by Kay Bratt
“Down, Woodrow, it’s okay,” Maggie said. “Now where’s my phone?”
She turned and found Quinn and Juniper directly behind her. And for just a second, Maggie forgot her life was in shambles. It was just three friends, all as different as could be, but forging new bonds over trauma. Those were the best kinds of friendships, too—the ones built during hard times—because they were built to last.
Chapter Twenty-One
Quinn felt a stirring of affection as Charlie burrowed deeper under her arm on the couch. She’d turned on cartoons and draped her softest throw across his lap. He had a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and a stack of cookies waiting on the side table, but so far he wasn’t interested in moving enough to test either.
Even Liam hadn’t been able to distract him with an invitation to wrestle or ride on his shoulders. He wanted to be close to her, she supposed, because she was the next best thing to having his mom.
Quinn had missed seeing Maggie when she’d dropped Charlie off. She probably wouldn’t have seen him for a few more hours, but Rosa had knocked on her door, with a pouting little boy clinging to her hand and a desperate look in her eyes.
“He’s asked for his mom a dozen times. I’m so sorry,” Rosa said. “I can’t get him interested in anything else.”
Despite the fact that Liam had only just arrived and they were looking forward to a light lunch alone together to talk over her situation, Quinn had invited Charlie in immediately. She told Rosa to go take what looked like a much-needed break while she got to the bottom of why Charlie wasn’t being his usual good-humored self.
After making him comfortable, it was time to get down to it. “Charlie, can you tell me what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice soft and inviting as she traced little circles on the outside of his hand.
Liam looked a little jealous from where he sat at the end of the couch, but she gave him a grateful look. He had such a soft heart for all kids, but especially Charlie because the boy lacked a father figure in his immediate life. Liam liked the rare times they were alone together, but he’d never turn the boy away either. They were both way too fond of him not to be concerned over the dark look he wore.
“I wanted to stay home with Mommy.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Quinn felt his forehead but didn’t detect any unusual warmth.
“Mommy isn’t.”
“Oh? Why do you think that?” She raised her eyebrows at Liam over Charlie’s head.
“She’s scared.”
That sent an alarm surging through Quinn. Had he heard them the night before? They all thought he was sleeping soundly. Even when the officer came and stayed for nearly an hour taking down all the information, Charlie hadn’t made a peep from the bedroom. When Quinn left, Juniper was already decked out in Maggie’s pajamas while Maggie promised to dead bolt the door and get straight into the bed.
“And you thought you should be with her today to make her feel better?”
He nodded.
His admission broke Quinn’s heart.
“Charlie, I’ve known your mommy for a really long time, and I know she isn’t afraid of anything. But why do you think she’s worried?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well, Mommy is doing important things today. She’s helping make all the dogs and cats feel better. But is there anything else bothering you, Charlie?”
He looked up at her with the saddest expression ever.
“I need a soccer ball.”
“Oh, that’s right. You’re going to play on a team next year, aren’t you, buddy?” Liam said.
“I’m s’posed to practice.”
He sounded so distraught that Quinn squeezed him before getting up and going to her small desk. She came back to the couch with a pencil and a stack of sticky notes.
“Charlie, sometimes we have worries that want to stick around in our head. Life is full of worries. But also full of happy times. We don’t want to give more of our headspace to the worries than the happy times, do we?”
“No,” he said.
She wasn’t sure that he got everything she was saying, but she had to try to do something.
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do. I want you to tell me every worry that you have right now so I can write them down on these little papers. Once we get them all done, we can store them in a jar and ask the universe to take care of them.”
“Or God?” he asked, finally looking hopeful.
She shot another look at Liam, this time a plea for help.
“Whichever one you’d like,” he said.
Good answer, thought Quinn. She wasn’t sure yet how much religion Maggie had introduced to her son, and she wasn’t about to create even more worries. Or questions.
While she wrote out Charlie’s worries, Liam retrieved an empty jar from her cupboard. He set it down in front of them.
When the notes were done—at least eight or nine, with one being that Charlie was worried about whether Santa would find Maui when Christmas came around—they tossed them in the jar and Quinn let Charlie twist the lid tightly.
“Okay, the worries are safe. Now we can stop thinking about these things and focus on having a good day, right?” she asked him.
He nodded, smiling now.
Quinn would tell Maggie how well it went, and at bedtime maybe he could write positive thoughts from the day to highlight the good stuff before he fell asleep.
“Good. So are you ready to go get in the pool? Want me to call Rosa?”
“Yes!” he said, jumping up from his spot on the couch. He grabbed his small bag and headed for the bathroom to put on his swimming trunks.
When Quinn heard the door shut, she looked up at Liam and found him still staring, a strange look on his face.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he said.
“It must be something, because you’re looking at me weird. Did you have a better way of bringing him out of his mood?”
He smiled gently, sparking that little fire inside her that only he could summon. “No, not at all. That was amazing. I was just thinking about what a wonderful mother you’re going to make someday.”
