Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
T his was really happening.
But instead of pinching herself, Dani practically floated around her small kitchen, tossing tomatoes and cut up cucumbers into a bowl of torn lettuce. The scent of garlic and mozzarella conjured an image of the Italian countryside, just like the one that had gotten this whole project rolling.
And she decided then and there. No matter what job she was working, she needed to get out more. To indulge her desire to travel. Because Liam was right. She’d been holding back, afraid that her family would see her traipsing around the world and think that she’d given up like the rest of them.
But they couldn’t think that now.
Her phone buzzed on the counter, and Dani wiped her hands on her apron, picking it up. A text from Dad:
Dad
So proud of you, honey.
Emboldened by the council’s approval, she’d emailed a copy of the slides to Dad and her siblings with the message: What I’ve been working on the last few weeks…
She dashed off a response to Dad’s text:
Dani
Thanks, Dad. It won’t be the exact same as before, but hopefully we can build something even better. Wish you were here to see it.
Three bubbles popped up in reply then disappeared. Finally, a message came through:
Dad
Have you told your mother yet?
Uh, no. Despite Uncle Seb’s promptings, Dani had no desire to open those old wounds. She was moving forward, not letting the past weigh her down anymore. “Way to ruin the moment, Dad.”
Roma mewed from the couch, and Dani sighed. Talking to her cat again.
But this time, she wasn’t doing it out of desperation or loneliness. Because right now, she was making dinner for the man she loved.
Yes, loved.
And together, they were about to have lots of time to explore that love, to see what would happen. What they both wanted.
Though she knew already.
She resumed making the salad, humming to herself while a special on the Travel Channel droned on in the background and the lasagna she’d lovingly—though not so expertly—crafted baked in the oven.
Her phone buzzed again, but this time, with a call.
Dani reached for it and froze when she saw James’s name on the screen again. It had been less than a week since James had reamed her out over the destruction of their family legacy, and neither of them had reached out. She was tempted to let it go to voicemail, but what good would that do? Whether James came home after the hotel was rebuilt or not, she still didn’t want distance of any sort between them.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” His gruff voice was quieter than usual.
“Calling to yell at me again?” She couldn’t help the snark. Well, maybe she could. Dani leaned a hip against the counter and sighed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. But our last conversation?—”
“I was a jerk, Dani.”
“You kind of were.” Her own words surprised her. She’d never spoken so freely like this—had always been so afraid to offend. But maybe healing could only happen when truth was spoken, no matter how much it hurt. “But I still love you.”
“I know. Because you’re good like that. And I still need to say I’m sorry.”
“For what, exactly?” And this time, she wasn’t being snarky. She really needed to know.
“For everything. For saying you were ruining things by rebuilding the hotel, for not trusting you.” James sighed. “And especially for blaming you for what happened ten years ago. It was never your fault, Dani. And I’m so sorry I said it was.”
A tear snuck down her cheek. “Thank you, James. That means a lot.”
“Look, I’ve got to run, but take care of yourself, okay? Maybe I can get down there for Christmas or something. Check in on how the rebuild’s coming. The plans you sent—they’re really good. I’m proud of you.”
“That would be amazing. Come anytime. Maybe we can get the whole gang back here sometime for a visit.” First a visit, then maybe more.
But whatever they decided, Dani’s future would be okay. Things were looking up.
Dani said goodbye to James and set down her phone. At the scent of something burning, she rushed to the oven, pulled it open, and groaned at the sight of a very burned lasagna. Throwing her hot pads on, she got the lasagna out. It steamed and bubbled, the dark-brown substance on top looking more like chocolate shavings than cheese. “Way to go, Dani.”
Maybe she should have called her chef brother Zachary and gotten a foolproof recipe for her first real venture into cooking more than ramen and spaghetti. But she’d wanted to one-up Liam and his fabulous pizza that had tasted amazing even cold.
Oh, well. Too late now.
She reached for her phone so she could let Liam know to pick up Martha’s on the way—her treat, of course—but then there was a knock on the door. Her eyes flitted to the clock. If it was Liam, he was fifteen minutes early. Flipping on the oven fan, she untied her apron, flung it onto the counter, fluffed her hair, and rushed to the door. A glance through the peephole confirmed it was Liam.
