by Joan Kilby
“I can be persuasive when it’s something I believe in.”
Something she believed in made her remember the mayor’s offer and she thrilled to the possibilities. Her dream of bringing green technology to Sweetheart and Montana could actually become a reality. Firmly, she put work thoughts from her mind. She wasn’t going to waste precious moments with Angus in such a romantic setting thinking about solar panels and the like. Besides, it only made her dilemma of whether to stay in Sweetheart where she wanted to be, or to go with Angus—if he asked—more difficult to solve.
“I think we can safely say the first annual cherry blossom festival was a success,” she said. “The blossoms peaked at just the right time. You finished the community hall with seconds to spare. The Japanese contingent was a bonus.”
“The Japanese were awesome,” Angus agreed. “You’ll have to invite them back next year.”
Brianna said nothing.
“Will you still be doing this job next year?” Angus asked after a moment.
“No work talk, remember?” she said, wagging her finger.
“Okay, okay.” He fell silent again, but she knew him well enough to feel the buildup of tension inside him when he had something he needed to say.
“What is it?” she asked, half-dreading he was going to ask her to come to Sacramento, half-hoping he would say he wasn’t signing the contract.
“Do you… have a boyfriend, someone you’re thinking of marrying?” he asked. “Someone you haven’t told me about?”
Brianna was so surprised at the question that she almost laughed. But she didn’t, in case he misinterpreted her levity as not taking him seriously. She stopped walking and met his gaze. “There’s been no one serious since you.”
“Really?” His face softened. A passing breeze sent white petals fluttering all around them, settling on their shoulders and in their hair. As he took both her hands in his, her heart beat faster.
“There hasn’t been anyone else for me, either.” He gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Brianna. I always have, and I always will.”
“Oh, Angus.” Her eyes pricked and her throat clogged with emotion. “I love you, too.” She went into his arms, into a warm, strong hug that she never wanted to leave.
Finally, he eased back and met her gaze again. “Will you come with me to Sacramento?”
This was it, the moment of truth. Her heart banged against her rib cage. Was he asking her to marry him? How many nights had she dreamed of this moment? Too bad the timing was so terrible, just as she was on the verge of realizing her long-held career ambitions. Were they doomed to not be able to have their dreams and each other, too?
“The mayor asked me today to run for town council,” she blurted, then gave a broken laugh that was half sob. “He’s putting forward a green agenda and he wants my expertise. I have a chance to really make a difference.”
Silence clanged down, freezing them both. Brianna would remember forever Angus’s stricken expression. Her own moan of anguish.
“I left it too late. I’m such a fool.” Dragging a hand over his face, Angus found a smile. “I mean, congratulations. I can see you as mayor, or governor, or anything you want to be. I hope you accepted his offer.”
“He wants to upgrade the town to green technology,” she went on, not sure if she was trying to convince Angus or herself. “There’ll be work in it. I don’t know whether to be on the council, or start my own consultancy, or try to do both. Either way, this is the opportunity I’ve been hoping for right here in Sweetheart.”
“You should definitely go for it,” Angus said. “It’s your turn to accomplish what you want to do. I understand now about you not wanting to hold me back because I would never do that to you.” He hugged her again and when he drew back, his eyes were shiny in the twinkling lights and filled with love and admiration.
“Stay in Sweetheart,” she begged. “You know you want to. This is your home, where you’re happiest. You don’t need to take a high-powered job for my sake. You don’t need to be someone to be worthy. You’re already someone very special, especially to me.”
“I believe you, but I’ve committed to the job in Sacramento.”
“How long is the contract for?” she asked.
“Two years with an option to extend if both parties desire it.”
“Two years isn’t so long. We’ve already waited five.” She tried to smile but her heart was breaking. At this point, two years felt like eternity. Could they survive another long-term separation? What if, at the end of that, he decided he did want to extend his contract? “We could try a long-distance relationship.”
Before he could reply to that, the fairy lights in the trees overhead suddenly went out. First the row they were standing in, then the next row, then the next. One by one, the sparkly wonderland switched off and the world turned black.
Then there was an enormous crack of thunder and rain started pouring down.
“Let’s get out of here,” Angus said.
Through the drenching rain and the darkness, they stumbled out of the orchard, still holding hands but now like refugees from disaster instead of a couple in love.
*
Angus awoke early the next morning after a restless, broken sleep. It took him less than an hour to pack his bags, a sure sign, if one was needed, that his stay had only ever been temporary. The few pieces of furniture and other belongings he’d accumulated over the years were in storage pending transportation to his new home, courtesy of Coates Construction.
“Are you excited about your new job?” his mom asked from the doorway to his room.
“Yeah, it’s going to be great.” Even he could hear his voice was flat.
“Uh-huh.” She folded her arms across her chest, her expression sceptical. “Be honest. Is it really that important to you?”
“It’s what I spent five years at college for.” He’d have to be a fool to give up the golden opportunity with Coates to take a job as a construction foreman at Sweetheart Log Homes with the odd design job.
“I thought you went to college so you could ask Brianna to marry you,” his mom said.
