The Summer Cottage: Includes a bonus story

by Annie Rains

  He glanced down at the book and back up to her. “Be in love?”

  Everything froze inside her. She couldn’t profess love for him when they were breaking up. And that’s what they were doing.

  She took the book from his hands. “You’re right. I can’t leave this here. This place is only for lost love. We were never…”

  Jake flinched subtly.

  Trisha tucked the book back into her bag and took a breath. She didn’t meet his gaze again. It hurt too much to look into those sky-blue eyes. “Anyway, I’ll start packing my stuff. We can’t afford to live in Juniper Cottage if I’m not working as the property manager.”

  Jake cleared his throat. “I’d like to tell you that you’re wrong, but it’s true. My parents and uncles are selling the cottages. And Vi is going to Florida once she’s healthy enough for travel. But you never know. Maybe whoever buys the property will keep them as rentals and keep you employed here.”

  Trisha shook her head. “I’ve been thinking. If I had known the truth about Peter and his connection to Vi, I never would have moved me and Petey here. Some part of me always knew that this deal was too good to be true.” She dared to meet his gaze again. “All of it.”

  “Don’t say that,” he said quietly.

  She swallowed past a fresh surge of pain. “So I think Petey and I are going to return to Sweetwater Springs. At this point, I can’t stand the thought of starting over again somewhere new. And there’s no guarantee that my ex-husband doesn’t have a connection to any new place we go anyway.” Tears burned in her eyes. The sudden hopelessness she felt was like a black hole in the center of her chest. This wasn’t what she wanted, but she didn’t feel like there was another choice.

  “What about us?” Jake asked.

  Trisha stiffened, willing her emotions at bay. “Like I said, none of this should have ever happened. It was always too good to be true.”

  “That’s not the way I see it.” Jake reached out for her.

  Trisha stepped back, letting his arm drop into empty air. “If you understood what a leap of faith it was for me to trust you, you wouldn’t have kept me in the dark.” Jake started to talk, but she held up a hand to stop him. “I know you were just doing what you thought was best for me and Petey. But that’s what my ex said too. His crimes were all because he wanted to provide a good life for us. He said it was all for us.”

  “Trisha, listen to yourself. I didn’t commit any crime.” Jake shook his head.

  “No, but you did break my trust. And my heart.” Her voice cracked. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. “And I don’t know how to come back from that. I don’t know how to forgive you or myself.” Tears thickened in her eyes until all she saw was a blurry image of the man she’d accidentally kissed…and fallen in love with.

  She sniffled and fought to maintain her composure. If she melted down, Jake would wrap his arms around her. And if he did, she didn’t think she had the willpower to push him away. In fact, she was pretty sure she didn’t. “Jake, I’m going home. To Sweetwater Springs.”

  He shook his head. “Trisha, you’ve made a home here. You can stay. We can figure this out.”

  “Haven’t you been listening? There is no we,” she said, her voice cracking. “There never was.” Then she stepped past him and kept walking. She didn’t look back.

  * * *

  Jake didn’t move or breathe as he watched Trisha walk away. His chest hurt as he stood in this symbolic place.

  He looked down at his feet where Trisha was going to leave the photography book he’d given her. She’d taken it back and told him it was never love. But it was for him. He had been falling in love with Trisha since the moment he met her. He was in love with her at this very moment, and it wasn’t going to go away.

  He sat down before his knees gave out. Then he pulled the photograph that Trisha had given him from his pocket. It was the selfie of them together. He’d been carrying it around for some silly reason like, oh, say, he was in love with her. Madly, deeply, unregrettably in love.

  He’d trade this photograph in his hand to have that moment back. But time couldn’t be reversed. He’d learned that lesson with Rachel. Time only marched forward, leaving loss and regret in its wake.

  Jake laid the picture down on the open row in Lost Love Cemetery. Then he stood and headed back to Peony Cottage. He climbed the steps, forcing himself not to look over at Juniper Cottage, where he might see Trisha.

