Peggy nodded slowly. “That would help, I think,” she concurred. “Then Hannah will know there are two people in the world who care about her.”
“Right.” Bob felt better having made the decision. This was a positive thing to do and just might help him deal with everything that was happening in his own fragile world.
Twelve
Olivia Lockhart Griffin hurried home from the courthouse. Jack had phoned earlier in the day and said he’d be late for dinner. After an idyllic but all-too-brief Hawaiian honeymoon, they’d both been inundated with work. Jack had put in late hours all week and been at the office nearly nonstop the entire weekend. Olivia hated having him gone such long hours, but when he was home, it was lovely. She hesitated—for the most part, it was lovely. Naturally, there were a few adjustments they each had to make, and some of those were more difficult than she would have expected.
After living for almost twenty years without a husband, Olivia was surprised at how easily she’d slipped back into the habit of sharing her life with a man. For the first time since her youngest son had left the family home, she put real effort into creating meals. She sat at the kitchen table now, leafing through a recently purchased cookbook, intent on luring Jack home with a healthy meal made just for him. One regular argument she had with her husband concerned his poor eating habits. Jack tended to grab whatever was quick and easy. Olivia frequently told him his diet contained far too many carbohydrates and fats to maintain a healthy lifestyle; he just as frequently shrugged off her concern.
She studied the recipes. Tofu stir fry? Probably not, but she’d try it later on. The telephone rang, and thinking it might be Jack, she got up to reach for the receiver.
“Hello,” she said cheerfully.
“Howdy, little sister.”
“Will!” Her brother lived in Atlanta. It had been a real disappointment to her that he hadn’t made it to Cedar Cove for her wedding. When she’d called to tell him she’d decided to marry Jack, she’d hoped he’d be able to share her special day. Apparently she’d caught him off guard, because he’d hesitated and then stuttered a weak excuse. She couldn’t recall what it was just now, but at the time she’d thought something was wrong, although she couldn’t figure out what it might be. Perhaps he wasn’t getting along with Georgia, her sister-in-law, or maybe he had problems at work….
“So how’s the happy bride?” Will asked, echoing her cheerful tone.
Olivia leaned against the kitchen wall and sighed. “Wonderful. Oh, Will, I don’t know why I waited so long. Jack is so good for me.”
She loved her husband’s spontaneity. Her idea of a honeymoon was to laze on the beach and catch up on her reading. Jack wouldn’t hear of it. Every day he had plans for them to go and see and do. Olivia wouldn’t have seen any of what Hawaii had to offer if Jack hadn’t coaxed her into visiting the tourist sights and activities. The nights were the best. After dinner, they danced under the stars, swam in the fabulous hotel pool and made love until they were spent.
“You sound happy.”
“I am.”
“I’m glad.” He seemed genuinely pleased for her. “On another subject, have you talked to Mom lately?”
“Of course.” Charlotte made routine visits to Olivia’s courtroom, and usually brought her knitting, and often a friend or two from the Senior Center so she could brag about her daughter the judge. Her mother had shown up alone on Friday afternoon, and they’d chatted afterward, but now that Olivia thought about it, Charlotte had been mysteriously absent all week.
“What did she have to say?”
“Say? Mom?” Olivia repeated. “Well, not much, really. She did tell me that the seniors triumphed in court while I was away. Which I heard from plenty of other sources—trust me. But she’s had such strong community support that she’s finally got the ear of the mayor.”
“Did she mention Ben Rhodes?”
“Her latest boyfriend?” Olivia teased. Her mother had spoken about Ben a number of times, but she’d never said anything out of the ordinary. Ben was retired navy, a widower, and Olivia had assumed he was simply a new addition to her crowd of friends. Charlotte had a way of collecting lost souls.
“Exactly what do you know about Ben?” her brother pressed.
“Not a lot. Why do you ask?” Olivia mulled over what she’d heard about him and realized she didn’t really know all that much. “I understand he moved to the area a couple of years ago. I remember Mom saying that Ben’s a great bridge player. He apparently spends most days at the Senior Center.”
“What about his claims to be a retired navy admiral?”
Claims? Interesting choice of word. Their mother had brought this up a number of times. “I gather Ben served in the navy.”
“So he says. Has anyone checked into that?”
“Of course not.” Olivia was astonished by the suspicion in her brother’s voice. “Why should we?”
“Because, my naive little sister, I don’t think either of us has fully grasped what’s happening to our mother.”
Olivia frowned. “Why do you say that?”
Will sighed heavily. “I phoned Mom twice while you were in Hawaii and all she could talk about was Ben this and Ben that. She hardly mentioned anything or anyone else. It got me thinking that we need to find out what we can about this man who’s taking up so much of our mother’s time.”
Now that her brother had alerted her, it occurred to Olivia that their mother had been seeing a great deal of Ben, especially lately. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” she felt obliged to say. Ben and her mother had become good friends. Over the years, Charlotte had grown fond of a number of men, including one retired actor in the local nursing home. Because of a stroke, Tom Harding had been unable to speak, but her mother had managed to carry on long conversations with him. Meeting Tom had led to the advent of Cliff Harding in their lives, and Charlotte was friendly with him, too. And now Ben. He was new to Cedar Cove and obviously feeling a bit lost. Frankly, Olivia couldn’t see any harm in the friendship.
