Swan Point

by Sherryl Woods

  “Erik and Helen got together when I kept finding excuses requiring her to help out in the kitchen at Sullivan’s,” Dana Sue explained. “She couldn’t cook a lick, of course, and Erik got on her nerves because he rightfully thought he should be the boss. It was fun to watch.”

  “Boy, was it ever,” Maddie confirmed. “The only thing more fun has been watching Helen accept that her mom has a boyfriend and that they’re living together.”

  Helen put her hands on her hips and tried to stare down her two best friends. “Are you two through?”

  Maddie and Dana Sue exchanged a look, then grinned.

  “Probably not,” Maddie said, then gave Helen a hug. “Though we probably shouldn’t be teasing the woman who saved the day in court.”

  “Actually it was Selena who saved the day,” Helen said, putting an arm around the blushing teenager.

  “I am so proud of you,” Adelia told her daughter.

  “I just told the truth,” Selena said, then regarded her hopefully. “Do I get to come to brunch, too, or do I have to go to school?”

  “I think you can be excused for the whole day just this once,” Adelia told her, then warned, “But don’t get any ideas.”

  “As if,” Selena said. “The last time I cut class, you grounded me, like, forever.”

  “And I’ll do it again if I have to,” Adelia said emphatically.

  At Sullivan’s, where new spins on traditional Southern cuisine were the order of the day, Dana Sue and Erik managed to whip up a feast for the impromptu brunch, even though the restaurant was scheduled to open in an hour for lunch and those preparations already had the kitchen in a frenzy.

  “This stuffed French toast with strawberries is amazing,” Maddie said, sitting back and patting her stomach. “I think I just gained five pounds.”

  “You still have two little kids and an amorous husband at home,” Dana Sue retorted. “You’ll work those calories off in no time.”

  As the oldest members of the Sweet Magnolias exchanged taunts, Raylene slipped into the seat next to Adelia. “You doing okay?”

  Adelia frowned. “Who’s covering the shop?”

  “I put a sign on the door that we’d be opening at one today. This is more important than selling a couple of dresses or a scarf. Now answer me. How are you doing?”

  “I’m worried about Gabe,” Adelia admitted. “He took off before I could even thank him for what he said to the judge today. Because of him and Selena, I still have my kids with me.”

  “I saw him when I went to put the sign on the door at the shop. He was already back in his work clothes and coming out of the hardware store.”

  “Oh,” Adelia said, oddly deflated by the news. She wasn’t sure what she’d hoped for, that maybe he’d at least want to congratulate her on today’s outcome or share the moment with her. Something told her, though, that he was pulling away. What she didn’t understand was why. The judge hadn’t even hinted that he was taking Ernesto’s claims seriously.

  “Stop worrying,” Raylene advised, as if she’d followed Adelia’s thoughts. “I imagine Gabe hasn’t had that many good things said about him in years. He’s probably a little shaken by it.”

  “That’s what concerns me,” Adelia said. “What if he tells himself that he doesn’t deserve any of it? Even though everything turned out okay, he may be blaming himself for the fact that we were in court in the first place.”

  “Call him,” Raylene suggested. “Or stop by the construction site when you leave here. I can handle the store.”

  Adelia squeezed her hand. “You may be the most understanding boss in captivity.”

  “I doubt that,” Raylene said. “Keep in mind I have an ulterior motive. I need a happy employee to cover for me while I go off and have a baby and then spend a leisurely few months discovering the joys of motherhood.”

  Adelia regarded her with shock. “A few months?”

  “That’s what I’ve been thinking lately. It could be longer if we move forward with the whole partnership thing. Or if I get really infatuated with this new baby of mine and decide Carter and I should have a few more, I might just sell the whole boutique to you.”

  Adelia waved off that idea. “Forget that. I’m not even sure I can scrape up enough to be your partner.”

  “Don’t panic. It’s all down the road,” Raylene advised. “I’ve told you before, with these women in your corner, anything’s possible.”

  Adelia tried putting Raylene’s remarks out of her head. Fortunately, she had a bigger worry at the moment. She needed to find Gabe and make sure that he wasn’t going to use today’s events to bolt on her after all.

  * * *

  Adelia found Gabe exactly where Raylene had predicted she would, in the cavernous space at the end of the block on Main Street. His crew had apparently gone to lunch, because he was all alone, sitting at that makeshift desk of his in the middle of dust and debris, eating what looked to be a tuna salad sandwich and some fries from a Wharton’s take-out container.

  When he glanced up at the sound of her heels tapping on the concrete floor, his eyes immediately filled with wariness.

  “You shouldn’t be in here without a hard hat,” he said.

  “You’re not wearing one,” she pointed out.

  “Because no one’s working right now.”

  She smiled at that. “Then the rules are different for you?”

  His lips quirked slightly. “Sure. I’m the boss. And I’m hardheaded, anyway.”

  Adelia pulled up a folding chair and sat beside him. “Why’d you take off after court? I didn’t even get a chance to thank you.”

  “You were surrounded by all those women,” he said. “You didn’t need me butting in.”

