Heartache Falls (26 page)

Now she was the one with guilt on her face. “Once I get past the sale—”

“Then something will come up with the Patchwork Angels.”

Her chin came up. “Or, maybe the Sandberg trial or even a new case.”

Like the Hutchinson circus. Mac closed his eyes, feeling weary to the depths of his soul.

“Enough of this,” Ali said, her voice tight. “I don’t have time for this. I have a million things to do. It’ll have to keep for another time.”

She partially swam, partially walked to the steps and climbed out of the pool. She grabbed a towel and as she headed for the house, an irrational anger rose inside Mac. His voice scathing, he called out, “So what, now we have to fight on your timetable, too?”

She paused, glanced over her shoulder, and offered him a silent, withering look.

The silence between them continued the rest of the night. When time came to go to bed, Mac seriously considered the couch in his office, then decided against it, partially because he knew it would hurt her, but mainly because the symbolism of it depressed him. They’d come further than that, hadn’t they?

Apparently not. He went to bed in the master bedroom, and he lay there for a full hour before falling asleep.

Alison never joined him.

After a fitful night’s sleep on the bed in Caitlin’s room, Ali rose early to complete preparations in time for the afternoon party. When she came downstairs, Mac was in his office slipping papers into his briefcase. Uncertain of his mood—or her own, for that matter—she tentatively said, “Good morning.”

He shot her an angry look but didn’t speak. He simply nodded shortly and abruptly.

Ali felt the urge to stick her tongue out at him. Instead
she went to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. A few minutes later, he walked through the kitchen on his way to the garage. He didn’t veer to kiss her good-bye, and the arrow scored a hit against her heart.

With his hand on the doorknob, he paused. He must have had second thoughts, because he cleared his throat, then said, “This party is an afternoon event, correct? Would you want to go out to dinner tonight?”

Ali shut her eyes and fought a wave of frustration. He was trying, but why was he so bad at it? “Mac, it’s less than two weeks until they film the first show at the Bristlecone. I am drowning in work. I know we discussed the fact that I needed to be in Eternity Springs during this time. I have a breakfast meeting myself tomorrow morning. I’m driving back after the party.”

He stiffened. “Of course.”

“Mac, can we talk about—”

“I don’t have time,” he said, cutting her off. He opened the door saying, “I have a full day scheduled. You’ll probably be gone before I get home. Gus will be fine in his crate during your event, but be sure to put him in the backyard before you leave. Drive safely.”

With that, he stepped outside and shut the door behind him, just shy of a slam. Ali decided to give herself five minutes to fret and fume and fight back tears, but after that she needed to get to work. She still had a lot to do before her guests arrived.

She did a fair job of putting the whole mess out of
her mind until midmorning, when the doorbell rang and she spied Celeste Blessing’s warm and friendly face through the peephole. Opening the door, Ali said, “Hi, Celeste. Please come in. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“As a co-hostess and your friend, I came early to help with preparations. Your other co-hostesses should be along shortly, too.”

At that, tears pooled in Ali’s eyes. “Party prep is under control. I’m afraid it’s my marriage that needs help.”

Celeste clicked her tongue. “Oh, dear. Why don’t you pour us both a glass of iced tea and tell me all about it?”

Ali did just that, pouring out her troubles and speaking from the heart. Celeste reached across the table and patted her hand. “Honey, if you need to leave the job, I’ll manage without you. In fact, I might just give in and sell the place to Lorraine, like she wants.”

“No.” Ali shook her head forcefully. “Don’t do that. We’ve worked too hard on the rental agreement. I want to see this through. I honor my commitments. Besides, I really don’t think I’m the problem here. Part of the problem, sure, but not all of it. Something’s going on with him that I simply can’t put my finger on. I don’t know. Maybe it’s his turn to have a midlife crisis.”

The ring of the doorbell signaled the arrival of her guests. As Ali rose to answer the door, Celeste gave her arm a comforting squeeze. “Don’t give up on him, dear. Don’t give up on yourself.”

