Читать книгу Ultimate Cedar Cove Collection - Debbie Macomber - Страница 64

Eleven

Grace Sherman’s step was lighter than it had been in nearly two years. She pushed her grocery cart down the store aisle and sashayed a bit to the piped-in music: a golden oldie from The Mamas and the Papas.

It wasn’t the music, however, that had put her in such a good mood. It was Will Jefferson, Olivia’s older brother. Tall, good-looking, successful—a nuclear engineer—and just…nice. He’d recently been in Cedar Cove during Charlotte’s bout with cancer, and Grace and Will had renewed their friendship then.

When Will had written her shortly after Dan’s funeral, he’d added his e-mail address. At first they’d left short messages for each other once a day, but lately that had changed. Now they chatted online far longer and far more often. The night before, they’d spent almost an hour on the computer with instant messaging.

Their “talking” had started out innocently enough. Cliff Harding had agreed to a suspension of their relationship. Once she’d learned about Dan’s suicide, she’d asked for time to deal with the complex emotions surrounding it. She hadn’t made a decision about his letter yet, but was inclined to leave it alone. No good could come of disrupting lives now. His secret was safe with her. Cliff phoned once or twice a week; he let her know when he was going out of town, and while she was always glad to hear from him, his phone calls didn’t excite her nearly as much as her online chats with Will.

She knew it was absurd to think their daily communications meant anything. Will was married—although Grace suspected he wasn’t happy. Of course, he was too much of a gentleman to say anything negative about his wife, but Grace read between the lines. Olivia had mentioned Will and Georgia’s marriage only a few months ago. She’d implied that there might be problems between her brother and his wife. And it did seem that if Will had this much time to spend on the computer every night, something must be lacking in his marriage.

They were friends, Grace told herself, nothing more. Friends becoming reacquainted. That was all. Still, she’d admit that “talking” to Will had become downright addictive.

Most nights she rushed home from work and hurried to log on to the computer because she knew he’d be waiting for her. With the three-hour time difference, he’d already had dinner and was as eager to exchange messages with her as she was with him.

Grace hadn’t told anyone about these daily “chats” with Will. Her daughters wouldn’t understand. They didn’t know him and might put the wrong connotation on their friendship. Kelly and Maryellen worried about her, and they’d certainly disapprove of her having an online relationship, especially since Will was married. She thought about mentioning her “Internet friend” in a casual way, then changed her mind.

Nor had Grace said anything to Olivia. It wasn’t that she was hiding the truth from her best friend. It was more—well, Grace couldn’t really explain why she hadn’t said anything to Olivia. Probably because she suspected Olivia wouldn’t approve, any more than her own daughters would. Grace enjoyed talking to Will so much that she didn’t want to feel guilty about this one small pleasure. He seemed to enjoy chatting with her, too.

There was one other person Grace felt bad about not telling—Cliff Harding. She liked Cliff and owed him far more than she could ever repay. He’d been patient and kind during the long months after Dan’s disappearance. He’d entered her life at the bleakest hour and lent her strength and emotional support when she’d needed it most.

When Cliff’s marriage had fallen apart some years ago, he’d taken early retirement from Boeing and purchased acreage in the Olalla Valley, a few miles south of Cedar Cove. He’d been breeding horses and was beginning to make a name for himself. This was an occupation Grace knew nothing about, but Cliff was completely absorbed in what had once been a hobby.

Hurrying the cart down the aisle, Grace collected the remaining groceries she needed, went through the checkout and drove home. The instant she was in the door, she turned on her computer and raced around putting the perishables in the refrigerator while she waited to log on to the Internet. Buttercup followed her, and at one point Grace nearly tripped over the dog. She stopped long enough to scold her, then dumped some kibble in the golden retriever’s bowl and continued with her task.

The phone rang. Balancing a quart of milk in one hand and a carton of eggs in the other, she awkwardly reached for the receiver.

“Hello,” she said, using her shoulder to press the phone to her ear. She opened the refrigerator door and thrust both items inside.

“You’re home,” Cliff said.

“That’s stating the obvious,” she teased. They hadn’t spoken for a couple of weeks. He’d gone to California and must have returned sometime in the last few days.

“Don’t you ever check your phone messages?”

“No, sorry. I haven’t yet.” She’d been in such a rush that it hadn’t even occurred to her. “You’ve been trying to reach me?”

