Goodbye, Magnolia (Cornerstone Book 1)

by Krista Noorman

  Maggie nodded.

  “He didn’t deserve you, Maggie.”

  She wiped a rogue tear from her cheek.

  Simon looked concerned and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s OK. It was a long time ago. I really need to get over it already.” Maggie sniffled.

  He pulled her closer. “Healing takes time.”

  “Five years?”

  “However long it takes,” he assured her.

  Maggie stared at the damp spots on the front of her shirt left by the tears. “I’m so sick of crying over him.”

  “Maybe you need to. Maybe you need to talk about it.”

  She shook her head sadly. “I was so happy. At least I thought I was.” She thought back to the night of the engagement. “We went to the beach at Gun Lake. He made us a picnic, and he asked me to marry him at sunset. It was so perfect. He told me I was his best friend and he couldn’t imagine life without me.”

  Simon kept his arm around her and listened as she shared.

  Her tears were falling steadily again.

  “I didn’t even have to think about my answer. I knew him for so long, and I always knew I wanted to marry him.”

  She looked at the empty ring finger on her left hand.

  “And now he’s found someone new. And they’re getting married. And she wanted me to be their wedding photographer.” She said it with a bit of a laugh, then broke down crying as she remembered the utter humiliation.

  Simon pulled her toward him, and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shirt. He stroked her hair as she sobbed softly against his chest.

  “I’m just so tired of being alone,” she cried the words. “But I’m afraid Ben ruined my heart forever, and I’m never gonna be able to love again.”

  When she finally got control of herself, she sat up and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

  He gently took her hands in his. “Maggie, you are amazing and intelligent and warm and ...”

  “Simon,” she interrupted, feeling shy and embarrassed.

  “... and beautiful.” He spoke softly and looked deep into her eyes. “And you are not gonna end up alone. You’re gonna find love again. I promise you that.”

  The tears filled her eyes as she moved into his arms again. He planted a kiss on the top of her head and rubbed his hand up and down her back until her tears subsided. She relaxed into him. With her head resting against his chest and her arm draped across his stomach, she gave in to the emotional exhaustion and drifted off to sleep.

  July 4, 2009

  Independence Day

  Confused emerald eyes stared at Maggie from the other side of the mirror. Though she looked perfectly presentable for Pete’s Fourth of July party, she removed the clip from the back of her head and flipped her head upside down, combing her fingers through her tresses. She liked the look of the curls. They made her feel pretty. She turned her head slowly side to side, not sure why she cared so much about her appearance tonight. It was the same group of people who had seen her at her worst only days before. Things seemed different somehow.

  Though it was a little awkward crying all over and then falling asleep on Simon, she felt like the air had been cleared with him. A part of her thought they might actually be friends now, and she was surprised to find she wanted that.

  She drove slowly down the winding road that wrapped around Algonquin Lake, following the house numbers until she spotted a few familiar cars — Simon’s, her parents’ and Tom’s. She pulled in behind them, checked her reflection in the mirror once more, applied a little extra lip gloss, and hopped out of the car.

  The sound of laughter led her around the side of the house to the backyard. As she rounded the corner, she spotted Simon and Michelle sitting atop a picnic table. He whispered something into her ear, which caused her to smile. She playfully squeezed his knee in that annoying way of theirs, then leaned in and kissed him.

  A nagging feeling hit Maggie in the gut.

  “Mags!” exclaimed Sarah, running toward her with sparklers in hand.

  Simon abruptly turned from Michelle and his gaze followed Sarah’s.

  A weak grin was all Maggie could manage, especially when she saw the look of disbelief on Michelle’s face at Simon’s sudden distraction.

  Sarah handed her a sparkler, and they walked across the yard to Tom, who was seated near the dock.

  “Mags, we need you,” Tom cried.

  “For what?”

  Sarah giggled a little and held her left hand in front of Maggie’s face.

