Crescent Hill

by Jackie Wang

  Wasn’t that what she wanted?

  But what if it was Carl in there?

  No. Maggie hated Carl.

  She left early just so she could avoid him. She never would’ve let him inside her home.

  Which begged the question, who was he?

  Her secret boyfriend? Jason’s dad, Thomas?

  I hated not knowing. Just as the question of Adam’s identity kept me distracted and preoccupied for days, so this man’s identity would too, until I learned the truth about him.

  But for now, I didn’t have the patience to wait and find out. For all I knew, the visitor might stay the night. I also didn’t want to leave the boys’ gifts on the doorstep; they’d get soaked overnight. So I shuffled and hobbled all the way to the lodge, in the darkness, trying my best not to overthink what I just witnessed.

  It was harder than I thought it would be. Questions kept circling my mind like a committee of vultures, eager to pick apart my vulnerable brain.

  If she was seeing someone else, why didn’t she just tell me the truth? Was she trying to spare my feelings? Or did she think it was just none of my business…?

  Of course, she wouldn’t tell me, she’d been secretive about everything from day one.

  Daisy had been right; Maggie was nothing but trouble. If only I’d listened to everyone and just kept things professional between us. But no, I had to go and cock it all up by sleeping with her. Now, not only did my body ache for her, my heart did as well. And surrendering my heart to her was probably the worst mistake I ever made.

  By the time I slipped back into my suite, a massive migraine had me all but drowning in pain. It was so excruciating, I doubled over, and had to steady myself against the dresser to reclaim composure.

  I took a bath and swallowed a few painkillers before trying to force myself into a dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 28

  2 Days Left

  “You look like absolute shit,” Daniel remarked the next morning. “Got drunk last night? Took advantage of the open bar, and maybe a few vulnerable bridesmaids?” He winked and gave me a pat on the back.

  “I wish,” I mumbled. My migraine had abated, but my mind still felt foggy. I winced as memories from last night shocked me like a live wire. “I wish…”

  I wish I’d never gone over there last night.

  I wish I never saw the light in Maggie’s eyes as she interacted with her handsome guest.

  I wish the boys hadn’t been so happy with that man’s gifts.

  I wish I hadn’t seen how happy they all looked. Like the picture-perfect family.

  “What’s wrong? Need some ibuprofen?” Daniel asked, his face etched with worry.

  I shook my head. “I think I just need a walk to clear my head a bit.”

  “Don’t leave for too long. We still have a grand re-opening to plan for tomorrow,” Daniel reminded me. “I need you to help me supervise the wait staff especially. That Tina Underwood never wants to do any work.”

  I nodded. “I’ll just pop out for some breakfast. Be back soon.”

  It was my full intention to avoid Magnolia Summers at all costs. She’d made her choice clear, and I wasn’t going to badger her about it like a sore loser. But of course, as luck would have it, she was already at Daisy’s Café when I popped in for some coffee. She was probably buying breakfast for Rita.

  “Morning,” I said.

  “Morning, Roman. How was the wedding?” Maggie looked well-rested. Her face betrayed no signs of a secret. Or perhaps it wasn’t a secret at all. Only I was foolish enough to think I could have someone like her all to myself.

  She could never be mine.

  “The wedding went well. All the guests had a good time.” I said. Keep it short and get a move on, then. I couldn’t resist adding, “Carl didn’t show up. You were worried for nothing.”

  I had to see the look on her face when I spoke his name.

  And sure enough, when I mentioned Carl, a slight wrinkle formed between Maggie’s perfectly-groomed eyebrows. “Oh, well, that’s good,” she mumbled.

  I couldn’t take it. I tried to walk away, to be a gracious loser, but…

  After all I’d shared with her, and her with me, now she acted like we were strangers. As if the past two weeks meant nothing to her. She’d lied to me, and I needed to know why.

  “Were you with him last night?” I blurted out.

  Behind the counter, Daisy cleared her throat as she wiped down the glass display. She glared at me as if to say, take your quarrel outside.

