Chapter 28
His situation indeed was more than commonly joyful. —Sense and Sensibility
Edward
“Turns out I like this even more when it’s not raining,” Elinor whispers after a particularly dizzying kiss. She rests on my lap with one arm draped around my neck, her fingers playing with my hair. Needless to say, we’ve spent the last few minutes not discussing business.
“That rainy kiss wasn’t so bad,” I say.
“No . . . not at all. Except I hate that Annie was right.”
“So were you . . . you made some excellent points last time we were in this office. That’s what I want to talk about.”
“We really do have business to discuss?” she asks, a little surprised.
“We do. But I welcome this particular distraction.” I lean in for another kiss . . . or two.
“Maybe . . .” I begin a few minutes later, forcing myself to let go, “I need to sit on the other side of the desk for us to talk about anything.”
“That’s too far away. How about I sit on the desk, on this side?” She climbs off my lap, goes to the bookshelf behind us, and pulls out her tin of cookies. “Would you like a snickerdoodle?”
“Always.”
She hands me a cookie, then sits on the desk, her legs swinging and relaxed, lightly brushing mine as I stay in the chair. This might not be enough distance.
“What’s this business you have to talk about?
” Her voice has a lower, more intimate tone than I’ve ever heard before.
And I like it. “I really hope you didn’t quit your job just for me.
I can’t handle that pressure. I can’t be responsible for you living on the streets,” she says with a tease, but there’s a thread of real concern in her voice.
“I didn’t quit for you,” I say as I take her hand.
I can’t believe I’m this close to her; I have to touch her somehow “Though you definitely gave me the clarity to quit a job I should have left years ago. But rest assured, I quit for me, not you. I’m not sure why I stayed with Steele Properties so long.
I suppose I was just going with the flow.
Lucinda offered me a job, and I took it.
I knew my mom and grandpa wanted me to start my own business, and working for Lucinda was the easy alternative.
I had no desire to work that hard—probably because I didn’t have anything I was that interested in. But I do now.”
“And what is that?” Elinor weaves her fingers in and out through mine. It’s getting harder to concentrate, but I have to finish this explanation I’ve started.
“Well, originally I was mulling over this wild plan to buy Norland Park myself—” She stops abruptly.
“You were considering that? Seriously?” Her eyes go dreamy. “That is so . . . so incredibly sweet.”
“Yeah, I thought we could renovate it in all the ways you wanted. In all the ways that we both want. Our rate of return wouldn’t have been as high as with the original plan, but it would still have been profitable.”
“I love that idea, but . . . Edward, if we’re dating, that would still leave me in a tricky spot.” She hesitates. “We are dating, right?”
“Definitely dating. Don’t worry. That wasn’t the only problem with my plan. Honestly, I’m not sure I could have rustled up enough money to make it a go. But in the end, it didn’t matter. My mom sold the park to someone else.”
“No!” Elinor jumps off the desk.
“Don’t worry. This story has a good ending,” I take her hand and draw her back onto my lap.
“I was pretty upset too—until she told me the name of the trust who bought it: BTB. It didn’t register as first. I was too shocked that my mom sold the park.
But on my drive home, I thought again about the company name, and it clicked. ”
“I don’t think I’m following.”
“BTB is a lacrosse term. It means Behind the Back. On a hunch, I called Brandon and asked if he knew anything about the LLC, and he admitted it was his.”
“Brandon bought Norland Park?” Elinor freezes for a second.
“He did, the sneaky bastard.”
“And he can afford it?”
“Many times over.”
She lets out a small whistle. “I had no idea! Do you think Annie knows?”
“About the park, or that he has money?”
“Both.”
“He hasn’t told anyone about the park. He says it’s a surprise for Pepper. But I suspect he has other motivations.”
“Annie?”
“I can’t say. We mainly talked business. I’m planning to sell my townhouse and my cars to help contribute to our starting costs.”
“Even the Ferrari?” she asks, reaching past me for a snickerdoodle.
“Yep—no more Mr. Ferrari jokes.”
“Oh, I don’t think that will stop me.” She smiles into her cookie.
“I hope not,” I say, and mean it. I love when Elinor teases me. “Anyhow, you won’t need to worry about me being your landlord, since Brandon—the new park owner—has agreed to pay me rent for Bumble Cottage. That way he can continue to give his park manager the perk of free housing.”
She looks up sharply, searching my face. “You thought of that too?”
I shrug a little. “I know that part bothered you.”
Something softens in her expression.
“There’s a lot more to work out,” I say. “This is no small undertaking. But we’re both excited. We have so many ideas.”
“I absolutely love this plan,” Elinor says, smiling at me before taking another bite of her cookie. She chews for a moment, thoughtful. “And I love you.”
The words hit me square in the chest.
“But Edward . . .” She turns toward me again, her brow furrowing. “If this whole venture fails, I’ll feel terrible.”
“You shouldn’t,” I softly kiss her forehead, grateful for her generous heart.
“You might be the reason I considered this option. If we hadn’t reconnected, I probably would have continued drifting with the flow working under the tyranny of Lucinda.
But, Elinor . . .” I reach for her hand again.
“That’s part of why I love you. You make me brave enough to be my best self. ”
“Really?” She looks up at me. “I think you do the same for me. My mom and sister tease that I’ve kept my heart locked in a vault—and in some ways, they’re right.
” A smile spreads across her face. “But I wrote you that note. And I drove all the way to San Francisco to make sure you got it. Do you know how unlike me that is? You make me brave.”
Her expression is so tender and open and full of love—a different sort of love than my family ever gave me.
For the first time in a long while, I don’t feel like I’m drifting through my own life.
I have direction and purpose. I want to build things instead of letting them pass me by.
To show up for the people I love in ways I haven’t before.
