by Amy Vastine
Ally flinched as the phone now gripped in her hand chimed again. She looked at the screen, where three messages from Flynn seemed to pulse and vibrate. Swiping the screen, she read:
Have you seen the newspaper today?
Call me.
Where are you?
With trembling fingers, she tapped out an answer. Yes. Help. On my way home.
I’ll be there as soon as I can.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“KENDALL MEADE SUPPORTING your campaign? Score. What type of role is she going to take?” Bering asked Sunday morning while he and Tag sipped coffee in a restaurant in downtown Juneau. They were waiting for their breakfast companions to arrive, Sally and Tom Meade and daughter, Kendall.
“Consultant or adviser. Not sure yet.” Tag didn’t want Kendall taking any role at all, but how could he refuse? She was a perfect asset—intelligent, wealthy, connected, personality galore. And, if last night was any indication, she also believed in him. Which should make him happy but instead left him feeling unsettled.
Bering had also set up meetings with officials from a number of outdoor organizations. The two of them were headed out to talk with them after this chat with the Meades. Time to start soliciting contributions, a chore Tag already knew he was going to find uncomfortable, if not distasteful. He reminded himself that no one ever said running for office was easy.
“What do you think of the campaign manager candidates so far?”
“They all seem fine to me. I’m going to let Maura sift through them and make a recommendation.”
“You okay? You look a little out of it.”
“I’m fine,” Tag lied. “Tired. So much to think about.”
Ally was what he was thinking about, worrying about, wishing for. Two days without talking to her was taking a toll. Late the night before, he’d made up a believable excuse to borrow Bering’s phone and duck out of the party for a few minutes to call her, but realized he didn’t know her number.
The cell phone paradox at its finest: she’d texted him first, and he’d added her to his contacts without memorizing the number. Now it was nearly 11:00 p.m. Aside from Iris or Hannah, he couldn’t think of anyone other than Flynn who would have her number. Iris was the only one he felt comfortable contacting so late, and she hadn’t answered.
So here he was, stuck again. Between this breakfast meeting and the ensuing appointments, he would have to wait until he got back home. Besides, he told himself, even though it seemed like an eternity, he’d been away less than forty-eight hours. Maybe this was fate’s way of forcing him to get that distance he’d been seeking.
Either way, they were flying back this afternoon, and by tonight all would be well. The day couldn’t pass soon enough for him. And not just because of Ally. He needed some peace, time to reflect, to regroup, to prepare for this campaign battle. Bottom line, he wasn’t used to feeling overwhelmed. He didn’t like it.
“Don’t Kendall’s folks have, like, a billion dollars?”
“I have no idea. They are very wealthy. Her dad comes from money. Kendall has a trust fund. But it’s her mom who is responsible for taking them to the next level. She’s an investment genius or something like that.”
“Do they like you?”
Tag smiled. “They do. Sally came to visit me in Rankins after we broke up. She cried.” He shook his head, remembering how glad he was that Kendall had been the one to break it off. “Asked me to give Kendall another chance. When I pointed out that she was dating someone else, Sally told me she could snap her fingers and make him go away, whatever that meant.”
“So, we’re looking at a hefty contribution?”
“Kendall alluded to as much last night. Said Sally and Tom are ‘beyond thrilled’ that I’m running.”
Bering shook his head. “Seriously, you’ve got to be the only guy I know who can break up with a woman and keep the parents. There she is.”
Heads turned as Kendall strode through the door of the restaurant. Appearing oblivious to the attention, she glided toward their table. Tag had commented on it once, her seeming lack of awareness of her eye-catching beauty, to which she’d responded, “No, not oblivious, sweetie. Not at all. But if you pretend you don’t notice, it makes you even more noticeable.”
He’d been impressed by the statement at the time, awed by her confidence. Now, though, he saw things, and her, a little differently, and as she neared the table he purposely kept his eyes averted.
