Blueberry Hill, #1

by Cynthia Luhrs

  Following directions from the lawyer, he’d said the maps app would only get her to the first turnoff. She turned right on Sugar Creek Lane, following it to the end.

  There it was. For a moment Tara saw the house as it was when she was a child. Then she blinked and beheld the sad-looking worn cottage in front of her. Unloved was the word that came to mind.

  The property was comprised of woods and meadows. There was a large lawn and what she thought might have been gardens a long time ago. A memory of flowers and fresh vegetables flitted through her mind.

  The view made her stop and stare. Oh, it was breath-taking, and it was all hers.

  Fluffy white clouds floated across a deep blue sky. The scent of honeysuckle filled the air, mixing with the smell of the lake, and in the distance she could hear the waterfall. Tara was happy the dock was still standing. At the end of the dock were two chairs, the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

  Hands on her hips, she surveyed her home.

  If the outside was any indication of what she might find on the inside, Tara had her work cut out for her.

  Chapter 6

  So much for a productive day. Ally spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon doing nothing more taxing than taking a shower.

  Dressed in a pair of leggings and a tee shirt, she packed up the few items Jason had left at her place. The two tote bags she used were freebies she’d gotten at a prior job. Not wanting him to see them until she was ready, Ally stuffed them in the coat closet.

  He’d called an hour ago, acting like everything was normal, asking her to have dinner with him. Instead of screaming at him over the phone the moment she heard his voice, Ally asked him to meet at her place. Unsure of what she was in the mood to eat, she told him they could decide when he arrived, maybe walk to one of the places in the neighborhood.

  The question was, whether to dress up or stay as she was? On one hand, dressing up and looking her best would be the last image he had of her, but on the other hand, it made her look like she cared what he thought.

  Nope.

  Ally decided not only was she staying in her leggings and tee shirt, she wasn’t going to bother to apply a single stitch of makeup either.

  Thanks to the recent sunny days, she had the beginnings of a nice tan. Everyone had perceived flaws, she thought she knew her own physical flaws as well as her best feature, her thick, shiny hair. Friends, co-workers, and even strangers frequently complimented her on her hair, so that would be her one concession to vanity, to leave her hair down.

  The knock at the door came as she was finishing up putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Ally took her time rinsing off the last plate and cup, then put them in the dishwasher. Then and only then did she dry her hands and walk slowly across the carpet to answer the door.

  Jason spluttered, his face red. “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for ten minutes. Didn’t you hear me knocking?”

  “The water was running. Guess I didn’t hear you. Come on in.”

  Talk about a guilty conscience. She tried not to smirk at the enormous bouquet of flowers in red, white, and pink that he handed her as if presenting her with a priceless gift.

  When he leaned in to kiss her, Ally turned and leaned in to inhale the scent of the flowers.

  “I’ll just put these in some water.”

  Clearly off-balance, Jason followed her into the kitchen.

  “I thought we were going out to dinner.”

  He looked her up and down.

  “Is that what you’re wearing? You look like you’re ready to go for a run or sit on the couch and binge watch TV.”

  Ally sauntered over to the hall closet, pulled out both tote bags, and dropped them on the floor by the door.

  “What’s this?”

  Jason rubbed his palms up, and down his tan pants, leaving dark streaks.

  “What do you think it is?”

  She perched on the arm of the sofa.

  “Where were you this morning?”

  Fear flashed across his face before he recovered.

  “At work. I know you’re unemployed, and might have lost track of the days, but in case you’ve forgotten, it’s a weekday.”

  “I. Saw. You.”

  He blinked, his throat moving up and down.

  “What?”

  “At the diner. Guess the parts came in for your wife’s car.”

  “Oh, right. They did. I was… that is, I met Shelly to get my car back from her.”

  He shifted from foot to foot.

  “It’s been a long day. I’m tired and hungry. Are we going out to eat or not?”

  Tara crossed her arms.

  “You kissed her.”

  Jason licked his lips, a habit that annoyed Ally to no end. It was his tell. The liar.

  “You’re mistaken. It was a goodbye peck, totally platonic.”

  She let out a sigh, hoping the old adage of bad things coming in threes was wrong.

  “I’m done.”

  She pointed to the tote bags.

  “Take your stuff and get out of my life.”

  Thank goodness she’d never given him a key to her place. Something had always held her back, a sixth sense of some sort. Too bad it didn’t warn her about him. Or maybe it did, and she’d ignored it, wouldn’t be the first time. But it would be the last.

  “You’ve been using me. Taking advantage of my loyalty and trust.”

  She stalked to the door, purposely standing in his personal space, knowing how much he hated when people did that.

  “You’re a liar. You aren’t getting divorced.”

  Ally rolled her eyes.

  “Does she even know you’ve been seeing me all this time?”

  He had the nerve to sneer at her.

  “I know you want the money I’m going to get when I sell my app. I bet you got fired on purpose so I’d have to support you.”

  “Oh, please.” She snorted. “You haven’t even finished the app, probably never will, like everything else you start but never complete.”

  Ally reached past him and opened the door.

  “Rather like the whole ‘I’m getting divorced, just have to sign the papers’, am I right?”