  The dream of saving Somerset Cottages was over. The dream of staying and having something real—love—was over too. Now it was time to move on.

  * * *

  Jake’s body felt like he had been in a battle when he woke up the next morning. His chest hurt. Everything hurt. He reached for his cell phone to see if he’d gotten any calls or texts during the night.

  He blinked a text message from his mom into focus.

  Vi is doing well. She’s seeing speech therapy this morning. The doctor thinks she’ll be okay for discharge in two days.

  Two days. In two days, his parents would drive to Florida with Vi. His uncle Tim would go as well. And a FOR SALE sign would likely be at the entrance to the Somerset Rental Cottages.

  Jake double-checked to see if there were any more missed messages. Maybe one from Trisha? Nothing.

  He stood and shuffled down the hall to make coffee. When it was prepared, he carried it out onto the deck and drank it while he watched the early morning lake activity. His gaze fell on his plane bobbing beyond the pier, calling for him the way it often did.

  He finished his coffee and dressed, and then he and Bailey headed in that direction. Flying had always been the solution to every problem since he was fifteen. He cranked the engine, let the propeller spin for several minutes, and then took off, skimming along the water until he propelled the plane into the sky.

  This was his grandfather’s favorite pastime. His grandfather had been a lawyer, too, but he’d quit practicing in his forties. When Jake asked Gramps later why he’d quit, his grandfather had taken his time in answering. “Because I realized just how short life can be. Why waste your time doing something you don’t love?”

  So his grandfather had spent the rest of his life running the Somerset Rentals with Vi and flying his plane. They didn’t have a lot, but it was enough, and they were happy.

  Jake looked down at the lake below, passing over the cottages, the woods beyond, and circling around to the other side of the lake. He passed over Hannigan Street and The Village, thinking about life, love, and loss.

  “I don’t want to leave this place,” he whispered under his breath. The first time he said it, it still felt like he was saying goodbye. He said it again, mumbling the words like a prayer. “I don’t want to leave this place.” This time it felt like he was second-guessing any plans to go to Florida.

  He continued to fly, the engine’s steady hum soothing him.

  “I don’t want to leave this place.” The third time he said it, it felt like a realization. A decision. A resolution. Why go somewhere he didn’t want to be? Why do something he didn’t want to do?

  Jake glanced over at Bailey. “We’re not leaving,” he said without a shred of doubt about what he planned to do. As he flew his plane back to the pier, his thoughts felt clearer than ever before. And he knew exactly what he needed to do to fix things. He just hoped it wasn’t already too late.

  * * *

  The next afternoon, Trisha turned to watch a vehicle pull in behind Juniper Cottage. She didn’t recognize the large SUV. It wasn’t Tim’s. Maybe it was more of Jake’s family arriving to see Vi. That thought made Trisha feel nauseous. Vi was still in the hospital. Some part of Trisha felt guilty for not going to visit her yet.

  Trisha watched the SUV park, and four women stepped out.

  Lucy, Moira, Tess, and Della Rose were standing outside her house, looking up at her on the deck.

  Della Rose waved first. Then the four friends headed up the steps.

  “What are you doing here?” Tr
isha asked, sniffling and barely able to hold back her tears. This wasn’t a good time for a book club visit. She needed to be packing and planning how to get over the next speed bump in her life.

  There was only one chair on the deck beside Trisha. Della Rose took it. The three other women leaned against the deck railing, sunglasses shading their eyes. Trisha wished she had a pair of glasses to cover hers right now, too, because her mascara—the one makeup item she never skipped—was about to become a runny mess.

  “We heard about Vi,” Lucy said. “Reva Dawson put it in her blog for the town.”

  Trisha shook her head. “Of course she did. So if you know about Vi, why are you here with me instead of at the hospital with Vi?” Trisha asked. “Or with Jake. I think that’s where he is.” She’d seen him leave in his truck early this morning.

