Being Emma (14 page)

Janie blew out an exhausted breath. “Why is
shopping so tiring?” She plopped her bags down on the bench seat by
her.

“… Not sure, but it is.” Meg smiled at her
and arranged her bags as well.

A waiter came up to take their orders. He was
dressed in a white waiter’s coat with a black tie.

“Would you like to order now?” Janie glanced
at Meg who nodded.

“Two Irish coffees please.”

“Very good,” he said and left.

“I understand,” began Meg, “that the Irish
coffee served here was the result of much experimentation.”

“Oh, really? Let’s hear it.”

“…Okay… A travel writer and the owner in 1952
decided they wanted to recreate the Irish coffee that was served at
the Shannon Airport in Ireland. They experimented but had
problems.”

“Like what?”

“They had to select the perfect Irish
whiskey, which took a while, and then there was trouble with the
foam. At first, it wouldn’t sit on top of the coffee – The foam
kept sinking to the bottom of the cup.”

Janie laughed. “So what happened?”

“Well, the problem was solved eventually when
the mayor of San Francisco at that time was also a prominent dairy
owner. They finally figured out that the cream had to age for
forty-eight hours, so it would froth to the precise
consistency.”

“Just another bit of information for trivia
lovers everywhere,” Janie started laughing and Meg joined her.

Their Irish coffees came. Janie picked up
hers and held it up to toast.

Meg did likewise.

“So here’s to… what, Meg?”

“Here’s to sisters…”

“I love it.” They put took sips of their hot
drinks and put them down on the table.

“Excellent…”

“… Fabulous…”

Janie looked around the bar and remembered
how much she enjoyed being in San Francisco and with her sister.
She decided to come up more often. The City just made her feel
good… Then she looked back at Meg who was waiting for her.

“… Ready now?”

“Yeah…. I suppose so.”

“As Jeanne would say, ‘Tell me’.”

“Oh, Meggie. I’m not sure where to
start.”

“How about with Diane and Ethan?”

“Okay… that’s way back, but I guess it’s a
good starting place.”

So Janie took a deep breath and explained
about trying to set up Diane with Ethan… How miserably it failed.
Then she launched into the Mike Church business and how she thought
Craig was probably hurt over it. She mentioned the call with Sharon
Anderson and what she learned from that. She finally got to the
dance and told Meg about Craig rescuing Diane. Apparently, that had
special meaning for Diane, which threw her for a loop and was the
reason Janie had practically dropped out of the sky at her house
yesterday.

Meg’s head was soon spinning, and she took
another drink of her Irish coffee. It didn’t help clear her head,
but sure tasted good.

“So Ethan snubbed Diane at the dance?”

“Yes.”

“And you had influenced Diane to refuse John
Marston?”

“Thanks for reminding me, but yes.”

“And Craig knew all of this?”

“Of course, he did. I can’t keep much from
that guy.”

Meg looked sharply at her. “What about Mike
Church?” Janie frowned.

“It just happened. He was on the property and
we were attracted to one another… We went out a few times… That was
it.”

“So you’re not serious about him?”

“Mike? Totally not… He’s on his way to
Alaska, as we speak… New job.”

“… What do you think Craig thought?”

“After meeting Sharon and doing some
soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that Craig might be in
love with me. But it’s all so confusing.”

“What is? Take another sip.” Janie took a big
gulp.

“After the dance rescue, Diane wanted to ask
Craig out and I just fell apart… Literally. We were at the Naples
Bar and I walked outside to throw up.”

Meg smiled – Now she was getting the
picture.

“You think that Craig and Diane might get
together?”

“Yesss….” Janie started to tear up.

“Sweetie, why are you crying?”

“I don’t want to see them together. Would
Craig do that just to get back at me?”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know…” Tears actually started
falling down Janie’s cheeks and Meg thought she had now seen it all
now – Big, strong Janie succumbing to love… She fished a tissue out
of her purse and handed it to her.

“Here… Wipe your eyes and blow. Let me tell
you something.”

“Okay…” Janie blew her nose.

“… Diane was being sneaky – You do know that,
don’t you?”

“No.”

“She just said that about wanting to ask
Craig out to push you in the right direction. A direction you can’t
seem to head into by yourself.”

