Summer at Willow Lake (44 page)

“Connor Davis? You mean Terry Davis’s boy?”

“He’s not a boy anymore.”

“He’s not right for you, Olivia. He wasn’t years ago, and he isn’t now.”

“You don’t know anything about him, Mom.”

“I know about you. Don’t do anything foolish, Olivia.”

“Oh, believe me,” she said. “I already have.”

“What a dumb ass,” Julian said to Connor. “You are, like, this close to missing the ceremony.” Julian was in charge of ferrying guests back and forth on the pontoon boat, its railings festooned with swags of flowers and greenery. He hastened to push off the dock. The small trolling engine sputtered to life, and Julian steered expertly toward the island, where the guests were gathering for the renewal of the vows. The only other passengers were an elderly couple who had arrived a few minutes ago.

“Watch your mouth,” Connor warned his brother. “Show a little respect.”

The old man and his wife were either hard of hearing or they weren’t listening. They sat at the rail of the boat, looking across the water, their hands touching. There was something about a long-married couple, Connor thought. They knew each other’s rhythms and they seemed to fit together naturally, like trees that had grown side by side for so long their branches intertwined.

He straightened his bow tie. “Do I look okay?”

Julian studied him with a critical eye, then gave a thumbs-up. “What took you so long?”

“I had to go into town to pick something up.”

“Huh. Like what?”

Connor tapped his breast pocket, feeling the small rounded box from Palmquist Jewelry. “I’ll show you later.”

Julian raised his eyebrows.
“Dude.”

“If you say one word to anyone, I’ll—”

“Man, you don’t need to worry. Anyway, it’s not like anybody’s going to be surprised, except maybe Olivia.” Julian paused. “It’s all good, Con. She’s great.”

Understatement of the year, Connor thought. She was better than great. She was adorable and affectionate and funny, and he loved her with every cell in his body. She was the one he wanted to grow old with, twining his life with hers. All this time, she was what he had been missing without even realizing he was missing her. He grinned at his brother. “So you think she’ll be surprised?”

“Who knows how a girl thinks?”

That made Connor laugh. “Maybe you can study that in college.”

“Maybe,” he said. “So do you think it’s crazy, me trying to get into the air force ROTC?”

“Nah. You’re just what they’re looking for.” Connor hoped his brother would go through with the process. If the kid could hack the discipline, it could be a good match for him—a place where he could put both his brains and his fearlessness to use.

Julian flicked a dreadlock out of his eyes. “I guess I could use a haircut anyway.”

“You’re late,” Olivia said without looking at Connor as he slid into the folding chair next to hers. She felt a fundamental change when he was near. The air took on a certain quality, an intensity, though she seemed to be the only one who noticed that.

“Sorry.”

Like most guys, Connor didn’t seem to care much for weddings. She relented and glanced his way. Oh, my. He looked like something out of a dream, in a flawless tux, perfectly shaved, his hair recognizably styled. He smelled delicious. If Connor Davis was the sexiest man she’d ever known, Connor Davis in a tux was something beyond that. It was possible that he was
too
good-looking, to the point of being intimidating, like someone in a BBC production.

“Something the matter?” he asked, his breath warm as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

She realized then she’d gasped aloud at his appearance. “You clean up real well,” she said.

“Ha ha.”

“Dearly beloved,” said the pastor. “On August 26, 1956, in this very spot, my father performed the ceremony that bound these two hearts as one. Now, half a century later, our dear friends Charles Bellamy and Jane Gordon Bellamy have come back to celebrate their love and to renew their lifelong bond in the presence of those they hold most dear. My own father has passed on to his reward, but today, on this glorious summer day, I feel his pleasure. Surely this pleases the Almighty as well, this glorious celebration of the enduring grace of love.”

Olivia knew it wouldn’t take long for the tears to start. There was no question there would be crying. She and her cousins and aunts had all lacquered on the waterproof mascara. However, they felt duty bound to lay some ground rules. No audible sobs, no visible shaking. Dark glasses would be required for those who were most at risk. The women had made a pact that when the vows began, they wouldn’t look at each other, because eye contact under these circumstances tended to set off a chain reaction.

