Whisper's Edge (31 page)

“I had my doubts at first, but he sure won me over and had me fooled.”

“He had us all fooled, Kate.”

“That explains why he called earlier and said he’d be out of town for a few days. He must be finalizing the deal!” Kate shook her head slowly. “My God, Savannah is going to be simply devastated.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

“I’m going to have to,” she replied tearfully. “Oh…God.”

“What?”

“It’s Savannah’s thirtieth birthday this coming weekend, remember? I met with some of the residents last night, and, Ben, it’s been a huge secret but they’re sending her to Maui! It’s her ultimate dream destination. She’s talked about it forever.”

“You’re kidding? How did I not know this? I mean I knew they were saving for a gift, but Hawaii?”

“Only a few people know. Otherwise, keeping it a secret would have been nearly impossible.” Kate shook her head. “And we were going to send Tristan with her as an added surprise. I was working out the last-minute details when you walked in.”

“Where is the money coming from?”

“Well, this has been in the works for quite a while. The Camden brothers own a time share in Florida that they switched out for a condo on Maui. All they would take as payment is the maintenance fee. Miss Patty has a granddaughter who is a flight attendant, and she’s getting buddy passes. The rest of the money came from the residents pooling their resources for the past few months. But all they know is that it was for a present, not the details.” She grinned. “It added up fairly quickly. The hard part has been keeping it a big secret. Not an easy feat around here, but they’ve all chipped in. Joy is a seasoned traveler, and she’s been to Maui several times. She helped put together a few fun extras like an overnight stay in Hana, whale watching, a sunset cruise, a luau,…that sort of thing. Since Savannah was going to be traveling by herself we planned lots of excursions where she would be with people. Ben, it’s a really awesome vacation but having Tristan along was going to make it so much more fun for her. And now this!” She raised her hands in the air. “What am I going to do? I know there’s the bigger picture at stake but for now I don’t want her birthday to be ruined. To think I’d grown to trust that boy and encouraged Savannah to not be afraid to follow her heart. I was so wrong.”

Ben winced. “Let’s think this through.” He reached for one of her hands and gave it a gentle squeeze, wanting her to know she wasn’t in this alone.

“You know these residents treat Savannah like the family she never had. This is her home. This is just horrible for everyone.”

“I say you get her out of here before Tristan comes back. Can you possibly move her departure up a few days?” He paused for a moment and then an idea hit him. “Hey, why don’t you go with her instead of Tristan?”

“We both can’t be gone from Whisper’s Edge at the same time.”

Ben sighed. “Well, I’d get her out of here before she finds out about Tristan’s plans. Savannah needs to be able to enjoy her trip and not ruin the fun the residents will have giving it to her. She can deal with the rest of the mess as it unfolds.”

Kate nodded. “I agree. Let’s work on it.” She smiled and rubbed her hand up his arm. “Together.”

“I like the sound of that. Look, whatever happens to Whisper’s Edge, we’ll deal with it as a team.” He leaned down and sealed his promise with a kiss.

S
AVANNAH OPENED THE DOOR TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER
and sighed. With the Hoedown Throw Down the next day she should have been excited. Everything, from Jeff singing to the catered roasted pig, was in place. Joy headed up a team to decorate, and the community center had been transformed into a barn-dance atmosphere—from the red-and-white-checkered tablecloths dotted with terracotta pots of fresh flowers to the decorative bales of hay. Miss Patty was in charge of desserts, and a table was already starting to fill up with homemade pies, cupcakes, and cookies. Savannah peeled back the plastic wrap from a plate of snickerdoodles and was about to pick one up, but the sweet treat suddenly held no appeal and she put the wrap back in place.

Savannah knew why.

Although the past week had been busy, time had crawled by like molasses on a cold winter day. She missed Tristan something fierce. She’d spoken with him on the phone every evening, but he couldn’t be sure that he’d be back in time for the dance although he promised to do everything in his power to do so.

His phone call telling her that he had to leave Cricket Creek to go to Cincinnati to help his mother with a real estate contract had come as a big disappointment after they’d finally expressed their feelings to each other. The timing couldn’t be worse. While she believed him, a lingering sense of unease hovered over her like a dark cloud. Maybe he would go home and decide to move back to Cincinnati. Maybe he would see his sophisticated friends and realize that there was a big social gap between them after all. Maybe absence wouldn’t make his heart grow fonder but bring him to his senses!

