“How is she doing?” she asked with a forced smile.
“Good. Arizona seems to agree with her. She seems pretty happy there. She said she’d like all of us to get together while she’s here.”
Something to look forward to. McKenzie smiled. “That would be great. Let me know when and I’ll try to clear my calendar.”
“You need to slow down,” Devin said.
“You first,” she said.
Her sister tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. “I know, right? You’ll never believe what I’m doing now. I just started a yoga class at the senior center.”
McKenzie stared. “You are kidding. When are you going to fit that into your schedule? At 3:00 a.m.?”
“I agree. It’s crazy. I’d just like to get some of my patients moving a little bit more, you know? Maybe keep them from eating breakfast every morning at Serrano’s and out taking a walk instead.”
“Good luck with that.”
Devin sighed around her Buddha’s Delight. “They’re great, though. So funny. Wait until you see what Eppie and Hazel are offering at the service auction this week.”
“Oh, man. Thanks for the reminder. I’ve still got to figure out what I’m auctioning off. I’m thinking maybe fresh flowers every week for a month.”
“Ooh. I might have to bid on that one for the office.”
She and Devin talked about the auction for a few more moments. Finally, her sister asked the question McKenzie had been dreading—and the question she suspected had been the impetus behind this impromptu lunch.
“So...are you bringing your sexy new neighbor?”
McKenzie picked up her water bottle and drank quickly to hide her sudden discomfort from her sister’s perceptive gaze.
“I don’t know,” she said after she calmed herself with a little cool water. “I hadn’t given it much thought.”
She had given him plenty of thought. Just not in the context of Ben, together with the service auction.
“You should. It’s a great way to show off what a great little town Haven Point is, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” she admitted.
“Will he still be in town Thursday?”
Only three days away. Her tiny spicy chicken suddenly lost its flavor. “I’m not sure,” she admitted.
“Well, ask him. For the good of Haven Point, of course.”
“Of course,” she murmured, feeling her face heat.
Devin gave her a searching look. “Is something going on between the two of you, Xochitl?”
She remembered those stunning kisses they shared on the Fourth of July, the heat and the magic of it, and then that peaceful day out on his beautiful Delphine.
“What would possibly be going on?” she obfuscated. “This is Ben Kilpatrick, remember? I can’t stand the man.”
It wasn’t true at all anymore and she suspected Devin knew it but to her relief, the chimes rang over the door before her sister could protest.
“Customer,” McKenzie said, jumping up. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. This is your business. Customers always come first.”
She hurried out the door—and immediately wished she had hung the Closed sign out after Devin came over with lunch when she spied Constance Martin, the wife of the Shelter Springs mayor.
She was a trim woman in her late fifties who wore too much makeup, too much jewelry and way too much perfume. McKenzie could smell her coming from ten feet away.
“Constance. Hello.”
The other woman’s fake eyelashes widened and she gave McKenzie a smile that was entirely too big to be real. “Why, hello, Mayor Shaw. I don’t know why I seem to always forget this is your little store.”
Right. Like McKenzie believed that for a second. “Can I help you with something?” she asked, with the same fake smile.
“Yes. I suppose. I’m in a bind and wonder if you can help me. Wallace and I are throwing a dinner party tonight for a very important guest—a genuine VIP, if you know what I mean—and I wasn’t at all satisfied with what they had to offer at the floral shop in Shelter Springs. I’m hoping you can do better. I’m looking for just the right arrangement.”
Constance obviously wanted her to press for details but McKenzie wouldn’t give her that satisfaction. She didn’t really care, anyway. A job was a job. And what a silly question. Of course she could do better than the florist in Shelter Springs, who used cut-rate flowers from inferior suppliers.
“Is it indoors or out? Formal or not?”
“Oh, indoors. I can’t stand the bugs this time of year.”
McKenzie had a sudden sharp memory of that magical dinner of sandwiches on Ben’s Delphine, boys and bugs and all, with the fish jumping beside the boat and the air sweet with summer.
The weather around Lake Haven was beautiful this time of year for outdoor entertaining, warm afternoons and cool evenings, and she knew the Martins had a lovely home at the north end of the lake, perfect for hosting a party. Too bad for their guests that Constance was so fussy.
“It’s really important we make a good impression,” the other woman said.
“Oh?”
She peered around the small shop as if she expected spies to be lurking in the houseplant section or Rika, stretched out on her favorite rug, to be wearing a listening device. “This is all hush-hush, of course, but I can trust your discretion, I’m sure. Who knows, Haven Point might see indirect benefits, as well.”
She forced away her personal irritation with the woman. As mayor of Haven Point, she had a responsibility to put aside her own feelings and focus on the good of her town.
“Indirect benefits from what?” she asked.
Again, Constance looked around. “You’ve heard of Caine Tech, right?”
McKenzie refrained from rolling her eyes. This was the same as asking the average person if they’d heard of McDonald’s or Walmart.
