Chapter Five
Finally, the bouquet was tossed. As happy as I was that Jaycee didn’t hate me and had forgiven me, it was the longest night of my life. I got stuck at the wedding party table. I swore Jaycee kept her eyes on me all night, making sure I didn’t disappear. Same with the Clairbornes. While most people were dancing, the Clairbornes took it upon themselves to introduce me to everyone they hadn’t previously, which felt like everyone there. I also had a nice chat with Jaycee’s parents. They too acted like proud parents when I told them where and what I was doing.
My feet weren’t used to wearing heels or for standing up so long. Even my throat hurt from talking so much. I was ready to be home so I could be up early tomorrow. It was time to play catchup. I had several more tests to run to make sure the sequencing was accurate. Then analyzing the data to look for gene mutations. Not to mention I had a report due to Sharon.
Not to my surprise, Jaycee didn’t say goodbye to me. She and George practically sprinted to the car covered in every imaginable color of condoms. I noticed the groomsmen high-fiving each other. They must have been in charge of car decorations. Jaycee mentioned they were leaving on a cruise tomorrow from Mobile Bay, so they were headed there to stay in a hotel for the night.
While everyone was distracted by seeing the happy couple off, I made my escape. Or so I thought. I had made it halfway across the parking lot when I heard, “Holland!”
Where did Mrs. Clairborne come from?
Not wanting to be rude, I turned around. The parking lot wasn’t all that well lit, so hopefully she didn’t see my grimace.
Mr. and Mrs. Clairborne were hustling in a determined sort of fashion. For a moment, it scared me. Why the interest in me? I felt like I was missing something.
Mrs. Clairborne wore a toothy smile. “You weren’t going to leave without saying goodbye, were you?”
I was good at it. “I’m sorry. It’s late and I have to get back to Mobile.”
Mr. Clairborne raised his eyebrows and flicked his head like he was signaling his wife.
Mrs. Clairborne stepped forward and took my hand. “It’s late. How would you like to stay at the resort for the night?”
Under no certain terms was that ever happening. I was never going to the Clairborne again. The thought of it had my heart palpitating. “I couldn’t. And I’m sure you’re booked with it being spring break.”
Mrs. Clairborne cleared her throat. “Well, uh . . . we were actually thinking you could stay with us. We would love to have you.”
She was inviting me to stay with them? I was wondering now if I should be worried, as in get-a-restraining-order worried. “I really can’t. But thank you.”
They both sighed, disappointed. But not deterred. “Your spring break should be coming up soon. You could come back,” Mrs. Clairborne sounded desperate.
I backed away slowly. “I usually work straight through spring break. Goodnight. It was really nice to see you again.” I didn’t wait for replies. I hightailed it to Lola, who looked even more pathetic surrounded by luxury vehicles. Before I got too far away, I heard Mr. Clairborne say to his wife, “I think we scared her.”
Just a little.
At least they didn’t follow me.
I unlocked Lola and jumped in as fast as the skin-tight dress would allow. I jammed the key in the ignition, ready to make my great escape and leave Paradise behind physically, emotionally, and metaphorically.
Lola had other ideas. I turned her over once. She chugged and sputtered. Turned her over again and she was dead silent.
“Oh, Lola, not now.” I tried again. She gave me the silent treatment. “If you don’t start right now, I swear I’ll leave you here. You aren’t worth fixing.” I turned her over one more time and I swore she made a cackling sound that sounded a lot like go ahead.
Stupid car. I popped the hood, not sure why. I knew a lot of things; cars weren’t one of them. I had a small Lola budget for that reason. But honestly, she wasn’t worth putting any more money into. And it was 10:30 p.m. No repair shops were open.
I got out of the car to find the Clairbornes hadn’t left and were carefully approaching me. Practically tiptoeing toward me.
“Do you need some help?” Mr. Clairborne was hesitant to ask, I think for fear of frightening me. That was a good call on his part for how odd they had behaved. Though honestly, I thought they were the nicest people ever. And they didn’t look at all threatening standing there in formal wear with the warmest of smiles. I could tell they were doing their best not to wince at the state of Lola. Unlike several other guests now passing by trying to stay as far away as possible, like Lola was some contagion.
“Do you know anything about cars?”
“A little.” Mr. Clairborne smiled.
I rubbed my arms. It had become chilly, especially with the breeze off the water. “If you wouldn’t mind taking a look, that would be great.” I hated asking for help, but I didn’t have a lot of options at this late hour.
“I’d be happy to.” He looked at his wife, who was properly wrapped in an elegant shawl that matched her champagne gown. “Why don’t you take Holland to our car and get her out of the cool air?” He took off his suit coat and handed it to Mrs. Clairborne.
I stopped rubbing my arms. “I’m fine. I can help with the car.”
“I’m sure you can.” Mr. Clairborne approached me and rested his hand on my arm. There was something so familiar and familial about his touch. “I’ve got this; you go get warm.” He plucked the keys right out of my hand.
Mrs. Clairborne was right there taking my hand and leading me across the lot toward their sleek red Jaguar, of all cars. It was certainly out of my league. All I had hopes for one day was a car made in this century, preferably this decade.
“Why don’t you sit in the passenger side? I’ll turn on the seat warmer.”
It wasn’t that cold, but a seat warmer sounded nice.
I got in, uncomfortable being in such a nice car. The situation didn’t help either.
Mrs. Clairborne sat in the driver’s seat. At first, nothing was said while we waited for the car to warm up, which didn’t take long at all. Lola would have needed at least half an hour to blow warm air out of her vents.
“I think we owe you an apology.” Mrs. Clairborne smiled over at me.
“What for?”