“For three days now, ever since I got home. I was tempted to stop at the library. I would have, if I could’ve squeezed an extra moment into the day.”

“I’ve been busy, too.”

“On the Internet again?”

“Yes,” she said, and quashed a pang of guilt. “It’s all your fault, you know.” Grace had Paul and Kelly’s old computer, which Cliff had set up for her.

“You could always e-mail me,” she suggested.

Cliff groaned. “I’ve created a monster.” He sounded good-natured about it, though.

“Like I said, this monster is one of your own making.”

“Don’t remind me,” he muttered, chuckling. “Say, have you got plans for Thanksgiving?”

“Uh…” It was only a few weeks away, but she hadn’t given the holiday a thought. Last year she’d spent Thanksgiving with Maryellen and the two of them had been miserable. It had been her first without Dan. “Why do you ask?”

“I want you to join me.”

“But I thought you went to your daughter’s in Maryland for Thanksgiving.”

“I do,” he confirmed. “This year I want you with me.”

Grace couldn’t afford such a trip, but she hated admitting it. Since Dan’s disappearance, she’d had no money for luxuries or unnecessary expenditures. And because his death was a suicide, she hadn’t been able to collect any life insurance benefits.

It was as if Cliff had read her thoughts. “Before you object, I’m buying your ticket.”

“I can’t let you do that,” she protested.

“You can and you will,” he insisted sternly. “I’m serious, Grace. It’s time you met my daughter and she met you. Now, before you argue, I know you asked for a few months to deal with everything and I’ve given it to you, but I do want you to meet Lisa.”

“Oh, Cliff…”

“I have everything worked out, so don’t argue with me. You’ll sleep in the guest room and I’ll bunk down on the sleeper sofa in the family room. It’ll do you good to get away.”

Grace hadn’t been on a plane in years. There just weren’t the funds for vacations or traveling, even during the best of times. She’d last flown five years earlier to a library conference in San Antonio, Texas, and she’d loved every minute of her adventure.

“I’ll need to talk to the girls,” she murmured, wondering whether she should accept Cliff’s invitation or not.

“Do that and get back to me.”

“All right.” Still, she hesitated. “You’re sure about this, Cliff?”

“Very sure. You’re important to me.”

“You’re important to me, too,” she echoed. “I want you to know how much I appreciate your patience with me.”

“You will come and meet Lisa, won’t you?”

“I really would love to,” she said, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice. Grace had never spent the holiday away from her daughters. Maryellen and Kelly routinely checked up on her, despite her constant reassurances, but after all these months of living by herself, Grace had grown accustomed to her own company. Maybe, if she took this trip, her daughters would finally stop worrying and begin to acknowledge her independence.

Her only other consideration was Cliff. She shouldn’t lead him on like this, but the trip sounded so good and she was so eager to get out of Cedar Cove for a few days. Of course, it meant she wouldn’t be able to talk to Will online, but he was bound to be busy with the holiday, too. Besides, didn’t absence make the heart grow fonder?

A cold chill went down Zach’s spine as he read Janice Lamond’s letter of resignation, which had been waiting on his desk when he arrived for work that morning. Hardly able to believe what he was reading, he went over the details a second time.

Janice was quitting. Feeling slightly sick, he sank into his high-back leather chair. So this was the appreciation he got for training her as his personal assistant. This was the thanks he got for being her mentor, for showing her the ropes and giving her advantage after advantage.

Janice had been invaluable to him in the early days of his separation from Rosie. She’d soothed his ego and offered him advice and encouragement.

Rosie had come up with this crazy idea that he was romantically involved with his assistant. That was utter nonsense, but there was no convincing her otherwise. For no better reason than her own jealousy, his ex-wife had insisted Zach fire the woman who’d become his right hand at the office. Zach had refused, as any reasonable man would. Rosie had flown into a temper, and shortly after that he’d moved out of the house.

In a telephone conversation a little while ago, Rosie had said she wished him and Janice well. He’d let the comment slide. If he hadn’t been able to convince Rosie of his innocence before the divorce, he didn’t think there was much chance now. So he’d kept silent.

Recently, though, Zach had seen his assistant with fresh eyes. He disapproved of the length of her skirts and had casually mentioned the way she dressed, as part of his latest employee review. He’d assumed she’d appreciate his continued support, as well as his advice. Perhaps he’d overstepped his bounds. He’d never mention something as personal as dress or makeup to any other employee, but he’d thought he could with Janice. They were friends, weren’t they? And she’d certainly been pretty free with her advice when it came to his situation.

