What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 7)

by Lexi Buchanan

  The only reason he’d gone into the city had been to speak with his lawyer about acquiring two more parcels of land next to his shipbuilding business, and that hadn’t been smooth sailing. The junk parcels of land, which had been vacant for a good thirty years, had out-of-town owners. Once they’d gotten a hint a person wanted them they’d sent down someone to investigate him, which he’d discovered thanks to his loyal work crew. While a part of him would like to beat the shit out of the guy who’d dug into his past, Paul knew that would accomplish nothing. So his jaunt into the city had been two-fold. Deal with his lawyer and hire his own private investigator. He wanted to know who was tipping off the locals that Paul Carter was looking to expand his business because his gut told him it was his rival from Newport and that wouldn’t do. Millions of dollars were at stake and more importantly, hundreds of good paying jobs for his home town. That meant more to Paul than the money even though he tried hard never to let on.

  Flicking the station in the hopes of finding a song more uplifting than the sappy love song requiem the stations seemed to like to play these days, it took all his driving instincts not to slam into the car in front of him spinning out of control like a spin the bottle. Thankful once again he’d gotten the studs put on his tires, he finally managed to gain control of the vehicle. Helplessly, he watched the red Mini Cooper take out an old mailbox only to come to a stop in the ditch.

  Careful to pull off the road as much as possible, Paul jumped out of his truck and dashed to help the driver from the car.

  Relying on instincts, he opened the driver side door and felt the punch to his gut. There out cold with a gash to her head was the last person he’d thought to ever see again. Ella O’Connor, his first steady girlfriend and the love of his life who had left him for greener pastures without as much as a goodbye. With his heart tripping in anxiety, Paul unclipped her seat belt, which thankfully had kept her from flying through the window and pulled her out. God, she weighed next to nothing in his arms. Hauling her into his truck, he quickly fished out his first aid kit. The gash wasn’t that bad but what concerned him more was the bump swelling up like a goose’s egg on her forehead. She mumbled and he thanked the heavens she was coming around.

  She blinked up, and those hazel eyes of hers snagged him. Damn, if Paul didn’t feel like a teenager again, all tongue-tied and embarrassed with how happy he was to see her.

  “Ella. Ella…Ella come on now wake up. Keep those eyes open, honey, I’m taking you in to see the doctor.”

  She blinked again and finally focused on him. “Paul, is that you?”

  He smiled. “Yeah, it is.”

  “The car, what happened?”

  “Your car slipped on the icy road. I’ll get one of my guys to haul it out for you. I’m going to buckle you up and I’m taking you into the walk-in clinic up the road. The snow’s coming down heavy and there’s no way we’ll make it to the city for the hospital.” While he talked he propped her up and buckled her in, noticing she’d cut her copper hair short, giving her a pixie look he liked. Too groggy to do much of anything, she let him manhandle her and that worried Paul. Ella had always been feisty and he prayed she wasn’t more seriously hurt.

  Turning on the truck, he cranked up the heat and opened his cell. He punched in a number he knew by heart. Calling in a favor would be worth it.

  “Rob, its Paul. Yeah, listen. I’ve got Ella O’Connor in my truck. She was just in a car accident and …Jesus Rob, I know that but we’re in the thick of a Nor’easter and we can’t turn around for the big hospital. I don’t think she’s seriously hurt, more bumped her head and all but will you…Thanks man. See you in less than ten at the clinic.”

  Paul talked to Ella the entire time, not sure she heard him but she mumbled the occasional answer. Sweat trickled down Paul’s back from the damn heat in the truck but he knew Ella was probably in shock and needed the heat so he suffered in silence. When he finally pulled up at the clinic, Rob stood in the door with a nurse on hand.

  Paul pulled up in front and jumped out to gently remove Ella from his truck. He carried her inside and placed her in the waiting wheelchair, backing away to let Dr. Robert Craig, the guy he’d saved from a sailing accident two years ago and who was also the best doctor Riverton had within miles, work his magic.

