Saved by the Bride (31 page)

“I was just thinking about the church. How many weddings do you
think have started with the bridal party on their hands and knees trying to fish
the rings out of a crack in the floorboards?”

“Poor Logan.” Hank’s expression was half sympathy and half
humor. “He was concentrating so hard on holding that cushion and he tripped just
at the wrong moment.”

She could feel tears of laughter behind her eyes. “I could see
the rings rolling down the aisle ahead of me, getting faster and faster. From
then on it was like watching a comedy of errors as Dana, Mom and your parents
threw themselves into the aisle, trying to grab the rings and missing. It was
like they had a magnetic force pulling them into the broken floorboard.”

He put his hand on the small of her back. “How many brides
arrive at the altar doubled over in laughter?”

She giggled again. “I couldn’t help it. Everyone’s expressions
were priceless and besides, it’s made our wedding unique. It’s a story we can
tell our children and grandchildren.” A sigh of contentment rolled through her.
“A month ago I would have been distraught at the idea of something like that
happening but today it didn’t matter one bit. I was in a church with you and we
were getting married. Not even missing rings could stop that from
happening.”

He stroked her hair. “For a few minutes there I felt sure we’d
be borrowing Mom and Dad’s rings but Finn and Logan make a handy team.”

“I know, right? Who knew my brothers now carry matching pocket
knives that can hook rings.”

Al pulled on the reins, and to another loud cheer the horse and
carriage left the square and headed down toward the dock where Finn’s wooden
boat was waiting to transport them to Kylemore.

“It’s been a perfect day so far.” He pulled her in close. “I
can’t believe I’m so blessed to have you as my wife.”

She looked up into warm and loving honey-brown eyes and she
knew she was home. “You’ve got me forever, Hank.”

“It won’t be long enough.” And he kissed her.

* * *

When
Bridget
Callahan
married
Hank
Neiquest
,
she
carried
a
bouquet
of
fragrant
gardenias
and
white
hydrangeas
which
were
stunningly
replicated
in
sugar
on
the
four
-
tier
wedding
cake
.
The
entire
Callahan
family
was
in
attendance
at
the
rustic
church
and
the
bride’s
mother
and
stepmother
wore
complementing
dresses
from
Chicago’s
up
-
and
-
coming
designer
Lex
.
Close
friends
joined
the
happy
couple
at
the
reception
,
which
was
held
at
Sean
Callahan’s
northern
Wisconsin
vacation
home
.
Bachelor
brother
Finn
attended
alone
.
According
to
one
source
,
he
was
seen
on
the
dance
floor
enjoying
the
reception
with
many
different
partners
.

Annika dropped the copy of
People
magazine onto her brother’s coffee table, getting a tiny bit of relief from the
fact that Finn hadn’t taken a date to the wedding, but what did it really
matter? Three and a half weeks had passed since she’d last seen him and she knew
it was only a matter of time before he was dating again. After all, there was no
reason for him to be celibate—he hadn’t been foolish enough to fall in love and
nor did he have a broken heart.

She’d been in Milwaukee for a few weeks now. Her brother had
taken one look at her two suitcases and boxes and had welcomed her with open
arms saying, “Thank God, you’ve finally come to your senses.” Her mother had
emailed from New Zealand.
So
thrilled
you’re
working
for
Axel
.

At least someone was thrilled.

Her phone rang and as she answered it she could hear the noise
of a sports bar blaring in the background. “Hey, sis. Just letting you know I’m
not home for supper. The guys and I are celebrating.”

She asked the question Axel always loved to answer. “What are
you celebrating?”

“I sold five of those new apartments off the plan.”

“That’s great. Party safe.”

“Always. You enjoy having the place to yourself. Maybe watch
one of your chick flicks.”

She smiled as he hung up. Her brother was a Brewers fan, a
Packers fan, a Bucks fan, an anything Badger fan—a sports fan period, and the TV
was rusted onto the sports channel. Without him here, the apartment was eerily
quiet.

She sighed and picked up the discarded magazine. Bridey made a
stunning bride and both of the official photos that had been released showed
Hank gazing at her with so much love that it made her chest ache. She was
pleased that the wedding had gone so well for them and she was pleased for the
town too. They’d pulled off an event that usually took months of planning and
had done it in less than four weeks.

