To Be With You

by Daphne Abbott

  To Be With You

  Daphne Abbott

  Copyright © 2021 Daphne Abbott

  All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted material in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect are appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design: Daphne Abbott

  Edited by: Represent Publishing

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  We are never guaranteed tomorrow…

  So do whatever the fuck you want today.

  To Be with You

  A second chance friends to lovers romance

  Chapter 1

  Olivia

  A war was brewing in the basement of St. Jude’s church, and I found myself literally stuck in the middle of it. All around me sides the women of the town chose sides, pointed fingers, and hurled accusations. Words unfit for the church basement rang through the space like battle cries.

  I sat to the side of the room in with my two best friends, Lucy Mason and Ruby McLean, and watched the spectacle in stunned silence. The Ladies Auxiliary meeting had never been so lively. At least, it hadn’t in the short time I’d taken my Great Aunt’s position as a board member. Most weeks, we discussed charity drives, community outreach, veteran support, or youth programs.

  Today it was anarchy.

  All thanks to the endowment my recently deceased Great Aunt Rose had left for the town of Eagle Creek. I’d just gotten done reading through the explanation of the endowment of five million dollars and how Rose had instructed the funds to be dispersed when the grumbles started. When I explained that a sizeable chunk of the money was to be earmarked for the preservation of the historical sites in our downtown district, the whispers grew louder. The fight broke out when I revealed the names of the board members.

  “I bet the old bird is laughing in her grave, right, Olivia?” Lucy asked with a chuckle.

  “Why would a donation cause a fight?” Ruby wondered aloud.

  “Rose knew every button and secret people had in town. Sometimes, she’d stir the pot to cure her boredom.”

  Orthopedic shoes squeaked on the linoleum tile, drawing my attention away from my thoughts as the combatants lined up in the center of the room to hurl their insults. Several of the ladies leaned heavily on a walker, and even poor Mrs. Weaver in her wheelchair rolled up to battle.

  “... your lemon bars are drier than your vagina…”

  “You’ve been a pain in my ass since you got married to that dentist and got all uppity…”

  “… wouldn’t know good taste if it bit you in that fat ass…”

  The amount of venom the ladies of Eagle Creek were spewing would have made a sailor blush. At one point, I saw my second-grade teacher spit on the face of the deacon’s wife, all while me, my friends, and a handful of younger women watched the argument in fascination.

  “I think I just heard the pre-school teacher call the kindergarten teacher a whore,” Lucy said in a whisper.

  “Not just a whore,” added Ruby. “A flat-chested, pock-marked, disease-ridden whore.”

  “I didn’t think my mother knew those kinds of words,” Lucy muttered as we watched Melanie Mason get in the face of Debbie Waite and compare the woman’s cooking to toxic sludge.

  The Waites and Masons had always been the most prominent families in town next to my own. The Mason family had owned the largest marina on the chain of lakes since the early forties, and the Waites had several businesses now spread across the four brothers of the original patriarch. The two families had always been friendly, so it shocked me to see Melanie and Debbie at odds. Especially because Pam Waite, Debbie’s sister-in-law, was such a good friend of Melanie.

  “It’s going to come to blows soon,” I said, unable to tear my eyes from the action.

  Ruby snorted. “Let it. Some of these women could use a good knock off their high horses.”

  As the daughter of one of the town’s most infamous exotic dancer, Ruby had first-hand knowledge of how dark some prejudices ran in the small north woods town. I reached out and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze—just a brief touch because Ruby wasn’t the affectionate kind—and scooted back my chair, so I could see both her and Lucy at the same time. “As much as I love an entitled bitch getting what’s coming to her, I don’t feel like dealing with a brawl. We’re going to need a plan.”

  “Ida is in the thick of it,” Ruby said and pointed to her friend and neighbor. “If I talk to her, I might get her to calm down.”

  “Yeah, I like that idea. Neutralizing the generals should calm the rest of the hoard,” said Lucy. “That makes the other ringleader…”

  “Mary Beth MacPherson,” I said, keeping my eyes on the cool-looking blonde in the twinset that was squaring up toe-to-toe with the tiny cotton-headed Ida.

  “Fuck,” Lucy swore. “Of course, it would be her and her troupe. Can’t swing a bat near a discussion of spending town money without hitting her.”

  Ruby snorted. “She probably wants a country club or another resort.”

  “Or a spa,” I agreed. “Which would have been Rose’s worst nightmare.”

  We turned back to watch the argument. The noise in the tiny church basement bounced off the concrete walls and made my ears ring. I could feel a headache forming behind my eyes, and my god-damned shoes were too tight.

  Enough was enough.