  Wiping his sweaty palms on his dress pants, Paul didn’t dare interrupt Rob. Only once he was finished did he step forward. “Will she be okay?”

  “I think so. That’s a nasty bump but I think it’s more superficial. I think she’s more in shock than anything else but I’m going to keep her under observation for a few hours. I guess she heard her mother had a stroke.”

  “What?”

  “It was minor one, but Tara brought her in yesterday and she was released a few hours ago in fact,” said Rob.

  “Is that normal? Shouldn’t you have kept her for observation?”

  Rob gave him a look Paul didn’t like. “Listen Paul, there’s not much you can do for a minor stroke except let the patient heal. We’ll keep an eye on Ella for a couple hours and if there’s any change I’ll let you know, okay?”

  “Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks again Rob. I didn’t know who else to call.”

  Rob grinned. “Good thing I was already on duty. Ella’s going to have to take it slow for the next few days but I’m sure she’ll be okay.”

  “Thanks,” said Paul, not wanting to leave.

  “Not much you can do here, Paul. Why don’t you touch base with Tara and for Christ sakes when you call don’t scare that girl. She’s had a rough couple days already. Tell her to call me and I’ll fill her in on her sister, okay?”

  “She’s got your number?” asked Paul, filing that tidbit of information away for closer examination later.

  “Don’t even go there, Paul. She’s got my number because of her mother and nothing more. Listen, I’ve got to go and attend to our latest patient,” said Rob, leaving Paul to do as instructed.

  Paul didn’t really want to leave the hospital but Rob was right. There wasn’t much more he could do for Ella except touch base with her family. First though, he’d get one of his guys to haul Ella’s car out of the ditch and tow it to the garage for her. Taking a deep breath, he realized he was still holding Ella’s scarf. Scrunching up the warm wool in his hands, he waited until he was back in his truck to take a sniff and damn if Ella’s scent didn’t slam into him like her car almost had. That light flowery scent of lilac had been her signature perfume all through her high school years and it excited Paul to know some things about Ella hadn’t changed.

  Chapter Three

  “Seriously, Mom. I’m fine. You’re the one who’s supposed to take it easy.”

  “Looks to me you’re the one worse for wear,” said her mother, giving her another cup of tea only to turn back to her task at hand—finishing up six pies. Not one pie. Six. Yup, not much had changed with her mother. And worry for her mother, who stood at the kitchen counter rolling out perfectly rounded pie shells, knotted through Ella. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed being home but everything, including how the house smelled like a mixture of desserts and fresh linen felt comfortable, inviting and warm. The thought of her house going to ruin much like Mary Beckman’s had made her uncomfortable. Their house was a family home and had been passed down through the O’Connor generations for close to one hundred years. It certainly wasn’t perfect and would never grace the pages of the magazines like the homes in Newport, but none of that truly mattered to Ella. It was the house of her childhood, with the crooked wooden stairs and the house of her angry teen years, where she’d gotten into the habit of slamming her bedroom door so much that the handle had fallen off. The thought of it, the house and the memories, turning to dust someday left her feeling slightly queasy.

  “Isn’t she supposed to be taking it easy?” asked Ella to her sister Tara, who walked into the kitchen and promptly rolled her eyes like she’d heard it all before. They both had, but things had changed. And change wasn’t
always good.

  Tara had turned into a young woman and Ella made a mental note to spend more time with her younger sister. While Tara had embraced technology and religiously Skyped once a week with Ella, thanks to Ella giving her younger sister a computer and phone for Christmas about three years ago, nothing bridged the gap of years past like seeing her sister and mother in the flesh. Ella realized she’d missed Tara’s high school prom, which had been around the same time she’d graduated with her law degree. It was a memory she could never recapture but she mentally made a vow to get more involved with her family.

  “Seriously, Mom, six pies. I’m sure the ladies at the auxiliary will understand if you show up with one. You’re not supposed to go overboard. You’ve only been home less than a day and I don’t know about you but I’ve had enough of hospitals for a while,” said Tara, taking Ella’s cup of tea for herself. Tara knew Ella hated tea but good O’Connor daughters were supposed to be tea drinkers.

