Misty Lake: Book One in the Misty Lake Series (19 page)

17

On Saturday evening Sam found herself once again surrounded by a group of McCabes. Before Sean had left her shop he had talked her into joining the family for a dinner to celebrate the news of their future grandchild. Sam had argued it should be just family but Sean was adamant. She had been there when the news was first announced, she had gone shopping with Karen, and she was creating a gift for Anna that was sure to make him a hero. She was practically part of the family, he had insisted. When she explained her cousins would still be visiting, Sean had insisted they come along, too.

Susan had been excited about the opportunity to meet Jake’s family and even more excited about Sam and Jake having another chance to spend time together. Kyle hadn’t offered much of an opinion, having learned long ago it was much easier to just do whatever the women involved told him to do.

Like Sam’s previous visit, the dinner with the McCabes was a noisy, fun-filled affair. Jake and his siblings tried to outdo one another in the story-telling department, resulting in lots of laughs and some embarrassed grimaces. When it came time to clear the table and wash the dishes, Sam insisted on helping. Anna, claiming the kitchen was too small for many helpers, assigned the rest various tasks.

Once it was quiet in the kitchen Anna asked, “Are you doing okay after the incident on Thursday? Jake told us about it. You must have been terrified.”

“It was pretty scary for a while but it was over quickly, thanks to Kyle. I don’t like to think about how things might have ended if he hadn’t shown up when he did.”

“I’m sorry it happened, Sam, and I’m sorry it seems you’ve had more than your share of trouble since you got here. That’s not how things usually are in Misty Lake. It’s normally a pretty quiet place, and a safe place.”

“I’m sure that’s the case and I’m sure any problems I’ve had are over. Jake doesn’t think Jimmy’s brother was responsible for any of the other things that have happened but since things have calmed down in that department, I’m betting it’s all over. I can’t spend all my time looking over my shoulder.”

“No, you can’t. That’s no way to live, I agree, but you have to be cautious at the same time.” Then, before Sam could respond, Anna said “And speaking of Jake…”

Were they speaking of Jake? Sam wondered. She sensed Anna was getting to the real reason it was just the two of them in the kitchen.

“I’ve heard the two of you have been spending more time together.”

Small towns, Sam thought. Of course Jake’s mother had heard about every time they’d been together. “We’ve seen each other a few times,” Sam began tentatively.

“Well, I just want you to know I’m pleased. Jake is a good boy and he’s been on his own for far too long.”

“Now, Mrs. McCabe…Anna,” she corrected herself at Anna’s raised eyebrows. “We’re really just friends. We’ve had dinner a couple of times but most of our time together has been the result of the trouble I’ve seemed to attract since I got to Misty Lake.”

“Hmmm,” was Jake’s mother’s only response.

Sam rushed to explain before Anna got the wrong idea. “Your son is very nice, Anna, but it’s nothing serious. We met because he’s the sheriff and he’s unfortunately had to come out to my place on a few occasions. It’s just business. Yes, we’ve had dinner, but like I said, it’s mostly just been to discuss the case and Jake’s progress. It’s not like we’ve had a lot of dates or like we’ve met each other’s families…well, I guess I’ve met you and Jake has met my cousins but, really, that just sort of happened, it’s not like we planned it. It’s just business,” she repeated.

Sam realized she was rambling and was out of breath. When she looked up Anna was smiling with a knowing look on her face. She came to Sam, put a hand on her arm and calmly said, “You’re in love with my son.”

“What? No. In love? Definitely not. I mean, it’s not that he’s not a great guy but that’s just not how it is. I’m sorry if I’ve given you the wrong impression, I certainly didn’t mean to, but in love? No. No.”

“It’s okay to be a little frightened, Sam. Believe me, I understand.”

“Understand what?” Sam asked weakly.

“Being afraid to love someone who puts himself in danger every day, day after day.”