She bit her lip like a beauty queen. If I tried that I would end up looking like a walrus. “I know we came on a little strong tonight. It’s just that . . .” She sighed. “It’s just, we knew how Porter felt about you and—”
I jumped as if electrocuted, grabbing my heart. They must have seen that picture, but I couldn’t mention it, because I would have to admit to being a social media stalker—I mean, curious.
“You knew about Porter and me?”
She reached over and took my now clammy hand. “Oh, honey, of course we knew. Porter had never come home so many weekends until you started working for us. And we saw the way he looked at you. How he lingered wherever you were.”
It wasn’t the picture. They knew forever ago. Guilt washed over me. I couldn’t even look her in the eye. “I’m so sorry. I knew it was against the rules. And . . . well, I don’t have a good excuse.”
“Really? Porter wasn’t excuse enough?”
A small smile escaped. “I suppose. Or at least I thought so.”
She squeezed my hand. “I know he hurt you.”
My head popped up and met her caring eyes. “You do?”
She nodded. “He told me before he left ‘to find his own way,’ as he put it.” Her big brown eyes filled with tears. “He wanted me to tell you how sorry he was. You disappeared too, though.”
Was he truly sorry? I wanted to ask her about Demi, but what good would it do to know? “It seemed like the best thing to do at the time.”
“And what do you think now?”
I turned from her to stare out the window, watching wedding guests leave to the comfort of their beautiful homes. “That I was right. I don’t belong in Paradise.”
“I will have to disagree with you.”
I turned and met her eyes again. “If you knew about Porter and me, why didn’t you ever say anything?”
She paused for a moment. “At first Beau and I thought about it. But we watched you, and we couldn’t help but be impressed with you. You were a hard worker, always doing more than your part. We could see a good change in Porter when he was with you. And we knew if he thought for a second we approved of you, that would be enough for him to change his mind. He wasn’t one to want to please his parents.” Emotion flooded her voice.
“I really am sorry for it all. We shouldn’t have.”
“Don’t apologize. Because of you, I think we had Porter a year longer. And you weren’t the first employee to catch the owner’s son’s eye.”
That sick-to-my-stomach feeling was back. I was so naïve to think I was the only employee Porter ever dated. Even though he said I was. But he was a liar.
Mrs. Clairborne began to laugh. Why was this so funny?
“Oh, honey.” She jostled my hand she still held. “I wasn’t talking about Porter. I was talking about my husband.”
I leaned back against the luxurious seat. “You worked for the Clairborne?”
“Yes, ma’am. I worked in the spa as a massage therapist back when Beau’s parents ran the resort.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I don’t think Porter likes to talk about it. I think he still blames me for his parents’ divorce even though Beau and Genevieve were long separated by the time we met. I helped raise Porter since he was five. I fell in love with him before Beau.” Heartbreak wove in and out of her words.
Had Porter estranged himself from his family?
“He was lucky to have you. I always told him that.”
“You are a sweet young woman.” She patted my hand.
I shrugged. Not sure how sweet I was.
“Tell me of your family.” Her voice was strained as if she knew.
My eyes fell to my lap. “I wouldn’t know.”
The last time I saw any of them was the day my Uncle Stan dropped me off at my dorm room. He helped me carry up my very few belongings. There, he handed me a hundred-dollar bill. It was a lot of money for him. “Take this,” he’d said. “Be better than us. Good luck.” He walked out and never looked back. I didn’t watch him go. I was free.
“You know, your uncle stayed in Cokeville so you could finish school. He knew how important that was for you. He’d been offered a better job in Ohio your senior year.”
“I didn’t know that.” I talked into my lap, flabbergasted. But not able to look at her. I was embarrassed by the situation even after all this time.
“I don’t know the ins and outs of it all, but I know life wasn’t easy for you. Which made Beau and me all the more impressed with you.”
“I just did what I had to do.” I still did.
“That in and of itself is saying something.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I hadn’t planned on having any soul-bearing moments with my ex-boyfriend’s mother. I came here to bury my past, but all I felt like I was doing was digging myself in deeper.
Mr. Clairborne approached the car. I hoped that meant I would be on my way. It was eleven now. He went to the driver’s side, opened the door, and leaned in. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up. His hands had some grease on them. He gave his wife a kiss on the head before addressing me.
“I’m sorry to say, I’m not sure what’s wrong. I can have my mechanic look at it tomorrow.”
My disappointed eyes met his. “That’s okay. To be honest, it would probably be best to haul her off to a junk yard and let her die a proper death. I appreciate your help. I guess I’ll call a cab or Uber.”
I hated to think of the cost of that, but what choice did I have? I didn’t have friends to call. Sharon was a possibility, but it was so late, and I was an hour away.
“A cab? That’s nonsense. You can stay with us tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll see what we can do about getting your car fixed,” Mrs. Clairborne offered.
Inside I was vehemently shaking my head. “I couldn’t impose, and I really should get back to Mobile.”
“It’s no imposition at all,” Mr. Clairborne jumped in.
“We have plenty of room. And it’s late. We wouldn’t feel right sending you off in a cab.”
Riding off with some stranger I had to pay wasn’t my idea of fun either, but I wasn’t sure I could face the resort. And how could I stay with the Clairbornes, of all people?
“Please,” Mrs. Clairborne begged like her life depended on it.
“I really—”
“Let us help you,” Mr. Clairborne cut me off.
“I’m not really good at that.”
“It’s never too late to learn.” He smiled.
Life had taught me another lesson. Never depend on anyone but myself. “I can see if there’s a room available somewhere else.”
“You’re a stubborn woman. That’s good. I’m a stubborn woman too.” Mrs. Clairborne smiled. “Now let’s go home.”
I sighed in resignation.