Woven Wishes (Whispered Wishes Book 4) (7 page)

“Sophie, are you ready for school?” Nicholas asked. “It’s time for us to get going.”

“Yup,” she replied, beaming. “This is turning out to be the best day ever. Bye, Mommy, can’t wait to watch movies with you later.”

“Me too, honey. Have a great day.” Tessa gave her daughter a hug and kiss and watched as she went off to find her book bag.

“I’m sorry,” Nicholas said once she left the room. “I couldn’t think of anything else. Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out. A puppy around here might be fun.”

Raising her eyebrows, Tessa shook her head in mock pity. “She’s got you wrapped around her finger, that’s for sure.” She sighed and looked back to her computer screen. “You think I should read it, don’t you?”

“I do, but ultimately the decision is yours. And remember, you don’t owe him anything … including a response. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Tessa responded. “Now, can I trust you to take Sophie to school without promising her a pony or any other living creatures?”

“Scouts honor,” he replied, holding up two fingers.

Tessa smiled as she listened to the sounds of her husband and daughter leaving the house.
Wait a second,
she thought,
he was never a Boy Scout.
She sighed and returned to the computer. Before she could give herself a chance to change her mind, she clicked to open the message.

Dear Tessa,

I hope this email finds you well. I know I’m the last person you ever expected to hear from. I saw your wedding announcement on our local news a while ago. I guess when you marry one of the richest men in the country word gets around. Your daughter was in the picture with you. Our daughter that is, although she looks just like you. I can’t believe she’s seven already. I probably have no right to ask this, but I’m going to be in town soon, and I was hoping I could come visit her.

All the best,

Scott

She slammed the cover to the laptop shut.

Chapter 13 - Ava

“Ryan!” Ava screamed again in a desperate attempt to find her toddler. The crowd in the museum continued to grow as more groups entered the main room of the Julien Henri exhibit. “Oh God, please be okay,” she whispered as she ran into the next room toward a security guard standing in the corner.

She stopped suddenly, shocked to see her son standing in front of one of the paintings, with a complete stranger. Pointing to the canvas before them, her child was explaining the finer points of impressionism, which Ava had taught him earlier that morning, in his broken three-year-old speech.

“Ryan!” she yelled, pulling him toward her. “You can’t run off like that. Mama was so worried about you.”

“You said look at the paintings,” he said, crinkling his nose. “And then you lost me.”

Scooping him up in her arms, she hugged him tight. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean— I’m here now. Next time don’t go anywhere without me. Okay? Promise?”

The man he’d been talking to continued to stand, watching their conversation. “It’s my fault,” he interjected. “I should have realized and taken him over to the security guard right away. He just seemed to have belonged here.”

Ava tilted her head, confused at what the man was saying to her.
Belonged here?

“What I mean is, he didn’t seem at all scared. In fact, he walked right up to me and began telling me all about the painting. About the colors, brush strokes, and shadows. He’s really quite an art aficionado.”

“He’s not supposed to talk to strangers,” Ava said with an irritated tone, holding Ryan even tighter. Who did this guy think he was? And yes, he should have brought him over to the security guard. Who sees a toddler
alone in a museum
and thinks that’s okay? She shut her eyes for a second. Of course, who would let her toddler run off unattended in a museum? Maybe she was being a bit hard on this guy. “I’m sorry,” she hastened to apologize, correcting herself. “Thank you for watching out for him. He does indeed seem to have taken a liking to the arts.”

“I’m sure it’s a reflection of your parenting,” the man said, smiling. “You don’t see many young ones at the Museum of Fine Arts these days, at least not without an electronic device in their hands. It’s great when parents get their kids started at an early age.”

“Oh, well …” Ava felt heat rise to her cheeks. If he only knew she’d never brought either of her older two children here, and that this was her son’s first visit. “I do love it here.” It wasn’t a complete lie.

“Gregory Douglas,” the man said, holding out his hand.

Ava smiled. Of all the strange coincidences … could it be? It had been quite a while ago, but she thought his voice sounded a bit familiar. “The artist?” she asked, shifting Ryan to her other arm in order to return his handshake.

