by Drea Stein
“You’ve looked green for the past week. When are you due?” Phoebe asked excitedly as she pulled Lynn in for a hug.
“In about eight months. I just figured it out myself.”
“Does Jackson know?” Phoebe whispered.
“Yes, I couldn’t keep this a secret. He’s excited, nervous. I told him we needed to wait to tell people, because it’s still so early.”
“It will be my secret. Besides, I figured it out; you didn’t tell me.”
“You mean you won’t tell Chase?”
“It will be tough, but I’ll let Jackson do it. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if it took a while. Jackson’s a lot better at keeping secrets than Chase is.”
“Or me,” Lynn said with a sigh. “My mom already knows, though she’s pretending not to.”
“Well, you don’t exactly have a duplicitous nature.”
“No,” Lynn brightened, “I don’t.”
“What are you going to do about the wedding?” Phoebe asked.
Lynn laughed. “Don’t worry; we won’t steal your thunder. Jackson and I are going to head down to the courthouse after yours and make it official. Should give us plenty of time before I start to show.”
“No dress, no party?” Phoebe said in horror.
Lynn laughed again. “You can throw me one when you get back from the honeymoon. I’ll just skip the champagne toasts.”
Phoebe laughed as well. “Wow, I can’t believe I get a sister and a niece or a nephew, all at once.”
Lynn dashed a tear away from her eye. “Sorry, I’ve been kind of emotional lately. I cried at a soup commercial last night, but I know. It’s so much, so….”
“Amazing,” Phoebe said.
“Amazing,” Lynn agreed.
Chapter 44
“Mom, we need to talk,” Tory said without preamble. Her mother, seated at the kitchen table, looked up and blinked as if she were an owl caught unawares in the middle of the day.
Tory recognized the look. It was the one she often had when fully concentrated on her work, the feeling she got when she was pulled away from what she was doing.
Her mother found herself and was about to shut the top of her laptop, when Tory put out a hand to stop.
“Don’t, Mom.”
“Don’t what?” her mother said, her voice innocent.
Tory sighed. She had known this wasn’t going to be easy, but she had decided that this had gone on long enough. She threw down the page she had torn from the local paper.
“Osprey Web Design,” she said, pointing to the ad as it landed in front of her mother.
Her mother said nothing, picked up her cup of tea and calmly drank a sip.
“I know it’s you,” Tory said.
“So?” Her mother lifted her chin and stared at Tory defiantly. Tory had a quick mental image of role reversal, like those silly movies where the mom and teenaged daughter switched bodies for the week and hilarity ensued. Except Tory was finding nothing hilarious about this.
“There isn’t any law about starting a business, you know. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s considered as American as apple pie.” Her mother put her cup of tea down and folded her hands primly together.
Tory felt deflated. Why was she so upset exactly? Her mother was right.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her mother looked at her again. “Actually I did.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I asked you to show me some things on the computer.”
“That was email and social media.”
“And then how to make updates to the Maritime Center website. And when you were too busy, I went online and found all these great courses and videos. And finally there was a class at the university and … well, before I knew it, people were asking for help.”
“Well, that’s not exactly the same as telling me,” Tory said. She ran a hand through her hair and sat down heavily in one of the kitchen’s Windsor style chairs, the dowels of the back poking her uncomfortably. She had always hated these chairs.
“I didn’t intend to start a business; it just kind of evolved. And now, it’s just kind of growing. I mean, it seems like there are a lot of people confused by all this technology, and if you can just give them a little guidance, they’re happy and, well, willing to pay.”
“I mean, it’s great, Mom. I just don’t know why you felt the need to hide it. Does Dad know?”
Her mother sighed. “Yes, he does. He did sort of notice the new car. Once I showed him my profit and loss statement, projected financials and business plan, he was ok with it.”
“Profit and loss?” Tory mumbled.
“Well, to be honest, it’s more profit than loss. My expenses are minimal, now that I’ve paid for the computer. Really, it’s just the ad in the paper plus my cell phone. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner.”
“It’s wonderful, Mom, really wonderful,” Tory said, and she meant it, even as she was still trying to make sense of it all.
“I have you to thank. If you hadn’t been so busy, I probably never would have gotten off my duff to go figure this out. But now that I have, I can’t believe I’ve waited so long. And now that I’ve put Joan Altieri’s Garden Cottage up on the web, why, she’s getting twenty percent more orders a month.”
“Wow,” Tory said, impressed. She would kill to be able to raise North Coast Outfitters’ order volume by that much.
“I’m sorry if it felt like I was sneaking around on you, dear, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to work out. And I hope you don’t feel like I’m stealing your thunder, dear.”
“Stealing my what?” Tory asked.
“I know you used to do all these little favors for everyone, but really, darling, people will pay you for all of this. Of course, after I get my own place, I might have to up my rates.”
It took Tory a moment to comprehend what her mother was saying.
“Get your own place? Mom, what are you talking about?”
“Oh dear, your father said he wanted to be the one to tell you.”
