Since You've Been Gone

by Samantha Chase

  “Of course. Is there anything I can do?”

  “As a matter of fact, you can. Please invite Doc MacEntyre and Georgia Bishop. I know it’s short notice but tell them it’s urgent.”

  “Will do. See you soon.”

  When she climbed into her car, her next call was to Mia.

  “Hey, Em,” Mia said sympathetically. “Did Garrett leave?”

  “He did,” she said, feeling stronger by the minute. “What are you and Austin doing right now?”

  “Um…nothing really. Why? Would you like to come over? Or I can come by you. I’ll bring brownies…”

  “Actually, I would love it if the two of you could meet me over at my parents’ place in an hour. Happy Tails. I’m pretty sure Austin knows where it is.”

  “What’s going on? Is everyone okay?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to make sure of.”

  “Okay, we’ll be there. Can I bring something?”

  Emma didn’t even have to think about it. “You can bring two somethings.”

  “Name them.”

  “Definitely some brownies and…Ryder Ashford.”

  “Seriously? You want Ryder there?” Mia asked with disbelief. “Why?”

  “I’ll explain it all later. But if he’s in town, I need him to be there. And if he’s already on his way out of town…well…make him turn the car around and come back.”

  Mia laughed. “If I can’t, I know Austin can. No problem. Anything else?”

  Emma considered reaching out to Grace, but she figured she had enough going on right now working things out with Dominic.

  “That should do it. I’ll see you soon.”

  As Emma drove through town, there was no place she needed to go just yet. What she needed was a little time out on the beach to clear her head and organize her thoughts. She wasn’t picky about where on the beach she went, so she pulled up to the first public access spot she could find and parked. Within minutes, she had her toes and butt on the sand and stared out at the ocean.

  Just breathe…

  And for several minutes, that was all she did, and once she felt calm, she reasoned out everything she was about to do. If Garrett had been willing to stay longer, she would have told him all of this and chances are he would have balked at her and refused to listen.

  So maybe it’s a good thing he’s not here…

  For all the years he protected her and helped her, it was her turn to do the same for him. She may have helped him with his schoolwork by tutoring him, but what he gave to her with his friendship and always looking out for her was so much more.

  Now it’s my turn.

  She allowed herself a total of fifteen minutes before she stood and walked back to her car. She was sure that everyone was curious about what she wanted, and really, she was anxious to see if they could pull this off.

  When she arrived at the farm, her first instinct was to go and find Axel and have a few minutes of puppy snuggles with him, but she decided to wait. Right now, she needed to focus. Her mother greeted her at the door, looking wildly concerned. Emma kissed her on the cheek as she walked in.

  “Okay, Doc and Georgia are on their way and should be here any minute. I put on a pot of coffee and put together some cheese and crackers trays and baked some cookies. You were a little vague, so…”

  Smiling, Emma continued to walk toward the kitchen. “That all sounds wonderful, Mom.” She looked around. Will Ed be more comfortable in here or in the living room?”

  “Well…I would think everyone would be more comfortable in the living room, but…”

  “But I think the kitchen will be better. I like the idea of sitting at this large table and looking at everyone. We’ll set up in here.”

  Together they worked to put out the food Christine prepared. Within minutes, Ed walked in with Doc MacEntyre. “I must admit that I’m intrigued,” Doc said as he took a seat. “Does this have anything to do with Garrett or is it about Happy Tails?”

  “Thanks for coming,” Emma replied evasively. “If you’ll wait for everyone else to arrive, I’d rather only go through it once.”

  Georgia Bishop arrived five minutes later along with her husband, her son Mason, and his wife, Scarlett. “When you said it was urgent,” Georgia explained, “I thought it couldn’t hurt to bring a little more power to the table.” She smiled. “Plus, we were all having lunch, so…”

  “That’s fine,” Emma said, smiling at everyone. “The more the merrier.”

  In the distance, the doorbell rang, and soon Austin, Mia, and Ryder were walking in. “I hope we’re not late,” Mia said, holding up a large pink box. “I think we bought out the entire brownie display at Henderson’s, along with a few other goodies.”

  “Thanks, Mia.” Emma took the box from her and motioned for them to take a seat at the table. Fortunately, everyone seemed to know each other–except for Ryder–but introductions were quickly made. With a steadying breath, she took her spot at the head of the table and said a silent prayer that she wasn’t going to sound like a crazy person.

  And she opted to stand as a show of being in charge.

  “Thank you for coming on such short notice,” she began calmly. “Most of you are aware of what transpired two days ago, but for those of you who don’t, let me explain.” Then she gave the abbreviated version of how Cash Coleman had once again destroyed his sons’ lives and what exactly that had cost them. Georgia’s eyes went wide, Beau shook his head, Mason and Scarlett both cursed, while her mom and Ed just looked sad.

  She wanted to say so much more to bash the man, but that wasn’t the reason for this little get-together.

  “I think we can all agree that Doc MacEntyre has been a huge blessing to us here at Happy Tails and the entire Magnolia Sound community,” she went on. “Losing him is going to be sad, but I think I speak for everyone when I say how much you deserve to retire after giving us and our pets so many years of tireless service. However, the town as a whole desperately needs a veterinarian, and I believe no one would do a better job than Garrett.”