  “What’s the difference between one and six? It’s nothing. You girls stop worrying. I’m just going to do up these pies and oh…”

  “Oh what, Mom?” asked Ella, getting up to rifle through the kitchen cupboards for some coffee. At 10 am Ella would take any coffee, except decaf. She’d even take a cup of instant and what do you know, that’s exactly what she found buried way in the back of her mother’s baking cupboard.

  Tara placed the kettle on the stove while Ella tried to dig out chunks of what had to be the oldest instant coffee ever into a mug. Beggars can’t be choosers. Silently Ella prayed that the caffeine in the dried up instant coffee was still active. After spending hours in the hospital yesterday she felt both foolish and bruised. She knew when she’d touched base with Tara yesterday that her poor sister didn’t need to be worrying about her while dealing with their mother, and while partly relieved Tara had laughed at her foolish accident she’d also expressed amazement when Ella had told her who her knight in shining armor was. Tara in her usual manner had spouted to her that it was destiny, but Ella wasn’t so sure about that. Destiny had nothing to do with it, more like stupidity for her picking out a Mini to hit the winter roads of Newport.

  Ella kept watching her mother. She noticed that while active, she was slower. Her mother was careful with how she laid out the pies and Ella couldn’t help but notice how her hands trembled more.

  “Well, I don’t feel up to driving so I’m wondering if one of you gals will take me into town so I can drop off the pies.”

  Ella turned and glared at her mother. “Mom. I’ll drop off the pies and you are having a nap this afternoon. I’ll make sure to tell the ladies you made all six pies, but that it. You are not coming with me and you really are having a nap.” To emphasize her point, Ella placed her hands on her hips.

  “Why Ella I think that’s a great idea. Thanks so much for offering to do this for me.”

  Ella’s mother, Gwen O’Connor who by this point had flour all over her worn apron, smiled sweetly at Ella and like that Ella knew she’d been outfoxed. Her mother never had any intention of going into town and just like old times Ella had fallen for it.

  Looking at Tara who hadn’t said one word and who was quietly buttering toast, Ella was about to offer to suggest that her sister’s help but then realized getting out would be good for her. Certainly better than staying home feeling like the worst heel possible for crashing her rental car. Plus last night she’d realization she’d lost her cellphone in the process. On top of that, her savior of the day had turned out to be none other than Paul Carter—her high school sweetheart and the boy who had turned into one handsome man she’d never gotten over. Ella definitely needed to escape her memories. She could have sworn yesterday he’d called her honey, but she wondered if her mild concussion was playing tricks on her.

  Just thinking about yesterday made her head ache. Pouring water into her mug and giving the dried chunks of instant coffee a hard stir, Ella replied to her mother, “Not a problem.”

  “And dear, when you go into town do stop in and give this bag of cookies to Paul will you?” said her mother, who was now layering all six pies with sliced apples.

  “What?”

  “Paul said to give you these when he stopped by this morning,” said her mother, whipping out her rental car keys from her pant pockets. “He said your car’s been towed to the garage and thought you might need the keys for the rental agency. Oh, and he said you shouldn’t drive that car anymore. What were you thinking getting a Mini when you know what our weather is like here?”

  Calmly Ella sipped at her black coffee and winced. It wasn’t the heat that hurt her taste buds, rather the strong force of the brew. “Paul was here?”

  “That’s what I just said. You were in the shower so I promised him I’d give them to you.”

  “Mom please tell me you didn’t tell him I was in the shower,” said Ella, feeling her face heat because that’s exactly what her mother admitted to like it was no big deal. “Mom, seriously, next time a guy comes to the house just tell him we’re busy.” Placing two pies on the top burner and two on the bottom, Gwen turned to look at her girls. “Well, Tara since we don’t get many guys coming to our house I guess I’m out of practice.”