Her heart sped up at the sight of him. Every moment spent in his presence this last week—especially since that first real kiss—had given her the same shot of adrenaline. Dani was in deep, but no longer was she afraid.
It turned out, a person’s heart could be whole again after heartbreak. Healing was possible. And she had this man right here to thank for it.
Her hand shook slightly as she threw open the door. “Hi.”
But one look at him—one real look at him—and her forehead was creasing. His hair was a mess, as if he’d been dragging his hands through it, and his eyes were bloodshot, as if he’d been drinking for days. The collar of his button-down shirt was popped up on one side, and his shoulders slumped.
He held a bottle of sparkling cider as if he was prepared to celebrate, but everything else indicated that Liam Stone was a man unhinged.
“Hi.” Stepping forward, she slipped into his embrace. “What’s wrong?”
His arms wrapped around her so tight, she nearly had trouble breathing. When he finally let go, he shut his eyes and shook his head. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re scaring me.” She snatched his hand and tugged him inside, closing the door behind them. “Here.” She indicated the stools at the kitchen island, but he just shook his head.
Well she, for one, needed to sit.
Letting go of his hand, Dani slid onto one of the stools and studied him. “Liam?”
He set the cider on the counter and began to pace. “Dani, I…I tried. I called my dad and was going to put in my formal request to be put on this project, but he…” Then he stopped, a nearly wild look in his eyes. Panic. That’s what it was. Panic, pure and simple. “I haven’t been able to get a hold of him the last few days, and it’s because he’s been thinking. He went to the doctor on Monday and…”
“Did he get a bad diagnosis?”
“Yes. No.” Liam looked up at the ceiling, then back at Dani. “He didn’t get a new diagnosis, but he had a follow-up with his endocrinologist, who told him his sugars were off-the-charts bad.”
“Oh, that’s awful. I’m sorry, Liam.” Dani cocked her head. “Isn’t that something he can fix with medicine?”
“Usually, yeah. If he remembers to take it. But also, he has to start exercising. Changing his diet. Lowering his stress. All things I’ve been telling him.”
“But he’s finally hearing it?”
Liam nodded. “I guess it helped that Marianne went with him to the appointment.” Then a glimmer of a smile crested. “He told me they’ve been doing a lot together. I guess our talk last weekend got him thinking about love again. He said he looked up, and there Marianne was. And that he was surprised, because she’d been there all along.”
Dani reached for the saltshaker in front of her, ran her fingers over the ridges of the container. Smiled. “So they didn’t need our intervention after all, hmm?” Then she sobered, put down the salt, and moved to stand in front of Liam again. Reached for his hand. “His resolution sounds like a good thing, but you look like you received bad news. Is it just that his sugars were bad?”
“No, because like you said, that’s fixable.” Liam frowned, looked off somewhere over Dani’s shoulder. “But I guess he’s been processing—with Marianne’s help—exactly what he needs to do to fix the things he needs to fix. And he’s decided that the best course of action is to do the one thing I’ve been trying to get him to do for months.”
Oh. “Retire.”
“Yes. He’s decided to retire.”
“And let me guess.” She couldn’t keep her voice from trembling. “He wants you to take over.”
“Yes. But?—”
“Did you tell him? About us? About wanting to stay here?”
But the pinched look on Liam’s face gave Dani her answer before he confirmed it with words. “I didn’t get a chance before he told me he wanted to retire.”
“Can’t he get someone else? Surely there’s someone at the company who?—”
“He’s family.” Liam ran a hand through his hair, his fingers following the exact path of the grooves already there. “You should have heard him. ‘There’s nobody I would trust with this but you. I’m so proud of you, son.’ It’s up to me, Dani. It always has been, and I was fooling myself to think things could be different.”
His words sliced, but surely he was just talking about taking the job here and not being with her. “That’s pretty hard to say no to.” And Liam was a good son for saying yes. She knew that. This was part of the reason she loved him.
But now that reason was taking him away from her.
Still, this didn’t have to mean the end of them. It just put them right back to where they were before that kiss—except, now he’d admitted how he felt about her. Told her that if given his choice, he’d gladly move here. And yes, long distance would be difficult, but plenty of couples did it all the time.
She wasn’t going to give them up so easily just because things had gotten more complicated. But what about him? What about what she’d overheard him telling Cody about his last relationship?
