Smile Like You Mean It

by S. J. McCoy

  Her phone buzzed and she snatched it up. Her heart sank when she saw it wasn’t him. It was a text from Ben.

  Can you stop in at the Boathouse before work in the morning?

  She stared at it for a few moments, wondering what was up. Had he talked to Gabe?

  I can. What’s the problem?

  No problem. I want to run a few ideas by you.

  OK. See you at 7?

  Great. Thanks.

  She had to wonder what ideas he might be talking about. She shrugged. Maybe he’d be better talking to April. She had the hang of things in the bakery now. She heaved a big sigh, and April was more likely to be around long enough to implement his ideas.

  She turned her phone over and over. She should call Gabe. He’d asked her to once she’d calmed down. She didn’t want to though, didn’t see anything constructive they could say to each other right now. She’d wait until tomorrow, hopefully things would look different in the morning. Maybe she’d see some solution that she wasn’t seeing now.

  She took herself to bed early and lay there staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Things didn’t look any better. In fact, the longer she lay there, the worse they looked. Every possibility she came up with led to a dead end. As the night dragged on she reached the conclusion that the only real option was to leave. There were too many reasons she couldn’t be with Gabe if she stayed, and too many reasons to leave if she could with him. Where the hell could she go though? And what could she do? If she left, she’d have no job, no place to live, and no hope of doing the kind of work she loved. She buried her face in the pillow. She’d thought she was going through the worst time of her life when Eric was arrested. But this? This felt a hundred times worse.

  She must have finally dozed off. It was still dark when she opened her eyes. She lay there rolling everything around in her head. The only positive she could come up with was that she needed to sell this place. She wouldn’t get much for it—she knew that—but she’d get something. The house wasn’t worth anything, but the land was. Forty acres had to worth enough to make a new start somewhere. She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she thought about Gabe. She wasn’t completely stupid. She could see the irony of the fact that she would sell this place in order to leave here, and leave him; but, she wouldn’t sell it in order to be with him. She had to be true to herself, she couldn’t start a life with him on such an unequal footing. It wouldn’t work for either of them. She got up and went to make coffee; there was no way she’d be able to get back to sleep. She may as well get started with the day and head down into town to see Ben.

  Once she was showered, she took her coffee and her phone outside. She wanted to call Gabe, but it was too early yet. She checked her email and was surprised to see one from Paul. It had come in late last night.

  Can you call me in the morning? I’ll be in the office by 6.30. They’ve requested a meeting—soon. Can you get down here?

  She checked her watch. It was just gone six thirty. She dialed Paul’s number.

  “Hi Renée. Can you get down here?”

  “When? Why? What’s happening?”

  “Eric’s lawyers have requested a meeting. You need to be here if you can.”

  “When? What do they want to meet about?”

  “I don’t know yet, they’re being really cagey. He has a hearing coming up. From what they’ve implied he’s ready to clear your name, but he wants to talk to you first. I’d guess that he wants something from you in return.”

  Renée blew out a sigh. “I’m sure he does. But you have no idea what?”

  “Not a clue. Sorry. How soon can you get here?”

  “I’m just on my way to work…”

  “Can you get time off?”

  “Is it that urgent?”

  “I wouldn’t take any risks if I were you.”

  “Okay. Let me see what I can do. I’ll call you back.”

  “Good. Don’t take too long.”

  Renée shook her head as she hung up. She was just like a puppet on a string, still dancing to Eric’s tune. She had no choice though. She dialed Ben.

  “Good morning. Are you running late?” he asked.

  “No. I’m calling to ask if I can take some time off?”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  “I just spoke to my lawyer and Eric wants to see me. Sounds like he wants to do some bargaining before his hearing. I need to get down there.”

  “Of course. You go.”

  “Thanks, Ben.”

  “Do you want to stop by for a coffee on your way through?”

  She thought about it.

  “I’ll have you a coffee and a sandwich ready. I still want to talk to you.”

  “Okay, but I can’t stop for long.”

  “It won’t take long. See you soon.”

  “Okay.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Renée pulled up in the square at the resort and spotted Ben sitting out on the deck. He raised a hand as she made her way to him. He pushed a coffee toward her as she sat down.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I have no idea what Eric wants, but apparently I need to be there to find out.”

  Ben nodded. “And what about Gabe?”

  She frowned. “What about him?”

  “Are you okay there?”

  She met his gaze. “I think I’m done there, Ben. I don’t see any way the two of us could make it work.”

  Ben stared back at her. “I don’t believe that for a moment.”

  She shrugged. “Well, if you see a solution, go ahead and let me in on it, would you? His position here makes me finding a position here impossible.” She swallowed. “Don’t get me wrong, I love him. But I can’t stop being me in order to be with him.” She decided to tell Ben. That would make it more real. “I’ve decided I’m going to sell up and leave.”

  Ben slowly shook his head.

  “What? Say something. Don’t look at me like that!”

