Paige nodded back to him.
“Okay, then. Now that we all understand this, I think we need to get a few hours of sleep and start making plans. Because we’ve all got a lot of work ahead of us.” Another glance up at Paige. “And a lot of ashes to clean up. And a huge wedding to throw in two days, which is going to take a miracle. But we can do it. Right?”
Amanda nodded in his embrace.
“Let’s go.” He leaned down and kissed Amanda’s forehead. “I love you.”
Paige’s chest constricted when she heard him say those words, although she knew they weren’t meant for her. They sounded amazing. And she wished he would say them to her. But he never would. Her worst fears were realized—she’d lost him by telling him the truth. But she’d had no choice. It was the right thing to do.
His “I love you,” though, seemed to go straight to the heart of the girl who might need it even more right now.
“Thank you, Dad,” Amanda whispered into his shirt.
And Adam’s eyes teared up.
CHAPTER 28
When they got back to Nowhere Ranch, dawn was breaking over the tips of the pine trees. Adam parked the truck and encouraged Amanda to go in the house and get into bed. Paige slid out of the truck door and moved, slowly, toward the meadow cast now in gold, with an orange haze hanging in the air.
It was charred.
The gazebo was gone.
The woods along the perimeter were blackened and smoking, and the orchard was half-gone, smoke rising off the ground. The house, luckily, was still standing but covered in gray ashes that extended throughout the acreage, clinging to the ground, casting the entire property in a ghostly, deathly pall. The edge of the meadow was lined with police cars, their lights still flickering into the orange-tinged morning.
Paige’s eyes watered, and she brought her hand her mouth. What was she going to do?
“It might not be so bad.” Adam’s deep voice came from behind her.
She couldn’t even turn around. Of course it was. Everything was ruined. Especially everything between her and Adam. Their relationship was now as damaged as this charred meadow before her.
“Adam, I’m so sorry,” she said.
“We can talk later.” His voice was a monotone. It didn’t sound like forgiveness.
“But I’d like to talk now. I’ve ruined everything. I’m so sorry.”
“The meadow will be okay. You’ll bounce back from this. Just like you always do.”
She didn’t mean she was sorry for the meadow. But as she started to open her mouth to say so, he stopped her.
“Here’s what I’m talking about”—he looked up and pointed behind her—“that.”
She followed his gaze. Across the meadow, coming down from the road, were scores of townspeople piling out of cars. They held hammers and toolboxes, wood panels and lumber pieces, paint cans and ladders, sawhorses and tarps. They brought weeders and mowers and whackers and hoses. Mr. Clark’s staff walked down with wagons of flowers and flatbeds of soil. Mr. Fieldstone wheeled down four grocery carts full of water and snacks. Doris and Marie were there, holding skeins of white fabric and taffeta. And Natalie and Olivia followed, with Elliott and Jon behind them, each carrying brooms and tubs of soap.
“Where do you want us?” Natalie asked.
Paige began laughing and crying at the same time, her hand over her mouth.
As the army came around her, Olivia dropped her broom and threw her arms around Paige. Nat followed suit.
“You didn’t think we’d abandon you, did you?” Olivia asked into Paige’s hair.
“I can’t believe you guys came. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you I was here.”
“Mom told us everything,” Natalie said. “I can’t believe you didn’t call us for help.”
“I thought you guys would be mad that Mom and I weren’t listening to you.”
“Paige, you and Mom never listen to us,” Olivia said. “Why should this be any different?”
“But I ruined everything.” Paige looked around. “I lost the wedding. Mom’s business is going to be devastated by this.” And I lost the love of my life.
“Not when we’re all done helping you,” Natalie said. “Now tell everyone where you want us. We’ve got to get going if we’re going to have this looking right in two days.”
Paige turned to scan her new army with tears in her eyes, then looked for Adam, but he’d wandered away, disappearing behind the crowd.
Then she got everyone to work.
