44 Cranberry Point

  “Would you pay money to go out with my dad if he was in the auction?” Jolene asked as Rachel sectioned the youngster’s hair.

  She considered the question and shrugged. She didn’t want to disappoint the little girl, but she didn’t think Bruce was ready for another relationship. “I don’t know.”

  Jolene frowned as though puzzled by Rachel’s answer. “Don’t you like my dad?”

  “I don’t know your father well enough to say if I do or not,” she said honestly, hoping to ward off Jolene’s persistence.

  “But if you bought my dad at the auction, you’d know him.”

  Rachel finished sectioning Jolene’s hair and reached for her scissors. She decided it was time to have a short heart-to-heart with the little girl. “Sweetheart, it embarrasses your father when you talk about him remarrying.”

  Jolene blinked. “That’s what he said, too-that it embarrasses him. But he wouldn’t say why.”

  “I don’t think your father’s ready to get involved with anyone. He loved your mother very much and I think maybe he doesn’t want to fall in love again.”

  “I loved her, too, but I want a mommy,” the girl said plaintively.

  “Maybe it’s just a friend you need.”

  “I have friends but they’re my age and-” She paused and seemed to contemplate Rachel’s words. “Could you be my friend?”

  Rachel smiled. She thought it was a good idea for them both. Jolene was a motherless child and she was a woman without family. “I’d like that a lot.”

  “I would, too.”

  Rachel needed to talk to Bruce, make sure he sanctioned this. She wanted it understood, however, that she wasn’t pressuring him into any kind of relationship. This was between her and Jolene. She would enjoy playing a role in the little girl’s life, but only if he had no objections.

  Just as she was finishing up Jolene’s haircut, Bruce returned. He walked over to Valerie, who ran the reception desk, and pulled his wallet out of his rear pocket.

  “Hi, Daddy,” Jolene called out.

  His expression softened as he turned to face his daughter. “All right, all right, ladies,” he said and shook his head, looking chagrined. “You talked me into it. I signed up for the Dog and Bachelor Auction.”

  “You did?” Terri was so excited she nearly leapt up from her table.

  “Great,” Jeannie cried, equally thrilled.

  Bruce glanced at Rachel, obviously anticipating her reaction. She nodded, letting him know she approved, but she hoped he wouldn’t be disappointed when she didn’t bid on him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  During the summer months, Charlotte’s favorite night of the week was Thursday. For a number of years now, the Chamber of Commerce had sponsored Concerts on the Cove, bringing in a variety of free entertainment, from pop groups to jazz quartets. Tonight was an Irish band, with fiddles and one of those Celtic drums-Charlotte couldn’t remember what they were called. The concerts brought almost the entire town together once a week, as young and old alike crowded the small waterfront park, enjoying the festive atmosphere.

  Before he came by to collect her, Ben had bought their dinner, teriyaki chicken and rice from her favorite take-out restaurant. Walking hand in hand, he carried their folding chairs, while she held on to their food.

  “Oh, good. We have our spot,” she said, looking at the place under the mountain ash where they usually sat. Some couples shared a song or a favorite movie; Charlotte and Ben had their own patch of lawn in Waterfront Park.

  Ben was so thoughtful and considerate toward her, Charlotte mused as he set up the chairs and insisted she sit down. And she loved his old-fashioned manners-the way he held doors and stood when she entered a room. The world didn’t have much time or interest in those niceties anymore, but Charlotte was of a generation that still appreciated them.

  They settled in their spot. It was still early, but they always arrived a good hour before the concert began in order to secure their special place.

  “Oh, look,” she said with the take-out container balanced on her lap. “There’s Corrie McAfee. I don’t think I’ve seen her at any of the concerts before.”

  Corrie glanced around as if she wasn’t sure where to go.

  “Corrie,” Charlotte said, waving her arm. “Over here.”

  Corrie headed eagerly in Charlotte’s direction. “Hello, Mrs. Jefferson.”

