by JoAnn Ross
“She’s really beautiful, Sax,” he said honestly. She looked like a baby angel in a dress he figured had been purchased for the milestone occasion. There were so many white ruffles, her round little head, dimpled arms, and chubby legs appeared to be emerging from a cloud.
“Just like her mother. She started sitting up on her own the day before the shoot,” Sax said, sounding as proud as if he’d just eliminated the last of the Taliban, single-handedly with his Super SEAL powers
“That’s impressive.” Mac had no idea how old Emma had been when she’d first sat up. He wondered if he would spend the rest of his life trying to make up for those lost years, and decided he probably would.
“Yeah. That’s what Kara and I thought. Here’s another one of her with Mikey.” Michael Sean Concannon had been born the same day, during a rare ice storm.
Mikey’s father, Ethan, was an organic farmer and his mother, Phoebe, who’d escaped an abusive first husband, had worked as a sous chef at Lavender Hill Farm restaurant before becoming a mother. According to the Shelter Bay gossip line, she was planning to return to the restaurant part-time when the season began slowing down after Labor Day.
The baby boy was wearing a blue shirt with a bright red Elmo on the front, tiny blue jeans, and white high-tops. Instead of looking at the camera, he was staring at baby Grace, seated beside him, with a glazed-eye look of bemused wonderment.
“Poor kid’s already a goner.” Mac wondered if he looked at Annie that same way and figured he probably did.
Sax laughed. “Yeah. Although they won’t admit it straight out, I suspect Kara and Phoebe are already planning their wedding.”
He flipped to another photo, which showed Kara, looking soft and pretty in a flowered watercolor dress that was a distinct contrast to the starched khaki sheriff’s uniform she wore to work every day. Yet another photo showed the family together: baby Grace and Kara, Sax, and Trey, Kara’s son whom Sax had adopted. They could have appeared on a poster for the perfect family.
“You are one damn lucky son of a bitch,” Mac said.
“I tell myself that every day,” Sax agreed. “I wasn’t as bad off as some guys when I got out of the military, but I had my share of ghosts.”
“I think everyone does.”
“Yeah, but mine talked and followed me around all the time. And razzed me, just like when they were alive and we were all part of the unit. It was weird, but also kind of cool in a way.”
“Like they weren’t really gone. “
“Exactly.” Sax shoved the phone back into his pocket and returned to washing glasses. “But once Kara and I got together, really together, not just the sex part, but the connection I’d always felt for her, they took off. And now, when I dream, I dream of her. And Trey and Grace.”
“Lucky.” Although he would never deny Sax his happiness, Mac found himself envying the former SEAL.
“You bet your ass. . . . So,” Sax said, “getting to why I was going to call you—somehow I managed to get myself put on the VFW’s parade committee.”
“Maybe because you’re the only recipient of the Navy Cross in Shelter Bay?”
“You know how I feel about that,” Sax muttered. “I’ve learned not to see that damn sign outside town, but there are days when I forget and look at it and find myself wishing a tsunami would just wash the sucker away.
“Anyway, the Korean War guys are going to be on a float, along with some disabled vets from more-recent wars. Ollie was going to be with them, but now he can’t. So I was wondering if you think your grandfather would be up to representing the Greatest Generation.”
“I don’t know.” Mac rubbed his chin as he gave it some thought. “Some days, absolutely. Others . . .” He shrugged. “Hell, like I said, I don’t know.”
“Why don’t you ask him?” Sax suggested. “And we’ll leave it up in the air. If he’s feeling good on the Fourth and you think he could handle it—the benches will all have seat belts, or we could work out a deal with a wheelchair—”
“Pops wouldn’t use the chair. It’s hard enough to get him into it when he’s at Still Waters. His pride wouldn’t let him use it in public.”
“Okay. But there will definitely be seat belts. And we could put arms on either side of where he’s sitting. Just for extra stability.”
