“No, no. You were right the first time. I’m a silent partner here. No one is going to know I’m involved in this.” Violet hesitated before adding firmly, “I would appreciate that you not tell anyone that I’m your investor.”
“Really? I’d think you’d want …”
“No. I do not want.” There was that stern voice again. “That’s a condition of the deal, Sophie. I will loan you the money that you need, but no one’s name is on the deed but yours. No one will know I’ve backed this venture. It’s going to have to be our secret.”
“All right. Let me think this through. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer. Oh, my God, it’s unexpected and beyond anything I ever would have thought possible …” Sophie took a deep breath. “But it’s a huge step for both of us, and I want to do the right thing.”
“I understand, dear. Just don’t take too long to make up your mind. Don’t forget there’s still another party out there, and we don’t know how badly they want to buy that property.”
“Good point.” Sophie nodded to herself. “I’ll call you first thing in the morning.”
“See that you do, dear.”
“And Violet … I don’t even know how to adequately thank you for making such a kind and generous offer.”
“You can thank me when the keys are put into your hand as the new owner of Walsh’s. Wait, you can’t keep calling it that. What will you call your restaurant?”
“I have no idea. I never got that far,” Sophie told her. “I’m sure the right name will come to me.”
The next week was a blur, but in the end, Sophie’s offer to purchase the old Walsh’s restaurant property had been accepted, and Violet had papers drawn up for the terms of the loan to finance the renovations.
“This was a tad tricky,” Violet told her on the phone. “Normally, I’d have had my attorney take care of the paperwork, but that’s out of the question for the obvious reason.”
“Why didn’t you just ask Jesse to do it?” Sophie asked.
“Did we not agree that no one would know that I was your investor?”
“Yes, but …”
“If Jesse knows, sooner or later, Curtis will find out. And if Curtis finds out that I went behind his back to help you do something we both know he wouldn’t approve of … well, it smacks of disloyalty.”
“How is helping me being disloyal to him?” Sophie sat in the nearest chair.
“Have you told him what you’re doing yet?”
“Well, no …”
“Why not?” When Sophie didn’t immediately respond, Violet added, “Because it isn’t what he wants you to do, and he’ll be a pain in the butt about it. You don’t want to have that conversation with him.”
“Not really.” Sophie sighed.
“So what do you think your grandfather would do if he knew that I was the one who backed this business venture of yours? It’s no secret that he wants you here, in this office.”
“Would he be angry with you?”
“Probably. For a while, anyway. Mostly he’d think that I betrayed him.”
“Why don’t we both go talk to him, together?” Sophie suggested.
“Because he’ll try to talk both of us out of it.”
“You really think he would?”
Violet snorted. “This is Curtis Enright we’re talking about here. He’s used to getting his way. Some might even call him manipulative.”
As much as she’d have liked to deny it, Sophie knew Violet was right. She certainly knew Curtis far better than Sophie did.
“So what did you do? Did you go to another firm?”
“Certainly not!” Violet bristled. Clearly the very thought was out of the question. “I wrote the documents myself and took them to Ballard to have them notarized. You’ll receive your copy to sign via overnight mail in the morning. You’ll have your signature notarized and return the copies to me. I’ll sign them and send you back your copy.”
“Not too late to change your mind, Violet. I’ll understand if you do.” Sophie wanted to give the woman an out if she felt she needed one.
“No second thoughts here. You?”
“None.”
“Well, then.” Violet sounded pleased. “I suppose we’re partners. Silent partners, but partners nonetheless. Your grandmother would have approved of your initiative.”
“Nice to think that someone in my family would have.”
Sophie’s time at the DA’s office had eaten up an additional week she hadn’t planned on, and it took another three for her to sort through her belongings—clothes, books, kitchen items—and pack for her move. As soon as Sophie had shared her plans, Gwen had made a bid to buy her condo and the sofa, which was proving too large to move, and, at the last minute, decided she’d take the kitchen table and chairs as well. Sophie sold her bedroom furniture to one of the secretaries in the office, which left her with mostly clothes and boxes.
By the time the condo was cleaned out and everything that didn’t fit in her SUV was stashed in a spare room at her mother’s house in Pittsburgh, it was the first week of April. Sophie would make it to St. Dennis with but a few days to spare before Jesse’s wedding.
Once the SUV was packed—with Gwen’s help—Sophie was finally ready to leave Ohio behind.
“Are you sure you can see out your windows?” Gwen poked her head inside to see if the mirrors were blocked by boxes.
“I’m good. The mirrors adjust,” Sophie assured her.
“They adjust that much?” Gwen was skeptical. “I’ll be fine.”
“Well, hell.” Gwen hugged Sophie. “I really will miss you. I wasn’t kidding about not having anyone else to mouth off to. No one else in the office appreciates snark and sarcasm the way you do.”
“I’ll see you when we go to settlement for the condo. And there’s the phone, Skype, text …”
“It’s not the same.”
“No, but it’ll be fine. And we’ve already agreed that you’ll come and visit.”
“And you won’t.”