  “You’ve not got time right now, but I wanted to talk to you about leasing the bakery and maybe the space next to it.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, as you know, I’ve got a lot on my plate. And now the guys are getting close to completion up at Four Mile, I’m going to have even more to deal with, at least until I get a team in place to run the rentals and the retail side of things. I’ve been thinking about what I can do to lighten my load at the resort. This place is one responsibility I’d be happy to offload. Especially into your capable hands.”

  “What do you mean? I already run the place.”

  He nodded. “I know, so how do you feel about leasing the place? Make it your own business.”

  Renée stared at him. The thought had never even occurred to her. “Ben, you know running a small business isn’t what I aspire to.”

  He smiled. “I know, but if you wanted to set up, say, a Women’s Center, I could let you have the space next door for a reasonable rent and you could knock through. You could have your center and have it be self-funding if you turn the bakery into more a coffee shop, or café type place.”

  She just kept staring at him. “How do you even know about the Women’s Center idea?”

  He shrugged. “Laura stuck around for a while after you guys had lunch yesterday.”

  “Oh.” Her mind was racing. It could be a perfect solution. If she could work it. She looked at Ben. Unfortunately, she couldn’t work it. She couldn’t afford to lease the place from him. She shook her head slowly.

  “You don’t like the idea?”

  “I love it, Ben. But it’s hardly realistic is it?”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I can’t afford it, that’s why.”

  “We could work something out.”

  “I am not charity case!” She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Sorry. I know you mean well, but I can’t do it.”

  “So, you’d sell your place to leave here, but not to stay here?”

  She thought about that. “I don’t know,
Ben. I’m confused as hell about everything right now.”

  Ben shrugged. “You don’t need to decide now. Think about it, okay? And when you do, just bear in mind that you’d be doing me a favor, too? I really do need to lighten my load somehow.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, I thought it might be a win-win for both of us.”

  Renée’s mind was racing with possibilities. It really could be a win-win. She smiled at him. “I have to get going, I have a few other things to deal with right now. Let me wrap my head around it?”

  “Of course.”

  “And you’re sure about me just taking off like this?”

  “You go do what you need to do. April’s fine in the bakery, and I’ll keep an eye on her. Don’t worry about it. Come on, let’s get you that sandwich and get you on the road.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Gabe held the flowers behind his back and pushed open the bakery door. He felt like a dumb kid. He’d hardly slept all night. Now here he was carrying flowers and prepared to make a public fool of himself by going to see her at work. None of it mattered though. All that mattered was making things right with her. Of course there was a long line waiting to be served. He groaned inwardly, but resisted the urge to turn around and leave. He pursed his lips when he saw his mom in the line. That was all he needed. Oh well. He was here now. April caught his eye and gave him a worried smile.

  “Is she in the back?” he asked.

  April shook her head. “She’s not here.”

  “Where is she?” Every head in the line was turned toward him now, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to see Renée.

  “I. Errr…” April looked wary to say the least. What was going on? She busied herself serving the next customer.

  Gabe strode to the head of the line. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. April was hiding something. He knew it. “Where is she?” he demanded.

  April looked at him, then over his shoulder. He turned to see his mom standing there smiling. “Why don’t you two take this in the back? I can take care of the customers.” She winked at April. “It’s okay. I worked here for a while, I know the ropes.”

  Gabe made his way around the counter and grabbed April’s arm as he headed for the back room. He let go fast as she jerked her arm back with a little yelp. Jesus, what was he thinking? “I’m sorry, April.” He held the door open for her and stood back. “Please?”

  She nodded and scurried past him. He closed the door behind them and turned to her, she looked petrified. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…”

  She shook her head rapidly. “It’s okay. It wasn’t you I was reacting to. I need to get over that.”

  Gabe nodded, wondering for a moment what her story might be.

  “I just didn’t want to get into Renée’s business out there in front of everyone. I thought you’d already know. She’s not coming to work because she’s gone to San Francisco.”

  Gabe’s heart pounded. She’d left town? “Why?”

  “All I know is that it’s something to do with her ex and the court case. Ben came by early to tell me I’m in here by myself.” She shrugged. “She didn’t say anything about it yesterday.”

  Gabe glowered at her. What the hell was going on? She hadn’t mentioned it to him yesterday either, but then she’d hardly had a chance, had she? It was obvious that April didn’t know any more than he did, but as usual, Ben did. “Thanks, April.”

  She nodded. “Will you ask her to call me?”

  Gabe nodded. He didn’t want to say he didn’t like his own odds of getting to talk to her at this point. He looked down at the flowers he was still clutching, and smiled. He held them out to April. “Take them, as a thank you?”

  He’d always thought of April as a dowdy little mouse, but she looked pretty with a smile lighting up her face like that.

  “Thank you!” She clutched them to her chest. “Thank you.”

  He nodded and went back out into the store. His mom raised an eyebrow at him as she closed the cash register. “Is everything all right, angel?”

  He met her gaze. “I don’t know, Mom.”

