“Did Corinne and Danae take you on the tour?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t seen anyone but Mom.”
“You’re kidding.”
She grinned. “I used your shower. I was just going to rest my eyes for a few minutes and—I guess I fell asleep. Sorry if I scared off those people.” She motioned toward the door.
At that minute, the door opened and Audrey came through it. “Oh! I missed the reunion.” She beamed up at Grant. “I wanted to see your face when you saw her.”
“You would have liked to see the faces of your out-of-state guests when I brought them up for the tour and there was a strange woman in our bed.”
“Dad!”
Audrey gasped. “Are you serious? Oh, dear . . . I’d better go down and explain. Which guests?”
“The ones from Tennessee.”
“Someone came all the way from Tennessee?”
“Visiting relatives in Cape. Sorry to disappoint.”
“Okay. I’ll go do damage control. Meanwhile, we need to get this room back in shape.”
“Or close it to the public,” he said, aiming a worried glance at Landyn. “You look tired, baby girl.”
“She drove all the way from New York by herself,” Audrey said on her way out the door.
“You drove straight through? Is Chase working?”
“Yes—He couldn’t get off.” A split-second hesitation that planted a seed of worry in Grant’s gut. “But I didn’t want to miss the family reunion.”
He studied his daughter. Now wasn’t the time for questions, but he sensed there was something she wasn’t saying. “Well, get dressed,” he said finally. “I’ll take you on the tour myself.” He gave her another quick hug, surprised at the lump that swelled in his throat.
He hadn’t seen Landyn since her wedding . . . was it six months ago already? It was hard to picture his baby girl as a married woman.
And he hoped there wasn’t already trouble in paradise.
3
Landyn rummaged through the small suitcase she’d brought in, looking for something halfway presentable. She settled on skinny jeans and a crinkle-look blouse that was a few wrinkles beyond crinkled. Still, it was better than the ratty T-shirt she’d arrived in. She pulled her hair into a thick ponytail and went out to the hall to find Dad.
He walked her through the second-floor bedrooms, and when they got to her old room, her sisters and Bree were there talking with two elderly women Landyn didn’t know.
Corinne spotted her first. “Landyn! What are you doing here, baby sister?”
The squeal-fest that followed lightened her heart considerably.
“I can’t believe it’s really you.” Danae reached out to finger the hem of Landyn’s blouse. “Look at you, all metro and New York-y.”
Landyn laughed. “You goose, I bought this in Cape two years ago.”
“Well, you wear it tres New York.”
They giggled like middle school girls at a slumber party.
Bree turned to the abandoned guests. “Why don’t I finish the tour? These girls haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“Sisters,” Dad explained.
The women cooed as if they’d just seen a basket of kittens.
Landyn hugged Tim’s wife—she refused to think of Bree as Tim’s widow. “Thanks, Bree. We’ll catch up later, okay?”
“So what do you think?” Corinne asked after the guests were out of earshot. “Do you like the house?”
“The inn, you mean?”
Her dad grinned. “Mom’s got you trained already?”
Landyn frowned. “It will always be a house to me.” But she had to admit, the place looked amazing. Of course, Mom had e-mailed photos throughout the remodeling process, but everything looked even better in person. She’d never considered that she might have inherited her artistic talents from her mother, but it struck her now that it was true. So many of the decorating elements on this floor were exactly what she would have chosen—refurbished hardwood floors and cream-painted woodwork and wainscoting that gave a cozy, traditional feel to the century-old house, but paired with bold, contemporary rugs and textiles. And her mother’s unique yet subtle decorative touches made each room truly extraordinary. “Mom really outdid herself on this project.”
“Did you ever have any doubt?” Dad looked pleased.
“I guess I never thought about it.”
“Well, be sure and tell her. She’s poured her life into this place this past year. It’d mean a lot to her to hear that you approve.”
Landyn looked around her old room and affected a pout. “I’m still not very happy she took down my Twilight posters and sold off my lava lamps.”
Dad laughed, and she remembered how much she liked making him do that.
