“Thank you for the vote of confidence. I was thrilled when you got in touch with me. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how many of my clients would be sharing my details now that I’ve left Los Angeles.”
“Oh please.” She giggled. “Destination weddings are all the thing and you’ve got a reputation as one of the best planners around. Why wouldn’t people come to you?”
“You’re too kind but I appreciate it.” The warmth rolled through her gut, chasing away the small patch of doubt that had plagued her ever since she’d arrived in town. “What did you think of the church? Isn’t it just adorable?”
“Amazing! That stained glass window is the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. It looks as though the angels are walking on the lake behind them. Robert can’t wait to be there and exchange vows. We’re both super excited.”
“Me too. I’ll put the final contract in the mail to you tomorrow then unless there’s something else we need to discuss? You know I’m here any time you need to talk though.”
“No, I’m more than happy with what we’ve decided. If there’re any problems or changes to be made, I can call you.” She sighed. “It’s so good to talk to you again and to know you’re taking care of everything. Such a relief to have that stress off my shoulders.”
A loud voice boomed down the hallway and Mari looked up and decided it was time to finish the call. “It’s my pleasure, Natasha. And if you need me for anything, you know I’m only a call away. I don’t want you stressing over anything. That’s my job.”
“I don’t care what the heck she’s doing. I want to talk to her now.”
Natasha pulled a face. “Sounds like you have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
Mari looked up as Jeff Benson stormed into her office. “Sorry, Natasha. Thanks for everything.” She clicked the link and the face of her first bride shut off. She shut the computer, giving herself a second to catch her breath.
“What are you doing in here, Mr. Benson?” Mari counted to ten and looked at him.
“Since you haven’t been out to see me, figured I would come in and talk to you.” He walked in and stood in front of her desk.
“Have a seat, Jeff. Can I get you a coffee?”
He sat down. “Nope. Just had one with Pearl. She’s come home singing your praises, she has. I’m not sure I’m ready to do the same.”
“I can understand that.”
“Not sure I trust you even now. Not after taking my boy away and keeping him from us all these years.”
“Let me be honest here. I never took him away from you. You pushed him away.” Butterflies churned in her stomach but now that Jeff was here, she was going to have her say.
“No, I didn’t. Is it so wrong to try and steer your children in the right direction? Just you wait until it’s time to guide your young one. Bet you see how difficult it is then and I’ll remind you of this conversation.” He looked across the desk at her, frowned and spoke again. “I think you owe me an apology and I’m here to collect it.”
Really? She was the one who was wronged, not him. “I’m not sure what I owe you, Jeff, but an apology wasn’t exactly on my mind. Why don’t you tell me your reasoning behind that?”
“You took my boy away and kept him from us and we all know that. All those years with no word, no contact at all, and you sitting pretty there with him as if you’d done nothing wrong.” His lips twisted into a bitter line.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. At the time I tried to explain it to you but you wouldn’t listen. The last people I’d steal from are you and Pearl. You had to know that.”
“All I know is that you took off, with my boy and left Pearl a mess. Now you’re back as if nothing happened and everyone is falling all over you to make it up. Just don’t go expecting me to follow them. Far as I’m concerned, you did wrong by me and I can’t forget it.” He slapped his cap against his leg and put it back on his head. “Just so long as you know where we stand, we should get on fine.” He turned and walked out before she could say anything else in her defense.
Mari was still sitting in her office when Keith came back up. He put his head in the door. “Was that Jeff I heard?”
“Sure was.”
“Is he giving you a hard time?” Keith had been vocal that he had her back when she arrived in town. An old-timer already employed at the hotel, she’d kept him on.
She stood up. “Yes and no. It’s understandable and I was expecting it. Shame I didn’t really get a chance to say what I wanted but he kind of took me by surprise.”
“You did nothing wrong. Don’t let him get to you.”
“At least now he’s had his say, he might stay away and leave us alone.”
“You don’t deserve any of his crap.” He puffed out his chest. “Jeff needs to remember we were all teenagers once, including him. You’re doing a stand-up job with this business and people around town are right proud of the way you’re conducting yourself.”
“Thank you, Keith. I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“Anyone can see you’ve got what it takes to run this place. Look how well the Christmas tree auction went. You brought folks into town that haven’t been involved in the community for years and your sisters are doing the same thing. Don’t let him get you down. The people around here will back you Moore girls any day.”
*
“Mom. Come and
