"Actually, no, I didn't realize that." Holly felt a massive headache begin, right behind her eyes, eyes that wanted to tear up. "So, Maggie's been there a while? Have you guys had dinner?"
"We were just talking about getting pizza or something. I wasn't sure when you might be getting into town."
"You should go ahead and do that. I've got a horrible headache, so I was thinking I'd just head to Dad's house and lie down in a dark room to try and get rid of it. I'm no fun tonight."
Jason was quiet on the other end of the phone. Finally, he said, "Holly, is everything okay? I mean, besides your headache? You sound funny."
"Sorry about that--pain tends to make me sound funny. Listen, I'm going to hang up and just focus on getting there in one piece before this damn headache totally takes over. You and Maggie have a good time."
"Sure, okay. Well, take it easy Holly and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah. Later."
She hung up and clung to the steering wheel for support.
By the time she arrived at her father's, she had herself more in hand. She surprised him as he watched the sports news channel, eating popcorn in front of the TV.
"Holly! I didn't expect to see you until tomorrow." He held out the bowl of popcorn to her. "Hungry?"
She gave him a smile. "Not for popcorn, but thanks anyway, Dad. I need something for my headache and maybe some soup."
"I have some canned soup in the pantry. Nothing homemade I'm afraid. I plan on making clam chowder tomorrow for everyone."
"Canned soup is okay. I'll go fix some. Is my bedroom free?"
"Yes. Marla is staying in Anna's old room."
She trudged back into the kitchen and heated up chicken noodle soup. It was soothing on her stomach, and her headache backed off a bit. She felt like she was in the middle of a bad dream that she couldn't wake up from or get it to end. How could Jason sound so lighthearted and happy? Hadn't he come here because he was down and depressed? Was Maggie all it took to make him all cheerful?
It didn't matter, she decided. They had their agreement. They had no commitment to each other. Each of them was free to see whomever they might choose. Simple. Time to move on.
She washed out her bowl, said good night to Frank, and headed up to her room. The thought of staying awake any longer was too much, and she undressed and went to bed. She dreamed of a house that overlooked a cliff with a view of the ocean. A man was walking toward her in the house, but he was fuzzy and she could never actually see his face. She woke up with a feeling of longing, wishing to be in that house, that home.
Her cell phone rang not long after she got out of bed. She lunged across the mattress to grab the phone off the night stand, sure it was Jason.
"Hello?"
"Holly, this is Gloria. I hope you like an early start in the morning. I want to see the town and need to get something for breakfast. Can you pick me up and play tour guide for a while?"
"Uh, sure. But don't you want Jason to show you around?"
"He didn't grow up here. He wouldn't be as familiar with the place as you. I'll see him later, maybe for lunch."
"Okay. I need to get dressed, and then I'll come get you. See you soon."
Holly threw on pale blue linen pants with a loose, long-sleeved abstract print tunic top of pastels. She rushed past her father in the kitchen. "Later, Dad," she called out and was out the back door before he had time to turn around from the oven.
Gloria was ensconced in one of the newer vacation cabins that had a good view of the water. Holly found her sitting in a rocking chair on the small porch outside. She parked the car and waved. Gloria grabbed her cane and stood up.
"Don't bother coming up here," she said, and began to move down the walkway. Holly went ahead and met her halfway, ready to lend an arm if necessary.
Once in the car, Gloria said, "First, I want to see that bakery of yours and get a muffin or scone for breakfast. You have good coffee there?"
"The best," Holly replied. It was early enough that she found a parking spot right in front of the bakery. They walked in, with Gloria looking at everything.
"Cute place."
"Thanks."
"Cute isn't always a good thing, but this works."
"That is good to hear."
They looked in the case at all the pastries and Gloria shook her head. "That's a lot of sugar right there."
"Well, we are a bakery after all, not a health food store."
Gloria gave a short laugh. "Right you are. What do you recommend?"
