by LuAnn McLane
Savannah looked up to see Miss Patty walk into the room with a plate full of brownies. Willie followed her.
“Myself,” she admitted and felt heat creep into her cheeks. “I guess you think I’m some kind of crazy.”
Miss Patty laughed. “No more than me talking to Willie.”
“I talk to Willie too.” She reached down and scratched Willie’s head. “Don’t I?”
“Woof!” It appeared an effort but he rolled his rotund body over for a belly rub. When Savannah kneeled down and rubbed his soft skin Willie made wheezing sounds of appreciation. Savannah chuckled softly. Willie had a way of chasing away her blues. Perhaps she needed a dog of her own.
“Wow, there’s hardly any more room for desserts already, and the Hoedown isn’t until tomorrow,” Savannah commented as she came to her feet.
Miss Patty nodded. “I figured whatever is left over we can sell and put the money toward something good.”
“Smart thinking,” Savannah said and mustered up a smile.
Miss Patty put a hand on Savannah’s arm. “Something wrong, honey child?”
“No…” she said but glanced away.
“Ah, man trouble?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Well, Tristan is gone. I can put two and two together.”
Savannah quickly turned the tables. “Speaking of, I heard that you took dinner over to Clovis Camden and that you’ve been spending some time over there.”
Miss Patty waved a casual hand through the air, but the color in her cheeks betrayed her. “Oh, the old coot had a dizzy spell a few days ago and refuses to go to the doctor. I’m just keeping an eye on him. You know, just being neighborly.”
“If you say so.”
“Savannah, you know as well as I do that Clovis is a piece of work! Both of those Camden brothers are.”
“And so are you.”
Miss Patty laughed. “True.” She gave Savannah a slight shrug. “The man drives me nuts but he has his moments.”
“Etta Mae sure would be jealous.”
“An added bonus, I must admit,” Miss Patty said with a laugh and then gave Savannah a sly wink. “Hey, I might be old but I’m not dead yet.”
“You go, girl.” Savannah gave her a sassy head bop coupled with a finger wave. Suddenly, thirty didn’t seem over the hill after all and her mood lightened. “I have to lock up, but if you have any more desserts bring them over in the morning.”
“Sure thing. I’m looking forward to the Hoedown, Savannah. We all are. Clovis and Clyde are putting together the horseshoe tournament to get the evening rolling. It’s coming along nicely.”
“Thanks!”
“Oh no, sugar, we should be thanking you. You keep all of us here at Whisper’s Edge lively and having fun. I was worried but I’m so glad that Tristan McMillan rode in on his white horse and saved the day. We’d all survive without it but I sure do love this place. I’d surely hate to have to move at my ripe old age. I know we all feel the same way. Oh, and I hope he makes it back in time for the dance tomorrow.”
“Me, too. See you tomorrow.”
“Woof!”
“Oh, you too, Willie! Keep out of trouble now, would ya?”
Willie gave her an innocent look but Miss Patty laughed. “Not likely.” She gave Savannah a wave. “Keep your chin up, Savannah. I hate to see a frown on your pretty face.”
“I will.” With that thought in mind Savannah decided to think positive and take the cowboy hat over to Tristan’s condo and leave it there for him to find along with a note.…Maybe she could get up the nerve to write something suggestive? Save a horse, ride a cowboy, popped into her mind and she snorted with laughter. Okay…um…no. But leaving the hat would be fun and would put a smile on his face as soon as he saw it. Although Savannah didn’t have a key, she was pretty sure that Madison or Bella would let her in if she hurried and got there before the office closed. It was worth a try.
After grabbing the cowboy hat Savannah drove over to the condo complex and parked in the visitor section of the lot. Luckily, Bella Diamante was manning the front desk. “Hi, Bella. I’m Savannah Perry, Tristan McMillan’s…um, friend.”
“Hi there. Sure, I’ve seen you around. So, Savannah, what can I do for you?”
“Um…Tristan is out of town, but I’d like to leave this hat in his condo. He’s coming to a dance at Whisper’s Edge, and I promised I’d pick this up for him. Could I do that?”
