Chapter Twenty-one

Seriously, Lacey? You’re going to believe the accusation of a known criminal over the father of your child? A man who claims to have heard me use a name on the phone twenty feet away?” David lifted his feet onto the ottoman and locked his hands behind his head. “I think you have bigger problems than trying to pin that deal on me.”

Lacey glanced at the kitchen, where Tessa and Zoe were making food with Ashley, giving Lacey the quiet moment she’d been waiting for since they’d returned from the town hall. Jocelyn had texted that she was going back to the hotel for a “client emergency,” so Tessa and Zoe had returned to the house with Lacey.

“Clay heard you say his name.”

“But he didn’t actually see me talking to anyone.”

“Why would he lie about this?”

David let out a hearty laugh. “Why wouldn’t he lie is a better question. Lacey, I really hope you have this cougar fantasy out of your head now.”

Irritation stung at the words. “Well, you’re not a liar, David, and I notice you haven’t directly answered the question. Did you or did you not meet with Mr. Tomlinson at the beach when you ran into Clay?”

He let out a long, slow, put-upon sigh that sounded so much like Ashley when she was trapped and in trouble. “I did meet with him, that’s true.”

“Why?”

“I thought I could help you.”

“How could meeting with Mr. Tomlinson possibly help me?”

Another sigh of resignation. “By buying the property for you—”

“So you did?”

“—as a gift. To save you the added expense and show you how much I care and want to be involved in your life and your project.”

Why did every word that came out of his mouth sound like bullshit? Because so often it was. “If that’s true, then I can buy the property back directly from you.” That might delay things, but at least—

“No, I didn’t buy it, Lacey, that’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

Lacey perched on the edge of the sofa, her hands clasped tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. “Then who did?”

“I don’t know. Tomlinson said he had another rock-solid offer that he simply couldn’t ignore. Of course, I assumed it was you.”

“Did you ask him who the offer was from?”

“I did, because I thought I could go to that buyer. But he said it was anonymous through his bank. So I just let it go as a bad idea and decided to look for other ways to convince you that I care.” His face was set in the most sincere expression, his eyes dark with just the right amount of contrition and hope.

God, he was good. Believable. Direct. In some ways, more real than Clay.

Forget Clay, Lacey. But that was the problem. She couldn’t forget Clay.

“Why wouldn’t you talk to me about it? Why wouldn’t you just ask to be an investor? Why go behind my back?”

“I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to show you, and Ashley, that I’m serious about wanting to be a family. Because, Lacey, I am serious.”

She dropped her head into her hands, grateful that Zoe and Tessa were in the kitchen with Ashley; at least she hoped they weren’t listening to this.

“I have never lied to you, Lacey.” He stood, the words somehow having far more impact that way.

“I know,” she conceded. He was a lot of things—adrenaline junkie, absentee father, even a bit of an actor—but she couldn’t remember David lying to her. In fact, when she’d told him she was pregnant he’d been honest in his reaction. She’d hated what he said, but he’d been honest.

Which was more than she could say for Clay Walker.

“I tried to tell you. I wanted to.” He took a step forward, looming over her now, making her feel small and helpless. “But you were so preoccupied.”

“Don’t,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “Don’t tell me circumstances stopped you from being straight with me. I’ve had enough of that for one day.”

“Then you’re over him?”

“I was never under him,” she said defiantly. “Whether you want to believe that or not, it’s true.”

“Of course I believe it.” With no warning David was on his knee in front of her, shifting from his power stance to a proposal pose.

“Listen to me,” he said, his voice low and pleading, his gaze soft and so damn credible. “I did not purchase that land. Why would I do that and keep it from you? I don’t want to stop you from building this inn or resort or whatever you want it to be. I want to be part of it with you.”

“And with me.” Ashley burst in from the kitchen, Zoe practically running behind her.

“Ashley, I’m trying to have a private conversation with David.”

“His name is Fox.” Ashley folded herself on the floor right next to David.

“You know the old joke, Ash,” David said, giving her hair a ruffle. “She can call me anything she wants, as long as she calls me.”

