It had been almost a full week since the gala, since his future crumbled to the cape’s fertile lawn, yet the pain in Jay’s chest still took his breath away. He wanted to rage at the world, but in the end, it was his own fucking fault.

He should have never left Blayne in the first place.

Lifting a box of supplies, he made his way past the crowd on the front porch and into the Van Buren house. “Get outta my way.” He pushed past Ryker, into the kitchen.

“What the fuck, man?” Ryker followed him inside.

“Ryker!” Maxine admonished.

He threw an are-you-kidding-me look at his grandmother. “Are we really going to go through this again?”

“Exactly. One second we’re blamed for calling her old, the next for swearing.” Mitch rolled his eyes and ducked just in time as a wooden spoon hurtled toward his face. “Hey!”

“Speak for yourself. I’ve never been stupid enough to imply my grandmother’s old. That’s all you, buddy.” Ryker grinned as Maxine retrieved the spoon she threw, then slapped Mitch on the ass with it.

“What the hell?!” Mitch jumped away and slammed right into Claire. The box she carried fell to the ground, sending small jars of paint and brushes across the tile.

Claire spun on Mitch. “Do you ever watch what the hell you’re doing?”

The two took up a verbal sparring match that Jay had no interest whatsoever in, so he set his load by the sliding glass door then ripped the top open.

“See what you started?” Ryker nudged him with the heel of his shoe.

Jay stood. “Don’t fuck with me, I’m not in the mood. I didn’t start shit.”

“Get your head out of your ass, man. The grand opening is tomorrow. This is your show. You can’t run it by barking orders and cussing up a storm. Are you trying to sabotage all the work you and Blayne have already accomplished?”

The sound of her name was like a punch to the gut. He steadied himself against the wave of pain, gripping his fingers in fists at his sides.

“Look, man. Obviously, you miss her. We all do. This doesn’t have to be the end.”

“She made it clear that she wasn’t coming back. Not to mention apparently you all knew she was heading home to Ireland, but no one thought to fucking tell me about it.”

“Yeah, Jay? I don’t think about what the hell is going on in your life every goddamn minute. Get over it. Figure your shit out and start treating all the volunteers helping us set up for tomorrow like it means something to you.”

“Boys, the two of you are making a scene.” Maxine joined them with Jay’s mother at her side.

Ryker looked up at the ceiling as if praying for patience. “You’re one to talk, Grandmother. Has the judge showed up yet?”

The question did its job and Maxine’s lips clamped closed, but Ryker didn’t get off easy, because she grabbed his arm and hauled him toward the front door. Jay did not wish to be in his shoes.

His mother touched his arm. “What’re you doing? Maxine said you’ve been charging through here like a bull all week.”

Jay smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”

“Obviously, you’re not. Come.” She reached out.

“Mom, I have too much to get done.”

“You do, but you’re not going to do it right in the mood you’re in. Come,” she demanded.

“Where?”

“Seriously?” She gave him the look she always gave him when he was dumb enough to argue as a kid.

But he stubbornly resisted.

“Walk with me in the woods. It won’t take long.”

“Fine, but I’m getting something done while we’re out there.” He let her lead him out the front door and down the front porch but stopped to grab a wheelbarrow filled with plaques and carved stakes. She headed toward the path into the woods.

As soon as they stepped through the opening in the foliage, the world took on a hushed buzz, softened from the clanging of reality. The light dimmed to a glow, filtered by the canopy of trees. His mother followed a small path to a little bench that had hummingbird feeders around it.

One of Ryker’s beehives buzzed in the distance, and Jay remembered watching Stuart Van Buren, Maxine’s late husband, working his magic when they were children. Every one of Ryker’s friends thought he was a superhero. He could take a bee sting like it was the caress of a feather.

Jay dropped to the bench.

“When you and Blayne came for dinner, you said a few things, implied them anyway, that gave your father and me pause.”

The last thing Jay wanted to be doing was having this conversation. “Mom, I say a lot of things.” He pushed up from the bench, grabbed a post hole digger, and got to work setting up the informative nature signs that Claire had designed for the grounds.

The work felt good to his muscles, the burn a relief from the heavy feeling in his chest.

“I won’t argue with that.” She chuckled and sat on the bench closest to where he worked. “But this seemed a bit like an accusation against your father.”

He set the carved pole that would support the sign. “Mom, I love you and Dad, but I didn’t like how you were always left behind.”

“Left behind?”

He gave a decisive nod. “Every time he had a deal, was setting up a new account. He’d be traveling Europe while you were stuck at home, stuck with me. Until I joined the business, then I was guilty of it, too. Though I realized leaving her was a mistake right away, I knew I couldn’t do that to Blayne. Couldn’t ask her to give everything up because of my sense of duty. Especially not before I had enough to offer her that might somehow make up for it all.”

She shook her head. “Give what up? You’re not making any sense.” Pushing up from the bench, she steadied the plaque he was attaching to the pole as he finished the job.

