Harmony Cabins (20 page)

Wendell's frown was part irritation, part confusion. “What?”

Alonzo remained unruffled. “Town's celebrating its one hundred and fiftieth birthday.”

“I'm happy for it, but this is a private conversation.” Wendell waved a hand between him and Audra.

“And this is a public parking lot.” Alonzo's reply was slow and easy.

Audra glared at Wendell. “We're done talking. Go back to Los Angeles.”

Wendell crossed his arms. “I think I'll stay for the town's celebration.”

“You have a place to stay?” Alonzo asked.

Wendell scowled at the sheriff's interruption. “You only have one hotel and one bed-and-breakfast, and they're both booked.”

Alonzo jerked his head toward the road in front of the town center. “You'll have to try the hotels in Sequoia. It's one town over, but they might be full, too.”

Wendell glanced at Audra. His smile didn't reach his eyes. “Or I could stay with you.”

“Over my dead body.” Audra deactivated her car alarm, which automatically unlocked her car. “Have a good afternoon, Sheriff.”

Audra climbed into her car and pulled out of the parking lot. She was anxious to get Wendell in her rearview mirror. Hopefully, he'd be decent enough to listen to her and leave town. But in the meantime, he'd told her he'd met Jack. Audra had a shiver of unease.

 

 

Jack looked at his watch. Only four minutes had elapsed since his last time check. Why was he pacing Audra's porch like a lovesick puppy? He had cabins to renovate and accounting ledgers to update. He couldn't spend the afternoon wearing a path in front of Audra's cabin. But he couldn't concentrate on work, either. His mind kept going back to his meeting with Wendell Weber—what kind of name was that?—and what the other man's arrival in Trinity Falls meant to his final eleven days with Audra.

The air was thick and heavy. Jack leaned against the porch railing. Even in the shade, he felt as though he were standing in a microwave. He wiped sweat from his brow and checked his watch again. Only seconds had passed. Jack had had enough. He straightened from the railing and jogged down the porch stairs. He followed the graveled path from Audra's cabin. His mind wandered as he traveled his customary trail home.
Where is she? Who is she with? What is she doing?

The familiarity of his main cabin pulled him from his musings. Jack mounted the stairs. His limbs felt heavy from the day's heat and frustration. He crossed the porch and pushed open the front door.

The sight of the woman in front of the registration counter brought him up short. “Can I help you?”

Kerry Dunn Green looked at him over her shoulder. She tossed back her straight, dark brown hair. “You shouldn't leave your door unlocked.”

The buzzing started in Jack's ears. His heart raced as he was yanked back in time. “What the hell are you doing here?” He pulled the door closed behind him.

“I was leaving you a note.” She glanced at the counter. “But I guess I don't need to now. Isaac and I were invited to participate in the Founders Day Celebration.” She turned to Jack.

His gaze dropped to her stomach. The ground seemed to shift. “You're pregnant.”

“Yes. Six months.” Kerry's ginger brown cheeks pinkened. She settled her hands on her rounded stomach.

Jack would have considered the gesture protective if his ex-wife had had a maternal bone in her body.

“You got pregnant less than a year after Zoey's death?” He leaned against the door and crossed his arms. “Do you expect me to congratulate you?”

“No, I don't.” Kerry's response was resigned.

Jack wasn't appeased. Kerry hadn't been with him as he'd watched their child die. Now she was having a child with another man. Did she think Zoey could be replaced? “I hope for this child's sake, she or he is a healthy baby. Maybe then, you'll keep her.”

Hurt and anger flashed across Kerry's brown eyes. “That's not fair, Jack.”

“No, Kerry, it wasn't.” He straightened from the door. His tone made it clear it was Kerry's actions and not Jack's accusation that was unfair. “Why are you here?”

“I told you. Isaac and I are here for Founders Day.”

“I mean,
here.
” He stabbed a finger toward the ground. “In my cabin.”

Kerry looked away. She drew her hand through her dark brown hair as her eyes bounced around the wide, barren room. “Why don't you have any chairs for people to sit on?”

“Because I don't want them to stay.” Jack gave her a pointed look.

She shook her head as though exasperated. “I'm here because I didn't want the Founders Day Celebration to be the first time we've seen each other since . . .”

When Kerry's voice trailed off, Jack tried to fill in the blank. “Since your affair? Since your decision to desert your critically ill child? Since you—”

“Stop it, Jack!” She pressed a hand to her hair as though trying to keep her head from exploding. “I knew this was a bad idea.”

