“People with money,” she conceded. “Snowbirds, more than likely.”
He held her gaze. “Can you see why that might worry the locals? They have modest incomes. What if these people expect all sorts of new amenities that the current tax base can’t afford? I imagine there are some people who are barely making it, as it is. If taxes go up, they could be forced to leave Seaview Key.”
She looked dismayed by the suggestion. “That’s not going to happen,” she insisted.
“Can you guarantee that?”
“There won’t be that many people. They wouldn’t be able to influence the council to vote for something that’s not in the best interests of the whole population,” she said with certainty. “If I’m right in my assessment of who’ll buy the houses, most of them won’t even be living here full-time. They won’t have a vote.”
“Maybe not, but money talks,” Seth countered. “Once their friends start to visit, they could start buying other properties. Next thing you know, the island is completely changed. Locals can no longer afford to live here or don’t feel comfortable if they do manage to stay. If you study the effects of gentrification in other communities, you see it all the time.”
She clearly seemed to be weighing his theory. “You really think that’s the root of the problem?” she asked eventually. “People are afraid they’ll no longer fit in or be able to afford to stay here?”
He nodded. “I overheard a lot of people complaining about outsiders changing the way of life here. They feel threatened, Abby.”
“Tell me the truth, Seth,” she said. “How do you feel about Blue Heron Cove? Am I heading in the wrong direction?”
“Personally, I think it will be an asset in the long term,” he said. “But I’m new here. I have a different perspective. For people who’ve built a life here, change is scary. You have to find some way to allay those fears.”
He put an arm around her shoulder. “Don’t look so defeated. You’ll come up with something. You have Jack on your side and Jenny. They wouldn’t be supporting you if they didn’t see the positive side of this. Let them help you figure out an approach to win over the holdouts before next month’s meeting. You didn’t lose tonight. The vote was just delayed.”
His sentiment was echoed by Jack when they sat at the bar. To Seth’s surprise, Jenny was there, too.
“I thought you might be feeling kind of blue,” she told Abby. “Don’t. Those old stick-in-the-muds will come around. Jack did, once he learned the truth instead of listening to distortions.”
“Exactly,” Jack said.
“But I used the same arguments on them that convinced you. I don’t have anything left in my arsenal,” Abby protested. “And Seth just made a good point as we were walking over here. If people are afraid of growth, I don’t have any real way to convince them there’s nothing to fear.”
“Let’s focus on the council,” Jenny said. “I think the answer is to divide and conquer. I’ve already invited Sandra to lunch here tomorrow. Told her it was about the fish fry, which is true enough, but we can ease into a few other things while we’re at it.”
Seth planted an approving kiss on Jenny’s cheek. “You’re very sneaky,” he said.
“It comes in handy from time to time,” she agreed, her tone unapologetic. She looked at Abby. “You’ll be here?”
“Of course,” Abby said. “Thank you so much.”
Jenny shrugged. “Don’t thank me just yet. Sandra could get up and walk out if she thinks she’s been hoodwinked. I’m counting on the manners her mama ingrained in her to prevent that.”
* * *
Abby was grateful to Seth for insisting on going back to her place after they left The Fish Tale. She wasn’t quite ready to be alone with her disappointment over the way the council meeting had gone. Though she was encouraged by Jenny and Jack’s determination to help, she still felt defeated, at least for the moment.
“Tell me something,” Seth said, when they were on the porch, coffee in hand. “Why is Blue Heron Cove so important to you? The real reason. I’ve heard everything you’ve been telling other people, even me, about making a difference, but I sense there’s something more personal at stake, even beyond providing an excuse to come back here.”
She gave him a startled look, surprised by his insight. She thought about the past few years, all the doubts that had crept up on her about the person she was. Could she reveal all of that to this man she’d just met? She looked into his eyes as he waited patiently for her answer.
“I need to prove something to myself,” she admitted quietly.
“What?” he asked, clearly perplexed.
“That I have something to offer.”
“I don’t understand. You’ve already proven that you can be successful in business. Even as little as I know about you, I imagine you gave back plenty when you were in the Panhandle.”
She nodded. “I tried, in a lot of ways, as a matter of fact. But to hear my husband tell it, it was never enough.”
“I don’t get it,” Seth said.
“I’ve already told you that Marshall wasn’t overjoyed that I owned a restaurant and refused to give it up. So, he took every opportunity to diminish my accomplishments. If I gave a generous donation to charity, it was never quite enough. If I raised funds for something at the church, it could have been more if I’d devoted a little more time to it. I disappointed him at every turn. Eventually that constant message sinks in. I lost faith in the sort of person I was.”
“I probably shouldn’t say this about a minister, but he sounds like a jerk,” Seth said.
Abby smiled at the heat in his voice. “I thought so, too, at the end, but it took me a long time to get there. I respected him, so I took everything he said to heart. It sapped all the joy out of every accomplishment and, eventually, it sapped the life out of me.”
“And that’s why you divorced him?”
She nodded. “I had to, before I lost myself forever.”