She’d had almost as long to reflect on how many mistakes she’d
made. She’d been so hell-bent on getting an industry for the town that she’d
missed the true strengths of Whitetail. She pressed the message icon on her
phone and texted Nicole and the town her congratulations.

Almost instantly, Nicole replied.
Thank
you
.
Wished
you
could
have
been
there
.
Are
you
still
good
for
the
other
wedding
invitations
?

Her fingers flew.
Yes
.
Definitely
yes
. Even though she no longer had her own studio
and all that lovely AKP equipment, she was determined to find a space because
the invitations were the only thing that came close to giving her a creative
outlet. Her job as rental manager for her brother’s Realtor business paid well
but she was often bored rigid. Ironically, between that job and her contract
with AKP, she was earning the most money she’d ever earned in her life. Before
she left Whitetail, she’d hired Olivia from Sven’s Swedish Smörgåsbord to work
for Finn. She’d also tried to stop the AKP contract and get the company to
employ Olivia direct, but the very pedantic man in the Chicago office of AKP had
been adamant there was no valid reason for the contract not to run its course as
both parties were honoring it.

With Finn’s words about “not living your life through me”
ringing in her ears, Annika had promptly given Olivia a big pay rise and had
paid off all her debts but it still left her in-front financially. The money
made her uneasy.

She hadn’t seen or spoken to Finn since he’d delivered her
safely to Kylemore, brushed her cheek with a chaste kiss and wished her “All the
best.” The man she loved had held every one of his emotions in check and bid her
farewell like she’d been a valued employee rather than a lover. She’d wanted to
push him into the lake. The irony of the whole nightmare was she’d wanted him to
open up so he could enjoy a relationship with his father. All she’d achieved was
him digging his feelings down deeper into his emotional abyss.

She may not have spoken to any of the Callahan men but she’d
received texts from Dana, Kathleen and Bridey each week, asking her if she was
“Doing okay?” She appreciated their thoughtfulness but each message brought a
fresh wave of pain with it. Finn’s family cared for her but the one Callahan she
loved with every part of her didn’t care for her enough.

The sun had started to drop and the light was fading, making
the apartment dim and, given her dreary thoughts, she needed light. Lots of
bright and cheery light. She flipped on the main lamp and instantly heard a hiss
as the bulb blew, just as it had the night before. “And we didn’t buy any new
ones,” she said to Axel’s Labrador, Jet, and rubbed her ears. “Tomorrow we call
the electrician, but for now I guess we’ll just have to sit in the gloom.” But
just the thought of it had her changing her mind. “Let’s go outside.”

Jet didn’t seem at all perturbed by any of it and padded out
onto the balcony behind her. She’d been sitting there earlier checking figures
on the laptop for Axel. She tucked her feet underneath her as she sat down and
watched the colors in the sky deepen and stretch further into the horizon. Up
until now, she’d avoided doing this because it reminded her of everything she’d
lost—the lake, Whitetail, Finn and, less recently, her dream.

The Great Lakes had always fascinated her—massive inland seas
which could go from glitteringly calm to roiling waves and pounding breakers.
When she’d missed Whitetail at college, she’d had Lake Michigan. The lakes had
always inspired her art and she’d walked and camped along the miles and miles of
all of their shorelines, but she knew Lake Michigan the best. Industry had
scarred them, shipping and fishing constantly took from them and yet they could
still throw up pockets of wild and awe-inspiring beauty. They’d been her muse
until looking at them had become too painful.

The fiery orange light danced on the water, seeping into its
darkness and creating a juxtaposition of color. Light and dark. The dueling of
nature. If she was painting this she knew exactly which combination of paints
would yield that color.

She heard Finn in her head.
Start
living
your
life
the
way
you
should
by
painting
.

Her inner voice was louder.
You
can’t
even
finish
the
final
painting
of
Dawn, Day and Dusk.

She huffed out a breath.
Those
paintings
sucked
.
People
said
so
.
In
print
.
Three
times
.

Finn’s voice wouldn’t be silenced.
So
your
style
wasn’t
theirs
.
Are
you
really
going
to
let
one
person’s
opinion
rule
your
life
?

“Yes.”

Jet raised her head but when she realized Annika hadn’t said
“walk” she laid it back down on her paws.

She bit her lip as her life stretched out in front of her—alone
and working for her brother. A life devoid of color.

