One Mountain Away (43 page)

“You’re a fighter. You aren’t going to quit.”

“No.” She lifted her head. “No?”

“No.” Analiese shook her head in emphasis.

“I’ve spent the past few days telling people I might die. Of course, I didn’t put it that way, but they got the message.”

“I’m sure that was hard.”

“Ethan didn’t take it well.” Charlotte rested her head against the sofa again, as if it hurt to hold it up. “He’s angry with me for not telling him in the first place. He thinks I was manipulating him. I’m not sure I’ll ever see him again. And Taylor hasn’t even opened the letter I wrote her. I wonder how I could have made so many mistakes.”

Analiese knew about the letter from a previous conversation and was sorry Taylor was refusing to read it.

“Let’s see… You’re human?”

“I never wanted to be.”

“I’m afraid it wasn’t a choice.”

“I woke up this morning all ready to face this, and now, I’m not sure I want to. What’s the point? I’ve been trying to set things right, but when I look back on the past weeks, I don’t think I’ve accomplished a lot.”

“Of course you have. But if you expected to accomplish everything? Then that’s just the same old problem, isn’t it? Impossibly high expectations for yourself and everybody around you. You can’t make people feel one way or the other about the leukemia
or
the way you’ve chosen to deal with it. There’s no rule that says the moment you found out you were ill you had to tell anyone. But once
they
found out, there’s also no rule that says they aren’t allowed to be upset.”

“I do know that. It’s just…”

“It’s just easier to be sensible and positive when you’re not fighting the urge to puke.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“I didn’t just come to share my incredible store of wisdom. I have an idea I’d like to explore with you. Are you feeling up to it?”

“You’re consulting me on the first day of chemo?”

Despite the response, Analiese knew she’d piqued Charlotte’s interest. “I’m only going to share it if you promise to eat a little of Harmony’s soup.”

“I’m envisioning your last life. Do you remember forcing Israelite slaves to erect the pyramids? Weren’t you the one with the whip?”

“Weren’t you the pharaoh giving the orders?”

“Don’t make me laugh. It doesn’t help.”

“The soup will.”

“What’s the idea about? The one you want my opinion on?”

“Your house up in the mountains. I guess there’s no chance you’ll want to zip up there this week and see it again?”

“I’ll give you the key if you want to go.” Charlotte hesitated. “A small bowl, but I do mean small. Then you’ll tell me?”

“Only if you eat every single bite.”

* * *

“Well? I’m waiting to see the ring,” Rilla told Harmony, after a greeting hug. She’d met Harmony at the door using her walker, and she looked happy to have done so much on her own.

“No ring,” Harmony said.

They moved slowly into the family room, which was aptly named, since it was clear this was where the family did most of their living. Everything here was made for comfort. Sofas wide and soft enough for naps, recliners and rockers, a brick fireplace so large that if the power went off, the family could probably cook in it and heat the house.

Rilla carefully settled herself in a rocker. “I guess the lack of a ring could mean a couple of things. It wasn’t ready when he went to pick it up. He’s planning to give it to you later….”

“Or I decided not to marry him. That’s the one to choose if you want the grand prize.” Harmony flopped down onto the sofa across from her friend. “I’m okay, so don’t worry. It wasn’t pretty. Davis and I will be speaking through lawyers from this point, I guess. He knows he’ll have to pay child support. We’ll just have to work out details. I’m keeping the car, since I’d already sold my old one.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t need to be. I was so worried about our future, mine and the baby’s, I was willing to overlook everything else. Comes right down to it, I’m not even sure I like the guy, much less love him. And that couldn’t be good for anybody.” As Rilla listened and nodded, Harmony explained her theory that Davis had only proposed in the first place to keep “unwed father” off his résumé.

“So what will you do?” Rilla asked.

“I’m not sure. Charlotte needs me now, but…” Harmony couldn’t put her fear into words, that soon Charlotte might not need anybody’s help, that she would be beyond help.

“You’ll keep the job at Cuppa?”

“I don’t honestly see how. I wouldn’t earn enough working the lunch shift, and unless I luck into someone wise and wonderful who’ll babysit at a bargain during the dinner shift, I can’t afford to work there.”

