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

  “I almost hate to say this—all things considered—but I’m sad about that. I had a great relationship with my dad, and it hurts me to know that Cody doesn’t have that.”

  “It’s Emilio’s fault, not yours, that his son doesn’t seem to have much affection for him. Emilio is a classic narcissist.” She pointed toward the street, where at that moment Emilio was addressing the crowd that had gathered. “Even now, it’s all about him. He’s using this to get good press, Dallas. It’s his platform to try to salvage his sunken career and rehabilitate himself in the public’s eye. Look, someday, maybe he and Cody will be able to have a decent relationship, but that’s up to Cody. He’s a smart boy. He’ll let you know when he’s ready, and you’ll permit him to make that decision on his own.”

  Dallas nodded and turned back to the crowd that was still celebrating the boys’ return. Grant was speaking with Agent Turner, and when he looked her way, he smiled. She all but ran to him, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him soundly on the mouth.

  “I haven’t thanked you yet,” she said, kissing him again.

  “I’ll let you thank me later. Right now, Agent Turner is chewing me out, and I don’t think he’s quite finished,” Grant told her.

  “It was reckless of you,” Turner said. “Instead of this great reunion, we could just as easily be trolling the Bay to recover your body right now.”

  “With all due respect, I’m not stupid, Agent Turner. I was pretty sure I could row from Hal’s boat to the shore and make it. I rowed in high school and I rowed in college. I’ve rowed in storms every bit as bad as the one we had last night,” Grant explained, “and I’ve been a very strong swimmer all my life.”

  “Still, you should have left it to us.”

  “We did try to call you.” Beck stepped up. “The calls weren’t getting through, and we had no way of knowing how much longer you’d be down in the marsh. The agent you left here with Dallas was tied up with her ex-husband and the entourage of press he brought along with him. Once Dr. Wyler figured out where the boys might have gone, we needed to go immediately in case the storm got any worse. I made the decision to go, Agent Turner. I take full responsibility for making that call.”

  “Would you have taken responsibility if Dr. Wyler had drowned?”

  “Yes.” Beck nodded without hesitation. “I would have.”

  Mia came up behind the agent, with whom she’d worked on several cases when she was still with the Bureau, and poked him in the back. “Lighten up, Vic,” she whispered. “All’s well that ends well.”

  “You know I’m going to have to speak with both of the boys before I leave.” The agent did his best to ignore her.

  Mia held up her left hand, using her thumb and forefinger to form an O.

  Vic Turner shook his head, rolled his eyes, and walked away.

  When the agent reached the end of the drive, Beck turned to Grant. “That really was one hell of a stupid thing to have done.”

  “Hey, you just said—”

  “That was because the FBI was standing there, ready to read you the riot act.” Beck stood with his hands on his hips. “If anyone’s going to ream you out, it’ll be me.”

  The two men stared at each other.

  “Frankly, we were afraid you weren’t going to make it,” Beck said.

  “I appreciate that,” Grant told him. “But you have to understand that there was no way I wasn’t going to try.”

  “You should have let me come with you,” Beck said.

  “So we both could have drowned?” Grant shook his head no. He hastened to add, “Not that I really thought that was going to happen.”

  “It was really that bad out there?” Dallas put her arms around his waist.

  “Nah.” Grant shook his head. “Everyone likes a little drama. Even Beck.”

  “Let’s bring everyone inside and see if Berry has a bottle or two of champagne to open to celebrate everyone’s safe return. I plan on spending the rest of the afternoon hugging my son.”

  “Good luck with that,” Grant told her. “Cody and Logan are feeling like pretty big boys right about now. The way they see it, they had a pretty damned great adventure. Sailed out in a storm, got shipwrecked on a deserted island, slept out in the great wild with only the rowboat for shelter. Lived on peppermint candies. They’ll have a hell of a great story to tell when they get back to school next month.”

  “Well, good for Cody, but his mother is still a quivering mass and needs to hug her boy,” Dallas said.

