The Chesapeake Diaries Series 7-Book Bundle: Coming HOme, Home Again, Almost Home, Hometown Girl, Home for the Summer, The Long Way Home, At the River's Edge

by Stewart, Mariah

  Applause erupted from every corner of the room.

  “Oh, for the love of all that’s holy …” Berry’s hand flew to her mouth. “Is that woman serious?”

  “Miss B, you know the rules.” Grant leaned over her shoulder. “If elected, you must serve. There is no saying no when it comes to leading the parade.”

  A momentarily flustered Berry was led to the podium and handed the microphone. She took a moment to collect herself, then said, “This was totally unexpected, but I know it’s a great honor. I’m delighted. Thank you all for this privilege. I promise to fulfill my duty to the best of my ability, and to wave royally”—she demonstrated—“and will toss candy to the children on both sides of the car along the parade route.”

  There was light laughter, then applause once again as Berry returned the microphone to Christina.

  Berry was handed a glass of wine and was congratulated with pats on the back and fond smiles as she made her way back to Dallas and Grant.

  “Well, there’ll be no skipping the parade this year,” Dallas told her.

  “Give me five more minutes to be gracious, then we are out of here,” Berry whispered. “I will need my beauty rest tonight and tomorrow night if I’m to be up at the very crack of Saturday. Hmm. What shall I wear? I expect it will be hot … of course, a hat; that goes without saying. One with a wide brim. And perhaps a dress of a very lightweight fabric. Something gauzy. And sleeveless, of course. Thank God, I still have the arms for it …”

  Twenty minutes later, in the car on the way back to the house, Dallas asked, “So what’s the deal for Saturday? What exactly does the grand marshal do?”

  “I ride in a convertible—top down, of course, otherwise, why bother with a convertible?—the very first car in the parade. I wave grandly, I throw sweets, I smile. I’m photographed for posterity. I give the signal to start the boat races, and I … well, there may be another little thing or two. I’m sure someone will tell me.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be very good at all that,” Grant noted.

  “Please, dear. I’ve played several queens in the past. I have the royal demeanor down pat.”

  “I thought the title was grand marshal, not grand empress,” Dallas said.

  “Same thing.” Berry waved a hand. “I’m sure a wee bit of drama is to be expected of me.”

  “And I’m sure you’ll deliver, Berry,” Dallas murmured, and Grant smiled.

  The entire downstairs was lit up when they arrived at Berry’s, lights on in each room.

  “Hi, Mom,” Cody greeted them at the front door excitedly. “We’ve had so much fun! Paige and I have been reading. She let me read some of the pages and helped me with the words. Look, Mom! Pirates buried a treasure on this island!”

  An animated Fleur gaily danced around the group in the front hall.

  “I remember reading that book a long time ago.” Dallas ran a hand through her son’s hair. “There might still be a copy in the library here.”

  “Can we find it?”

  “We’ll look for it in the morning.” Dallas held out her wrist and pointed to her watch. “Way past the bedtime, bud.”

  “I know, but we were having so much fun reading.” Cody wrapped his arms around Paige. “Paige is the best reader ever. Even better than the library lady.”

  Paige smiled and hugged him.

  “Well, we all have things to do tomorrow. Paige has dogs to walk, Dallas has work on her screenplay, I have animals to tend to, Cody has story hour, and Miss B has to get her glorious self ready for Saturday.” Grant took his daughter by the arm.

  Dallas paid Paige for babysitting and everyone said their good nights. Dallas accompanied the departing father and daughter outside.

  “I have a couple of surgeries lined up for tomorrow, and another for tomorrow evening, so I’m pretty much MIA until Saturday morning,” Grant told Dallas.

  She stood at the foot of the front porch steps. Ahead, in the dark, Paige ambled to the car.

  “I do have to work on my screenplay, you were spot-on there.” Dallas nodded. “Especially since I suspect Saturday will be spent in town, watching herself wave to the peons as she travels through the heart of St. Dennis.”

  Grant laughed softly. “She’ll be fabulous.”

  “She always is,” Dallas agreed.

