6 Rainier Drive (23 page)

L
innette didn't know where else to turn. It'd been a week since she'd heard from Cal. In the beginning, he'd contacted her every few days, and then less often. Now, not at all.

Linnette understood his reasons for leaving Cedar Cove. Or, at least, she tried to. Everyone said saving wild mustangs was a worthy cause, and she knew it was. She also understood that cell phone reception in rural Wyoming was poor to nonexistent. But whenever they did manage to speak, it seemed that he ended the call as quickly as possible.

Linnette didn't need anyone to tell her something was wrong. Because she didn't know what else to do or whom to trust, she went to see Grace Harding, Cliff's wife. Grace might be as completely in the dark as Linnette, but she hoped the librarian might be able to give her
some
information. Linnette
couldn't go on like this, not when she loved Cal so much.

She visited the library on Thursday during her lunch break. This was the first time she'd actually set foot inside. The truth was, she hadn't read very much since moving to Cedar Cove—mostly medical journals in order to keep current. What novels she did enjoy had been passed along by her mother. Sad as it was to admit, she'd lived in Cedar Cove for more than a year and hadn't even bothered to get a library card.

The library was an inviting place to be. The floor was carpeted to absorb sound and the reading area with its overstuffed chairs and displays of books welcomed anyone stepping inside.

Linnette saw Grace right away. She stood behind the counter, chatting with a woman who was checking out a stack of books. Glancing up, she waved at Linnette.

Linnette moved toward the counter and waited until Grace had finished checking out the other woman's books.

“Hello, Linnette,” Grace said with a friendly smile. “Good to see you.”

“You, too.” Her throat started to close up and for half a second she was afraid she might cry, which would have mortified her. This just proved how despondent she was over Cal.

“What can I do for you?” Grace asked.

Linnette had always liked Cliff's wife. Her mother spoke highly of Grace, too. From a brief remark her father had once dropped, Linnette was fairly sure Grace had been a client at one time.

“I don't have a library card yet,” she murmured, feeling more than a little ill at ease.

“Then it's past time you did,” Grace said cheerfully. She handed Linnette a clipboard. “If you'll fill out the application, I'll take care of this personally.”

“Thank you.” Her hand trembled as she took it, but if Grace noticed, she didn't comment.

“Actually,” Linnette said, clearing her throat. She held the clipboard against her, as if it offered some form of protection. “Coming in for a library card is an excuse so I could talk to you.”

“To me?” Grace asked, obviously surprised. “You're welcome to talk to me anytime you want, Linnette, library card or not.”

“About Cal?” she asked in uneven tones.

“Oh.” Grace's face betrayed her. Apparently Cal was a subject she'd rather avoid.

Linnette was afraid of exactly this.

“Perhaps we should talk somewhere a little more private,” Grace suggested. She excused herself and conferred briefly with one of the other employees. Then she retrieved her purse. “I'll take an early
lunch this afternoon,” she told Linnette, leading the way out of the library.

“Thank you,” Linnette whispered as she followed obediently. She left the clipboard on the counter.

The waterfront area was decorated by flowering baskets that hung from the light posts. Linnette had always loved strolling by the marina. She'd done this with Cal many times, walking side by side, holding hands and talking. Okay, she did most of the talking, but that was what Cal preferred. Even when his speech therapy was completed, she suspected he'd never be much of a conversationalist.

As if deep in thought, Grace didn't say anything as they walked. Her pace was slow.

“Have you heard from Cal recently?” Linnette asked when she couldn't bear the silence anymore. She matched her steps to Grace's, although she normally walked much faster.

“He phoned Cliff the other day.”

He hadn't called Linnette, though. “Everything's all right, isn't it?”

Grace nodded. She began to say something else, then apparently thought better of it.

Linnette could tell there was much more to Cal's conversation with Cliff, but whatever it was, Grace seemed reluctant to tell her.

“Cal hasn't been hurt, has he?” she asked anxiously.

“No, no, it's nothing like that.” She walked over to the espresso stand and ordered a latte with sugar-free vanilla flavoring. After she'd ordered, she turned to Linnette. “Would you like anything?”

“No, thanks. Is that all you're having for lunch?” Linnette asked. She hadn't eaten herself and doubted she would. Getting anything past the lump in her throat would've been impossible.

