CHAPTER TEN
With the help of Cameron’s map, Scarlet easily found his house. The place he’d rented was farther out of town then she’d expected, about a mile and a half. The house was set back from the main road and surrounded by trees, separating it from neighbors and giving the place a sense of complete privacy. The privacy of his house shouldn’t surprise her. Cameron guarded everything about his personal life. At least from her.
A huge garage at the back of the property dominated the yard and was at least twice the size of the modest bungalow. She wondered why he’d want something so large until she remembered Drew telling her that he built furniture. Was the garage his workshop? Curious, she walked to the garage and tried to peek in through one of the windows, but they were too high. A padlock on the door screamed ‘Stay out!’ Maybe if she asked nicely, he’d let her into this inner sanctum. Then again, it could be one more thing he closely guarded.
The yard itself was neat, if somewhat Spartan. The grass was clipped and the yard was free of clutter. The bungalow looked recently painted, though somewhat boring with its simple white siding and black trim. The only concession to color was the pot of purple pansies near the front door. Scarlet wondered if Cameron had planted them for Tessa.
Using the key he’d given her, she opened the front door and walked straight into the bungalow’s living room. Like the outside, the inside of the house was clean and tidy. She stopped to admire a beautiful wooden coffee table set in front of the sofa. The piece managed to be rustic and modern at the same time and would be perfect for the new cottages. She made a mental note to ask Cameron where he’d purchased the table. A thought struck her as she examined it more closely. Had he made this table? If he had, the man was beyond talented.
Unable to stop herself from snooping, Scarlet wandered through the main rooms of the house. Cameron obviously ran a tight ship. Everything in the kitchen and living room was spotless and seemed to have a place and a purpose, with no extraneous stuff to clutter the landscape. With the exception of the coffee table and a gorgeous wooden dining table with wrought iron legs in the kitchen, the best that could be said about the furniture was that it was clean and serviceable.
Scarlet’s curiosity got the better of her and instead of finding Cameron’s office and getting on with her work, she checked out the bedrooms. The room that obviously belonged to Tessa was painted a pale purple and contained a twin bed with a beautiful white headboard and a purple bedspread emblazoned with unicorns and rainbows. Matching curtains hung on the window and a child-sized wooden table with two chairs sat against one wall. Toys were neatly stacked on shelves and in a toy box. The thought of him tidying up pink ponies and Barbie dolls in this very feminine little girl’s room made her smile.
She examined an adorable wooden train engine painted bright red. After putting the engine back on the shelf, she left Tessa’s room, and walked down the hall past the scrupulously clean bathroom to Cameron’s room. It felt like an invasion of his privacy to enter the room that most reflected his personality. Scarlet hovered in the doorway, uneasy, but too curious to leave. Like the rest of the house, it was neat and contained the bare minimum of furniture. A beautiful headboard dominated the room. Tall and elaborately constructed, the headboard appeared to be made out of some kind of reclaimed wood in varying shades of brown and grey. The room had a masculine vibe that reminded her of Cameron.
She stared at the king-sized bed that took up the majority of floor space. She imagined Cameron in that bed, the brown comforter messed up and barely covering his naked body. His dark hair would be rumpled, the scruff of a beard lining his jaw. His face would be relaxed in sleep, peaceful, and even more handsome than when he was awake. Then his eyes would open, and he’d stare into her eyes, his sensuous mouth smiling in pleasure as he reached for her…
Stop right there.
Scarlet quickly backed out of the doorway and hurried down the hall to the office, her heart racing. That’s what she got for snooping. As she booted up Cameron’s laptop with trembling fingers, she promised to keep her mind on business while she was in his house.
The next afternoon, Scarlet let Harper into the cottage. Maybe her older sister could knock some sense into Maggie.
Harper set her purse on the island. “Are you guys ready? I told Abby we’d be at her house around two.”
“I’m ready,” Scarlet said, “but Maggie says she’s not going.”
“What?” Harper turned to Maggie. “Why not? Reese said Abby specifically asked for you.”
Maggie broke a couple of eggs into a bowl and turned on the mixer. “Today’s a bad day for me. I’m in the middle of something.”
“Couldn’t you do that later? We won’t be staying for more than an hour.”
“I’ve already started. You know I’m trying to nail down my menu. I’ll go another time.”
Scarlet shared a look with Harper, lifting her shoulder in a shrug. She was as baffled by Maggie’s behavior as Harper appeared to be.
Harper threw up her hands. “You knew we were planning to go this afternoon. What’s really going on, Maggie?”
“I’m under a lot of pressure.” Maggie dumped a cup of flour into the mixer, raising her voice to be heard over the machine. “You want everything to be perfect, so I’m trying to create the perfect menu.”
“Maggie, you’re not being fair to Harper. If there’s pressure, you’re putting it on yourself. Harper hasn’t said anything about perfection. She’s giving you the freedom to create the menu you want. Do you know how lucky you are?” Sometimes her baby sister could be a real brat.
