Nine
Mia's nerves tingled long after she heard Jeremy leave the yard. She couldn't believe the way he'd kissed her or the way she'd kissed him back. It hadn't been the usual tentative awkward first kiss between two people who didn't know each other very well; it had been a fiery explosion, which did not bode well for a friendship.
But as she'd reminded him, they wouldn't be living next door to each other forever. She'd leave as soon as the house was pulled together. She'd go back to San Francisco, start sending out resumes, and get back to her life.
Jeremy would do…something. He'd either go back to the Army or go somewhere else, but she doubted he'd stay in Angel's Bay. Or maybe he would. But even if he did, she wouldn't be here.
There was absolutely no good reason for them to get together now. Any relationship between them had heartbreak written all over it, and she didn't feel like putting herself through that kind of pain again.
Forcing Jeremy out of her head, she walked into the studio and climbed up the stairs to the loft bedroom. She found Ashlyn sitting on the bed with a bunch of vintage jewelry spread out around her.
Ashlyn gave Mia a guilty look as she put another necklace around her neck. It joined the other three necklaces and the dozen bangles she'd put on each arm.
"Well, don't you look pretty," she said with a smile, as she sat down on the bed with Ashlyn and picked up three more gold bangles from the bed. "I think my aunt brought these back from India. She sent some to me and my sisters when we were little girls."
"Sisters?" Ashlyn muttered.
Mia tried not to let on that she was excited Ashlyn had verbalized a question. "Yes, I have a twin sister named Kate and an older sister named Annie. I also have three older brothers. They're good guys for the most part, but they like to boss me around." She paused. "When I was a little girl, my sisters and I used to play dress-up. I always wanted to be a princess. Kate wanted to be a pirate."
Her words brought tears to Ashlyn's eyes. "What is it, honey? What's wrong?"
"My mommy played dress-up with me."
Her heart twisted at the pain in Ashlyn's voice. She was also a little shocked by the complete sentence. "I'll bet that was fun."
"She's in heaven."
"That means she's watching over you."
"I want her to come back."
"I know you do." She gave Ashlyn a hug, because she just couldn't stop herself, and surprisingly Ashlyn accepted the embrace. Her body was stiff and awkward, but she didn't push Mia away.
Deciding to press her luck a bit further, Mia said, "Your father loves you very much. He's not trying to take the place of your mom, but he wants to take care of you and make you happy."
"Mommy said he didn't want us."
She shook her head. "He didn’t know about you, Ashlyn. Your mom didn't tell him. He didn't find out about you until after she died."
Ashlyn looked confused. "Mommy said I didn't have a daddy. She said she was Mommy and Daddy."
"I don't know why she told you that, but your dad is a good person, and he's trying really hard. Maybe you should talk to him a little bit. Get to know him. Let him get to know you." Ashlyn didn't look convinced, so Mia added, "I have a fantastic father. As a little girl, I looked up at him, and I knew he was big and strong and he would always protect me. Now that I'm a grown-up, I still talk to him about my problems, because even if he doesn't know the right thing to say or he says something stupid, because he's a guy after all, I still know I can count on him."
"Where is he?"
"He's in San Francisco with my mom. That's where I live when I'm not here."
"Are you going to leave, too?"
"Not anytime soon. By the time I'm ready to leave, you'll be sick of me. But your dad is never going to leave."
"He makes good pancakes," Ashlyn said.
Mia smiled. "I bet he does a lot of other things well, too." She paused to pick up some decorative bobby pins from the bed. "I have an idea. We should put these in your hair. They would look so pretty. But first we should probably brush your hair." Ashlyn's thick dark hair was a mass of tangles and from what she'd seen over the last few days, she doubted anyone had put a brush to it in a while. "What do you think?"
Ashlyn nodded in agreement.
"Good. Your dad went to the gym for a while, so it's just you and me." She looked Ashlyn in the eye. "We need to get something straight. I don't want you to go back to your house without telling me. I'm responsible for you, and your dad won't let you come over here, if I can't keep an eye on you. Understand? If you get mad at me, you talk to me; you don't run away. Do we have a deal?"