“She’s got her own big plans.” He picked up a T-shirt, sweat stained and faded, and almost threw it on the reject pile. Then he remembered wearing it the day Brianna had brought him a picnic lunch at the community hall build. It had been one of those magical days when they’d glimpsed what life could be like if they were together. He hesitated, and then folded the T-shirt and placed it in the suitcase.
A hopeless romantic, that was him. Why, he didn’t know. The situation seemed futile. Last night they’d both been so wet and dispirited he’d dropped her home and the evening had been over. He didn’t blame Brianna for not wanting to go to Sacramento. She’d watched him choose an awesome job opportunity over love. Why shouldn’t she do the same?
His mom sat on the edge of the bed, clearly not going anywhere till she had answers. “So let me get this straight, did you ask her to go to Sacramento and she said no?”
“I asked her. She didn’t say yes or no but she wants to live here. This is where her life is, her family and friends and a job she loves. Now the mayor wants her to run for council and that will open up a whole new path for her, one I know she really wants to pursue. How can I ask her to give that up? I guess us as a couple wasn’t meant to be.”
“Angus Adams, haven’t you learned anything yet? Every single thing in your life that you care about you got because you worked for it and made it happen,” his mom said. “Brianna is the most important of all. Don’t give up now.”
“She doesn’t want to come with me, and how can I slink back to Sweetheart with my tail between my legs, accepting whatever work Gordon and Blake have to offer?” He stared defiantly at his mother. “I just can’t.”
“Then you need to come up with another plan.” She drilled that home with her most pointed look and then got to her feet. “I have a house to show. Will I see you for dinner?”
“I might not
wait until tomorrow to head out,” he said. “It’s a long drive and I’m going to need to overnight on the highway as it is.”
“Don’t go yet,” his mother begged. “Give it another day. Talk to her again. You never know, one or both of you might change your mind.”
“I doubt it.” Then he looked at his mom and thought about how long it would be until he saw her again. “But I’ll stay another night. Since you’re working, I’ll go out on the lake one more time. Maybe I’ll catch us a fish.” He rose and walked her out. “Will you come and visit me in Sacramento? I don’t know when I’ll get back here after this.”
“You used to be such a smart boy,” she said, gently teasing, but there was real sorrow in her voice.
“You used to be so nice to me,” he quipped back, feeling desperate and not knowing what to do. Then he hugged her hard. Brianna had been right. He didn’t want to go.
When his mother eased back to study his face, her eyes welled. “I’m so sorry it didn’t work out with Brianna.”
“Me, too.”
She left for her showing and he went back to packing. As he carried his suitcases into the hall, his reluctance to leave Sweetheart grew. His mom was right, too. He was giving up too easily. He and Brianna had both been super busy for the past few weeks and under a lot of pressure. No wonder circumstances felt overwhelming. But they’d found each other after five years apart and had figured some things out. Now that he knew she loved him, and that he didn’t need to prove himself to her, how could he let her go again? It was time to stop feeling sorry for himself and get proactive.
He still felt a need to prove himself to himself, however. If he could choose his own future, what would that look like? Well, if he was going to come up with another plan there was no better place to do it than on the lake. He did his best thinking with a fishing rod in his hand.
A half an hour later, Angus motored slowly around the pier and headed north. The town was starting to come awake but the second day of the festivities was not yet in full swing. He passed cottages nestled among pine trees, cherry orchards frothy with white blossoms, and looming in the background were the rugged mountains of the Mission Range. The storm had passed in the night, leaving the sky a clear, crystalline blue. The beautiful setting filled him this time, not with the sweet ache of nostalgia, but with a fierce determination to stay and be part of this community. To marry Brianna and live out the dreams they’d spun together.
He hadn’t even made it to his favorite fishing spot when the fresh breeze off the water blew the cobwebs from his brain. A plan was beginning to form, one that had been simmering for a long time. He’d hinted at it to Gordon, and he and Brianna had talked about it that day on the lake. It had seemed like a pipe dream then but why couldn’t he make it a reality?
Opening the throttle, he turned away from the shore and motored farther north. Ten minutes later, he came to the rocky point that marked the start of Gordon’s thirty-acre lakefront property. Angus slowed and then cut the engine. Wavelets lapped at the boat as it rocked gently in its own wake. He got out his phone and snapped a dozen photos.
The location was incredibly picturesque. Perfect for fishing and water sports, a small bay for swimming, and with the mountains so close there would be skiing and hiking. The land was flat, easy to build on, with plenty of room. A boutique resort lodge would be close enough to town for guests to visit, yet far enough away to have a wilderness feel.
With a comprehensive proposal, he could bring something worthwhile to the table at Sweetheart Log Homes. It would give Gordon and Blake a solid reason to hire him in a management capacity and himself the creative project he craved.
Instead of baiting his hook, he turned the boat around and went back to the dock. Now that he knew what he was going to do, he wanted to start right away.
First he had to deal with John Coates.
*
“You’re quiet this morning,” Sarah said to Brianna, as they ran along the lakefront path early Sunday morning. In the park, the festival attractions were starting to get set up for the day. “How was the dance?”
