by Kay Correll
“So, what do you say? Dinner at the lodge?”
“Sounds good to me.” Cece looked at Bree.
“I... I guess so. I was so busy painting today, I didn’t really think about making something for dinner.” Jason wasn’t sure he believed that. She was one of those people who could throw together a meal from almost nothing. She’d done it when they were younger and everyone wanted a late night snack, and he was sure she could look in those cabinets and pull together something. But she probably wanted to escape the tension in the cabin.
He didn’t blame her. He was kind of ready to escape it, too.
“I’ll drive. It will be too dark to walk back to the cabin later.” Cece reached for her keys.
“I’ll ride with Jason.” Bree walked over, grabbed her coat, and waited by the door.
“Okay, come on, boys. You’re with me.” Cece slipped past Bree.
They all headed outside into the darkening night. Bree tugged the door closed and locked it, then walked quietly over to his truck and climbed inside.
He got in and started the motor. “You doing okay?”
She stared at him, her expression grim. “Just peachy.”
Chapter 9
They all threaded their way through the tables to their old regular table in the corner of the dining room. A long wood-planked table that had seemed to expand to whatever size they’d needed. Nora came bustling up to them. “Cece, I haven’t seen you in forever. Come here.” Nora wrapped her in a hug.
Bree wasn’t sure she was okay with that. Nora was her special person, not Cece’s. She knew she was being petty, but she just didn’t care.
Nora turned to Petey. “Haven’t seen you since you were a boy, but I’d recognize you anywhere. You’re the spitting image of your father.” She turned to Cody. “And you must be Bree’s son.”
“Nora, this is Cody.” Bree motioned to her son.
“Glad to meet you, son.”
“Good to meet you, ma’am.”
Bree smiled at his good manners. She was used to his usual “hey” remark when he met people, but he must have known that Nora wasn’t a “hey” person. At least some lessons she’d taught him had stuck with him even while he hadn’t lived with her.
“Sit, sit. I’ll have the waitress bring over menus. I’ve got to check on a few things in the kitchen, then I’ll join you.” Nora turned and waved at a couple coming into the dining room. “Look, there’s Hunt and Keely.” She motioned them over.
They crossed the room, and she didn’t miss how Cody’s eyes lit up at seeing the camera hanging around Hunt’s neck. She needed to talk to him about this new passion of his. Something he’d picked up since... She pushed the thought away. He was here now.
“Why don’t you two join us for dinner? There’s plenty of room,” Nora offered.
“We don’t want to impose,” the woman said.
“Nonsense, plenty of room.” Jason nodded at the table. “Hunt, Keely, this is Cece and her son, Petey. And this is Bree and her son, Cody.”
“Nice to meet you.” Hunt smiled. “If you’re sure, we will join you.”
Jason turned to her. “Hunt and Keely are from Comfort Crossing, Mississippi, but they’re renting a cabin here for a year while Hunt works on a photo shoot of the area.
“It’s so beautiful here.” Keely took a seat and Hunt sat down next to her.
Cody quickly moved around the table and took the seat on the other side of Hunt.
Cece sat down, and Bree took a seat as far away from her as possible.
Cody nodded at the camera Hunt had placed on the table. “Canon?”
Hunt smiled. “Yep. I’ve tried them all, but I keep coming back to my trusty Canon.”
“Mine’s a Canon, too. Not as nice as yours, though.”
“So you shoot?”
“I’m learning. Took some photography classes in high school, then took one at the community college over the summer.”
“We’ll have to go out shooting together.”
“Really?” Cody’s eyes widened. “I’d like that.” He looked at Bree. “That’s okay, right, Mom.”
He said it more as a statement than a question.
She nodded. She hadn’t seen Cody this excited about something in a long time.
“Great. Got a cell phone?”
Cody nodded.
“Let me have your number.” They exchanged numbers as the waitress came up with menus.
Nora’s choice of adding Hunt and Keely to the table seemed to have been a good one. It broke the tension, and the conversation drifted from topic to topic. Cece remained rather quiet, but that didn’t bother Bree. She’d rather her sister didn’t say anything at all. She didn’t want to be tempted to go off on her and tell her exactly what she thought about her. Something Bree had held inside all these years, ever since the day she’d stormed out of the hospital after learning that Peter had died.
Cece had tried to apologize a number of times, but Bree wanted nothing of it. You couldn’t just apologize for sleeping with your sister’s boyfriend... and then getting pregnant.
Bree turned away from Cece and smiled at Keely. “So, Hunt’s a photographer. What do you do?”
“I manage a cafe back home with my sister. It was my parents’ and now my sister and I run it. She’s managing it alone this year while I’m out here with Hunt. Well, she runs it along with Becky Lee. Becky Lee’s been working at the Magnolia Cafe forever and I’d trust her with anything. Between the two of them, they’re doing fine.”
Hunt looked at his wife and smiled. “Keely’s been running the cafe since she was just out of high school. It was time for her to have a break. She’s a writer. She’s been writing some articles for regional magazines and websites while we’re here. And she’s also started writing a novel.”
