He leaned forward in his white rocker, closer to the phone. “What are you talking about?”
“The way you proposed on the live feed during the concert. Fantastic idea! Fans are loving it. Was it real or a gimmick?”
Something about this didn’t sound right. “Caleb, what’s he talking about?”
“I would never propose as a gimmick.” He held his hand to his forehead and let out a groan. “So thousands of people heard?—”
“Dude, it’s way, way more than that. The video had half a million views already. Ned wants a copy of that recording now. Says it’s better than anything Miss Dahlia and Ariel have ever done. He wants to sign the two of you tomorrow.”
“I’ll tell you what, Paxton,” she said. “I’ll call Ned in the next day or two, and I’ll let you know what he says. Bye, now.”
She hung up and turned her phone over.
Caleb stared at her for a moment, then a slow smile broke out on his face. “You’re not the same woman I met a month ago.”
No, she was not.
“Let’s see how tonight affected the bad posts.” He tapped his phone, kept his eye on the screen. Scrolled for a while, then laid down the phone again. “I’ve dug pretty deep and can’t find any of the old videos.”
Ariel did the same. “The new ones have buried them. Thank the Lord.”
A comfortable silence fell as they took in the sight of Lake Huron stretched out before them.
“Tonight was a huge success. The music was better than ever. I think you got your answer about your career, because tonight you were a success—without your aunt.”
Yes, she did. But somehow she’d forgotten why her success had weighed so heavily on her. “Caleb, I could give it up tonight and never go back. It doesn’t matter anymore, because knowing I can is enough. Love and a life with you are all I want.”
He took her hand. “Yes, but we still need to talk about our future. What do we want our lives to look like?”
Caleb simply looked at her for some time, his expression showing—what? Peace, maybe. Longing for something real and meaningful.
Or maybe simple contentment.
“Tonight you were set free of the need to prove yourself as a musician. I was set free from life as an innkeeper. From the unnecessary responsibility of maintaining the building I thought was a family legacy. But it’s not.”
Neither was an audience or a stack of platinum records or another CMA or Dove award. “Love and faith and hospitality—those legacies last.”
Funny how everything could change in a month.
One day he was minding his own business, struggling to save a dying hotel. The next day, a beautiful woman walked in and not only resuscitated it, but she also brought a breath of joy into his worn-out heart.
Then with her sweet, smart, sassy, talented, kinda offbeat great-aunt added to the mix…
When Caleb and Ariel pulled up to the island’s airport in Harry’s carriage Sunday morning after church, Caleb realized that marrying into Ariel’s family would bring constant adventure.
There stood Miss Dahlia in front of the terminal, wearing a hot-pink “Does This Ring Make Me Look Engaged?” shirt and waving her left hand at them. Uncle Augo stood next to her, wearing a “Two Less Fish in the Sea” baseball cap.
Since Caleb, and everybody else on this island, had seen this coming for a while, the hat surprised him more than the engagement. He climbed out of the carriage and went around to help Ariel, but she’d already jumped down.
“My uncle must have it bad,” he whispered as they started across the grass. “The only hats I’ve seen him wear were his flat cap or fedora.”
“Aunt Dahlia has that effect on people. Better learn to stand up to her.”
As if anyone ever had.
Ariel ran to her aunt and reached for her hand. Her eyes widened at the sight. “Aunt Dahlia! This thing is so huge, it can’t be a diamond. It’s a perfectly clear, beautiful, diamond-shaped brick.”
“I wanted something gaudy, flashy, and tacky.”
