by Violet Paige
The guests pivoted in their seats. I heard murmurs and whispers. I tried to keep my eyes straight ahead at the altar. If I could make it to the altar without tripping or wiping out, I could survive the rest of the ceremony. Keep walking. Keep walking. I smiled at Cal and the groomsmen lined up at the front of the church. Cal looked nervous, but I had a feeling that would melt away the second he saw Sasha. I focused on my next step, exhaling as I moved forward.
Then I saw him.
At first, I smiled lightly as if he was any of the guests seated in the pews, but then my eyes met his. His look cut right through me. In that second, he held me with his stare, keeping me from falling, yet making me tumble through clouds and rain, breathless and shaking. The piano music rose, and I took another step closer. Drawn to the way he looked at me with complete abandon, as if right then he would stand up and tell everyone in the church that he was in love with me. That I was pregnant with his baby. That we were a family.
The waves were crashing over me one at a time, but this time, I could breathe. I could breathe because he had me. Then, my steps took me past him and I had to stand on my spot at the altar. I think I knew then that when I looked in Cole’s eyes, I saw everything.
I had never been happier to drink a glass of sparkling cider in my life. Sasha and Cal were married. The ceremony was beautiful. Cal stumbled over one line of his vows, but it brought a little comic relief to the church.
I let the cool bubbles slide down my throat, knowing the entire time Cole hadn’t taken his eyes off me.
“Want another?” he offered.
“No, I just needed that one. This has been the longest day.” I tipped forward on my toes, ready to plant a sugary kiss on his lips.
“Oh my God, Kaitlyn.” Mary Ellen wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pried me away from Cole.
“Hey.” I hugged her. “How was your flight? Did you make it to the church?” I had been too focused on Cole to see anyone else in the audience.
“Yes, we were there.” As soon as she said we, Aiden walked from around the corner, holding two freshly poured glass of champagne.
“Here you go, babe.” He handed her one. “Hi, Kaitlyn. Cole.”
I felt the tension immediately swath us like a prickly burlap bag. I was instantly uncomfortably.
“Hi, Aiden.” I smiled. We weren’t at hug status. I didn’t know if we ever would be.
“It was a nice wedding. They seem like a happy couple. Young, but happy.” He took a swig of champagne.
“Sasha’s twenty-five. I don’t think that’s too young to get married.” I wasn’t sure what he was implying, but I felt the need to defend the bride and groom.
Mary Ellen slid her palm against his, and I noticed he clutched her hand.
He smiled. “I know they’re your friends. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
I backed down from my defensive stance. Cole was quiet.
Then he broke his silence. “Aiden, I’d like to talk to you for a second.”
I looked at both men. This couldn’t be good. I held the crook of Cole’s arm. He smiled at me.
“It’s ok. I just need to say something to him.” His voice was steady and certain. “As a matter of fact, I can say it in front of you. It involves you too.”
“What’s going on, nephew? Threatening me with a countersuit?”
“The opposite.”
Aiden looked puzzled. “Go on.”
“I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I think it’s in my best interest if I let the Dunes go.”
“Cole, you can’t!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Kaitlyn, you were right about the lawsuit.” He looked Aiden straight in the eye. “But I have conditions.”
“I’m listening.” Aiden had lost his usual cavalier attitude.
“You agree to drop the current lawsuit, and I’ll sell you the Dunes for half price.”
“Half price?” Aiden asked.
My jaw dropped. What in the hell kind of deal was this?
“I was going to sell it for 2.5 million. Why should I cut a deal on it?”
“Because, we could be in court for years and you might not win. This way, it’s a sure thing. You’re guaranteed to make a profit.” Cole had a determined look in his eye.
Aiden looked skeptical. “But why would you give up the potential to make more than twice as much?”
Cole ignored my protests. “I’ve never been in this to make money. I think we all know that. But it is my only employment and Kaitlyn’s too. I think we’re owed something for it. So drop the suit, pay me a million dollars, and you can have it.”
Aiden rocked back on his heels, a move I had seen Cole make a hundred times. He rubbed his jaw then took a sip of champagne. Mary Ellen didn’t budge.
“You have a deal.” He extended his hand to Cole. For the first time since they met, they shook hands. “I’ll have my attorney draw up the paperwork and deliver it to you on Monday.” I wondered if this is how Aiden handled all his business deals. He seemed like a natural.
Cole nodded. “Sounds good. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to find our table.” He placed his palm on the lower part of my back and eased me into the ballroom.
I wanted to grind my silver heels into his toe and demand he tell me what he had just done, but I smiled and nodded at the wedding guests until we were seated at our table. Our table’s theme was the honeymoon table. There were pictures of palm trees under a sheet of glass and shells scattered on top.
“Cole, you can’t be serious.” I glared at him. “You can’t do this.”
“Darlin’, I just did it.”
My hands balled into a fist. I was tempted to slug some sense into him. He had just given away the only thing he had left from Pops. His childhood memories. Our memories. Grayson’s future. Our baby’s future.
“Without even telling me?” Maybe that was the part that hurt the most.
“I didn’t know for sure I was going to do it until today.”
