Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove #6)(89)

At the door, Warren hesitated and turned back. “I’ve never made my feelings for you a secret,” he said. “I’d like to be more than your builder.”

“Warren, please!”

“We have a long-standing friendship, Justine. I’ve missed you. I hoped you’d realize how much I care for you. You mean the world to me, and you always have.”

“Warren,” she said firmly, “I’m married. I love my husband and my son.”

“You haven’t been happy,” he insisted. “I know you, Justine. I can see it in your eyes. You didn’t want me to find out, but you couldn’t hide it from me.”

“That’s changed.”

“Has it?” he asked softly. “Or is this just a temporary fix?”

The door off the kitchen opened and Seth entered the house. Penny bounded in with him, then charged toward Warren, but skidded to a stop at one curt word from Seth.

Her husband looked slowly from Justine to the other man.

“Hello, sweetheart,” she said, grateful to see her husband. She walked over and kissed his cheek, circling his waist with her arm. She was silently letting Warren know that her loyalty and her love belonged to her husband. Seth scooped up Leif and kissed him, then petted the dog, who sat obediently beside him.

“Warren.” Seth nodded stiffly.

Warren did the same. “Seth.”

“Warren was just leaving,” Justine said pointedly. She’d explain Warren’s presence as soon as he’d gone.

“I came to talk to Justine about the rebuilding project,” Warren said affably enough. He seemed more inclined to stay and chat than to leave.

“I see,” Seth said. Without even a hint of welcome, he strode to the door and held it open.

For his part, Warren didn’t budge, and the two of them exchanged lethal glares.

“Would you kindly stop,” Justine snapped, hands on her hips. “Both of you.” She stepped between them, saying, “Warren, please go.”

He cast her a hurt-little-boy look, his voice petulant. “I think you should tell Seth.”

“Tell me what?” Seth demanded.

The dog barked but stayed in her sitting position, and Leif ran into the other room.

“There is nothing to tell.” Justine felt like shouting. Warren was clearly trying to cause trouble between her and Seth, and she wasn’t going to allow it.

“Warren, stay away from me. I mean it. Is that plain enough for you?” He’d overstepped the bounds, and from this moment forward, she wanted nothing more to do with him.

Thirty-Eight

Maryellen was feeling very pregnant. The baby could be born at any time, and she’d never looked forward to anything more. She was ready. Her bag was packed, the house was clean, thanks to Ellen and Joe, and her baby blanket was finished. She’d bring the baby home from the hospital wrapped in the pale yellow blanket she’d knit herself.

It was another sunny day, and Maryellen sat on the sofa, gazing out at the yard and folding a batch of towels still warm from the dryer. Jon was at home, working in his downstairs office. That was where he had his darkroom, along with his computer and printer for digital photographs. He’d willingly stayed in the same vicinity as his parents, which was a sign that his attitude had changed, at least a little.

Joe and Ellen had taken Katie outside to enjoy the sunshine. Like any toddler, Katie loved exploring her world. Through the sliding glass door, Maryellen could see the three of them walking around the yard, exclaiming at the flowers and studying each blade of grass.

Katie had not only grown close to her grandparents, she talked about them tirelessly. If Jon was there, he found an excuse to change the subject. He never spoke against his parents to Katie, but he didn’t discuss them with her, either.

Recently Maryellen had noticed the slightest softening toward his family. It’d started the afternoon he found his father playing with Katie as she chased butterflies. That was the day they’d first spoken. They’d exchanged a few brief remarks since then, friendly but noncommittal.

The phone rang and Maryellen automatically reached for it. Now that her due date was almost upon them, her mother called twice a day and visited often. Her sister, Kelly, was due in a few weeks, and they kept in frequent touch. This was probably Kelly; she usually phoned in the early afternoon.

“Hello,” she said, expecting to hear her sister’s voice. She did.

“How are you feeling?” Kelly asked.

“How are you feeling?”

“Pregnant,” Kelly said, giggling.

“Me, too.” Only Maryellen wasn’t laughing.

“My goodness, who knew nine months could take so long,” Kelly complained. Unlike Maryellen, her sister had difficulty getting pregnant, but—again unlike Maryellen—she had no difficulty staying pregnant. “Nothing fits anymore and I’ve got new stretch marks every day. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It’s just that I’d forgotten how uncomfortable pregnancy can be.”

Maryellen was hard pressed not to remind her younger sister that she’d spent most of her own pregnancy trapped on the sofa in their living room. The comforts she longed for were the simple, ordinary aspects of what used to be her life. She yearned for the time she could crawl into bed and cuddle with her husband. The pleasure of a real bath was a forbidden luxury. Climbing stairs was out, too, and since the baby’s bedroom was on the second level, she’d had to leave the decorating to her mother and Ellen. It didn’t feel right not to be personally involved. She hadn’t even seen it yet.