Ashley giggled and, for a moment, for one suspended, stupid, insane moment, Lacey felt like they were a family. Dad trying to tease a smile out of Mom through an inside joke with Child.

An ache she didn’t recognize at first welled up inside her. The ache for a real family. A whole family. A happy family. David had stolen that from her with a one-way ticket to Patagonia. But they probably wouldn’t have made it anyway.

“Mommy, you’re crying!”

Oh, geez. Was she?

“Ash, remember what we talked about.” David put a gentle arm on Ashley’s shoulder. “You have to be sensitive to the stress your mom is under.”

He was giving their daughter life lectures now? Maybe he was trying to be a real family. But it was too little too late. And not what she wanted. What she wanted was…

Clay.

“When did you talk about that?” Lacey asked, sounding as wretched and bitter as she felt.

“When we played chess last night,” Ashley said. “When you went out to dinner.”

Of course. While Lacey was out on a date with a man who was keeping secrets and trying to talk her into commitment-free sex that they could keep entirely separate from their project, a project he had no right going after.

Guilt strangled her. She should have been home teaching Ashley life lessons, not flirting and kissing and offering sympathy for his sad, sad story about his father and the ex-girlfriend.

“Dad and I talk a lot,” Ashley said, pride in her voice as she looked at him. “And I’m really trying to work on my attitude, Daddy.”

She was clearly possessed by spirits—or the proper parent. The guilt knife cut a fresh wound.

“The thing is, Mom—and don’t get mad at me for listening—but Dad didn’t try to screw you out of that property and I think he really does want a second chance at love.”

“Don’t say ‘screw,’” David said.

“Don’t say ‘love,’” Lacey shot back.

On the sofa, Lacey’s phone vibrated softly with a text. “That could be Jocelyn,” she said, picking it up.

Clay Walker: I’ll wait at Barefoot Bay.

She couldn’t do anything but close her eyes against the words, feeling a tornado of emotions swirling right down to her toes. A maelstrom of longing and loss, shockingly strong, and remarkably real. Loss? For a man who’d deceived her? Used her?

But had he? His explanation for not telling her made sense, and he hadn’t used her. He’d taken what she offered. And she’d offered it because there was something about him. Something different. Something extraordinary.

“Mom?”

“Lacey?”

Their voices pulled her back, forcing her attention away to the two people who were right here, asking her to be a family. The family she wanted. One of them she loved more than anyone or anything. Unconditionally. The other she didn’t love, but did he deserve a second chance?

And yet there was Clay. And all this unresolved feeling whirling around like one of the mini-tornadoes that had ripped her home to shreds. Was he going to do the same thing to her heart?

Dear God, she had to know.

“What did Jocelyn say, Lacey?” Tessa and Zoe stood in the kitchen door, so close they’d no doubt heard the whole preceding conversation.

“Don’t tell me she got on a plane and went back to L.A.,” Zoe said. “’Cause she is so dead to me if she did.”

“It’s not, she’s not…” She shook the lie out of her head before she said it. “That wasn’t Jocelyn.” She slid her finger over the screen and deleted the text, shifting back to Ashley. “Honey, there’s a lot more to this than you are old enough to understand. But…” She staved off the argument with a flat palm. “But I realize how important it is that David and I are friends. I hope you see that we are.” And that’s all we are.

“Does that mean you guys will stop fighting?”

“We’re not fighting,” David said quickly, unable to keep the appreciative smile off his face as he reached for Lacey’s hand. “It’s called discussing. Do you believe me now?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “Who else would have the money or motivation to step in and buy those parcels out from underneath me?”

“I don’t know about money, but motivation? I’d start with that skinny bitch who should be named Uncharitable.”

Ashley giggled.

“If I find out, will you believe me then?” he asked.

“I suppose.”

That seemed to satisfy him. “All right.” He put a fatherly arm around Ashley. “Who’s up for a game of Monopoly?”

“I am!” Ashley leaped to her feet, sharing a knuckle tap with David.

