california christmas dreams (19 page)

“Sad,” Bonnie said as she seated Merry at a table. Bonnie poured water into a glass.

“So far it looks like the fire is winning.”

“Maybe,” Bonnie said, and sat down across from Merry. “I’ve been trying to remember where I knew you from. Took me a bit, but I finally remembered.”

“Maddie’s Mad World,”
Merry supplied for her.

Bonnie laughed. “You get that a lot, don’t you?”

Merry simply nodded.

“Well, you’re in good hands with Jake. He’ll get you back on your feet. He’s brilliant at what he does. There’s no shame.”

For a moment, Merry didn’t understand what she was saying. “I beg your pardon?”

Bonnie simply laughed. “We all thought the money would last forever.”

“No,” Merry said, “I’m not Jake’s client.”

Bonnie tilted her head. “Oh, goodness. I assumed because you were here with Jake, you were broke and...”

Merry held up a hand. “It’s okay. I’m not broke. My mother is really shrewd about money. She would never have let me live like the money would last forever.”

Bonnie grinned. “Your mother didn’t go to the celebrity mother school of behavior.”

“Not even,” Merry said.

“Count your blessings,” Bonnie said with a sigh and a sad look in her eyes. “My family couldn’t spend my money fast enough. If not for Jake, I’d be living under a bridge like my troll of an ex-husband.”

Merry took a long sip of her water. Bonnie refilled the glass. “You look hungry. Hamburgers are on the house today.”

“I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

Jake entered the pub and saw Merry and Bonnie. He walked over and Bonnie stood to give him her spot in the booth.

“I need about ten glasses of water, Bonnie,” he said.

“Coming right up.” Bonnie went to get more glasses and then left the pitcher of water for them.

“What’s happening at the park?”

“It looks like the only casualty is going to be the roller coaster. The wind shifted at the last moment and the fire went north.”

Merry breathed a sigh of relief and said a little prayer of thanks. “So you’re going to get a new roller coaster and the insurance is going to pay for it. Considering that your father was going to build a new one anyway, boy, that’s a win-win situation.”

Jake grinned at her. He downed a glass of water. “And some new landscaping. Two of your Christmas displays were lost, too.”

“I don’t care about the displays. The park has been saved.”

A cheer went up from the bar as the commentator on the TV announced the park to be safe and the fire 60 percent contained. An aerial view showed the fire leaping north of the park. The roller coaster was still burning, but the rides nearby were safe. Including the carousel. Firefighters moved through the park, spraying water on the areas along the perimeter and putting out embers. Planes dropped fire retardant on the flames.

Bonnie came out with two plates and set them in front of Merry and Jake. Merry eyed her hamburger hungrily. She picked up a French fry and bit into it. Heavenly. Bonnie made terrific fries and the hamburger smelled as delicious as it looked.

Jake bit hungrily into his hamburger. “This is good,” he said.

Merry dug in to hers. For a few moments, she and Jake ate in silence. The pub had grown noisier now that the fire was almost vanquished and all the volunteers seemed to be feeling happier.

“About this morning,” Jake said and paused, eyeing her.

“I don’t want to talk about it yet,” Merry said, still hurting and angry.

“But...”

She held up her hand. “No. Not now.”

The door to the pub opened and John walked in. He looked exhausted, but he was smiling. A few cheers sounded and he waved, shaking hands and thanking every person in the room for their help.

Merry watched him, feeling a sense of pride. John had created his own community and she liked that she was part of it, too. He made his way around the room and finally found his way to Jake and Merry. Jake shifted to make room for his father.

John put his hands over his face.

“The park is saved,” Merry said. “We can fix it.”

“I know, Merry,” John said with a deep sigh. “But the real problem right now is that the fire may have been arson.”

“Arson!” A look of incredulity spread across Jake’s face.

“Yes, arson,” John replied. “And the police questioned me as though I had something to do with it.”

Merry shook her head. “No.”

“Why would you torch the park after you spent so much money to renovate?” Jake looked like he wanted to hit something.

John looked sad and pensive. Tension tightened the edges of his mouth. “I think I convinced them of that. But the fire was positioned to head straight for the park. If not for the wind change, everything would have been lost and I would have been forced to sell no matter what I wanted.”

