Beach Winds (28 page)

He could see why the two women didn
’t get along. One was so smooth she was scary, the other was erratic and scary in her own right, but they were both type A’s. He really hadn’t seen it in Fran before. Like opposing magnets, right? Or had he mixed up the allusion? It didn’t matter.
Matter. That was it.
Matter and anti-matter. Not good to be nearby when they mixed.

Maia would be back at the gallery by now. He checked his watch. It would still be open.

He backed out and onto the street and headed for the bridges to Beaufort.

****

Maia was at the counter speaking with her assistant. She looked up when the bell jingled.

“
Hi!” Maia walked away from her sales assistant, Brendan, and came over to him.

“
What’s up? Oh, and by the way, thanks for bringing lunch over. It was fun, wasn’t it?”

She walked straight up to him with a smile and put her hands on his arms. He looked away. He resisted the impulse to ruffle her hair. They were grown. She wouldn
’t thank him for messing up that mop. Suddenly, he put his arms around her and hugged her.

“
Brian? Was that daddy’s grizzly bear hug?”

Shoot. He hadn
’t thought of that. He let her go.
Daddy’s grizzly bear hug.
When they were kids, Dad’s grizzly bear hug was a consolation when things went badly—when stuff was falling apart in a big way.

“
Brian, you’re not sick or anything, are you?” She put her hands on his cheeks. “Look at me. Let me see your eyes.”

“
I’m fine, sis. Fine. I owe you an apology. I’m not good at giving them.”

She smiled and her dimples deepened to hold
all things good and worthwhile.

“
You don’t owe me anything, but don’t be angry with me any longer.”

He nodded.
“I’m sorry. Diane, and everything that happened after her, isn’t your fault. I’m sorry I took it out on you.”

“
I understand. I really do.”

He nodded.
“Good, then.”

“
Come step outside with me.” She held his arms and tugged gently.

He
’d forgotten about Brendan. The kid was standing there, his mouth hanging open.

“
After you.” He held the door.

The sun was bright on the sidewalk. It felt good on his face. Cleansing, somehow.

They stopped where the last step met the sidewalk. Maia leaned against one iron rail; Brian leaned against the other. The toes of their shoes almost touched.

“
I thought you’d still be with Frannie.” She shook her head in dismay. “Oh, I’m sorry, here I go again.”

“
You’re my sister. You can ask, but don’t pry.”

“
Got it. I think. I hope. That’s a tricky boundary.”

“
You know the difference.” He dropped the subject. Time to move on. “I was still there, might still be there, but she has a visitor.”

“
Joel?”

“
No, not Joel.”

Maia shrugged and tried to sound offhand,
“Oh, well. None of my business, anyway.”

“
She has no romantic interest in him.”

“
You asked her?” Maia’s eyes grew round. “Come on, Brian. You didn’t, did you? What did you say? You didn’t tell her that I, that I.…”

“
I don’t remember what I said. I asked her and she told me.”

She fanned her face with her hand.
“I don’t know what came over me.” She took a deep breath. “So, then, who came? I see it’s on your mind.”

“
Laurel Denman.”

“
Laurel…. You mean the wicked stepmother?”

“
Maia. Not nice. And not true. At least, she doesn’t look wicked. She’s pretty fine looking, in fact, and she spoke nice.”

“
Nicely.”

“
Nicely.”

“
So she has good manners. How did Frannie respond?”

“
She said I should call her later.”

“
Really? Well, then.” She rubbed her arms and shivered. “What’s the trouble?”

“
She looked scary.”

“
Scared? Of what?”

“
Not scared, but
scary
. I’ve seen her in all sorts of moods. Sometimes it hard to tell who the real Fran is, but I’ve never seen her like that.”

“
Oh. I see. I wouldn’t worry. They’ve got a lot of history between them and Frannie has unresolved issues about their relationship from what she’s told me.”

Was she trying to soothe him? She was using that big sister voice. But she wasn
’t the big sister. He was older than her by two years. Old soul? Is that what they called it? Someone had once said to him that Maia was an old soul.

He said,
“You’re cold. You should get back inside.”

“
I’m fine. I’ll go in in a minute.”

He took o
ff his jacket and put it around her shoulders. “What about you?”

“
Me?” Maia asked as she pulled the jacket more tightly about her. “What about me?”

“
Joel. Anyone with eyes can see you like him. A lot.”

“
I do. He’s very polite and thoughtful.”

“
You like his manners.”

“
Sure. And he’s smart and likes art. You should hear him go on about the gallery and things he’d like to do.”

“
No, thank you. I’ll leave that to you. I hope you let him know.”

“
Know what?”

“
That you like him.”

She blushed.

“You have to tell him. If you think a guy is going to just
know
how you feel about him, then you aren’t as smart as I thought you were. You always have advice for everyone. Take some of your own.”

“
Brian. Oh, Brian.” Her dark eyes looked almost panicked. “He’s nice, but I barely know him. I’m tired of—”

“
Of what? Being hurt? Being alone? Does it matter? Unless you’ve decided it’s safer to be alone and sad than to risk being hurt.” He shrugged. “Your choice. But you should treat yourself at least as well as you treat others. You deserve it, sis.”

