Just Married! (14 page)

“H
I
, M
OMMA
.”

The ocean breeze skipped across the grass in the early morning, making the green blades seem as if they were waving. The pain in Vivian’s chest eased a bit, and she dropped to the stone bench, bracing her palms on either side of the cool granite.

Three feet away, her mother’s name curved across the headstone in simple letters. HELEN REILLY, BELOVED WIFE AND MOTHER. It should have said more. Like taken too soon—while an eleven-year-old Vivian still needed a mother’s touch, a firm hand, someone to keep her on track.

And oh, how she still needed her mother’s touch. And advice.

Except there wasn’t any coming from the cold, hard granite. There was only silence.

Lord knew her father had tried back then, but Daniel had been too caught up in his own grief to pay much attention. Vivian, left to her own
devices, had found the best medicine for forgetting—

Trouble.

“I’m sorry, Momma,” Vivian whispered, then leaned forward and traced the letters. Even now, all these years later, the rough edges of the stone chafed at her skin, the same as the loss of the woman she had loved so much still chafed at her heart.

The images flashed through her head, fast as slides on a carousel. Her mother, tall and vibrant, her red hair always piled in a messy bun. Laughing—so much laughter. Hel, that’s what they’d called her, because she’d been “hell on wheels,” the life of the party.

Living with her had been the same. Daniel and Vivian had come home to picnics in the living room, pink paint on the kitchen walls and impromptu twirls around the dining room table. Then, when she was gone, it was as if Vivian had lost her rudder, her way of judging how much fun was too much.

Vivian sighed. “I always meant to make you proud of me.”

For too many years, she hadn’t done that, had she? She’d chosen the wayward path, instead of the straight and narrow one. But now, perhaps, she would change all that.

“You’d love the ice cream shop. It’s just like that one you used to take me to when I was little. Do you remember?” Only silence greeted her, but she knew,
somewhere, her mother was listening. And, Vivian prayed, smiling. “I might be a little late, but I’m finally getting the hang of being the person you always wanted me to be.” She let out a breath. “And, yeah, the person I always wanted to be, too.”

From up above, a bird chattered a song. Butterflies flitted among the flowers lining the cemetery’s pathways, their multicolored wings bursting in and out of the pink and white petals.

The headstone blurred in Vivian’s vision. She brushed away the tears in her eyes. She’d waited too long to come here. Too long to say what she needed to say, whether her mother could really hear her or not.

Oh, how Vivian hoped she could.

The ache for her mother’s presence in her life had dulled just a little with the passage of time, but never really disappeared. Every day, she thought of her, and missed her soft voice, her warm arms, but most of all, her calming presence. The way she could walk into a room and smile—and Vivian instantly felt loved. Safe.

Vivian’s fingers danced across the granite front, her heart breaking for all those missed years. If she’d known then how much she’d need a mother as she grew up—

But who knows that kind of thing? Who appreciates the ones they love at the time they have them?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered again, but the only answer came from the chattering birds.

Vivian leaned back, and settled onto the hard, cold seat again. She looked up at the trees, stately oaks, sturdy maples, thick pines, that lined the cemetery with lush greenery. Just over the hill, there was a view of the harbor—the perfect, tranquil setting for her mother, who had always loved the outdoors, and used to tend a small but amazing garden when she’d been alive.

“I should have been that person five years ago,” Vivian went on. “Should have told Edward St. John to butt out of my life.” She let out a long sigh. “But I had to do the right thing, Mom. Had to do what was right for Colton. I still have to. It’s the only choice. He’ll be happier in the long run.” She paused. “Won’t he?”

But would Vivian?

That was the question Vivian had never dared to ask herself. She’d simply said goodbye to Colton, then latched on to the first ride out of St. John’s Cove that she could find. Never looked back, never considered what might have been.

Because the possibilities were far too painful.

Why did she really leave St. John’s Cove?

For Colton St. John. Because she couldn’t have him, and she couldn’t spend one more day in his arms, living a lie.

A tear slipped down her cheek. “I did the right thing,” she whispered. “But oh, I wish there’d been another choice. I wish…”

She reached out to the headstone. “I wish you’d been here to tell me what to do. To tell me it would all be okay.”

