by Rachel Hanna
“Understandable. I think that’s a very mature way of looking at it.”
“I thought my mother wanted me to do this. I thought she understood, and aunt Mia too. But everybody is just attacking him, and it’s going to ruin any chance that I have of creating a new relationship with him.”
“Everybody felt terrible when you left the table. We’re all going to try harder, Evie.”
“OK. I hope so. I’m mad at him. But I also love him.”
“He’s your father. It’s totally normal that you love him, even though he hasn’t always made the best decisions.”
She looked over at Cooper and smiled. “You know, sometimes I wish that you had been my father.”
For a moment, Cooper felt like he might actually start crying. No one had ever said anything so nice to him. “Really?”
“Yeah. We get along well, and you treat my mother great. But, he’s still my dad. And I feel like I have to try.”
Cooper leaned forward and held one of her hands. “I’m here no matter what. And you have your mother, your aunt and your grandfather. Plenty of people love you and support you, so you do what you think is right.”
They sat there, holding hands, staring out over the lake for a few moments. Cooper didn’t have any children of his own, but he had started to think of Evie like a daughter. And there was a part of him that was struggling not to put his hands around Brandon’s neck for the way he had treated her. But, for now, he would sit and support her like a good dad would.
Mia washed her face and slipped on her nightgown. Going to bed early felt like the right thing to do given how crazy dinner had been. Plus, she was trying not to think about the fact that Travis still hadn’t called her and that Sam had answered his phone.
She picked up her phone for the hundredth time and looked at it, checking to see if Travis had sent her a text message. No such luck. Deciding that she needed to relax a bit, she leaned over and turned on the hot water in her large clawfoot tub. She was going to soak in a bubble bath, listen to her favorite playlist and forget this day ever happened.
Just as she turned on the water, the phone vibrated on the counter next to her. She quickly turned the water off when she saw Travis’s name on the screen.
“Hello?” she said, trying not to sound too excited to hear from him.
“Hey, babe! Sorry I’m so late calling you. My flight got in a little late, and then I had to eat dinner and get settled in. “
Funny that he hadn’t mentioned Sam. Mia wondered if Sam had even told him that she called. And it seemed very unlike him that he would just ignore her call and wait for another two hours to call her back.
“I’m glad to hear from you. I was getting a little worried.”
“I’m sorry. The flight was a little bumpy, and it took me forever to find my luggage. But, I wanted to call and tell you how much I miss you already.”
That made her feel better. Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe eating dinner with Sam just wasn’t that big of an event for him, so he hadn’t mentioned it.
“I miss you too. Dinner was crazy tonight.”
“Oh yeah? I bet. How is Kate handling everything?”
“Not great. None of us are. We sort of ganged up on Brandon over mashed potatoes.”
Travis chuckled. “Well, he deserves it.”
“Yes, he does. But we have to try to make it nice for Evie. It caused her a lot of stress, and she walked out on dinner.”
“Oh no. I’m sorry to hear that. I just can’t imagine abandoning my kid like he did.”
Mia walked over and dipped her finger in the little bit of water that had accumulated in the tub. It was starting to get room temperature, and she was still looking forward to that hot bath.
“I don’t understand it either. And then there’s my dad. He’s acting really strangely.”
“You still haven’t figured out why he’s there?”
“No. He claims he’s just here because he wants to see his daughters, but I have a feeling something else is going on. We thought about calling Sylvia, but we figured it’s best to just let him tell us in his own time.”
“Do you think they’re having marriage trouble?”
“ I don’t know. I hope not. We love Sylvia.”
“Well, I love you. And I can’t wait to talk to you tomorrow after my meeting.”
“Same here. I can’t wait until you get home and we have some time together. It seems like ages since we’ve been able to just hang out.”
“I know. But everything will be great soon. I just know it.”
She smiled, the mere sound of his voice filling her heart. “You’re going to do great. I hope everything goes well!”
“Thanks, honey. Listen, I’m exhausted. I’ll give you a call tomorrow after my meeting, okay?”
“Okay. Good night.”
“Good night.”
As Mia ended the call and put her phone on the counter again, she still had to wonder why he never mentioned his dinner with Sam. She trusted Travis with all of her heart, but there was just something about that woman that left her feeling uneasy. Travis was so naïve, so trusting. What if this woman had other ideas about their relationship?
Trying to wipe the idea from her mind, she turned the water back on, poured in some liquid bubble bath and turned up her playlist. For tonight, she just needed to relax. She could deal with all of her worries again tomorrow.
Chapter Seven
Kate stood on the front porch, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the truck. She never thought that getting boxes of bees would be so exciting to her, but there she was. She wasn’t as excited about interacting with bees all the time, but she was thrilled to have another possible business to go with the B&B. She couldn’t wait to release her first bottles of Sweet Charlene’s Honey.
“Darrell said he would be here in just a few minutes,” Jack said as he came out of the house. Darrell was one of Jack’s oldest friends, and he just happened to be a very experienced beekeeper in the area.