Okay, then. “I understand.”
“You do?” Liam exhaled slowly. “Thank you, Dani. I promise, I’ll get the best person we have to handle this project.”
“I know.” She traced the back of his hand with her thumb. “But maybe you could spare a few days here and there to come check up on it? And I’ll come to California too. I’ve always wanted to visit the Hollywood sign, the Pacific Ocean, Disneyland?—”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I know you’ll be busy, but if we’re going to make this work between us, then we’ve got to both make an effort.”
But the look in his eyes—pained, unwilling to stay focused on her—shut her words off like a faucet.
“Dani…”
“You can’t be serious.” How could he throw everything away just because they’d be in different places? “Nothing’s changed from this morning except where you’ll be living. And I know you hate the idea of long distance because of things not working out with Tiffany?—”
“How do you know about that?”
“Oh. Well, I accidentally heard you talking about it with Cody after our first kiss. When you were in my aunt and uncle’s kitchen. I was in the other room still. I’m sorry. I really didn’t intend to eavesdrop.”
“It’s fine. It’s not like I wouldn’t have told you about it.” He sighed. “But I still stand by what I said then. Long distance doesn’t work.”
“And what about what Cody said? I think he’s right. You go after the things you really want. And I thought you wanted this. Unless it was all a lie?”
Flashes of smooth-talking Ryan MacBride crowded out her reason. He had never really cared about Mom. He’d fooled her, preying on her deep desire to be loved and cherished when her own husband had gotten too busy.
Whoa. How was she actually having compassion for Mom in this moment?
Dani shoved the thought aside and focused on Liam, the man who was breaking her heart. Again.
“Of course it wasn’t a lie. But if you heard what I said to Cody, then you know that my last long-distance relationship failed so miserably.”
“I’m not Tiffany.”
“I’m not saying you are. But I’m still Liam, and this job is going to require more of me than any I’ve ever worked. The stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. I don’t want to promise you something and then fail to be the guy you want—or need—me to be.”
“Liam, you’re letting fear control you again.” She dropped his hand and fisted his shirt before realizing how desperate she looked.
“I’m sorry, Dani. I care about you. I do. But I just…”
“You have to go.”
Just like Mom. Dad. Her siblings.
Why should Liam be any different? And why had she been dumb enough to believe that he would? To believe that broken hearts could ever really be mended?
Chest tight, Dani pulled away from Liam and turned, moving toward the couch. Pacing. Ugh, this apartment was way too small. She headed right back for the kitchen, and her eyes narrowed in on the lasagna.
Once full of promise. Now burned.
Dani touched the glass. No longer hot. Good. She took the pan and marched it to the garbage can, which she opened with a mash of her foot against the step. Overturning the pan, she shook the food into the trash. It took a moment, but it finally slid out into the can with a plop.
“Dani…” Liam moved closer, as if to help.
She must look crazy, throwing away what he thought was perfectly good food. “I can’t believe you’re just leaving. That you’re not even willing to try. But that’s what you do, huh? You leave when things get hard.”
“That’s not true. I don’t want to leave you. I was willing to stay. But if I don’t go now, I won’t leave. And I have to.”
Dani placed the pan in the sink and leaned against the counter. “Don’t you get it? I’m not mad that you’re leaving. Sad, sure. But not angry. I understand your need to be in L.A. I really do. But the fact that you’re letting this play out just like you did with Tiffany?—”
“It’s not the same at all.” Frustration edged his voice.
“It’s exactly the same!” And she couldn’t keep the shout out of hers. “Tiffany asked you to commit, and you broke up with her. You get close to somebody, and then you run. That’s what you do, Liam. You’re just a coward pretending to be a hero.”
She hated the look of horror on his face—disbelief—but she couldn’t find it in her to apologize. Not when he was determined to leave her alone…again.
“Sheesh, Dani.”
Her insides felt numb. “You’re going to go, Liam. So just…go.” Then she pointed at him. “But one day, you’re going to look back and see that this was the biggest mistake of your life.”
Then again, it didn’t seem like anyone else who had left her regretted it. So maybe Liam wouldn’t either.
* * *
She’d survived before. She’d survive again.
But why did survival have to hurt like the dickens?
