One Perfect Summer

by Brenda Novak

  “We have a month and a half left,” she said, determined not to face the end before she absolutely had to.

  Reagan straightened her towel. “But it’ll go fast, and then we’ll have to return to the real world.”

  Serenity put her sunglasses back in place and dropped languidly onto the sand. “That’ll be okay, because we will always be there for each other, no matter where we are or what we’re doing.”

  Lorelei tucked that promise away, knew she’d need it to soothe the anxiety and fear that would inevitably come later.

  “And maybe we’ll get invited to Beau’s wedding,” Reagan joked.

  “I wouldn’t rule it out,” Serenity said. “Once my parents learn about you, I know they’ll be welcoming.”

  Lorelei’s phone buzzed. She checked it to make sure the restaurant wasn’t shorthanded and texting her to come in. But it wasn’t from work. “Finn’s asking if we’d like to have dinner over at their place tonight. He’s planning on making rice and teriyaki kabobs—steak for us and tofu for you,” she told Serenity.

  “Will his girlfriend be there?” Reagan asked before Serenity could respond.

  “You mean his ex-girlfriend?” Lorelei said. “When we were texting last night about how things were going with Mark, he told me he’s not with her and hasn’t been for a while.” Maybe that was why she was feeling so good today in spite of everything. She didn’t have a future with Finn, but at least she knew he’d been sincere.

  Reagan covered her eyes with one arm. “He might want to remind her of that.”

  “I’m sure she’s gotten the point.”

  “So will she be there tonight?” Serenity asked.

  “No, he told me she was leaving this morning. My guess is she’s already gone.”

  Reagan sat up to put on another layer of sunblock. “That still leaves Davis.”

  “He’s okay,” Lorelei said. “I’m over what happened, and so is he.”

  “He’s doing so much better these days,” Serenity said. “When he met me to go kayaking early this morning, he was actually smiling. Smiling! Davis! And after we got back he thanked me for taking him out.”

  Lorelei removed the straw hat she’d been using to shade her face and sat up. “You took Davis kayaking this morning?”

  “I’ve been taking him every morning. It wasn’t anything I intended to do, but when I saw him out here one day I asked if he wanted to join me, and now he waits for me at dawn. It’s gives us a chance to meditate before all the noise of living interrupts.”

  “Why didn’t you mention it before?” Lorelei asked.

  “I felt I’d be doing him a disservice if I told anyone. He was so fragile and skittish I was afraid he’d stop coming. And I could tell he needed it—that it was a kind of therapy for him. Now that I’m more confident he’ll be okay, it seems safe to talk about it.” She chuckled at herself. “Listen to me. I’m probably making too big a deal out of it, but...that’s why I didn’t say anything until now.”

  “What do you guys talk about?” Reagan asked, her curiosity obviously piqued.

  Serenity’s smile stretched wide below her big sunglasses as she turned her face back toward the sun. “That’s just it. We don’t talk about anything.”

  33

  reagan

  “ANY WORD?”

  Startled, Reagan glanced up to see Serenity coming out onto the deck where she was already sitting with her laptop. She hadn’t been expecting Serenity to join her for another hour. She’d headed down a little earlier than usual because they were taking the boat out with the Hatch brothers as soon as Lorelei got off work, and she wanted to create and schedule several posts for Serenity’s Facebook page before she had to watch Lucy.

  “Not yet.” She knew Serenity was asking about Drew. She’d been checking her email obsessively ever since she’d sent him that Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights. Over the weekend, she’d told herself to be patient. He was probably celebrating the Fourth of July with his family and wouldn’t respond until Monday.

  But it was Tuesday morning and she still hadn’t received any word from him. Why not? What was he waiting for? “What do you think his silence means?” she asked.

  “That he’s struggling with the decision.”

  “Or he’s going to hang on to his rights.”

  “If he does, his wife is bound to find out.”

  Reagan tried to picture him as he usually was, clean-shaven and wearing an expensive suit and plenty of cologne. She’d always liked the touch of gray at his temples; it made him look distinguished. “True. He’s probably feeling sorry for himself, even though I’m in a much worse position.”

  “You’d be better off if he walked away, Reagan,” Serenity said. “I’m really hoping that’s what he’ll do.”

  Both options had a precipitous downside. “I’d just like to know one way or the other,” she said. “I can’t take the waiting. Should I call him?”

  Serenity seemed to contemplate her answer as she set up her workstation. “I don’t see why not,” she finally said. “You don’t have anything to lose.”

  As soon as she called his cell, Reagan felt so jittery she couldn’t sit still. She’d been dealing with this situation for weeks, was beginning to accept the fact that she was going to have a child. At times, she even felt a little excited about it. It wasn’t as though she was getting any younger. Maybe she’d be glad to have a baby. Maybe she’d love her child as much as Lorelei loved Lucy. While her sisters were sleeping and no one was around to see her, she often browsed ideas for nurseries online.

  But she’d expected to hear from Drew by now, and the fact that she hadn’t put her on edge. Was he in or was he out? It would help to know before she told her mother about the pregnancy. Breaking the news would be much easier if she had answers for the many questions Rosalind was bound to ask.

