Chapter Twenty-One
J ake looped the last of the fairy lights from one tree branch to another above the tables they’d set out in the backyard.
According to Sage, the fairy lights were more for the aesthetic than for actual light.
It seemed a very un-Sage-like thing to say or even think, but she’d been investigating natural methods to level out emotions in stressful situations.
Jake voted for alcohol and lots of it, but Sage had vetoed his suggestion.
He glanced to where she was placing battery-operated lanterns on the tables in case her family didn’t finish up the body scrubs, body butters, and massage oils before it got dark. The three products were apparently the farm’s most popular items.
Jake climbed down from the ladder and was rewarded with a kiss on his cheek when he joined Sage at the table. “Thanks for all your help.”
“We’re a team, remember,” he said, then decided he had to give it one last try. “Are you sure this is a good idea? There’s still time to cancel, you know.”
“Why would I cancel? We need the products, and my family needs to figure out how we’re going to deal with my fath—I mean Aaron.”
His chest tightened at her attempt to cover her slip.
No matter how much Sage denied it, she wanted to meet her father, and that worried him.
There was no excuse for Aaron Abbott not having contacted his daughter in all those years.
He was a deadbeat, and Sage deserved so much better.
Jake didn’t want her hurt but knew he couldn’t protect her. She’d have to find out for herself.
“You know your family better than I do, sweetheart, but less than twenty-four hours ago, your mother and aunt were going at it on Instagram Live. It might be better to do it Sunday like you’d originally planned.”
“Yes, but you said that in your experience, Aaron would probably contact us within the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.” She put her hands on her hips. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you actually listened to me—and you think I’m right. Are you surprised I looked shocked?”
He was shocked, just not for the reason he’d given her. He was shocked by the raw hope in her voice, the naked desire on her face. Her need to meet her father was even stronger than he’d first suspected.
He shouldn’t be surprised, though. Look how he’d reacted when his own father had called him from prison. After years of abuse, he’d still held out hope that they might have a healthy father-and-son relationship.
“Oh, okay. It didn’t look like a shocked expression to me, but whatever.
You’ve proven you’re an excellent investigator.
I have no reason to doubt you.” She tapped her finger on his lips.
“And don’t think I missed the lip twitch when you mentioned my mom and aunt going at it on Instagram.
You watched it again when I went to the market, didn’t you? ”
He wrapped his finger around hers and brought it to his lips, giving it a teasing nip before kissing it. “I did, and I gotta say, I don’t blame your mom. But I kind of saw Cami’s side too.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, distracting him.
She wore one of his white shirts tied at her waist and a pair of worn denim shorts with her sneakers.
She looked gorgeous and relaxed. These past few days away from work had done her a world of good.
He only hoped that between him and her family, they could get her to stay the entire six weeks.
He didn’t fool himself into thinking he could convince her to resign from Forbes, Poole, and Russell.
“What are you talking about? I watched it too, remember?”
“Then you heard your mom thank the audience on behalf of her, Carmen, and Eva. She left out Cami, and I think your aunt’s feelings were hurt.”
“Cami had no part in La Dolce Vita or the new product line.”
“Sweetheart, she grew up at the restaurant the same as your mom and aunt. She worked there too, from what I’ve heard.
” He shrugged. “I could be completely off base, but she might feel like, if it weren’t for your mom, she would have been part of their product line from the beginning.
They started it nine months ago, and Cami was back in their lives by then, wasn’t she?
And it’s not like your mom hasn’t let her know in myriad ways that she wishes she’d stayed in LA. ”
“You’re very annoying, you know.”
He drew her into his arms and nuzzled her neck. “That’s not what you told me this morning or last night. I think you said—”
She covered his mouth with her palm. “I don’t need you repeating what I said in the heat of the moment in the cold light of day.”
“It’s pretty cute when you act like a prude.” He teased her because she was far from a prude in bed.
“Behave,” she murmured, even while she tilted her neck to the side to give him better access.
