3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
I n and out.
That was all the time he would be there.
Owen stepped into the ballroom of the Brass Anchor Inn. The ceiling was strung with numerous strands of white twinkle lights. They gave the ballroom a warm glow. With flameless candles on all of the tables, it gave the ballroom a cozy ambiance.
Between the thousands of little lights and the green ivy trailing up each white post, the room took on a sense of stepping into a fantasy world where anything was possible—like some of the digital games he’d created over the years.
Because part of his job required him to pay attention to small details, he’d found himself slowing down in real life and taking in his surroundings.
Each of the tables was covered with white linens, flameless candles, and tulips.
The flowers were in varying shades of pinks and purples with a few white blooms mixed in.
He supposed it was nice for a romantic setting.
He wouldn’t know, because he wasn’t the romantic type—at least that was what his ex had told him before she’d stormed out the door with her luggage in hand.
As he stood off to the side, he took in the smiles and laughter coming from the other guests.
With his thoughts meandering, he didn’t notice his mother, along with Birdie Neill and Agnes Dewey, approaching him until it was too late.
He was surrounded. The smiles on their faces made him inwardly groan. What did they all want with him?
He swallowed hard. “Nice wedding, huh?”
His mother arched a brow. “I didn’t think you’d noticed. You look like you’d rather be anywhere but there.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but before he could utter a word, Birdie spoke up.
“What he needs is a pretty young lady by his side.” Birdie smiled, and her eyes twinkled as though she had something in mind.
“Maybe we should set him up with someone. There are plenty of single young women on the island.”
Immediately, the image of the woman from the church steps came to mind. She was definitely pretty, but he wasn’t sure she was single.
“Hmpf.” Agnes crossed her arms and frowned. “Seems to me that he never dates any locals. Maybe that’s the problem.”
Again, his thoughts returned to the mystery woman. She definitely wasn’t a local. He would never forget such a beautiful face. But this whole conversation was pointless. He wasn’t dating right now—not since his last relationship imploded in the most awful way.
“Well, then I have the perfect lady for him,” Birdie said.
Owen turned a pleading look to his mother. Surely she wasn’t going to go along with their blatant matchmaking. His mother glanced away, avoiding his pointed stare.
Left to his own defenses, Owen said, “I see Grant over at the bar. Excuse me, ladies. I need to have a word with him.”
As he strode away, Birdie called out. “Owen, we’ll catch up with you later.”
He kept his strides steady and his head facing forward, acting as though he hadn’t heard her.
His mission now was to find the mystery woman, return her pin, and escape as quickly as possible.
He wanted no part of being fixed up—no matter how pretty or engaging the young woman might be.
And this was one of the reasons he was considering moving away from the island to a place where he could have a private life without well-meaning matchmakers pestering him.
He stepped up to the bar area where his brother Grant and his wife, Paige, were standing. All the while Owen scanned the crowd for a sign of the mystery woman in the blue dress.
“Hey, Owen.” Grant waved a hand in front of Owen’s face to get his attention. “Who are you looking for?”
When Owen glanced at his older brother, he saw a smug smile on his face. “What?”
“Who are you looking for?”
“No one.” The answer came out a little too fast and a little too strongly.
Grant’s brow arched as Paige sent him a smile. “You know,” his brother started, “I heard a rumor that you were seeing someone, but I told them they were wrong. Now, I’m thinking they were right.”
Owen frowned at his brother. “Why is everyone so worried about my dating life?”
“Don’t you mean the lack of a dating life?”
“Just butt out.” It wasn’t until the words crossed his lips that he realized he’d made a big mistake. The bigger deal he made of this, the more his brothers would hammer him about it.
“Grant,” Paige said, “don’t.”
Grant’s gaze moved from Owen to Paige and back again. “I was just having some fun.”
“Well, I’m not.” Owen grumped. As he continued to look around the ballroom, he noticed Birdie and Agnes speaking to a young woman. Surely, they weren’t following through with their threat of fixing him up right here and now.
Then Birdie turned. She scanned the crowd of guests. When she noticed him, her face lit up. Oh no.
He turned to his brother. “I’ve got to go.”
“But the reception has barely started. Aren’t you at least going to stick around for some food.”
Owen’s gaze sought out Birdie. She and the other ladies were slowly working their way toward him. It was definitely time to go.
He shook his head. “I just lost my appetite. Catch ya later.”
