Barefoot Bay: Hold On To Forever (Kindle Worlds Novella) (8 page)

“In your apartment in Orlando?”

“Where else?”

“Maybe I can help you put it up,” he said, testing the waters. “Orlando is just a few hours from Miami. I could drive up next weekend after your presentation and we can celebrate your new account.”

“You make it sound like it’s a given.” She got out of bed and began putting on her clothes from yesterday. “I told you, Jack. I want to win that business fair and square. But…whatever does happen, win or lose, I’d still love for you to come visit.”

“Then it’s all set.”

She smiled and he couldn’t help but grin back like some love-struck fool. If he didn’t watch himself, that’s exactly what she was going to turn him into.

Felicity put the watercolor back in its wrapping. “Jack, I know we need to get back to the resort, but do we have time to go by the tourist shop? I’d like to meet the artist and thank her.”

He checked his watch. “Sure. Besides I left the car parked down the street so we have to walk by the place anyway.”

They checked out of the motel and began making their way down to the shop. “We really should go back to the Super Min and let your ‘new best friend, Charity’,” she said making air quotes, “get another look at your mug this morning. It would totally make her day.”

“I say from here on out we avoid the Super Min at all costs.”

She laughed. “Agreed.”

He opened the door to the Sunshine Emporium, and glanced around, but it was empty. “Hello,” he called.

“I’ll be right out!” Beth shouted from the back room. She came out a side door, wiping her hands on an apron. “I was just potting a plant and—” She stopped, frozen in her tracks. Her gaze darted back and forth between them like she wasn’t sure what to do or say. When she finally did speak, her voice sounded shaky. “Felicity, I… I wasn’t expecting you.”

“
You’re
the owner of this shop? You’re this…
Beth
person who painted this beach scene?” She held the package away from her body like it was a bomb ready to explode.

“Do you two know one another?” Jack asked, but in that moment he knew exactly who this woman was. He could see it now. The resemblance between her and Nicki.

“I’m sorry, Jack, I should have told you when I gave you the painting,” Beth said. “I’m Felicity’s mother.”

Chapter Eight

No wonder the painting had looked so familiar! It had been five years since she’d last seen her mother but she hadn’t changed much at all. A few more wrinkles around the eyes, maybe, but overall Elizabeth Henderson had aged well.

“When did you change your name to Beth?” After all this time, it seemed like such a trivial thing to say, but it was all she could come up with. Everything felt foggy. Like she was trapped in the middle of a dream where nothing made sense.

Jack gave “Beth” a hard stare. “Why didn’t you tell me who you were from the beginning? You and Nicki pretended not to even know one another.”

“I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you, but Nicki asked me not to.”

It was all making sense now. Nicki mentioned that she and Mitch had been down here a few weeks ago and that’s when they’d fallen in love with the resort as a wedding destination. “How long have you been living here in Mimosa Key? And how long has Nicki been coming here to visit you?” Felicity demanded.

“A couple of years. Look, Felicity, I know this is awkward, the two of us meeting like this after all this time, but maybe fate brought us here for a reason.”

A couple of years
!

Felicity held up the wrapped painting. “
This
wasn’t some karma sent out by the universe to bring us together. You did this on purpose.”

“You’re right,” she admitted. “I was hoping you’d recognize it and figure out that I was the artist.”

She turned to Jack. “I couldn’t understand why I was so drawn to this painting until now. This sandcastle? I built it one summer when we were on vacation in Panama City Beach.” Her mother’s eyes softened at the memory. Felicity tried not to let herself be suckered in by it. “You drew this from a photo Dad took, didn’t you?”

“I wasn’t trying to be sneaky or hide where I was. And I’ve gone by Beth for a while now. You had to have known that Nicki and I have never lost touch with one another. Not ever.”

Even after all this time, her mother still knew exactly where to throw a punch for the most effectiveness. “So what? What’s the plan here? Were you just going to show up at the wedding? Surprise! Guess what, Felicity? It’s Mom!”

A couple of older women came into the shop and began perusing through the T-shirt racks. They glanced over with curious expressions on their faces.

Jack placed his hand under her elbow. “Maybe we should take this somewhere else,” he said quietly.

Felicity took a deep breath. “I’m all right. And I want to get this settled now.”

