Back to Before

by Tracy Solheim

  “It’s been fifteen minutes.” Lori’s anxious voice greeted Ginger when she answered. “You haven’t called.”

  “That’s because it’s only been twelve minutes.” Ginger narrowly avoided tripping over a tree root as she tried to hold the dog, the flashlight and the phone.

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m on the Old Mill Road, just north of the marinas. I figured she might have come this way because it’s a flat ride and it’s out of the way.”

  “I don’t know. It’s totally off any path to Kate’s house.”

  “Yeah, but maybe she just wanted to ride somewhere quiet and peaceful to clear her head before she got to Kate’s.”

  “I guess.” Lori didn’t sound too convinced with Ginger’s theory, though. “Just stay on the road and call me in ten minutes to let me know what’s going on.”

  “I thought it was every fifteen minutes?”

  “Ginger!”

  She smiled, grateful that Lori was concerned; it said a lot about their tenuous friendship. Ginger pocketed her cell phone just as a car came ricocheting around the corner, its headlights nearly blinding her. Jumping to the side of the road, she pulled Midas behind her as the car sped past.

  “Cheese and crackers! One wrong step and we both would have ended up in the water.” She pressed a hand to her chest to try to calm her racing heart. Midas ignored her as he scampered along the rocks. The seawall grew steeper as they rounded the curve and Ginger’s thoughts began to form a theory. “What if I were on a bike coming around this corner and I wasn’t paying attention because I was too upset about something else,” she said to the dog. “The car would have scared me and the bike might have veered off the road.”

  Her heart was pounding again as she dropped the dog’s leash and lifted the flashlight up so she could see over the edge. Ginger’s hand shook as she slowly aimed the light along the seawall beneath her, left to right. Nothing. Midas whined beside her.

  “I know, buddy. I want to find her, too.”

  Just as she lowered the flashlight, however, a flash of something shiny caught her attention. Her breath caught painfully in her throat.

  “Oh, my gosh!” She shifted the light so its beam arched over the rocks and there in the water was the back wheel of a bike. “Patricia!” she called. Fear pressed on her chest, making it difficult to drag in air. Midas barked beside her as she called Patricia’s name again, she and the dog now crawling along the top of the rocky seawall.

  “Maybe it was just an old bike that has been there for ages?” Ginger said to the dog. But Midas whimpered his apparent disagreement, his nose now working furiously on the rocks.

  They ventured another twenty yards, eventually reaching the other end of the wide curve when Ginger heard something that sounded like a moan. Midas barked again as he slid over the rocks toward something in the dark.

  “Patricia!” Ginger called again as tears of frustration burned the backs of her eyes.

  “Here.” The sound of Patricia’s hoarse voice made the dog bark and spin in circles above a steep bank of rocks.

  Ginger leaned over the edge, aiming the flashlight below to where Patricia lay sprawled on the rocks, one of her legs spread at an awkward angle. Midas whined as he paced back and forth trying to find a way down to her.

  “Stay, Midas,” Ginger commanded. “Patricia, help is on the way. Don’t move.” She pulled out her phone and dialed the inn. Lori answered before it even rang.

  “I found her,” Ginger breathed. “Send the sheriff. And an ambulance. We’re at the curve on the Old Mill Road.”

  “Is she hurt badly?” Lori asked.

  “Well, it’s not good,” Ginger said, and Lori disconnected with a sob.

  “Ginger? Is that you?” Patricia called from below.

  “Yep. You just stay still, okay?”

  “I’m cold.”

  Ginger could see her body trembling among the rocks. Patricia’s face was streaked with blood and dirt from where she must have rolled along the sharp embankment. Pulling off her sweatshirt, Ginger looked for a way to get down to the innkeeper without causing more rocks to fall on top of her.

  “I’m coming,” she told Patricia. “I’ll keep you warm until the sheriff gets here.”