“By the way, where’s my dog? You didn’t sell off Huck, too, did you?”
“Unfortunately, no. He’s still here, wreaking the usual havoc and eating us out of house and home. Mom just didn’t want him in the house until after everyone leaves. He’s been relegated to the backyard.”
“Poor Huck.”
“Have you seen the backyard?” Danae pulled a curtain aside. “It’s a dog’s paradise out there.”
Landyn went to peer out the window. “Oh, wow! That’s gorgeous. Dad, did you do that your— Hey, there’s Huck.” She waved and tapped on the window. “Huckleberry! Hey, boy!”
The dog lay in the shade on a patch of lush grass, wagging his tail, oblivious.
“I’m going down to see him.”
“So what else haven’t you seen yet?” Danae asked trailing her out into the hall.
“I haven’t seen any of the downstairs except what I saw when Mom snuck me up the back stairs through the sunroom.”
“Oh, wait till you see the family room. You’ll love it.” Danae led the way down the curved staircase.
They were on the landing when a thud, followed by a high-pitched wail, made them all lean over the rail looking for the source of the commotion.
“Did somebody fall?” Corinne hurried past them.
Danae followed, but Landyn hung back, peering over the rail into the foyer below where half a dozen people stood in a circle looking as if they might break into a chorus of “Kumbaya” any minute.
“Please stand back,” Dad said, taking charge. “Corinne, go find your mother. Where’s the dog? Did Fred trip on Huckleberry, Lawna?”
Landyn looked again and realized the group was gathered around a man lying on the floor.
“Heavens, no.” The voice belonged to Lawna Farley, their long-time neighbor. “I haven’t even seen the dog. Fred just fainted. He does this at least once a week. His blood sugar, you know.”
Landyn let out a relieved breath. Hopefully Fred hadn’t broken anything. It would be the pits if Mom and Dad got sued before the inn even officially opened. She blamed six months in New York for the cruel thought and reminded herself that here in the heartland people didn’t sue each other over every little thing.
Mom came in from the veranda, breathless—and looking beautiful. Landyn had noticed it earlier when her mother greeted her at the car. She didn’t remember her mother ever being so pretty. And she looked nowhere near fifty-eight, or however old she was now. Landyn had lost track. It was strange how, now that she was a married woman herself, she saw her mother through different eyes. And wondered why she hadn’t seen the person her mother was beneath the bossy mom persona.
“Fred? Can you hear me?” Mom knelt and helped Mr. Farley sit up. She offered him a glass of water and fanned him with one of the new brochures for the inn. “Lawna, why don’t you bring your car around? Grant will help Fred out. You probably ought to have a doctor check him over.”
Landyn suddenly felt remorseful for the way she’d treated her mother in recent years. Not that she’d ever been out-and-out mean, but she’d let stupid things that shouldn’t have mattered annoy her. And she’d pushed Mom away when she was just doing what came naturally for mothers—trying to p
rotect their babies.
Landyn had been the last one, the one that emptied her parents’ nest. Maybe it wasn’t so surprising that Mom had poured herself into the bed-and-breakfast the way she had. Heather Crupp’s mother had a nervous breakdown when Heather left for college. So even though Landyn hated the way her parents had changed the house she grew up in, maybe she should be grateful Mom had chosen a healthier way to handle the empty nest.
Even if it did ultimately leave Landyn homeless.
* * *
Audrey surveyed the kitchen, not sure she could keep her eyes open long enough to join her family for supper. But it was a good kind of weary. Make that exhausted. Almost two hundred people had signed the guest book today and they’d gotten almost twenty new reservations on the books, too.
Grant dinged his fork against a glass and waited for everyone to quiet down. “Let’s pray, and then we can chow down.”
Hands clasped around the table and when they were all connected, Grant squeezed her hand and began the familiar mealtime prayer. “Lord, thank you for the loved ones gathered around this table, thank you for bringing Landyn safely home. We are grateful for this food and the hands that prepared it, and we ask that you would bless it for the use of our bodies that we may better serve you.”