  “I think the press would like a statement.” Steffie came across the yard and threw herself on her brother. “The story is all over the news. They’re all calling you a hero, you big knucklehead.”

  Before he could protest, Dallas said, “My hero.” She linked her arm through his. “I always wanted to be able to say that to someone in real life …”

  The celebration lasted until both exhausted boys suddenly and simultaneously fell asleep on the living-room floor. Clay Madison lifted his sleeping nephew and carried him to their car. Dallas hugged Brooke and her mother, then she and Grant walked them to the car. There was still a cluster of reporters gathered on the sidewalk, but Clay drove past them without comment.

  Seeing Dallas in the driveway, they called to her, hoping for a quote to go along with their coverage of the story that had a happy ending rather than the worst, as had been expected.

  “Dallas, can we have a minute?”

  “Dallas, how’s Cody?” At this, she gave them a thumbs-up, and someone snapped a picture.

  “You should go speak with them,” Dallas told Grant. “You’re the story here.”

  “Not my style.” He shook his head and took her hand and together they went up the steps and into the house.

  “The phone is still ringing off the hook,” Berry told Dallas when they went into the kitchen. “I’ve been letting it go to messages but then I heard Wade’s voice but couldn’t get to the phone in time to answer it and he hung up. And now I can’t get him to pick up. Infuriating.”

  “Did he leave a message?” Dallas went to the machine to play it back.

  “I’m afraid I inadvertently hit erase while I was trying to get the call before he stopped talking.” Berry was clearly exasperated. “But he said something about coming home soon and that he had a surprise and we needed to brace ourselves.”

  Dallas laughed. “We always have to brace ourselves when it comes to Wade. I can’t imagine anything he’d do that could that would cause more than a lift of the eyebrows at this point.”

  “Well, I suppose we’ll see soon enough.” Berry yawned. “Steffie, would you like another glass of champagne? Some tea, perhaps?”

  “No, thank you, Miss B.” Steffie seemed suddenly subdued. “I should get back to the shop. Paige, are you going to work for me this afternoon?”

  Paige shook her head. “I think I want to wait until Cody wakes up.” She turned to Dallas. “If it’s okay with you …”

  “Of course,” Dallas told her, knowing how much Paige had worried about her little friend.

  “I guess I’ll see you in the morning, then.” Steffie tapped Paige on the top of the head. “Eight o’clock. Don’t be late.”

  Grant turned to Dallas and said, “I need to take a hot shower and get into some dry clothes. And I probably have a bunch of appointments to make up as well.”

  “There is no way I can ever thank you for what you did today. You saved my son.” Dallas took his face in both her hands and looked deeply into his eyes. “No matter what happens, I will never forget that you risked your life for Cody. I will be indebted to you for the rest of my life.”

  He kissed her, then turned and walked out the door.

  “Have you calmed down enough to talk a little business?” Norma asked Dallas when the two of them were the last in the kitchen, Berry having gone upstairs to take a nap.

  “Sure. Let’s take our coffee into the library.” Dallas stood to lead the way. “I’ve appropriated it for an office.
It’s a wonderful space to work in.”

  She opened the door for Norma to precede her into the room.

  “I can see why you like to work here,” Norma said as she seated herself in one of the oversize leather chairs. “Great light, great atmosphere. And very comfy chairs.”

  Dallas nodded. “I spend the better part of every day in here. My screenplay is almost finished.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “I figured as much.” Dallas took a sip of coffee, then placed her cup on the table that stood between her and Norma’s chairs.

  “I’m not having much luck getting backing for your project. I’ll tell you flat out that if you were starring in it, and someone else directing, it would have been sold last week for numbers that would make your head spin. As it is, everyone thinks you’re playing with them.”

  “I’m not trying to force the price up. I swear, I’m not.”

  “I know that. But I just can’t get that through to anyone.”

  “Who have you spoken with so far?” Dallas asked.

  Norma went into the hall and returned with her bag. She opened it and took out a small notebook. She thumbed through it until she came to the page she was looking for, then she handed it to Dallas.