  Midas lay down on the gravel, his paws hanging over the side as Ginger carefully navigated the rocks to reach Patricia, who had her eyes closed. Her breaths were quick and short. Quickly, Ginger covered her with the sweatshirt that was still warm from her own body before taking Patricia’s cold, clammy hand in hers. Panic flared as she realized Patricia was going into shock.

  “Patricia, you have to stay awake. Stay with me, okay?”

  “Ginger?” Patricia’s eyes opened slightly.

  She squeezed Patricia’s hand in relief. “I’m here. I’m not going to leave you.”

  Tears seeped out of the innkeeper’s eyes. “Why? Why do you care about me? I was so ungracious and mean to you when you first arrived.”

  “Oh, let’s not dance around it. You were a nasty witch when I came to town.” Ginger figured it was better to keep her talking, and arguing would engage her alertness even more.

  Unfortunately her tactic had the reverse affect because it made Patricia cry more. “Then why are you down here with me?”

  “Because you’re Gavin’s mother. And he loves you. And I love him.” It was the first time she’d ever said the words aloud, but she’d known she was in love with Gavin for weeks. Up until now, she’d been insulating her heart against the pain she would have felt when she left Chances Inlet. But now she wasn’t leaving and the possibility that their relationship could be more gave her confidence. “And you love him. You’re a wonderful example of a mother dedicated to her children, Patricia.”

  The woman cried harder and Ginger became concerned that her pain had increased.

  “Shh. Try and relax. They’re going to be here soon.” She gently brushed her fingers over Patricia’s brow.

  “You’re a good girl, Ginger,” Patricia cried. “At least I can take some consolation that Gavin will be happy when he gets back to New York because he’ll have you.”

  Ginger’s hand stilled. “New York?” Clearly the woman had suffered a blow to the head and didn’t know what she was saying. Gavin wasn’t going to New York. He couldn’t be.

  Patricia gulped a sob. “He’s selling the business and the torpedo factory. He’s already got a job lined up back in New York. I thought he liked being back in town, carrying on the family business. But he doesn’t. I was so wrong. About everything.” She gasped for air as sobs wracked her body.

  The sound of sirens blared in the background. Ginger felt numb and in shock herself as she absently stroked Patricia’s head. Had Gavin always intended to return to New York? Why had he not told her? Was he ever going to tell her? Or had he planned on keeping their affair confined to their stay in Chances Inlet? Her throat grew tight and her eyes burned at the thought.

  This is for the here and now, she’d said when they’d begun their affair. Gavin had taken her at her word. Their fling was exactly that to him, a fling. She’d made the rules. Ginger couldn’t blame him for following them to the letter. The only one to blame was herself for letting her heart get involved.

  Patricia’s body shuddered and Ginger shoved thoughts about Gavin to the back of her mind. His mother needed her right now. He’d be devastated if something happened to Patricia. She only hoped the woman was too confused to remember the part where Ginger had blabbed that she loved Gavin. That was something she wanted to keep to herself right now. Perhaps forever.

  Tires screeched on the gravel, followed by Midas’ excited barking. Spotlights bounced off the rocks beside them, blinding Ginger temporarily, as a car door opened.

  “Tricia,” she heard the sheriff croak.

  “She’s going to be all right.” Ginger tried to reassure him but he was already sliding down the seawall landing above Patricia’s head. His hat sailed off onto the rocks as he leaned down to kiss hi
s fiancée.

  “Tricia,” he murmured against her hair. “Thank God. I thought I’d lost you.”

  Ginger eased away from the pair, trying to afford them some privacy. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she fought against the anguish that threatened to take hold of her body. She’d never have with Gavin what Patricia had with the sheriff, and the thought devastated her. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how deeply she wanted that kind of relationship with him.

  “Ginger?” Deputy Lovell appeared beside her. “Let me give you a hand getting back up to the road.”