Dani stood on the ferry dock Friday morning, watching the first ferry of the day pulling away.
From afar, she’d seen Liam boarding it and hadn’t been able to stop herself from walking out here. Halfway hoping for a fairy-tale moment where Liam would realize the error of his ways and dash down the gangplank toward her, picking her up and twirling her around before kissing her senseless and living happily ever after.
The boat’s horn blew, signaling the boat’s departure, and a bitter wind signaled a turn back to the normal chill of the season. Dani turned from the water and tossed her empty coffee cup into a trash receptacle nearby. No matter how much her eyes burned, she would not shed another tear for a guy determined to leave her.
Time to get back to work—the perfect distraction.
“Dani!”
She glanced toward Ferry Street and found Aunt Elise approaching along the boardwalk in a blue sweatsuit along with Constance Franklin and Jack the town dog.
Dani waved and walked to greet them. Their cheeks were flushed, but their smiles as bright as the sun cutting through the mid-morning chill. “Morning, ladies.”
“Morning, dear.” Elise leaned in for a quick hug. She smelled of roses. “We were just getting in a walk together.”
“Fun! I’m headed back to work. Was just taking a break.”
“It’s a lovely day out, even with the drop in temperature. Can I walk with you?” Aunt Elise asked.
“Oh, I don’t want to interrupt you guys.”
Constance swatted the air. “I’ve got to skedaddle anyway. Mia’s got to work, so she’s dropping the grandkids with me.”
“Lucky.” Elise winked. “I get them Monday, though, so I guess I can’t complain.”
They laughed and exchanged a hug, and Constance hurried off toward her home behind downtown. Aunt Elise turned to Dani. “How are you, sweet niece of mine?”
“Fine.” Dani dropped to a squat and petted Jack, who sat like a little gentleman beside Elise, panting a bit. He gave her hand a lick, and his brown eyes studied her, a bit sad, almost like he knew something was wrong.
“Seb told me Liam is leaving.”
Dani’s hand stilled. “He just left.”
“It was quite a surprise to Seb,” Elise continued. “The last conversation he had with Liam just yesterday seemed to indicate he was planning to stay for a while.”
Dani gave Jack another pat before standing. “It was a surprise to me too.”
“How are you doing with that? Seb also seemed to think there might be something brewing between the two of you.”
She cleared her throat and forced a smile. “I’m doing fine. Liam and I decided…well, things just didn’t work out. But it’s okay.”
Her aunt just looked at her, those wise eyes saying more than her lips ever could.
“Really. Am I sad that things didn’t work out with Liam? Yes. But I’ll survive.” Dani swallowed against a thick throat. “I’m sorry. I should get back to work.”
“Do you mind if we take the long way around? I’d love to finish my walk and could use the company.”
No sense in arguing with her aunt. “Sure.”
They continued west down the boardwalk, where it would eventually meet up at the corner of Main Street and Lake Shore Drive, right by the public library and Martha’s diner.
A few moms and kids whizzed by them on their bikes, children waving as they went. Jack’s claws clicked on the wooden boards at their feet.
Aunt Elise stuck her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt as they sauntered together. “I just wanted to say how proud I am of all the hard work you’ve put into the hotel project. It’s hard to believe after so many years of downturn, we finally have a plan to rebuild the island.”
“Thank you.”
“You don’t sound too excited about it.”
There her aunt went, being perceptive as usual. “Of course I’m excited. This is everything I’ve worked for.” And it was hard to believe the groundbreaking would happen so soon. Dani and Uncle Seb had meetings scheduled next week to discuss the process going forward, as well as the next steps in finding business owners willing to move to Jonathon Island—and fast. Ideally, they’d be opening a handful of new businesses this summer. “But it’ll be a lot of work. I’m a bit overwhelmed, I guess.”
She just couldn’t take her eyes off the prize. Her family. All together again.
Though if Liam’s leaving had taught her anything, it was that people didn’t always do what they said. Or, at the very least, they changed their minds.
“I’m confident in your abilities. But heartbreak does have a way of being overwhelming.”
“What?” A breeze kicked up, and Dani used the elastic band around her wrist to tie back her hair—an action she hoped her aunt would find nonchalant, casual. As if what she’d said hadn’t shaken Dani to the core. “That’s not what’s overwhelming. There’s just a lot to do.”