“Sounds good. Emma would be over the moon to have him take part. I’ll drop by Still Waters in the morning and see what he has to say about it.”
Something belatedly occurred to Mac. “The parade’s early in the day, right?”
“At eleven. Before the noon basket raffle,” Sax confirmed.
“Good. Because he can’t handle fireworks.”
Sax shrugged. “Been there. There are times they still get to me. But you don’t have to worry. I’ll have Kara and the mayor put a joint notice in the Sentinel that for respect of our vets, no one should set off even small firecrackers during the parade.” Privately shot-off firecrackers were illegal in Oregon, but it wasn’t always possible to keep them out of people’s hands on holidays.
“Sounds good. I’ll ask him.” Mac polished off the beer. “I need some takeout.”
“And here I thought you’d come to tell me all about your hot date with Sandy from Shelter Bay.”
When Mac flipped him off, Sax just laughed and took his order.
31
“Sedona called,” Kim told Annie as soon as she returned to the store. “She said to call her back when you got a chance.”
“Okay. Thanks.” She was grateful the other woman hadn’t mentioned that she’d been gone an hour past that negotiated forty-five minutes.
Fortunately, business was brisk, which kept her from being able to think about Mac until closing. After saying good night to Kim and turning the OPEN sign to CLOSED, she picked up the phone.
“I know we both had a big lunch, but what would you say to stopping by the Sea Mist for a drink on the patio before going home?”
“You’re on,” Sedona said. “After my lunch, I’m in serious need of alcohol.” She paused. “And you need to talk.”
“I think I’m in trouble.”
“I’ll call Maddy and Charity,” Sedona said. “Unfortunately, I don’t know if Kara could get a sitter at the last minute.”
Although Annie liked Kara Douchett, that was just as well. As confused as she was, she wasn’t sure she could take looking at the baby photos the proud new mother would be bound to show off.
“It’d take time to fill her in,” she said. “But since Maddy was there, too, it’d be good to get another opinion.”
“She’ll come,” Sedona said without hesitation. “See you there in fifteen minutes.”
And wasn’t that the kind of friendship she’d moved to Shelter Bay for? Annie asked herself as she drove the two blocks down to the harborfront restaurant, where Sedona, organized as always, had already reserved them a table on the water.
Sedona arrived right on the dot, Maddy and Charity Tiernan two minutes later.
“I hope I didn’t take you away from preparing for your dinner service,” Annie said to Maddy.
“Not at all. Although Kyle isn’t as good a sous chef as Phoebe, she’ll keep things running smoothly while I’m gone. It’s also a good test, because I don’t want to be working all the time, which is partly why I decided to stay here in Shelter Bay after things fell apart in New York.
“I’m thinking of moving Phoebe into a general manager position once she’s back full-time, which would allow Kyle to move into her slot.”
Kyle was another successful graduate of Haven House, having landed in town from Massachusetts, the same way Phoebe had, through an underground railroad of women who, in many cases, were willing to risk breaking the law to save women from abuse.
Having lived in abusive situations herself as a child, Annie also volunteered at the shelter, helping its residents create scrapbooks depicting their progress from victims to self-sufficient, confident women. Those same women paid it forward by creating gree
ting cards for various volunteer organizations like Operation Write Home, Cards for Soldiers, and Cards for Hospitalized Kids.
“If I had someone like your Lucas at home, I sure wouldn’t want to be at work all the time,” Annie said.
They chatted a bit about the upcoming Fourth of July festivities, including Charity’s plan to bring some adoptable cats and dogs from her shelter to her festival booth, and then, once their glasses of wine and appetizer had been delivered, Maddy, the most outspoken of the three, said, “Well?”
“I kissed him.”
“We already know about that,” Sedona said, waving away the admission as she plucked a clam strip from the tower in the center of the table. “It’s all over town that you were making out with him behind a paper display.”