“
You take my breath away, Brian. That’s a lot of thinking going on in your hard head.”

He laughed.
“And it’s giving me a headache. Think I’ll go home and take a nap. Or maybe change the oil in Will’s van.”

Maia shook her head.
“You came all the way over here to tell me you were sorry?”

He gave her a one-armed hug.
“See ya.”

“
See you around, Brian.” She stepped forward. “Wait.”

“
What?”

“
Mom and Dad want to get together for their anniversary. Interested?”

“
Sure. Let me know when and where. I’d rather not wear a suit. I don’t think it even fits me anymore.”

“
I’ll call you.” She handed his jacket back to him.

Call me later, Fran had said.
“Yeah, I’ll talk to you later.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“
Why are you here?”

Laurel looked at the
door, which was still in the act of closing as Brian exited. “I’m here to see you.” She smiled.

Her pleasant expression looked planted, artificial, calculated.

“You’re back from Savannah.”

“
I am. Obviously.”

“
Good trip?”

Laurel opened her arms.
“What about a hug? Maybe an ‘I love you’ or ‘I miss you’? I exist, sweetheart. You can’t erase me from your life.”

Frannie put her hands on the counter.
“Erase. An interesting word and it suggests a lot. I was at the house a few days ago.”

“
Were you? All’s well there, I hope. I’m heading there from here.” Her eyebrows raised and her lips formed an ‘Oh,’ and then she grinned. “Does that mean you saw my surprise for you?”

“
Surprise? You mean the new furnishings in the TV room?”

“
Isn’t it gorgeous? I hired a local decorator to handle it. There’s all sorts of goodies for the sound and such. I don’t even know what to call them. All the electronics are hidden and, well, it’s so excellent, isn’t it? I even…what do you call it? I put a ‘rush’ on it, so I could surprise you with the finished product.” She was gushing like a teenager.

“
I had a lot of memories invested in the
old
furniture.” Frannie crossed her arms. “We had an agreement that the TV room was hands off.”

“
Did we? I don’t recall that. You’re the one who always says we have to live our lives and we can’t do that if we cling to the past. I want you to be happy, not nursing grudges and feeling cheated by life.”

Laurel moved past Will
’s old chair, one hand above the head rest, not coming into contact with it. She turned gracefully and sat on the sofa.

“
Tell me about Brian. Is that his name? Has Joel come by?” Laurel tilted her head to the side and smiled again. “He was so excited about seeing you down here.” Laurel shoved the plastic bag of papers from the van to the far side, and set her purse on the table.

Laurel
, as usual, was trying to force her own reality on everyone around her.

“
You are staring at me like I might bite. Can’t we please have a civil conversation? Is that asking so much?”

Still standing by the counter, Frannie said,
“I asked you not to come here.”

“
I had to. You know that. You’ve been down here too long, and now that I’ve met your friend, Brian… What was his last name?”

“
Leave him out of this. I didn’t invite you here and I won’t discuss him with you.”

Laurel stood. She moved back
to the counter and slid her hands across the Formica palms up, toward Frannie.

“
Sweetheart, don’t you see? How this is like last time? How it happened before?” She closed her eyes as if uttering a short prayer. “Please tell me you can see it. You must know I’m right.”

“
Stop it. Stop bringing that up. That was long ago and it was different. Not like this. I’m taking care of my uncle’s house. I’ve made friends. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.” Suddenly, almost shocked, she realized it was true.

“
It’s no shame to need help, Frannie. Some people aren’t meant to live independently. Stress has a negative effect on you. You can’t help it. It’s not your fault.”

“
Oh, I see. It’s my heritage, is that right? Unhappiness and instability are in my genes?”

“
Don’t be sharp with me. Can’t you see I’m trying to spare you another breakdown? This man, Brian? He looks rough to me. He’s going to be another ‘what’s-his-name’. I won’t say the name of
that
mistake aloud ever again.”

“
Stop it, Laurel.”

“
Mother
. You used to call me mother. You needed me when it all fell apart, and I was the one who came to your rescue. I took you back home to comfort and safety.” She pressed her hands to her chest. “Please remember how it was when you left before? You were spending all of your time with strangers.”

“
You mean my friends?”

“
They filled your head with ideas. They didn’t know, didn’t care, what was good for you. I do, Frannie, I do. Me.” Her face changed from troubled to tortured. “I’m the only woman who has ever been a mother to you.”

“
Save the histrionics.”

The faint lines deepened, hardened around Laurel
’s eyes.

“
Well, if anyone knows what histrionics are, it’s you. You’re the expert, Frannie dear. So. Fine. When this one disappoints you, and he will, I’ll be waiting to help you pick up the pieces. And when you start hearing the noises in the night and can’t sleep, and start falling apart, call me and I’ll come running. Because, no matter what you say, I’m your mother.”

At some point, Frannie put her hands over her ears. She could shut out some of Laurel
’s voice, but nothing could stop her heart from being torn in two. Her will was softening. She wasn’t a fighter. How could she be so cruel to Laurel? She wasn’t a cruel person. But she had to do it. From somewhere deep inside, she dredged up the words. They sounded breathless as she pushed them out. “I want you to move out of the house.”