CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Luke entered the lodge’s kitchen and as his gaze connected with hers, Maggie couldn’t help the warm glow of happiness that started in her heart and radiated throughout her body. Seeing him made her feel alive, and somehow better. She was a better person for loving him, as crazy as that sounded.
“It’s official, ladies. Ten days to the open house and we’re completely booked, including all the completed cottages and the hotel room where you’re currently staying, Celeste.”
Celeste grinned. “So you’re throwing us out, is that what you’re saying?”
Luke grinned back. “I’m afraid so. But don’t worry. The suite in the event center is ready for you and Hope to move into. We’ve brought in the beds and other furniture.”
Last week, Maggie helped Harper and Ethan move out of their cottage and into a three-bedroom bungalow in Baxter that they’d rented. She was excited that they’d also bought a piece of land near the lodge where they planned to build their forever home. As soon as Cam completed the rest of the cottages, he was going to design and build their house.
“We’d like to paint Hope’s room before they move in,” Maggie said. “We picked up paint in her favorite shade of pink the other day but haven’t had a chance to do the job yet.”
“Why don’t you leave the paint with me? I’ll get one of Reese’s guys to paint the room. If we get the painting done today, you and Hope and can move in tomorrow, Celeste.”
“It won’t take us long. All we have to do is pack a couple of suitcases.”
Luke nodded, then turned his attention to Maggie. “What about you? Can you be packed up by the end of the day? Grandma can’t wait for you to move in.”
“I think so. I’ll start packing after lunch. Do you mind taking over in the kitchen for the afternoon, Celeste?”
“No, of course not.”
“Thanks.” She shook her head. “I’m going to miss that little cottage.”
The soft smile in Luke’s eyes told her he’d miss it to. They’d spent every night together there since Christmas, often making love, but sometimes simply talking and holding each other. The cottage was their little haven, a cocoon of warmth and privacy. They’d be together at Phyllis’s house, but it wouldn’t be the same.
Phyllis didn’t strike her as the prudish type, but she hoped she wouldn’t be offended by her and Luke sleeping together. Maggie’s face burned with embarrassment at the thought. She told herself the same thing Luke had told her. They weren’t kids anymore, and they weren’t doing anything to be ashamed of.
Even so, Phyllis was Luke’s grandmother and her opinion very much mattered to Maggie.
Luke checked his watch. “I’d better get going. I’ll let you know as soon as that room is painted, Celeste.”
“Sounds good.”
He gave Maggie a kiss on the cheek, then smiled and kissed her on the lips. His kiss was warm and chaste, but held an edge of desire that made all her nerve endings sing. She wanted to lean into him, wrap herself around him. But it was the middle of the morning and they had work to do. She contented herself with brushing another kiss along his lips before letting him go.
After he left, Celeste quietly asked, “Has he changed his mind about staying?”
Maggie crashed back to Earth with a jarring thump. “No. Nothing’s changed.”
“Have you asked him to? Have you told him how you feel about him?”
She shook her head, unable to speak. She had tried, but she couldn’t say the words. The idea of telling him she loved him filled her with fear, dread. Even in the solitude of her own mind, she couldn’t explain why.
Maggie prayed he could feel her love.
The next morning Maggie sipped coffee at Phyllis’s kitchen table. She stared out the window as fat flakes of snow drifted to the ground. Luke sat across from her reading the newspaper while Phyllis bustled around the kitchen, washing dishes, wiping counters, and sweeping the floor, somehow all at once. The little domestic scene made her smile. She was home.
Yesterday, Maggie had moved into the bedroom on the second floor next door to Luke’s room. He’d come to her during the night, and they’d made love. They’d tried to be quiet, but after the solitude they’d enjoyed in the cottage, quiet wasn’t in their repertoire. Fortunately, Phyllis’s bedroom was on the main floor, which afforded them some privacy. Maggie had been relieved he’d stayed with her the rest of the night. She’d been afraid he’d find sleeping with her too awkward in his grandmother’s house.