Sophie looked beyond her SUV to the building where she’d lived for the past four years.
“No, I probably won’t.” Sophie turned back to the SUV and opened the driver’s-side door. “Not for a while, anyway. Except for you, there’s not much for me here.”
“So it looks like my vacation will be in St. Dennis this fall.” Gwen nodded.
“Good. I’ll look forward to that.” Sophie slammed the car door. “Maybe I’ll put you to work waiting tables, make you earn your keep.”
“Maybe you’ll introduce me to the hunky …” She paused. “What does the hunky guy do?”
“He’s a landscaper.”
“Nice.” Gwen nodded. “I’ll bet he’s got some muscles.”
“And some to spare.” Sophie grinned and backed out of her parking spot, waved to Gwen one more time, then headed out of the lot, out of town, out of her old life, and into her future.
Chapter 13
Sophie had always thought that the drive to someplace seemed so unnecessarily longer than the drive from, but for some reason, the return trip to St. Dennis felt endless. Maybe, she reasoned, because she was so eager to get there, so stoked to get to work. Violet had assured her that the closing on the property would go through without a hitch, but it wasn’t going to happen for another ten days. Of course, there was plenty to do between now and then. Jesse would be leaving on his honeymoon right after the reception on Saturday, so Sophie had only until Friday to acclimate herself to the workings of the office. There were files that needed to be reviewed and several situations he said he wanted to fill her in on, but there were no trials scheduled and nothing that had to be filed with the court in his absence, so she figured she’d be mostly fielding phone calls and researching case law for the few appeals he was leaving for her to write.
All of which was fine. She wanted to keep busy. It kept her mind off the many things that she feared could go wrong before the property went to closing.
It wo
uld be tough to keep the real estate deal under wraps, Violet had told her, but she’d do what she could to keep both Curtis and Jesse from finding out until Sophie could tell them herself, which she planned to do as soon as she hit town.
Jesse first, she decided, so she swung by the office before she did anything else.
“Hi,” Sophie called into the reception area. When there was no response, she took a quick look into the room. No Violet.
She tapped on Jesse’s half-closed door. He looked up from his desk, then smiled.
“What took you so long?” he asked.
“Traffic, mostly.” She pushed the door open and went inside.
“I meant what kept you in Ohio for so long.” He moved aside the pad on which he’d been writing and tossed the pen he’d been using onto the desktop.
“Don’t you ever listen to your voice mail? I gave two weeks’ notice but got roped into staying three, had to sell my condo, and had to drag everything I was keeping but couldn’t bring with me to Mom’s.” Sophie plunked down in one of the guest chairs.
“How’s Mom doing?” he asked.
“Fabulous as always. She’s so psyched for the wedding. Showed me her dress, her shoes … she’s going glam, Jess. Really planning on playing up the whole Mother of the Groom thing.”
“She bringing Adam with her?”
“She invited him but as of yesterday, she wasn’t sure if he’d make it. At best, he’ll fly in on Saturday if he’s back from his trip. She’s planning on driving herself on Thursday.”
“Why driving?”
“One, because she hates to fly; two, because she said having that brand-new and very sweet luxury drive that she finally broke down and bought for herself doesn’t make any sense if she doesn’t actually drive it anywhere; and three, that driving a distance is the only time she gets to catch up on the bestsellers she never has time to read. She’s big on audio books these days,” Sophie explained. “I am hoping that Adam can make it, though, so that we can get to know him a little better. I wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to get married when things settle down.”
“What things?” Jesse frowned.
“Her work, his work—he’s been traveling a lot but she said they expected that would taper off by the fall, so I’m thinking within the next few months there might be some sort of announcement.”
“You like him?” Jesse’s face showed his concern.
“I really do. From what I’ve seen, he’s a great guy with a great sense of humor, and he seems totally over the moon about Mom. And frankly, that’s what I care most about.”
“Me too.” Jesse nodded. “Well, good. I want her to be happy.”
“So do I.” Sophie leaned back against the seat. “So are you ready for your big day?”
“Couldn’t be more ready.”
“I think it’s so cool that you asked Pop to be your best man.”
“He is my best man. I couldn’t think of anyone else I wanted to have standing next to me when Brooke and I get married. And he’s so tickled that he’ll get to walk down the aisle with Dallas MacGregor after the ceremony.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “I think the old man’s got a crush.”
“What man in his right mind wouldn’t?” She could imagine her elderly grandfather offering his arm to the gorgeous film star who’d more than once been voted the most beautiful woman in the world. “She’s Brooke’s matron of honor, right?”
“Actually, she’s the only attendant. Brooke wanted to keep the ceremony small since she was married before. Didn’t want the big hoopla again.”
“Did you?” She rested an elbow on his desk. “Want the big hoopla?”
“Nah. I just want to marry Brooke. We were trying for small, but between the two of us, it feels as if we know everyone in town, and everyone seemed to assume they’d be invited.” He shrugged. “When you can’t decide who to cut, you either cut everyone and just have your family, or you don’t cut anyone. So we invited family and just our closest friends to the church, and everyone else to the reception. But we’re keeping things simple, more like a big party than a fancy reception. It’ll be fun.”
