Stargazey Point

by Shelley Noble

  “Oh good God in heaven,” Marnie exclaimed. “Get a grip. You sound like some lunatic from an old movie.”

  Millie gasped. Abbie’s mouth dropped open.

  “Beau and I let you have your way in almost everything, but this has gone too far. I know it isn’t your fault. Our illustrious father drove me from home and destroyed Beau’s hopes of becoming a painter. I’ll never forgive him for that, but mostly I’ll never forgive him for what he did to you.”

  “He was good to me. He was a good man.”

  “He was an arrogant bastard. We got away from him, but he bullied you into submission while he was alive and you’ve never been able to escape. Fine. If that’s how you want to live your life. But don’t try to impose that on Beau . . . or me.”

  Abbie sat almost afraid to breathe. Had her actions been the impetus that would tear this family apart?

  “I—I— How can you say such things and in front of our guest, too.” Millie reeled and caught the edge of the counter. “Abbie, don’t you listen to her. Daddy was a fine upstanding citizen and he loved his family. Shame, Sister. Shame,” she wailed.

  “Perhaps you should go up to your room and calm yourself.”

  Millie turned on Abbie. “See what you’ve done? Everything was fine until you came.”

  “Millie, go upstairs.”

  “No good will come of this. You mark my words. I want her out of my house. Today. This afternoon. I won’t have her stay another day under my roof.”

  “Millie, it isn’t your house. It’s Beau’s, and Abbie is his guest and mine.”

  Abbie fought to find her voice. “No, Marnie, it’s okay. I’ll pack and go. Millie, I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry, she says. I’ll never forgive you. Any of you.” Millie groped for her handbag and rushed from the room.

  Abbie covered her face with her hands. “Marnie, I’m sorry. I never meant to cause such trouble.”

  Marnie laughed. “Hon, you just witnessed a first-class Southern hissy fit. I didn’t know the old girl had it in her.”

  “I should never have interfered.”

  “Stop it! Would you rather Beau go to his grave never knowing that he had real talent? I didn’t even know there were paintings up there, and I doubt if Millie did. Maybe Celeste would have discovered them and done something with them. But more than likely, whoever buys this old dump would toss them on the fire with the rest of the contents. You gave Beau a chance to see his work, his passion, appreciated. Would you take that away from him?”

  “No, but—”

  “Millie will get over it.”

  “Will she?”

  “Of course. She always does. It might take her a day or two to work it around her convoluted sense of reality so that it makes sense. But, Abbie, don’t despise her. It isn’t her fault what she’s become.”

  Abbie shook her head, so close to tears that she could hardly talk. “I don’t. I love her, all three of you.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  “But maybe I should stay at the inn from now until I leave.”

  “If you feel you must, but think about this. If you do, I’ll be mad at you. And if you think Millie is dramatic, hon, I can leave her in the dust.” She gathered up the coffee cups and put them in the sink. “I’m going to do a little gardening. I think you should go get yourself a real cup of coffee at Penny’s, then drop by the carousel and tell the boys they’ve been found out.”

  Abbie pushed to her feet, adrenaline and shock making her knees weak. She was still shaking when she started down the drive toward town. She was tempted to look back at the house to see if Millie was watching from the window. She didn’t understand what the big deal was about. And it didn’t seem like Marnie did either. And as she went over all the things the siblings had said, she wasn’t even sure that Millie knew what the argument between Beau and his father was really about.

  It was none of her business. And to hell with it. She was glad Beau was getting a chance to show his work. He deserved that. But why did everything have to be so complicated?

  Cab’s phone rang. He checked caller ID and answered it. He listened for a few minutes, then hung up and looked over to where Beau was putting the finishing details on the drum.

  “That was Marnie. Millie knows about the paintings; it seems someone saw us riding in the van and told Millie about it at Flora’s after church. Evidently she had a ‘hissy fit,’ Marnie’s words, and blamed Abbie who is on her way into town.”

  Beau finished gilding the coronets on top of the music box, then sighed. “There’s no reasoning with the woman.”

  “Which woman would that be,” asked Cab, deadpan.

  “In this case, Millie. She’s gotten some strange notions over the years. Somehow she thinks everything fell apart when I left home. She was old enough then to know better. It started way before that. The old rascal drove Marnie away, drove me away, and finally drove my mother to the grave. For the life of me, I don’t see how all that escaped Millie. Now she’s latched on to this painting thing.”

  “Your argument wasn’t over painting?”

  “Every day of my life. But that last night before I left, it was about something else. Painting was a part of it, but not the part he hated most.” He rested the paintbrush on a cloth and climbed out of the housing. “Guess I’d better go smooth things over with Abbie. Don’t want the girl to feel bad. And I don’t want her leaving. God knows she’s the best thing that’s happened to any of us in I don’t know when. And that includes you, son.”

  God knew that was true, Cab thought as he watched Beau walk away. But she sure wasn’t restful. Was always in the thick of whatever was happening, taking up the cudgels for some poor soul, whether it be the twins or Beau Crispin. Ervina had seen it right away; it took some time for the rest of them to figure it out.

