Waterfront Weddings (12 page)

“Where are we going?” she asked once they were in the truck.

He shook his head. “Nope. Just be patient.” He cast a sideways glance at her. “Please?” This wasn’t how he’d wanted to do it. He’d expected to have more time to plan. But he’d learned a long time ago to roll with the punches.

Twenty minutes later he slowed down and pulled into a parking lot.

“The marina?” Summer looked at him with narrowed eyes. “What are we doing here?”

He couldn’t hide his smile. “You never were very good at patience, were you?”

“Might not be my best virtue, but I’m good at other stuff.”

Luke chuckled and brought the truck to a stop. He walked around and opened the passenger door and held out a hand.

Summer accepted it and stepped daintily to the ground. “This had better be good. Because I haven’t forgotten about you and that
woman.”

Luke shut his eyes. If he were still in the habit of praying, he would’ve prayed that the Lord would give him strength to tolerate her barbs without snapping. But instead, he’d just wish for it. “I have a surprise for you, actually. And that’s what my meeting with Sherry was about.” He reached over and grabbed her hand, hoping she wouldn’t jerk away.

She didn’t.

“Honestly. I wasn’t having some covert affair with Jimmy’s cousin.” He shook his head. “I would hope you know me better than that by now.”

Summer gripped his hand. “Sometimes I don’t feel like I know you at all anymore,” she said quietly.

The words pierced his heart. His only hope was that the anniversary gift he’d gotten her would help bring them closer together. “Sure you do. I’m still the same old Luke.” He pulled her into an embrace. “I’m the same boy you fell in love with. And the same man you married seven years ago.” He’d missed having her in his arms. They fit together perfectly. “I wanted to give you this gift on our actual anniversary, but since you caught me finalizing the deal, I’m going to go ahead and give it to you today.”

He led her down to the water where a line of boats sat in a row.

They stopped at the third boat. “See that?”

She looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Yeah.”

“Look at the name of the boat.”

She took a step closer and peered at the side of the boat. “No way,” she said.

“The
Summer Girl,”
Luke said. “I hope you love it.”

Summer smiled. “I can’t believe you did this.” She shot him a sideways glance. “We’ve always said we were going to buy one.”

“And spend our weekends out on the water, just the two of us.” He returned her smile. “I even got a life vest for Milo so he can come, too.” He chuckled. “Although he might have to lose a couple of pounds first.”

She joined in his laughter. “We’ll have so much fun.”

Fun. They hadn’t had much fun together over the past year. It seemed like it had been one thing after another. Luke had hoped that purchasing the boat would bring them closer together again. “I’m glad you like it.”

She threw her arms around his neck then pulled back. “But how does the redhead figure into things?”

Luke laughed. “She paints names and scenes on boats. It’s part of her business.” He rubbed Summer’s back. “I mentioned to the guys several weeks ago that I’d bought the boat, and Jimmy told me about his cousin.” He shrugged. “She’s had some hard times and could use the business, so I hired her. I didn’t want to have lunch with her at all. I’d just planned to drop off a check. But then she begged me to sit with her, said she hated to eat alone. So I did.” He tipped Summer’s chin. “Nothing more to it.”

She at least had the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry.” She drew her brows together. “But how did you manage to make a purchase this large without me knowing?” Summer kept the books for their accounts because she loved the satisfaction of seeing all the numbers balance.

He’d hoped she wouldn’t ask. “Oh. That.” He cleared his throat. “Well, I knew there was one account you wouldn’t monitor.”

Realization dawned on her, and the color drained from her face. “You didn’t.”

He swallowed. “It’s not a big deal.” He’d thought he’d have time to fix this before she found out.

“Not a big deal? Not a big deal?” Her voice rose with each word. “You used the money from the baby account, didn’t you?” she hissed.

He nodded. He’d known she might be a little upset but hadn’t counted on the venom he saw in her eyes. “Don’t get so worked up. It was just sitting there, and I thought that would be the best way to keep it a surprise.”

Tears rolled down her face. “I knew you didn’t want to keep trying to have a baby. But I never thought you’d do something like this.”

Luke paced in front of her. “We can replenish it.” He reached out to brush a tear away, but she stepped back. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Quit saying that. It
is
a big deal. At least to me.” She wiped her eyes and took another step backward. “You didn’t even consider how this would make me feel, did you?”

“I thought I was doing something that would make you happy.”

She shook her head. “You haven’t made me happy in months. You tried to pretend that our baby never existed.” Her tears started falling again, and this time she let them fall. “You wouldn’t talk about it, wouldn’t grieve with me.” She sobbed in earnest now. “And I didn’t have the energy to fight then. Not even when you emptied out the nursery and took all the baby stuff to the dump.”

“I was trying to help.”

She fished around in her purse for a tissue and wiped her face. “I’m done.”

He sighed. “Do you want me to take you home instead of the office?”

Summer shook her head. “No. I’m done. Here.” She pointed from her to him. “Us. I’m done.”

Luke furrowed his brow. “I know you’re mad, but don’t you think you’re overreacting?”

She leveled a steely gaze at him. “Maybe. But I don’t care right now. You like this boat so much? Then why don’t you plan on staying on it for a while?” She turned and started walking toward the road.

Luke ran after her. “Summer, come on. Get in the truck.”

“No. I’m too tired. Tired of pretending everything is okay. Tired of pretending like we aren’t broken. I need some time alone.”

Something in her voice stopped him in his tracks. “You want me to leave you here?”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “I’ll call Ashley. She’ll come pick me up.”

He watched her walk toward the main road. There was no use in going after her.

If space was what she wanted, space was what she’d get.