The warm little fire low in her belly went out instantly, and her stomach dropped. She’d made up her mind years ago—with the persuasion of her ex—that she wouldn’t have children. Now she didn’t even know what she wanted. She only knew she’d never want to raise an only child and make them go through the loneliness she’d felt growing up. She wasn’t so young anymore, and the thought of planning for more than one child overwhelmed her.
“Liam,” she said, her voice pleading. But before she could continue the conversation—one that definitely needed elaborating on if only to keep him from being disappointed later—Charlie busted out of the bathroom.
With his shorts on backward.
Liam laughed. “Those pants don’t look quite right. Let me help you. And before you go home today, I’m going to make sure you have a soccer ball.”
Charlie beamed as he backed up to Liam to fix his swim trunks.
“You guys need to eat a proper lunch before I call Rosa. I’ll make sandwiches,” Quinn said. She stood and with one more look at the two of them laughing together, she smiled. She had to admit, Liam would make a heck of a father too.
After a quick lunch, Quinn sent Charlie out to the pool with Liam, then called Rosa to meet them out there. The time for a private talk with Liam would have to wait. She took care of some calls from the front desk, then called back the frog-buster. Emily said they’d had three more noise complaints from guests the night before, and although Quinn hated to sign the death note for anything, it was going to have to be done. There was a lot of money invested in getting the inn up and running, and she couldn’t let a few frogs be the cause of customer complaints. These days, with Yelp and TripAdvisor and all the other popular review sites, a few cranky tourists could put a wrench in future bookings.
She texted Jonah and let him know the frog quest was
scheduled, then looked at the clock. The day was flying by already, and she had more to do than even three people could handle.
She started with answering emails from guests and sending confirmation emails, then moved on to collecting deposits. When she’d caught up with that, she put aside her list, opened a new window on her laptop, and signed in to an employee/career social site that she’d made an anonymous profile for. Looking for someone to take her job felt like swallowing knives, but things were quickly progressing out of her control and the truth was, she had to seriously consider the Montana offer. Her leaving might not totally shut down the noise about her past, but it would help. Not to mention that at least Quinn wouldn’t have to be in the middle of it. Starting and running an inn wasn’t a walk in the park, but she had no illusions about her inability to withstand public criticism and attacks on her privacy.
Maggie was different. She had always been tough, and she’d be okay on Maui without Quinn. Just thinking about the hell some deranged lunatic had put her best friend through over the last year made Quinn seethe, but Maggie had handled it like a boss. Quinn would’ve crumbled. She’d come a long way since leaving Ethan and breaking out of the person he’d molded her to be, but privacy was important to her. Whether running from a stranger or having her childhood and the actions of her adoptive mother scrutinized, both would break her down.
Quinn knew this. She’d grown stronger—but not that strong.
Finding a proper replacement wouldn’t be easy, and the faster she got started reviewing résumés, the better. So she began the search, narrowing down those experienced in hospitality. She found only two candidates that she’d even consider, but she had to admit, her concentration was lagging.
Liam was outside with Charlie. Probably laughing and having fun. It wouldn’t be long before she wouldn’t be able to see either one of them. Time was running out.
She snapped her laptop shut, grabbed her phone, and went to find them. In the hall she passed one of the housekeepers who informed her they were low on toilet paper again, and their order wasn’t coming in for a few more days. Quinn made a mental note to check the cameras in the employee locker room. Too much toilet paper was passing through the inn, and she was sure some of it wasn’t through the sewage system. The new innkeeper might have to start keeping supplies under lock and key at this rate.
As soon as she pushed open the door to the poolside patio, she could see Charlie’s little head bobbing up and down in the water. Rosa was on the edge, her thin brown feet dangling as she stretched her toes toward him.
Quinn scanned the area and found Liam.
He was in deep conversation with the woman next to him, his face solemn as he listened to her. At first Quinn felt a tinge of jealousy, but it turned to embarrassment when she realized it was Julianne, their ailing guest. She was stretched out on a chaise lounge, tucked protectively under one of their umbrellas. Another look at the pool told her where David was. She watched as he came up underneath Charlie and grabbed his feet, then popped out of the water.
Charlie squealed in delight.
She approached and crouched, beckoning for Charlie to come closer.
“Mr. David is playing shark with me,” he said, grinning as he whipped his head around to see where the Shark was.
David came up and waved.
“Just the lady I needed to see,” he said, approaching the side. “Charlie, you tread water like I showed you. I’ll come back and play in a minute.”
Rosa heard him and called Charlie over to her, and he immediately dog-paddled right between her outstretched legs and used them to support himself while he practiced treading water.
“Okay,” David said, grabbing the sides of the pool so he could look up at her. “We can talk now.”
“About Maggie?” Quinn asked.
“No, this is about Julianne. She would really love watching a dance team, but I don’t think she’s up to helping coordinate their routine. And actually, if you’re on board with it, I have something better in mind.”
“Oh,” Quinn said, glancing at Julianne and Liam. They were still in deep conversation.
“Do you think you could help me set up a vow renewal ceremony? Of course, you can add all charges to my room,” David said, his voice coming out in a whisper.
“Oh, I’d love to help,” Quinn said. “Do you have anything special you want to do? A specific theme?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Just flowers, candles, and music. And someone to officiate. Julianne doesn’t like anything too showy. Simple but special has always been our style.”