  This time those piercing blue eyes of Gwen’s looked steadily at both her daughters.

  “Well, most mothers would be pleased with that.”

  “No they wouldn’t. You, Tara need to date and you Ella…well…oh, I don’t know.”

  But Ella did. Her mother wanted grandchildren and she’d made that plain as natural butter with no subtlety at all. Every conversation Ella had with her mother centered not on work but rather if she’d met someone. Ella had met someone but she still hadn’t confessed that to her family. And why was that? It was a question that haunted her. As great a guy as Craig Kinley was, why was it so hard for Ella to confess she’d not only met someone six months ago but had recently become engaged. It was a good thing Craig was away on business or else he’d have wanted to accompany Ella to her hometown and Ella certainly wasn’t ready for that.

  “Everything okay, Ella? You’re looking a little pale yourself,” said her mom.

  “I’m fine, but I just remembered I’ve lost my cell and I’ve got to call into work to check on a few things.”

  “Well, dear seems to me any old phone will do, even one that’s still attached to a wall.”

  Ella looked at her mother and smiled. “Guess you’re right. It’s just that all my contacts were on that phone. Serves me right. I should have backed them up on a cloud.”

  “Now, dear I have no idea what you’re talking about…but a cloud? Seriously, where do they come up with these sayings?” said Gwen, causing Ella and Tara to both burst into giggles.

  Ella and Tara exchanged a look. “Okay, Mom we’re not ganging up on you. I’ll drop in to thank Paul and drop off your pies. Do you need me to pick up anything else in town?”

  Promptly her mother smiled at them both and turned to pick up a nearby piece of paper to write down a very detailed grocery list for Ella, who fought not to groan. She wasn’t sure if it was the thought of getting the groceries or seeing Paul again that made her stomach dip with nervousness but she vowed she’d be adding two other necessary things to her mother’s list—a coffee maker and coffee beans. There was no way Ella was going to survive two more weeks without her coffee, especially when it felt like her mother was back in true fighting form and picking on her.

  Later that afternoon after the pies had cooled to her mother’s satisfaction, Ella found herself being hugged by more women than at a funeral parlor. With a tight smile lining her face she answered their pointed questions about her mother, her and even her sister. All of her mother’s friends, who promptly arranged for each and every one of them to bring over supper for her dear oh-so-not ailing mother, were horrified to learn that Gwen had been in the hospital. Guess that’s why her mother had been avoiding answering the phone all day. She hadn’t wanted to tell them and what better messenger than Ella.
After slowly extracting herself from her mother’s friends, Ella spent a good hour in the grocery store. Sitting inside the warm truck, she knew she was stalling. She didn’t want to go thank Paul. In fact she wanted to never see him again. Not because she hated him – after all she was the one who had ended things. No, because the heartache of what they had was something she’d never been able to forget. But Ella O’Connor wasn’t a coward and her mother had instilled manners in all her daughters, so Ella started up the truck and slowly pulled out of the lot to hit the main drag. Reporting that she’d failed to thank her savior of the day would only earn her a stern lecture from her mother and make her feel worse.

  About thirty minutes later she pulled onto another secondary road and almost drove past what had been the Carter shipyard. The driveway she pulled into didn’t look a thing like how her childhood memories remembered. Back then she’d crawled over enough decaying fishing vessels to know the place had been quite literally rotting away and Danny Carter, Paul’s father hadn’t cared one whit. He’d spent most of his time drinking away whatever earnings he’d made from fixing the boats. Obviously all that had changed. Just when, Ella wondered as she pulled her mother’s truck into a neat perfectly paved parking lot.

  A white two storey building was to the left and neatly stacked rows of twenty-foot yachts sat to the right, perched on wooden rungs while workers fixed them. Scanning the place quickly, she counted a good forty people coming and going and smiled. Paul certainly had made good on his childhood promise. He’d always wanted to make it big in their small town and when she’d told him staying in Riverton wouldn’t make that dream come true, guess she was wrong for once.