Maggie refused to look at them. “Maybe Harper hasn’t told me directly she wants perfection, but it’s there, in every meeting, in every conversation about the lodge. The dining room has to bring people in. If no one wants to come here, it’s going to be my fault.”
Harper stepped behind the island and put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “Honey, I’m sorry you feel such pressure. That’s not at all what I meant to do. Tell me how I can make things better.”
Maggie turned off the mixer and scraped the sides of her bowl with a spatula. Scarlet noted her pinched mouth and the trembling of her hand. “I’m sorry, but I can’t see Abby today.”
Scarlet grabbed Maggie’s free hand and squeezed. “Is there anything we can say to change your mind? Anything we can do?”
Maggie shook her head, still refusing to look at them. Harper sighed and turned to Scarlet. “I guess we’d better go.”
“Don’t forget to take the basket of goodies I made for Abby,” Maggie said. She swallowed, and Scarlet realized she was holding back tears. “She always liked my brownies. Tell her…tell her I’m thinking of her.”
Harper picked up the basket from the counter. “We’ll tell her. Are you going to be okay by yourself?”
“Yes, of course.” She turned the mixer on once more and began adding ingredients, carefully avoiding their eyes.
Scarlet glanced at Harper. She looked as confused and worried as Scarlet was. As a kid, Maggie had spent a lot of time with Abby, especially after Grandma Dorothy died when she was fourteen. Scarlet had been away from home by then, but whenever she’d talked to Maggie on the phone, she’d spoken of Abby. So why was she avoiding her now?
They didn’t have time to get into it. Without another word, they left the cottage and drove to town.
A short time later, they arrived at Abby and Reese’s house. After Scarlet rapped on the door, they waited several minutes for Abby to answer and when she did, Scarlet sucked in a breath. She looked even frailer than she had the last time she’d seen her, and thinner. Today she wore no head covering of any kind, and Scarlet was shocked at how short her hair was. Her skin had a sort of yellowish cast that looked sickly. For the first time, she wondered if something was seriously wrong with Abby.
The thought must have occurred to Harper as well. Scarlet saw the shock in her expression before she quickly covered it with a smile. “Hi, Abby.” She stepped forward to give her a hug. “Here we are, as promised.”
“It’s wonderful to see you.” Abby opened her arms to Scarlet and she hugged her. She felt small and fragile in her arms, like a wounded bird.
Abby looked out the open door. “Where is Maggie? Isn’t she with you?”
Harper glanced at Scarlet before she answered. “She wasn’t able to come today, but she said to tell you she’s thinking of you.”
Abby’s mouth turned down at the corners, disappointment dulling her eyes. “I’ve been thinking about her, too.”
Harper held up the basket. “She baked some brownies and other goodies for you.”
“Maggie was a talented baker even as a young girl. I imagine her talents have grown since then.” She roused herself and offered them a smile. “Scarlet, honey, would you close the door? Let’s go have some tea and brownies.”
Scarlet obediently closed the front door and followed them into the kitchen. Abby filled the kettle but when she tried to move it to the stove, it fell back into the sink with a clatter.
Harper was on her feet in an instant, her arms around Abby. “Let us take care of the tea.”
She led her to a kitchen chair and made her sit down while Scarlet rescued the kettle from the sink and put it on the stove. Simply walking across the kitchen seemed to wear Abby out.
“I’m sorry about that. You’re guests in my home. I’m supposed to look after you, not the other way around.”
Harper sat next to her and clasped her hand. “We’re old friends. We don’t need to stand on ceremony.”
Scarlet found teacups and small plates in the cupboard, along with a sugar bowl and an empty creamer. She filled the creamer with milk from the fridge and brought everything to the table. Once the water boiled, she made tea and brought it to the table as well.
Abby gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you, Scarlet. I’m having a little trouble getting around these days.”
Scarlet sat across from her. “How are you feeling?”
“Oh, I’m fine. Just not as much energy as I’d like. Keeps me pretty housebound.”
Harper put some of Maggie’s brownies on a plate and set it within Abby’s reach. “Is your lack of energy related to the surgery you had last winter? Have you asked your doctor about it?”
“He’s doing what he can for me.” She patted Harper’s hand. “Please, don’t worry about me. I’d rather talk about you girls and what’s going on in your lives.”
Scarlet glanced at her sister. Harper gave a slight nod, as if to tell her there was no point grilling Abby about her health if she didn’t want to talk about it.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Harper dug in her purse for a small gift-wrapped box that she handed to Abby. “I got you a little something when I was in Paris.”
Abby looked genuinely surprised. “Oh, honey, you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I wanted to. Go ahead and open it.”
Abby ripped open the gift wrapping with trembling fingers to reveal a small blue jeweler’s box. When she lifted the lid, a fleur-de-lis pendant on a silver chain sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. Scarlet wondered if the stones on the pendant were real diamonds. Abby must have wondered, too.
“Oh, Harper, this is too much.” She tried to push the box away, but Harper put her hands over hers, stopping her.
