Stargazey Nights (11 page)

He kept his eyes on the road ahead as he drove out of town. He didn't even drive by the cemetery. He wouldn't know what to say to his uncle if he did.

Chapter 11

S
ARAH WAS SITTING
AT
F
LORA'S
Tea Shoppe when she saw the Range Rover drive past. “Now where's he going?”

Penny, who had just sat down for a break after the lunch crowd, craned her neck to see over the blue gingham half curtains. “Not here for lunch, that's for sure.”

The phone rang. Penny jumped up. “Please let that be a catering gig.”

Two seconds later, she hung up. “That was Bethanne. He just checked out.”

“The hell he did.” Sarah jumped up. Her coffee cup rattled on the table. She headed out the door.

“You think you can outrun him?” Penny said, following her out to the street. Several doors down, the gate to the inn opened, and Bethanne hurried toward them.

“Why did you let him go? I wanted to hit him up for some cash for the center.”

“I couldn't help it. He came back from lunch with the Crispins. He was going to leave tomorrah, but he said he'd miscalculated and had to get back for a meeting in the morning that he didn't want to miss.”

“Probably couldn't wait to unload those carousel animals. Some of them have to be worth twenty or thirty thousand apiece.”

“No way,” Bethanne said.

Sarah nodded. “Not all of them, I seem to remember Ned Reynolds had to replace a few of them after one of the storms. Those I think were fiberglass or something and would be less valuable. But don't quote me.”

“That's where he went this morning?” Bethanne said. “He was going to look at the animals?”

“Looks like it. Well, to hell with us, and to hell with him, too.”

“Were you really going to ask him for money?” Penny asked.

“Damn straight.”

“I don't believe you.”

Sarah frowned. “Why?”

“You soliciting, much less asking for money from a rich white guy?”

Sarah broke into a grin. “You know me so well. Actually, I confess I was having second thoughts about it. He caught me in a weak moment.”

“Well, I don't see anything wrong in accepting money for a good cause, no matter the gender or color,” Bethanne said tentatively.

“That's why we love you,” Penny said. “Come on in, and I'll make us fresh coffee.”

The three women turned to go into the tea shop.

Ervina was standing in the doorway.

Bethanne squeaked, Penny froze, Sarah frowned at her great-­grandmother. “Damn me, Ervina, why do you do that?”

“Watch what you say, girl. You might get what you wish for.”

Even Sarah recoiled at that one. “I didn't mean it. And I don't believe in curses. Though if I did,” she added under her breath, “I'd put one on the man driving out of town.

“He already got one on him.”

Sarah groaned. “Please tell me you didn't do anything to him.”

“Not my doing. He brought that one with him, and he took it back with him. It's riding on alongside him in that big car of his.”

“What is she talking about?” Bethanne whispered to Penny.

“Not a clue.”

“Did he really find the carousel animals?” Sarah asked.

Ervina nodded.

“What's he going to do with them?”

“Up to him.”

Ervina walked past them and started down the street.

“Is he coming back?”

Ervina paused, looked back over her shoulder. “How do I know?” And kept walking.

C
AB FELT THE
heaviness close in almost as soon as he reached the highway. The weekend was just catching up to him. The drive, the funeral, the carousel, the crazy ­people, the little town gasping its last breaths. It would be good to get back to the city, where things were set, where he knew where he stood.

He had a good job, a great job. And a fiancée any man would be proud of and who could help his career. A major project that would push him up to the next level.

The girl in the pink bike helmet pedaled across his mind and disappeared.

He shook off the image. The residents in Myrtle Beach would find a better place to live. A nicer neighborhood.

Like Stargazey Point? Is that what you want for Stargazey?

Stargazey was different. It had a history. It could make a comeback.

The Crispins are one step ahead of the tax assessor. Do you want what happened to Silas's barbecue place to happen to them?

“No.” But it wouldn't happen to the Crispins.

