A Time to Forgive

by Kay Correll

“Jason, I love you, but sometimes you think things to death and you take too long to make up your mind.”

  “She lives in Austin.”

  “One word. Airplane.”

  His sister never did cut him any slack. He looked over at the kitchen door where Bree had disappeared. Maybe Beth was right. Maybe he should give it a chance.

  But she was leaving. Leaving soon. They didn’t really have enough time to even see where this was heading. Not that this was really anything yet. All he’d done was kiss her.

  Kiss her many times.

  And enjoyed it.

  But mostly, he loved spending time with her. Talking to her, just being with her. He’d missed her friendship.

  “Buck up, cowboy. Sometimes life gives us tough decisions to make.” Beth walked away and disappeared into the kitchen.

  Disappeared. The story of his life.

  Maybe he should do something about that...

  Chapter 19

  Bright and early the next morning, Jason took Bree to the market in town to get her supplies. The bride had agreed to appetizers and finger foods. But she had her heart set on a wedding cake, and Bree was going to do anything she could to make that happen for her. She’d made a few wedding cakes but usually passed that job onto a baker she used frequently in Austin. Her own weren’t works of art, but they were passable, and they were delicious.

  They walked up and down the aisles, and she made a few substitutions based upon what the market had available.

  She paused when a woman she didn’t know walked up to them.

  “Jason, really? I heard the caterer cancelled for the wedding that was supposed to happen at the lodge this weekend.”

  Jason stiffened beside her. “The wedding is happening, Gloria.”

  “Surely Nora doesn’t think she can actually cater a wedding. Her food is just so... plain.”

  “Her cooking is delicious.” She didn’t know who this woman was, but she took an instant dislike to her.

  “Well, I guess you could call it homey. Though, a bride who would want a wedding at a rustic place like the lodge... Well, maybe homey is okay with her.”

  “Bree’s a caterer from Austin.” Justin nodded his head toward her. “A great one. She’s helping out with the wedding.”

  Gloria looked her over and gave her a definite I-don’t-think-so look.

  “I’ve catered dozens of weddings and even more events. This isn’t a problem.” Though she was a bit annoyed that she had to defend herself.

  “I guess when a real caterer cancels on you, you have to take whatever handouts you get.”

  “Gloria, we’re busy.” Jason’s words came out as part threat, part dismissal.

  “Well, good luck with your little attempt at a wedding reception. Hope it all works out.” There was not a bit of sincerity in her words.

  Jason grabbed her elbow, and she let him steer them toward the checkout.

  “Wow... is she... like real?”

  “There’s a long-standing feud between Gloria and Mom. Don’t know how it started. It’s pretty much one-sided. Gloria trash talks Mom and the lodge. Mom ignores her.”

  “That’s probably a good idea. She’s incredibly rude.”

  “And clueless.” He steered the cart. “And, Bree?”

  “What?”

  “I’m sure you’ll do a great job catering this wedding and I really appreciate you helping Mom out like this.”

  “It’s no problem, really. Glad I could help. It kind of breaks my heart to think of a bride without any food at her wedding reception.” She smiled.

  They paid for the items they’d collected—two carts full of groceries—and headed out to the truck.

  When they got to the lodge, Jason unloaded the truck and she stood in the kitchen sorting out their purchases. Nora and Judy assured her they’d give her as much kitchen space as possible to work in while they took care of the lodge visitors.

  Nora finally left to go work the front desk as people coming to the wedding began to arrive and Cece showed up to help. “I got the boys all set on finishing the painting at the cabin. Thought I’d come help you. I’m not a cook like you or Mom, but I can follow directions like the best of them.”

  “Thanks, I can use more help.” Bree gave her detailed instructions on how to make one of the appetizers. They talked and baked, and Bree couldn’t help but think about how it was almost like old times when they’d help their mother in the kitchen. Making pies. Making some of Mom’s fancy appetizers. Bree still used some of her mother’s recipes in her catering business.

  She could almost—almost—believe that she and Cece hadn’t drifted apart for all those years.

  She looked up to see Jason standing in the doorway and smiling at them.

  “Did you come to help?” He seemed less standoffish now. More relaxed. Good. She didn’t have time to think about anything but catering the wedding tomorrow.

  “I got the rest of the pathways cleared and was going to help Mom with the check-in, but she said I should come help you instead.”

  “You sure she doesn’t need you?”

  “No, she called in some more workers for this weekend. We’re good. So, put me to work.”

  “Do you cook? Bake?”

  “I can open a can of chili and heat it up with the best of them. And I can grill steak. And I make great coffee.”

  Cece laughed. “Those are really going to help, I bet. Maybe you can just take directions like I’m doing.”

  “Good plan.” He walked over to the sink and scrubbed his hands. “Okay, what do you want me to do?”

  “I’m getting ready to put the cake together. You want to help with that?”

  “I do. I think. I mean, what if I screw it up?”

  “Then we’ll have to bake more cake, so let’s try and do it right the first time.”

  Jason stayed and helped Bree for the rest of the afternoon and evening, pausing only to help out in the dining room for a bit during the dinner rush. He was impressed by her creativity and efficiency as she made the food for the wedding.