“Tell me what?” Tory said.
Her mother sighed. “Look, it’s not such a big deal. It’s just … well, I’ve decided that I need my own space.”
“Your own what?”
“Really, Tory, you shouldn’t keep repeating everything people say. It makes it sound as if you’re not listening.”
“Mom,” Tory said, feeling her voice rising, “I’m listening just fine, but what do you mean by needing your own space?”
“I am going to get my own apartment, dear,” her mother said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Your own what?”
“Actually, it’s a small house, right in town, but the first floor is commercial space, so I can use that as my office, and then there’s a darling little upstairs with a sitting room, a kitchen and just one bedroom, but I’m sure that’s all I need. And almost no yard, which for me is lovely. It’s recently been renovated, so everything’s nice and neat.”
“You’re moving into the village? As in out of this house with Dad?”
“Yes.”
“But why?” Tory asked, and she knew she sounded like a lost little girl.
Her mother reached out her hand. “Tory, I’m sorry, but for some time I haven’t been … well, fulfilled, I guess is what you would call it, and I think I need a change, a little distance from your father.”
“Are you getting a divorce?” Tory had trouble getting the word out.
“Heavens, no. This is just a little space.”
“What do you mean by ‘not fulfilled’? Isn’t this enough?”
Her mother laughed. “Frankly, no. Listen, Tory, I enjoyed every moment, well … most of them, that I got to spend with you. I never regretted what I gave up to be a full-time mom. And when you were off in college and then working, I thought maybe things would change, that your father would loosen up, that we would do more things together, but, well, he is perfectly happy t
he way things are. And I’m not.”
“So, you have a job and now you’re leaving?” Tory pushed back her chair, suddenly angry.
“I’m not leaving, Tory. I’m just going ten minutes away. I never lived on my own, never had adventures, and, well, I’m not getting any younger. And like I said, your father is very happy the way things are. I don’t think it’s my right to change him. If he doesn’t want to go out to dinner, or the theater, or travel—or, heck, even for a walk, then I shouldn’t have to force him.”
“But he loves you. I know he does.” Tory’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“He does, I am sure, in his own way, but maybe, Tory, just maybe it isn’t enough. I just need some time to figure this all out.”
Tory hadn’t known what else to say. In fact, there was nothing more to say to her mother, so instead she just got up and walked out. She thought about going to see her father, but instead kept driving until she didn’t quite know where she landed.
Chapter 45
She had headed there out of instinct, and he knew instantly that something was wrong.
“What’s the matter?” Colby asked her as Princess jumped around her. Tory just shook her head, and it was then the tears started—not a torrent, but a slow leak. She wrapped her arms around herself, both to protect herself from the sea breeze and because all of a sudden she felt an internal cold, a great, deep shivering that started inside of her and left her quaking.
Princess sensed her distress and whimpered, pushing against her, until Colby put his arms around her and pulled her close.
“You’re freezing. What’s going on? What’s wrong?”
She couldn’t speak, and he didn’t try to make her, just led her into the cottage and sat her down on the couch. He put a blanket on her, and Princess tried to climb up on top of her, but was finally satisfied to sit by Tory with her head on her lap as she looked up at her.
Colby set light to a small fire, and the whitewashed walls of the cottage flickered with the reflected tones of yellow and orange. It was too warm for it, really, but the glow was comforting.
He brought her a cup of tea without asking and sat down next to her.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. Her tears had stopped, mostly, and she leaned her head against his warm, soft shoulder.
She shrugged at first, not sure how to put words to it. “My parents,” she started to say and then had to take a deep breath, as the tears threatened to overwhelm her.
“Is everything all right? They’re not hurt, are they?”
She shook her head violently. “I think they might be getting a divorce, only my dad doesn’t know it yet.”
Colby made a sound deep in his throat, and she looked up to see him looking down at her, a puzzled expression on his face.
“Ok, so not a divorce, at least not yet. But my mother’s saying she needs space. She’s leased a house in the village, and she has this business that she started, and … well, she told me that she sacrificed so much when I was growing up that now it’s her turn to have adventures.”
“Did she really say that?” Colby asked.
Tory’s shoulders slumped. “Well, not in so many words, but she said she wasn’t getting any younger and that it was time she had adventures of her own. What does that mean? What kind of adventures?”
“Travel. Living on her own, maybe.”
“I know my dad’s not the most spontaneous guy, but he’s not a bad guy,” Tory said.
“He doesn’t seem like it,” Colby said, “but maybe your mom just wants … well, hell if I know. Women are a mystery, and your mom is definitely one of the more mysterious ones.”
“You don’t think she wants to get a boyfriend?” Tory asked, horrified at the thought.
“Maybe it’s just what she said,” Colby answered. “She wants a little space. And maybe, just maybe, she’s trying to prove a point to your dad.”
“What kind of point?”
“Well, that she’s perfectly able to live happily without him, but that maybe he won’t be so happy without her and it’s worth a bit of change on his end. I mean, what did your mom say she wanted to do?”
