Swan Point

by Sherryl Woods

  “I made today harder, didn’t I?” Selena asked, real regret in her voice.

  “You did,” Adelia said, unwilling to gloss over the effect her behavior had. “But I understand why you came here. Sometimes I forget that you’re not a grown-up and that all these decisions your dad and I have made affect you in ways I might not even realize. But, baby, you need to talk to me about it, not take off.” She tucked a finger under Selena’s chin and forced her to look into her eyes. “Deal?”

  Selena nodded slowly. “Deal.” Her expression turned worried. “How much trouble am I in? Grounded is a given, huh?”

  “Grounded is a given,” Adelia agreed. “But I imagine we can smooth things over at school, even though they have a very low tolerance for skipping classes. You’ll need to apologize to your teacher and to the principal for worrying them.”

  Selena didn’t look happy, but she nodded. “Anybody else?”

  “Raylene and Carter for inconveniencing them,” Adelia said. “Mitch Franklin, who dropped everything to help look for you, and his cousin Gabe, who drove me around to all the places I thought you might be, then brought me here.”

  “I don’t even know him,” Selena protested. “Why did he help?”

  “Because that’s what people do in Serenity,” Adelia told her. “I know you think this town is way too small and old-fashioned and that you can’t wait to get away, but the positive side of living here is that we look out for each other. We pitch in when anyone’s in trouble.”

  It was something she was just coming to realize for herself, and in the past few months, when her world had been turned upside down, she’d been grateful for all the support, sometimes from the most unexpected people. Gabe Franklin, she was forced to concede, fell into that category.

  * * *

  Gabe stayed on the job until after eight, running the numbers Ronnie Sullivan had given him for new steel support beams until he had a proposal ready to pass along to Mitch first thing in the morning. While he’d told himself it was the responsible thing to do, he knew the real reason he was still at the construction site was to keep himself from heading over to Swan Point to check on Adelia and her daughter.

  “She’s not your responsibility,” he muttered to himself on more than one occasion when he found his thoughts straying to her panicked expression when she’d first found out her daughter was missing.

  For the entire hour he’d been with her, though, she’d lost control only once when what-if calamities had crept into her head. He thought he’d done an okay job of diverting her attention before she could sink into real despair. Other than that moment, she’d shown admirable strength. After his own childhood, it had been eye-opening to see how a good mother handled things.

  He was about to turn out the lights, lock up and head for Rosalina’s, when the door opened and Elliott Cruz walked in. Gabe stilled at the sight of him. He’d seen the protectiveness in the other man’s eyes earlier and couldn’t help wondering what had brought him here now. A warning to stay away, perhaps? Gabe was ready to reassure him on that point. He intended to steer clear of Adelia as much as possible for his own peace of mind.

  “Elliott, right?” he asked, seizing the initiative and holding out his hand. “We didn’t really meet earlier.”

  Adelia’s brother looked startled, but he shook his hand.

  “What brings you by?” Gabe asked.

  “I came to apologize,” Elliott told him.

  The statement took Gabe by surprise. “Why?”

  “Because you pitched in to help this afternoon and I came on too strong and all but attacked you when you came into the gym with my sister.”

  Gabe shrugged. “You didn’t have all the facts.”

  “No, I certainly didn’t,” Elliott said. “Adelia would be the first to tell you, jumping to conclusions is a bad habit of mine. In my family I was the only son with three sisters. They were all older, but I took on the role of protecting them when our father died. Sometimes I’ve been known to get carried away.”

  “Seems to me they’re lucky to have someone looking out for them,” Gabe said.

  “Tell them that,” Elliott replied, his expression rueful. “I don’t get half the gratitude you might expect, especially from Adelia. She’s the oldest and always thought she should be protecting me.”

  “That whole dynamic is a mystery to me,” Gabe admitted. “I was an only child.”

  “But you had cousins, right? I thought I heard you and Mitch are related. And there are other Franklins around town.”

  “Mitch and I are cousins, but we weren’t that close growing up. I might as well tell you straight-out that I was the black sheep of the family and my mom was a pariah in the family and around town. You won’t hear a lot good said about either of us.”

  Elliott frowned at that. “Black sheep?” he repeated, worry back in his expression.

  “Reformed,” Gabe assured him. “I haven’t gotten into a brawl in years. Haven’t really needed to since my mom died and I stopped needing to stand up for her.”

  Unhappy with himself for revealing far more about his past than he was in the habit of doing, he held Elliott’s gaze. “You’ve apologized. I’ve accepted. Anything else?”

  Though Elliott looked faintly taken aback by his direct words, he didn’t look away. “Just one more thing,” he said. “I saw you at Rosalina’s the other night. I saw the way you were looking at Adelia. Saw it again earlier today, in fact.”

  “Look, I don’t know what you think you saw—”

  Elliott smiled. “I know what I saw,” he corrected. “I saw a man who’s hungry for a woman. It’s a look I recognize, so a word of warning. Don’t start something with my sister that you have no intention of finishing. She’s feeling overwhelmed and vulnerable these days. I don’t want her hurt again.”

