The Coast Road Home

by Vickie McKeehan

  After walking Quentin and Sydney to their car, Gideon took one side and Marley the other.

  “I’m glad you could come tonight,” Marley told Sydney.

  “Me too. We’re having a girls’ night out tomorrow night. Why don’t you join us?”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. What does that entail exactly? It’s been a while since I’ve gone out with a group of people. Although I did promise Hayden that I’d go to that fancy restaurant with her, the one she called The Pointe and sit at the bar to attract more tourists.”

  Sydney sputtered with laughter. “There you go. You’re committed. Knowing my sister the way I do, Hayden will hound you until you acquiesce. But tomorrow night is nothing quite as elaborate as spending the evening at The Pointe. It’s just that, Jordan Harris runs the B&B outside of town. She usually hosts a get-together out at her place several times a year. But since it’s high season there now, she’s swamped. A bunch of us decided she’s been working too hard and she deserves a break. We’re dragging her out of there for three hours and giving her a well-deserved night out.”

  “That sounds fair. If not The Pointe, then where?”

  “Julianne Dickinson is hosting at her house, last one on the corner of Ocean Street before the left turn that goes to the lighthouse. You can’t miss it.”

  On the other side of the car, Quentin had bent Gideon’s ear. “By the way, you were right. I like her.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “Tonight. She’s bright and funny, and the two of you are like matching bookends.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “I would. You’re both stubborn as the day is long. You do realize she’s avoiding the responsibility of tackling another mental patient. She’s afraid of having to face another Phillip Dealey down the road.”

  Gideon winced at the truth of it, sure that he was the only one who’d seen through Marley’s logic. “What were you doing, eavesdropping on our conversation in the kitchen?”

  “No, but I recognize my own panic at the prospect of facing down another gunman. It’s something that stays with you. I haven’t a single thing positive to add about getting shot. And she doesn’t either. There’s no flip side. The trauma is still there. It breaks my heart. Because I think with her experience, she could do a world of good for a lot of people.”

  Gideon thought that, too. “But you were able to somehow get over it and go back to what you knew best, being doctor.”

  “Not the kind I was. I’ll never be the best trauma surgeon in all of Northern California. On some level, I do understand where Marley’s coming from, understand the fear she feels about failing to spot another Dealey. It’s got to be a humbling experience for anyone.”

  After the conversation, Gideon took Barkley for a walk to clear his head while Marley tackled cleaning up the kitchen.

  But when they were getting ready for bed, something nagged at him, and he had to get it off his chest. “Do you really believe it’s impossible to sustain a successful marriage?”

  “Well, the two of us are divorced, Gideon. I shouldn’t have to point that out. We’re not exactly role models in the marriage department. I married a musician who happened to be a serial cheater. It doesn’t mean every musician out there cheats. But I got divorced to fix the problem because I refused to live my life sitting at home wondering what Ewan was doing on the road. I made a mistake and corrected it through the court system. It’s not my fault that Ewan couldn’t stop himself from nailing every skirt that came on his radar.”

  “Yeah, but…okay…I admit my first marriage was to the wrong woman. She saw a doctor and thought she’d jump on a gravy train. But just because I made a mistake once, doesn’t mean I’ve given up on finding the right one.”

  “Good for you. That’s the spirit. See how it works? People don’t give up because there’s always hope that you can turn a bad situation around to your advantage. I’m hoping Bette finds that out somehow.”

  “Well, she won’t find it out without a good therapist,” Gideon snapped.

  “Ah, but maybe she just needs a friend she can talk to.”

  Seventeen

  The dawn had lost its haze by the time Marley crawled out of bed. As she pulled on her robe, Gideon lifted his head and glanced at the bedside clock. He combed a hand through his hair as he struggled to sit up. “This might be the longest I’ve slept since I moved here. No calls from the hospital about anything. Imagine that.”