“Gonna buy me some Boardwalk, baby!” David exclaimed.

Behind them Zoe stuck her finger in her mouth and fake-gagged.

“Listen, Lace. Jocelyn’s not answering her cell,” Tessa said, “and she took our rental car. You think you could give us a lift to the hotel?”

Lacey gave her a grateful smile. “Of course.”

“They can stay here,” David said. “No need for you to go out so late alone.”

“Or they can take Grandpa’s van,” Ashley suggested, suddenly the voice of reason and maturity.

No, Lacey had to get away from this house and talk privately with her friends, even if just for the forty-five minutes it would take to drive to the mainland and back. “Their stuff is at the hotel and, honestly, David, I want to see Jocelyn. I’m worried about her.” None of that was a lie.

Her phone vibrated again and she ignored it, throwing it into her purse without looking at the screen.

“It won’t take long,” she promised, giving Ashley a kiss. In her purse she felt the vibration of another text. She didn’t need to look; she knew it was from Clay Walker, the man who always got what he wanted.

“How long will you be gone?” Ashley asked.

If she went to the beach to talk to Clay one more time? “An hour or two, tops.”

Not that she’d even consider something so mind-numbingly dumb.

“David is relentless,” Tessa said the minute they were alone.

“I know.” Lacey cranked the AC to full blast and whipped out of the driveway. “Do you believe him? Do either of you believe Clay?”

Tessa didn’t answer, shifting in the passenger seat to adjust her long, lean frame, and let out a sigh. “I’m the wrong man-hater to ask, I’m afraid.”

Zoe picked up Lacey’s bag. “Mind if I see if Jocelyn was texting you?”

“You can look, but I think it was Clay. He wants to meet me at Barefoot Bay.”

Neither one of them said a word.

“I’m thinking about going.”

Still no response.

“Are either of you going to talk me out of it?”

Silence.

“Okay,” Lacey said with a soft laugh. “You’re not advising me because you know that some decisions a person just has to make on her own.”

They shared a look, but not a word.

“Or,” Lacey said, “meeting Clay at Barefoot Bay tonight is so flipping stupid the idea has left you two speechless.”

Zoe leaned forward and quietly set the cell phone in the console. “Bingo.”

“Well, what do you think I should do?” Lacey demanded. “Just let it go? Not talk to him more about why he wasn’t honest?”

“They lie once, they’ll lie again.” Zoe turned to the window, crossing her arms, her expression drawn.

“And you know this from experience?” Tessa said, not the least bit of challenge or sarcasm in her voice.

Zoe was silent. They’d all tried to pry out the story of why the doctor they’d seen at the hotel had made her cry, but she was uncharacteristically quiet on the subject. Just like Jocelyn, who was hiding hurt the size of a small country but refusing to talk about it.

“Damn it, are we friends or not?” Lacey demanded. “Don’t friends tell each other everything?”

Zoe finally tore her gaze from the street to meet Lacey’s in the rearview mirror. “Friends don’t let friends have booty calls with liars.”

“I am not talking about Clay. I’m talking about you and that married doctor.”

Her eyes flashed. “I’m not considering meeting that ‘married doctor’ at the beach, Lacey. And, Jesus Christ, can’t a person have a single drop of privacy around here?”

Her words echoed into the confined space of the car, Lacey’s heartbeat keeping time with the wheels on the causeway bumps. They never fought, but some things had to be aired out. Didn’t they?

“I don’t get the secrets,” Tessa finally said, a little frustration in her voice. “Maybe we could help you, Zoe. You guys knew every time I got my period and how much it hurt to know I wasn’t pregnant. Lacey’s told us everything about Clay.” She hesitated. “Haven’t you?”

“Pretty much. I may have left out a hot kiss or two, but you know everything.”

“Well, I for one think you ought to go to the beach,” Tessa said. At Lacey’s surprised look, she added, “To talk to him. You can’t just end this without a conversation. That’s why he’s waiting there.”

“That is so not why he’s waiting there,” Zoe said.

