Wind Chime Point

18



Wade found himself nervously dissecting the piece of apple pie that Cora Jane had brought to the table. He knew he owed Gabi not only an apology, but an explanation for what had happened earlier. Neither was going to come easy. Since the apology was the lesser of two difficult conversations, he started there.

“I’m sorry I got all bent out of shape at lunch,” he said, looking her in the eyes. “The whole conversation stirred up a lot of bad memories for me, but you couldn’t have known that.”

“That wasn’t at all what I’d intended to do,” she told him. “I feel as if I’m groping around in the dark, Wade. Clearly there’s some topic that’s off-limits between us, but without knowing what it is, how am I supposed to avoid it?”

“That is a dilemma, isn’t it?” he asked with a rueful note in his voice. He’d imagined dealing with this a million times, but it had never been as difficult as he was finding it in real life. Not only did it mean opening an old wound, it meant baring his soul.

Gabi waited, then began carefully, “Wade, I know we don’t have any idea where this is going between us.”

What he knew was that she was trying to fill the silence that fell while he sorted through what he wanted to say, what he had to say. “True,” he said.

“But you’ve certainly hinted at wanting a relationship. Admittedly, my experience with relationships is pretty lousy, but I do think the cornerstone is probably built on honesty and communication. Since that was clearly lacking in my last so-called connection with a man, I’d like to get it right this time. Evasions aren’t going to cut it with me.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” he said. He gave her a wistful look. “Isn’t it enough that you know I was married, that I lost my wife and baby in an accident?”

“If that’s the whole story, then yes,” she said at once. “Is it?”

Wade sighed heavily. “No.”

As he let the silence drag on, her eyes widened. “Wade, you didn’t cause the accident, did you? Is that what you don’t want to talk about?”

“No! God, no,” he said emphatically, genuinely horrified that such a thought had even crossed her mind.

He understood, though, that nature abhorred a vacuum. Without answers from him, her imagination could spin completely out of control. Obviously she wasn’t going to be satisfied with half-truths or evasions, either. Anything less than complete candor was going to leave room for the wildest speculation. He didn’t know if he had Sally or Louise to thank for planting these seeds of distrust in her head, but it was up to him to set the record straight, to talk about something that only very few people knew. And no one—not one single person—knew everything. He’d kept the secret for Kayla’s sake, and maybe for his own.

“What have you heard about me and Kayla?” he asked, backing into the subject.

“That you were high school sweethearts. Even the waitress that night at Boone’s Harbor talked about how you’d only had eyes for her.” She frowned slightly. “Is that not true?”

“Oh, it’s true,” he said, unable to keep a hint of bitterness from his voice. “I was crazy about her almost from the day we met. We were in high school. She was new in town. I can remember like it was yesterday when she walked into my homeroom. Actually, she bounced in with this shiny brown hair practically down to her waist. Her hair seemed like it was shot through with gold.”

A faraway smile crossed his face. “She had these incredible long, long legs, which she was showing off with a very short skirt. Add in a tight tanktop and, well, I’m sure you can imagine the scene. I think every boy in the room almost fell out of his seat. And every one of them did his stupid best to catch her attention.”

“Except you,” Gabi guessed.

He regarded her with surprise. “How did you know?”

“Not your style. When Cora Jane dragged you into Castle’s last summer specifically for my benefit, you were completely low-key and laid-back.”

“Maybe I’d just learned my lesson about overplaying my hand,” he suggested.

“Nah,” she said confidently. “So, what happened? Did she ignore you?”

He thought back to the way Kayla had gravitated right to him, as if she’d somehow sensed that she’d found a safety net. That’s when they’d become friends.

Friends, he thought. How he’d hated that at the time. He’d wanted to be her boyfriend. Instead, she’d confided in him, trusted him with her secrets, tortured him with tales of her dates.

“She didn’t ignore me,” he said quietly.

Apparently something in his words or his tone sank in, because Gabi studied him even more intently. “But something went wrong, didn’t it?”