At the time she’d listened quietly to his comments. He’d been pleased by her willingness to accept constructive criticism.

Now this.

He waited for his irritation to subside and then called her into his office. A moment later, she walked in, avoiding eye contact.

“I have your letter here,” he said, figuring she’d offer an explanation.

Janice refused to raise her eyes to his.

“I didn’t realize you were unhappy with your position,” he said, hoping to reason with her. In his opinion, it would be a mistake for her to quit at this point.

“I have been happy,” Janice admitted. She sounded a little embarrassed. “That is, until recently.”

“Is this your way of asking for a raise?” Zach asked. No need to beat around the bush. Considering the time and cost that went into training a new employee, it was far better to retain the current employee and pay higher wages. He was willing to offer her a raise if she agreed to reconsider her resignation, but he did want it understood that he disapproved of her methods.

“I’m not looking for a pay increase,” she said, and shook her head adamantly. “I already have another job.”

If Zach had been irritated earlier, he was downright angry now. “I see,” he said, working hard at concealing his reaction. Of all the ungrateful employees he’d hired over the years, this one took the prize. “In that case, I wish you continued success.”

“I thought it best that I leave the company,” Janice said, raising her head now to boldly meet his gaze.

The anger flashing in her eyes caught him completely by surprise. Why she had any reason to be upset was beyond him. Zach had seen to it that she’d been well compensated for her skills. She’d advanced quickly, with routine pay hikes. In fact, there’d been some dissension in the office when Janice was given a promotion over other employees who’d been with the firm longer.

“Best that you resign?” Zach repeated.

“Yes,” she said, tilting her chin in a gesture of defiance. “I found it highly unprofessional of you to suggest that my skirts are too short and that I wear too much makeup.”

Zach opened and closed his mouth.

“I apologize, Janice. I can see that my comments were…not well received. You’re right—they were probably out of line.”

“Frankly, I think you have a lot of nerve.” She paused. “I thought…I hoped you’d understand.”

Zach frowned. He didn’t know what on earth she was talking about.

“I hoped that you and I, the two of us,” she faltered, “might one day be more than just employee and employer. I thought we were friends, but I also wanted you to notice me—as a woman.” She gestured down at her skirt, her high-heeled shoes. “I can see that isn’t going to happen.”

So Rosie had been right all along; Janice had been on the make. How could he have been so stupid? The signs had been there from the beginning. He tightened his jaw. “That will be all. I’ll see that your final check is drawn up immediately.”

“You’re letting me go…now?”

“Two weeks’ paid leave should be adequate compensation,” he said stiffly.

Without another word, Janice turned and walked out of his office. Zach was so angry he was shaking by the time she was gone. He hadn’t fully recovered when his phone line buzzed.

“Yes,” he snapped.

“Line one,” Janice said. “It’s the high school.”

Zach pushed down the button and reached for the receiver. If the high school was calling, he could bet it wasn’t about contributing to the latest fund-raiser.

“This is Zachary Cox,” he said in his most professional voice.

“Mr. Cox, this is LeAnn Duncan from Cedar Cove High School verifying that Allison is home sick today.”

Zach stared up at the ceiling and held back a groan of frustration. “No, I dropped her off myself.” It hadn’t been an especially good morning. Allison had gotten up late and missed the bus and then she’d given him grief when he’d insisted on driving her to school on his way to the office.

It used to be that she sought out reasons for Zach to drop her off. They’d chat and he’d tease her about her outrageous music and she’d call him a geek. Her teasing didn’t offend him because those were good times with his daughter. Now he barely recognized the girl she’d become.

For the second time that morning, a sick feeling came over him. “I don’t know where she’d be,” he said before the school secretary could ask the next obvious question. But by heaven, he’d find her. And when he did, Zach would see to it that she never pulled this kind of stunt again.

“That’s your concern, Mr. Cox, not ours.”

He knew that, but he was already flustered by Janice’s resignation. Now his daughter had made it her personal mission to screw up the rest of his day.

“What are the consequences of her skipping classes?” he asked.

“Is this her first offense?” Mrs. Duncan asked. She paused and seemed to be scanning a chart or a computer screen. “Ah, I see here that it is. Has there been any upheaval in the family lately, Mr. Cox?”