“Don’t worry,” Mom said. “Your sister has made it perfectly clear that I’m not invited to the wedding, and I have no intention of showing up where I’m not wanted. You can believe this or not, but I love you, Felicity. I know I haven’t been there for you, but it’s not completely my fault. Maybe one day, you’ll realize that.”

“Okay, yeah, whatever. Here, I don’t want this anymore.” She tried to hand the painting back to her mother, but she refused to take it.

“I was hoping that after all this time you’d have grown up and maybe learned to forgive. I guess I was wrong.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy here.”

“When are you going to understand? There was no bad guy in your father’s and my marriage. Sometimes people just grow apart and stop loving one another.”

“And sometimes people run off with their husband’s best friend for a couple of weeks of hot sex and then,
whoops
, change their minds after they get dumped. I can’t believe you would have ever thought Daddy would have taken you back after what you did to us.”

Her mother went pale. Elizabeth Henderson wasn’t the only one who knew how to aim an arrow just right. “You…
David
told you that?”

“Daddy would have
never
told me that. He was a class act all the way till the end.”

“Then, how—”

“I wasn’t
stupid
, mother. I was twelve years old that night you came crawling back. I woke up when I heard your car pull into the garage. And I was so…” She shook her head. Even after all these years she could still remember how ridiculously happy she’d been to see her mother’s little Volvo come chugging up the driveway. No, not stupid. Just incredibly naïve. “It doesn’t matter. I heard you and Daddy arguing. I heard it all.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” her mother asked wearily. “I could have tried to explain…”

“Really? Is there some good explanation for what you did?”

“No. Other than the fact that I was incredibly unhappy. And very selfish.” Her shoulders drooped. “I supposed that explains a lot.”

“Well, there’s one good thing to come out of this little family reunion. You’ve finally admitted the truth about yourself.”

The attractive woman with the chirpy blue eyes who’d come out of the back room just a mere ten minutes ago was gone. Instead, now her mother looked almost old. Felicity had waited sixteen years to tell her mother she knew the truth about her. It should have felt more…momentous.

“Does Nicki know this?” she asked.

“I would
never
tell Nicki. She thinks you’re some kind of misunderstood free spirit who—Do you have anything to do with Nicki suddenly changing her mind about law school?”
It all made sense now
. Her sister was getting career advice from their mother of all people! It would be funny, if it wasn’t so tragically sad.

“Nicki and Mitch want to join the Peace Corps,” her mother said quietly. “I didn’t put that idea in her head. She came up with it all on her own, but yes, I’ve encouraged her to follow her dream. You should, too, Felicity. If you really care about your sister, you won’t be pushing her to do something she doesn’t want to do.”

“Care about her? No one cares more about Nicki than I do. Who was there when she had her first date? When she needed a dress for the prom? When she got her heart broken for the first time and needed a shoulder to cry on? Not you, that’s for sure!”

“You’re right. I wasn’t there. But it wasn’t because I didn’t want to be.”

“And you only have yourself to blame for that.”

Her mother opened her mouth to say something, then snapped it shut, like she knew there was no good response.

It should have been more satisfying, getting in the last word, but it wasn’t. It only made Felicity feel like a shrew. She glanced over at Jack, who’d been standing there silently witnessing their exchange. She’d almost forgotten him. From the minute she’d laid eyes on her mother it was as if the two of them had been shrouded in their own little cobweb of anger and regret.

“Nicki tells me you’ve taken over your father’s ad agency and that you’re doing a terrific job,” her mother said. She smiled, and it was so familiar it made Felicity ache. It was Nicki’s wobbly smile, the one she gave when she was trying to hide how nervous she was. “You were always your father’s daughter, Felicity. David would be so proud to know how well you’re doing. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you too.”

Leave it to her mother to get in the last word, after all
.

“We need to get back to the hotel,” she said to Jack. She had to get out of here. Right now.
This instant
. Before she did something stupid. Like cry.

He took her hand and led her out of her mother’s shop and down to his car.

“I’m not sure what to say,” he said once they were back on the road toward Casa Blanca.

“I’m sorry you had to hear all that.”

“I’m not.” With one hand on the steering wheel, he reached out with his other hand and placed it around her neck and began to gently massage the bunched up muscles. How did he know to do that just now?

