“No need,” he said.
He must already have it. Of course, updated information on the entire class had been supplied by the reunion committee.
“I had a wonderful night, Hudson. Thank you.”
“I did, too,” he said, and looked at her with such intensity that it was hard not to kiss him again.
Once inside the gymnasium he reluctantly left her and returned to his friends. His gaze followed her as she sought out Katie and he smiled as if to say “Thank you for a lovely evening,” but really she should be the one thanking him.
It came as no surprise that I had a problem sleeping. I don’t know when I’d had a more emotional day than Saturday had been. Naturally, my head was full of Mark and what I knew of his determination to save his friend. Every time I tried to sleep I felt his presence as strongly as if he were in the room with me.
I would always remember the look in his eyes as he said good-bye. He knew then what I didn’t—how dangerous what he was about to do was going to be. Oh, how I’d misread him. I’d been so wrapped up in my own sense of loss that I’d missed the anguish Mark must have been experiencing. If only he’d been comfortable enough to share his past with me instead of leaving it to Bob Beldon.
In retrospect I understood why he hadn’t explained his reasons, although I wished he’d had more faith in me. But knowing me as well as he did, he was probably right to hold back. I would have done anything within my power to persuade him not to leave Cedar Cove.
The evening had been complicated by the disastrous dinner date. It’d been a huge mistake to ever agree to go out with Gina’s future brother-in-law. Rich was a piece of work. Then again, he probably felt the same way about me.
I knew neither Rich nor I would be seeing each other again. If I could have canceled our dinner at the last minute I would have. The devastating news I’d learned about Mark had badly shaken me.
I hadn’t meant to bring up his name. Although in retrospect it was probably best that I had.
It was still dark when I gave up the effort to sleep. My two guests were scheduled to check out in the morning, and thankfully no one was set to arrive until Monday. I’d have a rare Sunday to myself. After Coco and Katie left I’d get their rooms cleaned and take an afternoon nap.
It was barely five-thirty when Katie came down the stairs, wearing her robe. She must have smelled the brewing coffee because she wandered into the kitchen.
“I didn’t expect you to be up,” she said, looking surprised to see me there.
“I’m not generally awake this early,” I answered, on the tail end of a yawn.
Katie reached for a mug and stood in front of the coffeemaker while she waited for the brew to filter through.
“You couldn’t sleep, either?” I asked, not wanting to pry but leaving the gate open in case she wanted to talk.
“Not a wink.”
“I’m sorry.”
She kept her back to me, standing in front of the coffeemaker. When she spoke, her voice was so low I had to strain to make out the words. “James is engaged. I met his fiancée.”
The pain in her voice was evident in every syllable. “Oh Katie, how disappointed you must be.”
“Her name is Emily…”
I stretched out my arm, wanting to reassure her, but hesitated, unsure she’d welcome the touch of a near stranger.
“The thing is, I really liked her. We talked, just the two of us, and she told me a little about herself. Then James found us.”
She didn’t elaborate and it looked as if she was swallowing hard in an effort not to show tears. After a brief pause, she continued: “He wouldn’t look at me, but collected Emily and took her back into the gym. They were about to start the program…I didn’t go back inside. Coco found me in the cafeteria and asked if I wanted to come back here and I did. I don’t think I could have lasted another minute.”
“So neither of you stayed late at the reunion?”
“No. I told Coco she should go back but she wouldn’t hear of it. She…she didn’t want to leave me.” She paused and then added, “She’s a good friend.”
The coffee finished brewing and Katie filled the mug and carried it into the living room. I felt she wanted to talk and so I poured my own mug and followed her in. Rover, who’d already done his business outside, came along with me, as he almost always does.
We sat in the wing-backed chairs next to each other by the fireplace. Rover curled into a ball on the carpet between us.
“I didn’t have a good evening myself,” I told her. Since she was sharing confidences I felt comfortable doing the same.
“Oh?” She blew into the hot coffee before taking a tentative sip.
“I got some pretty intense news about my friend Mark—the guy I mentioned yesterday. I was intent on moving forward in my life, proving…I don’t know what.” In light of what I’d learned, I was furious with myself for my attitude.
“You’re a widow, aren’t you?” Katie asked.
I held my mug between my two hands, letting its warmth seep up my arms. “Yes.”
“Do you find living alone hard?”
I wasn’t alone. I had Rover and my guests, but I understood what she asked. “Some days, I do. I didn’t get married until I was in my thirties, so I was accustomed to my own company. Love caught me by surprise, and when I fell, I fell hard.”
Katie seemed to soak in every word. “I wonder if that will happen for me.”
“Keep your heart open,” I suggested.
“Was there a reason you hadn’t married before…I mean, were you involved with someone else and it didn’t work out? Sorry if I’m asking questions that are too personal.”
“No, it’s fine; I don’t mind. The truth is I wasn’t involved. I enjoyed my life in the business world, rising up the corporate ladder, independent and self-assured. And I guess I just hadn’t met the right person.” That seemed like another life now.
Katie stared down into her coffee. “I have to let go of him.”
