Finding Forever

by Gael, Christine

  “See what?”

  “Whales. A whole pod of them. Here, come see.” He helped her to her feet, and Sasha struggled to keep her balance on the deck as she shielded her eyes from the sun and tried to get a better look. Sure enough, a half dozen whales swam in sync against the waves, just yards away. Big ones and two smaller calves.

  “I saw them yesterday and was hoping they’d be back so you could see them, too.”

  “Wow,” she breathed, eyes wide. It wasn’t her first time seeing whales, but it was her first time seeing a whole pod this close up. The sight, and the fact that Gabe had wanted to share it with her, made her throat tight with emotion.

  “Cool, right?” Gabe asked, beaming as he turned back to her. His eyes sparkled, and there was so much love in his expression that Sasha could practically feel her heart melting.

  “What?” she asked quietly.

  “Nothing,” he said. “I’m just happy. That’s all.”

  “Me too,” replied Sasha, although inside, she was reeling. What kind of person would she be to keep something like this from her husband?

  “Sometimes I think about the fact that I almost lost you, and I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

  At that moment, the boat gave another lurch, making her sway on her feet. Her stomach turned and what little of the egg salad sandwich she’d eaten threatened to make a reappearance. Her shoulders slumped, and she put a hand to her stomach once more.

  “Are you okay?” Gabe asked, eyes widening as he touched her back.

  “Sorry,” Sasha murmured. “I don’t feel so good, that’s all. Choppy out here today.”

  “No problem,” he said, his brow furrowed in concern. “We’ll head back and snuggle up on the couch.”

  “Yeah,” Sasha agreed. “That’s a great idea.”

  “I’m glad you got to see the pod, at least,” he added with a half-smile.

  “Me too.”

  But seeing the family of whales swimming side by side was bittersweet.

  Please, God, let Gabe be as awed and excited when he finds out about our little family…

  10

  Max

  Max contemplated for a moment before picking up another slice of pizza, folding it in half, and taking a bite.

  It was probably the last thing her body needed right now, but it tasted oh so good. Considering the mess that was her current state of mind, she could forgive herself for indulging in another piece of cheesy, tangy goodness.

  There were two large pies on Cee-cee’s dining room table, an impromptu dinner she and Mick had arranged after Max had stopped by. Despite swearing she wouldn’t focus the conversation on Ian, she couldn’t stop ruminating on her own as she ate.

  Was he really going to attempt to find her a new place for the bookstore, or was that just guilt talking?

  “How is Aunt Stephanie?” she asked, taking another bite of pizza.

  “She says she’s fine,” Cee-cee replied with a shrug. “I don’t know if I believe her, but you know how she gets. She’ll talk when she’s ready. If I push her, she will clam up even more. I’m thinking living with Pop might be more than she bargained for. Don’t worry about that, though. Aunt Anna and I will get it out of her eventually.” She popped an errant string of cheese into her mouth and forced a smile. “On a lighter note, I’m trying out some new cupcake recipes this week.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Max raised her eyebrows. “Do tell.”

  Cee-cee grinned. “Okay,” she said, “you know how I’ve been trying to come up with something more sophisticated for the all-adult events?”

  “Wait ‘til you hear this, Max,” Mick said, pride lighting his face.

  “Go on,” Max urged.

  “Get this--” She leaned forward, eyes wide and sparkling with the certain type of glee that only ever came from discussing her baking. “The Liquor is Quicker collection. Each one will be based off a drink. Irish Coffee, which will be a mocha base, chocolate and Kahlua infused ganache in the middle, topped with Irish cream icing. I’m going to do a salted margarita one with tequila, a strawberry daquiri one with rum soaked berry compote, and a pina colada with toasted coconut and pineapples candied in brown sugar and coconut rum, to name a few. I’ve got about a dozen flavors already mapped out.”

  “Dang, Mom,” Max joked, “stop teasing me! These will slay at bridal showers and bachelorette parties. Not to mention, office holiday parties.”