Still, nothing could have prepared Olivia for the huge wave of sentiment that came over her the very second her grandfather turned to her grandmother and took her hands in his as gently as if they were two shy birds about to fly away.

There was something so holy in the way they looked at one another, with love shining from their faces, brighter than the sun. Nana was beyond gorgeous in a dress of cream silk charmeuse with a lace collar, her silver hair swept into a graceful coil. Granddad, tall and distinguished in his tux, cleared his throat and began to speak the vows he had prepared.

“When I was a young man,” he said, “it was drummed into me that a person’s great ambition in life should be to marry well. In the Bellamy family, that meant I should find a certain type of girl, from a certain type of family. But that’s not what I found, here in this small mountain town, so far from everything I knew. One summer when I least expected it, I met the most beautiful girl in the world. She wasn’t that certain type I was supposed to be looking for. She was the one I was supposed to be with. Now, fifty years later, I can honestly say that I have married well. So here’s to you, my love, my beautiful Janie. It’s been a grand adventure.”

“I, too, have married well,” Nana replied, beaming at him. “I married my best friend, the love of my life, the one who has walked by my side on our life’s journey, the father of my four wonderful, beloved children. I’m proud to marry you all over again. I feel so blessed to have shared these years with you, Charles, and I vow to share all the years to come, to love you every single day with every bit of my heart.”

Daisy and her mother Sophie played a soft duet on flute and clarinet, a Brahms air. With ritual solemnity, Charles and Jane exchanged the new rings that had been forged especially for the occasion by a goldsmith of Lightsey Gold & Gem. His open hands hovering over a missal, the pastor read a prayer.

Olivia felt an eruption of emotion inside her, and knew she was about to violate every ground rule they’d laid out for themselves. She had already committed an audible sniffle. She was trembling, blinking fast. If she opened her mouth, she knew a loud sob would escape.

“Code red.” Beside her, Dare murmured a warning to Freddy. “Olivia’s about to go into meltdown. Quick, say something to distract her.”

Freddy was useless. He was staring at the ground, the tears pouring down his face.

“You barely know these people,” Dare hissed at him, and then she nearly lost it as well, crushing a Kleenex to her face.

“Hold on, Lolly,” Connor whispered in her ear. “You’re doing fine.”

In contrast to the solemnity of the ceremony, the celebration afterward was a frenzy of food, drink, music and good wishes. Dare had created a beautiful setting with crisp white tablecloths and colorful centerpieces, and rented crystal and silver that caught the deep light of sunset as it streamed through the windows. The champagne flowed freely, toasts were raised to the Bellamys and there was a tangible air of happiness in the dining hall and on the adjacent deck.

“Not too shabby,” Freddy said, giving Olivia a nudge as the dance floor filled.

“Not at all,” she agreed. “Thanks for everything this summer.”

“Are you kidding? It’s one of the best gigs I’ve ever had.”

She smiled, watching his gaze devour Dare, who was drawing a reluctant but good-natured Max out onto the floor for a dance. Everyone, it seemed, was dancing, even the most frail of wedding guests, who needed the aid of a walker. The entire space was filled with laughter and movement. This summer, Olivia thought, had been an amazing ride.

“Are you all right?” Freddy asked her.

“Sure.”

“What’s going on with you and Mr. Wonderful?”

Between the emotional ceremony and getting the party under way, she’d barely had time to talk to Connor. Even if she did, she wasn’t sure what she’d say.
I fell in love with you all over again? Can we make it work this time?
The questions were so new and so raw, she couldn’t even answer them for herself, let alone for him.

“I don’t know,” she said to Freddy.

“Sure you do. I can see it on your face.” He led her onto the dance floor as “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” played.

She bit her lip, fought for control, because she felt like crying. She’d felt that way all day long. “There’s the small matter of my track record,” she reminded him. “Three strikes and you’re out, isn’t that how most things work?”

“Not this, you idiot,” Freddy said. “Listen, the last three are history for a reason. And okay, I admit it, I thought maybe I could be that reason, but that was just wishful thinking.”

