Page 30 of Coastal Reflections

Audrey grimaced. “Good luck. Keep me posted, will you? And remember that I’m here for you—whether you need someone to vent to or even if you feel like you need a place to stay. We’ve got an empty room at The Birchwood House this weekend and you’d be absolutely welcome to stay there for free.”

“Wow, just one room free? You guys are really booked up. That’s awesome.” Penelope fist-bumped Audrey before tugging open the front door of Common Thread. “And thanks for the offer, but if I moved out, it would be totally impossible for me to get in touch with Robert. Waiting up for him in the kitchen seems to be the only chance I ever get to say anything to him at all.” She sighed.

“Hey.” Audrey wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulder and gave her a sideways hug. “No men right now, remember? Just us and clothes and having fun.”

The friends began to peruse the clothing racks together, and Audrey found that it was much easier to forget about Clark than she’d thought it would be. Her attention was immediately captivated by a white sweater that had pink flowers sewn across the lower half of the torso. It was just the right combination of whimsical and fashionable, and it looked as though it would fit her perfectly. She held onto it, determined to try it on.

She and Penelope continued to shop, getting more and more swept up in the fun of it. Penelope found a pair of black leather pants that she declared she was going to wear on their next girls’ night out, and Audrey found a pair of hot pink heels, declaring she would join Penelope in making bold fashion choices for the occasion. Penelope picked out a red dress, a white leather belt, and two knit hats, and in addition to the pink and white sweater, Audrey found a perfect emerald green sweater that she knew Evan would love, a light blue sweater that was as soft as a cloud, a pair of fleece pajama pants with little purple cats printed all over them, and a pair of black fleece-lined leggings.

“We’ve got quite the haul,” Audrey said cheerfully as she and Penelope were exiting the shop. “You’re going to look amazing in those black leather pants, Penelope. I’m going to text Harper and try to plan our next night out together.”

She pulled her phone from her pocket, but her smile vanished as soon as she saw the screen. Clark—who she had in fact managed to forget about for a blissful forty-five minutes—had sent her another text.

“What is it?” Penelope asked, instantly sounding protective, like a bulldog starting to growl. “Did Clark text you again?”

“Yeah.” Audrey swallowed. “This is the second text he’s sent me today. Both of his texts tell me that I have to give him the grandfather clock or he’s going to take legal action.” Tears rushed into her eyes, sudden and hot. She tried to conceal them from Penelope but she couldn’t keep the wobble out of her voice. “I’m scared I’m going to have to give in to him, and he’ll take that clock away from me. My grandmother loved it so much.”

“He’s going to do no such thing,” Penelope said darkly. “That man has absolutely taken enough away from you already. I won’t hear of it. Besides, it absolutely belongs in the hotel. It’s meant to be in the front hallway. It looks like it was built to be there—or the house was built to surround it. One or the other.”

Audrey smiled weakly. “Thanks, Penelope.” She was doing her best to hold it together, but she felt terrified and the tears kept threatening to spill out of her eyes.

“Come on, let’s get you home,” Penelope said, wrapping an arm around Audrey. “You go back to the mansion and show your new goodies to Michelle. That’ll help take your mind off this. Just text Clark back tomorrow and tell him to go jump in the ocean.”

Audrey laughed weakly. They walked back to the hotel and she hugged Penelope goodbye on the sidewalk.

“Let me know how everything goes with Robert,” she said.

“I will,” Penelope promised.

Audrey started up the walkway to the mansion, doing her best not to break down crying. She didn’t want to alarm any guests who might be spending time in the parlor or the front entryway. She stepped inside the front door, intending to hurry straight upstairs to her room to have a good sob on her bed, when she let out a gasp.

“Evan!”

A second later she was in his arms, and then she couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. She cried as he held her tightly, rocking her back and forth and stroking her hair.

“Hey, hey. You’re okay,” he said soothingly. “Audrey. Did something happen? I just stopped over to see if we could get dinner together tonight. I didn’t realize you needed me or I would have come sooner.”

Audrey inhaled, feeling a rush of gratitude for him. “I didn’t know I needed you until just a little while ago,” she said, sniffling. She glanced into the parlor and was relieved to see that it was empty of guests. At least no one had witnessed her breakdown besides her compassionate boyfriend. “And I’ll be okay in a little bit, I’m sure, but right now I’m completely overwhelmed by my emotions about this entire situation.”

“What situation? With Clark?” His voice was low, sounding like a growl.

She nodded. “He just sent me another text threatening to take legal action. I’m just so rattled. I’m worried he really is going to try something like that and that it’s going to work.”

Evan held her tightly. “It’s not. We’re going to make it through this. You’re not dealing with it alone. You have me and your mom and Michelle. And we’re not going to let Clark win.”

She inhaled shakily and offered him a watery smile. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

“I have your back no matter what,” he said, stroking her cheek with his thumb. “I don’t think that Clark really will take legal action—I think he’s just threatening it, hoping you’ll cave—but even if he does, we will figure it out together. You have plenty of legal claim over that clock, I’m absolutely sure of that.”

Audrey sighed and wiped tears off her cheeks. “Okay. You’re right. I shouldn’t let myself fret too much. I need to be ready to fight Clark on this—he won’t be expecting it. He’ll be expecting me to just roll over and let him have what he wants, but I’m not that person anymore. I’m going to fight with everything in me and make sure he never gets this clock.” She looked fondly at the grandfather clock, which was gleaming in the colored light streaming in through the front hallway’s stained-glass windows.

“That’s right, get those boxing gloves on.” He kissed her nose.

She was about to ask him if they could go sit on the couch together for a while when she felt her phone ringing in her pocket. She felt a jolt, wondering if it was Clark, and then smiled when she realized that if it was, she’d be able to answer on speaker phone and let Evan take charge of the situation.

It wasn’t Clark, however. It was Penelope, and Audrey felt a flash of intuition.

“I’m sorry, I need to take this,” she told Evan, touching his arm. “I’ll be right back.”