“I won’t.”

Smiling thoughtfully, Celeste added, “It’s a shame that Eternity Springs isn’t three hours closer to Denver. I think that your Mac could do with a little dose of heaven, too.”

FOURTEEN

Unhappy with the way he’d left things with Ali that morning, Mac cut his day short and arrived home before the party had ended. The weather was gorgeous, thus cooperating for an outdoor event and as Mac exited his car and approached the house, he heard the sound of laughter coming from the backyard. He was smiling as he stepped inside. Then he spied his wife and his smile faded.

He retreated upstairs to change.

Moments later, Ali followed him up. She entered their bedroom, shut the door behind her, then leaned against it. “I’m surprised to see you home this early.”

He unbuttoned his shirt. “I hoped to catch you before you left. I didn’t like leaving things the way we did this morning.”

“Me either.” She took a step toward him, then stopped. “Mac, I’ll find a way to get back to town for a counseling session next week if we can get an appointment.”

He smiled sadly. “Next week is tough. The Sandberg trial will probably go to the jury.”

“Oh.”

Now Mac took a tentative step toward her. She looked as miserable as he felt. “Ali, it’s okay. We can
wait until after you’re done with the Bristlecone. I know it’s important to you to finish what you start.”

“It is.” She smiled tremulously and took another step toward him.

Mac returned her smile and opened his arms. She ran to him and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “I love you, Alison. That much I’m certain of.”

She lifted a teary-eyed, searching gaze his way. “What is it, Mac? What’s wrong?”

What wasn’t wrong? He didn’t enjoy his job. He was being stalked by his larcenous mother. His wife was headed for the mountains, and his new dog had fleas. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t know. Life just isn’t very much fun these days.”

Later, after the shower was done and his wife and her guests had departed, Mac had to get out of the house. He walked to the laundry room and reached for the dog leash hanging from a hook. Seeing what was happening, Gus leapt in the air, chased his tail, and dashed for the backdoor. “Wait for me, speed demon.”

He snapped the leash to Gus’s collar, then opened the kitchen door. The phone rang at that moment, distracting Mac. Gus took advantage, yanked the leash out of Mac’s hand, and dashed away. “Gus! Get back here.”

Ignoring the phone, Mac chased his dog. Loping around the side of the house, he was shocked to see Gus flop down at the base of his front porch steps, where a woman he recognized as Ali’s employer reached out a hand and began scratching him behind the ears. “Um, Ms. Blessing?”

“Call me Celeste, dear.”

She smiled up at him, and Mac reacted in a way that was downright strange. The tension inside him just sort of … melted. He returned her smile. “Did you miss your ride?”

“No, dear. My car is parked down the block. I waited because I wanted to speak with you.”

Gus plopped his head onto her lap and whimpered. Mac shook his head at his dog, then asked, “What about?”

“Oh, various things. Would you mind if I accompanied you and Gus on your walk?”

All Mac truly wanted at that moment was to be alone, but he didn’t have it in him to be rude to an elderly woman—even if he did nurse a resentment toward her for giving Ali the job that kept her away from him.

“We’d be glad to have you join us,” he lied.

They walked down the drive and onto the sidewalk, Gus leading the way. Mac anticipated taking a slower pace than normal in order to accommodate Celeste. Instead, he worked to keep up.

Celeste Blessing was full of surprises. He didn’t quite know what to make of her. She was elderly, but far from old. She was kind and gentle and compassionate, but she wasn’t a dotty grandmother type. What sort of widow drove a motorcycle, made friends with everyone she met, and took on a dying town as her pet project? She was definitely a puzzle.

And what did she want with him?

“This is a lovely neighborhood,” she said. “Ali tells me you’ve been happy here and that it was a fine place to raise a family.”

“Yes.” He glanced up the street and pictured his boys riding bikes, Caitlin on a scooter. He remembered games of tag with a dozen neighbor kids. “It’s been a good home for us.”

“Do you resent that Ali wants something different now?”