“Really? That’s exciting.” Jason looked at Keely with admiration. “I’ve never met a real live author.”
Keely blushed. “Well, it’s my first novel. But I’m certainly enjoying writing it. My background is in journalism writing, so I have a lot to learn.”
The conversation continued around Bree, but she didn’t really tune in to very much of it. Except when Cody spoke. She listened to his every word.
They finally finished dinner after what seemed an eternity and rose from the table.
“I’ll call you about a photo shoot. We’ll do it in the next day or so.” Hunt shook hands with Cody.
“Bree, you riding back with us?” Cece stood in front of her as if daring her to say no. Or maybe daring her to say yes.
“I can run you home,” Jason offered.
“No, you don’t need to. Cece is headed that way. I’ll ride with her.” But she wished there would have been some graceful way she could have accepted his invitation...
But she was going to make darn sure she got the backseat in Cece’s car. One of the boys could sit up by Cece in the front.
Petty, she knew it. And she didn’t care.
They pulled into the drive at the cabin and Bree frowned. Another car besides hers sat in the driveway.
“Wonder whose car that is?” Cece turned off her car.
They all climbed out, and the boys headed to the cabin. She got out slowly, giving Cece plenty of time to go ahead of her. She watched the three others go through the door and trailed behind them.
She walked through the door and pushed—twice—to close it behind her. Still needed to fix that.
“Hey, sis.”
Bree whirled around. “Abby, what are you doing here?”
“I got to feeling guilty that you were here doing all this work by yourself, so I thought I’d come for a few days to speed things up. I had a layover in Denver on my trip back home, so I just changed my ticket.”
“Well... uh... great.” She wasn’t sure how much help Abby would actually be, but she’d wasn’t going to turn down the offer.
Then her heart sank. Ugh. All was good except that Abby was going to want her old room, and Bree had planned
to put Cece in there...
Cece looked at her. “Looks like we’ll be roomies again.”
Bree gritted her teeth. This whole trip was veering off the rails.
“Boys, you can have the loft.” Cece took charge.
It wasn’t Cece’s right to take charge. “Why don’t you share Abby’s room?” Bree challenged.
“There’s only one bed in there. There’s two in our room. And I really can’t face sleeping in Mom and Dad’s room.”
Bree didn’t really think Cece had a right to call it “our” room anymore, but she did fully understand the not wanting to sleep in their parents’ room.
“It’s only a tiny full bed in my room, Bree. Of course, we can’t share it. That’s silly when there are two beds in your room.” Abby picked up her suitcase.
And, of course, Abby would claim one room to herself.
“Fine.” She’d just stay up late until Cece was asleep and slip into the room then. She’d get up early. There’d be no time for the late-into-the-evening talks they used to share.
Just sleep.
Cece lay in bed listening to her sister move about the cabin in the great room. She knew Bree was just avoiding her. She didn’t blame her, but she wished anything that somehow, by some miracle, things could go back to how they were before. When she and Bree were best friends.
Before she’d made such a stupid mistake.
But she never let herself really regret sleeping with Peter, because out of that, she got Petey. And she’d never, ever regret having him. He’d been the biggest blessing in her life.
She sighed, punched her pillow, and rolled over.
Life was complicated.
Chapter 10
Nora hurried into Bookish Cafe the next morning as soon as the breakfast rush was over at the lodge. She couldn’t wait to tell Annie about Beth and Mac’s engagement.
Her friend looked up from where she was sorting books onto a shelf and waved her over. “This is a surprise.”
“I had errands in town, thought I’d stop by for a few minutes.”
“I’ll grab us coffee and let’s go sit upstairs.”
She followed Annie up the stairs. A few people were scattered around the loft, using the internet on their laptops or sipping coffee. She and Annie settled into two overstuffed chairs overlooking the river.
“So, anything special you wanted to chat about?” Annie raised one eyebrow.
Nora laughed. “Well, maybe. You know me so well.”
“I can tell by the look on your face. Spill it.”
“Well... Beth and Mac got engaged.”
“No kidding. Good for them. He’s a good man, and he seems to make her very happy.”
Nora took a sip of coffee. “And he’s great with the boys. I’m just so happy for her. I was afraid after Scott divorced her, she’d never take a chance. Then Mac came around and... well, like I said, I’m happy for her.”
“Any wedding plans yet?”
“Not yet. She did say she wanted something small. At the lodge. That’s all I got.”
Annie sighed. “That sounds wonderful.”
“I have other news,” Nora continued. “Did you know that Bree Stuart is back in town?”
“Yes, she came by the other day to grab some internet.”
“Well, her sister Cece showed up with her son, Petey. I swear, he looks so like Peter that it’s uncanny.”
“Well, that must be awkward for everyone.”
“It is. Bree’s son is here, too. They came over for dinner at the lodge last night. Thank goodness Hunt and Keely stopped by because it helped break the tension.”
“You know, I always thought that Jason had a bit of a crush on Bree.” Annie mindlessly traced her finger along the rim of her cup.
“I know he did. I think he still does.”
“Really?”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at her. I don’t even know if he knows he feels that way about her. He’s closed himself down since losing his dad, then losing his best friend. All that at such a young age.”