“I don’t think there’s any need for alarm…yet,” Will agreed with a certain reluctance, “but as I said, how much do we really know about this man?”
“Well…”
“Just what he tells us, right?”
“Well…yes.” The doubts Will raised made Olivia’s suspicions begin to mount. Caught up in the events of her own life, she hadn’t paid nearly enough attention to their mother.
“No one’s heard of Ben until the last year or two, am I right?”
“Yes,” she murmured. “He moved into the area and started showing up at the Senior Center.”
“No family.”
“Not here.” Olivia briefly recalled Ben talking about children in other parts of the country, but nowhere in Washington State.
“Don’t you find that mildly suspicious?”
Olivia considered the question. “Not really.”
“Then maybe you should.”
She was feeling worried now but not ready to acknowledge it to Will.
“A strange man, without any connection to Cedar Cove, moves into the area. Then he seeks out our mother and before we know it, the two of them are thick as thieves.”
“I’ve met Ben,” Olivia inserted. “He’s a perfect gentleman.”
“Wasn’t it Ben who talked Mom into this ridiculous protest rally? The man’s responsible for getting our mother arrested and you think he’s a good influence?”
That gave Olivia pause. “I think Mom was as much to blame for what happened as Ben.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”
“Why not?”
“You’ve been on your honeymoon, Olivia. You’re in love and that’s great—I couldn’t be more pleased for you—but you’re looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.”
What he said was true…to a point. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“I’m afraid,” her brother said slowly, “that Mom might be at risk. Ho
w would you feel if some man swindled her out of her life savings?”
“Ben wouldn’t do that!”
“Are you sure, Olivia? Would you stake our mother’s financial future on your feelings?”
She hesitated. Sitting on the judge’s bench, she’d seen far too much of the pain one person could inflict on another. Her hand tightened around the receiver at the idea of anyone taking advantage of her mother.
“You’re confident Ben’s a stand-up kind of guy?” her brother said, his voice edged with suspicion. “Enough to risk Mom’s future?”
“No,” Olivia admitted reluctantly.
Will leaped on her answer. “That’s what I thought. It’s up to you, little sister.”
“What’s up to me?”
“To check out this Ben Rhodes. I’ve heard about men like him who prey on widows. I’m sure you’ve seen the same TV shows I have. We can’t be too careful. I’m not there to protect Mom, but you are—and you must. We wouldn’t forgive ourselves if we’d stood by and did nothing while a stranger ripped her off.”
Olivia didn’t know what to say. Will had read so much more into this relationship than she had. He was correct about one thing, though; she’d been preoccupied with her own life.
“What should I do?” she asked.
“Look into his background,” Will answered promptly.
“But…” Olivia’s mind whirled. “Mom would find out if I started making inquiries about Ben and she’d be furious.”
“Then hire someone.”
Going behind her mother’s back went against her sense of rightness and propriety. “I’d feel better if we discussed this whole thing with Mom first.”
“No way.” Her brother was adamant. “She’d accuse us of interfering in her life.”
“Aren’t we?” Olivia didn’t think they should dismiss the obvious.
“Yes, but it’s for her own good. Don’t do it yourself. This investigation should be handled by a professional.”
Olivia was of two minds on the matter. Instinct told her she could trust Ben, but at the same time her brother was right. They knew next to nothing about this man who’d become so important to their mother.
“Do you know a private investigator?” Will asked.
“I do. Roy McAfee is a retired Seattle detective. He’s good.”
“Hire him and don’t put it off, Olivia. This could be important.”
She sighed unhappily. “All right. I’ll talk to Roy.”
“Good.” Her brother sounded as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. “So how’s everyone in good ol’ Cedar Cove these days?” he asked, the change in his mood immediate.
“Just fine.”
“How’s Grace?”
Funny he should ask about her friend. “She’s fine, too.”
“Do you still get together every week?”
“Wednesdays for aerobics class, but that’s about it. I don’t see her as much as I’d like.”
“How come?”
Again Olivia wondered at his sudden interest in Grace. “She’s pretty involved with the Dog and Bachelor Auction, which is happening next month. Why all the questions?”
“No reason. It’s just that I know you’re such good friends.”
Funny he didn’t ask about Justine and Seth or James and Selina. She would’ve savored the opportunity to brag about her grandchildren.
“We e-mailed each other for a while,” Will confessed.
Grace had never mentioned that to Olivia. “Really?”
“It was no big deal—we’re just friends.”
The conversation stopped and started after that, with a few more questions about Grace, until finally he ended it. Olivia returned to her dinner plans. Not until she was putting the finishing touches on the grilled Pacific salmon, wild rice and steamed asparagus did it hit her. Her brother was obviously concerned about their mother’s relationship with Ben and perhaps rightly so; that remained to be seen. But he had another agenda. And it had to do with Grace.