  “Here’s the list along with their comments. Abbreviated comments, but you’ll get the gist.”

  “Would it help if I met with some of these people directly?” Dallas studied the list.

  “It might.” Norma smiled weakly. “It couldn’t hurt.”

  “See what you can set up for me. The sooner the better.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” Norma finished the last bit of coffee in her cup. “So. Couldn’t help but notice that’s some guy you’ve got there.”

  “He’s … amazing. He’s …” Dallas sighed. “He’s the guy I fell in love with when I was sixteen years old, except that now he’s all grown up.”

  “Not too many like him around. Oh, sure, lots of pretty faces in Hollywood, but how many of them would risk their life to save a child? A child that isn’t even his.”

  “Not many, I suppose.”

  “Damned few, if you ask me. I’d hold on to that one, honey.”

  “He has his business here,” Dallas told her. “My business is on the opposite coast.”

  “Too bad.” Norma shrugged, then went on to something else. “So, when do you think you’ll be coming back to L.A. for good?”

  “Cody and I planned on September seventh. The day after Labor Day. I figured that would give me two weeks to get Cody situated to go back to school.” She inspected a fingernail and found she’d bitten it without even realizing.

  “Cody seems like a different kid here,” Norma remarked.

  “Doesn’t he?” Dallas smiled. “He’s been really happy here. He has a best friend—a real best friend—for the first time ever.”

  “Logan. His partner in yesterday’s crime.”

  Dallas nodded. “Every kid needs that kind of playmate. Not that I want them to do that again. I just mean—”

  “I know what you mean. Hell, I’ve stayed in Laguna Beach for five years longer than I’d have liked to because my daughter has such a strong social network there. I figure it helps to make up for the fact that I’m a single parent and she’s an only child. She has lots of friends on our street and has gone to the same school forever. I’d like to move from that house, but I know it’s better for Elisabeth if we stay there for a few more years. I keep telling myself that once she leaves for college, I can live anyplace I want.” Norma’s phone chirped, announcing a text message. “Excuse me, Dallas, I need to take a look at this. I’ve been expecting … yeah, that’s what I’ve been waiting for.” She looked up at Dallas. “Mind if I excuse myself to make a call?”

  “Not at all. Go right ahead.”

  Dallas lifted her feet and rested them on the big round ottoman that sat next to her chair. She hadn’t realized how tired she was until she sat down and started to relax. She yawned and closed her eyes, and wished that she’d gone back to Grant’s when he did, but she didn’t want to leave Cody until she’d gotten used to the fact that he’d survived his ordeal and was back home again, safe and sound, when the outcome could have been so very different. Could easily have been much different, had it not been for Grant. There were so many awful stories in the news, so many terrible things happening to innocent children—other people’s children—that she could scarcely believe that her child had been spared, that her son had not been one of the stories that would cause every other parent to slap a hand over their mouth in horror.

  The last thought she had before falling off to sleep was that leaving St. Dennis at the end of the summer was going to be much harder than she’d ever imagined it could be.

  Chapter 23

  When Dallas called Grant the following morning and asked him to have lunch with her, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But he hadn’t expected what she had to say.

  “Norma’s set up meetings for me for this week. Four of them. We’re hoping that I can talk someone into putting up the money for Pretty Maids. So far, everyone’s turned her down,” she told him over pizza at Ferrari’s Pizza. “Everyone seems to think I’m jockeying for someone to put up superbucks for me to star in the film, which I’m not doing, and frankly, I am a little disappointed that some people I’ve known for years and have worked with before would think I’d play such games, but there it is.”

  “I’m assuming the meetings are on the West Coast.” All he could think of was he wished he’d chosen a different place for lunch. It was noisy and crowded and not the type of place where you’d toss your heart onto the table. But he was good at improvising. He’d go with what he had. Apparently, he wasn’t going to get another chance before she left. He was going to have to make this time count, speak his mind, and get it all out there, once and for all.

