Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove #4)(39)

Olivia nodded once again, silently agreeing with her husband.

Her daughter's lack of verbal support for her cause hurt Charlotte. Olivia was in a position to do much more and she hadn't, because it wasn't important enough to her.

As if he understood her disappointment in Olivia, Ben reached for her hand and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. She swallowed hard and managed a smile as she turned to this man she'd come to love so late in life.

Nineteen

It was a perfect day for gardening, Peggy thought—sunny but not hot, with a comfortable breeze and an almost cloudless sky.

She'd decided to visit the local nursery, inviting Hannah to join her. Now Peggy loaded a thirty-pound bag of fertilizer into the large garden cart, while Hannah wandered through the aisles of perennials.

"Let me do that," the young woman insisted, hurrying to her side. "I came with you because I wanted to help."

Peggy always enjoyed her trips to the nursery, although she rarely left without filling up the minivan. Her raspberries and blueberries could do with fertilizer. She was out of slug bait, too. Her yard was lovely, with the rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom. The lilacs were coming out, too, and she had both the purple and white varieties along the side of the house. Her small rose garden was prospering, and so was her expanding herb garden.

"We probably should talk about me staying at the house," Hannah said, staring down at the ground as if reluctant to address the subject. Peggy guessed she'd needed several days to work up her courage to discuss the matter of her staying.

"Let's do that later," Peggy suggested. "I was thinking we might go out to lunch when we're finished here." She found the best "girl talks" with Hollie always took place over lunch.

Hannah smiled. "That would be nice."

Hannah had been with them for more than a week. She'd planned to leave once, about three days after her arrival, but Peggy had asked her to stay. As she'd expected, Hannah had accepted the invitation without further argument.

An hour later, they sat on the patio at The Lighthouse eating Caesar salad with grilled shrimp and sipping iced tea.

"You and Bob have been so kind to me," Hannah said.

She still seemed frail, Peggy noted, physically as well as emotionally. "We like having you around."

Hannah looked grateful. "I don't think anyone's ever been so good to me." She reached for her iced tea and took a quick sip. "I should never have stayed this long. Originally I only intended to visit Cedar Cove for one night. But you were so welcoming, and now it's been over a week. I can't continue to take advantage of your friendship like this." She met Peggy's eyes and said earnestly, "I do think of you as my friends, you know."

"We feel the same way," Peggy murmured.

Hannah was nibbling her lower lip again. Peggy considered it a personal challenge to improve not only this girl's health but her emotional outlook. She didn't seem to have much self-esteem. Generally, Peggy thought parents worried excessively about self-esteem these days. Spend enough time with your kids, give them lots of love and reasonable amounts of responsibility, and self-esteem would naturally follow—that was Peggy's theory of child-raising. But in Hannah Russell's case... She was far too thin—to the point of being anorexic. Her clothes hung on her. Peggy had taken a lot of pleasure in tempting Hannah with her prize recipes. Ever since Troy Davis's last visit, she'd been cooking many of her old favorites. She found comfort in that and in providing Hannah with some old-fashioned mothering. Hannah seemed to blossom under Peggy's encouragement and affection.

"Bob and I want you to stay," Peggy said, wondering how many times she'd have to make this point. "We love having you."

Hannah shook her head reluctantly. "I can't do that. I'm not even sure why I came to Cedar Cove. In the beginning I told myself it was because I wanted to learn what I could about how—and why—my father died. I don't like to think about him suffering." There was a stricken look in her eyes. "You don't think he suffered much, do you?"

Peggy didn't know, but she felt a need to reassure Hannah, even if it wasn't the truth. "No, I don't think so. When Bob and I broke into the room, there wasn't any evidence of restlessness." It was as if Maxwell Russell had laid his head on the pillow, closed his eyes and never stirred again. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to exit this life.

Hannah picked at her salad. "I thought I had some questions, but I don't. I probably should. I know that Mr. McAfee seemed to have a lot—but I don't. I'm not sure I even want to know what happened. All I really want is for this nightmare to go away."

Peggy wasn't surprised by her feelings. Sometimes, for some people, uncertainty was easier to live with than a difficult truth. Hannah was obviously one of those people, preferring to simply avoid reality. Peggy had felt that temptation herself, but knew she was strong enough to cope with the truth, whatever it might be.

"I felt drawn to Cedar Cove," Hannah went on. "I was driving and driving, looking for a fresh start, and all I could think about was my first visit here."

"That's understandable."

"Why?" Hannah sounded genuinely curious.

"Well, for one thing, your father died in Cedar Cove. It's here that the mystery will be solved and although you may not want to know what happened or why, you need to know. That's what your mind is telling you."