The following morning, John was working on his computer when someone knocked on his office door. He turned and smiled, half-expecting to see Mabel with another pile of invoices.
His eyes narrowed. “Jarrod?”
“I thought you recognized me yesterday. Bailey told me you’re dating Shelley. I’m driving to Bozeman today, but I wanted to speak to you first.”
John didn’t have anything to say to Jarrod, but he was curious about why he was here. “Have a seat.”
Jarrod stepped into John’s office. “I stopped by the tiny home village on my way here. I’m impressed.”
“A lot of people are working hard to make it a success. But that’s not why you’re here.” Even if John was curious, he wasn’t stupid. Jarrod had something on his mind and it didn’t involve the tiny homes.
“I gave Shelley the job description for a forensic accounting position. The company’s based in New York City, but they have offices all over the world. It’s the type of job she’s been working toward for years.”
John’s eyebrows rose. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you’re the reason she won’t apply. And in a few years’ time, you’ll be the reason she’ll regret not leaving Sapphire Bay.”
“That’s a pessimistic view,” John struggled to keep his voice level. “And what makes you so sure that will happen?”
“Because it happened to me. Shelley’s goal-oriented and driven. Living here might suit her for a few months. But once the novelty wears off, she’ll look for another challenge. Doing the church accounts won’t challenge her.”
John picked up his stress ball and squeezed the living daylights out of it. At least it stopped him from doing something else with his hands. “You seem to know a lot about Shelley’s life in Sapphire Bay?”
“I talked to a few people. That’s the problem with small towns—everyone knows everyone else’s business.”
“Only if you listen to gossip.” John took a deep breath. “What your ‘research’ failed to uncover were the other things Shelley’s doing. She cares about the community and wants to make a difference.”
“She can do that in New York. You seem like an okay kind of person. I’d hate to see you get hurt when Shelley realizes just how small this town really is.”
“Thanks for your concern,” John said dryly. “But if it’s all the same to you, I have a lot of work to do.”
Jarrod didn’t outstay his welcome. “Thanks for your time. Just don’t make the same mistake I did.”
John didn’t bother replying. Long after Jarrod left, he was still staring at his computer screen, still wondering if some of what Jarrod had said was true.
John had already loved a woman who wanted more than he could give her. That relationship had ended in disaster. If Shelley wasn’t one hundred percent committed to living in Sapphire Bay, there was no point continuing their relationship.
And no point dreaming about the life they could have together.
Shelley walked along the rack of wedding dresses at Emily’s boutique in downtown Bozeman. Silk and satin rubbed shoulders with velvet and lace. Some of the gowns were over-the-top glamorous, with sequins, pearls, and every type of embellishment you could imagine. Others were so simple that they would look elegant on a beach, a boardwalk, or in the middle of the grandest cathedral.
Elena placed her hand on Shelley’s waist. “Do you see anything you like?”
Shelley smiled. “I like all of them, but I’m not getting married.”
Elena wiggled her finger at her daughter. “Not yet, but it always pays to be prepared. Just look at what happened with me and Aunt Maria.”
Shelley had heard the family story so often she could have recited it from scratch. Within two weeks of her mom announcing her engagement, Aunt Maria was also engaged. Although their weddings were two months apart, Elena always credited her stress-free experience with letting Maria go first.
“What do you think?” Bailey twisted to the left and right as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror.
Elena dabbed her eyes. “You are beautiful.”
“The dress looks stunning on you.” Shelley held back a sigh as Bailey turned in a slow circle. It was the same one her sister had adored from the pictures Shelley had shown her. With its sweetheart neckline and sheer, capped sleeves, it was elegant, graceful, and classic.
“You look like a princess,” Shelley said softly. “I can’t imagine another dress looking any better.”
Bailey looked at her mom. “I think this is it.”
“Are you sure?”
Bailey nodded. “I wouldn’t change a thing. As well as being beautiful, it’s so easy to wear. There are even pockets in the skirt.”
