Sea of Love: A Bayberry Island Novel (25 page)

Wallace frowned, like that was something he couldn’t comprehend. Clancy figured he hadn’t had much personal experience with making ends meet.

“Ash? Would you grab the blueberries from the counter for me, please?” Rowan’s voice was cheerful and sweet until she raised her head from the crepe pan and noticed her brother. “Oh. Hey, Clancy. I didn’t see you there.”

Wallace smiled at Clancy. “I’d better get back to work before she writes me up.”

Without thinking, Clancy held out his hand. But he pulled it back a little, remembering that Ash had been on bacon duty that morning.

“Trust me,
Clayton
.” Wallace grabbed Clancy’s hand and gave it a forceful shake, grinning. “Trichinosis puts hair on your chest. I’m telling you straight up, man.”

*   *   *

“Good morning, Karina. Ash Wallace calling.”

“Mr. Wallace! I’ve been trying to reach you for days! Is everything all right?”

As James Martin’s executive assistant at Oceanaire, Karina always struck Ash as the unflappable type. But this morning, she sounded pretty damn flapped. Ash knew he was partly to blame for her condition.

“I sincerely apologize for not responding to your voice mails, but I’ve been tied up with my last consulting assignment. It’s become quite complicated, with some iffy ethical issues involved. I ended up resigning.”

“But you’re okay?” Ash heard the concern in Karina’s voice.

“I’m fine, thank you. I still have details to sort out before I can get back to Boston, but I am happy to report that I am now officially Oceanaire’s full-time chairman of the board. Is James around this morning?”

She remained silent for a moment, which caused Ash to sit up straighter in Rowan’s dining room chair. “Karina?”

“Uh, before you talk to him, would you mind if I got you up to speed on what’s been going on here? It’s been an eventful few days.”

“Of course.”

“We had an unexpected boon last Thursday, Mr. Wallace. A generous donor has willed the foundation an extremely valuable stretch of oceanfront land on Long Island. We had no planned-giving contract with this man, no donor history at all, in fact, so the gift took us completely by surprise. That’s why I’ve been trying to reach you. Mr. Martin wants you to join him for an analysis of the site as soon as possible. He believes it might very well be the perfect location for the institute.”

Ash clamped his eyelids shut. “You’re kidding,” he muttered.

“Isn’t it remarkable?”

“It certainly is. Thank you for letting me know. Is there any chance I can have a word with James?”

“Of course, Mr. Wallace. We hope to see you very soon. I’ll put you right through.”

While he waited for Brian’s brother to pick up, Ash did his best to shove down his disappointment. Every moment that he hadn’t been focused on Rowan—and granted, there weren’t many—the idea Nat had pulled out of his ass at the clambake had consumed him. Ash really thought he felt the heavy hand of destiny in all this and had been anxious to get the ball rolling first thing this morning. It was only ten minutes past nine, and his bubble had already burst.

“Ash! What the hell have you been up to? Karina just told me you’ve officially resigned from your consulting work.”

“Sorry for being out of touch, and, yes, I have. My attorneys will have to close out some outstanding retainer agreements, but I’m not taking on any new jobs.”

“That’s fabulous news. Listen, did Karina tell you about the property?”

“She did.”

“You don’t sound thrilled.”

“I’ll have to see it.”

“I’ve already got our science division looking at what the site has to offer in term of density and variety of marine life, tidal pools, sediment, levels of thermal or chemical pollution, you name it. And I’ve already sent the topography and bathymetry to architects. Ash, the initial reaction from everyone is that this place has real potential. We’re all pretty excited about it. I need you on board as soon as possible. When are you coming back to town?”

In all the years he’d known James Martin, he’d never heard him string so many words together so fast and without pausing to breathe.

“Ash? Did I lose you?”

“No.” He drummed his fingers on the top of Rowan’s dinette table. “Have you ever heard of a place called Bayberry Island?”

James laughed. “Sure. We’ve gone there with the kids a few times. The place is a trip. They’ve got this kooky obsession with mermaids.”

“They do.”

