Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(80)

Grace shook her head. “I know Vicki, and I don’t want you to think she’d go after someone else’s man. Because she just wouldn’t.”

This wasn’t exactly reassuring, in light of the fact that Cal was obviously interested in her.

Grace shrugged. “She doesn’t even seem to pay much attention to male-female stuff.” She sipped her latte. “I’m not putting this well and I’m not even sure how to explain Vicki.”

“Go on,” Linnette said from between clenched teeth. “Try.”

“Well, first, you and I both know that Vicki’s rather…unfeminine in appearance. I don’t mean to be unkind, but that’s just a fact. She wears her hair skinned back and doesn’t style it. I’ve never seen her wear makeup or attractive clothes. We’ve never heard of her having any boyfriends or even a social life. To tell you the truth, all of this comes as a shock to Cliff and me.”

All of this. “Go on,” Linnette urged, needing to know, regardless of how much it hurt. Not knowing was worse.

“The two of them have been working closely together, day in and day out….”

But Cal had said he loved her. If he felt anything for this other woman, it was a brief attraction and nothing more. As soon as he returned to Cedar Cove, everything would be all right again. Cal would come to his senses and his feelings for Linnette would reassert themselves.

“That’s about all I can tell you, Linnette.”

Linnette could think of a thousand things she’d rather hear. “This is just a temporary infatuation,” she said, making an effort to sound confident. Trying to rationalize what she’d been told.

The librarian didn’t answer.

“I need to talk to him,” Linnette insisted, urgency building inside her. “It won’t be long before Cal’s back, so we should get this resolved.” Linnette could understand how such an infatuation, presumably mutual, might come about. Working closely together in an isolated location. Sharing a cause. Yes, she saw how all of this could happen. But once Cal was home again, he’d forget his feelings for this other woman.

Cal wasn’t himself. He wasn’t thinking clearly.

“I’m certain you’ll have the opportunity to talk this out with him soon,” Grace murmured.

“Of course I will,” Linnette said.

The opportunity came much sooner than she’d expected. When Linnette got back to her car, she found a voice message from Cal on her cell phone. Sitting in the library parking lot, she returned his call.

Cal didn’t answer, so she left a message for him. Since she was afraid they’d keep missing each other, she phoned again and told him she’d be home that evening and would wait for his call there.

She didn’t hear from him until nearly eight.

The waiting was agony, and she could feel one of her headaches coming on. Pressing her fingertips to her temples, she paced the carpet, oblivious to the view of the cove or the Bremerton shipyard with its massive aircraft carriers and retired submarines. Late-evening sunlight dappled her deck but she hardly noticed.

By the time Cal finally did phone, Linnette was almost convinced he hadn’t received her message.

“Linnette,” he began.

“You’d better tell me what’s going on between you and Vicki Newman,” she snapped, without giving him a chance to greet her. At this stage, Linnette was long past exchanging pleasantries.

“Y-you know?”

“About Vicki, you mean?” She didn’t let him respond. “I thought you’d…I hoped we could speak honestly with each other. I think we owe each other that, don’t you?”

“I’m-m-m s-sorry.”

“You should be!”

“Linnette, stop.” His voice took on a strength and conviction that startled her.

“Stop?”

“I apologize.”

She sighed. “All right then, you’re forgiven.” Perhaps she’d blown everything out of proportion. Grace hadn’t talked to him personally and it seemed that Cal had already regained his sanity. Relief settled over her, easing the tension between her shoulder blades. The throbbing headache that had started to pound began to subside.

“I love Vicki.”

Linnette gasped. She refused to believe it. Cal wasn’t making any sense. “You just said you were sorry. You—”

“I volunteered to travel to Wyoming to rescue the mustangs because it’s important to me, yes, b-but also because I needed to get away and think. I needed to get away from you.”

He was telling her he’d purposely left to escape her. “What?”

“I appreciate everything, I truly d-do.” He paused as if to control his tendency to rush the words. “I wanted to talk to you. I tried, but I c-couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t do well with words. I thought once I was here, I’d write to you. But when I arrived, a letter seemed so…callous.”

“And this isn’t?”

“I’d give anything not to hurt you,” he said in a low voice.

It was too late for that. Pain swirled through her, cutting off her breath, undermining even her ability to stand upright. Sinking into a chair, she clutched the phone with one hand and held the other against her forehead.