Chapter Twenty-Five
Y ou don’t have to come stay with me, Will. I’m fine on my own,” Sage said as she drove the narrow, winding road to the farm.
“You do know who you’re talking to, right? The person who knows you even better than Mom does. Besides, Aaron might come back.”
“Trust me, I can handle him.”
“But that’s the thing: You didn’t handle him, babe.” Her sister placed her hand over Sage’s on the steering wheel. “I get it. I remember how you used to talk about him when we were little. You talked about him like—”
“He was Flynn. It’s okay. You can say it. I think part of why I got so mad at you, aside from you being such a brat about Mom, is that I was jealous you got the good dad. I wanted him for me.”
“I wanted him for you too. A few days ago, I thought we were going to be sharing him. Do you think there’s a chance Mom will change her mind?”
“No.” She wasn’t about to tell her sister why she wouldn’t.
She didn’t need to know. Sage still couldn’t believe it herself.
She was sure there was a reasonable explanation why Flynn had been kissing Cami.
But even if there was, she could tell her mom had made up her mind, and she was stubborn. Pot, kettle.
“What are you thinking about? You looked sad all of a sudden.”
“Jake. I really messed up, Will. He saw through Aaron right away. He was just trying to protect me from getting hurt, and then I hurt him.” She told her sister what Aaron said about Jake and his ex.
“He’s such a hateful man!” Willow said, then pulled a face. “Sorry. I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about him like that or not. You know, you can talk smack about a family member or friend, but no one else can.”
“Feel free. It’s kind of like you’re talking smack about your own father anyway.”
“Wow, I never thought about it like that but you’re right.
Two years ago, I would have been right there beside you, as anxious to meet Aaron as you were.
I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize until now how much it must have hurt when I talked about Flynn, August, and my other sisters.
” She leaned over and hugged Sage. “I’ll always love you best, you know. You’re my favorite sister.”
“Thanks, I’m glad you feel that way, but can you let go of me now? I’m trying to… Will, what is that?”
“What is…” Her sister winced. “Okay, so you know how excited the Beaches were the night we were making the lavender body products?”
“Uh-huh,” she said, staring at the spotlights set up in the lavender field.
“Well,” her sister said, “they decided to feature the products on their Instagram channel.”
“Uh, yeah, so?”
“They’re doing a photo shoot.”
“In my lavender field? Without asking?”
“They didn’t think you’d mind. And honestly, it’s my fault.
They asked me to talk to you about it, and then we weren’t talking, and I forgot to share that with them.
Actually, I didn’t want to share it with them because then I’d have to share everything else.
” She sighed and thunk ed the back of her head against the headrest. “Why does our family have to have so much drama? Why can’t we be normal like everyone else? ”
“Once we figure out what Aaron is up to and send him back to Costa Rica, I think our lives will go back to normal.”
“Babe, our family has never been normal.”
“Nonna would say normal is boring.” They looked at each other and laughed. Then Sage’s phone rang. She connected her mother’s call on hands-free. “Mom, is that you? I can hardly hear you. Is there something wrong with my connection?” she asked her sister, who shrugged.
“We need you to come bail us out!” At least that’s what it sounded like to Sage. Crackles on the line made it difficult to make out.
“You got arrested again?” Sage asked at the same time Willow said, “Who’s we ?”
“Your aunts and me,” her mother said, and Sage realized the crackles were actually cackles. The three of them were laughing like loons.
“Did you get arrested for drunk and disorderly?” she asked.
“No! We got arrested for indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.”
Both Sage and Willow were more upset about missing their family’s skinny-dipping tradition than bailing their mom and aunts out of jail. When they got back to the farmhouse, the Beaches and their spotlights were gone.
As Sage parked the car, Willow turned her phone toward her. “Admit it, the farm looks incredible, doesn’t it?”
“It really does.” She leaned closer to the screen. “Wait a sec. They’re telling people we charge a fee for them to do their wedding and romantic photo shoots at the farm?”
“Yep. Pretty smart. You’ll be making money hand over fist.”
“We’ll also be run off our feet.” Then again, Sage thought, it wasn’t like the Beaches would have many people following them on social. They were just regular women with regular jobs on Sunshine Bay. “How many followers do they have?”
