The Inn at Rose Harbor (10 page)

“All right,” Josh agreed.

They came down the stairs and found Richard standing in the hallway, leaning his weight against the wall as if he were braced for a confrontation with Josh.

“We’ll be back later,” Josh said, avoiding his stepfather’s glare.

Richard frowned, almost as if he were disappointed, and then slowly nodded and shuffled back to his recliner.

Once outside, Michelle looked at him, her frown as deep and dark as Richard’s had been moments earlier. “You’re a better person than me,” she said.

Josh sincerely doubted that. “Come here,” he whispered. When she stepped closer he brought her into his arms and hugged her close. It would have been a simple matter to kiss her, but he didn’t. All he wanted was to absorb her softness. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the top of her head. He wasn’t sure what he was doing, but the fatherless son in him didn’t care. He craved comfort.

“It’ll be okay,” she said when he released her.

“I know,” he admitted. “Thank you, Michelle. I mean that. Thank you for everything.”

Abby waited in her room at Rose Harbor Inn until almost eleven before she gathered the courage to venture outside to buy the toothpaste and hairspray she needed. Staying inside the inn until it was time to meet her family was just plain silly. Eventually she’d need to leave the protection of her room, and it might as well be now. Besides, Jo Marie needed to get into the room to make up her bed and bring in a fresh set of towels.

As Abby descended the stairs, she smelled cookies baking. Chocolate chip? The scent was heavenly. She paused just inside the kitchen doorway to find Jo Marie lifting freshly baked cookies off the cookie sheet and placing them on a wire rack to cool. She glanced up and offered Abby a reassuring smile.

“You’re going out?”

“I thought I’d walk down to the pharmacy you mentioned.”

“Good idea. It’s only a few blocks away. I have an umbrella by the door that you’re welcome to use,” she offered. It’d been sunny earlier, but now it looked like rain. The weather in Cedar Cove changed on a whim, especially during the winter months, Abby remembered.

“Thanks, but the rain doesn’t bother me. It’s more mist than real rain anyway.” Abby had thought she was an expert when it came to rainfall when she moved to Florida—after all, the Pacific Northwest was known for its rainy weather. That assumption had been wrong. In her entire life she’d never seen rain come down the way it did in Florida. Many times Abby had been forced to pull over to the side of the road because her car wipers were unable to keep up with the downpour.

Jo Marie busied herself by scooping dough onto the empty cookie sheet. “Have a good walk.”

Abby headed for the door, closing it softly, tentatively, behind her. She stepped onto the front porch and froze. Her heart raced like a NASCAR engine. Really, this was ridiculous. So what if someone recognized her? The accident happened years ago. Just because she hadn’t moved past it didn’t mean that the rest of the world was in the same holding pattern.

This fear, this terror, was absurd. Abby couldn’t even name why she was so afraid. True, meeting up with old friends who’d known both her and Angela might be awkward. And she could run into Angela’s parents. Whatever the case, it would be better to deal with it now rather than during her brother’s wedding.

The first step down the porch steps was the most difficult. Drawing a deep breath into her lungs to stave off a panic attack, she made it all the way down to the sidewalk. So far so good.

With her hands safely tucked inside her coat pockets, she started walking. This wasn’t so bad. In fact, she breathed a bit
easier. The wind, coming from the north, chilled her and she hunched her shoulders. Living in Florida she wasn’t accustomed to temperatures that dipped into the low forties. Then again, she would have been chilled by anything below sixty-five degrees. She hadn’t acclimated yet, but it wouldn’t take long. She grinned. By the time she was accustomed to the cold, it would be time to fly back to West Palm. She’d already gotten through almost a whole day in Cedar Cove, which meant she only had two more to go.

Thankfully the walk down to the Harbor Street Pharmacy was all downhill. It was a bit steep, but she had on her boots and her footing was secure. The Wok and Roll was still in business, which pleased her. Angela and Abby had thoroughly enjoyed the steamed dumplings there. The service had always been a bit slow, but every bite was worth the wait.