“Not wrong exactly. She liked me well enough, but I wasn’t really her type. She liked her boys wild—the wilder, the better, in fact. She thought of me as friend material.”

“Oh, dear,” Gabi whispered, her expression filled with compassion. “That whole wild thing is so not you. Or have you changed?”

He smiled at how quickly she’d caught on to the problem. “I haven’t changed. Still the solid, responsible guy I’ve always been. Boring to a fault.”

“You’re anything but boring,” she said heatedly.

He smiled. “Thanks.”

“How’d you end up together, then? Did she finally mature and realize what a treasure she had in you?”

This was the hard part, the part he’d never wanted to admit to a living, breathing soul, not even his sister. He suspected Louise had guessed because he’d asked for some barely veiled legal advice, but for once in her life she hadn’t pushed for more information. Even she seemed to understand that the topic was off-limits, that his pride demanded a shroud of secrecy over the rest.

“Kayla didn’t go away to college, and the two of us stayed close. She hung out with a lot of college guys who came here to party during the summer. Then she got pregnant,” he said simply. “And the guy didn’t want any part of her or the baby.”

Gabi looked stunned, obviously making the connection between that situation and her own. “But you stepped up?”

He nodded. “I wasn’t going to let her face the pregnancy alone.”

She studied his face. “But you did more than that, didn’t you? You claimed the baby as your own? You let everyone think you were the one responsible for her being pregnant?”

He nodded. “Don’t make me into some sort of saint, Gabi. It worked out for me. In fact, it was like a dream come true. I had the woman I’d loved and a child on the way. Maybe it wasn’t the way I’d envisioned, but once we committed to marriage, we were making it work. We really were. It was harder for Kayla than me, but she tried. I think her feelings for me deepened.” He shrugged. “Or maybe it was just gratitude, but we were doing okay.”

“And then you lost them,” Gabi said softly. “Oh, Wade, that must have torn you apart.”

“You have no idea.” He looked into her eyes, which had filled with tears. “Don’t you dare cry for me,” he said. “And don’t start making comparisons.”

“But here you are again, standing by me.”

He could almost see her pulling away, twisting what had happened back then into a precursor of what was going on right now. “It’s not the same,” he insisted. “It’s not. Kayla and me, we were a couple of young, foolish kids. I had this idealistic sense that I could save the day. You, Gabriella, don’t need saving, not by me, not by anyone.”

“But still—”

He cut her off. “No buts. Sure, there are similarities in the situations. Even if I wanted to deny that, there’s Louise to remind me that I jumped into an ill-advised marriage because of an unplanned pregnancy. I assure you, though, that’s where the similarities end.”

“How can you say that? I am carrying another man’s child, Wade. And here you are, ready to save the day.”

He gave her an impatient look. “Did you not hear me just now? You don’t need saving, and my attraction to you started long before I knew anything about the pregnancy, before you knew about it, as a matter of fact. This is not some weird pattern of behavior, Gabi. It’s an unfortunate coincidence, that’s all.” He raked a hand through his hair, then corrected himself. “Not unfortunate. I didn’t mean that the way it might have sounded. I’m glad you decided to keep the baby, but if you’d decided on adoption, that would have been okay, too. Despite what my sister thought, I would have accepted your decision.”

She didn’t look convinced.

“Gabi, what do you want me to say? I can’t pretend that the past wasn’t the way it was. And there is a blessing in the experience that you might not have considered.”

“What’s that?” she asked, a surprising tear rolling down her cheek.

“I can say with absolute, one hundred percent conviction that I don’t have to be any baby’s biological dad to love it with everything in me. The baby I lost was as much a part of me as if I’d provided the sperm, maybe even more so because I loved it without the tiniest reservation or doubt from the moment I felt it kick for the first time.”

Gabi was openly weeping now, and he wasn’t entirely sure why. Had he thrown her off with this revelation? Had he said too much? Gotten too intense?

“You may be the sweetest, kindest, most wonderful man I’ve ever known,” she said as the tears continued to flow. “And that scares me to death.”

The comment bemused him. “Scares you? Why?”