  He answered as soon as the phone started to ring, and she closed her eyes. She didn’t want to feel anything. Part of her hated him now. But there was still that inexplicable attraction. She’d felt it from the first moment they’d met.

  She’d been beating herself up ever since she’d made the mistake that had put her in this position, but maybe it was fate. Maybe she’d been doomed from the start. “It’s Reagan.”

  “I know.”

  “I haven’t received the Voluntary Relinquishment of Parental Rights from you.”

  “Because I don’t want to sign it.”

  She caught her breath. Did that mean what she thought it meant? “You’re going to claim this child? Help me support him or her? Set up visitation? The whole nine yards?”

  “Look, I don’t see why it has to be all or nothing. I care about you, or we wouldn’t be in this situation. Can’t we work something out?”

  That made her dubious. What wasn’t he saying? “Like what?”

  “Why don’t we wait until you get back to New York? Then we can talk about our options.”

  “But I don’t see how our options will change. Either you want to be a father to this baby or you don’t. How is waiting until I come back to New York going to benefit either of us?”

  He lowered his voice. “It’s not that simple, Reagan. I already have a family.”

  “That’s exactly why I sent you the release, Drew. I’m giving you an out. I’m willing to take full responsibility.”

  He sighed audibly. “Look, I can’t talk right now. You know how crazy it is here at the office. Can I call you later?”

  “When? Tonight, when you’re at home with your wife?”

  “Why do you have to make everything so difficult? I still want to be with you! I’ve told you that. I’m just trying to figure out how to make it work.”

  “Unless you get a divorce, there is no way to make it work.”

  “Why not? There’s still a lot we could be to each other. You’d have a bett
er life with me in it. Like I told you before, I’d be generous and...and not too restrictive, since you’d have to be flexible with me.”

  Flexible. She stiffened. “I won’t be the other woman. I’ve told you that. Either you claim this child, which means your wife will find out about the baby—only fair, since your money is her money, too, and you’ll have to pay child support—or you sign that paper I sent you and mail it back to me so you can go on your merry way.”

  “You don’t understand what’s at stake. You’re asking me to walk away from my child, which I can’t do. And I can’t let her know about the baby, or she’ll leave me and take half of everything I have. We’re not talking pocket change here, Reagan. That’s a couple of million dollars!”

  Stunned, Reagan shook her head. He wasn’t worried about anyone’s happiness—not hers or his wife’s, and certainly not that of his children. He was worried about the money a divorce would cost him. “Just sign it,” she said flatly.

  “I want to see you again first. If you still feel the same way afterward, then I’ll sign it.”

  He thought he could break her down; he thought he was so irresistible that she’d soften with a little pressure. “Sign it and email it to me to show me that you have, then mail the hard copy to me or I’m calling your wife.”

  “You wouldn’t...” he said.

  “Try me,” she responded. “You’ve got an hour.”

  Serenity was watching her with wide eyes when she hung up. “Yikes. That didn’t go well.”

  Reagan no longer felt weak and shaky. She was too angry. “It’s okay. I think it did go well.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He isn’t half the man Rally is, and I’m lucky to be figuring that out early on.”

  “I agree. But...will you really call his wife if he doesn’t email you the release?”

  “If I have to.”

  The door opened and Lorelei stepped out. “What’s going on?”

  “I just talked to Drew.”

  Her expression changed from curiosity to concern. “And? Is he going to sign the paper?”

  Reagan rubbed her forehead. “I’m giving him until after breakfast. And then we’ll see.”

  “That’s ominous.”

  “At least the waiting will be over.”

  “Would you like an omelet?” she asked. “The one thing I can do to make someone feel better is cook.”

  Reagan surprised herself by smiling. “And you’re good at it. Where’s Lucy?”

  “She isn’t awake yet. I came down to get a drink and saw the two of you out here wearing such intense expressions it scared me.”

  “If that offer stands for me, too, I’ll take an omelet,” Serenity told her.

  Reagan was too nervous to eat. “Nothing for me,” she said and paced around the deck the entire time Lorelei was in the kitchen.

  When Lorelei appeared with two omelets, Reagan waited by the railing while they ate. Then as soon as her phone indicated it had been an hour, she checked her email.

  “Anything?” Lorelei asked.

  Reagan covered her mouth the second she saw her inbox.

  “Is it there?” Serenity pressed.

  Dropping her hand, Reagan nodded. “He signed it.”

  * * *

  serenity

  When Sawyer called her that night, Serenity slipped out of the living room, where Reagan and Lorelei were binge-watching a series on Netflix, and hurried up the stairs. She didn’t want her sisters to hear her talking. She still hadn’t told them she was seeing Sawyer. At first she’d held back because she wasn’t sure she and Sawyer would ever really get together. And then, after she’d seen him right before she left for San Diego and again when he’d picked her up from the airport and taken her to lunch as she came back through, she’d kept her mouth shut because she was afraid she’d jinx the most wonderful thing to happen to her in a long time.

  She wouldn’t be able to keep their relationship a secret for much longer, though—not from Lorelei and Reagan. He was coming to the cabin on Friday. He wanted to see her, and she definitely wanted to see him.

