Paige bit the inside of her cheek as she gave in to temptation and shifted around guests toward Willa O’Neill.
“Smile!” Melina Sorento, her mass of tight black curls bouncing around her round, curious face, snapped her camera phone and caught Paige unaware. “Thanks, Paige. We’re featuring the wedding in next weekend’s edition of The Monarch Gazette. Nothing Butterfly Harbor likes more than a party, right? Especially one that closes down the entire town!”
“Right.” And there was nothing Paige detested more than being a headline. Then again, she didn’t have much to worry about considering the town paper’s circulation was limited to the guests in attendance. No one back in New York would ever know. Paige swallowed hard. She hoped.
“Willa?” Paige placed a gentle hand on the young woman’s arm; not gentle enough apparently, as Willa jumped, color popping into her cheeks as she spun to face Paige. “I’m so sorry I startled you. Are you all right? Nina? How are you doing today? I’m so pleased to see you here.”
“Nothing was going to keep me from seeing Holly Campbell get married.” Nina brushed a nervous hand over her tropical-colored-scarf-encased head. The months of chemotherapy had taken their toll, from what Paige had been told. In the little time Paige had known the family, she’d seen a serious decline in the older woman’s health, the result of a late-stage breast cancer diagnosis. “I was just telling Willa how nice it is to be out among friends. I feel almost normal.”
“You look beautiful.” Paige rested a hand on her frail shoulder and gave a slight squeeze. “I don’t mean to pry, but is everything all right?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Willa pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded once. “Everything’s great.”
Paige glanced from daughter to mother. Nope. Not buying it. “Is there anything I can do?”
“It’s Jasper,” Nina said and earned a huff of frustration from her twenty-something daughter. “Willa, you know this situation is getting beyond our control. Paige might have some ideas as to what we should do.”
“I’d be happy to try to help,” Paige offered. “How about we find a quiet place where we can talk?” As well-meaning as their fellow Butterfly Harbor residents tended to be, they definitely had a talent for whipping up the rumor mill where anything potentially scandalous was concerned. Knowing what Paige did about Willa’s brother Jasper, scandal could very well be a possibility. “Have you seen the updated kitchen yet?” She shifted her way behind Nina’s wheelchair, released the brakes and pushed her around the edge of the room toward the double swinging doors. “The new owners really did it up nice.”
“We haven’t, but we’ve heard it’s beautiful.” Nina tugged at the edge of her scarf.
“It’s definitely a stunner. Willa, would you mind?”
“Of course.” Willa pressed her slight frame through the doors first, stepping back to let Paige push Nina through.
Pale yellow bridesmaid gown tucked into one hand, Paige headed toward the side porch exit, offering a smile to resident chef Jason Corwin, who was bent over the counter. “Hey, Jason. Don’t mind us. Just passing through.”
“Wasn’t going to.” Jason glanced up from where he piped salmon mousse into delicate phyllo dough cups. With shorn dark hair and eyes as sharp as the edge of a knife, Jason looked more like a magazine cover model than a onetime celebrity chef. “Mrs. O’Neill.” He nodded politely at Nina then Willa. “Hey, Paige, when you see Abby, would you send her back? I need a taster for one of the appetizers.”
“What am I? Chopped...” She grinned when his brow arched in her direction. “Chicken. I was going to say chicken. I’m an excellent taster.” She motioned for Willa to open the door.
“Uh-huh.” Jason grinned. “Keep moving. You’re not getting your hands on any of my new recipes.”
“That’s what he thinks,” Paige whispered to Nina, who let out a soft chuckle. What Paige wouldn’t give to pick the brain of one of the country’s top food artisans. The midafternoon breeze welcomed them as she situated Nina’s wheelchair by the narrow bench overlooking the ocean. She took a deep breath, let the pure salt-caked air refill her lungs and clear her mind. “Now, tell me what’s going on. No one should be crying anything but happy tears at a wedding.”
Willa wilted onto the bench beside her mother. She was a tiny thing with one of the kindest natures Paige had ever encountered. She also had a spine of steel. Rarely did Paige see Willa with anything other than a brilliant smile on her thin face despite the weight of responsibility she carried on her shoulders.
“Sheriff Saxon called asking if he could come by to talk to Jasper again,” Willa said. “About those break-ins.”
“Again?” Paige sat beside her and, because Willa seemed to need the added comfort, took hold of her hand and squeezed. “Why?”
“He wouldn’t say. Exactly. You know the sheriff,” Nina said when Willa shook her head. “He’s very nice about it, very understanding, but this time, I don’t know. I got the feeling they haven’t moved past thinking Jasper’s somehow involved. Last time he asked Jasper to account for his whereabouts on a bunch of different evenings.”
“And was Jasper able to?” Paige asked.
“No. In fact he was out almost all those nights,” Willa said with an air of defiance that had Paige’s insides jangling. “He’s out most every night. Jasper might have his quirks, but this isn’t something he’d do. He knows the last thing we need is for him to get into trouble.”
“You said Luke only talked to him,” Paige said. “He didn’t say anything about a warrant or being there to arrest him?”
“No. But I’m sure that’s what’s about to happen. He’s only sixteen, Paige. He can’t afford to get into serious trouble if he hopes to apply for scholarships and grants for college. They look into all that.” Nina seemed to be taking the situation better than her oldest daughter. “This puts his entire future at risk.”
Paige squeezed her hand. “What do you think of Luke’s idea he’s involved with the break-ins?”
“I’m his mother,” Nina said, her pale face losing what little color it possessed. She tucked her trembling hands under her blanket. “I don’t want it to be true. But I’m also a realist.” She straightened in her chair, the bright blue of her dress catching against the sun. “He’s been through a lot these last few years. It’s...changed him. There are times I think he’s just so angry, withdrawn. And he’s never kept company with the best of influences.”
“He’s always got his nose in a book. Or he’s in his room watching those gruesome videos,” Willa explained when Paige inclined her head. “I suggested he look for a job, but he doesn’t think anyone around here will hire him. And he’s probably right. He rubs people the wrong way.”
“That doesn’t mean he’s so far gone he’d take to damaging property and vandalism,” Nina said. “He wouldn’t do that to me. To us. Not now. The last thing we can afford is bail, let alone a lawyer.”
“That’s the second time one of you has said ‘not now,’” Paige said, recognizing grief when she heard it. “What’s changed?”
Willa’s eyes filled as she looked at her mother before glancing away.
“My latest test results came back last week,” Nina said after she cleared her throat. “They say the cancer’s spread to my lymph nodes. The chemotherapy didn’t do as much as they’d hoped, so they’re putting me on an experimental regimen. But that means going