“I generally have a sandwich with a latte or soup for lunch,” Grace explained as she paid for her drink. “I should probably be watching my weight more than I do,” she grumbled. “I seem to have a small problem with it, unlike others I could name, including your mother and Olivia,” she said with a laugh. “I'll eat something later.”

As soon as the latte was ready, Grace and Linnette walked to the gazebo near the waterfront park. Grace took a seat on a bench that faced the water and Linnette sat down beside her.

“I'd appreciate it if you just told me what's wrong,” Linnette said.

Grace sipped her latte, then sighed. “You know that Cal's in Wyoming with Vicki Newman, right?”

“She joined him there later, didn't she?”

Grace nodded. “Vicki's a very good vet.”

“I'm sure she is.”

“The problem is that a lot of these mustangs have medical problems.”

“I'm sure that's true,” Linnette whispered. She already knew what Grace was trying to tell her. Cal had fallen for Vicki. It didn't seem possible, but she felt intuitively that must be it.

Again Grace grew quiet, as if considering her words.

“Cal's involved with Vicki, isn't he?” Linnette said bluntly.

“I…didn't speak to him personally, you understand,” Grace murmured. “But from what Cliff said, Cal does seem to…have feelings for her.”

“I see.” A cold sensation came over Linnette. Cal supposedly had feelings for her, too. Apparently she was an out-of-sight, out-of-mind kind of girl.

Grace shook her head. “I know Vicki, and I don't want you to think she'd go after someone else's man. Because she just wouldn't.”

This wasn't exactly reassuring, in light of the fact that Cal was obviously interested in her.

Grace shrugged. “She doesn't even seem to pay much attention to male-female stuff.” She sipped her latte. “I'm not putting this well and I'm not even sure how to explain Vicki.”

“Go on,” Linnette said from between clenched teeth. “Try.”

“Well, first, you and I both know that Vicki's rather…unfeminine in appearance. I don't mean to be unkind, but that's just a fact. She wears her hair
skinned back and doesn't style it. I've never seen her wear makeup or attractive clothes. We've never heard of her having any boyfriends or even a social life. To tell you the truth, all of this comes as a shock to Cliff and me.”

All of this.
“Go on,” Linnette urged, needing to know, regardless of how much it hurt. Not knowing was worse.

“The two of them have been working closely together, day in and day out….”

But Cal had said he loved
her.
If he felt anything for this other woman, it was a brief attraction and nothing more. As soon as he returned to Cedar Cove, everything would be all right again. Cal would come to his senses and his feelings for Linnette would reassert themselves.

“That's about all I can tell you, Linnette.”

Linnette could think of a thousand things she'd rather hear. “This is just a temporary infatuation,” she said, making an effort to sound confident. Trying to rationalize what she'd been told.

The librarian didn't answer.

“I need to talk to him,” Linnette insisted, urgency building inside her. “It won't be long before Cal's back, so we should get this resolved.” Linnette could understand how such an infatuation, presumably mutual, might come about. Working closely together in an isolated location. Sharing a cause. Yes, she
saw how
all of this
could happen. But once Cal was home again, he'd forget his feelings for this other woman.

Cal wasn't himself. He wasn't thinking clearly.

“I'm certain you'll have the opportunity to talk this out with him soon,” Grace murmured.

“Of course I will,” Linnette said.

The opportunity came much sooner than she'd expected. When Linnette got back to her car, she found a voice message from Cal on her cell phone. Sitting in the library parking lot, she returned his call.

Cal didn't answer, so she left a message for him. Since she was afraid they'd keep missing each other, she phoned again and told him she'd be home that evening and would wait for his call there.

She didn't hear from him until nearly eight.

The waiting was agony, and she could feel one of her headaches coming on. Pressing her fingertips to her temples, she paced the carpet, oblivious to the view of the cove or the Bremerton shipyard with its massive aircraft carriers and retired submarines. Late-evening sunlight dappled her deck but she hardly noticed.

By the time Cal finally did phone, Linnette was almost convinced he hadn't received her message.

“Linnette,” he began.

“You'd better tell me what's going on between you and Vicki Newman,” she snapped, without
giving him a chance to greet her. At this stage, Linnette was long past exchanging pleasantries.

“Y-you know?”