  “Not my intention, believe me,” Gabe said, respecting the directness, even if it made him uncomfortable to be having this conversation with a man he’d barely met. “I have plenty on my plate these days. I’m not looking for a fling and I’m certainly not in the market for anything more serious.”

  “If that’s the case, then steer clear of Adelia,” Elliott said. “That’s the best way I know to avoid any misunderstandings.”

  Even though it was advice he’d already been telling himself to heed, Gabe took exception to being warned off. “Look, I respect the fact that you’re only looking out for your sister, but she strikes me as a woman who’s smart enough to know her own mind. I doubt she’d appreciate you running interference for her.”

  To his surprise, Elliott laughed at that. “No question about it,” he conceded. “She’d be furious, so maybe it would be best if we kept this conversation just between us.”

  Gabe relaxed. Despite Elliott’s tendency to come on too strong, he had to respect his intentions. “I can do that. No reason at all for us to be crossing paths except casually. I can’t imagine the topic coming up.”

  Elliott looked relieved. He hesitated, then said, “I missed dinner at home to come by here. Since you’ve obviously been working late, I’m guessing you haven’t eaten, either. Feel like grabbing a pizza at Rosalina’s?”

  Since he’d been planning to head over there anyway, Gabe saw no reason to refuse the overture. He figured the cross-examination and warnings were out of the way. It might be nice to have some guy talk instead of eating all alone. Eating with Elliott would sure as heck keep his thoughts from straying to Adelia, and that had to be a good thing.

  “Sure,” he said.

  He finished locking up, then followed Elliott to the Italian restaurant. To ensure that the conversation stayed on less disquieting topics, he asked about Fit for Anything and Elliott’s role there.

  “I’m just one of the partners,” Adelia’s brother explained, describing the agreement he’d made with several of the m
en in town to run the place in exchange for a share. “I’m a personal trainer there and at The Corner Spa, too.”

  “Sounds like a demanding schedule,” Gabe said.

  Elliott nodded. “You have no idea, especially with two stepchildren and a new baby at home. Fortunately, I’m blessed with an understanding wife who has her own career. Karen’s just been promoted to sous-chef at Sullivan’s. Between her cooking and my mother’s, believe me, I need to work out even harder than most of my clients do.”

  Gabe laughed. “If I keep existing on pizza, I’ll need to add a few extra workouts into my routine, too. I tell myself I’d eat healthier if I were in my own place, but the Serenity Inn will have to do for now.”

  “That’s where you’re living?” Elliott asked, sounding shocked.

  “I know its reputation as a place the locals go for trysts,” Gabe said. He’d known all about that when he’d been a kid, thanks to his mom, who’d been a frequent visitor. “But it’s clean and not too expensive.”

  “Are you planning to look for your own place?”

  “Sooner or later,” Gabe hedged. It all depended on how long it took for him to get antsy. The instant he sensed he might be starting to put down roots, it would be time to go. That was the pattern he’d established in a half-dozen other towns across the state. His motives for coming back to Serenity might be different, but there was no reason for that particular pattern to change.

  “Well, if you decide you want to look at some houses or apartments, I know a couple of good Realtors. Mary Vaughn Lewis or her daughter can probably hook you up.”

  “Mary Vaughn’s still around?” Gabe asked, not sure why he was so surprised. She’d been just a little ahead of him in school. It had always seemed to him that she was ambitious enough to take off at the first opportunity. She’d had her own family demons to battle back then, though she’d handled them better than he had.

  “Wait a second,” he said. “Did you say Lewis? As in Sonny Lewis, the mayor’s son? That’s who she married?”

  Elliott nodded. “They divorced, but they’re back together now and have a new baby, a boy.”

  Gabe shook his head. The longer he stuck around, it seemed the more surprises awaited him. It was a little worrisome that he found that intriguing.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Even though she desperately wanted a morning caffeine fix, Adelia found herself avoiding Sweet Things for the next few mornings, determined to steer clear of Gabe. Involving him in her drama with Selena was one thing. She’d had little choice about that. But the attraction that was starting to simmer, for her, anyway, was a little too disconcerting for a woman who’d declared herself to be single-mindedly independent for now. She wasn’t ready to cede that stance. She might never be.

  Her determination lasted quite nicely through the weekend. After a busy Saturday at the boutique, she devoted herself to spending time with the children on Sunday, finally caving in to Tomas’s pleas to go to the usual family dinner at her mother’s.

  Just as she’d anticipated, it was awkward and tense from the moment they arrived. Her sisters scowled at her and looked relieved when she finally abandoned the kitchen in favor of going outside to watch the kids. Her brothers-in-law regarded her as if she were deliberately trying to shake up their orderly worlds. Only the determined cheerfulness of her mother, Elliott and Karen made the afternoon tolerable. None of the others would have dared to voice their opinions aloud in front of her mother especially. The risk of alienating the family matriarch was too great.

  The children, thankfully, were unaware of most of the undercurrents as they ran boisterously through the house and played in the yard with their cousins. Watching them, she was almost able to believe life would eventually return to normal, or whatever the new normal might be.

  By three, though, Adelia had had more than enough. She excused herself to go home and work on the list of repairs needed at her new house. Surrounded by welcome silence, she’d made good progress on her list by the time Elliott and Karen dropped the children off on their way home.