“The kids love it, though. They had a blast dressing up like pirates and eating their body weight in carnival food, but we ended up staying at this old bed-and-breakfast Maggie found online. Good grief! The place was a dump—the Safe Harbor or something like that.”

“The Safe Haven.”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Ash pulled his lips tight and continued to drum his fingers on the table, deciding on how to present this.

“You there?”

“Yeah.” Ash straightened. “Hey, James? I’m going to ask you to put the Long Island stuff on hold and bring a team to Bayberry—design, science, legal, and finance people, plus enough of the board to make a quorum—everybody. That’s where I am right now. I think this is our place.”

James laughed uproariously. “Are you fucking kidding me? Mermaid Island? You’re there right now? I thought you were working!”

“I am. I was. Look, I was hired to acquire property here on the island, but it’s not a good fit for the huge commercial project they have in mind. This is the ideal location for an educational and research facility, however. There’s a rich and colorful history of human-marine cohabitation on Bayberry Island.”

Ash heard himself and had to roll his eyes at his own shamelessness. In all his years of closing deals, he couldn’t remember when he’d dished out such a load of bullshit. The truth was, he had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

“Are you serious?”

“I am. The site boasts more than four hundred acres of oceanfront land, a beautiful beach, and existing improvements that could be easily adapted to the institute’s needs.”

“You’re sure this land is for sale? I haven’t seen it listed and I’ve been looking. Besides, even if it is, it’s got to be outrageously expensive, and the New York property is already ours.”

James had a point. “It would be unfair of me to compare the sites, since I haven’t seen the other one, but I feel in my gut that this is the place.”

James grunted. He wasn’t falling for it.

“Have you heard of something called the Friendship Ledge? It’s an underwater mountain range that’s supposed to have—”

“Of course I know about it.”

“Well, it’s just northwest of the island.”

“Sure. Okay. It is, isn’t it?”

Ash could tell he had him hooked again. “Besides, if we own the Long Island property outright then we can sell it to pay for Bayberry. James, the idea here is to find the
right
place for the institute, not the most convenient. Plus our facility could help rejuvenate the island economy, which has really suffered recently. The institute would attract hundreds of visitors each year—students, their families, visiting academics. God knows, Long Island isn’t similarly challenged in their efforts to bring in tourist income.”

“How much do they want per acre?”

“I’m not sure on the numbers yet, but I’m making progress. There are thirty-seven individual property owners along the cove that have to set their price. When do you think you can be here?”

“Jesus, Ash!” James laughed. “I don’t know. This is . . . this is a complete change in direction. My head is spinning. Maybe we can get there in a couple weeks.”

“Look, here’s the problem. We need to get in here before the resort developers send another closer to finalize the deal. I know they’re going to be incredibly aggressive. Can you get everyone here tomorrow?”

James laughed again. “Are you smoking some of the island’s best shit?” He groaned. “I’ll do what I can. Today’s Tuesday. There’s no way we can get there by tomorrow, so it’s going to be Thursday at the absolute earliest, but I’m not making any promises.”

“Great.” Ash started to breathe easier. “I’ll arrange for a meeting with the landowners. We need to dazzle the locals, so bring the architectural models and anything else shiny and sparkly you got lying around. You’ll have to fly into the Vineyard or Nantucket and charter a boat or helicopter.”

“Uh, are you sure about this, Ash?”

Of course he wasn’t sure about it. There was still an outside chance that the cove shoreline wouldn’t be suited for the institute. Or that the locals would oppose the idea. Or that it was foolish to pass up the Long Island opportunity. There was only one thing he was certain of. Brian had always encouraged him to follow his gut feeling, and his gut was telling him to at least try.

“James, listen. This is going to sound really weird, so please bear with me.”

“And the rest of this hasn’t been weird?”

He chuckled. “I know in my heart that Brian would have loved this place. I think this is just the kind of setting he envisioned for his dream. The people here are adventurous and fun loving and they have a real connection to the sea. That sounds like Brian; don’t you agree? And you said it yourself—kids love this island. Just think of how much they’d enjoy studying and living here during the summers. It’s absolutely
perfect
.”

James was silent at first, but eventually he surrendered to Ash’s enthusiasm. “You might be right. We’ll come look at it. I owe you that much. But there’s one major concern I don’t think you’ve taken into consideration.”

