“Like I explained, Mother, I was invited,” Will said, glancing at Cliff with a wry expression on his face.
“That’s right, Charlotte. I asked Will if he’d come today.”
Charlotte looked taken aback. “You did?”
Lingering nearby, Olivia caught Grace’s eye; she raised one shoulder, indicating she hadn’t known anything about this.
“Welcome,” Cliff said, extending his hand. “Grace and I are grateful you could join us. Stay as long as you like, and by all means have a piece of wedding cake.”
Grace didn’t speak. Fortunately, it wasn’t necessary.
Two hours later, most of the guests had departed. The money tree for the animal shelter dipped under the weight of the attached bills. Grace sent her daughters home with their husbands and children, while Olivia and Jack stayed, helping with the final cleanup. Lisa and her husband took their restless little girl for a walk. April wanted to feed gulls by the waterfront, so Lisa gathered some scraps of bread in a cloth napkin.
While Grace collected the wedding cards on the table, Olivia unclipped the bills from the money tree and inserted them in an envelope. She and Cliff had requested donations for the shelter, a cause they both supported, in lieu of gifts.
Without Grace’s prompting, Olivia released a shaky breath and announced, “My mammogram showed something…suspicious.”
Grace froze.
“I went in for a second set of tests last week.”
“The results?” she asked, instinctively fearing what her friend was about to tell her.
“I have an appointment Monday morning.”
“Oh, my goodness, Olivia.” Grace was devastated for Olivia and heartbroken that she’d felt compelled to keep this to herself.
“I couldn’t tell you,” Olivia whispered, as if reading her thoughts.
“I made it impossible, didn’t I?” Guilt and self-contempt overwhelmed her. Caught up in her own life, in superficial concerns like a wedding reception, she hadn’t been paying attention to Olivia.
“No… I didn’t want to ruin your day.”
Grace dropped the stack of cards and impulsively hugged her friend.
Olivia shuddered, clinging to her for a long moment before she stepped back.
“Do you want me to go to the doctor with you?” Grace asked.
Olivia shook her head. “Jack said he wanted to be there.” She offered a brave smile. “He’s been a wreck ever since I got the phone call.”
“He loves you.”
Olivia inhaled slowly. “Thank you for not telling me that everything’s going to be all right. I don’t think I could deal with platitudes just now. I’m frightened, and so is Jack. If anything, this scare has brought us closer together.”
“You’ll let me know right away?”
Olivia nodded. “Of course.”
“What about Justine and her brother?”
“I haven’t said anything to the children. I don’t feel there’s any need to worry them until I have all the facts.”
Grace understood.
It was after ten by the time Grace and Cliff returned from dropping Lisa and her family at an airport hotel, since they were catching an early-morning flight to Maryland.
Cal was already back at the ranch and had seen to the horses. During the ride to Olalla, which felt far longer than usual, Grace’s head spun with Olivia’s news. It was all she could think about.
When they pulled into the yard, Cliff leaned over and kissed her, murmuring, “Glad to be home, Mrs. Harding?” She nodded, and not until they’d broken apart did she notice that Cal was standing outside the barn.
Cliff was out of the car right away, striding over to him, Grace trailing behind. If Cal was waiting for them, that meant some kind of problem.
“When I got to the house I picked up the mail,” Cal said, extending an envelope to Grace. “I must’ve taken this by mistake. I wouldn’t have opened it otherwise.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, glancing down at the envelope, which bore the rental agency’s logo.
“You might want to read it right away,” he cautioned.
“Something wrong?” Cliff wanted to know.
“Yeah.” Cal grimaced. “Apparently the check your renters gave them bounced.”
“Again?” Cliff said. “Last month’s was returned, too.”
Grace sighed. This was more bad news she’d rather not deal with. Letting those ne’er-do-wells rent her home had been a big mistake, and she had no one to blame but herself.
