Chapter 49
Chapter forty-nine
MAGNOLIA
Sutton and I were sitting in the kitchen of Maggie’s eating the leftover Eggs Benedict she’d made for the bed and breakfast guests. They’d all gone on their way to explore a beautiful day in Savannah, and our stomachs were growling.
But our pockets, and more importantly, our hearts were full.
“The bar opens in an hour, and I still can’t find Pickle,” I said, eyes darting around the kitchen suspiciously. The way the house was laid out, she had free rein if I wasn’t careful about closing her in somewhere. And she knew it, taking full advantage of torturing patrons and guests of the inn.
Sutton looked around warily. “When I brought breakfast to room B this morning, I heard hissing and yelling, so, maybe check there? She’s the devil.”
It had been a few weeks since Lee had resurfaced.
Charlie was busy holed up in the penthouse with Jordan and Doyle after Tally had her baby, which left him pretty tied up.
Meanwhile, Ryan and Lee seemed to be making a habit of stopping by Maggie O’Malley’s for drinks, hanging out with me and Sutton whenever they got the chance.
I still hadn’t made up my mind about Lee.
For once, I wanted things to be on my own terms. I was finally in a good place, and I wasn’t sure if tossing a relationship into the mix was the smartest move.
But then again, every time I caught a glimpse of him—those curls peeking out from under his hat, the way he’d smile at me from across the bar—it made it hard to think straight.
Right on cue, Sutton had done what she’d done almost every day for the past few weeks. “I’m going to start dinner early so I can go hang out with Ryan. You’ll just need to heat it up, so, yeah… Is that okay with you?”
I grabbed her hand and squeezed it across the high-top. “Of course it is. Where y’all heading tonight?”
She clapped excitedly and jumped up to start her prep work. “Alley Cat Lounge! I haven’t been. Have you? It’s super swanky. I think, ugh, I don’t know, we might become official soon.”
“I’m really happy for you, Sutton.” I cleared our dishes and lined them up in the dishwasher. “Seriously, you deserve this more than anyone.”
She turned to me with sad eyes and put a flour-covered hand on my shoulder. “You know, Mags, you deserve happiness, too.”
Later that afternoon, I stopped by Eunice’s to drop off some cottage pie for her and Vance. She’d called in the order just as I was checking on some guests, and when I told her I had a packed house, she didn’t care. She insisted.
I opened the door to the Wilder house, now just a few blocks from my own, and was immediately hit with the familiar scents of my childhood.
The rich, earthy aroma of aged wood, the fresh roses that always seemed to be replaced like clockwork, and the faint trace of cigar smoke curling its way out from Vance’s office.
It was like stepping back in time, every detail pulling me into the past.
It was like a hug that wrapped around my shoulders and in an instant made me feel comfortable. But just as quick, I felt the hairs on my arms raise. As much as I adored this house, I hated it, too.
I’d loved two men that grew up in this house once, and it hurt me to no end just being in the same rooms they’d once walked through.
And it hurt to remember the feelings I’d had for both of them.
“In here, darlin’. I’m just powdering my face,” Eunice called from the small washroom on the first floor. I kicked the swinging door to the kitchen open with my foot and dropped my packages on the counter.
On instinct, I opened up the wine fridge, pulled out a pinot noir from Jordan’s shop, and poured two glasses.
“Oh good, sugar, thanks for getting us set up,” Eunice said, as I finished plating the two cottage pies for her and Vance. “These are for you and me, though. Sit down, doll. I need to talk to you. And what better way than over some homecooked Irish food and delicious wine?”
“Eunice, I can’t…”
“Nonsense. You can. I phoned ahead to Sutton, and she called in your reinforcements. Have a seat.”
I sat down at the breakfast nook and turned to look over the courtyard, a sprawling space I’d spent my childhood running around with Lee and Dane, getting covered in dirt, dust, and laughter. I let out a sigh, pushing back those memories.
Eunice sat across from me and dug into her lunch, munching away on her cottage pie and carefully taking sips of her perfectly paired wine. I didn’t touch my food. I knew what was coming.
“So, my private investigator found Dane,” she finally said, taking the bottle out of the chiller and refilling both of our glasses.
“It turns out that because Cole’s death certificate wasn’t filed on time, he’s actually been living in the Keys under Cole’s name.