  “Dad, the mosquitoes are getting me,” Paige whined.

  He raised Dallas’s hands to his lips and pressed a kiss in each palm. “I’ll be over on Saturday to walk down to the parade route with you and Cody.”

  She nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

  She stood with her arms folded over her chest, and watched the car disappear behind the trees that lined River Road. After the taillights disappeared around the bend, she went back inside to close up the house for the night and tuck her son into bed.

  Chapter 20

  “I wish I had better news, but so far, no one’s been interested in this deal unless you and Berry star in the film together,” Norma told Dallas on Friday morning. “Personally, I feel it’s a form of blackmail to get you and Berry in the same film, which of course would be box office dynamite.”

  Dallas sighed. “We’ve gone over this.”

  “Yes, we have. And I respect the fact that you’ve made up your mind, and believe me, I’ve been very supportive of that decision at each of these meetings. Frankly, the feeling that I’m getting is that everyone thinks you’re holding out for astronomical bucks and a huge percentage to do the film.”

  “That’s nonsense.”

  “That’s Hollywood,” Norma corrected her. “But not to despair. I have another meeting in about an hour, another at four this afternoon, and another tomorrow morning—actually, that’s a lunch meeting. So we just need to wait and see. Personally, I think these people are all crazy because the film is going to be a blockbuster and everyone who’s passed it by is going to be kicking themselves in the ass later.”

  “Well, let’s see what your other meetings bring. Thanks, Norma. I hope you have some good news soon.”

  “So do I.” Norma hung up, and Dallas began to pace.

  She wasn’t at all surprised that the studio and production people Norma had met with believed that Dallas was holding out. Games were played every hour of every day. It was part of the business, though definitely not her favorite part. She’d long since grown tired of it.

  “So far, two girls and one boy,” Grant greeted her when he called a little while later.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the litter of Great Danes I’m delivering. Three pups so far. Two of one, one of the other. All brindles. Cute as can be.”

  “Do you usually assist at deliveries?”

  “Not as a general rule, but her owner brought her in this morning because she was—get this—‘acting strangely.’ She was looking for a place to have her pups, but they didn’t recognize the behavior until she started delivering in the waiting room out front. And how’s your day going?”

  “I spoke with my lawyer earlier. No one’s feeling the love for Pretty Maids unless Berry and I are in it.”

  “Sounds like a form of extortion to me.”

  “That’s what Norma and I think, too. I may end up having to put my money where my mouth is, but we’ll see. I’m just going to keep working on the screenplay.”

  “Atta girl. Don’t let the bastards get you down.”

  “How’s everything else going for you today?” She walked to the window and looked out. Berry had just returned from the library with Cody and they were walking across the lawn, a much-animated Cody telling something to Berry, who was smiling broadly.

  “All right. Surgery day. I just popped into the kitchen to grab some lunch.”

  “I hope you washed your hands.”

  “Ha ha. I’m hanging up now and going back to work.” There was humor in his voice, and a natural warmth that she’d always found irresistible.

  “What time do you think you’ll be by tomorrow?
Berry has to be at the parade staging location at eight thirty, and I’d like to go with her.”

  “I can meet you there. Where does the parade begin?”

  “The corner of Andrews and Charles. Just look for the first car.”

  “What fancy vehicle did they find to transport Miss B?”

  “No idea what she’ll be riding in.” She lowered her voice as Berry and Cody came in through the front door. “She’s really quite taken with this whole thing, you know. There’s going to be no living with her for a while after this.”

  Grant laughed. “She’ll wring every bit of fun from the entire day. She’ll have a ball.”

  “I’m sure she will.”

  “Oops, number four is on its way out. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “See you in …” she began, then realized he’d hung up.

  “Who are you speaking to?” Berry peeked into Dallas’s office.

  “I was talking with Grant but we’ve hung up. He’s going to meet us in the morning at the staging place.”

  “Good. I’m sure Paige and Cody will enjoy the parade. As will we all.” Berry started to close the door, then stopped and poked her head back into the room. “If you have a free moment later, perhaps you could help me decide between two possible outfits.”

