One Hot Summer

by Melissa Cutler

  Whatever Micah had thought Granny June wanted to tell him, it wasn’t that. All these years, he’d carried around a bitterness about the resort’s role in the fire and the Briscoe family’s refusal to claim any degree of responsibility, but he didn’t want Granny June to live with a gnawing guilt any more than he wanted to keep carrying around his grief about all he lost in the fire like a heavy yoke. Maybe it was time for them both to make peace with their linked past.

  “I can’t express how much it means to hear you say that, Granny. I lost a lot in that fire, not as much as some, but more than others, and it haunts me every day.” His throat constricted. How could something that happened more than twenty years ago still have the power to wound him? “But I think you’re right that the Lord had a plan, and I’d like to think part of that plan was me becoming a firefighter. I owe a lot of my life today, most of it, really, to that fire. I love my job and my life, and most of all, I love the people in my life, so that’s a hard truth to reconcile.”

  She nodded. “We’ll never know how many people’s lives you’ve saved with your efforts.”

  Just like they’d never know if providing the guests with sparklers or not that fateful night would’ve mattered or if God’s will would’ve found a way to get a fire started regardless. “No, we won’t, and thank you for saying that.”

  “And if you hadn’t been inspired by that fire to become a firefighter, you might not have ever met Remedy. And wouldn’t that have been a shame.”

  The greatest shame of his life. “I’m in love with her.”

  “I know that, child. Like I also know you’re worried that this Hollywood wedding she’s putting on will inspire her to move back to California.”

  That was exactly what he was afraid of. “How’d you guess?”

  She tapped her temple. “I’ve got a God-given sixth sense when it comes to couples who are meant to be. So believe me when I tell you that she’s here for good, as long as we play our cards right.”

  We?

  Before he could ask for clarification, Granny June whipped out her cell phone. “Now get in here close for a picture. And how about this time you—”

  “I know, chin up to help with the neck wrinkles.”

  “Forget about that today. Pucker up and give this old lady a little sugar on my cheek for our selfie. Wait until my Facebook friends see that.”

  It came as no surprise to him that she made him do four takes of the cheek kiss before she got the shot she wanted. When she was satisfied, he nodded to the heliport near the Briscoes’ private compound where a sleek-looking helicopter that looked like it seated at least eight people sat at the ready.

  “Which bigwig guest is staying here tonight?”

  “That’s Wynd Fisher’s helicopter. Or at least that’s what brought him here from the airport, him and that tart little fiancée of his. I didn’t see ’em touch down, but I heard talk from some of the workers.”

  “Remedy didn’t mention that to me.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t want to worry you about a meeting for last-minute wedding details, which is what I’m sure they’re meeting about.”

  Granny June was probably right, but something didn’t feel right with Micah, especially after Remedy came clean to him about what had gone down at Petey’s with Wynd, Cambelle, and her parents. Maybe he’d just drop her a text and make sure Remedy didn’t need any moral support.

  * * *

  Remedy sat behind her desk across from her parents, Wynd Fisher, and Helen and Cambelle West. At a week until the wedding or, rather, six days until the rehearsal dinner, it wasn’t unusual for a bride to schedule a visit to shore up last-minute details, but Remedy couldn’t imagine the reason for this unexpected ambush a week before the wedding—by all of them, her parents included. In fact, the thick tension in the room and the “five against one” tone they’d fostered by grouping together across the table from her smacked of a bad episode of television’s Intervention.

  “Tell me what we’re all doing here,” Remedy said. “I don’t have time right now for unscheduled appointments.” Yes, she sounded like a bitch, but she no longer cared. She didn’t owe any of them a single thing. Though her parents had left her several tearful apologies over voice mail, Remedy hadn’t been ready to forgive them for their unfair judgments of her life. To be honest, she still wasn’t.

  Wynd cleared his throat. “We’re here because we all care about you, Remedy.”

  Oh boy.

