by Jillian Neal
“This is my mommy.” She grinned at the tall, gorgeous, blonde that was glaring at her with enough snide acrimony that Sienna was mildly concerned she was about to burn in effigy of Ryan’s marriage from the flames shot from his ex-wife’s eyes.
“Oh,” was the only brilliant thing she could come up with to say. “Uh, I’m Sienna Cooper. It’s very nice to meet you.” She extended her hand to Alexa.
Alexa balked at a handshake and crossed her arms over her very well-endowed chest instead. “Yeah, I recognize you from all of the pictures Ryan had in his desk at work, his bedside table drawer, and in his truck. Not that I cared,” she spat viciously.
Sienna withered under her glare. She had no idea what to say to that.
“Evie, go play with Granddaddy.”
“Can I go back to the beach with Sienna and see Daddy?”
“Go now.” Alexa’s eyes burned. Her entire face contorted in a vicious scowl.
“She’s going to need you more.” Sienna worked up every ounce of courage she could muster and went on with what she needed to say as she watched Evie quietly enter the hospital room. “Every day. Evie’s going to get older, and she’s going to need you more and more. I know, because my mom wasn’t exactly sure that she always wanted me around, and I needed her more and more every day. It’s a really hard thing. It has to be. Being there for them every moment of every day and worrying about the when you’re not there, but Ryan loves her so much. You have to see that.”
To her shock, Alexa lost just a little of her wrath-fueled fire. “I don’t know what Ryan told you, but I have tried to be a good mother.”
“I know. He never said you weren’t. He did tell me about what happened. It sounded to me like you were really both victims of parents that thought they knew best. I want you to know that I don’t think all of that was your fault. And I know that Ryan blames his parents much more than he blames you. None of this is your fault, Alexa.”
Emotion shook through Alexa’s perfect body. When her chin trembled, Sienna hoped against hope that they were getting somewhere.
“Mr. McNamara, the deed that was issued to Sienna a few weeks ago will be the only standing official deed. I’ll see to it myself that it is beyond any other claim. Sienna Cooper now owns The Gypsy Inn free and clear. If she were here, we could settle this whole thing.” The Judge looked anxious to put the entire matter to bed.
Ryan swallowed harshly. He had no idea what to say.
Suddenly, Mac stood again. He’d slipped into the courtroom when John had entered the plea of newly discovered damming evidence.
“Don’t you worry about Sienna. She’ll be back. I guarantee it.” Mac nodded to Ryan. “Gypsies go where the wind carries them, but most time the wind knows just what it’s doing. There’s a mighty breeze kicking up out there. I’d say she’ll be here by this evening. She’ll be back. Mark my words, son. The Inn’s hers, whether she’s here or not, right, Anderson?” He turned his question back to the Judge.
“Yeah, Mac, it’s hers. The new deed was filed when she paid the latest taxes. Guess it was good luck that she didn’t end up in Upton’s office. Sarah Beth Henderson took care of her so the deed is legal and binding.” Anderson nodded.
“Yeah, luck, I’m sure that was it.” Mac winked at Ryan. “Ruth and Sarah Beth were always good friends. I’ll bet Sarah Beth was pleased to see Sienna again.”
Ryan couldn’t help but grin. He clung to Mac’s promise that Sienna would be back that afternoon, though he had no idea where she might’ve gone.
Thirty
“Yeah, well, my mama never did think I could do much of anything on my own. I kept screwing up, so Ryan was supposed to be the answer to all of that. I tried so hard to make her happy. I just never did anything right.”
Sienna nodded her understanding. “I’m very sorry.”
Alexa flinched from her vow. “Don’t be sorry for me.” She rolled her eyes. “Not sure how I’m gonna survive now that mama won’t be around telling me when to breathe.” She sneered as she threw a glare towards her mother’s hospital room.
“You could have another chance, you know. You don’t need anyone telling you how to live your life, and sometimes the worst moments of our lives are actually opportunities. Another chance to do something different. Do what you might’ve done if things had been different. You can have the life you were never allowed to live, Alexa. Ryan doesn’t want to keep you from that, but he does want to raise Evie and be there for her every day. Because I’m not sure you can have it both ways. If you have Evie, everything is bound by those rules. You live off and on according to what the court decides.”