“Easy,” Quinn said. “That’s manageable. Is this a surprise?”
David looked over at Julianne and smiled sadly before turning his attention back to Quinn. “No, I jumped the gun and told her it was in the planning stage. I wanted to give her something to look forward to. She’s not doing well, Quinn.”
Quinn didn’t know what to say. Was sorry too morbid?
“I understand,” she finally choked out. “When do you want to do this?”
He paused. “I know this is short notice, but do you think we could pull it off Friday night?”
Quinn’s mind raced, already trying to put things in place. It would take a miracle, but she was determined to make it happen.
“Sure. Friday evening. Shouldn’t be any trouble at all. And please, if you need anything at all between now and then, call me on my cell phone.”
“I will,” David said. “I’ve begged her to let me fly her to Oahu to see a special doctor there. She refuses, says she’s tired of modern medicine. She wants to let her body decide what’s next, even if it’s not what we both want.”
Quinn swallowed hard. She could see the fear and worry in the man’s eyes. She didn’t know what he would do without his wife. Julianne seemed to be his everything. It was endearing and tragic, all at once.
“Well, let me drag Liam away from her so she can get a nice nap,” Quinn said, sending David back to shark duty.
Julianne saw her coming and broke off midsentence in whatever had Liam so transfixed.
“Hi,” Liam said. He looked so happy to see her.
“Hi.” She nodded at Julianne. “Hello to you too. Enjoying the afternoon?”
Julianne’s lips were pasty white, and the dark circles around her eyes were much worse than when Quinn had last seen her. She’d gone downhill so fast that it seemed unbelievable.
“Well, yes, I am,” Julianne said. She smiled gently. “Liam and I have been talking, and I have to tell you, he’s a great storyteller. He’s been telling me all about Maui’s long history of love stories.” She winked at Quinn.
Liam looked guilty, as though he’d been caught telling secrets. “I told her about naupaka, the beach plant that grows half flowers, and the legend of how it came to be.”
“Oh?” Quinn teased. “You’ve never told me about it, and you know I love to hear the legends.”
“It’s not a long one. We believe that the naupaka is the incarnation of a beautiful Hawaiian princess who was separated from her lover.”
“Tell her why they were separated,” Julianne encouraged. Quinn noticed she looked very pleased with herself.
Liam smiled apologetically, then began again. “Because she was forbidden to marry her lover, a mere commoner. The last time that they were together, she took the flower from behind her ear and tore it in half, giving him a piece. She went up to finish her life in the mountains, and he lived down by the water. The naupaka plants witnessed their goodbye, and to show their sorrow, they bloomed in half flowers ever since.”
Quinn was struck silent for a minute. Liam looked at her like she was the princess and he was the commoner. Or was she reading too much into it?
“Your Liam is one of a kind,” Julianne said. “And quite a catch.”
“Yes,” Quinn said. “I guess you could say that.”
He’d be a catch to some lucky lady on Maui, but it wouldn’t be her because she wouldn’t be there to enjoy him.
“What are you doing out here?” Liam asked, suddenly concerned. “I thought you had a to-do list a mile long?”
“I do. But I just wanted to see you for a little while before you head out.”
Liam looked pleased. He stood and took her hand. “Julianne, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take this pretty lady for a walk.”
Quinn called out to Rosa to let her know they were going and that she had Charlie-watch on her own again.
Rosa waved her off.
Julianne smiled up at them. “Enjoy your stroll. I think I’m about to convince my better half to get out of the pool and rub my feet. So he’s going to need your chair anyway, Liam.”
As they walked away, Quinn leaned her head toward Liam. “It won’t take any convincing. That man is mad about her.”
Liam looked off in the distance, not answering.
Before he did, Quinn could’ve sworn she saw a sheen of moisture in his eyes. It was so convincing that she also looked away. Theirs wasn’t a love story for the ages. This was real life, and if she’d learned anything in the last thirty years or so, it was that real life was hard. If she kept a jar of handwritten worries, it’d be overflowing. But in this moment, she chose to squeeze Liam’s hand and simply enjoy their walk.
Focus on the moment.
The future was bearing down on them, and for Quinn, it was coming much too fast.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maggie got to work still feeling sluggish at a quarter to twelve. The officer had assured her that he would conduct routine checks on the parking lot in front of her apartment until morning, but between listening for every tiny noise, then worrying herself over the predicament Quinn was in, she’d barely slept. It felt surreal that both she and her best friend were dealing with something that could be written straight into the script of a Lifetime movie. Except they wouldn’t, because at this moment, she couldn’t see a happy ending for either of them.
Her morning had been a total shit show. It took more than two hours on the phone with her bank and half a dozen threats before finally convincing them to release the hold on her account. Then a race to the auto parts store for refrigerant to put in her car, then dealing with Charlie who woke up on the wrong side of the bed and surprisingly didn’t even want to go to the inn. He was extra clingy and wanted to stay with her for the day, forcing her to bring out her mean-mommy voice even though all she wanted to do was grab him and go back home to spend the rest of the day snuggling.