“What’s that?”

“Woods Hole. It’s right there on the Cape. There’s no way we could ever compete with them—they’re the country’s largest independent oceanographic facility. We would pale in comparison.”

Ash felt himself smile. “But what if we didn’t worry about competing and found a way to partner with them instead? That would make their proximity a huge plus instead of a minus. Think of the possibilities, James.”

“I’m thinking. I am. All right, fine. I’ll get the team together and tell them we’re making a slight detour. Listen, if I call you, would you pick up your damn phone? I’ll feel like I’m flying blind if I can’t reach you.”

“I’ll keep my cell with me. See you Thursday. Thanks, James.”

“Hey, wait! Should we plan on flying back on the same day or staying over? Where are you staying?”

Ash chuckled. “At the dump.”

“Y
ou asked to see me, Jerrod?”

Kathryn took a tentative step inside her boss’s office, uncertain what awaited her. A garden-variety bad mood? A grown man bouncing off the walls? Another obscene session of straw sucking?

Or was she about to get fired?

“Sit down.”

Kathryn took a seat in one of the black leather chairs in front of his desk. She folded her hands and took a calming breath.

“You’re on. The Mermaid Island is your baby. Make it happen.”

Kathryn was stunned. For a moment, she could do nothing but stare, her mouth hanging open like a dolt’s.
“Really?”

Jerrod scowled at her. “You came in here all Zig Ziglar on me yesterday, and now you act like it’s a miracle that I’d trust you with the assignment? Which one is it, sweetheart?”

She snapped out of her stupor. “Of course you can trust me. I’m on it.” Kathryn jumped to her feet.

Jerrod laughed, shaking his head. “Hold up, honey. You’re taking Brenda Paulson with you. I think the two of you could use some girl bonding. I’ve noticed you’re not exactly BFFs, and you’ll need to fix that.”

He’d just lost her. “What? I’m sorry. Did you say something about Brenda?”

He chuckled again. “See, here’s how I look at it. You close the Mermaid Island project and I promote you to vice president for acquisitions. Then I promote Brenda into your old job. But none of that’s going to happen if the two of you continue with your catfight over Ash Wallace, although I must admit it’s been entertaining.”

Kathryn couldn’t help it. Her eyes bugged out. This was the most ridiculous, sexist pile of garbage she’d ever heard come out of Jerrod Jessop’s mouth, and that was really saying something. Fighting over Ash Wallace? How ludicrous could he get?

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Jerrod. Brenda and I get along fine. She has a little bit of a crush on Ash Wallace, but I hardly think that’s a factor now that he’s out of the picture.”

“Yeah, okay. Anyway, get to Bayberry as soon as you can. Meet with the landowners and get this fucking deal done. Everyone is going to lose a lot of money if we have to start over, looking for a new location.”

“I understand. Absolutely.” Kathryn headed for the door. “I’ll keep you posted on all the developments.”

“You do that.”

*   *   *

“Gather ’round, ye ’maids.” Mona heard the exhaustion in her voice and realized she was nothing but a hypocrite. She’d been berating nearly everyone for a lack of festival-week enthusiasm, and here she was, too tired to get up off her couch.

The group staggered in and took their seats. It was clear from the droopy eyelids and shuffling feet that the ladies had managed to consume their share of beer the night before even while carrying out their clambake duties.

Darinda sat next to Mona on the sofa sectional. In the last few days, Mona had noticed that she was one of the brighter and more observant Mermaid Society members, and her heart was in the right place. Darinda had become Mona’s right-hand ’maid this week, and it was obvious there was real potential in her, possibly even the makings of the society’s next president.

“Are you all right?” Darinda leaned in and patted Mona’s knee. “You don’t look so good. Is your arthritis bothering you today?”

“I have a lot on my mind this morning.”

Darinda cleared her throat. “Sit down, everyone! We need to get started! Let’s move it, people!”