  “It must be a record.” Yawning, Marley went over and sit down on his side of the bed. “Saturdays were made for sleeping in. You needed some extra Zs after the kind of week you had.”

  She thought of Bette and wondered if the woman had made it through the night without doing anything stupid. But the hard male who was staring at her was difficult to ignore. “Better put your order in now for breakfast. Otherwise you’re getting cold cereal. I used all the eggs yesterday for the cake.”

  “Which was delicious,” he said, cupping her chin. “What if I want you for breakfast?”

  She ran a fingernail down his bare chest. “Didn’t I wear you out last night? Because as I recall you fell asleep in the middle of a sentence, just conked out after one round.”

  “Then I need another chance…right here, right now.” Pulling her closer, he buried his face in her hair to nuzzle her neck. “Who needs breakfast when you’re already here.”

  Dragging her onto his lap, his eager mouth was very persuasive.

  “I suppose you can try to make it up to me,” she whispered with a giggle as his hands got busy, and his clever lips trailed down her shoulders to a breast.

  They stayed in bed for another hour, letting the world outside wait for them. That world included Barkley. The dog had waited not-so-patiently for some attention.

  After taking a shower together, they finally made it downstairs and found Barkley sitting by the doggie door looking like he was in trouble.

  “What have you done now?” Marley accused, pointing her finger at the pooch. “Okay, my fault for not getting up and taking you out. But, hey—” That’s when her eyes caught sight of the tipped-over trash can and last night’s garbage strewn all over the kitchen floor. “Looks like somebody’s already had their breakfast.”

  Gideon saw the mess and started laughing, which earned him a scowl from Marley. “Okay, lesson learned. I should’ve taken it out last night and emptied it into the bin at the side of the house.”

  Shoving her hair out of her face, Marley retrieved the broom and dustpan and began to scoop up the bits and pieces of what was left. Doggie slobber was evident and everywhere. “He’s chewed on half of what’s not even edible. How can one dog be so much trouble? Better look around for dog poo.”

  Barkley seemed to understand which human was on his side and gravitated to Gideon, who rubbed the dog’s ears in a gesture that spoke volumes. “He probably considers it a step up eating our garbage versus garbage from strangers.”

  “Don’t try to be funny. I knew I should’ve gotten down here sooner. This is actually your fault,” Marley accused, clearly perturbed by the turn of events.

  Smug in his own right, Gideon treated it like a joke. “I take full responsibility. We’re very bad dog owners. We don’t deserve a dog as good as Barkley.”

  “Hear that, Barkley?” Marley began. “Our reputations are at stake. So, give us a break and stop eating the trash.” She dragged out the bag of dog chow and used an oversized scoop to fill up the dog’s dish. “This is your food.”

  Barkley turned up his nose at the dry chunks.

  “Suit yourself,” Marley said. “But that’s all you’re getting even if I have to hide the garbage bin. And I’m the adult here.”

  With Gideon’s help, they managed to finish picking up the debris before he put on the coffee. While the machine worked through its cycle, she mopped the tile floor to a shine. “How about that bowl of cereal? I’m starving.”

  Gideon went in search of bowls, spoons, cereal, and milk.
He found a box of Special K Almond Delight in the pantry and plopped down at the table.

  While crunching his cereal, he noticed her mind was somewhere else. “What would you like to do today?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Do.” He waved his cereal spoon in front of her face to get her attention. “Since your arm strength is better, would you like to try kayaking around the bay again? We could launch from behind the house.”

  “Sure. That sounds great.”

  Testing to see if she had actually heard him, he made a point of asking, “What sounds great?”

  “Uh, what you said.”

  “Which was?”

  “Okay. You got me. I was thinking about Bette. I’m assuming she’s out of the hospital. I think someone should go over and check on her.”

  “Why?”

  She frowned. “Why not? You’re her doctor, do you not care what happens to the woman?”

  “Of course, I care. Since when do you?”