“Yes. I’m in town for an exhibit of my own. Nothing this grand, of course, just a small showing at a local gallery. You’re familiar with my work, then?”

“I am,” she stated, smiling. How funny, after all these years. “I’m Ava. Ava Wallis. I used to run the Silver Leaf Gallery in California. You probably don’t remember, but I helped arrange a big exhibit of yours about eight years ago. We never actually got a chance to meet face-to-face. I left town just before the exhibit ran, but I think we probably had about fifty phone conversations trying to set up all the details.”

“Yes, of course I remember you, Ava. I was so disappointed when you told me you were leaving town. The exhibit was one of my best, thanks to your hard work. Well now, it certainly is a small world and a pleasure to finally meet.”

“It is,” Ava agreed, thinking how Gregory was nothing like she’d pictured all those years ago. She knew he was a bit older than her, but he gave off a much younger and hip persona with his stylish salt and pepper hair and tortoise shell glasses. He could easily be a model, especially with his flawless skin and sparkling green eyes. Not to mention his infectious smile, which she instantly returned. Suddenly, she realized her focus on his appearance left her completely distracted and at a loss for words. “Um … so—”

“Mama, I’m hungry,” Ryan interrupted, bringing Ava back into reality.

“Yes, sweetie,” she said, shaking her head slightly, as if trying to remove any improper thoughts. “Well, Gregory, this was quite a surprise. It was a pleasure to finally meet, and again, thank you for watching out for my son.”

“Actually, I was just about to go grab a bite to eat myself. Would you two care to join me?” he asked.

It was an innocent question, yet if felt so very dangerous to Ava. Despite the response she wanted to give, she shook her head and lied, “No, thank you. We’re meeting friends.”

“Well, maybe another time then.” Reaching into his pocket, Gregory pulled out a postcard and handed it to her. “Shameless promotion, I know, but here’s the information about my exhibit. The opening is in a few weeks. I came early to catch this show. I’m a big fan of Henri’s. Anyway, it was a pleasure to finally meet, and I hope you can make it over to the gallery for the opening.”

“Thank you,” Ava said, her eyes darting from the card back to his face. “I’d love to be there.” This time, she wasn’t lying.

“Great, I look forward to seeing you.” His eyes lingered on her long enough for her to feel her blush return, before he turned toward Ryan and patted him on the back. “I enjoyed our chat, little man. Maybe one day I’ll have a chance to show you some of my paintings.”

“Bye, mista,” Ryan said.

“Good-bye,” he chuckled.

Ava watched as Gregory left the exhibit before she put Ryan down beside her, still clutching his hand. In fact, she didn’t think she’d be letting go of his hand anytime soon.

“You know him, Mama?” Ryan asked.

“I used to, a long time ago.” She was still looking at the doorway Gregory had just walked through. “In another life,” she added with a whisper.

Chapter 14 - Holly

“Are you sure you’re doing okay?”

Holly forced herself to smile even though Ava couldn’t see her on the other side of the telephone. It was an old trick her mother had taught her. No matter what your mood, if you were able to smile, your voice would come across as happy. She’d used it many times over the years, particularly during the time Ben was dating that floozy Michelle Floyd.

“Yes. Ben and I had a long talk this morning. I’m feeling much better now. Oh hey, remember that cabin I was telling you about?”

“The one you guys were going to go to this summer?” Ava asked.

“Mmm hmm. Ben’s boss told him it’s just been sitting up in the mountains empty, and he offered it to us anytime.”

“So when are you going?”

“In a couple of weeks. We’re going to make a long weekend out of it. We really need to get away, just the two of us.”

“It sounds like heaven,” Ava murmured wistfully.

“Well, maybe Max can take some time off, and you guys can spend a weekend up there, too. Like I said, it’s empty, so I’m sure Ben’s boss wouldn’t mind. We’ll watch the kids, of course. You two could use a romantic weekend away, right?” Holly waited, but there was no response. “Ava? Did I lose you?”

“What? No, I’m here.”

“Is everything okay?” she asked, detecting the sound of a sniffle in her sister’s voice. Was it possible she didn’t want to go away for the weekend with Max?

“No, everything’s fine. I think a weekend away sounds lovely. Perfect in fact. Just like things used to be.”

