Sea of Love: A Bayberry Island Novel (29 page)

“There’s something I’d like to talk to you about.”

Rowan’s hand froze, leaving a piece of crusty bread smeared with Brie hovering an inch from her mouth. The tone of his voice sent a chill through her. He suddenly sounded so . . .
businesslike
. “All right.” She popped the bread into her mouth and chewed, telling herself she was being paranoid again. Ash was wonderful. He was sweet and loving and generous. She didn’t know what she was so afraid of, since she’d be happy to talk about whatever he wished.

“Oceanaire, my foundation, has been looking for a home for its headquarters and a location for a new research and education center. When we get back, there will be some people waiting. They want to look around, and I was hoping you might come along, give them a local’s perspective on what makes Bayberry Island so unique.”

Rowan frowned, wiping bread crumbs off her hands. “Huh.” She took a sip of wine, stalling, trying to identify why, exactly, this news bothered her the way it did. Then it occurred to her. “So you came to Bayberry looking for a site for your foundation? But you never mentioned anything about that to me. I thought you were towed in because your boat—”

“Rowan.” Ash took one of her hands in both of his and leaned forward until she looked at him. “I really didn’t come here with Oceanaire in mind. Nat put the bug in my ear at the clambake, and ever since, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to make it work. The thing is, I think our project might be perfect for the land along the cove, the land the developers wanted for the resort.”

Rowan’s eyes popped wide. “For real?”

He nodded.

“So . . . wait. You think your foundation might want to buy up all the property along Haven Cove? Including my family’s land?”

“It is a possibility. That’s what my friends are here to find out. I wasn’t sure I should tell you this yet because I’d hate for you to be disappointed if things don’t work out, but I decided you should know before we pulled in.”

“But . . .” Rowan stood, staring down at Ash’s upturned face. “Have you talked to Mona about it?”

“Not yet.”

“Because . . . wow. This might actually be something she’d agree to. I mean, it sounds like it would have much less effect on the environment and wouldn’t cause the crowding problems the resort would. And if my mother ever did agree to sell—”

“We’re just at the beginning stages.”

Rowan couldn’t help it. She squealed. She jumped up and down on the deck; then she threw herself into Ash’s arms, nearly knocking him over. Rowan began kissing his face—his lips, chin, cheeks, brow, eyelids. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking that if Mona agreed to sell, Rowan would be free.

It was well past one thirty when they returned to the marine yard. Rowan was floating in a sea of emotions, everything from languid happiness to excitement and anticipation. By then she’d learned much more about the institute and agreed that the pairing of Bayberry and Oceanaire felt almost like it was meant to be.

Just as they reached the boardwalk at Main Street, Ash stopped walking. “Hey, Rowan?” He placed a finger under her chin and tipped her face toward his. He kissed her sweetly.

“Thank you,” she said. “You’ve completely spoiled me today.”

Ash nodded, suddenly more serious. “Do you trust me?”

Very slowly, Rowan pulled away. She nodded, because she did. He’d never given her any reason
not
to trust him. But she had a feeling she wouldn’t like what he said next.

“I . . .” Ash stopped, looked away, and rubbed his fingers along his brow. She’d never seen him like this. Suddenly, he looked down into her eyes with nothing less than certainty. “Do you know how much you mean to me?”

Rowan glanced around. Hundreds of tourists were wandering about. A reggae band was setting up on the public dock. A group of businesspeople had gathered outside the municipal building, and she had a feeling they were Ash’s friends from Oceanaire. Why hadn’t they had this conversation on the boat, where they had the luxury of privacy? “I . . . no. How do you feel about me?”

Ash cradled her face in his hands. “I am crazy in love with you, Rowan. That is the truth.”

The world began to spin around her and her heart pounded. Had this funny, lonely, beautiful man just told her that he
loved
her? “I’m crazy in love with you, too.”

“Keep that in mind and everything will be okay.” He kissed her again, harder this time, then smiled. “All right. Let’s do this.” Ash took Rowan by the hand and they went to meet his friends. She was in a daze as she shook hands with everyone, and two minutes later she realized she remembered not one of their names.

