Sea of Love: A Bayberry Island Novel (30 page)

And every one of them shook their heads in disappointment—except for the dark-haired party girl. She’d just silently mouthed her room number and smiled at him.

Ash made the mistake of searching out all of the Flynns. He was greeted with every shade of confusion and anger possible. Mona looked stunned and baffled. Frasier looked like a kid at Christmas, since chances were good he’d finally be getting his money from someone. But when his eyes met Ash’s, he glowered like a bull about to charge. Duncan had clearly decided to kill Ash but hadn’t yet chosen a method, since he had so many options available to him. Nat just shook his head in disgust. And Annie’s face was stained with tears, her fists balled up at her sides like she wanted to hit him.

Betrayal
. That was the common emotion that radiated off these people, his friends. They felt betrayed. They believed Ash had betrayed Rowan.

Interestingly enough, Clancy hung back alone, away from his family, almost as if he wanted a better perspective on the cluster-fuck. His eyes flashed at Ash and he gave a lightning-quick toss of his chin. It was a sign that there was at least one person in the room who wasn’t quite ready to convict him.

“May I have a word, Ash?”

Ash turned to his best friend’s brother. He had never seen James Martin so furious. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea—” he began.

“This isn’t our style, Ash. You know that. We’re a small, nonprofit foundation, not contestants on a reality show.”

“I know. Please bear with me. I didn’t intend for this to happen.”

Kathryn pointed at Ash. “This man is a professional liar. Do not believe anything he is about to tell you.”

“She’s right, to a point.” The room went silent. Ash continued. “I was hired to close the Mermaid Island deal for Jessop-Riley, and I was working for them when I arrived on the island. I’ve done a lot of similar jobs in the last ten years, jobs where I’d do whatever I had to do to convince people to sell their land to developers, but I’ve had enough. My plan was to fulfill my obligation to Jessop-Riley and then quit. So, yes, I came to the island to buy land for the resort.”

He heard a soft cry of anguish from Rowan. He couldn’t look at her, but Annie ran to her side.

“So you staged your breakdown?” That was from the tugboat captain.

“I did.”

“I knew it!” That outburst was from Sully.

Ash continued. “I had done a lot of research in preparation for this job. I knew all about the Flynns and their money troubles and what had happened with Rowan’s fiancé. My plan was to get her to convince Mona to drop her opposition.”

“
Oh my God, no
.” Rowan began crying, and Annie comforted her.

“Girl, that’s what you get for thinking with your va-jay-jay instead of your brain.”

The room went silent. Everyone turned to stare at the party girl. “What?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s the truth!”

Ash heard Rowan groan and he dared to look at her. She stood perfectly still, sadness and humiliation in her eyes. “Hang in there, sweetheart. Please.” He addressed the crowd again. “As I was saying, I came here to convince the Flynns to sell, but soon after I arrived on Bayberry, I realized the island would be irrevocably damaged by the resort. I saw how the crowds and traffic and noise would destroy everything that makes this place unique. And”—Ash made eye contact with Rowan again—“I had already started falling in love with Rowan Flynn. So I put my obligation to Jessop aside, and I sent in my letter of resignation last Sunday.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, you can’t trust this man.” Kathryn began to stroll around the room. “From what I can tell, he’s been hanging around Bayberry Island all week, schmoozing every one of you. But did he ever once tell you who he really was? Why he came here in the first place? That he had faked his breakdown and had been doing background research on all of you so he would know how best to make the sale?”

“Kathryn, don’t do this. This is none of your affair.”

“Oh, but it is! I’m here to do real business, offer these people real money for their valuable land. You’re a joke, Wallace.” Kathryn smiled at the crowd. “All you have to do is sign. You’re rich.”

“Wait.” Ash held up a hand. “We will match whatever Jessop-Riley offers.”

“Wallace.”
James spoke firmly.

He turned to James. “Do you agree that this is the right place for Oceanaire?”

James nodded. “After seeing what we saw today, we all think it is.”

“Fine. Then whatever this costs, I’ll put up my own capital to make it happen. You know my grandfather made me a rich man, and this is how I’d like to spend the money. I will not bankrupt Oceanaire. Do you hear me?”

He saw James’s eyes soften. “You love her that much?”