Angela had been able to eat the dumplings with chopsticks, but not Abby. The last time they’d shared an order, Angela had teased Abby about her lack of coordination, flexing her wooden chopsticks with an agility Abby could only envy. Frustrated, Abby had been ready to snap her own chopsticks in two. She finally just speared one dumpling and stuck it in her mouth while her best friend accused her of cheating. Abby smiled at the memory. Even now, all these years later, those moments with her best friend remained vivid in her mind.

The flower shop on Harbor Street was the same, too. Her mother had been good friends with the proprietor. Yvonne? Yvette? Abby couldn’t remember her name.

The candy shop was new. The dress she’d purchased for the wedding was a bit snug, otherwise Abby would have been tempted to venture inside. Unable to resist, she stared into the window and saw something that made her smile.

Seagull plops. White chocolate with green swirls. And only
available in Cedar Cove. Again Abby was hit with memories of her and Angela.

Every spring, Cedar Cove held its annual seagull calling contest, and one year Angela had participated. The winner was determined by how many seagulls he or she could attract with their unique call. Angela had lost out to a fourteen-year-old boy, but she’d accepted defeat with good humor. She’d always been a good sport about everything. The whole day had been such fun; the two of them had laughed until their sides hurt.

Moving on down the street, Abby spotted the pharmacy. It was small and cozy—definitely the kind only found in small towns. It was a one-stop shop with both a small post office and liquor store included. If it had been there while she was in high school, she didn’t recall. Once inside it didn’t take her long to find the things she needed. She collected both and took them to the counter.

The woman behind the counter stared at Abby, who recognized her instantly—this was Patty, a friend from high school. One of the very friends Abby had cut off contact with following the accident.

“Abby?” Patty whispered almost as if she couldn’t believe it was actually her. “Abby Kincaid?”

Abby hesitated before briefly nodding. “Hi, Patty.” She felt the compelling urge to turn and run away.

Patty must have sensed it because she stretched out her arm and said, “Don’t go.”

While Abby stood frozen in place, Patty came around the counter to face her. Her eyes were bright and her smile was wide and eager. “I don’t believe it,” she cried out excitedly. “It’s really you.”

“In the flesh.” The comment came off with a sarcastic edge Abby didn’t intend.

“My goodness, where have you been all these years?”

She shrugged as though it shouldn’t be that big of a mystery.

“Around.”

“You live in the area?”

“No,” Abby admitted with a certain reluctance; she realized she’d braced herself for blame and accusation.

“Where?”

Abby hesitated.

“It doesn’t matter,” Patty said. “Oh my goodness, it’s just so good to see you.” Impulsively she reached for Abby and hugged her. Abby stood with her arms stiffly at her sides, hardly knowing what to make of this reception.

Patty had been a good friend. They’d met in fifth grade and gone through seven years of school together. For a couple of years their families had lived on the same block and they’d walked to school every morning together. Later Patty had moved, but their friendship continued all through high school.

“Are you married?” Patty asked.

“No,” she said, and then—drawn in by the warmth of Patty’s smile—she asked. “You?”

She nodded. “It’s Patty Jefferies now.”

“You work in the pharmacy?”

“I’m the pharmacist. My husband, too. Things are a bit slow at the moment, so I help out front when I can. It’s difficult for a small pharmacy to compete with the big box stores, but we manage.”

“You and your husband own the pharmacy?”

Patty grinned. “We do, and thanks to the local support, we’re surviving.”

“Good for you,” she said, and meant it.

“Abby, it’s just so good to see you. Tell me everything.”

Unnerved, she lifted her hands. “Like what?”

“I can’t imagine why you’re still single.”

Abby shook her head. “Too picky, I guess, at least that’s what my
mom says.” Right away Steve Hooks, her brother’s college roommate, came to mind. Following the accident she’d shunned him, too.

“How long are you in town? Did you know that there’s been all kinds of speculation at our class reunions about where you were living? No one has seen or talked to you for so long. Someone said they’d heard you’d joined a commune.”

“A what?”

“A commune,” Patty repeated. “I thought it sounded silly, but you never know. We weren’t able to find you for our fifth or tenth year reunion. And we looked. It was like a Where’s Waldo hunt,” she teased.