“Good for you.”
She smiled. “I was pretty proud of myself, too. I’m not a huge fan of divorce. I think it’s too often the first choice and the easy way out. People should at least make an effort to work through their problems.”
“Did you try?”
“Marshall didn’t think we had any problems to work out,” she said with regret. “When he told me that, I knew it was over. You can’t fight denial.”
“He must have been shocked when you made the decision.”
“I think it was just one more time that I disappointed him. He almost seemed to expect it.”
“Definitely a jerk,” Seth repeated.
She smiled. “No, just a little self-absorbed and demanding. He was good in so many ways. The parishioners loved him. He was always there for them with a kind word or whatever comfort they needed.”
“But he wasn’t a very good husband,” Seth argued.
Abby sighed. “Certainly not the right husband for me,” she agreed.
Seth studied her. “So am I getting this right, that it’s your self-esteem that’s tied up in the success of Blue Heron Cove?”
“Something like that.”
“You do know that even if it fails that doesn’t make you a failure, right?”
“I’m not sure I can see it that way,” she admitted.
“It could be just an idea that’s ahead of its time,” he said. “It might not be about you at all.”
She let his words sink in. “Thank you for reminding me of that,” she said. “I think you could turn out to be very good for me, Seth Landry.”
“Happy to oblige, but you’d have come to that conclusion on your own eventually. You’re a smart woman.”
“Smart enough to appreciate a good man when I come across one,” she said. “I think I might actually be able to sleep
now.”
He stood up. “I’ll take that as my cue to leave.”
Abby stood up and met his gaze. “I’ll have to work on coming up with better cues,” she teased. “I had something else entirely in mind.”
The look that passed over his face was priceless. His expression went from confusion to understanding to unmistakable desire in a heartbeat. And then he chuckled.
“Watch yourself,” he warned. “One of these days I’m going to take you up on what you’re offering.”
Rather than feeling the least bit threatened or looking away as he obviously anticipated, she held her gaze steady. “I’ll look forward to it,” she said solemnly. “Good night, Seth.”
She walked quickly inside and closed the door, then leaned against it and released a sigh. She was playing with fire, no question about it. Then she grinned. She was enjoying every minute of it, too. Maybe the flirting that seemed to go hand in hand with this friendship business was just what she needed, after all.
* * *
When Luke finally got home, Hannah looked up from the book she’d been reading. “You look beat. I wasn’t sure you’d get the last ferry home tonight. How’s Marcia doing?”
He sank down next to her on the sofa. “She’ll make it, I think. She’s still in the intensive care unit, but her fever finally broke. The antibiotics seem to be working.”
“That’s great!” she said. “Have you had anything to eat? Want me to fix you something?”
He shook his head. “I just want to take a shower and crawl into bed. How are things around here?”
“Things with me are fine. Your kids called tonight. I told them you’d call back in the morning.” She hesitated then added, “And Abby’s project didn’t get approved at the council meeting.”
Luke sat up a little straighter. “Why not? Were you at the meeting?”
“No, but Grandma Jenny called me after it was over. Sandra held out and two others backed her, so they postponed the final vote till next month. With Christmas coming at that point, what are the odds they’ll even have a December meeting? They almost always wind up canceling it. I wonder if anyone warned Abby about that?”
“Have you spoken to her?”
Hannah shook her head. “I gather she, Seth, Grandmother and Jack were commiserating and working on a strategy at The Fish Tale after the meeting.”
Luke gave her a penetrating look. “Hannah, are you happy about what happened?”
“No, of course not,” she said a little too quickly, then winced. “Okay, maybe on some level, I am.”
“Why? Are you still hoping Abby will pack up and leave Seaview Key? I thought you’d gotten past that. I thought you were willing to give her a chance, maybe even be friends again.”
She gave him a wry look. “That’s on my sane and rational days,” she said. “This wasn’t one of those days.”
“Because?”
“I made my reservation to go to New York for the tests,” she said.
“Just one reservation? What about me?”
“You’ve been swamped lately and with Marcia so sick and the kids coming for Thanksgiving, it didn’t make sense to ask you to fly up and back while I take a few routine tests. Sue will be around.”
Luke frowned. “I’m the one who should be there. I want to be there.”
She squeezed his hand. “I know you want to be supportive, but at some point I have to be able to go through these tests on my own without freaking out.”
“Why? Surely you’re not preparing for some day that’s never going to come when I’ll abandon you and you’ll be left to deal with everything on your own?”
Hannah didn’t want to admit that in a moment of desperate insecurity that’s exactly what she’d told herself.
“Hannah?” he prodded, then shook his head in obvious frustration. “How am I supposed to convince you that we’re solid, that when it comes to this we’re a team?”
“We can’t be a team, not really,” she argued. “I’m the one who’s had cancer.”
“And I’m your husband,” he replied impatiently. “What affects you affects me. If you don’t get that, then how can we call this a marriage?” He stood up. “I’m going to bed.”
He paused only to give her a lingering, disappointed look, then headed for the stairs.