“What direction?”

“Janie, don’t you see?” She shook her
head.

“Take another sip. You’re going to need it.”
Puzzled, Janie took a big gulp of her Irish coffee and looked back
at her.

“Sweetie, it’s as plain as the nose on your
lovely face.”

“What is?”

“That you’re in love with Craig… Can’t you
see it because everybody else can.”

“…Um…”

“And what’s more, you’re right – he’s in love
with you too. He probably has been for some time now.”

“…Ah…”

“You two sure have dragged this out much
longer than you should have. But there it is…” Janie looked at her
for a solid minute in silence. She was listening to her heart. Her
eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re right, Meg. I am in love with Craig…
I love him so much… sometimes I can’t think straight… “ She thought
briefly. “That’s probably why it about killed me to think that he’d
be with someone else.” Another layer peeled back. Meg nodded.

“And now you know why he was so upset when he
saw you with Mike Church. He felt the same way…”

“Oh, no…”

Meg smiled at her.

“Carter thinks that Craig’s been in love with
you for a very long time. He saw it in Craig’s eyes at our
engagement party at the ranch and told me so later.”

“Wow… So… What happens now?”

“Sweetie, that’s up to you and Craig.” Janie
sat back and rubbed her eyes.

“I don’t have a clue, Meg.”

“Wait until you see him again and see what he
does. You two are smart people, hopefully,” she smiled, “and I know
you can figure this out.” Janie laughed.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I just
won’t know how to act around him.”

“Trust me, something will happen.” Meg
laughed. “Come on. We need to catch that last cable car and go
home. Have we solved all your problems now?”

“Almost… Thanks, sis…” They stood to give
each other hugs. Their check came and Meg picked it up. They walked
out of the bar to light rain. Janie looked up at the darkening sky,
closed her eyes and let the rain fall on her face... It tingled and
she was almost giddy.

“I feel pretty good…”

“Wonderful... Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Craig was
going crazy… It was Monday and he had exactly four days to get
those accounts ready for Sandy and Bill to take on their Las Vegas
trip. He knew the lawyers, who helped manage the Johnson Family
Trust, would need every i dotted and t crossed, and the figures
damn well had to be accurate. He’d had too many distractions with
Janie and the archery competition. And since she blew town like a
bat out of hell, he had trouble keeping two thoughts going
consistently.
Why had she left so suddenly? We were getting along fine
again. And why hadn’t she called?

He also knew that Mike Church had left for
good. He had mixed feelings about that – Mike was a nice enough
guy, but he had moved in on Janie. Craig finally recognized that
was something he just couldn’t take. Therefore, adios and good
luck, Mike Church.

Nothing was going right at the office either.
He buzzed his secretary.

“Marcia?”

“Yes, Mr. Ferguson.”

“That incredibly slow IT guy finally fixed my
computer, but now my printer is acting up. It keeps reading, ‘Put
in toner,’ but I did that already yesterday.” Marcia could hear
some despair in his voice.

“Want me to take a look at it, before we call
him again?”

“Please.” Marcia came in and started messing
with the printer. Craig went over to pour another cup of coffee.
“Shit… Oh, sorry, Marcia.” She looked over at him.

“What’s wrong now?”

“I think the coffee pot just went on the
fritz… What’s wrong with all my machines today?” And every day,
Marcia thought.

“I’ll take a look at it when I’m done with
your printer.” She thought she’d add electronic and appliance
repair to her job description.

The office phone rang and Marcia walked over
to pick it up. “Ferguson Accounting… Oh, hi… So glad you called…
Yes, he’s here. Please take him. He’s a grumpy bear today who came
out of his cave too soon.”

Craig looked over at her and his mouth
dropped. “Who are you speaking to?” She handed him the phone.

“Colt…” He shrugged at her and smiled.

“Hi. Yes, lunch would be great… It’s a real
disaster up here today and Marcia’s sick of me… Okay… I’ll meet you
there in fifteen. Bye.” He hung up the phone.

“I’m going to lunch, Marcia. That should make
you happy for an hour at least.”

“Thank God for that. Maybe I can get some
work done while you’re gone.”