"Okay."
"Let's go into the house and do your hair. Have you ever had a French braid?"
She nodded. "Mommy used to braid my hair. He doesn't know how to do it."
"Well, Jeremy is a guy, and they just aren't good with hair. But I am really good." She climbed off the bed. The little girl took her hand, and Mia didn't mind the sticky syrup on her fingers one bit. She felt like she'd just won a bit more of Ashlyn's trust.
* * *
An hour later, Mia had gotten Ashlyn in and out of the shower, blow-dried her hair and put it into a beautiful French braid decorated by the pins they'd found in the cottage.
Then they got into the car to take Ashlyn's new look into town and to get copies made of the art patterns. On their way out of the copy shop, Ashlyn pointed to a children's clothing boutique across the street, grabbed Mia's hand and dragged her across the sidewalk.
"Okay, okay," she said with a laugh. "We'll go look at clothes." She was beginning to realize that Ashlyn had inherited some of her father's determination.
They stopped in front of the window of the store, and Ashlyn's eyes widened in appreciation as she looked at the yellow and white summer dress on the child-sized mannequin.
"Let's go inside," Mia said.
As they wandered around the store, Ashlyn looked at the clothes with a reverence that made Mia realize that the little girl was starting to come alive again. She didn't know if Jeremy would appreciate her buying his daughter clothes. On the other hand, he'd told her that Ashlyn never wanted anything, so if she wanted something, he wanted to give it to her.
"Do you want to try on some clothes?" she asked.
"Can I?"
"Of course. Let's pick out a couple of dresses and shorts and shirts and see what you like. It will be fun. I love to shop for clothes."
Ashlyn seemed to share her enjoyment, and it was clear her favorite clothes were very girly with cute buttons, flouncy skirts, and bright colors.
They spent a good thirty minutes trying on outfits, and Mia had never had so much fun. Ashlyn also enjoyed herself, smiling and parading in front of the mirror in the dressing room. A new hairstyle and a pretty dress had certainly taken her mood to a new high.
Finally, they settled on the yellow and white sundress from the front window, a cute pair of sandals to go with it, and pink shorts with a matching tank top. Mia had also thrown in a pretty chain with a silver heart that had captured Ashlyn's interest. She really hoped Jeremy would be okay with everything. If he could see Ashlyn now, she thought he would be.
In fact, she felt a little guilty that she was the one seeing Ashlyn come out of her cocoon of pain, but hopefully Jeremy would soon get to witness his little butterfly beginning to fly.
After leaving the shop, she decided to take the long way back to the car. She wanted to see more of the town. She remembered some of the stores from her summer visits, but there were also quite a few new businesses. As Kara had said, Angel's Bay was growing, and it was clear it had become a tourist destination. The sidewalks were crowded with people checking out antiques shops, sipping coffee and iced drinks at outdoor cafés, and visiting one of the many clothing stores that offered options from everything to high-end evening wear and bridal attire to whimsical dresses and ocean resort clothing.
"I like this town," she said to Ashlyn. "What about you?"
"Are there r
eally angels here?" Ashlyn asked, as they paused in front of a hand-blown glass shop with dozens of glass angels in the window.
"There are definitely those kinds of angels," she replied, looking at the display.
"I mean the real kind. Like my mommy."
Mia squatted down so she was face-to-face with Ashlyn. "I think the angels are everywhere. They watch over us and protect us, and we can feel them even if we can't see them. And do you know what they feel like?"
Ashlyn stared back at her, doubt in her eyes.
"They feel like love. Look up at the sky."
Ashlyn reluctantly lifted her gaze to the cloudless blue panorama.
"Do you feel the heat on your face? That's love. That's coming from the heavens."
The little girl drew in a breath and then let it out and then looked back at Mia. "Mommy liked the sun. She didn't like when it rained. Or when it was dark."