“You’re both right,” Lacey said. “And I think I should go for a completely different reason. There is something about him that makes me feel wonderful.”

Zoe snorted. “Dude, that wonderful feeling is your lady bits getting all fired up. A couple more lies will douse the flames, trust me.”

“How can we trust you?” Tessa shot back at Zoe. “You won’t tell us anything.”

Lacey shook her head, glancing out at the causeway lights dancing on the water as they crossed. “Anyway, it really is more than sex.”

“That’s what I—” Zoe caught herself and laughed. “That’s what all women think, Lace.”

“I know,” Lacey agreed. “Of course there’s a sexual attraction. Shit, it’s off the charts. But, I also really connect with him.” She took a hand off the wheel to stop the jokes or argument before they started. “I mean I see a fundamental goodness in him. And it makes me hope that…” He’s the one. “He’s really a good guy.”

Zoe didn’t answer, but Tessa put her hand on Lacey’s shoulder. “I happen to agree with you. I think you should meet him.”

Lacey looked in the rearview mirror at Zoe. “What’s your vote?”

“I think you should make him sweat and dangle a little more.”

Lacey smiled. “I hate to break it to you, Zoe, but that magic drafting tool doesn’t dangle. But let’s let Jocelyn cast the tie-breaking vote. I’ll do what she thinks is right.”

“Fine,” Zoe said, turning back to the window.

“Zoe?” Tessa asked softly. “You sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I knew the guy in another life. He screwed me over. It’s so not interesting. Let it go.”

Because they always gave each other what they wanted, Lacey and Tessa let it go. Zoe didn’t say another word until they walked into the suite and found Jocelyn in the bedroom, her clothes piled on the bed like neat little mountains of neutral colors, two half-packed suitcases on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Zoe demanded, grabbing a white cotton shirt and yanking it from the suitcase. “You can’t leave!”

“I have a client emergency.” She took the blouse out of Zoe’s hands and laid it on the bed, smoothing the sleeves.

“What client emergency?” Tessa asked. “That crackpot Coco Kirkman?”

“Or did something happen at the meeting this afternoon that freaked you out?”

At Lacey’s question Jocelyn’s hands froze. She closed her eyes, then silently folded the crisp pleating on the blouse to a precise right angle, her fingers shaking but her breathing calm and steady.

“The only person freaked out is, as Tessa accurately guessed, my client, Coco. And since she pays me an outrageous sum of money to be her sounding board and voice of reason, I’m going back to work.”

“Really?” Tessa asked. “You have to go back?”

They both looked at Lacey, expecting her to chime in with agreement. Or maybe acceptance, because wasn’t that what they did? Support each other and whatever decisions they made, dumb or not?

Lacey, about to be queen of the dumb decisions, didn’t say a word. After an awkward beat, Jocelyn continued packing.

“I know what you want to hear from me,” Lacey finally said. “You expect me to say, ‘Oh, what a shame, we’ll miss you, but do what you have to do, Joss,’ right?” They all looked at her, waiting for the but to be added. “But I want to ask you a question instead.”

Jocelyn’s slim fingers hesitated on the next article of clothing. “Go ahead.”

“Why’d you leave the meeting?” Lacey asked.

Three, four, five long seconds ticked by before Jocelyn finally said, “Coco called and that took forever, then I got back here and made my reservations.”

She wasn’t telling them everything, but how far to push? How much does a friend have to know? Where did they draw the line between friendship and privacy?

“Maybe,” Lacey said softly, “you should ignore this plea from a client and face down the things that are making you unhappy.”

Jocelyn wet her lips. “And maybe you should solve your own problems before tackling my imaginary ones.”

That would be the line Lacey just crossed.

“Oh, shit,” Zoe mumbled. “We’ve had a tough day. Can we just drop all the interrogating of friends and let everyone just do what she wants to do?”

“Because that’s not what friends do,” Tessa said, sitting next to Lacey in a show of support. “Are you telling us the truth, Jocelyn? Is Coco Kirkman really why you’re leaving?”