  She came and gave him a hug. “It will be. I know it will. Do you want to come for a walk with your mom?”

  He couldn’t help but smile at that. It was her way to help her kids deal with problems, go for a walk and a talk. “I’d love to, but not right now. I need to find Ben.”

  She nodded. “You do what you need to, but remember where I am if you want me?”

  He planted a kiss on top of her head. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll call you later.” He let himself out of the bakery and headed toward the resort. He needed to find Ben, and find out what was going on. Whatever it was, it bothered him that Renée hadn’t wanted to turn to him. She still hadn’t called him, hadn’t even texted. Did she really mean it, that they were over? He refused to believe that.

  ~ ~ ~

  Renée sat in the waiting area outside Paul’s office. She still couldn’t figure out what on earth was going on. She’d had no contact with Eric for months, and now he wanted to see her? Paul hadn’t been keen to discuss it on the phone while she was driving down here so she still didn’t understand what was going on. All she knew was that Eric had a hearing coming up, and he wanted to see her first.

  Paul’s secretary smiled at her. “He’ll see you now.”

  She let herself in to his office and smiled when he looked up.

  “Sorry to drag you down here like this, but I think you’ll understand when I explain.”

  She pushed the hair out of her eyes. “Go ahead, then. Explain.”

  Paul gestured to the chair across the desk. “Take a seat.”

  She sat and folded her arms across her chest. Whatever was coming, she didn’t feel ready for it.

  “Eric wants to see you…”

  “I know that much, that’s why I’m here.”

  “Give me chance, will you?”

  She nodded, sorry. “I just know this isn’t going to be anything good.”

  “Well, that depends on how you look at it. He’s prepared to make a statement that will absolve you of any involvement.”

  “So why doesn’t he just do that? Why do I have to be here?”

  “Because, apparently, he has some conditions.”

  She let out a short laugh. “Of course he does. What does he want?”

  “I don’t know. He’ll only talk to you about that, in private. I was going to ask you if you have any idea what he might want.”

  “No clue. I don’t even feel as though I know the man. The Eric I was married to was just a figment of my imagination, apparently.”

  Paul nodded. “I thought you might say that. You’ll just have to talk to him to find out. But whatever you do, don’t agree to anything—anything at all—until you talk to me?”

  She nodded. “Of course. And where and when is this meeting supposed to take place?”

  “I’m waiting for the call. I let them know that you’d be here this afternoon, and they’re supposed to get back to me as soon as they can set it up.”

  “So I just have to wait?”

  Paul nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  “Great. I suppose I’d better go find a motel then.”

  “Okay, I’ll call you as soon as I hear anything.”

  Renée made her way back out onto the street. This all felt so surreal. This city had been her life for years. She’d seen that life crumble around her ears because of Eric. Over the last few months Summer Lake had become her home again and now here she was, yanked out of that life, too. For the first time, she let her mind wander to Ben’s offer this morning. Would that really be a way for her to make it at the lake? If she leased the bakery, would she really be able to make a go of it and make enough to fund a Women’s Center? She shook her head. How could she lease the bakery? She didn’t have the money. In order to get the money she’d have to sell her home. Was that the way to go? Did she need to let go of the past in order to build the future? She just didn’t know.

  ~ ~ ~
/>
  Gabe got back in the car and decided to go check in with his mom. His chat with Ben had been very informative. And based on what Ben had told him, he was about to take a huge gamble. He had to believe it would work out. If it didn’t…well, he refused to think about that. He drove back out down Main toward his parents place. He still wanted to run the idea by his mom, the thought brought the shadow of a smile to his lips. Not so long ago he would have laughed at the idea of turning to his mom for advice. Now, though, it seemed family was so much more important than he’d understood.

  “Want to tell me what’s going on, angel?” his mom asked the moment he let himself in the kitchen door.

  “I’m not sure I know myself.”

  She nodded. “I thought as much. Where is Renée?” She took a seat at the table and nodded at the seat opposite for him to join her

  “San Francisco, apparently. I had to learn what she’s doing from April and Ben though. She’s not talking to me.”

  “And why’s that?”

  He thought about it, then gave her a brief summary of everything that had happened between them. “So basically. She feels she can’t do her work here if I’m doing mine. She’s too stubborn to accept my help financially, and she’s thinking about selling up and leaving.”

  His mom rested her chin on her hands and smiled at him. “And you’re too stubborn to accept that she might do that, so what are you thinking of doing?”

  He stared at her for a long moment, wondering if this was as crazy a move as he feared. He’d find out as soon as he told her, he knew that much. “I’m thinking about buying her place.”

  “You think she’d sell it to you?”

  “Not if she knows it’s me, no.”

  He knew from the way her eyebrows came down, she didn’t like the idea. “So you’re thinking about deceiving her and hoping that she’ll just gratefully accept your charity after you do?”

  Hmm. “It’s not like that, though.”

  “Tell me how it is then, Gabe, because that’s how it feels to me, and I’m pretty sure that’s how it will feel to Renée.”