Shelley’s smile faded. The wedding dress she’d chosen for her marriage was similar to this one. After her family helped cancel the wedding, she’d asked her mom to sell the wedding dress. Although the fabric and design were incredible, Shelley had burst into tears each time she saw it.
Emily, the owner of the boutique, stood beside Bailey. “Would you like to see what it looks like with the veil?”
Bailey nodded and bent her knees so that Emily could attach the sheer, floor-length veil to the back of her head. “Are you sure this is in my price range?”
Emily adjusted the headpiece, then stood back and admired the creation. “I wouldn’t have let you try it on if it wasn’t.”
Shelley reached for the box of tissues. The veil made everything perfect.
Elena was so overcome with emotion that she had to sit down. “My baby looks so lovely.”
Bailey looked in the mirror and tears filled her eyes. “I feel like a real bride.”
“I’ll take a photo for Sam,” Shelley said as she picked up her bag.
Bailey frowned. “Has anyone heard from Sam or Caleb? They were supposed to see the specialist an hour ago.”
Shelley and Elena checked their phones.
“Not yet,” Shelley said.
“I do not have any messages, either. Sam will contact us when she is ready.” Elena held her hand against her heart. “I have prayed that everything is all right.”
Shelley gave her mom a hug. “So have I. Whatever happens, we’ll be there to support each other.”
Bailey joined in the group hug. “Sam and the baby will be okay.”
After everyone had wiped their eyes, they took some photos.
While Shelley checked that the photos were all in focus and she hadn’t missed anything, Emily and their mom helped Bailey remove the veil.
“I’d like to buy this dress,” Bailey said wistfully. “What happens next?”
Emily smiled. “The dress fits perfectly so we don’t need to do any alterations. If you want to pay for the dress today, you can take it home with you. Otherwise, you can pay a deposit and make regular payments over the next six weeks. We’ll courier the dress to you at the end of that time or you can pick it up from us.”
Shelley slid her phone into her pocket. Her sister had only started working with Zac as a family therapist a few months ago. Some of her clients couldn’t afford to pay, so Bailey worked out some kind of bartering system. It was sweet of her to do that, but it meant she didn’t have a lot of extra money.
“We’ll take the dress today,” Shelley said with a smile.
Bailey bit her bottom up. “I don’t know, Shelley. It’s a lot of money to spend all at once.”
Shelley pulled out her credit card. “It’s just as well I’m paying for it then, isn’t it?”
“You can’t do that. It’s too much money and you’ve just bought two houses.”
“Don’t worry about the cost. My last contract paid me far too much money.”
Bailey sighed. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. While you’re getting changed, Mom and I will look for dresses for ourselves. Sapphire Bay won’t know what’s hit them when the Jones girls arrive at The Fairy Forest.”
Elena’s eyebrows rose. “The Fairy Forest? What is this place?”
Bailey laughed at the expression on her mom’s face. “I’ll leave Shelley to describe it to you.” Her eyes darted to Shelley. “Remember to tell her about the fairy lights and the butterflies and mushrooms.”
While Bailey was in the changing room, Shelley found Daniella’s website on her phone. “This is The Fairy Forest, Mom. Even though it’s the only venue that’s available for Valentine’s Day, it’s beautiful.”
Elena flicked through the photos. “A royal setting for my beautiful girl. We will have to find something extra special to wear for Bailey’s wedding.”
Shelley slid her phone into her pocket and grinned. “I think I’ve already found the dress I’d like to wear,” she whispered to her mom. “And there’s a beautiful dress beside it that would look stunning on you.”
With a determined gleam in her eye, Elena followed Shelley across to the clothes rack. “I will pay for your bridesmaid’s dress,” Elena said firmly. “And no arguing. We will talk to Sam next time we are in Sapphire Bay. Her dress will need to wait until we see how big our bambina grows.”