I had the feeling she said it more for her own benefit than mine. “Me, too,” I whispered.
Katie looked up. “Your husband?” she asked.
I nodded rather than go into a long explanation about Mark. What I said was true, though. I’d learned that lesson when I lost Paul. Sooner or later I had to accept there was a strong likelihood that Mark was out of my life, too.
Footsteps echoed coming down the stairs. “Hey, are you two having a party without me?” Coco asked. Her smile was brighter than the rising sun. She radiated happiness. Apparently, unlike Katie and me, last night had gone well for her.
“Yeah, a party—a pity party!” Katie told her.
“Oh Katie. You didn’t sleep, did you?”
“I didn’t even try…I know, I know, I’ve got to get over James, and I will…”
“In time,” I finished for her. “Time is the great healer.” And I was in a position to know.
“I’m glad you had a good time at the reunion,” Katie said to her friend. “I wish you’d just dropped me off and gone back. You should have.”
“You needed a friend.”
“I ruined your reunion.”
“Nothing could have ruined last night,” Coco said, and a happy, dreamy look came over her.
“Coffee?” I asked, ready to pour one for her, when Coco stopped me.
“Stay put, I’ll get it.” She momentarily disappeared and returned a couple moments later, a steaming mug in hand. Sitting on the ottoman in front of Katie, she wore a smile as wide as the Mississippi River.
“Coco reconnected with a guy from our class,” Katie explained.
Coco glanced at Katie. “Who would have thought Hudson would turn into such a great guy?”
“He’s not what I would consider your type,” Katie said, seeming to enjoy seeing her friend this happy.
“That’s so true, but I find him amazing.”
“She’s like this, you know,” Katie said, explaining her friend’s behavior to me. “She doesn’t do an
ything halfway.”
The dreamy look was back as Coco released a slow, contented sigh. “He’s simply wonderful, and if you must know, he’s a really good kisser.”
For the first time that morning, Katie smiled. “You went outside together, didn’t you?”
“We sat on the bleachers and talked for the longest time.”
“I think they did more than talk,” Katie said out of the corner of her mouth.
I was impressed with Katie. Instead of being depressed and envious of her friend, she seemed to take pleasure in Coco’s new relationship. In my view, that was a sign of true character.
“When will you see Hudson again?” Katie asked.
Some of the happiness drained from Coco’s eyes. “Actually, we didn’t set up a time. I hope he texts me sometime this morning, but it’s still too early, I guess.”
“How about some breakfast?” I said, thinking it was time to get the stuffed French toast casserole in the oven. I had fresh blueberries I wanted to cook into a compote to go along with it, plus cut the chives and grate the cheese for my special egg scramble.
“We’re going to head back to Seattle after breakfast,” Katie told me.
“What about the class picnic?” I’d seen the notice about Manchester State Park in a flyer Coco had regarding the reunion.
“Hudson told me last night that he has to get back to Seattle,” Coco told me, and sounded regretful, “and really he’s the only one I would want to see.”
“And I…I’d rather head back into the city,” Katie added.
I started toward the kitchen to get the breakfast cooking. Once I had the oven heated and set the casserole inside to bake, I headed to my room to change clothes. Rover trotted along behind me and paused in front of his food dish.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get your breakfast soon enough.”
I grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt and then made my bed. Everything I did was routine, but it wasn’t an ordinary day and I knew it. I felt it.
Mark wouldn’t be stopping by. He wouldn’t be peeking inside my cookie jar to see if I had set aside his favorite cookies. Nor would he find an excuse to stop by for coffee that evening so we could sit out on the deck and watch the sun set.
He hadn’t been “unexpectedly” stopping by for a few weeks now, but this was different. Way different. Mark was gone for real, and maybe for good. I had no idea if I’d ever hear what happened to him in Iraq, or if Bob’s message was the last I’d ever know.
Breakfast was on the table at eight and both Katie and Coco came downstairs dressed. I noticed that Coco was busy looking at her cell phone. It dinged with the message sound and she grabbed it, read the text, looked confused, and then frowned.
“I thought we’d leave around ten,” she said to Katie a few minutes later. “If that’s good for you.”
“Oh sure,” she said. “Was that Hudson?” she asked, looking pointedly at Coco’s phone.
Frowning, Coco shook her head.
“Text him,” Katie suggested.
“No,” Coco returned with a determined shake of her head. “I came on pretty strong at the dance last night. I made it clear that I’m interested, but the next move has to come from him.”
“He was crazy about you.”
“Was,” Coco reiterated. “I need to know how he feels now. He has my contact information. If he wants to get ahold of me he knows how. It’s up to him now.”
Katie shrugged. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. He couldn’t take his eyes off you all evening. You’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.”
Coco didn’t look nearly as convinced. “That remains to be seen.”
The two sat down for breakfast and I noticed that Coco grabbed her phone after every ding. Katie’s eyes flashed to those of her friend and Coco would shake her head indicating it wasn’t the text or email she’d been hoping for. I didn’t know anything about this guy they’d been discussing, but I had to believe he would be in touch soon enough.
