Return to Rose Cottage

by Sherryl Woods

  She studied him quizzically. “Is it such a big issue, then?”

  He snagged her hand and pulled her into his arms, then rested his chin on her head. “It could be, if we let it turn into one.”

  “Then we won’t let it,” she said simply.

  He gazed into her eyes, surprised. Her doubts of the day before seemed to have vanished. “Easy as that?”

  “If we face it together,” she said at once. “That’s what I was going to tell you. That’s the conclusion I reached.”

  And seeing the confidence and love shining in her eyes, Pete was almost able to convince himself that she was right. And so he sat down, pulled her onto his lap and told her about his fight with Kelsey.

  Jo had never let herself think that much about Pete’s ex-wife. She hadn’t wanted to think about the woman who’d stolen him away from her. Not that Pete was blameless. They’d acknowledged that and moved on.

  But Kelsey Prescott Catlett was some faceless woman who was no longer a part of his life, beyond her role as the mother of his child. That’s the way Jo wanted to keep it. She could see, after listening to Pete, that it wasn’t going to be that easy.

  “She sounds jealous,” she said when he was through.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “What do you think is behind her reaction?” she asked.

  He considered the question, his expression thoughtful, then shrugged. “Okay, she’s jealous, but that’s absurd. She wanted the divorce. She’s been dating ever since she got to Richmond. Why, all of a sudden, is she all bent out of shape about me having someone in my life.”

  “Because it’s me,” she said simply. “I suppose I can’t really blame her. It’s another one of those reality checks like the one that got to me on Sunday. We have to deal with them, Pete. They’re not going to go away.”

  He gave her a questioning look. “But I thought you were.”

  “A momentary panic attack,” she said.

  “How’d you get over it?”

  “I tried to imagine my life without you in it. I couldn’t.” Saying that made her vulnerable, which terrified her, but it was the truth. He needed to know it.

  “Make me a promise, darlin’.”

  “Anything.”

  “If you ever feel one of these panic attacks coming on again, talk to me. Don’t ever just turn tail and run.”

  Jo nodded. It was an easy promise to make, because she’d made it to herself only a few days ago. Somehow, on Sunday morning she’d lost track of that. It wouldn’t happen again.

  “Come here and kiss me,” she said, fisting her hand in his shirt and dragging him toward her. “That’ll help me remember the promise, if we seal it with a kiss.”

  He grinned. “Always happy to oblige, when it involves kissing you. Do you think you’ll need reminding often?”

  She chuckled at his hopeful expression. “Only about a hundred times a day.”

  He grinned. “It’s going to be damn hard getting any work done at that rate, but I’ll give it my best.”

  “You always do,” Jo said right before his lips met hers and the world went spinning.

  14

  Jo couldn’t seem to shake the image of walking into Pete’s and hearing him on the phone in such a bitter argument with his ex-wife over her. She’d gone over there figuring she owed him a conversation about the whole incident on Sunday. She’d even had what she was going to say all planned out, but she hadn’t expected to face a whole new quandary that seemed to turn her temporary moment of insanity into little more than a minor tempest.

  She’d gotten scared, that was all. She’d let all her old fears and insecurities resurface in the blink of an eye, blown it all out of proportion and started an argument she hadn’t known how to end. If she hadn’t realized how stupid it was on her own, then walking in on Pete’s argument with his ex-wife had shown her.

  Those two had real issues, hurtful issues that could come between Jo and Pete, if they weren’t very careful, if they weren’t united. Ironically, having that common goal made their relationship stronger than ever. Jo doubted that Kelsey had considered that outcome before calling Pete to throw down the gauntlet.

  Jo smiled as she thought of just how united she and Pete had been during the night. They’d definitely been in tune then. All their differences had been put behind them.

  She’d awakened in his arms this morning, bounced out of his bed and gone happily off with a kiss to do more research for his landscaping projects. She wanted to finalize those plans with him soon, then talk to the local nursery owner about ordering the plants so they’d be in at the optimum time for planting in the spring.