Thirty
Teri pored over a new cookbook on Sunday afternoon, searching for a recipe that would entice Bobby to eat. His appetite hadn’t been good since he’d learned she was pregnant. Hers, on the other hand, couldn’t have been better. Her morning—or rather, afternoon—sickness wasn’t nearly as bad now; she only occasionally came down with a bout of queasiness. Bobby’s appetite, however, had almost completely vanished.
Then, to complicate life even more, her husband had discovered the joys of televised marketing. If there was the slightest hint that a particular product might be appropriate for a baby, Bobby ordered it. They often received two and three shipments a day.
So far, Bobby had purchased three cribs, five bassinets and enough toys to fill a day care center. The last thing that was delivered, and it came in a huge truck, was an entire gym set. While she loved him for it, this had to stop.
“You’re reading a cookbook,” Bobby said as he wandered into the kitchen.
She nodded without looking up. She’d already put Post-It notes on several of the pages, designating recipes she’d like to try. Although she hadn’t made her final decision, she’d started a grocery list. “Some cookbooks are more entertaining than novels.”
Bobby was supposed to chuckle or comment or something. He didn’t.
“What’s this?” he asked next, pointing to the sheet of paper on the table.
“That’s a list of what I need to pick up at the grocery store.”
“Send James,” her husband ordered.
“I’d like to go.” Teri braced herself for the discussion that would inevitably follow.
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Why?” Teri didn’t want to bicker. In fact, she hated it when they argued. Bobby didn’t understand that she was a social person and staying in the house, beautiful though it was, simply wasn’t enough for her. She needed to see people, interact with others. All weekend she’d done nothing but watch TV shows and DVDs. Oh, and she’d reorganized her dresser drawers.
“I don’t want you…” Bobby hesitated. Pulling out a chair, he sat down beside her. “I need to know you’ll be safe. I’ll come with you, okay?”
“Bobby, of course I’ll be safe. And I know you hate going to the grocery store. This is Cedar Cove, not some huge, scary city, so nothing’s going to happen to me. But if it makes you feel better, James can tag along.” Although she doubted he’d be much protection. Bobby, however, seemed to think his driver possessed skills that rivaled those of Agent 007. Still, if it brought him peace of mind, she was willing to put up with James trailing behind her.
His gaze held hers and after a moment, he gave her a half smile. “Thank you.”
“I’d like to invite Christie over. You don’t mind, do you?”
“For you or for James?” he teased.
“For both of us. And I’ll ask her to go to the store with me, too.” She considered that a satisfactory compromise. James was clearly besotted with Christie, and Teri’s sister…well, that had yet to be determined. Teri suspected her sister was attracted to him, only she wasn’t sure she wanted to be.
“I thought I’d make spaghetti.”
Bobby looked pleased. “The kind with clams?”
“Whatever version you like best,” she said.
“Clams.”
This was the first time in more than a week that Bobby had shown any interest in a meal, which was a relief. When she phoned, Christie seemed glad to hear fr
om her and promptly accepted her dinner invitation.
“I’m going out grocery shopping. Want to come?” Teri asked.
“Why not,” Christie said.
An hour later, when James eased the limo into the apartment parking lot, Christie was already waiting outside. She allowed James to open her car door.
“Good afternoon,” he greeted her formally.
“James.” She inclined her head in a regal nod.
This was progress, Teri mused. Christie didn’t even sound sarcastic. It seemed to take her an inordinate amount of time to slip into the seat and when she did, she held a long-stemmed rose. The color of the flower matched the flush in her cheeks.
“I’m glad you’re coming with me,” Teri told her. She made a point of not remarking on the flower.
“I am, too.”
Teri noticed that Christie met James’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
“James,” Teri said, sliding closer to her sister. “Christie asked me an interesting question a little while ago. What do you do with your time when Bobby doesn’t require a driver?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
“You don’t have to say if you’d rather not,” Teri assured him. She didn’t want to embarrass James.
“He should account for his time,” Christie said. “He’s being paid for all those hours, isn’t he?”
James headed into traffic and, after another short pause, said, “I read.”
This was news to Teri, but she supposed it made sense.
“What do you read?” Christie asked.