For the next two days, Lavender Island hardly slept. It felt as if the entire town was at Nowhere Ranch. Mr. Clark and his shop provided the lumber, paint, manpower, and tools to resurrect the gazebo. Gordon, Gabe, Garrett, Luke, Olivia’s Jon, and John-O from town all managed to reconstruct the entire thing by working for forty-eight hours straight.
Adam coordinated the orchard after the fire investigators left. They’d determined the fire had started by accident through an electrical short in the film crew’s wires that had led out to the orchard. After the investigation, Adam and Pedro cleaned up the charred remains; then Antonio and the ranch hands joined Joseph, Little, Gil, Keith, and others to cut down the burned trees and nurse the remaining ones, babying the soil with fertilizer and water and neatening up the rows.
A forestry crew came in to chop down the dead pine trees on the edge of the forest, which made the land look as if it had been opened up another few acres and ended up being a blessing in disguise by opening the ocean view.
Olivia, Natalie, Doris, Marie, Bob, Gert, Kelly, Amanda, and a host of others from town worked on the yard around the house, sweeping the ash off the roof and out of the lawn and bushes, and reworking the lawn and acreage to revitalize the soil and ground. They sprayed with a green fertilizer designed to rejuvenate growth and, in the meantime, made the property look almost verdant. Mr. Clark’s crew kept a constant supply of fresh soil and fertilizer and flowers coming from town, and Kelly and Amanda worked together to organize the new plantings around the house and the new forty-eight-hour gazebo.
By the time the catering and decorating crews started to arrive with the wedding chairs, tables, runways, flowers, taffeta, and bows, the yard looked almost as good as new.
And the gazebo was once again a centerpiece.
Paige ran into Adam again and again during the shuffle, and she wanted to stop and talk—at least further apologize—but there was so much to do in so little time that they both kept moving.
The next thing she knew, she was peeking through the crack in her curtains on the big wedding day—the sun was shining, crisp and clear. It was a perfect day to have a wedding. It was a perfect way to start a life.
But her life felt as if it were ending today. Whatever life she thought she might forge forward with Adam—realizing, now, that’s what she longed for—was done. There would be no life for the two of them.
She wondered at the feeling of loneliness that had hollowed her bones. Despite being surrounded by so much love the last few hours, so much help, and so much goodwill from her sisters and the town and Nowhere Ranch, she had the feeling of being an empty shell. Every time she saw Amanda or Adam working on the new meadow, all she could think of was loss. Their glorious summer together already felt light-years away as Adam avoided her eyes and Amanda gave her sad smiles. At the end of the nights, watching Adam walk back to his house with his arm around Amanda, all Paige could feel was despair. She’d made a terrible mistake by not being forthright and open with him.
The dress she’d reserved for the wedding slithered over her hips. She’d have to say good-bye today. She’d say good-bye to Adam. She’d say good-bye to Amanda. She’d say good-bye to the townspeople.
She didn’t know if she had it in her, though. Maybe if she just slipped away and got on that private ferry quietly, they’d forget about her. Maybe she’d forget about them. Maybe all of this would seem like a dream in a few months. Maybe Adam would forget about this summer, too.
Outside her be
droom window, activity was bustling. She stood and watched for a few minutes as the florists put the last touches on the gazebo, which was strewn with ribbons and bows. Rows of white chairs were aligned to await the guests, with Doris and Marie securing pink and yellow flowers at the ends. Kelly followed behind them and added long white ribbons. The three of them giggled and went to talk to the instrumental trio that had been gathering to one side of the gazebo—a harpist, a flautist, and a violinist—all women. They chatted and seemed to make friends in no time.
Paige dropped her gaze and left the window. She was going to miss Lavender Island. And all its residents. Especially certain ones. But she couldn’t think about love right now.
Instead, she went downstairs to make some coffee.
“So what’s the story with Adam Mason?” Olivia said from the coffeemaker.
Paige froze in the kitchen doorway. She hadn’t even realized her sister had arrived.