  “What are you doing tonight?” she asked as soon as she reached her room and closed the door.

  “I just got my mail.”

  “Isn’t that like telling someone you just washed your hair?” she joked, but he didn’t laugh.

  “Where does your mail go?” he asked. “Is it forwarded to you in Tahoe while you’re away?”

  “I’m having it forwarded, but I haven’t checked it in a week. Almost everything comes via email these days, so I keep forgetting. Why?”

  “I got a letter from Sean.”

  A prickle of foreboding ran down her spine. She’d finally stopped thinking about her ex-husband and didn’t want to be reminded of him. “What does he have to say?”

  “Nina must’ve told him she found me at your house, because he’s accusing me of stealing his wife, and he’s telling me I’d better leave you alone.”

  “Or...?”

  “He doesn’t say what he’ll do if I don’t go along with that.”

  She sank onto the bed. “Are you going to listen?”

  “Hell, no.”

  “Maybe you should.”

  “I can handle it,” he said. “I’m not afraid of Sean. I just don’t want him harassing you.”

  Even if he felt he could handle it, it had to be upsetting to get a letter like that from a brother. “If he wrote me, I don’t have it yet, but it could be waiting out in the mailbox.”

  “If there is a letter from him, don’t open it. I’ll open it this weekend when I get there.”

  “Why don’t I just throw it away? Then neither of us has to see it.”

  “Because we should keep his letters. If he goes too far, I’ll take them to the police.”

  Sawyer had been looking out for her ever since she’d had to turn Sean in. She felt such gratitude for that—and she was starting to feel a lot more. “Have you heard from anyone else in the family?”

  “I got a call from Felix. He was pissed off, too. But that was right after Nina showed up at your place, which means it’s been a while.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You hadn’t called, and I didn’t know if you would. I thought it might be a moot point.”

  Dropping back onto the bed, she stared up at the ceiling. “What if they won’t leave us alone, Sawyer?”

  “They will,” he said confidently. “They just need to get used to the idea. Then it won’t be news anymore. Everything will be okay.”

  She massaged her forehead while she tried to come up with the best approach to the rest of her life. “This is costing you so much. Are you sure I’m worth it? It’s not too late if you’d rather back out.”

  “I’m not backing out.”

  “Because...”

  “Because I’ve never felt like this about anyone else.”

  He wasn’t the type of man who’d normally reveal something like that. Those words, spoken in his deep voice, felt like a caress. “Okay, that makes it all better.”

  “Are you being sarcastic?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Then that was easy,” he said with a laugh. “What are you and your sisters doing tonight?”

  “Watching TV.”

  “Have you called your mom? Asked her about that adoption agency?”

  “I haven’t. My brother just told them he’s getting married. I can’t come crashing into the most exciting time of Beau’s life like a wrecking ball.”

  “So how long will you wait? Until after the wedding?”

  She pictured her brother’s face—how relieved and excited he’d been when her parents had immediately hugged him and reassured him that he couldn’t disappoint them simply by marrying the person he loved, regardless of that per
son’s gender. “I might have to. We’ll see, once they set the date.”

  “I guess you’ve waited this long...”

  “Now that I’m so happy, I’m tempted to leave well enough alone.” This was something she could admit to him but not to her sisters, which was why she let herself say it. But she should’ve anticipated his response.

  “Why are you so happy?”

  She almost made up some pretext to avoid having to tell him the truth. But he was largely the reason; he deserved the credit. “Because of you.”

  There was a brief silence. Then he said, “I’m going to marry you one day. You know that, right?”

  After what she’d been through, this declaration should’ve terrified her. But it didn’t. A wave of excitement rushed through her. “We just started dating. How can you be sure?”

  “I’ve known since I first saw you sitting in that courtroom wearing that black dress and looking broken and terrified but so determined.”

  She closed her eyes, wishing she was in his arms right now. He’d believed Sean was guilty, yes, but now she knew her mother had been right—that wasn’t the only reason Sawyer had been sitting behind her day in and day out during the trial. “I’m glad you’re finally letting me in on the secret,” she said.

  After they hung up, she went back downstairs to tell her sisters.

  She was starting to trust Sawyer—to trust her feelings for him and his feelings for her.

  That was what she’d needed; now she was ready to break the news.

  * * *

  lorelei

  The rest of July and the first week of August passed in a summery haze of working, boating, rock-skipping, talking, laughing, making meals (since she liked to cook more than anyone else, she did most of the cooking), eating, playing board games and taking long walks, hikes or scenic drives with her sisters. Sawyer came up every weekend and usually at least one Hatch brother was over at the cabin or joined them no matter what they were doing.

  Ironically, as close as she’d become to Finn when she first arrived in Tahoe, Lorelei had gotten to know Davis and Nolan and loved them every bit as much. She felt like she’d not only gained two sisters but three brothers as well, and despite the difficulty of dealing with Mark, who’d informed her that he was going to marry Francine as soon as their divorce was final, she was happier than she’d ever been, even though she hoped to find someone else one day herself.