“It was a pen display. And we weren’t making out. He merely kissed me. On a crazy dare.”
“You dared him to kiss you?” Charity asked, looking pleased at that idea.
“What can I say? He makes me crazy,” Annie muttered.
“Well, whatever. It’s old news,” Maddy said. “We’re here for the juicy parts.”
Annie leaned forward, lowering her voice in an attempt to keep any more of her personal life from becoming grist for the Shelter Bay gossip mill. “We went to the beach. To this private spot he knows.”
The other women burst out laughing, drawing some attention from the surrounding tables.
“You’ve been there,” Annie guessed.
“One of the advantages of being connected to the Douchetts,” Maddy said. “The summer after I graduated from high school, Lucas and I went there a lot.”
“And Gabe took me there for the Crab Shack’s butter-roasted Dungeness crab picnic package,” Charity said. “As good as it was, halfway through the meal, I just wanted to pour that melted butter all over him and lick it off.”
“I know the feeling,” Annie said. “But in my case, it was crème fraiche.”
“That works, too,” Maddy agreed. Her reminiscent smile was that of a cat who’d just finished a bowl of very rich cream.
“I don’t miss the roller-coaster emotions that come with a relationship, but I do miss sex,” Sedona said on a sigh.
“Me, too,” Annie admitted. “I hadn’t realized how much until Mac kissed me. I think if he’d decided to make a move, right then and there, I wouldn’t have been able to think of a single reason why not.”
“I still can’t think of a reason,” Sedona said.
“Maybe if it were just the two of us. But there’s his daughter to think about,” Annie said.
“Well, surely you’re not going to be going at it like sex-crazed monkeys on the couch while she’s watching Dora the Explorer,” Maddy said.
“Of course not.”
“It’s not as easy having sex with kids around,” Charity admitted. “But Gabe and I have three, and trust me, we certainly manage it.”
“Which is obvious. After all this time together, you two still have that newlywed glow,” Maddy said.
“So do you and Lucas,” Charity said.
The chef dimpled at that. “Well, we had a lot of years of catching up to do.”
“How’s that going?” Sedona asked.
The smile widened. “We’re still working on it.”
“You two are just making this worse,” Annie complained. “I’m trying to convince myself that sex is overrated.”
“Good luck with that,” Sedona said dryly as Annie took a long gulp of the crisp, dry Chardonnay. “I thought we’d agreed that we were going to jump back into the dating pond.”
“And how’s that going for you?” Annie threw Sedona’s own words back at her.
Sedona shrugged. “Not all that well, since instead of a prince, I definitely ended up with a frog today. But at least I hold out hope. If you decide you don’t want Midnight Mac, I might give the guy a shot.”
“That’s the trouble.” Annie sighed heavily and although she wasn’t really hungry, she was in need of something fried, and began chewing on a breaded clam strip. “I do want him.”
“Then go for it,” Maddy advised. “You know what they say . . . you snooze, you lose.”
“Ha.” Annie took another clam strip from the stack and dipped it into the accompanying tartar sauce. “You’re a fine one to be talking about making the moves. I’ve heard all about how Lucas got you to marry him. You weren’t exactly the one pushing for the relationship.”
“There’s a good reason for that,” Maddy argued. “Not only was I just coming off a public breakup, but Lucas and I had a history.”
“And a really big misunderstanding that the guy had to explain,” Charity said.
“Exactly.” Maddy pointed a clam strip toward Annie. “While you and Mac are starting out with a clean slate. You can make your relationship whatever you want it to be.”
“I don’t want a relationship.”
“Liar,” the other three women said together, echoing that voice inside Annie’s own head.
“What you want is not to want him,” Maddy said knowingly. “Been there, done that.” She waggled a gold-banded finger. “And look how that worked out.”
“It’s complicated,” Annie insisted, still not convinced that she could have sex without risking her heart.
“Life’s complicated,” Sedona said.
