Silver Linings (35 page)

I'll admit I went overboard when it came to decorating the inn for Christmas this season. Not until January, when I had to take everything down and place it in storage, did I acknowledge that this excess of Christmas cheer was a blatant attempt to lift my own spirits. Now, with the decorations down, the inn looked stark and bleak to me.

My guests came and went with rapid regularity. A few special ones returned. Mary Smith, who had stayed at the inn a few months after I purchased the bed-and-breakfast, had come with her husband. She'd originally visited while she was battling breast cancer, and had reconnected during her visit with a Seattle attorney she'd once loved. Mary's cancer was in remission and she and her husband seemed blissfully happy. Perhaps the healing power found at my inn was stronger than I realized.

If only that had been the case for Coco and Katie when they were here back in September for their ten-year class reunion. Coco and Katie. It saddened me to remember that the inn had failed them both.

In an effort to brighten the bleak days that followed Christmas, I decorated the inn for Valentine's Day, although it was early yet, still January. I felt like a hypocrite, hanging hearts from the ceiling over the dining room table.

There had been no further word since the news reports of the ISIS kidnapping. I had no way of knowing if it was in fact Mark, as Peggy had worried. But if Mark was alive I felt certain I would have gotten some form of communication by now…and I hadn't. The hard part was that there might never be closure for me with Mark.

When I had first learned Paul's helicopter had been shot down, I clung to the hope that my husband had somehow survived. It took a year for his remains to be located and identified. I steadfastly refused to believe my husband was dead and when I was forced to accept the truth, it was like losing him all over again. The grief and pain had been debilitating. I wouldn't do that with Mark. It was too painful to live my life in limbo. As far as I was concerned, I had to move forward as if he were gone from me forever. For the sake of my sanity, I accepted that Mark was out of my life.

As I stood on a chair with a shiny red heart dangling from a thread, I glanced out the window and heard a car pull into the driveway. I recognized the two women who got out and walked toward the inn.

Coco and Katie, my high-school-reunion girls. The very ones I'd just been thinking about.

I jumped down off the chair, and Rover and I were at the front door and had it open before they reached the top step.

“Remember us?” Coco asked, smiling broadly.

“Of course I do,” I said, inviting them inside. I hugged them both.

“We were in town and decided to stop by and tell you our news.”

“Come in. Tell me.” I led the way to the living room. “The coffee's on if you'd like a cup.”

Katie glanced at her wrist. “Sorry, but we're due at a friend's house in fifteen minutes.”

“What's going on?” I asked eagerly. They both looked wonderful. Happy.

We sat together, the three of us, in my living room.

“You first,” Katie said, gesturing to her friend.

Coco thrust out her arm and wiggled her ring finger, displaying a diamond engagement ring. My eyes went from the ring to Coco. She must have read the question in me, because she rushed to add, “It's from Hudson. You gotta love this guy. He knows what he wants and so do I.” Her face shone with joy. “He couldn't decide if he should give it to me January eighteenth on Stephen Hawking's birthday or January twenty-second on Sir Francis Bacon's birthday, and Carl Sagan's somewhere in there, too. So he chose January twentieth.”

“Tell her what he did,” Katie urged. “This is so romantic.”

Coco's smile covered her entire face. “He insisted on showing me this scientific experiment he'd first tried as a kid using household items. He had baking soda and vinegar and a bunch of other stuff out on my shelf. We were in my kitchen and then his experiment bubbled over and there was a huge mess. I laughed and told him he wasn't allowed to use the kitchen any longer to teach me about science. When he finished, I dutifully applauded and then he frowned and said something had gone wrong because there appeared to be an object in the bottom of the glass. I looked and sure enough there was, and it was a diamond ring.”

“Hudson isn't the most romantic guy in the world, but he outdid himself with this proposal.” Katie smiled at her friend as she spoke.

“Then Hudson proposed. He got down on one knee and asked me to marry him,” Coco said, her eyes dreamy with the memory, “and then I got down on both knees next to him and said yes.”

“Through her tears,” Katie added.

“Okay, I'll admit I was crying, but Hudson was so sweet and so sincere and so wonderful.”

“That's marvelous,” I said, genuinely pleased for her. “Congratulations.”

“He wanted to put the ring in my latte because we meet up every morning at Starbucks, but he changed his mind, which is probably a good thing. Knowing me, I would have probably swallowed it and Hudson would end up doing the Heimlich maneuver.” Coco turned to her friend. “Okay, Ms. Know It All, your turn.”

Katie turned toward me. “My story with James isn't as dramatic or romantic as Coco's.”

“It is, too,” Coco insisted. “It's every bit as romantic and wonderful.”

“Wonderful for sure,” Katie concurred.

I held up my hand. “I thought you told me he was engaged to someone else.”

“Was, past tense,” Coco supplied. “Oh sorry, Katie, this is your story.”

“I won't go into the broken-engagement part although it does play a key role in the story. Really all I have to tell you is that James and I have gotten back together and our relationship is better than ever.”

“You should see the two of them,” Coco said, and then grew thoughtful. “They both realize, I think, how close they came to living completely separate lives. If any two people need each other, it's Katie and James. They're perfect together, two halves that make up a whole.”

