Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 3 (12 page)

The moment the door closed behind him, Grace said, “I wasn't parked in a disabled space.”

“I know.”

“Troy just wanted to get rid of me.”

Olivia's spoon hovered over her soup. “I know that, too. He asked me to apologize.”

Grace waited for an explanation that didn't seem to be forthcoming. She couldn't understand why her friend was suddenly so tight-lipped. “Aren't you going to tell me why he found it necessary to speak to you alone?”

“I haven't decided,” Olivia answered with an exaggerated sigh.

“Olivia! Don't hold out on me now.”

“All right, all right,” Olivia said, doing her best to hide a smile. “He wanted some advice.”

“About what?” Grace narrowed her eyes. “I didn't realize you and Troy were such bosom buddies.”

“We aren't. He just knows me better because of my years on the bench.”

“He knows me, too! Good grief, we all went through twelve years of school together. What could he possibly say to you that he couldn't say to me?” She felt a bit hurt that Troy had sought out Olivia and not her.

“Okay, if you
must
know,” Olivia said, “he wanted to ask me about Faith Beckwith.”

Grace shook her head. “Faith's our tenant, remember? If he needed to find anything out, he could've asked me.”

“Well, he told me the two of them had a thing going, and—”

“That's not news! Although they don't seem to be dating now. I wonder what happened….” She let the rest fade, hoping Olivia would fill in the blanks.

“Unfortunately Troy didn't have time to go into detail,” Olivia said. She looked at Grace with mock disdain. “It might have taken you a
bit
longer to find a parking spot, you know.”

Grace had no intention of responding. She wanted facts—now. “Okay, so they had a ‘thing' going and then what?”

“He didn't really say other than that he broke it off, regretted it and, when he wanted to get back together, Faith wasn't interested.”

“That's understandable.”

“Maybe, but we both know Troy isn't fickle. Faith should give him a bit of leeway, don't you think?”

Grace considered that. “Depends.” She didn't want to get caught up in a debate about the right or wrong of his decision, not when there was obviously more to the story. “So what else?” she pressed.

“Like I said, he didn't have time to give me any details.” She raised her eyebrows, which Grace ignored.

“And now Troy's upset because he loves Faith and wants her back.” How like a man!

Olivia took Troy's side. “She broke his heart.”

Grace pretended to be sympathetic, but in her opinion he got what he deserved. “Poor Troy,” she said in a perfunctory tone.

“That wasn't exactly what he wanted to talk me about, though.”

Oh! This was getting interesting. “He didn't want advice about Faith?”

“Well, sort of. Something else happened that's got him in a real state.”

When Olivia didn't immediately continue, Grace snapped, “For heaven's sake, don't stop there! What happened?”

“Last night, on his way home, Troy saw Faith having dinner with another man.”

Grace picked up her spoon, then put it down again. This was far more intriguing than cream of broccoli soup. “What do you mean, he saw her with someone else? What did he do, drive his patrol car through a restaurant door?”

“Of course not. He was hungry and felt like some Chinese food, so he ordered takeout from the Wok 'n' Roll. He walked inside to pick up his order—and who should he see?”

“Faith,” Grace answered.

“Yes, Faith, and she was with…a man. She had her back to him but Troy knew it was her and she seemed to be having the time of her life.”

Grace had another question. “So, who was he?” she asked, lowering her voice. “This man she was with.”

Olivia acted as if Grace hadn't even spoken. “Poor Troy was devastated. He said it was all he could do not to march up to the table and tell…this other man to stay away from Faith.”

“Not a smart idea.”

“I said the same thing.”

“So what did he do?” Grace asked.

“Nothing much. He paid for his dinner, left and then seethed for the rest of the night. Judging by his expression, I'd say it's still bothering him.”

“Did Faith see him?” Grace wanted to know.

“He thinks she might have.”

“In that case, they probably both feel bad. Because Faith would know he was upset, and she isn't the kind of woman who enjoys hurting someone else.”

“That's true.”

“Okay, so tell me who Faith's hot date was.”

Olivia paused, and Grace's heart sank. “He's married, isn't he? That's why you don't want to tell me.”

“No, that's not it. In fact, once I say his name it won't surprise you at all.”

So Olivia was going to make her guess. That wasn't fair—and then it came to her. Shocked, she pressed both hands against the table and half stood. “No way?”

Olivia knew immediately that Grace had figured it out. Slowly, with her eyes closed, she nodded.

“Your brother, Will Jefferson, is dating Faith?”

Olivia exhaled sharply. “So it seems.”

“Well…he's divorced and she's a widow. So I guess there's nothing really wrong with it.”

“But the last I heard,” Olivia said, “he was interested in Shirley Bliss.”

Grace tore a piece of bread. “I know Will's your brother and you love him, but I also know a basic fact about him. He's not a one-woman man.”

Olivia sighed. “I certainly can't deny it, at least going by previous experience.”

“Are you going to say anything to Faith?” Grace asked.

Olivia shook her head.

“Then I won't, either.”

Eleven

T
his was so embarrassing. Unfortunately, Christie didn't have any alternative. She needed a vehicle; otherwise, she wouldn't be able to get to work except by walking or biking. A bicycle might be okay once spring arrived, and she could probably buy one secondhand, but that didn't help her now. So far, winter had set all kinds of records for cold and snowfall. Slogging through slush and fierce wind left much to be desired.

The sad reality was that after many temporary fixes, her car was dead. There was no possibility of reviving it. The junkyard had offered her a flat hundred bucks and she took it. That hundred dollars, however, wasn't going to provide reliable transportation. Her only recourse was to ask for a loan—and the only person she could approach was her sister, Teri.

With a knot in her stomach, Christie made the call. Teri answered so quickly, she must've been sitting next to the phone.