  His mother and Judy finally left, promising to be back early in the morning to help with whatever they could.

  “I’m almost finished with what I can get done tonight.” Bree glanced at her watch. “Cece, why don’t you head back to the cabin and check on the boys.”

  “I’m not going to argue with you. I’m exhausted. But I plan on helping you again tomorrow.”

  “I thought I’d ask the boys if they’d come help serve at the wedding.”

  “I bet they would. Wonder if Petey has anything decent to wear...”

  “I thought I’d send them to town to buy just white shirts, or blue shirts, or something like that and khakis. That’s going to have to do.” Bree jotted a note.

  “You’ve thought of everything,” Jason said appreciatively.

  “I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but it was all so last minute.” Bree sank onto a stool by the counter.

  “I’m sure it will all be fine. The cake turned out great.”

  “It did, didn’t it? I’m kind of proud of it.”

  “Well, if you’re sure you don’t need me, I’m outta here.” Cece picked up her coat. “I’ll see you later back at the cabin?”

  Jason didn’t miss that it was a question, not a statement.

  “Of course. I’ll be home soon.”

  Suddenly they were alone in the big kitchen. An awkward silence settled over them.

  “Breester—”

  “Jason—”

  He laughed. “You go first.”

  She looked up at him, a streak of flour on her flushed cheeks. “I know you were... I mean, you were, I don’t know—something—yesterday.”

  “Bree, I—”

  “No, let me finish.” She held up a hand. “I don’t want anything to jeopardize our friendship. I know you regret what happened the other night.”

  “No, I—”

  She held up her hand again. “We’re good as friends. W
e are. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy being with you, talking with you. Let’s not screw that up now that we’ve found it again, okay?”

  He could see the determination in her eyes. He’d really messed this one up. First taking so long to kiss her, then deciding it was wrong. And now that Beth—in her strident, sensible sister way—had convinced him to take another chance, it was too late.

  That also was the story of his life. Too late.

  His heart tightened. “If that’s really what you want, Bree.”

  “It is.”

  She stood and moved over to the counter to finish her work.

  He stood and battled his feelings. He could argue with her. Say they should at least try. But he knew how she was when she’d made up her mind. And he could clearly see her mind was made up on this.

  Well, at least he had his friend back. Maybe they could still remain friends even with the distance between them.

  But he didn’t really hold out a lot of hope for that...

  Chapter 20

  The wedding turned out better than Bree had imagined. The bride decided to move the wedding inside since another storm was brewing. The reception area of the lodge, with the big fireplace, was the perfect backdrop. Jason set up chairs for the attendees, and everything turned out beautifully.

  The bride and her family were so grateful that she’d stepped in to cater the reception. The boys had helped serve drinks and appetizers. It couldn’t have turned out better if she’d planned it all for months.

  She finished up cleaning up the dishes and put some leftover appetizers in the fridge. Nora came up beside her with another tray of glasses she’d gathered.

  “You did such a wonderful job. I’m so glad the bride was able to have the wedding she wanted.”

  “I’m glad I was here to help.”

  Nora set the tray on the counter. “You know, the nearest good caterer to Sweet River Falls is in Denver. It’s a shame, really. We have weddings here, and the Pine Valley B&B has small ones in the garden behind their building. I keep thinking someone will start up a wedding planning business here in town. More people are choosing the area for a destination wedding.”

  “Well, it sure is a beautiful place to get married. All those windows in the lodge looking over the lake. The sunset was spectacular tonight. I saw that her photographer took her outside with the groom and got some wonderful photos. Cody was watching them the whole time.”

  “Jason said Cody’s got a real thing for photography and Hunt’s been teaching him.”

  “He has.” She glanced around the kitchen to make sure all the food was put away, then turned back to Nora. “So are Beth and Mac going to get married here, I assume?”

  “They are. As soon as they pick a date. She actually asked me if you’d be willing to cater it. Do you think you could come back and do that?”

  “Oh... I don’t know. I... suppose so.” Bree’s mind whirled. It would give her a chance to come back to Sweet River Falls. She’d like that, wouldn’t she? Though, the cabin might be sold by then, so she’d have to find a place to stay.

  “Have her get with me on the date, and I’ll check.” That gave her an out if she changed her mind, right? It just might be too hard to come back here after the cabin was sold, too painful.

  Bree awoke the next morning to the sound of laughter drifting through the cabin. She sat up and stretched. Cody’s laugh rang out again and she smiled. It was wonderful to have the sounds of family laughter in the cabin again.

  She climbed out of bed, grabbed her robe, and headed to the kitchen for some much-needed coffee.

  “Hey, Mom.” Cody sat at the table with his laptop and camera in front of him.

  Cece came walking out of the kitchen and handed her a mug of coffee. “Thought you might need this. Long day yesterday.”

  “It was, but it turned out great, don’t you think? And boys, I can’t thank you enough for helping serve.”

