Page 4 of Valentine's in Bayberry

Bang. Bang-bang!

Why did they have to pick today of all days to decide to work on this place? A frown pulled at the corners of her mouth.

Chapter Two

This was not ahappy homecoming.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Jackson Wright lifted a sledgehammer and swung it toward the broken and rotted display shelves that were barely attached to the wall. His safety glasses protected his eyes from the flying debris. This vacant storefront was utterly trashed from years of neglect and a leaky roof. It was no wonder no one wanted to rent it.

He took another swing. He let out his frustration, anger, and most especially the guilt with each strike. He couldn’t believe things had spun so far out of control. Instead of being in London in a suit and tie, he was in his hometown wearing jeans and an old T-shirt.

But when he learned his mother was in trouble, he’d dropped everything to catch a transatlantic flight home. His mother had always been the strong one in the family, but after the death of his father a few years ago, the grief and loneliness had taken their toll on her. Now, it was time to be there for his mother.

Unbeknownst to him, his mother had developed a gambling addiction. How had he missed it? The bus trips she was always taking, selling her car, and then she’d tried to take a second mortgage out on the house. With the house in both of their names, he’d been alerted to her activity by the bank. When he confronted her over the phone, she’d denied anything was wrong. He didn’t believe her.

After some investigating, he found her credit cards were maxed out as well as many of her bills were past due. When he confronted her, she’d broken down in tears and confessed it all. Of course, it was followed up with her begging him for a loan. She was certain she would win everything back—but he was not at all convinced of it.

He’d spent the past week trying to talk sense into his mother and finally getting her situated in a treatment facility. And now he had turned his attention to renovating this storefront. He intended to put this commercial piece of property up for sale. His mother needed the money, and it would be one less thing for his mother to worry over when she moved to London with him.

He swung the sledgehammer again. He’d already ordered a large dumpster to dispose of all the debris. Sure, he could have hired someone to do the demo work, but he’d needed a physical outlet for all of the frustration and worry that had mounted within him. This was all his fault. And it was up to him to make things right.

He slung the sledge hammer into the wall.

“Hey! Stop.”

He knew that voice. He lowered the sledgehammer, propped the safety glasses high on his head, and turned. “Carrie? What are you doing here?”

She had her hands pressed to her hips. “The better question is what are you doing here?”

He waved his hand around. “I’m cleaning up.” His brows scrunched together. “What are you doing here?”

She frowned at him. “I thought your mother would have told you.”

Oh no. Another secret his mother was keeping from him. Since he’d arrived home, he’d had one shock after the next. If Carrie’s news was anything like the other surprises, he was in big trouble.

He cleared his throat as he worked up the courage to ask what she meant. “My mother is out of town. And she hasn’t mentioned you. Should she have?”

Confusion shone in Carrie’s blue eyes, even though she was nodding as though she understood. How could she understand any of this while he was still struggling to figure out how things had gone so terribly wrong for his mother?

Instead of answering his question, she asked, “Does your mother know you’re here?”

“Yes. I came home to take care of things while she’s away.” He still couldn’t bring himself to admit that his mother was getting treatment for a gambling addiction.

“I’m just surprised she wouldn’t want to be here to see you. I know how much she misses you.”

He shrugged, trying to act casual while his gut was knotted up. When they were growing up, Carrie had been the girl next door. He’d had a crush on her all through high school. Instead of ending up high-school sweethearts, they’d been best friends until he moved away for college. A lot of time had passed since those days.

While Carrie looked around, he set the sledgehammer aside. It’d been too long since they’d last had a meaningful conversation. He missed their easy chats. He missed her warm smile. In truth, he missed everything about her.

He reminded himself that they didn’t have time to play catch up. He wasn’t planning to be in Bayberry any longer than ittook to clean up his mother’s financial mess. Once he got the house and this building on the market, he’d move his mother to London. With her close by, he could see her regularly and make sure something like this never happened again. Her addiction even drove her to sell the family silverware that had gone back a couple of generations. He halted his troubling thoughts.

For the moment, he pushed the worries about his mother to the back of his mind. Instead, he focused on Carrie. He looked at her—really looked at her. The girl next door had grown into a strong, independent woman just like he’d always known she would.

He straightened his shoulders as his body tensed. “So, what did my mother fail to tell me?”

When Carrie smiled at him, it was like the dark clouds in his life had parted, and for that moment, he felt at peace—like anything was possible.

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