Matt’s phone rang as they went through the line items on the budget. He glanced at the screen and picked up his phone. “Sorry, I need to take this.”
He stood, answered the call, and walked out of the cafe.
“Like I said to you both,” Buster continued, “these figures are very rough at this stage. It just gives us a starting point.”
Steph locked eyes with him. “Are you okay? You look like you haven’t slept at all.”
Buster broke eye contact, picked up some papers, and began shuffling them. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Was it the visit to see Eve?”
Buster nodded. “It was unsettling.”
Matt burst back into the cafe before Steph had a chance to continue the discussion. His face had drained of color, and he looked extremely agitated.
“I’m sorry, Steph, Buster, but I have to leave. Family emergency.”
“Is everything okay?” Steph asked.
Matt shook his head. “Dad had a heart attack. I need to get to Tall Oaks right away. Hopefully, I won’t be too late. I’ll cancel the lawyers from the car. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Steph said. “Your dad’s what’s important. We can work everything out later.”
“Want me to drive you?” Buster asked. “You look pretty shook up.”
Matt let out a breath. “Thanks, but no. I’ll calm down a bit before I hit the road. I couldn’t ask you to drive me that far.”
“Of course you could.”
“No. I think I need time on my own. Dad and I aren’t exactly close, but I’m not ready to lose him either.”
Steph jumped up and went over to the counter where Ryan was serving a customer. “Margie,” she called. “Can you get some food to go for Matt?”
Margie sprang into action and, within a couple of minutes, had a bag of sandwiches and some cookies packed along with a coffee. Both Steph and Buster walked Matt out to his pickup.
Steph hugged him. “Stay in touch. I hope he’s okay, Matt, I really do.”
Matt hugged Steph back. His eyes were misty when he pulled away. “After everything I did, you’re so nice to me, Steph. Why?”
“You’re a good person most of the time, Matt. Be that person. Make yourself and your dad proud.”
Buster clapped him on the back. “I think he probably already is proud, but adding some more reasons to that list never hurts.”
Matt wiped his eyes and climbed into his pickup. “I’ll try. Sometimes my ideas get the better of me.” He gave a weak smile. “I might need you two to rein me in a bit in the future.”
“We’d be happy to,” Steph said. “Now, drive safely, and we’ll be sending lots of positive healing vibes your dad’s way.”
Matt nodded before starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot.
Steph turned to Buster. “Should we postpone the meeting. Continue once Matt’s back?”
“Yes, although I had hoped to have another look around Heat Wave,” Buster said. “Bodhi gave me a tour, but it was a quick look to get a feel for what was there. Now that I’ve had some time to think about its potential, I’d love to have another look. Would you have time to come with me?”
“Definitely. There’s no point meeting with the lawyers until Matt’s back, so I’m free until Bodhi’s four o’clock class.”
“Great. I can drive us over, or would you rather walk?”
Steph hesitated for a moment. “Bodhi told me this morning that I should be pushing through my fears. He believes it might help me.”
Buster thought of his visit to Eve the previous day. That had been a case of pushing through his fear. At this moment, he wasn’t sure whether it had helped him.
“You look skeptical,” Steph said.
Buster shook his head. “Not at all. I don’t think you have anything to lose by trying.”
Steph smiled. “That’s a good point. Okay, let’s take your car. It’s such a short drive I’m sure I can muster the courage.”
❖
Buster turned to Steph once she was sitting in his passenger seat, seat belt fastened. “You okay?”
Steph nodded. “My gut’s a jumbled mess of nerves, but otherwise, I’m okay.”
“I’ll go slow,” Buster promised. “We’re not going far, so hopefully you’ll be okay.”
Steph gripped the car seat with her fingers as Buster pulled out onto Main Street. Part of her considered her fear irrational, but another part, the part that constantly relived the accident, knew that it wasn’t. Her problem with being in a vehicle wasn’t because she thought she was going to crash; the problem was it brought back the feelings that accompanied the accident and its aftermath.
They arrived at Heat Wave a few minutes later, and Buster turned to her as he pulled to a stop. “You hated every second of that, didn’t you?”
Steph nodded. “Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I didn’t realize how hard something like that would be. I’m amazed you came out to the Bluff with Ryan last weekend.”
“It was one of the days I felt more empowered to get over it,” Steph said. “It didn’t help, but it did get me out for the day.”
“And us talking.”
Steph nodded before she unfastened her seat belt and climbed down from the truck’s cab. “That’s enough about me for today. How are you doing? Your visit to Eve appears to have affected you.”
“That obvious?”
“Only because I know you went, and I’m not used to you looking so pale or tired. How was she?”
Buster fell silent for a moment. How could he even put into words what the visit to Eve had been like?
“You don’t have to tell me if you’d rather not,” Steph said. “I get that it’s personal and probably pretty emotional.”
“No, I would like to tell you. Let’s look at Heat Wave while I think of how to work out what I want to say.”
They spent the next forty minutes exploring the property and buildings. Buster made numerous notes as they went, pausing from time to time to explain more about his visit.