“Will you miss it?”

“It’s been fun, but I’m ready to find something else.” Harmony was also ready to change the subject, because there were too many unknowns in her future, and talking didn’t help. “It’s great to see you up and around. You look happy to be answering the door again.”

“That’s not all I’m happy about.”

“Are the boys coming home for good?”

“They are, and we got some news last night that might be great for you, too.”

Harmony didn’t have a clue what Rilla meant. “How?”

“Brad and I got the insurance settlement for my accident. The other driver’s company finally stopped contesting the payment. And that means now we can hire full-time help.”

“Until you recover?”

“And beyond. We’ve needed help for a while. Between the kennels and the gardens and all the animals,
and
the kids? Plus my plan to start marketing herbs and goat cheese at the farmer’s market next summer? Well, it was just too much to do alone. So in his free time Brad was fixing up the apartment above the garage. It was pretty run-down, so we’d never even used it for guests.”

“I didn’t realize there was an apartment there. I figured that floor was storage.”

“It’s got tons of potential. He’s already handled most of the renovations, except the bathroom and kitchen. Then, after the accident, he didn’t have any free time. Now, finally, we can get somebody out here to finish them, then our new employee can live in the apartment as part of her compensation. And I’m thinking that person ought to be you.”

Rilla’s speech had been a lot to take in, and it had been delivered in only two breaths. “Me?” Harmony asked.

“You. First, I really like you, and you’ve already proved you’re a wonderful caretaker and a hard worker. Look how you took to raising the puppies. And look how much you’ve helped me for no reason other than kindness. Second, I’m betting you like growing things, too, and whatever you don’t know yet, I can teach you. Third, you’re fun to be around. I thought of you right away when the settlement came in, but you were getting married. Now it seems like fate. A cute little apartment with plenty of privacy, no need to pay for child care because your baby can grow up with my children and be right here with you. Lots of good food in the garden. Doesn’t it seem doable?”

“Doable?”

Rilla looked perplexed. “No?”

“Not doable. Heaven. You would actually consider me?”

“Not consider. I
want
you.”

For a moment Harmony let herself enjoy the possibility, visions of herself right here at Capable Canines, doing all the things she loved. Raising her baby in a nearly perfect environment instead of a shabby efficiency carved out of a run-down house in town. Sharing child care with Rilla, who would know everything Harmony didn’t.

Then she remembered Charlotte. “Rilla, I can’t leave Charlotte yet. She needs me even worse than you do.” She explained about the leukemia, and Rilla reacted with genuine sympathy.

“I’m so sorry. I was looking forward to getting to know her better. I really hope she comes through this.”

“Me, too,” Harmony said.

“
Of course
I want you to stay with her. I know you need to, and we have to finish the apartment first, anyway. Likely that’ll take a few more weeks, maybe even a month, because Brad’s just now taking bids. My first order of business is to bring the boys back, not the horses or goats. And it’s too late for much of a garden this year, anyway. So at this point, I can do fine with a temporary helper during the day, somebody who’ll do a little light housework and make sure the boys don’t get into mischief. Brad’s already checking into that.”

“But I don’t know how long it’ll be before I could be here.”

“Then we’ll play it by ear as long as we can. As long as you’re interested?”

“Am I!” Harmony suddenly realized something. “Could I keep Velvet? I mean, as my own dog? I could pay you for her, a little at a time. And she could stay in the apartment with the baby and me.”

Rilla looked pleased. “I was never going to sell Velvet. I was going to have her spayed and find her a good home. Sounds like I just did.”

* * *

Ethan wasn’t sure how he had ended up at Charlotte’s home place. He had decided to hike, his tried-and-true way to work off stress, and he’d driven out toward Hot Springs, then beyond, to find a good trail. The next thing he knew, he was bumping over the gravel road toward the house where his ex-wife had grown up, the house for which he’d been caretaker and landlord until their divorce.

He hadn’t been back to the log house in more than a decade, although oddly, he’d kept a piece of it with him. During his renovation of the spacious country kitchen, he’d removed a cabinet door to refinish at home, then forgotten about it because later, he’d decided to turn that particular cabinet into open shelves.