  Dallas nodded. “I’m flying out tonight. God, I hope I can sell someone on this. It means the world to me to be able to make this film.”

  He forced a smile. “I can’t imagine anyone turning you down, once you tell them about it the way you’ve told me. They’ll be fighting over each other to give you the money to make it.”

  She reached across the table and touched two of his fingers with hers.

  “It means a lot to me that you believe in me. I have so much to thank you for … not just for saving Cody’s life, but that’s certainly in the number one spot.”

  “Do me a favor, Dallas.” He put down the slice of pizza he’d been about to bite into. “Don’t tell me again how grateful you are.”

  “I am grateful to you.” She put down the paper cup of water she’d been drinking. “From what Beck and Hal have told me, you could have been killed out there in the Bay on Sunday morning. They said you could have been tossed overboard from that dinghy you were in, that at one point they thought you had been tossed into the Bay. Beck said there was no way they could have gotten to you because the water was too shallow for Hal’s boat to get any closer to the beach.” Her eyes filled with tears. “You risked everything to save Cody. Do you think I could ever forget that?”

  “I didn’t do it because I wanted your eternal gratitude, and I don’t want to be Cody’s savior. Of course I’m glad that everyone made it home all right and the worst thing that came out of it was Logan’s cold, which according to Clay is minor. But I don’t want to be your hero, Dallas. I want to be …” He struggled for the right words, then gave up. “I want to be your guy.”

  She reached across the table and touched his face. “You’ll always be my guy, Grant.”

  She stared at him for a long moment, then said, “I know you think that I’m not coming back, but you’re wrong. I’ll take care of my business and I’ll be back by the end of the week. I promise.”

  He could have said—wanted to say—Yeah, well, I’ve heard those words before. I think we both know how that turned out.

  But he couldn’t bring himself to burst the bubbl
e of the illusion that she would come back to him, or ask how long she’d stay this time. So instead, in the midst of the commotion of a children’s birthday party and a rowdy bunch of tourists, he said, “Here’s the thing, flat out. I didn’t choose to fall in love with you. I didn’t want to, this time around—I really didn’t—but I couldn’t help myself. And once I realized what was happening, I just said the hell with it and let myself fall. If I have to pick myself up, I can do that. I did it once before. I survived then. I can make it again.”

  She started to speak, but he silenced her by saying, “No, this is my turn. If I stop, I’ll probably run out of nerve. So here it is: I don’t want your eternal gratitude. I don’t want you coming back here to be with me because you feel indebted. That’s the word you used the other day. I went after Cody because I thought I knew where he and Logan might have gone, and knowing it and not going for them—well, that’s not the way I’m wired. But the last thing I want is for you to be indebted to me. Don’t come back if that’s all you feel, Dallas. Please stay in L.A. if that’s all we’re talking about here.”

  He glanced at his watch. He was already ten minutes late for a surgery he’d scheduled.

  “I gotta go.” He pushed back his chair. “Got a schnauzer with a cancerous growth on his liver that we’re going to try to remove.”

  He leaned across the table and kissed the side of her face. “Good luck with getting your film made,” he whispered. “I hope they give you everything you want, and more.”

  “I’ll be back by the weekend,” she said softly.

  He forced another smile. “Sure. I’ll see you then.”

  He left her sitting at the table because he couldn’t bear the thought of watching her leave, didn’t want to see the back of her as she walked away. He could have asked her to drop him off at the clinic but he needed the time to walk off the hurt and to try to clear his head. She always did have a way of clouding his head.

  He had no doubt that she’d get whatever it was she was going out there for, and he’d be happy for her because it meant so damned much to her. She’d make her film and it would be great and probably win her all kinds of awards and her life would be firmly entrenched on the West Coast again. But he also had no doubt that he’d been a fool to let this go beyond friendship again. He should have known—oh, hell, he had known—what was going to happen. Same story all over again. Dallas here for the summer, Dallas gone come September to chase her dreams. Grant stuck in his own life.