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“Yeah. The house he planned to build.” Sadness laces Georgia’s voice.
“I don’t know anything about that, but he’s definitely living downstairs. That dog goes crazy every time I walk in my door. Or walk out of it. Or walk at all. Even when I breathe.” Rosie’s barking gets louder like she knows I’m talking about her, and I stomp three times on the floor. “Have I mentioned I hate that dog?”
“I thought Adam did too. I guess Dakota never came back for her after she left.”
“Really? How sad for Rosie. But Adam seems to like her now. The only time that dog shuts up is when Adam is home, which is hardly ever.” I raise my voice to the point of yelling before finally giving up and going to my room. I can still hear Rosie, but the bedroom is quieter.
Except it faces the restaurant. If I strain hard enough, I can almost hear Adam singing, which stirs the embers in my belly back to life.
“I remember Dakota had a trick for making her be quiet. Adam probably knows it.” She pauses. “How is he, anyway?”
“Hmm.”How to answer?“Irritable. Cranky. Bit of a curmudgeon.”
Georgia laughs. “That tracks. He’s always been kind of serious, but this thing with Dakota really threw him. Zach says Adam is his same angry serious on good days, but seriously angry most of the time.”
Now I laugh. “That’s pretty much it.” Except he smiled tonight. A lot. “But, underneath all the scowling, he seems like a good guy.” I peek between the blinds at my bedroom window to The Garden of Eatin’ a hundred feet away.
“He’s agreatguy. The best.” Her serious tone doesn’t leave room for doubt, so I don’t mention anything about how rude he was the first time we met.
The lights are still on at the restaurant, but it’s gone quiet. Still, I stay at the window, watching. “What happened between him and Zach? They nearly killed each other while we were shed hunting.”
Georgia lets out a long breath. “We both told Adam for years that Dakota wouldn’t be happy living in Paradise. He wouldn’t listen. The truth is, she didn’t feel the same way about him, but I couldn’t tell him that.”
“Really? Did she say that?”
Two figures come out of the restaurant. Judging by the size, one has to be Bear. I assume the other is Sebastian.
“She didn’t have to.” Georgia answers. “I could see it. Everyone could. Adam was the only one blind to it.”
“They were together for a long time, weren’t they?”
“Over ten years. They started dating when they were, like, fifteen.”
“Did Adam always love her more? How come he didn’t catch on?” I wonder what he’s doing by himself at the restaurant. Is he thinking about Dakota? Playing the songs he used to play for her?
“Not always. Just the last few years. I’m not sure what happened when they lived in New York, but I could tell when I saw them together that her feelings had changed.” Georgia sounds sad. Like she wishes she could have changed things. Or maybe it’s frustration that she was powerless to do anything. I know how that feels.
“When did she finally tell him? And what does Zach have to do with it? Adam said something about it being his fault.” The lights go out in the restaurant, Adam comes out, and I follow his slow walk across the parking lot.
“Zach worked up the nerve to talk to her about a week before the wedding. He told her he didn’t think she really wanted to marry Adam and that she should let him go.” Georgia lets out a staggered sigh. “She got super mad, but then on their wedding day, minutes before she was supposed to walk down the aisle, she pulled Zach into the bride’s room and told him she couldn’t do it. He didn’t try to talk her out of it. When I tried to, he stopped me and told me to go tell Adam the wedding was off.”
“What?” I let the blinds fall shut. “You told him? Why didn’t Zach try to stop her? Maybe she had a momentary bout of cold feet.” I’m coming around to Adam’s side on this. Zach should have stayed out of it. And what kind of person doesn’t have the guts to call off a weddingbeforethe wedding day?
“Zach found out some stuff he hasn’t told me or anyone else. Adam has no idea Zach knows anything, but Zach let Dakota know he knew.” Georgia snaps with anger I can feel from two states away. I’m sure she was hurt that day, too. She and Dakota were good friends. “I guess the guilt finally got to her.”
“But that’s why Adam blames him for their break-up?”
“Yep.”
A door shuts downstairs, and Rosie goes quiet. My ears perk up for any sounds from Adam.
“There’s more than that, but that’s the big one,” Georgia adds.
“What else is there?”
“He doesn’t think I should sell any of my land tooutsiders. Somehow he found out I’m thinking about it and that Zach is willing to help me. He’s mad at both of us.” Georgia’s voice is a mixture of frustration, annoyance, and hurt. I can’t pinpoint which one she feels most.
“That explains his comments on our shed hunt. He said something about enjoying Paradise before Zach changes it,” I say. “How much does he know about the resort renovation and TV show?”