“I do.”

“All right.” James motioned for the young men to bring the architect’s model forward, and Ash took a few minutes to describe to the landowners how they envisioned the small marine research facility, an educational building with exhibits open to the public, and a dormitory for the summer students. Everyone gathered around the model, and there were gasps of delight from the crowd.

“The design specifics might change because of the topography, but I wanted you to see that we are serious. Our mission is to preserve marine biodiversity and educate the next generation in conservation. Bayberry is the ideal place for this kind of learning and exploration to occur.”

“They can’t possibly be ready to offer you a deal today. This is ridiculous.” Kathryn sniffed the air.

Just then Ash saw Annie escorting Rowan toward the front door.

“Please stay, Rowan,” he said.

Annie glared at Ash. “Leave her alone.”

He began to jog toward the women when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t.” It was Duncan.

Ash faced him. “I never meant to hurt her. I’d rather die than hurt her.”

The rest of the Flynns joined Duncan and Ash where they stood, right in the middle of the meeting room aisle.

Mona spoke first. “When did you know you loved her?”

“I don’t believe in love at first sight—well, I didn’t, anyway. But by Sunday night, I knew there was something undeniably wonderful between us.”

Frasier scowled. “Is that when you came up with the idea to bring Oceanaire’s institute here?”

“No.” Ash smiled at Nat. “Nat gave me the idea at the clambake. It was a stroke of genius. I started moving on it the next morning.”

“This is true,” Nat said, a hint of pride in his voice.

Duncan turned to James. “Is this a serious offer?”

James nodded thoughtfully. “I will admit it’s sudden, but, yes. Ash is our chairman of the board. This is his choice of location. There is a lot of work to be done, but we are prepared to negotiate for the land along Haven Cove.”

“It’s going to be a hard sell, Ash.” Frasier looked pensive.

“The institute?”

“No. That’ll be a piece of cake. I’m talking about my daughter. She may never want to speak to you again. You lied to her. You lied to all of us.”

“It’s got to feel like déjà vu for her.” Clancy shook his head. “You should probably just hit the road and save yourself the grief.”

“It’s likely you’ll go to all the trouble of building your institute here and Rowan will never speak to you again,” Frasier added.

Ash smiled at that. “I’m not giving up, Mayor.”

Duncan laughed. “Why not?”

“Because she’s worth fighting for.”

Just then, Ash realized the entire assembly had gathered around them, straining to hear what was being said.

“Excuse me. Pardon me.” A soft female voice made its way through the crowd. Brenda Paulson emerged, smiling at Ash.

“Brenda! How nice to see you.” Ash gave her a hug.

“You too. Hi, everyone.” Brenda glanced shyly at all the Flynns. “Um, I don’t mean to intrude, but I wanted to say something to you all.” She quickly glanced at Ash and looked away, embarrassed. “Despite what all this must look like, I know Mr. Wallace, and I can tell you he’s always treated people with respect and decency. He has been very kind to me and my daughter over the years, even though we’re just work colleagues. What’s being said today makes him look bad, but I want you to think before you judge him. If you’ve spent time with him this week, you know the kind of man he is. I hope you rely on what you’ve personally observed about Mr. Wallace and not what Kathryn says.”

Brenda lowered her voice to a whisper. “She hates Ash and has been out to get him. But that’s because they’re professional rivals and she’s jealous of him. And just between us . . .” Brenda looked behind her to make sure Kathryn wasn’t nearby. “I can’t stand that woman. I’ve been offered a job at another company and I can’t wait to get out of there.” She broke out into a huge smile.

“Brenda!”

“That’s her. I need to go back. Good luck with everything!” She popped up on her toes and kissed Ash’s cheek.

The Flynns stayed quiet for a long moment. Finally, Mona spoke. “How do you plan to win her back, Ashton?”

“I’ll have to figure that out. Any suggestions?”

“Whatever you do, don’t let her stew,” Mona said. “Do it now. And make sure she knows you’re serious.”

“Make it something big, something grand.” That came from one of the mermaid ladies who had pushed her way into the circle.

“Oooh, that sounds wonderful!” That was one of the fairies.

Duncan laughed. He seemed to be enjoying this far too much. “Hey, you could always dress up as a sea captain and chase her around town. She’d love that shit.”