“I was never left behind, Jay. First of all, and I mean this in the nicest way, I hate to break it to you, but I’ve never needed to be with your father, or you for that matter, every second of the day in order to be happy. I never sat anywhere, waiting. I worked, and I thrived, and I lived a great life raising my son and nurturing my community. I’m a woman full of passions that reach far beyond the walls of our home. The fact that you don’t or didn’t see that means I failed you somewhere.”

He stared at his mother trying to work his brain around her words. “You’ve never failed me. I…” A weird pinch intensified between his shoulder blades. No more words formed coherently, though he tried to wrap his tongue around a few. All this time, he thought she’d been lonely. And he wouldn’t lie, it was a bit of a kick in the ass to hear she didn’t need him to be happy.

What the hell?

He truly was a selfish bastard.

Forcing himself to find an answer, he focused on the task at hand and tested the stability of the sign.

“Mom, I…”

She dropped her hands to her sides. “Look, I love you, but sometimes you’re a bit dense.”

“Hey!” He rubbed his neck as if she’d tugged his hair.

Handing him another pole, she continued. “Blayne isn’t the sit-at-home-and-wait kind of woman. And she certainly isn’t the type to stare out a window pining for her love. How could you not know that?”

As he lowered the pole into the hole he’d created, he considered taking its place since he felt like he might as well have dug it for himself.

His mother put her hands on her hips. “Thinking I had no life shows how little you thought of me and, more importantly, how little you actually think of Blayne. Grow up.”

She turned and stomped back the way they’d come.

“Mom! Wait!” What the fuck? Was she actually mad at him for caring? Nothing about this day or week, hell, his whole return to Cape Van Buren, made any sense at all.

He dropped his tools and ran to catch up to her. “Wait.” Gently grabbing her by the shoulders he turned her around. “I’m sorry. I just always thought…”

“You mean you didn’t actually think.”

He dropped his chin to his chest.

“Is that why you left her so long ago? Am I the cause of you losing out on the love of your life? And if I’m honest, me losing out on the daughter I always wanted?” Her eyes had a glassy look as if she might cry. If she did, screw the damn hole he dug, he’d simply throw himself off the rocks by the lighthouse.

“You aren’t the cause of anything. I let my own perceptions and ambitions and insecurities cloud my judgment.”

“Do you love her?”

“You know I do.” And saying it eased some of the pain in his chest.

She shook her head with a shrug. “Then what’re you going to do about it?”

“Nothing. She made her choice.” And the pain of it all threatened to swallow him whole.

“The only choice she made was to be there for her father. After ten years, don’t you think she deserves the time?”

“She said she wasn’t coming back!” The shock of his voice echoing against the trees caught him off-guard.

“Because she doesn’t want you waiting for her. She needs to be there for her father. Sound familiar?” She raised her brows. “But the question is since when does my son back away from a challenge…especially the hard ones?”

She rubbed his arm. “Someday, you’re going to realize the only person expecting you to prove anything is yourself.”

He studied the determination in her eyes. How had he never seen it before? He’d been a fool. She was right. He never saw her sitting anywhere—the woman had been a whirlwind of activity his whole life. Not only that, she’d traveled all over the world, sometimes with his father, sometimes with her girlfriends.

He could see Blayne doing that. Hell, with her he’d probably be the one left behind. Not on purpose, but because she was such a force in her own right.

His mother was right. A surge of adrenaline rushed through him like it did when he was about to close on a big deal. What the hell was the matter with him? Coming home to the Cape was the whole point of everything.

He may be a selfish bastard, and he never backed down from a challenge, but Blayne MacCaffrey belonged to him. She made him the man he always worked so hard to prove he was to everyone else.

She thought an ocean would keep him at bay? Fuck that. She wasn’t getting away from him that easily. Or ever again. He said he’d always be there for her.

Now was the time to prove it.

“I’m going to put a proposal together to share with dad about expanding into Ireland,” he said.

“Now it sounds like you’re thinking.” She removed the engagement box from her pocket. “I think this belongs to you.”

“No, but I know who it does belong to.” He took the box and flipped up the top. A beautiful green Paraiba tourmaline-and-diamond engagement ring with an antique square cushion wrapped in white gold. The main stone was the exact color of her eyes, a crystal seafoam green unlike any other he’d ever seen before.

“When do you leave?”

“Right after the grand opening,” he said.

“I’ll help you pack. I’m sorry she’ll miss it.” His mother kissed his cheek.

“That’s okay. If I can make things right, she’ll never miss out on anything again, and neither will I.”

For the first time in a long time, the tension in his neck eased and anticipation filled his chest.

They belonged together. On the Cape and in Ireland. Home was where their families were, and no one said they couldn’t have more than one.

* * *

The Archer Conservation Park of Cape Van Buren officially opened its doors to the town and hearts and needs of all the people who long before had become family. Jay stepped aside to let one of Cape Van Buren police department’s finest walk on through.

Cindy Majors gave him a saucy wink. “Thanks, Jay.”