"Our Harvest Muffins aren't too bad for you, or we have two different varieties of scones."
"I'll try the muffin," Gloria said, decisively.
The two women got their food and coffee, and then sat at the table by the window looking out onto the square. After a few minutes of eating and drinking, Gloria said, "It looks like a nice little town, quaint."
"We're aiming to add a bohemian feel to it when the project is completed. Our hope is that it will be a mecca, of sorts, for artists of all types. Speaking of which, I want to be sure and take you to meet Lucretia, our jewelry artist. She does phenomenal work."
"I've always been interested in good quality jewelry."
"This necklace is one of hers," Holly said, lifting the necklace she had on to show the older woman. It was a delicately-wrought pendant, with opals, on a fine gold chain.
"That is lovely," Gloria said, leaning forward to look at it. She sat back and said, "I wanted to tell you that the cabin you got for me is perfect. Great view and the place was absolutely spotless."
"Good, I'm glad. Tell me something, Gloria. Why did you really ask me to be your tour guide today?"
"Do I need to have a special reason?"
"No, but I think you have one anyway. Is it something about Jason?"
"Perhaps." She took a sip of coffee and shook her head irritably. "Oh, all right. I wanted to enlist your help. I think Jason is running away, staying here to work on the project. He needs to be back in the city. You know as well as I do that he can do the work from there as easily as here. After what happened, the attack on his reputation, he took a hit--but he isn't going to bounce back from it by hiding out here."
Holly frowned. "I don't think he's hiding out. He needed to get away for a few days, to clear his head and get his equilibrium back."
"It's been more than a few days. When I told him I was coming down for the weekend, he talked about my staying for the following week to really get to know the place. Holly, he can't just walk away from his business. He has employees. He has contracts he needs to follow up on. There have been at least two or three new scandals in the news since the one about his building. It's time to begin picking up the pieces."
"I agree with you, but I'm not sure why you're telling me this."
Gloria's eyebrows rose above her steely blue eyes. "Because he cares about you, Holly, you must know that."
Holly squirmed. "I'm not so sure of that lately."
Gloria waved a hand to the side. "Of course he cares. It was obvious to me when he brought you to meet me, that you're important to him. And since you are, I think you could have an influence on getting him back to the city."
"I don't know about that." Holly sighed. "Lately...let's just say, I think he may be interested in someone else."
"Piffle! I know my grandson, and I know how he keeps himself so controlled and closed off emotionally. What I've seen in him since he met you has been an opening up, a willingness to feel again, that hasn't been there since his parents died. That's significant. And you're the one who got him to that place."
"Gloria, you don't understand. Things aren't going very well right now and--"
"Whatever it is, you'll work it out. In fact, I insist that you do, and soon. I can see in your eyes, in your face that you...care deeply for him. Don't let some trivial upset come between you. Fix it, and then get him back to the city!"
* * * *
Maggie walked into the kitchen at her brother's beach house and
headed straight for the coffee machine. She vaguely registered that her brother was in the room, standing at the stove making what looked like oatmeal. She shuddered, and took her first sip of the dark roast brew.
"Oh, God, this is good."
Sam laughed. "Still not a morning person, are you?"
She shook her head, and then ran a hand through her messy hair. Even though her hairstyle was one of wild and free curls, it wasn't meant to look quite so disheveled. "I heard cartoons. They woke me up."
"Cartoons are a Saturday morning tradition around here."
"Sleeping in is my Saturday tradition," Maggie said grumpily. She sat on one of the bar stools at the counter and tried to wake up.
"What are your plans for the morning?" Sam asked as he sprinkled raisins and cinnamon into the oatmeal.
"I have an early meeting with Jason to finalize some ideas that will get presented in the big meeting later."
"You and Jason seem to be getting along pretty well."
"Yeah, we do. But why are you looking at me like that?"
"I just wondered if you and Jason..."