“I’m so excited that we ended up ordering from him. I talked to him on the phone, and he seems like a really nice guy.”
“Oh, he’s a great guy. Eccentric, but very nice.”
“Eccentric?”
“Well, let’s just say Darrell is a bit of a hoarder. He likes to collect things, and bees are one of those things. He also collects taxidermy and… get this… teapots.”
“Teapots?” Kate said, laughing.
“Darrell’s mother owned an antique store for fifty years. They used to go junkin’, as he called it, and he developed a love for all kinds of things. Then, he went to this one property where the guy was a beekeeper, and that became his newest obsession.”
“He told me he sells bees and all kinds of accessories to people all over the country.”
“Oh that’s definitely true. “
As they continued talking, Kate saw a truck coming down the driveway that she didn’t recognize. “Is that him?”
“Looks like it. He’s been driving a beat up old red Chevy truck for as long as I’ve known him,” he said, laughing.
They walked down the stairs and onto the driveway. Darrell, one of the shortest men Kate had ever seen, jumped down out of the truck and walked over to them. He was bald, a little chubby and had huge black rimmed glasses. Not at all what she was expecting.
“Well, as I live and breathe! How’re you doin’, Jack?” he said, shaking his hand.
“Oh, I suppose I’m doing pretty good. This is my daughter, Kate.”
“Nice to meet you, Kate. I’ve got you the best bunch of bees I’ve had in a while!”
“How do you know they’re the best bunch?” Kate asked, laughing.
“Well, I do believe they have the best sounding buzz.”
He turned and walked toward the truck, and Kate gave her dad a look. She wasn’t sure if Darrell was being serious or pulling her leg.
“Now, I’ve got you everything you need right here to set up a successful beekeeping busin
ess. This right here is your protective suit, and I’ve got these rubber boots and some gloves. Now these are your nucs.”
“Nucs?”
“Nucleus colonies. They’re all ready to go inside this box. Now we might need to split some colonies at some point, and then we’ll put them into these larger frames.”
Darrell kept holding up different things, and Kate was trying to keep up. Right now she wished that she had brought a notebook and a pen.
“Don’t worry, Kate. Darrell knows exactly what he’s doing. He’ll get all of this set up and show you how to do everything.”
“And I also live just a few miles down the road. I’m happy to come over any time you need help. And I expect to get that first jar of Sweet Charlene’s Honey. I love a good peanut butter and honey sandwich.”
Kate crinkled her nose, but went back to smiling before Darrell looked her way. “No problem. I will set aside that first jar especially for you.”
Darrell turned back to the truck. “Now you’re gonna need these food grade buckets. Here’s your strainer, horse hair brushes, hive tool, smoker…” As he started listing everything off, Kate suddenly felt extremely overwhelmed. What in the world had she gotten herself into?
Travis sat nervously at the conference table. The meeting had been going well, but a couple of the managers had stepped out to confer privately about his contract to take the pictures for the book. He was left alone sitting at the table with Sam, eying the large bowl of chocolate candy directly within his sight.
“I think things are going really well,” she said, trying to reassure him.
“You think so? Why did they have to go have a private conversation? Maybe they are having second thoughts about me.”
She reached across the large table and patted his hand. “You’re overthinking it. Trust me, they love you.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re so sure of that because I’m not. I’m not even sure what I’m doing here, Sam. I’m just an old country boy who belongs in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. Being back in New York City has me feeling like a fish out of water.”
She laughed. “Travis, you act like you’ve never been here before! You worked right here in the city for almost a decade. What’s gotten into you?”
“I don’t know.” He leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling. “I guess when I got back home, I never really wanted to leave again. This place feels foreign, like I’ve never been here in my life.”
She shook her head. “You’re too big for that town. There are photographers all over the world who would kill for an opportunity like this. I don’t know why you don’t see your potential.”
He chuckled. “You’ve always seen a lot more in me than I do myself. And I appreciate that, I really do. But just because I can do something doesn’t mean I should.”
“Are you telling me that you’re having second thoughts about the book deal?” she whispered.
“No. Not about the book deal. But, I have a feeling that you might think that I’m going to come back to the city, and that’s just not where my future is.
“As I’ve said before, never say never,” she said, a sly grin on her face. Before Travis could respond, the managers came back into the room.
“Sorry to keep you waiting for so long,”
The two men, Peter and Elliot, sat back down. Travis had forgotten how stiff conference rooms felt. There was a beautiful view of the city; well, as beautiful as cities could be. He never understood when people said they were beautiful. Buildings and concrete and honking horns had never appealed to him like the beauty of nature. That, he understood.
“Travis, we want you to know that we are so impressed with your artistic talent. Rarely do we see photographers with your skill level. With that being said, we would like to go ahead and offer you the position to take pictures for this book.” Elliott slid the contract across the table, along with a fancy black pen.
Sam smiled broadly. “Congratulations, Travis!”
“Thank you. Truly, I appreciate you allowing me to do this. The Blue Ridge Mountains are my home, and being able to showcase them to the world in this book will be amazing.” He looked down and quickly signed the contract since he’d reviewed it earlier in their meeting.