“I’m glad you invited our sibs. I’m thinking less and less of them as half and more and more just as our brother and sisters.”
“Me too. I’ve gotten to know Nick over the past year, and I was amazed to find how much alike we are.” He hesitated. “I invited Delia, too. Do you think Mom will mind?”
“That you invited Dad’s first wife?” She shook her head. “Mom is so over Dad, Jesse. Totally over Dad.”
“I thought she’d be okay. I just wanted your opinion.”
“What about Dad?” she asked. “Did you invite him?”
“I thought about it.” Jesse ran a hand through his hair. “I went back and forth, should I or shouldn’t I?”
“And you decided …?”
“Not to invite him. It wasn’t an easy decision, and I feel like a jerk for not calling him. I mean, he is our father, Soph.”
“True, but what’s your relationship with him?”
“Pretty much nonexistent,” he conceded. “Which doesn’t make me happy, but he is who he is, and I have a hard time dealing with that.”
“Did you discuss this with Brooke?”
“Of course. She said I should do whatever made me most comfortable.”
“And she’s right. Dad’s a loose cannon. We all know that. I think if you want to have a relationship with him at all …”
“I don’t know if I do.”
“Well, you need to decide that. And if you do, you should try to lay the groundwork at some time other than at your wedding.” She bit her bottom lip, thinking of the havoc their father’s presence could create. “There are other people to consider, Jess. It’s not just us. There’s Mom, and there’s Delia and her kids. Mom’s moved past it all and I suspect Delia has as well—Zoey said her mother was seriously considering marrying a man she’s been dating for years now—but still. Let’s face it. Dad dumped them both and moved on to marry someone else.” She paused. “Actually, he’d dumped Delia and married Mom. That could get sticky.”
“I thought about that.”
“And then there’s Pop. He hasn’t spoken to Dad in I don’t know how long. I don’t think he’d appreciate being forced to deal with his wayward son in front of the entire town, when he hasn’t been able to deal with him in private. And Uncle Mike …” Sophie shook her head. “It just gets more and more complicated.”
Brother and sister sat in silence. Finally, Sophie said, “I think you did the right thing, Jess. Your wedding day isn’t the day to try to reconnect with him, if that’s what you want to do. If you wanted him at the wedding, you should have reached out a long time ago, and everyone should have been made aware that he was going to attend.” She reached across the desk and tapped his arm gently. “I think that door has closed for now, but that’s just my opinion. All that being said, it’s your wedding so you should do what you want, either way, but I do think this is one of those times when you have to consider other people’s feelings. It’s just too touchy a situation.”
“I think you’re right. That’s pretty much how I feel, too. If I wanted to …” He paused. “How do you feel about him? Do you think you’ll ever contact him? You know, try to establish some sort of relationship?”
“I don’t know. I guess at some point I might. Probably not on my wedding day, though.” She smiled. “And on the subject of weddings, what all is going on this week before yours? Is there anything I can do to help? Anything you want me to do?”
“No, but thanks. Only prewedding event is the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. I’ve already moved most of my stuff over to Brooke’s place. Not moving in till after the wedding, though. We both think it sets a better example for Logan. I left most of the furniture in the house, by the way. I didn’t know what you had or what you were bringing or what you’d need. I figured we’d work it out when you got here. Anything you don’t want, I can move out.”
“Which one?” Jesse leaned his chair all the way back.
“What?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“I asked which of your new jobs you wanted to get settled into.”
They stared at each other for a long while.
“Sophie, this is a small town,” he said softly. “Things get around.”
“Like what things?” She squirmed.
“You’re really going to make me say it? That I know you’re buying the property on River Road?”
“How did you know? And I haven’t technically bought it. We haven’t closed yet. And does Pop know?”
“Ham Forbes, the Realtor handling the sale, is a client. He was in the other day on another matter and happened to ask me who Sophie Enright was in relation to me. And I don’t think Pop’s heard it yet. At least, he hasn’t mentioned it to me, and I feel pretty sure he would if he knew. I did ask the Realtor to keep it under his hat until after settlement.”
Sophie fell silent. Jesse added, “Is this,” he asked, waving a hand around the room, “just a sham? An excuse to come to St. Dennis?”
“You’re asking me if I’m going to work for you for real?” When he nodded, she said, “Of course I am. I wouldn’t do that to you, Jess. I will help you as much as I can for as long as I can. And frankly, I’m a little put out that you’d even ask me that.”
“Yeah, well, I was a little put out that you’d go ahead and buy that place without even mentioning it to me.”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you. I kept thinking about it and thinking about how I would do things—what sort of food I’d have, how I’d budget, the menus—and all of a sudden, it was for sale, and I could buy it, and I had to decide quickly, so I went for it. It happened really fast, and I was so tied up trying to get my cases organized at the office. Things just moved very quickly. My head is still spinning. I planned on telling you when I got here.”
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 Page 195