I
won’t
let
you
live
your
life
through
me
. A sob rose in her throat.
The
town
didn’t
want
to
be
saved
your
way
.

A sharp pain in her chest made her gasp. Oh, God, Finn was
right. She was a coward. She was living her life by believing the words of
strangers and she’d actively let them steal away her joy. Worse still, she’d
been so desperate to fill her life with something, and stay in Whitetail, that
she’d become an overbearing control freak. Her behavior had put her on the outs
with her town—a town she loved. With a moan, she dropped her head into her hands
as her conduct came under the unforgiving bright light of a spotlight. She’d
bossed around Whitetail and waded into Finn’s life telling him how to live it
when she couldn’t even get her own organized. Was too scared to even try.

Only hiding out had destroyed everything she held dear. Every
time she’d painted in the last two years, she’d done it with a huge question
mark hanging over every brush stroke.
Is
this
right
? It had sucked her dry. But no more. She
wanted to paint this sunset. She wanted to paint her lakes. She wanted to show
the stark contrast of the wild, rugged beauty against the errors of man. She
didn’t care if it was “stylized,” “derivative” or “immature,” she just knew she
needed to do it.

She needed to do it for herself.

Chapter Twenty

Finn sat in the Kylemore office wondering how Olivia
had managed to completely screw up his spreadsheet for the third time in as many
days. He’d specifically gone through the steps with her and she’d crossed her
heart, telling him that she now understood. Obviously, she hadn’t understood at
all.

He rubbed the back of his neck and groaned. It was lucky for
Olivia that it was two o’clock and she was now safely back at Sven’s,
waitressing.

You
never
had
this
problem
with
Annika
.

God, he missed her. He missed her organization in the office
and her body in bed.

You
miss
more
than
that
.

He refused to acknowledge the thought.
Damn
it
, if she hadn’t gone and broken their contract of
“summer fun” by falling in love with him, she’d still be here on this sunny
afternoon, he wouldn’t be fixing a spreadsheet and they’d be out on the boat, or
sitting in the glider seat or making love in the little cove on the far end of
the island. But she’d ruined everything.

The expression on her face when she’d said, “My bad,” still
haunted him—beautiful and sad. He’d hated that he couldn’t tell her that he
loved her back, but he didn’t love her. He’d loved being with her but that was a
long way from love. He didn’t do love.

Despite Annika saying she loved him, he wasn’t certain she was
ready to love anyone until she started valuing herself and her talents. He hated
not seeing her reach her potential and if anything good had come out of this
mess, it had been that she’d left Whitetail. Perhaps now she could truly start
over.

Keep
telling
yourself
that
. He pulled his concentration back to the
figures, glad to have work. Reliable and dependable work, where problems were
solved by logic and reason and not tainted by the mess of feelings.

“Finn?”

He looked up to see Logan scuffing the toe of his sneaker in
the doorway of the office. His little brother hadn’t done that in a long time.
These days he normally just ran straight in and spun on one of the chairs. His
visits ranged from delivering a message or making a request like, “can we
pleeeease go to the island in the canoe,” to showing off a drawing. Today he
wore a pensive expression.

“What’s up, dude?”

Logan huffed and stayed where he was.

Finn pushed back from the desk and skated his chair around
closer to Logan. “That bad, huh?”

Logan’s round face wore all the signs of frustrated
disappointment. “Yeah.”

“So the fish weren’t biting today?” Logan had the most amazing
luck catching fish and he’d rarely been disappointed that way.

“No, I caught a walleye.” His offhand delivery would have made
a keen angler despair.

Finn didn’t get it. “So what’s the problem?”

Logan’s face flushed red. “Dad says he’s not going to build the
zip line!”

Memories rumbled in Finn’s gut and he took in a long breath.
“Not going to build it as in not today or tomorrow?”

Logan shook his head. “Not never.”

Typical
,
Sean
! His little brother’s words released every promise that had
ever been made to him by his father and had then been summarily broken. For the
first time this summer, his father was finally behaving in character.
I
was
a
lousy
father
to
you
. Cold anger burned. So much for Sean learning
from his mistakes.