When Vance finally filed the paperwork, it triggered alarms throughout the country.
And, ironically enough, Dane had bought a bar on Islamorada—that’s where they found him. ”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I laughed so hard I sounded borderline hysterical.
The thought of Dane rolling up the tailored sleeves of his white, custom-made button-down shirts and actually working made me cackle like a hyena.
And however impolite it was to laugh so loud, and so crass, at the table I shared with his momma, I didn’t care.
“And I assume Kasey is with him?”
“Mrs. Magnolia Wilder is with him as well, yes. Did this not come up on your background check when you took out lines of credit for the inn?”
“It didn’t. But I can’t say I’m surprised.” I shook my head in disbelief. “Well, Eunice, you must be relieved. I mean, that Dane has been found.”
“Relieved? Sure. Letting him rot in a jail cell in the Keys? Absolutely. I haven’t told Vance yet. I’ll wait a few days.”
I feigned shock and threw a hand over my chest. “Well, bless your heart, Eunice Wilder. I never thought you had it in you.”
“I’ve had this and much, much more Magnolia. Ever since your momma’s house, your bar, burned down, I’ve been a different woman. I no longer live for the Wilder name. I’m living for myself. Which, I’ve noticed, is what you’re doing, too, even with my youngest back in town?”
I placed my hands on the table around what was supposed to be Vance’s lunch. “We are not talking about this, Eunice.”
“Do you love my son, Magnolia? Do you love Leland?”
I sighed and looked back out over the courtyard.
“Yes, Eunice. I do. I’ve loved Lee my entire life.
He was my first best friend. He went out on a limb for me, invested in the bar, and believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.
” I chewed on my lip, replaying those memories like a highlight reel in my mind.
“You know, a few weeks ago, he actually showed up at the ashen, burned down graveyard of where I once lived, and he did this great, stupid Lee speech about how he would love me and wait for me no matter what. But I just don’t know. I just… I just don’t know.”
She chewed a bit and joined me in looking out over the courtyard, watching a small bird bounce in between her azalea bushes.
“You know, I understand what you’re saying.
I loved Cole for a long time, too. But you know who else I’ve loved for a long time?
” Eunice turned and looked at me, placing a hand over mine.
“You. I’ve loved you a long time, and I just want what’s best for you.
Despite what you might think, or how strong your pride is, what may be best for you is Lee. ”
I shook my head and pulled back my hand, using my fork to push around food on my plate. “I don’t know, Eunice. I really don’t know if I’m ready for that again. I have everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“Listen,” she said, leaning in closer, calm but assertive. “You and Lee have something special—a love that doesn’t come around often. Don’t make the same mistake I did.” She paused, searching my eyes. I willed my face to stay even and flat.
“When Cole and I were younger, boy, did we have one hell of a love story. We fought, and there was drama of course, but we had some real good times. He could make me laugh like no one else. I always felt like I could be my real, true self around him, and he wouldn’t judge or care—he would just love me more.
” She sighed, her face falling as she succumbed to the memories.
“But I walked away from it. I told myself it was for the right reasons—security, stability, a comfortable life. And I got all of those things. On paper, I have everything I ever wanted, too. But deep down, there’s always been this ache, this feeling that I missed out on something irreplaceable.
Because the truth is, love like that doesn’t just make you happy—it makes you feel alive. ”
Her words hung heavy between us, and I felt the weight of her regrets. Would they become my regrets, too?
“I care about you so much,” she said, her voice softening. “I love you like a daughter, Magnolia, and I don’t want you to look back years from now and feel the same emptiness I do sometimes.”
I looked down at my hands, twisting a napkin around my finger. The silence between us seemed to stretch on forever, thick with things unsaid, until she finally spoke again.
“You will have it all, and you are well on your way. Your business is blooming, and you did that—all on your own. But that can’t be the only thing you have in this life.
The life I chose gave me everything I thought I wanted, too, but it also took something away—something I can never get back.
You have a chance to do things differently, to grab on to that love with both hands and never let go.
Don’t let fear or practicality talk you out of it.
This kind of love… it’s worth everything. ”
It was my turn to reach over and grab her hand. I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles and smiled sadly at her. “I’m so sorry, Eunice. I didn’t know… any of that. About you, or Cole, or the emptiness you feel. I don’t know what to say.”
“You can say, darlin’, that you’ll give it a chance.”