A shivered convulsion worked up Alexa’s spine. “I do love my little girl. I just… I just don’t ever know what to do with her. I always do everything wrong. I hated being married to Ryan. God, I don’t know how you stand him. I hate him but I also hate everything that I did to him. Now, I’ve brought her into this mess, and I can’t change it. Mama was always so convinced that money would solve everything. She always told me that.”
She stumbled and managed to take a seat in the waiting room before she began sobbing.
Sienna took the seat beside her. She was going to do this. She had to.
“You can change it, Alexa. You’re absolutely right: Evie is in the middle of all of this. It’s not your fault, though. Ryan and I would like very much to raise Evie and keep her with us, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t love her or that we would do anything to keep you from her. It would mean that we can all make the best out of this situation.”
Evie left her grandmother’s room and studied Alexa and Sienna. She crawled up in her mother’s lap. Alexa broke down in unrestrained sobs. “I love you so much, Evie. You know that don’t you?”
Evie’s chin trembled. “I know, mommy. Sienna told me that you love me very much.”
Alexa’s head raised in utter shock.
“Because I know that you do, Alexa. Sometimes the most horrible part of loving someone so much is doing what’s best for them, even though it hurts more than you think you can ever bear.”
Alexa never dropped her gaze. “You swear to me woman to woman that if I want to come to that stupid beach and see her that you’ll let me sometimes. You promise me!”
“I promise. You have my word.” Sienna’s heart flew. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
Still not certain she wasn’t dreaming, Sienna drove her van behind Alexa’s Mercedes all the way to Buckhead. She tried not to gape at what had once been Ryan and Alexa’s home.
“Here, and I expect those checks every month.” Alexa signed the divorce documents as they were written in the last negotiation. Ryan got full custody of Evie in exchange for a very large alimony payment each month. Sienna nodded her understanding.
Alexa shoved the papers into her hands and helped Evie pack. She and Sienna promised repeatedly that Evie was going to live with Ryan and Sienna at the beach, but that she would get to see her mother whenever she wanted. Sienna checked the tiny watch charm on her bracelet. She had to get back before Ryan sold the house.
“Why don’t you just call him?” Alexa scoffed.
“Oh, I forgot my phone again. I’m always doing that.” Panicked that somehow her inability to remember her cell phone might make Alexa rethink handing over her daughter, Sienna forced her jaw shut.
“Here.” Alexa shoved her iPhone into Sienna’s palm. “He’s listed as ‘Asshole’ on my favorites list.”
“Uh… thanks.” Sienna wasn’t certain exactly what to say to Ryan. She stepped out of Evie’s massive bedroom and debated as she traveled to the living room. There was a swingset and playhouse in the backyard that Ryan must’ve constructed for Evie. There were pieces of his soul all over the house. Sienna couldn’t have them all, and she was okay with that.
She touched his given pet name on Alexa’s phone, and hoped he wouldn’t be too angry with her for leaving.
“I’m not in the mood, Alexa. I’m coming to get Evie
tomorrow, so get her ready,” was Ryan’s terse answer.
“Hey, it’s me,” Sienna’s voice squeaked, and she wasn’t certain he would recognize it.
“Sienna! What the hell? How do you have Alexa’s phone?”
“Well, that all has to do with why I left this morning. I’ll explain everything when I get back, just please, please don’t sell your house! We need a place to live!”
“What? Where are you, Sienna? Just tell me. I’ll come get you.”
“No, I’m leaving in just a few minutes. I’m bringing you a surprise. Just meet me on the beach by the Inn. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Ryan sounded exhausted and bewildered. Sienna was certain it was partly because of the loss of the Inn, but mostly because of her disappearance. Guilt churned in her stomach and clawed at her throat.
“I’m sorry if I worried you. I just had to take care of this. I’ll see you in a few hours.” She ended the call before he could demand to know where she was again.