“It was okay.” Brianna concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. The sun was shining, and the lake had never sparkled so merrily, but her feet felt like lead, and her heart was just as heavy.
After Angus had dropped her off at her cottage last night, they’d both been soaked to the skin, cold and uncomfortable. He hadn’t asked to come in and continue talking, and she’d been too emotionally exhausted to suggest it.
“Either you and Angus had a fabulous time dancing up a storm and you’re super tired, or else things didn’t go well and you’re trying to hold yourself together,” Sarah went on. “Talk to me.”
“Both things are true. I hardly slept,” Brianna said. “The past couple of weeks have been a roller coaster. I’m still trying to process.”
“Process out loud. I’m not just your assistant, I’m your friend.”
Brianna slowed to a halt and gave Sarah a grateful smile. In a few sentences she summed up the previous night—the fun she’d had dancing with Angus, the romance of the cherry orchard, their fraught, unresolved discussion about the future, the drenching rain that put an end to their evening, and the terrible dilemma they now faced. She frowned, remembering that she hadn’t asked Angus about the engagement ring he wore around his neck.
“We love each other, but I don’t know if we can find a way to make a life together,” she said. “The lights literally went out and a bucket of cold water was thrown on our talk of the future.”
“First of all, congratulations on the mayor wanting you on council and working on green technology for the town,” Sarah said. “I’ll miss being your assistant, but I can see why you wouldn’t want to let that opportunity go by.”
“I’m not elected yet,” Brianna warned. “I can’t count my chickens.”
“You’ll be a shoo-in.” Sarah waved that objection away as negligible. “Never mind that now. Focus on Angus. You’ve declared your feelings to each other. That’s huge.”
“It’s wonderful, but it doesn’t get us anywhere,” Brianna said. “Angus wants to be with me, and he wants to live in Sweetheart, but he has too much integrity to renege on his agreement with John Coates.”
She hoped she’d convinced him he didn’t need to take the job with Coates for her sake but if he needed it for himself, in order to feel fulfilled, then she couldn’t—wouldn’t—fight against that.
“You have other life goals besides your career ambitions,” Sarah said. “You’ve just found out that the man whom you’ve loved for years, loves you. Why don’t you go with him? You can build a career anywhere.”
“I want to stay here in Sweetheart.” Brianna shook her head unhappily. “The problem is, I want Angus, too. I want it all—him, my family and friends, as well as this new opportunity the mayor is offering.”
“You have to choose,” Sarah said. “What is most important to you—everything you have here, or Angus?”
Put in such stark terms the answer was Angus, hands down. Out of the blue Kylie’s words came back to Brianna. If you see something special, don’t pass it up. You might not find it again.
“I want to be with Angus.” Did he still want her? He’d opened his heart to her in the cherry orchard and she’d hesitated. “I think he’s put me in the too hard basket. He hasn’t called this morning.”
“Did you call him?”
“Several times. I’ll try again.” Brianna tugged her phone out of the fanny pack and punched in his number. It rang a few times and went to voice mail. “He’s still not answering. Maybe he already left for Sacramento.”
“Or he’s working on a solution,” Sarah suggested.
Brianna was about to brush that off, but instead forced herself to consider. Sarah could be right. When Angus was working on a problem, he tended to shut everything else down until he’d figured it out.
“I’ll go over to his mom’s house and see if he’s still in town,�
� Brianna said. “Hopefully he and I can figure this out together. Thanks for talking me through this.” She gave her friend a hug. “By the way, Daniel was at the dance last night.”
“Surrounded by women, no doubt,” Sarah said disdainfully.
“Well, yes, but he was paying more attention to the young guys on the high school football team who wanted his autograph,” Brianna said. “You should give him the benefit of the doubt. Especially if he’s going to move here. After all, he’s Jeffy’s uncle.”
Sarah waved that off. “Daniel will be here for five minutes and then he’ll get bored and leave. You mark my words.”
“Want to make a bet?” Brianna said, grinning.
“It wouldn’t be fair to take your money when it’s a sure thing.” Sarah suddenly spurted ahead. “Race you back to the parking lot.”
“Hey, no fair, you got a head start! Laughing, she ran faster, energized by a sense of urgency and purpose but also optimism. She had to find Angus before he left and let him know she would come with him to Sacramento.
After showering and changing, Brianna drove over to Angus’s mother’s house. Her spirits fell a little again when she saw that his truck wasn’t there, but she knocked on the door anyway.
“Hey, Brianna.” Audrey was wearing her work clothes, a navy-blue pantsuit and black pumps. “If you’re looking for Angus, he went fishing.”
“Fishing?” Brianna repeated. Had he given up on them and was killing time till he left?
Audrey stepped back and opened the door wider. “I just came home for a few minutes between viewings. I don’t have long, but do you want to come in?”
“Just for a moment.” Brianna’s gaze went to the luggage standing in the foyer—a bulging suitcase, a backpack, and a large portfolio for architectural drawings. Her heart sank. “When is he leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Audrey said. “For what it’s worth, I don’t believe he wants to go. Cup of coffee?”
“No thanks,” Brianna said, dully.
“I’m sure he won’t go without saying goodbye to you,” Audrey said, her face troubled.