Embraceable You (Irish Hearts Series) (32 page)

She blinked, barely able to take it all in. "Phillip, are you sure about all this?"

"Absolutely. This is all legal and legitimate. I took care of it myself."

"How? I mean, why? Aunt Addie lived so frugally
, we all thought she was living on a thread of income."

"O
bviously, she could have lived better," he said. "She could have closed her shop and moved to Florida. She could have done a lot of things to make her life easier."

"But that wasn't the Down East way," Roberta said. "Like Claire, they both had more means than they revealed."

"They cared about the people of Haven's Point," Siena said simply.

"
Furthermore," Phillip continued, "As the wife and only heir to Luciano Santioli, the world renowned artist, she inherited everything he created. She lived frugally, well within her means. And I guess she just wanted to hang out with her friends here in Haven’s Point. Who can say? Addie chose to live her own lifestyle." He placed his hands on the mahogany desk. "One more thing, Siena."

Siena put her hand to her head."What else?"

"You are to share ownership of the 'queen's lace house' with one Sierra Summerfield."

"What? I don't even know this Sierra."

"My understanding from Dana Summerfield is that she is your sister, not hers."

"My sister? I don't have – " Siena halted. What in hell was going on here?

"Apparently this is something that Addie wanted you to know. And she chose this way to tell you."

"But how, why? Why didn't Dana – " But
Siena knew that Dana couldn't. "Where is this Sierra?"

"We don't know yet. Still trying to reach her."

"What happened to her?"

"That's something to discuss with Dana."

"Oh you bet I will." Siena felt slightly dizzy – this whole thing was crazy. Totally and completely nuts, like her mother. She couldn’t understand, believe - grasp - what he was saying. As the truth began to sink in, Siena broke down and cried. Right there in Phillip Fairchild’s office. It was embarrassing. "I'm sorry," she sniffled.

Roberta patted her shoulder. "S
ometimes Siena, you just have to let go."

Phillip was nice and offered a box of tissues. He asked his secretary to bring Siena and Roberta little glasses of chardonnay. "I can tell you’re surprised by all this. Everybody reacts differently, but tears are normal. I don't always serve wine, but sometimes inheritors need a little celebration. When you’re ready, I’ll drive you around town and show you your properties."

Siena dabbed her eyes and took a sip. Then, another.

"Now, this paper will give you permission to access her bank accounts. Just give it to the officer –"

Siena blinked back tears. "Fair Bank of Haven’s Point?"

"That’s one of them. There are two other banks. In Portland and Freeport. I think she had some considerable accounts and wisely spread her finances around."

More tears.

Finally Siena looked up and wiped her drippy nose. "Is Rich Fairchild your brother?"

"My cousin."

"In spite of your weird family, you’re really an all-right guy, Phillip."

He laughed. "I guess we can all claim a little weirdness in our families."

Siena felt stronger by the minute. "I can hardly wait to see Rich. And hand him this piece of paper." She raised her chin and smiled. "I’m ready to take that drive now. And see all our properties." She put her arm around Roberta's shoulders. "Come along, Roberta. We're going to have some fun, which is what Aunt Addie would want."

Siena and Roberta sailed out of the office with the nicest male Fairchild she’d ever met. Claire would be proud. And Aunt Addie, even prouder. And her mother would . . . who knew about Dana? Siena certainly had a few questions for her.

Siena poured herself a glass of wine and picked up her phone and punched the starred number. A muffled voice answered.

"Hi Dana."

"Honey, I'm glad you called. I need to tell you something."

Siena felt instant relief. For the first time in her life, Dana was going to own up to something. "Yes, you certainly do."

"Chaz and I exchanged vows at the Grand Canyon."

Siena sat up, nearly spilling her wine. "What? You got
married
? Without me?"

"Married?" Dana laughed. "Oh, no way. We vowed to always love each other. It was a beautiful thing. And then we said
ciao con amore
. He drove off on the motorcycle. So unfortunately, I lost my job since I can't report about riding on a hog any more."

Siena was silent for a long moment
, trying to grasp it all. "What?"

"Now, don’t worry about a thing, honey. We came to a mutual agreement. He wanted to go on to L.A. And I didn’t."

"Are you saying that Chaz left you at the Grand Canyon?"

"Honey, sometimes things just don’t work out between a man and a woman. You know that. But it’s all-good.
We agreed."

"It's good that you're stranded at the Grand Canyon? No vehicle, no job, no boyfriend?"

"No regrets. I've had a blast. How are things with you?"

Siena sighed. "Oh just fine. We had the reading of Aunt Addie's will. And there's something else you need to tell me."

"Honey, you know I don't care about the money –"

"It's about
someone named… Sierra."

Dead silence from Dana.

"Apparently I have a sister. And you have another daughter somewhere in this world."

After another stretch of silence, Dana began in a very shaky voice. "Yes. There were two babies. I was sixteen and had twins. My sister Liz ran away from home with me. After the babies were born, she helped me. She took care of one. I took care of the other. For about two years. Then one day, she married and moved away. And she took her baby. I never saw them again."

Dana was crying, and so was Siena.

"That's why I wanted to come out West. To see if I could find them."

"Dana, I’m going to send you a ticket. I want you to come back here. With me. You have a house and car from Aunt Addie. I'll help you find them later."

"No honey.
I'm here, and I can't leave until I find them."

"Dana, listen to me – "

"Siena, this is something I must do. Only me.  Please understand."