Neither of them spoke of a future beyond the grand opening on Valentine’s Day. Maggie poured her emotions into their lovemaking each night, trying to tell him with her body the things she couldn’t bring herself to say.
Last night, she’d bordered on desperate. She’d been wild in his arms, giving herself over completely. He’d been equally as wild, his hands and mouth and tongue bringing her to climax over and over. He’d turned her so she was on her hands and knees and entered her from behind, his fingers strumming the delicate folds of her sex till she exploded in orgasm. She’d had to cover her face with a pillow to keep from screaming down the house. The thought of Luke touching her so intimately made her tremble and burn.
“Would you like more coffee, Maggie?”
She blinked and looked up at Phyllis in confusion, her face as hot as her thoughts. “Um, no thanks, Phyllis. We should probably leave for work.”
Luke folded the newspaper. “I’ll start the truck.”
Phyllis put her hand on his arm, preventing him from rising from his chair. “Reese phoned me early this morning. He said Abby wants to speak privately with Maggie today.”
He exchanged a startled glance with Maggie. “Privately? Did he say why?”
Phyllis turned to Maggie. “Only that Abby wants to continue the story about her mother.”
Luke turned to her. “The story about your mother?”
“Yes. Abby’s been telling me things she knows about my mother and her first love, someone she knew before my father. We haven’t had a chance to talk since before Christmas, but it seems important to her, so I want to hear what she has to say.”
“Of course,” Luke said with a decisive nod. “You can use my truck to drive into town.”
“Thanks.” She turned to Phyllis. “Did Reese say when I should come?”
“The usual, about one in the afternoon. That seems to be a good time for Abby.”
Later, they said goodbye to Phyllis and got in the truck. As he turned the ignition, Luke asked, “What’s this about your mother’s old boyfriend?”
Maggie brought him up to speed on everything Abby had told her so far. “I don’t know why Abby wants to tell me these stories.”
“Mom usually has a reason for the things she does. Maybe today she’ll let you know what it is.”
A shiver of unease coursed through Maggie’s bones. “Yeah. Maybe today.”
The morning flew by in preparations for the Grand Opening. Around twelve-thirty, Maggie removed her white jacket and prepared to leave, frowning as she looked at the dirty lunch dishes lining the counters. “I’m sorry to leave you with this mess.”
Celeste waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Go see Abby. That’s more important.”
Maggie nodded and gave her a brief hug. Celeste was fast becoming her best friend. “I’ll make it up to you tonight. I’ll do all the clean up.”
“It’s a deal. I can hardly wait until the rest of the kitchen staff starts working, especially the dishwashers.”
“In a couple of days,” Maggie said as she headed to the door. “Just before the grand opening.”
“It’s gonna get crazy in here,” Celeste said with a grin. “Drive safely.”
“I will.”
The roads were covered with a fresh layer of snow, but Luke’s truck navigated them without a problem. She stopped in front of Abby and Reese’s house and turned off the ignition. She gripped the door handle and for a moment, concentrated on calmly breathing in and out. Watching Abby’s continued deterioration was more and more difficult, and today would be especially hard being on her own. In the past month, she’d visited Abby often, but always with Luke.
With one final deep breath, she left the truck and walked up the sidewalk to the door. Reese greeted her with a smile.
“Thank you for coming,” he said, as he closed the door behind her.
“Phyllis said Abby wanted to see me alone today.”
He nodded and hung her coat in the front hall closet. “She’s in her room, waiting for you. Paula and I will be out here if you need us.”
In the privacy of the hallway, Maggie closed her eyes and let out a breath, one hand on the knob. Then she forced herself to smile and opened the bedroom door. The head of Abby’s hospital bed had been raised so that she was in almost a sitting position. She opened her eyes as Maggie approached.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
“Hello.” Maggie intertwined her fingers with Abby’s and kissed her cheek. Her face was gaunt, the cheeks sunken, but her eyes were bright. “How are you feeling today?”