Sam looked at Anna and tried to force herself to calm down. Was she in love with Jake? Was she afraid? Did Jake’s mother really see it before she could even admit it to herself?

“Sit down, Sam,” Anna said as she led Sam to the kitchen table. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

“Like I said, it’s nothing, really,” Sam began before Anna interrupted.

“Sam, you can talk to me. You can ask me questions and I’ll do my best to answer. I’m not trying to take the place of your mother but I am a mother, maybe talking to me will help,” she said kindly.

Sam dropped her head and nodded. “I lost my mom a long time ago but I still miss her, still wish I could talk to her, ask her advice.”

“I lost my mother a long time ago, too. The hurting and the wishing never really go away. Now, I have my mother’s sisters, Kate and Rose, and I love them both dearly, but somehow it’s just not quite the same.”

Sam looked up to see a grin on Anna’s face and both women laughed at the same time.

When the laughter died down and after Anna had chased away two of her sons who had heard the laughter from the kitchen she said to Sam, “Now, talk to me.”

“I’m not sure I know where to start.”

“You’re scared. Do you want to talk about that?”

“Okay. How did you do it? How do you do it? How can you watch them go out the door every day and not be scared?”

“Oh, I never said I wasn’t scared. That would be a lie. There’ve been times when I’ve been terrified. More so with Jake, I think, than with Sean, but terrified nonetheless.”

“Why more with Jake?” Sam asked, curious.

“I love my Sean with all my heart, I have since the day I met him, and losing him would be unbearable, but Sean was already a police officer when I met him. It was part of who he was and I came to love him as a police officer. That’s not saying I was crazy about him putting himself in harm’s way, but there was something about seeing him in that uniform.” She wiggled her eyebrows and laughed. “The longer we were together the more I learned to trust him and have confidence in his ability and his determination to stay safe.”

“Now, when Jake said he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps? I hit the ceiling. When you have children your focus becomes your children, taking care of them, teaching them, keeping them safe. It doesn’t matter if that child is an infant or a high school senior. When you hear they are knowingly choosing to do something that’s potentially dangerous, instinct kicks in and you try to protect. I fought Jake for weeks, months actually, before he and his father convinced me I had to let him do what he wanted to do.”

“How did they finally convince you?”

“Let me tell you, when Jake sets his mind to something it’s not easy to change it. He bombarded me with facts and statistics trying to convince me he could choose many other more dangerous professions. Did you know a police officer is not even in the top ten of most dangerous jobs? It falls somewhere behind loggers, fishermen, farmers, and garbage haulers.”

“I didn’t know that,” Sam mumbled.

“In the end it wasn’t the statistics or the colored charts and graphs he presented me but the fact that it was what he really wanted. If he could keep up the badgering and the speeches for that long, I knew he would never really be happy without at least giving it a try. I’ll admit, I was hoping he would change his mind but…” Anna shrugged. “And don’t think I didn’t make him swear all sorts of promises to me.”

“So how do you handle the dangers that go with the job? How do you get through your day not knowing what their day will bring?”

“Early on, I spent many, many days worrying. It got worse after Jake was born. Thinking about the possibility of being widowed with a baby was paralyzing. One day Sean sat me down and told me if I wanted, he would quit. Just like that. He said I was more important than a job and if it was too difficult for me, he would leave his job. A job I knew he loved.”

“He said that?”

“He did and I knew he meant it. Right then and there I decided if he loved me enough to quit then I loved him enough not to let him. I prayed a lot, I still do. I also started focusing on the fact that it was far, far more likely nothing bad would happen than that something would. Why not dwell on the statistics that practically guaranteed he’d be home for dinner? And why not focus on how proud I was that he worked so hard to keep the town, and those who lived in it, safe?”

“That makes sense, I suppose. I guess I’m just so afraid of losing another person I care about, it’s hard to let myself care too much.”