Ashton Louis Wallace III loved her
.

W
hen Kathryn Hilsom staggered into the municipal building’s public meeting room, Mona was startled by her appearance. She remembered the young woman as cool and smooth and impeccably groomed. But today the poor girl’s blouse was stained and unevenly buttoned, her complexion was blotchy, and her hair was . . . well, Mona had no words for the state of her hair. Thank goodness Polly was at her side.

“Looks like the love child of Phyllis Diller and Don King,” Polly whispered in Mona’s ear.

She put an arm around her friend. “Have I ever told you how much I appreciate you, Polly?”

“Uh, is that a trick question?”

Following Kathryn was a cute, curvy girl in a pretty skirt and top and a half dozen nondescript corporate males in suits.

The cute woman made eye contact with Mona and came over to her. “Hello, Mrs. Flynn. My name is Brenda Paulson. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for having us.”

Mona nodded. “This is my friend Polly.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

Mona glanced toward the faintly green Hilsom woman. “I take it you took the afternoon ferry?”

“I’m afraid so. It seems Kathryn is prone to seasickness.” She smiled pleasantly. “So, is there somewhere we could sit and chat for a bit, before the rest of the landowners arrive?”

“Sure. Let’s get this over with.” Mona led the group to a small folding table in a front corner of the room, a heavy lump of defeat sitting in her belly. A few of the suits began to set up their to-scale model of the resort, even fancier than the one Mona had seen last year. And the company’s lawyer, who’d arrived with a huge rolling briefcase, laid out contracts, all neatly indexed with color-coded tabs for signatures. The chat was a no-frills one, punctuated with Kathryn Hilsom’s frequent dashes to the ladies’ room. Mona had come prepared to accept Jessop-Riley’s most recent offer, but the figure they presented had been jacked up by another one hundred thousand, and the company was offering increases of similar proportions to all Haven Cove property owners.

Frasier would be thrilled to sign on the dotted line.

Early birds began to straggle in, grabbing coffee from the back and taking a seat in the groupings of metal folding chairs set up around the room. Sally came in, taking her seat toward the front. Sally knew why the meeting had been called—Mona was surrendering and everyone was finally going to get rich. But Sally couldn’t bring herself to acknowledge Mona. She suspected that once all this was over, the cash-strapped landowners who had spent the last year hating her would become rich ex-landowners who hated her. The old Beatles song had it right: Money can’t buy you love.

The room began to fill up. Hubie Krank and his daughter sat together near an aisle. People Mona had known her entire life wandered in and got settled. She even recognized the annual nudist retirees from the B and B and gave them a friendly wave, wondering why they would show up. Then a few tourists popped in. The talking got louder. Clearly, even those who were actual coalition members had no idea why they were there, and half of them looked downright pissed off to be called away on the Thursday afternoon of festival week.

“This had better be good!” said Herman Suddith, who owned three forlorn and rocky acres abutting Adelena Silva’s compound. As Mona had noticed over the years, Herman was one of those people who made a lot of noise but had nothing of substance to contribute.

Kathryn had managed to pull herself together by then. She’d smoothed her hair and fixed her blouse, though she still looked like a weary air traveler who’d been caught in turbulence. Everyone from Jessop-Riley sat behind tables at the front of the room. There was nothing to do now but wait.

Suddenly, Polly jabbed Mona in the side with her elbow. “Who’s that? And what the hell are they bringing in here?”

Two young men in khaki slacks and matching black polo shirts angled a large display through the front door. At first Mona assumed it was another Jessop-Riley prop, but within seconds she knew that wasn’t the case.

“Brenda!” Kathryn’s voice was hoarse. “Tell those people we have the meeting room reserved. Go! Get them out of here! I want no delays.”

Brenda reached the two young men and they chatted for a moment. Frowning, she returned to her seat while the men carried what looked like a second architectural model toward the front of the room. They set it down on a folding table against the wall.

Kathryn glared at Brenda. “Who are they? What are they doing crashing our meeting?”

