44 Cranberry Point

by Debbie Macomber

  “This could be intriguing.”

  Soon everyone was seated and the main course had been quickly and efficiently served, with Justine directing the waiters from the kitchen. Janet stepped up to the podium set off to one side of the platform and reviewed the rules. Next she introduced the auctioneer and Barry Stokes stepped forward.

  Barry greeted everyone with a smile and a few good-natured jokes about bachelors. He managed to work the audience to an even higher level of excitement, periodically reminding everyone of the important role the animal shelter played in the community. He pointed out that the final bidding price would be separate for the dog and the man. If the bidder wanted the dog and the bachelor, the bid was actually doubled. So if the bidder wanted either the dog or the bachelor, the bidding would begin again. Dogs made wonderful pets, he said at the end of his introduction. And so did bachelors-which brought a roar from the crowd.

  The first bachelor presented was Bruce Peyton. Grace knew Bruce through the library; the widower often came in with his young daughter. Grace recalled his wife, Stephanie, too, and was well aware that the young father continued to grieve.

  Bruce was matched up with a bassett hound. Grace could tell how nervous he was by the way his gaze darted around the room. The order of the bachelors’ appearances had been chosen by lottery, and she felt sorry for Bruce, whose name had obviously been pulled first.

  The whispers rose as Bruce walked down the runway, the bassett hound trudging beside him. It was clear that Bruce would’ve preferred to hurry, but that was impossible with the slow-moving dog.

  The first bid came from one of the women who worked at Get Nailed. She was immediately outbid by a woman from the local pharmacy. The bidding went back and forth between them until the last moment. Bruce-and the dog-were about to be won for the bargain price of two hundred and thirty-five dollars each when Lois Habbersmith, who worked with Maryellen at the gallery, shocked everyone.

  “Three hundred and fifty dollars!”

  The two women who’d been bidding stared at each other, shook their heads and sat down.

  “Three hundred and fifty dollars, going once, going twice.” Barry paused and pointed his gavel at the woman from the salon. “Are you sure you want to quit so soon? The bassett hound alone is a bargain at that price.”

  The two previous bidders shook their heads again.

  “Sold,” Barry announced and slammed down the gavel. “Now, which do you want? Bruce or the bassett?”

  “Both!”

  “Three hundred and fifty dollars each,” Barry reminded her.

  “Yes.” Lois gleefully pulled out her checkbook and maneuvered around several chairs as she made her way to the back of the room.

  Barry chuckled. “You’re married, Lois. What’s Don going to think when you bring home a dog and a bachelor?”

  “Don approves.”

  Several laughs followed, along with good-natured teasing.

  Lois dismissed Barry’s comment with a wave of her hand. “Don and I already decided we’d get a dog. And I promised him whoever I bid on would be tall enough to reach the second-story windows on the ladder. They need a good washing, and Bruce looks tall enough to do it and young enough not to complain.”

  “In other words, you purchased your bachelor to relieve Don of washing the outside windows?”

  “I did. Those windows haven’t been cleaned in three years. Don said to go for it and I did.”

  “You want me to wash your windows?” Bruce Peyton asked, visibly disappointed. “Hey, is that legal?”

  “Sure it is.” Barry laughed, nodding his head. “You volunteered for this, and she paid good money for you.”

  Bruce didn’t seem too happy with this turn of events. Giving Barry a disgruntled look, he walked off the stage.

  The chatter diminished as the second bachelor was announced-Cal Washburn, the horse trainer Grace had met at Cliff’s ranch. He was matched with a spotted gray-and-black Australian Shepherd. Again Grace thought it was a good pairing. Cal was a quiet man, gifted with horses.

  Judging by the hushed whispers that rippled across the room, it was evident that Cal was a bachelor of interest. From her vantage point, Grace could see that the dog was trembling and seemed even more nervous than Cal, until Cal crouched down and whispered something in the animal’s ear, which instantly quieted him. Grace watched in amazement as the pair proceeded down the runway. The bidding was fast and furious, with cutthroat competition between the girls at Get Nailed and-of all people-Corrie McAfee. In the end, Corrie won.