"No! No way, big brother, you're totally off. He's a good guy to work with, but that's it. Besides, he's totally gone on Holly. And on top of everything, he's just not my type."
Sam laughed. "Ah, I see. So rich, handsome, and creative aren't your type?"
She shook her head. "That's not what I mean. He's just got a more driven personality than I'd be comfortable with. I want a guy who can be laid back and relax when he's not working. And he doesn't have to be rich. Handsome...okay, you got me on that one."
Sam smiled at her gently. "Don't worry. You'll find the right guy soon enough. You're too cute not to."
"Cute! Why am I always the cute one?"
"Because you just are, my elfin friend. Do you want some of this oatmeal?"
"Uh, no, and don't even show it to me. I'm gonna go get dressed."
* * * *
Gloria looked across the table at Jason with a smile on her face. He appeared to be okay again. They were having lunch at the deli in town, Holly having dropped her there earlier before Jason arrived. They had toured the town shops during the morning, along with spending some time resting in the pretty park.
The jeweler, Lucretia, had completely impressed her, and she was now sporting a new brooch made of silver, lapis, and onyx.
"Is that new?" Jason asked, pointing to the pin.
"Yes, I got it at Lucretia's place. This town has some very nice shops."
Jason ate some of his roast beef sandwich, and watched as Gloria poked at her chicken salad. "What is it, Gloria? You aren't eating."
"I've got something to tell you. I was going to wait, but I just can't!" The last words had come out in a rush.
"Go ahead then and tell me. What is such a big deal?"
"Several of us, people I know, have been working on a deal actually. And I got the call today. The Trenton building owners have agreed to interview you to be the architect for the renovation."
Jason stared back at her blankly. "What?"
"I know that it's unexpected, but I finally convinced them that you'd be the architect they should use. This way you can work on the building."
She was startled to see a flush or redness rising from his neck into his face.
"What have you done? You know that the owners are the Greystone Consortium. I would never work for them--I believe I told you that a while back. And they 'agreed to interview' me? Last time, I interviewed them. Right before I turned them down. How they hell could you put me in this position?"
"But--Jason--I thought you'd be happy. To be able to re-do the building where your mother and father--"
"Shut. Up. Don't bring them into this. I can honor their memory without having to build a great big tomb for them. They don't need that kind of monument."
"Tomb? Jason, that's not what I meant!"
"What I don't understand is how you could have thought I'd lower myself to work for a group of men I don't even respect. You can tell them I won't be attending the interview. Really, Gloria, I'm quite angry about this."
She felt stunned. Jason never got angry with her, even when he disagreed with her. "I just wanted you to come back to the city. I thought you wanted to be the one to do the Trenton. I didn't realize--actually, no, I just didn't think about you not liking Greystone. I've been so worried since everything happened. I wanted to fix it, somehow. I'm sorry, Jason. I really am."
His green eyes glared darkly at her for a moment. He took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Grandmother, I love you, I do. But sometimes you go too far. I understand that you wanted to help me. I get that. You just can't do this kind of thing again, okay? If, or when, I come back to the city, it will be because I feel ready. I've got the employees on vacation at the moment. Marla, my assistant, keeps tabs on any calls that come in. There are no contracts currently pending, so I'm staying here until I'm ready to take it all on again."
"I'm sorry. I thought you were just--I don't know, wallowing in grief or goofing off or something. I should have known that wasn't what you'd do. Do you want me to leave today? Go back home?"
He gave a short laugh. "No, Gloria, I'd like for you to stay. Meet everyone, see everything, and look at the plans I've been working on for the project here. I've made a lot of progress this week. I forgive you, okay?"
She knew her smile was tremulous, but it was sincere. "Thank you. Who can take me out to see the area for the project?"
He smiled back at her. "Actually, I can. I'm free until the party later at Frank's house. Eat your lunch and we'll go check it out."
She smiled more firmly at him, and then picked up her fork and dug into her food.