A lot of people thought that was funny. Ash wasn’t one of them. He looked at Rowan’s mother. “Mona.”

“Yes?”

“If I had a plan in mind to get Rowan to forgive me, would you be willing to help me pull it off, even if it were a little . . .
involved
?”

She nodded. “Brenda is right. I’ve come to like you, Ashton. I think that despite how this whole thing started out, you are a good man with a good heart, so, yes. I’ll help you.”

“Thank you. And, Nat, would you help me?”

“Whatever I can do, man, as long as Annie doesn’t kill me.”

“Clancy?”

He shrugged. “Sure, if you’ll help me restore my boat.”

“Done.”

“Frasier?”

“Sure. I want Rowan to be happy, so sure. As long as we can wait until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Mona looked horrified.

“We have the Mermaid Ball tonight. I’m master of ceremonies. We all have responsibilities.”

Mona sighed and looked at Ash. “He’s right.”

“Where’s the ball?”

“At the museum.”

“I’ll meet everyone there after it’s over, all right?”

Ash expected the Flynns would agree, but instead nearly the whole room chimed in.

Sally’s voice rang out through the hall. “This meeting of the Haven Cove Landowner’s Coalition is now adjourned!”

R
owan had decided the only good thing about being alive on that Friday morning was that, due to her intense public humiliation the day before, she had not been forced to make French toast before the crack of fucking dawn.

Other than that, she wished she were dead.

So the banging on her bedroom door was not welcome.

“Leave me alone.”

“It’s Annie.”

“Go away.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s eleven a.m. on Friday. You can’t stay in there any longer, Row.”

“Oh, sure I can.”

Rowan desired nothing but to continue doing exactly what she’d been doing since about five the evening before, which was hiding under the covers, curled in a fetal position while she cried on the narrow cot in the dusty old windowless storage room under the eaves of the Safe Haven. That was it. Nothing else about life—breathing, eating, seeing the sunshine or the ocean, nothing—interested her in the slightest.

“You’ve got to open this door. Seriously, girl. I
mean
it. If you don’t open it, I’ll kick it in. And I’m wearing my door-kicking-in shoes, so don’t test me!”

“
Uuuggghhhh
!” Rowan threw off the blanket and lunged for the door, throwing it open.

Rowan froze. A whole crowd was out there in the third-floor hallway, waiting for her to make an appearance. Annie was joined by Mona, Mellie, and nearly every member of the mermaid mofos, plus, in a rare showing of solidarity, a few fairies.

“Hell, no.” Rowan attempted to slam the door shut, but Annie shoved her foot into the crack.

“You need to get in the shower and get dressed,” Annie said.

Rowan crossed her arms over her chest, suddenly aware that she was still in the shorts and shirt she’d worn to go sailing with . . .
whoever the hell that man really is.

“I can’t. I need to go back to bed.” So that was what she did. She crawled in, yanked the blanket over her face, and curled up. Unfortunately, the all-female, body-snatching brigade would have none of it.

“Get up, Rowan Moira Flynn.”

The blanket went flying across the room, but Rowan didn’t have to open her eyes to know who’d just given that command. “I’ve had enough, Ma. I know you mean well and I love you for it, but please leave me alone.”

“I will not. I wanted to stay out of your business, but, honey, I can’t let you make this mistake.”

Mellie patted her on the head. “Get up and wash your hair. We’ll help you pick out something cute to wear.”

Rowan sat up. The collective stares she was getting sent a chill up her spine. “What’s going on?”

“Let’s go.” Annie pulled her from the bed, pushed her down the hall, and guided her into the maid’s bathroom. “Here you go. You’ve got a half hour at the most. Skirt or shorts or pants or what?”

Rowan spun around, baffled. “What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere. What are you doing?”

“Pardon us.” Annie looked over her shoulder at the group and inched Rowan into the bathroom, then shut the door behind her. “Sit down.” Annie pointed to the toilet.

“You’re going to order me to pee now?”

Annie laughed. “Rowan, do you trust me?”

Ash had asked her that very same question only yesterday, before everything—her hopes, her happiness—went to shit. Clearly, it would be wise to say,
No. I do not.
Unfortunately, with Annie, she couldn’t bring herself to answer in that way. She closed the lid on the commode and sat down. “Of course I do.”

