The River House

by Carla Neggers

  “I swear this town has a tractor beam,” Russ said. “It keeps pulling people in. I feel it. So does Kylie, and we aren’t from here. I can’t imagine what the pull would be with family in town.”

  As if to emphasize that point, Mark came out of his office. Gabe chatted with him for a few minutes after Russ excused himself. Jess was feeling better today, hoping she was over the worst of her morning sickness. Mark, too, queried his brother about how long he’d be in town this trip. Gabe didn’t have an answer.

  “The beauty of not having a nine-to-five job,” Mark said. “Heading back to Felicity’s place? Tell her hi for me.” He paused, eyes narrowed. “And behave, Gabe. Breaking her heart twice is two times too many.”

  Twice? Felicity?

  “I’ve never broken her heart at all.”

  His brother didn’t bother to hide his skepticism, but he said nothing further.

  Gabe, truly mystified, headed to his car. He saw a flash of lightning and heard a crack of thunder as he jumped behind the wheel.

  Twenty-Two

  There was nothing like the smell of freshly picked wild blueberries bubbling in the oven, Felicity decided as she pulled the cobbler from the oven. The tart-sweet scent permeated the kitchen and living room, making her house feel homey and welcoming. It’d started to rain, but the worst of the storm had slid to the south. She’d pulled out the dry ingredients for the cobbler and measured the flour, sugar and butter, so everything was ready when Gabe walked through the door.

  He’d looked preoccupied but insisted he didn’t want to talk about whatever was on his mind, not with a cobbler to get in the oven. Felicity assumed the “whatever” involved his meeting with Dylan McCaffrey and Nadia turning up again, but she didn’t press him for details.

  “We can’t eat a whole cobbler by ourselves,” she said.

  “We can’t?”

  “Correction. We shouldn’t eat a whole cobbler by ourselves.”

  “I promised to stop by Red Clover Inn. I don’t know about Samantha, but I don’t see Justin turning down blueberry cobbler.”

  “We shouldn’t dig in first. That would be rude.”

  “I’ll call them.”

  While he made the call, Felicity covered the cobbler with foil and wrapped it in a towel. Gabe rejoined her. “That was quick,” she said.

  He grinned. “It didn’t take much convincing.” He lifted the cobbler but stood still. “Felicity...”

  “What’s on your mind, Gabe? Besides wild blueberry cobbler.”

  “I can’t have it both ways,” he said. “I can’t stay in town for a few days and bunk with you. We need space—not just because of town gossip but because of us.” He steadied his gaze on her. “I want to get this right.”

  She nodded. “I do, too, Gabe.” She left it at that. “Where will you stay?”

  “I’ve accepted Justin and Samantha’s offer to stay at Red Clover Inn.”

  “Okay. Good. Makes sense.” Felicity cleared her throat and pointed at the cobbler. “I’ll limit myself to one helping of cobbler. You guys can polish off the rest and bring me back the pan.”

  He winked at her. “We’ll wash it first.”

  * * *

  The next days were a whirl of work, walks and getting to know Gabriel Flanagan again. Felicity wondered if it was the same for him in getting to know her again. They drove out to her parents’ house for a picnic with her brother and his wife and two small children. Gabe visited his father on his own, met his father’s new girlfriend, worked on old motorcycles with him. He called Felicity one evening, and they played Clue with Justin and Samantha in the musty, charming library at Red Clover Inn.

  She and Gabe made love, too—sweet and intense and wonderful, Felicity thought as she walked to the covered bridge, clearing her head after a packed work day. Last heard from, Gabe was reading a book in the hammock at the inn. He was definitely ready to get back to work, but he was taking his time, not plunging in with his usual impatience.

  She didn’t linger at the covered bridge. As she approached her house, she smelled smoke and assumed Gabe was there, but she didn’t see another vehicle in the driveway. She went down to the fireplace. The fire was dying down on its own and posed no danger. An expensive handbag was plopped next to an Adirondack chair. Felicity recognized it as Nadia’s and bit back her irritation. Nadia had promised she was going home to Malibu to hit the reset button on her life.

