Jason spoke first, leaning forward with an earnest expression. “Cara, I’m really sorry.”
She took a deep breath. “I know you are. I understand why you did it, Jason.” The look of fear on his face tugged her heartstrings. “I forgive you.” The tension left his jaw as a grin broke. “If our relationship is going to work, we have to communicate honestly, even regarding family members. Right?”
He nodded, the sunlight making the tips of his hair gleam. Here was this big guy looking sheepish and hopeful like a puppy. It would be extremely difficult to stay mad at him in life, but that was a good thing, wasn’t it?
“And I know I have to work on things too.”
Jason’s brow crinkled. “Like what?”
Oh, he was killing her with sweetness. “Lots of things. In this instance, I found out the truth from Doc a couple weeks ago. The thing is, I wanted to talk to you in person, but I was upset. It was wrong to wait so long. Especially when we didn’t even have a time set up to get together. If we’re going to have a long-distance relationship, we need to talk right away, not let things fester. And texting doesn’t count.”
He chuckled and leaned back. His shoulders lowered. “You’re right. I like the way you’re talking about going forward. Do you really mean to give us another try?”
And how. She’d practically started singing Ave Maria a moment ago. “Yes.”
“Wow.” He beamed. “What about…you know, the future?”
“I want to come back here. But I have obligations. I need to work. I can’t just quit my job, either. I owe the company something, and I owe my MBA program not to walk out of a prized job they helped arrange. Plus, I just don’t have the money to get a home for the disabled and elderly off the ground here.”
“You want to do a home for the disabled and elderly here in Lobster Cove?” came Leo Gambino’s voice. She turned and looked over her shoulder. He was standing near the couch, holding an empty punch glass.
Cara shifted her weight around so she could see Leo without straining her neck. “Yes, as a matter of fact I do.”
“Well, I would like to move my dear old mom up here. I hate she’s still living down in New York. I can’t take care of her myself though. I’m not going to just stick her in a home somewhere. If you open a home here in Lobster Cove that would be perfect.”
Aww. Leo was a sweetie to his mom. “I know. We have family and friends with needs. One of each, in fact. Francie’s friend Sherry and my aunt Terra.”
Leo turned his hands palms-up, lifting his big shoulders. “So why don’t you do it?”
“I don’t have the capital, and there are details to work out. I want to have specialists for the residents within reach. It would have to start small. I’d actually like to have it connected to the hospital and maybe work out some rotations. Perhaps we could get the town to recruit the specialists we need, entice them up here to stay at least for a few years. We need physical therapists, also. I wanted to talk to Eugenia and the committee about that while I was here.”
“What kind of house?” Leo came around and took the other chair.
“The home itself? Something like this. I like how this is all open.” Cara waved her hand around the great room. “It’s perfect because this space provides a place for people to gather, dine, play games, have visiting animals, decorate and celebrate holidays, that kind of thing. And since this is all one floor, it would be perfect for residents. The bathrooms would need to be retrofitted. But I’m not talking about this place literally.”
Leo waved his hands. “Why aren’t you talking about this place?”
Jason and Cara peered at Leo.
“What are you saying?” Cara asked.
“I’m saying, I’ll invest money and toss in this house.”
Leo Gambini living with the residents? She didn’t think so. “Leo, why would you want to give up your house?”
“I’ll buy a new one.”
Her heart sped. Could this be real? If Jason’s grin was any indication, then yes.
Give Leo the big picture, she told herself. In brief terms though. He’s not a professor. “Leo, I’m thinking of expanding someday, you know. Not right away, but the investment should pay off in time.”
“Great! But let’s get started with this place.”
She forced a calm tone. “This is all very exciting. But sleep on it, Leo. I have a presentation. If you’re still interested tomorrow, I’ll come over and show you my business plan.”
“Sounds good. Now I’m getting back to my poker game. If you’ll excuse me.”
Cara thought she detected a bounce in Leo’s heavy gait as he made his way back to the poker tables. “Well, that was sure interesting.”