"I like the sun, too, but I don’t mind the rain. It's not just the sun that makes me feel love: it's everything in this world: the moon, the stars, the trees, the flowers, but mostly the people. Love is everywhere, Ashlyn. You just have to open up your heart to it. Then you'll feel everything that's important, including the angels."
As she spoke, Mia thought it might be a good idea for her to take her own advice. She'd closed her heart down after Grayson. She'd told herself she'd rather be alone than make another painful mistake, than get hurt again, but she couldn't let Grayson ruin the rest of her life. She couldn't let him turn her into a cold person who only felt the chill of life and never the warmth.
She stood up and smiled at Ashlyn. "I think we should buy one of these angels to remind us, don't you?"
Ashlyn gave a vigorous nod, and they walked into the store.
"Be careful not to knock anything over," she warned. "Everything is very breakable."
The glass was amazingly beautiful, intricate designs of animals and angels, flowers and tiny glass houses. As they walked to the back of the store, they stepped onto a platform and watched the glassmaker blow the glass into shape.
Ashlyn was entranced by the old man's work and couldn't take her eyes off the glowing fire.
A woman came up next to them. "That’s my father," she said with a smile. "He's been blowing glass since he was ten years old. He's almost eighty now, but he's only gotten better."
"He's amazing. He did everything in this store?" Mia asked.
"I helped as well. I'm Shannon Kelly. My father is Frank Kelly. He learned the craft from his father and his grandfather, and he's passed it through the family."
"The work is beautiful. We'd like to get an angel."
"We have lots of those," Shannon said with a laugh, leading them across the room. "Which one do you like?"
"You pick, Ashlyn."
Ashlyn took the suggestion quite seriously, taking a few moments before settling on a small glass angel with a flowing dress.
"Perfect," she said approvingly.
Shannon carefully placed the angel in a box pillowed with tissue paper. "Here you go. I hope you'll come back some time."
"I'm sure we will," Mia said.
"Are you locals or tourists?"
"Somewhere in between," Mia said with a laugh. "We're here for a few weeks anyway."
"You'll love this town. It's a little piece of heaven on earth."
"I'm beginning to think so."
After leaving the glass shop, they cut down a side street on their way back to the car, but once again Mia got derailed when she saw the sign for the Eckhart Gallery, the one Kara had told her about.
"Let's stop here," she said. "I want to see if they might be interested in my aunt's collection of paintings."
They walked through a beautiful arched doorway into a gorgeous space of hardwood floors, ten-foot arched windows that brought in a great deal of natural light and white walls that served as a background for some really excellent paintings. An older man dressed in a black suit looked up from the mahogany counter that he stood behind and peered at her and Ashlyn through his thick-framed glasses.
He didn't look particularly happy to see a child in the gallery. "Please tell her not to touch anything," he said, without bothering to greet them first.
"She won't," Mia said.
"Children always have sticky little fingers," he said with disdain. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Judging by his snobbish manner, she doubted he would be at all interested in helping her, but Kara had mentioned something about a relationship between the owner and her aunt. "I was wondering if Mrs. Eckhart is in today."
His thin lips tightened. "Who shall I say is asking?"
"Mia Callaway. Tell her I'm Carly's niece."
His expression softened at the mention of her aunt. "Of course. Excuse me."
He walked down a hallway into what she presumed was the gallery office. While he was gone, she took Ashlyn around the main room, noting that there were several rooms off the central gallery with exhibitions by visiting artists.
"That's pretty," Ashlyn said, pointing to an oil painting of a wild garden next to a small farmhouse. The painting was by the Italian artist Pietro Muscolini.
Mia had always enjoyed his work and knew the painting was quite valuable. The fact that it was here spoke well for the reputation of the gallery.
She turned around at the sound of heels on the slick floor. A curvy, short woman in her sixties, with white hair and bright blue eyes, gave her a warm, welcoming smile. "You're Carly's niece?"
"Yes, Mia Callaway."