  Today it was even possible to believe that spring might be right around the corner. The sun had warmed things up to nearly sixty. The last of the snow had melted and she’d even spotted a couple of crocuses coming up in the garden at Rose Cottage. Daffodils were bound to be close behind. Perhaps that’s why she was suddenly feeling so optimistic—maybe it was the natural exuberance of someone attuned to spring’s symbolic evidence of rebirth and renewal. In her profession, the seasonal changes were something to be watched with appreciation and respect.

  She came inside from her tour of Rose Cottage’s garden feeling lighthearted. Maybe she’d even call Mike this afternoon and set up an appointment to talk about that partnership. It was time. She might as well admit that despite that little incident of self-doubt on Sunday, she wasn’t going anywhere. Her future was here, hopefully with Pete, but if not, she knew she could be happy right here in Rose Cottage, which held so many joyous memories.

  When the phone rang, Jo answered with a cheery greeting, only to have someone launch a venomous harangue that had her reaching for a chair to sit down. Her knees went weak and heat rose in her cheeks as she was called a litany of uncomplimentary names.

  Kelsey, no doubt, she realized when her brain cells recovered from the initial shock of being verbally attacked and focused on the female voice, rather than the hateful words.

  “I won’t listen to this,” she said quietly, interrupting the steady flow of venom. She hung up.

  Naturally, the phone immediately rang again. She debated not answering, then decided to make at least one effort to turn it into a civilized, rational conversation. It was doubtful, but she couldn’t ignore the opportunity to try to mend a few fences.

  “Hello, Kelsey,” she said, her voice as calm as she could make it when her nerves were a jittery mess. She was proud of the maturity and restraint she was capable of under these circumstances.

  Apparently her recognition of the caller gave Kelsey pause. She was greeted with silence.

  “If you want to talk about this calmly, that’s one thing,” Jo said, seizing the advantage she’d gained by catching the woman off guard. “But I won’t listen to you spew all that garbage at me.”

  “You think you’re so damn high and mighty, don’t you?” Kelsey said heatedly. “You’re nothing but a two-bit—”

  Jo cut her off. “There you go again. I told you I wouldn’t listen to that and I won’t. Now, do we keep it civilized and try to work this out for your son’s sake, or do I hang up again?”

  “Don’t you dare say a word about my son,” Kelsey shouted. “You don’t have the right. He’s mine and I won’t have you in his life, do you understand that?”

  “I understand why you might prefer that, but you don’t get your way on this one, Kelsey. If I’m with Pete, I will be spending time with Davey. He’s a wonderful boy,” she said, determined to take the high road until it fell off the edge of a probably inevitable cliff. “You’ve done an amazing job with him.”

  Kelsey was silent, probably grappling with how to react to hearing such a compliment from a woman she evidently despised. “I don’t want you around my son,” she said eventually.

  “I can understand why you’d be concerned about that, but I promise you I won’t do anything to interfere in your relationship. You’re his mom, period.”

  “Aren’t you
hearing me? I said I don’t want you anywhere near him. And stay away from Pete, too,” Kelsey said. “You ruined our marriage, and I won’t let you have him now.”

  “It’s not up to you,” Jo said patiently.

  “Oh, really?” Kelsey replied with a bitter laugh. “Sweetheart, I’m holding all the cards. You had what? A couple of months with Pete when you were just a kid? I was with him for five years, as his wife.”

  “And yet you still don’t know him,” Jo retorted with quiet confidence.

  “I know him well enough,” Kelsey corrected. “I know he will never do anything that might cost him his son.”

  “Of course not,” Jo agreed.

  “You could be the one who costs him Davey,” Kelsey said coldly. “Which of you do you think he’ll choose?”

  Jo felt sick. How could this woman use her own child to threaten his father? But it was plain she wasn’t above doing just that and turning all of the joy Jo and Pete had found into something ugly that could only tear them apart.

