The Chesapeake Diaries Series 7-Book Bundle: Coming HOme, Home Again, Almost Home, Hometown Girl, Home for the Summer, The Long Way Home, At the River's Edge

by Stewart, Mariah

  “I thought about that. The bride’s luncheon is on Thursday and the rehearsal dinner is Friday night, so you could—”

  “I can’t meet the bride for the first time at her luncheon. You know we don’t work that way.”

  “I know, I know! I just don’t know what else to do. I can’t leave him like this. He’s in so much pain and he doesn’t have anyone else here …”

  Lucy blew out a long breath. “All right. I’ll fly back tomorrow and I’ll meet with the bride tomorrow night. But, Bon …” Lucy’s voice softened. “We have to talk.”

  “I know. And we will, as soon as Bob stabilizes and I can leave him. Maybe another week or so … I’ll let you know.”

  Lucy ended the call and all but fell back into her chair. She didn’t want to go back to L.A. tomorrow, didn’t want to leave St. Dennis yet.

  “Damn.”

  Bonnie’s electronic file arrived with a ping and Lucy opened it, read it through, then made the calls she knew she needed to make. Her mother stopped in to see if she wanted to join her for a late lunch, but Lucy explained why she had to pass.

  “Oh, dear.” Grace shook her head. “That arrangement can’t go on …”

  “You’re right, Mom. I told Bonnie that we needed to talk, and she agreed, but she’s not going to come back to the office until she feels she can leave Bob.”

  “What a shame,” her mother said. “But of course, her place is with him.”

  Lucy looked up sharply. “She has obligations to fulfill.”

  “Of course she does, dear. But she has an obligation to herself and to her husband.”

  “Ex-husband.”

  “Perhaps not her ex for much longer,” Grace pointed out. “Put yourself in her place, Lucy. What would you do? Would you leave someone you love when they needed you? Granted, this puts a burden on you to carry the business for a while, but you and Bonnie are partners. You need to be there for each other just as she has to be there for Bob. Owning a business doesn’t mean that you’re not entitled to a life, dear.”

  “You’re right, Mom.” Lucy sighed. “Of course you’re right.”

  “Go on and do what you have to do. I’ll have lunch sent in for you.” Her mother pushed herself from the chair.

  “When will you be leaving?”

  “Early in the morning.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. These things do happen. Thank goodness you do have Madeline to help you here.”

  Lucy nodded and watched her mother walk from the room, then turned her attention back to work. She ate the sandwich and salad that was brought in to her, and worked for the rest of the day. By the time she finished at seven that night, the tents had been ordered as well as the furniture to go in the cocktail party tent, the bandstand, and the tall potted trees. Madeline was working on the big white paper lanterns and the chairs for the ceremony. Lucy and Clay had been sending texts back and forth all day, but she hadn’t told him that she’d been forced to cut her week short. She wanted to do that in person. She turned off her laptop and the light switch on her way out of the office.

  “I’m going out for the evening,” she told her mother.

  “Just don’t miss your plane, dear,” Grace said as if she knew where Lucy was going.

  Maybe she does, Lucy thought as she drove from the parking lot. Her mother hadn’t mentioned the fact that Lucy hadn’t come home on Saturday night, but then again, Lucy was an adult and it wouldn’t be like her mother to intrude into her affairs. Not that she wouldn’t want to …

  Clay’s Jeep was parked next to the old John Deere tractor when she arrived at the farm. She got out of the car and walked toward the house. Through the open kitchen window, she could see him doing something at the sink.

  She went up the back steps, knocked on the screen door, and called, “Clay?”

  “Lucy?”

  He came to the door in jeans and bare feet, his shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows.

  “Come in.” He dried his hands on the towel he was holding. “Why didn’t you call to let me know you were coming over?”

  “Because … because …” She followed him into the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong?” He tossed the towel onto the counter and reached for her.

  His arms folded around her and she could feel the warmth and strength in his embrace. His lips brushed against the side of her face and his breath was soft against her skin. “Tell me …”

  She did.