“Yeah, the insurance company isn’t going to pay out if you’re the arsonist.”

“I’m not,” John said quietly. “I came to find you because I need my laptop.”

“They’re all in my car. Which one do you want?”

“The Mac,” he said with a little smile.

* * *

The door opened and Jake looked up, expecting to see Merry. His sister, Evelyn, stormed into the pub. She was smartly dressed in a dark gray suit and a yellow silk blouse, with a gray-and-yellow scarf tied around her neck. Her black hair was pulled back into a severe knot at the top of her head. She obviously had just come from a class.

“I can see you’re all fine.” Evelyn’s tone was clipped and angry. “Thank God. And I heard on the radio that the fire is moving away from the park. How nice it would have been if someone had called me.” She sat down across from them in Merry’s spot.

Jake flinched. Evelyn angry was the last thing he needed.

“Sorry, kitten,” John said. “Everything happened so quickly. I didn’t want to worry you, especially with midterms coming up.” He took her hand in his and gently patted it until she pulled away.

She shoved Merry’s plate out of the way, her eyes narrowing as she rested her arms on the table, staring at both of them. “I have a T.A. who worries about midterms.”

John glanced at Jake, and Jake tried not to squirm. Evelyn on a rant was a sight to behold.

“If you had just sold the property to whoever wanted it, you wouldn’t need to be worried about a little fire like that. The developers would probably have been delighted if everything had just burned. They wouldn’t have to dismantle all the buildings and the rides.”

And she wouldn’t have to worry about her son wanting to be part of the future of the park when she wanted him to be a lawyer, or a doctor or president of the United States.

“Evelyn,” John said in a soothing tone.

“Don’t ‘Evelyn’ me in that tone of voice.” She tapped her fingertips on the table angrily. “You were both in danger and didn’t think I should be worried.”

Jake flinched at the sarcasm in her voice.

“We were kind of hoping you wouldn’t know.” John tried to smile, but his lips didn’t quite stretch into one. Like Jake, he was intimidated by his overachieving daughter, who was determined she’d be head of the physics department by the time she was forty.

“The fire was on every news station. Hell, one of the newscasters talked about how he met his wife at the park and still brought his children.”

“How nice,” Jake said, taking a long sip of water.

“So I rushed over. I knew you’d all gather here.”

Bonnie came over. “Evelyn,” she exclaimed happily. “What a close thing. But we all worked at diverting the fire and the park has been saved.”

“So I heard. The newscaster on Channel Five talked about how people from the community turned out to fight the fire. He was so amazed that anyone would turn out for a run-down park like that.”

“Run-down?” John said. “You haven’t been out there recently. Merry has done a terrific job with the redecorating.”

“The has-been actress.”

Jake took offense at Evelyn’s statement. “I’m done listening to you. Dad made his decision. You can either support it or not. But you will not, under any circumstances, denigrate anyone he sees fit to hire. Just because you and I didn’t want the park doesn’t mean there aren’t other people who think it’s something worth saving. You have no idea how many people showed up to help fight the fire. You and I have forgotten how beloved this park is and what it means to the people of Riverside.”

Evelyn stared at him, her lips parted and surprise on her face. “The park is a menace, a money pit and a...”

“Don’t talk to your father and brother like that,” Merry said, tapping Evelyn on the shoulder.

Jake hadn’t even seen her approach. She held a tote in one hand, the corners of his dad’s Mac and iPad peeking out.

“Excuse me?” Evelyn said icily.

“He’s trying to save a piece of Riverside history,” Merry continued. “Move over, my hamburger is getting cold.”

Evelyn slid over in the booth. Merry handed the tote to John then sat down, pulling her plate toward her.

“You are not part of this family,” Evelyn said, ice forming on each word.

“Maybe not the biological part,” Merry said. “I’m family in a different way.”

Evelyn glared at her father. “Are you going to let this has-been actress talk to me like this?”

“She’s defending me,” John replied. “Why should I stop her?”

“Okay, everybody,” Jake said, “neutral corners. And Evelyn, if you keep talking like this, the arson investigator is going be knocking on your door.”

