The Reunion: Emma's Vacation (The Starting Over Series) Read online

  “I don’t want just someone. I want HIM. Ya know?” Emma asked.

  “I know what you mean. I’ve been alone for several years now, and it never gets any easier. I cry when I crawl into bed some nights. I have no husband, no boyfriend, no kids. It can get very lonely,” Ashley admitted.

  “Why don’t you date more?” Claire asked.

  “I try, but I am getting tired of meeting losers. What I want is a partner. I want a family. I’m forty years old, and my eggs are not getting any younger.”

  “It’s tough. I mean, I was with my childhood sweetheart all of those years. I don’t know another man like I know him. I’ve never been with another man…” Shelby said.

  “Never?” Ashley was amazed that any woman in the twenty first century would have only slept with one man.

  “Never. And I am terrified of trying out anyone new. I thought Kenny would always be my one and only. It has rocked my entire world to think that I have to start all over again,” Shelby said.

  “I’m a little gun shy too, Shelby. My story was all over the news, my husband was famous and I suffered from abuse for years. Looking for a new man has not been high on my list of priorities lately…” Claire admitted.

  The women sat quietly for a moment before Ashley giggled and held up her finger like she had an idea.

  “This is pathetic, ladies. So, in an effort to improve our lives and add more light into this dark world, I have a plan,” she said.

  It was no surprise that Ashley would come up with a plan. She was always the one leading their little pack of four. She had always been the spunky one who wasn’t afraid of a little adventure, but what did she have planned for them?

  “Oh, goodness, what is it, Ashley?” Emma asked biting her bottom lip.

  “Let’s set a goal to find our soul mates. We will have a time limit and meet back here at this hotel to compare notes.”

  “Are you kidding me? You can’t rush love, Ash. We don’t want to hurry and find some random man who isn’t the right one. This is a crazy idea,” Claire said rolling her eyes.

  “No, it really isn’t. Listen, I don’t want any of us to rush. I just want us to focus on it. Are any of you actually focusing on finding love right now?” Ashley asked looking around.

  “Well, no, but that is because I am focusing on my kids,” Shelby said.

  “Is it really, Shelby? Or is it fear or laziness or complacency?” Ashley challenged.

  For a moment, the table was quiet as the women sat and looked at each other.

  “Could we really do this?” Claire asked, breaking the silence.

  “Sure, we could. We just need a plan,” Ashley said.

  “Alright, let’s plan then,” Emma said surprising herself. She dug a piece of paper and a pen out of her evening bag. “Let’s write down the rules, and we will all sign it.”

  “Well this is very official…” Shelby said with a chuckle. “Shall I get a notary too?”

  “Very funny. I have found that when I write down my goals, I am telling the universe my intentions. It makes things more real to me, and more likely to happen,” Emma said.

  For the next thirty minutes, the women ironed out the rules of their challenge. They would meet back at the hotel lounge two years from that night. During the time that they were looking for their soul mates, they were not allowed to use dating services of any kind. They had to find “the one” on their own without outside assistance. They also had to do at least one big thing to find him, like taking a trip alone. Finally, they could not be in contact at all during those two years.

  When they had finished ironing out the details, they all signed the document and shook hands. Emma could not believe she was participating in such a crazy plan, but she also could not envision herself living her life without love forever.

  As the women parted ways after the reunion, each one felt the pressure to find the right man and meet back in two years.

  Chapter 4

  Emma Donovan was not known to be a wild woman. She was the rock of the group, always holding them all down to Earth. She and Ashley were at opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to personalities, but Emma respected Ashley’s ability to go after what she wanted.

  It had been two weeks since the reunion, and Emma knew she was not yet making any strides to find Mr. Right. She had promised the other women that she would do what it took to find someone.

  “Mommy, when am I leaving for Grandma’s?” Samuel asked as he bounced into the room and interrupted her thoughts.

  “She will be here to pick you up in about ten minutes, love,” Emma said hugging him and kissing his red hair.

  “Will you miss me?” he asked with a grin.

  “More than anything. I cannot believe you will be gone for one whole month! But, Grandma is looking forward to taking you traveling with her in the RV,” Emma said with a smile.

  Samuel would be going on a cross country trip with Emma’s mother and step father. They lived in their RV most of the year, and Samuel had been asking to go with them for years. Emma decided that now was the free time she needed to start working on her “love plan”.

  A short time later, Emma’s mother arrived and loaded Samuel up into the RV.

  “What will you do with this free time, Em?” her mother asked.

  “Oh, I have some plans. I might even take a trip myself. I’ve asked for a few weeks off from work,” she said.

  “How will you survive financially without working?” her mother asked, worried.

  “I have some vacation and sick time accumulated. I’ll be fine, Mom…” Emma assured her.