Who was he kidding? It happened all the time. Up and down the coast, whole villages disappeared, to be replaced by exclusive homes, yacht clubs, and resorts.

By the time he reached the outskirts of Atlanta, his stomach was tied up in knots. His mouth was dry, his eyes hurt. The skyline was rising before him, beautiful, in a remote, aesthetic way. But he didn't feel the same joy he'd felt when he saw the ocean as he drove into Stargazey Point.

But it was always like that when you got back from a vacation. The reluctance to give up the relaxation and get back to the grind.

Only usually, he couldn't wait to get back.

Well, this was different. An obligation. Not a vacation at all.

You've got unfinished business in Stargazey, and you know it.

He would call Jonathon Devry in the morning and tell him to sell everything.

But the troubling feeling followed him through the garage and up the elevator to his condo. He'd called Bailey from the road as soon as he had phone reception and left a message that he was on his way home. He'd called Frank and left him a message saying he was coming back tonight and would be at the meeting tomorrow morning.

He let himself into his apartment, threw his bag on the closet floor, and fixed himself a drink. He was standing at the window looking at the view when Bailey walked in.

Good, back to normal.
They'd have a nice nouvelle dinner that didn't include grease, fatback, or carbohydrates, they'd come home and have makeup sex. Tomorrow, he'd work on the Myrtle Beach plans. Get back to work. He had some dynamite new ideas for the project.

He turned, with a smile forming on his lips.

Bailey pushed her glossy hair back and came toward him, leisurely, not rushing, building the anticipation. She dropped her purse on the couch and gave him her pouty look.

And Cab felt one thing. An overwhelming desire to run.

He checked himself, finished his drink, and came to her. Kissed her like he hadn't seen her in months instead of two days. His body responded like it always did, but he felt somehow disengaged.

He was tired; by tomorrow, they'd slip seamlessly back into their lives like nothing had changed.

But something had changed. Cab didn't know what exactly, just that it was going to be major, and he had no idea how to plan to face it.

She took his hand, pulled him toward the bedroom.

“We have to hurry,” she said in that soft seductive voice. “Frank, Tony, and George Erickson are meeting us for dinner. George is anxious to get started on the demolition in Myrtle Beach.”

Chapter 12

T
HEY WERE ONLY A FE
W
minutes late to the upscale fusion restaurant called Vim27. The ever-­present chic modern décor, the bleached wood and black metal, recessed lighting, bamboo floor and walls. Red ceramic plates. It reminded Cab of his apartment, clean, sleek, and cool. Cutting-­edge in every way. So slick, he felt a chill.

His mind drifted toward Bailey, but he pulled away from his thought before it could take root. He was getting married next year.

George had managed to get a reservation for one of the private rooms, and the five of them sat around the polished table as if they were at a board meeting rather than a social dinner.

Which was probably the case. Cab hadn't missed the round tubes of plans that Frank carried in and deposited in the corner.

Bailey was laughing with George and Tony, but she'd have a fit when she realized they would be talking business as soon as the dishes were cleared.

Then again, Bailey would do anything to advance his career. Cab looked from her to George to Frank to Tony. And he wondered how far she would go? He shook the thought off. What was wrong with him?

He should have canceled. Told them he was too tired to meet tonight. He felt cold, hot, both. His head hurt. He needed to think. Something was suddenly not right in his life. It would probably pass, but he didn't want to have to make any decisions about buildings or life tonight.

After dinner, the table was wiped by a silent busboy dressed in a print sarong. Frank opened one of the tubes and spread out the plans, using all their cell phones to hold down the corners.

“This is what we worked out on Friday when you were gone. Hope this is in line with what you intended.”

Cab glanced at the spec sheet; there were several new squares of various sizes. A small square depicting a guard kiosk sat exactly on the spot where that little girl had left her bike. Where would she ride? Where would two ignored children steal candy and not be punished but shown compassion?

Drugs, drinking, poverty, he reminded himself. Abandoned buildings, burned-­out cars. Gone and replaced by something beautiful.