A few other maybes filtered into her brain, leaving Savannah feeling lost and uncertain.

But then she chided herself. Tristan had insisted that their backgrounds didn’t matter. He loved her. He’d said so at the end of each phone call. Although she hadn’t mentioned her birthday, maybe Kate had told him and he was going to come home with a big surprise? Oh, so many maybes…

And Savannah knew that even though no one had said a peep about her birthday that something must be in the works. She could just feel it. A buzz of excitement was in the air, and there were times when Savannah would walk in and the room would suddenly go silent, as if they had been talking about her. There was no way the Whisper’s Edge residents would forget her thirtieth birthday. Kate had casually brought it up last week, and there had been a sparkle in her eye that said something big was going down. Otherwise they would already be fighting over who was having her over for dinner on her big day. Although she had insisted that she didn’t want a big party, Savannah had to admit that thirty was hitting her pretty hard. Her bucket list didn’t have hardly anything crossed off of it, and the years were slipping by. Thirty suddenly seemed…old.

“Stop it,” Savannah said and stomped her foot like a little kid. “Everything in your life is finally going right and you’re being nothing but a great big scaredy cat.”

“Who are you talking to?”

Savannah looked up to see Miss Patty walk into the room with a plate full of brownies. Willie followed her.

“Myself,” she admitted and felt heat creep into her cheeks. “I guess you think I’m some kind of crazy.”

Miss Patty laughed. “No more than me talking to Willie.”

“I talk to Willie too.” She reached down and scratched Willie’s head. “Don’t I?”

“Woof!” It appeared an effort but he rolled his rotund body over for a belly rub. When Savannah kneeled down and rubbed his soft skin Willie made wheezing sounds of appreciation. Savannah chuckled softly. Willie had a way of chasing away her blues. Perhaps she needed a dog of her own.

“Wow, there’s hardly any more room for desserts already, and the Hoedown isn’t until tomorrow,” Savannah commented as she came to her feet.

Miss Patty nodded. “I figured whatever is left over we can sell and put the money toward something good.”

“Smart thinking,” Savannah said and mustered up a smile.

Miss Patty put a hand on Savannah’s arm. “Something wrong, honey child?”

“No…” she said but glanced away.

“Ah, man trouble?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well, Tristan is gone. I can put two and two together.”

Savannah quickly turned the tables. “Speaking of, I heard that you took dinner over to Clovis Camden and that you’ve been spending some time over there.”

Miss Patty waved a casual hand through the air, but the color in her cheeks betrayed her. “Oh, the old coot had a dizzy spell a few days ago and refuses to go to the doctor. I’m just keeping an eye on him. You know, just being neighborly.”

“If you say so.”

“Savannah, you know as well as I do that Clovis is a piece of work! Both of those Camden brothers are.”

“And so are you.”

Miss Patty laughed. “True.” She gave Savannah a slight shrug. “The man drives me nuts but he has his moments.”

“Etta Mae sure would be jealous.”

“An added bonus, I must admit,” Miss Patty said with a laugh and then gave Savannah a sly wink. “Hey, I might be old but I’m not dead yet.”

“You go, girl.” Savannah gave her a sassy head bop coupled with a finger wave. Suddenly, thirty didn’t seem over the hill after all and her mood lightened. “I have to lock up, but if you have any more desserts bring them over in the morning.”

“Sure thing. I’m looking forward to the Hoedown, Savannah. We all are. Clovis and Clyde are putting together the horseshoe tournament to get the evening rolling. It’s coming along nicely.”

“Thanks!”

“Oh no, sugar, we should be thanking you. You keep all of us here at Whisper’s Edge lively and having fun. I was worried but I’m so glad that Tristan McMillan rode in on his white horse and saved the day. We’d all survive without it but I sure do love this place. I’d surely hate to have to move at my ripe old age. I know we all feel the same way. Oh, and I hope he makes it back in time for the dance tomorrow.”

“Me, too. See you tomorrow.”

“Woof!”

“Oh, you too, Willie! Keep out of trouble now, would ya?”

Willie gave her an innocent look but Miss Patty laughed. “Not likely.” She gave Savannah a wave. “Keep your chin up, Savannah. I hate to see a frown on your pretty face.”