“Because now I understand why Louise was so afraid for you. Wade, I could break your heart.”

“But you won’t,” he said simply. “I don’t know how I know that, but I do.”

“I wish I were half as sure.” She stood. “Now I’m the one running off, but I need time, Wade. I need to think. I don’t think I could bear it if you were hurt again, especially if I were the one responsible. This time you deserve your happy ending, and I’m not sure I can give that to you.”

What she obviously didn’t understand, he thought as she went, was that leaving, even now, made his heart ache as it never had before. As much as he’d loved Kayla, it had been with a naive, young man’s passion. What he felt for Gabi went so much deeper. He believed they could build the kind of rock-solid foundation he wanted for the future, but not if his past and her doubts kept getting in the way.

* * *



As she had so many times as a teenager, Gabi called her big sister the minute she got back to Cora Jane’s. Samantha had always been her go-to person for dating dilemmas. Now she had a doozy.

As she filled Samantha in, one thing seemed increasingly clear. She couldn’t continue to see Wade. This was absolutely the wrong time to be involved with anyone, but especially someone with his particular baggage.

“Hold on a second,” Samantha commanded when Gabi expressed that. “Do you think Wade is blind to the risk he’s taking?”

“Not blind exactly. I just think he’s minimizing the pain I could cause him if this doesn’t work out between us.”

“Sweetie, it could be he just thinks you’re worth the risk,” her sister said.

“I’m not,” Gabi replied. “I mean, I know I’m a good person and worth loving.”

“Do you really believe that?” Samantha asked. “Or have you been influenced by the way Paul treated you, as if you were nothing more than a convenience he could toss away?”

“Paul was an idiot!” Gabi said emphatically.

Samantha laughed. “Well, I know that. So does everyone else, but we weren’t sure you did.”

“Well, I do know it,” Gabi said. “I might have had a pang or two when we first broke up, but I got over that the minute he agreed to give up his parental rights without a single hesitation or regret.”

“Definitely a strong indicator of the kind of man he is,” Samantha agreed. “So, what’s really holding you back with Wade? Don’t you have feelings for him? I mean if you’re truly not attracted even a tiny bit, then pushing him away is definitely the right thing to do. Obviously he’s a man who loves deeply. He deserves the same thing from the woman in his life.”

Gabi thought of the few times when Wade had touched her, even kissed her. Sparks had flown, no question about it. More than that, though, she genuinely liked the man who was becoming her friend. He was solid and so, so different from the sort of workaholics who’d been in her life up to now. He had his priorities straight in ways she wanted to emulate. He actually had some idea of how to create a family, no matter the circumstances under which it had begun. She longed for the certainty that he had that anything between them was possible.

“He’s been a good friend,” she began. “That’s how Kayla thought of him, too. I feel as if it’s a pattern that’s been established, as if I’m taking advantage of him the way she did.”

“I don’t think anyone takes advantage of Wade,” Samantha said. “He chose Kayla, even knowing the situation. He’s chosen you now.”

“Maybe he’s just one of those guys who can’t resist rushing to the rescue,” Gabi suggested.

“You didn’t need rescuing when he met you,” Samantha reminded her, echoing Wade’s own words. “In fact, you claimed to have this hot relationship.”

“So? I was unattainable, just like Kayla. Maybe it’s not the rescuing he likes, but the challenge.”

“Gabriella, listen to yourself. You’re grabbing at any excuse that occurs to you. Stop it. Take a step back and think about the man you’ve been getting to know. Let’s boil it down to the basics. Do you like him?”

“Yes,” she replied unequivocally.

“Then, there you go,” her sister said. “Start there. Nobody, not even Wade or Cora Jane, is suggesting you rush into anything.”

“Well, I’m not so sure about Cora Jane,” Gabi said wryly.

“Okay, I’ll give you that one, but you see my point. You and Wade are at the beginning of something that could be very, very good. I’d give anything to have that with someone,” Samantha said, an unmistakably wistful note in her voice.

“But you go out all the time,” Gabi protested. “You’ve always dated more than Emily and me combined.”