Actually, Abby had heard her perfectly fine the first time. Her join a commune? The suggestion was so outrageous it’d been an instinctive question. Why in the love of heaven would anyone assume she’d done anything so out of character? Well, she had no one else to blame; she’d left her whereabouts open to speculation.

They hadn’t found her because Abby hadn’t been interested in being found. Her brother knew better than to answer questions about her, and her classmates probably didn’t know where her parents had moved to.

Her parents.

From what Abby understood, her mother and father had severed contact with a number of their friends from Cedar Cove. Whenever Abby asked about a certain longtime family friend, she got the same response: “Well, you know, honey, people change. It’s hard to maintain long-distance relationships. We have a new set of friends in Arizona now.”

New friends, because it was too difficult to face the old ones, Abby realized with a pang. Her parents had worked hard to shield her, but she knew that the car accident had cost them.

“It’s just so good to see you,” Patty said. “Everyone wondered where you’d gone. Why didn’t you come to any of the reunions?”

Abby just stared at her. The answer should be obvious.

“It just wasn’t the same without you.” Patty sounded amazed and a little hurt. “Obviously it was hard after the accident, but you just disappeared! You were always so upbeat and fun and cute … and to learn that you’re not married. I assumed you’d be settled down by now with two or three kids.”

Abby wasn’t about to get into the reasons she was single.

Patty beamed with pleasure. “What brings you to town?”

“My brother’s getting married. Do you know the Templeton family?”

Patty’s forehead compressed with a frown as she reviewed the name. “Templeton … Templeton? I can’t say that I do. Was she in our graduating class?”

“No … she’s a couple of years younger than us.”

“That would have made her a sophomore when we were seniors, right?”

“Right,” Abby agreed. Victoria was five years younger than Roger and a career woman in her own right. They both lived and worked in Seattle now.

“It was good to see you, Patty,” she said, ready to be on her way, back to the safety and security of the bed-and-breakfast.

“How about a cup of coffee?” Patty suggested. “Like I said, business is a bit slow right now and Pete wouldn’t mind if I took a short break.” Standing on her tiptoes, she looked toward the pharmacy in the back of the building.

Abby hesitated. “Ah …”

“Please say you will. It would be so good to catch up.”

Abby wasn’t allowed to refuse. Patty wrapped her arm around her elbow and led her toward the back of the pharmacy. The area contained a small round oak table and two matching chairs. A coffeepot sat next to the sink. Before Abby could decline, Patty filled two mugs.

“It’s fresh,” she said as she placed the cup on the table. “I made it myself … yesterday.”

Abby had been ready to take a sip but she stopped, the cup halfway to her mouth.

“I’m just kidding.”

Patty had always been something of a smart aleck, and she loved to party. Abby would never have guessed that Patty would end up as a pharmacist.

All at once Patty thrust her arms into the air. “I have an absolutely fabulously great idea.”

Abby clung to the coffee mug with both hands. She was almost afraid to ask what scheme was circling around her former schoolmate’s head.

“We should all do lunch; Marie is still in town and a couple of our other old friends live here, too. You can, can’t you? You must. It will be such fun …”

“I can’t.” Abby response was immediate.

“Why not?” Patty wasn’t taking no for an answer, at least not easily.

It simply wouldn’t work. “I’m only in town for a couple of days, Patty. I wish …”

“When do you leave?” she asked.

“Early Sunday.” She had to get to the airport and check in two hours before the flight, which meant she’d need to leave the B&B by 5:30 a.m.

“That leaves Saturday.” Patty wouldn’t be easily deterred. “And …”

“Saturday is the day of the wedding,” Abby finished for her.

“What time is the wedding?”

“Six.”

Patty’s smile lit up the room. “That’s perfect.”

“Perfect?”

“I’ll get the word out that you’re in town. Leave everything to
me. I’ll make all the arrangements. All you need to do is show up for lunch.”

“Patty …”

“I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“But the wedding,” Abby insisted.

“You’ll have plenty of time to get ready. Are you in the wedding party?”

“No.”

“That’s even better. We’ll all meet up at noon at the Pancake Palace. Everyone loves the Pancake Palace.”

“Ah …”

“Your mother will be in town, won’t she?”