“Arson!” Evelyn drew back. “Someone tried to burn you down, Dad? It wasn’t an accident? Who would do something like that?” Her tone softened with worry.

John shrugged. “I don’t know, Evelyn. I just know that evidence of some sort was found at the ignition site and the cops spent a bit of time talking to me.”

“You wouldn’t burn down your own park,” Evelyn said, apprehension showing in her eyes and the lines forming on her forehead. “Dad, please tell me the police don’t suspect you.”

“Right now, they suspect everyone, but me in particular. And according to you, I’m holding on to a run-down park. Which could make you a suspect, too,” John said wearily.

“I was in class all morning,” she said stiffly, “and I have a whole list of people who can verify that.”

“Evelyn, I was just teasing.” John rubbed his temples, tension radiating from him.

Evelyn caved, her shoulders slumping and tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Dad. Jake. I’m sorry. When I heard about the fire, I was just so frightened for you both. And when you didn’t call me...”

“It’s all right, dear,” John said, patting her hand again. “I apologize for not letting you know we were all right.”

Now that most of the volunteers had been fed and rehydrated, many had drifted home to be replaced by the early-evening crowd. The smell of smoke lingered in the air and Jake realized he smelled of smoke, too.

Merry had finished her hamburger and fries and was draining another glass of water. She looked exhausted.

Evelyn opened her mouth as though to say something, but nothing came out. She shook her head and wiped away the tears. “I’m sorry for being difficult. I was just worried.”

“We understand, sis,” Jake said. He loved his sister despite her slightly overbearing, type-A personality.

Defeated, Evelyn plucked an uneaten French fry off Jake’s plate and chewed on it. That surprised him. She was all about healthy eating, and fries did not figure into that equation.

“I guess I need to be getting home. Johnny is going to be worried about me and the park if he’s heard the news.”

Jake’s phone rang and he tugged it out of his pocket. “Harry Constantine,” he said to his father. “Jake Walters here.”

“I hear you’re having a fire problem,” Constantine said.

“Crisis averted. The fire is under control. The only ride lost was the roller coaster, which was coming down anyway.”

“That’s good news.” Constantine’s voice held a note of false sincerity. “I’m renewing my offer to purchase the property.”

“For a lower price, I assume.” Jake tried to keep his voice neutral, but the man’s manner just grated on him.

“No, not at all. I’ve been instructed by my investors to sweeten the offer a bit more. Say another five hundred thousand dollars. You won’t get another offer this generous for years.”

“Now is not the time, Mr. Constantine.” How interesting that Harry Constantine would be making another offer just now, especially with the suspicion of arson.

“This is the perfect time. Think about how many jobs a new mall would generate in Riverside. The economy is improving by leaps and bounds. There’s a profit to be made here. A lot of profit. I can smell it.”

Jake resisted the urge to disconnect on the man. But he kept thinking that the money from the sale would make his dad secure for the rest of his life. Jake didn’t deal in risk. His clients were risky, but he couldn’t be risky with their money. If one of his clients had a deal like this come up, Jake would have accepted it, no questions asked. He’d orchestrated estate sales for clients who were in dire straights. Though his dad was a long way from being destitute, Jake worried that that could change at any time. He wanted his dad to be protected.

Part of him wished the park had burned down. Then he wouldn’t have to deal with this issue. The park would be sold and his dad would be sitting on his boat drinking margaritas. Besides, he and Evelyn were his dad’s back-up plan, and Jake didn’t mind that. Then again, a lot of people would be out of a job. And those people who had turned out to help fight the fire would translate to a whole lot of ticket sales once the renovation was done and the park reopened.

How did he balance what was best for his dad and what his dad wanted? John Walters was committed to the park. Jake wasn’t.

“Mr. Constantine, I’ll relay your offer to my father. But I can pretty much guarantee he’s not going to sell.” He disconnected, not wanting to talk to Constantine any longer.

“What did he say?” Merry asked curiously.

“Just repeating his offer to purchase the park.” Jake studied her. As long as the park was going forward, he got to be with Merry. And he wanted to be with her. Suddenly, he knew he was completely in favor of the renovations if it kept Merry in his life. He wanted to be near her. He wanted to be as important to her as she was to him.