Sand Castle Bay

by Sherryl Woods

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  “I thought you were going out of town on business. Instead, I find out that you’re off on some tryst with that woman.”

  Boone winced. He’d told her only that he was going to California and then Colorado. He’d deliberately left Emily’s name out of the conversation. Someone, however, apparently hadn’t. Since he doubted Jodie had been talking to Cora Jane, it had to have been Pete. He hadn’t thought to swear him to secrecy.

  Jodie continued, “Since she’s obviously more important to you than your son, Frank and I intend to take B.J. down to Florida with us for the holidays. That way you’ll be free to do, well, whatever it is you insist on doing with that woman.”

  Boone sat up on the side of the bed, barely smothering a curse before he responded. Yelling wasn’t going to accomplish a thing. Unfortunately, he doubted reason would, either.

  “Jodie, you really don’t want to do that,” he said quietly.

  “It’s exactly what I want to do,” she corrected. “She’s obviously more important to you than your son.”

  “No, Jodie. The only thing this proves is that I should never have made the mistake of giving you a chance to have your grandson with you for a few days. If I’d had any idea at all that you would try to twist this situation to your advantage, I’d have brought B.J. with me. Believe me, I won’t make that mistake again. If you want all-out war, then that’s exactly what you’ll get.”

  “I should have known you’d resort to threats,” she said with a huff.

  “Let me talk to Frank,” he commanded.

  “Sorry, he’s not available. He’s loading up the car.”

  Since he was getting nowhere with Jodie, anyway, Boone disconnected the call and dialed his father-in-law’s cell number. Frank picked up on the first ring.

  “I’m sorry, Boone,” he said before Boone could utter a word. “I’ve tried to get through to her, but Jodie’s determined to do this. If I hadn’t agreed, she’d be taking B.J. and heading off on her own. At least this way, I’ll be around to keep an eye on things.”

  “Frank, you know I have no beef with you. I even understand what Jodie is going through, but you all do not have my permission to take B.J. to Florida. Don’t make me call the authorities. I don’t want to do that, not for B.J.’s sake or for yours. Talk some sense into her before this gets out of hand. Please.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” Frank promised. “But you know where we’ll be if I don’t have any luck in changing her mind. And you know B.J. will be safe. I’ll see to that.”

  Boone disconnected the call and started calling the airlines. By then, Emily was awake and had obviously grasped some of what was happening.

  “This is because of me, isn’t it?” she said, her tone flat. “Jodie’s flipped out because you’re here with me.”

  “Jodie’s just flipped out, if you ask me,” he retorted, though he knew she was driven by grief and anger. He’d been as understanding as he possibly could be, but this was absolutely the last straw.

  “They’re heading for Florida?” Emily asked.

  “Unless Frank can talk sense into her,” Boone confirmed.

  “Then why fly to North Carolina?” she asked. “Fly directly to Florida. I’ll come with you.”

  Boone shook his head. As desperately as he wanted Emily by his side, he didn’t want to inflame the situation. Who knew what Jodie would do if they both showed up?

  “You’re right about going to Florida,” he said, “but I need to go alone.”

  Emily’s expression immediately shut down. “Sure. I understand. Why make things worse?”

  “I’ll pick up B.J. and we’ll be back in North Carolina in time for Christmas,” Boone promised. He pretended not to notice the tears gathering in her eyes. If he acknowledged them, it would be his undoing. He knew she was being made to feel like an outsider, when all she’d done was love him and his son.

  An hour later, he’d made his reservations, and Emily dropped him off at the airport. “You’re not flying out today?” he’d asked when he noticed she hadn’t brought her bags.

  “Not until later,” she told him.

  Boone kissed her hard. “I love you,” he reminded her. “We’re not letting anything keep us apart, okay? I’ll be back in North Carolina in a couple of days at most. We’re going to have an amazing Christmas.”

  She smiled, though it was clearly forced. “Sure,” she said. She stayed there until he was through security, then waved one last time. Something in her forlorn expression cut straight through Boone, but he simply couldn’t deal with that now. All he could think about was getting his son safely back home.

  * * *

  Thanks to a phone call to Frank to alert him of his plans, Boone actually managed to arrive at the Farmers’ house ahead of them. Frank had dawdled on the road, taking a slew of side trips ostensibly to show B.J. the sights. Apparently Jodie hadn’t caught on, or if she had, it had been too late. She looked genuinely stunned when she saw him and his rental car in their driveway.

  B.J. ran straight to him. “Dad, I didn’t know you were going to be here already!”

  “I came as soon as I heard about your trip,” he said mildly.

  Jodie whirled on her husband. “You knew about this,” she accused.

  “I did,” Frank said. “When you wouldn’t listen to reason, I saw no other choice. I wasn’t going to let you land the two of us in legal hot water because you were being irrational.”

  Jodie regarded him incredulously. “Irrational? You think it’s irrational to want to keep our grandson away from the woman who ruined our daughter’s life?”

  “Enough!” Frank commanded, giving a pointed look at B.J. “We’ll discuss this later, Jodie.”

  B.J. was looking from one adult to the next in confusion.