“We’d like you to get started as soon as possible. My assistant, Gabby, will get in touch with you by email over the next week or so to start coordinating the shots and schedule.”
“That sounds amazing. Thank you, again,” Travis said, standing up and shaking both of their hands.
A few moments later, he and Sam were back out on the busy sidewalk, surrounded by skyscrapers. He couldn’t believe that his name was going to be on a book!
“Are you just stunned?” Sam asked, a big smile on her face.
“Stunned doesn’t begin to cover it. I mean, I knew they wanted to talk to me about it but I wasn’t really sure if I would get it. Thank you again for recommending me for this opportunity.”
“I’m really happy for you, Travis. And, to celebrate I think we should go over to Le Maison bistro.”
Travis’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me? That’s one of the most expensive places in the city!”
“It’s my treat as a congratulations! Do you remember when our boss came in from Los Angeles and took us there that one time? You had the filet mignon with the mushroom sauce on it?”
“I remember. And you had escargot which made me wanna throw up.”
Sam laughed. “See? You do have some good memories of living in the city.”
“I didn’t say that I don’t have good memories. I’m just saying I don’t care to make any new ones here.”
She smiled sadly and shook her head before raising her arm to flag a taxi. One stopped immediately in front of her which was no surprise because Sam was quite attractive. Any taxi driver was probably excited to have her in the backseat.
“Never say never,” she repeated for the millionth time. “I have a little something I want to discuss with you at lunch.” She climbed into the taxi, one of her long, bare legs still sticking out for a moment. The way she got into a vehicle was much like a supermodel getting into a limo. Although she was a beautiful woman, Travis had never had any interest. Mia had always been firmly implanted in his heart.
“You’re not talking me into anything, Sam…” he groaned as he joined her in the taxi and they took off into the crazy city traffic.
Evie took a long sip of her vanilla milkshake and swallowed it down. It was still pretty cold outside, but she could never resist a milkshake at the diner. “Does Mom know that you picked me up from school?”
“No. Was I supposed to tell her?” Brandon asked.
“She’s going to wonder where I am. I’ll just text her really quick.” She sent the text and hoped her mom wouldn’t be mad at him for that too. Given the confrontation at dinner the night before, her mother probably wouldn’t be too excited about anything relating to her dad.
“How was school?”
“It was fine. Boring, as usual.”
“Are there any fine arts opportunities here? Dance? Theatre?”
She rolled her eyes. “I have no idea. And even if there were, those really aren’t interesting to me. I do like shop class, though.”
Brandon chuckled under his breath. “Shop class. Exactly what I thought my daughter would like.”
“You know, just because I’m female doesn’t mean I have to be a girly girl. I like to fish, hike and build things. What’s wrong with that?”
Brandon held up his hands. “Nothing wrong with that. Just a surprise. When you were a little girl, you were all about the princess stuff. The pink flowy dresses, the tiaras. Remember that huge dollhouse I built from the kit?”
“Yes, I remember. And the roof caved in about a week after you built it.”
Brandon laughed. “I guess you didn’t get your ability to build things from me.”
“Yeah, I don’t know where I got that from. I mean, being around Cooper has hel
ped a lot. He’s a contractor. He built that beautiful gazebo and the deck in the back of the house. And he’s going to build a treehouse for me. Well, it’s more of a platform really…”
“So, you really like Cooper, don’t you?”
“Yeah. He’s really nice, and he’s good to Mom.”
There was an awkward moment between them. “It’s good that your mother is happy now. Even if she hates me, I’m happy for her.”
“Well, maybe you should tell her that.”
He shook his head and finished chewing a bite of his sandwich. “I don’t think we are meant to have long, deep conversations. Besides, her happiness isn’t my concern. I just want to make sure that you’re happy.”
Evie sat and thought for a moment. “You know what would make me happy?”
“What’s that?”
“If all of the adults in my life would stop walking on eggshells and saying rude things to each other. I would just like for everybody to get along, even if they don’t like each other. And, I would like for me and you to have some fun while you’re here.”
He smiled. “Well, then, I’m going to do my best to make all of that happen. I’m sorry for my part in making this whole thing uncomfortable for you. It’s just that it’s been a long time, and I don’t really know where I fit into your life now.“
“You’re my dad. No one can ever replace you. That’s where you fit in.”
He smiled and reached across the table to squeeze her hand. For once, Evie felt like maybe things could turn around. Maybe her parents could stop arguing. Maybe she and her dad could connect on some level. At the very least, the fact that he was willing to try made her feel like there might be hope.
Travis stared at the huge filet mignon in front of him. He wasn’t sure if his stomach could fit in that much food. Had it really been this big the last time he ate it?
“Why aren’t you eating?” Sam asked. It had taken them about an hour to get a table, but the place was every bit as fancy as he remembered. Sam looked like she fit right in wearing her black blazer and short red skirt. But he was wearing casual khaki pants and a polo shirt, so he definitely didn’t look like he was supposed to be there.