“Let’s head out,” Coco said, once they’d finished with breakfast. “I’m more than ready to leave.”
“I’m ready, too,” Katie said.
It took only a few minutes for them to load their suitcases into the car. They’d already settled the bill with me. Rover and I stood on the porch and watched the two of them back out of the driveway.
I stood there as they drove away, trying to absorb how, in the space of just a few days, my world had changed so completely.
Mark was gone, and I was devastated.
And the inn had failed me. Paul had told me in a dream after I’d purchased the inn that it would be a place of healing for me and all who came to stay.
But Katie had left with a broken heart, and Coco looked let down.
The inn had disappointed us all.
Friday night, two weeks after the reunion, Katie let herself into her small apartment and kicked off her shoes. She worked with adoptions and had been in court earlier that afternoon when two little girls, ages three and four, half-siblings, had been adopted into a loving family. It was cases like this that gave her a huge sense of accomplishment and joy.
By habit she turned on the evening news and checked the freezer for a frozen entrée. She was still making her choice when her phone rang. Caller ID told her it was Coco. Her friend never had heard from Hudson and it had bitterly disappointed her.
Holding the phone against her ear, Katie sorted through the selection of frozen meals, preferring something simple and easy after a hectic day in court.
“Hey, Coco, whatcha doing?” she asked.
“Not much, what about you?” They’d texted a number of times after leaving Cedar Cove and the reunion but hadn’t spoken.
“Do you have any plans for tonight?” Coco asked.
“Not really. You?” The Lean Cuisine pasta looked to be Katie’s best dinner option. She removed it from the freezer and set it on the kitchen countertop.
“Want to go out for a while?” Coco asked. “A friend of mine is having a party. He wants to set me up with someone, and frankly, I’m not in the mood.”
“What makes you think I am?” she asked, reading the directions on the back of the package.
“I figured you’re probably in the same place as me. Getting out will do you good and this guy doesn’t sound like my type.”
Katie smiled. “So in other words, you want to use me as a buffer?”
“You might find Christian interesting, who knows. Come on, we could both use an emotional boost.”
Katie tossed the frozen entrée back into the freezer. “All right, I guess I’ll go with you.”
Coco snorted. “We’re pathetic, you know that, right?”
Katie laughed. She was half tempted to ask if there’d been any contact from Hudson, but she knew Coco would have said so if there had.
“I’ll pick you up in thirty,” Coco said.
“I’ll be ready.” Katie didn’t have a better way to spend Friday night, and a party might be fun. She wasn’t in a party mood but she needed to break out of this self-imposed shell and step out of the past.
—
By the time they arrived at the party it was in full swing. Everyone knew Coco and there were cheers when she arrived. It didn’t take long before Katie was handed a beer. She took a tentative sip and stood back as Coco threw herself into the melee with full abandon. No more than ten minutes after they arrived, Coco was in the middle of the living room, arms above her head dancing and flirting. Coco was the life of the party. It was as if everyone had been waiting for her arrival.
Although she knew only a couple of people, Katie enjoyed herself. Sitting on the sofa arm, she watched the others dancing and laughing while sipping her beer.
“Hi there, I’m Christian.”
“Katie.” They clicked their beer bottles together.
“Coco said I should come over and introduce myself.”
It was hard to hear him above the music and the noise. “So you’re the
one.”
“The one?” he asked, frowning.
“Never mind,” she said, studying him. He was actually quite attractive, with thick dark hair and a ready smile.
He glanced toward the others. “Would you like to dance?”
“Sure, why not?” The beer lent her courage.
The first dance led to another and then another, and by the end of the evening she’d exchanged phone numbers with Christian. With the loud music, conversation had been difficult, and she didn’t know much about him other than the fact that he worked for Boeing and was a sheet-metal worker, the same as his father and uncle.
Coco, who had limited herself to two beers during the course of the evening, drove Katie home.
“Did you have a good time?” she asked.
“I did. Christian seems nice.”
“I thought you’d like him.”
It came to her then, what Katie should have suspected all along. “This was a setup, wasn’t it? He was never anyone you were supposed to meet. You arranged for me to connect with Christian.”
“Sort of,” Coco admitted.
“Right,” Katie said with more than a hint of sarcasm.
“One day you’ll thank me. Christian’s a great guy and I thought it was time for us both to have some fun.”
Her friend was right. “I had a great time; thanks for inviting me.”
“I had a good time, too,” Coco said, and sounded surprised.
“You didn’t think you would?” Katie asked.
“I didn’t…well, sort of. I just wish I could stop thinking about Hudson.”
Seeing that Coco had opened the door, Katie took advantage of it. “No word?”
“None.” The word was stark and lonely.
“He’s an idiot.”
Coco shrugged. “His choice, I guess.”
“You could always call or text him,” Katie suggested. She could understand why Coco hadn’t.
“No. I got the message. He’s not interested.”
Katie understood all too well.
—
To her surprise, Katie slept better that Friday night than she had any other night since her return from the reunion. She woke and checked her phone for messages and saw that she had one from Christian.