  “Since I’ve been unable to get Bette out of my head. Poor Bette. That might’ve been me. Having been in her shoes, embarrassed and humiliated, I know exactly all the things running through her head right about now. We can always go kayaking after we check on her. Besides, we can’t leave Barkley alone. We need to tire him out, so he doesn’t want to get into trouble.”

  Barkley heard his name and trotted over to stick his head in Marley’s lap. “Yes, you’re forgiven, but I don’t trust you. Yet. You need to show me you can resist your old habits and stay on the straight and narrow.”

  In front of the dog’s face, Gideon rested his chin on the palm of his hand. “Hear that, Barkley? You’re on notice. Clean up your act or suffer the consequences.”

  Marley busted out laughing. “Yeah. Right. What consequences would that be exactly?”

  “I don’t know, but we can be harsh when the situation warrants it.”

  “Sure, we can. We’ll take away his fancy dog chow and put him on bread and water.”

  The dog seemed to know there was a discussion going on. But Marley ruffled his fur and took his hairy chin in her hands. “We’re taking you with us to visit a woman in distress so behave yourself. None of that wild, reckless jumping. Got it?”

  The dog woofed and tried to jump on the table.

  Marley let out a sigh and continued to stroke Barkley’s fur. “I’d forgotten how challenging it is to raise a puppy.”

  She’d already relayed the story about Barkley The First, the golden retriever that had gone after the gunman trying to protect Leo. He knew she wanted this to work no matter how naughty Barkley The Second behaved.

  “The keyword here is puppy. Barkley will get better, won’t you, boy?”

  Barkley licked Gideon’s face and tried to crawl into his lap.

  “Down, Barkley. Not while I’m eating.”

  “Come on, Barkley. You need to walk off some of this energy.”

  “I’ve been thinking,” he said before she stepped outside. “If we’re going to check on Bette, we might as well do the same for Hollis Crow. Hollis lives practically right around the corner from Bette. It wouldn’t take five minutes at each place to bring them a hot meal.”

  “That’s a great idea. Look in on both to see how they’re doing. You know, getting discharged from the hospital after a stay is a daunting thing. When you’re a patient, the staff does everything for you. Then all of a sudden, you’re let go, and you’re totally on your own. You try and stay on top of the issues that landed you in the hospital in the first place, but invariably it can become too much, and people give up. We don’t want Bette or Hollis to do that. I’ll pack them some of the leftovers from last night. There’s plenty to go around. I’ll get down the picnic baskets. That should hold enough for both of them.”

  A warmth spread through Gideon straight to his heart. While he helped her wrap and pack the food, it occurred to him that this was the closest thing to a relationship he’d had in years. Marley wasn’t Patricia. There was nothing soulless or heartless about spending a Saturday morning helping others.

  That alone was enough to make him feel better. It wasn’t his imagination that made him think she’d turned a corner. Since moving into the house, she seemed less down, less focused on herself. Maybe it was adding Barkley into the mix. Whatever it was, he could appreciate the change in attitude. Let’s see if she could pull off a similar miracle with Bette.

  Bette’s house was a clapboard Cape Cod set back from the road on Pacific Street. The yard needed mowing, and the flowerbeds were overrun by weeds. But it was a cute bungalow with turquoise shutters and the same color trim.

  Just as Marley was about to knock, the front door opened, and Seth Larrabee stepped outside. When the young pastor spotted Gideon, his face split into a wide smile. “Hey, Doc. How’s it going?”

  “Not bad. Just here to see how my patient’s doing. I brought someone along who wants to talk to Bette.” Gideon made the introductions.

  “This guy saved my life last fall,” Seth gushed without a hint of embarrassment. “If this man ever needs a kidney, I’ll step up.”

  “That’s very commendable,” Marley said as Seth continued pumping her hand. When Barkley stuck his wet nose into Seth’s crotch, the preacher finally let go of her hand. “We brought her a goodie basket.”