Since those words hadn’t been uttered by anyone but Mona for the last twenty years, the room went silent. Mouths hung open. Mona knew her friends well enough to be sure their response had nothing to do with jealousy. Not even a little.
No one
coveted the job of president of the Bayberry Island Mermaid Society. That’s why Mona’s unanimous reelection every two years was like that of a banana republic dictator—not exactly a shocker and greeted with a celebration that was mostly for show.

Mona glanced over her shoulder at Darinda and smiled. It felt good to know someone had her back for a change.

“Thank you, Darinda.” Mona waited for the women to get settled. “As usual, if you take the last of the coffee, please put on a fresh pot. All right. Let’s get started.”

Polly opened one eye and raised her hand, rocking back and forth a little. “I’m not going to be able to work the crowd at the reenactment today. I’m not feeling all that great.”

“I’m not either,” Layla said.

“Me either,” Abby said.

“That’s not why I called this meeting. I don’t give a rat’s ass if anyone works the reenactment. You’re grown women. You know your responsibilities as Mermaid Society members, and you can choose whether or not you feel like honoring them.”

Someone’s foot slipped off the coffee table and hit the floor with a thud.

“Uh, where’s your binder, Mona?”

She shrugged at Izzy’s question. “I don’t know. In the kitchen, I guess.”

“Want me to go get it?” Izzy began to get up from the sofa.

“No need. Let’s just get on with the meeting, okay? I’m sure we all have better things to do.”

Mona paid no attention to the exchange of glances, the head shakes, and the widening eyeballs. “This is only partly about society business, so let’s get that issue out of the way first.” Mona cupped each knee in a palm and straightened her spine. “This has to do with Rowan.”

“No shit,” Polly said. “She and the Man Grab were Velcroed to each other all night last night.”

“I thought they looked incredible together,” Izzy said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Rowan happier,” Layla said.

“I know!” Abby did three quick fist pumps. “I think we’ve got our ‘something big’ to brag about. Just like Darinda predicted, our Man Grab was affected by the Great Mermaid, and she sent him to Rowan! How perfect is that?”

“Did you see how he looked at her?” Layla waved her arms around. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a man so smitten. It was like he—”

“Stop.” Mona sighed. This was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. But of course the Mermaid Society members would focus on any possible connection between Rowan and Ash’s new love and the Great Mermaid’s magic—that was the whole point of the group. But Mona needed to nip this in the bud.

“I have a special request to make of all of you. I want us to step away from Rowan and Ash. No talk of the Man Grab or the Great Mermaid’s powers, or Rowan falling in love. Please. I’m asking you for this not as your president but as Rowan’s mother and your lifelong friend.”

“Ooookay.” Polly set down her coffee mug. “Did I miss something? Did something happen I don’t know about? Why the sudden change of heart, Mona?”

Mona chuckled. “You’re right. Something has happened to
me
. I realized last night that Rowan’s happiness is more important to me than being right about the mermaid. I realized that Rowan and Ash have a right to their privacy. Even if their love is connected to the legend, we have no right to shove that concept down their throats. So I want us to back
waaay
the hell away from them. Give them their space.”

A collective gasp went up through the room.

Abby looked as if she might cry. “But I thought we agreed we needed something to inspire the island, make people believe in love again.”

“You know what I think?” Mona smiled sadly. “I think if people want to believe in love, they’ll make that decision on their own. I’m sick of shoving love down people’s throats, and I will certainly not allow my daughter to be bullied like that again.”

“Holy shit.”

That was the first time anyone had heard Darinda curse.

“But, Mona . . .” Darinda frowned. “Isn’t that our charter? Isn’t that the reason we’re here, to help people remain open to the possibility that magic exists and that love is magic?”

“Absolutely.” Mona nodded. “But not this time. Not with Rowan and Ash. Is everybody clear on this?”

Polly whistled. “I can’t wait to hear the second reason this meeting was called.”

“Well, then, I’ll get right to it. I won’t waste anyone’s time.” Mona looked into the faces of each of her friends so that they would know she meant business. “Ladies, I’m giving up my fight against the Mermaid Island Resort. I’ve decided we should all just sell.”

The room erupted. A few women stood up and hooted with happiness, and others sat motionless and stupefied. Someone’s coffee cup got knocked over in the fracas. Somebody whispered that they were going to be rich. Darinda grabbed Mona’s forearm and squeezed so tight it was painful.

