One Wish (22 page)

“Ray Anne, it’s not finished! It’s noisy! My mother isn’t well!”

“Your mother is quickly becoming wheelchair-bound but she’s not feeling ill or in pain—isn’t that what you told me? And there won’t be any more noise in this property once we get this level finished. And as far as the neighboring houses are concerned—once the exteriors are finished, all the construction noise will be indoors. A good pair of soft noise-canceling headphones can solve that problem easily. Come back this way.” Ray Anne clacked down the hall to the great room in her heels. She stood in the center of the room. “The slab is poured and doors and windows installed on the lower level. The walls for two bedrooms, game room and large bathroom aren’t finished, but it’s closed up, airtight. There are two rooms and a small bath in the loft. The bedrooms have ocean views. The garage has unfinished walls but it’s completely functional. Now use your imagination...” And with that, Ray Anne closed her eyes as if dreaming.

“I’m trying,” Grace said. “I’ve got to get my mother out of that San Francisco house soon, before she goes stir-crazy in that big old bedroom of hers. Before she breaks a hip falling down the three stairs into the bathroom or slips trying to get into the pedestal tub...”

“Grace, if we concentrate on this floor and leave the lower floor and loft until last, we can get you in here in a month at the very longest, but I bet I can do better, lots better, if it doesn’t take you long to make your decorating selections. I recommend hardwood floors, shutters for the ocean-side doors and windows—that setting sun can be brutal. I can place all the orders and call in favors—people all over Coos County owe me. And once they start, I know how to motivate. That gives you a finished main level with access to the bath, kitchen, two bedrooms, great room and deck. The other two levels can be left until...” She swallowed and cleared her throat. “Until it’s more practical. Devon and Spence moved in when all they had finished was this level. Spencer worked over the summer and finished the lower floor and loft himself to save money.”

Grace was beginning to see it in her mind. She’d been in Cooper’s house once when she delivered Mother’s Day flowers for Sarah and it was spacious and beautiful. The deck with the fireplace was to die for. She pointed to the deck. “Awning and fireplace?”

“Anything you want. The awning and some comfortable outdoor deck furniture is easy, the fireplace much more complicated, but you’re not going to crave an outdoor fireplace for six months. At least.”

Anytime she heard six months, it caused her eyes to water, but she’d been very emotional lately. Her mother could be gone in six months. Then again, she could live another year. She could live long enough to meet her grandchild.

“You’re close to town. You’re close to Dr. Grant and Peyton if you need medical attention for your mother.”

“Yes,” she said. There was that second bedroom for health care workers who stayed full-time. “Washer and dryer?” she asked.

“In the hall,” Ray Anne said, pointing to the two spaces. “Washer and dryer on one side, linen closet on the other. No laundry room, I’m afraid. There is room for one downstairs if a laundry room with a sink is important, but there are a lot of stairs involved in that idea.”

Grace walked back down the hall. The master had two walk-in closets and it was, in itself, a spacious room. The bathroom, very roomy. “Could we put a glass block wall in here for the shower? No sliding glass door?”

“I think so!” Ray Anne said. “Not only handicap accessible but very up-to-date decor!”

Grace looked at her. “All right, how much?”

“Brace yourself,” Ray Anne said. “It’s oceanfront, even though it’s a good twenty feet above the beach. One-point-two.”

That wasn’t thousands, Grace knew that.

“Cooper said because it’s you, he’d rent it to you for up to a year, but the rent would be pricey, too.”

“How in the world does Spencer do it on a coach’s salary?”

“I’m sure he got a great deal. He and Cooper share a son and it was important to everyone that Austin live close to them both. You said not to worry about the money. I know it’s a lot, but for what you want...”

“I know. I want my mother to be comfortable and near beauty. And near me, and my shop is walking distance. But I need that loft finished as soon as possible—how complicated is that?”

“Well, there are only floors and paint needed up there, no cupboards or countertops, so that should be quick. But you’re going to have to add light fixtures. Light fixtures are simple if it doesn’t take you six weeks to decide what you want. Even I know how to install light fixtures.”

“Is that fireplace ready?”