  She frowned at his words. “Gabe, don’t you know that I would never consider you an intrusion?”

  “I’m just saying that you had plenty of support.”

  “But you’re the one I wanted most to speak to,” she said. “Or is that the problem? Did today make things a little too real for you? Did you suddenly realize this thing between us isn’t some game, that the kids and I count on you, that it’s not your usual cut-and-run flirtation?”

  She could tell from his startled reaction that she’d hit on the truth. She sighed. “I guess you did.”

  He drew in a deep breath, then said, “I always knew you were different.”

  “Different how?”

  “Not the kind of woman I could ever walk away from easily,” he told her.

  Something in his voice told her, though, that he was going to walk away.

  “You’re going anyway, though, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t know,” he said, looking miserable. “Maybe it’s for the best. Complications aren’t my thing, Adelia.”

  “Gabe, there will always be complications in life. Some are good. Some are lousy.” She held his gaze. “Crazy me, I thought maybe we were going to be one of the best kind of complications. I’m not saying it would be easy or that there won’t be a million times when one of us would prefer to run, but I think the rewards of staying will be worth it.” She drew in a deep breath. “But if you can’t see that, I can’t make you.”

  He’d been tearing apart his sandwich bit by bit as she spoke, just as Selena had picked apart the pepperoni the night before. The nervous action was almost enough to make her smile, even though what she really wanted to do was cry and shout at him to look at her, to love her enough to stay with her. She had too much pride, though, to say those words, not to a man who was so obviously intent on leaving.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said. “I’ve had a job offer in Beaufort. Ronnie Sullivan connected me with the guy he used to work for. He just called. I’m going down this weekend to check it out.”

  Adelia’s heart plumme
ted. “I see,” she said, determined to keep the tears suddenly stinging her eyes from leaking out and betraying her emotions. “So that’s it, I guess.”

  “If I were ever going to stay with someone, it would be you,” he told her. “I know it doesn’t mean much for me to say I love you, but I’m leaving town anyway, but it’s the truth, Adelia. I do love you. I’m doing you a favor.”

  She stared at him in shock. “That’s ridiculous! Leaving isn’t doing me a favor. It surely isn’t doing my kids a favor. The only one benefiting is you.” She shook her head as she regarded him with disbelief. “How could I have been so wrong about you? You’re a coward, Gabe Franklin, not a hero at all.”

  She stood up then, spine straight, shoulders squared, and walked away. She was proud of herself for not shedding a single tear in front of him or even on the walk to Chic.

  But when she walked inside the boutique and Raylene glanced up from her cell phone, a shocked expression on her face, Adelia crumbled. Tears flowed unchecked.

  “You know, don’t you?” she whispered brokenly when she could finally speak.

  Raylene nodded. “That was Gabe on the phone. He thought you might need me.”

  “How considerate!” Adelia said bitterly. “You know, it was bad enough finding out that Ernesto was cheating on me and having to hold my head high and pretend it didn’t matter.” She gave Raylene a plaintive look. “How am I supposed to pretend this doesn’t matter?”

  “You don’t,” Raylene said simply. “You cry and scream and shout and curse the man’s sorry butt as much as you want to. The Sweet Magnolias will ply you with margaritas, if that will help.”

  The offer brought a watery smile to her lips. “If those things almost killed me when I was having a good day, I don’t think I’ll rely on them now.”

  “How about the company? I can get everybody together at my place tonight.”

  Adelia knew they would all come, too, just as they had that morning to be there for her in court. It was an amazing feeling to discover she had real friends. But while they might be able to offer moral support and would willingly listen to her rip into Gabe, that wasn’t what she really needed. What she really needed was to go home and find Gabe at her house, the same as he had been so many times recently.

  Sadly, though, that simply wasn’t in the cards. She needed to accept reality, and then figure out how on earth she was going to explain all of this to her children.

  * * *

  Despite all Adelia’s arguments that she needed to stay at the boutique and work, Raylene insisted that she go home.

  “You need a long, leisurely bubble bath and a nap,” Raylene said. “It’s been a stressful day. Take advantage of the couple of hours you’ll have to yourself before the kids come home.”

  Adelia sighed. “You’re probably right. Maybe I’ll have a brainstorm about what I’m going to say to them, especially Selena. For her I think this will be worse in some ways than anything Ernesto did.”

  “From what I saw in court today, she’s a very mature girl. She may be devastated, but she’ll be more worried about you.”

  “And isn’t that sad?” Adelia said. It was yet more proof that her daughter had had to grow up too quickly.

  “Now go,” Raylene ordered. “Tomorrow’s soon enough for you to be back in here working your sales magic.”

  Adelia gave in reluctantly and walked home. As she neared the house, she frowned at the sight of her sister’s car in the driveway, Carolina behind the wheel. Adelia prayed that she was right about what this meant.

  After approaching the car slowly, she tapped on the window. “Carolina?”

  Her sister lifted her head, revealing yet another cut on her cheek and bruises that to Adelia’s untrained eye seemed fresh.

  “Come inside,” Adelia said at once, her own worries forgotten.

