Sea Glass Cottage (38 page)

As Brent brought Henry out of the room, Logan stood in the hallway, leaning up against the wall. Logan watched as Henry got closer and grew more agitated until he went ballistic at the sight of him.

“What the hell is going on here, Donnelly? I didn’t kill anyone. Isabella divorced me. She’s alive!”

Logan smiled. “Hello, Henry. How’s it going? I wanted you to know it was me who paid the solicitor in London to put together the phony paperwork…for show. Chatswick went through the motions, made it look like the divorce was a typical, legal transaction. And it worked. But look what happened? You just had to be an asshole, didn’t you? For Chatswick’s efforts, the man got his house burned to the ground. Not that you give a shit, but Chatswick managed to get his family out before he lost his wife and kids. By the way, London police issued a warrant for your arrest, too. I doubt you’ll ever set foot again in the UK though, or in your beloved Spain either. You can forget about Tangiers or Istanbul or getting another stamp in your passport. I hope you have a lot of pictures stored in your head because you won’t be seeing the light of day for the rest of your life. You’re facing a murder wrap in Alberta. You remember that, don’t you? If I have any say in the matter you’ll pay for what you did to Javier, too.”

“But…but…I don’t understand. Isabella’s right there, plain as day. Look at her. Look at her, Donnelly. How could you not know she’s alive? My wife is alive. You’re all making a terrible mistake.”

“You don’t think
there’s a chance that he’ll get away with an insanity plea, do you?” Thane wanted to know from Logan.

“There’s always the chance a judge will see things differently than we do. Henry can deny his wife is dead as many times as he wants, but we all know his denial has no basis in fact.”

“Exactly. Isabella Rialto is buried in a small cemetery outside Calgary, Alberta. Logan and I were there along with a small group of women from the shelter.”

Thane squeezed Izzy’s fingers, kissed the palm of her hand. “I admit I wasn’t fully convinced he’d fall for it.”

“Same here, but people have stalkers all the time that manage to find a way into houses even with a gate out front. If given enough rope Henry was bound to hang himself eventually. We’re lucky he showed up so soon after he escaped though. He did us a favor not dragging it out.”

Thane turned to Logan. “Which means…”

“I’m on it. I’ll call Brent to make sure Henry’s put on suicide watch. Look, I gotta get back to Kinsey. I’ve been in the doghouse for almost a week. I keep trying to foster a little goodwill.”

“I just want to say, this plan of yours,” Thane looked at Izzy, took her hand. “Both of yours, it was a stroke of genius. I don’t think I would’ve had the patience or the fortitude to stick it out.” He turned to Logan and admitted, “Hiring the lawyer in London to make it look as though there was a real divorce was a brilliant touch.”

Logan pointed to Isabella. “It was her idea. Look, I’ll talk to both of you tomorrow. Get some sleep. You both deserve it.”

Thane watched Logan leave and asked, “So this was all you?”

She grinned. “Not everything. But you should probably know all of it. Starting with this, the same guy who filed the divorce papers is the same man who filed what’s known as a deed poll in the Royal Courts of Justice to get my name changed. Officially. It cost something like a hundred pounds to do it.”

“That’s how you were able to get a California driver’s license.”

“First, there was a passport, then a driver’s license in New York state. As long as I didn’t intend to deceive or defraud anyone, and I wasn’t trying to hide from anyone, it was all legal.”

“There was no intent to do that. You and Logan
wanted
Henry to find you.”

“Before I go on, before I tell you everything, I need to know what made you change your mind about me and show up at the museum this morning.”

“Because I came to the realization last night that I don’t care what your name is. I don’t care if it’s Isabella Rialto or Marisa Lattimer. I fell in love with the person
you
are. You were right about that. Besides, I freely admit it was a huge rush, punching that guy’s face and watching Brent snap the cuffs on that asshole.”

Isabella smiled, ran a hand down his jaw. “We won’t let it become a habit though.”

“What if I wanted it to become a habit? This might be bad timing on my part, but I’d like to point out how your eyes lit up at the idea of Julianne having her wedding here at the lighthouse. We could make it two, you know.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m asking you to be my wife, become Isabella Delacourt, a mother to Jonah, and any other little Delacourts that should happen to come along.”

She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes. The answer is yes. I’ll do all of that. Would you be willing to move into Sea Glass Cottage though? Logan’s agreed to sell it to me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You have that kind of money?”

She smiled broadly. “It’s a long story.”

“All of a sudden I’ve taken a liking to your stories. Logan said something to me a few days ago that I found interesting. He said I might want to ask you who funded the three-year plan. I thought it was Logan. Now, I’m beginning to think differently.”