“She wasn’t completely horrible,” she whispered. “In her own way, she tried to make things fun for us whenever we came to visit. But when I turned sixteen, I asked my dad if I could stop seeing her and the judge said I was old enough to make up my own mind. I knew Nicki didn’t feel the same way, but… Well, now you know it all, Jack. All my deepest darkest secrets. All my shitty family history. You still want to come up and visit me next weekend?”

“What do you think?”

Felicity stared out the car window. She hadn’t noticed until now how gorgeous the day was. Hot and sunny, with a bright blue sky and freakishly low humidity for late summer. It was absolutely perfect. In two days, her sister was getting married to the man she loved. Her sister, who had been living this whole secret life that Felicity hadn’t even known about.

She turned in her seat to face Jack. “Has Mitch ever mentioned the Peace Corps to you?”

“No, but it does seem like something he’d consider.”

“Why didn’t Nicki tell me she wanted to join the Peace Corps? Why be all secretive about it?”

He shook his head and looked generally clueless and absolutely adorable. It wasn’t a question she’d been expecting an answer to. It was more like she’d been thinking out loud. He’d been terrific during the whole confrontation with her mother. Supportive and completely wonderful.

They drove into the resort parking lot and the same valet who’d taken their luggage four days ago came up to the car to open the door for her. Felicity was about to step out when she realized she still had her mother’s painting in her hands.

* * *

Felicity paced her bedroom, torn between wanting to speak to Nicki and having to work on the law firm campaign, all while her head was still spinning. Aunt Cindy and the cousins had come back from the beach, excited about tomorrow’s wedding rehearsal and the dinner to follow. It was hard for Felicity to act as if everything was fine.

David would be so proud to know how well you’re doing. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you too.
Her mother’s words kept haunting her to the point that she couldn’t think about anything else.

She picked up her sketchpad and flipped through the pages. She’d lined through so much of her work that it was practically unreadable.

Her cell phone pinged signaling she’d just received a text message. She almost didn’t want to look, but she had to. It was from Aubrey.

We just lost our last account. Call me asap.

David would be so proud to know how well you’re doing.

Right
.

It was like the universe was trying to tell her something. Maybe, it was time Felicity finally listened.

Chapter Nine

The wedding rehearsal went off without a hitch. Ari and Gussie and Willow were all there to make sure everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do and when they were supposed to do it. The only tickle in the plan had been when Abuela realized that they were all going to be barefoot for the ceremony.

“You mean naked?” she’d asked. “Like we are hippies?”

“Well, just your feet will be naked,” Ari had explained. “The ceremony will take place on the sand, and shoes and sand don’t mix well. But you can put your shoes on later for the reception.”

Abuela had almost looked disappointed, but everyone else had laughed.

Felicity walked through the rehearsal and the dinner like a zombie, there, but not quite present. She tried to smile and look happy for Nicki’s sake, but it was hard knowing that tomorrow was not only going to be her baby sister’s wedding day, but a day that would bring about a flurry of changes. For both of them.

Jack commented on how quiet she was. “Still thinking about your mother?” he asked. Poor Jack. He’d been trying to get her alone ever since yesterday morning’s debacle. She hadn’t meant to shut him out, but she’d needed time alone to figure out what she was going to do about her mother. And Nicki. And the rest of her life.

“Yes, and no.” She took a sip of her white wine. They stood by the railing looking out over the gulf in the same pool bar area where they’d shared a drink their first night here. The warm evening breeze flipped her loose hair every which way, but she didn’t care. “I went to see her today, Jack.” He raised a brow at that, but he let her continue without interruption. “At first I told myself that it was to return the painting, but I think that was just an excuse to talk to her. You know the reason Nicki didn’t invite her to the wedding was because of me? She didn’t want me to feel uncomfortable.”

“That’s understandable. Nicki loves you.”

She took a deep breath. “Which is why I had to go back there today to invite her to come.”

“Your mother is coming to the wedding tomorrow?”

She nodded.

His green eyes looked warmer than Felicity had ever seen them. There was no doubt about it. She was in love with this man. “Baby, I’m so damn proud of you. I know that must have been hard, but you did the right thing. For Nicki.”

“Don’t be proud of me yet. I need to have a serious talk with you. And your parents.”

He stilled. “About what?”