  “Because Jake told us you were here,” Lucy said. “And as your friends, we felt like we needed to come make sure you were all right.”

  Trisha’s instinct was to tell them she was fine. Her instinct was to smile and push them away. “Why wouldn’t I be okay? I’m not the one who’s in the hospital.”

  “We know your ex turned out to be Vi’s financial planner,” Della Rose said gently. “Jake told us, but only because he’s concerned about you.”

  “Jake confirmed that fact for me the other night when I got back from book club. He already knew.” Tears spilled off Trisha’s cheeks now. She couldn’t seem to stop crying lately. “I don’t know why I feel so betrayed by that but I do. I just…I thought Petey and I had a second chance at happiness here. If I had just…” Trisha tried to pull in a deep breath, but she couldn’t seem to get one. “If I had known the truth before…” She trailed off, unsure of what she was about to say. She was unsure of everything. Her thoughts and emotions were a jumbled mess.

  “Before what?” Lucy asked.

  Trisha blinked up at her friend. “Before I got attached to this town. Before I got attached to you guys.”

  “And to him too,” Lucy said.

  Trisha took a steadying breath. What was the point of hiding the truth? It always came out anyway. “Yeah. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was ready to find a new home for me and Petey. But I was never looking for anything romantic again. That was the furthest thing from my mind.”

  “That’s usually when it happens,” Tess said. “When you least expect it.”

  Trisha laughed sadly. “It’s absurd to think I’m in love after just a few weeks, right? I mean, we just met, and I barely know him. We’ve gone on a few dates and kissed a few times, but nothing more than that.” And why was she telling these women all this information?

  She looked between them, her breaths shallow, her heart breaking. It didn’t matter that they’d only just gotten to know each other. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know everything there was to know about the women in front of her. These ladies were friends. And they were here for her right now when she needed them.

  “Love is a heart-thing. Calculations and logistics are a mind-thing.” Tess shrugged.

  “All I know,” Lucy added, “is that Jake left town when he was eighteen, and we’ve barely seen him since. Then he came back this summer, and he’s different. Because of you. That’s what love does. It changes people. I see it all the time with my patients. Yeah, it’s usually the love between a parent and a child, but sometimes it’s between the parents too. When you see it, it’s an unmistakable thing.”

  Trisha glanced behind her to check on Petey inside. He was sitting at the kitchen island still reading the book that Jake had given him. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I will undoubtedly lose my job and my home. Petey and I will probably be leaving town soon.”

  “What?” Moira asked. “You just got here.”

  “No job and no home equals no choice.” Trisha sniffled.

  Tess shook her head. “That would just be your excuse to run. Because you’re scared and you came here to hide,” she said pointedly.

  Trisha’s lips parted as her gaze darted from Tess to a nodding Lucy, Moira, and Della Rose. She thought these women were here to support her, but Tess’s words felt like an attack.

  “It’s true. You left Sweetwater Springs so that you could come here and be free from your past,” Lucy agreed. “But pasts follow you wherever you go. Talking from experience.”

  “So you might as well stay,” Moira said.

  “You can live with me,” Della Rose offered. “I just kicked my husband out, so there’s plenty of room for you. The twins and Petey can be like brothers.”

  “Or you can stay with me,” Lucy said. “I’m in my parents’ huge house in The Village all by myself. Why do I need a house that big for just one person?”

  “See? You’d be helping Lucy out,” Moira agreed. “She’s already started talking to herself.”

  Lucy elbowed her friend in the side.

  “And,” Tess said, “you can work at the bookstore with me. I need some part-time help. It doesn’t pay much, but if you don’t have a mortgage or rent, then it would be enough to live on.”

  Trisha was on the verge of dissolving into the best kind of ugly cry. “Why would you all go out of your way to help me?” She really shouldn’t be surprised. Everyone had done the same when they’d realized she’d needed a hand renovating the rental cottages.

  Della Rose leaned in and gave her a tight hug. “Oh, sweetie, I think I’m talking for everyone when I say we see ourselves in you. All of us have been where you are. Some of us are still there. We women need to stick together.”