  “Do you want the dog or the bachelor?” Barry asked.

  Corrie stood while Roy remained seated with the Beldons. “I want both.”

  “Isn’t that your husband you’re sitting with?” Barry pretended to sound shocked. “What’s happening to our society when married women walk off with all the eligible bachelors because they need their windows washed?”

  Corrie grinned. “You’ve got it all wrong. The dog’s for my son, Mack, and the bachelor’s for my daughter.”

  A loud cheer of approval followed as Corrie walked over to the cashier with her checkbook in hand.

  The third bachelor was Stan Lockhart, who was paired with a high-strung white poodle. Stan seemed in his element on the runway, unlike the two previous bachelors. He’d apparently been practicing and he played to the crowd, doing a fairly good impression of a model, complete with one hand in his pocket. He was obviously expecting the high bids garnered by the other bachelors. When the winner, a younger blond woman, opted for the dog and not him, his disappointment was noticeable. The bidding started over, and Stan commanded less money than the poodle.

  Grace elbowed Olivia, who didn’t seem to know exactly how to react; her expression was a mixture of shock, embarrassment and laughter. To everyone’s surprise, Charlotte’s good friend Bess Ferryman won Stan. The older woman stood up to proudly claim her prize.

  “Don’t tell me you’re married, too?” the auctioneer demanded.

  “Nope, and I’m not buying him to wash any windows, either. I’ve got a hot date in mind.”

  “Good for you,” Barry said approvingly.

  “Dinner, and he’s buying, followed by ballroom dancing.” Bess marched purposefully toward the cashier. For just a moment, it looked as if Stan might balk, but then he dutifully left the stage.

  “Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” Jack whispered to the others. “I’ll bet he doesn’t offer his services again anytime soon.”

  Grace was chatting with Olivia and Charlotte when the next bachelor’s name was announced.

  Cliff Harding.

  This was the moment Grace had been dreading all night. In an effort to prove that she was unaffected, she fixed a smile on her face and stared straight ahead, hoping no one could guess at the turmoil inside her.

  Cliff was paired with a lovely female golden retriever. When he stepped onto the stage, he was greeted by loud cheers. Grace had long suspected he’d be one of the key figures at this event, and she was right.

  Almost immediately, Margaret White leapt into the bidding. Seconds later, the woman who worked for John L. Scott Realty topped Margaret’s two-hundred-dollar bid by another fifty.

  “What about you?” Olivia asked, nudging Grace.

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” Olivia asked, her voice rising with agitation.

  It was too complicated to explain. Now wasn’t the time to try, so she simply shook her head.

  “Grace, you can’t just sit there and let some other woman walk away with Cliff. You have to bid.”

  She felt the same way, but she couldn’t do it. While Margaret and the other woman continued to raise each other in fifty-dollar increments, Grace bit her tongue. Her heart pounded like crazy and her mouth went dry as she dealt with two years’ worth of confused emotions. Finally she couldn’t stand it any longer. Dammit, she was going to bid!

  “Five hundred dollars, going one, going twice-”

  “Seven hundred dollars
,” Grace shouted suddenly, leaping to her feet. She just hoped the animal shelter would agree to accept payments because she didn’t have that kind of money in her checking account. Seven hundred dollars would put her over the maximum on her credit card, too. She couldn’t go a penny higher.

  There was a moment of stunned silence. “Seven hundred dollars. Do we have seven hundred and fifty dollars?”

  Grace didn’t dare look in Cliff’s direction.

  “Seven hundred and fifty dollars,” Margaret White said, and her voice trembled as if to say this was far higher than she’d intended.

  “Go for eight hundred,” Olivia encouraged, tugging at Grace’s sleeve.

  Grace sat back down. “No…I shouldn’t have bid when I did. I don’t have seven hundred dollars, let alone eight.”

  “Seven hundred and fifty dollars, going once, going twice, going-”

  “Eight hundred dollars,” Olivia shouted, startling Grace.

  Barry pointed the gavel at Margaret White, who shook her head.