  She shrieked at the sight of the diamond on her friend’s ring finger. “Oh my gosh! Are you serious?” She hugged Sarah tightly. “I can’t believe it!”

  “Is it so hard to believe that I actually found someone?” Tom asked. “Or that she actually said ‘yes’?”

  “You said it, not me,” teased Maggie, and she leaned over the back of the chair and wrapped her arms around her brother’s neck.

  Sarah was beaming brighter than the rock on her hand.

  Maggie’s head suddenly jerked toward Sarah and her mouth dropped open.

  “A mosquito’s gonna get in there,” Tom warned.

  “We’re gonna be sisters!” Maggie declared.

  There was more shrieking and hugging and congratulating.

  When they finally settled down, Tom looked seriously at his sister. “What we need to know is would you rather be maid of honor or photograph the wedding?”

  Maggie bit her lip for a second. “Oh my goodness.”

  Sarah reached over and squeezed her hand. “There’s nobody in the world I would rather have photograph my wedding than you, but I really want you to stand next to me when I marry your brother.”

  So much happiness and joy filled her heart as she squeezed back. “And I want to be your maid of honor.”

  “Really?” Sarah hugged her once more. “Thank you, sis.”

  “This is the best news I’ve heard in ages.” Maggie took a deep breath of fresh air and sighed. “The night can’t get much better than this.”

  Sarah was the missing piece in Tom’s life, and Maggie was overjoyed to have her join their family. It had been hard to see Tom down in the dumps so often because of his job, but since Sarah, it was like none of that mattered any more. He had found the one who made his life complete. To see her brother so happily matched made Maggie giddy, and she had a sudden urge to start planning for the wedding.

  “Have you guys thought about dates yet?”

  “December nineteenth,” Sarah joyfully proclaimed.

  Maggie’s eyes grew wide. Had she heard Sarah correctly? “December? Of this year?”

  Sarah nodded, oblivious to Maggie’s panic attack.

  “That only leaves us five months!” Maggie held her hand up in the air, five fingers spread. “Five!”

  Sarah laughed at her. “It’s fine, Maggie. I hired DeDe to coordinate everything.”

  A wave of relief washed over her. “Oh, good.”

  “We can make this happen,” Sarah assured her.

  “If anyone can do it, DeDe can.”

  When darkness came, a loud thud from across the lake signaled the launch of the fireworks. Brilliant reds and blues sparkled against the starry night sky. Maggie sat on a blanket on the lawn with Sarah and Tom, who were all snuggled up despite the summer heat. The darkness of evening had done nothing to diminish the sultry daytime temperatures. Stretching her legs out in front of her, Maggie leaned back on her elbows. She glanced around the yard.

  Her parents were seated on a blanket just behind them with Vi and Dave. It appeared Dave was attempting to make the marriage work. The two of them looked rather cozy, which made Maggie happy. Across the lawn, Uncle Pete and a couple of his neighbor buddies sat in lawn chairs, talking and smoking cigars, not paying much attention to the fireworks.

  Maggie’s glance fell on Simon and Michelle, who were lying on a blanket watching the fireworks disp
lay. Maggie should have been watching, too, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from them. There was no logical explanation for her reaction earlier when Simon and Michelle kissed. She was his girlfriend after all. Michelle rolled over against Simon, draped her leg over his, and leaned her head against his arm. She looks happy.

  Just then, Simon shifted Michelle off of his arm and propped himself up on his elbows. He gazed at Maggie.

  Busted.

  She gave him a friendly smile, to which he nodded in an almost polite manner.

  She turned to watch the fireworks, but she could feel his stare. She ran her fingers through her hair and fluffed it up. When she glanced back at him again, he was still watching her. He gave her the goofy lopsided grin he got when he was amused then laid back down next to Michelle.

  When the fireworks ended, Uncle Pete started the bonfire with the help of Tom and Simon. The ladies sat at the picnic table near the house and watched the men rearrange the wood to get the best flames.