“Except for the glass and ceramic logs—accessories. But you won’t be cold for...”

“Just thinking about what has to be done to make it ready.”

“Take a little time to think about it, Grace. But don’t think long if you want to get started. You won’t be able to close on it for about thirty days if all goes well, but this is Cooper’s property and, given your circumstances, he’s willing to start the interior work and even let you in before closing. He didn’t ask for a contract for that, but I will. I want him protected in case you change your mind or...” She blinked and made a face. “Or in case something unexpected happens and you don’t need the house anymore.”

“In case she dies before I get her here? Well, that’s not going to happen—she’s in pretty good shape for the shape she’s in. And we have to move ahead before she gets worse. Where do I have to go to make selections?”

“You want it?”

“Let’s do it. Will twenty percent down for a cash sale convince Cooper to take a chance on me?”

“I believe so,” Ray Anne said, smiling. “Even better, it’ll convince him he made the right choice giving me the listings.” She laughed merrily. “I can get this in shape for you, kiddo. You won’t believe how good I am at that. If Ginger can watch the shop, I can take you to a couple of places. You should choose countertops, appliances and flooring first. Cupboards and banisters should be next. I can bring you catalogs for fixtures, blinds, shades and shutters, ceramic logs and paint. Given the openness here, you’re going to want to match your cabinetry with floors and banisters.” She stuck out her hand. “Let’s shake on it and go over to Cooper’s bar and sign papers.”

* * *

Grace had to call Ginger and ask her if she felt confident enough to manage the shop another day and, bless her, she was good with that. She then spent four hours with Ray Anne, first signing the contracts for the house and then heading to Bandon and North Bend to make decorating selections. She didn’t screw around pondering her choices, but Ray Anne enthusiastically endorsed every one.

About two hours into the project, Grace suddenly felt very faint and woozy with a touch of nausea. “Oh, damn, I forgot to eat,” she said to her Realtor.

“I have an energy drink in my purse,” Ray Anne offered.

“Oh, so that’s what keeps you going,” she joked, but a bit weakly. She used to live on those! But with a bun in the oven, she wasn’t sure what was safe. “Pull into the next grocery or deli. All I need is a half sandwich or something and I’ll be fine.” But it reminded her that she had other important business at hand.

She was just getting back to the flower shop a little after three when she finally texted Troy.
Am I going to see you tonight?

He texted back that he was working at Cooper’s from four till whenever and if she wanted him to, he could stop by afterward.

If I want you to?

It was usually hard to keep him away.

Please,
she responded.
I really have to talk to you about a couple of things.

From that point until nine-thirty she wondered what she was going to say. How she was going to say it. When he finally arrived and used his own key to get in, she leaped to her feet and ran to him, throwing her arms around him. Even twenty-four hours away from him was too much.

But he didn’t embrace her as wildly. His hands rested on her hips. This was where Troy usually wondered how fast he could get into her.
Counter, table, floor, wall?
And yet there was a sudden distance she couldn’t understand.

“Why are you different?” she asked.

“Different how?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “There’s something different. You’re not clutching me. You’re not trying to get under my clothes. It’s like you don’t want to be here!”

“No, no, I want to be here. Gracie, we should talk about a few things.”

“Yes,” she said, drawing him into her little space. “Yes, we have to talk. You first. What’s bothering you?”

They sat on the couch together. He held her hands. He gazed into her eyes—all the gestures of impending bad news. “Grace, I’m not proud of this, okay. I have to be honest with you. The money.
Your
money. It was ten times greater than I imagined. A hundred times greater. It kind of blew me away. Intimidated me. Filled me with doubts.”

“Doubts?”

“About us, Gracie. I don’t feel like we have as much in common as I thought we did. It worries me a little. I’m wondering...what do we do if we find out we don’t fit? If we’re just too different?”

She was stunned. “Are you breaking up with me?” she asked.

“No.
No
, of course not. I’m just a little...I’m worried about us. I need time to figure out how we go forward together. I don’t have anything, Grace. You’re as rich as the Gettys. I don’t want to live off you. You can’t live off me. We have to figure this out.”