  Emma waved goodbye to her Mom and Samuel as they drove down the road in front of her home. She had never been without her son for this long, so she knew she needed to make a quick plan to get her mind off of missing him.

  ***

  “So, what is your plan?” Lorraine asked as she worked the dye into Emma’s hair. She had been going to Lorraine to have her hair done for as many years as she could remember. In fact, she had done Emma’s hair for her wedding those many years ago.

  “I don’t really have a plan. I am supposed to make big moves and do things that make me uncomfortable…”

  “Well, that shouldn’t be hard for you. Everything makes you uncomfortable, doll,” Lorraine said with a laugh. She was right. Emma was never a fly by the seat of her pants woman.

  Suddenly, Emma looked up and saw a familiar face. Her stomach started to churn, and she felt as if she might even get sick. It was Tiffani, her ex-husband’s mistress.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” Lorraine asked as she noticed Emma fidgeting in her chair. The hairdresser looked up and noticed the voluptuous, young blond standing at the front desk in her hot pink, skin tight dress and strappy heels.

  “Her,” Emma whispered as she pointed.

  “Ah, yes. I remember that woman,” Lorraine said through gritted teeth. “Maybe I will get her in my chair and shave her head for you.” Emma let out a big belly laugh at Lorraine’s remark which caused Tiffani to turn and look at her.

  Rolling her eyes, Tiffani headed for Emma’s chair. She always loved to taunt Emma, and Emma always took the high road by ignoring her.

  “Well, hello, Emma. I see you are dying your hair again,” Tiffani taunted as she approached in her clicking high heels.

  “Tiffani… Shouldn’t you be at the plastic surgeon’s getting something injected?” Emma responded. She was surprised at herself for speaking up. Tiffani was taken aback.

  “Excuse me?” Tiffani said offended.

  “What do you want?” Emma asked looking off in the distance.

  “I just wanted to see how Samuel was doing?” The idea that Tiffani was asking about her son when Henry was ignoring him infuriated Emma.

  “That is none of your concern,” Emma said with a scowl.

  “Well, he is Henry’s son…”

  “Is he? Well, you might ought to tell Henry that since he never calls or sends money for his son,” Emma said.
She knew she should take Henry back to court, but she just didn’t have it in her to fight him anymore. She would have never thought he would become a deadbeat Dad.

  “Henry is a busy man, Emma. He has a lot to do these days.”

  “Well, then I am sure he appreciates you being around for his every need,” Emma said rolling her eyes as she turned back around to the mirror. Lorraine just stood back and let the ladies have it out.

  “Yes, he appreciates every thing I do for him… Many of the things you wouldn’t do for him…” Tiffani whispered loudly with a smirk.

  Without thinking, Emma shot up out of her chair and grabbed Tiffani’s hair in her hand.

  “You listen to me, you two bit bimbo. You are a whore, and everyone here knows it. So, why don’t you take your trampy dress and your hooker high heels and go hang out on the street corner where you belong?” Emma said through gritted teeth.

  Tiffani stood there for a moment in shock before Emma released her hair and sat back down.

  “Lorraine, what do you think about adding some highlights over here?” Emma said pointing to the top of her head acting as if nothing happened. Slowly, Tiffani backed out of the salon and walked to her car.

  “Oh, my God! Emma! You are a gangster!” Lorraine said laughing. “I have never seen you act like that before. What has happened to you?”

  “I don’t know. I am not exactly proud of that outburst…” Emma said putting her head down.

  “You should be proud. Way to stand up for yourself!” Lorraine said patting her on the back.

  “If you say so…” Emma said with a smirk. She knew Lorraine was at least partly right. She did need to stand up for herself more often. And her first step was to figure out where to go to get some time to think and put her head on straight. “Say, Lorraine, do you still have that little cottage down at Naughton Island on the Georgia coast?”

  “Sure do. And it’s vacant right now too. We just did some renovations on it. You are certainly welcome to stay there if you’d like.”

  “Really? That would be fantastic. I just want to get away from here and have a nice, quiet place to think. I know Naughton Island is kind of remote, so that would be a perfect fit.”

  “It’s yours, girl. I can definitely see that you need a break from this place!” Lorraine laughed that big belly laugh that made her so unique.

  Chapter 5

  As Emma rode the ferry onto Naughton Island off the Georgia coast, she could feel a sense of peace and tranquility that she had not felt in years. The last few years of her marriage to Henry had not been pleasant. She had an inkling of his infidelity not long after they married, but she ignored it. He was a flirt, for sure, but she figured that he must have married her for a reason.