A chorus of amens went up and the conversations that had been going at full throttle before Grant called for silence revved back up. But he raised a hand and waited until they quieted again. “Thanks for all your help today, guys. Mom and I couldn’t have done it without you.” He leaned across the corner of the table and pulled her close to kiss her forehead. “Other than Fred fainting in the foyer, I’d say the day was a success, my dear.”
“Fred Farley fainted in the foyer.” Link grinned. “Sounds like a nursery rhyme.”
Landyn picked up her brother’s chorus. “Our friend Fred Farley fainted and fell in the foyer.”
“On Friday!” chimed five-year-old Sari, catching the spirit of the game, even if she had the day of the week wrong.
“Good one, squirt.” Jesse gave his daughter a pat on the back.
“And Saturday,” yelled Sadie, not to be outdone by her big sister but not quite getting the gist of the joke either. Still, they rewarded her with more laughter.
“And finally . . . ” Landyn clutched a serving spoon like a microphone. “This just in: on Friday, family friend Fred Farley fainted and fell facedown in the foyer . . .” She bit her lip, obviously scrambling for more f’s.
Giggling, Corinne grabbed the spoon from her sister. “Not far from Fred’s fine family farm.” She thrust a victory fist in the air and brought it down with a triumphant “Yes!”
“Funny,” Danae deadpanned.
Link had just taken a swig of Diet Coke, which he promptly spewed through his nose. And of course that started a whole new round of hilarity.
Audrey went for a dishrag and started blotting up the soda that beaded on the tablecloth. But she couldn’t curb her own laughter long enough to do a decent job. Suddenly she didn’t feel so exhausted anymore.
“Do the Farleys still own that spa place?” Landyn asked.
“You mean Tease, Tan ’n’ Tone?” Jesse said with a glint in his eye.
“Are you serious? It’s called Tease, Tan ’n’ Tone?” Landyn made a comical face. “Terrific!”
Link clutched his chest. “You guys are killing me.”
His laughter was contagious—so much like his brother’s had been. When he and Tim were teenagers, Audrey used to love to get them started just to hear their infectious cackling.
“The Tease, Tan ’n’ Tone—in town?” Grant winked at Audrey.
She rolled her eyes at his lame attempt, but oh, her heart was full. Despite everything, she and Grant had been blessed beyond words with this family. She was sorry Chase couldn’t have come with Landyn, but since he hadn’t even been at his job for six months, it was unlikely he’d accrued any vacation time. She was surprised Landyn had been able to get away. She’d barely had a minute to talk to her youngest with all the guests, and now with the rest of the family here. She didn’t even know how long Landyn was staying.
Somebody’s phone rang—one of those crazy ringtones that was a few bars of a song. Not a melody Audrey recognized, but it didn’t sound like a very happy tune. Landyn slipped her phone from the pocket of her jeans.
“It’s Chase.” She scooted her chair away from the table and went down the hall.
Audrey didn’t hear Landyn answer, but something was going on with those two. A mother didn’t miss when her daughter cringed at the sound of her husband’s ringtone.
4
Landyn considered pretending to have a civil conversation with Chase, but she hated the lies she’d already told. Instead, she slipped into the powder room near the foyer and waited for the call to go to voice mail.
Chase hadn’t tried calling her even once until now. Fine. She wasn’t in any big hurry to talk to him either. A wave of nausea rolled over her. Now she was lying to herself. She missed him like crazy.
When his voice mail message signaled, she clicked on the icon and listened.
“Landyn, what the—”
Real nice, Chase. Your first words to me in three days are curse words? She rolled her eyes and finished listening to his message.
“I went to our apartment and it’s empty! Where are you? I was just mad, but now you’ve got me worried. Call me.”
He was mad? Oh, that was rich. She wondered if he’d gone to the apartment looking for her or just to pick up the rest of his stuff. It didn’t matter. She hadn’t heard anything close to an apology in his message.