  Seth took a step back toward the door. “Thanks for that. As to how the patient is doing, overall better, I think, but she’s still depressed. She’s aware everyone in town knows and is gossiping about her. Ophelia and Jolene Sanders have been taking turns checking in, but it tipped things off.”

  Seth leaned in and whispered, “We’re all terrified about leaving Bette on her own for very long. I think she’s beginning to suspect what we’re up to with the revolving door of people dropping in.”

  “We promise not to stay long. Has she been forthcoming about her suicide attempt?” Marley asked in a quiet tone.

  Seth shook his head. “No, but then she won’t even discuss Dan walking out, either. Or how much she’s hurting. Do you think you can get her talking?”

  “I don’t know. I’m just here to try and help, maybe prevent her from hurting herself again.”

  Seth’s face cracked into a grin. “Glad to hear it. We could use whatever help we can muster. I’ll just let her know you’re here. Come on in.” He rapped on the door again and stuck his head inside. “It’s me, Bette. I’ve got your doctor here. Dr. Nighthawk wants to see how you’re doing.”

  Bette had been sitting on the sofa. Her skin looked frail and pale, but when she spotted Gideon, she began to smooth her stringy golden hair back and primp a bit. “I didn’t know you made house calls.”

  “Sometimes, I do. I wanted to see how you were getting on.”

  “Oh…you know…better.” Her face fell when she caught sight of her other visitor. She stared at Marley, holding Barkley on his leash. “Who are you?”

  Before Marley could answer, Seth excused himself. “I’ll leave you guys alone to visit. Bette, call if you need anything. Ophelia is coming by at two to bring you something for dinner.”

  “Thanks, Seth. I appreciate it.” Bette dropped down onto the couch again.

  Marley took the opportunity to step closer and made Barkley stick to her like glue. “I’m new in town. My name’s Marley Lennox. I’m a friend of Dr. Nighthawk. I heard what happened to you last Christmas…about your husband.”

  Bette let out a grunt of dissatisfaction. “It’s all over town, anyway, everyone knows Dan’s an asshole. I suppose Dr. Nighthawk told you I tried to…”

  “That’s not why I’m here,” Marley said quickly. “It’s about Dan’s cheating. The same thing happened to me. It happens to a lot of people. I’m from a small town in Wisconsin. Not that different from Pelican Pointe. Everywhere I went in New Glarus there was always someone willing to bring it up. Ewan, that’s my ex-husband, left me for a younger woman. If I went to the market to buy avocados, there stood the produce manager in the middle of the aisle asking me if I’d hear
d from Ewan. It seems the guys went to high school together and he wanted to stay in touch.”

  Bette still looked skeptical, but she was beginning to warm up. “Well, that’s just rude.”

  “That’s what I thought. At the time Ewan left, I had two little kids at home. I felt like slapping the next person who brought up my failure. That’s the way I saw it. I hadn’t kept my marriage together. It must be my fault that he found someone else. It seemed to me there were people around town who even blamed me for him taking off.”

  “That’s stupid. Even though I should’ve known Dan was running around, giving me ridiculous excuses about why he wasn’t coming home in the evenings. All that lying about work…was a ruse so I wouldn’t suspect anything until he got his ducks in a row, found his balls, and decided to ask me for a divorce.”

  “I’ve been there…on the receiving end of the lies to cover up all the affairs. I’m not even sure how Ewan kept all the lies straight. Or the string of women for that matter. There were phone calls at night, hang-ups if I answered. While if he picked up the phone, he’d have this quiet, low-key conversation making sure I couldn’t overhear what he was talking about.”

  “Lying sacks of shit is what they are,” Bette grumbled.

  “And then some.” Marley sat down on the other end of the sofa. “I can’t tell you how stupid I felt when I found out. And the only way I found out is when Ewan had the nerve to ask me for a divorce. It seems he’d met this very young woman with big boobs.”

  Gideon could see where Marley was going with this and thought it better if he left the two women alone to commiserate. “How about if I make you both some tea?”