* * * *
Frank was hauling in fish from the car for the early evening seafood fest he had planned. Lobsters, shrimp, crab, haddock, and more, filled his arms when Betsy Gilchrest arrived and hurried up the drive to help him.
"How many are coming tonight? An army?"
"I think I counted a total of eleven adults to be here," he replied.
"Will Marla be staying?" Betsy said, with an edge in her voice.
"Marla? Sure, I think so. Listen Betsy, I need to talk to you about something."
They had reached the kitchen and were dumping parcels on the counter.
"Okay, I'm ready, just tell me. It's Marla, isn't it?"
Frank stared at her in confusion. "What? Marla has nothing to do with it. The thing is, I think we should go public about our relationship."
"Public? Us?"
Frank was surprised at how shocked she seemed. "Yes. I know you don't want to get married yet, but I think--"
"Oh, yes, I do! I want very much to get married."
Frank felt a big smile spreading across his face. He reached out and took her in his arms, squeezing tightly. "Ah, Betsy, really? That would be terrific." He leaned away from her and looked into her eyes. "Are you sure? All this time, you always said no."
She looked down and then up again. "Lately, I've realized that what we have is very special. We should have done this a long time ago."
"This is gonna be great. Is it okay with you if we announce it tonight?"
She laughed, a very carefree laugh. "Yes, let's do."
"I wonder if anyone ever guessed, all this time. I'm sure we'll be surprising a few people."
"I think we've surprised ourselves!"
He laughed. "Yep, I'd say so."
"What made you decide to bring up going public now?"
His brow furrowed. "I'd been thinking I needed to let Holly know that it was okay to fall in love, to not be scared of it. That maybe she thought I never got past her mother dying. That I never felt love again. I want to be sure she understands that it's worth it, that love is worth it, no matter what happens, and to not be afraid. I was thinking if we went public, she'd see that."
"Then it will only help more if we tell her we're getting married," Betsy said.
"Yes, I think that's true."
Betsy began putting things away in the refrigerator. "So, what do you think--should we live in your house or mine after the wedding?"
Frank went quiet and froze in place. Finally, he said carefully, "I always thought we'd live here..."
Betsy turned to face him and burst out laughing. "The look on your face is too funny. I was kidding. I didn't imagine you would want to move into my house. Too frou-frou for you. But there are things we'll have to negotiate."
"Yeah, I guess we do have some talking to do."
"Let alone, wedding planning. There is so much to think about."
"Wedding plans."
He shucked the ears of corn mindlessly, thinking of how much planning a wedding could take. And he wondered just how much negotiating there needed to be.
"I'm so excited," Betsy said, coming over to hug him around the shoulders.
"Me too, hon, me too."
* * * *
Anna sent her son off to play with her husband, Sam, and turned to Holly who was sitting glumly at her father's kitchen table. Holly was supposed to be tearing up lettuce for a salad, but Anna took the bowl away from her after taking one look at the half-hearted job she was doing.
Holly reached for the knife to cut up some celery, but Anna took that from her also, and put a drink in her hands instead.
"You need to have your drink and let me do the salad. What on earth has got you so down?"
Holly sighed. "Nothing."
"I'm betting this is about Jason."
Holly's head jerked up to stare at her sister. "What do you mean? What do you know about Jason?"
"I know that you two have been involved. That much is obvious."
"We were just supposed to be, you know, friends with benefits. Nothing was supposed to happen. We agreed on it."
Anna laughed softly. "Oh, Holly. What made you think that would work?"
She watched as Holly's back straightened and her shoulders squared.
"You wouldn't understand, but it is possible to regulate your life. To not deal with all kinds of messy emotions."
"Really? I can see how well that's working for you."
"Damn it, Anna! I know that it got screwed up. I have feelings now, feelings that I shouldn't have."
Love Captures the Heart (Sully Point, Book 3) Page 12