Because it hadn’t been, no matter how much she’d tried to convince herself otherwise. It had been hard and painful, and taken her years to forget the look in Colton’s eyes that day.

Now, here she was, back in St. John’s Cove, and faced with the same dilemma all over again. Open up her heart to Colton St. John—

Or close it off forever, so he could pursue the political career he’d always wanted.

Deep down, she knew the right answer. The only one that would make Colton happy and ensure his future.

She’d return to L.A., and Colton—

Colton would forget her, just as he had before. He’d move on, move up and along the political ladder. For her, the distance would make forgetting easier. She hoped.

“There is no real choice to make, is there?” Vivian sighed. “There never was. Not then…and not now.”

Colton stopped in his office first thing Monday morning, intending only to grab the papers he needed. He paused by his desk, and as he flipped through the stack of papers and file folders in his IN box to get to the ones he needed, a single sheet of paper caught his eye.

He tugged it out, then sat down to read. There wasn’t much to see—a few lines of text really—but what he saw surprised him.

And confused everything.

Colton glanced out the window of his office, his gaze traveling along the boardwalk of St. John’s Cove, past the bronze statue of his great-grandfather and the myriad of businesses lining the street.

Then he read the paper again—and began to wonder if everything he thought he knew about the people in his life—

Was dead wrong.

Nothing brightened a difficult morning like a bowl of rocky road ice cream. Vivian sat at one of the outside café-style tables at the Frozen Scoop on Monday morning and soaked up the July sun, her face upturned to greet the warm rays.

Why was she still here? She could have caught a flight back to L.A. this morning—and probably should have. After all, she had nothing holding her in St. John’s Cove. The weddings were over, the ice cream shop was up and running. She’d spent time with her friends, with her father. She’d visited her mother’s grave.

All the untied laces in her life had been tidied up, and as for Colton, well, she knew what to do there.

Then why hadn’t she done it? Why hadn’t she left already?

If she was smart, she’d get on the first plane for the West Coast, and do exactly what Colton had accused her of doing.

Run away.

Before she was forced to answer his questions. When he’d challenged her, she should have told him exactly the same thing as she had five years ago.

I don’t love you. I just want to be friends.

Was she afraid she couldn’t get the lie past her throat a second time? Or that she couldn’t stick to her resolve with the moon glinting off his dark hair, and the ocean whispering its teasing scent?

“Hey, Viv. Didn’t expect to still see you in town.”

She turned and opened her eyes, and smiled. “Charlie. Bryce. What a surprise.”

Bryce chuckled. A lobsterman, Bryce had the same dark brown hair as his sister, Samantha. “In a town the size of a postage stamp, you’re bound to run into someone you know every five seconds.”

She laughed. “True.” She glanced behind Charlie. “Where’s Amanda?”

“Shopping. For the baby. For our house.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure what for, really, but shopping. She told me this morning and I already forgot what she said.”

“In one ear and out the other, huh? You’re a typical husband already, Charlie.” Bryce gave him a good-natured jab in the arm.

“Yeah.” But the melancholy on Charlie’s face
told Vivian that the broken fences between himself and his new bride had not been repaired. She hated seeing any of her friends upset like this, and especially Charlie and Amanda, who had seemed so blissfully happy just a few weeks ago.

A shop door opened and Amanda emerged, her arms filled with bags. Charlie rushed over to take the purchases from her, then the two of them returned to Vivian’s table. They didn’t talk to each other, and the tension was readable from a mile away. Amanda gave Vivian a quick hug hello, then dropped into a chair. “Phew. I had no idea shopping could be so exhausting.”

“Or painful to Charlie’s wallet,” Bryce said, giving his friends a grin, as he, too, sat down. Charlie ducked inside to get Amanda and himself some ice cream.

Amanda glanced around the table. “We’ve almost got all six of us together. Too bad Samantha’s on her honeymoon. And Colton, where is he?”

The others shrugged. Vivian was glad Colton wasn’t here. After last night, she wasn’t sure she wanted to see him again at all before she left for L.A.

She should never have kissed him. She’d upset the perfect balance of their friendship, and opened a door she’d slammed shut all those years ago.