The sadness in Sam’s eyes almost broke Anna’s heart. Gently she said, “But what’s the alternative, dear? Shutting yourself off, not letting yourself love, is no way to go through life. As hard as it is, you have to look to the future and not to the past. I have to believe it’s what your family would have wanted for you.”

“I know. Logically, I know. I recently found a letter my grandfather wrote for me before he died. He said a lot of the same things you just said, but it’s so difficult. Sometimes I think things are better, I’m happy, having fun, and then, bam. Something triggers a memory or I start feeling sorry for myself and it’s as if I’m reliving it all again. I almost feel as if I’m really back at the hospital hearing the news that my parents and grandmother are dead. Or I’m getting the news about Danny or my grandfather. I can’t imagine what would happen to me if I ever have to face something like that again.”

“I think you’re stronger than you believe, Sam. Look what you’ve done here in Misty Lake. You picked up and moved to a strange place, started a business, you’re working with a group of kids who are going to be much better for the experience, and you’re making my son happy. I think that’s pretty amazing.”

“I don’t know…”

“You can’t let fear control your life. You don’t want to look back one day and find only what ifs instead of a lifetime of beautiful memories.”

Sam looked at Anna and slowly nodded. She let out a ragged breath. “You’re right and I’ll try. I can’t promise it will happen over night, but I promise I’ll work on it.”

“Good. Remember I’m here if you want to talk. Anytime. Now, let’s finish these dishes and join the party.”

Susan grabbed a chair, deciding to help Riley return the extra chairs to the basement, the job assigned him by his mother. As she followed him down the stairs she couldn’t help but notice the long, lean legs, trim waist, and broad shoulders. His wavy brown hair had auburn highlights. She had friends who paid hundreds of dollars every month in an attempt to achieve what Riley probably never gave a thought.

“The chairs go right in here,” Riley said, leading her down a hallway to a storage room. The pictures on the wall caught Susan’s attention and she stopped to look more closely.

“These are fantastic.”

Riley came back and picked up the chair Susan had been carrying. “Frank took them, he’s our photographer.”

“The photos are great but I meant what’s in the photos. Before and after, I assume.” The hallway was lined with framed side-by-side photos, interior and exterior shots of what looked to be several different houses. First was a picture of a room, a porch, even a staircase all in various states of neglect. Following was a picture taken from the same angle but looking dramatically different. The kitchen in one photo had been gutted and rebuilt with stunning cabinets, granite countertops, and a beautiful wood floor. The old, worn staircase had become nothing short of a work of art. The faded, tattered carpet was gone, replaced with gleaming wood stairs set off by gorgeous railings and newel posts. The transformations were incredible.

“Does he take photographs for people when they are remodeling?” Susan asked. “Or take advertising photos?”

“Well, yes, he does take advertising photos but these are pictures he took of work I’ve done,” Riley answered as he headed down the hall with the chair.

“You did this? All of this?”

“You don’t have to sound so shocked.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, it’s just that the work is amazing. You are obviously quite talented, Riley McCabe.”

“It’s what I love, being good at it is a bonus.”

“Do you flip houses?”

“I haven’t yet but I would like to. Right now I’m doing remodels, building decks, finishing basements, that sort of thing.”

“Wonderful,” Susan said sincerely. “You choose your jobs, set your hours, don’t have a boss breathing down your neck.” Susan sighed. “Wonderful,” she said again.

“I think it’s pretty wonderful but there are bills to pay. I can’t always afford to be too picky about jobs and oftentimes my hours are longer than they’d ever be working at something else. Then there are the homeowners. I may not have a boss breathing down my neck but have you ever tried to work when a mom decides it will be okay for her kids to ‘watch’ while she runs to the store? Or when a retired architect scrutinizes your every move and tells you daily what you’re doing wrong? Or when a bored housewife changes her mind
six times
on where she wants outlets in the new designer kitchen she’s probably never going to use for anything but mixing margaritas? I could go on.”