Brenda shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, Kathryn. They said they worked for an environmental foundation and they were here to give the people of Bayberry Island an alternative to the resort. They said they had the hall reserved.”

“What? An alternative to Mermaid Island? There is no alternative to Mermaid Island! What the hell is this all about?” Kathryn shot to her feet. Her heels made sharp clicks on the linoleum floor as she marched toward the young men. She lectured them in harsh whispers, and stomped a spiked heel on the floor in aggravation.

“Ma’am, you’ll have to take it up with our chairman,” one of the men said. “We were told to bring this inside. We’re just doing our jobs.”

Polly leaned over and whispered in Mona’s ear, “Do you know what’s going on?”

Mona shook her head. “Not a clue.”

Just then, Mona saw Frasier and Clancy enter the meeting hall, Duncan right behind. Both her boys waved at her, though they looked puzzled. Frasier shook his head in disgust, and Mona thought,
Isn’t that just like you? You automatically think the worst. Well, you’re in for the surprise of your life, you cranky old bastard.

Kathryn continued, her voice becoming louder. “You cannot and
will
not put that there!” She motioned for her suits to back her up, and the men from Jessop-Riley rushed to her aid. “Stop them!”

Kathryn’s underlings looked lost. Mona suspected they were more comfortable with tax codes than fistfights.

“Augh!” Kathryn’s face flushed with anger. “Never mind!” She shooed her team away. “Who do you work for? I assure you, whatever underhanded, sleazy kind of stunt this is will not be tolerated. This is a private meeting of landowners and Jessop-Riley Development, not some kind of game show! I will not stand for—”

Just then, Ash and Rowan appeared, and he gestured for another group of suits to enter the meeting hall. The air in the room became charged. Mona began to get a very bad feeling about this.

Kathryn gasped, glaring at Ash as if she knew him. “What the hell are
you
doing here?”

*   *   *

Wait.

What?

Ash slammed his eyes shut and reopened them. Yes, Kathryn Hilsom from J-R was here. But that couldn’t possibly be.

James leaned into him. “
What the fuck?
Who are those people?”

What the fuck, indeed.

Rowan gripped his arm. “I don’t understand,” she said. “Why are the resort people here? Do you
know
her? What’s going on?”

Ash squeezed Rowan’s hand and shook his head. “Not what I’d planned—that’s for sure. I’m sorry, sweetheart. Why don’t you take a seat for a minute while I figure this out? James?” The two men walked toward the front of the room.

Kathryn marched up to Ash. “Would you please tell me why you’re here, Wallace?”

“Why are
you
here?”

“I was invited by Mrs. Flynn. We are about to finalize the land sale for Mermaid Island—a job that was apparently too much for you to handle.” Kathryn gave him a satisfied smirk as a low rumbling went through the crowd and chairs scraped on the floor. Kathryn continued. “You resigned, Wallace! You’re not even working the deal anymore. What are
you
doing here?”

Ash realized all his plans were about to disintegrate and he had to do something to stop it. He addressed the crowd. “Everyone, have a seat. Please. There seems to be some confusion here.”

Sally the fairy stood up. “There should be no confusion. I called this meeting of the Haven Cove Landowner’s Coalition because Mona Flynn asked me to.”

“But this young man has a wonderful idea!” Hubie Krank pulled himself to a stand and began waving his fist around. “He’s going to buy the land so some people can study the fish! He offered me money for my property and he’ll do the same for all of you!”

“Daddy, sit down.” Hubie’s daughter cupped his elbow and tried to get him back in his chair. Hubie just swatted at her.

“And I told you that, Sally!” Hubie waved his arm around. “What’s all this nonsense about? Didn’t you hear me when I told you about somebody else wanting to buy the land?”

Kathryn gasped. Her head snapped around, and she narrowed her eyes at Ash. “
What?
”

Sally held up her hands. “I’m sorry. Honestly, Hubie, I thought you were confused. Mona called me right before you did, so I assumed you wanted a coalition meeting to meet with the developers.”