“Oh, for pity’s sake,” she said. “Do I look like I’m rich?” she said, throwing an arm wide, indicating her little loft. “I have an idea—how about if I earn a living, you earn a living and neither of us
lives off
the other?”

“And that fortune you’re sitting on?”

“I’ll do exactly as I promised my mother—I’ll take care of it. Troy, I’m not going to live in a big cold stone manor house with a full-time staff. I do need more space than this someday, but...I bought my mother a house today. On the beach. One of Cooper’s new houses. Something that would be perfect for her—the warm sun on the deck, the sound of the ocean. I think it could be comforting for her, much more so than the big house in the city. And I—”

“See? See? That was just so easy. You just went out and bought a house that must have cost, I don’t know, a million dollars or—”

“One-point-two,” she said, lifting her chin a notch.

“Holy Jesus...” He leaned an elbow on his knee and put his head in his hand.

“Close to my shop, close to the doctor, close to the sound of kids having fun, dogs barking as they play fetch or chase birds along the beach, nice neighbors...”

“Do you have any idea how weird that is? That you can just plunk down over a million dollars and—”

“So much for
You don’t have to be afraid to tell me anything, Grace
, and
You don’t have to worry about how I’ll react, Grace
. It’s who I am!” she shouted. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be broke and up to my eyeballs in student loans for you, but this is who I am and I’m not a bad person!”

“I never meant to suggest you were—”

“And I’m pregnant!”

All sound and motion stopped. She could tell that Troy didn’t breathe. He just held his breath and looked at her. Finally he said, “Whoa.” And that was all. After actual minutes had passed, he asked, “How pregnant?”

“I don’t know. Not very.”

“I thought you were going to see Peyton. I thought you were going to—”

“Take care of it?” she asked tartly. “I went to Peyton. She said I had a few days to see if my period would just come on its own so I could start on the pill. I was supposed to follow up with her.”

“And you didn’t?”

“A few things happened! I got that note, I tried to electrocute my boyfriend, your friends came for the weekend, my mother showed up with ALS...I forgot. It just slipped my mind. When I realized my period was really late, I used a test and peed on the stick. I wanted to tell you that second, but we were literally on our way to the airport and things were complicated enough. This is the first chance we’ve had to talk.”

“Oh, God,” he said.

“You didn’t remember, either! You never asked!”

“Grace, I take responsibility and you’re right, I didn’t follow up, either. But let’s not panic. It’s early. We don’t have to make any decisions tonight. We can process this.”

“I don’t have any decisions to make, Troy. I have a baby in me. It’s just a little seed, but it’s there and I’m not making it go away just because it’s inconvenient.”

“Okay, fine, right. But we don’t have to make any irrevocable decisions tonight. There’s time to think this through.”

“All right. You go think this through. When you know what you want, you know where to find me.”

“You want me to
leave
?”

“Yes,” she said. “You have a lot of issues. Whether we’re right for each other, whether we have enough in common, whether the fact that I come from a family with money is going to be a problem for you, what you want to do about a baby. I have no issues. I have nothing I have to
process
.”

“Okay, now you’re getting mad,” he said. “Be fair, Grace—what can I ever give you if you have everything? If all you have to do is point and it’s yours?”

Right
, she wanted to say.
The same way I bought the gold medals.
Her hand slid over her flat tummy. “I want you to go,” she said evenly. “I want you to process. When you know how you feel about me, about us, about this little seed, you let me know. You’ll get more thinking done on your own. Besides, I’m not lying naked in bed with someone who isn’t sure. That’s too much to ask.”

“Gracie, I love you,” he said.

“Great. Thanks. Doesn’t sound like that’s going to do me much good right now. So let’s take a break while you decide whether this is all too complicated for you. I have to take care of myself, my little seed, my mother, my shop. I don’t have any extra energy to take care of you right now.”

“Are you sure that’s the way you want it?”

“I’m sure,” she said.

Twenty

E
arly Thursday morning, Peyton stood in the doorway locked in a passionate kiss with Scott while her sister, Adele, waited in the car. When the kiss wouldn’t stop, Adele tooted the horn. Peyton laughed against Scott’s lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she promised. “And you’ll bring my honeymoon suitcase.”

