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

  “Yay!” Cody got up and tugged on Paige’s hand. “Let’s go with them.”

  “Hold up there, Cody,” Dallas called to him before he could open the door. “We’ll all walk together.”

  “Speak for yourself, dear.” Berry stood, Archer holding the back of her chair. “We’ll drive. My knees, you know. The old girl isn’t what she used to be.”

  “Couldn’t tell that by the applause you got last night,” Archer reminded her. “You’re still a star.”

  “Of course I am.” Berry smiled.

  The group trailed out onto the sidewalk, where Wade stopped to lift Austin onto his shoulders. Paige sought Stef’s company, and arm in arm, they strolled along.

  “Are you having sex with Wade?” Paige whispered in her aunt’s ear. “I think you and Wade are having sex. You look like you—”

  “Paige Wyler …” Steffie sputtered. “That’s totally inappropriate and none of your business. And how would you know what it looks like when …”

  Paige laughed and pointed ahead to her father and Dallas.

  “You’re too young to think about things like that.” Steffie tried to keep a straight face.

  Wade turned around and asked, “What’s she too young for?”

  “Driving,” Paige piped up. “I was saying I couldn’t wait until I could drive.”

  They’d crossed Charles Street and were halfway down Kelly’s Point when Stef saw Dallas turn to Grant and say, “Paparazzi on the left. Do you mind?”

  “Nah.” Grant shook his head. “Everyone’s been talking about your birthday weekend for weeks now. A couple of pictures aren’t going to hurt anyone.”

  Scoop was crowded and it seemed that many of the customers had been at the party the night before and were hoping for another taste of honey lavender.

  “Sorry,” Stef explained as she stepped behind the counter and tied on an apron. “That was special for Dallas. But we have some other really yummy flavors …” She directed their attention to the cooler and the containers of chocolate monster mash, apple walnut, maple walnut, pumpkin raisin, and spiced pear.

  She served Cody and Austin and sent Paige to one of the tables out front with the boys. Dallas and Grant mingled with some of last night’s guests and Berry and Archer arrived as some of the crowd were beginning to disperse.

  “Goodness,” Berry said, watching others leave as she arrived. “Was it something I said?”

  “We offered to give a tour of the warehouses to anyone who’s interested,” Dallas told her. “So everyone can see where my new studio will be.”

  “Right now all they’re going to see are empty warehouses,” Wade pointed out.

  “True. But anyone with any vision will be able to see how fabulous it’s going to be.”

  “Whatever.” Wade shook his head and his sister laughed.

  From the corner of her eye, Steffie saw Wade standing at the end of the cooler. Between customers, she took a few steps sideways and asked, “Did you want me?”

  “Again and again,” he told her, and she laughed.

  “That kind of talk is for later. Right now I’m working.”

  “I’m going to take Austin back to Berry’s and get him settled while I try to get things organized for tomorrow.”

  “All right.”

  “Can I stop over later?” he asked as if he wasn’t sure how she’d respond. “It might only be for a little while. We have to leave early.”

  “I’ll be home after I close up. You know the way.” She touched his hand, then went back to work, reminding herself that a little while was better than no while.

  It had only been a little while—less than three hours, but they’d used every minute of the time they had together. He’d wanted to talk about his job, but she had other plans.

  “We can talk some other time,” she told him as she unbuttoned his shirt. “We can talk on the phone. Or text. Or send e-mails. But we won’t be able to do this …” She drew herself up to kiss his face and then his lips, and whatever it was he’d wanted to talk to her about had had to wait.

  “What time will you be heading out tomorrow?” Steffie asked while she watched Wade dress. She tried to sound casual but wasn’t sure she pulled it off.

  “Early. I had planned on driving, but then I got to thinking about things, and decided maybe we should fly instead.”

  “What about all your stuff?”

  He zipped his jeans and sat on the edge of the bed.

  “What if it isn’t a good situation for Austin?” he said.