  “I’d love to. But you know, whatever you wear, you’re going to look fabulous.”

  “Goes without saying.” Berry closed the door and left Dallas to her work.

  Saturday morning was clear and beautiful and blessedly free of the humidity that had plagued St. Dennis on and off for the past several weeks. Dallas was up and dressed and ready to go by eight, in case Berry needed help with anything. This was going to be a big day for her, Dallas knew, being honored by her hometown. Berry had tried on several outfits the night before with all the enthusiasm of a teenager trying on prom dresses.

  “What do you think, Dallas?” Berry had sashayed out of her room in a lime green dress and a white hat with lime green and yellow flowers.

  “Not your best color.” Dallas shook her head. “Not bad, but you can do better. What else do you have?”

  Berry disappeared into her room and came back to the landing ten minutes later in a white dress of gauzy fabric that had colorful embroidery around its scoop neck.

  “I haven’t yet found the right hat, but I know I have one,” Berry explained.

  “That’s it,” Dallas told her. “Look no further. That’s a perfect dress and it looks super on you. Shows off your still-girlish figure quite nicely.”

  “I thought so, too”—Berry grinned—“but I didn’t want to be the one to say it.”

  “Take it off, hang it up before one of the dogs jumps up on you, and go find your hat.”

  “I’m on my way …” Berry’s voice trailed off as she swept down the hall.

  Breakfast had been at seven thirty, which gave Berry about forty-five minutes to dress. She’d taken every one of them, but Dallas had to admit it had been worth it. Berry did look fabulous, and Dallas told her so.

  “You’ll turn a lot of heads today, Berry.”

  “Yes, everyone muttering, ‘She doesn’t look too bad for an old broad.’ ” Berry flashed a look at Dallas. “Which is not to say that I see myself as an old broad. I do, however, believe there are some who might.”

  “Misguided fools.”

  Berry smiled. “Indeed.”

  Dallas packed a canvas bag with several bottles of water for Berry to take in the car with her to sip on during the parade. The August sun could be unmerciful, and while Berry wouldn’t admit to feeling the effects of her age, Dallas knew that dehydration was no friend to the elderly. She sent Cody to get the dogs inside and went out back to pull her car around to the front of the house for Berry, telling her, “There’s no point in arriving at the parade sweaty and hot. We’ll drive, and I’ll find a place to leave the car.”

  “All right, dear.” Berry poked her in the back. “But some of us don’t sweat.”

  “Right.” Dallas picked up her bag from the kitchen table. “You glow.”

  The drive took all of five minutes, because they ran into roadblock after roadblock due to the parade route. They arrived at the designated corner, and Dallas let Berry out of the car while she looked for a place to park. When Dallas made her way back, she saw a most elegant vehicle at the head of the parade.

  Wow, she thought. A white Bentley convertible. Berry must be beside herself.

  As Dallas drew closer to the car, she realized that Berry was more than simply beside herself.

  “Surely this wasn’t your idea.” Berry was addressing a tall, good-looking man with white hair who leaned on the passenger-side door with a certain amount of proprietary interest.

  Dallas couldn’t hear the man’s response, but when Berry saw her niece approaching, he turned to follow her gaze, and Dallas knew exactly who he was and who had somehow managed to get him there.

  “Hello,” Dallas said, extending her hand to him. “I’m Dallas, Berry’s niece—well, grandniece, but we usually drop the ‘grand.’ ”

  “Archer Callahan.” His smile was charming, his eyes crystal blue.

  No wonder Berry had fallen.

  “Is this your car?” Dallas pretended not to have noticed Berry’s glare.

  “Yes,” he replied. “An oldie but a goodie, as they say.”

  “It’s beautiful. Are you loaning it for the parade?”

  “Well, I’m driving it, but yes, we’re using her in the parade today.” He turned to Berry. “That is, if the guest of honor will get in.”

  “Of course she’ll get in.” Dallas smiled. “Why wouldn’t she?” She turned to Berry. “I have water for you to take in the car. Where would you like me to put it?”