“You’re very welcome,” he returned with a tip of his head.

“Is Maxine inside?” The hopeful look in Cindy’s dark eyes was one he recognized.

“She is but lay off asking any questions about the moonshine. She and Judge Carter still aren’t talking, which is stressing out Larkin. He’s here, too, but lurking along the perimeter.”

She snapped her fingers. “Damn it. Okay. Thanks for the heads up. Larkin’s due to pop any second, isn’t she?”

For some reason, the visual made him wince, and Cindy laughed. “Any day now.”

“Moving on so soon, Jay?” Mitch joined them in the foyer.

Cindy stuck her tongue out at him in a playful manner. “Don’t be an ass, Mitch…or a sore loser.” Turning to Jay, she patted him. “And thank you. I hope you get things figured out with Blayne. You know we all love her.”

“Yeah.” He gave a nod. “Me, too.” Slapping Mitch on the shoulder, he asked, “What the hell is wrong with you? One of these times, you’re gonna get knocked on your ass or find yourself at the altar.”

Mitch smirked. “Hasn’t happened yet.”

“It’s only a matter of time, my friend.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll leave that to you and Ryker. Watching what the two of you have gone through has cured me of ever wanting a serious relationship.”

“The hell it did. You made that decision when your dad had left.”

Mitch narrowed his eyes at him. “Watch it.”

“Come on. I have an announcement to make.”

Mitch stepped behind Jay as if hiding from someone. Jay spun around. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Fucking Claire Adams.”

“You’re fucking Claire Adams?!” Jay was beyond shocked.

“Hell no, jackass. And don’t talk about her like that. I’m hiding from her.” The look on Mitch’s face as he watched Claire round the fountain in the front drive was a whole different conversation than the words coming out of his mouth. “Every time she sees me it’s like she has Tourette’s or something and the only words out of her mouth are asshole and motherfucker.”

“She does not say motherfucker.”

Mitch released a sigh of relief as Claire continued on around the back of the center. “Maybe not, but when I’m around, she sure as hell thinks it.”

The laugh that erupted from Jay’s chest left him feeling lighter than he had in weeks. “What did you do to make her so mad at you?”

“Not a God damn thing.”

“Huh huh. Clearly.” Jay shoved him. “Come on, I need to find Ryker to make his toast, then I have something to share as well.”

The two men made their way through the front doors of the house to search for Ryker in the kitchen.

The Victorian-style, gothic inspired Victorian was filled to the brim with people there to celebrate the grand opening. The front room had tables lined with information about the currently offered programs, those that were coming, and request forms for new suggestions.

Delizioso Italian Restaurant had an array of antipasti offered for everyone to enjoy, and Dine on the Vine had provided the season’s most popular red and white wines for everyone to sip on. Well, everyone but Larkin, who was currently staring at a bottle with the same look Jay imagined she gave Ryker anytime he had to travel to New York for work.

“You better be careful, someone may mistakenly think that look on your face has something to do with Marco instead of the wine.”

Larkin giggled. “Please, even if I did, they’d only feel sorry for me.” She nodded toward Mitch and his sister chatting by the sliding glass doors. “Marco Bonamici has never had eyes for anyone but Mae. Not that he has time for anything outside of wine tastings and not that she even seems to notice. Besides, the only thing I’m interested in is getting this baby out of me and a good red in me. Even Ryker doesn’t measure up.”

Jay shook his head. “Poor guy.”

“Which one, Marco or Ryker?”

He laughed. “Both.” Pulling in a breath, he directed her to a seat along the wall so she could get off her feet. His whole plan counted on Larkin’s cooperation. “Speaking of the poor guy…”

She ignored the crowd in the kitchen and focused on him with a curious intensity. He could see why Ryker loved her so much. Larkin had a way of making you feel like you were the only one in the room. “What’s up?”

A small commotion behind him caught Larkin’s attention but this was too important for distractions. “I have a plan. I’m going to Ireland to get our girl back.”

“Blayne.” Larkin whispered. Her eyes immediately filled with tears, and Jay dropped to his knees. “Yes, exactly. This is about Blayne. But knock off the crying. This should make you happy, not sad. Ryker’ll kill me if he thinks I made you cry.” He ran his fingers through his hair. Truth be told, he couldn’t stand the sight either.

She glanced past him, a smile stretching her lips wide. “I’m beyond happy. This is what happens when I’m happy these days.” She grabbed his hands between hers. “I knew you couldn’t just let her stay away. We need her here.”

“Well, that will remain to be seen.”

She stilled with a look of confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Her family’s in Ireland. I love her, Larkin, and if that’s where she needs to be, well then, that’s where I need to be.”

“Ohhhhh!” Larkin crooned.

A husky voice spoke from behind him, the familiar Irish brogue a bit thicker than usual and rocketed through him like a sonic boom.

“Is that your M.O. now? Take me all the way across the ocean, away from my family, and then abandon me there?”

He shoved to his feet and swung around. “Blayne.”