  I grabbed Maggie’s wrist and brought her outside.

  “What the hell are you doing, Roman?”

  I didn’t let go until we reached the town square a block away, where a massive, fifteen-foot-tall red cedar was decorated with a myriad of twinkling lights. Nearby, a dozen or so bundled-up skaters were carving up the frozen pond, and filling the air with their laughter.

  Christmas was just around the corner, but I was feeling anything but festive. No amount of holiday cheer could soothe the sting of rejection that spread like poison through my veins. Somewhere in the distance, carolers were singing.

  When I finally let go of Maggie’s hand, she was shaking. She rubbed her cold cheeks with her gloved hands.

  “I’m asking one more time: were you with him last night?” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It was hoarse and bitter and jealous. Irrational even. The effect Maggie had on me was unexplainable. I’d always obeyed logic and reason, until Maggie’s presence threw me into a tailspin. Now I didn’t know who to trust anymore. I didn’t know how to trust. Evidently, both my brain and my heart had betrayed me.

  Maggie bit her lower lip, which was chapped and bleeding a little. She wasn’t answering my question. God, why wasn’t she answering my question?

  “Yes or no, Maggie?”

  After a few shaking breaths, she nodded.

  I’d prayed for a no, so when the yes came, it stung harder than a scorpion.

  “Why, Maggie? Why the facade? Why the lies? If you wanted him, why didn’t you make that clear from the beginning? ‘Cause to me, it looked like you hated Carl. You never wanted to see him again. None of this makes any sense to me.” Rage bubbled hot and fast in my chest. I wanted to shake some sense into her. I cursed the fucking day I ever laid eyes on her. Why him?

  “His daughter is sick,” Maggie squeaked out. “She’s only ten, and she’s got cerebral palsy.”

  “What’s that got to do with you?”

  “He asked for my help. He needed money to hire someone to look after her.”

  “Oh, Maggie.” I turned my back to her then, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Maggie, Maggie…No.”

  “It was my personal decision, and I stand by what I did.” Maggie puffed out her chest as if it was her turn to play hero.

  “So you choose him, then? You want to help him? The man who ruined you, stole from you, abused you all those years ago, and left you? Is that what you want?”

  “Roman, please don’t take that tone with me.”

  “I’ll take whatever tone I damn well please! Maggie, how could you be so stupid? So gullible?”

  “Her name’s Christine. She’s dying, Roman. She’s a year younger than Greg! How could I not?”

  “He’s using you,” I said, clenching my jaw. Each of her words stabbed me like a sword, over and over. Swords in my heart. She made me bleed, and she wasn’t even sorry about it.

  “It’s Christmas. Carl came all this way just so he could beg me for help. He’s got no one else.” Maggie threw up her hands. “What was I supposed to do?”

  She was supposed to say no.

  She was supposed to shut her door in his face.

  She was supposed to ignore and reject him, the way he did to her ten years ago.

  “How much?” I asked.

  “What do you—”

  “How much did he take from you this time?”

  “Five-thousand—”

  “Are you out of your bloody mind? Five-thousand
dollars? Maggie!” She was a single mother, struggling to make ends meet, and she was willing to loan that son of a bitch five grand? What was wrong with her?

  “He says he’ll pay me back as soon as he can.” Maggie folded her trembling arms. “He’s different, Roman. He’s changed.”

  “He’s robbing you blind! Can’t you see?” I kicked a pile of snow beside me, sending powder flying. “Open your fucking eyes, Maggie. Fuck.”

  Maggie turned away, trying to hide the tears streaming down her face. “Roman, with all due respect, it’s none of your goddamn business.”

  I swerved around, my hands balled into fists. Her steely eyes met mine, and in them, I saw determination mixed with pain and weakness.

  “You’ve made your choice, then.”

  “I have.”

  “Good.” I cleared my throat, adjusted my jacket collar and shoved my hands in my pockets. “Excellent. Well, good luck with everything, then.” With that, I turned to leave.