* * *
WHEN ALLY ARRIVED HOME, she discovered she had a visitor, but it wasn’t Flynn. One of Tag’s sisters was sitting on her porch swing.
“Hi, Ally. I hope this isn’t a bad time.”
It’s not exactly a good time was what she wanted to say, because unfortunately, this wasn’t a James sister she was eager to see.
“Hello, Shay. Tag’s not here if you’re looking for him.”
“I know he’s not. He’s still in Juneau. He’ll be back late this afternoon.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Ally didn’t want to confess that she wasn’t privy to his estimated return time.
“Have you heard from him?”
The sinking feeling she’d been battling won out, further plummeting her spirits. She didn’t want to confess, but she also wasn’t going to lie. “No,” she said.
“I understand you giving me the cold shoulder here. I deserve it. But I came over because I thought you might not know that Tag lost his phone.”
Ally’s knees went weak with relief. “No, I didn’t,” she said calmly, careful to keep her expression blank. She wasn’t going to give away even a fraction of how she felt about Tag to his sister, not when Shay didn’t approve of Ally or her traditional healing techniques. She had every right to disapprove of their relationship, but Ally wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing Ally’s insecurity.
Shay gave her head a wry shake. “You’re a cucumber. I’ll give you that much.”
“I don’t know what that means, but if you’re here to insult me again, I really would rather you hurried it along.”
“No, you know that expression—cool as a cucumber? We just say ‘cucumber’ in our family. It’s a compliment.”
“I see.”
“Kinda the opposite of me, especially lately.”
Ally had no idea what to say to that.
Shay went on, “Anyway, so, yeah… Tag lost his phone. Bering called on Friday night to tell me. I didn’t think to let you know. It was Iris who mentioned it. She was gone this weekend and stopped by the inn on her way home. She said you guys were dating, and I realized you might not have heard from him. It was thoughtless of me not to tell you.”
Apparently, Shay wasn’t finished tormenting her.
“The woman in the photo is his ex-girlfriend.”
This time Ally didn’t have to think about the blank stare. It was either that or cry, but Ally didn’t cry. Almost never. And definitely not in front of strangers.
“But I want you to know that my brother would never cheat on you. If he told you that you’re exclusive, he means it.”
The final, threadbare piece of hope she’d been holding on to frayed and broke at those words, because that was just the thing. He’d never told her they were exclusive. The opposite, in fact. He’d specifically said she should see other people.
When she’d asked him if he was committed to anyone, he’d said no. At the time, she hadn’t thought to ask if he was dating anyone else. Still, she hadn’t seen it coming. Maybe she was, if not too young for Tag, then too inexperienced.
Shay was here to tell her he’d lost his phone, but Ally couldn’t see how that mattered now. If he’d wanted to contact her, he could have. But what difference would that have made? If he’d had his phone, would he have called to tell her he was going to a fancy party with a tall, model-gorgeous, sexy-high-heel-wearing blonde? Hey, Ally,
don’t worry when you see my photo in the Rankins Press snuggled up with a hottie. It’s just my ex.
It didn’t matter, because she would have just been crushed that much sooner. She was glad she didn’t have experience if this was what it felt like to really care about a man and then have him tear your heart in two, especially when she didn’t even know if she had a right to be feeling this way. She might be young, but she was clearly old-school when it came to this sort of thing.
Sounds from next door drew their attention. Little Mason Hatch bounded out of the house with younger sister, Liza, hot on his heels. Mom, DeAnne, followed, carrying the baby, Albert, on her hip.
“Mason!” she called, to no avail. “Liza!”
The little boy sprinted into Ally’s yard, across the grassy expanse and up the porch steps, where he climbed into the swing next to Shay. Liza stopped and waited for her mother.
“Hey, Mason!” Shay greeted him with a warm smile and slipped an arm around him. “What’s up?”
“Oh, not much. I’m going to get in trouble when Mommy comes. But I saw you over here, and I just started running because I wanted to see you close up. I like seeing you close-up, Shay.”