“About Vicki, you mean?” She didn't let him respond. “I thought you'd… I hoped we could speak honestly with each other. I think we owe each other that, don't you?”

“I'm s-sorry.”

“You should be!”

“Linnette, stop.” His voice took on a strength and conviction that startled her.

“Stop?”

“I apologize.”

She sighed. “All right then, you're forgiven.” Perhaps she'd blown everything out of proportion. Grace hadn't talked to him personally and it seemed that Cal had already regained his sanity. Relief settled over her, easing the tension between her shoulder blades. The throbbing headache that had started to pound began to subside.

“I love Vicki.”

Linnette gasped. She refused to believe it. Cal wasn't making any sense. “You just said you were sorry. You—”

“I volunteered to travel to Wyoming to rescue the mustangs because it's important to me, yes, b-but also because I needed to get away and think. I needed to get away from you.”

He was telling her he'd purposely left to escape her.
“What?”

“I appreciate everything, I truly d-do.” He paused as if to control his tendency to rush the words. “I wanted to talk to you. I tried, but I c-couldn't.”

“Why not?”

“I don't do well with words. I thought once I was here, I'd write to you. But when I arrived, a letter seemed so…callous.”

“And this isn't?”

“I'd give anything not to hurt you,” he said in a low voice.

It was too late for that. Pain swirled through her, cutting off her breath, undermining even her ability to stand upright. Sinking into a chair, she clutched the phone with one hand and held the other against her forehead.

“There's nothing physical between Vicki and me,” he said. “I haven't even kissed her.”

“And you believe you're in love with her?”

“I know I am.”

“Okay, okay,” she said, thinking fast. “You need to examine everything, Cal. Your feelings and reactions. The two of you are out there alone, and it makes sense that you might be attracted to her, but that'll all change when you're back home.”

“No,” he stated flatly. “It won't change.”

She noticed how controlled his voice was, as if
he knew exactly what he planned to say and had rehearsed it any number of times.

“I'm coming back to Cedar Cove. I'm leaving in the morning.”

“Thank God,” she breathed. Once he got back, he'd realize what a mistake he was making.

“My feelings for Vicki aren't going to change, Linnette,” he insisted. “I intend to ask her to be my wife.”

G
race arrived at the Pancake Palace three minutes ahead of Olivia for their weekly splurge of pie and coffee. They'd both earned it after an hour's worth of aerobic exercise. If it was just up to Grace, she'd skip the workout and go straight for the pie. Olivia wouldn't hear of that, however, and was determined that Grace join her for class. Although she complained, Grace actually looked forward to exercising with her best friend. The bonus was that Wednesday evenings were also their time to catch up on each other's news.

Grace slid into the booth by the window and Goldie, the crusty, retirement-age waitress, immediately brought over a pot of decaffeinated coffee. Grace turned over the ceramic mug—a ritual at the Pancake Palace.

“Olivia's right behind me,” she said. Reaching for Olivia's cup, she righted it.

“You girls want the usual?” Goldie asked as she filled both mugs.

Grace nodded. She'd been friends with Olivia so long that she felt she could speak for her. They'd met in first grade and been best friends all through school. Although they were both in their fifties, and into their second marriages, they remained as close now as when they were girls. They'd come here, to this very same restaurant, for sodas after class. The Pancake Palace was a venerable Cedar Cove institution, and Goldie had been there since Grace and Olivia really
were
girls.

“Why don't you live a little?” Goldie suggested. “Go for the big-time. I've got apple pan dowdy in the kitchen.”

Grace nearly choked on her coffee. “Apple pan dowdy over coconut cream pie? I don't think so.”

“What about chocolate cream pie?” Goldie said next, her hand on her hip.

Grace considered that, but only briefly. “Not interested, sorry.”

“Blueberry?”

“Coconut cream.”

Goldie shook her head, as if bitterly disappointed. “The judge, too?”

Grace nodded. Olivia and Grace remained steadfastly loyal to coconut cream—and to each other.

Still shaking her head, Goldie disappeared into the kitchen.

Sipping her coffee, Grace recalled the afternoon shortly before their high-school graduation, when she'd told Olivia she was pregnant. They'd been sitting in a booth at the Pancake Palace then, too. This was weeks before she'd had the courage to tell her teenage boyfriend. She'd married Dan and shortly afterward he'd joined the army and was shipped off to Vietnam. Grace sighed; she didn't know why her mind was traveling down that road.