The printer cartridges dropped some ink on
her hands. “Great… Now I’m covered in printer ink.”

He grabbed his suit jacket and headed out the
door. “Oh, and Marcia…”

“Yes, Mr. Ferguson?”

“There’s a nice Christmas bonus coming your
way for putting up with me.”

She smiled at him. “Richly deserved…”

He smiled back. “Yes, ma’am…” And left.

Colt was waiting for him at the corner coffee
shop. Naples wasn’t that big a town and basically consisted of a
few corners period. Craig’s office downtown was close to his house
and that’s all that mattered to him. He walked in as Colt was
getting a cup of coffee from the waitress.

“That’s what I couldn’t get at my office
today.” He sat down across from him.

“What?” Craig pointed at his cup of coffee.
“Why not?

“… crappy coffee pot broke down.” Colt
laughed.

“You getting all the accounts ready to go?”
Craig blew out a breath.

“Yeah, but I’ll be working late all this
week. I’m not going to have time to breathe until Thursday, when
they leave.”

“No archery practice this week then?”

The waitress came up, poured Craig a cup, and
asked if they were ready to order.

“Sure, I’ll have the usual hamburger, Sue,”
said Craig.

“Make that two,” added Colt. Craig fixed his
coffee – Colt knew he was stalling. “So… no practice, I take
it?”

“No, I’m not going to get over there. Janie’s
not in town anyway and I guess I’m as ready as I’m going to
be.”

“For the tournament or for Janie?” Craig
looked over at him.

“Both and neither…”

“Damn it, Craig… Be a man – Tell her how you
feel.” He could see Craig squirming in his seat.

“… Um.”

“She’s just back from Meg’s and had a nice
time, I understand.”

“Oh?”

The waitress arrived with their food. That
was fast – but then again, they always ordered the same thing and
Ben, the cook, probably saw them come in. They both took time
adding ketchup and salt. Craig took a big bite, Colt presumed, so
he wouldn’t have to respond to him. He took a big bite of his
hamburger as well. They chewed in silence for a while, until Colt
swallowed.

“Meggie said they had quite a nice talk.”

“What source gave you this information?”

“Meg called Grandma Jeanne who called my
wife. You know, the usual family sources. Jeanne probably called
Lily too.” He took another bite.

“What did they talk about?”

“… Things.”

“What kind of things?”

“Female things…” Colt was enjoying this.
Craig took another bite and swallowed too quickly. He started to
choke and sputter.

“Need me to do the Heimlich Maneuver?” Craig
shook his head while reaching for his water. He finally stopped
coughing.

“Christ, Colt. Are you going to tell me
anything, or don’t you know anything to tell?” Craig was getting
annoyed.

“All that I’m allowed to say is that Janie
drove up to Meggie’s when she was pretty upset about some things in
her life. She came back to town feeling much better, like something
had been resolved.”

“But you’re not allowed to tell me anything
specific?”

“No.”

“Does any of this have to do with Mike
Church?” Craig started to eat his fries.

“I understand he was mentioned, but he wasn’t
the main focus.”

Craig’s eyes rolled to the back of his head.
“I can’t believe we’re even having this ridiculous conversation.
You’re speaking all these words and telling me exactly zero.”

Colt stifled a laugh. He knew enough to put
the guy out of his misery, but knew that was Janie’s job. And he
had told him before that a man would wait a long time for her. Boy,
had he been right…

Craig
went back to his office after lunch as grumpy as when he’d left.
Marcia could tell the second he came back through the door.
Great, she thought.
The bear is back.
At
least she got the printer working. He went back to work and was
still at it when she left for home that evening.

“Need anything before I go?” He waved at
her.

“No, thanks. You go on home, Marcia. One of
us should enjoy the evening.” She laughed at him.

“Night then…”

“…Night.” And he worked on steadily until
very late in the evening. It was much easier to be super busy than
thoughtful. He didn’t want to think about that weird conversation
with Colt, because it got him nowhere. Colt was right about one
thing though. — Craig needed to talk to Janie. He needed to see her
and be with her. He needed to touch her hair and skin, and know
that everything was going to be all right. He needed her, period…
And Craig knew that for sure.