“That’s so nice, buddy. I like seeing you close-up, too.”
Sure enough, DeAnne was only seconds behind him. Ally often marveled at the speed at which toddler-wielding moms could move. “Shay, Ally, hi.” Scaling the porch, she shook her head at her son. “Mason, I’m speechless. How many times do I have to tell you not to run out of my sight?”
“But I’m in your sight, Mom. I know because you followed me real easy.”
Ally could see that Shay was trying not to smile. She did an admirable job until DeAnne lost it and then both women laughed hard. Ally couldn’t quite bring herself to join in, but she managed a smile while DeAnne tried to explain the intricacies of “in sight.”
The women proceeded to visit for a few minutes until Liza toddled off across the yard. DeAnne began to fidget when she neared the road.
“Do you want me to take him?” Shay held out her arms for the baby. “So you can round her up?”
“Would you mind? I don’t want to yell and wake my little peanut here.”
Shay settled the sleeping baby in her arms while DeAnne went to fetch his sister. A lump formed in Ally’s throat as she watched Shay with the baby. There was so much longing in her eyes that Ally could barely stand to watch her for the ache it caused in her own heart. Tag and Iris had both told her how much Shay wanted children.
DeAnne returned with Liza and a car seat for Albert. The little guy barely stirred when Shay buckled him in. DeAnne and the kids said their goodbyes, settled in the minivan and drove away.
Shay stood. “Well, I should get going…”
Ally had forgotten about the donut box inside the bag she held. Under normal circumstances, she would have offered donuts to the kids, but her state of mind was nowhere near normal. Now she held the bag aloft.
“I have donuts. Would you like to come in?”
“You know what? I think I will.”
They went inside and Ally made tea. For some reason, she felt more kindly disposed toward Shay when the woman wolfed down a donut in short order and took two bites of another before setting it on the plate Ally provided.
“This donut—” she pointed at the maple-glazed pastry that Ally had already decided was her favorite “—the Emily? It’s named after Bering’s wife.”
Ally had to smile. “Seriously?”
“Yep. You’d never know it by looking at her, but she’s a semireformed junk-food addict. When she first came here, that’s pretty much all she ate. She’s since become an excellent cook, but back then she spent a lot of time at the Donut Den.”
Shay took a sip of her tea. “This is really good. What is it?”
“An herbal mix I make myself. Don’t worry—there’s no dried chicken feet or buffalo tongue in it.”
Shay cringed and cleaned her fingertips with a napkin. “I’m sorry about that voodoo comment. It was incredibly insensitive.”
“Yes, it was. But I’m sorry, too.”
“What? Why?”
Ally sighed and explained, her heart heavy. “Because I’m purposefully throwing it back at you to make you feel uncomfortable. Which makes me just as bad in my own mind.”
Shay gaped at her. “You are so…mature for your age, do you know that? Shoot, does that sound condescending?”
“No. Honesty rarely does.”
“Good, because I’m going to be brutally honest right now. I know we got off on the wrong foot. At first, I didn’t care because I was only thinking about Tag. But I want to explain myself. This election is very important to him, to me, to our entire extended family, to our community—the whole state, for that matter. I don’t know how much he’s told you, but he’s been considering it the last few years. We just didn’t think he’d be running so soon, but circumstances have evolved and he has to now. I’m just worried that he doesn’t… That he’s not prepared.”
Has to? Ally needed to think about this. She probably needed to know Tag better before she commented on something that had been troubling her almost since she’d met him. Instead, she said, “Your love and concern for your brother is admirable.”
“He’s truly the best man I know. That might sound odd. You’re probably thinking I should name my husband or my dad. They’re both right up there, but Tag is… He’s special to almost everyone who meets him.”
Ally nodded. She could believe that.
“I’m not saying he’s perfect. He’s got plenty of faults—he’s conceited and proud and thinks he’s invincible and plenty of other things that you’ll discover soon enough.” Shay chuckled a little before adding, “I guess what I’m saying is that if you’re special to him, you must be worth it.”