Alexa helped her load Evie in her carseat. She made several derogatory comments about the van, but Sienna couldn’t have cared less. “Thank you for doing this.” She threw her arms around Alexa, startling her. The hug was eventually reciprocated before Sienna climbed in the van to take both she and Evie home.
She smiled up at the clear blue sky. A wispy daytime moon was evident on the horizon. Never predictable, sometimes hidden away, but always there when it was needed, a Gypsy moon to guide her way.
Thirty-One
After spending the afternoon installing the Viking range Sienna wanted, Ryan sat and stared out at the Atlantic as the sun dipped its rays into the western waters. His feet dug into the sand. His heart ached. Where was she? She’ll be back by this evening. I promise, son. Mac had seemed so certain, but Sienna was nowhere to be found.
“So, she said she had a surprise?” John joined him on the shore. Ryan managed a nod. “And you’re sure she’s actually coming back?”
The skepticism was eating at Ryan. Maybe he wasn’t sure. Maybe he didn’t really know anything at all. He shrugged. His vocal chords felt knotted within the mass that was blocking his throat. He tried to swallow down the terror again. It refused to be dislodged.
“Daddy!”
Ryan’s head jerked towards the sound, but it couldn’t be. It was impossible. And there she was. Evie was racing towards him with Sienna trailing after her, beaming at him.
“Evie?” Ryan scooped her up. His entire body trembled in shock. Sienna raced to him, and he gathered her into his arms as well. “But how?”
Sienna pulled away and wiped away a few tears. “I found out that you were gonna sell your house to buy me the Inn. I just couldn’t let you do that. I went to talk to Alexa, and here.” She pulled a stack of papers out of her sling bag. “She signed them the way they were last written. Evie is yours, all yours, but I did promise that if Alexa wants to see her occasionally that we would let her.”
She pointed to Alexa’s signature on every page of the document. Ryan set Evie down lest he drop her.
Stunned wasn’t a fit description. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“You talked to Alexa and got her to agree to this?” John was reeling. “I’ve been talking to her for six months and it generally ends with her flipping me off and demanding more money.”
Sienna giggled. “We talked, and she was as nice as I think she’s capable of being. I have all of Evie’s things in the van, but I promised that Evie would call her when we got here.”
Ryan hadn’t quite managed to get his lower jaw to reconnect with his upper. He stared from the papers to Sienna and back again. “How… you… I don’t… wow. You’re… you’re absolutely amazing!” He finally dragged her to him and kissed her fiercely.
He fished his phone out, and after Sienna requested that he change the title ‘blonde bitch queen’ back to Alexa, he helped Evie phone her mother.
Sienna and Ryan sank down in the sand as the sun gave off its last vestiges of light. “I guess we need to go pack up the Inn,” she finally sighed.
“Why would we pack it up?” Ryan winked at her. “I just got your oven installed.”
“What?” Sienna stood and stared up at her home.
“I came here this morning to pick you up for the hearing. While I was looking for you, I found what Roby and Robert Upton were here looking for. They’re who went through the house, baby. Nana has owned the Inn free and clear for the last seven years. Roby and Upton were in cahoots. Upton never filed the deed when your grandmother purchased the house so that Roby could reclaim the Inn after Nana died.
“When the storm came through, Roby thought the plan was going to fall flat, but when investors showed up wanting to buy up property, he was set to pay off the taxes and sell to the highest bidder. You showing up first threw a major wrench in his plans. And when they figured out that you were going to make major repairs, Upton panicked. If you found the paperwork and figured out what they’d done, it would’ve ended his bid for County Clerk. They’re both spending the night in the Pender County jailhouse, and you, my sweet Sienna Rose, own this Inn free and clear.”
She’d started crying at the beginning of his tale and was sobbing by the end. “I… I can’t believe it. Thank you!”
Ryan grinned. “So, now am I allowed to sell my house?”
“Are you sure you want to live with me? You want Evie to grow up in the Inn?”