For so long, I’ve drifted wherever life carried me.
But right now, holding Elinor in my arms, I feel anchored.
And once again, we become delightfully distracted and don’t talk business for a long, long while.
***
Dinner is a celebratory event. Annie is incredibly smug when she catches Elinor and I holding hands under the dinner table.
“Admit it Edward, you fell in love with Elinor the moment you saw her painting on the trail.”
“I wouldn’t call it love at first sight,” I hedge. But why lie? “Okay, yeah, basically.”
“Thank you!” She gives me a gratified look. “You’ve confirmed all my best beliefs about love and romance.”
“Which are?” Brandon asks from across the table.
“When I meet the love of my life, I will know the moment I see him,” Annie says grandly.
“That so?” asks a skeptical Brandon.
“That’s how it is in all the best love stories.”
“What about Darcy and Lizzy from Pride and Prejudice?” Mrs. Greenwood counters.
“Darcy definitely thought she was cute,” says Annie. “He just didn’t admit it, because, like most men, he was uncomfortable sharing his feelings.”
“What about Lizzy?” Elinor asks. “It took her a while to see that she had a good guy right in front of her.”
Annie glances up. Her eyes meet Brandon’s and she blushes. He shows no response. He’s an interesting fellow, the way he can easily wear his heart on his sleeve, or—as he’s doing right now—keep it safely hidden.
“I have some news,” I begin. The table hushes, and all eyes are on me. “My mom sold the park to a new owner.”
Annie, Mrs. Greenwood, and Pepper all talk at once.
“No!”
“That’s terrible!”
“They better not ruin it.”
“They won’t.” Brandon says matter-of-factly. “I bought it.”
Stunned silence.
Pepper is the first to find her voice. “Dad! No, you didn’t! Really? Did you hear that, Annie? Lady Whimple is saved! Forever!”
Annie is speechless silent tears spilling down her cheeks as she smiles.
And just for a moment, Brandon’s expression shifts—something unguarded breaking through—before he looks away, a small smile tugging at his mouth.
It takes a good ten minutes for everyone to recover from their amazement, and for us to start explaining the plans.
“But wait—” Annie asks, “Why didn’t you say anything about it when Doug showed up with his evil chainsaw?”
“The property is still in escrow,” Brandon explains. “I’m not the legal owner yet. Also, it was clear that tree guy wasn’t going to listen to reason, so I had to take more . . . immediate action.”
“Good thing you did.” Annie gives Brandon a grateful smile before turning to me. “And Edward—you’re moving here! That means Elinor won’t leave us!”
“Yes, I’m going to live in one of the small cottages until we tear them down to make new ones.”
“You could stay with us,” suggests Pepper. “Those ones don’t have bathrooms.”
“He could,” says Brandon. “But remember, we’re only here for one more week.”
“Can’t we stay longer? Please, Daddy!”
“No, sweetie. But we’ll visit often, and we’ll be back next summer.” His eyes flick briefly to Annie’s, who appears dazed. I’m not sure what shocks Annie the most—that Brandon is rich, or that he and Pepper are leaving.
“I need to be upfront with all of you,” Brandon begins. “Our plans to preserve Norland Park include renovating the hotel and building a spa to make it the ultimate luxury destination for the high-end traveler.”
“Traitor!” mutters Annie. She turns to me. “Can you buy the park back from him?”
“I don’t have even close to that much money.”
“Hear him out,” says Elinor. “The profit we make from elite travelers will allow us to charge less for the campground and the smaller economy cottages for middle class families.”
“Oh . . . I do like that,” concedes Annie.
“It’s a brilliant idea,” says Brandon. “And it’s your sister’s. Edward and I just tweaked it a bit.”
Annie looks at Brandon like she’s seeing him for the first time. “What other secrets are you keeping from me?”
“So many,” he answers calmly as he dips his fries in ketchup two at a time and eats them.
Brandon’s total self-control makes me smile—but I can’t help but think of my phone conversation with him yesterday:
“I’m doing this for Pepper,” he said over the line. “And because it’s a good idea.”
“Is that all?” I teased. “I thought you might be interested in a certain redhead who wears flowers in her hair.”
Brandon made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a hmm. After a long pause, he said, “I’m not looking to date right now.”
“You didn’t contradict me.”
“I did not,” he said before promptly changing the subject.
Now, that same redhead bombards him with questions, and watching Brandon’s reaction it’s hard to see that he has any interest in her.
“Do you have any secret wives?” She asks, only half joking.
“Just the one,” he answers, his tone even.
“Oh!” Annie gasps and covers her mouth with her hand. “Sorry . . . I . . .”
Pepper interrupts. “You should remarry, Daddy!” She looks pointedly at Annie who is suddenly very intent on her salad.
“Pepper, you know that I have no plans to remarry,” Brandon says smiling and shaking his head. “You are the great love of my life.”
“Don’t give me that,” says an irritated Pepper. “Sometimes you’re exasperating.”
“And you aren’t?”
Pepper smiles big and reaches for another serving of Mrs. Greenwood’s homemade French fries.
Annie watches this exchange quietly. Well-played, my friend, well-played. Brandon catches her studying him. Annie quickly looks away, her cheeks turning crimson. Annie—shy? What is the world coming to?
Instinctively I turn to Elinor— her eyes meet mine, mirroring my surprise. Did you see that? her bright eyes ask. She squeezes my hand under the table.
Maybe something will happen with Brandon and Annie. That would be amazing. But what do I know about relationships? Not much—I can’t even count the many ways I managed to mess things up with Elinor.
And yet here I am, sitting beside her now, holding her hand under the table. I asked for a miracle, and I got one.
And I have a hunch this is just the first of many lively and opinionated family dinners I will enjoy at this table in Bumble Cottage. Miracle after miracle after miracle.
The End