When Finn was a kid and had been disappointed and hurt by his
father’s broken promises, he’d always gone to his grandfather. Now Logan was
coming to him. Only Finn wasn’t going to allow another generation to suffer the
same fate. Logan idolized Sean and he didn’t deserve to have all that love and
admiration destroyed. Not like what had happened to him. He stood up. “How about
you go see if Esther’s pulled those cookies out of the oven, and I’ll go talk to
Dad.”

“Okay.” Logan stared up at him. “I just want to bomb into the
water like you did in the picture Kathleen showed me. It looks like wicked,
awesome fun.”

Finn ruffled his hair. “Me too, buddy.”

Finn found his father in the workshop making fishing lures. He
hadn’t spoken to him face-to-face since the night he’d asked him to leave the
island.

Sean turned around as the door hinges squeaked and surprise
crossed his face followed immediately by concern. “Finnegan? Is there something
wrong at the house?”

He shook his head. “No one’s sick or hurt if that’s what you
mean.”

His father’s intelligent mind absorbed this bit of information.
“That’s good to hear.”

Sean continued on with wrapping thread around chartreuse
bucktail, attaching it to a hook as if he had all the time in the world and yet
he wasn’t building a promised zip line.

Finn’s ire upped a notch. “Logan just stopped by the
office.”

Sean smiled. “Told you about the walleye, did he? Damn, but
that kid can catch fish.”

Finn crossed his arms. “He also told me about the zip line. Or
the lack of the zip line.”

“Ah.”

“Ah? That’s all you’ve got to say? Ah? What the hell are you
playing at, Sean? You told me you’d been a lousy father. Said you wanted to make
amends so I took that as you having learned the basics. Rule number one is don’t
make promises and then break them. That kid adores you. Don’t screw it up
again.”

Sean tied the thread with a firm tug. “I don’t intend to.”

“Then build the damn zip line.”

Sean took off his glasses and laid them on the workbench. “I
would, except that Hank and Bridey are on their honeymoon.”

Finn didn’t follow. “What the hell has that got to do with
anything? Get a contractor in to do the job and Logan can be using the thing by
the day after tomorrow.”

“Finnegan, the whole point of this zip line was that the family
was going to build it together.”

He threw out his arms. “So just because Hank and Bridey are
away you’ve told Logan it’s never going to be built?”

Sean laughed with affection clear on his face. “Is that what
the little schemer told you?”

Finn stilled, sensing a shift in the conversation. “I asked him
if the build had been postponed and he said, ‘No, never.’”

“What actually happened was that while we were out fishing, I
gave him all the reasons for the delay and I told him it would happen next
summer. I guess at eight that counts as never.”

“I see.” Finn swallowed hard and forced up what needed to be
said. “I apologize. I should have gotten my facts right before coming down
here.”

Sean gave a wry smile. “No problem. It’s a rookie mistake,
Finnegan. Kids can play you especially if they think it will make things go
their way.”

He thought of his teenage years. Of his anger and
disappointment, and of his need for his father to notice him. “Did I play you,
Dad?”

“After the divorce to protect your mother, and I understand
that.” Sincerity lit up his eyes. “Listen, I’m just glad you and Logan are
enjoying spending time together, and I’m even more pleased that you stormed down
here to avenge his disappointment and fight the fight for him. It’s very
brotherly of you, Finnegan. Logan’s fortunate to have you.”

And this was the side of Sean that confused the hell out of him
because he couldn’t stick it into any of the boxes he’d made for Sean years ago
and continued to use. “Maybe.” He pushed off the doorway ready to leave.

“Of course, there’s one easy way to temper Logan’s
disappointment.”

“What’s that?”

“Build the zip line with me.”

The words stopped him in his tracks and he turned slowly and
stared at his father. The wily bastard had him. Again. By coming down here, guns
blazing, he’d exposed his affection for Logan and now Sean was using it.

Using
it
to
keep
a
promise
.

He ran his hand through his hair, anticipating the same rush of
“get out now” sensations that he’d experienced every other time his father had
suggested they do something together. But they didn’t come. All he got was an
overwhelming fatigue. Fatigue and resignation. If he walked away from this,
Logan missed out. If he stayed he had to deal with his father out of a work
context.

Treat
it
like
work
.

He sighed and gave in to it. “Only if Logan’s working with us
too.”

Sean grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” Annika’s mother’s face was
blurry on the computer screen but it didn’t hide her concern.

“Mom, you’ve been telling me for ages to leave Whitetail.”