  Felicity headed onto the deck and saw the doors were open. She poked her head inside and saw the living room was a mess, as if someone had started searching for something and then decided just to grab decorative pillows and throws and heave them onto the floor in frustration.

  She ran back outside.

  Where was Nadia now?

  Felicity spotted footprints in the muddy path that led down to the river. She and Gabe had slipped off to the swimming hole twice since he’d moved into Red Clover Inn. They’d stuck to leaping into the river from the rope, swimming, sunning themselves on the rocks like a couple of happy seals. It was as if by unspoken agreement they’d decided to be friends only while at the swimming hole, test out what that was like. As far as she was concerned, it was great but not enough. Not that she had any plans to skinny-dip.

  When she reached the swimming hole, the rope was dangling from its branch, out of reach from the riverbank. The river was high, muddy from yesterday’s rain. She didn’t see more footprints but noticed a towel floating in shallow water by the rocks. She got closer and realized it was hung up on a branch in the water. She didn’t recognize the towel as one of hers. Had Nadia come down here with her own towel?

  She jumped onto the boulder and peered up and down the river, but she didn’t see or hear anyone.

  She started to turn but spotted a sandal in the water, poking out from under a jutting section of the boulder.

  Had Nadia fallen? Gone for a walk barefoot?

  Felicity dug out her phone. She didn’t know what was going on with Nadia—why she was in Knights Bridge, if she was in danger, wanted to cause trouble.

  Time to get some help out here.

  * * *

  Gabe had vacated the hammock for Red Clover Inn’s sprawling front porch and was on the phone with Shannon. “Nadia called looking for you,” Shannon said. “She’s a mess, Gabe. I warned her against negative self-talk. That sort of thing isn’t helpful. You don’t say, My life sucks. You say something like, I’ve gone through a rough time, but I’ve come out of it stronger and happier. Have you ever read a self-help book? Visited a self-help website?”

  “No.”

  “I’m not surprised.”

  “Shannon—where is Nadia now, do you know?”

  “No idea. She said she wants to move on, but she knows she needs to resist a fight-or-flight reaction. She’ll take her time deciding what’s next. She came out of the divorce okay financially. She doesn’t need to rush into things. She’ll get her head sorted out first.”

  Gabe got to his feet and stood at the top of the porch steps. “Can you find out if she’s in Malibu or out here?”

  “I’ll do my best. My guess is she never went home, and she’s still out here.”

  “Are you concerned she’s going to cause trouble?” Gabe asked.

  “Fifty-fifty,” Shannon said without hesitation. “More like she’s going to cause trouble for herself. I’m keeping an eye out as best I can, but I’m not her keeper. Neither are you.”

  “Understood.”

  “I just wanted you to know she called and she’s a mess. In case she shows up there again.”

  “Thanks, Shannon.”

  As he disconnected, Felicity called. “Have you seen Nadia?” she asked before he could say a word. He said no, and she quickly explained the situation. “It’s wet out here, Gabe. The rocks are slippery. The water’s high. If she fell and hit her head...”
r />   “On my way.”

  Gabe grabbed Justin, but they decided not to take any chances and alerted his firefighter and police-officer brothers. They took Justin’s truck out to Felicity’s house and met her down at the swimming hole. The blustery wind stirred up the river, creating white caps in the fast-moving, mud-brown water.

  Felicity waved to them from the rocks. She’d scooped a towel and woman’s sandal out of the water and set them on the boulder next to her. She pointed downriver. “I think I just heard someone call for help. It must be Nadia.”

  “Wait here,” Justin said. “More help’s on the way.”

  But he and Gabe found Nadia about a hundred yards downriver, clinging to a tree branch on a treacherous section of the tree-lined bank. She was terrified and shivering but otherwise unharmed. They got her back to the swimming hole. Justin called his brothers and canceled the search party.