“Yes, it was.” Through strength of will, Jack kept his gaze from drifting again and again to Kerry's ripening belly. She'd come to see him, pregnant with another man's child, after she'd disappeared when their child had been dying. She must be mad.

“But I had to see you.”

“Why?” Jack met her eyes with all the hate, hurt, and anger that had been building inside him since he'd discovered her deception.

“I wanted to explain why I wasn't there with you and Zoey.”

They'd never talked about Kerry's reason for leaving. Jack hadn't seen the point. After he'd discovered her affair, Jack hadn't been able to stand to look at her. He'd just wanted her gone. And when she'd asked for a divorce, he hadn't been able to sign the papers fast enough.

“I know why.”

Kerry's eyes widened with surprise—and hope? “You do?”

“Yes. You're a selfish bitch.”

Her face stiffened with shock. Her cheeks flushed with anger. “That's not true.”

“It's not what you want to hear, but it
is
the truth.”

Kerry pointed a finger in his direction. Her words shrieked across the room. “It's fine for you to sit as judge and jury over me, but you don't know what I went through, knowing Zoey was dying.”

Jack's eyebrows shot to his hairline. “I don't?”

“No!” she shot back. “I was her mother.”

“In name only.”

“You don't know what it was like for me.”

“Enlighten me.”

Kerry dropped her arm and her voice. “I was scared. I didn't know what to do. I was helpless and hopeless, watching her grow weaker and thinner. I felt overwhelmed, depressed, devastated.”

Jack stepped forward, bracing his legs and locking his knees to remain upright. “If that's what it was like for you, Kerry, then I know exactly how you felt. It was the same for me. I needed you so I wouldn't feel helpless, hopeless, scared, and overwhelmed alone
.
But you weren't with me. You were with him
.
”

“Jack—”

“You said what you came to say. Get out.” Jack stepped back, clearing the path to his front door.

Kerry hesitated a moment before walking past him and leaving the cabin. He locked the door behind her, then sank against it. He dropped his head into his hands. He really needed Audra.

CHAPTER 20

Audra pulled her rental car into her cabin's garage Wednesday afternoon. Her muscles tensed. Jack was waiting for her on her porch. She closed the automatic garage door, then walked through the cabin. She braced herself before letting him in.

“I didn't know Wendell was coming.” She stepped aside so Jack could enter.

He walked past her. “I knew Kerry was coming. But I didn't expect her to show up on my doorstep.”

Audra's jaw dropped. She locked the front door before following Jack into her great room. “Your ex-wife came to see you?”

“Yeah. This morning was like an ex's reunion.” Was he as calm as he sounded?

“What did she want?”

He shrugged shoulders clothed in an army green shirt. “She's pregnant.”

Oh, my God.
Jack's announcement was a sucker punch to her gut. How had Jack reacted to seeing his ex-wife carrying another baby, after she'd walked away from theirs?

Audra circled him to see his face. “How do you feel about that?”

Jack's eyes looked through her. “How should I feel?”

“You're the only one who can answer that.” Audra's heart hurt for him, so much pain. Why had Kerry come to see him?

Jack paced past her, dragging a hand over his close-cropped hair. “Why are you always asking me how I feel? What does it matter?”

“Expressing my feelings through my songs has helped me. The only way you'll heal from Zoey's death is to stop running from your emotions. You have to deal with them.”

Jack spun to face her. His onyx eyes glowed with anger. “She was my daughter. I will
never
forget her.”

Audra's eyes widened in horror. “That's not what I said.”

“You can't replace a child.”

“No, you can't.”

He turned his back to her again. “Then my feelings don't matter.”

“I disagree.” She'd been so close to getting him to open up about the pain he must be feeling.

Jack met her gaze over his shoulder. “Are you speaking from experience?”

“That's not fair. Why are you running away from your feelings?”

“Because they hurt.” Jack clenched his fists. His arm muscles flexed under his short-sleeved shirt.

Audra briefly closed her eyes as Jack's pain sliced through her heart. She crossed to him, placing her hand on his back. “I wish I could take the pain away from you.”

“I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.”

She rested her cheek on his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. His body was warm. “What would you say to Zoey right now if you could talk with her?”

“I don't want to do this, Audra.”

“Try.” Her voice was a gentle nudge.

“What's the point?”

“Does there have to be one?” She kissed his back through his cotton shirt. “Pretend you're sitting with her right now. What would you say to her?”

Jack sighed. Moments ticked by before he broke his silence. “I'm sorry.”

Audra frowned. “What?”

“I would tell her I'm sorry.”