“Travel, go out to eat, maybe see a show, a movie.”
“Doesn’t sound like too much to me,” Colby laughed. “Look, maybe you need to just do what your mom is asking.”
“What’s that?”
“Let her have a little space. Maybe, if no one makes a big deal about it, then there won’t be anything to make a big deal about.”
Tory looked at him. “Like some sort of weird reverse psychology thing?”
Colby nodded sagely. “Exactly.”
Tory thought about that for a bit, her hands wrapped around her mug of tea, slowly growing cold. Was there anything else she could do? Or did she just have to let her parents figure it out on their own?
Chapter 46
“I have to go on a business trip,” Colby said.
He said it so casually that he wasn’t sure she had heard it at first. They were making breakfast together, moving in an elegant dance around the tight space of his kitchen. Toast and granola, kibble and coffee with an interlude for inappropriate but highly enjoyable kissing. He hadn’t said anything but he’d noticed she had left a few things in his bathroom, had found space in the closet and in one of his drawers for her stuff.
“What sort of business trip do you have to go on?” He smiled at the suspicious tone in her voice. In fact, in the weeks she had known him, he’d made several day trips. But this was the first time he had announced he was going away overnight.
“You don’t think car guys have business trips?” he said as he caught her hand. He held it and kissed it.
“Are you allowed to fly, or do you have to drive?”
“Very funny. For this one, I’m flying to Vegas. It’s a pretty far drive.”
“You’re going to Las Vegas?”
“Want to come with me?”
“Yeah, right,” she said, going back to buttering her toast.
“I’m serious,” he said, looking at her. His blue eyes were tranquil and his smile steady.
“You want me to come on a business trip with you?”
“Sure. I mean, it’s only for two days, so it’s not much of a trip, but I’ve got a nice room booked.”
“Won’t I cramp your style?” Tory asked. He tried to hide his disappointment at the tremor he heard in her voice.
“My style,” he said, coming closer to her. Before she knew it, he pulled her in close. He could feel her melt into him, feel the way her body responded to him.
“Yes, your style. You know your wining and dining and meeting clients’ style.”
“I just have a few meetings scheduled. I was thinking I could wine and dine you instead, maybe we could catch one of those fancy shows? Even go see an Elvis impersonator at one of those wedding chapels.”
She stiffened as he knew she would. He’d been dropping hints like that lately, trying to get a read on them, on where they were going. It was foolish, he knew, to rock the boat. Tory had made her views on relationships pretty clear, that she didn’t believe in anything more than being casual, but he hoped that maybe she would say something, throw him a lifeline. He needed to know that he was more to her.
“You’ll be busy working.”
“So you can go hang out by the pool, work on your tan.”
“I have to work. Chase and Phoebe’s wedding is only about two weeks away and Lynn and I have a lot to do before then.”
“Sure you can’t squeeze me in?” he whispered in her ear. She gasped and reached out to hit him, playfully, but he was too fast for her and caught her hands and wrapped them around him.
“Or maybe we could try this,” he said. Before she knew it, he pushed her against the counter and kissed her hungrily, trying to show her how much she meant to him.
#
“You know you never answered the question,” he said as he re-buttoned her shirt for her. She was going to be late to wor
k, very late to work.
“About what?” she asked as she looked around for her shoes. Colby caught her hand and pulled just hard enough so she was forced to look at him. His eyes were searching her face as if looking for the answer to something.
“Nothing. I’ll be back in a few days.”
Tory swallowed, and a feeling of relief washed over her as she saw he wasn’t going to push it.
“I’ll miss you,” she said and meant it.
He pulled her in close and give her a kiss. It was long and slow and lingering, and she knew there was a question in there, one that Colby was too much of a gentleman to ask and she was too much of a coward to answer.
Chapter 47
“Joan, you need to talk my mother out of this.” Tory slammed her hand down on the counter a little more forcefully than she had meant to. Her mother was going ahead with her plan to move out, had already spent some time in her new apartment. Tory had checked in on her father and found him stoic about the whole thing. Since her parents weren’t talking to each other, she’d decided that she needed to take matters into her own hands, get her parents back to where they needed to be.
Joan Altieri glanced up from the computer where she was filling online orders and looked at Tory.
“Dear, I know you’re upset, but it’s not really my place.”
“Your place? Don’t you understand? This is a crisis!”
Tory ran a hand through her hair and tugged on her ponytail. She was agitated and couldn’t stand still, so she stalked around the cluttered aisles of the Garden Cottage. It was past closing time, and dusk was settling outside. Through the shop windows, she could see the tall gas-lit lamps start to come on one by one, like a chain of dominoes, starting with the corner closest to the harbor and lighting up the streets of the village.
“Maybe you’re overreacting,” Joan said soothingly as she pushed her half-moon glasses more firmly on the bridge of her nose.
“Overreacting? My parents are getting a divorce, and I’m the one overreacting?”