  It was the longest walk of my life, and it took every ounce of my strength not to look back.

  Maggie Summers made her choice.

  She. Didn’t. Choose. Me.

  Chapter 29

  Some people were just broken records, playing the same scratchy, fucked up song over and over.

  They didn’t want closure.

  They didn’t want to be helped.

  They didn’t want to heal, move on, and be fixed.

  I wasn’t a miracle worker.

  I could only do so much in the time I had.

  I did a good job with Crescent Hill Lodge, I reminded myself. That was important. The wedding was a success. Everyone loved the new menu with the fresh, local ingredients, and complex yet rustic flavors. Langston and Mercy shifted their attitudes and priorities, and they were making great progress. The hotel looked a million times better than when I first walked in. And the grand re-opening would be a smash, with the help of my PR team.

  So why the hell did I feel so rotten?

  Magnolia Summers.

  That’s bloody why.

  As Curtis Blair, the head of my PR team, updated me on his progress with the grand re-opening, I was only half-listening. The other half of my mind was already daydreaming about leaving this place. Pining for the comforts of my own home. My own bed. Familiar faces. I missed Amelia and Isabella, and I badly wanted to pay Mum a visit as well. They were my family, and I belonged with them, across the Atlantic Ocean.

  I’d had enough of Penderton Island. This small town had lost its charm in more ways than one, and it was time for me to move on.

  I was more than ready to leave.

  This was not how I pictured things ending between Maggie and I.

  I thought I’d whisk her and the boys off to London.

  Thought we’d have the time of our lives.

  Thought I’d somehow convince her to move halfway across the world for me.

  I was a fool.

  What had gotten into me? Since when did I entertain such silly, childish fantasies? I was a thirty-six-year-old man who spent the last two weeks running around with my head stuck in the clouds.

  No more.

  This family and its secrets, its troubled past, its heartbreak…I couldn’t carry those burdens back with me to the UK. If I let Magnolia Summers linger in my heart, she’d continue to impair my judgment. Wound my ego. I refused to let that happen.

  Yes, she’d bewitched me.

  Yes, she’d curled her seductive fingers at me, and I’d fallen for her. Hard.

  I’d made an ass of myself.

  Despite everyone’s warnings.

  Despite the countless alarm bells that went off in my head.

  Despite it all, I fell for her. Like a bloody idiot, I fell for her.

  So. Fucking. Hard.

  Perhaps all the rumors had been true.

  She’d even said so herself: she was a fire starter.

  And she’d started a fire within me I wasn’t sure how to put out.

  “We would like to invite you to Christmas dinner, Roman,” Mercy said, beaming. “Just with the family. Me, Langston, Jesse, Caitlyn and Maggie and the boys of course.”

  I’d just finished my meeting with Curtis, and Mercy had accosted me in the hallway.

  At the mention of Maggie, I froze. “That’s very kind of you, but I’m afraid I’ll be flying out earlier than expected.”

  “Oh, when?”

  “Tomorrow night. After the re-opening.”

  “Why so soon, Roman? We haven’t thanked you properly.” Mercy frowned. “I wanted to bake you my famous chocolate fudge cake.”

  I squeezed Mercy’s shoulder. “Your success is all I need. There’s just one more thing I need to take care of before I leave.”

  “The thief?” Mercy whispered.

  I nodded. “I’ll be reviewing the videos for the next few hours. I’d appreciate some privacy. Please let everyone know I’m not to be disturbed.”

  “Oh, of course, Roman.” Mercy fiddled with her wedding ring. “If you don’t mind me asking…I heard that you and Maggie had an argument.”

  “Wow,” I said, though I wasn’t really surprised. “That happened less than an hour ago, and you’ve already heard about it? Nothing stays quiet in this town, does it?”

  “No, I’m afraid it doesn’t.”

  “Then I’m sure you already know what the row was about?”