  “I was waiting for you and Felicity,” Nadia said, clinging to Gabe. “I thought a fire would be fun. Welcoming. I wanted to tell you I’m going back to California in the morning. I’m making a fresh start, without David. Then everything got away from me. I threw a royal fit. I tore up your living room, Felicity. I told myself I was looking for proof Gabe and my ex-husband had colluded against me. Then I realized that was nuts.”

  “Just get warm,” Gabe said. “Leave the rest for later.”

  “No, no—I have to say this. When I realized you and Felicity were happy and I was miserable—that you’d found someone and I’d lost someone—I wanted to blame you. I wanted to blame Felicity, too. Misery loves company, right?”

  Gabe was at a loss. “Nadia—”

  “Everything exploded inside me. It was cathartic, and yet I felt so out of control. I ran down here. I stood on the rocks and realized the life I could have had if I’d set better boundaries for myself with David. I’ve been so absorbed in regret, anger, venting, blaming—myself most of all—and I started to cry. Then I slipped. I couldn’t get control of myself in the water.” She stood back from Gabe, allowing Justin to put his overshirt around her shoulders. “I could have died, and everyone would have thought it was suicide. That’s not me. That’s not what I want. But part of me just wanted to float down the river and be done with it all. Then I knew I needed to let the past float down the river, but by then I was drowning.”

  “You didn’t drown,” Gabe said. “You’re here, Nadia.”

  “Yeah. I am. I have work to do on myself, but I have plenty of money—not as much as if I’d stayed with David and done a better job of protecting myself, but enough.”

  “One step at a time.”

  “I didn’t mean to end up in the river. I promise I didn’t mean it.” She sniffled, tightening the shirt around her. “This is proof I don’t belong here.”

  Justin eased in on her right side, Gabe on her left, and they helped her up the steep trail. Felicity led the way back to her house. She assured Justin she didn’t want to press charges against Nadia for throwing a few pillows and blankets, and he went on his way.

  Nadia borrowed a set of flannel pajamas from Felicity and wrapped up in a blanket on the deck, her shivering easing as she warmed up and calmed down. “Is there anyone you want me to call?” Felicity asked.

  Nadia shook her head. “Not on the East Coast, anyway, now that my grandmother’s gone. If I’d drowned, I suppose my ex-husband would want to know, if only because of the paperwork.” She managed a weak smile. “Sorry. That was a bad attempt at humor.” Her voice caught. “It’s time I went home once and for all. California is home for me.”

  “Stay here as long as you like,” Felicity said.

  “It must be hard sometimes not just to sit out here for hours and hours. It’s so quiet and peaceful.” Nadia was silent for a moment as she stared down through the trees. Finally she looked up at Gabe. “I never pictured you growing up in such a spot. I guess you and Felicity both grew up here, in a way. I’ll never have that kind of shared history with anyone. It really is special.”

  He nodded. “It is.”

  “I’ve been such an idiot. How close was I to getting arrested?”

  “Not that close,” he said with a smile.

  She grinned at Felicity. “You see? He’s not like the SOB I married. David would have had me arrested in a heartbeat.” Before Felicity could respond, Nadia sighed deeply, looking up at the clearing sky. “I need to stop thinking about him, talking about him—letting him control my life. Trust me, he’s not thinking about me. I know that. I know what I need to do. Thank you.”

  Once Nadia was warmed up, she handed Gabe her key fob. “I parked down the road a bit and took a different trail to the swimming hole.”

  “I know the spot,” he said.

  He fetched her car and brought in her suitcase. She changed into her own clothes, thanking Felicity for letting her borrow her pajamas. “No problem,” Felicity said.

  “I don’t think I own any flannel. I probably wouldn’t even if I lived out here.”

  Felicity laughed. “Tell me that when it’s ten degrees out.”

  “Ha.”

  “Where are you off to now?”

  “The airport. I’ll stay at a hotel there overnight and catch an early flight back to LA. I promise.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want someone to drive you?” Gabe asked her.

  She shook her head. “I’m okay, Gabe. Really. Nothing like a near-death experience to get one’s head screwed on straight—well, straighter than it was.” She kissed Gabe on the cheek. “Be well. Good luck with whatever’s next for you.”