“No! I don’t like the developers anymore! I like the nice young man better!”

Ash appealed to the crowd. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have a complete breakdown in communication here. Please be patient while I try to unravel this mess.”

“Pardon me.” Kathryn’s voice was hoarse, and she strained to talk over the crowd. “There is no breakdown in communication. Jessop-Riley is here by invitation. Mona Flynn called me two days ago to tell me she’d changed her mind and wanted to sell. She now welcomes the idea of the Mermaid Island Resort.”

Loud shouts went up all over the room, and the loudest were from Mona’s own family.

Mona stood up, looking panicked. “I was going to tell everyone last night, but Duncan came home! I didn’t want to ruin our celebration!”

“What the
hell
?” Frasier’s huge voice vibrated off the walls. “You called the developer? After all the shit you’ve put us through?”

“Yes. I did!” Mona began to cry. “I did it for Rowan and Ash. Everyone can see they’re in love, and I didn’t want Rowan to be stuck with the Safe Haven anymore. I want her to be happy to live her life however she wants!”

“Oh, my flippin’ God.” One of the mermaid ladies, a large woman with a short haircut, had just moved out from where she’d been leaning against the wall. “I should have brought some wine.”

Kathryn took advantage of the stunned silence in the room. “We are prepared to sign cashier’s checks right now, on the spot.” She motioned toward a neatly organized row of documents on a table behind her. “Everyone who owns land on the cove is officially rich as of right this moment. All we need are your signatures.”

Ash stepped in front of her. “I am here to show you that there is another option! You don’t have to destroy the island!”

With that, everyone seemed to speak at once, and the decibel level nearly blew a hole in the hundred-year-old ceiling.

“Cut it out!” Clancy wandered toward the front of the room, hand on his gun belt. “Sit down. Be quiet. Everyone calm down!” Clancy motioned for people to sit, and, eventually, everyone did. He had their full attention. “I think we’re looking at a bidding war here, my friends. The tables have turned. So let’s just sit back and listen to what each of them has to say.”

“Well, there’s something that needs to be cleared up here first, I believe.” Kathryn crossed her arms over her chest and wobbled her head back and forth. “You’re all acting like Ash Wallace is an old friend. I don’t know what he’s been up to this week, but—”

“Kathryn. Stop.”

She laughed at Ash. “Oh? You don’t want all your new friends to know the truth? How about your new girlfriend? Does she know who you are?”

“This is not how I planned to tell her.”

“Tell me what?” That was Rowan.

Ash closed his eyes. This was a nightmare.

“Ash Wallace is nothing but a hired ‘closer,’ a mercenary sent to Bayberry Island to convince you to sell.”

A collective gasp rose up from the room. One of them was Rowan’s.

Ash lowered his chin and glared at Kathryn, coming even closer. “I said that’s
enough.
I’ve resigned from the project. I sent Jerrod Jessop a resignation letter Sunday night. I am no longer involved in the Mermaid Island project in any capacity.”

“Right.” Kathryn smiled. “But after you called us with the inside scoop on how to get Mona Flynn to sell. Ring any bells?

Ash closed his eyes and sighed.
The environmental assessment
.

“Is what she said true?”

Ash spun around. Rowan stood near the back of the room, her hands clasped in front of her body, all the color drained from her face. She appeared smaller. Her eyes had lost their sparkle. And she’d asked that question in a tiny, flat voice.

“Don’t give up on me, Rowan.” He locked his gaze on hers. “She’s right. I told them to soften the deal with a second environmental assessment. I apologize. But there is so much more to this story. Hang in there.”

She didn’t reply.

From the front of the room, Ash surveyed the faces of Bayberry Island. There was Sally the fairy, Sully the mechanic, and Darinda. He saw the girl from the tourist kiosk and Zophie and the other maids. He saw Hubie Krank, the DJ from the clambake, members of the marching band, and the chubby kid who’d dragged Ash to the mermaid fountain. He even saw the senior citizen nudists and the two party girls from the Safe Haven. It was as if this were just another official festival-week event they’d found listed in a brochure.