“And you have your wedding dress and will pick up my tux.”

“And you’ll take the kids to the grandmothers.”

“They want to stay at the farm, which is going to hurt the grandmothers’ feelings.”

“Talk to them about that on your drive up, okay? They’ll get plenty of time at the farm, but they do have to visit all the grandparents and take turns and be fair. They know how to share and be fair.”

“I’ll talk to them,” he promised. “But I want to stay at the farm, too. With you.”

“Starting Saturday night we will always stay together and I won’t have to sleep in your mother’s craft room anymore,” she said.

“I never understood that,” Scott said. “She doesn’t do crafts. Not really.”

“I love you, Scott. I’m going to marry you.”

“I can’t believe it. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Are you?”

“I was sure the day you walked into my office. The only reason I didn’t make a pass right away was because I thought you were a lesbian. Lesbian hearts are breaking all over the world and I got you.”

She laughed. “You got me all right. My breasts are actually getting sore already.”

He grinned at her. “Then they’re going to get big.”

Adele gave the horn another toot.

“Think I’d better hit the road?” she asked.

“Call me when you reach the farm. I’ll get to my mom’s tomorrow. I’ll help her with the groom’s dinner if she needs it.”

“Grace is bringing the centerpieces.”

Another quick kiss and Peyton was in the car with her sister. Adele’s baby girl was in the car seat in the back. “Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to go back in there and maybe have a little more sex before you leave?” Adele asked.

“I’ve had all the sex I can take for a while.”

“Ah. Spoken like a wife!”

“And a mother?” Peyton asked.

“Oh, my God, you’re pregnant?”

“Just a little,” she said. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone, but you’re not just anyone.”

“This is fabulous! I’ll be counting the days! Our kids will be so close to the same age! Have a girl, will you?”

“I’ll see what I can do. Now don’t tell anyone, all right? Because we should concentrate on the wedding, not the pregnancy.”

“Everyone will know the second you say no thank you to a glass of wine.”

“It’s not like I drink that much wine,” Peyton said. “You didn’t notice last night.”

“You appeared to have wine!”

“No, that was citrus green tea in a wineglass.” She grinned. “I can fake my way through this.”

“Oh, this is going to be so fun! Thank you for getting rid of that ass Ted and finding adorable Scott. I love him. What ever happened to Ted?”

“Last time I talked to his daughter, she said they had a very nice housekeeper and he was playing grandfather. Apparently he’s better with her little one than he ever was with his kids. A transformation, it sounds like. Good for him.”

“No regrets?”

“Are you kidding me?” she asked. “Scott is my dream man.”

The drive to the farm, near Portland, was four hours from Thunder Point. Adele lived in San Francisco and had arrived two days ago; her husband would be driving up on Friday morning in a catering truck stocked with prepared dishes—he was a restaurateur and would be catering much of the reception, but not all—Peyton’s mother, sisters, aunts, grandmother and cousins would not be held back from sharing their special Basque dishes. But Lucas was an amazing chef and wanted to do this for Peyton. He would follow Adele back to the city on Sunday.

Peyton and her youngest sister were best friends. It was odd in a large family how the siblings paired up and there was no formula to it. Peyton was always there for Adele and vice versa. They talked all the way to the farm—about their men, their jobs, the wedding, the other siblings, their parents.

When they arrived, all was as expected. There were vans, RVs, trailers and trucks with camper shells everywhere. The kitchen was full of women, talking, laughing, some arguing here and there. Adele walked in ahead of Peyton, carrying baby Rose, named for her great-grandmother and at least three women on Lucas’s side of the family. Peyton followed with her wedding dress hidden by a garment bag so that Scott wouldn’t see it.

“We’re here,” Adele said. “Peyton’s pregnant.”

Peyton gasped but the women shrieked and came running, fussing over her, hugging her, laughing and shouting, “Way to go, Adele,” Peyton said when the din died down.

“It’s an icebreaker. They’re going to find out within twenty-four hours anyway. It’s not like you’re a virgin bride. And besides, they’re Basque women. They have a couple of pregnant brides every year. We have the passion,” she added with a heavy accent.