  He wondered if Abbie had figured it out yet. Understood how important she was to them all. And if she did, was it enough to make her stay?

  Abbie looked up to see Beau ambling toward her. She dreaded seeing him and having to tell him what had happened; heat suffused her face. Today there was a spring in his step. He seemed so happy, and anger flared in her again when she thought of what Millie’s reaction would do to him.

  Well, she wasn’t going to be the one to burst his bubble. Let the man have a little joy for a change. It was going to end soon enough. She forced a smile and went to meet him.

  As soon as he reached her, he took her elbow and steered her toward the old pier.

  “Heard you had some problems with Millie this morning.”

  Abbie stared at him. Marnie must have called him. So his energy hadn’t been dampened by Millie’s outburst. Unless Marnie had sugarcoated it. Then why tell him at all?

  She let him lead her through the pylons and sat beside him on the concrete wall.

  “Families are a strange beast,” he began. “You think you can tame them, but you only fool yourself. One day you wake up and know you just have to accept them for what they are or leave them behind.” He grew silent, looked out to the gentle waves.

  Abbie understood what he meant, not that she’d ever been challenged by her family the way Marnie and Beau had been by theirs. But then she’d never veered from the family path. The fact that it was a very wide path made it easy. But what if she’d chosen to be a corporate lawyer or an investment banker? Her father might accept it, but her pacifist, we-are-the-world mother would throw a hissy fit to rival Millie’s. The thought made her smile.

  “Good,” Beau said. “I was afraid Millie had upset you.”

  “Only because I don’t want to cause dissension between the three of you. She was really upset.”

  Beau took her hand, patted it. “Millie is only a half-formed woman, Abbie. She’s half child, dependent, needy, and, yes, selfish. Not much any of us can do about it. Just accept it and get on with life the b
est we can.”

  “That’s so unfair,” Abbie said; she couldn’t help herself. No one should have to cater to someone so selfish.

  “Maybe, but it’s not worth fussin’ over.”

  “But your paintings.”

  Beau smiled and squeezed her hand. “Are out there for the world to see. Thanks to you.”

  “But what if—”

  “It’s too late for what-ifs about the past. What-ifs are for the future. Me, I mostly just live in the present. Future doesn’t have all that much adventure left for me.”

  Impulsively Abbie threw both arms around him. “You don’t know that. You might become famous and have to go on an international tour.”

  Beau chuckled and patted her back. “Wouldn’t that be something.”

  They sat that way for a few seconds, then Beau pulled away. “Now let’s just wait and see. And no more talk about moving to the inn.”

  “But Millie—”

  “Will forget why she’s upset when she sees this.” He fumbled in his breast pocket, but instead of a block of wood, he pulled out a folded check and opened it for her to see.

  “Wow! Is that from Dom Gaillard already?”

  “Yes. He inflated the price for the buyer in exchange for giving him first look at the rest before they go on sale. And he refused to take a commission if I agreed to let him handle the sale of the collection.

  “Twelve thousand is a lot of money, for us anyway. Enough to pay off this year’s taxes, with plenty left over. And, God willing, there will be more coming in.”

  “What will you do with it?”

  “Marnie will have some for household expenses. I’ll take some for a rainy day. And the rest I’ll give to Millie to play with.” He grinned.

  “You know she’s planning a big formal surprise party for your birthday.”

  Beau smiled beneath bright sparkling eyes. “She does every year. But this year she’ll have something else to think about.”

  “What?”

  “Cab is going to ask her to host the premiere of the Stargazey carousel video as a present.”

  “He is? She’ll never agree, Beau. She practically threw me out of the house.”

  “You just place your faith in that young man and we’ll see.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Absolutely. She’ll bother you with so many ideas and plans that before it’s over, you’ll wish she was still mad at you.”

  He slapped his knee. “Now I need to get back to work, before Cabot comes looking for me. So start thinking about what you’ll need for the showing. Silas has already agreed to make barbecue.

  “Now let’s go tell Cabot that you’re staying with us and everything is fine. Though I think he’ll be disappointed. He was hoping that he’d get you all to himself.” He stood up and offered her his hand. “Enough time for that down the road.”

  Chapter 27

  It was already hot when Abbie walked to the center the next morning. She’d left early to avoid any confrontation with Millie. She still didn’t feel right about what had happened. But it was something the Crispins would either settle among themselves, or let slide and slip back into the way things had always been.

  The sight of the newly painted carousel made her forget fights and misunderstanding and everything else except how wonderful it looked, sparkling white in the sun. The lattice was gone and removable storm windows had taken its place. A tricolored ball was perched atop the cupola, supported by a new green roof.

  The painters had moved on to the community center, which she was sure was Cab’s doing. The front façade was finished, and a man was painting the door the bright blue that the area favored.

  “Keeps evil away and prosperity inside,” Sarah said. “Wish it could do something about the heat.”

  “I told you I’d get us an air conditioner.”

  “I’m tempted, but we’d blow a fuse. Maybe we could run a power cord over to the carousel and pirate some of Cab’s electricity. I bet he has plenty. Speaking of which, I heard rumors that he has some big secret exhibition opening the same week as the carousel.”