Mac was taken aback. “That’s a personal question, ma’am.”

“True. I don’t shy away from them, nor should you shy away from the answers.” They paused while Gus hiked a leg to water a fire hydrant. When they resumed walking, Celeste continued with tidbits of information about Ali’s ideas and her successes, her skills and her talents.

“Your wife has excellent instincts,” she added, waving gaily to a curly-haired toddler throwing a ball with her father in the yard across the street. “I wanted to reopen the Bristlecone as soon as I purchased it, but she convinced me to take the opportunity to do some remodeling. Then the lightning strike turned a little remodeling into a major remodel, and I don’t know what I’d have done without her. Your wife really put her own special mark on the restaurant.”

After that she talked about Ali’s work ethic, her friendliness, and her compassion until finally, Mac felt compelled to respond. “I know she’s a wonderful woman, Celeste. You don’t need to sell me on her.”

“Don’t I?” She gave him a sidelong, knowing look. “I’ve been speaking for, what, ten minutes? How much of what I told you did you already know? Ninety percent? Seventy-five? Fifty?”

He frowned. “I might not know she vetoed using
yellow in any of the Bristlecone’s furnishings, but I do know her character.”

“That’s a good point. The bedrock of one’s character doesn’t change.” They’d reached the corner and turned toward the park at the end of the block. Celeste continued, “However, Mac, dreams, wishes, and desires are something different. Some change over time. Others stay consistent throughout life. Tell me, dear, what do you know of Ali’s dreams, wishes, and desires today?”

He opened his mouth, then hesitated. What did he know of Ali’s wishes and desires? He knew she wished Celeste wasn’t renting the restaurant to people from Hollywood. As far as dreams and desires went … He stood tall and said, “She still desires me.”

“I should hope so. You’re a stud.”

Mac tripped over his own foot, and her laughter rang out on the air like church bells. She slipped her arm through his, then asked, “Am I going too fast for you?”

“Something like that.”

“It’s a habit of mine. I like to live life to the fullest. That’s important, don’t you think?”

“Probably. Yeah.” Some strange urge of honesty caused him to add, “I don’t do a very good job of it.”

“And why is that, Judge Timberlake?”

He mentally pulled back, shaking his head. “I’m afraid that answering that question would take deeper thought than I am capable of on this pretty afternoon.”

“Chicken.” She chuckled and gave his arm a
squeeze. “You should think about it, Mac. Alison has.”

“Are you still talking about those wishes and dreams?”

“I am. May I tell you what I see when I look at your wife?”

Hadn’t she been doing that already? “Sure.”

She paused beside a flowering shrub and gestured toward a yellow butterfly flittering around the pink blooms. “I like to think that Alison is a butterfly going through metamorphosis. These months in Eternity Springs have been her chrysalis. She’s been growing her wings and developing her color. Now she’s a butterfly almost ready to emerge.”

“I don’t care for the metaphor, Celeste,” he replied as the butterfly flew away. “See?”

“Don’t be silly. She’s not flying away from you. Besides, aren’t you in the metamorphosis process yourself?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re just a little bit behind your wife. That’s often the case in nature, you know. Females take the lead.”

Mac scowled. “Are you calling me a butterfly?”

“I’m calling you a caterpillar. It’s time for your metamorphosis, Mac. It’s time for you to pursue your wishes, dreams, and desires.”

“I’ve been pursuing my dreams since I was nine years old.” He stepped away from Celeste Blessing and tugged the leash to draw Gus away from a dirt pile he was sniffing.

“That’s the problem, don’t you see? You’ve been
focused on the first half of your life, but now it’s time to explore what you want in the second half.”

Mac turned his head and stared at her.

“Never thought of it that way, have you?” A wayward Frisbee came flying toward them over someone’s back fence. Celeste caught it and sent it sailing back in a smooth, practiced movement. “Wishes and dreams and desires need not be static, Mackenzie. Don’t you think life is more interesting, more exciting, if they change and adapt and grow according to the man you are today? Not the boy you were when you were nine?”