“Initially, he did. But down the road I had to start contributing to my own upkeep. My parents died in a plane crash about six months after I married Garth. They’d set up a trust fund for me that was so airtight Garth couldn’t touch the money. But he wouldn’t let me have it either.”

“How did he do that exactly?”

“Easy. If I put the money in one of our joint accounts, he’d immediately pull it out and transfer it to one of his own, one I didn’t have access to. So it didn’t take long for me to put a stop to that. Whenever I opened an account of my own and put the cash into that, he’d hound me, subject me to verbal and physical abuse until I closed the account and handed the balance over to him. So the safest path to take was to quit taking any money out of the trust at all. To Garth, I made up a story that the trust was tied up in a string of legal issues. Then later, that the money was gone, taken up by legal fees. Fortunately the trustee backed up my version.”

“Good thing. What your ex did was so very wrong on so many levels.”

“I know. But there is an upside. Since Garth could never sink his greedy paws into my trust, you aren’t the only one in this relationship who’s financially independent. I’d like to reopen the movie theater next to Longboard Pizza, put up the old marquee we found at Cleef’s place. We could even name the lobby in his memory since Henry took Cleef’s life.”

“You have big plans, woman.”

“I had days alone to contemplate my future in this town. You know the 22-footer the guys are working on at Tradewinds Boatyard?”

“Sure, everyone in town keeps wondering who this mysterious guy is…” He looked down into her green eyes and recognition lit. “It’s you?”

“Yep, it belongs to me. I’d like to take you and Jonah out in it when it’s done.”

“Jonah would love that, guaranteed. I’m curious. Who owns the estate back on Long Island in Oyster Bay?”

She cracked a grin. “It’s amazing how much money is in the Vidalgo Trust.”

“Changing your name didn’t affect your inheritance?”

“I told you my parents created this airtight trust. They hated Garth because they knew he was mean and abusive. One of the things they had the lawyers write in was that they wanted me out of the marriage, no matter what, no matter the circumstances, no matter how I had to do it. If it took changing my name to get away, if it took hiding under an assumed name to escape, then I should leave the marriage by any means necessary.”

“Your parents sound like savvy, smart people.”

“They were the best. They would have loved you, especially knowing what a great father you are with Jonah.”

“I’m beginning to appreciate how intricately woven this plan was in order to work.”

“I had to rely on Logan after Isabella died because I knew Garth would hunt me down. My trust would no doubt give me away within hours. So the lawyer worked with Logan to funnel funds to me as needed.”

“As Isabella Rialto?”

“It was my legal name in the UK and the endowments were directed into an account the trustee opened for me there. But then I really didn’t need that much once I moved into the house on Oyster Bay. I had a place to live, food to eat. The only thing I didn’t have were friends. There were times I felt so alone.”

“Those days are behind you now. Plus, you had to be on guard twenty-four seven.”

“That took its toll.”

“No more of that. From now on, I’ll make sure Henry is locked up so tight he’ll never see the light of day again. I’ll make sure Garth will never find you either. ”

“We both will. Together.”

O
n the last day of December the weather stayed crisp and clear for the wedding between Isabella and Thane. The bottom floor of the lighthouse was lit up in festive lights for the reception. Isabella’s friends had seen to that. They’d rallied the troops to help decorate and set things up on short notice.

Isabella stood before the mirror in her bedroom and turned to study her image. Wearing the dress Emma Colter had designed for her, if she did say so herself, the seamstress had done some of her best embroidery work on the strapless silk and satin gown. The beaded sweetheart bodice flowed from a narrow waistline into a layered sweeping train that made her look like a combination of stylish Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn classy.

She’d hired Abby Pointer to style her hair into a regal pulled back, curls-down-to-her-shoulder look.

“I hope you don’t mind that I chose the lighthouse for the ceremony instead of Promise Cove,” Isabella told Jordan as she helped her with her veil.

“Of course not. That would mean I’d be upset at Ryder and Julianne, who did the same thing, which is ridiculous. All you have to do is take a look out the window and see what a gorgeous backdrop the lighthouse makes. No one could argue with standing between Sea Glass Cottage and the massive tower to say your vows.”

“I know. It’s just that I thought it would be fitting to hold it here because I consider the town mine right along with this beautiful place. After everything that’s happened to me I feel so fortunate. Thane and I talked about it. He feels the same way I do about Pelican Pointe. We want Jonah to grow up here.”

Fluffing Isabella’s train Jordan turned to check out the look. “The co-op idea has taken off. I hope you’re prepared to organize all the volunteers who want to be a part of getting that up and going because the list is growing.”