“Sure, I’ve dated,” Samantha echoed. “That’s very different. I’ve had one serious relationship in all these years, and it lasted a grand total of eight months, until I got a big part on Broadway and his career flatlined. Come to think of it, right now I actually understand how he felt.”

Gabi heard the note of despair in her sister’s voice and decided they’d spent enough time on her latest crisis. She owed Samantha some equal time.

“Have you given more thought to what you want to do? Are you going to take Emily up on her offer and go out to Los Angeles?” Gabi asked her.

“I really don’t think I want to live in the land of sunshine, palm trees and plastic personalities.”

“Wow! That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Samantha admitted. “I think I’m probably scared and, just like you, using any excuse to avoid making such a dramatic change.”

“Or maybe you don’t want this whole acting thing enough anymore. You’ve been willing to do whatever it took for a lot of years. Nobody could blame you if you were ready to call it quits. Or, if you do want to stay in New York and try to make something happen, I’m still more than willing to help you in any way I can.”

“I did speak to a couple of agents this week,” Samantha admitted. “And I called a couple of casting directors I’d gotten to know. I just wanted some realistic outside perspective on my chances.”

“And? What did they tell you?”

“Both agents said they were familiar with my work and asked me to send over my résumé,” she said, her tone brightening. “I’m including the reel of clips I’ve had put together from some of the TV shows and commercials I’ve done.”

“How about the casting directors?”

“They said they had projects coming up and would consider me for a couple of things, if I get new representation. None of them seemed to think I should turn my back and walk away, though they were pretty candid about how my age could be an issue.”

“Okay, then. Why don’t we get a little proactive, create some buzz? How about it?” Gabi said eagerly. “Maybe your old agent just wasn’t being aggressive enough and one of these new people will take you on and things will start to happen.”

“God, you are so good for my ego,” Samantha said. “You actually make it sound as if anything’s still possible.”

“I believe it is,” Gabi told her. “The question is, do you?”

“After talking to these four professionals, I’ll admit, I started feeling more optimistic.”

“All right, then!” Gabi enthused.

“But,” Samantha cautioned, “this is it. I’m giving it a few more months, not years. I don’t want to be waiting tables when I’m fifty and talking about the days when I used to act.”

“That seems reasonable,” Gabi told her. “It never hurts to have a timetable in mind. But, Samantha, don’t be afraid to change the timetable if it feels right, if you sense that the next big thing is just around the corner.”

“Forget the next big thing. I’ll be happy with just one tiny glimmer of hope.”

“Okay, then. I’m getting paper and a pen. We’re going to start making some notes.”

For the next half hour, she interviewed her sister as she would any client whose story she wanted to sell.

“You know all this stuff,” Samantha complained.

“But I can come up with better angles and livelier copy if I have the information in your own words. I’ll draft a couple of things and run them by you in the next few days. I’ll go back and look for the best places to plant some items in the media up there. In the meantime, can you try to find out what projects these casting directors are working on? Maybe we can hint that you’re under consideration for something that’s getting a lot of buzz.”

“Isn’t that dishonest?”

“Not if I handle it properly. Besides, PR is a game. You know that as well as I do. Once people start thinking you’re a hot commodity, they’ll all want to check you out.”

Samantha laughed. “Does Dad have any idea how good you were at your job and what a jerk he was for not hiring you himself?”

“I doubt it,” Gabi said. “But I’ve got an equally exciting client right now, and I’m going to make you a star.”

“That may be overly ambitious, but I appreciate the thought.”

“Love you,” Gabi told her.

“Love you back.”

“And we’ll talk soon. Thanks for listening to me about Wade. You helped me sort through my thoughts.”

“Anytime,” Samantha said. “One last bit of advice—give the guy a break. Men like Wade aren’t lurking around every corner.”

Gabi smiled. “No, they certainly aren’t.”

And she probably needed to keep that in mind.

* * *



“So I filled her in about me and Kayla, and she walked away,” Wade told Louise two days after his conversation with Gabi. “I haven’t seen her since.”