At the hitch in her breath, he smiled against her warm, fragrant skin. “The body butter smells good on you.” He nipped her neck. “And it felt really good rubbing it on you after your shower. We should try the massage oil tonight.”
“It’s your turn tonight, remember?”
“I definitely vote for the massage oil then.” He leaned back. “You know, if you cancel your family, we could get started on that right away.”
She smiled up at him. “Too late. I hear a car coming up the road.”
He angled his head. She was right. He couldn’t believe he’d missed it.
It was second nature for him to be attuned to his surroundings.
Not just because he’d been special forces.
When you were raised by abusive parents, you were always on alert.
Maybe his body and mind sensed he no longer needed to be hypervigilant.
Or maybe Carmen was right, and there was something magical about this place.
“Let’s hope the lavender puts everyone in a relaxed state of mind.”
“It would take a miracle for my…” She looked around. “Jake, Alice’s celebration, it has to be here, not at the Smoke Shack or the beach. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”
“Because you don’t think of this as Alice’s place. You never saw her here. I didn’t either.”
“It didn’t really feel like this was her place. I honestly didn’t understand why she’d bought the farm. But now, maybe because of the mural, I can. I wonder if my mom knew that we needed a piece of Alice here.”
Sage was talking about the farm as if they were keeping it.
It’s what he wanted. He’d come to believe Alice wanted it too.
The pieces had started falling into place the other day.
He just hadn’t been sure Sage was ready to hear it.
But maybe she was. “You remember when we were trying to figure out why Alice bought the farm, and I said she never did anything without a reason?”
She nodded, her gaze roaming his face. “You’ve figured out the reason?”
“Not completely, but we’ll talk about it later,” he said as he took in the number of cars pulling into the driveway. “Just how many people did you invite? Because that looks like way more than your immediate family.”
“I invited the Monroe family too. All of them, including Flynn’s daughters.”
“You invited Flynn?”
She winced, probably at his are you insane?
expression. “August thought it was a good idea. So did Amos. Willow’s friends, the Beaches, are coming too.
More hands make lighter work or whatever the saying is.
” She frowned when he started walking away.
“Jake, where are you going? We’re partners, remember?
You can’t leave me alone with all of them,” she called after him.
“I won’t be long.”
“Where are you going?”
“To get alcohol. And lots of it.”
Two hours later, Jake realized the alcohol had been a bad idea. He was hiding a case of wine under the sink when Flynn walked into the farmhouse, carrying several empty bottles. “If it were me, I wouldn’t be replacing these, but that’s just my opinion.”
“And one I support wholeheartedly. Thanks.” He took the bottles from Flynn. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Flynn grinned. “I have a fairly good idea what you were thinking. The problem is that the Rosetti women can handle their wine and liquor better than most people I know, including myself. My daughters and the Beaches, not so much.”
“But they sure know their body products,” Jake said, smiling at the memory of Sage’s expression when the women took over from her. She’d looked like she wanted to kiss them. “I think we have enough stock to get us through the season.”
“I wouldn’t count on it. As fast as the Beaches were making it, they were selling it.
Sage just confiscated their phones. You might have ten days’ worth of product at most.” Flynn looked around the kitchen and living room and spotted Max on the couch.
“Gia captured his likeness perfectly—” He swore under his breath. “Pretend you didn’t hear that.”
“Hear what?”
Flynn nodded. “You’d already guessed, didn’t you? Does Sage know?”
“Yeah, but neither of us will say anything to anyone, including Gia. We figure she has her reasons for staying anonymous.”
“She does.” He smiled, pride lighting up his eyes. “The mural is incredible, isn’t it? It looks just like Alice.”
“You knew Alice?”
“She was a friend of my dad’s. I didn’t know her well, but in the last couple of months, we’d spoken quite often.
We met for dinner when I was home for Easter to discuss the project.
It’s a shame she wasn’t able to see it through to fruition.
It was a great idea and would have helped a lot of people. ”
“What was the project?”