“I can’t tell you just yet. I have to meet with a couple of people and talk to Aubrey, she’s my business partner, you know. But tomorrow after breakfast, meet me at the Barefoot Bay Brides office. Just you and your parents and Mitch and Nicki.”

* * *

Felicity had never been so nervous. This was beyond anything she’d ever experienced before. This was big time, adult nerves gone wacky. But a part of her was also excited. Willow Hershey sat behind a conference table in the Barefoot Bay Brides office. They’d just finished going over the contract when there was a knock on the door. It was literally perfect timing.

“Come in,” Willow said.

“What’s so important that we need to have a special meeting for just the six of us?” Luis asked as he walked through the door. Ellen was with him, and Mitch and Nicki were right behind with Jack leading up the rear. He had known of course that Felicity was going to invite Beth to the wedding, but the rest of their expressions ranged from polite curiosity to shock as they one by one noticed the woman sitting in the chair next to her.

Nicki did a double take. “
Mom
?”

Willow waved them all inside the office. “Come in. It’s a big day for all of you, and Felicity asked that we go over a few details that might have changed since the rehearsal last night.”

Felicity caught Jack’s eye. He nodded in support, but she could still see his confusion. Maybe she should have told him beforehand what she was about to do, but it was too late for that.

“I know this seems rather dramatic and mysterious, calling you all here this morning, but I wanted to get some things settled before the wedding this evening.” She turned to her mother. “First, Ellen and Luis, let me introduce you to our mother, Elizabeth Henderson. She prefers to be called Beth. Right?”

Luis and Ellen immediately went into parents of the groom mode. She knew they’d been curious about Nicki’s mom and this was their chance to ask a dozen questions, all of which Beth politely answered. Willow passed around a plate of Danish and there was coffee set up in the corner. All very cozy and polite. So far, so good.

Nicki seemed to take everything in, but it was obvious that she still didn’t understand what was going on. “What are you doing here, Mom?”

Felicity reached out and took Nicki’s hand. “I found out yesterday that Beth…that mom has been living here for a few years now. But you’ve known that, right?”

Nicki’s face fell. “Felicity, I never meant—”

“It’s okay. Mom and I have had our differences in the past, well, mainly
I’ve
had my differences with her, but today isn’t about us. It’s about your future with Mitch, and all our futures as a family. I asked her to come out here today to share it with us, and to tell you that I’m all right with it. Since Dad isn’t here to do the honors, if you want Mom to give you away, then, I think that would be okay.”

Nicki teared up. “Do you mean it? Truly?”

Strangely enough, she did mean it. She wasn’t just saying this to make her sister happy. She’d spent over two hours yesterday talking to her mother and trying to get to know her as an adult. Their relationship might be strained, but they were talking again. It was a start.

“Of course I do.” Felicity reached out and hugged her sister and then as if it was an everyday occurrence, their mother joined in to embrace both of them.

Mitch looked like he was about to cry himself, and Ellen and Luis seemed almost overwhelmed by the Reed family reunion.

“There’s more,” Felicity said. She looked to her mother for courage before she began. “Nicki, it’s about Dad’s firm. I haven’t been honest with you about it, mainly because I’m ashamed. When Dad died, the firm was doing really well, but I’m not the businessperson he was. Over the last few years most of the clients have left, and I
totally
suck at getting new business. I found out from Aubrey last night that we have no clients left, so after a lot of powwowing between the two of us, we’ve decided to close the firm.”

“Ashamed? But… Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Nicki said quietly. “I would have completely understood.”

“Dad always had so much faith in me. I guess I thought if I didn’t keep up the business the way he did, it would be like I hadn’t lived up to my potential. Like I was letting him down. But I realize now that’s kind of silly. I would only be letting him down if I didn’t learn from my mistakes and keep trying. So I’m going to keep trying, only I’m going to do it my way from now on.”

“Oh, Felicity,” Nicki said, her eyes shining again with tears.

Now it was Felicity who had tears in her eyes. “Who makes her sister cry on her wedding day?”

Nicki laughed as she wiped off her cheek. “These aren’t sad tears. Not really. Well, except for the part about Dad’s business, but only because you felt you had to keep it from me. I’m just happy that you and Mom are talking to each other. That’s the best present you could have given me today.”

“I want to you know that whatever you and Mitch decide to do—law school, travel, the Peace Corps, I’m okay with it. I just want you to be happy.”