“Yes. I believe I have,” she said, with a dryness that sailed over Constance Martin’s head like a red-tailed hawk soaring the ridges and peaks of the Redemption Mountains.
“Haven Point is pleased to have Aidan Caine as one of our own,” she added, a thinly veiled gibe. Technically, Snow Angel Cove was about a mile and a half outside the city limits but she wasn’t about to stress that point with Constance.
Constance’s face soured a little at the reminder but then her expression changed to that same sly, secretive glee McKenzie found seriously annoying.
“I’m sure that must be nice for you. He seems like a nice man,” she said with a smile. “But while you might have one man, Shelter Springs is going to get an entire Caine Tech facility.”
It took a second for her words to fully register. When they did, McKenzie’s stomach suddenly seemed coated in ice. Shelter Springs. Caine Tech facility.
“Wh-what did you say?”
“It’s all but official.” She was practically rubbing her hands together. “Think of it. Three hundred employees—highly paid employees, too, bringing those juicy salaries with them. One of Aidan’s executives is coming to dinner tonight with Wallace and a few members of the city council to work out the final details. I’m sure you can see why I need something spectacular for a centerpiece, to commemorate such a grand occasion.”
McKenzie couldn’t seem to make her brain click into gear. “I... Yes. Flowers. Centerpiece.” She drew in a sharp breath. Focus. You can throw a tantrum later. She cleared her throat. “I understand why you want it to be perfect. Let’s see what we can find for you.”
“I don’t have time to wait. I’ve got to run over to Serrano’s and talk to Barbara about a few last-minute menu changes.”
McKenzie decided not to mention the irony that the wife of the Shelter Springs mayor relied on Haven Point merchants to take care of her dinner-party needs in
order to show her town in the best light. Constance wouldn’t get it, even if McKenzie did bother to point it out.
While she might be seething inside, she was also a professional. “What sort of a budget do you have?”
“The best you can do, dear. I’m thinking roses, lilies and birds of paradise. Spare no expense. Can you have it ready in an hour?”
“I’ll do my best.”
Constance’s gaze suddenly turned cagey. “I’ll expect a discount, naturally. This is great news for all of us. What helps Shelter Springs helps Haven Point, right?”
Which town would it help most if she “accidentally” snipped off some of Constance’s helmet hair bob with her shears?
Professional, she reminded herself, a little desperately.
“I’ll see you in an hour. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get busy.”
Constance nodded and bustled out of the store in a cloud of perfume.
Devin looked up in concern when McKenzie burst through the door to the back.
“Was that Constance Martin? What’s wrong? What did she need?”
“I don’t think you want me to answer that right now. Give me a minute to calm down.”
“Need me to do some of the yoga moves I’m teaching the senior citizens?”
“No. I just need to do a little deep breathing.”
She gave herself sixty seconds to calm down, fighting down anger and hurt and a deep sense of betrayal.
It didn’t really work but she didn’t have time to dwell. She opened her eyes and hurried around the workroom, grabbing supplies.
Devin was quiet at first, then—because her beloved sister knew her so well and must have sensed she wasn’t ready to talk yet—started filling the space with chatter about everything and nothing. The heavy rains that were supposed to be hitting the area the next day. A hike she wanted to take up to Evergreen Springs. A seventy-year-old guy who came into the emergency room with a hernia and ended up asking her out on a date.
Why was she so surprised? McKenzie asked herself, only half listening while she tossed in some lovely Colombian orchids.
All along, Ben made no secret that he didn’t want to put the new facility in Haven Point. He had even told her he was looking at Shelter Springs. Really, from a practical standpoint, the other town made so much more sense, with more available real estate, several big-box stores, more updated infrastructure. Why would he even have considered Haven Point in the first place, other than Aidan pushing the matter?
“Okay. I’ve officially run out of inane conversation.”
She glanced up at her sister. She had almost forgotten Dev was still there.
“You’re doing fine from here,” McKenzie assured her, then realized what she said and winced. “Sorry.”
Devin only smiled briefly before she took on that worried look again. “You’re right. That’s enough for both of us. You might as well tell me what’s going on. What did Connie want?”
Oh, prissy Constance would hate being called Connie. It made her smile a little and filled her with deep love and gratitude for her sister.
“She came to gloat. That’s the only reason she was here. To rub our pathetic little noses in it.”
McKenzie wanted to cry suddenly. To cry and then find Ben and slug him hard, right in the gut.
She sank down into the chair where the remains of her Chinese takeout still littered the table. “How could he?” she practically wailed.
Devin sat down beside her, that worried look a little more pronounced. “Who are we talking about? What’s going on? Who’s got you so upset? Not Connie, is it?”
McKenzie drew in a deep breath. She was annoyed with Connie. Constance. She was furious with someone else entirely.
“Ben. I wasn’t supposed to talk about it but I guess it doesn’t matter now. We were in the running for a new Caine Tech facility.”
Devin’s eyes widened. “Really? That would be amazing!”