“For what?” Audra whispered.

“For not saving her. For not keeping our family together. For not being the hero she thought I was.”

Audra forced him to turn around. She held his upper arms in a firm grip and shook him once. “None of those things are your fault—not her illness and not Kerry's leaving. You have nothing to be sorry for. And, of course, you were her hero. I'm sure you gave her courage when she must have been so scared.”

Jack didn't look convinced. “How do you know that?”

“Because you give me courage.”

One thick, dark eyebrow arched. “I don't think hiking in the woods is comparable.”

“Of course not. What you had with Zoey is so much more than what we have. That's why I'm certain your love gave her courage.”

Audra didn't flinch under his searching regard. After a moment, Jack wrapped his arms around her and held her tight to him.

Audra closed her eyes and soaked up the strength she felt whenever she was around him. She hugged him even closer. “You are a hero. Remember that. Zoey would want you to remember, too.”

 

 

Doreen greeted Audra with a Trinity Falls Fudge Walnut Brownie and a mug of coffee Thursday at Books & Bakery. “I've heard your rehearsals with the band are going well.”

“I'm surprised how quickly they've picked up the music.” Audra stirred cream and sweetener into the hot, dark beverage. She closed her eyes in pleasure as she took the first sip.

She opened her eyes and let her gaze drift across the room. It was just after one o'clock, but the lunch crowd was thick with residents, as well as tourists in for the activities leading up to Founders Day.

Doreen leaned a hip against the counter opposite Audra. “Vaughn is a great band conductor. Probably the best the university's ever known. He holds vigorous band tryouts to make sure he gets only the best musicians.”

“I'm looking forward to the town's reaction to the band's performance. They're terrific. On the other hand, my singing's nothing to write home about.” Audra grimaced.

Doreen laughed. “You're too hard on yourself. I've heard great things about your voice.”

“I guess you'll judge for yourself next Saturday.” Her heart grew heavy. “I can't believe tomorrow's August first. This summer's flown by.”

“How's Jack?” There was a strange tone in Doreen's question.

Audra was thrown by the swift topic change. “He's fine. Why?”

Doreen glanced behind Audra. “His ex-wife has arrived. And don't look now, but she's headed your way.”

Moments later, a voice spoke behind her. “You're Audra Lane.”

Audra looked up. Why did people think they had to tell her who she was, as though she didn't know?

The woman who'd spoken to her was beautiful: tall, well-dressed, and exuding a mesmerizing confidence. Her fresh-from-the-salon hair flirted with her shoulders. Her photogenic ginger brown features glowed under expertly applied makeup.

Audra's gaze fell to the stranger's pregnant belly. “You must be Kerry Green.” This
is Jack's ex-wife?
Beside this beautiful princess, Audra felt like a troll.

Doreen tapped Audra's hand. “I'll be in the kitchen.” Her warm brown eyes finished the thought—
Call if you need me
—before she disappeared through the kitchen door.

Kerry maneuvered onto the bar stool beside Audra. Her movements were surprisingly graceful despite her advanced pregnancy. “I could pretend to be surprised that you know who I am, and you could pretend you'd just made a lucky guess, but we both know the truth.”

“I wasn't going to pretend. Jack told me you were pregnant.” Audra considered the state representative's wife. She'd obviously sought her out. What did she want?

“I've heard a lot about you. People are saying you're the one who finally got Jack to climb out of Harmony Cabins and return to Trinity Falls.” Kerry's smile was bright, but her brown eyes were watchful.

Audra sipped her coffee. “What is it that you want?”

Kerry's expression dimmed. “I want to thank you for helping Jack.”

“Listen, Kerry, I work in a very competitive industry. I can sense when someone's trying to pull a game on me.” At least she used to be able to tell. Somehow Wendell had slipped under her radar.

Kerry's smile disappeared. She shifted on her seat, settling more comfortably against the back of the bar stool. “I heard you write songs.” She made it sound like a hobby.

Audra channeled Jack, adopting his favorite response: silence.

Kerry continued. “I tried to speak with Jack yesterday. I know he's angry with me for not being with him and Zoey at the end.”

“You mean when your daughter died.” She wouldn't allow Kerry to hide behind euphemisms to minimize or escape her actions.

Kerry flinched. “I know what you're thinking, but I did the best I could.”

“Personally, I think you could have done better.”

“Zoey was our adopted daughter.”

Zoey was adopted?
Audra had had no idea. Jack had never revealed by word or inflection that Zoey wasn't his biological daughter.

