As Linnette sat in the bleachers waiting for Cal, she wondered how she’d react when he told her face-to-face that he no longer wanted to be part of her life. For reasons she couldn’t really explain, she needed him to tell her in person. Ending their relationship with a phone call was just wrong.
She saw Cal drive into the lot next to the park and climb out of his pickup. Her heart went on alert, and her pulse accelerated at the sight of him. The memory of all the good times they’d had together brought hot, stinging tears to her eyes. That embarrassed her, and she quickly blinked them away. As Cal approached, she stood up.
He looked tanned and handsome, even more attractive than he’d looked before. He wore jeans and a Western-style shirt, and his Stetson was pulled forward to shade his face.
“Hi,” she said evenly. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks,” was his reply. He stood awkwardly in front of her, his thumbs hooked in his jeans pockets. “It’s good to be home.” No hint of a stutter, she noticed.
She sat down again and he joined her on the bottom bleacher. For a few seconds, neither said a word. To Linnette’s way of thinking, Cal should be the first to speak.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Linnette.”
Well, it was too late for that. She was deeply hurt, and fighting not to show it. She tried to tell him to save his breath, but the words didn’t make it past the constriction in her throat.
“I never meant to fall in love with Vicki.”
“You’re sure you love her?” That was the important question.
“I’m sure,” Cal said. “We have a lot in common.”
If this was supposed to make her feel better, it hadn’t worked.
She could see that he was waiting for her to say something, and despite the emotions that simmered inside her, she couldn’t. She’d wanted this meeting and agreed to see him when he’d phoned. She didn’t know what she’d expected—certainly not this crush of pain and loss. Perhaps it would’ve been best to simply walk away and not look back.
Cal glanced at her. “Aren’t you going to yell at me or anything?”
She managed a smile and stared down at her feet in their neat, polished pumps. “I thought I would, especially when you first told me. I guess I’m past the angry stage.” She wasn’t really, but couldn’t see any point in discussing it or telling him it often took years to get over rejection. At least that was how she felt about it.
“I…I don’t have much experience in relationships,” she said. This grief was new to her, a life-lesson she didn’t want to learn—or repeat.
“I know and—”
“You don’t know any more about relationships than I do,” she told him.
“No, I don’t,” Cal murmured amenably. “I think we both liked the idea of being in love.”
She didn’t agree with him, but there was no reason to argue. “Perhaps,” was all she said.
Cal sighed and looked out over the cove. “I guess your entire family’s upset with me, and I’m sorry about that. I like your family.”
She shrugged. “Mom and Dad both think you’re the greatest thing since flu shots.”
Cal cracked a smile. Then, apparently feeling it was necessary to predict a positive future for her, he said, “One day you’re going to meet someone who’ll love you more than I did.”
Linnette supposed Cal meant that as a compliment, but it didn’t sound like one. “I should hope so. I’d hate to think getting dumped is going to be a regular occurrence for me.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” Then, to her dismay, a tear escaped. Hoping he hadn’t noticed, she quickly wiped it away. She hadn’t anticipated this heart-wrenching sense of regret and wasn’t sure how to react to it. She’d truly loved Cal and tried to help him. Perhaps that was where she’d gone wrong. Perhaps no man wanted to be helped by the woman he loved—or thought he loved.
“Vicki asked me if she should come and talk to you herself. I—I didn’t think that was a good idea.”
“Probably not.” Linnette figured it wouldn’t look too impressive if one of the community health-care professionals scratched out another’s woman’s eyes. The thought produced a near smile.
“I have an announcement of my own,” she said with false enthusiasm.
Cal looked directly at her then, for the first time since their conversation began.
“I’ve decided to leave Cedar Cove.” She made it sound as if she’d received the opportunity of a lifetime, when no such prospect existed. In fact, she’d be breaking her contract and her lease, packing her bags and walking away with no destination and no plans.
“You’re moving?” He seemed shocked by that.
She was astonished that he actually thought she’d stay in Cedar Cove.
“I’ve always wanted to see other states.”
“You have a job?” he asked.
Not yet she didn’t. But it shouldn’t be a problem finding employment in one of the small towns that dotted middle America. “Do you think I’d move without a job?” she asked, implying what she knew he wanted to hear.
“What did your parents say?”
Of course she hadn’t told them yet. This had been a recent decision—made all of two minutes ago. And yet…it felt right.
She had to leave Cedar Cove. It was difficult enough to recover from a broken heart, but it would become impossible if she had to see Cal and Vicki around town. No, the only reasonable solution was to pack her bags.
“I’m sorry,” Cal said wretchedly. Linnette knew he was sincere. In two words he’d told her he would have spared her this pain if he could.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said with a flippant air. “I’m learning lessons most girls learn in high school. I…I always was a late bloomer.”
She stood abruptly, needing to get away. “Goodbye, Cal.”
He stood, too, looking at the ground, shuffling his feet, obviously ill at ease. “I’ll always be grateful to you.”
