Her Summer Crush, page 19
“So? You can pack a suitcase, can’t you?”
She shook her head. “Uh-uh. My roots are here. My family. My job. Everything I want, and everything I’ve worked and planned for.” She added in a low voice, “Besides, he hasn’t asked me.”
Dex gave her a long, sober look. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to hear you say no.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
LUCI PULLED OPEN the door to the Willow Beach National Bank and stepped inside. After the ninety-degree temperature outside, the air-conditioning provided welcome relief. She’d come to see her father, but first she’d say hello to Don. Luci crossed the carpet to his cubicle, one of several, and peeked around the partition. He wasn’t there. She approached one of the tellers.
“Hi, Alice. I’m here to see my father, but I thought I’d say hi to Don, too. Is he around?”
Alice raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
“He doesn’t work here anymore.”
“What?” Luci’s raised voice turned the heads of two customers filling out forms at the island.
Alice ducked her head. “You’d better talk to your father.”
“You bet I will.”
Luci marched to her father’s office and opened the door without knocking. He sat behind his desk talking on the phone. “No, I can’t do that—” He looked up and his eyes widened. “My daughter’s here. I need to go. No, it’s Luci.”
He hung up the phone and frowned. “What are you doing here?”
Luci stepped into the room and closed the door. “I’m not welcome here anymore?”
“Of course you are. I just didn’t expect you to come around, now that you’re working yourself. You could always call.”
She expected him to wave her into the chair across from his desk. When he didn’t, she sat anyway, perching on the edge of the seat. “I wanted to see you in person.”
He picked up a pen, idly twisting it. Lines she hadn’t noticed before bracketed his eyes and mouth. Where was the jovial man who used to be her father?
“What’s on your mind?” he asked.
“I came to talk to you about Mom, but Alice just told me Don doesn’t work here anymore, so let’s talk about that first. What happened?”
“You knew he wanted to buy Ole’s boat and run a charter business.”
“Yes, but he doesn’t have the money, and you wouldn’t make him a loan. Did you change your mind?”
He tossed down the pen. “No. He and Max partnered up. That way, Don could swing it.”
“What about Arliss?”
“She’s not happy. He’ll be gone a lot, working odd hours and not making as much money as he made here. She’ll have to do something to keep them afloat.”
“I can imagine how much his leaving upsets you. Are you two still speaking to each other?”
“Barely.”
Luci let a couple seconds go by, and then she said, “Okay, now what about Mom? She says she’ll be all right, but whenever I go home or try to talk to her on the phone, she doesn’t want to talk. Has she been to see Dr. Norris?”
“Not that I know of.” Erv swiveled his chair so that he could look out the window.
Luci thought her father’s response odd. Wouldn’t he know whether his wife had seen a doctor or not? “Don’t you think she should?”
“That’s up to her.”
Luci shook her head. “Don’t you care about her anymore?”
He swung back around and faced her again. “Of course I do,” he said, slamming his fist on the desk. “Why would you say a thing like that?”
“I don’t know. Our family is falling apart. Next, you’ll be telling me something about Francine and Will.”
He picked up his pen again. “They may be splitting up.”
Luci sagged back in her chair. “I don’t believe this.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. Fran has a chance to be associate broker, but she’ll have to move to Oceanside. Will doesn’t want to go. He says he and the kids never see her anyway, and he likes his job at the marina.”
“And she would leave them?”
“Your sister is ambitious. And smart. I probably should have steered her into banking and let Don do his fishing.”
“You had it all planned out for us, didn’t you?”
He lifted his chin. “I don’t see what’s wrong with encouraging one’s children to be successful.”
“Nothing is wrong with that, as long as you let them decide exactly what constitutes success.”
Her dad sat forward. “Are you lecturing me? Is that why you came here? To give me a lesson on how to be a husband and a father? Well, let me tell you something, Luci, you wouldn’t have that prestigious job at the chamber if it wasn’t for your good old dad and his connections.”
His words hit Luci like a punch in the stomach. And yet, hadn’t she suspected that all along? She’d ignored the hints. Now, her father had confirmed the truth. She hadn’t landed the job on her own merits; Glen had hired her because he owed Erv a favor. Her stomach churned. Fearing she would be sick, she jumped up and ran out the door.
Back at the chamber office, Luci slumped at her desk. She turned on her computer but only stared blankly at the screen. Thank goodness Tessa wasn’t there, so she didn’t have to put on a show of business as usual.
She finally opened a file and typed a few words, but when she read them over, they didn’t make much sense and she pressed the delete key.
She stood and walked to the window. In the courtyard, the fountain burbled, and the surrounding flowers formed a ring of bright colors. Several people were strolling, while others sat on the wrought-iron benches.
She turned away and surveyed her office. Returning to Willow Beach and her family and landing this job had fulfilled a long-held dream. Now, that dream had turned into a nightmare.