  She knew enough about the Bishops that she expected some sort of pushback, but fortunately, they were quiet.

  “Obviously, without the money his father promised him, Garrett cannot buy Doc’s practice.” She turned to the vet. “Do you have other offers on it?”

  He shook his head. “I’m afraid I’ve been procrastinating a bit on that. My wife has been pushing me to get it done, but…it’s hard to let go after all this time. She’s the one who gave me the three-month time limit, but I didn’t want to sell it to just anyone. My patients mean the world to me.”

  “And it shows,” Emma said sympathetically. “No one knows more than we do how much you love all your patients.” With a smile, she added, “And that’s why the right person needs to take over for you.”

  Ryder raised his hand from the opposite end of the table and Emma had to fight not to giggle. “Um…yes, Ryder?”

  “I’m not really sure why I’m here.”

  Her smile grew. “I’ve got a proposal for you,” she said bravely, her eyes never leaving his. “I want you to buy Doc’s practice and put Garrett in charge of it. You can come up with the proper legal way to do it and make a deal where he can purchase it from you in five years. That timeframe would give him enough time to truly make the practice his own and put the money aside that he’d need and build the credit required to purchase it from you.”

  “Um, I’m not…”

  “But know this,” she interrupted, “I don’t want you trying to make a profit off of it. This is something vital to this community, and here in Magnolia Sound, we take care of our own.”

  “Emma, I…”

  “It seems to me you just purchased a large parcel of land from Cash Coleman and you’ve made it public knowledge that you are looking to invest more in the town. You’ve already bought a house locally, so clearly there’s something here that you find desirable. All I’m asking is that you take an interest in something a little less
selfish and give the locals a show of faith that you’re not just looking to come here and dominate and change the town.” Resting her hands on the table, she leaned forward slightly. “I can guarantee you that in doing so, you’ll meet with a lot less resistance when you want to start building whatever it is you plan to build.”

  He arched a dark brow at her. “That sounds a little like a threat.”

  Her smile never faltered. “Consider it motivation.” She paused. “Or a promise.”

  All he did was nod.

  Straightening, she took a moment to calm her rapidly-beating heart. “Now, should Mr. Coleman be found and he actually holds true to his word, then all this is moot, but I don’t believe we have the time to wait around for that.”

  Next, she looked over at the Bishops. “I understand that we had a busy adoption week last week and the adoption event was a success. I was curious if there was anything more we could do to benefit both Happy Tails and the clinic. In the past, Garrett has been very successful in drawing attention to shelters and animals that need homes, but moving forward, he is not to be used for that purpose.” Then she grinned again. “But I’m sure there are other good-looking men in the community who might not mind volunteering their time for a good cause. Maybe the local firemen or police force…is there a way we can reach out?”

  Scarlett raised her hand. “One of my brothers is a firefighter and I am sure I can reach out to them and get the word out in general. Social media marketing is what I do for a living and I would love to organize something like this,” she said excitedly. “Do you have any idea how many posts or how many volunteers you’d like?”

  “Oh, my goodness…I hadn’t gotten that far,” she admitted with a nervous laugh. “But if we can get maybe…a dozen? Is that too much?”

  “Not at all,” Scarlett assured her. “What’s my timeframe?”

  “I’d like to have things rolling in a week if we can swing it.”

  “Perfect!” Scarlett began typing on her phone and Emma felt like they were definitely making progress.

  “Mrs. Bishop, is there anything you can think of that I’m missing on this particular project?”

  Georgia cleared her throat and Emma thought she looked uncomfortable. “I…I need a little time to think about it, but I do have something to say.”

  “O-kay…”

  Glancing at Austin, Georgia sighed. “This is all my fault.”

  His eyes went wide. “Um…what is?”

  “Your father. I’m the reason he came to town and back into your lives!” she cried miserably. “I had no idea what our grandfather had left for him in the Will, but you have to know that I never would have reached out to him if I thought he was capable of this sort of thing!”

  “You did what?” Austin shouted, coming out of his chair. Mia quickly tugged him back down.

  “Maybe now isn’t the time for this discussion,” Mason interrupted. He looked at his mother. “Although I am dying to know what on earth possessed you to reach out to Cash, I believe Emma has an agenda that needs to be addressed first.” Then he glanced at his cousin. “Austin, come home with us when we’re done here and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  Austin nodded, but it was obvious that he was furious.

  After that, there was talk of another adoption event and then an event to welcome Garrett back to town to celebrate his taking over Doc MacEntyre’s practice. Everyone had a job to do, and they agreed to meet back at Happy Tails the following Saturday.

  As everyone was leaving, Emma felt a little guilty about what transpired between Austin and the Bishops, but she had a feeling she’d find out about the outcome soon enough. She hugged Mia and thanked her for her help and the brownies.

  “I’m not sure it will do much, but I can certainly do some promotion on my social media accounts and maybe do some auctions of signed books or Zoom calls with me to raise money to use wherever it’s needed.”