“Good.” Annie shoved the shower curtain aside and took a seat on the edge of the tub. “Here’s what you’re going to do: Take a shower, get dressed in something halfway decent, and walk with me to the public dock. We’re going to the closing ceremony.”

Rowan felt her mouth fall open. “Are you kidding? I don’t want to go anywhere in public today. Maybe not ever again as long as I live.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Oh yeah? Really?” Rowan blinked at Annie. “Have you ever been accused of thinking with your va-jay-jay during a town hall meeting, in front of your parents?”

Annie twisted her mouth into a knot. “No,” she said.

“Of course you haven’t. And that’s why I don’t want to go to the dock to listen to my dad suck up to the tourists, and why I
really
don’t want to stand around looking happy while the giant-assed confetti canons go off all around me. Forgive me if I’m not in a confetti kind of mood.”

“You don’t have a choice.” Annie leaned forward, balancing her elbows on her knees, and the look on her face became fiercely serious. “I am your best friend, and I am telling you that you must leave here with me in a half hour and go to the closing ceremony. It is the most important thing you will ever do in your life.”

Ash. This is about Ash.
“I don’t want to see him. I don’t want to talk to him. If I’d wanted to do either of those things, I would have last night, when he was sitting outside in the hallway for hours on end.”

“He was here? After I left?”

“Oh, don’t act so innocent.”

Annie made a face.

“Seriously. It doesn’t matter that everyone thinks he’s some kind of hero for wanting to build his water-treatment plant here—I’ll never be able to trust him.”

Annie nodded her head, sadness shadowing her eyes. “Well, it’s an educational institute.”

“I know what it is, and I don’t care!” Rowan dropped her head into her hands and began to rock back and forth. “My heart is a pile of frickin’ dust right now. He lied to me. No matter what that man claims, the fact remains that he researched me like I was a school project and came here under false pretenses and seduced me so he could make money off my family!”

When Annie touched her knee, Rowan looked up. And though she didn’t know how there could be a drop of moisture left in her body, tears spilled down her face again.

“Oh my God, Annie!” She grabbed her best friend’s hand and squeezed. “I tried so hard to convince myself that Ash Wallace wasn’t Frederick, and you know what? That’s all he was—a better-looking version of Frederick.”

Annie shook her head. “I’m not sure you have all the facts, Row. Before you act as judge and jury, you need to be sure you’ve seen all the evidence.”

Rowan shrunk back. “You sound like you’re on his side.”

“I’m on your side. Always. Every damn time. That’s why you
have to
come with me to the closing ceremony.
Please, Row.
”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Fine. Nobody’s going to make you do anything, except get a shower—”

“All right! I’ll take a damn shower!” Rowan stood up. “Are you going to stay in here with me to make sure I wash behind my ears?”

Annie headed to the bathroom door again. “Skirt or pants?”

“Skirt.”

“Short or long?”

“I don’t give a barrel of crap monkeys, Annie.”

“Short it is. Now, make it snappy.”

*   *   *

“Lookin’ real good, Ashley.”

Ash ignored Clancy’s latest jab. He stared at his reflection in the mirror that Mona had provided, propped against the museum warehouse wall. He took care to adjust his eye patch, pull his red bandanna down to midforehead, and tilt his pirate chapeau to the optimum angle. Then Ash fluffed the already fluffy sleeves of his shirt and checked the placement of his sword.

“I think your butt looks kinda fat in those britches.”

Ash shook his head. “Clayton, mark my words. Once this is over and Rowan forgives me, I’m going to make your life a living hell. And that is a promise, man.”

Clancy laughed loudly, and Ash couldn’t help but chuckle along with him. He wished Brian were alive to see this spectacle. It probably would have been the best day of his life.

It had come to pass that Ash Wallace was about to get on a parade float and roll down Main Street—in front of several hundred people—dressed as a fucking pirate. If baring his soul and chest was what it took to win Rowan back, then that’s what he’d do. The truth was, he’d walk through a wall of fire for her, so he supposed putting on a one-man show complete with three costume and set changes, the canned movie sound track from
Titanic,
and a supporting cast of mermaids, fairies, and children was a relatively painless sacrifice.