“In one way, it was like I was visiting the old Eve. The Eve before Holly was born. But in another, it was a very damaged version of that Eve.” He went on to explain the postpartum depression diagnosis and his guilt in not realizing she had a medical problem.
“You couldn’t be expected to know, Buster, any more than Eve could have. Nothing prepares you for having a baby, and very few people realize their feelings aren’t what is considered normal. It’s overwhelming having a newborn, and a lot of women feel that they have to pretend everything is okay. It’s often down the road when they fall apart, not always right after the birth.”
Buster nodded. “Eve was fine to start with. She handled everything well, probably too well, if I look back on it. But I felt the distance between her and me immediately. I thought it was that her love for Holly was all-consuming, and she didn’t have enough left for me. Now I’m thinking she was putting on such an amazing act that just getting through each day was a challenge.”
“Very likely,” Steph said. “Do you think her time in prison has helped her?”
“I think getting sober and having the psychologist’s help has. Prison, however, probably isn’t the right place for her to be doing that. I think that’s what kept me up most of the night. There’s the part about our relationship falling apart, but then there’s also the fact that the mother of my child is in prison, and I’m no longer sure she should be.”
“How much longer has she got to serve?”
“Her original sentence was five years, released on probation after three. She’s been in for just over a year, and she told me she has the possibility of an appeal. She wanted to know what I thought about her pursuing it. She didn’t ask for an answer right then; she just wanted me to think about it and let her know. She said if I felt strongly against her appeal, she wouldn’t pursue it.”
“Really?”
Buster nodded. “Imagine if I
said no. What kind of person would that make me?”
“The kind who blamed her for an accident that took his daughter from him. The kind that didn’t have compassion for the woman who was his wife. It sounds like you do have that compassion still.”
“Yes, I do. Which I guess is her answer. As I said, I’m not sure prison is the right place for her, but that’s not for me to decide. She’ll need help moving forward, and she’ll need a support system around her to make sure that happens. At the moment, it’s the prison. If she was released, it would need to be on the outside.”
Steph fell silent. She wondered whether Buster imagined himself as part of that support system, but she didn’t want to ask. Instead, she moved the conversation along. “Are you going back to see her?”
“It’s Holly’s birthday on Tuesday. I said I’d go back to be with her. I’ll let her know what I think about the appeal then.”
Steph nodded. It was an incredibly difficult position. One that she wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy.
“Now, enough about that,” Buster said. “I have an idea for the development, and I’d love your opinion on it.”
“Before we do that, I’m here if you ever want to talk, Buster. I mean it. I won’t necessarily have the answers or even any good advice, but I’m always available to listen.”
“Thank you.” Buster’s voice was hoarse, and he cleared his throat quickly, moving on to the discussion about the development.
Time disappeared as Buster spoke about his idea for transforming the grounds surrounding the existing Heat Wave studio into a lush, zen paradise. His vision was to create a tranquil oasis with a small lake as the central point that the luxury guest houses sat around.
“Look at where they’re currently positioned.” He pointed to the rundown cottages. They sit in a horseshoe shape around a whole lot of bushes. We bring in a digger, get rid of the bushes, shrubs, and undergrowth, and dig out a small lake. Line it with rocks, plants, and water lilies, and suddenly we have a feature. The existing studio sits in front of it as the flagship of the resort. That will need a bit of a facelift as well to blend in with the luxury of the development.”
“What about the rest of the gardens?”
“Having been to your house, I’m assuming you have a lot of ideas already for that.”
Steph smiled. “The foliage is so thick in places I was wondering if it would be possible to link the cottages with a raised boardwalk? I’d love it to feature wood carvings and lots of places to burn torches at night and sandalwood throughout the day. It would create an amazing energy.”
Buster nodded. “Sounds beautiful. The boardwalk won’t be cheap, but we’ll work out the budget for everything. Zane’s been great with supplying materials from the Mill at good prices. We’re lucky he decided to continue working there after the month he agreed to do was up. Although, I’m sure his dad would help us out too. Leave it with me for a few days, and I’ll throw an initial estimate together. Matt probably has a ton of ideas that will vary from what we’ve discussed, so we’ll need to allow for them too.”
Steph laughed. “Knowing Matt, none of our ideas will make the cut.”
Buster raised an eyebrow. “Would that worry you?”
Steph’s smiled slipped. “Definitely. This first phase will be a test to see what control Matt’s planning to have and whether he’ll listen to my ideas. History suggests he won’t, but we’ll see.”
“Although,” Buster said, “the Sandstone Cafe has Ryan’s touch. I believe Matt let him design the look completely. Who knows, he might surprise you.”
❖
Buster found himself whistling as the pickup wound up the road that took him out of Hope’s Ridge and in the direction of Drayson’s Landing. He stopped himself. What was he thinking, whistling as if he didn’t have a care in the world? He’d just driven past Holly’s corner. The cross and small roadside grave marked the exact spot Eve’s car plowed through the broken barrier. How could he be whistling and feeling happy?
He frowned, his thoughts moving to Steph. It had been so freeing talking to her about Eve and what he was going through. She was a good listener and asked questions that made him think about the situation, but never forced her opinion on him. His lips curled at the edges as he pictured her. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders today, and her eyes were bright and warm. Her cheeks glowed with good health, and he had to admit, she was gorgeous. Physically, definitely, but more importantly, in her kind nature.