“When you were in Whitetail we worried about you in general but
never about your safety. Darling, a road trip on your own? It’s not a good
idea.”

Annika smiled reassuringly at the screen and tried a joke. “I
thought you’d be happy because as part of the trip, I’m going international. To
Canada. Besides, you and Dad travel all the time.”

Her mother sighed. “Yes, but we travel together and with our
groups.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom. Most of the places I’m going I won’t see
many people. It’s just going to be me and my sketch pad and Jet for company and
protection. I need to do this for me and I’ll be back before the weather gets
too cold.” She glanced at her brother and then back at the screen. “And I
promise to check in with Axel every day.”

Axel leaned into the computer. “She has to, Mom, or I take my
car back.”

Annika laughed. “It’s your winter car, Ax. It’s so full of
rust, there’s nothing much to take back.”

He squeezed her shoulder. “Just come back happy.”

* * *

“I thought it would be ready faster.”

Logan had been “helping” Sean and Finn all morning and was
desperate for the concrete to dry a thousand times quicker than it was going to
take.

Finn pulled Logan’s cap down over his eyes. “Go visit Kathleen
and bounce the ball on her deck.”

“Your mother and Dana have gone into Whitetail to visit two
gardens that are open for the day,” Sean said. “They’ll be back for lunch.”

Finn still couldn’t quite get his head around the fact that his
mother hadn’t gone home to Chicago when her ankle had healed, or directly after
the wedding, but had stayed on at Kylemore for a real vacation. “Dude, how about
you go up to the house and get the cooler from Esther. I could do with a
drink.”

“Okay.” Logan took off running down the track back toward the
house.

Sean squinted into the sun and then looked across the lake.
“Hank’s got a tension line coming from the tree house. The problem’s going to be
getting the pulley back when Logan lets go over the lake.”

“I guess we put a drag rope on it. Bridey and I used to take it
in turns to swim it back.”

“You also liked to go right through to the second platform and
leave her stranded.” Sean pulled on leather gloves.

“Did I?” Finn couldn’t remember that.

“Yep. One time I came after you and we hiked on up to the
bluff.”

Finn stared at his father blankly. He couldn’t remember that
either.

Sean shrugged. “I guess I deserve that you only remember the
stuff I didn’t do with you, considering there was a lot more of that. Pass me
that ratchet, will you?”

Finn passed it over and they worked on in silence, the summer
sun making it hot work. He scanned his memories for the hike but he could only
remember all the times he’d been ready to go hiking and fishing with Sean and
had ended up going with his grandfather instead because his father canceled or
was tied up in the office.

He looked out toward the bluff with its gray rocks and
windblown pines and a memory stirred. He called out to Sean. “Did we have a
picnic at the top?”

His father smiled. “We did. And then you ran down that track
like a mountain goat and left me to carry the backpack you’d filled with rocks
for your collection.”

Logan arrived back clutching the cooler and panting. “Mom’s
back and she brought Max and we’re going swimming, bye.” He ran off.

Sean laughed and tossed a soda can to Finn before cracking one
open himself. “Well, he lasted longer than I thought.”

Working with Sean on the zip line hadn’t been as bad as Finn
thought it might be. In fact, there’d been moments when they’d actually shared a
laugh, but he was still grappling with his father’s attempts of casual
friendship combined with occasional fathering moments. It made for an odd
sensation in his gut.

Finn sat down in the shade of the tree house and tried not to
think of the night he and Annika had spent two wonderful hours ensconced up
there.

Sean smiled. “That tree house has seen some things. You were
conceived there.”

Finn groaned. “Geez, Dad, I didn’t need to know that.”

“Your mother said Annika’s in Milwaukee.”

Finn spluttered on his drink and bubbles shot up his nose at
the link his father was obviously drawing. “I didn’t know that either.”

“No. I guessed you didn’t. Shame. We all liked her.”

He tried brushing the comment aside. “It was a summer
thing.”

“By my reckoning there’s still a bit of summer left.”

Finn watched the condensation run down the can. “My calendar
disagrees.”

Sean broke the three beats of silence. “Finnegan, I’ve been
impressed with how you’ve handled AKP this summer. You had a rugged start with
Jazz Juice but you handled it well and the new contract with them lies at your
feet.”

“Thanks.” The compliment surprised him but he was just thankful
Sean was changing the topic of conversation.