Lake Magic (17 page)

“I must admit, I hadn’t thought so.” Brad got to his feet and picked up his briefcase. “But when I received the call, well, you just never know,” he said, making his way to the front door. He couldn’t seem to leave fast enough.

“How dare you?” Jenny hurled at Jared the moment the door closed.

“How dare I what?”

“Don’t play games with me. You now what I’m talking about.”

“Obviously you haven’t been hearing me.”

“My hearing is just fine. It’s yours that’s in question.”

For a moment Jared was sidetracked by Jenny in full fury. Her blue eyes were as hard and cold as ice, her breathing fast and shallow. Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession. He found himself captivated, and then his leg started to itch once more, and he remembered exactly why he’d called the realtor. Underneath all those gorgeous curves beat a devious heart hell-bent on his destruction. “I want my money.”

“I want you to leave.”

“Then we’re in agreement.”

“Like hell we are.”

“Either we sell this land, or you get the money from somewhere else.”

For a short moment, some of her anger seemed to leave. “I tried.”

“Tried what?”

“Getting a loan.”

“And?”

Her eyes flashed, all her anger back. “They turned me down, all right?”

Jared tried not to let that piece of news affect him. “Then go to your parents. I’m sure they’d be only too happy to help you out.”

“No,” she said with such finality that Jared knew it would do no good to push her.

“Sell that damn car.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “That car was Steven’s.”

Jared hadn’t known. For the second time that morning, his eyes flashed to her left hand. Jenny would no sooner get rid of Steven’s car than she’d take off his ring. At the thought, an unexpected flare of jealousy blindsided him.

Christ. Jealous of his dead friend. He really was a bastard.

“Then we’re back to square one. Sell the plane. The land. I don’t care, you pick.”

Jenny stared at him for a long moment. “This property has been in my family for over a hundred years. My great-grandparents homesteaded this land. My grandfather expanded and remodeled the house. Put in the original dock. This land is as much a part of me as my heart. I will never”—she paused for emphasis—“never sell. I have four months in which to pay you back, and I plan on using every last bit of that time.” She walked out of the living room and out of the house. The screen door banged shut behind her.

He started to follow her. This was ridiculous—
she
was being ridiculous. Running away solved nothing. But before he’d even gone half the distance, he stopped.

The ties he thought Jenny had here—the ones with Steven—were easily healed compared to her family’s history on this land. He’d seen the pictures in the family room; he should have known. But somehow, the still images failed to capture the emotional connection he’d heard in her voice.

He looked out through the mesh on the screen door. Jenny was on her knees in front of one of the flower beds, a garden caddy full of hand tools by her side. All around her flowers bloomed in a riotous rainbow. While she might be the world’s worst cook, she could work miracles with flowers.

He watched her turn over the fertile dirt, pulling out weeds, snipping off dead blooms. No matter where he was on the property, he could always smell the flowers.

For just a moment, Jared wondered what it would feel like to belong to a family with that kind of history. Permanence.

He rubbed his hand across his eyes and through his hair. Jenny would never sell this land; he could see that now. And a part of him couldn’t blame her. Once, he, too, would have held on just as tightly. But now he knew the truth; it didn’t matter how hard you held on. Some things . . . some
ones
. . . would never stay.

Jared pushed open the screen door and made his way across the lawn to the hangar. He didn’t look at her . . . he couldn’t. Understanding what this land meant to her changed things. It made what he had to do all that much harder. But he wasn’t giving up. There was always a next step. Another way. He just had to figure out what it was.

Anna had been at her new job for less than a week, but she already knew that with her promotion had come an even crazier, more hectic whirlwind of a schedule. And she loved every minute. From the moment she’d arrived at the hospital at six thirty (a full hour earlier than she normally started) she’d been going nonstop. She’d thought the extra hour would give her a much-needed head start on everything she had to accomplish, but it was already three in the afternoon, and there were still a full five hours of work ahead of her.

She grabbed a cup of coffee and headed into her office, desperately needing a break, no matter how short a one. Shutting the door behind her, she drew in her first easy breath of the day. Through the closed door, she could still hear the supercharged energy of the hospital. She sat down at her desk and took a drink of her coffee. The hot caffeine went a long way toward perking her up.

All day she’d been trying to find a spare moment to call her mom. But somehow the hours had slipped away. Anna knew if she didn’t make time now, the day would fly by, and by the time she got home, it would be too late to call. She reached for the phone.

“Hidden Lake Bistro and Art Gallery. How may I help you?”

“Mom?”

“Anna, honey. How wonderful to hear from you.”

“How was your trip?”

“Quiet.” Her mother said that as if it was a bad thing. Which, to her mom, it was. She liked to be active every minute of the day (much like Anna), while her dad, now that he was retired, was content to pretty much take it easy. “Why Joe and Deb ever moved to Alaska is beyond me,” her mom said, referring to their longtime friends. “But it was wonderful to see them again. Your father caught enough fish to last two lifetimes.” She laughed softly. “Be prepared for a fish fry when he comes home.”

“Dad didn’t come back with you?”

“No. He decided to stay for an extra week or so. He and Joe are having too much fun pretending to be wilderness men.” Her mom laughed again. “And like your father said, if he can’t have a flexible schedule when he’s retired, what’s the good of being retired?”

That sounded just like her father. “You didn’t want to stay?”

“No time. I’m about to launch a new artist, and I have to make a decision this week on the caterer and band for the charity ball. Why is it I never remember how much time that event requires?”