“And you’ll have to do it all without him, when you’d planned to have him by your side.”
“He’ll send someone new to take over. Nothing’s changed in that regard.”
“Don’t you think that everything’s changed?” Aunt Elise pinned her with a look. “Dani, you don’t have to pretend with me.”
“I’m not pretending.” At her aunt’s arched eyebrow, Dani sighed. “Fine, maybe I’m pretending. But it’s only because if I don’t…”
“You might fall apart?”
Dani scoffed. “I’ve been falling apart for years, Aunt Elise. And just when I thought I was finally being put back together…”
“He left.”
As they walked along the road, Dani couldn’t help but turn her head, craning her neck for sight of the ferry. But the harbor was now as empty as her heart. “Yes. He left. And he’s not willing to try long distance, so we’re done.”
Her aunt touched her arm, and they stopped right where the land curved, lending a view of the Grand in the distance. Once the hotel was rebuilt—once the island had been revived—things had a shot at going back to normal.
And yet.
Her family really still might not come back. Just like Liam had said.
“He was right.”
“Who was right about what, dear?” Elise grabbed her hand.
“Liam. He said I was banking on my family coming back, on us all being together again if I could just get everything to fall into place. But life isn’t like that. Things don’t always work out, no matter how hard you try. And I can’t keep living my life hoping that someday I’ll finally feel happy and whole again.”
“Ah.” Her aunt nodded. “Yes, if I’ve learned anything in my life, it’s that we cannot count on people and circumstances to make us happy.”
“So is happiness just a myth then? Are dreams meaningless?”
“Of course not. But happiness is fleeting, especially if we are relying on anything or anyone but God to give it to us. He never changes, and that’s why instead of happiness, we can find joy in this life no matter what storms swirl around us.” She squeezed Dani’s hand again. “No matter who leaves us. Because the truth of the matter is, God’s love for us is the anchor in the storm. And He will never abandon us.”
Oh, sweet truth. Her aunt’s words reverberated in her soul. “I’ve been thinking that my heart will never heal. Then with Liam, I felt hope for the first time that it could. But now it feels shattered again, and I’m trying to be brave, to move on, but this time, I don’t know how to fix it. To fix everything that’s been broken.” She hated how her throat filled. So much for not crying over the man. “I love him, Aunt Elise.”
“Oh, my dear. I know.” Her aunt pulled Dani into her arms, tucking her into the safety that had always been available to Dani. “I don’t know if things will work out with Liam, but I do know this. God is the fixer of broken things.”
“Then why has everything stayed broken all of these years? Why did He leave me all alone?”
“You’ve never been alone.” Aunt Elise squeezed.
“I know. I didn’t mean that. You and Uncle Seb have been wonderful. But…”
“Your heart still aches for your family. And now for Liam. I understand.” Her aunt pressed a kiss against Dani’s hair, and her arms sheltered her from the blowing wind. “But even if your uncle and I weren’t here, you wouldn’t be alone. God has never walked away from you. People are sinners, and God lets them walk their path. But He does promise to stay with us, even when we feel alone. The Bible says God is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. He’s been waiting for you all this time, Dani, aching to heal you. You’ve just been turning to other places for that healing instead.”
Quiet tears finally fell from Dani’s eyes, and she pressed her face into the soft material of her aunt’s sweatshirt. But tears weren’t always sad, and these mingled grief over the loss of Liam with hope—hope that her aunt was right. That God could mend what had been broken in her. “I want healing. I just don’t know where to start.”
Aunt Elise pulled back, smoothed a strand of hair behind Dani’s ear, and cocked her head. “You’re not going to like what I have to say right now.”
She probably wouldn’t. But if it meant finally healing, getting past this heartache, not just surviving but thriving, then Dani would do it. “W-what?”
“If you truly want to get right with God and ask Him to heal your heart, the first step is forgiveness. Full and complete, like God has forgiven you.”
Dani bit her lip, shook her head. “I’m upset that Liam’s gone, and so sad, but I don’t really hold it against him. I know he’s only doing what he thinks is best for his family. How can I fault him for that?”
But the skin around her aunt’s eyes creased at the corners as she gave Dani a somber smile. “I wasn’t talking about Liam. I think you need to start where all of this hurt began—with your mother.”