“Everything. Contemporary novels, classics, all kinds of non-fiction.”
Teri was impressed by this and suspected her sister was, too.
When they got to the house, Christie helped Teri make dinner, amid much laughter and the occasional small confidence. Bobby came into the kitchen a few times to see what all the merriment was about; he even joined in once or twice.
Dinner was delicious—and fun—and although Teri had invited James, he’d declined. When she and Christie had put away the leftovers and finished with the dishes, the phone rang. Call display indicated that it was Rachel. As she picked up the receiver, Teri saw her sister slip outside, probably for a cigarette.
Now that she was only working part-time, Teri missed seeing her best friend as often as she had before.
“How’s everything?” Teri asked, concerned because Rachel hadn’t seemed herself lately.
“Oh, fine. Everything’s great.”
The bravado sounded false to Teri. She knew Rachel felt tense about the upcoming rally Nate had asked her to attend.
“And Bruce?” Teri pressed. She suspected that whatever was really bothering Rachel could be traced to her friendship with Bruce Peyton.
The question was met with silence. Then Rachel muttered, “Why are you asking me about Bruce?”
“Why are you so defensive?”
“I’m not defensive!”
Teri smiled to herself. “Yes, you are. In fact, anytime I mention his name, you clam right up. So what gives?”
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” Rachel insisted. Then, in a sudden reversal, she added, “I love Nate, you know. We’ll be together this weekend.”
Teri rolled her eyes. She’d heard enough about that stupid fund-raising rally to have memorized every detail. “I thought you and Bruce and Jolene were going to the Taco Shack tonight.” Teri knew this because she’d called to ask Rachel to join them all for dinner. Rachel had to turn her down; Bruce, it seemed, was treating her and his daughter to reward Jolene for being elected class secretary.
“We were at the Taco Shack.”
Either Teri was reading too much into it or something had happened. She hadn’t expected to hear from Rachel so soon. Normally, Rachel couldn’t shut up about Jolene; she bragged about every achievement as if the twelve-year-old was her own daughter. Rachel’s silence was highly unusual.
“And?” Teri prompted, convinced now that Rachel’s odd behavior was somehow connected to Bruce.
“And…we had a very nice dinner,” Rachel murmured. “And then something…happened after dinner.”
Just as Teri had guessed. “You’d better tell me,” she said matter-of-factly.
“It was a fluke. Neither of us intended this and now…now I’m afraid it’s ruined everything.” She gulped in a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do and I think Bruce feels the same way and it’s so dumb and—”
“Whoa,” Teri said, stopping Rachel. “Start at the beginning.”
Rachel took another deep breath. “Jolene was asked to spend the night with a friend and decided she’d rather do that. Bruce said okay, so the two of us went out to dinner by ourselves.” There was a momentary silence. “That’s no big deal, right?” she asked imploringly.
“Right.”
“We drove there in separate cars,” Rachel continued. “I had a few errands to run first.”
“You had a good time? At dinner, I mean?”
Rachel paused. “We always do. Bruce and I get along fine.” She laughed, but Teri thought it sounded more like a sob. “The staff at the Taco Shack knows us because we’ve been there so often and they have the impression we’re married. It’s kind of a joke, and Bruce and I play along.”
“That’s…sweet,” Teri said, although she didn’t think sweet was the best word.
Rachel ignored the comment. “I don’t think I should have dinner with Bruce anymore.”
“Why not? You have fun together. Nothing wrong with that.”
“Nothing until tonight,” Rachel said darkly.
Teri waited for Rachel to explain and a few seconds later, she did. “After dinner, we walked into the parking lot. You know how it gets dark early in the evenings now. Well, I was heading toward my car and obviously didn’t watch where I was going because I stumbled.”
“Did you fall?”
“No, Bruce caught me by the elbow and then…then—” she lowered her voice “—he kissed me.”
“Okay, so he kissed you,” Teri said. “Did you kiss him back?”
“Yes…”
“Okay, but you’ve kissed him before.”