Siena took a deep breath. "Dana… "

"I have money from the blog. I'll get a car and go… "

"Do you know where they are?"

"I think so. Siena, I love you so much . . ."

"I love you, too… Mom."

With hands stuffed in his pockets, Zach walked around the bay, past the old fishery warehouse, to the wreck site. His dad’s boat wreck. It was nearly dark, but he could see the shape. There was no one around. No one to recognize him. No one to question what he was doing
there.

Thank God, because if anyone asked, he couldn’t give a reasonable answer. It had more to do with feelings than he cared to admit. Somehow, he felt closer to his dad here. And closer to feelings that he had denied for years.

The boat was lying on its side, half-rotted as it had been for the last fifteen years. Sometime soon, during a vicious storm, it would completely break apart and float out to sea. And Zach didn’t care anymore. He hated the boat and what it represented.

His father
.

Did that mean he hated his father? No, he couldn't say that. But . . .

"Why did you have to die like this? So soon. Why leave us alone to struggle through life? We were so young, so distracted . . . without a father. Why do this to Mom – " Zach stopped when he realized he was speaking out loud to a wrecked boat. 

He kicked at the boat and it crumbled where his foot landed.

"I don’t know what you wanted. For us kids. For you and Mom. Did you really care about us? Really?"

This time, he didn't care if saying it out loud was crazy. He had to get it out. He kicked the boat again. Another piece fell away.

"I’ve tried to make it right. Tried to make up for all the lost time, your failures, mine, to fix the town and help mom and Zoey. But nothing’s worked. So I give up. I have to let go of you. You had your own life, your chance. I have mine. I can’t fix the mess you left. I can only work on mine. On not losing Siena, the best person I've ever known, if it's not too late. And that’s all I can do."

Suddenly, wildly, he was kicking and tearing the boat apart, hurling pieces out to sea, ripping boards from the hull and deck, destroying everything that looked like a boat, everything that reminded him of his father.

When Zach reached the foremast, the front piece shaped like a mermaid with head up and breasts thrust outward, he halted. He realized this crudely carved piece of wood represented his father’s dreams. This out-of-the-ordinary, strange-looking, hand-carved mermaid was something he could cling to, something he could look at while he dreamed of building boats when he didn’t have family obligations.
Building boats, that’s what his dad really wanted to do.
But he never had the time or money.

Zach grabbed the mermaid with bloody hands, propped her on his shoulder and headed back toward town. He looked out over the bay where he could see floating pieces of the boat, heading out to sea. In the intermittent light of a distant lighthouse, he could see some kind of movement. He stopped.

There they were. Dolphins, playing in the mouth of the bay.

He continued through town to find the only one who had always cared,
to the only one who understood him, the only one he could trust. And love.

Siena heard him on the high steps and knew immediately it was Zach. She hadn’t seen him in days, hadn’t heard from him since the wild town council meeting. At first, she feared he had left town. Just given up. But she clung to the distant hope . . . that they still had a chance.

Unfortunately the damage had been done. A man like Zach, so proud and stubborn, wouldn’t take losing control lightly. She feared she’d lost him, but wanted him to know she still cared. Still loved him.

She opened the door and gasped. He looked like he’d been in a street fight. He propped something on the little landing at the head of the stairs. "Zach, what – where – look at you, all bloody!"

He gestured. "Here’s the mermaid from Dad’s boat. Maybe
Zoey or you can paint it and use it for something since you’re so damned crazy for mermaids. It represented his dream for the future. But I don't want it."

"Yes, yes, it's beautiful. Certainly worth keeping. Please, come on inside."

"No. I’m a mess. I just came to say . . . " He remained in the doorway.

She couldn’t hold back any longer. "What-the-bloody-hell-were-you-doing? Did you kill somebody?"

"You might say that." He grinned a little. "I tore the boat apart. It’s gone. And so is my effort to repair my dad’s reputation. What’s done is done. I'm finished with the past. I just need to tell you –"

"Shhhh." She put her fingers to his lips and grasped his hand. "Don’t say anything. Don’t explain. Just come – "

He held her hand and pulled it to his lips and kissed her fingers. "Siena, I love you. Always have. Always will. I'm sorry about all this business mess and town mess and everything I put you through. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Certainly not about you and me and how we belong together."

Siena laughed crazily. She grabbed his shirt with her free hand and physically pulled him inside. "Damn it, Zach Cassidy, kiss me when you say that."

And they came together in a kiss that removed all doubt.

The next morning, Siena turned into Zach's arms. He’d spent the whole, entire night with her. The sun was coming up and soon the town would know he'd stayed. But who cared? Probably only Walt Fairchild, and she beat him fair-and-square. She would not be intimidated by him or anyone, again. She had the power of the lace behind her. And Zach's love.

"Mornin'. I see you're still here." She greeted him with a soft morning kiss and gently traced a scratch on his cheek. "You look like hell. Your lover must be brutal."

"You should see my back. But she’s worth the fight." He kissed her again, running his hands down her arms. "I love you so much, Siena. I never want to leave you."

"I love you, too, Zach. More than ever."

"Do you think we can make it?"

She smiled and snuggled closer. "Dana always said life gives you the grit. You have to make the pearl. She's not much of a philosopher, but she's had plenty of grit. And keeps trying to make the pearl."

"I like that."

"If we can forgive our parents from all their misdeeds, then our love is just about us. And we can make that pearl.
Together."

"I want to do that, Siena. With you by my side."