  “Sold for eight hundred dollars.” He punctuated the sale with a bang of the gavel.

  Barry Stokes’s eyes narrowed as he peered into the audience. He placed both hands on the sides of the podium and leaned forward. “Is that you, Judge Lockhart?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Last I heard, you and Jack Griffin were married. Now, don’t tell me there’s trouble between you newlyweds already?”

  “Nope,” Olivia called back. “And I want Cliff and the dog. The dog’s for my daughter, Justine, and the bachelor is an early birthday gift for my best friend, Grace Sherman.”

  “I can’t let you do that,” Grace insisted in a harsh whisper.

  “You can and you will,” Olivia said out of the side of her mouth. “Besides, Maryellen and Kelly went in with me.” She smiled. “My orders were to bid on Cliff if you didn’t-or if you dropped out. I had to bid on the dog, anyway. Justine met her backstage and fell in love with her.”

  “Maryellen and Kelly?”

  “Me, too,” Charlotte whispered, leaning across the table. “I did it for Cliff as much as you. As far as I’m concerned, you two belong together.”

  Grace did look in Cliff’s direction then. Although he was relatively close, she couldn’t gauge his reaction. All she could hope was that he agreed with Charlotte.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Rachel Pendergast was sweeping up her station at Get Nailed. Her appointments were finished for the day, and she was ready to head back to her house. When the phone rang, she looked up to make sure Valerie, the receptionist, was around to answer it. She wasn’t, but Tracey grabbed it and then held up the receiver for Rachel.

  “It’s that little girl,” Tracey said. “You cut her hair not too long ago.”

  “Jolene?”

  Tracey shrugged. “She says she has to talk to you.”

  “All right.” Rachel walked over to the desk, where Tracey handed her the phone. She’d been meaning to call Jolene, anyway. “This is Rachel,” she said cheerfully.

  “You didn’t bid on my dad.” Jolene sounded as though she was on the verge of tears. “I thought you were going to bid on him at the Dog and Bachelor Auction.”

  “Hello, Jolene,” Rachel said.

  “Hi.” Her voice was small and sad.

  “I think your dad’s very nice, but I don’t think he’s ready for another relationship. Remember how we talked about that? You said you need another mommy and I asked if I could be your friend instead.”

  “I remember.”

  “Is your dad there?”

  “Yes, but he’s in the other room and he doesn’t know I’m calling you.”

  “Let me talk to him, okay?”

  “Okay-only I want to know if you bought a dog and a bachelor at the auction.”

  “I did, but my friend Karen took the dog. And I’m not meeting my bachelor until Friday night.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Well, I don’t know much about him except that his name is Nathan Olsen and he’s in the Navy.”

  “Is he in love with you?”

  She wished! “No, I barely had a chance to talk to him.” After the auction, the restaurant had been chaos. Rachel had only a few minutes to speak to Nate before it was time to leave.

  “Oh.”

  “How about if you and I get together next week?”

  “Will you paint my fingernails again?” Jolene asked eagerly.

  “If you like.”

  “Can we talk about girl things?”

  “Sure.”

  Jolene sounded happier now. “I’ll get my dad.”

  A moment later, Bruce got on the line. “Jolene phoned you?” he said in a curt voice.

  “Yes, but I was planning to get in touch, anyway. She saved me the phone call. I’d enjoy spending another afternoon with Jolene. It seemed to do her good-and me, too, for that matter.”

  He hesitated. “I thought you might bid for me.”

  Now Bruce was going to harass her about that, too? “You told me you weren’t interested in dating,” she said as calmly as she could.

  “I’m not-just forget it, all right?”

  Gladly! Talk about mixed messages. Bruce couldn’t have made his feelings any more obvious; he didn’t want to get involved-and that was fine with Rachel. “Can I see Jolene?”

  “Yeah, sure, that would be great.”

  They set up a day and time, and Rachel hung up the phone, more confused than ever. She must have had a puzzled expression on her face because Terri came over to stare at her.

  “What’s with you?” she asked, one hand on her ample hip. “You look like a feather would bowl you over.”