  “You two take Ida and her cohorts and round them up,” I said. Resigned, I stood and smoothed a hand over my hair to smooth the frazzled ends. My day had started at seven and didn’t end until well after five. All I wanted was a glass of wine. Intervening in a fight was the last thing I wanted to do. “I’ll take on Mary Beth and her crew.”

  I ignored the whispered protests of my friends and wove my way through the arguing grannies and cussing Karens to get to the center of the battle. Ida and Mary Beth stood at the center of the room. The women were silently glaring at each other while their friends and allies fired insults across the line.

  The silence made my knees tremble. I’d been on the opposite end of both women’s disapproval, and even as an adult, they both could intimidate me. I sucked in air, bracing
myself, and started walking. The smaller fights broke up, and I could feel several pairs of eyes on my back as we made our way to the center of the storm.

  “Mary Beth,” I said in a falsely light voice. “I’m glad you’re taking an active interest in Rose’s gift.”

  Mary Beth’s eyes narrowed, but not a line appeared on her pale face. “Olivia, you know I take an active interest in the improvement of our town.”

  I was aware of the type of improvements the MacPherson family supported. “That’s excellent. Rose was very passionate about the town. It’s why she elected a board to oversee the dispersal.”

  “A board? Is that what we’re calling you and Ida and her gang?” Mary Beth’s mouth curled in a grimace. “It’s hardly representative of everyone in town.”

  “And for good reason. Rose didn’t want your kind of poison infecting the project,” Ida said from behind me.

  The curl of disgust deepened before Mary Beth smoothed her features into a calm veneer. “You know the importance of keeping the integrity of this town, Olivia. The importance of remaining a family-friendly space that gives our visitors a much-needed reprieve from the stress of the city.”

  My stomach rolled at her words. To an outsider, those words would seem innocuous. Who wouldn’t want their small tourist town to be welcoming to the families? But I was fluent in the type of subtext Mary Beth MacPherson spewed with a wholesome smile on her face. I’d married to her only son and stayed with him for three years. I understood everything she meant, and everything she didn’t say out loud.

  I swallowed past the bile that crept up my throat and used the best weapon at my disposal. “I’ll talk to the mayor about the board. Let him know your concerns.”

  I turned and flashed my realtor smile at her friends. The women behind Mary Beth and her group of friends seemed mollified by my statement and the smile. There was nothing my father could do. Unless Roger wanted to dispute the entire will and risk losing it all. The current arrangement was financially beneficial for him and Liam, my older brother.

  I was also confident in my position in the town as someone they wanted as an alley. After all, I was the mayor’s daughter and the primary benefactor to my aunt’s vast estate. I’d inherited not only most of Rose’s money but her Victorian mansion on Lake Dorset, which I was planning to turn into a wedding venue and a plant nursery. I hadn’t revealed the business plan because I had more red tape to get through. Still, I hoped my status in the town would continue to increase.

  I deepened my smile and held out a hand for Mary Beth to shake. “I’ll be sure to mention you to the board when they create the project committees.”

  She had nothing else, no other course, and she knew it. Mary Beth sniffed and shook my hand with a limp wrist. “See that you do,” she said. Then she spun on her heel and stalked out of the room with her friends hot on her heels.

  As soon as Mary Beth and her minions left, the tension in the room decreased dramatically. Ruby and Lucy talked Ida and Melanie down. Then went through the crowd, putting out the last fires. There were a few flare-ups, and a couple more insults echoed through the hall. But we got everyone back in their seats to resume the Auxiliary meeting within ten minutes.

  After the fight, I could feel eyes boring into the back of my head as I sat in the front row and watched the leaders go through their agenda. I didn’t listen to the topics at hand—Luce would catch me up later—I was too busy plotting. I was the heiress to an unexpected fortune and needed to make sure that it got spent exactly as my aunt intended.

  The March evening air was damp and cold when we left the basement later that night. Lucy and Ruby had hung back to help clear the space, and I felt bad for escaping early, but the stress of the meeting had taken its toll on me. As I dug through my massive shoulder bag for the keys to my car, I fought back the anxiety that wanted to crawl up my throat again.

  “Olivia?”

  I turned to my left and saw Pam Waite standing a few feet away. Pam and her husband, Jim, owned the campgrounds and several rental properties in the area, and they were quite successful at it. I’d helped them purchase a few of the houses they owned, as well as listing their cabins on rental sites. We were friendly, if not friends, so her nervous demeanor concerned me.

  I gave up the search for the keys and tossed the bag on the hood of my car before turning fully to Pam. “Pam, what can I do for you?” I asked with a genuine smile.

  “I just wanted—” she stopped, wrapped her arms tighter over her chest, then started again, “That scene in the meeting tonight—”

  “I hope you realize that Rose’s intention was not to bring more division to the area but to improve the town for its full-time citizens, especially small business owners,” I said, moving closer so she could see my expression clearly.