"I'm Didi Eckhart. I enjoyed your aunt's company so much. I was devastated by her death," she added, compassion filling her gaze. "She was too young to die and always so full of life. She cared a great deal for people. When my husband died several months ago, she was very, very kind to me."
Mia wasn't surprised. She had yet to meet anyone who hadn't loved her aunt. "That's nice to know. I'm sorry about your husband."
"Thank you." She looked at Ashlyn. "Is this your little girl?"
"No, Ashlyn belongs to a friend of mine. She's a little shy," she added as Ashlyn moved behind her.
"I was like that when I was a little girl. I couldn't understand why strangers wanted to talk to me," Didi said. "Did you just come by to say hello or were you looking for some art?"
"Actually, I wanted to run an idea by you. I'm cleaning out my aunt's studio, and I've found at least a dozen really good paintings that I'd like to put together into a collection and put them on display. As you know, Carly loved to encourage new artists, and I thought the collection would be a wonderful homage to her and also give the artists who used the studio a public display. I thought of calling the exhibition Freedom."
"That's a wonderful idea. I know Carly received many beautiful paintings by the artists who used her studio. I told her once she should bring some down here to the gallery."
"Was she interested in that?" Mia wanted to get a clearer picture of what her aunt had thought of doing with all the art that had been left to her.
"She was very interested, but at the time we spoke my late husband had complete control of the gallery, and he didn't like the art that she showed him. He thought it was terribly amateurish. My husband, God bless him, could be very arrogant when it came to art. But now that I'm in charge and feeling better about life, I want to change things up around here, and I think your idea is wonderful."
"I'm so glad. I just can't bring myself to stick the paintings into storage. Art should be appreciated."
"I agree. However, I would like to see the paintings before making a final decision."
"I'll need a few days to pull everything out and see what I have. Then I can bring the paintings by, or if you'd like to come to the house, you can do that, too."
"Why don't you give me a call when you're ready?" Didi handed her a business card. "Make sure you speak directly with me." She dropped her voice as the snobby man moved past them and entered an adjoining room. "Mr. Raleigh was hired by my husband, and he doe
sn't share my new vision."
"That might make life difficult."
"Yes. I'd like to be loyal, but this gallery is all I have left, and I want it to be good and to be mine."
"I completely understand."
Didi gave her a thoughtful look. "Your aunt said you worked in a museum. Or is that one of your sisters?"
"No, that would be me. I was recently an assistant curator at the Kelleher Museum in San Francisco."
Didi laughed. "Well, then, you know all about snobs."
She grinned. "I do."
"What are you doing now?"
"Considering my options while I clean out my aunt's house."
"I'm sure a smart young woman like yourself has plenty of options."
"I hope so. Thanks so much for your time."
"Of course. I look forward to hearing from you."
As they left the gallery, she squeezed Ashlyn's hand and said happily, "That went well. I think we just found a place to display Aunt Carly's paintings. Let's go home. We'll make lunch and get back to work."
"Can I put on my new clothes?"
"Yes." She smiled at Ashlyn's hopeful expression. "You can show your father what we bought." Hopefully, Jeremy would consider their outing as successful as Mia did.
When they arrived home a little after one, Mia headed straight to the kitchen to make some lunch while Ashlyn ran upstairs to try on her new clothes. She'd just finished putting together turkey sandwiches and a bowl of fruit when the bell rang.
She wiped her hands on a towel and walked down the hall. Jeremy stood on the porch, looking as handsome and as sexy as ever in jeans and a T-shirt, his hair damp from what appeared to be a recent shower. Her heart did a little flip-flop when he gave her a slow smile, and, instantly, she was taken back to the kiss they'd shared earlier that morning. Her idea to keep things at the friendship level didn't seem quite that good anymore. It was all she could do not to walk into his arms and take the kiss she wanted.
"Hi," he said softly, a knowing gleam in his eyes. "How's it going?"
"Great," she said, trying to get a grip on her suddenly impatient libido. "I was just making lunch. Come in. Are you hungry?" she asked, as they walked down the hall and into the kitchen.
If I Didn't Know Better Page 11