“My wife and I were recently divorced.”

“That will do it. Well, I hope you can get the situation with Allison squared away.”

“Will she have any detentions?”

“Not for the first offense. She’ll need to attend Saturday school if it happens again.”

It wouldn’t; Zach would make sure of that.

“A third time means automatic suspension.”

“There won’t be a second or a third time,” Zach assured her.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Cox.”

“So am I,” he muttered as he replaced the receiver. He didn’t remove his hand and automatically dialed South Ridge Elementary, where Rosie was currently teaching fifth grade. She’d just been hired onto the permanent staff, which was both a blessing and a curse. It meant longer hours and more preparation time. He knew from Eddie’s comments that Rosie was often exhausted at the end of the day.

“This is Zachary Cox. Would it be possible to speak to my wife?” he asked the school secretary, not remembering until after he’d spoken that he was no longer married to Rosie. “It’s important.”

“Please hold.”

He must have waited five minutes before Rosie picked up the extension. “Zach,” she said, alarm in her voice. “What is it?”

“Allison skipped school.”

“What?” Rosie was as shocked as he was. “Today?”

“That’s right. She conveniently missed the bus, but I insisted on dropping her off. I should’ve known something was up, because she wasn’t happy with my offer to chauffeur her.”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t have a clue.” His initial reaction had been anger, but now he was alarmed. Allison was fifteen years old. His mind whirled with countless possibilities, none of them pleasant.

“I’ll meet you at the house as soon as I can.”

“You can leave the school?”

“I can if it’s a family emergency, and if this doesn’t qualify, I don’t know what does.”

Zach got to the house ten minutes before Rosie did. Zach watched her pull into the driveway; the car jerked forward as she stepped hard on the brakes. The driver’s door was open before the engine was completely dead.

“We need to call Hannah’s mother,” she said as she rushed past him and into the house.

Zach hated letting Rosie see what a mess the house was. After all the complaints he’d made about her housekeeping skills, the state of the living room was embarrassing. Thankfully she barely noticed as she ran into the kitchen and opened the drawer below the telephone, which was mounted on the wall.

She rummaged through the drawer until she found the address book. Then she squared her shoulders and lifted the receiver from its cradle.

The transformation was truly amazing. As soon as the other woman—presumably Hannah’s mother—answered the phone, it seemed Rosie didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hello, Jane…yes, I know it’s been ages. Good to hear your voice, too.”

Rosie caught Zach’s gaze and rolled her eyes. He smiled for the first time that day. Grabbing a kitchen chair, he straddled it as Rosie did her investigative work.

“I understand Hannah and Allison are in the same algebra class. Yes, she’s doing really well. She has her father’s head for numbers. I think she’ll probably be put in the advanced class next tri.”

If that was true, it was news to Zach. The last school papers he’d found—by accident, when Allison had left them on the kitchen table—gave every indication that she was close to flunking out of math class.

“I heard Hannah went to Homecoming with J. T. Manners. Isn’t he a friend of Ryan Wilson’s?”

Zach watched as Rosie made a few murmurs of agreement. Her eyes narrowed and she reached for a pencil and hurriedly wrote something down. Zach stood and looked over her shoulder. In an instant his anger flared back to life. Rosie had written: She took the ferry to Seattle.

The very thought of his daughter wandering around downtown Seattle by herself was enough to make the hair on the back of his neck stand up. A second or two later, he realized Allison probably wasn’t alone. That no-good biker-wannabe boyfriend was most likely with her.

After a few more minutes, Rosie replaced the receiver.

“How do you know she’s in Seattle?” he demanded.

“Jane sings like a canary the minute she knows she has an audience. She knew and was dying to tell me.”

“Hannah isn’t with her?”

“Who knows.” Rosie was angry, too. She started suddenly for the front door.

“Where are you going?” Zach asked.

“To move my car. I want the two of us to be waiting here when she comes sneaking back.”

Zach liked the idea of lying in wait for Allison. It was the best way he could think of to prove to his rebellious daughter that she wasn’t going to outsmart him.

A few minutes later, a breathless Rosie returned. She took the chair across from him and exhaled slowly. They sat in the kitchen without speaking for five minutes. Ten… The silence felt strange and awkward, as though each was afraid of bringing up the subject of their difficult daughter. Zach knew he was. If they started talking, he might have to admit the role he’d played in this mess.