“One point two million.”
Sage carried her fold-up chair under her arm as she walked Max along the one-track road to the site where Alice’s house for abused women would one day sit.
Sage didn’t remember everything she’d yelled at Jake when they got into the fight over her father, but she thought she might have withdrawn her offer to be his silent partner.
So here she was, popping open her chair at almost midnight and calling Jake on WhatsApp. Willow pushed her to do it. She said it would only make it harder the longer Sage waited.
“Hey,” Sage said when he appeared on her screen. He was outside, sitting on a chair with a patio light shining behind him, the sound of the surf audible.
“Hey.” He didn’t smile, and his cool blue eyes didn’t crinkle at the corners.
“I’m sorry, Jake. Aaron is gone. I’d like to say I came to my senses and kicked him out, but my mom did.” She blinked tears away. “You were right. Everything you said about him was true.” She chewed on her lip. “Can you forgive me?”
He sat back in his chair, lifting a beer bottle to his lips as his gaze remained locked on hers.
He took a drink, then slowly lowered the bottle.
“It didn’t feel good, you siding with him over me or you telling me to take a hike and then holding the money for Alice’s house over me…
It didn’t feel good at all, Sage.” He looked down at the beer bottle, picking at the label.
“You’re not the only one with issues when it comes to a parent. I’ve got a fair share of my own.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from crying, swallowing the ball of emotion in her throat.
“You do, and I should have thought about that before I said what I did. I, uh…” She trailed off.
It wasn’t the time to tell him she loved him.
“I understand if you’re done with me. I’m a lot of work.
I’m stubborn, and I have a temper, and I’m a workaholic, and I get cranky if I don’t get a lot of sleep, which is pretty much most of the time.
I’m boring too, especially compared with the rest of my family.
” She looked at him. “You’re supposed to tell me to stop. You always tell me to stop.”
“Yeah, but usually I’m not thousands of miles away, and I can take you in my arms and kiss you to shut you up. I’m too far away to do that now.”
“I didn’t think you’d want to hold me or kiss me ever again, even if only to shut me up. Aaron actually told me you were lucky to have escaped from me. He figured you were in San Diego bonking your ex-wife. You’re not, are you?”
He muttered something about how he’d enjoy making her father pay for that before saying to her, “You really believe I’d do something like that?”
“No, but I know the reason why my mom broke off with Flynn now, and I guess I was projecting. There seems to be a lot of that going on in my family. I probably shouldn’t have called you.
It’s been an emotional day. But I really miss you.
” She held up Max, who’d been sleeping on her lap.
“So does Max.” She waved his paw at Jake.
She saw the softening in his expression and wished it had been for her.
She sighed. She had it bad if she was jealous of a cat.
“Sorry, Max,” she murmured, hugging him close.
“I miss him, and I miss you, a lot, even more than I thought I would.”
“So you’re not breaking up with me?”
“Are you trying to piss me off again?”
“How? I just asked—”
He held up his hand. “Don’t say it. I just told you I missed you, a lot, and then you ask me if I’m breaking up with you? After you also asked me if I’m bonking my ex?”
“I’m sorry if I’m being needy. It wasn’t easy learning that the father I’d built up in my mind was a creepy con man who doesn’t even like me.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry for being a jerk. I guess Abbott’s comments got to me more than I realized.”
He’d told Jake he wasn’t good enough for her.
He’d obviously been in Sunshine Bay longer than they’d realized.
He’d known about Jake’s family and juvenile police record and had thrown it in Jake’s face.
At least she’d shut down that line of Aaron’s attack, but apparently, he’d landed the blows he’d wanted.
He was smarter than they gave him credit for.
“I’m sorry I gave him the opportunity to hurt you. I… Um, Jake, there’s a…” She raised her finger, pointing at the screen. “A monkey behind you.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve got to go. I’ll see you—”
“Don’t you dare hang up on me. You’re not in San Diego, are you? You’re in Costa Rica.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I am. Look, I know you told me not to investigate him, but I had to follow my gut, and my gut said we needed whatever we could get on this guy.”
“Please tell me you got the goods.”
He cocked his head. “You’re not mad at me?”