The sound of the ocean, Sarah and her understocked community center. Bethanne awash with floral prints and no customers.

The two places were becoming meshed into one. He was obviously losing his mind.

“Cab?”

“Sorry? I'm not sure . . .”
About anything.

“There's a hang-­up with the bridge between the A Tower and B Tower.”

Cab dragged his attention to the end of Tony's pencil point.

“What kind of hang-­up?”

“Some jackass in the zoning office is saying that this isn't within the limits of the town ordinance. Or something.”

“I'm on it,” Frank said. “But we might want to think about moving it down a ­couple of levels.”

“I thought this was all cleared with the zoning board,” Cab snapped.

Frank and Tony flinched.

Under the table, Bailey's foot rubbed along his calf. Warning him to cool it.

“Sorry, I've had a long weekend.” God, he was like Pavlov's dog. He didn't need Bailey to ride herd on his temper. This was the kind of thing that should have been cleared before they got to this stage of development. Someone had dropped the ball. He had every right to be pissed.

“So can we move it down to the third floor?”

“The point was to allow direct access from the one spa floor to the other so there wouldn't be ser­vice repetition. If you move it down, why not just let them walk outside in that case?”

“The point is to keep them from having to go outside.”

In a beach resort. Right.
God forbid someone would actually have to breathe the salt air. Because they had a whole air-­purifying system for each residential and business tower.

“You guys can work out the details,” George said, reaching into his wallet. He pulled out a credit card, which he handed to the waiter who had appeared in the doorway. “I want to start demolition next week. We'll adapt as we go.”

“George, a lot of ­people are still living in those blocks.”

“There are always a few holdouts. They'll move soon enough once we bring the bulldozers in.”

“Some of them must own their own homes.”

“They were the first in line. Nothing like a little financial incentive to get them packing up.”

Cab shook his head.
Little, right.
Like Silas. “Are they being relocated? Where are they going to go?”

“Not our problem. They were given plenty of notice.”

Frank began rolling up the spec sheet but stopped. “Jeez, Cab. You know there's always a bit of collateral damage on these projects. You never bothered about relocation before.”

“I've never visited a site before it was cleared.”

“Oh, man,” said Tony. “You're not goin' all righ­teous on us, are you?”

“He's goin' home and straight to bed,” Bailey said, diffusing the situation. She stood. “He's dead tired. I shouldn't've let you fellas drag us out when he just walked in the door. He'll see ya'll tommorah.”

She smiled at the three men, who had stood when she had. Turned her smile on Cab. Was she really making excuses for him? Couldn't he make his own excuses . . . if he needed them?

Is this what his life would be? With Bailey navigating the waters of business and society, pulling him along behind her.

Cab stood. “Sorry, guys. I'm beat. And can't really think clearly. I'll look into it tomorrow.”

T
HEY HAD BA
RELY
gotten in the car when Bailey turned on him. “What is wrong with you? This is a huge project. Do you really want to upset George? He can get vindictive. Daddy's known him forever and told me to keep you on his good side. He can make or break your career.”

“You know. I hadn't seen my uncle in a good fifteen years. That was wrong. I should have given back to him for all he did for me. But I didn't.”

“I'm sure he understood.”

“I'm sure he did, too. It doesn't make it right.”

They drove in silence for a while.

“Everything is broken down there. The carousel building, his house; hell, most of the town. But the beach is rebuilding, half the town is on their way up.”

“Mmm.”

“He'd closed up the carousel and stored the animals. He was saving them for me.”

“How sweet of him.”

“The center of town used to be that carousel. It was hard for me to see what's happened to it. The building, the carousel itself. Well, it could be fixed with a lot of work. When I saw that empty platform, I was sure he'd sold them off, but he hadn't.”

“Well, now you can sell them off. Luanne Strickler has one in her lake house. She paid something like twenty thousand for it. I mean it's cute and all. But twenty thousand? I'd rather put it into a honeymoon.”