Bella smiled. “No problem, but I’d have to go with you if that’s okay? Without his permission I can’t let you in there without me.”
“Oh, that’s fine.” She’d only been to his place a few times so she understood.
“Okay, follow me.” Bella picked up a set of keys and then headed to the elevator. “So, you’re having a dance?”
“Our first ever Hoedown. Music, pig roast, and so on. Jeff Greenfield is singing.”
“Oh, I heard him sing at Sully’s. He has an amazing voice! Sounds like a blast,” Bella said as she opened the door to Tristan’s place. “A lot of the Whisper’s Edge residents come into Wine and Diner. They seem to love it there.”
“It’s a fun community. They might be seniors but they keep me hopping, for sure.” Savannah followed Bella inside and looked around, trying to decide where to leave the hat and opted for the dining area table that was part of the great room. “I’m just going to write a short note,” Savannah said.
“No rush.”
Savannah put the hat on the table and then found a sticky notepad in her purse. She wrote a simple, I missed you, on the paper and was about to muster up the nerve to add I love you, when a drawing lying on the table caught her eye. She frowned. It was a map of Whisper’s Edge. She angled her head. No, it was Whisper’s Edge but…there were notes. Marina here. Restaurant overlooking the river was written where the community center now stood. Savannah’s heart pounded and she felt light-headed. The rest of the notes blurred from the tears swimming in her eyes. She swallowed hard.
“Savannah, are you okay?” Bella asked from the doorway.
No, she wasn’t okay at all. “Um, yes,” she answered gruffly. She had to leave the hat or have Bella wonder what she was up to, but she grabbed the note and crushed it in her hand.
“Are you sure?” Bella locked the door and looked closely at Savannah.
“Yeah.” Savannah managed a nod and a slight, wobbly smile.
Bella punched the Down button and then put a gentle hand on Savannah’s arm. “Oh, I get it. You miss him! Believe me, I understand. My boyfriend is a baseball player and when he’s gone, which is basically, like, all summer, unless I go to visit him, I’m a basket case. She sighed. “It seems like I’m living out of a suitcase, and I’m not helping my mom with her shop nearly as much as I should.”
“Oh, that has to be hard.”
Bella nodded firmly. “Sure is, but I love him and it’s part of what he does and who he is.” She sighed. “The smell of his aftershave on his laundry makes me crazy.” She squeezed Savannah’s arm. “I totally get it.”
“Thanks.”
“I sure hope he makes it back for the Hoedown.”
“Me too,” Savannah said and then headed to her car. But as soon as she slid behind the wheel she lost her composure. The drive home was like looking through a windshield covered in rain, clearing only when she blinked away the tears. The radio played country music but she barely noticed, and when she pulled into her driveway she didn’t even remember how she got there. Luckily, no one was around to see her walk like a wooden soldier to keep her knees from knocking.
Once she was inside Savannah made a beeline for her room. She flopped facedown onto her bed, dropping her purse next to her and beating her fists on the mattress.
And she cried a river…
Buckets and buckets leaked from her eyes and felt as if they were squeezed directly from her heart. When she was a child she had learned to keep emotion bottled up inside, and it suddenly seemed as if the cork had been bl
own from a champagne bottle of emotion, flowing out of her like a geyser and spilling everywhere. She cried for every hurt, every disappointment carelessly tossed her way. She cried for her mother, whom she never knew. She sobbed for the years of loneliness and fear that had led her to Whisper’s Edge, where she finally felt at home…and at peace. And now, the solid foundation that she had here with people she adored and loved was splitting wide open, and she felt as if she were free-falling down a dark hole like Alice in Wonderland.
But most of all, she cried for the residents of Whisper’s Edge. These were their twilight years, and the upheaval of moving was going to be so very stressful and sad. Like Kate, Savannah would survive. She always did, but this was a blow—no, make that a knockout punch—that she hadn’t seen coming.
