Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(13)

“But—”

“We’ve had practically no time to be a family. It doesn’t make sense to have a second baby.” She stared at him. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“I doubt that.”

“You’re thinking that you aren’t about to let all this hard work go to waste. That you didn’t slave away for the last five years to end up with nothing more than a pile of rubble.”

He looked startled, as though her observation had surprised him.

“We both need to decide what’s really important,” she said, nearly choking on her words. “Is working thirteen-and fourteen-hour days worth what it’s doing to us, to our son and to our marriage?”

“Yes,” he stated without question. “You’re exaggerating, Justine. It isn’t all bad.”

“I agree, but for me, the bad outweighs the good. I’m no longer sure the sacrifice is worth it. I love you so much,” she whispered, bringing her hands to his face, blinking back tears. “I want my husband back—the man I married. The man who proved to me I could love and be loved. I want to find what we once shared and I’m so afraid it might be too late.”

Seth crushed her to him then and held her tight. She felt him shudder, and he didn’t speak for a moment.

“I had no idea you felt this way,” he finally said.

“I didn’t know it myself until the fire,” she admitted.

“What do you want?”

“That’s a mystery to me, too,” she said with a shaky laugh. “I guess I want us both to think long and hard before we decide whether or not to rebuild The Lighthouse.”

She could tell from his sudden tension that he’d prefer not to reconsider but to go ahead with his plans to rebuild. Justine swallowed, wondering if anything she’d said had gotten through to him.

“I’m not making any promises,” Seth told her.

“But we can talk?” she asked.

“All right,” her husband agreed. “We can talk.”

Five

With the Cedar Cove Chronicle folded to the classifieds, Cecilia read through the listing for rental houses one more time. Other navy couples had warned them that it was next to impossible to rent in a middle-class neighborhood without including the wife’s income. Cecilia and Ian didn’t want to do that. They’d never be able to save for a house if most of their monthly pay went into rent. They wanted a home of their own, especially now that they had Aaron.

“The house is at 204 Rosewood Lane,” Cecilia said as Ian drove. She turned to check on Aaron, who was sleeping peacefully in his carrier in the backseat.

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Ian warned.

“It’s too late—they already are.” Cecilia so badly wanted this to work out. Her parents had divorced when she was young and from that time forward, Cecilia and her mother had lived in apartments. She’d always dreamed of one day having a home with a yard and a garden and a real neighborhood. Ian had grown up in a house, and living in one again didn’t mean nearly as much to him as it did her. He was willing to wait until they could afford their own.

She’d phoned about several possible places, and the one on Rosewood Lane was represented by an agent. Judy Flint, who worked for Cedar Cove Real Estate, was meeting them at the house.

He drove onto Rosewood Lane and Cecilia immediately liked the area. The street was lined with elm trees already in leaf and there were tulips and daffodils in front of almost every house. This was the kind of neighborhood where children rode their bicycles in the street, and the sidewalk was used for jump rope and other kid games. She saw a white picket fence and held her breath, hoping that 204 was the house number there.

It was.

“Oh, Ian, look!” she cried, breathless with excitement. “It’s perfect.” In fact, it was even better than she’d dreamed. It was a white, two-story house with a large dormer over the front porch. Although this was clearly an older home, that didn’t bother Cecilia and if anything, made its appeal stronger. She especially liked the wide porch and brick columns.

“It’s all right, I guess,” Ian said as he parked the car by the curb.

Cecilia playfully slapped his arm. “You like it, too.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Looks like a good family home.”

He’d hardly put the vehicle in park when she unfastened the seat belt and climbed out. Judy Flint, the agent, was waiting at the front door, and the owners were due to show up later, if warranted. It seemed a bit unusual, but they’d requested a meeting with any potential renters.

Ian extracted the baby carrier from the back seat and carried a napping Aaron onto the porch with him.

“Aren’t you adorable?” The agent smiled at the baby. “I see you’re right on time,” she told Ian and Cecilia in a friendly voice, still smiling at Aaron.

Cecilia had been ready an hour early and the wait had seemed interminable.

“I think my wife wants to rent it sight unseen, but I’d like a tour,” Ian said, teasing Cecilia.

“Step inside,” Judy invited as she held open the screen door.

Gazing all around, Cecilia walked into the house. Even without furniture, the living room had a sense of warmth that came from the brick fireplace, polished oak floors and off-white walls. It was easy to imagine what this place would look like filled with their things.