Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(78)

Justine woke about five in the morning, feeling energetic and alert. She tossed aside the covers, got out of bed and quickly donned her robe. Then she hurried to the kitchen and, even before starting a pot of coffee, grabbed a pen and paper. She’d never been good at drawing, but her vision of a tearoom wouldn’t leave her alone. She had tried to push it out of her mind, afraid that discussing it would only upset Seth. Now she was determined to make him listen, to demand that he give her idea a fair hearing.

Seth found her standing over the table, sipping coffee. He slipped his arms around her middle and hugged her from behind, pressing his cheek against her back.

“You’re awake early.” Working his hands inside her robe, he cupped her br**sts.

It was difficult not to get caught up in the sheer sensual nature of his caress. “Seth,” she breathed, even as her ni**les hardened in the palms of his hands. “I don’t want to list the property until after you listen to me.”

He seemed to stop breathing. “You’re still thinking about a tearoom for women?” He removed his hands and stepped away from her. “Justine, we can’t keep doing this. We have to make a clear decision and go on with our lives. Isn’t that what you’ve been saying?”

“Yes, but do you honestly want to see a fast-food joint on the waterfront overlooking the cove?” In her view that would be a terrible misuse of the land.

“All right. Convince me a tearoom would be a success.”

“Here,” she said, shoving the tablet toward him. Her artistic talents were limited, but she’d done a fairly good job of drawing a Victorian structure with one turret and two gables.

Seth glanced down at her sketch and then at her. “It looks like a Victorian house. You want to build a house that serves tea where we once had the restaurant? I don’t mean to discourage you, Justine, but I don’t think the city would grant a permit for us to put a residence in a commercial zone.”

“It only looks like a house, Seth. It’s a Victorian Tea Room.”

“A Victorian Tea Room,” he repeated. “That’s different from a regular tearoom?”

“Well, maybe not, but that isn’t the point. First, we’d only be open for breakfast and lunch, and I’d be home in the evenings. I thought we could add a gift store, too. We’d serve high tea once a month, more often if there’s a demand.”

“In Cedar Cove?”

“It would be a special place for women to meet. We could have small receptions there and an outside patio for special occasions and—” She stopped because she was getting ahead of herself. “It occurred to me that we were wasting all the valuable lessons we learned from The Lighthouse.”

“How so?” he asked, studying her drawing. “For the record, I agree. But I’d like to hear what you think.”

Those words made her smile. “When we were open for lunch and dinner, our working hours were much too long. I wouldn’t want a liquor license, either.” Because they’d served evening meals, it was a necessity and where they’d garnered their highest profits.

“I can understand that,” Seth murmured. “I have to admit you’ve come up with an interesting compromise….”

“With just the two meals, I’d be home in time for dinner with you and Leif.”

“All right,” he said, and seemed to be slowly absorbing her thoughts. “Here’s my next question—would I be part of this?”

“Only if you wanted to be. And only to the extent that you wanted to be. The thing is, Seth, you’re good at sales. You’re happy, and the money so far is great. We wouldn’t need to rely solely on the earnings from the tearoom.”

He frowned. “In other words, you want to do this…alone?”

“Absolutely not! I’d need you. Not to work in the restaurant necessarily—unless you felt like it—but I’ll need your counsel and suggestions and input and encouragement. And your love.”

“I can give you all that,” he said. “Gladly.”

“We can do this, Seth, I know we can.”

He set aside his coffee and drew her into his arms. Justine accepted his kiss. This was the perfect solution—for both of them.

Thirty-Three

Linnette didn’t know where else to turn. It’d been a week since she’d heard from Cal. In the beginning, Cal had contacted her every few days, and then less often. Now, not at all.

Linnette understood his reasons for leaving Cedar Cove. Or, at least, she tried to. Everyone said saving wild mustangs was a worthy cause, and she knew it was. She also understood that cell phone reception in rural Wyoming was poor to nonexistent. But whenever they did manage to speak, it seemed that he ended the call as quickly as possible.

Linnette didn’t need anyone to tell her something was wrong. Because she didn’t know what else to do or whom to trust, she went to see Grace Harding, Cliff’s wife. Grace might be as completely in the dark as Linnette, but she hoped the librarian might be able to give her some information. Linnette couldn’t go on like this, not when she loved Cal so much.

She visited the library on Thursday during her lunch break. This was the first time she’d actually set foot inside. The truth was, she hadn’t read very much since moving to Cedar Cove—mostly medical journals in order to keep current. What novels she did enjoy had been passed along by her mother. Sad as it was to admit, she’d lived in Cedar Cove for more than a year and hadn’t even bothered to get a library card.