* * *
ON THURSDAY, LUCI’S father called. “We need to have a family meeting,” he said.
“Dinner on Sunday?” she asked, allowing a hopeful note to creep into her voice.
“No, not dinner. Friday evening. I’ll expect you then.”
“All right, but what’s this about?”
“Just be there, Luci. Seven o’clock.”
On Friday, at six forty-five, Luci pulled into the driveway at her parents’ home. She parked next to Don’s SUV and Will’s truck. As she stepped from her car, Francine drove up in her company vehicle with the Talbot Realty logo on the door.
“Do you know what this meeting is about?” Luci asked after she and Francine exchanged greetings and a hug.
“I have an idea.” Francine slipped her keys into her shoulder bag.
“Is it Mom? Is she really sick?”
Francine shook her head. “Better you hear it from them.”
The kitchen was dark, without the aromas of cooking that always greeted Luci when she came for Sunday dinner. But then, this wasn’t Sunday, and they weren’t having dinner.
She and Fran continued on to the screened porch, where the others were gathered. Hands clasped behind his back, head down, Erv paced in front of the glass wall overlooking the yard and Anna’s garden. Anna sat on a wicker sofa, with Don next to her. Arliss and Will sat nearby. Arliss’s eyes were sad, and Will’s forehead was wrinkled with uncertainty.
Luci and Francine each leaned down to kiss Anna’s cheek. Although her lips smiled, her eyes were red and watery.
“Hey, you two,” Don said.
“I heard about your job transition,” Luci said. She wanted to add, What were you thinking? but didn’t.
“Yeah, well, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Luci’s father stopped pacing. “Now that everyone’s here...”
“Where are the children?” Luci asked, looking around.
“I thought it best they not be present for this,” Erv said.
“Our neighbor is watching them,” Arliss put in.
“Sit down, Luci, Francine.” Erv pointed to vacant chairs. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” he began when they were seated. “And I want you to know that if I could, I would spare you.” His gaze passed over them, landing on Anna.
She bit her lip and looked away.
Erv continued, “As I feared, the rumors around town are starting.”
“Rumors?” Luci asked. “What rumors?”
“Just listen,” Francine said.
“This concerns Helen Stevens and her grandson, Jason,” Erv said.
Helen Stevens. Jason. Luci searched her memory.
“...at the sand-castle contest,” Erv was saying.
Okay, now she remembered. The sad-looking woman who walked with a cane and the little boy who loved airplanes.
“You all met them that day. Well, you didn’t, Francine.”
“I know who you’re talking about,” Francine said. “She lives in Oceanside. I’ve seen her there.”
“Not lives,” Erv corrected. “She’s staying with a friend who lives there, Mavis Cook. Helen is from California.” He paused and rubbed the back of his neck. “Anyway, the boy, Jason...” He walked back to the glass wall and returned to stand in front of them.
Luci wished he’d sit down. His pacing put her more on edge than she already was.
“Get to it, would you?” Don said. “You’re not at the bank talking to one of your customers.”
Luci held her breath, waiting for her father’s comeback, which would surely start an argument between father and son. Instead, Erv sucked in a breath and said, “Helen’s grandson... Jason. He, ah, he’s my grandson, too.”
What? She must have heard wrong. She looked around at the others. No one said anything, but no one seemed particularly surprised, either. They must have heard the rumors.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
“How? When?” Luci asked. The others might not care, but she had to know.
Erv ran a hand through his hair. “Yes, you deserve a few of the details.”
“A few?” Luci sputtered. “You spring something like this on us, and you’re not going to tell us the whole story?”
“You must know how painful this is for me,” Erv said.
“Painful for you? What about us? Your family.”
“Okay, okay.” Erv spread his hands. “If you’ll calm down, I’ll tell you more.”
He looked at the floor. “After Francine was born, your mother and I went through some rough times. I had a degree in business, but my job didn’t pay very much. Anna didn’t want to leave Willow Beach or your grandparents. And I understood that, but I kept telling her that if we moved back to California, where I was from, I could get a better job.”
“So this is Mother’s fault?” Luci said.
“Be quiet, Luci,” Francine said. “And just listen for a change.”
“And so we decided to separate,” Erv continued. “Anna, Don and Francine went to live with her parents, and I went back to California. I landed a job at a bank. It was entry-level as a teller, and didn’t pay much, but to me it was better than, say, working at the grocery store.”
“Or being a fishing boat captain,” Don said.
Erv shot him a look. “Yes, that, too,” he said with a touch of defiance. “Anyway, while I was in California, I went to a college class reunion. Helen was there. We’d gone out a few times as undergrads. Nothing serious between us. Not on my part, anyway. After graduation, she’d headed to LA for a screen test, which landed her a role in a movie. At the same time, I’d met Anna when she and some girlfriends came to California on a vacation.”
Luci glanced at her mother. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Francine leaned over to hand her a tissue, and Don tightened his arm around her shoulders.