Jason snorted. “Understatement. Hey, do you think you’ll need a cook in this house?”
She looked at Jason, matching his grin. “Absolutely. There’s a lot to work out. I can’t do this overnight.”
“I know. But who knew?”
“About Leo? I know! He must be loaded.”
“No, not that. Who knew—” Jason’s green eyes gleamed, and he was tapping the floor with his heels like he was running around the bases from his position in the chair.
“What’s that?” Cara tipped her head, at a loss.
“Who knew the third strike could be the charm?”
Epilogue
Cool salty air filled Jason’s lungs at seven a.m. on the Fourth of July as he trotted across the dewy grass of the baseball field with a bat on his shoulder. He came to a halt and palmed his prized game ball, a memento of the pinnacle of his career in the Big Show. He could still hear the roar of fans, smell the grass and dirt of the diamond, and see the bright stadium lights from the night he pitched the no-hitter. Baseball was the best game in the world.
He tossed the ball in the air and lifted the bat, blinking away the blinding sun. Crack! The ball soared across the empty field, sailed over the fence, and landed in Grant’s Lake.
“Thanks for the memories, but I’m in a different league now.”
****
Full enjoyment of Fourth of July in Lobster Cove required pacing oneself. Cara and Maya created a plan to make sure everyone could enjoy the festivities. Francie would watch the small show over Grant’s Lake from the deck at Leo Gambini’s house. Big Dirk would pick her up at the house. Some of the main fireworks also would be visible high in the sky above the harbor.
Rick and Jason were along for the ride, agreeing to whatever “the ladies” planned. Cara and Maya dropped Mama off at the park at noon for a picnic near the carnival. The friends enjoyed watching children playing on the rides. Later, one of Mama’s friends would drive her home to rest, so she’d have plenty of energy to watch the fireworks at night.
Parking was insufficient for the crowds, so they drove back to the house and left the car there, then walked with Jason and Rick back to town.
As they crossed the bridge over Breakneck Creek on Main Street, the sounds of laughter, squeals, music, and the occasional loudspeaker announcement broadcast Fourth-of-July fun. Red white and blue dominated the town square. Volunteers from the planning committee had decorated every lamppost with banners printed with images of the works of the three featured artists. The artists would be set in booths in the town square and also out along Pier 2 where they shared space with food vendors.
“I can’t wait to get to the pie.” Cara tugged Jason’s hand.
“It’s so crowded there.” His big grin belied his complaint.
Rick shook his head. “As long as they have good food.”
“Are you kidding? There’s tons to choose from,” Cara said.
“I see you didn’t choose to have a food cart on Pier 2, Jason,” Maya said. “Guess my sister was more tempting than good publicity today, eh?” She glanced at Cara and winked.
Cara smiled and pulled Jason closer.
The band started up in the town square, drowning the shouts of children playing in the inflatable bouncing room near the gazebo. They headed
for the pier, tantalized by the smells of cotton candy, hot dogs, and garlic fries. Rick purchased a pair of jade earrings from one of the local artisans and gave them to Maya. They all ate way too much food and then staggered back to the park to make sure Mama had found a way home.
“There’s Eugenia,” Jason said. “She and Günther came back from their travels for the celebration and to check on his business. Maybe we should talk to her about recruiting medical people.”
“Uh, could we avoid her?” Rick said. “I can’t part with another chunk of change at the moment.”
Everyone laughed. When Rick was wooing Maya, Eugenia extracted a twenty-thousand-dollar donation for the Oil and Water Art Festival. The annual event was a big fundraiser for Lobster Cove.
“Maybe we should just head on home,” Maya suggested.
Cara patted Jason’s arm and stretched up to whisper in his ear. Oh, he smelled so good, all spicy and warm, she could lick him. No…that had to wait. Instead, she said, “We need to be ready before we pitch to Eugenia.”
“Oh, yeah. Makes sense.” He grinned down at her.