  “What are you talking about?” She moved closer, the sheet wrapped around her.

  “Ted said there’s a day-care right there at the plant.”

  “That’s good, though, right?”

  “I guess. Austin’s never been around a whole bunch of kids at the same time before. He’s always been with adults. Except for Cody, but they’re like brothers now. What if Austin doesn’t like being part of a group all day? Eight or nine in the morning till six at night is a really long day for a little kid. What if he doesn’t like it? What if he doesn’t like the people who work at the day-care center? What if he misses Cody and Berry …?” He stopped and turned to her. “I’m beginning to obsess, aren’t I?”

  “Uh-huh. But those are the things parents have to deal with every day. Not that I know from experience, but that’s what I’ve read. You do what you have to do.”

  “True enough. I’ve just never had to think about it until now, and once I did, I realized that it’s going to be a big change for him. He’s already had one big change in his life, you know?”

  She nodded. Losing his mother had certainly been a big change.

  “Anyway, I need to make sure things will be right for him.” He took her hand. “And then there’s this contract issue.”

  “What contract issue?”

  After he explained, she said, “So you’ve asked to see it but this guy hasn’t sent it yet?”

  “Right. I still haven’t seen it. Which makes me wonder what he’s hiding. Like maybe the fine print.”

  “Could he really do that? Make you sign away your rights to your beers?” Stef frowned. “That would be like someone else laying claim to my ice-cream recipes.”

  “Exactly.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t give up your brewing secrets, Wade.”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder.

  “Wade?”

  “What?”

  “If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were looking for reasons to not stay in Connecticut.”

  “The thought’s occurred to me.”

  “But maybe you’ll get there and everything will be just skippy. The day-care thing and the job and the contract and you’ll find a great place to live.”

  “Will you come see us?” he asked.

  “Sure. Will you come back and see me?”

  “Absolutely.” He smoothed her hair with his hand. “We’ll see how far this goes, okay?”

  “We’ll be okay,” she told him, and prayed she sounded more convinced than she felt.

  She managed to keep a smile on her face and a positive attitude as they said good-bye, even until the door closed behind him and she turned the lock.

  Then, from somewhere deep inside, a little voice whispered that some things never change. Wade would leave and get on with his life, and she’d still be here, in St. Dennis, alone, until next time.

  Diary ~

  My, what a time we had on Saturday night! It reminded me of the days when Berry would fly in from California with some of her Hollywood friends and throw one of her fabulous cocktail parties. What fun to see so many celebrities up close and personal. ALL those designer dresses and fabulous jewels! Our little town is still buzzing. And why not? Dallas’s party made it to the cover of every entertainment publication on the market. Why, almost every one of the tabloids and the glossy gossip magazines had pictures on their covers. We had a grand time passing those
around at Cuppachino these last few days. Everyone was tickled to see that even Steffie and Wade made several of the covers. Oh, not by themselves, of course, but in photos of the birthday girl and her new fiancé! Yes, Grant went down on one knee to pop the question at the party. Who knew he was so gallant? He gave Dallas a ring that had belonged to his grandmother. Some of us—I and a few others—are old enough to remember when his grandmother, Helen Kay, received that ring on her wedding day. Dallas, who I hear has some very lovely diamonds of her own, seemed genuinely touched to have received this special piece, and showed it off to absolutely everyone. Ah, true love …

  Speaking of which, I can’t say that I was surprised to see Berry on the arm of my cousin Archer once again. Now there’s a romance that goes way back. I had seen them out to dinner on several occasions, and even more telling, had noticed his car parked right out there in the open in her driveway for several days at a time over the past few months. I daresay they could be a tad more discreet—but I am happy to see them together again. I know he loved his wife all the years they were married, but I don’t think he ever quite got over Berry. Berry never did marry, and I always wondered if it had something to do with the way she and Archer had parted all those years ago.

