Page 48 of Fortune’s Control (Fortune’s Creek #1)

“I can’t believe we’re here at eight in the morning. This feels like a crime. This should be a crime.” Emma brought her face fan close, letting its soft breeze gently lift and move the tendrils framing her forehead and cheeks.

“It’s the last game of the season,” Lainey pointed out. “You’re safe until October, assuming you’ll be here. You will be here, right?”

Emma drove down every weekend since Nelson Davis’ arrest and had since become even more tightly meshed into our local group. “And miss this? Never.” She took another sip of hot coffee from her mug. “Yes, I’m aware this makes the problem worse. I’m a hypocrite, unwilling to learn my lessons.”

“You should move here,” Sophie said, dragging herself from the action. “The apartment is yours if you want it.”

My suspicion grew. Her opaque references to future plans continued to grow, with no hint of what any of it meant. “Where would you stay?”

“I’ll figure it out.” Sophie’s Cheshire cat grin offered no clues. She switched her attention back to the game as Jack came up to bat. She bit her lip as he took a practice swing and jumped at the loud crack as the bat and ball met. Jack ran to first and slid into second. “I knew he’d get that.”

“Are you two speaking yet?” Emma asked. She enjoyed Fortune’s Creek gossip as much as every other local.

Sophie waved us in close, although the other fans were more caught up in the game than our conversation. “It’s been over a decade, and he’s mostly stopped talking to me. I think he finally figured it out.”

I wasn’t so sure about that, but I kept my mouth shut. Shane and I spoke about it in private, with only the two of us to hear our inner thoughts, like every other married couple. They would either reconcile one day or not.

Aiden sat on the bench in the spot farthest from us. He perked up and waved in our direction like he could hear the conversation.

“How is his arm? The sling is missing,” Emma said. She watched as he refocused on the game, leaning forward and propping both arms on his knees. His shoulders drooped.

“The sling went missing this past week,” I explained.

Lainey chimed in with more updates. “He’s depressed because no one has rented out his retail space yet.”

“He’s holding out for the right tenant,” Sophie said. She waved her hand, using it as a fan in a futile effort to keep cool. “Apparently, the train hobbyist dream collapsed in flames. Dean volunteered to take over the management for him.”

“Did he now?” Emma tapped a fingernail against her lip. “I can’t stand waiting to catch up on all the gossip. What else did I miss?”

“Rumor has it Pete plans to ask Diane to marry him,” I volunteered.

Lainey clapped her hands. “Also, Willard says aliens plan to build a campground.”

“I guess this means he still doesn’t accept credit cards,” Emma said.

Our eyes met, and I saw the tension in hers. Emma’s childhood experiences made her lone visit to his gas station uncomfortable, and I knew she didn’t want to return.

Shane stepped up for his turn, and our conversation ceased. I twirled the delicate band on my ring finger as pride and possessiveness took over.

CRACK!

He rounded one base, another, and then another, before taking a stroll toward home plate. “That’s my husband,” I said, only to be greeted with some jealous groans. “I knew he’d hit a home run.”

*****

“I enjoyed seeing you both this past weekend,” Sarah Jane said.

“Me too. It was a busy weekend, though.” My former studio apartment was no longer mine, with its contents stuffed into a downstairs bedroom for me to sort through. “Thank you for dinner again.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. I enjoy showing off this city. How’s his friend, Jack? I’ve been thinking about him.”

“What do you mean?” My hackles raised. Jack accompanied us to Atlanta to help move the heavy furniture, since I had lived on the second floor.

“Honey, I’m not going after your friend, so stop that right now. I meant he has a case of the blues. Believe me, I know what that looks like.”

“I don’t think he has depression.”

Jack’s hope of resurrecting his relationship with Sophie finally died.

After Fortune’s Creek won the summer intramural baseball championship, Sophie shook Jack’s hand, congratulating him.

She did so with the friendliness one might give to an acquaintance.

I saw the light in his eyes dim at her sincere gesture. For Jack, her anger fed his hope.

“I didn’t say that. I’m telling you, he has a case of the blues.”

I remembered the advice she had once given me. “Sophie left him first, and he figured that out.”

“Ahh, that will do it. What about the other one? Aiden.”

My mother’s interest in my friends and my life still surprised me. “He’s working in his shop again and still waiting for a tenant. He asked Shane to help him pick up another car, so Emma will stay with me while he’s gone. We all hope she’ll move down here soon.”