“Worth it?”
“Yes. Worth the controversy his involvement with you is causing and will continue to cause. He can’t see it yet. My sisters don’t see it. But, as you’ve probably figured out, I’m generally considered the cynical one in the family. I prefer realist, but we can’t always control the opinions of others, can we? And before you take offense, please know that if, after considering what I’ve said, you and Tag choose to pursue a relationship I’ll back you a hundred percent. Like my brother, I’m also very loyal. Family means everything to me.”
Ally knew she was expected to respond at this point, but nothing she could say would help matters. She wanted someone to talk to, sure, but not Tag’s sister. She didn’t trust Shay. Not to mention, she didn’t even know where she and Tag stood at this point. Instead, she took the opening Shay had just given her to change the subject.
“I can see that about your family. You don’t have any children of your own yet?” She knew the answer but hoped the question would prompt Shay to talk about herself.
Shay looked a little stricken by the question. “No, um, not…yet. I don’t know if I can have children.”
Squelching the prickle of guilt for raising the subject, she asked, “So, it’s not a medical certainty?”
Shay stared back at her, indecision stamped across her face. Ally sensed that she wanted to talk about it and so she waited.
Shay inhaled a deep breath, blew it out and answered, “No, I can get pregnant. It’s the carrying the baby that hasn’t worked out. But…sometimes I think it would be easier if I couldn’t…” Her voice cracked, tears welling in her eyes. Ally felt her heart twist with sympathy. “Because that tiny kernel of hope is slowly destroying me. It shouldn’t be, I know. And right now, I should be thrilled…” She paused to swallow a sob.
Ally slowly absorbed the implication of her words. “Are you…pregnant?”
Nodding, Shay wiped at her tears with her shirt sleeve. “I’m sorry, that just slipped out. I’m so emotional right now. I’m… Stressed out doesn’t even begin to co
ver how I’m feeling. Please, don’t tell Tag or anyone. No one knows, except Jonah. I’m only a couple of months along and I’ve been here so many times and then…lost it. Every day, every waking moment I worry about losing this one, too. Pregnancy is supposed to be a happy experience, but for me, it’s not. It’s more like a nightmare and… And I can’t bear the thought of facing anymore pity.”
Ally wondered if Shay’s family, her husband or anyone knew the true depths of her misery and fear? And at that moment, she didn’t see Shay as her adversary, the sister who didn’t approve of her brother’s relationship with an eccentric, younger woman. She saw her as a person who needed help. And Ally wanted to help her if she could.
Ally nodded. “I won’t say a word, Shay, I promise. It’s your secret to share.”
* * *
TAG COULD BARELY think straight, so crowded was his brain with information about polls, PACs, endorsements and finances, not to mention a myriad of complicated and hot-button issues, all of which he needed to wrap his brain around. But above everything was this aching need to see Ally.
By the time he and Bering returned to Rankins late Sunday afternoon, Tag wished, right or wrong, that he could flip a switch and turn it all off, except for the part about Ally. Because all he wanted to do was relax with a cold beer and have Ally snuggled by his side. His phone, unfortunately, was not at the hangar/office where he kept his planes or in his pickup.
At home, he dropped his bag in the bedroom, changed his clothes and brushed his teeth. No phone. Had Ally worried when she hadn’t heard from him? Why hadn’t that thought occurred to him sooner? Surely, Iris would have told her he lost his phone. Would Ally be as happy to see him as he would be to see her? If he’d spent even a fraction of the time in her thoughts that she’d spent in his, all would be well. He was even beginning to wonder how he was going to manage future campaign events if he missed her this much over a weekend.
The thought flickered through his mind that he should check the newspaper, because Bering told him that Laurel had texted to say the Rankins Press had picked up an article from the newspaper in Juneau. Later, he decided, climbing back into his pickup and heading to Ally’s house.