“What made you change your mind?” I was trying to keep my voice down, but my heart was about to pound out of my chest.
“You.”
“Me? But I love the Dunes. I never meant for you to sell it. That’s not what I meant. I was worried about the lawsuit, and what could happen to all your money. I would never push you to give up something so important to you.”
He placed a finger against my lips. “Kaitlyn, you are the reason I want to sell it.”
I searched his face for some logical explanation, a translation that would make sense.
He continued. “I do love that place, no matter what a pain in the ass it is, but there’s something I love more, and that’s you. And if you’re in my life, I don’t want my time eaten up with lawyers and court dates and all our money going down the drain because I’m fighting with Uncle What’s-his-name. I want you. I want to be happy with you, and that means no more Dunes.
“You don’t need the stress now. I want you to be healthy and safe. I can’t focus on you and the baby if all I do is fight with that dick.”
I didn’t know how something that made me so sad could give me butterflies and set my heart on fire.
“You did it for the baby and me?”
He nodded. His hand slid to my stomach. God, did I love this man. He was everything to me. He had been since I was a teenager. He was more than I knew was possible.
“I don’t know what to say. I’ll support whatever you want to do with the motel. Just tell me you don’t think I’m forcing you to do it. The baby and I will be fine.”
He smiled. “You are not forcing me to do anything. It’s my decision, and after today, I think it’s a pretty damn good one. Plus, aren’t you the one who said I should go back into my engineering program?”
“Did I?” I started to think I was getting bossy.
“I can always enroll next spring and pick up where I left off. They are still moving forward with the grant on Padre for wind power. I’d like to be a part of th
at. Who knows, maybe we can be graduate nerds together.” He winked.
“Me? You think I should go to grad school?”
“Baby, you can do whatever makes you happy as long as that means you don’t want to leave Texas.” Cole had no idea he would be scoring all kinds of points with my father. The idea of me going back to get my MBA fueled almost all our conversations lately.
“I will never leave Texas,” I whispered before leaning across the space that divided us and kissed him.
We watched the first dance, the toast, and Cal and Sasha cut the cake. They had to be the happiest bride and groom I had ever seen. I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room to touch up the makeup Lulu had applied. There was no way I was still as put together as when I walked down the aisle. We had taken close to a hundred pictures and the corners of my mouth hurt from the permanent smile I had formed today.
As I walked out of the women’s lounge, I was looking down at my shoes and I almost bumped into Lisa.
“Kaitlyn, why, sugar, I almost didn’t see you.” Lisa wrapped me in what I could only describe as a Texas-sized bear hug. Her perfume was almost as powerful.
“How have you been?” I stepped back to talk to her for a minute. “Polly has been the best sitter for Grayson. He loves her.
“Oh, I’m so glad. Sorry I haven’t been able to keep him more. I’ve been busy busy. Things at the store are slowing down, but I’m gearing up for the holiday season in another month.”
That’s right. Thanksgiving was only a month away, and then Christmas. I had to come up with a holiday arrangement quicker than I realized. Cole and I hadn’t made a single plan on where to cut the turkey or share gifts under the tree.
“How’s your sister?”
“She’s good, hon. Thanks for asking.” Lisa whispered in my ear, “Is Pops’s other son here tonight? I heard he was.”
I nodded. “Yes. Sasha’s parents invited him.” I couldn’t imagine what Lisa’s interest in Aiden could be.
“I need to speak with him.” Her voice was still hushed.
“Ok. Do you need me to point him out to you?”
“Yes, there are so many people here, it’s hard to even find your neighbor.” She wasn’t kidding. The country club was packed. On top of that, the men weren’t wearing their regular jeans and T-shirt ensembles. It was funny to see Hank and everyone else in a suit.
“All right, let’s see where he is.” We peeked around the corner and scanned the room for Mary Ellen or Aiden. She was easier to spot in a pink dress. His dark suit blended in with the other men’s suits.
I saw him near the bar ordering more drinks. “There he is.” I pointed.
“Handsome devil, isn’t it?”
“You don’t even know, Lisa.” I smiled. Her eyes were zeroed in on Aiden.
“I’m going to go have a little chat. I’ll catch up with you later.” She patted me on the back and marched toward Aiden like she had found a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and didn’t want anyone to beat her to it.
I don’t consider myself nosey. Usually, I take the information I get and sometimes don’t even want that. However, the exchange with Lisa piqued my interest worse than any curious cat. I stuffed my lip gloss in my clutch, and made my way to one of the tables near the bar. I could use a refill on my champagne anyway.
I leaned against the high top table and pretended to check the messages on my phone. I couldn’t care less if I had an unanswered email, but I needed a lame cover for my eavesdropping. I parked myself there while Lisa pulled Aiden to the side of the bar.
From what I could hear, she was delivering news Aiden wasn’t prepared for. I had already missed the introductions.
“I know you don’t know me well, honey—you’ve never met me—but I knew your father and I loved that man. Everyone on this island loved that man.”
Aiden huffed. He wasn’t interested in her praise of his dad.