“I want you to have it. For the first time in my life I was able to buy really wonderful gifts for the people who mean the most to me. You wouldn’t deny me this one little pleasure, would you?”
Abby pursed her lips. “That’s dirty pool.”
“Maybe, but I want you to have this necklace as a token of my love. You’re our oldest friend.”
“Oldest? I’m not sure I like that.”
Both Harper and Scarlet laughed. This was the irreverent, funny Abby they’d known and loved. The one they’d turned to when things got tough at home.
“Okay, the friend we’ve had the longest. Is that better?”
“Better.” Abby carefully removed the necklace from the box. “Would you help me put this on?”
“Of course.”
She bent her head to allow Harper to fasten the clasp of the necklace. Abby touched the pendant. “Thank you, Harper.”
“You’re very welcome.”
Harper told her about the places they’d visited in Paris, like Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre. Scarlet talked about her plans to attend the wedding show in Minneapolis on the weekend. When she mentioned she was going to be on television, Abby made her write down the time and date on her wall calendar.
“I watch that show quite often, when I get up early enough. I’ll set my alarm so I make sure not to miss it.”
“I hope I don’t make a mess of it.”
“Of course you won’t. You’re like your mother. You can handle anything.”
“It means a lot to me to hear you say that, Abby.”
She squeezed Scarlet’s hand. “You’re both strong, accomplished woman, and Miranda would be very proud of you. That reminds me. I was looking at some old photo albums and I found some pictures of your mother. I thought you might like to see them.” She pointed to a cardboard box in the corner of the kitchen. “Could you bring them to the table?”
Scarlet pulled the three albums from the box and brought them to Abby. With a grin, Abby opened the first album to a page that had been marked with a bookmark. “These go all the way back to high school. Talk about ancient history.”
Every picture showed a smiling, vivacious Miranda, the center of attention. Abby touched Miranda’s image with her finger. “She was the kind of person everyone wanted to be around. It was like she had a light shining inside her. We all wanted to be close to her so we could be warmed by her light.”
For the thousandth time, Scarlet wondered how different their lives would have been if their mother had lived, if they had been allowed to bask in her light. What kind of people would she and her sisters be? Would she still be as afraid to commit to love as she was now?
“I forgot to tell you, Scarlet. I found several boxes of Mom’s stuff hidden away in Grandma Dorothy’s closet when I was cleaning out the lodge.” Harper refilled her cup and Abby’s from the tea-cozy covered pot. “I haven’t had a chance to open them all, just one box with a lot of photo albums like these.”
“I’d like to see them,” Scarlet said.
“Any time. They’re stored away in the second bedroom of our cottage.”
They paged through the albums for a while longer, laughing at some of the antics of Abby and Miranda and their teenage friends.
“How is Luke?” Scarlet asked. “I haven’t seen him since…I don’t really know how long it’s been since I’ve seen him.”
“That’s because my son doesn’t have any interest in coming back to Minnesota.” Abby’s wistful smile held a touch of longing. “I don’t see him often, but we talk on the phone all the time. He says there’s nothing for him here. He’s much happier in California, managing a small, boutique hotel in the Napa Valley.”
Resentment made Scarlet unable to speak for a moment. She’d give anything to be able to see her mother one more time, even if it meant the inconvenience of flying halfway across the country. It would be a small price to pay, one that Luke didn’t seem to appreciate.
Abby sagged a little in her chair, her face lined with fatigue. Harper looked at Scarlet and tilted her head toward the door in a silent message that said it was time for them to leave. Scarlet got to her feet. “We’ve really got to get going, Abby,” she said, stooping to kiss the top of her head. “I’ve got to start getting ready for my trip to Minneapolis this weekend.”
Harper stood as well. “I’ve got a million things to do at the lodge. This project is taking on a life of its own.”
“I hope you’ll come again,” Abby said.
Harper kissed her cheek. “We will. I promise.”
“And you’ll bring Maggie next time?”
Scarlet and Harper exchanged a look. Scarlet had no idea why her little sister refused to visit Abby and from the look on her face, neither did Harper. But they’d do their best to convince her.
“Of course.” Scarlet hoped she wasn’t lying.
“Goodbye, girls. It was wonderful seeing you again.”
After a few more hugs and kisses, they left. When they got into Scarlet’s car and pulled away from the curb, Harper looked at her. “Abby looks so frail. It scares me.”
“Me, too. I wish she’d tell us what’s wrong.”
Harper looked down at her hands in her lap. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
Scarlet understood. She didn’t even want to think about there being something seriously wrong with Abby.
“We’ve got to convince Maggie to come with us next time,” Harper said.
“Got any idea how we’re going to do that?”
“Maybe guilt will do it. We could tell her how disappointed Abby was that she didn’t come with us this time.”
“I hope it works.”
Scarlet wished she knew what was going on with Maggie. And she wished Abby could be the same healthy, fun-loving ball of energy she used to be.
But she knew better than most that wishes rarely came true.