  “Call me Charlotte. You know my friend Ben Rhodes, don’t you?”

  Although he had his meal in his lap, Ben stood. Charlotte wouldn’t have expected anything less.

  “This is your first time here, isn’t it?” Charlotte asked. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.” She wanted Corrie to know she was welcome. She hadn’t had much opportunity to meet the McAfees. They were still considered new to the community, although they’d lived in Cedar Cove for several years. As a private investigator, Roy had probably learned more about this town and its people than he’d ever cared to know. It was important, Charlotte felt, to bring the couple into the fold.

  Corrie gestured toward the parking lot. “I finally managed to talk Roy into coming down. He’s parking the car.”

  “Sit here with us,” Charlotte invited. “I always bring an extra blanket. It sometimes gets a bit cool in the evenings, but you and Roy would be welcome to sit on it.”

  “Oh, Roy’s bringing a couple of chairs.”

  “Look, there’s Grace Sherman,” Charlotte said, waving enthusiastically at the local librarian. “She has Buttercup with her. That is such a well-behaved dog.”

  Grace waved back and continued down the waterfront at a brisk pace, the golden retriever trotting dutifully beside her.

  Charlotte was proud of having brought Buttercup into Grace’s life. Three years ago, a good friend had moved into a retirement center and consequently needed a new home for her pet. Grace had immediately popped into Charlotte’s mind. That was shortly after Dan Sherman had turned up missing, and Charlotte understood how lost and lonely her daughter’s friend felt.

  Roy appeared, walking along the waterfront with two folding chairs, one under each arm. He nodded when he saw Corrie.

  “I don’t think he’s a happy camper about all this,” Corrie said under her breath. “I’m the one who’s fond of Irish music.”

  Roy walked across the soft green grass toward them. “Hello, Charlotte, Ben,” Roy muttered as he set up the chairs.

  Charlotte was surprised to see what a big man Roy was. She’d seen him around town any number of times, but always at a distance and hadn’t noticed how tall he was.

  Ben stood again and the two men exchanged handshakes. “I don’t think we’ve met,” Ben said. “Ben Rhodes.”

  After they chatted for a few moments, Roy settled next to his wife. They put their heads together, whispering for a moment, and then Roy excused himself.

  “We were going to eat after the concert,” Corrie explained, “but that chicken looks so good, Roy decided to walk across the street and pick up dinner now.”

  “The teriyaki is our favorite,” Charlotte told her. “This is way more than I can eat. Ben and I should probably share an order but the leftovers are always so delicious the next day.”

  “Our daughter Linnette’s favorite meal is teriyaki chicken,” Corrie added conversationally. “Speaking of Linnette,” she began. She fumbled nervously with her hands, and then laughed. “That wasn’t a very good transition, was it?”

  “I didn’t realize you had a daughter,” Charlotte said. She didn’t know the McAfees well enough to know about their children.

  “Actually, I’ve been looking for a chance to talk to both of you about Linnette,” Corrie confessed. “She recently graduated as a physician’s assistant. It was an arduous program, but Linnette feels strongly about bringing medical professionals to small towns.”

  Charlotte sat up straighter at this bit of news. “I suppose you’ve heard how hard Ben and I have worked to get a medical facility built in Cedar Cove.”

  Corrie
nodded. “That’s what I wanted to discuss. Do you have any news about what’s happening with that?”

  For the last two months, Charlotte and Ben had shown up for every single council meeting. They sat in the front row, as if to say they weren’t going silently into that long, dark night. For her part, Charlotte had decided she’d keel over dead before she gave up her efforts to get a medical clinic in Cedar Cove.

  “I don’t know what to tell you,” she murmured. “So far, there’s been no real progress. Just a lot of talk.”

  Ben leaned forward. “The argument is that even if the council were to fund a clinic, the town can’t afford personnel.”