Louise stared at him in shock. “You told her everything?”

“Everything,” he confirmed.

“Even the part you never acknowledged to me?” she asked pointedly.

He leveled a look into her eyes. “Even that.”

“Have you called?”

“I left a couple of messages. She hasn’t responded.” He peered closely at his sister. “Are you gloating? Don’t you dare gloat.”

Louise frowned at him. “Do you honestly think I would ever be happy about anything that caused you pain? This is what I was trying to prevent. Gabi’s life is obviously in turmoil. I doubt she can see anything clearly at the moment except that she’s pregnant and has no career. It’s not exactly the best time for her to form a new bond with a man, unless she’s the clingy type that just needs a man to prop her up.”

“That is definitely not who she is,” Wade said, dismissing the possibility.

His sister nodded. “I agree, which means she’s going to want to get her feet back under her. Maybe then she’ll be ready for a new man in her life.”

Wade leveled a look at her. “I want to be that man,” he said flatly.

Louise blinked at that. “You’re that sure?”

“I’m that sure,” he confirmed.

“What if she decides her best option is to go back to Raleigh? Would you seriously consider making a move?”

“I might,” he said, though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He thought about the compromise Boone had reached with Emily, opening a restaurant in California to be with her while she worked on something that meant the world to her. How could he be willing to do any less, if that’s what it took to make things work out?

“Boy, you do have it bad,” Louise said. “I didn’t think you’d ever leave Sand Castle Bay.”

“I wouldn’t want to,” he conceded. “And I think the fact that Gabi put her town house in Raleigh up for sale is a pretty good indication that she’s cutting those ties.”

“Wade, you heard her say at lunch that she doesn’t know what the future for her here holds. The whole wind-chime thing seems a little crazy to me. I think it’s been some kind of creative outlet for her, but I seriously doubt her life’s work is in cutting up bits of glass.”

He frowned at her description. “You think Sally’s an artist, right? You don’t dismiss her work that way.”

“Sally is an artist. Gabi’s dabbling. And that is not meant as an insult. I think she’s all but admitted that herself.”

Even though Wade didn’t much like his sister’s tone, he couldn’t really argue. For one thing, he hadn’t seen a single finished wind chime. For another, Gabi’s level of enthusiasm had waned as her days in the studio had passed without something to show for them.

And yet he believed that her love for the wind chimes, for Sand Castle Bay, for Cora Jane—maybe even for him—would all ultimately play a part in her finding happiness right here. He just needed to figure out how.

He stood. “I’m heading home,” he announced.

“Before dinner?” Louise asked, startled.

“I’m working on a project,” he said. “I need to get back to it.”

“You’re not mad at me for speaking my mind, are you?”

“No. I wouldn’t have come to you if all I’d wanted was a sympathetic ear,” he said with a grin. “For that I’d have called Zack and we’d have gone out for a beer. From you I know I’ll get the unvarnished truth, at least as you see it.”

Louise frowned. “Thanks, I think.”

“It actually was a compliment,” he said, dropping a kiss on her cheek. “Tell the kids I’m sorry I missed them. I forgot about the swimming lessons today. I’ll see ’em soon.”

He was on his way home when he was struck by an idea. He made a quick turn and headed into the countryside instead, winding up at Sally’s. Since the lights were on in the studio, but not in the house, he wandered out and knocked on the door.

“Come on in,” she called out.

He shook his head at her lack of safety precautions. “Shouldn’t you know who’s at the door before you invite them in?” he asked.

“Saw your car,” she said succinctly, all her attention directed at the piece of glass in front of her. “Have a seat. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll give you my full attention.”

Rather than sitting, he moved closer to peek over her shoulder. She was working on the centerpiece of a wind chime, using bits of glass that would eventually be fused under high heat to create a colorful sailboat design. He recognized how delicate the process could be, so backed away and wandered around, looking at some of her completed work. He recognized her talent, both in design and in execution. He couldn’t help wondering if anything Gabi had done had come close.