“Now I’ll have to call Scott so he can tell the grandmothers. I’m never telling you another secret.”

“Yes, you will,” Adele said with a grin. “I’m very responsible. Most of the time.”

* * *

Grace and Ginger were under way with the flowers by seven on Friday morning. Grace was so glad to be leaving town.

Troy had texted her once in the past twenty-four hours—
Are you okay?
She texted back one word.
Fine.
Was she angry? Damn straight. This was all so familiar. Her mother had furs and jewelry, so that made her life simple? Easy? The reverse was also not true—there was family money and that made her tragic, evil and doomed? No. It made her an individual.
We’re all very different with our own challenges and joys.

What could Troy give her since she had everything? Well, she didn’t have a father for her baby.
My mistake
, she mused.
I thought he could love me no matter what.

She didn’t betray her feelings, something she’d become an expert at. She’d done it for years, starting when she was a young girl. She could be terrified and her heart breaking, but she could smile for the judges like she had the world on a string. She knew how to cope. Or cover.

She used the time to get Ginger’s story. When she gave her the job in the shop, she had no idea what Ginger had been through, the selfish husband, the baby’s death. “I think the job at the flower shop has saved me,” she told Grace. “It’s like a brand-new chapter for me. I haven’t been happy in so long, but I get excited to go to work every day. I hope you’ll need me for a while.”

“Are you kidding? You’re doing wonderfully. And my mother will be moving here in a month or so and you know all about that. I want to be able to see about her if she needs me or wants me. It’s so nice to know there’s someone who can take care of the flowers. I might have had to go to part-time hours, but with you in the shop and Justin to deliver, I’m in great shape. I can give my mother some time. When you get down to it, that’s the one thing you can’t buy or trade or borrow.”

“And you’re close to your mother?” Ginger asked.

“Yes and no. My mother was always so proud of me and my father died when I was young, so it was just the two of us, no siblings. But she was also demanding and impatient and sometimes she angered too easily. But now her life is slowly ending and all she wants is to be comfortable and near me. This is our chance to close on a good note.”

“A second chance. We should never take that for granted.”

“Your husband,” Grace said. “You said you should’ve known. Why did you marry him if you should’ve known?”

“Oh, it’s a long story, but the truth is, I loved the wrong man. I wanted him so much and put up with so much to have him. And in the end he wasn’t worth it. Listen, it was very nice of Peyton to invite us to the wedding, but do you think she’d be offended if I didn’t go? I’m completely over my ex, but a wedding might just make me very sad. I could go to the reception for a little while, just to see the wedding party with their flowers, but not the wedding ceremony. Would it hurt Peyton’s feelings?”

“Not at all. I’m going—she’s a friend of mine. But the way we usually service a wedding is to deliver the flowers early, arrange and stage them in the church and make sure the bride and her wedding party have theirs, leave the centerpieces and any other decorations either with the catering staff or if the tables are ready, put them out, then leave. Just that much takes quite a while. When we’ve done our work and are ready to go clean up, I can drop you anywhere you like.”

“And on Sunday morning, you want me to drive the van back to Thunder Point?” she asked.

“I might be going back in the van, also. I don’t know if Troy will make it. He has stuff going on. He’d like to, I’m sure, but it’s iffy. I can stay with my friends, Mamie and Ross. I’ll know for sure about Troy on Saturday night. That okay?”

“Sure. Anything you want.”

* * *

On Friday afternoon, Troy leaned in the doorway of Iris’s office, arms crossed over his chest. She looked up and raised an eyebrow. “What now?” she asked.

“Are men born stupid or does it come over time?” he asked.

“Sadly, I think you’re born with it.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. Think I can still make it right with Grace?”

“I don’t know, Troy. How badly did you screw it up?”

“I carefully explained all my doubts and feelings,” he said. “I was very articulate. I listed them and suggested there was plenty of time for me to
process
them. I was eloquent! She told me to go away and process. She showed me the door. I thought I had been extremely sensible and sensitive.”

“Is that so?” Iris said.