  “Linnette applied for a job in Montana, and I hate the thought of our daughter living so far from home.” Corrie waved to someone in the distance; the park was fast filling up. “I’d hoped something might turn up here in Cedar Cove. I miss my daughter and she’s only a ferry ride away now. I can’t imagine what it’ll be like when she’s hundreds of miles from home.”

  “A physician’s assistant,” Charlotte repeated. “Maybe there is something we can do.”

  “What?” Ben asked, turning to Charlotte.

  Charlotte gently patted his knee. “Leave that to me.”

  Olivia and Jack arrived just then, and Charlotte stood and waved them over. Seeing their friends, family and neighbors was what made these summertime concerts so much fun. Her daughter waved back, but Charlotte noticed that Olivia and Jack seemed to be having a discussion before they made their way through the crowd to join her.

  “There’s plenty of room here with Ben and me,” Charlotte told them. She moved her chair closer to Ben’s. Although she’d only taken a few bites of her dinner, she’d much rather visit than eat. Closing the container, she returned it to the plastic bag.

  “Hello, Corrie,” Olivia said.

  To Charlotte’s ears, her daughter sounded stressed, although she had no idea why that would be. This was a night for relaxing, for laughter and singing and catching up with friends.

  Olivia glanced at Ben and greeted him, but her tone was remote, as if she hadn’t decided what to think of her mother’s friend.

  Her daughter’s attitude troubled Charlotte, and she decided to talk to Olivia about it later, when they had a private moment.

  “Sit down, sit down,” she instructed Olivia. “Jack, you’re looking fit these days.”

  He patted his stomach. “I could lose a few pounds, according to Olivia.”

  Charlotte smiled. So that was the reason her daughter had asked her to recommend a healthy-eating cookbook. Charlotte had bought them shortly after her cancer treatments and tried some of the recipes. They weren’t bad, but over time she’d gradually reverted to eating the way she always had. Old habits were difficult to break.

  “You know Corrie McAfee, don’t you?” Charlotte said, wanting to make sure Olivia made Corrie feel welcome. “This is the McAfees’ first time at Concerts on the Cove.”

  Olivia nodded to Corrie. “Good to see you again.”

  “You, too,” Corrie said.

  The two women exchanged long looks. Charlotte didn’t know what that was about, either. Surely her daughter and the wife of the local P.I. couldn’t possibly be colluding about anything.

  “Corrie and I were just talking about a health clinic here in Cedar Cove,” Charlotte continued, hoping to include Olivia in the conversation. “The McAfees’ daughter is a physician’s assistant, and Corrie was just saying how nice it would be if she worked in this area.”

  Olivia nodded absently.

  “A health clinic is important, Olivia,” Charlotte said, her voice a little sharper than usual.

  “I agree,” she muttered, frowning.

  “I suppose you think a bigger jail is more of a priority.”

  “We could use a larger jail, but-”

  “You can’t be serious!” Charlotte was aghast that her daughter would think additional jail cells should take precedence over the health concerns of their community.

  “We do need a bigger jail,” Jack concurred. “In fact I just wrote an article this afternoon about the problems with transporting local offenders to jails in Yakima County. But, to my way of thinking, we need a medical facility more.”

  Olivia nodded once again, silently agreeing with her husband.

  Her daughter’s lack of verbal support for her cause hurt Charlotte. Olivia was in a position to do much more and she hadn’t because it wasn’t important enough to her.

  As if he understood her disappointment in Olivia, Ben reached for her hand and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. She swallowed hard and managed a smile as she turned to this man she’d come to love so late in life.

  Chapter Nineteen

  It was a perfect day for gardening, Peggy thought-sunny but not hot, with a comfortable breeze and an almost cloudless sky.

  She’d decided to visit the local nursery, inviting Hannah to join her. Now Peggy loaded a thirty-pound bag of fertilizer into the large garden cart, while Hannah wandered through the aisles of perennials.

  “Let me do that,” the young woman insisted, hurrying to her side. “I came with you because I wanted to help.”