“You’ve all heard the rest of that story,” Erv said. “Anna and I fell in love and married and settled here in Willow Beach. Anyway, back to the college reunion. Helen and I, ah, got together, just one time—”
“I don’t want to hear this.” Luci stuck her hands over her ears.
Her father frowned. “A few minutes ago, you insisted on hearing all of it, Luci. Make up your mind. Or, leave the room.” He gestured to the door.
Luci dropped her arms. Covering her ears hadn’t blocked out his voice, anyway.
Erv took a deep breath. “All the time I was in Cal, I knew I still loved Anna. I missed her and my kids—yes, even you, Don,” Erv said with a bit of mock humor. “And so I quit my job, came back here and we reconciled. I told her I’d live here or anywhere she wanted, as long as we could be together. I wanted my family back. A job opened up at the bank, which I was lucky enough to get, and then Luci came along—and here we are.”
“What happened to Helen?” Arliss asked.
Luci was glad someone else had spoken up, so she didn’t have to ask all the questions.
“I never heard from her again,” Erv said, “until last month. She showed up at the bank one day, said she was visiting a friend in Oceanside. I took her out for a cup of coffee, and that’s when she told me about Jason. She wanted me to come to her friend’s house and meet him. Which I did.”
“But if he’s your grandson, there must be...”
“A son or daughter,” Erv finished. “Yes.” He looked down and his voice dropped. “There was a son, Brian.”
“Was?”
“He and his wife were killed in a traffic accident several years ago when Jason was three.”
Arliss pressed her fingers to her lips. “A son you never knew about? I can’t imagine.”
“No, I never knew about him,” Erv said, sadness lacing his voice.
“Why didn’t she tell you about Brian—before?” Luci asked.
“Because I had already come back here and reconciled with your mother. Helen knew that I loved Anna and wanted to be with my family. She knew how important family was—and still is—to me. So, she raised Brian on her own.”
Francine narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure Jason is your grandson?”
“Yes, I had a DNA test done. I didn’t want to, because I believed Helen, but she insisted.”
“So what does she want from you now?” Arliss asked.
“Money, I bet.” Francine nodded and folded her arms. “Why else would she be here?”
“That’s all that matters to you, isn’t it, Fran? Money,” Will said. His bitter tone shocked Luci. She’d always known him to be easygoing and good-natured.
Francine glared at him. “Somebody has to pay the bills.”
Erv raised both hands. “Please, we’ve got enough going on here without you two arguing.”
“Sorry,” Will mumbled.
“Helen doesn’t want money,” Erv went on. “She wants Jason to know his family. To know me, his grandfather. We’re his only relations. Brian’s wife was an Afghani woman he met while he was in the army. She has no relatives that Helen ever knew of.”
“She’s not going to move here, is she?” Francine said.
“No, not now, anyway. But her friend, Mavis, has said she and Jason can visit whenever they want to.”
“She was an actress?” Arliss said. “I’ve never heard of her.” She shrugged and looked around at the others.
“She started out acting and then went into set designing and other backstage work,” Erv said. “She’s retired now—on disability.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Don asked.
“I’m not sure,” Erv said. “She didn’t want to talk about it.”
“Could be an act,” Francine said, and then, when everyone groaned she added, “Well, you said she was an actress.”
In the silence that followed, Luci looked at Anna. “Mom, you haven’t said a word. Is this why you’ve been having headaches?”
“I don’t know,” Anna said, not meeting Luci’s eyes. “Maybe.”
Luci turned back to her father. “What are you going to do now, Dad?”
“When the occasion arises, I’m going to be a grandfather to Jason. And continue to be here for all of you—my family.”
Luci burst into a fit of hysterical laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Don demanded.
“Dad calling us a family, that’s what’s funny. We’re not a family. Not anymore. We haven’t been since I came back, but our disintegration probably began a long time before that.”
No one said anything. Luci’s laughter died away. Tears blurring her eyes, she jumped up and ran out the door. No one tried to stop her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CODY READ THE email again, excitement surging through his veins. A job offer. Not just any job offer, but one promising all sorts of adventures. As photographer for an archaeological expedition in Peru, he’d be in on the discoveries as well as have time to explore the countryside and take all the photos he wanted.
Then he thought about leaving Luci. His joy faded and a dull ache invaded his chest.
He didn’t want to leave her. He was in love with her. Exactly when that had happened, he wasn’t sure. But it had. Big-time. He was certain she was in love with him, too. Not the crush she’d had when she was in high school, but full-blown, mature love.
Although no words had passed between them, he knew. The way she looked at him with longing. The way she responded when he kissed her. The way she nestled close to him when they danced.
Yes, she wanted to stay here with her family and her job. But if you loved someone, you’d make sacrifices to be with that person, wouldn’t you? And he’d make sacrifices for her, too. The archaeological dig was for six months. After that, they’d work out something they’d both be happy with.