  He had to move or let the door hit him in the back. He moved.

  “I don’t care about your money. I’m done.”

  She’d finally accepted he wasn’t going to divorce his wife. Whatever they had going on, she didn’t want any part of it.

  “Get out.” Ally stood strong, hands on her hips.

  He grabbed the bags.

  “You’ll regret this. Who else would want an unemployed loser? You’re twenty-nine and can’t hold a job. If you weren’t so hot, I would have dumped you a long time ago.”

  “Whatever. It’s clear you’re waiting around, hoping Shelly will take you back.”

  She closed the door partway.

  “Go find someone else to pass time with until you and your wife decide what you want. I don’t care.”

  Ally slammed the door. It was so much more gratifying to hear the slam of a door than to punch a button on her phone.

  The white cottage with the faded red roof had good bones. The memories were slowly coming back. It was a Sears kit house called the Winona. Tara wondered how many were still standing?

  Her foot went through a rotten board on the porch, almost sending her sprawling. She caught herself before she fell flat on her face, instead landing on her side. When she rolled over to get up, she caught sight of the tongue-in-groove ceiling on the porch. Her aunt had painted it light blue, the color faded in spots.

  Coughing from the cloud of dust she’d stirred up, she unlocked the craftsman-style front door and stepped inside her new home.

  Dust motes floated in the dim light. Footprints in the dust must have been from where the service people had walked across the old wood floors. The front door opened into the living room.

  Tara walked through the arched opening, through the dining room, and into the kitchen where s
he checked to make sure the refrigerator was working. The appliances made her cringe. They were ancient and would need to be replaced.

  She opened all the windows on her way to the SUV to bring in the groceries. The house had originally been laid out with six rooms, a bathroom, and a full walk up attic. On the right side of the house were the three bedrooms and bathroom, on the left the kitchen and dining room.

  One of the solid wood doors opened to a set of stairs leading to the attic. Coughing as she went up the stairs, it surprised Tara that the space was only a quarter full. Her aunt must have cleaned it out at some point. She pulled dust cloths off the furniture, pleased to see a few pieces that might work downstairs. The space would make a fabulous bedroom or a craft room once it was finished.

  The dust cloths covering the furniture went into the washer. She could repurpose them after they’d been washed and dried.

  By the time she brought in the rest of her belongings, cleaned the back bedroom and the bathroom, set up the air mattress, and made the bed, Tara was exhausted and hungry.

  A glass of wine and the other half of the spinach and bacon salad would do for dinner. Tara found an old tarnished silver tray behind the sofa that she could use to carry everything down to the dock.

  One chair served as a table for her dinner. Tara added two tables to the long list of things she needed for the house.

  She raised her glass to the water.

  “I don’t know how you knew, but thank you, Aunt Frida.”

  Her aunt’s remains were sprinkled in the lake, the place her aunt said always spoke to her when she needed it most. The letter from her aunt tucked in between the pages of a gothic romance she’d found randomly placed on the bookcase.

  In the letter, her aunt said she’d made all the arrangements for the funeral, right down to the request to be cremated, her ashes forever remaining a part of the lake. Aunt Frida had cancer. The doctor had guesstimated six months, so she had plenty of time to put her wishes into motion.

  Tara reread the letter, telling her how much her aunt loved her and missed Tara’s mom. That the cottage had been a place of refuge, bringing her peace when she needed it most. Perhaps it would be a place where Tara could reflect on her own life, figuring out what would come next.

  After she carried the tray with the empty dishes back to the cottage, Tara grabbed her phone and went back to the dock to watch the sunset.

  It was peaceful. From where she sat, she could see a few houses in the distance and the waterfall at the far end of the lake. People could swim in the lake or fish but no jet skis or waterskiing.

  The house to the right of her was a creation of wood and glass, a modern house that seamlessly melded into the landscape. It didn’t seem like anyone was staying there, so maybe it was one of the houses that the owner’s only showed up at a few times a year.

  The house on the left was a rental. Thanks to the trees, Tara could only see their dock from her house. From where she was sitting, she could look back and see the enormous house. Beach towels fluttered from the back porch railings, and she could see people moving around inside as every light in the house blazing. There weren’t any curtains.

  She added another item to the list on her phone.

  Make curtains.

  The thought of people looking in the windows made her shudder. Tara valued her privacy, wanted to close the curtains at night.

  In the winter they would help keep the house warm. The drop cloths from the furniture would work. They were neutral and wide enough, though she’d need some sort of trim. When she went into town next time, she’d look for a fabric store to buy blackout fabric to back the curtains she’d planned to make for the bedrooms.

  The phone buzzed in her hand.

  “Patty. How was the trip?”

  “It was fabulous.”

  Her friend sounded relaxed as she told her about everything they’d seen and done, but how she’d mostly relaxed on the beach in the Bahamas. They talked about the cottage and how it felt like Tara was excavating the sands of the Sahara with all the dust and grime.

  “I miss your laugh.”

  Tara missed her friend more than she thought she would.

  “I wish we were closer, but I have news.” Patty paused, waiting for Tara to ask.

  “Tell me.”