  She glanced up toward the top of the seawall where Midas and Cassidy paced the edge waiting for her. Once again, life hadn’t turned out as she expected. But she’d deal with her broken heart and her disappointment later. She always did. For now, she needed to clear the area so the EMTs could get to Patricia. Taking the deputy’s outstretched hand, she climbed up the hill where Cassidy promptly enveloped her in a hug.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Gavin pulled into his parking space outside of his loft and cut the ignition to his Jeep. The silence was suddenly suffocating. Miles and Diesel hadn’t bothered to speak on the ride back from Wilmington. The bank’s lawyer had pretty much slammed the door on their pleas to force Marvin Goldman’s hand. The network president’s promise to lease Dresden House back to the town was just that: a promise.

  Sighing, he rested his head against the seat back. If he took the escrow check, his mother wouldn’t lose her inn. She would likely lose a great deal of her livelihood when Dresden House was turned into a resort, however. But not as much as she’d lose if he walked away from Goldman’s deal.

  “Shit.”

  “I’m sorry, man,” Diesel said from his seat in the back.

  “Don’t ever apologize for your father,” Miles quickly replied. “Their sins aren’t our fault.”

  Gavin eyed his brother savagely. “Dad didn’t do this on purpose.”

  “I never said he did.”

  “But you’re already distancing yourself. Why? For political reasons?” Gavin was tired and angry and he really wanted to go a few rounds with his brother, mostly because he couldn’t touch Marvin Goldman.

  “Damn it, Gavin, there is no bad guy. Not even Goldman.” Miles put his hand up when Gavin bristled. “No one forced Dad to do what he did. If he were still around, he would have taken responsibility and owned up to it no matter what the consequences. But he wouldn’t have wanted you to rewrite your life just to clean up his mess.” He turned to face the backseat. “Diesel, your father is a businessman in a cutthroat industry. The fact that he’s an asshole is practically a job requirement. Let’s just move on and try to come up with a solution that won’t screw Mom entirely, okay?”

  Gavin could feel his teeth grinding in the back of his mouth, but his brother was right. They needed to address the future because the past couldn’t be changed. “I’d think better with a beer in my hand.”

  “Works for me,” Diesel said as he climbed out of the back door.

  As they headed into the foyer, they were greeted by the crowd that had assembled in the McAlister C & E offices. Will Connelly was holding court and it looked like half the town had congregated in the small room.

  “What’s going on here?” Miles asked.

  Will leaned back in the big chair Gavin’s father used to sit in, practically mimicking Donald McAlister’s friendly pose, his hands clasped behind his big head. “How’d things go in Wilmington?”

  Gavin’s eyes darted to Bernice. She’d been the only outsider in the room beside the Goldmans. Obviously she’d been busy these past three hours, judging by the faces on the people surrounding her. His office manager met his gaze head-on. Of course she would; she had a lot to lose here, too.

  “Not as well as we would have liked,” Gavin said evenly.

  Morgan snorted from the other side of the room. “Don’t reckon those bankers and lawyers in Wilmington want to help out a small town.”

  “I don’t know why you even bothered with them,” Mayor Skelley added as the rest of the room murmured their agreement.

  Gavin rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. This was almost as bad as letting his mother down. Despite his frustration at living in a small town, these people meant something to him, to his family. His mind drifted back to this morning when they’d acknowledged Ginger as their own and how happy that had made her. They were nosy, chatty and constricting, but they were also kind, caring and, hopefully, forgiving. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, ready to take their punches.

  “I’m sorry that it came down to this. I tried to make it work.”

  The room was uncomfortably silent. As the quiet stretched, Mrs. Elderhaus cleared her throat. “Will, don’t make the boy suffer any longer.”

  Lois shifted in her seat near the door. “Yeah, Will, let’s get this over with. I have to be up early tomorrow to open the Java Jolt.”

  Gavin’s palms began to sweat. “What’s going on?” He stared down his oldest friend, who didn’t look intimidated in the slightest.

  “I think we should make him sweat a little longer for thinking he could solve this himself,” Audra said.

  “Or in Wilmington,” Jolene added.

  Will began clicking a pen incessantly. “I’m with Audra and Jolene, and I’m inclined to make you suffer a little longer. We’re ticked off that you didn’t look to your friends today to help you out. But since I want coffee tomorrow”—he slid a piece of paper across his father’s large desk—“I’m making you an offer you can’t refuse.”