“What about you and Hudson?”

“Talk about yin and yang,” Coco said, and laughed. “We're two people who are exact opposites but we agree on everything that matters. Well, other than the names of our children. I am not going to saddle a son with the name Francis or Albert. Besides I think Hudson Junior is a perfectly fine name.”

I hesitated and then asked, “Are you pregnant?”

“Not yet, but I plan to be shortly,” Coco cooed.

I couldn't help smiling. Both my reunion girls had found happiness, and their faces were a reflection of their joy.

“We came back to Cedar Cove to let you know how happy we are and how much it meant to us to meet you,” Katie explained. “Even when you were emotionally down yourself you encouraged us. Besides, we were curious. Did you ever hear from your handyman?”

I shook my head. “Not directly. He's…he's out of the country.”

“That's disappointing.”

“It is. Thank you for asking,” I whispered, doing my best to hide the effect Katie's words had on me.

“And we're late to see Lily Franklin,” Coco said, scooting off the sofa. “She wants to get a group of our friends together and plan a wedding shower for me and Hudson. She was one of the reunion organizers and is giddy, claiming credit for our romance.”

“She does have a point,” said Katie.

“Okay, maybe. If it hadn't been for the reunion, I can't imagine I would be with Hudson now.”

I hugged them both in turn and then they were off. Rover and I followed them out to the porch and watched as they backed out of the driveway.

It excited me that the inn had kept its promise to me after all. When I returned to the house, I heard the office phone ringing and rushed to catch the call before it went to voice mail.

“The Inn at Rose Harbor,” I said. “How can I help you?”

“Hello,” the disembodied voice spoke from the other end of the connection. “My name is Emily Gaffney and I'm calling to ask if you'd consider taking in a boarder for a couple of weeks until I can find a place to live.”

The question gave me pause. “I…I don't know. I've never had a long-term guest.”

“I recently accepted a teaching position in Cedar Cove. Funny thing is I was there late last summer. It shouldn't take long. But I don't want to make a hurried decision.”

It was something to think about. To this point no one had asked to book the inn for more than a few days.

“I'm quiet and I won't cause any trouble,” Emily assured me. “I looked online at what was available in town and was immediately drawn to your inn. It's a special place, isn't it?”

I could tell by her voice that Emily was someone who needed the healing powers of the inn. “I'll put your name down and we'll work something out. My rates are reasonable and I'll hold the room for you on a week-to-week basis. How does that sound?”

“Perfect.” I heard Emily sigh with relief. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I'll be in touch.”

“Okay, then I'll wait to hear from you.”

Emily gave me her contact information and we ended the call. I decided that, on reflection, it might be nice to have some live-in company for a while.

Although I was loath to admit it, I was lonely. I'd been managing to fill my time but the nights were bleak. While not wanting to dwell on Mark, I missed him.

The rest of my day went well and by the time I crawled into bed, I was exhausted. I'd added hot-water bottles to all the beds in the inn and tucked one between the sheets of my own, surprised by the warmth and comfort it offered. It was an old-fashioned pleasure, but one I'd become addicted to this winter.

I don't know how long I'd been asleep when my phone woke me. I kept it in the charger at night on my bedside table. I didn't often get calls this late and when I did they were mostly the wrong number.

“Hello,” I said, resting on my elbow.

Nothing.

I was about to disconnect when I heard a weak voice that sounded like it was coming from the moon.

“Jo Marie?”

A voice from the grave. I nearly dropped the phone. “Mark,” I cried, tears instantly in my eyes and in my voice. “Is that you? Please, please tell me I'm not dreaming this.”

“It's me,” he said. “It's me.”

“Oh Mark,” I sobbed, resisting the urge to cover my mouth with my hand. “Where are you? Are you safe? Are you coming back?”

“I'm still in Iraq, but I found Ibrahim.”

Relief washed over me that not only was Mark alive but he'd been able to locate the man he felt as close to as a brother.

“I'm traveling with him and his family,” Mark continued. “We're trying to get across the border. We're constantly on the move.”

My heart stilled.

“I just couldn't go any longer without hearing the sound of your voice,” he whispered, “and go without telling you I'm in love with you. You are my heart, Jo Marie.”

The sob that sprung from my throat jarred me and I struggled to hold back tears. The static faded and I was sure the connection had been broken. “Mark. Mark.” Frantically I cried out his name.

“…I'm sorry I had to leave you the way I did,” he was saying, when the connection caught again.

I was afraid that I'd missed part of what he'd called to tell me.

“I understand now,” I said, talking around the thick knot in my throat. I was afraid he wouldn't be able to hear me.

“It was the only way I could leave you.”

“I know. Bob told me. He got a postcard,” I told him. “He brought it to me so we knew you'd gotten into Iraq safely.” My hand tightened around the phone. “Then there were photos on TV of an American being held captive. We thought it was you.”

“It wasn't, but it was someone I knew. A friend who helped me. He's dead now.”

I gasped and bit down on my lower lip. I wanted to reach through the connection and bring Mark back safely to me, but I knew that was impossible. I whispered the words I hadn't been able to tell him before he left. “I love you.”