“We’ll be sure to do it before she leaves on her trip.”
The two couples meandered home, Maya and Rick in the front, Cara and Jason following at a distance.
Jason’s square jaw was smooth and strong in profile. He looked straight ahead as they walked. She was coming to appreciate how much he planned ahead. “Have you given more thought to taking your mom down to Boston?”
He caught her eye and smiled. “We’ve been.”
“Oh! You didn’t tell me.”
“You were busy.”
She winced. “I’m sorry. Really sorry.”
He took her hand. “It’s okay. I told you I needed to do my stuff and you yours.”
Were they moving? No. He or Francie would have said something, but her heart was in her throat. “What happened?”
“Well, we saw the MS specialist, and he referred us to a physical therapist. They gave us some exercises. But they said to take her home. She’ll be much better off here. They weren’t too concerned. Her breathing problems aren’t caused by weak muscles, not yet. Doing physical therapy will help prevent a problem with the muscles involved. Dr. Willson has also been in touch with them, and we’re going to set up a therapy routine here. She could use a psychotherapist to help deal with her panic attacks. The main thing is for her to be happy, and that means Lobster Cove, not Boston.”
Her hopes kindled. “We’ll get a therapist, too, for our assisted living home.”
“There’s one in Trenton.”
“That’s great.”
His smile made her heart light. “Yes, it is.”
“Has she been to see him?”
“Her. Yes.”
“And?”
“It’s helping. She gave Mom some techniques, and she even counseled me, so I can help with the calming tricks if she has another attack. The goal is not to let her fears get so acute. The fact the Boston specialist told her there’s nothing wrong with her breathing helped reduce the panic as well.”
Cara’s head filled with a long list of specialists she wanted to recruit, but that would all take time. They’d need to work on general purpose gerontology people first. She hadn’t thought about a psychiatrist. The fact there was a good one in Trenton was a great start. The main thing was Francie and Jason didn’t have to move. What a relief.
His hand gripped hers like he never planned to let her go. When they reached the house, after Rick and Maya went inside, Cara and Jason lingered on the porch. He pulled her into his arms, pressed her to his chest, and tucked her head under his chin. She wrapped her arms around him, breathed him.
Finally, he pulled away enough to look into her eyes, lowering his mouth to hers. His lips grazed hers gently at first, teasing her until she opened her mouth to demand more. His darting taste of her echoed what he’d done at Frenchman Bay Motel. His hands roamed over her back, heating her even though he didn’t slip beneath her shirt. Then he drew away, keeping his hands in contact with her as long as possible, sliding down her arms until their fingertips separated.
“See you tonight.” His deep voice sugar-coated the whole heavenly feeling blooming inside her. He turned and sauntered out the screen door and down the steps.
As he made his way across the driveway toward the shortcut, he whistled.
****
The house was nice and cool inside. Mama went to her room to take a nap while the other three hung around the living room chatting and checking their phones.
“I thought Doc ordered you not to take any electronic devices when you came to Lobster Cove for vacation, Rick,” Cara said.
Maya giggled, reached over, and held her hand in front of Rick’s phone.
Rick lifted it out of Maya’s reach. “That was only when I was working too many hours.”
“Honey”—Maya rested her hand on Rick’s thigh—“you’ve been getting sucked into GameCom again.” She turned to Cara. “He’s been almost as stressed out as when he was acting CEO.”
Concerned, Cara said, “What’s going on?”
Rick set his phone on the end table. “Let’s not get into that right now. This is such a nice day.”
“Rick, honey, let’s talk to Cara about our plan now, while we have her to ourselves.”
Cara sat up straight, a flutter in her stomach. A plan?
Rick nodded and grinned. “You go ahead.”
“Cara, Rick and I want to invest in your project, the home you want to do here. It would be amazing if Aunt Terra could move here. We’re excited.”