  Tess stepped toward them and wrapped her arms around Trisha from the other side. Then Moira and Lucy joined the group hug, too, smothering Trisha until she couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care.

  “So it’s final,” Lucy said after they’d all pulled away. They all had tears on their cheeks, leaving mascara streaks on their faces. “No matter what happens with these cottages and Jake, you’re staying. Somerset Lake is your home now, and we’re your friends, which is thicker than family in some cases.”

  Trisha’s nose was running right along with her eyes. All she ever wanted was a home and family and good friends. A place to belong. She had that here. “Okay. I’ll stay.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jake had spent the last three and a half hours making life-changing decisions.

  First, he had called his parents and asked what the fair market value for the cottages was and what the family planned to sell them for. Then he’d asked them to sell the family’s rental properties directly to him. He had a nice-sized nest egg that he’d planned to use to buy a home and settle down in Florida. He planned to use that money as a down payment and get a real estate loan for the rest.

  “Why on earth would you want to take over those cottages when you can be in Florida with us?” his mom asked. “Once upon a time, you couldn’t wait to leave this lake.”

  “Yeah, but now I can’t wait to stay.” Jake meant every word. He would spend his last dime trying to make this new dream of his come true. It was that important to him.

  “Jake, Vi has already agreed to move to Florida. She’ll live with Aunt Dawn and Uncle Tim. It’ll be good for her.”

  “Okay,” Jake said. He wasn’t sure that was true, but it didn’t change his mind. His mind was made up, and he wasn’t changing it.

  “Are you sure you’re doing this for the right reasons?” his mom finally asked.

  “I am. Somerset Lake is my home. My heart is here. There’s no better reason that I can see. If you say no to my request, I can wait for you to put the property on the market. I’ll make an offer on day one.”

  His mom hesitated on the other end of the line. “All right. Let me talk to the rest of the family. I’ll call you back.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

  She hesitated again, and he wondered if she was going to make another argument. “When you were a boy, Somerset Lake was a part of you. Calling you in from the lake was a feat every night. Then you started fly
ing with your grandfather, and, I don’t know, you were such a free spirit. What happened to Rachel…I know that took some of that spirit away. Then you lost your grandfather here. But it feels like maybe you’ve gotten that spirit back this summer. Being on the lake has been good for you.”

  Jake pressed his head into the back of his driver’s seat. “Yeah.” He could only manage one word. His emotions were raw and frayed. The last couple days had wrecked him, but sometimes that’s what it took to change directions and mind-sets.

  “As soon as I discuss your plans with the others, I’ll call you. I’m proud of you, son.”

  “Thank you, Mom. That means a lot.”

  After they’d disconnected the call, Jake contacted a few of his guy friends. In exchange for hamburgers, hot dogs, and unlimited soda, he’d gotten Gil and another high school friend named Luis to agree to come over this weekend and help him paint the exteriors of the cottages. The insides were done. The cottage exteriors were all that was left to do. And since he was going to be the new owner, he wanted them to look good.

  Finally, there was only one thing left on his agenda. He pulled onto Lakeshore Drive, following the gravel path up to Juniper and Peony Cottages.

  Bailey greeted him at his truck door. Jake didn’t go to his place. Instead, he climbed the steps to Juniper Cottage, feeling energized and hopeful. Every sense was heightened as he knocked on Trisha’s door. He had no idea what he’d say when he saw her. I’m sorry? Forgive me? I love you? Spend your life with me?

  He waited. There was no sign of life inside. Now he realized that Trisha’s blue sedan wasn’t parked behind the house. What if she’d already left? What if she’d already packed up her belongings and moved away?

  * * *

  Darkness was falling, but the moon was coming up and showering light over the lake. Trisha followed the gravel path toward the tiny blue cottage where she’d lived for the last two months. She would miss this place, but change seemed to be the only constant in life.