  “I’m sorry about today. It won’t always be like that,” her brother reassured her, regarding her with worry. “Everyone will eventually get past this.”

  “And stop judging me?” she asked wryly. Her annoyance kicked up a notch. “What right do they have? They know what Ernesto was doing. In fact, I suspect our sisters knew all along and never said a word.”

  Elliott frowned at that. “You can’t really believe that. Why would they do such a thing? What about family loyalty?”

  Adelia voiced her theory. “I’m very much afraid because they’ve been brainwashed to believe that sort of behavior is expected, just the price a woman has to pay for a certain lifestyle.”

  When her brother’s expression immediately darkened, Adelia realized she’d revealed too much about her possibly unfounded suspicions. “Wipe that look right off your face,” she ordered. “And don’t go roaring over to their houses tossing around accusations. I don’t know anything. I just have a feeling in my gut.”

  “Your gut feelings are usually right on the money,” he said.

  “Really? I never had a single one about Ernesto, not until the end when he grew careless.”

  “Only because you didn’t want to believe he’d ever treat you that way,” Elliott said. “Love sometimes makes people blind. Do you think that’s the case with—”

  Adelia cut him off and tried to stare him down. “Promise me you’re not going to get in the middle of this, not between me and them nor in their marriages,” she commanded. “I mean it, Elliott. Our sisters are living their lives as they see fit. I just wish they’d show me the same courtesy.”

  He sighed deeply. “I hope you’re wrong,” he said.

  “I hope so, too.”

  But she didn’t think she was. Of all people, she knew only too well what it was like to live with delusions just to keep the peace and hold on to a familiar lifestyle.

  * * *

  Adelia was well aware of Mitch’s habit of starting his day in his wife’s bakery. She also knew she couldn’t avoid the place forever, even if steering clear was the best way to give Gabe a wide berth. From the moment the bakery had opened, she’d gotten into the habit of pausing to share a cup of coffee with Mitch and Lynn before heading next door to the boutique. They’d probably make way too much of it if she stayed away too long, especially after Gabe and Mitch had pitched in to help with the search for Selena. The last thing she wanted was for any of them to think she was ungrateful.

  But even as she’d reminded herself of that, she let another week pass before she mustered up the courage to return to her old routine. She had work to discuss with Mitch, she reminded herself. That alone was the perfect excuse, if she needed one, to stop by the bakery.

  She’d stayed up late the night before fine-tuning the list of projects needed to fix up the house. She needed to get cost estimates and then prioritize those that were essential and those that could wait. The list was a whole lot longer than she’d anticipated. It seemed that history and architectural character came with a host of problems.

  Thankfully, when Raylene had promoted her to manager of the boutique she’d given her a nice raise to go along with it. That extra money would allow her to do at least some of these improvements without dipping into her nest egg from the divorce. Adelia was still a little shocked by her promotion. Sure, she’d gotten a business degree in college, but for years the only “jobs” she’d held outside her home had been on the numerous school committees she’d chaired. Raylene had taken a chance on her, and she claimed she’d more than proved herself. Adelia seemed to have an innate sense of fashion and an ability to help customers make choices that flattered them. Sales had skyrocketed in the months after she was first hired.

  “To be honest, I’m a little nervous about how I’ll handle the whole
parenthood thing,” Raylene had claimed after the first trimester of her pregnancy when she’d offered Adelia the promotion.

  “But you’ve been raising Carter’s sisters with him, practically since their parents died in the car crash,” Adelia had protested. “You’ve been great with them and they adore you.”

  “They’re teenagers,” Raylene had replied, as if that had made her role easier. “I have no idea what to expect with a baby. You’re practically running this place for me already, so you deserve the title and the raise that goes with it. You’ll still get your commission, too, since you’re the best saleswoman I’ve ever seen. All those lookers who used to leave without buying now can’t get out the door without being loaded down with bags.”

  Adelia had hardly been in a position to turn her down, even though the responsibility had been a little terrifying. Now she was more than grateful for yet another chance to prove to Raylene, but even more importantly to herself, just how capable she was.

  It was ironic, really, she thought on her walk into downtown bright and early on Saturday morning. She was a mature woman with an increasingly responsible job. She had a head full of ideas to prove that Raylene’s faith in her hadn’t been misplaced. She was a good mother, at least according to most assessments. If those things were true, how ridiculous was it that she was scared of a man she’d just met simply because she found him attractive?

  Mitch was attractive, for heaven’s sake, and he didn’t scare her. Neither did any of the other men she knew in Serenity.

  Because they were all safely married, she concluded with a sigh. Gabe, it appeared, was not.

  Outside Sweet Things, she sucked in a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on a tissue. Today was as good a day as any to get back into her preferred routine. That it was a Saturday, a day she was less likely to encounter Gabe, was not the reason for her sudden bravery, she assured herself.

  As she entered the bakery, she reminded herself that she was here to have a business discussion with a man she’d known for years. Mitch wasn’t the terrifying Franklin, after all. That was Gabe, and he frightened her only because of how easily he disconcerted her.