“There!” she finally said, a note of triumph and satisfaction in her voice. “Now, tell me what brings you by for the second time in the past couple of days. Is this visit about Gabi, too?”

“As a matter of fact, it is. I was wondering how the whole wind-chime thing is working out for her.”

Sally regarded him with amusement. “Isn’t that a question you should be asking her?”

“Oh, I definitely want her perspective, but you’re the expert. I need your take before I go to her with an idea I’ve been toying around with since she came to town.”

“Explain,” Sally commanded.

“Well, if she’s showing great potential and this is her future, then my idea isn’t worth mentioning. I certainly don’t want her to feel that I have no faith in her, if working with glass is her destiny or something.”

Sally gave him a sharp look. “This is between us, right? You are never, not in a million years, going to repeat what I say to her?”

“Of course not.”

She continued to look doubtful. “Because I like her, and I would never, ever want to hurt her feelings.”

“Understood,” he said, already beginning to get the picture.

“She doesn’t have a lick of artistic talent,” Sally said candidly. “Her ideas are spot on. In fact, she’s had a couple of designs I wouldn’t mind trying myself, but the execution?” She shook her head. “The pieces just aren’t coming together.”

“Couldn’t that come with practice? She is just a beginner, after all.”

“We were all beginners once,” Sally agreed. “I remember that stage. Trust me, Gabi’s at the stage before that, whatever that is. Don’t get me wrong. She’s made a few improvements. She tries so hard and gets so frustrated that I feel bad for her, but truthfully, I just don’t see this happening.”

Wade appreciated the candor. “So, should I encourage her, discourage her, offer an alternative?”

“If you have an alternative, I’d definitely toss it out there. I think she knows where this is going.”

Wade nodded. “Mind if I try the idea out on you first? You might want to be involved.”

It was evident he’d piqued her curiosity. “Tell me,” she said eagerly.

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about something like this for a while. We—that is, the local artists—all have one or two favorite shops that sell our pieces, right? And we may go to a few shows during the season.”

“Sure.”

“What if we did something together, something bigger? What if we formed an art consortium of some kind with a gallery, but more important, some individual workshop spaces, so it could be a destination for tourists? They have these kinds of things in other cities, like the Torpedo Factory outside of Washington. I think there’s something similar in Miami, as well. Lots of other places with a big artists’ colony have them, too, I think.”

Sally’s eyes lit up. “I like it. I’ve been wanting to turn this space into a guesthouse. If I had a studio someplace like that, I could do it. But how does Gabi fit in?”

“She clearly has the right sensibility for what we do, even if she can’t create wind chimes or whatever. And she has the sort of public relations experience that could put this place on the map. It could be a win-win for us and for her.” He regarded Sally hopefully. “What do you think? Be honest. I don’t want to even start down this road with her if the idea’s off the wall and the other artists around won’t embrace it.”

“Oh, I’m sure there will be some holdouts,” Sally said. “They don’t call artists eccentric for no reason. But personally I think it’s a fantastic idea, and I agree Gabi is the perfect person to pull it all together. She’s organized. She can spread the word. I love it, Wade. I really do.”

She gave him a knowing look. “Not that there’s even a tiny bit of self-interest behind this for you, right?”

He could feel the heat climbing up his neck. “I want her to stick around,” he said simply. “This could make that happen.”

“If you need my help selling her on the idea, let me know,” Sally said. “Frankly, I think she’s going to jump all over this, and I think you’re part of the reason. Her heart’s here, Wade, because of family, sure, but also because she has feelings for you. I’ve seen it every time your name comes up. She may not be ready to admit that to herself yet, but she will if you give her time.”

Wade gave her a hug. “Thanks. You won’t say anything to her, will you?”

“Absolutely not,” she promised. “This is your sales pitch to make.”

Wade nodded, grateful for her insights. Sally had offered exactly the kind of encouragement he needed. Now he just had to figure out the right approach to take with Gabi to sell her. He had a feeling this was his best shot to grabbing everything he wanted. If she turned her back on this, it was entirely possible he’d have to face the prospect of losing her.