“You say that every year.”

“Jenny told me the same thing.”

“It’s true. So, tell me, how many pictures did Dad take?”

“Let’s just say you should factor in a couple of extra hours on your next visit,” her mother warned, a smile in her voice. “By the time I left, he had enough to fill at least three photo albums.”

“I might not have time,” Anna said. “I got the promotion, Mom.”

“Oh, Anna. I’m so proud of you.”

The pride she heard in her mother’s voice went a long way toward making her lingering disappointment vanish.

“I bet Phillip was just as excited.”

Anna didn’t answer. She still hadn’t heard from Phillip, but that wasn’t news she wanted to share, even with her mother. As days piled one on top of the other, Anna had put aside her pride and picked up the phone. Twice she’d tried calling Phillip. Twice she hadn’t been able to reach him. She felt a flare of anger. Why did it seem as if she was the only one trying in this relationship?

“When do you start?” her mom asked.

“I already have.”

“That was quick.”

Anna explained about Dr. Bernard’s wife, concluding with, “Understandably, he’s taken a lot of time off lately, and so we’re behind and understaffed. I’m going to have to work most weekends. Actually, that’s the main reason I called. I have to work this weekend, and I was hoping you could watch Cody.”

“Oh, honey, I would love to except I’m going to be in Seattle. Meetings for the charity ball.” Her mom paused. “But Cody could always come with me. I know it wouldn’t be much fun for him, but I wouldn’t mind.”

But her son would. And he’d make his grandmother’s life miserable in the process. Plus there was his baseball game. Anna didn’t even want to think of the fit he’d throw if he had to miss it. “Thanks, Mom, but I don’t want to put you out.”

“I’d love to have him.”

“It’s okay, Mom. Really.”

“I hate to leave you in a bind.”

“I’ll think of something.” The hospital paging system went off, and Anna heard her name being called. “Maybe Paul could watch Cody.”

“Paul’s working weekends, too, since he hasn’t found a partner.” Her mom paused, then said, “What about Jenny?”

Anna wouldn’t trust her sister with a goldfish, let alone her son.

“I know what you’re thinking,” her mother said.

Anna seriously hoped not.

“Give her a call. She’d love to help you out.”

The hospital paging system sounded again. “Mom, I don’t mean to rush off, but I have to go.”

“Call your sister.”

“I’ll think about it,” Anna hedged, wondering if her mom could hear the lie in her voice.

 

 

 

 

The calls had started at seven.

Jenny had wondered how long her reprieve would last. She knew she had at least a week while her parents were on vacation. And without her mother around to keep everyone up to date, Paul and Anna wouldn’t find out until her parents returned home. Naively Jenny had thought maybe she’d even have an extra day or two after they got back from Alaska. But mere hours after returning home, her mother had been on the phone.

The local gossip mill must have been working overtime to get the news to her so quickly.

“Is it true?” her mother had immediately asked.

Still groggy with sleep, Jenny scooched up in bed, pulling her pillow with her. Checking caller ID could have saved her a world of hurt. Then again, knowing her mother, Catherine would have just driven over if Jenny hadn’t picked up the phone. “Hi, Mom. How was your trip?”

“Fine. Relaxing. Your father decided to stay an extra week for more fishing.” Her mother said
fishing
like it was one of the seven mortal sins. She also sounded anything but relaxed. “But don’t change the subject. Is it true?”

Twenty-six years had taught Jenny that stalling only made the situation worse. “It’s true.”

“Jennifer. He’s
living
with you?”

“Sort of.”

“Either he is or he isn’t.”

Jenny squeezed her eyes shut, knowing a headache was only minutes away. “Only temporarily.”

There was a long pause, and Jenny braced herself. She’d been so sure a week would have been plenty of time to get rid of Jared. That he’d be long gone before her parents found out.

“Hmmm.”

Hmmm?
What the heck did
hmmm
mean?

“Maybe this isn’t as bad as I first thought.”

Jenny’s eyes flew open, and she jackknifed to a sit. “Excuse me?”

“Well, I’ve never liked you living out there all by yourself. You know that. It’s too isolated. I really wish you would move back here. This is your home. And it’s only a ten-minute drive to your place. An easy enough commute to your business.”

Jenny’s headache came on full force. They’d had this same discussion a hundred different times, a hundred different ways, and it always ended the same way, with her mother still holding out hope that Jenny would “come to her senses” and move back home.

“You have nothing to worry about,” Jenny said, bringing the conversation back around. “I have everything under control. He won’t be here that long.”

“That’s not what your brother told me.”

“You’ve talked to Paul?”

“Naturally. He was kind enough to fill me in on everything.”

Jenny had no idea what “everything” meant, but she wasn’t about to ask. Turns out, she didn’t need to.

“After Paul explained exactly who Jared Worth is and what his relationship had been to Steven, I’m feeling much better about the situation.” There was a pause while her mother took a drink of her ritual one cup of coffee in the morning. “I think it will be a good thing for you to have someone living out on the lake with you.”

Jenny fell back against her headboard. “You’re kidding, right?”

“You know your father and I are always here if you need
anything
, but if you choose to go your own route on this, well, like I said, I feel better knowing you have some . . . protection.”

Jenny let the protection comment slide—the crime rate in Hidden Lake was practically nonexistent—but they both knew what
anything
meant. All Jenny had to do was ask her parents for the money to repay Jared, and he’d be gone.