Finally, Savannah rolled over and stared at the paddle fan. Shadows fell across the walls as the sun set. She felt so tired, so drained, but just when she thought there couldn’t possibly be another tear left in her body, more moisture leaked out of her eyes, sliding into her ears and dampening the pillows. She sniffed hard and felt something in her hand. Looking down she realized she still had the note squeezed in her palm. With an outcry of pure sorrow she tossed the note to the floor and wept all over again. Her eyeballs burned and her nose was stuffy. She was dimly aware of hunger pangs but the thought of food made her feel sick. Besides, moving her tired body from the bed wasn’t an option.
As the darkness grew, Savannah had to wonder…why? What was Tristan’s motive for letting her believe that he loved her? And then it hit her. Like her, many of the residents actually owned their little lots and mobile homes. Tristan might own everything else, but they would have to sell if he wanted to do something else with the property like the restaurant and marina. He wanted their cooperation. That had to be it. Why else would he do this to her? For his amusement? “Oh God…” Savannah whispered into the shadows. Was she simply a hot little roll in the hay while he was stuck in Cricket Creek doing his dirty business? The thought was simply too much to bear.
Savannah put her fist to her mouth, suddenly feeling like the lost little girl at the adoption fairs that nobody wanted. She stifled a sob and turned her head into the pillow. Her breath came quick as she tried to hold herself together. “You’re not that little girl,” she whispered into the darkness. She sat up. “You’re not that little girl!” she repeated with conviction and then smacked the pillow for good measure. Kate adopted her. The residents loved her. She deserved to be loved fully and without reservation! Anything less was…unacceptable.
Exhausted, Savannah slid back down beneath the covers. She must have dozed, because when her phone rang the sudden sound had her nearly levitating off the bed. Dazed, she shoved her hair out of her eyes and blinked in the dark before she remembered that her phone was still in her purse. She dug around until she found it. Her heart thudded. It was Tristan.
Savannah blinked at his name until the phone went quiet and dark. She flopped back down onto the pillows and released a shaky sigh. She was going to have to tell Kate about Tristan’s real plans for Whisper’s Edge. But it could wait until after the dance tomorrow night. They might as well enjoy one last hurrah without the knowledge that all of their lives were going to be changed forever.
Savannah clenched her fists into the comforter. Putting on a happy face was going to be difficult but she was strong. She was a survivor. She could do it.
25
All the Right Reasons
TRISTAN TRIED TO FOCUS ON HIS BACON-AND-EGGS BREAKFAST but his mind kept wandering.
“Something wrong with your food?” his mother asked with a frown.
“No, I’m just not used to such a big breakfast, I guess.”
“Since when?” she asked with a gentle smile.
“Since Savannah failed to answer my call again.”
Maggie McMillan pressed her lips together. “Oh, Tristan, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault! I kept you here much longer than I anticipated.”
Tristan took a drink of his orange juice and then shook his head. “Mom, please don’t beat yourself up. You didn’t know that this would get so complicated or that you would be personally named in the lawsuit.”
She sighed. “My sellers definitely didn’t know that the furnace was faulty when we listed the house.” She raised her hands in the air. “It was just unfortunate timing.” She looked over at Tristan. “You know I’d never do something as underhanded as that.”
Tristan sighed. “Unfortunately, juries are so difficult to predict these days. Losing would have meant the full cost of replacement plus court costs. The compromise we worked out was the best I could do.”
“And I’m grateful. But I’m so sorry that Savannah is upset with you for not making it back for the dance.”
Tristan toyed with his scrambled eggs. “I know that she must be disappointed, but it isn’t like her not to be understanding.”
Maggie raised her eyebrows. “So you never got the chance to actually talk to her about it?”
“No. Since last night she hasn’t answered my calls.”
“Maybe she’s just busy preparing for the dance? Or her phone could be on the blink. Cell phones can be temperamental,” she offered with a soft smile. “Did you try calling the landline at her office?”
Tristan ran a hand down his face. “Yes, but her hours are sporadic. No luck there either.”