  “Matt has to go to California for some conference in November. He wants to spend Thanksgiving with his sister since they rarely see each other.”

  The sound of a lighter flicking made Tara frown. Patty had quit smoking five years ago, but she’d recently started again. At first Tara thought it was the stress, but now she wondered if there was something else going on.

  “I told him to enjoy seeing his sister. The boys are going skiing with friends, so I’m free.” She paused. “So I’m coming to stay with you.”

  Tara wanted to jump out of the chair.

  “I can’t wait to see you.” She snorted. “At least by then I’ll have the cottage updated and ready.”

  They talked for a while longer, Patty filled her in on the boys, telling her about them going away to college in the fall. They wanted to live on campus instead of an apartment, which made it easier to buy what they needed.

  “I know they won’t starve since there are plenty of dining options on campus, but I’m afraid they’ll end up wearing dirty clothes.”

  Tara laughed. “They’ll figure out how to do their own laundry.”

  “They want me to sign up for the cleaning and laundry service.” Patty snorted through the phone.

  “I told them it would be good for them to clean and do their own laundry.”

  She sighed. “Of course, Matt disagrees. He wants them focused on their studies.”

  Talking to her friend always lifted Tara’s spirits. She sat in the chair on the dock until the sunset faded to an inky black sky.

  Christina couldn’t believe it. After all the effort and time she’d put in, Enrique broke up with her, in public where she couldn’t make a scene.

  She sat in a corner of the cafe, forcing herself to finish her meal. When he’d invited her to lunch, she thought he was going to ask her to move in with him. He never woke up before noon, so when he did, it was for something special.

  She cleared her throat. Oh, it was special all right. The cafe, with its brightly colored awnings and metal outdoor tables, was her favorite place to eat. That jerk knew it, and now it was ruined forevermore.

  Every time she passed by the place, she’d remember how he’d lowered his voice, telling her she was too needy and moody. That she was too jealous of the women that came to the club. It didn’t matter that she’d seen the social media posts with Enrique tagged, his arm around a model or two, looking much too cozy.

  He’d waited until the server brought their lunch before delivering the shattering blow, knowing she wouldn’t dare make a scene at her favorite place.

  Christina pushed the empty plate away. No way was she letting her favorite Cuban sandwich go to waste.

  By the time the Flan arrived, he’d told her how he was too focused on his career to make time for a relationship. But if she wanted to date him with no strings attached, he was up for that.

  What an ass. He wanted to date her and all the beautiful women who passed him their numbers every night at the club.

  “Excuse me.”

  She flagged down her server.

  “Could I please get an order of the Arroz Con Leche?” It was her favorite comfort food when she was down.

  The server leaned down, a kind smile on his face.

  “Your man said whatever you wanted. He’s paying.” He winked.

  “How about an entire Dulce De Leche cheesecake to go?”

  The guy, who was about her age, grinned.

  “And a pitcher of Mojitos?”

  Christina wiped her eyes, a small smile on her face.

  “Sounds perfect. Thank you.”

  While she waited, she texted her dad to say she was stopping by with drinks and dessert.
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  It was Mandy who responded on her dad’s phone.

  Great. I’ve been craving something sweet.

  When the server came back with her to go bag, he handed her a piece of paper.

  “Don’t cry one more tear over him, beautiful. If you want someone to get over him with, I’m your guy. We’d have lots of fun.”

  He was very good-looking, but she couldn’t. Not anymore.

  “I’m really flattered, but I think I need some me time.”

  He flashed her a smile, tapping the piece of paper with a finger.

  “If you change your mind, just call.”

  Christina drove to her dad’s, replaying the breakup over and over in her head.

  He and Mandy were out by the pool. Her dad was sitting in the shade reading the newspaper while Mandy sunned herself. Her stomach looked like she’d eaten a basketball. But from the back, Christina couldn’t even tell she was pregnant.

  “Is that from Cafe Libre?”

  Christina held up the bag. “Cheesecake and Mojitos. The server made two without the alcohol for you.”

  “You are an angel.” Mandy jumped up, the bright yellow bikini showing off her tan.

  “Want to go for a swim after dessert?”

  Christina looked down at her coral sundress.

  “I didn’t bring a suit.”

  She helped Mandy unpack the dessert while her dad went inside to grab plates, cups, and utensils.

  “You can borrow one of mine. I have a whole drawer of bikinis.”

  “Thanks.” It should be weird that she and her soon-to-be stepmother wore the same size bikini, shouldn’t it?

  They sat in the shade, eating dessert and drinking. When they’d finished, Christina took the dishes inside and put them in the dishwasher before changing into one of Mandy’s swimsuits.

  On her way through the kitchen, she caught sight of airline tickets and a cruise brochure on the kitchen island. Curious, she picked up the brochure.

  They were going on a cruise of the Greek Islands, even taking the baby with them. It must be for their honeymoon after Mandy had the baby. She had wanted to wait to get married, so she’d look great in her dress. Mandy was due at the end of June, the tickets dated the tenth of September, and it was all first class. From the first class airline tickets to the suite on the small cruise ship. Maybe she could go with them and be the nanny?