His Winter Rose

“Happy birthday, ladies. May we each find the dreams of our heart before the next thirty years pass.”

Rowena Davis drank to the toast, but her patrician nose wiggled with distaste at the mint tea. Rowena was a coffee girl, the stronger the better. She quickly set down her mug before studying the other two.

“We’ll hardly find any dreams here in the Bay,” she complained with a motion toward the thick evergreen forest. Her dubious tone mirrored the sour look marring her lovely face.

“Don’t be a grump, Row.” After a grin at Piper, Ashley Adams sipped her tea, savoring the flavor thoughtfully. Ash always took her time.

“A grump? Wake up, woman.” Rowena shook her head. “I can’t imagine why on earth you’ve moved back here, Piper. Serenity Bay isn’t exactly a hot spot for someone with your qualifications.”

In unison they scanned the untouched forest beyond the deck, its verdant lushness broken only by jutting granite monoliths dotted here and there across the landscape. Beyond that, the bay rippled, intensely blue in the sunshine with white bands of uninhabited beach banding its coastline.

“Maybe Serenity Bay’s not a hot spot, but it is calm and peaceful. And she can sail whenever she wants.” Ash turned over to lie on her tummy on the lounger and peered between the deck rails, down and out across the water.

“True.” Rowena laid back, closed her eyes.

“Peace and quiet are big pluses in my books these days. I may just come and visit you this summer, Pip.”

The old nickname had never died despite years of protest. Strangely enough, Piper liked it now; it reminded her that they cared about her, that she wasn’t all alone.

“You’d leave the big city, Ash?” Piper struggled to hide her smile. It was impossible for her to imagine her friend ignoring the lure of the galleries and new artists’ showings she adored for more than a weekend.

“Yep. For a while, anyway.” Ashley’s golden hair swung about her shoulders as she absorbed the panoramic view. “I’d forgotten how lovely it is here. No haze of pollution, no traffic snarls. Just God’s glorious creation. This invitation to join you and Row for our annual weekend birthday bash has reminded me of all the things I give up to live in my condo in Vancouver. Especially after soaking in your posh hot tub last night! The stars were spectacular.”

“Total privacy is a change, too.” Rowena sighed as the sun draped her with its warmth. “You know, Pip, Cathcart House could bring in millions if you turned it into a spa.”

“It already is one,” Ashley joked. “Welcome to Piper’s own private chichi retreat. Which I’ll happily share whenever she asks.”

“Anytime.” Piper chuckled. “I recall you were always partial to my grandparents’ home, Ash.”

“No kidding.” Rowena snorted. “I think she spent more time on their dock than in her own backyard those summers on the Bay.”

“My grandparents never minded. They loved to see you both.” The pain of their deaths still squeezed Piper’s heart, though time was easing the sting of loss. It helped to recall happier times. “Remember the year Papa bought the sailboat?”

“Yes. I also remember how many times we got dunked before we figured out how to sail it.” Rowena’s face puckered up. “The bay never gets warm.”

“But didn’t it feel good to whiz past the beach and know the summer kids were envying us? We wowed ’em that year.” Ashley leaned over, laid a hand on Rowena’s shoulder. “In retrospect, they weren’t all bad times, Row.”

“No, they weren’t.” After a long silence, Rowena managed to summon what, for her, passed as a smile. “I had you two to go with me to school. That meant a lot.”

Rowena tossed back her auburn hair as if shaking off the bad memories, then took another tentative sip of tea.

“Now tell us, Pip. What exactly are you doing back here? Besides hosting our birthday bash, I mean.”

Piper leaned back, her gaze on the bay below.

“I’ve accepted a position as economic development officer to organize Serenity Bay’s tourism authority,” she told them.

Stark silence greeted her announcement.

“Economic development?”

“Did she actually say that?”

Rowena looked at Ashley and both burst into giggles.

“What development? The place looks smaller now than when we used to live here. A few cottagers, some artists, a defunct lumber mill. What’s to develop?”

Just as she had when she was fourteen and frustrated by their inability to see what was so clear to her, Piper clenched her jaw and grumbled, “You have no vision, Philistines.”

“Oh, boy, that takes me back.” Ashley laughed out loud. “Okay, David. Tell us how you’re going to conquer your next Goliath.”

Piper took her time, gathering her black hair into a knot and pinning it to the top of her head while making them wait. It was an old trick and it always worked. Their interest had been piqued.

“Spill it, Pip.” Ashley wasn’t kidding now.

She took a deep breath and began.

“It may interest you to know that Serenity Bay has a new, very forward-thinking mayor.”

“Oh?”

Now they were curious. Good.

“He has plans that include making our lovely bay into a tourist mecca. And why not? We’re sitting smack-dab in the middle of the most gorgeous country God ever created. All we have to do is tell the rest of the world about it.”

Utter shock greeted her words. Piper knew the silence wouldn’t last long. She leaned back, closed her eyes, and waited.

“You’re kidding. Aren’t you?” Uncertainty laced Ashley’s whisper.

“She’s not.” The unflappable Rowena was less surprised. “Our Pip has always had a soft spot for this place. Except—”

Piper didn’t like the sound of that. She opened her eyes. Sure enough, Rowena’s intense scrutiny was centered on her. Faking a bland smile, Piper watched her hazel eyes change shades as quickly as her friend’s thoughts. It wouldn’t take Row long to home in on what she hadn’t said.

“This new mayor you’re going to be working for—”

“Aha.” Ash leaned forward like a cat waiting to pounce.

“Tell us, Pip. What exactly is he like?” Rowena tapped one perfectly manicured fingertip against her cheek, eyes narrowed, intense.

Piper couldn’t stop her blush as a picture of Jason Franklin, tousled and exceedingly handsome, swam into her brain. A most intriguing man.

To hide her thoughts she slipped on her sunglasses.

“What’s he like?”

“Don’t repeat the question. Answer it.”

“I’m trying.” Piper swallowed. “I don’t know—like a mayor, I guess. He owns the marina.”