“It would, except apparently Ben has decided Shelter Springs would be a better fit.”
She said the other town’s name like the most vile curse word she could think of, and right now it felt that way.
Devin sat back in surprise. “Really? Why? And when did he decide this?”
Had he known this whole time? When they were out on his boat with the boys last evening, or, the night before, while they watched fireworks bursting out over the lake and he had kissed her with such sweet hunger?
They were friends, damn it. She had confided in him about her life after coming here. He had told her about how difficult Joe had been and then his mother’s shocking revelation about Dr. Warrick the night before.
She had trusted him, kissed him, embraced him. She was falling for him...
She shied away from that, focusing instead on her deep sense of hurt. Why wouldn’t he have thought to mention, in all those conversations, that he had already decided the new facility should be built in Shelter Springs?
“I doubt Haven Point was ever even a serious contender,” she said, in a voice that wobbled just a little. “He doesn’t care about this town at all. I don’t know how many times he has to prove that to me over and over again.”
Devin gave her that careful look again, the one that always made her feel as if her sister could see straight through all her pretense to her very heart.
“Before you take the word of Constance Martin, maybe you need to get Ben’s side of things.”
“He’s given me his side of things. He told me from the very beginning he had strong reservations about Haven Point and was only here because Aidan insisted.”
She should have listened to him. She stupidly thought she could change his mind, that if only he spent a little time in town, he would come to love it as much as she did, as much as Eliza and Aidan did, as much as the people who lived here did.
Devin cleared the rest of their takeout from the table, stowing the leftovers in the little mini refrigerator in the corner.
“I’m going to get out of your way, since you’ve got to finish the arrangement and I’ve got to be at the senior center in half an hour. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“I’m fine.” McKenzie forced a smile. “Thank you for lunch. I’m sorry it ended like this.”
“Seriously. Talk to Ben. And call me after you do, okay?”
“I will. ’Bye, sis.”
Devin hugged her, reached out and adjusted one of the orchids and then hurried out of the room, leaving McKenzie with her anger.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BEN WAS SO TIRED, right now as he walked into his vacation rental, he wanted to open every window to the breeze coming off the water, climb into bed and crash for about a week.
He hadn’t slept more than an hour the night before, still reeling from the news his mother had dropped on him. He felt like the survivor of a massive earthquake, where everything in his world had been shaken, shattered and rearranged.
Finding out Joe wasn’t his father—and that Dr. Warrick was—still seemed like an interesting abstract concept that wasn’t at all grounded in reality. Every time he closed his eyes, though, he relived the moment when his mother had blurted out the truth, after all these years.
He hadn’t called her. He would have to at some point but he wasn’t ready. Not yet.
Hondo whined to be let out and Ben forced himself to engage instead of standing in the doorway in a stupor.
“Come on. Outside.”
He headed for the back door and opened it for the dog, who immediately raced outside in relief and gratitude.
The vacation rental had definitely been a good idea. Even if Ben hadn’t had Hondo with him on this trip to complicate everything, he would have favored this over an impersonal hotel room in Shelter Springs. He liked the extra room, he liked having a kit
chen even if he wasn’t much of a cook and he loved the private dock. If he were going to have a house on a lake somewhere, a dock was a necessity.
He stood out on the patio looking down at the lake in the moonlight. Twenty-four hours ago, his life had changed completely. He still couldn’t take it in.
Hondo raced to the nearest tree to take care of business—not the kind that needed scooping, yay—then started sniffing around the yard, looking for interesting scents. Ben took a seat in the Adirondack chair on the terrace, feeling some of the tension that had gripped his shoulders in sharp talons begin to ease.
He enjoyed watching the dog. Playing with him, walking, petting him was restful somehow, in a chaotic, intense world.
What was he going to do about the dog when he left here in a few days?
In light of everything else that had been going on in his world, that question had slipped a little down the priority chain but now, watching the dog, it reemerged.
If only he could figure out a way to carve a space for Hondo in his world...but it wouldn’t be at all fair to the dog. He worked fourteen-hour days and didn’t have any live-in household help to take care of his needs. An active German shepherd would find all kinds of mischief to get into if left alone all day in that big house.
He supposed he could hire a dog sitter, but that seemed indulgent and also not really fair to the dog.
He would just bite the bullet and talk to Aidan, see if Jim and Sue, Aidan’s caretakers at Snow Angel Cove, could take on another dog.
As if knowing he occupied Ben’s thoughts, Hondo wandered up to the porch, tail wagging, and came closer, looking for a little attention. He complied, scratching between his ears and petting him. He would miss the dude, though.
Hondo’s big, alert shepherd ears suddenly perked up and a second later he took off next door, almost before the terrace light came on and McKenzie and Rika walked out.
He was aware of a little catch in his chest as he caught sight of her, a strange shifting and settling. She greeted the dog and immediately looked over to his house. He lifted a hand in greeting, though he wasn’t sure whether she could see him, since she didn’t wave back or call a greeting.
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