  “That would be amazing. Thank you.” They hugged and Emma stood in the front doorway and watched them all drive away.

  Doc had gone out to the barn with her mother and Ed just to check on all the dogs, and when Emma turned around, she realized she wasn’t alone. Ryder was still there.

  He strolled toward her, looking oddly somber.

  “That was very impressive, Emma,” he said, his voice low and deep. He was dressed impeccably, like he would for an important business meeting, and it just hit her how out of place he looked in her family kitchen.

  “Thank you.”

  “Does Garrett know about this?”

  She shook her head. “Garrett’s too prideful and would never ask for help.”

  “And yet you went ahead and essentially took matters into your own hands. Don’t you think he’s going to resent that?”

  “Maybe. But I already know he’s miserable with the options he’s going to pursue. He might be a little upset that I put things in motion, but I love him and want to see him happy. Once he gets over the fact that we all wanted to help, he’ll be fine.”

  He studied her, his expression was unreadable. “I never agreed to your terms.”

  And just like that, her heart sank, but she refused to let it show. She stared back defiantly. “Are you going to?”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “I have a few terms of my own that I’d like to discuss with you, but I think we can come to an agreement.”

  Now she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “No need to look scared,” he told her, motioning to the kitchen table. “Have a seat. I think you’ll be quite pleased with what I’m proposing.”

  All week Garrett had been miserable.

  Worse than miserable.

  And he had no one to blame but himself.

  Well, okay, he certainly had his father to blame for a lot of things, but leaving Emma and Magnolia Sound had been the worst decision yet.

  His landlord gave him an extension on his apartment–but only another month–so now he had to add finding a place to live to his list of things to do.

  Awesome.

  He reluctantly made almost a dozen calls this week and received almost a dozen rejections. His ego was beyond battered and his next option was to apply for work bagging groceries just so he could pay his bills.

  “I’ve officially hit rock bottom,” he murmured Saturday morning as he rolled out of bed. He’d talked to Emma every single day, and as much as she was the only bright spot, he hated being such a downer during their conversations. If something didn’t give soon, he knew he’d have to start limiting their calls until he just stopped talking to her all together.

  In the kitchen, he made himself a cup of coffee and reached for his phone. He had a few texts from Austin asking him to call him. He avoided doing that all week, but he guessed his time was up there too. So he made himself comfortable on the couch and called.

  “It’s about damn time,” Austin said when he answered. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you all week.”

  “Yeah, well…the phone works both ways,” he murmured before taking a sip of his coffee.

  “Fair enough, but listen…you need to drive down here today.”

  “Um…no.”

  “Yes.”

  “No, Austin, I’m not doing it. I’m busy.”

  “Bullshit,” his brother countered. “Are you working?”

  “No, but…”

  “Got an interview?”

  “No, I’m…”

  “You need to get your ass in the car as soon as possible, G. I’m not joking. Something’s happened and you need to be here.”

  Okay, that sounded ominous. “What’s going on? Is it Mom? Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine, but it’s about Dad, and…you just need to be here.”

  “Austin, I just woke up…”

  “It’s just a little after eight and it’s a three-hour drive. You can be here by noon.” He paused. “Ryder’s gotten some information, but…I don’t want to hear it without you. Pleas
e.”

  It was so rare that his brother even used the word “please” that Garrett was inclined to say yes for that fact alone.

  “Can’t we just…you know…do a conference call or something?”

  “Oh my God…why are you like this?” Austin demanded with a growl. “Just…get in the car and I’ll see you at noon. Do not let me down!” And he hung up.

  It was still possible to refuse to go, but…now his curiosity was piqued. Muttering a curse, he took his coffee and walked back into the bedroom where he packed an overnight bag before taking a shower. Thirty minutes later, he was in his car and heading back to Magnolia. He thought about calling Emma, but he didn’t think he should. If he told her he would be in town, she’d want to see him, and considering he had no idea what he was going to find out from Ryder, he thought it best to just wait.

  Even though he was dying to see her…hold her…sleep beside her and wake up to her saying she loved him.

  Yeah, he wanted it all, and unfortunately, the odds were not stacked in his favor.

  Again.

  Rather than drive in silence and obsess about the things he couldn’t have and how much he wanted to strangle his father, Garrett opted to turn on the radio and focus only on listening to the music and watching the road.

  Surprisingly, it worked, and before he knew it, he was pulling into Austin’s driveway. He recognized Ryder’s car and wondered how weird it must be for the guy to come to this house that he owned and not be able to stay in it. He supposed Austin had invited him to at least stay with them, but as far as Garrett knew, Ryder stayed elsewhere.

  “So weird,” he whispered as he climbed from the car.

  “Right on time!” Austin greeted him as he opened the door. “Glad you could make it.” He gave him a brotherly hug and ushered him into the house.

  Mia was in the kitchen and kissed him hello before offering him something to drink. He turned her down before walking over and shaking hands with Ryder.

  “Thanks for coming, Garrett. I’m sure you’re beat after a long drive,” Ryder said. “You want to sit?”

  “Actually, I’d rather stand after being in the car for so long.” And honestly, he just wanted to get to whatever news it was that Ryder had about Cash.