  Peggy always enjoyed her trips to the nursery, although she rarely left without filling up the minivan. Her raspberries and blueberries could do with fertilizer. She was out of slug bait, too. Her yard was lovely, with the rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom. The lilacs were coming out, too, and she had both the purple and white varieties along the side of the house. Her small rose garden was prospering, and so was her expanding herb garden.

  “We probably should talk about me staying at the house,” Hannah said, staring down at the ground as if reluctant to address the subject. Peggy guessed she’d needed several days to work up her courage to discuss the matter of her staying.

  “Let’s do that later,” Peggy suggested. “I was thinking we might go out to lunch when we’re finished here.” She found the best “girl talks” with Hollie always took place over lunch.

  Hannah smiled. “That would be nice.”

  Hannah had been with them for more than a week. She’d planned to leave once, about three days after her arrival, but Peggy had asked her to stay. As she’d expected, Hannah had accepted the invitation without further argument.

  An hour later, they sat on the patio at The Lighthouse eating Caesar salad with grilled shrimp and sipping iced tea.

  “You and Bob have been so kind to me,” Hannah said.

  She still seemed frail, Peggy noted, physically as well as emotionally. “We like having you around.”

  Hannah looked grateful. “I don’t think anyone’s ever been so good to me.” She reached for her iced tea and took a quick sip. “I should never have stayed this long. Originally I only intended to visit Cedar Cove for one night. But you were so welcoming, and now it’s been over a week. I can’t continue to take advantage of your friendship like this.” She met Peggy’s eyes and said earnestly, “I do think of you as my friends, you know.”

  “We feel the same way,” Peggy murmured.

  Hannah was nibbling her lower lip again. Peggy considered it a personal challenge to improve not only this girl’s health but her emotional outlook. She didn’t seem to have much self-esteem. Generally, Peggy thought parents worried excessively about self-esteem these days. Spend enough time with your kids, give them lots of love and reasonable amounts of responsibility, and self-esteem would naturally follow-that was Peggy’s theory of child-raising. But in Hannah Russell’s case…She was far too thin-to the point of being anorexic. Her clothes hung on her. Peggy had taken a lot of pleasure in tempting Hannah with her prize recipes. Ever since Troy Davis’s last visit, she’d been cooking many of her old favorites. She found comfort in that and in providing Hannah with some old-fashioned mothering. Hannah seemed to blossom under Peggy’s encouragement and affection.

  “Bob and I want you to stay,” Peggy said, wondering how many times she’d have to make this point. “We love having you.”
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  Hannah shook her head reluctantly. “I can’t do that. I’m not even sure why I came to Cedar Cove. In the beginning I told myself it was because I wanted to learn what I could about how-and why-my father died. I don’t like to think about him suffering.” There was a stricken look in her eyes. “You don’t think he suffered much, do you?”

  Peggy didn’t know, but she felt a need to reassure Hannah, even if it wasn’t the truth. “No, I don’t think so. When Bob and I broke into the room, there wasn’t any evidence of restlessness.” It was as if Maxwell Russell had laid his head on the pillow, closed his eyes and never stirred again. All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to exit this life.

  Hannah picked at her salad. “I thought I had some questions, but I don’t. I probably should. I know that Mr. McAfee seemed to have a lot-but I don’t. I’m not sure I even want to know what happened. All I really want is for this nightmare to go away.”

  Peggy wasn’t surprised by her feelings. Sometimes, for some people, uncertainty was easier to live with than a difficult truth. Hannah was obviously one of those people, preferring to simply avoid reality. Peggy had felt that temptation herself, but knew she was strong enough to cope with the truth, whatever it might be.

  “I felt drawn to Cedar Cove,” Hannah went on. “I was driving and driving, looking for a fresh start, and all I could think about was my first visit here.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “Why?” Hannah sounded genuinely curious.

  “Well, for one thing, your father died in Cedar Cove. It’s here that the mystery will be solved and although you may not want to know what happened or why, you need to know. That’s what your mind is telling you.”