“Aw, Freddy.”

“Think about the story your granddad told earlier, about his family threatening to boycott his wedding, his father cutting him out of the family fortune. What if he’d caved to that?” Freddy let go of her hand and gestured around the room. “If he had, none of this would have happened. This is the kind of thing you stay and fight for.”

“I have a life in the city, my business—”

“Details, details,” he said impatiently. “For every problem you bring up, I’ll hand you a solution, and you know it. I’ll sublet your apartment. Take care of the business.”

“It’s my job.”

“But this,” he said, “this could be your life if you’d quit resisting it.”

She kissed his cheek. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She’d thought of nothing else lately, her heart pounding in terror, yet she had no idea what she was afraid of. The only thing scarier than imagining a future with Connor was imagining a future without him.

“Do better than that,” he said, bringing her to the edge of the dance floor and smoothly trading her for Dare. Before Olivia could respond, the two of them were off, laughing and lost in each other, making love seem like such a simple proposition.

“You said you wouldn’t cry during the ceremony,” said a stern, familiar voice behind her. “You nearly made
me
lose it, and think what a disaster that would have been.”

Olivia turned and gave her grandmother a hug. “I’m sorry, Nana. It was all so lovely. I couldn’t stifle myself.”

Nana slipped her arm through Olivia’s and the two of them strolled out through the French doors to the deck overlooking the lake. The last colors of sunset glazed the water and imbued the camp with a deep, rich glow. The sounds of music, laughter and clinking glasses melded beautifully with the quieter sounds of the summer breeze and the birds of evening. Nana sighed happily. “You did this, Olivia,” she said. “You made the camp look even more beautiful than I remember. It’s everything I’d hoped for and more.”

“I loved doing it, Nana.”

When they’d first arrived, her grandparents had been like children again, scurrying from place to place, oohing and aahing over the camp’s transformation.

“I’m glad you agreed to do it,” Nana said. “I did so want you to come back here.” A sly look flickered in her eyes. “You had unfinished business.”

“Connor Davis,” Olivia said. “I take it Dare’s filled you in.” She pressed her hands against the deck railing. “It’s…complicated. I’m not lucky like you, Nan—”

“Luck.” Nana made a tsking sound. “That kind of thinking is naive. A monumental love and a great marriage don’t simply happen, like winning the lottery. You have to build it and nurture it, and quite often, it’s hard work. It’s not like checking into a spa, being pampered into a state of bliss.”

“I know. I’m not naive,” Olivia said. “Just…risk averse.”

Another tsk. “If you’re going to take a risk on something, why not love?”

Because I suck at love, okay?
Olivia thought, but she held her tongue.

A passing waiter offered them champagne, and they toasted each other, easing the tension of the moment. Nana took a sip and sighed again. “Charles and I have a decision to make about Camp Kioga,” she said. “We’ve been putting it off too long as it is.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We were hoping to see it reopened, not just for children, but for families. It’s quite the thing these days, you know, for families to seek a summer haven together. People’s lives have gotten too busy. Families drift apart. This is a place that can bring them together—private cabins, communal meals, planned activities. Of course, people would only stay for a week or two, but there would be all the traditions and then some, like wine tastings in the evening for adults. There’s been quite a movement afoot these days, the revival of family camp.” She finished her champagne and set down the glass. “Anyway, it’s a lovely notion but we’ve hit a snag.”

“What’s that?”

“Earlier this year, we talked to Greg and Sophie about the project, and they seemed very interested. Unfortunately, that plan fell through, for obvious reasons. Greg will have enough going on in his life without taking on the camp.” Disappointment seemed to weight her shoulders.

“We’ll figure something out,” Olivia said, slipping her arm through her grandmother’s. “Don’t worry.”

“You sound exactly like Charles. I think he’s got something up his sleeve.”

They headed inside together and joined her father, who was with Granddad and Jenny Majesky. Philip had made the introductions in private the day before. Jenny looked lovely, but seemed a little lost. Her large, dark eyes devoured Nana and Granddad as well as all the undiscovered relatives on the dance floor and lining the buffet tables.