Abby lifted her free hand in a feeble wave. “I’m training to run in the next Boston marathon. How ’bout you?”
Maggie laughed, struggling to keep from dissolving into tears.
“What? You’re not doing the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii?”
“Not this year.” She let go of Maggie’s hand and patted the empty spot next to her on the bed. “Sit beside me, sweetheart.”
Maggie did as she asked. “Reese said you wanted to talk about my mother again.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you want Luke to come?”
“You should hear the story first.”
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve told him the story so far.”
“No, I don’t mind at all.” The corner of her mouth lifted. “You love him, don’t you?”
There was no point lying to Abby, especially now. “Yes.”
“Good. You two need each other. I don’t want my boy to be alone. Or you.”
Maggie nodded, for a moment unable to speak around the lump in her throat. Letting Abby believe they’d be together might be a lie, but if it made her happy, what did it matter?
She cleared her throat. “You were going to continue the story.”
“Right. We should get started before I’m too tired.”
Abby’s waking and lucid hours were steadily decreasing. Maggie squeezed her hand in encouragement and waited.
“Did I tell you how Miranda met her old boyfriend again one summer, and he fell in love all over?”
“Yeah. That’s where you ended. What happened next?”
“At the end of the summer, her old boyfriend begged her to leave her husband. He wanted her and the girls to live with him. Once she was divorced, they would marry.
“Miranda wanted to, but she was scared. After all, he’d left her once before. Would he do it again? Would she break up her family, tear her daughters away from their father and everything familiar to them, only to find herself alone again? She had a good life with Robert. Though she didn’t have the passion she had with her old boyfriend, she couldn’t ruin her daughters’ lives for passion’s sake. So, at the end of the summer, she went back to Robert.”
“Okay,” Maggie said. “So, she went back to my father and they had me nine months later.”
Abby inhaled a shaking breath, expelled it, and then lifted her gaze to Maggie’s. “Not exactly, sweetheart. Soon after she went back to Robert, she realized she was pregnant. They both knew the baby couldn’t be his.”
Maggie stared at her, her powers of speech temporarily deserting her. She shook her head. “No, that can’t be right. Robert is my father.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but he’s not. Miranda’s boyfriend is. He was the love of her life.”
Maggie shook her head. “No.”
Abby gripped her hand. “Your mother and Robert tried to reconcile, but the evidence of her infidelity was in front of him every time he looked at you, and he couldn’t get past it. They knew they couldn’t make their marriage work any longer. And Miranda was still desperately in love with your father. She contacted her boyfriend to tell him you were his and then she brought you three girls to the lodge. The plan was for the four of you to stay there while her boyfriend found a place to live. And then Robert showed up at the lodge. Even though he agreed to a divorce, I think he must have changed his mind and wanted Miranda back.”
“No!”
She let go of Abby’s hand and slid off the bed. Everything she believed about herself was a lie. “No, this can’t be right.”
“It’s the truth, Maggie. I swear.”
“No!” She covered her ears with her hands as if that would stop Abby’s confession. “No! I have to go!”
She fumbled for the door and wrenched it open. Blindly, she ran down the hall, needing to escape. Reese met her at the front door.
“Maggie? What’s wrong?”
“I have to go.” She grabbed her jacket from the closet and shoved her arms through the sleeves. “I can’t…I can’t stay.”
“Don’t go. Not like this. Let’s talk about it.”
She shook her head and reached for the doorknob. She couldn’t talk, couldn’t think. She had to get away.
He touched her arm. “Maggie—”
She didn’t wait to hear what he had to say. She threw open the door and ran to Luke’s truck. Turning the ignition, she stepped on the gas and raced out of town. She swiped angrily at her tears. No more tears. She was done crying.
They’d lied to her. The people who should have loved her best had lied to her – Abby, her grandparents. Was anything about her life true? Had her sisters known?
Her sisters. Dear God, were they really her sisters?
Maggie stepped on the gas and fishtailed on the icy road.