  “Nora paid us both.” Petey walked out of the kitchen. “She said she usually had enough staff to help, but they were shorthanded a bit. She also offered me a job to help out at the lodge when they have busy weekends.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep, and I can stay in the summer staff barracks. She also offered me a summer job. She’s a cool lady.”

  “Hey, can we talk?” Cody walked over to her.

  “Of course.”

  He nodded to the couch on the far side of the great room and she followed him over.

  “So, I’ve made some decisions and hope you’re going to be okay with them.”

  She held her breath. The last big decision he’d made was to go live with his Dad.

  “So, I’m thinking about going to Mountain Grove College. I think I’ll get in. My test scores are great, and I’ve kept up a good GPA. If it works out, Petey and I talked about sharing an apartment. I’m going to go visit the school tomorrow when he goes back. I thought I’d spend the night there tomorrow, and he said he could bring me back to the cabin on Tuesday.”

  She sat back on the couch and tried not to look stunned.

  “Also, Nora offered me a job this summer, too, along with Pete. Did you know he likes to be called Pete, not Petey? Anyway, we said yes to Nora. We’re going to work at the lodge.” He looked at her. “I hope all this is okay with you.”

  “I—” She swallowed.”It’s fine with me. I think you’ll love working at the lodge this summer.”

  Cody grinned. “I hoped you’d say it was okay.”

  She was just glad he was even asking her opinion anymore.

  “You’ll come up and visit this summer, won’t you?” He started to stand.

  “I... well, I hadn’t really thought about it.”

  “You should.” Cody stood and headed for the table, pulling out his phone. “I’m going to text Hunt, too. Maybe I can go out on more photo shoots with him this summer.”

  Cece came over and sat beside her. “So, you heard the great plan, huh? You okay with that?”

  “I’m strangely very okay with it. I mean, he’ll still be far away from me, but... I’m glad he and Petey—Pete—have become friends.”

  “Ah, you heard about the name change. He says he’s too old to be called Petey. It’s going to take a bit to remember that. Apparently all his friends at college call him Pete.”

  “They grow up, don’t they?” Bree glanced over to where the two boys were talking at the table and looking at Cody’s photos on his laptop.

  “Too quickly,” Cece agreed.

  “Well, they’ll love working at the lodge. It’s hard work, but it’s fun being with all the kids working there for the summer.”

  “You’re okay with Mountain Grove College?”

  “Definitely. It’s a great school.”

  “I’ll just be in Denver if they need anything. And they can come to my house on the weekends if they just want to get away for a few days.” Cece leaned forward. “So, you’re really okay?”

  “I really am.” She was. A sense of peace settled over her at the idea of Cody being in Sweet River Falls. Maybe he could have some magical summers like she’d had when she was young.

  The only thing she was sorry about was she’d still be so far away from him. She’d secretly harbored the hope he might come back to Texas for college. But this was second best. She tried to convince herself that all kids eventually left home and went to college or went out on their own. But she still ached deep inside for the time she’d missed with him.

  Chapter 21

  Bree stood at the cabin door and waved as the boys left early the next morning to get back to Mountain Grove for Pete’s classes. Cody had chattered away this morning about seeing the campus, how great it was going to be, and every tiny detail that Pete had told him about going to school there.

  She hadn’t seen him this excited about something since... well, since Hunt had asked him on the photo shoot. Cody had come out of his normal quiet shell he’d had around her the last few years, and she relished every moment. It wa
s going to be so hard to head back to Austin and not see him every day.

  She closed the door, pushing it shut. Really needed to fix that before showing the cabin.

  “Here’s another cup of coffee.” Cece headed over with a steaming mug in her hand. “I didn’t think we were going to get them out the door in time.”

  Bree perched on the edge of the couch and took a sip of the coffee. “We still have so much to do here.”

  “We do. There’s a lot of years to pack up and a lot of sprucing up to do. At least the boys finished the painting. It does look a lot better.

  “I... I’m going to miss this place. Coming back here after all this time... I have so many regrets. I wish...” It didn’t help to make wishes. What happened, happened.

  “So, I was thinking.” A serious look crossed Cece’s face. “Why don’t we try and keep the cabin?”

  “We’ve been over this. None of us have enough money to keep it.”

  “I have some savings I could contribute.”

  Bree eyed her sister.”You do?”

  “And I was thinking something else.” Cece paused and looked directly at her. “What’s keeping you in Austin?”

  “You mean besides my business?”

  “Cody’s not there anymore, and he’s coming to Colorado for college most likely. You could...” Cece took a deep breath. “You could move back here to Sweet River Falls and live at the cabin.

  “I can’t just drop everything and move here.”

  “Sure you could. You’d be close to Cody. And Nora said there wasn’t a caterer around here in a six-town radius. You could open up your catering company here. I know you’d have lots of business.”

  “I’ve worked so hard to build up things in Austin.” Bree frowned. “But Jolene has made a few comments about maybe going out on her own... I wonder if she’d want to buy my business.”

  “Perfect idea.”

  “If I sold my house in Austin, I’d have money for the taxes, insurance, and upkeep here, but I don’t have enough money to buy out both you and Abby. Have you checked the market value of this cabin?”