“Yeah, we heard that too.”
He takes off his hat and sighs. “Kind of feels like we lost our guardian angel, doesn’t it?”
I hadn’t thought of it that way before but he’s right. “I’d like to believe she’s still going to be looking out for us, wherever she is. Both her and Jules.”
Danny thinks this over. “In that case, we’re lucky.”
Trent drapes one arm over my shoulders and agrees with him. “We are lucky.”
Danny needs to get some rest if he’s going to make the long drive to catch his flight later. He’s welcome to sleep in one of the real bedrooms but he’d rather take his regular space in the carriage house.
“I like jelly donuts,” he calls over his shoulder as he crosses the yard. “Just throwing that out there.”
Trent responds with a salute and Danny disappears into the carriage house.
I wrap my arms tightly around Trent. Nothing will ever feel as good as being close to him.
“We both smell like smoke,” I notice.
He rubs my back. “Let’s fix that. We’ve already proven your shower stall is big enough for two.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Never too tired to see you naked, Gretch.”
My lips tease a line of kisses on his neck and my body stirs as he breathes harder and proves his arousal by pressing closer.
I’m not too tired for this either. I’m never too tired to want him.
“Show me,” I whisper and slip my hand under his shirt, hungry to feel more of his skin and abruptly eager to celebrate the joy of being alive.
And in love.
And happy.
18
Trent
My brother died an hour after we left him at the hospital. Sometimes I wonder what was going through his mind at the end, if he was tortured by regret for all the shit he’d done, or if he was just pissed that karma finally came for him.
Anyway, I’m not stewing in hatred for Liam any longer. There’s no point. He’s dead and I’m more interested in spending my energy on love rather than hate.
By any standards, I’ve got plenty of love in my life to keep me busy.
Gretchen stands out instantly as she waits with the girls beside the lake. She’s the picture of carefree spring today in a light blue dress with her hair loose. The boardwalk is crowded this afternoon as visitors have been drawn by the warmer weather. It will only grow more crowded as the season deepens and the summer people begin their migration.
The twins are adorable in matching pink dresses, attracting attention from people who smile at the sight of them capering along the boardwalk together. Mara and Caitlin turn when Gretchen calls to them and I’m sure she’s warning them to stay back from the railing. With my mission to find refreshments a success, I decide I should go help their aunt keep them contained.
“Uncle Trent!” Mara notices me first and waves ecstatically. Her sister does the same.
A sudden breeze off the lake lifts Gretchen’s long hair and, as always, I’m smacked with amazement that she’s mine. Mine.
Just like this family is mine.
This morning we paid a visit to the Woodlawn Cemetery so the girls could leave flowers for Jules. While we were there, I stopped by the final resting place of Carolina Marino Cassini. I know she’d forgive me for staying away for so long. She would also be pleased to know where I’m at now.
Not a day goes by without questions about whether or not I plan to rebuild the brewery. Maybe someday I’ll do that. But I’ve got another major project on the horizon and it will be a priority for a while.
Gretch and the girls appear entertained by the fact that I’m weaving through joggers, bicyclists and kissing couples as I juggle three lemonades but I manage to join them without a mishap.
“I didn’t tell you to get me one,” Gretch says as I hand her one of the lemonades.
“I anticipated your needs.”
She takes a suggestive sip from the straw while giving me the eye. I make an effort not to stare while filthy images careen through my head. She is impossibly sexy without even trying.
The girls, meanwhile, have noticed something exciting on the lake.
“The paddleboats are here!” Caitlin shouts, pointing to three giant paddleboats shaped like swans.
“Can we do that?” Mara asks.
“Another day,” Gretchen promises. “I have to start dinner soon and Uncle Danny’s game will be on.”
Danny Aaronson is in the middle of an enviable season. If he keeps it up he’ll have a lot of playing time and a lucrative contract to look forward to. Watching my best friend’s lifelong goal come true has been an honor. He’ll be back here in the fall once baseball season is over. He can stay in my old house if he doesn’t want to sleep in the backyard shed. I still use the house for work and I have no plans to sell it but I’ve moved in with Gretch and the girls.
The girls wave to the occupants of the paddleboats. They wave back.
From here I can make out the shadows of my brother’s mammoth house on the lakefront. It’s empty now. Whitney has chosen to move to the city and I doubt she’ll return. She did ask Gretchen if she might receive updates on the girls every so often and perhaps see them again if she’s ever back in town. Gretch, forever generous, promised to send photos and told Whitney she’s welcome to visit.
The twins continue to ooh and aah over the paddleboats and Gretch takes a break from sipping her lemonade.
“Where are we at with the negotiations?”
I stand behind her, my hands swallowing her waist. “Almost there.”
Her slender neck is begging to be kissed. All I can do is obey.
Gretchen smiles at the kiss and moves her head to look toward the east, at the cheerfully green mound called Rosebriar Hill.
We’re buying it.
Not the entire hill of course, but the private property where The Rosebriar Resort once thrived. Gretch was stunned to learn she was the sole beneficiary of Abigail Fisher’s estate. Abigail had no blood relatives, no one to challenge the terms, yet Gretchen felt guilty accepting her generosity. Just when she was mulling over how to make a plan that Abigail would approve of, word got out that the current owner of Rosebriar had decided to unload the place. Not cheaply, not cheaply at all. But with our combined assets we were able to extend an offer that was promptly accepted. All that remains is work for the lawyers hammering out the details and then we’ll sign on the dotted line as partners.
The old concept of upstate resorts has become rather obsolete so we’re working on a new business plan. Gretch loves the idea of a musical summer camp for kids. Additionally, there will be plenty of opportunities to rent out the venue for events. The Lake Stuart Gazette already ran a story and a surge of interest followed.
“I’m done.” Caitlin hands me her empty cup.
“Me too. I’m done too.” Mara’s empty cup joins her sister’s.
Never thought I wouldn’t mind being mistaken for a trash can.
After taking a quick walk to the nearest garbage bin, we leave the boardwalk holding hands, the four of us, the twins in the middle.
They still miss their mother terribly and they’ll miss her forever. But we will keep Jules’s memory alive. There’s no danger of Julianne Aaronson being forgotten. And every day her daughters will know they are cherished by us.