  “Wow. Way to screw things up.” Clay looked as dejected as she felt. “I was hoping you’d be here at least through Saturday.”

  “Me too. I was really looking forward to going to Jesse’s party with you.”

  “Well, I don’t like it much, but I don’t know what else you can do. It sounds like the guy’s really in bad shape.”

  “Bonnie was really upset.” Lucy rested against him. “And I’m afraid I wasn’t as sympathetic as I should have been. I’m not ready to go back tomorrow.”

  “Would you be ready to leave on Sunday?” he asked.

  She nuzzled her face into his neck. “I don’t think so.”

  He turned her face up and kissed her full on the mouth. Her lips parted slightly and she savored the sensation of his tongue flickering against her own. Her hands fisted in his shirt and she pulled him closer. Every inch of her cried out for his touch, and she gasped quietly as his hands began to caress the curves of her body.

  “I want to stay,” she whispered. “I want to stay with you.”

  “Let’s try this again.” He lifted her from her feet and this time she made no jokes about being swept away. She busied herself kissing his neck as he carried her up the stairs and into his room, and when he laid her across his bed, she pulled him down with her.

  This time, there was no tickle of fear in her gut, no second-guessing, no doubts to distract her. This time, she welcomed his kisses and arched to meet his hands, and encouraged him to touch and taste and explore. This time, she unbuttoned her shirt and shivered as he slid her jeans over her hips. This time, his mouth and his hands on her breasts caused her to cry out in pleasure. This time, she ached to feel him inside her, moaned softly as his fingers found her core, then waited impatiently while he shed his clothes. And this time, when he came to her, she reached eagerly for him, and prayed it would last all night.

  Chapter 21

  Lucy reached for the ringing phone without looking and struggled to open her eyes.

  “So how did the wedding go? Any problems?” Bonnie was asking as Lucy tried to sit up in her bed.

  “It went really well. Thanks to your mad organizational skills, all I had to do was walk in and introduce myself.” Lucy covered a yawn with her free hand. “Is it really nine?”

  “Sorry, Lu. It never occurred to me that you’d still be sleeping. You’re always such an early riser.”

  “I’m afraid I must have bottomed out. Between the travel and trying to handle big affairs on two sides of the country, I’m beat.”

  “I know I’m partially to blame, and I’m so sorry. I swear, once Bob is up and around and able to take care of himself, I will be your slave.”

  “How long do you think before that will happen?”

  “The fracture was really bad, Lu. The bone in his lower leg was shattered, and they had to put a rod and pins and all manner of things in there, but they don’t know if the bone will heal. The doctor said the surgery they performed was the only thing they could do, but an infection has set in and they’re hoping they can resolve that.”

  “And if they can’t?”

  “If the infection in the bone continues to spread, or if the shattered bone cannot heal, the next step would be to take his leg off below the knee.” Bonnie’s voice shook as she relayed the news.

  “Holy shit. God, I’m so sorry. That must be hell for both of you.” Lucy remembered Bob as a tall strapping guy who loved pickup basketball games and competitive cycling.

  “Mostly for him. I try to keep him upbeat, but it’s a struggle sometime
s. He’s so scared. I’m so scared.”

  “I can only imagine.” Lucy sat up in bed and pulled the light covering with her. “I’m really sorry you two have to go through this.”

  “Thanks, Lucy.” Bonnie cleared her throat softly. “I suppose we need to talk about the business.”

  “When you get back, we’ll talk.”

  “I’ll fly down as soon as I can. We can talk then.”

  “Take what time you need, Bon.”

  “I appreciate that, but I know how crazy you must be right now. With all you have to do in St. Dennis to get ready for the big wedding, and now to be pulled back here … I know it isn’t fair. I know I was the one who was supposed to be helping you by covering your events out here so that you could devote your time to the Magellan wedding.”