  “Okay, buddy,” Boone said with forced cheer. “Thank your grandparents for taking you on a cool road trip, then grab your suitcase. We need to head back home, so we can be there for Christmas.”

  “But I thought Grandpa and Grandma Jodie were going to have Christmas with us,” B.J. said. “They said we were all going to be here.”

  “Not this year,” Frank told him. “We’ll come back in a few weeks and you can show us all your presents. You and I will do some more fishing, okay?”

  “Okay,” B.J. said, throwing his arms around his grandfather’s waist. “I love you.”

  “Love you, too,” Frank said.

  When B.J. went to hug Jodie, tears streamed down her cheeks. She squeezed him tightly.

  “Never forget how much we love you,” she whispered brokenly.

  “I know,” B.J. said.

  As they drove away, Boone glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that Frank had gathered Jodie into his arms. She was openly sobbing now. While the scene tore at his heart, he knew there had been no other way to handle the situation. Eventually they would work things out, but only when Jodie could let go of her irrational determination to get even with Boone.

  Though he should have been relieved to have his son safely beside him and to be on the way home, he couldn’t stop thinking about the expression he’d last seen on Emily’s face. He had a hunch the crises weren’t entirely behind him.

  * * *

  After the long cross-country trip to California, the overnight stop in Colorado, the emergency flight to Florida, then the drive to North Carolina, Boone was exhausted by the time he got home. He’d have preferred to make the drive from Florida in a long day, but he’d known better than to push it, as tired as he was. Once home, he decided he and B.J. needed a good night’s sleep before going in search of Emily.

  Over breakfast, B.J. regarded him with disappointment. “I missed the school pageant last night,” he told Boone. “Grandma Jodie said it was just a play and that there would
be other ones, but I really wanted to be in it. Do you think Emily got home in time to see it?”

  “She was supposed to be here,” Boone said. “But she knew you weren’t back, so I’m not sure if she went. We’ll find out this morning.”

  But when they walked into Castle’s by the Sea a few hours later, there was no sign of Emily. Cora Jane met them halfway across the dining room. She pulled Boone aside.

  “I don’t know what happened,” she told him. “But Emily called yesterday. She’s not coming for Christmas. She said it’s for the best. What on earth is she talking about?”

  Boone’s shoulders sagged. “Dammit. I was afraid of that.”

  “Did something happen in Colorado?”

  “Yes, but not anything you’re thinking. This is Jodie again.” He explained about having to leave Emily to go after B.J.

  Cora Jane shook her head. “No wonder she sounded so upset. I’m sorry, Boone. I really thought things were going to work out this time, especially after you went all that way to Colorado to see her.”

  “They are going to work out,” he said with determination. “I just need to see her, straighten out a few things.”

  Cora Jane regarded him hopefully. “Can you do that?”

  “I have to do that,” he said.

  “Well, all I know is that her heart is here, even if she’s not,” Cora Jane told him. “The girl loves you, Boone. It ought to be enough.”

  He hugged her, noting that she felt more frail than usual. “You always were my biggest fan. Why don’t you come to my place tonight? Have dinner with B.J. and me. Let me cook for you for a change. Maybe you can help me come up with a good strategy for straightening out this mess.”

  “I’m a poor substitute for my granddaughter,” she said.

  He touched her weathered cheek. “You’re nobody’s substitute,” he said fiercely. “In my book, you’re family. You always will be, no matter what happens between Emily and me.”

  And that, thank God, was true.

  * * *

  The grill was ready for the fish. The vegetables had been brushed with oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper, then wrapped in foil. With yet more unseasonably warm weather, he’d set the table on the patio, and B.J. had actually been coaxed into taking a shower. Cora Jane was due any minute.

  Through the open windows, he heard the crunch of gravel in the driveway and walked into the living room to let her in. To his shock, though, it was Emily who stepped out of the driver’s side of the car.

  Across the yard, he could see the hint of nervousness in her eyes, saw the hesitation in her step.

  “Do you have food for one more?” she called out as she helped Cora Jane from the car.

  “Around here there’s always food enough for one more,” Boone said. “It’s a lesson I learned from Cora Jane. Unexpected guests are always welcome.”

  They reached him then. Cora Jane gave his hand a squeeze. “Is B.J. inside? I’ve been dying for him to teach me one of those games he’s so fond of.”

  Boone merely nodded, unable to tear his gaze away from Emily.

  When they were alone, he said, “I thought you’d decided against coming for Christmas.”

  “That’s what I thought, too,” she confessed. “But then I got back to my big, lonely house in California and started thinking about where I wanted to be. I’d been imagining this holiday for so long, all of us here together. I knew there was only one way to make that happen. I had to swallow my pride and come back.”

  He frowned. “Your pride?”

  “It kicked in when you didn’t want me to come with you to get B.J. I started thinking that was the way it was going to be forever, that Jodie would keep finding ways to interfere and cause problems. I figured sooner or later you’d get tired of it and I’d be the one who’d lose.”

  “Never!” Boone said adamantly. “This thing with Jodie will get resolved. I may have to initiate legal action, even guarantee her some visiting rights, so she’ll know B.J. will always be in her life. Maybe that will be enough to make her see reason.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “Then she’ll be the loser.”