“I have never been more certain of anything in my life. Evie will love it here. This is where we all belong, and if I sell my house, we can pay back the loan you took out on the Inn, finish the repairs, and I can officially go back into business, hire a crew, make a real life, the way it always should have been.”
Those hazel eyes sparkled in the moonlight. She gifted him with that broad dazzling grin. “Come on!” She took off towards the Inn. Laughing, and suddenly feeling lighter than air, he threw his body forward and lifted her up into his arms as he continued to run.
“Stop running, and put me down so I can kiss you, Ryan McNamara!” She laughed.
“Yes, ma’am.” Ryan set her down and devoured her mouth.
John shook his head as he scooped up Evie and carried her towards them. “Why don’t baby girl and I go for a long walk on the beach and out to that Lobster Shack she keeps talking about, and you two celebrate appropriately? I’ll call when we’re heading back.”
Ryan’s tongue made a hesitant retreat from Sienna’s mouth. He kept her cradled in his arms as he shot his best friend a smirk. “I’d say you owe us that much.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Sienna, I do apologize for what I said the other night. I’m not afraid to admit when I get everything wrong. For what it’s worth, I couldn’t be happier for either of you. Thank you for bringing my best friend back to life.”
Sienna brushed another kiss on Ryan’s hungry mouth before she lifted her head. “I’m pretty sure he’s the one that brought me back to life, but you’re welcome. Now, go have some hush puppies. We have a few things to take care of.”
She took off again, and with a ravenous growl, Ryan chased after her.
Thirty-Two
A week later Ryan, Sienna, and Evie stood on the massive front steps of Atlanta First Methodist Church, right on Peachtree Street, just like Evelyn Baldwin had commanded. The processional from the funeral home hadn’t yet arrived.
He tightened his arm around Sienna as she withered. His parents approached.
“Hi, Grandma!” Evie grinned as she swished her dress back and forth over her tights.
“Evie Grace, act like a lady. We don’t wiggle or pull on our dress.” Mrs. McNamara scolded. Ryan narrowed his eyes as Sienna rolled hers.
“She’s fine, Mom, and you remember Sienna Cooper don’t you? My fiancée.” Unmitigated challenge lit his words.
Humility had been a slightly easier pill to swallow for his old man. He extended his hand. “Congratulations, son. I’m so pleased for you both.”
“Thanks, Da
d.”
“Yes, well, perhaps we could handle the wedding at the club.” His mother would never change.
“No.” He huffed. “We’re getting married on Gypsy Beach. You’re welcome to come whenever we get it planned, but it sure as hell won’t be at the driving club.”
With one forced nod, Mrs. McNamara slithered back into line. “Yes, well, we would like to attend, Ryan. You’re our only son.”
“We’ll let you know when we get it planned.” With that he guided his little family up the steps and into the church.
He wasn’t certain what he was supposed to feel. He watched Alexa walk in with her father. She was wearing a black net fascinator that obscured her face, but she gave Evie a teary smile as she passed.
Relief was the only emotion he recognized. He wrapped his arm over Sienna. She offered him a meek smile and spun the vintage silver engagement ring she’d picked out at a flea market a few days before. Ryan had purchased it and proposed immediately, much to her delight.
After the funeral, Evie was spending the night with Alexa. He, and the small crew he’d hired out of Wilmington, had been contracted to restore the damage to Wright’s drugstore stockroom and three other houses on the beach. The Lobster Shack was considering a remodel to fancy it up a little and had asked Ryan to do the work and Sienna to help them with the designs. The Wishing Well was thinking of expanding, and the Inn was booked from Memorial Day through the Fourth of July. Ryan had decided that a celebration was called for. He wanted to celebrate their engagement in style.
He’d made reservations that night in one of the top-floor suites of the Peachtree Plaza and had gotten tickets to a play at the Fox Theatre. He planned to wine and dine his beautiful fiancée at Bacchanalia that evening before the play, and they were having a late brunch at Mary Mac’s tearoom the next day before they picked up Evie. He planned to show Sienna all that Atlanta had to offer to celebrate their engagement. It was a beautiful city, after all.