  “Ooh, good point! I think I’ll do a whole boozy holiday selection. Eggnog, hot rum toddy, cocoa with marshmallows and Godiva liqueur.”

  Max flopped against her seat and waved her hand at her face like she’d been hit with a fit of the vapors. “You’re killing me, Mom.”

  Cee-cee laughed. “I’ll take that as a vote of confidence. Mick?” she asked, turning to her fiancé. “Thoughts on doing something like this for the holidays? Or even different lineups for the seasons?”

  “You won’t catch me saying no, if you ever want a test subject,” he replied, grinning. “Unless this is all just a ploy to fatten me up, in which case… I’ll still say yes.”

  Cee-cee rolled her eyes and swatted him playfully on the arm. He chuckled, pulling her close and planting a kiss on the top of her head.

  Max watched them, laughing and cuddling like a couple of high schoolers in love, and she couldn’t keep her shoulders from slumping. It was lovely seeing her mom this happy with someone, but that old envy was creeping back in; they worked so well together, the affection and love coming so easily to them that it sometimes made Max wistful. Maybe she was just hard to love…

  An image of Ty floated into her mind. Is he happy? she wondered. Does he ever think of me? But even his face began to waver and another took its place.

  Damn you, Ian Thackery.

  Ever since he’d made his offer to help, he’d been lurking around in her brain like a specter. She blew out an exasperated sigh, dropping her eyes back to her pizza.

  “So, Max,” Cee-cee said, disentangling herself from Mick and putting her hands on the table as she read Max’s mind with unerring, motherly accuracy, “how are things going with the whole lease situation?”

  Max bit her lip. “Actually, there’s been an…interesting development.”

  Mick raised his eyebrows and asked, “In a good way?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know yet.” Clearing her throat, she went on, “I was at the bookstore this morning, trying to get some of my stuff in order and figure out what needs to go into storage. Ian showed up.”

  “What did he want?” Cee-cee asked.

  Max groaned. “Aunt Anna made good on her threat and went and chewed him out. He said it had gotten him thinking, and he wanted to apologize for the way he acted when I came to his office. He brought me some shoes.” She found herself blushing a little, but she wasn’t sure why, and hurried on, “Anyway, I showed him around the shop a little. Then he said he wanted to try to help me find a new place. I think he wants to show me what his plans are for the building, too. He sounds pretty passionate about it.”

  “Well, that’s a good sign, right?” asked Mick.

  “Is it?” Max replied, looking at him incredulously.

  “Yeah, sure,” he replied. “I mean, the more time you spend with him, the more likely he will be to view you as a human being. Maybe you can change his mind.”

  “Well…” Max frowned.

  “And if not,” Mick pressed on, one brow raised, “at the very least, it might help for you to see him as a human being,” Mick added. “I’m not saying you’re in the wrong to feel the way you do, but a little empathy on both sides might be a good thing right about now. If this doesn’t go your way, I’d hate for you to feel bitter and angry for the long-term. It’s a hard way to live.”

  “I know you’re right,” Max mumbled, not looking at either of them. “But I’m not sure I like the idea of giving him any more of my time than I already have.”

  Cee-cee peered at her daughter. “What about the other shop owners in the
strip mall?” she asked. “How are they handling things? You must have spoken to them by now.”

  “Mr. Bonomo was basically ready to retire, anyway,” Max answered, taking another bite of her pizza. “But his son’s pretty upset – he’d been planning to take over the shop. It’s a prime location, and they’ve got a lot of loyal clients. As for Betina’s hair and nail salon, she’s been in that location for more than a decade. I saw her earlier today – she looked like she’d lost her best friend or something.” She sighed, shaking her head. “It’s going to be hard on all the shop owners.”

  “Well,” Cee-cee pointed out, “that’s all the more reason to keep the lines of communication open between you, don’t you think? You’ve had contact with this Ian guy,” her mother said. “You have to be the voice of everyone else in that strip mall. Like Mick said, maybe getting to know you and hearing about the other shop owners will help him realize that he should find another place for his business.”

  Max pursed her lips. “Maybe.”

  “It’s something to think about, anyway,” Mick said.