Shelley lifted the dress she’d seen for her mom off the rack. “Do you think Sam’s having a little girl?”
“Si,” Elena said with a wink. “Little girls give their mama’s a little more trouble than boys. But it is all worth it.”
Shelley climbed out of her truck and lifted her arms above her head, stretching all the kinks out of her back. The drive from Bozeman to Sapphire Bay had been long and tiring. If it weren’t for Bailey keeping her company, it would have been worse.
After dropping Bailey off at her cottage, Shelley had driven past John’s house. When she saw his house lights were turned off, she’d decided to visit The Welcome Center to see if he was there.
At this time of the evening, the reception desk wasn’t staffed. Shelley didn’t want to push the bell to let the volunteers know she was in the building. They had a lot of other things to do. So she signed the registration book and walked straight to John’s office. He wasn’t there, either.
The last place she’d check was the living room. If he wasn’t watching TV or playing a board game with one of the guests, she’d go home and see him in the morning.
As she walked down the corridor, she looked into a room on her left and stopped. John was in The Welcome Center’s chapel. The small room was a quiet space where people often came to contemplate life and pray.
He was sitting on a chair with his elbows resting on his knees and his head bent. He looked sad and lonely.
Softly, Shelley knocked on the door. “Is it all right if I come in?”
John lifted his head. The smile he sent her wasn’t reassuring. “Of course, you can.”
“Is everything all right?”
“It’s been better. How was your trip to Bozeman?”
“Tiring but worth it. We all found dresses we love, then went home with Mom for an amazing lunch. Next time, we’ll stay overnight. It’s a long way to go for the day.” She sat beside John. “Bailey and I visited Sam on our way into town.”
“How is she?”
“She feels much better, and the baby’s perfect. The specialist told her to have five smaller meals throughout the day and to rest more. Caleb’s making sure she follows the doctor’s orders.”
“He was worried when she fainted.”
Shelley frowned. “We all were.” It wasn’t like John to be so down. She tried to think of something that would have made him feel so sad. “Are Andrea and the boys okay?”
John nodded. “Zac took Andrea back to Polson today. Before she left, she thanked me for what we’ve done.”
“Hopefully, she can be here for Christmas.”
“If that happens, it will be wonderful for her and the boys. Jarrod saw me today.”
“He did?” Shelley’s heart plummeted. That had to be the reason John was so worried. She had no idea what Jarrod had said, but it couldn’t be good.
“He said some things that made sense.”
That was one of his gifts. Jarrod could manipulate a situation to suit his own needs better than anyone she knew. And the more he repeated his ‘sensible’ ideas, the more you believed them. Except, sometimes, Jarrod’s way of looking at the world was completely different from yours. And before you knew it, you were accepting his ideas as your own and living a life that was a lie.
“What did he say?” Shelley held her breath while she waited for John to tell her the bad news.
“He told me about the job in New York City.”
Shelley was even more confused. “Is that why you’re upset? Because you think I’m moving to New York?”
“You should at least think about it. It’s a great opportunity.”
“A great opportunity, according to Jarrod. I enjoy living in Sapphire Bay and I love you. Why would I move halfway across the country to work in a city where I don’t know anyone?”
“It would be a great career move, and your salary would be a lot more than you’d earn in Sapphire Bay.”
Now she really knew that Jarrod had gotten under John’s skin. Money wasn’t the reason John did anything, and he was the last person who would think it could make you happy. “That’s all true, but I don’t want work to consume my life. And that’s what happens when you work in a big city. No one gives you thousands of dollars without expecting something in return. And that price is too high.”
“You might say that now, but what about in three or four years’ time? Sapphire Bay is a small town. Do you really think you could be happy here?”