He seemed awfully curious about her, Olivia mused. More than once he’d drawn the conversation back to her friend, asking her what Grace was up to and whether she was seeing anyone. If they’d been e-mailing each other, then wouldn’t he know how Grace was doing?
Just as she started to put a few ideas together—very tentatively—the back door opened and in walked Jack. “You’re looking thoughtful,” he observed, standing in the doorway off the kitchen.
“Jack!” Not hesitating, she flew into her husband’s arms and spread eager kisses across his face.
Jack locked his hands at the small of her back, smiling down on her. “A husband could get accustomed to this sort of reception.” He kissed her soundly in return.
Olivia rested her head against his shoulder and sighed, loving the comfort of Jack’s arms around her. “I just had the most…disconcerting conversation with my brother.”
“What about?”
Olivia told him but excluded the portion about Will’s repeated questions regarding Grace.
“Are you going to contact Roy?” Jack asked when she’d finished.
“I suppose I should. Will was concerned and although I think he’s overreacting, it can’t hurt to know for sure. I guess there’s always a chance that Ben’s a con man. The clever ones usually have the most convincing aliases. But the truth of it is, I hate the thought of Mom finding out what we’ve done.”
Jack didn’t say anything for a long moment. “You can trust Roy not to let any of this out,” he finally said.
“I realize that.”
Jack shrugged. “Personally, I don’t think having Ben investigated is all that necessary.”
“Me neither,” she concurred, but she’d decided to do it—if only to reassure her brother.
After dinner Olivia and Jack cuddled in front of the television for a repeat episode of Law & Order. Olivia had seen this particular show earlier in the year, although Jack hadn’t. She didn’t object to watching a rerun, but she found herself returning to the conversation with her brother.
Will had talked about e-mailing Grace. Then there was all his interest in what she was doing, whom she was seeing. Although he hadn’t actually said anything, she’d sensed Will’s disapproval of Grace’s participation in the Dog and Bachelor Auction.
A few months ago, Grace had gotten involved in an Internet relationship with a married man. Her friend had been duped, lied to and strung along. Now, with a growing sense of horror, Olivia wondered if that man could have been her brother. Grace’s heart was broken after the end of her romance with Cliff Harding, and that was when she’d told Olivia about the other relationship, accepting the blame for her role in this fiasco. Grace had never revealed the name of the married man. At the time Olivia had assumed it didn’t matter, that she wouldn’t have known who it was, anyway.
Now she wondered. Could it possibly have been Will?
She tried to dismiss the thought. No, of course not! Her brother would never do anything so underhanded. And if he had, surely Grace would have told her. But if what Olivia suspected was true, it explained Will’s weak excuse about not being able to attend her wedding.
“Something on your mind?” Jack asked during a commercial break. His mouth was close to her ear and he took advantage of her closeness to kiss the side of her neck.
“Hmm.” Olivia closed her eyes and reveled in his attention.
“This whole thing with your mother and Ben is worrying you, isn’t it?”
“Not really,” she muttered. She debated mentioning her suspicions about Grace and her brother, but changed her mind. If she said anything, it would be to Grace—but only after she’d had time to sort through the facts as she knew them. Until then, it would be better to say nothing, not to Jack and not to anyone else.
“Good,” Jack whispered, tucking his arms more securely around her. “I’d hate to have anything disrupt our television viewing.”
Smiling to herself, Olivia poked him in the ribs with her elbow.
She’d been doing a lot of smiling since she’d married Jack Griffin, and she didn’t think that would change anytime soon.
Thirteen
Cecilia pushed the grocery cart lethargically through the commissary’s aisles. She’d been so excited about having her husband home after six months’ deployment, counting the days until Ian would be with her again. She’d made elaborate plans for his homecoming and wanted their reunion to be like a second honeymoon. She’d prayed her husband would be as eager to start their family as she was. Only he hadn’t been, and now it seemed nothing had gone the way she’d hoped.
“Hey, Cecilia.”
At the sound of her name, Cecilia turned to find Cathy Lackey wheeling her grocery cart down the aisle toward her. “I thought that was you,” Cathy said.
Cecilia managed a token smile. “How’s it going?”
“Great. I left father and son to bond. I’m taking my own sweet time shopping because, frankly, I could use the break. Where’s Ian?”
“Home.” Cecilia couldn’t disguise her misery. “Oh, Cathy, things just aren’t working out between us.”
“What do you mean?”
Cecilia reached inside her purse for a tissue, humiliated about breaking down in the cereal aisle where anyone might see her.
Cathy glanced over her shoulder. “Listen, let’s meet in half an hour at Starbucks. Does that work for you?”
Cecilia nodded. Cathy was the one person in the world she could talk to about her most private concerns. Cathy would understand better than most people, and Cecilia realized she needed her friends more than ever.
Sure enough, Cathy was waiting for her at Starbucks. She was on the patio and had already bought them each a cup of coffee. Because the day was warm and sunny, most of the customers were sitting outside.
“All right, tell me what’s happening,” Cathy said when Cecilia slid into the chair across from her.
Cecilia picked up her coffee and hung her head, staring at the tabletop. “This homecoming is a complete disaster.”