He pulled into the garage, and they went upstairs. They didn't speak on their way upstairs. But he could tell her mind was elsewhere.

And so was his.

And in the same way an elusive piece of design suddenly falls into place, and the whole structure makes sense, the thing Cab had been missing fell into place.

As soon as they were inside the apartment, he said, “I want you to go to Stargazey with me.”

“Oh, Cab, honey, you know I'd love to, but there are so many things to do. And you just got back. Maybe next summer.”

“No, I mean I want to move there.”

Her eyelashes fluttered once, then she stared.

The silence stretched while he waited for her to absorb his meaning.

“Have you lost your mind? It's hours away. How are you going to manage that commute? 'Cause if you think you're goin' to stay in town Monday through Friday and have me waiting patiently for you to come home on the weekends, you can think again.”

“I mean, move there permanently. I helped mend a piece of porch rail this afternoon. Do you know how long it's been since I actually did something with my hands?”

“Well, that's the whole point isn't it? Hire ­people to do it for you, so you won't have to?”

“No. That was never the point. The design was the point. But I didn't expect this total disconnect between the plan and the ­people. I wasn't even aware of it until this weekend.”

“You're sounding like some lunatic agitator.”

“I'm going to run a carousel, my uncle's carousel.”

They locked eyes. She didn't believe him. How could she? She had no way of understanding what he needed. It would never make sense to her. That was his fault as much as hers. She wouldn't be going to live in Stargazey with him. That didn't fit into her plan. And he couldn't fit in it, either. Not anymore. He knew they would both be miserable if he stayed here.

“Just think about it.”

“There's nothing to think about.”

“I'm telling them I'm off the project. I'm leaving the firm.”

A flush spread over her chest and into her face. “Then you'll go without me.” She pouted and gave him the sultry look that she always used to get her way. And he could see that she thought she had won.

She was wrong. They were wrong. Had always been wrong. Cab just hadn't seen it or didn't want to see it. It was hard to admit that he'd been the arm candy rather than the other way around.

She cared more about her life and lifestyle than she did about him, and he cared more about his future than he cared about her. There was bound to be heartache if they tried to make it work.

“I'm sorry, Bailey. I changed the rules, I didn't mean to. But it happened. This is something I have to do, want to do. ­People are counting on me.”

“Then go by all means. I give you two weeks before you get tired of playing Peter Pan and realize what a mistake you've made. So let me know when you come to your senses and decide to grow up. I'll see if I'm still available.”

She grabbed her purse and keys and walked to the door. “I'll send someone over to get my things next week.”

“Bailey.”

She waited, waited for him to capitulate, but it was too late.

“I'm sorry.”

Those sultry eyes grew cold as diamond. “Peter Pan.” The door didn't slam behind her. The hinges were designed so it wouldn't make noise.

Cab poured himself another drink, but he put it on the table untouched. He felt guilty but relieved. Really relieved. It was an awful way to break things off, but at least they wouldn't end up living in a hateful marriage.

And he realized that his life, the one he was meant to live, had been changed years before, when he'd fallen in love, not with Bailey, but with Stargazey Point.

Maybe he was Peter Pan. Maybe he would hate living in Stargazey Point, alone. But not trying was not an option. He would just have to wait and see.

He looked around his apartment, realized there was nothing he would miss and nothing to keep him here any longer.

He retrieved his suitcase out of the closet, added a larger one to it, and packed all the clothes that would fit.

He 'd have to come back. He'd have to make it square with the firm. Finish up whatever projects they wanted long-­distance, but not the Myrtle Beach complex. He'd probably have to make trips back here, that was okay as long as he had a home to return to. A home in Stargazey Point.

When his bags were filled, he rolled them out of the apartment and set the lock. It was pitch-­black when he drove out of Atlanta, but the sun was rising as he drove into Stargazey Point.

E
RVINA ROLLED
OVER
on the mattress, opened one eye to the rising sun. Laughed. It was gonna be a mighty fine day.