  “Bruce Peyton wants to know why I didn’t bid on him.” Even as she spoke, she was astounded that he’d brought it up.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Terri advised. “You choose your own dates.”

  Rachel made an effort to put Bruce out of her mind. As far as she could tell, he was a lost cause, and she was through with throwing her life away on dead-end relationships.

  That Friday night, Rachel arrived at The Lighthouse ten minutes before she was meeting Nate. She sat on the bench in the foyer, waiting nervously.

  She wasn’t quite sure why she’d plunked down her hardearned tip money on him. She suspected it was because the auction was almost over and she hadn’t made a single bid. Terri and Jane had both bid on men, but had lost out each time. Rachel felt that at least one of the girls from the salon should “score a bachelor,” as Terri put it.

  But by the end of the evening, Terri was more interested in drinking Fuzzy Navels than bidding on dogs and bachelors. Jane figured she might as well save her money. And Karen Redfern, a married friend from high school, just wanted a dog.

  Then Nate Olsen had stepped onto the platform, walking a lovely and self-assured little spaniel who was destined to become Karen’s dog. Nate was Navy and apparently a warrant officer, whatever that was. Although Cedar Cove was basically a Navy town, being so close to the Bremerton shipyard, Rachel wasn’t too familiar with military life.

  She tried to remember what she could of their brief conversation that night. He was a nice-looking man. Trim, tall with dark hair and pleasant features. She’d especially noticed his piercing blue eyes.

  Rachel glanced up, and those very eyes were looking at her. He was dressed casually in slacks and a short-sleeve shirt and nothing like she remembered. Tall, yes, but blond, not darkhaired. The eyes she had right-a brilliant blue. The nice-looking part was accurate, too, as far as it went. Only she didn’t recall him being this attractive. And so young. He must be just out of high school. Good grief, she’d robbed the cradle!

  Swallowing her disappointment, she stood, came forward and held out her hand. “Rachel Pendergast, in case you’d forgotten.” Her surname was easy to mispronounce.

  “Hello, Rachel.” His smile dazzled her.

  On second glance, he might still be in high school. She had to restrain herself not to ask if he was over eighteen.
Oh, no, what had she gotten herself into now?

  “I can seat you immediately,” the hostess said, carrying two menus. “If you’ll follow me.”

  Rachel was convinced every eye in the room was on Nate and her. He was so young. How could she have missed that at the auction? It must’ve been awfully dark in there-or those margaritas had impaired her vision. Well, thirty wasn’t that old, but at the moment she felt like she could be his mother.

  They were shown to a table by the window with a lovely view. Early-evening sunlight played on the sparkling water and the lighthouse in the distance looked downright romantic. Rachel studied the menu and tried hard to think of a conversation-starter. Working with the public she’d never found that a problem. Now she felt distracted, as if she’d become a spectacle for the entire restaurant, sitting there with her date. Her young date. The guy she’d had to buy at an auction.

  Finally she couldn’t bear not knowing. Lowering the menu she gazed across the table at Nate. “I’m sorry if this is rude, but I need to ask you something. Just how old are you?”

  Nate gave her a charming grin. “Twenty-five.”

  Instantly she felt worlds better. Five years-that wasn’t so bad.

  “How old are you?” he asked in return.

  “Thirty. I’ve never been married, no kids and I’m a nail tech-which used to be called a manicurist-and hair stylist.”

  “Never been married, either. No kids.” He added hesitantly, “In fairness, I should tell you I’m seeing someone else.”

  Okay, so she’d blown three hundred bucks on another woman’s boyfriend, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the evening. Still, she wondered why he’d agreed to be part of the auction if he was seriously involved with someone.

  “What about you?”

  Rachel shook her head. She hadn’t gone to the Dog and Bachelor Auction because she had a burning desire to donate to charity. Well, she did have a soft spot in her heart for animals. But that hadn’t been the driving force that had led her to the auction.

  “I didn’t mean to mislead you.”

  “You didn’t.” He was certainly straightforward enough. Almost the first words out of his mouth had been to inform her that there was someone in his life. They talked briefly about this woman, who was from his hometown of Fresno.