Buster gave himself a mental shake. He had a connection with Steph because of Holly. She felt sorry for him and was being extremely kind. Nothing more. She needed someone who’d look out for her, communicate if difficult situations arose, and most importantly, love her in all of his words and actions. She didn’t need someone like Buster. Someone who, when things got tough, turned his back on his wife rather than stepping up to help her.
His thoughts quickly turned to Eve as he rounded the last bend on the mountain and reached the county highway leading to Drayson’s Landing. That’s who he should be concentrating on, not Steph. In talking to Steph, he knew he needed to encourage Eve’s appeal. But what would it mean if she got out? Would she come back to Drayson’s Landing? Her parents lived in Tall Oaks, quite close to his. He was considering moving back to Tall Oaks once he packed up his life and left the business. Did that mean Eve would be in his life again? Would he want that? Would she?
He eased his foot off the accelerator, realizing his muddled thoughts were causing him to speed. It wasn’t Eve’s image that flooded his mind as he thought of his ex; it was Steph’s.
Buster started whistling again as his thoughts reverted to Steph and he neared Drayson’s Landing. For everything difficult that was going on at the moment, just thinking of her brought a lightness to him. Neither of them was looking for a relationship, and even though only moments earlier, he’d listed the reasons why a relationship between them could never work, it didn’t mean it was entirely out of the question, did it?
❖
Who knows, he might surprise you. Buster’s words had played over in Steph’s head as she’d walked back to the Sandstone Cafe after they’d said their goodbyes. She wanted to find out if there’d been any news from Matt and had been relieved to speak to him shortly after she arrived.
Now she sat nursing the cup of peppermint tea Margie had insisted she have.
“Is it true you’re a technophobe?” Margie asked after Steph had finished speaking on the Sandstone Cafe’s phone to Matt.
Steph laughed. “Who told you that?”
“Matt, when he was trying to track you down. He called earlier too. He said no one seemed to have a cell phone number for you and you weren’t on social media. He tried Heat Wave, but Bodhi said you and Buster had just left. If you’re that hard to get in touch with, then it’s true, you’re living in a different century than the rest of us.”
Steph sighed. “Sometimes I wish I was. I guess with the changes happening at Heat Wave, a cell will probably be necessary.”
“It’s exciting,” Margie said. “I am planning to come to a class at some stage. I’m just trying to get used to running the cafe first. Once I settle in, I’ll come and try it out. I’ve been in a bit of a rut and need to be jolted out of it. The move here has already helped.”
Steph wasn’t sure whether to admit that Ryan had told her about Margie’s husband or not. She felt awful not acknowledging the situation but didn’t want Margie to think she was prying either. Ryan appeared, deciding for her.
“I told Steph about Aaron,” Ryan said, putting his arm around his sister’s shoulder and giving her a gentle hug. “Steph’s suffered from issues recently, so she’ll understand if you don’t want to talk about it.”
Steph’s cheeks flooded with heat. “I wasn’t sure whether or not to say anything, Margie. I’m very sorry for what you’ve been through.”
Margie nodded. “Thanks. This is a fresh start, so let’s move on and talk about something else.” She plaster
ed a smile on her face but was unable to disguise the pain in her eyes. “How’s Matt’s dad? Did he say?”
“He’s doing okay,” Steph said and relayed parts of the conversation she just had with Matt. “He’s going to stay in the city until his dad’s out of the hospital and possibly a few weeks more to help him once he gets home. He’s had four stents put in, and the surgery went well.”
Ryan gave a low whistle. “Four. That’s not good.”
“Better that they’re in and he’s doing well than the other scenario,” Margie said.
Ryan nodded. “Of course. It will have given Matt quite a shock. I imagine it will hold up all of his development plans. He messaged me this morning to let me know he put his full trust in us to run the cafe but to contact him if we have any questions.”
“He did the same with me just now on our call,” Steph said. “The problem is, we haven’t finalized an arrangement between us. I’m not sure I can move forward with anything until that’s in place.”
“Maybe just scale back to basics for the moment,” Ryan said. “Keep Heat Wave running, but nothing else. You hadn’t started on the development, had you?”
Steph shook her head. “No, other than showing Buster around and throwing some ideas about. I doubt Matt will like any of them anyway. I have a feeling he’ll want flashy, whereas I would want the resort to have more of a rustic feel.”
“I don’t see Matt as flashy,” Margie said.
Ryan and Steph both laughed. Steph raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, but that’s all I think of him. Have you seen his car? His clothes?”
Margie nodded. “I have, but I’ve also seen this cafe,” she spread her hands as her eyes grazed the walls, “and I’ve seen his plans for the apartment development. Yes, the insides are quite modern and stylish, but the outside is being built to carry through the sandstone look and feel that the cafe has. When it’s finished, the corner will look like it’s always been here. He’s renovated and flipped quite a few houses here and in Drayson’s Landing too,” Margie added. “They all fit in with the surrounding area. Yes, beautiful inside, but tasteful and appropriate. I think you might be surprised.”
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