Jocelyn took a deep breath, pain and angst painted on every delicate feature. “Yes. But I will admit she’s a convenience, because I want to go.”

Lacey leaned forward. “Is it Will Palmer?”

“Who is Will Palmer?” Zoe asked, sitting up. “That hot guy sitting in Lacey’s row? I noticed him. Big dude.”

“No, it’s not Will Palmer,” Jocelyn said with so much conviction Lacey believed her. Jocelyn’s pain was never about a guy. Not that guy, anyway.

But her father…

“My issues have nothing to do with him, honestly.” Jocelyn dropped onto the bed, letting some clothes tumble. “Listen, you guys. I’m not asking you to just feed me a line of bull and say you understand. I’m not asking any of you to do that. All I’m asking for is some space. I need space.”

She always wanted space, and, like good friends, they’d given it to her. Maybe that was the wrong thing to do. Maybe it was the absolute right thing to do. Lacey surely didn’t know.

Jocelyn stood and shook her head in dismay. “Now I’ve wrecked my color-coded packing system.”

Zoe grabbed a cream-colored T-shirt. “Someone needs to teach you that black, beige, white, and gray are not colors.”

Jocelyn just shook her head and her eyes got watery. “’Scuze me.” She dashed into the bathroom, leaving them in shocked silence. Then Zoe put up her hand as if she’d had enough and couldn’t bear another word.

Tessa sighed heavily and put an arm around Lacey. “Do you see a pattern here? Our two best friends are not telling us everything.”

“Should they?” she asked. “Do we owe each other completely bare souls?”

Tessa shrugged, Zoe shook her head, and Lacey just stared at the door of the bathroom where Jocelyn had gone for her precious space.

“Who’s the Will Palmer guy?” Tessa asked.

“It’s not about him,” Lacey said. “At least I don’t think so. Remember how weird she was with her father at her mother’s funeral all those years ago? This has to do with him and, honestly, I just don’t know how much we should push.”

“Thank you,” Zoe said, blowing out an exasperated breath. “She’ll tell us what she wants us to know when she’s ready.”

And so, Lacey assumed, would Zoe. “Then maybe that’s what friends really do for other friends,” she said, leaning her head on Tessa’s shoulder.

“What’s that?” Tessa asked.

“They wait for each other.”

The bathroom door popped open and Jocelyn emerged, her face completely empty of the pain she’d worn when she’d gone in there. Her dark eyes were clear and her color was normal.

“By the way,” Zoe said. “We need you to break a tie for us, Joss. We’re voting on whether or not Lacey should go to the beach to meet the building stud.”

“Do you know what happened?” Lacey asked Jocelyn.

She nodded. “They texted me. Why would you go?”

She closed her eyes. Did they have to know everything? Only if they could really help her decide, and, face it, she’d made the decision a while ago. Now she just needed to rationalize it. “I feel like there’s a chance for something different with him.” Zoe rolled her eyes, but Lacey ignored her. “And I’ve never wanted anything so much in my whole life. I really care about him.”

At their silence, she laughed softly. “I’m making excuses to do something. Is that the same as making excuses not to do something?”

Jocelyn didn’t answer at first, but started straightening clothes, methodically folding already crisply ironed khaki shorts. “I think,” she finally said, “that you should do whatever you want and not worry about what we think.”

“But I need your opinion.”

“You need our blessing,” Jocelyn continued. “Which you know you’ll get for whatever you decide to do. But what’s really important is that whatever you decide to do, we’ll be there to cheer you on or pick up the pieces.” She smiled at the others, a hint of tears in her eyes. “That’s what friends do for each other. Even when they don’t understand everything.”

No one argued with that.

“So,” Tessa asked, “what are you going to do?”

“I’m going. And when I get there, I’m going to…” She let her voice trail off.

“Do something that starts with an f and has four letters,” Zoe said.

“Right,” Jocelyn said. “Fire him.”

Lacey just laughed. “One way or the other, somebody’s going to get burned.”