“So, you’ve got to put an end to this demolition business. He would be furious if he knew you were going after Cole the way you are. It’s shameful. Just isn’t right what you’re doing to such a good man. It’s not his fault he didn’t know about you.”
Aiden lips pursed together. “Ma’am, I know you mean well, but you don’t know what’s going on. You don’t know me, and you certainly don’t know anything about my relationship with my father.” He tried to skirt around her, but Lisa held her ground.
“You’re not listening to me. I did know him. I knew him very well in fact. We were friends for years, both having businesses on the island together, living here, raising families here.” She sighed. “And he told me about you.”
“What? You knew about me?” Aiden’s voice softened, and I strained to hear his words.
“Honey, your father wanted to bring you and your mother to the island. He was trying to figure out a way to make it work with Cole and the business. Your mother didn’t want to move, and I think they weren’t able to get past that. Sounded like they drifted apart and so many years passed and then she died. But he was still determined to get you here even though by then you were an adult. It was really his dream. He told me so many times how proud he was of you. How he was going to make things right.”
I didn’t know if Aiden was so quiet I couldn’t hear his reply, or if Lisa had stunned him into silence. Finally, I heard the low drawl of his words.
“Lisa, I appreciate you telling me this, but it doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t fit with the man who didn’t raise me. It’s not the same story my mother told me.”
“Honey, it’s true. Maybe one day, when you’re a father yourself, you’ll see how complicated it is to raise children. And I’m not saying Mitchell didn’t get himself in a mess having an affair, but it didn’t mean he didn’t love you. He wanted you to know it; he just wasn’t big on words. And the man was a little stubborn. I think that runs in the Thomas genes.”
“But he left the Dune Scape to Cole. It was the only thing he had in this life, and he left it to him.”
“Now, Aiden, I’ve heard a little something about you. You’ve done real well for yourself. Real well.” Lisa paused. “Aren’t you a successful businessman, driving a fancy car, traveling all around, money in your bank account?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Aiden was quiet. I had never heard him decline an opportunity to talk about his successes.
“It might not be how you wanted it, and it might have hurt, but Mitchell wasn’t stupid man. I think your father knew who needed help and who didn’t.”
I hadn’t looked at my phone in a few minutes and I was completely focused on the exchange, if anyone saw me now I would be busted. I was stunned by Lisa’s confession about Pops. Did Aiden’s mother give him bad information all of those years? Did her relationship go sour and she pinned it all on Pops?
“Lisa, it was a pleasure to meet you. I’ve got a beautiful girl waiting on me.” He kissed her on the cheek and weaved through the crowd back to Mary Ellen.
I held my breath, waiting for Lisa to rejoin the party. I didn’t know if what she told Aiden would make a difference, if he even cared about it, but if I were him, I would need a stiff drink and a walk on the beach to figure it all out.
27
Kaitlyn
Cole was able to slow dance as long as he didn’t put too much pressure on his leg. We swayed to the music, my head resting against his chest. I loved being close to him like this. The lights started to flicker, and I could see the country club staff closing in from all sides. It was after midnight, and they were ready for us to go. I couldn’t blame them. It was late.
Reluctantly, the guests filed out of the main entrance of the ballroom and into the circular drive of the club. A few seconds later, Sasha came bounding down the steps in a short cocktail dress, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Cal scooped her in his arms and lowered her over the side of the car into the passenger seat.
“Y’all behave tonight!” someone hollered over the laughter.
“I don’t think so,” Cal c
alled back from the steering wheel, revving the engine a few times. Sasha slapped him on the chest, but she was clearly happy. Her cheeks were pink, and she hadn’t stopped smiling all night.
I saw Sasha’s mother dab at her eyes a few times while her father held her next to him. Watching their first daughter drive off into married life must have been a bittersweet moment for them.
Cole and I waved as the car pulled out of the drive. Sasha and Cal would be on their way to their St. Croix honeymoon tomorrow. Tonight, they had the bridal suite at the Wave Oasis, a gift from Sasha’s boss.
Everyone milled around for a few seconds, drinking bottled water. No one was ready to go home. Nights like that were hard to leave.
“Hey, I think we should light up the bonfire.” Lance came up behind us. He had had a few beers. “A little after party is in order.” His wedding date was a few paces behind him. I met her during the reception.
It seemed late to start one, and I wasn’t sure about taking my blue dress on the beach, but friends didn’t get married every day.
Cole’s hand slid along my back. “You up for it? I can take you home.”
“Yes, I think it’s a good idea,” I answered. “It’ll be fun.” It was the last party in what seemed like never-ending events.
We could be homebodies the rest of the fall and winter.
Mary Ellen bounced over. “Are we going to the beach?”
I wished I could read Cole’s mind. Would he be ok if Mary Ellen and Aiden tagged along?
Cole answered, “Yep. Come on.”
And just like that, Cole had invited Aiden to the local bonfire. I didn’t know what to say. It was possible there was an impending apocalypse. I checked the sky, but all I saw was a brilliant October Texas sky littered with stars.
I was impressed with how quickly the guys pitched in to stack the wood. Aiden carried an armful of wood from Lance’s truck. I doubted he did much manual labor growing up, unlike Cole, but he was helping.