She looked up to see Olivia walking into the restaurant, and although they'd just finished a strenuous physical workout, her friend had hardly a hair out of place. She'd always been like that; she was such a contrast to Jack Griffin, which made their marriage very interesting indeed. Olivia craved order and Jack…well, Jack didn't. Despite that, or maybe because of it, they succeeded as a couple.

“I ordered the pie,” Grace said when Olivia sat down across from her.

“Great.” She picked up her coffee and after the first sip, exhaled with satisfaction. “How was your week?”

Grace shrugged. “All right, I guess.”

“You
guess?
”

She'd never managed to keep anything from her friend, she thought with a slight smile. “Cliff talked
to Cal, and he's on his way back to Cedar Cove with two mustangs.”

Olivia studied her carefully and after a short pause, said, “That should be good news, right?”

Grace lowered her gaze. “Normally it would be.” With Cal away in Wyoming, Cliff had been doing Cal's work as well as his own. Grace didn't feel she was much help, but she did her best to assist her husband in Cal's absence.

“What's going on?” Olivia asked.

Until now, Grace had kept the romance developing between Cal and Vicki Newman to herself. She didn't believe she had the right to say anything, especially when he'd been so close to Linnette McAfee. Then last Thursday, Linnette had come to her because she'd sensed that something was wrong. Grace wanted to kick Cal for not being more straightforward with the girl.

“Grace?” Olivia said, breaking into her thoughts. “You look a million miles away.”

“Oh, sorry. It's Cal.”

“You said he's on his way back.”

“He is, but he dropped a bombshell when he spoke to Cliff last night.” She cupped her hands around the mug, letting the heat warm her palms. “He said he wants to marry Vicki Newman.”

“The vet?” Olivia's eyes grew wide. “Isn't he seeing Linnette McAfee?”

“He is…was.”

Olivia opened her mouth, and then abruptly closed it. All she said was a soft, “Oh, my.”

“I know.” Grace shared her friend's feelings.

“Does Linnette have any idea?”

“Cliff didn't mention that part, but I assume Cal must've at least given her a few hints. She was in the library last week and asked me point-blank if Cliff and I had heard from Cal.”

“You told her?”

Grace felt dreadful about it now. She nodded. “Cliff told me what he suspected was happening between Cal and Vicki. I felt I had to tell her. I tried to be gentle.”

“None of this is your fault.”

It wasn't her business, either, but she couldn't leave the poor girl wondering. Now she felt responsible for breaking Linnette's heart.

Olivia's hands tightened around her own coffee mug. “Don't you just want to wring his neck?”

“I certainly think Cal could've handled the situation better. Linnette is devastated. From what Corrie said, this is her first really serious relationship.”

“The poor girl,” Olivia murmured sympathetically.

Grace had suspected, at his farewell dinner, that things weren't going as smoothly between Cal and
Linnette as she'd assumed. When she'd discussed it with Cliff later, her husband had said that Cal was awfully eager to leave for Wyoming, eager to get away. Yes, he was genuinely concerned about the mustangs but it was more than that. Cliff hadn't really understood it at the time; now, however, everything seemed to add up.

“What do you know about Vicki Newman?” Olivia asked.

Grace had taken Buttercup, her golden retriever, to see the vet when the dog had a cancer scare, and she'd been impressed with Vicki's affection for animals. Sherlock, her cat, had only been in for routine checkups and shots. Vicki was often out at the ranch because of the horses, and had occasionally joined her and Cliff for a coffee. Their conversations tended to be rather stilted.

“She seems nice, but…”

“But what?”

Grace hated to say it out loud. “I find her rather…different. Don't misunderstand me. I like her, and she's certainly a skillful vet. She's always been cordial enough. It's just that she…communicates better with animals than with people.”

“That could be said for Cal, too, couldn't it?”

Grace had to agree. “Especially before he started working with the speech therapist,” she recalled. “It was the oddest thing….”

“What was?”

“Whenever he was around the horses, he didn't stutter at all.” She frowned. “Even though his speech has improved, it's going to take a lot of effort on his part to learn communication skills. If the way he's dealt with Linnette is any indication…” Grace couldn't imagine Cal ever being talkative. She suspected he'd always have trouble sharing his thoughts and feelings with others.