  Oh, of course, I took lots and lots of photos at the party—Daniel is going to print them for me and I cannot wait. I had my picture taken with so many celebs, I can’t even remember them all! Now, these will be something to put in the family archives! I told Daniel to make extras so I could send a few to Lucy so she can see what she’s missing! She seems to think that nothing fun ever happens in her old hometown.

  ~ Grace ~

  “Hey, wake up!” Vanessa thumped on Steffie’s worktable with a rolled-up newspaper.

  “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.” Steffie swiveled around on the stool she’d been sitting on.

  “You look like you’re a thousand miles away.”

  “Close enough.” Stef held up a piece of paper. “Recipe for Mexican chocolate monster mash. Adding cinnamon and …”

  She stared at the cover of the tabloid Vanessa was holding. “That’s me.” She reached for the paper. “Me and Wade and … oh, how cute does Austin look! This was taken right out front.” She held the photo up and pointed. “See, there’s the shop right there in the background. I guess one of those guys taking pictures yesterday sold them.” She grinned. “That was fast.”

  “These publications pay a lot of money to get this stuff, like, pronto. I bet there are a half-dozen more publications on the stand today with the same kind of coverage. This article is pretty accurate, as far as tabloids go,” Vanessa pointed out. “It’s all about Dallas’s party and who was there and talks about her getting engaged. There’s a close-up of her ring on page three.”

  Steffie read the front-page photo’s caption: “ ‘Superstar Dallas MacGregor on a stroll with fiancé, Grant Wyler, after celebrating her birthday in St. Dennis, Maryland. With Dallas and Grant is (left to right) her son, Cody Blair, and his daughter, Paige Wyler’—how crazy will Paige be when she sees her face on the cover of a national newspaper—‘Dallas’s brother, Wade MacGregor, and his son, Austin; and Steffie Wyler, Grant’s sister and owner of One Scoop or Two, the ice-cream shop and the group’s Sunday afternoon destination.’ ”

  Steffie looked up from the paper and laughed. “My name is in a tabloid. My picture is on the front page. How insane is this?”

  “That much fuss for Dallas’s birthday, imagine what the coverage of the wedding is going to be like.”

  “Do you think I look fat in this picture?” Steffie held up the paper.

  “No. You look hot.” Vanessa looked closer. “So does Wade. The three of you—you and Wade and Austin—look like a happy family.”

  “Yeah, well, whoever said that the camera never lies wasn’t aware that Wade and Austin would be on their way to Connecticut this morning to check out the new job and look for a place to live.” She glanced at the clock. “Actually, they’ve been there for a while. They left early this morning.”

  “How are you feeling about that?” Vanessa asked.

  “How do you think I feel?”

  “That bad, huh?”

  Stef nodded. “I’m trying not to, but I can’t help it.”

  “Maybe you should tell him, Stef.” Vanessa sat on the other stool. “Maybe he should know how you feel.”

  “Oh, he knows.” Steffie laughed. “Believe me, he knows.”

  Vanessa’s eyes narrowed as she studied Stef’s face. “You slept with him.”

  Steffie grinned and took a mallet to a hunk of dark chocolate, tapping it gently so that the pieces didn’t fly all over the table.

  “You did.”

  Gathering up the smaller chunks, Steffie nodded.

  “When did this happen, and why am I just finding out about it?” Vanessa demanded.

  “Because it just happened last night … oh, okay, and Saturday night. But I haven’t seen you and didn’t have time to call you.” Steffie smiled at her friend. “And I knew you’d be here today, if for no other reason than to talk about the party. Which, face it, was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Did you see Derek Manheimer? Oh, my heart. He looks good on the screen, but damn! In person, he—”

  “Don’t even try to change the subject, missy. I want details. I demand details.” Vanessa snagged a chunk of chocolate that Steffie missed and nibbled. “Like, how was it?”

  “Amazing. Incredible.” Steffie sighed. “Life changing.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “I don’t know whether or not that’s a good thing.” Vanessa reached into the bowl where Stef had dumped the chunks. “This is ridiculous chocolate, by the way.”