  “Good job, honey,” called Sarah.

  Tom gave her a thumbs up and jumped back suddenly when a large flame licked up at him. “Ah!”

  The girls laughed.

  “Aren’t they so strong and manly?” teased Maggie. “We made fire,” she mocked them in her manliest voice.

  “Let us see you do it better, Canon,” Simon called across the yard. He peeled the gloves he was wearing from his hands and held them out to her.

  Maggie grinned at Sarah and strolled across the lawn. She glanced back at the ladies and flexed her muscles to show how tough she was.

  “Here,” Simon slipped the gloves on her hands and gave her a pat on the back. “Go for it.”

  She looked over at the girls again and caught Michelle’s eye for a second. She wasn’t smiling at all. Maggie felt a little twinge of guilt.

  The fire was burning pretty well already, but Maggie helped Pete stoke it until it was burning steady and strong. She glanced over at Simon, who was holding a long branch and attempting to burn pieces of mulch, which had found their way out of the nearby flower beds.

  “What is it with guys and fire?” she asked. “Pyro.”

  “It’s a bonfire. You’re supposed to burn stuff.” His attention returned to the fire, and he pushed on a log, sparks floating up into the black night.

  Maggie nodded toward the cooler sitting next to her mother’s lawn chair. “Go roast a wiener or something. Make yourself useful.”

  Simon laughed aloud at that.

  This friendly banter was new for them. She liked it.

  He walked to the cooler and returned with a hot dog, stabbed through it with a stick, and stood next to Maggie while he held it over the hot coals.

  She glanced up at him, and he wore that amused grin again. He looked good in the firelight, comfy and casual in his khaki shorts and blue t-shirt, which perfectly accented his broad chest and muscular arms.

  “Simon,” Michelle walked up beside him and wrapped her hands around one of those muscles. “Can you take me home now?” Michelle was very obviously unhappy. Her voice was unsteady, thin lips turned down in a frown, and her forehead was tight, leaving an unmistakable crease between her eyes.

  When the girls had gathered at the picnic table earlier in the night, Maggie attempted a conversation with Michelle, but she was not a willing participant.

  “How are you, Chelle?” she had asked.

  “Fine,” was her reply.

  She tried again. “How’s it going with you and Simon?”

  “Great.”

  Conversation over.

  Ever since that night at Rose’s, the communication lines between them had been closed. Despite Maggie’s many attempts to reach out to her in emails, phone calls and texts, Michelle never responded to one. She knew now that their friendship was damaged beyond repair.

  Still, Maggie tried.

  “We should have coffee next week.”

  Michelle clung tighter to Simon and said nothing more.

  He finished roasting the hot dog and walked over to the table to grab a bun.

  Michelle glared at her for a moment, then turned and walked across the lawn toward the driveway.

  Maggie could tell from her bitter expression that they would never have coffee or anything together again. All she could do was watch one of her closest friends walk out of her life for good.

  Simon handed the hot dog to Maggie as he passed by. “For you, Canon. Enjoy.”

  She took it from him and grinned. “I’m a vegetarian.” She tossed the dog into the fire.

  He shook his head in amusement and followed Michelle across the lawn.

  “Margaret,” her mother scolded. “You are not a vegetarian. And you just wasted perfectly good food.”

  Maggie couldn’t stop laughing. She returned the gloves to Pete and sat down next to Sarah.

  “Wow!” Sarah spoke once Simon and Michelle were out of earshot. “Could that have been any more obvious?”

  “What?” Maggie asked.

  “You and Simon.”

  Maggie looked at her searchingly. “What do you mean?”

  “The flirting.”

  She gasped. “We weren’t flirting.”

  “You most certainly were,” Vi piped in.

  Maggie shook her head. They had not been flirting. They were two friends joking around. Friends. Surprisingly, she no longer cringed at the thought.

  “How do you explain yourself?” her mother asked.