“The Peace Corps?” Luis said. “Where did that come from?”

Ellen patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll talk about that later, dear.”

Willow cleared her throat. “So, it looks like everything is a go for this evening, and that Nicki’s mother will now be walking her down the aisle?”

Felicity nodded. “Yes, and oh, one more thing.” She reached inside her tote and pulled out a check that she handed to Willow. “Here’s the balance on the rest of the retainer. You can send me the final bill after you total up all the costs after tonight.”

“But we insist on paying for this wedding,” Luis said. He looked helplessly around the room for an ally. “Right, Jack?”

Jack met Felicity’s determined gaze with a look of complete and utter pride. “I think the lady is going to insist a little harder than you, Pop.”

“I already told you, my father would never have allowed you to pay for this wedding,” Felicity explained. “I’m liquidating the assets from his firm, which is just enough to cover the expenses. But I know that’s how he would have wanted it. And that’s how I want it too.”

“But why close down the firm?” Ellen asked. “You’ll have our business soon. Martinez and Martinez spends millions in advertising and of course, we’re going to give it all to you.”

“Thank you, Ellen, but the truth is, after some serious soul searching, I don’t want your business.”

“You don’t want our business?” Luis said, astonished.

“I could
never
come up with a better tagline than
Watching out for The Little Man
. It’s the heart and soul of your firm. And frankly, it’s perfect for you. Plus, it’s your brand. To change it up now would only confuse people. You know the saying, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

“So, what are you going to do now?” Nicki asked.

“Aubrey and I are going to start our own firm from scratch. Right here in Mimosa Key.” She looked at Jack, then quickly glanced away. How was he going to take this next part? “I met with a realtor first thing this morning to look at some office space on Center Street.”

“You mean the abandoned storefront across from Mom’s shop?” Nicki said.

Beth smiled broadly. “Yep, that’s the one.”

Jack sat back in his chair and his eyes took on a guarded look. It was difficult to tell from his expression what he was thinking now.

“We’re going to start out with some small stuff and try to build up our own clientele. Part of the problem with the old firm was that the clients all belonged to dad.” She smiled at Willow who smiled back at her. “Meet Reed and Adams’ first client, the Barefoot Bay Brides! We’re going to start with some Internet promotion. My goal is to get them a feature in
Brides
magazine by next year.”

Nicki began to laugh. “Oh my God! That’s
fabulous
!”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Luis said, still looking puzzled. “But if you ever change your mind, Martinez and Martinez will be happy to give you our business.”

“Thank you” Felicity said. “I really appreciate that, Luis.” Maybe this wasn’t the right time to do this, but then, when would it ever be the right time to tell your father that you wanted to leave his firm? “Jack, do you have something to say too?” she prompted him.

His head snapped up to meet her gaze. “Like what?”

She pleaded with him with her eyes. “Anything important? Life altering? Anything like that?”

Everyone turned to look at him. He shook his head slowly. “Nope. I got nuthin’.”

Willow stood. “Look at the time! You need to get started on hair and makeup if we’re going to get all the pre-wedding pictures done.” She shuffled them all out of her office. Jack took off before Felicity could get him alone.

She left her mother and Nicki happily chatting while she ran to catch up to Jack. He was practically half-way to his villa by the time she spotted him. “Jack, hold on! You’re walking too fast. Can we talk?”

He spun around. “It looks like you’ve already done all the talking this morning.”

She couldn’t blame him for being angry. He must feel like she’d bulldozed over him.

“I’m sorry if I took you off guard.”

“Look, I’m happy that you and your mom have come to an understanding. Like I said, I’m really proud of you for that. And for everything. Starting up your own firm here in town. It’s all good.” Only it didn’t sound all good. Now he sounded more hurt than angry.

“But what about you, Jack? I was thinking…that little office space isn’t so little. The realtor showed it to me this morning. There’s two big private offices in the back and a small reception area in front. We could
share
that space. At least until our businesses take off on their own. Think of the money we’d save. I know you don’t need to share space with anyone, but it would be great for Aubrey and me and—”

“I already told you, Felicity, I can’t just leave my dad. Maybe in a few years I can work something out, but not now.”

“A few years? Aren’t you even going to
try
to talk to him? Because if I’ve learned anything in the past week, Jack, it’s that life is too short to not go after what you want.”