  Mercy nodded. “My daughter is…misguided. She’s going through some things. Ever since Adam…” She was trying to make excuses for her daughter. I didn’t want to hear another word.

  “I’m sorry about your son, and I’m sorry that your family had to go through that,” I said. “But, as for Maggie patching things up with Carl, it’s really none of my business,” I said. “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  “I know you like her,” Mercy called out, voice trembling. “She’s a good person, Roman. She’s made mistakes, and she’s still making them, but deep down, she’s a good girl. You must know that.”

  “Good or bad, it makes no difference to me,” I said bitterly. “Her life is hers to live.” You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

  Mercy sighed, her face crinkling. “If you’ll just talk to her…I’m sure…”

  “I’m sorry, Mercy, but I’ve got a thief to catch.” I gestured to the office. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

  Two hours of footage later, I still hadn’t seen anything other than my run-in with Tina and Rhodes. Perhaps I’d fail in this investigation. Perhaps it would be better if we turned this over to a professional, or the police. But with the re-launch, I didn’t want to raise another scandal and ruin all the good publicity we’d fought so hard for these past two weeks. I had to look through all of it. I had to think of a way to handle this matter privately, without getting the public involved.

  After all, if I’d learned anything these past two weeks, it was that reputation was everything on this island.

  It wasn’t until later that evening, when my eye sockets were drier than the Sahara Desert, that I saw the culprit.

  At first, I dismissed it.

  Then, as the truth dawned on me, I rejected it.

  I denied it with every ounce of my being.

  Despite everything, I still didn’t want to believe that she was capable of something like this, but…

  Those honey eyes. Golden locks. Perfect, bee-stung lips.

  She spent over half an hour adjusting payroll accounts.

  The evidence was irrefutable.

  I finally caught the thief. So why did I still feel so miserable and worthless?

  Hatred simmered in my chest. It all added up, and I was furious for not solving the clues sooner. I hated myself for being blinded and betrayed. No one else was to blame. I’d trusted her; exposed myself, knowing that she could’ve hurt me more deeply than anyone who’d come before her.

  They all warned me about her.

  I chose to ignore their advice.

  Now I sat with
the ultimate betrayal.

  Realization trickled in at first, then flooded my consciousness like a typhoon.

  Of course, it was her.

  While everyone pointed their fingers at Caitlyn, no one suspected Maggie would be capable of something like this.

  Innocent Maggie.

  Poor, single mum, Maggie.

  Hard-working, all-American, filial, Maggie.

  Maggie who tried to do it all. Maggie who looked after her sick grandmother.

  I’d never look at her the same way again.

  She was worse than Amelia, and just as conniving and manipulative as Harold.

  I’d let her ruin me. Little by little, then all at once, she’d ruined me.

  But no more.

  She’d answer for her crimes.

  I had solid evidence, and I would use it against her.

  I would not falter this time. I would not listen to her excuses. I would not fall for her big, brown eyes, or her smooth, silky lips.

  I dealt in facts. And the fact was, she stole thousands of dollars from her own family. That was pathetic and unforgivable; a new low for her. She needed to pay for her sins.

  Magnolia Summers was not the woman I thought she was.

  In fact, I was starting to realize that I didn’t know her at all.

  And that shattered me into a million tiny pieces.

  Chapter 30

  1 Day Left

  “Magnolia Summers, open the door! I know you’re in there,” I cried, slamming my fists against Rita’s front door. The wood shuddered under my assault, and the cabin windows rattled. If my calculations were correct, Maggie was probably inside bringing Rita breakfast. It was the perfect opportunity to corner her, and force her to answer questions she probably didn’t want to answer.

  “I have nothing to say to you,” came Maggie’s reply a few moments later. “Our conversation is over.”

  “Far from it. Trust me,” I said, hands shaking. My knuckles were red and bruised; my fingers numb from the cold. “Come out here. We need to talk. Now.”

  Maggie unbolted the door and stood before me, hands on hips. “If you’re here to apologize, make it quick.” God, her audacity. It was time to take her down a few pegs.