  A familiar face popped into view through Remedy’s office window. Micah. When he registered who her guests were, his eyebrows crinkled.

  You okay? he mouthed.

  Remedy gave a small shake of her head in reply. No, she most certainly wasn’t okay. And a moment in the hall with Micah so she could catch her breath and get her bearings was exactly what she needed.

  “Excuse the interruption,” she said, standing. “I’ll be right back.”

  All eyes turned to her office window.

  “Ah, Micah,” Wynd called. He leapt up and opened the door. “Come on in. You right on time to hear the good news.”

  This meeting was getting more bizarre by the second.

  Micah met Remedy’s eyes, gauging. “Good news?”

  Remedy gave an almost-imperceptible shrug. She couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever her parents and their friends were about to announce would be the exact opposite of good. She let her wide-eyed gaze rove over her unexpected guests in a silent attempt to tell him that all of this was completely unexpected.

  Micah’s jaw stiffened, as though he got her message loud and clear that she might need his support. He stepped fully into the room, his hand extended to Remedy’s mom first, then the other women, her father, and, finally, Wynd. “Saw your helicopter outside. Sweet ride. Did y’all just come into town today?”

  Wynd lounged back in his chair and strummed his fingers on his belly. “We did. Because I’ve got an exciting proposition for Remedy. The chance of a lifetime for someone like her.”

  Someone like her? What the heck did that mean?

  Micah sidestepped behind Remedy’s desk, kissed the top of her head, then set a supportive hand on her shoulder.

  “Remedy,” Wynd started again. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking since our last visit with you, and I’ve been talking with your parents a lot about you and your particular skills as an event planner. The critics and the media got it all wrong when they skewered you over the Zannity fiasco. It’s common knowledge among my circles that you got screwed in that whole business, which is how I know that nobody in that town will begrudge you another change. After all, Hollywood is the town of second chances.”

  Micah’s hand stiffened.

  “I did get screwed, and I’m glad the scandal has blown over,” Remedy said, choosing her words carefully. She had a sinking feeling about what was coming next out of Wynd’s mouth.

  “It’s what you’ve been waiting for,” her mom said. “Your path home is free and clear now.”

  Her path home. Maybe once upon a time, but … “That’s not my home anymore.”

  Wynd dismissed her quiet declaration with a wave. “Nonsense. Let’s cut to the chase. I’m here to offer you a job as my production company’s event planner, beginning with our pre-party for the upcoming Grammy Awards, with a few album launch parties mixed in. This is it. Your chance to play in the big leagues.”

  Remedy’s jaw fell open. With Wynd endorsing her, she’d be set for life as an event planner in Los Angeles. This was her dream opportunity—or, rather, what used to be her dream opportunity. Not so much anymore. “That’s a really generous offer.”

  Micah shifted next to her. His face was blank, his body as stiff as stone. He released her shoulder.

  Wynd clasped his hands behind his head. “I know it is, which is why I know you’re going to take it.”

  Next to Wynd, Remedy’s father was clearly trying to get Remedy’s attention. She looked instead at her mother, who had her phone pressed to her ear. �
��We’re going to need at least four bottles of champagne brought to Remedy Lane’s office. Whatever the hotel’s sommelier recommends, no matter the price.” She ended the call and beamed a bright smile at the room. “Tonight we’re celebrating the news of Remedy’s homecoming!”

  Micah cleared his throat. “Congratulations, Remedy. This is what you’ve been waiting for.”

  Really? He was jumping to conclusions like that, as if he didn’t know her at all? “I haven’t agreed to anything.”

  “Yet,” he whispered.

  Panic tickled her throat. This meeting needed to slow the hell down so Remedy could process the offer, as well as Micah’s and her mother’s assumptions.

  “But you will agree,” Wynd said jubilantly.

  Remedy’s mother clapped. “Bravo, Wynd! We’re so grateful to you for helping bring our Remedy back to us.”