Summer climbed into Ashley’s Honda Accord. “Thanks for coming to pick me up.”

Ashley looked at her with concern. “Are you okay?”

Summer shook her head. “No.” She put her head in her hands. “Can you take me home?”

“Of course.” Ashley turned the car toward downtown.

Summer tried to process everything, but her brain felt too foggy. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know I’ve been out of the office most of the day.”

Ashley let out a sigh. “Don’t you think you should focus on something besides work right now?” She slowed down for a red light. “Something has obviously happened, something bad.” She looked at Summer. “Do you want to tell me what?”

Summer let out a shaky breath. She knew it seemed crazy to most people for her to be so focused on work, but that was what she’d clung to these past months. When everything else spun out of control, she could at least make sure her business ran smoothly. “Luke and I got into a fight. A big one.” She filled Ashley in on what had transpired at the marina. “And the awful part is that he probably thinks it’s about the money. It isn’t.” She shook her head. “He can buy all the boats he wants to buy. But that account was special.”

“I knew things between you guys had been strained, but I didn’t realize you were at the end of your rope like that.” Ashley pulled into the driveway at Summer and Luke’s house.

For the first time in a long time, Summer didn’t admire the home she loved so much. Today it seemed more like a mockery than anything else. From the outside it looked like the kind of home a happy family inhabited. But inside it felt as lonely as a tomb. “I know he thinks I’m crazy for reacting like that.” She shook her head. “I realize he was trying to give me a gift and do something nice for me.”

Ashley nodded. “It sounds that way.”

“But he’s been so distant. First with Bobby’s accident and then when I lost the baby.” Ashley was one of the few people besides Gram who had known about Summer’s pregnancy. “After I miscarried, he told me that he didn’t want to keep trying. He said he didn’t want to do the fertility treatments anymore. That maybe it would happen naturally, even though my doctor didn’t think so.” She shook her head. “So by using that money, money I’d set aside specifically for my child, it’s the same as him saying that we will never have a baby of our own.”

“And you’re not ready to give up on that dream.”

Summer shook her head. “We’d only done one round of treatments when I got pregnant. The doctor said there was no reason I couldn’t carry a child to term, even after the miscarriage. But Luke wouldn’t even discuss it.”

Ashley sighed. “I don’t know what to say. I had no idea what you’d been dealing with.”

“Luke has slipped further and further away from me over the past months. It’s to the point where I have no idea what to say to him most of the time. He doesn’t listen to me, doesn’t want to hear me talk about my day. And it seems like he finds reasons not to be home at night.”

“But you love him.”

Summer let out a bitter laugh. “Of course I love him.” She met Ashley’s eyes. “But for the first time, I wonder if love is enough.”

Ashley didn’t respond.

“Thanks for the ride. I’ll walk Milo over to the office later and pick up my car.”

“You’re welcome. And if there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”

Summer paused. “Just pray. That’s what I need the most.”

She watched as Ashley backed out of the driveway and for a split second wished she could have her friend’s life. It seemed so uncomplicated. No family around, no husband to argue with. That sounded perfect right about now.

She stumbled into the house and greeted Milo.

“Go outside, sweet boy.” She opened the door and watched him run a loop around the yard, sniffing and marking his territory. In a minute, he was back. “Let’s go to bed early, what do you say?”

Milo followed her up the stairs. With each step, her feet felt heavier and heavier, almost as if she’d accidentally stepped in wet cement. She made it into the large bathroom with its giant tub and expensive tile. She’d always thought of this as her sanctuary, but today it did nothing to calm her.

She sank onto the floor, and the tears began to fall in earnest.

Milo sat next to her and rested his head on her leg.

The gentleness of the big dog only made her cry harder.

“Lord, why are You letting this happen?” she asked. “What am I supposed to learn from this?” She didn’t bother to wipe the tears. “I’m not the one who turned my back on You. Even when I lost my baby, I kept my faith.” It had been Luke who’d lost his faith. Luke who’d refused to set foot in a church building after Bobby’s accident. Luke who wouldn’t pray with her after she lost their baby.

“Please. Please take my pain away,” she whispered, hoping God was listening.

And there, huddled on the cold tile floor, Summer hoped she’d finally hit rock bottom. Because if things got worse, she wasn’t sure how she would survive.

A
shley walked into her house and promptly collapsed on the couch.

Work had kept her busy right up until nearly six. She’d taken care of several things that Summer had left behind. It seemed like the least she could do.

Although, the more Summer got distracted, the more Ashley felt entitled to a partnership in the business. Except that with the state Summer was in, it still didn’t seem the right time to ask. But maybe there would never be a time that felt right. Maybe she would have to put aside her fears and go for it.

And as much as she hated to admit it, she took some satisfaction with the knowledge that if Summer turned her request down and she resigned, the business would take a hit. Summer didn’t have time to find someone else who knew the ins and outs of their upcoming events, and despite all that was going on in her personal life, she would never let her business suffer.

Which gave Ashley leverage.

With that thought in mind, Ashley pulled on an old pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt from a long-ago 5K. She scrubbed the day’s makeup from her face and twisted her long hair into a messy bun.

Tonight she would veg. Her DVR contained the entire last season of
The Bachelor
, and she had leftover pizza in the fridge. Perfect combo.

Ashley popped a couple of slices of pizza on a plate and was about to put them in the microwave when the doorbell rang.

She groaned. Probably someone wanting to sell her something. Or a church group wanting to invite her to an upcoming revival. Not that either of those things was bad, but there were times she wished she lived in one of those big gated homes where no one could get to her door unless she wanted them there. Like a princess in a tower.