Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove #4)(24)

"Apparently she doesn't have anyone close."

"I see." Bob sipped his tea.

"I asked her to call us from time to time."

"Good."

"But I don't know if she will. She sounded so confused."

Bob considered what he knew about Hannah for a moment and felt a pang of sympathy. "Did you ask if there's a way for us to keep in touch with her?"

Peggy nodded. "She has a cell phone and she gave me the number. The thing is, Bob, how involved do we want to get in her life?" Her gaze held his and he understood his wife's question. She felt a certain responsibility to Hannah. After all, it was in their home that her father had died. And yet— did they want to take on the young woman's problems? That could be more than he and Peggy were really equipped to handle.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"Me neither."

"So, what do you think we should do?" Bob asked. He trusted Peggy's intuition. Hannah aside, Max Russell's death was an uncomfortable subject. It brought up too many unpleasant memories for him and his wife, memories Bob preferred to leave buried.

"I'm not sure, but I do feel badly for her."

Bob agreed. It was hard enough succeeding in the world with parents, and usually much harder without. His own children had faltered, but with love and patience had eventually found their way. No thanks to the example he'd set in their early years, Bob admitted. Perhaps this opportunity to help Hannah was also a chance to make up for his missteps twenty-five years ago.

"We should phone her at least once a week," he said decisively. It didn't mean they had to become parent-substitutes, just friends....

Peggy nodded slowly. "That would help, I think," she concurred. "Then Hannah will know there are two people in the world who care about her."

"Right." Bob felt better having made the decision. This was a positive thing to do and just might help him deal with everything that was happening in his own fragile world.

Twelve

Olivia Lockhart Griffin hurried home from the courthouse. Jack had phoned earlier in the day and said he'd be late for dinner. After an idyllic but all-too-brief Hawaiian honeymoon, they'd both been inundated with work. Jack had put in late hours all week and been at the office nearly nonstop the entire weekend. Olivia hated having him gone such long hours, but when he was home, it was lovely. She hesitated— for the most part, it was lovely. Naturally, there were a few adjustments they each had to make, and some of those were more difficult man she would have expected.

After living for almost twenty years without a husband, Olivia was surprised at how easily she'd slipped back into the habit of sharing her life with a man. For the first time since her youngest son had left the family home, she put real effort into creating meals. She sat at the kitchen table now, leafing through a recently purchased cookbook, intent on luring Jack home with a healthy meal made just for him. One regular argument she had with her husband concerned his poor eating habits. Jack tended to grab whatever was quick and easy. Olivia frequently told him his diet contained far too many carbohydrates and fats to maintain a healthy lifestyle; he just as frequently shrugged off her concern.

She studied the recipes. Tofu stir fry? Probably not, but she'd try it later on. The telephone rang, and thinking it might be Jack, she got up to reach for the receiver.

"Hello," she said cheerfully.

"Howdy, little sister."

"Will!" Her brother lived in Atlanta. It had been a real disappointment to her that he hadn't made it to Cedar Cove for her wedding. When she'd called to tell him she'd decided to marry Jack, she'd hoped he'd be able to share her special day. Apparently she'd caught him off guard, because he'd hesitated and then stuttered a weak excuse. She couldn't recall what it was just now, but at the time she'd thought something was wrong, although she couldn't figure out what it might be. Perhaps he wasn't getting along with Georgia, her sister-in-law, or maybe he had problems at work....

"So how's the happy bride?" Will asked, echoing her cheerful tone.

Olivia leaned against the kitchen wall and sighed. "Wonderful. Oh, Will, I don't know why I waited so long. Jack is so good for me."

She loved her husband's spontaneity. Her idea of a honeymoon was to laze on the beach and catch up on her reading. Jack wouldn't hear of it. Every day he had plans for them to go and see and do. Olivia wouldn't have seen any of what Hawaii had to offer if Jack hadn't coaxed her into visiting the tourist sights and activities. The nights were the best. After dinner, they danced under the stars, swam in the fabulous hotel pool and made love until they were spent.

"You sound happy."

"I am."

"I'm glad." He seemed genuinely pleased for her. "On another subject, have you talked to Mom lately?"

"Of course." Charlotte made routine visits to Olivia's courtroom, and usually brought her knitting, and often a friend or two from the SeniorCenter so she could brag about her daughter the judge. Her mother had shown up alone on Friday afternoon, and they'd chatted afterward, but now that Olivia thought about it, Charlotte had been mysteriously absent all week.

"What did she have to say?"

"Say? Mom?" Olivia repeated. "Well, not much, really. She did tell me that the seniors triumphed in court while I was away. Which I heard from plenty of other sources—trust me. But she's had such strong community support that she's finally got the ear of the mayor."