“Mona! No!” Her face was twisted with disbelief. “You can’t do that!”

“I can and I will.”

“Hold up. Hold up.” Polly stood—a little wobbly—and sliced her flattened hands through the air like a referee. “Can we all just remain fucking ladylike here? There’s got to be a good reason for this one-eighty turnaround, so let’s give Mona an opportunity to explain. Thank you.” Polly sat back down.

“‘Fucking ladylike’ is an oxymoron,” Izzy said.

“Please just hear me out.” Mona felt her chin quiver. She knew she’d have to be quick about this because her emotions were right at the surface. If she dwelled on it too long, she would surely burst into tears.

“As you all know, I’ve worked for more than a year to stop the resort plans. It’s no secret that it’s taken a toll on my family, my marriage, and my relationship with my friends and neighbors.”

No one moved.

“But yesterday I realized what my stubbornness was doing to Rowan. She’s trapped here. She’s miserable. It’s like I’m holding her prisoner in the Safe Haven, and it breaks my heart to see how I’ve backed her into a corner. It wasn’t all that long ago that I was a young woman in love, knowing . . . sure that . . . all I’m saying is that I had the right to make my own choices, even make my own mistakes. Because it was my life, no one else’s.”

Abby sniffed. She was crying. Mona pressed on.

“I’ve been fighting to save the house because I thought I was preserving our family heritage and way of life, but instead I’ve just hurt the people I love. The place is falling down, and there will never be enough money to restore it. I’ve put an impossible burden on my daughter and have only added to the burden of my friends and neighbors. It’s time to let the whole ridiculous thing go.”

“But what about the environment?” Darinda looked crushed.

Mona shrugged. “Maybe we can work with the developers to limit damage to the ecosystem. They might even be willing to do another environmental assessment.”

“But the island will never be the same,” Izzy whispered.

Mona smiled sadly at Izzy. “With or without the resort, the island is going to have to change. We can either work to maximize the positive impact of development, or we can sit back and watch the island slowly die.”

Darinda shook her head. “This is terrible.”

“I need a little time to arrange for a meeting with the developers to be sure the offer is still on the table, so I will ask for your discretion until then. Can I count on that?”

One by one, the members of the society stood and formed their sacred circle. Each woman placed her right hand above her heart and recited the pledge of secrecy, their lips moving in silent unison, their expressions solemn.

*   *   *

Ash headed toward the marine yard. When he rounded the corner and the
Provenance
came into view, his eyes scanned nervously over her clean lines, narrow beam, and elegant sloop rigging. Though an old crane had moored alongside his boat, its motor wasn’t running and Sully was nowhere to be seen.

Ash’s heart beat fast. He worried about whether Sully had been able to remove the old inboard engine without problems. And he worried if he’d know how to properly align and mount the new one, whether he did any maintenance to the bilge hoses while he was under there and if he knew enough to get the throttle linkages right. Now that he was no longer concerned about closing the Jessop-Riley deal, it made him cringe to think of the trauma he’d put the
Provenance
through. The next time he got behind the wheel, he’d make it up to her.

As soon as Ash reached the boat, he climbed aboard, poked his head down into the cabin, and sighed with relief. Sully had been smart enough to protect the floor around the engine compartment with a piece of plywood. It looked like the old motor had been removed without issue. Nothing in the cabin appeared to be damaged, and there was no sign of oil leaking.

“Mr. Wallace?”

Ash climbed up to see Sully standing on the dock. “Everything go okay taking it out?”

The mechanic shrugged. “Went fine. You got the boat from your grandfather, you say?”

“That’s right.”

Sully shook his head. “Well, he took mighty good care of her. She’s beautiful. All new chrome fittings, pristine rigging, cabin restored to original specs. And I’ve never seen an engine compartment so clean in all my life. That engine was only about ten years old, by the way, with plenty of life left in it. Shame you ruined it.”

He smiled. Grandfather Louis had been dead fifteen years. The meticulous care, cleaning, and restoration of the
Provenance
had been Ash’s doing, but that would go unsaid.