“Well, Tristan, it’s only been since last night since you haven’t connected with her. I’m sure everything will be okay. And maybe you can make it back in time to surprise her by showing up at the dance after all. We should be able to wrap this headache up this afternoon.”
“I know. I’ve just never felt this way about a woman before. The thought of losing her terrifies me.”
Maggie took a sip of her coffee and nodded slowly. “That’s why you need to rethink what’s important you.”
“I want you to be able to retire.”
She raised her palms upward. “Do I look ready to retire?”
Tristan sighed. His mother was a beautiful, vibrant woman. Although she was over fifty you’d never know it. “No, but this lawsuit is a glaring example of why you deserve to relax and enjoy life without the stress of selling homes in a depressed market.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“Oh no, I know that expression. What?”
“You know me all too well.” She laughed but then gave him a serious look. “We’ll get to that in a minute but first I want to ask you a couple of things.”
Tristan leaned back in his chair. “Shoot.”
“Do you miss your fancy condo?”
“No, not really.”
“Do you miss your law firm?”
After inhaling a deep breath he said, “I don’t miss the crazy long hours or the stress, that’s for sure.”
“What do you miss, Tristan?”
“I’ve missed living near you.”
Maggie’s eyes misted over. “Me too…” she said but then cleared her throat. “Go on.”
“Savannah,” he admitted gruffly and then angled his head. “Even more than I thought I would.”
“That’s pretty evident.”
“And I do miss practicing law. Helping people. It’s why I went to law school in the first place. Well, that and I wanted you to have a secure future and early retirement.” He frowned. “That’s why I needed to consider Mitch Monroe’s offer.”
“And to show your grandfather up.”
Tristan ground his teeth together. “I’m sorry, but he needs to be put in his place.”
“Oh, Tristan…” Maggie rubbed her lips together and then gave Tristan a level look. “Whatever you do in life, do it for the right reasons.”
“And showing Max McMillan up can’t be a reason?” Tristan didn’t want to even call the man grandfather. He wasn’t a good father and there was nothing grand about the man.
“No. Tristan, my father is a miserable man. You have always done the right thing. Don’t let his hatred suck
you down.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Not really.”
“Mom, some of the things he did…said, have stuck in my craw since I was a kid.”
“Purge it.” She flipped a hand in the air. “You’ll feel better.”
Tristan sighed.
“Look, if it helps, living well is the best revenge.”
“And how do you do that?”
Maggie pointed to a decorative plaque hanging on her wall. “Live, laugh, love.”
Tristan gave her a level look.
“Okay, you have to make money,” she said with a crooked grin.
“That’s the problem. I either have to sell Whisper’s Edge or find an investor and then develop the property. I’ve made some basic improvements, but I don’t have the funds to do what I really want to do.”
“And that is?”
“I want to do what Savannah suggested. I want to add streets and lots to sell. Maybe even add some more homes. Remodel the community center and the pool. In other words, expand.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea.”
“I can only do that if Mitch Monroe comes on board, and he wants to buy it outright.” He sighed. “Well, that or find another investor.”
Maggie McMillan gave him a wide smile.
“What?”
“There’s a little something that you don’t know about your mother.”
“That you won the lottery?”
She tilted her head back and laughed. “No, but I saved a bit of a nice nest egg during the boom years.”
“Look, I know I got some scholarship and grant money but you still had to help pay for law school.”
“Mmm, not all of it. And even when the market got so tough, I worked my tail off and managed to make a decent living. I stayed in this little house and lived frugally.” She smiled. “And it’s paid off.”
“Mom, what are you telling me?”
“I’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to develop property. I want to invest in Whisper’s Edge.”
Tristan blinked at her. “Really?”
“Absolutely. I’ve given it some thought. And you know, even though my father was a tyrant, I always loved it there. It was more of a fishing camp back then, but everyone treated me with kindness, something I was lacking in my home life. It would do my heart good to keep Whisper’s Edge a retirement community. So what do you say?” She gave him a wink. “I know a thing or two about selling real estate.”