He’d be grateful. Well, that was nice, but it didn’t make up for the fact that he didn’t love her anymore. Linnette walked home to her waterfront apartment, which wouldn’t be home for much longer, and climbed the stairs. Not once did she glance back, which was an accomplishment of its own.
Coward that she was, Linnette phoned the medical facility so she could talk to the personnel director and give notice verbally. A formal letter would be coming, she said. When she got off the phone, she wrote and printed out the letter, as promised. And then, because she needed to do something physical, she pulled out her suitcases and started to pack.
Forty minutes later, her doorbell chimed, and for a fleeting moment, hope emerged and had her rushing to answer the door. But it wasn’t Cal, and she’d been deluded to even think it might’ve been. Instead Dr. Chad Timmons stood there.
“You’ve given your notice?” he demanded, pushing his way past her, irritation written on his face. He was still dressed in his whites and had obviously come straight from the clinic.
She nodded.
“I won’t let you.”
“Sorry, too late. I’ve already had that discussion with Alma McDonald,” Linnette said without emotion. “I’ve written my letter of resignation. Besides, what makes you think you can force me to stay?”
“You can’t leave,” Chad insisted, his hard gaze holding hers. “Okay, so you had an important relationship go sour. Happens to all of us sooner or later.”
It had never happened to her until now, and she wasn’t sticking around to see Cal and his new girlfriend together at every community function. Perhaps a stronger, better woman would be capable of that, but Linnette couldn’t do it.
“Do you intend to run away every time you hit a difficult patch emotionally?” he asked. “Is this the kind of pattern you want to set in your life? Come on, Linnette, get a grip. You’re an adult. Act like one.”
The harshness of his words felt like an attack. She stood up to it, though. In little more than a year, she’d
experienced two disappointments in romance. She wanted out. Okay, her reactions were childish; she didn’t care. Besides, she didn’t know why Chad felt so concerned about this, since he was interested in Gloria, not her. Fine, she’d dealt with that, and really it hadn’t been so painful because Cal had entered her life. She’d sure made a mess of that relationship.
“Sorry,” she said, meeting his eyes. “I’ll let you know where I land.”
Chad frowned. “You’re really going?”
She nodded. No one else knew yet. She still had to tell her parents and Gloria, but she was leaving Cedar Cove.
That much was certain, even if nothing else was.
Forty-Three
“Allison.” Her father’s voice rang over her cell phone. “Could you stop by the sheriff’s office?”
“Now?” she asked, glancing regretfully at her two friends. She was on her way to the Silverdale Mall for a much-needed shopping break. Her mom had let her use the car, and Allison had volunteered to drive. Since graduation, all she’d done was work at her dad’s office. She had less and less of a social life these days. It seemed pointless to date anyone else, because no matter how this whole arson mess ended, she loved Anson.
“Yes, now,” her father insisted. “It’s important.”
“Does…does this have anything to do with Anson?” Her friends looked at her, and their conversation instantly died.
“It does.”
Her heart leaped into her throat. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.” After apologizing to her friends as she dropped them at a bus stop, Allison reversed her direction and headed back into Cedar Cove. Her stomach was in knots. Something had happened.
The sheriff’s door was closed, and Seth and Justine Gunderson sat outside his office. So did Roy McAfee, the private investigator she’d once gone to on Anson’s behalf. They all smiled warmly when they saw her.
“Hello,” she said nervously.
“Hello,” Justine said. “I think you’re supposed to wait here, too.”
Allison took the fourth chair and twisted her purse strap around her palm. “Is my father talking to the sheriff?” she asked.
Mr. Gunderson nodded. He began to speak, but the door opened then, and her father stepped into the hallway. He brightened when he saw her.
“Can you tell me what this is about, Dad?” she asked, coming to her feet.
“I sure can.” Her father smiled. “Actually, it wasn’t Sheriff Davis or I who asked to see you.” He held open the door and gestured her inside.
Wondering at his words, Allison entered the small office and noticed Sheriff Davis right away. A soldier stood next to him, a handsome young man, wearing fatigues and a cap. The name tag on his jacket said Butler.
Butler.
No, it couldn’t be. Allison looked again. It was.
“Anson?” she whispered, hardly able to believe what she saw.
He smiled and held out his arms. Even with her father and the sheriff watching, she didn’t hesitate. Allison rushed forward for the biggest, most precious hug of her life. Her throat was crowded with tears of joy. “You enlisted in the army? All this time you were in the army?”
Anson grinned. “There aren’t a whole lot of options for someone hoping to escape a few unpleasant complications.”
“When?” she asked, astounded at the changes in him. He looked better, healthier than at any other time she’d seen him.
“I’d made the decision before the fire that burned down The Lighthouse. I talked to a recruiter and saw there were more opportunities for me with the military than anyplace else. I enlisted in Silverdale. Even though I was a ‘person of interest’ with regard to the fire, I wasn’t charged with anything, so it didn’t stand in my way. I had all the credits I needed to graduate.”
Relieved though she was, Allison felt angry, too. He could have trusted her! “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to graduate from basic training first—prove I could do it. I needed to consider my choices.”
“Which are?”