“Turns out Grace is a little bit pregnant. I didn’t panic, not me. I said we didn’t have to make any decisions about what to do right away. I got the distinct impression that wasn’t the best response.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Wow. What an idiot. You’re lucky she didn’t fire up that Taser.”

“I think I’m figuring that part out. I bet you know exactly what I should have said instead. Why don’t you tell me and I’ll tell you if you’re right.”

“No, I don’t think so, Troy,” Iris said. “I think you should puzzle this out for yourself. I don’t want to mix you up with my words. You’ve been whispering in Grace’s ear for months now. You know what makes her happy and what doesn’t. Get your head out of your butt and think like a hero instead of an escaped convict who’s trying to dodge the law. You’re not going to be put in prison, you know. If you’re smart and lucky, you’ll get to share lives.”

“Right,” he said. “Good advice. I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

“You do that, Troy.”

He left and she looked back at her paperwork. She smiled. Peyton had confessed she was a little pregnant when Iris confessed she was a little pregnant. And now Grace was, too. “I guess we know what everyone was doing the first week in April,” she said softly.

* * *

Grace was looking forward to seeing Peyton and Scott’s wedding reception in the orchard but on Friday night, after putting out her table arrangements at the restaurant where the groom’s dinner was held, Grace was so happy for a quiet evening with Mamie and Ross. Although she talked to them almost every week, she had held the news of her mother’s health until she could tell them in person. Mamie and Ross had spent twenty years in Winnie’s employ. They felt much closer to Grace than to Winnie, but they immediately promised they would be visiting Winnie when she was relocated in Thunder Point.

“I’m so happy you two have reconciled,” Mamie said. “For both your sakes.”

“We are, too, Mamie. The sad truth is, if Winnie weren’t ill I don’t know if we’d have this relationship. But I’ll do my best to be sure she’s comfortable and well cared for. Winnie is making it surprisingly easy and I think Mikhail has a lot to do with it. He came immediately and is in no hurry to leave her.”

“Like your mother, he has very few people he’s tied to. For many years they kept each other close. Your mother always listened to Mikhail.”

On Saturday, Ginger borrowed her mother’s car and drove to Mamie’s shop and all of them worked together on the flowers for the wedding. They had the altar arrangements and bouquets at the church by noon and the rest were delivered to the Lacoumette farm. Then Grace went back to Mamie’s house to clean up for the four-o’clock wedding. She wore a peach dress and nude sandals she loved and wore her hair down because Troy loved it that way.

But she had not heard from Troy.

Their plan had been that he would meet her at the wedding. They would spend the night in one of the coastal inns and let Ginger take the van back to Thunder Point on Sunday while they rode together in the Jeep, but she had a sense of foreboding. Maybe in the course of all his processing he had decided that getting involved with someone like Grace had been a mistake. Grace came from a different world, a world he wasn’t comfortable even thinking about.

It could be worse
, she thought. He could try to marry her for her money.

It just felt so hopeless. What could she do? Nothing. It was on him now.

When she got to the church, she was distracted for a while, chuckling to herself when she saw the parking lot. It was full of trucks, RVs, SUVs—all big vehicles, some that family members would be staying in while attending the Lacoumette wedding and reception. If they didn’t look like a band of Gypsies, she didn’t know what did. There was Peyton’s car, parked in front. She knew that Peyton had ridden to the farm with her sister and Scott was driving up here in that fancy Lexus. There were only a couple of late-model cars. These farmers and fishermen and vintners were hardworking country folks and although Grace had heard it was a very successful family, you’d never know it by looking at them. They just weren’t showy.

There was no Jeep anywhere and her heart sank.

She turned her phone to Silent, but, ever the optimist, she sat near the back of the packed church and on the aisle. If he came, he would find her.

The church was so beautiful. She hoped someone would mention the flowers, the aisle drapes, the bridal bouquets—she was so proud of them. Peyton had such good taste and when she finally walked down the aisle and all heads turned to her, she was stunning in her strapless gown. But Grace watched Scott. Even from a great distance she could see the glow in his eyes. He adored Peyton. He worshipped her. This was what every woman should have on her wedding day.