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.
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 ai
sles 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.”
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.”
“Do you really think so?” Hannah asked.
Peggy nodded.
“I…think I was drawn back here because of you and Bob.” She smiled fleetingly. “When Sheriff Davis brought me to your house, you were so helpful and so nice to me. I felt…oh, I don’t know, that you were just the kind of family I wish I’d had.”
The young woman’s words gladdened Peggy’s heart, and saddened her at the same time. Obviously Hannah’s childhood had been lacking in some crucial ways. Peggy felt a stab of longing for her own children. She saw her daughter so rarely that Hannah’s warmth and gratitude made up for some of what she was missing with Hollie.
“I’ll stay,” Hannah said decisively, “but only on one condition.”
“You’re welcome without any conditions,” Peggy assured her.
“I want to pay you rent, just as if I was any other guest. I’ll need to find a job first, of course, but that shouldn’t be too hard. I have lots of experience.”
Peggy thought it was important for Hannah to pay rent; it would allow her to feel a sense of pride and self-sufficiency. “I understand Grace is planning to hire someone at the library for the summer,” she said. “Why not apply there?”
Hannah considered that for a moment, then shook her head. “I’m not much of a reader, unfortunately. I don’t know how good I’d be at helping people find books, you know?”
Peggy wasn’t easily discouraged. “What jobs have you held in the past?”
“I worked all through high school at a fast-food place. I didn’t really like it, but it gave me a little bit of money. My dad…” She paused and let whatever she’d started to say fade.
“What about working in a day care center? Little Lambs recently advertised for help.”
Again Hannah shook her head. “I don’t have a lot of patience around little kids. I worked at a Laundromat once, too, but only briefly. I think I’d be good as a store clerk, though.”
“I think you would, too,” Peggy agreed and Hannah brightened immediately.
“I’ll check the Help Wanted listings as soon as we get back to the house,” Hannah said eagerly.
“Good idea. We’ll pick up a Chronicle right now.”
Peggy paid for their lunch, and when they arrived back at the house, Bob was there to help her unload the minivan.
“Hannah’s decided to live with us for a while,” she told her husband, making a point of expressing her pleasure at the girl’s decision.
“I plan to pay my own way,” Hannah insisted. Clutching her newspaper, she followed Bob into the garage, where he set down the thirty-pound bag of fertilizer. “First thing Monday morning, I’m going to apply for a job.”
Bob nodded, but he didn’t reveal nearly the enthusiasm Peggy had. She wanted to kick him for his obvious lack of interest. Peggy watched as Hannah’s face fell, annoyed that her husband was so blind to how badly the girl needed their approval. Hannah was fragile and needy, and it wasn’t that difficult to give her some of the attention she craved.
“I don’t want to be any bother.” Hannah nervously stepped back.
“You’re no bother, Hannah.” Bob returned to the minivan. Well, at least he’d said that much and his voice wasn’t unfriendly.
“Would you like to help with dinner, Hannah?” Peggy called as she headed into the kit
chen.
“Yes…of course.” Hannah scurried after her. “I want to do whatever I can.”
She was so eager to please and so eager to fit in. She agreed to prepare the potatoes with every sign of happiness.
While Hannah stood at the kitchen sink and peeled potatoes, working carefully and methodically, Bob walked in through the back door.
“We have a visitor,” he announced.
Peggy automatically dried her hands on the kitchen towel as Pastor Dave Flemming entered the kitchen.
“Hello, Peggy,” he said, smiling broadly.
Pastor Flemming and Bob had become friends over the past year or so. Max Russell’s death had shaken Bob and Peggy badly, and they’d started going to church again, something they hadn’t done in years. They still attended regularly. Peggy felt it had been a good decision; the services brought her a sense of peace and calm, and she was thankful for that.
“This is Hannah Russell,” Bob said, gesturing toward Hannah.
“Hello, Hannah.”
“Hello,” she said softly, her gaze lowered.
The girl had trouble making eye contact, Peggy noticed, and hoped that with time and lots of attention she’d get over being so timid and self-conscious.
“Bob tells me you’re staying here for a while.”
Hannah nodded. “Mr. and Mrs. Beldon have been very kind.”
“I’d like to invite you to join us on Sunday for worship service. The Beldons attend. You could go with them.”
Her eyes flew up. “I don’t think I’d be comfortable with that.”
“Any particular reason?” Pastor Flemming asked. “It’s our goal to make every visitor welcome.”
Hannah just shook her head. “No, thanks.”
Peggy hoped she’d eventually change her mind. It would do Hannah good, the same way it had them, but she wouldn’t pressure her. When and if she attended services, it would be her own decision.
Twenty
Cliff Harding walked out to the barn to take a look at his new filly, Funny Face, born just two weeks ago. Cal, his trainer, was working with the sire in the paddock.
Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series Page 106