  “Don’t give it another thought,” Lucy told her. “It’ll all work out. We have Ava and Corrine here and I have Madeline back in Maryland, and you’ll do what you can do long-distance. We’ll get through this.”

  “You’re reminding me why I wanted you for a business partner.” Bonnie sniffed back what Lucy knew to be tears. “I love you, Lu. You’re a great friend and I’m so sorry to have put you in this position.”

  “Love you, too, Bon,” Lucy told her. “We’ll work things out. Bob is going to be fine. The business will be fine.”

  Lucy got up, showered, dressed in soft Sunday sweats, and made herself a pot of coffee. She sat on her living room sofa with a cup in one hand and her phone in the other. Last night was the first night since she came back to L.A. that she hadn’t spoken with Clay before she went to bed. She was still at the wedding reception when he sent his last text of the night—around midnight eastern time—when he was turning in. She wanted to ask about the party, who was there and how much fun it was. But most of all, she wanted to hear the quiet reassurance in his voice. She speeddialed his number.

  “Hi.” He answered on the first ring. “I was hoping this would be you.”

  “Hi. How are you?”

  “Mildly hungover. Wade brewed some mean beer for Jesse last night and he made everyone taste it.”

  “I thought the brewery wasn’t built yet.” She frowned. “Did I miss something?”

  “He bought some home-brewing setup and was experimenting. I’ll bet everyone in town has a headache this morning. Including your mom.”

  “My mom doesn’t drink beer,” she told him.

  “She did last night.” He chuckled. “And from all appearances, she enjoyed it.”

  “I’m having a hard time picturing that, but I know you couldn’t be making it up.” Lucy pulled her legs up under her and tried to picture him … where? “Where are you?” she asked.

  “Sitting on the back steps drinking a bottle of water. I just came in from walking across the back field. I wanted to see how the barley was doing.”

  “How’s it doing?” She was glad she asked. She could see him sitting there, taking long drinks of water until the bottle was empty, at which time he’d toss it end over end into the recycling bin he kept outside.

  “Pretty good. I think we’ll have a decent harvest.” He paused to take another swallow. “So how did it go last night?”

  “It went well. Bonnie did a great job setting it all up.”

  The silence that followed was painful. She knew what was coming next.

  “When do you think you’ll be able to come back?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know how long Bonnie is going to be up north. Bob’s leg is badly fractured and they had to put a rod in it. She’d doing a terrific job considering that she’s at the other end of the state, but on game day, it’s tough on the rest of us. We have a full book from now into June.”

  “What about Robert Magellan and his fiancée? Weren’t you supposed to meet with them and with Gavin soon?”

  “Yes, but they’re going to have to be content with Dan and Madeline in my place. I just can’t see a free day on my calendar. Madeline can handle it. She’s done a lot this past week. She has good skills. Not a whole lot of imagination, but she’s well organized and that’s critical.” Lucy sighed. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear. Believe me, I wish I could say I’d be back in a few days, but it’s going to be weeks.” She hesitated, then said words she never expected to hear herself say. “I miss you. I want to be with you.”

  “I miss you, too, LuLu. Do what you have to do, then come home. I’ll be waiting …”

  On the Tuesday of the week before the Magellan guests were to arrive, a happy Lucy got off her plane at BWI and hurried to pick up her luggage. She had an appointment at the inn in the morning with the woman for whom she was planning the July anniversary party, but she planned to spend the rest of tomorrow with Clay. She caught the shuttle to the car rental facility, and had just taken a seat when her phone pinged to announce a text. She opened the message and found a picture of Clay standing out in front of the car rental lot that he’d obviously taken with his phone.

  She laughed and texted back: See you in …

  “How long?” she asked the driver.

  “Maybe five minutes,” he replied.

  “Thanks,” she told him, and completed her text.

  When the van arrived at the lot and the driver opened the door, Clay was standing there, waiting for her.

  “You didn’t have to do this,” she said after she’d kissed him soundly. “But I love that you did.”

  “I couldn’t wait to see you.” He grabbed her suitcase. “I’ll bet you paid a hefty fee to fly this baby. Did you bring one of your assistants home in this?”