Flynn frowned. “She didn’t talk to you and Sage about it?”
He’d been right. Alice did have a plan that involved them and the farm. “No, but I’m guessing it involved abused women and their children.”
“It did. Alice wanted to build a shelter here on the farm. Her passion for the project was contagious.”
“She wanted you to design the house?”
He nodded. “I had planned on showing her the preliminary drawings when I came home in May, and then Willow called me about joining the search party for her. It was surreal and incredibly sad. Again, I’m very sorry for your and Sage’s loss.”
“Appreciate it. Would you mind not sharing this with Sage or Gia? I’d like to tell Sage myself.”
“I didn’t think to talk about it to anyone after Alice had passed. I figured the project ended with her.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I’ll let you know in the next couple of days.” He frowned at the sound of upraised voices, sighing as he headed for the door. “I guess it was too much to hope that seating Cami and Gia as far apart as possible would keep the peace for the night.”
The two women had surprisingly been on their best behavior when they’d arrived.
Jake had a feeling they were both embarrassed that their fight had gone viral on social media.
They were each pretending the other didn’t exist, and the family had broken into two camps.
Eva and her husband were playing Switzerland, and so were Willow’s friends, sitting at a table between Cami’s and Gia’s.
There was also the fact that Sage had laid down the law, and even he had to admit she could be intimidating. Albeit in a sexy kind of way, he thought with a smile.
But his smile disappeared as soon as he opened the screen door. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” he snapped at Aaron Abbott, walking to where the older man and Sage stood facing each other. He stepped between father and daughter.
He felt the light pressure of Sage’s hand on his back. “It’s okay. Let him finish. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Flynn gave Jake a reassuring nod—he’d have his back if he needed him—and then he walked to Gia, who looked shell-shocked.
Jake crossed his arms. “Talk.”
Behind him, Sage blew out a frustrated breath and moved around him. “Aaron, we can talk inside.”
“I’d like that, thanks.” His leaf-green gaze moved to Jake. Sage had his eyes and hair color, but that’s where the similarities ended. “I have no intention of hurting Sage. Ever since I learned I had a daughter”—his gaze searched out Gia—“and a wife, I moved heaven and earth to find them.”
“What do you mean, you learned about us?” Sage asked.
“Sage,” Jake warned, positive nothing out of this man’s mouth was the truth. He’d bet the farm that Aaron Abbott was a con man, and Jake had experience when it came to con men.
“If the reporter hadn’t found me, I never would have known about either of you. I suffered a traumatic brain injury back in ’95. I’ve been living in Costa Rica ever since. As I understand it, I’d been doing a photoshoot there when I fell.”
Jake scoffed. “Nice story. I think I watched it on Lifetime last week.”
“Jake!”
“Come on, Sage. You’re smarter than this. Don’t let him play you.”
Gia had joined them with Flynn at her back. Jake glanced at him. Flynn didn’t buy what this guy was selling any more than he did.
“Gia, baby, I don’t know what to say. When the reporter told me who I was, and relayed everything that had happened from the book your sister’s written—” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat.
“It was like he was talking about someone else. Then slowly, my memory came back. I don’t understand why I would have left you…
” His gaze moved to Cami, and his expression hardened. “For her.”
It was the first time Jake bought what he was selling. Aaron Abbott did not like Cami.
“I loved you, babe. You’ve gotta believe me.
I wouldn’t have left you.” As if he sensed Gia wasn’t buying his story, he turned his attention on his daughter.
“I never would have walked out the door that day if I had known I’d go almost twenty-nine years without having my daughter in my life.
Please, give me a chance to make it up to you, Sage. ”
Jake silently pleaded for her to look at him, but she had eyes only for her father.
He knew before she even said the words that she’d give Aaron Abbott a second chance.
Jake met the man’s gaze, a silent warning in his own.
He didn’t miss the glint in Abbott’s eyes.
It was as if he was issuing a silent challenge.
Back off or he’d make sure Jake lost Sage.