“But isn’t your first exam coming up? That must be rough between everything else. ”

“It’s next month, and we’ve heard nothing about the grant proposal, so it’s possible we didn’t do as well as we hoped.” I shrugged, although she couldn’t see it. “It’s best not to get my hopes up.”

“I get it. Failure isn’t the end, Delilah. Don’t forget that.”

That was a remarkably inspirational statement for Sarah Jane. “I won’t.”

We said goodbye and ended the call. I needed to make a dessert for tonight’s dinner party, and our friends would be here soon.

“How is she?” Shane asked. He leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, and concern etched onto his features. “Is she still in therapy?”

That piece of news stunned us all. “She is. I think she’ll stick with it, too. I’m not sure what led to it, but whatever it was, I’m grateful for her more than myself.”

“My concern is for you, Lilah, not her. How do you feel about it?”

“I’m almost ready for her to come visit. Evelyn volunteered her home, so she doesn’t stay here, and that’s a start. I don’t not want a relationship with her, Shane, but I also don’t want one.”

Shane used the phrase emotional abuse to describe parts of my childhood during one of our many conversations about Sarah Jane.

He’d done so with so much care and love, it rocked me, but also brought me clarity.

I opened up to Lainey about it, who listened and directed me to a library shelf with a few suggested books.

My relationship with my mother will remain nebulous for now, and for me, that’s okay. It’s freeing to understand that.

He nodded, understanding. “Whatever you decide, I’m here. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” How lucky am I? “Let’s get ready. These fresh lemons are begging to become dessert.”

Ever since Shane’s accidental revelation, we’ve experimented with citrus desserts, from sorbet to pie. A batch of coconut lime cookies brought him tears of joy and pleased laughs from me.

*****

Shane removed his shirt as the late July nighttime heat teamed up with the grill, overwhelming even my Florida husband.

I leaned back in my chair and took another sip of my drink. “There’s nothing better than a Margarita slushie.”

“Lilah, can you stop picturing my brother naked right in front of me?” Sophie joked.

I briefly squeezed my eyes shut. “Sorry, it didn’t work.”

Shane glanced back at the four of us, like he had heard our conversation.

Someone’s phone rang, and the muffled sounds of hands in pockets and poking under towels took over the conversation.

“It’s me. It’s my call,” Sam said, jumping up from his lounge chair. He stared at the screen and at us. “It’s a Tallahassee number.”

“Answer it,” Sophie screamed.

Did a Saturday night phone call portend good news or bad?

He took the call. “Hey, Henry.” Sam beamed and flashed a thumbs-up. “Uh-huh. I understand.” He returned to his seat as the thumbs-up disappeared. “Yes. I understand. No, thanks for calling. I appreciate hearing it from you rather than waiting until Monday.”

Sam ended the call, taking the party’s frivolity with it as he dropped into the chair. “I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Shane announced. “There’s next year, and we already have so much. Fortune’s Creek is already a great home, and we’ll keep making it better.”

The committee laughed at my accounting jokes. How could anyone reject our proposal after that?

Sam buried his head in his hands and then looked at us. “I’m sorry to say there’s a bunch of work coming your way, so get busy.”

Everyone broke into screams.

Shane approached and picked me up. “Looks like your busy days will get busier,” he said and kissed me.

Sam kept going. “It was your work that helped sell it, all of you. Our vision for the future, and proof of what’s been done.” He beckoned toward Jack and Aiden. “Restoration. Hurry and find a tenant, son. We need to show it can work.”

“But my hobbyist,” Aiden started.

“Dean will find your new tenant,” Shane decided.

His brother agreed. “Take care of healing and the car business. We’ll get the rest figured out.”

“Well, now I have to move here. This isn’t fair,” Emma whined.

Aiden dropped his bottle before catching it with his other hand. He stared at her as a dark russet flush crept up his neck to his face, before putting his attention on the pool instead.

“You know what we should do?” Shane asked me.

“You want to look at tax tables?” A girl could hope.

He pressed on my shoulder, and I tumbled into the pool with a screech. Shane removed his prosthetic and jumped in after.

One after another, our friends joined us.

“I knew you’d get the job.” Shane pulled me against him and kissed me. “I’m always right.”

Laughter surrounded us as the tree frogs joined in.

Sometimes, I remember the day I first wandered into Fortune’s Creek, lonely and running for my life, and think of all that happened. It turned out I wasn’t a mess, after all.

∞∞∞

Thank you so much for reading!