And . . . her other sister?
“Good morning, Paige,” Natalie said from the dining table, where she was sitting in workout clothes and reading the Lavender Island Gazette.
Paige wandered in beside them and took a seat at the table. “What are you two doing here so early? How’s Mom?”
“Mom’s fine. She’s resting up at the Castle in her fit-for-a-queen room. She’ll be here at ten. But we came to learn about Adam,” Natalie said, turning a page. “We sensed some weirdness.”
“Weirdness?” Paige asked.
“Weirdness,” Natalie verified. “Furtive glances. Avoiding eyes. Mumblings as you passed each other in the meadow. Longing double takes. You know—weirdness.”
Paige sighed. She’d have to tell her sisters about her summer with Adam sometime. And, frankly, it was sort of a relief to have them here to tell. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed them.
“Would you like some marmalade and toast, Paige?” Olivia was snapping open marmalade jars. It had been their tradition to share toast and coffee together with their mother whenever they helped her with event mornings. Husbands always stayed home, and it was just girls.
“Sure.”
“So this weirdness . . .” Natalie put the paper down and pushed her own plate aside. “It appears to us like falling-in-love weirdness.”
“Does it now?”
“It does. Yet we both have a hard time believing you fell in love with Adam Mason, who you have oh-so-affectionately been calling the ‘Weird Hermit on the Hill’ for about as long as we can remember. So spill it, Paige. We want to know everything.”
Paige took a deep breath and dove in. She told them everything: the butt in the window, the intruder, the hot tub, Amanda, staying at Adam’s house, seeing Olivia and Lily at the hardware store, everything. She even told them about the hayloft sex. And the hangar sex. And the seaplane-property sex. And the new-bed sex. And . . .
“I just can’t believe this is the same Adam Mason you’ve been making fun of for years,” Natalie said, smiling. “Although I don’t know what was wrong with you—he is gorgeous.”
“I told you a long time ago he might surprise you,” Olivia told Paige, finishing her last bite of toast and pushing her plate aside. “I used to see him at the market from time to time, and I always thought he was hot.”
“Olivia!” Natalie said.
“What?”
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use the word hot. And second, didn’t we say that commenting on the sexiness of future brothers-in-law was off-limits? Though Paige was always the biggest culprit.”
“Oh jeez, he’s not going to be your brother-in-law!” Paige rolled her eyes.
“What went wrong, sweetie?” Natalie turned to Paige.
“Once I told him the truth, I lost him.” Paige could feel a hot cry burning her nose right as she said it. “I’m still glad I told him. But he won’t be able to forgive me. We’re over.”
“It sort of sounds to me like you didn’t tell him the whole truth,” Natalie said.
“Of course I told him the whole truth! What more was there to say?”
“It sounds like you left out a key element.”
“What are you talking about? I told him everything. I laid myself raw.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Paige resisted the urge to yank on Natalie’s long hair like she had when they were kids and she was mad. Instead, she fumed into her coffee.
“I told him everything,” she mumbled.
“Did you tell him you loved him?” Natalie shot back.
Paige frowned. “No. I mean about the past. The part I was withholding.”
“Aren’t you withholding the fact that you’re in love with him? And always were?”
“That has nothing to do with—”
“But it does, Paige.” Olivia reached across the table and cupped Paige’s hand. “Like Nat said, it’s a key element. You need to tell him that part, too. It’s part of you. It’s part of the truth. And he deserves to know. At the very least, it’ll change the way he feels about you. But at the most, it’ll change the way he feels about himself. And that’s a wonderful gift to give. Even if your relationship has ended.”
Paige stared into her coffee and thought that over. Not that it would change his level of forgiveness, but Paige could at least let him know he was always loved. That she did everything out of love. And a little infatuation, too, but definitely love. She’d truly always loved him. She was definitely not one to admit such a thing to a man—especially a man who was angry at her—but she should be. As her mom had said, she had to be brave enough to start being, and showing, her true self. Always.