“Can you talk?” she asked, trying to keep any hint of anxiety out of her voice.

“Sure. What's up?”

“I'd rather do this face-to-face,” Christie told her. She felt like weeping, which was an anomaly on its own. She didn't easily give in to emotion. Oh, she'd cried her share of tears, but generally it took a crisis like having her bank account emptied by some low-life scum she'd been convinced she could reform. She'd wept buckets over that, and her divorce, too. What upset her this time was the fact that it wasn't a man but a stupid car.

“Come on by,” Teri said. “I'd love the company.”

“That's…the problem. I don't have a car.”

“What happened?”

Christie didn't want to go into all of that now. “Has Bobby hired a new driver?”

“Not yet. Bobby's positive James will return. I—”

“Please don't talk about James,” she interrupted stiffly. Even his name was enough to make her stomach tense.

“Okay, if that's the way you want it.”

“I do.”

“Take a taxi to the house and I'll pay for it.”

Although Christie appreciated the offer, she refused to do that. “I'll take the bus.”

“Christie, don't be silly.”

“It's no problem. Buses run regularly this time of day.”

Still Teri hesitated. “I'd come and get you myself but the doctor doesn't want me driving.”

Christie wasn't surprised. Teri was due in May, although with triplets she'd probably deliver early. “When did he say you couldn't drive?”

“At my last visit. Doc wants to play it safe. Okay, I know it's for a good reason, but I have to tell you I'm going
crazy
sitting around the house. I could definitely use a distraction.”

“I'll be there as soon as I can.”

“Grab a taxi,” Teri insisted again.

“I'll think about it.” Actually, Christie already had and she'd dismissed the idea. She was coming to Teri for a loan as it was and she didn't want her sister having to open her wallet for cab fare before they'd even begun the conversation. And no way was she spending fifteen hard-won dollars herself if she didn't have to.

There was nothing wrong with the bus. She would normally have considered it for transportation to her job, but she worked the early shift at Wal-Mart and the bus schedule was extremely limited at that time of the morning.

The queasiness in her stomach hadn't lessened as she made the long trek down Teri and Bobby's driveway. Walking to the house, she automatically glanced at the garage and the apartment above it, where James had once lived. She chastised herself for looking.

James was out of her life, out of all their lives. Bobby might be deluding himself that his driver and best friend would return. Best friend, now that was a joke. Some friend James had been!

When she finally reached the door and rang the bell, her nose had lost feeling. Her winter jacket was little protection against the wind, which seemed to slice straight through her. She kept her hands clenched in her pockets for warmth.

“You're frozen!” Teri shrieked when she saw her. “I
told
you to take a cab.”

Rather than start an argument, Christie conceded. “Yeah, I should have.”

“Come in, come in.” Teri pulled her into the house and helped her off with her coat and gloves.

Mutely Christie followed her sister into the kitchen and gladly accepted a mug of hot herbal tea. The first sip
burned all the way down her throat, but Christie didn't care. The taste and aroma of the tea revived her.

Slipping onto a stool at the breakfast bar, she braced her elbows there, clutching the mug with both hands, as she considered the best approach to asking her sister for the loan. This was even more difficult than she'd expected. It made her feel like such a failure when she was working so hard to get her life on track. Her credit had been ruined by yet another deadbeat she'd thought she could transform. There'd been a transformation, all right—a negative one. The guy had become an even bigger jerk, and he'd ripped her off, to boot. Why was it lessons like this had to be so painful, with consequences that lingered for years?

Teri seemed to be waiting for her to say something.

“I took your advice,” she said conversationally.

Teri set her mug on the counter and clambered onto the stool directly across from her. “What advice was that?”

“Remember when you said I should make some positive changes in my life? You were right. I've signed up for two courses at the community college in Bremerton.”

“Really?” Teri seemed impressed.

Actually, Christie was impressed with herself. “I never figured I'd be hanging around a college campus at my age.”

“You're not old.”

Christie laughed. “I am compared to most of those kids.” Shaking her head, she sighed. “Were we ever that young?”

“We were born old,” Teri said with a sad look. “The education we got wasn't in history or literature, it was in the ways of the world.”

That was true. Having grown up with an alcoholic mother and a series of stepdads and “uncles,” Christie knew they'd both been robbed of a normal childhood.

“So tell me—” Teri changed the subject “—what are you taking?”

Christie's heart raced with excitement as she said the word. “Photography.”

Teri's eyes widened. “Why photography? I didn't know you had any interest in that.”

“I didn't until recently.” She might as well let it all out. “I went in to the agent to pay my car insurance premium—while I still had a car—and he was on the phone.” It'd been one of those rare instances, Christie realized later, when an opportunity had presented itself at precisely the right moment. “He was bemoaning the fact that there isn't anyone locally to document household inventory for home insurance purposes.”

“So…”

“So when he got off the phone, I asked him what would be involved in learning to do this, and he told me. On his advice, I registered for Basic Photography and Elementary Business. He said if I was willing to follow through, he had two assignments coming up that he could give me. Plus, he'd pass the word along to other agents in town.”

“That's great!”

Christie shrugged. “I started the class last week and there's a lot more to taking a picture than you'd think. This isn't just point and shoot. I have to learn about lighting and lenses and all kinds of stuff.”

“But you'll get there.”

Teri's confidence in her was reassuring. Christie sipped her tea again, then decided she couldn't delay this any longer. With a deep breath, she looked up at her sister.

“Do you know why I'm here?”

Teri didn't answer; instead, she reached for her own
peppermint tea. Her dark hair was pulled away from her face and secured at the nape of her neck and she wore no makeup at all. Under ordinary circumstances she wouldn't consider herself dressed without styling her hair and applying lip gloss. That was the bare minimum.

“Do you really want to play guessing games?” her sister asked.