Hannah stared after him in dismay. What was wrong with her? He wasn’t going to abandon her. He wasn’t going to turn to Abby. She was driving him away. This was all on her. And if one of these days he did look at Abby or any other woman, she’d have only herself to blame.
She picked up the phone and called Sue. “I’m an idiot,” she announced without preamble.
“Could be,” Sue said sleepily.
Since having a late-in-life baby, Sue was asleep by ten these days. It was after that now. Still, she didn’t scold Hannah for disrupting her rest. Hannah could hear the covers rustling, as she sat up in bed, then her murmured comment to her husband to go back to sleep.
“What makes you think you’re an idiot?” she asked Hannah.
Hannah explained what had just happened with Luke.
“Okay, idiot seems a little harsh, but you don’t seem to be thinking too clearly. Luke loves you to pieces. If he’s free to come to New York, you should let him.”
“But you’ve been my support system from the beginning,” Hannah argued, clinging to the sole rational claim she had for what she’d just done.
“And now you have a husband, one who knows a lot more about all the medical mumbo jumbo than I do,” Sue reminded her. “Even if he weren’t crazy in love with you, he’s a better interpreter of all that than I am, so why the reluctance?”
“It’s just such a reminder than I’m sick,” Hannah said. “I hate having Luke view me as sick or weak.”
“First, you’re not sick. You’ve been cancer-free and there’s no reason to think that’s changed, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And, second, do you think there’s any way at all that Luke might be unaware of these tests and their implications? He knows they’re coming up. If I understand anything at all about him, they were probably on his calendar as well as yours. You’re not protecting him, Hannah. You’re shutting him out.” Sue drew in a deep breath, then asked, “Is this about his old girlfriend being back in town?”
“Sure, that’s part of it,” Hannah admitted readily. “She’s so vibrant and alive. I hate reminding Luke that I could have cancer again at any moment.”
“Sweetie, I doubt anyone is more aware of that than he is. He loves you. Let him show that by supporting you.”
Sue’s frank talk finally registered with her.
“Thank you,” Hannah said softly. “You always have known how to cut through my garbage.”
“Happy to oblige. If you need me with you next week, let me know. Otherwise, I’m going to assume that you’ve come to your senses and brought your husband to New York. If the two of you don’t come by to see the baby, though, I’m going to be very angry.”
“We’ll be there,” Hannah said, smiling finally. “It’ll be fun to see you so totally gaga. You’re going to spoil that baby rotten.”
“Absolutely,” Sue said unrepentantly. “I’m going to leave it to her father to straighten her out.”
Laughing, Hannah hung up, turned out the lights and headed slowly upstairs.
In the bedroom, she went to Luke’s side of the bed and sat on the edge. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “I’ll call and make a reservation for you first thing in the morning.”
He sat up. “Thank you. What changed your mind? Or do I even need to ask. You called Sue, didn’t you?”
“The voice of reason,” she said wryly. “Yes, I did. Do you mind that she can get through to me, when you can’t?”
“I don’
t mind anything or anyone as long as it gets us on track,” he told her. “I love you so much, Hannah. It kills me to think you don’t get that, that somehow I’m not showing you how important you are.”
“It’s not about anything you do or don’t do. It’s about me. I think the cancer took a toll on more than my body. It sapped me of my self-confidence. I’ll try harder to fight these doubts and insecurities that wash over me.”
Luke pulled her down beside him. “And I’ll be right here whenever you need to be reminded that I’m always going to be in your corner.”
She settled into his arms, and for the first time since she’d made her flight and hotel reservation, she felt at peace.
10
Seth spent a lot of time lying awake, staring at the ceiling after leaving Abby’s. He’d seen her in a totally different light tonight after that council meeting that hadn’t gone her way. He’d detected unanticipated vulnerabilities. He’d also identified in new ways with her desire to make a fresh start in Seaview Key. Wasn’t that exactly why he was here, too? To put the past behind him?
In a way that made the attraction he felt toward her more dangerous than ever. If she became too approachable, too human, how was he supposed to keep his defenses in place? And those defenses—the ones that kept him from acting on his already confessed desire to sleep with her—could be all that stood between him and unbearable pain, a pain he knew all too well.
He thought back to his feelings for Cara Sanchez. She’d been so blasted strong in the face of battle. She’d seen atrocities no woman—or man, for that matter—should ever have to witness, yet there had been a sweetness about her that had spoken to him. She’d been one of the most optimistic people he’d ever known, one of the funniest. To be able to share laughter with someone at the end of a day filled with horrendous crises had been a gift.
When she’d been killed by a suicide bomber while he’d been on a mission to rescue some injured soldiers who’d been ambushed, he’d been devastated. He’d blamed himself for not being there to protect her, though the truth was, had he been there, rather than in the air in a helicopter, he’d have been killed, too. When he’d called Luke to tell him what had happened, berating himself for failing Cara, Luke had tried to hammer it home that what he was feeling was survivor’s guilt, but Seth simply couldn’t accept it. Surely there would have been something he could have done.
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