“I will.” With that thought in mind Savannah decided to think positive and take the cowboy hat over to Tristan’s condo and leave it there for him to find along with a note.…Maybe she could get up the nerve to write something suggestive?
Save a horse, ride a cowboy
, popped into her mind and she snorted with laughter. Okay…um…
no
. But leaving the hat would be fun and would put a smile on his face
as soon as he saw it. Although Savannah didn’t have a key, she was pretty sure that Madison or Bella would let her in if she hurried and got there before the office closed. It was worth a try.

After grabbing the cowboy hat Savannah drove over to the condo complex and parked in the visitor section of the lot. Luckily, Bella Diamante was manning the front desk. “Hi, Bella. I’m Savannah Perry, Tristan McMillan’s…um, friend.”

“Hi there. Sure, I’ve seen you around. So, Savannah, what can I do for you?”

“Um…Tristan is out of town, but I’d like to leave this hat in his condo. He’s coming to a dance at Whisper’s Edge, and I promised I’d pick this up for him. Could I do that?”

Bella smiled. “No problem, but I’d have to go with you if that’s okay? Without his permission I can’t let you in there without me.”

“Oh, that’s fine.” She’d only been to his place a few times so she understood.

“Okay, follow me.” Bella picked up a set of keys and then headed to the elevator. “So, you’re having a dance?”

“Our first ever Hoedown. Music, pig roast, and so on. Jeff Greenfield is singing.”

“Oh, I heard him sing at Sully’s. He has an amazing voice! Sounds like a blast,” Bella said as she opened the door to Tristan’s place. “A lot of the Whisper’s Edge residents come into Wine and Diner. They seem to love it there.”

“It’s a fun community. They might be seniors but they keep me hopping, for sure.” Savannah followed Bella inside and looked around, trying to decide where to leave the hat and opted for the dining area table that was part of the great room. “I’m just going to write a short note,” Savannah said.

“No rush.”

Savannah put the hat on the table and then found a sticky notepad in her purse. She wrote a simple,
I missed
you
, on the paper and was about to muster up the nerve to add
I love you
, when a drawing lying on the table caught her eye. She frowned. It was a map of Whisper’s Edge. She angled her head. No, it was Whisper’s Edge but…there were notes.
Marina here
.
Restaurant overlooking the river
was written where the community center now stood. Savannah’s heart pounded and she felt light-headed. The rest of the notes blurred from the tears swimming in her eyes. She swallowed hard.

“Savannah, are you okay?” Bella asked from the doorway.

No, she wasn’t okay at all. “Um, yes,” she answered gruffly. She had to leave the hat or have Bella wonder what she was up to, but she grabbed the note and crushed it in her hand.

“Are you sure?” Bella locked the door and looked closely at Savannah.

“Yeah.” Savannah managed a nod and a slight, wobbly smile.

Bella punched the Down button and then put a gentle hand on Savannah’s arm. “Oh, I get it. You
miss
him! Believe me, I understand. My boyfriend is a baseball player and when he’s gone, which is basically, like, all summer, unless I go to visit him, I’m a basket case. She sighed. “It seems like I’m living out of a suitcase, and I’m not helping my mom with her shop nearly as much as I should.”

“Oh, that has to be hard.”

Bella nodded firmly. “Sure is, but I love him and it’s part of what he does and who he is.” She sighed. “The smell of his aftershave on his laundry makes me crazy.” She squeezed Savannah’s arm. “I totally get it.”

“Thanks.”

“I sure hope he makes it back for the Hoedown.”

“Me too,” Savannah said and then headed to her car. But as soon as she slid behind the wheel she lost her composure. The drive home was like looking through a windshield covered in rain, clearing only when she blinked away the tears.
The radio played country music but she barely noticed, and when she pulled into her driveway she didn’t even remember how she got there. Luckily, no one was around to see her walk like a wooden soldier to keep her knees from knocking.

Once she was inside Savannah made a beeline for her room. She flopped facedown onto her bed, dropping her purse next to her and beating her fists on the mattress.

And she cried a river…

Buckets and buckets leaked from her eyes and felt as if they were squeezed directly from her heart. When she was a child she had learned to keep emotion bottled up inside, and it suddenly seemed as if the cork had been blown from a champagne bottle of emotion, flowing out of her like a geyser and spilling everywhere. She cried for every hurt, every disappointment carelessly tossed her way. She cried for her mother, whom she never knew. She sobbed for the years of loneliness and fear that had led her to Whisper’s Edge, where she finally felt at home…and at peace. And now, the solid foundation that she had here with people she adored and loved was splitting wide open, and she felt as if she were free-falling down a dark hole like Alice in Wonderland.