  Gavin reluctantly stepped forward and peeked down at the paper. It was a promissory note for two point eight million dollars to buy Dresden House. He looked up at his friend, his eyebrows raised in question.

  “I know. It lacks a little of the drama of It’s a Wonderful Life. Believe me, my wife wanted me to dump the money in a basket and hand it to you, but I didn’t have that much cash sitting around in my wallet.”

  The room started to spin a little and Gavin grabbed the end of the desk. “What is this?”

  “I told you Julianne wanted the mansion, Gavin. And I like to give her what she wants. That way, I always get what I want.” The idiot actually winked at him.

  “It’s a higher offer, Gavin. The bank examiners will take that one above Goldman’s.” Miles was at his back, scanning the document over Gavin’s shoulder.

  “Thank goodness for that,” Morgan grunted.

  “And Julianne has no problem sharing it with the town.” The mayor beamed.

  “Even better, you won’t have to sell the torpedo factory out from under me,” Audra said.

  “That’s right; I can’t run a campaign from the street corner.”

  Miles choked at Bernice’s words.

  Gavin heard his pulse roaring in his ears. It was all going to work out. His mother wouldn’t lose the inn.

  “It’s the answer to the problem, Gavin,” Will was saying. “You sign that dotted line and you get to go back to the life you had before.”

  The assembled townspeople looked at him expectantly. Will held the pen out to him and Gavin took it with a less-than-steady hand. He scribbled his name on the bottom and initialed the corner of each page quickly before he could wake up from this dream. The room cheered when he was finished. Amid the clatter, Bernice took the pen and signed as his witness.

  Everyone in the room seemed to want to hug him or shake his hand until finally he was face-to-face with Will. “I don’t know how I can thank you,” Gavin said to his friend.

  “You don’t have to thank me.” Will clapped a hand on Gavin’s back. “But I want you to remember something. It isn’t always easy to go back to before. Time has passed and you’ve changed. You might find that you don’t want those same things anymore.”

  Gavin grinned at Will, the euphoria of his freedom starting to sink in. “Oh, I’m pretty sure I won’t have any trouble with reentry.” His cell phone buzzed in his pocket just as both office phones began ri
nging urgently. He glanced down at the text only to have his world rocked yet again.

  * * *

  He wasn’t sure how he made it to the hospital. Since everyone who’d been in his father’s office was now crowded into the small ER waiting room, he assumed they’d all been transported there somehow. The past day was beginning to resemble an out-of-body experience.

  Kate greeted him and Miles at the door. Her eyes were red, but her physician’s mask was firmly in place.

  “What happened?” Miles asked.

  “How is she?” Gavin asked at the same time.

  “The best that we can tell, she was on her bike when it was run off the road by a car.” Kate swallowed forcefully. “They have her in MRI right now, but it looks like there’s no internal bleeding. But she does have a fractured hip and knee. Alden is assessing her results. He already called a friend of ours who is an amazing orthopedist and he’s driving down from Raleigh now.”

  Miles pulled his sister into his arms. Gavin spied the sheriff sitting alone in front of the coffee machine.

  “Lamar.” His gut clenched at the raw anguish in the sheriff’s eyes. “How you holding up?”

  The sheriff’s mouth was compressed in a tight line. He nodded briefly. “Fine,” was all he said.

  “Any leads on who did this?”

  He leaped out of his chair. “I have all my deputies chasing down every car in this town. They don’t need me standing over them to catch the little shit who did this.”

  Gavin held his hands up as anger and a host of other emotions rolled off the sheriff. “Whoa, Lamar. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be here, because you’re the first person she’s gonna want to see. They’ll catch whoever it was that did this.” It was probably a good thing the sheriff wasn’t looking for the driver right now. If he found him or her, there was a chance that they wouldn’t make it out of the cruiser. “Where did you find her?”

  “The high curve on Old Mill Road. But I didn’t find her.” He jutted his chin to someone behind Gavin. “Ginger did.”