  “I can think of a place, but Cody’s standing right behind you.” Berry was looking at Archer, not Dallas.

  “Berry, are you ready to lead us onward?” Grace appeared at Dallas’s elbow. “Oh my, don’t you look … well, ‘beautiful’ hardly does you justice today, Berry. Archer, doesn’t Berry look lovely?”

  “She certainly does. I’d have told her myself if she’d stop biting my head off long enough for me to get the words out.” Archer stood with his hands on his hips, his gaze challenging Berry.

  Oh, this is good. Dallas suppressed a grin. This is really good. Berry, caught off guard? And now speechless?

  She stole a glance at Grace, who winked.

  Gracie! You little devil, you …

  “Well, we need to get on with the parade. We’re already seven minutes behind schedule and we have a very full day. Berry, if you’ll just get in, we can tell Beck we’re ready to roll.” Grace took Berry by the arm and turned her toward the car. “He’s got Hal out there detouring traffic until after the parade finishes up, but traffic is building, as I’m sure you can imagine.” Berry hadn’t moved. “What?” Grace asked.

  “This was your doing,” Berry said under her breath. “Don’t even try to deny it. You arranged for this car.”

  “Well, of course I did. Henry Wagner was supposed to drive his old Cadillac as the lead car, but it has some mechanical problem, I forget what he said it was. We only just found out about it late yesterday. Well, the only suitable car I could think of on such short notice was Archer’s.” Grace patted Berry on the arm and led her one step closer to the Bentley. “The only other convertible would have been Hal’s old Buick, but he never did get that body cancer taken care of, so there are those rusty spots.” She lowered her voice. “We didn’t think that was quite the thing.”

  Grace got Berry as far as the car door.

  “Aunt Berry, you’re going to get to drive in this really cool car!” Cody was leaning over the side to look at the interior. “Lucky duck!”

  For a moment, Berry appeared to be indecisive.

  “Who owns this car, Aunt Berry?” he asked.

  “Mr. Callahan owns the car,” she told him.

  “Would you like to see the inside, son?” Archer asked.


  Cody nodded vigorously.

  “Come on over here and take a quick look.” Archer beckoned him. “The parade has to start.” He glanced over at Berry. “Are you ready, Grand Marshal Eberle?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be, Mr. Callahan.” Berry entered the car regally, and settled into the passenger seat. Dallas handed her the chilled bottles of water and called Cody to her side.

  “The cars are going to start now,” Dallas told him. “We need to find Paige and Dr. Wyler.”

  “I’ll see you at the end of the parade route,” Berry called over her shoulder as the car began to glide toward the center of town. “The marina, I believe.”

  “We’ll be there,” Dallas called back.

  After the car had rolled away, Dallas turned to Grace and asked, “How did you make that happen?”

  “Oh, a little luck, perhaps a bit of magic.” A little smile played at the corners of Grace’s mouth.

  “What did you do, wave your magic wand?” Dallas laughed.

  “Nothing quite that dramatic. Besides, wands are so passé.” Grace patted Dallas on the back as she made her way toward the back of the line. “Now it’s out of our hands and in theirs.”

  “Come on, Cody, let’s look for … oh, there’s Grant.” Dallas waved to him, and he cut between the cars to join them on the opposite side of the street.

  “Where’s Paige?” Cody asked.

  “Her aunt is crazy busy at Scoop already this morning, so she asked if Paige would come in and help out,” Grant told them. “I guess you’re stuck with me and your mom for now.”

  “That’s okay.” Cody looked around. “Will we see the whole parade from here?”

  “No, we’re going to walk up to the center of town,” Dallas said.

  Grant took her hand, and she took Cody’s, and they quickened their steps to get ahead of the parade. Four blocks up, they ran into Brooke, her mother, Logan, and Brooke’s brother, Clay, all standing in front of Sips, the beverage-only shop in the very heart of town. Brooke introduced Dallas and Cody to Clay. They’d already met her mother at Bowwows and Meows.

  “I’m thirsty,” Cody said. “All that running up the street in the hot sun.”