“Well, maybe she’ll be just the one to open him up to possibilities again.”
“Maybe.” She came this close to telling Annie about Jason not coming home the other night, but he was an adult and was entitled to his privacy.
“I wonder how long they’ll be here?”
“Just until they can get the cabin ready to sell. Jason’s been helping some.”
“Well, maybe the girls will have some time working together and will talk. Maybe they’ll find some way to bridge the hurt.”
“Maybe. But from the way Bree was acting last night at dinner, I’m not so sure.” She’d seen Bree’s furtive looks at Cece and her deliberate exclusion of Cece in any conversation.
Some wounds took a long time to heal.
Some never did.
Beth took her planning hour and went to the teacher’s lounge. Sophie and Chase had a big concert last night, so Beth had waited until today to call and tell her the news.
She tapped on Sophie’s number and listened to the rings.
“So, it’s about time you called to tell me.” Sophie’s voice came through loud and clear and accusing.
“What do you mean?”
“The news that you and Mac are getting married.”
Beth sat down. “Wait. How do you already know?”
“Let’s see. Nora told Annie who ran into Hunt and told him. Then I called the gallery and Hunt was there setting up another series of his photographs. His first words were ‘Isn’t that great about Beth and Mac.’”
“I would have called last night, but you had a concert. Then I wasn’t sure how early you’d be up.”
Sophie laughed. “Well, small towns. It’s hard to get ahead of the gossip. But honestly, I’m thrilled for both of you.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you personally.” Beth smiled at another teacher who came into the lounge and got up to walk over to the window. “And you’ll be my maid of honor, right?”
“Of course.” Sophie paused. “Well, when are you planning on getting married?”
“We thought in a month or so. We don’t really want to wait.”
Sophie let out a long sigh.”Chase and I are headed for a European tour in three weeks.”
“For how long?”
“It’s a couple of months, at least. Chase has planned a vacation in Europe for the two of us in the middle of all of it. Our agent is trying to tack on a few more concerts. But we could cancel our vacation part and come home.”
“Nope, not happening. Let me talk to Mac and I’ll get back with you on the dates. Because I’m not getting married without you. Just saying.”
“You better not. But, hey, I’ve got to run. We have a recording scheduled. Call me soon and let me know what your plans are.”
“I will.” Beth slipped her phone in her pocket. She hated to wait three or more months to get married. She’d promised Mac that they could get married soon.
She frowned. Then she smiled.
She had just the plan.
Chapter 11
Just as Bree figured, Abby wasn’t much help with the actual work needing to be done to get the cabin ready to sell. She insisted she couldn’t paint and kept asking a million questions when she started going through paperwork in the files, so Bree had to stop and look at each piece of paper she questioned.
Cece had actually offered to box up their parents’ clothes. That was one task Bree wasn’t ready to tackle, so she gratefully turned it over to her sister. Even if it did mean Cece was here at the cabin all day.
Bree painted the bathroom, then tackled the linen closet. She took a handful of linens in her arms and headed to where they were collecting a giveaway pile. She paused at her parents’ bedroom doorway. Cece sat on their parents’ bed holding their mother’s favorite yellow sweater. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
A war raged through Bree.
A part of her, from a distant memory of herself, wanted to
rush in and console her younger sister.
The other part, the bigger part, wanted to just quietly walk away.
“Mom, we need you. Got a minute?” Cody called from across the cabin.
The war ended because she’d always choose Cody over Cece. She headed to find out what her son needed, grateful she didn’t have to make a decision.
Cody and Petey stood with paint rollers in hand. “We ran out of paint. You said you wanted everything the same color, right?”
“Yes, just this neutral greige color. Supposed to sell better this way.”
“So that’s what you call this color. In some of the light it looks grey, but when the sun shines in, it looks beige.” Cody glanced around the room.
“Hence the word greige was invented.”
“We could go into town and get a few more gallons,” Petey offered.
“That would be great. I bought it at the hardware store in town. You can get some more mixed to the same shade. Color is on the paint can lid.”
Cody snapped a picture with his cell phone of the paint can lid.
“You can take my car.” She searched around in the kitchen drawer where they always put their car keys. She’d dropped them in there from force of habit. As she rustled through there, she spotted the spare set of keys to her parents’ car. The car that no longer existed anywhere but in bits and pieces in some junkyard, crumpled and broken. She swallowed hard and blinked her eyes. She was not going to cry. Not over car keys. Not over anything.
She snatched her keys from the drawer, slammed it shut, and turned to the boys with a deliberate smile. “Here you go.” She handed him the keys and some cash.
“Thanks, Mom. Need anything else?”
“Could you ask at the hardware store if they have more boxes we could have? Or maybe swing by Bookish Cafe and ask Annie?”
“Sure.”
“You could also pick up some Mexican at Antonio’s for dinner. Just an assortment of stuff. You two choose. Enough for all of us.”
“Okay, will do.”
The boys headed out the door, and she turned to see what Abby was so engrossed in. She was reading one of the old magazines. Great. That was helpful.