“Okay,” she said into the quiet kitchen.
“Okay?” Natalie sat up straighter in her chair. “You’ll do it? Ooooh, this is so exciting!”
“It’s not exciting,” Paige said. “Nothing’s going to change. But you’re right. I need to have the balls to do this.”
“Is that a lovely Lauren Bacall quote?” Natalie grinned over her coffee cup.
“I’m not trying to be Lauren Bacall anymore,” Paige said. “Just me. I’m just me.”
“And that’s perfect,” Olivia said. “Go get him, girl.”
Outside, guests were arriving, hoping to get a great seat for the lavish affair. Two enormous tents had been set up—her mom always did the tents at the last possible second for celebrity events because it was an obvious marker for paparazzi—but now they were in place, and guests were starting to stream in. Dorothy had said the entire island was invited—anyone with a Lavender Island ID—because she was so grateful to everyone for their help in getting her dream setting in place. It was going to be exciting to see all the Lavender Island residents rubbing shoulders with Old Hollywood this afternoon.
Paige wove her way through the first tent, around the decorating staff, around the chairs and flowers, and tried to peer over everyone’s head for Adam. He’d said he’d be an usher today, and the ushers were supposed to be there by ten.
Not finding him in the first tent, she headed for the second, which was farther back toward the orchard where the reception was going to take place. As she trekked across the field, which had been decorated in almost a mazelike fashion with potted hydrangea shrubs, a crowd began migrating across the meadow and pointing toward the sky. She followed their gaze and saw the sun glinting off a bright-blue plane.
Noel.
Paige knew he was flying in this morning. And Adam would probably go out to meet him. She’d love to catch Adam before Noel did, though. Once the crowds started coming in—including the Colonel, George, Sugar, Doris, and Marie, some of her favorite senior citizens from Natalie’s job at Casas del Sur—and Adam got busy with his brother and other Lavender Island residents, it would get harder and harder to talk to him. And her ferry left at three p.m., right after the ceremony.
She stepped around a giant elderberry bush and rushed into the second tent. The lavish setting was draped in white tablecloths and sparkling crystal, awaiting the bride and
groom, their first dance, and the fun postwedding hoopla. She scanned several tuxedo-clad men, who were either decorators or waiters setting out more china, and almost took out a whole table with her fluster, but she couldn’t spot anyone who looked like Adam. Quickly she rushed back out. Maybe he was still at his house?
She tried to make her way hurriedly across the meadow past the crowd waiting for Noel, but she got caught up in his entourage. She glanced toward the airstrip, trying to step around a group of suit-clad Nowhere Ranch wranglers who were waving him down, and somehow caught his eye.
He had the classic look of a younger brother—no responsibilities, easygoing, happy. The Nowhere Ranch people buzzed around him, clapping his back and hugging him. He had blond hair like Adam’s, only purer. While Adam’s was thick, Noel’s was soft and curled and pale. His face was round and almost cherubic—his smile spreading across his face, lighting up his eyes. He looked as if he would fit as comfortably in a bar, running with a band of boys, as sitting in a parlor to placate a grandaunt.
Paige tried to hustle faster, but, much to her horror, Noel steered his followers in her direction.
“And who are you?” He took several long strides toward her and held out his hand.
She reluctantly turned toward him. “Don’t you remember me, Noel? It’s Paige.” She offered everything quickly: her handshake, her greeting, her glance into his eyes.
He didn’t let go of her fingertips. “You’re going to have to give me more than that.”
“Paige Grant.”
“She’s here with Adam,” came Kelly’s voice from over her right shoulder.
Noel looked at Kelly as if she’d materialized right there on the lawn. “Squeaky!” he said, dropping Paige’s hand and stepping around her to scoop Kelly in his arms. He gave her a loud smack on her cheek.
Love on Lavender Island (A Lavender Island Novel Book 2) Page 30