“Especially when it comes to men,” Maddy agreed. “Like Kara always says, if it’s got tires or a penis, it’s bound to cause you trouble.”
Despite the fact that she was still horribly conflicted, Annie couldn’t help laughing. “Amen to that.”
32
“Well, you’re here early,” Analise Peterson said when Mac arrived at Still Waters the next morning. Today’s navy blue scrubs were covered with sailboats.
“I’ve got some news I wanted to tell him before anyone else did.” He didn’t mention that after getting home from the station, frustrated from having waited in vain for Annie to call, he hadn’t gotten any sleep. “How’s he doing?”
“So far, so good. He opted for the early-bird breakfast, then went out into the garden.”
So he wasn’t watching the morning TV news. That was a good thing. “He didn’t take the paper with him, did he?”
Charlie still liked reading the Shelter Bay Beacon, although Mac had been told that he frustrated some residents when he’d take part in the morning news group because he’d comment on a story, then three minutes later, comment on it again, and again, as if it were new. One newcomer to the group had finally yelled at him, but according to Analise, the others had stood up for his grandfather and later suggested the new guy was going to have to work on developing tolerance if he wanted to fit in.
“No. He’s just sitting out there, looking through his scrapbook.”
“Great.” Mac wasn’t looking forward to telling Charlie about Ollie, but better that than having him hit with the news without a careful buildup.
“Speaking of scrapbooking,” the nurse said with a teasing smile, “I hear you’ve taken it up.”
“Is nothing private?”
“Nope.” She folded her arms. “I like Annie Shepherd. She helped me choose the perfect paper and embellishments for my honeymoon photo album. You could do a lot worse.”
“We’re just friends.”
“Yeah.” Analise laughed. “From what I heard you’re really friendly friends. And personally, not that you asked, I think it’s great.”
“That’s because now that you’re married, you want everyone else to be married, too.”
Although he would’ve thought it a mostly female thing, Mac had watched the same phenomenon with deployed guys. Once someone returned from leave with a wedding band on, he’d start preaching the marvels of marriage. Of course, usually those marvels revolved around daily sex and lots of it.
“Guilty,” she agreed with a grin. The desk phone rang, allowing Mac to escape any inquisition.
He entered the garden, which was surrounded by walls covered with climbing vines to k
eep residents from wandering off. It was early enough that although the sun was rising in a clear blue sky, dew still sparkled on the dark green leaves. Mac knew his grandmother had loved gardening as much as his own mother, which, he suspected, was why Charlie, who’d never shown any interest at all in flowers, spent so much time out here.
He was, as Analise had said, looking through the scrapbook Annie Shepherd had helped him make. It was open to a photo of Charlie and his Annie, which Mac knew to have been taken on their honeymoon at Rainbow Lake.
She was seated on a log, with the waterfall behind her, wearing a pair of jeans and a red-and-white-checked blouse tied beneath her breasts. Her hair was blowing in the breeze, she was laughing at the camera, and even in the faded black-and-white photo, anyone could see the love shining in her eyes.
“Morning, Pops.”
“Morning.” Charlie didn’t bother to glance up from the photo. “When I woke up this morning, Annie reminded me about when I rowed her across the lake from our rented cabin to the lodge on the other side,” he said.
Mac knew Charlie was referring to his Annie. Not Mac’s. Not that Annie Shepherd was actually his. As she’d made perfectly clear. And, he reluctantly kept telling himself, it was probably just as well.
“We were going to have breakfast,” Charlie said. “It was early morning and the lake was smooth as glass. The fog was coming off the water, but we still couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of the bow.”
“Sounds tricky.” Mac knew from experience that fallen trees lurked beneath that seemingly serene water, waiting to snag passing boats.
“What it was was nice.” Charlie’s eyes, which had brightened while talking about his deceased wife softened with the long-ago memory. “Being young, and having been away at sea for so long, we definitely set that boat to rocking.”