  Abbie grinned. “So I hear.”

  “I also heard he and Dom Gaillard were seen driving in Dom’s van up to Crispin House.”

  “Yep.”

  “l also heard that Miss Millie threw a fit on account of it.”

  “She did that, too. Blamed me. Told me to leave.”

  “Sounds like Millie all right. Is she over it?”

  “I haven’t seen her since. Marnie and Beau say she’ll forget all about it.”

  “Too bad. I’m sure Cab was looking for an excuse to have you move in with him.”

  “Sarah, we are so not there yet.”

  “Can’t blame me for that.” She stopped. The screen door banged, followed by footsteps. “They’re already here. We should charge admission.”

  There was a pretty good crowd. The mothers, aunts, and grandmothers carried what looked like a bakery’s worth of food back to the kitchen. Sarah rounded up the teenagers and took them to the tutoring station.

  Abbie sent the rest of the kids to the media room and was about to follow them when Momo, accompanied by Kyle and Jenny, came in. Momo was dressed in a suit and two-inch heels. “Found him walking along the road to town. I told his mama I’d bring him when I brought Jenny, but I guess he couldn’t wait to get here.”

  “You look great,” Abbie told her.

  “I got a meetin’ I have to go to. Come on back to the kitchen for a minute.”

  Abbie followed her down the hall, to where the ladies were already setting up a feast.

  “Would you look at Momo,” Ivy said. “You got your days mixed up. Yesterday was Sunday.”

  “I know what day it is, Ivy Lee, because on Sunday I was in church.”

  “Amen.”

  “Amen.”

  “That’s where I saw Mr. Robert Oakley. I told him what we had in mind, and he told me to come see him this morning. Turns out the town bought back several parcels down here to keep ’em from going piecemeal to developers. Owns the land the arcade sits on, too. They’ve been trying to get some interested party to set up a business. I’m on my way over there now.”

  “Girl, where are we gonna get the money to rent a store?”

  “I’ll put in my laundry money,” Rayleen said.

  “Rayleen, you fool. That wouldn’t buy you a crayfish sandwich.” Ivy looked disgusted.

  “I got some savings,” Momo said. “It’s not much, but I figure if we can give him some good faith money, maybe I can get the board to take a percentage of the profits as payment.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  Rayleen fisted her hands on her hips and scowled at Ivy. “Because it’s better than having some sorry ass tear-down sittin’ in the middle of a town that’s tryin’ to make itself better and get us some tourist dollars.”

  “Oh, hell,” said Ivy. “If you can get them to go for that, I’ll bring you some of my dolls to sell.”

  “Well, ain’t you the philanthropist,” Rayleen countered.

  “Thank you,” Momo said. “Now I gotta go or I’ll be late. Wish me luck.”

  They all did, including Ivy who added, “She’ll need it.”

  She was gone for nearly three hours.

  We got the building!” Momo screeched as she burst into the kitchen. “I signed a lease on that place next to Hadley’s.”

  Cheers went around the room.

  Momo jingled a set of keys. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go see what needs to be done.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Get off your butt, and let’s go.”

  “Wait a minute. It takes more than a building to have a store, a building that needs a heck of a lot of work put into it. And then we have to get stuff to sell,
then we gotta get people to sell the things, and how are we gonna do all this?” asked Ivy.

  “We’re gonna form us a committee,” Momo said. “We’re gonna call it the Stargazey Restoration Project. And you’re gonna be the chairman.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, you. But first . . .” Momo went to the back door, stuck her head out. “Men, when you finish up on the community center, just come on over and paint the new Stargazey co-op.”

  “Where the hell’s that?” came the reply.

  “We’ll show you.”

  They marched out en masse. Abbie snagged a piece of gingerbread and followed them out to the porch to watch.

  And that’s where Sarah found her a few minutes later.

  “Come on back. I gotta get some ice water.” Sarah got her water and sat down, fanning herself with a paper plate.

  Abbie told her about the lease for the co-op.

  “Whew. I wondered what the hell was going on. You’ve created a monster.”

  “Me? Oh, no. We.”

  “Suit yourself. Damn, it’s hot.”

  Within an hour the women were back and the center was buzzing with noise, excitement, and more than a few mosquitoes. Ivy, now that she’d come on board, was the perfect leader, dividing the women into subcommittees and sending one group off to gather cleaning supplies, others to canvass their friends and neighbors for possible inventory, and setting the rest to help with lunch.

  The twins were late and Abbie was beginning to worry about them when they appeared, dragging Ervina between them. Ervina was dressed in a long robe and wore a turban on her head.

  “Ervina’s ready for her inner-view,” Joe said. His excitement was palpable. “You gonna sit over here. In this chair.” He pulled Ervina over to the chair and turned back to Abbie. “Ervina remembers all ’bout that merry-go-round. She’s gonna tell us for the doc’mentry.”

  “Excellent,” Abbie said. “I’ll get the camera.”

  She passed Sarah who was staring unabashedly at her great-grandmother. “Oh, Lord, has the circus come to town?” she asked under her breath.

  “You watch your mouth, Miss Know-It-All. You settin’ an example for these children.”