  “I hope it won’t come to that,” Jo told her quietly. “I hope you care enough about your son that you’d never use him in that way. Davey loves both of you. Don’t make him choose. It could backfire on you.”

  “Don’t you dare suggest that you know more about my child than I do,” Kelsey said furiously. “I hope you enjoyed that cozy little time you all spent together, because, trust me, it’s going to have to last you forever.”

  This time, Kelsey was the one who hung up, leaving Jo shaking. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, because she knew that if push came to shove, she would walk away from Pete before she’d let that wonderful boy of his be hurt because of her.

  And if that happened—when it happened, she thought fatalistically—it was going to break her heart.

  Jo was still sitting at the kitchen table, her head aching from all the tears but her cheeks dry at last, when her sisters came through the door. Their timing couldn’t have been any worse. One look at her and the fussing started.

  “What did he do? What did that son of a bitch do to you?” Ashley demanded, bringing her an unwanted glass of water, then pulling a chair right up beside her.

  “It wasn’t Pete,” Jo told her emphatically. “At least not directly.”

  “I don’t care if it was directly or indirectly, I won’t let him get away with hurting you,” Ashley declared. “I warned him. Heck, we all did.”

  Melanie placed a hand on Ashley’s shoulder. “Maybe we should let Jo talk.”

  “Good idea,” Maggie said, settling into a chair on Jo’s other side.

  “I don’t know where to start,” Jo told them. For them to understand, she needed to go all the way back to the beginning. She supposed it was way past time for her to do that.

  “Take your time,” Melanie said. “How about some soup first? Have you eaten?”

  “I don’t think so.” She’d lost track of time, lost track of everything in the misery that had swamped her after Kelsey’s threatening call. “But I’m not hungry.”

  “You need food.” Melanie shot a warning look at Ashley. “Let’s put the conversation on hold until you’ve eaten something.”

  Ashley frowned at her, but didn’t argue, which Jo figured was testament to how awful she must look.

  Everybody sat in silence and watched as she sipped the hot, homemade vegetable soup that Melanie had defrosted from one of the containers Maggie had left in the freezer.

  “This is delicious,” Jo said, wanting to end the awkward silence. “Will you teach me how to make it, Maggie?”

  “Sure,” Maggie said at once. “It’s best if you use fresh vegetables, but you can make it in no time if you use the packages of frozen vegetables.”

  “Are you finished yet?” Ashley demanded impatiently. “We’re not here to swap recipes.”

  “Do you want some more?” Melanie inquired, giving Ashley another of those daunting looks that effectively silenced her, at least temporarily.

  “No, I’m finished,” Jo said with some regret. If she could have forced down another bite, she would have been able to postpone this conversation.

  “Your color’s better,” Ashley noted.

  “But there’s still no sparkle in your eyes,” Maggie commented. “What happened here today?”

  “I got a call from Pete’s ex-wife. Let’s just say she’s not happy with me and leave it at that.”

  “Where the hell does she get off calling you?” Ashley demanded. “If she has a problem, she needs to take it up with Pete.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Jo said. “And, believe me, she’s made her unhappiness known to him, too.”

  “What did he have to say?”

  “Last night, he told her to butt out. He doesn’t know about what happened today. He doesn’t know that she warned me she’ll use Davey to come between us. She wants to force Pete to choose between his son and me.”

  To her relief, all three of her sisters looked totally scandalized by that.

  “She doesn’t stand a prayer in court,” Ashley said. “If Pete needs help fighting her, tell him to come to me.”

  Jo regarded her with surprise. “You’d go to bat for him?”

  “On something like that? Of course.” She frowned. “Unless you don’t want me to.”

  “No, of course not. I think it would be great. I just don’t want it to come to that. It’ll be better for everyone if they can work this out between the two of them without involving lawyers and a judge.”

  “Why is his ex-wife all of a sudden focusing on you?” Maggie asked.