Furthermore, Zach wasn’t sure what to say, especially after his enlightening conversation with Janice that morning. Apparently Rosie didn’t, either. When he thought he couldn’t sit still a moment longer, Zach stood and began straightening up the living room. Rosie tackled the kitchen, which was in even worse shape. Once he’d finished vacuuming, he moved into the kitchen. They worked side by side for an hour.

“You hungry?” Rosie asked.

Zach hadn’t thought about it, but now that she asked, he realized he was. “A little.”

“How about a ham sandwich?”

He shrugged.

“Do you want a slice of pineapple to go with it?”

“And cream cheese?” he asked hopefully. When they’d first started dating Rosie had invented the sandwich and it was his all-time favorite. He couldn’t remember when he’d last had one.

As Rosie put the sandwiches on plates, he got cold sodas from the refrigerator, and they sat down across from each other again. Searching for possible topics of conversation, Zach almost mentioned that Janice had handed in her notice. He bit his tongue before he could make such a foolish mistake. Rosie would certainly gloat over that information. She was apparently dating this widower now, and the relationship must be going well. She might be stressed and tired, but he’d never seen her look better. He glanced away before she caught him staring at her.

They heard the front door open, followed by the sound of teenage laughter.

Zach and Rosie were instantly on their feet. They hurried into the living room and discovered Allison, another girl Zach didn’t recognize—possibly Hannah—and Allison’s so-called boyfriend. The three teens froze when they saw Zach and Rosie.

“What do you want?” Allison demanded, glaring defiantly back at them.

“I think it would be best if your friends left now,” Zach said.

“They can stay if they want.”

“I don’t think so.” If she was looking for a standoff in their battle of wills, Zach figured he had the advantage. He stalked over to the front door and opened it wide. “Nice seeing you both, don’t come back again unless invited.” He raised his eyebrows. “Do I make myself clear?”

Ryan nodded and edged toward the front door as though he couldn’t get away fast enough. The other girl looked unsure, then decided leaving was probably her best option.

“Where have you been?” Zach snapped.

Rosie stepped forward. “Don’t give her the opportunity to lie, Zach,” she said, sounding perfectly calm and reasonable. He, on the other hand, was furious and not afraid to show it.

“Why should I tell you?” Allison muttered. She crossed her arms and stared angrily at them both.

“You skipped school and took the ferry over to Seattle.”

That her mother knew was clearly a shock to Allison. The girl’s lips curled as if she were about to ask where Rosie had uncovered that information, but she stopped herself before the question had formed.

“You’re going to have to be smarter than this if you want to fool your parents,” Rosie said smoothly.

Zach was grateful that Rosie was the one doing the talking. In his present frame of mind, he was useless. The urge to take Allison by the shoulders and give her a good shake was almost overwhelming. He’d been worried sick. Apparently she didn’t know what she’d put her parents through; furthermore, she didn’t care. That was the crux of the matter. She didn’t give a damn, and he said as much before he could censor the words.

“That was a crazy, selfish stunt you pulled, and I’m here to tell you it won’t be happening again.”

Allison’s eyes flared with defiance. “I hate you!” she shouted. “I hate you both.”

“You can hate me all you want, but you’ll respect the rules of this family.”

“This family,” she echoed. “What family? You destroyed our family.” She pointed at Zach and then Rosie. “Both of you destroyed our family. I hate you—I hate both of you for what you did.” Whirling around, she raced toward her bedroom and slammed the door with enough force to rattle the pictures on the wall. The eight-by-ten family portrait, taken two years previously, swung violently and then crashed to the floor. The glass shattered.

Silence ensued, and Zach collected his breath. “Well,” he murmured, “that’s that.” He wasn’t proud of the way he’d lost his composure. In fact, he didn’t feel proud of much at the moment.

At least Rosie had been with him when he’d confronted Allison and they’d faced her united. She was much better at this sort of thing than he was. His ex-wife knew what to say. He didn’t.

After a few minutes, Rosie gathered her purse and coat and started for the front door. She seemed reluctant to leave and he was equally unwilling to let her go.

“Thanks,” he said, walking with her. “You handled the situation ten times better than I could have. I’m grateful you were here.”

She shrugged, dismissing his praise.

The irony didn’t hit him until after Rosie was gone. It seemed that they got along a whole lot better since they were divorced than they had while they were married.