  Emily shook her head. “B.J. will be the loser, Boone. You don’t want that.”

  He sighed heavily, aware that she was right. “No, I don’t want that.” He pulled her closer, touched his lips to hers. “This is my problem, though. I will figure it out.”

  Though he’d meant to be reassuring, he saw a shadow pass across her face at his words.

  “Shouldn’t we be figuring things out together?” she asked quietly, pulling away from him. “Especially the important things like this?”

  Boone backpedaled at once. “Of course. You’re right. I just meant that I’m the one bringing the Jodie situation into the mix, so it’s my responsibility.”

  She didn’t look a hundred percent satisfied by his explanation, but she let it go, tucking her arm through his and leaning into his side. “It’s hard to believe just a couple of days ago we were freezing on a porch in Aspen, and now here we are outside without a jacket. It’s even chilly in Los Angeles right now, much more like Christmas.”

  Boone smiled. “Well, I’ve never known anything else at Christmas, so when people talk about wanting snow and cold for the holidays, I don’t quite get it.” He looked into her eyes, thinking that maybe now was the time to tell her about what he’d decided. “But if you want cooler air, how about next Christmas in L.A.? I imagine I’ll be pretty busy out there around that time of year.”

  She stared at him in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re opening our next restaurant in Santa Monica next summer. That means I’m going to be spending a lot of time out there for the foreseeable future. Can you think of anyplace I could stay?” he inquired casually. “It would need to be in a good school district for B.J.”

  Emily was apparently left speechless.

  “Em, what do you think?” he coaxed.

  She regarded him with wide-eyed wonder. “You’re serious? You’re coming to Los Angeles?”

  “Well, you do have a lot of work to do out there, and I’m not interested in a long separation,” he said. “It seemed like a reasonable solution.”

  “But the other restaurants?”

  “Pete’s going to be in charge of the East Coast side of things, at least for now.” He looked deep into her eyes. “You haven’t given me an answer yet.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “The only question I actually heard in there was something about a place to live. Obviously I know of a lot of excellent hotels.”

  Boone chuckled. “Okay, I suppose I did gloss over the obvious question. Would you consider marrying me, putting a roof over my head and helping me find a school for my son? I’m thinking this would need to be a very long-term arrangement. Forever, even.”

  “Yes,” she said with satisfying enthusiasm, as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Yes, yes, yes!”

  When the kiss ended, Boone discovered they had an audience. Cora Jane was watching, her eyes shining. B.J. looked confused.

  “You and Emily are getting married?” he asked, as if wanting to be sure.

  Emily knelt in front of him. “If it’s okay with you, we are,” she said. “What do you think?”

  “Will you be my mom?”

  Emily glanced up at Boone as if seeking guidance, but he said nothing. He knew she’d find the right words.

  “I will never, ever try to take your mom’s place,” she told him softly. “But I will love you with all my heart just as if you were my son.”

  “What would I call you?”

  “Whatever feels right,” she said. “You can keep calling me Emily, if that’s what you want.”

  B.J. shook his head, then looked at his da
d. “I want to call you Mom,” he said. “Dad, do you think my real mom would be okay with that?”

  Tears stung Boone’s eyes. “I think she’d approve of anything that makes you happy.”

  “She won’t think I’ve forgotten her?” B.J. asked, clearly worried.

  “She knows you haven’t forgotten her,” Boone assured him. “She’ll always be in your heart.”

  “And in yours,” Emily said to Boone. “There’s room enough in there for all of us.”

  “Amen to that,” Cora Jane said, joining them.

  B.J. grinned. “This is going to be the best Christmas ever,” he said, then added excitedly, “And once we live in California, I’m going to Disneyland all the time.”

  “Maybe not all the time,” Boone corrected. “And this will still be our home, too.” He pulled Cora Jane close. “We have family here, after all.”

  Emily had tears streaming down her cheeks. “Why do I feel as if one of us should be saying, ‘God bless us, everyone’?”

  “Because you’re sentimental,” Cora Jane said, giving her hand a squeeze. “I have to say I’m feeling a bit sentimental myself. When I started out trying to nudge the two of you back together, it never occurred to me you’d wind up in California and I’d lose my best helper.” She tousled B.J.’s hair when she said it.

  “You’re not losing any of us,” Boone said. “Sand Castle Bay is in my blood.”

  “Mine, too,” Emily said. “These past few months have reminded me of that. We’ll be here so much, you’ll get sick of us.”

  “It could never happen,” Cora Jane said.

  “And I think we’ll have a wedding to plan here,” Emily added, smiling up at Boone. “I can’t imagine it being anywhere else. Can you?”

  He grinned. “I was thinking we could gather together a few people, get married on the beach next week, maybe do a barbecue at Castle’s afterward. What do you think?”

  Emily exchanged a skeptical look with her grandmother.

  “Absolutely not,” Cora Jane said firmly. “We’re having a big whoop-de-do, and that’s final. After waiting this long, my girl deserves a proper wedding gown, flowers, the whole nine yards.”