  “I guess Davey went home and told her about me and she went all weird and jealous.” She debated not getting into the rest—into the past—but knew she’d feel better once the whole story was out there. “I almost think I understand some of what she’s feeling.”

  Her sisters stared at her blankly. “You’re sympathizing with her?”

  “No,” Jo said at once. “Not sympathizing, exactly.” She sighed. “It’s a long story.”

  “How long can it be?” Maggie asked. “You haven’t known the man that long.”

  “Actually I have,” Jo admitted. “I’ve known Pete for over seven years.”

  “Oh, my God,” Melanie whispered softly, her eyes filled with sudden understanding. “He’s the one.”

  “The one what?” Maggie asked.

  “The one she was always hiding out from when she came down here while each of us was staying at Rose Cottage,” Melanie said. She looked at Jo. “I’m right, aren’t I? He’s the person you were avoiding?”

  Jo nodded. “I’ve been involved with Pete since I was eighteen years old,” she finally admitted. “Or rather, I was involved with him that summer, and have been regretting it ever since because of how things turned out.”

  All three sisters stared at her as if she’d started babbling in some incomprehensible language.

  “How?” Ashley asked.

  “When?” Maggie chimed in.

  Melanie frowned. “Wasn’t he married?”

  Jo scowled at her. “Of course he wasn’t married when we met,” she said. “But then he was, and that put an end to things.”

  By the time she’d explained it all, her sisters were staring at her with stunned expressions.

  “And you never said a word,” Ashley said. “I don’t believe you could keep something this huge from us. Your first big romance and we never suspected a thing.”

  “You were all caught up in your own lives by then. And the whole pregnancy and marriage thing came up so soon after I got back to Boston that there was hardly any time to mention that I’d fallen in love before I would have had to say that he’d broken my heart.”

  “And then I had to go and hire him,” Ashley said, her expression grim. “No wonder you were so furious with me.”

  “You didn’t know,” Jo said. “And it turns out that it was the best thing that could have happened. We’ve moved past all that, or past most of it, anyway.”
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  “Then you’ve forgiven him? You trust him to do right by you now?” Maggie asked.

  Jo nodded slowly. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I think I do. But I can’t be the kind of woman who gets between a man and his son, no matter how much I want a future with Pete. I could never have done it back then, even if he’d given me a choice, and I can’t do it now.”

  Ashley gave her a look filled with resolve. “Then we won’t let it happen that way. Tell Pete about his ex-wife’s call—and I mean every single vicious word of it—then tell him to come and see me if his wife doesn’t start to see reason. I’m sure I can put a legal spin on things that will wake her up.”

  “Then you think there’s still a chance for us to work this out?” Jo asked Ashley.

  “Absolutely,” her sisters said, obviously in total accord.

  “If he’s the one you want, then he’s the one you should have,” Melanie said. “And just to lock it in, I think I’ll send Mike over here first thing in the morning to work out that business partnership.”

  “Maybe now’s not the right time to do that,” Jo protested. “Don’t get me wrong. I want to do it and I want to stay here, but if things don’t work out for me and Pete…”

  “They will,” Ashley assured her. “Have you ever known any of us not to get what we want when we fight for it together?”

  A grin slowly spread across Jo’s face. For the first time all afternoon, her heart felt lighter. “Now that you mention it, no.”

  “Then let’s not even consider the possibility of ruining that track record,” Ashley said, giving her an encouraging smile. “Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  When Pete checked his messages at midafternoon, he had three from the D’Angelo sisters—one each from Ashley, Maggie and Melanie. But none from Jo. That alone told him that where he needed to be was Rose Cottage, and he didn’t need any one of them telling him that. Something had happened, and the sisters were on the warpath. Even his answering service had gotten that much. Each message had been marked URGENT.

  Pete called his secretary and had her reschedule the rest of his appointments and drove straight to Rose Cottage. When he knocked on the door, he wasn’t sure what sort of response he expected, but it wasn’t a woman who looked as if she’d spent most of the day crying and the rest trying to cover up the evidence.