Sand Castle Bay (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,68
well, that’s when she made it her business to heap as much guilt on that man’s shoulders as she possibly could. Somebody ought to shake some sense into her, but her husband doesn’t have the gumption.” She regarded Emily curiously. “Why are you asking about her?”
“Apparently one of her friends saw me with Boone the other night and couldn’t wait to fill her in. By the time Boone and I got to his place, Jodie had left a message berating him for being with me. He cut the machine off before she’d finished, but she clearly wasn’t happy about the news.”
“No, I don’t suppose she was,” Cora Jane said. “If it were up to her, he’d have thrown himself straight into Jenny’s grave with her. Or preferably instead of her.”
“Grieving mother talking?” Emily asked.
Cora Jane shrugged. “That’s been my assessment, but sometimes I have to wonder if I’m not being too kind. Maybe she’s just a vindictive woman. My advice to you, stay out of her path if you can. And pay no attention to anything she has to say.”
“But Boone does, doesn’t he? He takes every word to heart?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Her words do have the power to hurt him and make him question himself,” Cora Jane admitted. “I’ve tried to give him some perspective on her behavior, but she feeds right into the guilt he feels about Jenny.”
Emily nodded slowly. “That’s what I thought, too. Any suggestions for what I could do to help?”
“She’s in Florida, thanks be to heaven, so you shouldn’t have to do anything. There’s only so much poison she can spew from down there.”
Emily wondered about that. If there was a pipeline feeding Jodie news from North Carolina, it had to work in reverse, as well. Still, for the moment, there was no point in borrowing trouble. There’d be time enough to figure out a strategy—if one was even needed—when she got back to town.
“One last question. Do you really think she’d sue Boone for custody of B.J.? Am I giving her the perfect excuse to do that?”
Cora Jane looked shocked by the suggestion. “She wouldn’t dare!”
“Boone thinks she might,” Emily said. “Just the thought of it is killing him.”
“She’d lose,” Cora Jane said confidently.
“But it would be ugly while she tried,” Emily assessed.
Though Cora Jane looked suitably shaken, she touched Emily’s cheek. “Don’t let her be the reason the two of you don’t try, okay?”
“I just don’t want to be responsible for her stirring up trouble for Boone,” Emily told her.
“There will be plenty of us in Boone’s corner if she tries,” Cora Jane told her with feeling.
“Thanks,” Emily said to her grandmother, relieved by Cora Jane’s conviction that things would work out. “Now I’d better get on the road.”
When Cora Jane stood up, she gave Emily a fierce hug. “You come back soon,” she ordered. “You have people here who love you.”
Emily smiled at her. “That goes both ways.”
“And is Boone one of those people?” Cora Jane inquired slyly. “Is that what’s really behind this whole conversation? You’re finally ready to admit you still love him?”
“Could be,” Emily admitted.
Her grandmother’s eyes lit up. “Well, praise be. It’s about time the two of you came to your senses.”
“We have a lot to work out,” Emily cautioned.
“That’s the nature of relationships,” her grandmother said. “There are always things that need to be worked out. Life is never static. Or if it is, I guarantee you’ll be bored to tears.”
“I think Boone and I are agreed that boring doesn’t enter into what we have,” Emily said with a chuckle.
“Some details you can keep to yourself, young lady,” Cora Jane scolded.
Emily laughed. “I’m definitely not planning to discuss my sex life with you. You might be inclined to turn around and tell me about yours.”
For an instant her grandmother looked shocked, but then a grin spread across her face. “As if I’d do such a thing,” she muttered indignantly.
But Emily noticed she didn’t deny that there was a sex life to be discussed. Just thinking about that kept a smile on her face all the way to the airport.
* * *
Boone leaned back in the chair in his office, closed his eyes and thought about all the information Pete had just given him about potential locations for new restaurants. Expansion could be a dicey business. If he intended to keep food quality and service consistent, someone had to keep an eye on each location. With Pete primarily responsible for travel, Boone didn’t want his second-in-command to be