  Max tucked the thought away for later, determined to enjoy the rest of her visit. And, to her surprise, she did. They chatted easily about Pop, the bakery, and more.

  Once they’d finished eating, she volunteered to help the others with the dishes, but they insisted there was no need. She said her goodbyes and headed out onto the sidewalk. The evening was balmy and warm, with the gentlest of breezes coming in over the waterfront, and the allure of the pier was enough to overpower her desire for bed. She found herself meandering in the direction of the docks, her footsteps creaking against the weathered planks of the boardwalk as she jammed her hands in her pockets and gazed out at the water. As if the ocean would give her answers. The barest hint of moon was low on the horizon, and the setting sun threw Bluebird Bay into a golden, hazy glow. A salty breeze whipped at Max’s hair as she leaned against the railing, hunching her shoulders as she searched for a solution to a problem that felt increasingly impossible.

  Lights from an approaching boat caught her attention, and she raised her eyebrows when she saw its familiar shape. Gabe’s boat, from the looks of it, and he was pulling up to his usual dock. She turned and made her way down to where the boat was stopping, arriving in time to see Gabe tying off. Sasha was still on the deck, looking a little ashen.

  “Max?” Gabe said, breaking into a smile when he saw her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Just going for a walk,” she replied. “You?”

  “A romantic boat ride with my bride,” he said, grinning, before he turned and offered Sasha a hand. She accepted it and stepped shakily back down to the dock, hugging herself as if she were cold.

  Gabe held his arms out to Max as she approached, and she embraced him before giving his wife a cool smile.

  “Hey, Sash.”

  “Hi, Max.” Sasha looked like she was struggling to think of something else to say, and Max couldn’t work up the energy to let her off the hook. She knew it wasn’t charitable of her to be this standoffish around her brother’s wife, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit on edge whenever she interacted with Sasha. She’d tried to recapture the same, easy connection she had felt when the two of them had first met…that sort of giddy, sisterly closeness, but ever since Sasha had broken up with Gabe the year before, it just hadn’t been there. Max knew it was just as much her own perceptions as it was Sasha’s behavior, but that didn’t stop the inevitable questions whenever she saw her. Was she going to walk out on Gabe again the next time things got tough? Would Max have to watch her brother get his heart broken a second time?

  Still, a twinge of guilt prodded her as she studied her sister-in-law. Sasha’s face looked pale and drawn, and she seemed to be shrinking into her coat, like she was expecting an unpleasant surprise at any minute. She knew what it was like to have a bad day and, as much as she resented Sasha for hurting Gabe, Max knew that her sister-in-law was a good person deep down. And she hated to see a good person hurting.

  Max forced a smile. “I hear you’ve got a new job – interior decorating, is that right?”

  “Yes,” Sasha replied. “Interior design. It’s just part-time right now, but maybe…” She fidgeted, her eyes flickering to Gabe for a moment. “We’ll see.”

  “Well, I hope it’s going well,” said Max, the forced politeness in her voice sounding phony, even to her.

  “Yeah,” said Sasha, shuffling her feet. “It’s nice.”

  The conversation was even more stilted than usual, and Max let it sputter and die an awkward death.

  Something was up – it didn’t take a genius to see that – but as troubled as Sasha looked, Gabe seemed all right, so it couldn’t be something too dire. Maybe her new boss was a tyrant. In any case, Max had her own problems right now.

  “Listen,” she said, running a hand through her hair, “I think I’m going to call it a night. I ate my weight in pizza and I’m feeling super sleepy.”

  “Okay, sounds good.” Gabe nodded. “We’re heading home ourselves. Sasha isn’t feeling too well.”

  “Just the choppy water, I think,” Sasha said, not looking at either of them. “I probably just need some rest.”

  “Well, I hope you feel better,” Max told her. Sasha smiled but said nothing.

  “At any rate, enjoy the rest of your night, Sis,” Gabe told her, putting an arm around Sasha. “We’ll see you soon – this weekend, maybe?”