Michelle Mosely, one of the high-school students who worked part-time at Books & Bakery, emerged from the kitchen. Audra used the distraction to recover from her surprise. The young woman grabbed the coffeepot and refilled Audra's mug.

“Thank you.” Audra glanced at Michelle's asymmetrically styled purple hair. Last week, it had been blue. “The fact Zoey wasn't biologically his doesn't matter to Jack. He couldn't have loved her more.” And Audra loved him even more because of that.

Audra froze at the thought. She was in love with Jackson Elijah Sansbury, the grumpy, reclusive, rental cabin property owner. But she hadn't even known him for a month. How could she have fallen in love with him so quickly? She was returning to Los Angeles in ten days. Audra tabled that train of thought. She couldn't handle it right now. In self-defense, she tuned back into Kerry's conversation.

“I need your help.” The other woman's declaration was the distraction Audra needed.

“With what?”

“I need you to make sure that Jack doesn't let his anger with me get in the way on Founders Day. It's only a little more than a week away.” Kerry's expression was so earnest you'd almost think she was being reasonable.

Audra added more cream to her coffee. “Why are you here if you thought Jack's reaction to you would be politically awkward for your husband?”

A myriad of reactions crossed Kerry's features. “You're right. I'm concerned Jack might say something that would reflect badly on me and, therefore, on my husband. But I'm from Trinity Falls. If I hadn't come, the media would have been suspicious.”

Audra arched an eyebrow. “One of those ‘damned-if-you-do' and ‘damned-if-you-don't' situations.”

Kerry's manner cooled. “You could say that.” Audra collected the plate with her untouched Trinity Falls Fudge Walnut Brownie and stood. “I'm not going to plead your case to Jack. Your past is between the two of you. But I will wish you well with your baby.”

“Thank you.” Kerry's gratitude was automatic.

“He or she will be lucky if you're even half the parent Jack was.” Audra turned to find Doreen on the other side of the counter.

The bakery manager handed her a Books & Bakery bag. “Here's the brownie for Jack.”

“Thanks.” Audra followed her to the counter, paying cash for both pastries.

“Thank
you
for what you said about Jack being a good parent.” Doreen handed her the change. “I'm going to miss you. You've made a positive impression on this town, getting involved in the sesquicentennial and bringing our favorite son back into the fold.”

“Your town has made a positive impression on me.” Audra tried to smile, but the idea of leaving Trinity Falls—of leaving Jack—hurt more than she'd imagined it would three weeks ago.

Doreen cleared her throat. “Well, there's no reason you couldn't come back for a visit once in a while.”

“No, there isn't.” Though it wouldn't be the same. A vacation romance was no longer enough for her. But was it possible for Jack to give her anything more?

 

 

Jack watched Wendell saunter into the main cabin Thursday afternoon. He should have known the other man would be back. The music producer seemed like the type who had to have his way.

He lowered his laptop monitor and rose from his seat behind the registration desk. “Don't have any cabins.”

“‘No room at the inn'?” Wendell came to a stop at the counter.

Jack ignored the biblical reference, returning the other man's laughing gaze in silence. It was almost lunchtime. Audra would be back soon. He hoped Wendell wasn't planning on staying long.

Wendell leaned against the counter. “Don't worry. I booked a room in a hotel just outside of town. Thanks, anyway.”

“Sure.” Jack shoved his hands into the front pockets of his brown shorts.

“It seems that your sesquicentennial has overtaxed the town's one hotel and one bed-and-breakfast. And, of course, your cabins.”

“Why are you here?”

“You know you're in the service industry, right? You're going to have to work on your customer interaction. Let's raise the volume on the friendliness quotient.” Wendell's chuckles shook the smaller man's shoulders.

“Why are you here? Please.”

“You may need a twelve-step program.” Wendell straightened, scanning the room. “This is really pretty property.”

“Thanks.”

“I wanted to take another look at it—and at you.” Wendell turned his full attention to Jack. “There's something going on between you and Audra, isn't there?”

Jack didn't respond.

“This time, your silence speaks volumes, dude.” Wendell's grin was smug. “See, if you weren't making time with her, you'd say so. Frankly, I don't know what she sees in you.”

Jack wondered the same about Wendell. He may have only known Audra for three weeks, but the music producer didn't seem to be her type. The music producer enjoyed the sound of his own voice. And, judging by his appearance, he liked to draw attention to himself. His gold hoop earrings, dark red mesh tank, and gold shorts screamed,
Look at me!

The other man continued. “You're a small-town man with a couple of fixer-uppers. She has a Grammy. Did she tell you about that?”