“I can’t wait to get started. On the other hand, Thane’s excited about reopening the old movie theater. It’ll be months before that renovation starts though.”

River came in about that time. “Did you get a load of Jonah in his little tux? That kid’s adorable.”

“In my opinion, Thane making him best man was brilliant. It makes him feel so much more a part of the ceremony.” Fussing with the headdress, Jordan adjusted it without messing up the hairdo.

“Which reminds me, I want to thank both of you for helping Fischer watch him while we take some alone time for a honeymoon.”

River patted her growing stomach. “You’ve already done that several hundred times over. Besides, I’m not a taskmaster who would stand in the way of love.”

Isabella stared at her boss. “You may not want to hear this but pregnancy suits you.”

“I know. It must be the hormones. That’s why I think you two should take longer than four days. Four days is nothing.”

“Listen to her,” Jordan added. “The kids don’t start back to school for another week. I remember how fast ours blew by. And with kids, as soon as you get back, it’s hit the ground running. When you get back, trust me, you’ll wish you were still sailing.” 

“I don’t want to be away from Jonah that long though.”

Jordan and River spurted out in laughter. But it was Jordan who warned, “Well, that will certainly change and when it does don’t think less of yourself as a mother. Remember that.”

As if he’d heard his name, Jonah burst through the door, skidded to a stop in front of Isabella. “Wow! You look…beautiful.”

She did a little curtsy. “Thank you. So do you. What are you doing in here anyway? I thought part of your job was to keep your dad from getting too nervous.”

“It is, but…Dad says I can call you ‘mom’ as soon as the wedding’s over.”

Isabella looked over at the little boy she already considered her son. She sent him a wide smile. Every time Jonah mentioned calling her that now she wanted to melt. “Come here. Give your ‘mom’ a kiss. And you can start calling me ‘mom’ from this point forward. How does that sound?”

“Sweet!”

For the first time she realized he held something in his hand. “What’s that you have there?”

The boy waved it in front of her as if he’d just remembered carrying it in. Now, it moved back and forth. “I forgot. The mailman told me to give you this. He said it was real important.”

“The mailman?”

Eyeing the paper addressed to her, Isabella noted its worn look. “Maybe it’s from someone back in New York who decided to send their good wishes the old-fashioned way instead of via email.”

“Maybe,” Jonah uttered. “But the mailman was freaking out about it.”

Alarm rose. It curdled in her throat. “Why?”

Jonah shrugged. “I don’t know. He said he found it in his mailbag shoved down between the pockets. He said it had been there a really, really, long time.”

Isabella’s brow furrowed as she took the envelope. She did her best to calm her trembling hands. After all, Henry could still get a letter out from jail. But it wasn’t from Henry. The return address showed an APO for Scott Phillips.

She glanced over at her friends before turning the envelope over, noted the postmark, dated December 31, 2004. “What is this? A joke?”

“See? That’s what the postman thought it was too. It really freaked him out,” Jonah told her.

Flanked by the two women, Isabella ripped through the seal and unfolded the letter. “Oh my God. It really is from Scott.”

Jordan’s lips bowed up. “He’s famous for his letters and getting the last word in. I love that man.”

River shook her head. “The last one of those I saw was addressed to Luke. I’ll say one thing for him, Scott’s consistent.”

Tears formed in Isabella’s eyes blurring the words. “I don’t understand. How could he write this when he was in Iraq? That’s impossible.”

“What is it?” Jonah asked. “Is it bad?”

“No. No. Nothing like that, honey. These are happy tears even though my makeup’s running,” Isabella said fanning her face.

“If anyone could bring a tear to the eye, it’s Scott. The question is how exactly did he lick the stamp?”

Isabella snickered at Jordan’s joke and reread Scott’s words.

There are times when a person has to start over. There’s no other way. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. View it as an opportunity. It’s never too late to get a fresh start in a new place with new people. Your idea to help feed the town is a stroke of genius. Don’t let anything or anyone detract from pulling the town together to get it done. You already know that during times when people are the most difficult try to practice patience. Because unless you walk in someone else’s shoes you don’t really know what kind of journey they’ve had.

Remember that love is not a shallow tide pool, but rather an ocean of waves and storms. Together if you paddle in the same direction, you’ll be able to get through both.

Take care of my town, Marisa / Isabella or whatever you choose to call yourself. A name is meaningless if you don’t use what you have to make an impact. Make an impact. Be the mother Jonah’s never had. Be the partner in life Thane needs. And above all help others to achieve their greatness.

Love, Scott