  Pam laughed. “Olivia, you were always a determined girl. Not much has changed, has it?”

  I grinned. “Nope.”

  Pam nodded, and finally, her face didn’t look worried. “Good. I know this money was Rose’s way of helping the town, but I’m worried people like the MacPhersons, and their friends will try to bend and twist this gift to suit their own selfish priorities.”

  “I’m familiar with the MacPhersons and their goals and values, Pam. You don’t need to worry about me being swayed by them.”

  “I know you won’t, but I am worried they’ll make your life hell while you ignore them. I thought you might need more support,” she said.

  “I agree. I’ll need to find more help than we have in town. Rose wanted to preserve the history of the town and its citizens, so I was thinking a historian might be helpful,” I replied. “Or maybe an author to write a full history of the area. I haven’t decided. We just read the will three weeks ago.”

  Pam nodded. “Those are wonderful ideas, Olivia. But—well, I think—I think I have one more suggestion.”

  “Oh?” I smiled. “What’s that?”

  “My son, Callum. I know he hasn’t been around since high school. He went off to college in Rhode Island. He became an architect if you didn’t know.”

  My skin tightened, and I felt every cell in my body come to life. Of course, I knew Callum Waite and his profession. It was impossible not to know. He was the pride of Eagle Creek. The small-town boy who’d gotten a full ride to the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design had become one of the youngest partners at a famous firm before quitting to start his own company.

  But his notoriety didn’t become legend until he started his internet channel, documenting all his historical renovations. The channel had hundreds of millions of subscribers, was frequently featured in the press, and was rumored to have several networks interested in purchasing the rights. Our local celebrity fascinated everyone in town.

  Even me.

  Even though we’d broken each other’s hearts.

  “I think Callum could help renovate the buildings, and he can use his internet show to bring attention to the project. We’d get free publicity to show off all the wonderful improvements,” Pam said.

  I realized she must have been talking while I’d taken a spin down memory lane, so I jumped to respond. “You’re right. It would make sense to contact Cal about the job. We don’t have a solid plan yet, but his expertise would be helpful.”

  “I’m sure he’d love to help,” Pam said with a wide smile. “I’ll call him tomorrow, if that’s okay with you?”

  Even though I was just as sure he would turn us down flat, I let her have her moment. “Sure,” I agreed. “You could give him the details from the flyer we handed out tonight. That’s the most detailed explanation I have right now.”

  Pam nodded. “Sure, I’ll have Jake scan it or fax it to Cal.”

  I laughed but didn’t mention that I doubted Callum owned a fax machine. “Sounds good, Pam. Thanks for offering to talk to Cal. I’ll be in touch with more details sometime next week.”
>
  “Maybe you could contact him too, Olivia. Are you a friend with him on Facebook? Or you Tweet at each other?”

  We were friends on social media, and had been since our sophomore year in college, when one night, after a nasty fight with my ex, Peter, I’d gone on my computer and stalked Callum’s page for hours. To this day, his handsome face, boyish smile, and a cut body haunted my social media pages with some regularity.

  “I’ll have to check,” I lied. “You have a nice night, Pam. Sorry again for the scene.”

  “Don’t be sorry. That was the most interesting Auxiliary meeting we had since the one time when some kids switched the dessert with pot brownies.” Pam laughed and shook her head. “I think it’s time we shook some things up around here.”

  Chapter 2

  Olivia

  The slap of a magazine hitting the table startled me out of my work haze, and I shoved back my chair to face the intruder.

  “Nick,” I said as I pulled my headphones from my ears and tried not to sound as startled as I felt. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think we were meeting for another hour.”

  Nick Waite, my friend and general contractor, glanced at the watch on his wrist. “Olivia, I’m five minutes late.”

  “Shit.” I flipped my phone over and checked the time. He was right; I’d gotten so absorbed in work that I’d failed to notice the time. “Sorry about that.”

  Nick frowned, but didn’t comment on my distraction. Instead, he tapped the magazine on the table and said, “We need to talk about this.”

  “About what?”

  “It’s been weeks since you inherited this house, Olivia. I told you when Rose died you’d need more help to renovate it than I could give you.” Nick flipped over the magazine and handed it to me. “You know what you have to do.”

  Callum’s face smiled up at me from the glossy cover. The damn man was suddenly everywhere I looked, and I felt my temper rise as I looked at the cover. I’d gone years with no one ever saying his name in my presence, and here he was for the second time in 24 hours. Cal’s handsome smile and the way his blue eyes twinkled with mischief were more than I could bear, so I turned the magazine face down on the table.