Refusing the urge to glance over his shoulder, Owen took long quick strides toward the back of the ballroom. It wasn’t a straight shot, because there were so many people gathered to celebrate the nuptials.
With Bluestar being a small island, all of the locals knew each other. So, as he made his way toward the back exit, he was stopped numerous times by friends and acquaintances who wanted to greet him. He said a quick hello before continuing on his way.
It seemed like forever until he reached the doorway used by the wait staff.
He entered the busy kitchen, where they were preparing to serve a sit-down dinner to the guests.
As he inhaled the delicious aroma of rosemary chicken and stuffed pork chops, his stomach protested skipping dinner.
He kept going until he reached another doorway that led to a quiet hallway.
Once he was outside in the cool evening air, he breathed his first full breath. But he didn’t linger. He wanted as far away from this place as he could get.
He headed for the beach, figuring there wouldn’t be many people around since it was dinner time. As he made his way, he felt the heart pin in his pants pocket bounce against his thigh. What was he going to do with it?
What if it was valuable? Could those stones be genuine rubies? He didn’t have a clue. The last time he’d bought jewelry had been a diamond ring. He pushed that unwanted memory to the back of his mind.
On Monday morning, he’d take the pin to the jewelry store. They should be able to tell him if it was worth anything or not. If it was, he’d take it to the police department and let them deal with it.
If it was just costume jewelry, he’d…um… He wasn’t sure what he’d do with it. What were the chances of them ever seeing each other again?
A couple of hours later, Maxi heard the front door at her aunt’s house open and close.
She straightened from where she’d been wiping off the doors of the lower kitchen cabinets.
When she turned, she saw her aunt’s mouth open, as though to say something, but before she could utter the words, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Wha… What did you do?” Aunt Bonnie stepped into the middle of the kitchen.
Maxi gripped the rag in both of her hands. “I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to clean up after the fire this morning."
“But I told you I would get to it later.”
“I know. But you’ve done so much for me. It’s the least I can do.”
“Oh, you. You’re so thoughtful.” Aunt Bonnie’s gaze pivoted around the room. When her attention settled on the new microwave, she asked, “Where did that come from?”
Maxi shrugged. “In town.”
“That was so sweet of you. Thank you. Now I don’t have to figure out how to get it home and in the house. How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing.”
Aunt Bonnie shook her head. “I can't have you paying for it.”
“Don’t worry about it. And I wiped off everything in the kitchen, mopped the floors, and moved the old microwave next to the outside garbage can. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
Aunt Bonnie shook her head. “I feel like I need to do something for you.”
Immediately, a thought came to mind. “I love my heart broach that belonged to my mother, but I lost it today.” Just the thought filled her with great sadness. It was the last gift her mother had given her before she’d gotten sick and died. “If you find it, could you send it to me?”
“Certainly.” When Aunt Bonnie’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, Maxi rushed to her side. “What’s wrong?”
Aunt Bonnie shook her head as she swiped at her eyes. “I was supposed to be taking care of you, and here you are taking care of me. I’m going to miss you so much when you leave.”
“I’m going to miss you too.” Maxi hugged her aunt.
After Maxi’s mother died, her aunt had shrunk the distance between them by phoning every Sunday evening to check in. She’d make sure to send little presents for every birthday and Christmas. And she would visit in the summer. Her aunt had never let her down.
And when Maxi’s dad had taken her out of school because she was struggling with her dyslexia, her aunt for the first time had stood up to her father and told him it was a bad idea.
Her father had been a very stubborn man.
He was certain he was doing the right thing by taking Maxi under his wing and teaching her how to work with her hands.
Maxi blinked, sending the memories of the past to the back of her mind. When she turned her attention to her aunt, she found her admiring the new microwave. If only she were capable of doing more for Aunt Bonnie.
Her thoughts turned to the flyer for the upcoming race. The grand prize was cash. It was a lot of money. Her aunt could do a lot of things with that money.
And there was that old 1959 MG A Roadster that her father kept in the back of the shop. Her father had always said that one day he would fix it up. Sadly, his heart gave out before that day came.
But she could do it. It would take a lot of work both with rebuilding the engine as well as doing some body work to it. She rolled the thought around in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more certain she was that this was a challenge she wanted to take on.
If she succeeded in restoring the car, it would be a way to help her aunt. It would also be a way to honor her father’s memory. With her mind made up, she excused herself and rushed upstairs to her room to pull up the website to read over the rules and regulations for the race.