“To return to Cedar Cove and answer a few questions, for one,” Sheriff Davis put in.
“I couldn’t drag you into this,” Anson said, turning to Allison.
“Anson wasn’t responsible for the fire,” she argued, ready to do battle even now.
“We already know that,” her father assured her.
“We have another person of interest we’re planning to question,” Sheriff Davis explained. He nodded at Anson. “We appreciate your help, son. You’re free to go.” They exchanged handshakes. “Thanks to you,” he added, “we’re pretty sure who set that fire.”
“Thank you, sir,” Anson said respectfully. He turned to Zach. “Do I have your permission to speak to Allison privately, Mr. Cox?” he asked.
Allison’s father smiled at his daughter. “If I said no, I fear I’d have a family mutiny on my hands.”
It was all Allison could do not to hug her father. Before anything could prevent their departure, she linked her hand with Anson’s, and they walked out together. As they were leaving, Sheriff Davis asked the Gundersons to step into his office.
Allison had so many questions, she wasn’t sure which one to ask first. “You know who set the fire?” she blurted out. “Was it because of the license plate?”
“Partly. I didn’t know his name, but I’d seen him around town. He saw me, and I knew it wasn’t safe for me to stick around, so I ran. The way I figured it, with my record, I’d get blamed for the fire anyway.” They left the building and before they could walk toward the parking lot, Anson stopped abruptly. He pulled her under an outside stairwell. “Listen, Allison, I know this is crazy, but I swear if I don’t kiss you right here and now, I’ll lose my mind.”
“Funny,” she whispered. “I was thinking that, too.”
Anson took her into his arms and brought his mouth to hers. She’d waited months and months for this kiss, and she wasn’t going to let the fact that anyone could see them detract from the joy she felt.
“I have missed you so much,” she murmured, her arms around his neck.
“Thinking about you was all that got me through basic training,” Anson murmured as he ran his hands down her back.
They clung to each other for the longest time. Finally Allison couldn’t stand not knowing, couldn’t stand it for another second. “Who did it?” she asked breathlessly. “Who started the fire?”
“Like I said, I didn’t know his name but I’d seen him in the restaurant and around town. He’s a builder, I guess. It wasn’t until very recently that I found out who he is. Warren Saget.”
“Warren Saget,” Allison repeated. “My dad does his taxes.”
“Yeah, I know. Your father mentioned that.”
“How did you identify him?”
“His picture was in the paper. Shaw’s been mailing me the Cedar Cove Chronicle, which is how I managed to keep up with what’s been happening around town. Saget was photographed in an ad for his construction company. Once I had a name to go with the face, I phoned the sheriff.” He smiled grimly. “The license plate—first three letters SUL—checked out.”
It was one thing to identify Warren Saget as the arsonist and another to prove it. All the information she’d seen and read—on TV shows and in mystery novels—indicated that there had to be more than circumstantial evidence or even eyewitness reports. The only physical evidence was the pewter cross discovered in the ashes—the cross that belonged to Anson.
“How will Sheriff Davis ever prove he’s the arsonist?” she asked.
“Well, I’m a witness and I’ve agreed to testify in court. The sheriff and Mr. McAfee had another idea, though. He didn’t tell me what it was, but it involves Mrs. Gunderson. That’s why she was there with her husband. My guess,” he said thoughtfully, “is that Sheriff Davis is going to arrange a showdown, a face to face with Saget.” Anson shook his head. “The sheriff didn’t confide in me. All I know is that if it’s necessary, I’ll testify against him in cou
rt.”
She had another question, an important one. “How did my dad get involved?”
Anson rested his forehead against hers. “I called him. It was on his advice that I spoke to the sheriff.”
“What?” He couldn’t have shocked her more had he confessed to setting the fire himself. “When?”
“Last Friday. Like I said, I saw Saget’s photograph and recognized him as the arsonist. I figured if I was ever going to step forward, the time was now. Otherwise I was afraid this would hang over me for the rest of my life. Your dad arranged today’s meeting.” He paused. “There are only a handful of people I trust in this world, and your father is one of them.”
“Not me?” She realized she sounded hurt; she couldn’t help it, even though she wanted to be more mature.
“I wouldn’t put you in that situation.” He kissed her again, letting his lips linger on hers. “I knew you wanted to believe in me. All I could do was pray that your father did, too.”
Her father hadn’t breathed a word of this.
“How long can you stay?” Allison already dreaded the day he’d have to leave her again.
“Just a week, and then I’m headed for specialized training. I’m going into Army Intelligence, working with computers. Whether I continue with the military or not, this is training I can always use.”
“You’re one of the smartest people I know.” She couldn’t keep the admiration from her voice.
He’d never been able to accept compliments well. He did now, though, because he believed it himself. “You’re the only person who ever said that to me, and the funny part is, the tests I took proved it’s true.”
“I know it is.”
“After I enlisted, the army put me through a lot of testing. I ranked high in languages and computer skills and a bunch of other stuff. Basically, I could have my pick, and I went with Army Intelligence.”
“I’m so proud of you, Anson, so proud.”