When he and Charlotte had divorced, the cabinet door—natural alder under three layers of paint—had been packed up with all his other woodworking supplies and tools. He had only recently uncovered it in his storeroom while looking for wood to complete a project.

The door had been mostly stripped but never finished, so Ethan had sanded it and wiped it with the lightest of stains, then finished it with tung oil to bring out the beauty of the grain. Finally he had put it in the trunk of his car to show Charlotte when he’d visited her on Saturday. He had expected her to laugh and call him a hoarder. But he hadn’t gotten around to taking the door out of the car, and, of course, their time together had ended very differently than he’d expected.

The door was still in the trunk, and now he used it as an excuse. He didn’t know if the log house was rented these days, but if no one was living there, he would simply leave the door on the porch. Charlotte or her tenants could sort out what to do with it.

If Charlotte remained well enough to sort out anything.

Ethan was tired, and not from hiking, since he’d yet to get out of his car. He hadn’t slept well since the scene with Charlotte, and he doubted he would sleep well tonight after wallowing in her past. Yet somehow it seemed right to be here, in the place that had shaped his ex-wife into the woman she was. He didn’t want clues. He had Charlotte figured out. Maybe he just wanted to say goodbye to lingering memories.

He was nearly at the house before he saw the aging Toyota parked beneath the spreading oak at the base of the steps. He had hoped to do his hiking here, but he hadn’t counted on it. He waited for a dog welcoming committee, and when none approached, he pulled up beside the Toyota and got out.

The front door was open, so he climbed up to the porch and called inside. “Hello?”

“Just a minute.”

The voice belonged to a woman. He went back to the car and got the door out of the back and carried it up the stairs just as Analiese Wagner came out.

“Ethan?”

Analiese was the last person he’d expected, and he was immediately wary. “Is Charlotte here?”

“No, I’m alone.”

“I’m just dropping this off. Long story, but it belongs to the house.”

“Go ahead and put it inside. I’m here looking around. Mondays are my day off.”

He pondered that as he carried the door to the kitchen. He imagined ministers needed time away, just like anyone else, maybe even more so. But this seemed like a strange place to spend it.

When he came back outside Analiese was sitting on a metal glider he remembered from previous visits. One of the tenants—he couldn’t remember which—had rescued it from somebody’s trash, sanded and painted it, and added cushions. He had always chosen handy renters.

“Join me?” she asked.

He dropped down beside her. “You never really said why you’re looking around.”

“Charlotte brought me here about a month ago and showed me the house and land. She wants to do something with the property, something to benefit others. I don’t think she wants to sell it.”

“I don’t know why. There are lots of bad memories tied up in it.”

“The house was in her family for a long time and meant a lot to her grandparents. Do you think your daughter might want it?”

“I’m not sure Taylor even remembers visiting here. The house was usually rented, and besides, she would have her own bad memories tied up in anything from her mother’s family.”

Analiese was silent for a moment, then she turned to him. Again he realized how lovely she was. She didn’t make a point of it, though, like other women might have. She dressed well and took care of herself, but she was careful not to project anything other than professional detachment laced with concern.

“You’re very angry at Charlotte right now, aren’t you?”

“She told you that?”

“I was with her a while ago. She started chemo this morning, and she’s pretty down.”

He wondered if he would ever hear news about Charlotte that didn’t propel his emotions into high gear. Would he ever just think,
Uh-huh, I can see that,
then go on to whatever else was more important in his life?

“She feels like a failure,” Analiese said. “And I don’t think I’m talking out of turn. I’m sure she’d tell you the same thing.”

“She has.”

“I’m under the impression,” she said carefully, “that you’re angry with her for not telling you right away that she has leukemia. Angry at her for wanting to have a little time together without illness muddying the waters.”

“Muddying the waters? What a delicate way to put it.” He heard the anger in his voice, and despite himself, he wasn’t able to control it. “Not telling me she dented a fender, that’s muddying the waters. Having a disease that might be fatal? That’s more like a tsunami, don’t you think?”