  Cambelle and Helen joined in the clapping.

  Micah’s phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket and gazed blankly at the screen.

  Remedy took hold of his arm. “Don’t get that. Let’s step out for a minute and talk.”

  “I’m getting a Code Two notification from work. I’ve got to go.”

  He couldn’t just leave like this, thinking she’d made her choice already. “Please, can it wait until we talk?”

  He planted a wooden kiss on the top of her head, then twisted his arm out of her grip. “Code Twos don’t wait. I’ll be in touch.”

  Stunned by the distance in his tone and expression, she rose from her chair and followed him to the door, determined to reassure him that she wasn’t leaving. Or was she? Wynd’s offer was exactly the door she’d wanted opened for so long.

  Cambelle skittered between Remedy and Micah, a pout on her lips and her arms braced on the frame, blocking Remedy from passing. “You can’t go after him. Our party’s just getting started. Your mom ordered champagne. And I need you here, so we can talk about the wedding next week. We’re paying you to be here.”

  Ty’s words echoed in Remedy’s head, except this time in Cambelle’s shrill voice. I own you. If Remedy took the job as Wynd’s event planner, they’d believe they owned her indefinitely. Remedy had worked too hard for too long to stay hidden in anyone else’s shadow—not her parents; and not Wynd Fisher’s.

  Micah glanced over his shoulder once. The hurt in his eyes stopped Remedy’s heart. Then he disappeared from view down the hall.

  “Please move your arms so I can pass,” Remedy said, nice and civil this one last time.

  Cambelle’s pout intensified. “But Remy—”

  “I’ve done my job and you’re going to have the wedding of your dreams next week, so unless you plan on compromising that, I suggest you move before I make you.”

  Wynd stood. “Make her how?”

  Remedy’s dad attempted to wedge himself between her and Cambelle. “Oh, shut up, Wynd. This is my daughter you’re speaking to like that. And Cambelle, you heard my girl. Step aside.”

  Wynd put his arm across Cambelle’s shoulders in a show of solidarity. Cambelle’s pout turned to a sneer. “What happened to you, Remedy? I used to idolize you when we were kids. You had everything I wanted for my life, but now look at you. It’s this place. It’s messed with your head.”

  “Yes, it has. It’s messed with my head. It’s messed with my heart. And it’s changed me in irrevocable ways. I’m grateful for every single bit of that change.”

  Not in a million years would she have imagined that she would’ve had to lose herself in Los Angeles so she could find herself again in a tiny Texas town. But somehow, miraculously, in the middle of the Texas wilds she’d found a place she belonged, where she could be herself and forge a new future in her career—and where a certain firefighter showed her that deep, abiding love wasn’t a corporate motto but something she wanted. With him.

  Yet he was running toward danger again tonight, risking his life, having no idea how deeply she’d fallen in love with him or how unimaginable the thought of leaving him and Dulcet had become. It was nearly enough to bring her to her knees. “I’ve got to go. Now.”

  She all but shoved her way past Cambelle and took off jogging down the hall, bursting through the employee exit doors into the balmy evening air. She’d gone a few yards toward the chapel parking lot where Micah usually parked when she heard her mom’s voice. “Remedy!”

  Remedy whirled around to see both of her parents. “Can’t you two stop, for once? I love both of you so much. But can’t you see that you’re suffocating me?”

  They took a tentative step toward her. “Remedy, honey. I have something to say,” her dad said.

  Remedy panted, shocked by how short of breath she was, how shaky and shrill her voice had sounded. “Then you’d better make it fast. I can’t let Micah leave like that.”

  “Look, the thing is, we didn’t handle you moving away from home very well,” Dad said. His usually sparkling eyes had turned heavy with regret. “We honestly thought we were doing the right thing by you.”

  Her mom took her dad’s hand. “With the Zannity scandal and you leaving so abruptly, we were distraught, and we took solace in each other. But as nice as it’s been getting to know each other again, it became clear that something’s missing from the equation. It wasn’t long before we figured out that you’re what’s missing. We wanted you back home, with us.”