Maya shifted to the edge of the couch. “As you know, it’s not a great time for us to do something huge. However we feel we can facilitate you starting on it by forgiving all your loans.”
Cara’s phone fell with a clatter on the coffee table. She checked to make sure it was still working then said, “How can I accept that? What about Blanca?”
“Of course, I’ll forgive her loans too. It has to be even. We really want to do this. We can do it, and we hope you’ll accept the help.”
Cara’s hands trembled.
“Cara?” Maya said, her voice tinged with concern.
“Sorry! I was picturing it. The reality. It’s huge. Are you sure?” When Maya and Rick nodded, Cara did a very un-business-school-like thing. She lunged across the distance between them and pulled Maya into a hug. Rick was a little further away, so he was safe, but only momentarily. Cara snaked one arm around him and pulled him into a group hug.
He chuckled.
Maya giggled.
Cara recovered, pulled herself from the tangle, and returned to her chair. There she went again, going with her emotions instead of logic and self-control. But maybe her feelings wouldn’t be such undesirable qualities in the manager of a group living home. “I’m sorry. I totally lost myself. That wasn’t very professional.”
Rick and Maya just looked at her and laughed. Cara gave up trying to suppress her grin.
****
They headed to Leo Gambini’s at seven thirty. Blue shadows silvered the forest as they drove Mama and Francie’s cars to Leo’s house. Cara held off on telling Jason the good news until they could be alone. Even with the pieces coming together, she couldn’t instantly move here. Nor did she have all the funding. She needed to think a bit more. She could tell him on the way to the airport tomorrow. Wait, was this holding out on him again? No, it was okay, for one reason. Giving Maya and Rick a chance to sleep on it for one night would allow them to change their minds without embarrassing themselves.
They parked in front of Leo’s. Big Dirk emerged, lumbered down the stairs, and helped Francie out of the car. Cara, Maya, Rick, Mama, and Jason walked from Leo’s house down to a kiosk near where Pier 2 met the beach. Camp chairs in racks framed the space leading up to the counter, forming an aisle of sorts. Behind the counter, wine openers, plastic cups, plates, and other picnic necessities were available for purchase. The guys paid for camp-chair rentals a
nd carried them as they walked up the beach looking for a spot.
Families and couples covered the beach in little gatherings. Fragments of conversation and bursts of laughter peppered the air. They were lucky enough to find some space on the sand.
Jason leaned over to Maya and whispered, “Want to take a walk?”
The others were talking to their neighbors, having a good time. Cara had already said hello to Mom’s friends, so she nodded to Jason and told Rick where they were going.
Jason’s hand closed over hers. They wove their way through the people until they were past the beach. At Breakneck Creek, he turned and followed the embankment up toward Main Street, away from the crowds. They reached a large flat rock the locals used as a bench.
“Want to sit for a minute?”
Something about his tone made her say, “Yes.” Once they sat, she was glad he’d suggested it. The creek ran through a deep channel, but even from down in the gorge, the water splashing against rocks drowned the sounds of the festivities. The river spray glowed white in the blue-gray twilight. Pools formed in grassy hollows carved into the embankment. Their still surfaces reflected the sky and trees. Fresh water, seawater, and forest infused the air.
Jason’s eyes were dark as Frenchman Bay in the twilight. “Cara, you’re going home tomorrow.” His voice was deep, his tone serious.
Cara pushed the hair off her face and angled her head to meet Jason’s gaze. “Correction. I’m going to Chicago. This is home.”
Jason dropped his gaze to the rock. “I don’t want to pressure you.”
“You’re not.” She picked up his big, heavy hand and cradled it. “I’m committed to our relationship. I really mean to stay in much better communication.”
He gently squeezed her hand, looked her in the eye. “Are you sure you don’t want to call it quits, so you can dedicate yourself to your job?”
She let out a dismissive huff. “No way. A job is just a job. As for us, remember, ‘the third strike’s the charm.’”
His smile was a brief flicker before he leaned forward, studying her. “Even this big job?”
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