  “It’s Mexican. High butterfat content. Like, eighty-four percent.”

  “So, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Wade’s taking a job up north and I have a business here.”

  “That was terse.”

  “I don’t know what else to say. That’s what’s going on.”

  “So it’s, like, nowhere?” Vanessa frowned.

  “I guess.” Stef swallowed the lump in her throat. “Oh, I know he’ll be back. Once he finds a place to live, he’s going to have to come back for all his stuff.”

  “All what stuff?”

  “All the stuff that’s in the trailer he had hooked up to his car when he got here. All his stuff from Texas, I guess. And his Jeep,” she added. “He’ll need that.”

  “I don’t understand. If he knew he was moving, why didn’t he just take everything with him today?”

  “I’m not really sure, but I think he’s worried that Austin won’t adjust to the child care.”

  “I think it’s more likely that Wade’s worried that you’ll adjust to someone else.” Vanessa wagged a finger at Stef. “I think he knows that the universe is bringing others into your orbit.”

  “How can you say stuff like that with a straight face?” Stef asked.

  “Because I—”

  “Yeah, yeah. You cast a spell.” Steffie rolled her eyes. “Notice the path that’s been beaten to my door.”

  “Hey, I did my part. Just because Jesse doesn’t do it for you or Clay—”

  “Jesse and I have a professional relationship. And besides, I think he has his eye on Brooke. And Clay and I have known each other forever and he’s more like a brother to me.”

  “Maybe I should try—”

  “No. I know what you’re thinking, and no. Do not do it again. Whatever it is that you think you did the first time, don’t bother doing it again.”

  Vanessa muttered something under her breath.

  “What was that?” Stef asked.

  “I just said, you deserve to be happy. If not with Wade, then with someone else.”

  “I agree. I do deserve to be happy.” Stef bit her bottom lip. “But the thing is, I don’t want anyone else. I’ve tried—God knows that all my adult life I have tried—but it’s always be
en Wade. Especially now that we …” She shook her head. “Look, if you’re going to be saying some kind of mumbo jumbo—not that I want you to, and not that I’d ever ask you to, because, you know, I don’t believe in any of that—but if you were to do it, just don’t make it nonspecific, okay?”

  Vanessa nodded. “Got it.”

  “So. With the party behind me, I get to go back to work on my house. I haven’t even been inside in almost a week, except to meet with Cam one day for about twenty minutes to go over what the plumber and the electrician did.”

  “How’s it going?”

  “I can probably move in sometime next week. I’ll need to air out the place a little. The dust from all the work they’ve been doing is enough to choke a horse, but my bathroom is ready and the kitchen is pretty much operational.”

  “That was fast.”

  “It’s been about a month, and since I didn’t make any major changes—no walls moved or anything like that—they were able to stay pretty much on schedule. I do want to have a powder room built on the first floor, but the room is already there and Cam said the pipes are in line with other pipes, so it won’t be a huge project.”

  “So what are you going to do first?” Vanessa asked.

  “Finish painting my kitchen cabinets and the woodwork in there. And paint my bedroom. And maybe the bath and the upstairs hall. And the—”

  “Slow down. Focus on one room at a time.”

  “Right. The kitchen and then my bedroom.” Stef forced a smile. “I won’t be entertaining a whole lot, so I’m not in any hurry to do the downstairs rooms. I’ll get to them.”

  “So what night this week can we do our sleepover?”

  “What?”

  “The sleepover. You promised me popcorn and ice cream and s’mores. Grady’s away until the end of the week. I was thinking it would be nice to have company and do some girly things.”

  “Promise not to paint my nails ‘Pretty in Pink’ while I’m sleeping?”

  “How did you know …?”

  “You’re the ultimate girly-girl. You love the froufrou. Me, I’m more the ‘Paint Me Plum’ type.”

  “I’ll stock up.” Vanessa picked up her bag and hopped off her stool. “So which night?”