“I mean we really kissed,” Rachel elaborated. “This wasn’t any peck on the lips or friendly little kiss. This was kissing like I’ve never been kissed in my life. These were kisses I felt all the way down to my toenails.”
“Kisses plural?”
“Yes.”
“Oh-h.”
“I think Bruce was as shocked as I was. He kept looking at me and I looked back at him and then he apologized and I apologized and told him I missed Nate and that’s why I responded to him the way I did.”
“Because you missed Nate?” Surely Rachel didn’t actually believe that?
“Yes,” she returned heatedly. “I need to move to San Diego like Nate wants….”
Teri resisted the urge to scream that leaving Cedar Cove would be a mistake. For some time now, Teri had sensed that Rachel’s feelings for Bruce were more complex than either of them realized. The last person to discover this seemed to be Rachel.
“Those stupid kisses are an embarrassment to us both. He’s sorry it happened, and so am I. Now I’m afraid everything’s changed.” She sounded miserable. “That’s why I’m calling, Teri. I’m afraid it might never go back to the way it was between us and I don’t know if I can stand that.”
“Give it time,” Teri said gently. “Bruce needs to think this over and so do you. You’ve both had a shock. You’ll be seeing Nate soon, and then you’ll figure out how you feel.”
Rachel clearly wanted to believe it would be that easy. And for her friend’s sake, Teri hoped it would.
When she hung up the phone, Teri went searching for her sister. She wasn’t surprised to find Christie in the patio chair. James sat with her, and although the evening was cool, neither seemed to mind. The moon was full and the stars looked bright and cold in the cloudless sky. As soon as they saw Teri, James leaped to his feet.
>
“Is it okay if I join you?” she asked.
“Of course,” Christie told her.
James pulled out her chair and Teri sat beside her sister. “James was just telling me about the book he’s reading,” Christie said.
He seemed ill-at-ease with her there and stood once again. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I’ll retire to my quarters.”
“Yes, of course,” Teri said.
“Goodbye, James.”
He bowed his head. “Christie. Miss Teri.”
As soon as James was out of earshot, Teri blurted out, “Christie?”
“I told him to drop the Miss nonsense.”
Teri had asked him to do the same thing a dozen times, but he’d never paid any attention. He seemed willing to listen to her sister, though.
Thirty-One
Jack waited until Olivia had left the kitchen before he reached for the phone. Bob Beldon was his AA sponsor and if ever Jack had needed to talk, it was now. Good thing Bob was on speed dial, because the way his hand shook, Jack wasn’t sure he could’ve punched in the right numbers.
Peggy answered, announcing the name of their bed-and-breakfast, Thyme and Tide.
“It’s Jack.”
Peggy instantly knew something was wrong. “Bob’s in the other room,” she said without asking for details. “I’ll get him for you.”
“Thanks.”
Half a minute later, Bob was on the phone. “Hey, Jack. It’s Bob.”
Jack felt as if his tongue had swelled to twice its size.
“Jack, are you there?”
“Yeah,” he finally managed.
“You weren’t at the meeting tonight.”
Jack leaned against the kitchen door. “I should’ve been. I need a meeting.”
“Is there alcohol anywhere near you?”
Leave it to Bob to get straight to the point. “Not that I know of.” Olivia might have a bottle of cooking sherry somewhere in the kitchen, but if she did, he wasn’t aware of it.
“Good.”
“Can you meet me?” Jack asked.
“Tell me when and where.”
Jack closed his eyes. He was terrified to leave the house—it wasn’t safe to go where there might be booze. Where he might pass a bar or a liquor store or even a grocery. Although he’d been dry for over fifteen years, he felt weak. Desperate. He needed a drink. He didn’t think he could get through this ordeal with Olivia if he couldn’t have one. The craving was like a knife twisting in his gut. One drink. The aching need refused to go away. One drink would make everything better. Ignoring the voices in his head was becoming more difficult. Too difficult. The whispers urged him toward oblivion with a promise he knew was a lie. A drink wouldn’t make anything better.