  “You, too, Nadia.”

  He walked with her to her car. She turned to him before she climbed in. “I’ve never had any romantic interest in you. You know that, right? It’s been hard to let go of David. Harder than I ever would have imagined. Losing him left a big hole in my life, and it shattered my self-confidence. I’m sorry, Gabe. I’ve been so self-absorbed.” She tilted her head back and smiled. “You know you’re head over heels in love with Felicity, don’t you?”

  He wasn’t going there. “Felicity and I have been friends for a long time.”

  “Noah Kendrick and Dylan McCaffrey have been friends a long time. You and Felicity? There’s something else there. But that’s for you two to work out.” Nadia inhaled deeply. “It’s a great little town but I’ll be glad to be back in LA. I’ll take the best of my old life with me and leave the rest behind.” She bit her lip. “And therapy. I’ll be in therapy for a while, I think.”

  “Good luck, Nadia.”

  “Thank you,” she said, and she got in the car, blowing him a kiss before she started the engine.

  * * *

  The scare with Nadia had affected Felicity more than she wanted to admit—or even realized at first. She drove Gabe back to Red Clover Inn. Mark, Russ, Kylie, Justin and Samantha had all gathered on the front porch. Felicity watched Gabe as he explained what had happened, not that he had to. Felicity felt her throat tighten. She had an urge to pull him aside and tell him she didn’t need to stay in Knights Bridge. She could be an event manager in Boston or San Diego or just about anywhere else as easily as she could in Knights Bridge. Maybe more easily, or at least more successfully monetarily. But she resisted, instead choosing to enjoy the company of friends.

  Gabe decided to drive to Boston. He had things he’d been putting off, he told everyone. Felicity walked with him to his car. “I’ll be back soon,” he said, pulling open the door.

  “Sure thing.” She forced a smile and blew him a quick kiss.

  He blew a kiss back, and as he drove off, she realized he’d been affected by the scare with Nadia, too.

  When she went home, it was as if nothing had happened. She and Gabe had tidied up after Nadia’s fit.

  Felicity poured herself a glass of wine and took it and a book out to the deck. Reading would help calm her after Nadia’s n
ear-drowning.

  This was home for her.

  After a few pages of Hercule Poirot on a train, she couldn’t concentrate and gave up on her book. She stood at the deck rail and gazed down at the river. The water wasn’t as high as it’d been earlier. She heard birds, watched a squirrel race up a pine tree.

  Would she really give up her life here for Gabe’s high-flying life?

  Could he be happy here?

  There were too many questions for tonight, all of them without answers.

  Twenty-Three

  Shannon proudly showed off the finished living room in Gabe’s condo. He was pleased with how it had turned out. With Nadia back home in Malibu, everyone was calmer.

  “One more thing,” Shannon said. “Felicity is in town.”

  “Boston?”

  “Only town in my world. She’s stopping by in—” Shannon glanced at her phone “—twenty-two minutes if she’s on time.”

  “And she called you instead of me?”

  “So it appears.”

  Felicity arrived on time. Apparently she’d meant to surprise Gabe, but Shannon had missed that cue. He gave her a tour of the condo.

  “It’s quite a place, Gabe,” Felicity said when they returned to the living room. She stood at the windows overlooking Back Bay. “You’ve done well. You work hard. You take risks. You’re smart. You treat your freelancers and employees well. I’m not surprised, you know.”

  “Figured I’d be a successful start-up entrepreneur when we were in second grade?”

  She grinned at him. “Kindergarten.”

  They both laughed, but he could sense something was on her mind. “What’s up, Felicity?”

  She turned from the windows. “I was just thinking about how different my life is from yours. How different Knights Bridge is from Boston. I mean, here I am, thinking about making my annual ratatouille when I get home.”

  Shannon frowned as she joined them from the kitchen. “What’s ratatouille?”

  Felicity explained. “I make enough to freeze for the winter.”