But what was she going to say when she went back to the table? Chase says to tell everyone “hi” and he’s sorry he couldn’t come. No. She wasn’t going to keep lying. She didn’t owe any explanation. But they’d expect one and—
Her stomach revolted, and she was grateful she was already in the bathroom. She dropped to her knees in front of the toilet. A knock at the door made her break out in a sweat.
“Landyn? Honey, are you okay?”
She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and forced her voice not to tremble. “I’m fine, Mom.” Another lie. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
She flushed the toilet and washed her hands and face, praying her mother wouldn’t be waiting outside when she opened the door.
“Honey? You’re white as a sheet.” So much for answered prayers. Her mom grasped her shoulders. “What’s wrong? Did you get bad news?”
“I’m fine, Mom.” She brushed past her down the hall, but felt her mother dogging her, and then a hand on her shoulder.
“Landyn . . . What is going on?”
“Oh, Mom . . .” She turned and crumpled into her mother’s waiting arms. “Chase and I . . . We’re—separated.”
“What? Chase left you? What happened?” Mom held her at arms’ length and looked her in the eye. “What is going on?”
Landyn could barely speak. “Can I just . . . go to bed? I don’t feel well.”
“Honey, you need to tell me what’s going on.”
“Mom, I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She hated the agony she saw on her mother’s face, but she really didn’t have the strength to get into it right now. “Where can I sleep?”
“Oh . . . You take the Butterfly room. I’ll have Danae and Dallas sleep on the hideaway sofa in the basement.”
“No, it’s okay. I can sleep down there. Is my stuff still in your and Dad’s room?”
“You go on down. I’ll bring your stuff.” Mom started for the stairs. “And don’t worry. I’ll make excuses for you.”
Her voice caught on a sob. “Thanks, Mom.” Her phone rang again. Chase.
“Do you want me to tell him you can’t talk?”
“No. I—I’ll take it.”
Mom disappeared and Landyn made a split-second decision. “Hello?”
“Landyn. Thank the Lord. I’ve been trying to find you. What is going on?”
�
�Tried to find me, huh? You called exactly one time, Chase. Did you forget it shows up on my phone when you call—or don’t call?”
“Where are you? What’d you do with all our stuff?”
“I’m at home.”
A beat of silence. “Home where?”
“Where do you think? The only home I have now. At Mom and Dad’s.”
“You have a home with me, Landyn. I told you that.”
“You can’t just make decisions like that for me, Chase. I’m your wife, not your little girl.”
“Whatever happened to ‘whither thou goest, I will go’?”
It stung to have her wedding vows thrown back in her face. “I think that promise implied some measure of mutual agreement.” Her stomach roiled again and tears threatened, but she would not let him see her vulnerability.
“Please come home, Landyn. I can’t do this without you.”
“Maybe you should have thought of that before you let someone else have our apartment—our home!”
“I told you, babe . . . I had a chance at this place, and I couldn’t let it get away. I feel like this is what we’re supposed to do. Especially since we found someone to sublet that same day!”
She let the “we” slide for the moment. “Supposed to do, as in God told you?” That’s what he’d said before.
“I know you don’t buy it, but yes.”
“And we, as in you and me? Then why didn’t God tell me?” Her voice rose, and she started down the basement stairs so the rest of the family wouldn’t hear her.
“I—I don’t know. Maybe you weren’t listening.”
Her jaw clenched involuntarily, and heat made her skin prickle. “I’m sorry, Chase, but this conversation is over. We . . . we can’t agree on this, so I don’t know what else there is to talk about.”
“Wait! Landyn, don’t hang—”
“I’ve got to go, Chase. I’m sorry.” She clicked End and slumped onto the lumpy couch. She tried to work up tears. Wished for the cleansing they usually offered. But right now she was all wrung out. She felt nothing.
She’d prayed. She really had. Maybe not with the right attitude, but she had to get over this feeling of betrayal before she could utter a genuine prayer. There was no way it could be right for a husband to make a decision of this magnitude without even consulting his wife. No way! Besides, this was not part of the deal. They had a plan and Chase was wrecking it to pieces.
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