But had it really been closed? Or open just enough to leave her heart vulnerable to him again?

“This place is great,” Charlie said, interrupting
Vivian’s thoughts. He placed two bowls of ice cream on the table: a cherry cordial before Amanda and a vanilla for himself. He took a bite, then smiled. “Best ice cream on the East Coast.”

“It’s about time we had a place like this in St. John’s Cove,” Amanda added. “It’s perfect for the town. Quaint, but cozy. And cute.”

Charlie glanced around at the building and nodded his approval. “It’s like whoever owns it really studied the town inside and out. The whole building just fits right in.”

“Who does own it?” Bryce asked.

Vivian didn’t say a word. Her hand stilled, ice cream halfway to her mouth. Should she tell them? They were her friends, after all. Who else better to understand her need to own this place? To create a place that would recreate the memories of her childhood, and maybe give some to new generations of children?

What was the worst that could happen? People would think the wild child Vivian Reilly was actually a sentimental fool with a weakness for rocky road at heart? In high school, no one had believed Vivian when she’d talked about this dream. But they were older now—surely if anyone would understand, her friends would.

She thought of Colton’s reaction when she’d said she’d grown up, become more traditional. He hadn’t believed her. He, like Lana, still saw her as the same person.

But what, as he had said, had she done to change that image? Try to entice him to break into the neighbor’s pool? Not exactly a way to scream grown-up.

Charlie scoffed. “If Colton’s father was still alive, I’d say him. Hell, the man used to own half the town.”

Bryce shook his head. “Nah, I really don’t see stuffy Edward having a hand in something like this. Besides, this place just opened. And I can’t imagine Colton having time to do anything more than his job.”

“I agree,” Charlie added. “Plus, do you know what Kelly told me? The kids who work here are all at-risk teenagers.”

“At risk?” Amanda asked. She’d polished off her cherry cordial and pushed her bowl to the center of the table. “Like, kids who get in trouble?”

“Yeah. Ones who’ve had a few scrapes with the police. Nothing major, just the kind of kids who need a little help getting turned around and finding their footing.” Charlie swallowed a hunk of vanilla.

“I think that’s great. Wish there’d been a boss like that around when we’d been in high school.” Bryce grinned. “Maybe we would have all stayed out of trouble a lot more often.”

The others chuckled. A swell of pride rose in Vivian. Her friends liked the idea, and understood the thinking behind not just the shop, but the teenagers she’d hired to staff it.

Maybe it was time to let people see this other
side of herself. To give up the pretense of being the party girl.

Vivian pushed her bowl to the side. “Hey, guys, what would you say if I told you I opened this place?”

Charlie and Bryce both laughed. “You?” Charlie said. “Come on, Viv. There’s no way you’d ever…” His voice trailed off as he took in her face, then glanced back at the shop, then at her again. “You really did?”

She nodded. A flutter of nerves rose in her stomach as she waited for their response. Would it be the same as in high school? Or would they understand? Would they see the new Vivian? The woman she had become in her years away from this town?

“Oh, Viv, I think that’s so great,” Amanda said. She laid a hand over Vivian’s. “Really great. This place suits you. It really does. It’s so…fun.”

“And what you’re doing with those teenagers,” Charlie said, a beam of admiration on his face, “just fabulous.”

Relief and joy exploded inside of Vivian. She should have said something sooner. Kelly was right. People would understand.

“So you’re staying in town? Putting down roots?” Bryce said. “Well, damn, I never thought I’d see the day.”

“No, I’m not staying. I bought it, but Kelly Hurley’s going to run it. I’m going back to L.A.”

“Well, where’s the fun in that?” Bryce asked.
“Half the benefit of owning an ice cream parlor is being able to eat all the ice cream you want.”

Charlie chuckled. “And going back for extra scoops.”

Bryce got to his feet. “Well, gang, I’d love to stay, but I have to get going. I took the day off today for a doctor’s appointment. That’s no easy feat, if you know what it’s like to work with my brothers. I was hoping to sneak in a few quick rounds of golf before I got poked and prodded.” Bryce grinned, then put a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Charlie, you want to go hit the links for a little while?”