“Ready, Blondbeard? It’s time to make an Ash out of yourself.” Clancy double-checked the tow hitch on the back of his police Jeep and got behind the wheel.

Ash climbed aboard his vessel. He took a deep breath, gave the thumbs-up to the chubby kid crouched behind the corrugated cardboard waves, and then they set sail.

The kid looked up at him with concern. “I think I have to pee, Mr. Wallace.”

“You’re going to have to hold it. I’m on a mission.”

*   *   *

Her father tapped the microphone. “Is this thing on?” Ear-splitting feedback cut through the air at the public dock. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat. “This has been an exceptional festival week here on Bayberry Island. In addition to our usual exciting events, last night we learned that a Boston-based foundation wants to build their marine conservation institute here on our island.”

Enthusiastic applause rippled through the crowd.

“This is what you wanted me to see?” Rowan hissed at Annie. “I can listen to my Dad pontificate anytime. I’m going back to bed.”

Annie put her hands on Rowan’s arms and spun her around until she was facing the stage again.

“I am happy to announce that the Haven Cove Landowner’s Coalition has accepted an offer from Oceanaire. We have decided to sell our land so an institute can be built, and we look forward to the beneficial impact the new enterprise will have on our economy and our environment. We’ll have more details to share in the coming months, but we hope to have an unveiling in two years. Be sure to check the island Web site for updates.”

Rowan tried to leave again, but Annie blocked her. “Pay attention.”

“As always, it has been a pleasure having everyone here for the Mermaid Festival. We hope to see you back next year. And now, without further delay, we have a special presentation for you—like nothing you’ve ever seen, I guarantee you—so sit back and enjoy! See you next year!”

Rowan felt Annie pushing her toward the front of the crowd. “No.” She slapped away her friend’s hands. “I don’t want to be any closer. I’ll watch from back here.”

“Suit yourself.”

Just then, music blared from the speakers on either side of the stage. Rowan cocked her head to listen to what she swore was a familiar children’s song about the pillaging, looting life of a pirate.

She gave Annie a sideways glance. Her best friend looked straight ahead, no expression on her face, as if she didn’t notice Rowan staring at her with giant bug eyes. She was about to pinch Annie’s arm when Clancy’s police Jeep came up the ramp to the dock, towing what looked like her father’s parade float with no one . . . wait. A pirate jumped from behind the waves, slicing a sword through the air as he sang.

“Yo-ho, maties! Ahoy!”

The pirate was Ash. The sword was Hubie’s. And her heart just fell to her feet.
He is in costume
.

“Oh my God!” she whispered.

Annie grabbed her hand.

She felt her body start to tremble. Why was Ash doing this? Did he really think that dancing around on a parade float in an eye patch would make up for how he’d lied to her?

Rowan tore her gaze away and stared at the sea, the silly kids’ song now playing softly in the background. People all around her were chuckling, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at Ash. Why was he doing this?

I will not cry. I will not cry.

More feedback, then Ash’s voice rang out through the PA system. “I set my sights on Bayberry Island exactly one week ago today, a cutthroat by the name of Ashton Louis Wallace the third. I was a pirate of the business world, ready to pilfer the treasure of your land!”

Rowan made sure she didn’t look at his face. She was still too angry to look at him. He’d tried to manipulate her. He’d lied to her. He’d hidden his true self from her.

“The skies went dark and the winds howled.”

Silence.

Whoever was supposed to be manning the sound missed their cue. “Damn! Sorry!” That was definitely Polly Estherhausen. The howling wind sound effect blasted over the crowd, to a round of applause.

Rowan refused to meet Ash’s gaze. She was afraid that if she saw his face, she would lose it.

“A nor’easter raced toward the shores of Bayberry Island, bringing me with it. And the thunder roared!”

Polly was on it this time. Thunder vibrated the dock. Rowan had to look.

Immediately, Ash’s eyes locked on hers. He’d been waiting for her. Rowan froze. Though she was a good fifteen feet from the float and standing in a sea of people, she felt as if she and Ash were alone. In that moment, she saw a whole world in his intense blue eyes. She saw pain, regret, hope . . . love. But after the way they’d started, would she ever have faith in his love? Would she ever be able to trust it?