  “Just clothes and stuff that I’ll need,” she told him.

  They chatted all the way to the inn, Clay filling her in on what was going on in St. Dennis, she telling him about the NFL players who attended their teammate’s wedding the weekend before.

  Clay parked in his favorite “No Parking” spot near the inn’s back door. When he started to take her bag from the back, she said, “Leave it. It’s going home with you tonight, and so am I.”

  He slammed the hatch closed and smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “For now, let’s go in and have dinner. I need to see my mom and she’s going to want to see me, but I’m not finished looking at you yet. I can’t believe how tan you are already.”

  “If you spent as much time outside as I do, you’d be tan, too.”

  “I hope you’re using sunscreen,” she said as they went inside, where Grace was waiting for them in the lobby.

  Lucy had called her mother when they reached the Bay Bridge, so Grace knew when to expect them.

  “So nice of you to pick up our girl, Clay,” Grace said after she’d hugged her daughter. “I hope you’ll stay and let us feed you. There’s a pretty full house, but I’m sure there’s at least one table for two in the dining room.”

  “That would be great, Mom. I could eat a horse. But aren’t you going to join us?” Lucy asked.

  “Perhaps for dessert and coffee. Right now I’m due to interview one of our longtime guests.” Grace held up a notepad. “One of the families who was displaced due to next week’s festivities agreed to stay this week instead. The patriarch of that family has been coming here for seventy-five years, and his entire family is here to celebrate his ninetieth birthday on Friday. I think his kids and grandkids and great-grandkids are already starting to gather for dinner in the dining room, but he agreed to chat with me for a few minutes and let me take his picture for the Gazette.”

  “What fun. We’ll be inside if you decide to join us later.” Lucy took Clay’s hand as they went into the dining room. After they were seated, she nodded toward the back of the room, where several tables had been pushed together to form a single long one. “That must be the family Mom was talking about.”

  Clay turned to take a look. “They’ve been coming here for seventy-five years? Do you recognize anyone?”

  Lucy studied the faces right down the line, then shook her head. “No, but remem
ber, I haven’t spent a summer here in twenty years, and there are a lot of children there. Like Mom said, kids and grandkids and great-grandkids.”

  They ordered drinks and dinner at the same time and watched the room fill up with diners.

  “I guess Gavin’s reputation has been growing,” Lucy said.

  “There was a great write-up in the Baltimore Sun last weekend.”

  “Mom emailed it to me.” She smiled up at the waitress who placed her salad in front of her. “They had nice things to say about the inn and its ambience too and they—”

  Movement from her left caught her eye, distracting her as an elderly man in a wheelchair was brought into the room and positioned at the head of the table where the large family sat. Lucy found herself staring at the man who was pushing the chair and felt the blood drain from her face.

  “What?” Clay turned to follow her gaze. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “No, it’s all right.” She shook her head. “It’s nothing. For a moment, I thought maybe I recognized …”

  “You thought what? You think that’s him? The dark-haired guy in the navy blazer pushing the chair? Is he the guy …?”

  “No, no. Just for a second … but no. All I remember about that man was that he had dark hair and an athletic build, which pretty well describes at least fifty percent of the men who stay here.” She nodded in the direction of the man they were discussing. “He just happens to fit the description, but he’s too young.”

  She watched the man as he maneuvered the wheelchair to the table. A little girl of five or six jumped from her seat and skipped to him, and he lifted her up and planted a kiss on her cheek.

  “No,” she told Clay. “That’s not him.”

  “You’re sure.”

  “Positive. And to tell you the truth, I don’t know if I’d recognize him after all these years. People change.” She reached for Clay’s hand. “I’m going to be here a lot this summer. Neither of us can start looking at every guest as a suspect. We’re both going to have to accept the fact that he’s out there somewhere, maybe, but he’s not here. It’s more than likely that he never came back because he was afraid I’d recognize him and would call the police.”