Goldie delivered the pie and refilled their coffee mugs, then stepped away from the table.

“I feel so bad for Linnette.”

“Me, too.” Grace sliced into the pie, feeling a strange sense of sadness. “I just hope Cal's made the right decision.”

“I do, too.”

“Any news at your end?” Grace asked, eager to hear what Olivia had been up to all week.

“Actually, two pieces of information,” Olivia said.

“I'm all ears.”

“First,” Olivia said, “Mom told me that Ben heard from his older son, Steven.”

“The one who lives in California?”

“No, that's David. Steven lives on Saint Simons Island in Georgia.”

“Right.” Grace remembered that now. Will Jefferson, Olivia's brother, lived in the same state; he
was definitely not someone she wanted to think about.

“Apparently, David's in some kind of financial mess and went to his brother for a loan. Steven called to tell his father about it.”

Grace leaned back. “David's money problem surprises you?”

“Not really. I remember how he tried to swindle my mother out of five thousand dollars.” Olivia's eyes narrowed. “It makes me mad every time I think about him giving my mother this ludicrous story about needing surgery.”

“Oh, brother.”

“Apparently he already declared bankruptcy a couple of years ago and now there's no easy solution.”

“He's being hounded by creditors?” Grace asked. She'd had some experience of that soon after Dan disappeared. It'd been a nightmarish time in her life. She didn't wish those kinds of pressures on anyone, David Rhodes included. “What I recall is that he asked you to fix his traffic ticket.”

“Like I'd even
consider
such a thing.”

Grace swallowed another bite of pie. “You said you had two pieces of information.”

Olivia set her fork aside and seemed to be carefully choosing her words. “I don't think there's anything to be concerned about,” she began.

“What?” Grace demanded. “Concerned about what?”

“It has to do with my brother, Will,” Olivia informed her.

Grace did her best to appear completely indifferent. “What about him?” He was nothing to her any longer, other than a source of profound embarrassment.

“I know I probably mentioned that he and Georgia are getting divorced. They've sold the house and the proceeds have been equally divided between them.”

“Oh.” Grace responded to the news with sadness—not for Will but for his long-suffering wife. Poor Georgia. Grace could all too easily imagine what she must've endured through the years. Closing her eyes, Grace acknowledged a sense of guilt for her part in this, and regret that she might have caused the other woman pain. She'd been foolish to get involved with Will. So foolish… Grace had known he was married, which only intensified her guilt. She suspected their emotional affair wasn't his first, nor was it likely his last. Granted, she hadn't slept with him but probably would have if the relationship had continued. And according to Olivia, he'd had other actual affairs.

Olivia seemed to be watching her closely.

Grace gave a beleaguered sigh. “There's more, isn't there.” She could feel it coming.

Olivia nodded. “Will told Mom he was moving back to Cedar Cove.”

Grace stared at her in horrified silence. “You've got to be kidding! What about his job?”

“He's retired now and seems to be at loose ends.”

Grace closed her eyes. The last time Will came to town had been a disaster. This was shortly after she'd broken off the relationship. He'd insisted she didn't know what she was doing and that he loved her. At one point, Cliff had stepped in and, in a fit of anger and jealousy, Will had taken a swing at him. It'd been a dreadful scene, a public spectacle, with Will threatening to press charges. Thankfully Olivia had witnessed the episode and made it clear that Will didn't stand a chance of having any charges stick.

“I'm worried,” Olivia said.

“About me and Cliff?” Grace asked and made a weak dismissive gesture with her hand. “Don't be.”

“No,” Olivia told her. “I'm concerned about Will. Mom is, too. She suggested he rethink this move. It's too drastic, especially so soon after the divorce. He needs to stay where he is. And…”

Olivia hesitated and took a deep breath. “What bothers me more than anything is that my brother, who can be as clueless as a Keystone Kop, might assume you're still available.”

“Will
knows
I'm married.” She remembered that Olivia had expressly told him.

“He knows, all right,” Olivia said. “But a little thing like a wedding band, including the one on
his
finger, hasn't stopped him before. He might have the mistaken impression that it won't stop you, either.”

Grace swallowed. “Then I'll just have to tell him.” Cliff would be happy to oblige in that regard, too; however, she had every intention of keeping the two men away from each other.