  “There’s nothing to explain,” she answered. “There was no flirting.”

  Sarah elbowed Maggie. “I don’t think Michelle would agree.”

  “Well, it was unintentional,” she insisted.

  “It looked intentional.” Her mother gave her the look only a mother gets when she knows exactly what her child is trying to get away with. “He’s no longer available, young lady.”

  “I’m not after Simon, Mom.”

  Nobody seemed to buy it.

  Maggie’s feet dangled from Uncle Pete’s dock, and her toes made circles on the surface of the water. Her mother’s laugh floated across the yard, and she smiled to herself. Moments like these didn’t come along often. She was beginning to realize with each passing day how important her family and friends were and how precious time with them was. Her constant work schedule and busyness had caused her to lose focus on what was most important. Their love and support the other night had shown her that.

  She glanced out at the dark lake in front of her. The lights from the houses reflected across the rippling water, the crickets chirped, and a soft, warm breeze blew in from the lake. A few boats were out motoring about, and she could hear the sound of happy people enjoying their Independence Day.

  The wooden planks of the dock felt cool as she laid back and looked up at the perfectly clear night sky. The stars twinkled just for her. It had been a long time since she laid out under the stars. The last time had been with Ben a month before they were to be married. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the night, trying to shake off the memory of them lying in the backyard at Maggie’s parents house, kissing and talking about their future. It was only days later that the dream of their future together was shattered.

  Footsteps on the dock conveniently interrupted her thoughts, and she sat up to see who it was.

  “Can I sit?” Simon approached and sat down without waiting for her answer.

  “I didn’t know you were coming back.” She laid back again.

  He kicked his flip flops off and dropped his feet into the water next to hers. His eyes met hers.

  “So how is it that you don’t have a wedding tonight? I thought you were the most sought after photographer in town,” he teased.

  “How is that you don’t have a wedding?” She threw back at him. “I thought you were the most sought after …” She stopped. “Nah. I can’t finish that sentence. I don’t like to lie.”

  “Funny.” He laid back next to her. “Wow! The stars are really bright tonight.”

  Mag
gie could feel the heat from his arm resting next to hers. If she moved only an inch to the left, their arms would touch.

  Oh my gosh! Mom was right. It was intentional. I’m so pathetic. This is Simon we’re talking about. Simon! Come on, Maggie! She mentally slapped herself and sat up.

  Simon sat up, too. His arm was now touching hers.

  She wanted to move, but she couldn’t. His arm was so warm against hers, and it felt good to be so close to someone, even if it was Simon. She missed having someone, holding hands, ... kissing.

  It had only been a few days since he held her on the porch swing. Though it had been completely innocent, she remembered what it felt like to be in his strong arms. She felt safe there.

  A strange electricity was in the air, and something seemed to be drawing them together. This was the first time since she had known Simon that she actually wanted to be near him.

  She looked over at him at the same time he turned to look at her.

  “How are you doing? You feelin’ any better about things?” he asked.

  “Better now.” She didn’t even try to veil her meaning.

  They didn’t say anything. They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

  Simon was the first to move. He brushed her hair back off of her shoulder, his fingers grazing her skin ever so softly.

  Maggie’s eyes closed at the sensation, and she let out a slow breath, bracing for something more to happen. But when she opened her eyes again, he was getting up.

  Disappointment overcame her. “Leaving so soon?” she managed.

  “I think I should,” he replied, not very convincingly, his voice shaky.

  She stood then.

  He took a few steps away from her.

  “See ya’, Nikon,” she teased.

  He spun around and gave her the Simon grin once more. “Oh, you did not.” He was clearly amused by his new nickname.

  She shrugged. “I did.” She’d been waiting months for just the right moment to call him that. “I think it’s only fair.”

  He lunged forward, grabbed her arms, and held her back over the edge of the dock.

  “Ah!” she cried. “Simon, don’t you dare.”