  Remedy bridged the distance between them. Her anger faded, replaced with compassion. What a crazy pickle they’d all gotten themselves into. “Maybe nostalgia isn’t a good enough reason to be together. If you two still feel like something’s missing when you’re together, then maybe you’re trying too hard to make it work. When I’m with Micah…” She swallowed hard. “When I’m with Micah, it’s the most perfect feeling of belonging. Finally, for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. He’s my home.”

  Saying it aloud filled her with a kind of warmth and purpose she’d never known. What a miracle that just when she’d given up searching for a place to belong—just when she’d given up on love—somehow he’d made her believe again. Like magic.

  A shiver tingled over her skin at the realization. She turned her chin up and let her gaze skim over the resort she’d come to love almost as dearly as Micah. The sun was dipping low in the western sky, casting a golden glow over the rolling hills of grass and gardens where resort guests strolled and sat together on benches, talking, laughing. And on the hill, looking down over all of them, was the chapel. Hallowed ground for couples in love for more than fifty years. A place that made love stories come true. Suddenly, more than anything, Remedy wanted to be part of the chapel’s history of successful marriages. With Micah.

  “Honey.” Her mom took her hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t support you about dating Micah. We got caught up in the idea that we knew what was best for you, that we couldn’t see how happy you already were. It’s so clear to me now that you love him. I can’t stand in the way of your happiness any more than I can stand being estranged from you.”

  Fresh tears crowded Remedy’s eyes. “Not talking to you has been hard for me, too. You’re one of my best friends, Mom.” She reached out and took her dad’s hand. “Dad, you too. And you’re right, Mom. I do love him. So much. If you and Dad don’t feel that deeply about each other, then there’s nothing I can do to save you both, even if I was home with you. I couldn’t when I was twelve, though I tried, and I can’t now. You both deserve a love that’s profound and everlasting. You do. Just like I’ve found here.”

  “We want that, too,” her mom said. “And, Preston, I want to try for that with you.”

  Dad’s arm slid around Mom’s back. “Maybe we can upgrade to the honeymoon suite tonight.” He winked, the sparkle in his eyes returning in spades.

  Remedy winced, squeezing her eyes closed. “Dad, please don’t paint that picture for me. Ugh. Don’t want to know.”

  “Sorry, sorry,” her mom said, smiling.

  The sound of Dad’s laughter h
ad Remedy peeling her eyes open again. “I love you both,” she said. “And I forgive you.”

  They pulled her into a tight hug.

  Her mom stroked Remedy’s hair, then released her and stepped back. “Now, see? We’re holding you back again with all this mushy stuff when you’ve got a firefighter to chase down. You can’t let your future run off into the sunset without you.”

  Her future, her love, her everything. She gave her parents each a kiss, then took off running.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Remedy ran through the resort and across the lawn to the Chapel Hill parking lot after Micah, but she was too late. Halfway there, she watched his truck drive away.

  Granny June was having her evening cocktail on her favorite bench near the chapel. “You just missed him,” she called.

  Remedy trudged the rest of the way and dropped onto the bench. “Yeah. That sucks.”

  “He was angry, and I figured he’d clashed with you since that’s where he’d been headed, or else I would’ve stalled him for you.”

  “It’s okay. He’s upset because Wynd Fisher just offered me a job in Los Angeles.”

  Granny took a sip of her drink. “Are you going to take it?”

  Wasn’t that the question of the hour? At least Granny June asked her and waited for an answer instead of jumping to conclusions. “No. It was everything I wanted once upon a time, but my life has changed. I’ve changed. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but originally I didn’t expect to stick around here at the resort for long.”

  Granny patted her knee. “I suspected that might be the case. But then you met Micah.”

  “Yes. Then I met and fell in love with Micah, and I can’t imagine leaving him or this place. Ever.”