“You can overcome Regina Gentry’s disapproval. My word carries as much weight as hers in this region. You’ll have more students than you ever imagined. I can call in a few favors with some movers and shakers, and your playhouse will be welcomed like the genuine boon it will be to this community.”
Samantha smiled at that. “You’ve never lacked confidence, have you?”
“Sure I have,” Cora Jane said, needing her to see that everyone faced setbacks in life. “When your grandfather died, I was terrified of taking on Castle’s on my own. I thought seriously about closing it down or selling it to Jerry. I even approached him about it.”
“He turned you down?” Samantha said, clearly surprised.
Cora Jane smiled. “He did. He said that restaurant belonged with me, that it would lose something without me. He said a bunch of nonsense about me being the heart and soul of the place.”
“It wasn’t nonsense,” Samantha contradicted.
Cora Jane shrugged. “Be that as it may, he convinced me he’d be right there every step of the way, that we’d be a team. So I took a deep breath and stuck with it. That’s what you need to do, take a deep breath before you make any decisions.”
“I don’t think I’ll change my mind about this,” Samantha said. “Maybe Ethan’s right. Maybe I belong in New York, after all.”
“I’m not going to push too hard one way or the other,” Cora Jane told her. “It’s your decision. I do have one question for you, though. Right now, New York seems safe and familiar, but were you truly happy there? Not back in the beginning when it was fresh and exciting, but recently? I think if you answer that honestly, you’ll know what you need to do.”
Now all Cora Jane could do was sit back and pray that Samantha would find her way through the pain she was experiencing right this second and focus on the bright possibilities ahead.
22
Ethan walked into a roomful of glum faces after he left Samantha in the parking lot. He frowned right back at them.
“What?”
“You broke up with her, didn’t you?” Greg asked, an accusing note in his voice.
“No choice,” Ethan said flatly. “And the topic isn’t open for discussion.”
Pam looked pointedly at Debra, whose expression instantly turned guilty.
“I showed her the photo in the paper,” the receptionist admitted to him. “She hadn’t seen it. I might have gloated just a little.”
Ethan sighed. “Not the nicest thing you could have done, but it doesn’t change anything. This is my decision.”
“If you don’t mind me saying so, boss, you’re an idiot,” Pam told him flatly. “She’s made a difference in you. We’ve all seen that.”
“It’s true,” Debra confirmed with obvious reluctance. “You’ve been happy. I know I behaved badly today, but maybe you should reconsider. It’s about time you got a life.”
Greg frowned then. “You did break up with her, right? Samantha didn’t dump you? She’d have every right to, I think. It’s because you’re who you are and Boone’s who he is that the picture ever made it into the paper. And that speculation about her being a stripper? That had to be somebody’s idea of a joke. What was Ken Jones thinking that he’d print something like that? Did he owe somebody a huge favor?”
Ethan dragged himself out of his own misery long enough to consider what Greg was saying. He’d done the right thing for Samantha by pointing out what she’d be up against in this town, but he didn’t feel all that good about it.
“Now that you mention it, I can’t help wondering who gave that picture to the paper,” he admitted, his ire starting to stir at the person who’d started this chain of events. “It had to be somebody at the party, right? I seriously doubt there were paparazzi lurking around outside at a bachelor party in Sand Castle Bay.”
Greg’s expression turned thoughtful. “You sure about that?” he asked slowly. “Not paparazzi, but how about somebody sent by Boone’s former in-laws? Maybe they intended to catch him doing something stupid. That whole custody issue supposedly died down, but maybe that was only wishful thinking on Boone’s part. Jenny’s folks could have taken one last stab at discrediting him, hoping to stake their claim on B.J.”
Ethan considered the possibility. It was something the deeply embittered Farmers might have done. “But that photo doesn’t incriminate Boone. I’m the one holding a supposed stripper in my arms.”
“Maybe they figured the whole atmosphere was toxic enough to help their cause,” Pam suggested. “And it was Boone’s sister-in-law-to-be you were holding. I’m sure they’d love to create the impression that the Castles are going to be a bad influence on B.J. Everyone knows they blame Emily for anything and everything that went wrong in their daughter’s life. No one agrees with them, by the way. We all know Boone did the best he could by Jenny. She was happy with him. That doesn’t keep the Farmers from hating Boone, Emily and anyone connected to them.”
“That’s just plain twisted,” Ethan said, even though he knew it was a hundred percent true.
“But it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they’d do this,” Greg countered. “Bottom line, you and Samantha were both innocent bystanders in this plot.”
Ethan had to give him credit for a good spin. “Nice try, but Samantha did show up in a cake wearing a bikini. The Farmers didn’t plot that.”
“And you’re going to hold that against her?” Greg chided. “Come on. She was doing a favor for her sister. You know how persuasive Emily can be, and everybody was jumping through hoops to give her everything she asked for leading up to the wedding, even you.”
“Samantha’s motive doesn’t change anything,” Ethan insisted, holding tight to his stance, even when he could see he was on remarkably shaky ground. “It was a bad decision on her part. If she’s going to be