  Carolina climbed out of the car, but when she tried to walk, she could barely limp. Adelia slipped an arm around her waist.

  “Come on,” she said softly. “I’ve got you. Do you need to go to the hospital? Is anything broken?”

  Carolina shook her head, then asked hesitantly, “Is it okay if the kids and I stay here, just for tonight?”

  “You’ll stay for as long as you need to,” Adelia replied.

  “Thank you. After all the things I’ve said to you, I don’t deserve it,” Carolina said.

  “We’re sisters,” Adelia told her. “You will always be welcome in my home.”

  Her sister gave her a weary look. “Don’t call Mama, not yet, okay? I’m just not ready to talk to her.”

  “Whatever you want.”

  “Is Gabe coming over? I don’t think I could bear it if he or anyone else saw me right now.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that,” Adelia said, her tone wry.

  Inside, she settled her sister gingerly on the sofa, then took her one small suitcase upstairs. When she came down, she asked, “Is there more?”

  “I didn’t stop to pack much. What’s in there is for the kids.”

  “Do they know to come here? Do I need to pick them up at school?”

  Alarm filled Carolina’s eyes. “I didn’t think of that. They’ll take the bus home from school. I should be there.”

  “Absolutely not,” Adelia told her. “I’ll call Helen. She’ll know what to do.”

  “I’m not ready to talk to a lawyer,” Carolina said, panic in her voice.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Adelia said firmly. “You have to think about doing what’s best for your kids. The only other alternative is for me to call Mama and have her get the kids and bring them here or take them home with her.”

  Carolina seemed to be struggling between hiding what was happening from their mother or relying on her in this crisis. “Maybe that would be best,” she said at last. “You talk to her, though. Ask her to keep the kids with her for a day or two. They have clothes at her house.”

  “What do I tell her when she asks about what’s going on? She will, you know.”

  “Just that I need a couple of days to think about things. That will give these bruises time enough to fade some more.”

  “Haven’t the kids already seen what Ricky has done to you? I know Mama has.”

  She shook her head. “I told Joey I was sick and probably contagious, so I was staying in the guest room. I asked him to keep an eye on his brothers. I couldn’t let him see me. He’d have gone after Ricky himself.”

  Adelia regarded her sister with compassion. “You’ve done the right thing, Carolina. I know how hard it is to walk out on a marriage, especially after the way we were raised. But God wouldn’t want this to go on. I know He wouldn’t.”

  “God might understand, but what about Mama?”

  Adelia ran a comforting hand over her sister’s head. “She’d want what’s best for you, the same way she did for me. It’s going to be okay. I promise. You’ve taken the most important step toward getting your life back.”

  “It feels more like I’ve just jumped off a precipice and there’s no going back. There’s nothing to grab on to going down, either.”

  Adelia smiled at the first tiny hint of her sister’s sense of humor. “Been there, done that,” she told her. “But just like me, you’re going to land on your feet.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Gabe had rushed into a lot of short-term relationships over the years. He’d even had one or two that had lasted well beyond those impulsive first weeks of heat and passion. This long, slow buildup to something with real potential he’d experienced with Adelia was new to him and he didn’t mind admitting that it scared him to death. That’s why he was going to Beaufort to talk to Ronnie’s friend. That’s why he thought the only smart thing to do was to leave before anybody got hurt or at least hurt worse than they would be if he bail
ed now.

  Early Saturday morning he drove down to Beaufort to meet with Butch. They talked over a big country breakfast of eggs, bacon and grits and drank about a gallon of coffee to wash it down. He instinctively liked the older man and was intrigued with the construction projects he had going on.

  “Do you have time to ride around and take a look at some of the sites?” Butch asked. “I can show you plans, too.”

  “Sure,” Gabe said.

  The projects ranged from several historic renovations to a new development in the suburbs. All were being done with diligent attention to detail, just the way Gabe liked to work. In the end, though, he couldn’t figure out why he wasn’t more excited by what he’d seen.

  After the tour they went back to Butch’s office, a far simpler place than that ostentatious building Ernesto had built for himself. Butch, just like Mitch, was obviously a man who put more energy into the work his company was doing than into his own comfort or a pretentious show of success.

  “Sorry about the mess,” Butch said, as he swept some blueprints off a sofa and gestured for Gabe to have a seat. “I’m never in here long enough to clean this place up. And my secretary reminds me just about daily that it’s not what I’m paying her to do.”

  Gabe chuckled, liking the man more and more. He was a straight shooter, just as Ronnie had described him.

  “Now, then,” Butch began. “I like what I’ve seen and heard so far. If you’re interested, here’s what I’m prepared to offer.”

  The package of pay and benefits was a good one, more than Gabe could expect to make from Mitch, at least until that new construction project he’d mentioned broke ground. The work sounded challenging.

  “What do you think?” Butch asked. “I’ll be candid. You’re the first person I’ve talked to, but I have a list of other candidates. Since I need someone who can be on the job in a couple of weeks or a month at the outside, I can’t wait around for long while you make a decision.”

  Gabe told himself he should jump at this chance that had fallen into his lap, but reservations he didn’t totally understand kept him from a quick yes.