explain things so that you would understand. I even decided that maybe I could commute a couple of days out of the week so we wouldn’t be apart for so long. I’ve been thinking for days about how we could make this work because I love you. That might be the only thing you had correct, I do love you, Heaven, very much.”
“Just not enough,” she said shakily.
“Why does it have to be all or nothing? We could try the commuting thing and see how that works.”
She shook her head. “No. Not this time,” she told him adamantly. “I need more than a couple of days or a trial relationship. I need to know that I’m moving forward and working toward something. I know you probably can’t understand that, but it’s where I am. I … I love you, too, but this is what I need.”
The next steps Heaven took were so much harder than getting on that plane and coming to Sweetland to get a puppy. They were harder than picking up the phone and calling Larengetics to quit the job she’d spent years working at and would truly miss. Every lift of her leg, every touch her feet made to the ground, was like moving mountains, and with each movement a tear escaped, her chest constricted, and her heart broke.
Late August
Preston stepped off the elevator on the second floor of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. He’d just come from the judge’s chambers where he’d had a meeting with the prosecutor in one of his cases. As it turned out, his client might be a material witness in a federal drug case, which put them in a great position to negotiate the sta
te charges.
With his briefcase in one hand, his stomach growling from hunger after being in court all day long, and a slight headache threatening to morph into a huge one, he moved slowly on his way to the lockup where the inmates were held until they were called into the courtroom.
He spoke to a few colleagues, then nodded to the correctional officers that he knew from seeing on a daily basis. It was at that point he realized how much time he actually spent in this courthouse. As he stood at the lockup entrance, the call was made for everyone to stop and move to the side. Officers were bringing inmates from some other part of the courthouse, and the hallway needed to be cleared. Since he was an attorney they let him through the lockup doors, but he still had to stand against the wall while the officers with the inmates passed.
The familiar clanking of chains at the feet and hands of the inmates seemed to perfectly coordinate with the throbbing of his temples. One of the inmates tripped and cursed. The correctional officer pushed him forward, which only brought on more cursing. On another day Preston might make a comment warning about brutality. Today he remained silent.
“Can I help you?” one of the female officers dressed in an all-black uniform asked him.
“Yes. I need to see Perry Bradbury.”
“Wait over there,” she directed with a sour look on her face.
As Preston crossed the room to set his briefcase on top of the scarred wooden table, he took a seat thinking of how tired and irritated the majority of the correctional officers looked. It was quite possible they weren’t enjoying their jobs as much as they used to, either. For the past few weeks, that thought had been nagging at Preston. With as much success as he’d achieved one would think he had it all. Today, however, he would beg to differ with anyone making that claim.
A cell door opened and closed in the not-too-far distance, jerking Preston out of his personal thoughts. When he looked up an officer was leading Perry Bradbury to the table. This was a young man Preston had seen on several occasions. He’d been his client for going on four years now. His first charge when he was seventeen years old had been assault with a deadly weapon. He’d been tried as an adult and received a not-guilty verdict largely based on Preston’s stellar defense strategy. Over the next years Perry had incurred an array of new charges: drug possession, handgun violations, assault, and now his newest charge, attempted murder.