Yes, there it was again. Another sniffle. “Ava, honey, something’s wrong. I can hear it in your voice. Come on, talk to me.”

“No, I’m fine … and you have more than enough on your plate right now.”

“Now you listen to me, Ava Haines Wallis,” Holly said, her voice getting louder with each word, “A: I just got done telling you I feel much better, B: You’re always there for me and Tessa, and you never let us help you, and C: You’re always there for me and Tessa, and you never let us help you. Now tell me what’s wrong. Right now.”

“B and C were the same,” Ava remarked.

“That’s not the point,” Holly told her. “Well, yes, that was the point. Come on. You don’t always have to carry all of your burdens on your own. For once let someone else in.

“Okay,” Ava said. Holly could hear her sigh before she continued. “I lost Ryan at the museum today.”

“What?” Holly shrieked so loud the crystal in her china cabinet rattled. “Oh my God! Why are you so calm right now? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Um … probably because you have a tendency to freak out a little. Everything is fine. We went to go see an exhibit, and he wandered into the next room without me realizing. I only took my eyes off him for a second. At least I think it was just a second. Oh, Hol, I completely lost track of time. To be honest, I don’t know how long my son was lost. I mean, what if I hadn’t found him? What if—”Ava’s sobbing stopped her from finishing her sentence. “I’m a terrible mother,” she finally said when she had calmed down a bit.

“No, you’re not,” Holly assured her, now feeling awful about her outburst. “You’re one of the best mothers I’ve ever known. Scratch that. You are
the
best mother I’ve ever known. Every time I think about being a mom, you’re the person I think of, the one I want to be exactly like. Don’t beat yourself up. What happened today could have happened to anyone. The important thing is that Ryan is fine. See? This is why a weekend away is exactly what you need.”

“There’s more,” Ava said with a hesitant tone to her voice.

“More?” Holly asked, not sure she was ready for part two of this story, but she had offered to be her sister’s sounding board. Now was not the time for her to back down or overreact.

“Ryan was talking to a man when I found him. He was telling the man about the paintings … about things I had taught him.”

“That’s good, right? I mean, not good that he ran away, but good that he’s so into art.”

“The man was also an artist,” Ava continued, ignoring Holly’s last statement, “someone who was a client when I worked at the gallery on the West Coast.”

“You knew him? That’s random.”

“I’ll say. We’d never met face-to-face. We’d only spoken on the telephone.” Ava explained to her sister the nature of their business dealings, and why they’d never had a chance to meet.

“What a strange coincidence. I have to tell you, Ava, this story is turning out much better than I expected. So, are you going to go to his opening?”

“I don’t know,” Ava said.

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You just got done telling me how disappointed you were that you had worked so hard on setting up this guy’s exhibit only to have to miss it. This sounds like a great opportunity for you to finally get to see his collection all together, even if it is arranged by someone else. You’ll still get the same basic gist, won’t you? Plus, it gets you out of the house without kids, which you really need, if you don’t mind me saying. Are you worried about leaving Jenna alone with the kids?”

“No, Jenna will be fine. It’s me I’m worried about,” Ava responded.

“I don’t understand.”

“Hol, I couldn’t take my eyes off the guy.”

Chapter 15 – Tessa

“Next!” Tessa yelled out as the actress left the stage.

“I’m afraid that’s it, sweetheart. You’ve heard all thirty auditions. Please tell me one of them met your high standards and was good enough to be your leading lady.”

“What?” Pulling off her glasses, she felt completely lost. Thirty auditions? She’d just sat through thirty auditions? She didn’t recall a single one. Her mind was lost on the email from Scott. Shuffling through the pile of headshots and resumes, she paused at the face of a brunette with matching brown eyes looking back at her.
Dawn Thewer.
Funny, this entire time she’d pictured her lead as a blonde with blue eyes. Dawn’s resume was light with only one real acting job in a small community theater. In actuality, on first glance, everything about this woman seemed wrong, but she didn’t have the energy to sift through the credentials of each actress. She’d deal with her shortcomings once she got on stage. “Her,” Tessa said, pointing to the resume in front of her. “Let her know rehearsals start first thing in the morning.”