  “Yeah. We’ll talk later in the week.” Max turned away, giving them a halfhearted wave over her shoulder as she began to retreat back down the pier.

  As soon as she was back home, Max threw herself onto her bed and opened her computer, staring down at the keyboard.

  After a long moment, she shrugged.

  “Okay, Ian. Let’s see about this passion of yours.”

  She tapped out the words “escape room” into the search engine and hit enter.

  She wasn’t sure exactly what she was hoping to accomplish here, but she didn’t feel like going to sleep just yet, and this was a way to make herself feel productive, at least. An hour later, she was firmly buried in a rabbit hole of forum posts, YouTube videos, and Wikipedia articles. And damned if she couldn’t help but feel intrigued in spite of herself.

  This whole escape room thing wasn’t something she’d heard of until Aunt Anna had filled her in, and she had to admit it was an interesting idea. The sort of novelty weekend activity that tourists and locals in a town like Bluebird Bay would love.

  Max felt a pang of sadness as she thought about her late Uncle Paul. He would have loved this kind of thing, too – he always used to put on cute little scavenger hunts for Aunt Stephanie back when he was alive, and this would have been right up his alley. Like a scavenger hunt, but for a whole group of people.

  She swallowed, closing her computer and chewing her lip for a moment. The conflicting emotions she had been feeling ever since Ian’s visit to the bookstore had only gotten more intense, and researching his plans for the space wasn’t helping, either. It was hard to stoke the fires of rage against someone whose passion was creating fun and mystery for others.

  It’s also hard to hate someone with a jawline like Adonis and a body like a Hemsworth.

  Max sighed, shaking her head. Fine, she thought. Fine, fine, fine. Maybe I’ll give him a second chance.

  They had gotten off on the wrong foot, but if she was willing to listen to him now, then maybe he would be willing to listen to her later. Being on good terms with the guy seemed like the best hope she had right now of hanging on to her business, and if not, well… at least he wasn’t hard on the eyes.

  The sound of her cell phone chiming snapped her out of her thoughts, and she glanced down at the screen.

  Hey, it’s Ian. If you’re free tomorrow, maybe we could meet up.

  Speak of the devil, she thought, fighting to silence her heart, which was inexplicably picking up speed.

  Max hesitated for a moment before typing out a response.<
br />
  Yeah, sounds good.

  A few moments passed before he replied.

  Great. Meet me at the pinned address below. Say, six PM?

  Max bit her lip as she stared down at the address. It wasn’t too late to beg off. But her fingers were already flying over the keyboard before her brain had a chance to catch up. She had the strange sense that she was standing on some kind of precipice, about to dive headfirst into something, for better or worse.

  What exactly that something was, though, she had no idea. She sucked in a breath and hit send.

  See you there.

  11

  Anna

  “What about this one?” Anna asked with a frown, tugging at one of the tomatoes on the vine. There was still some green near the stem, but it was otherwise a bright shade of crimson.

  Beckett leaned in, closing his eyes and taking a deep whiff. He nodded his approval, and held it out for her. “Here,” he said. “Smell it. When they smell like that, it means they’re perfect.”

  Anna pressed her nose to the tomato and inhaled. The smell was sweet, bringing with it endless possibilities: marinara sauce, caprese salads, tomato soup, and even – if she could actually bring herself to drink the stuff – tomato juice. “Wow,” she said, grinning at her other half. “That smells awesome. Put it in the basket.”

  “Aye aye, Sir,” Beckett replied, giving her a mock salute that made her snort.

  “Sorry, sorry,” she said, laughing. “You’re the one who always says gardening is serious business.”

  “It is serious business,” said Beckett, twisting the tomato off the vine and adding it to their growing collection. “But there also an art to it.”

  “You’re right,” Anna said, nodding as she peered into the tomato basket. “What are we going to do with all these, anyway?”

  “That’s the fun part,” Beckett replied. “Whatever we want. We can give them away to friends and family, and stew some, and can some. The world is our oyster…erm, tomato.” He absently put a hand to her lower back, letting it linger there and move in slow circles as the pair continued to investigate the plants.