Before she answered him, Shelley did something she rarely did. She counted to ten and took a deep breath. “If your question comes from something Jarrod said, remember that he’s basing his thoughts on the person I used to be. And for twelve months, I was overshadowed by his personality. For the first time in a long while, I feel like I’m me. Instead of living in constant stress and having a ninety-minute commute into town, I get out of bed and have breakfast with my sister. When the snow melts, I’ll be able to go for walks without breathing in toxic pollution or dodging overflowing trash cans. Living in Sapphire Bay is worth more than any amount of money.”
John sighed. “It’s not as easy as that—”
“Yes, it is.”
“You can’t give up everything you’ve worked toward to live here.”
Shelley frowned. Maybe she had this wrong. Maybe John regretted his move to Sapphire Bay and he didn’t want her to make the same mistake. “Do you think you gave up everything to live here?”
The bleak expression in John’s eyes worried her. “I had nothing to start with. I was a broken man who desperately needed something to cling onto.”
“And you found it in Sapphire Bay?”
John shook his head. “I found it in here.” He placed his hand against his heart. “Sapphire Bay gave me the chance to see what was still inside of me. When I hiked in the mountains, I found peace. When I spoke to someone from the community, I found acceptance. And when I spoke to God, I found love. Everything I’ve done since then has been because I want to make a difference in someone else’s life.”
Shelley’s eyebrows rose. “And you think I don’t want to make a difference?”
“I don’t want you to make a mistake.”
“It’s not your responsibility to look after me. Everything I’ve done is because I wanted to do it. Even coming here was my decision. I could have gone anywhere to get away from Jarrod, but I came here. Not because of you, not because of Jarrod, but because this is a special place to me.”
She stood up and looked around the chapel. “You found a different kind of peace in Sapphire Bay. That doesn’t make either of our decisions better or worse than the other. They’re just different. Whether or not you like it, I’m staying in Sapphire Bay.”
Shelley stuck her hands in her pockets and walked out of the chapel. It probably wasn’t the most mature thing to do, or the best thing to do. But right now, she didn’t care.
Bailey wrapped her arms around Shelley. “I can’t believe he said that. What’s wrong with the man?”
“I don’t know. Yesterday, John was okay and everything was great. Today, he spoke to Jarrod and everything’s changed. Maybe I wasn’t seeing what was really going on before Jarrod arrived.”
“Jarrod doesn’t want you to be happy. He couldn’t manipulate you anymore, so he visited John. But John should have seen what Jarrod was doing. And as for that job,” Bailey ground her teeth together, “he probably found it on the Internet before he came to Sapphire Bay. What a low-down weasel.”
Shelley wiped her eyes and sent her sister a watery smile. “Have I ever told you you’ve got a wonderful way with words?”
Bailey grinned. “It took a psychology degree to bring out the best in me.”
“It was worth every dollar. What will I do next?”
“What would you have done if you hadn’t talked to John?”
Shelley frowned. “I would have come back here, had a hot shower, and watched Netflix before going to bed.”
“And tomorrow?”
“Gone to The Welcome Center and worked on the flower fundraiser for Valentine’s Day. After that, I would have booked the final things we talked about for your wedding and started planning the remodel of my houses.”
Bailey picked up the remote control. “They sound like good plans to me. While you’re having a shower, I’ll find something for us to watch on Netflix. And tomorrow, you’ll go to work and do everything you said you would. Because, believe it or not, the world doesn’t begin and end with a man. If John can’t see how wonderful you are, then that’s his problem, not yours.”
Shelley hugged her sister again. “I love you.”
A mischievous smile filled Bailey’s face. “I love you, too. Especially when I know where your stash of chocolate fudge is hidden. Do you think it’s worth breaking into your emergency rations?”
“Definitely. Especially when Sweet Treats is open tomorrow. But don’t come looking for any candy at The Welcome Center. My bottom drawer will probably be empty before lunchtime.”
“If that happens, John had better watch out. You’ll be on such a sugar rush that you won’t care what you say.”
Shelley’s smile faded. “I’ll always care,” she whispered. “Maybe too much.”