  No one had ever been able to catch the long time bachelor, Henry. He was known as a playboy in the medical world, but his well known surgical skills caused everyone to overlook his moral shortcomings, including Emma. Once Samuel was born, she knew that she couldn’t leave. She had come from a broken home with no father around, and she didn’t want to do that to Samuel. Even the cheating didn’t cause her to leave; it was Henry who chose to take off with his little harlot. Now, Samuel was growing up without a father around because his Dad was too focused on sex with this younger woman.

  Emma let out a big sigh trying desperately to leave all of that behind her. She planned to leave Naughton Island with a renewed sense of strength and determination to make good on her promise to her three friends. She said she would focus on her love life, and she planned to do that once she returned to Atlanta. Maybe this time away would let her clear her head once and for all.

  Stepping off the ferry, Emma asked around for a taxi to get to Lorraine’s cottage. She loaded her bags into the cab and watched as Naughton Island passed by the window. She saw small shops with people milling about. She could see the white, sandy beach where she planned to read lots of books during her stay. She could also see the big red and white lighthouse that stood out on the island.

  “Here we are…” she taxi driver said as they pulled up the short gravel driveway of Lorraine’s cottage. It was white with green shutters and a wrap around front porch. She paid the driver and took her bags up to the front door. Keying the lock, she realized that she could not get inside. Noticing that the key appeared to be bent, she looked back to get help from the driver but he was already down the street.

  “Just great…” she mumbled as she dropped her bags and looked around. The hot Georgia sun was beating down on her already, even on the porch. She needed to get inside and take a cool shower after the long ferry ride.

  Emma walked down the steps and started looking for help. Carrying the key and her purse with her, she found the nearest house which was just about thirty feet from the edge of Lorraine’s property. It was a baby blue cottage style home with an architectural roof and stunning gardens. She could see a couple of bicycles and a restored Mustang in the driveway, so she decided to knock on the door.

  “Yes?” A handsome man with jet black hair and copper colored eyes answered the door wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist. Emma averted her eyes quickly, wishing she had never knocked on the door.

  “So… sorry…” she said backing up and nearly falling off the porch.

  “It’s okay… Don’t go. Can I help you?” he asked with a Southern drawl that would rival any Hollywood actor.

  “I… um… My name is Emma. I am staying at Lorraine’s house next door. I couldn’t get in… the lock…” Emma was embarrassed that her words seemed to be failing her.

  “Okay, you are going to have to slow down… I am a simple country man,” he said with a wink when she finally looked him in the eye. She was afraid to look any lower.

  “You’re wearing a towel,” she finally said sharply to remind him of his attire.

  “Yes, ma’m, I am,” he said as he yanked the towel from his waist. She gasped and covered her eyes only to hear him chuckle. When she peeked through her fingers, she could see his swim trunks.

  “Oh…” she said with her eyes darting around in embarrassment.

  “You thought I was naked under the towel, didn’t you?” he asked with a smile.

  “Listen, I just came to ask for some help with the key. It’s bent,” she said holding it up.

  “Sure. I am glad to help. Lorraine is a good friend of mine,” he said as he closed the front door behind him. “Let’s walk over to the garage. I can straighten it out in there.”

  Emma followed the man to the garage. He had tools of every kind lining the walls. He took the key to his work bench and started straightening it out with another tool she couldn’t identify.

  “Are you a contractor?” Emma asked.

  “Yes, I am. I just did some work on Lorraine’s kitchen, in fact.”

  “Have you known her a long time?” Emma asked, intrigued by this handsome man that Lorraine never mentioned.

  “I’ve known her and her husband for about ten years. I inherited this place from my grandmother when she died,” he said looking up from his work. His copper colored eyes were enough to make her swoon.

  “What’s your name? Sorry, I forgot to ask…” she said.

  “Gaven Sinclair. You were a little preoccupied with my towel. I understand,” he said smiling smugly. She turned to avert her eyes from his. “So, have you ever been to Naughton Island?”

  “No. This is my first time. It’s a lovely little hidden gem, though,” she said looking out at the coastline.

  “Yes, it is. It’s like a little piece of paradise. Are you from Atlanta?”

  “Yes. I am a neonatal nurse there,” she said.

  “Oh wow. My daughter was a preemie, so I spent a lot of time in that unit when she was born,” he said.

  “Your daughter?” Emma felt a little heartsick at the thought of this man being married, but she didn’t know why.

  “She’s eighteen now. Off at college in Athens. Her mother and I split up when she was five years old,” he said
as if he was reading her mind.

  “I see.”

  “Are you married? Kids?”

  “One son, Samuel. He’s eight. He is staying with his grandparents for a month so Lorraine let me have the place…”

  “You avoided the marriage question, Emma,” he said with a wink.

  “Oh. I’m newly divorced. I guess I am not used to that question yet,” she said with a slight smile.

  “How newly divorced are you?” he asked.

  “You are just full of questions, aren’t you?” she said smiling. “I’ve been divorced for almost a year.”