There'd been a time in the not-so-distant past when their relationship had been strained. Justine had been seeing a much older man, and she'd felt defensive and angry at the world. Olivia had wanted so much more for her. She knew that, in some ways, Justine was still grieving over the death of her twin—Jordan had died in a tragic accident at the age of 13. But Justine had finally come to a more peaceful acceptance. Olivia felt that was because of Seth. In fact, everything had changed when Justine fell in love with Seth Gunderson.
"Where's Jack?" Justine asked, looking past Olivia.
"The office, where else?" Jack worked far too many hours, but nothing Olivia said convinced him to delegate some of his tasks. He was involved in every aspect of the newspaper and loved his job. Now that the Chronicle had gone to five editions a week, his hours were even worse than they'd been before their marriage. They'd argued about it repeatedly, but Olivia supposed she might as well get used to having a part-time husband. Jack had promised this wouldn't last much longer, but she suspected nothing was going to change until he retired. If then...
Justine seated her at a window table, then returned to the front of the restaurant and talked to one of the waitresses. It was still early in the evening and the restaurant was only about a third full. As soon as she had someone to cover for her, she walked back to Olivia's table.
"Got a moment?" she asked.
"Of course." Grace wouldn't arrive for at least ten minutes.
Her daughter pulled out the chair across from her. "How are things with Grandma?" she asked.
Olivia sighed and wondered how much of the story her daughter knew. Probably all of it. "We're talking again."
Justine smiled, obviously relieved. "Grandma's going to marry Ben, you know?"
Olivia was well aware of that. "She sent me a letter." It hurt that her own mother had written instead of telling her face-to-face. "I didn't mean to hurt her," she admitted. "Will and I had Ben investigated for her own protection, but our concern backfired."
"I know." At least Justine sounded sympathetic.
"Mom was upset about our lack of faith in her," Olivia said. She must have known instinctively how her mother would feel, because she'd found it necessary to hide their inquiries from Charlotte.
"What else did she say in her letter?"
"She said everyone deserves to be happy, regardless of age, and reminded me how pleased she was when I married Jack."
"She's right, you know," Justine murmured.
"Of course she is." Olivia had no disagreement with that. "She wants Will and me to treat Ben fairly and with respect. The same goes for his sons, of course." She frowned. "I don't think she's met them, though, at least not yet." With a quick shrug, she added, "Naturally I intend to respect Mom's wishes. It's been a bit difficult, thinking of my mother with another man, but it's her life and I want her to be happy."
Justine agreed. "I never said anything when you decided to marry Jack," her daughter said softly. "But deep down, I wanted you and Dad to get back together. I knew it would never work, but the little-girl part of me wanted my parents to love each other again."
Olivia was shocked to see tears in her daughter's eyes. Justine blinked furiously, as though embarrassed. "I still think about Jordan," she whispered.
"So do I."
Justine nodded. "Do you remember what day it is?"
Olivia realized with a jolt that she'd been so preoccupied with what was happening in her own life she'd let the date slip. On this day, August tenth, eighteen years ago, her son had drowned. Her entire life and those of her two surviving children had been divided by that date. The time before Jordan's death and the time after.
Wiping the tears from her face, Justine forced a smile. "I didn't mean to get all maudlin. Let's get back to Grandma, before we both dissolve."
Olivia agreed and swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I stopped at Mom's house earlier in the week and we hugged for the first time since she found out, and she forgave me. I'm sure she'll tell you herself, but they've set the date for their wedding."
Justine grinned sheepishly. "I know all about that. Grandma came in earlier today and booked the restaurant for the reception. She talked to Uncle Will, and he said he's coming out for the wedding."
Olivia was glad to know that, because she wanted to give Grace ample warning. When Will arrived, Olivia planned to have a long talk with her brother about his Internet relationship with her best friend. He'd taken advantage of Grace and betrayed his wife, Georgia. Olivia was furious whenever she thought about it.
"Hi, you two," Grace said, coming toward them. "Am I interrupting anything?"
"No, no," Justine said, rising gracefully from the chair. "I was keeping Mom company until you got here." She looked at Olivia, winked and was on her way.
Funny how just a few minutes with her daughter could mean so much. Olivia felt close to Justine and to her son James, too, and considered herself fortunate to have such wonderful children.
"Sorry I'm late," Grace said as she sat down across from Olivia. "It took forever to finish up at the library."
"Don't worry about it. Justine and I had a chance to talk and we don't get to do that nearly often enough."
"I know how she feels," Grace muttered. "You and I have barely any time together these days."
"I'm sorry," Olivia told her friend, and she was sincere. She had been neglecting their friendship, but was determined not to let that continue. "How's your week been?"
Grace shrugged noncommitally. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. What about you?"
Olivia smiled. "The same. Jack and I are still adjusting to living together, which hasn't been as easy as I'd hoped, but you know most of that." She'd complained often enough during their aerobic workouts on Wednesday nights. "Mom and I are talking now and she's forgiven me. Oh, and before I forget, Will's coming out for the wedding."
Grace paled visibly but didn't comment.
"Now, what's new with you?" Olivia asked.
To her surprise, Grace grabbed a tissue from her purse. "I have something to tell you, but I'll probably cry."
Olivia was aghast. "What is it?"
"Last week I got a letter from Mike Sherman, Dan's cousin in Oregon." She paused a moment to collect herself before continuing. "He wrote after Dan's death and we've talked a couple of times since, but this came out of the blue."
"What did?"
Grace nervously folded the edges of the linen napkin. "Mike really feels bad about this, but he thought it was time I knew that Dan borrowed thirteen thousand dollars from him. Apparently he asked for the loan a year or so before he vanished. Mike didn't want to say anything after Dan disappeared."
"Oh, no—he wants the money back now?"
Grace nodded. "He hated to ask, but he provided the paperwork and sure enough, that's Dan's signature on the promissory note. Mike said it's been over four years and he needs the money. He seems to think I got some life insurance settlement after Dan's body was discovered."
Olivia knew she hadn't. Her opinion of Grace's dead husband had never been high but she considered the fact that he'd burdened Grace with this loan unforgivable. Especially since Dan had to know that Grace wouldn't be able to collect on his life insurance if he committed suicide. Furthermore, the trailer he'd purchased with that money—the trailer he'd killed himself in—was a total loss.
"What are you going to do?"
Grace wadded the tissue in her hand. "What else can I do? I'm refinancing the house and paying him back the money, plus interest. It isn't Mike's fault that Dan chose to end his life."
"Aren't you going to tell him you didn't get any insurance money?"
"No." She shook her head. "It would only make him feel worse about asking for the money back, and he doesn't deserve that. Frankly I'm grateful he waited as long as he did. If he'd hit me with this any sooner, I don't know how I would've dealt with it."
"What's that going to do to your finances?" Olivia knew things were already tight.
"I'll survive. I've made it through worse times than this."
"I know. Did you tell Sheriff Davis and Roy?"
"Roy said it was another piece of the puzzle falling into place," Grace told her. "He was the one who originally found out about the trailer. We always wondered where Dan got the money..."
Olivia was proud of Grace for taking this latest blow in stride and refusing to let circumstances overwhelm her. She was about to say that when Grace changed the subject.
"On a brighter note," she said with a big smile, "I heard from Cliff."
"You did?" Olivia knew her friend had made a concerted effort to win back the rancher.
Grace almost squirmed in her chair with excitement. "I have to tell you I'd nearly given up hope."
Olivia leaned toward her. "Well, don't keep me in suspense. Tell me what happened!"
"I drove out to his ranch with a batch of chocolate chip cookies ten days ago."
Olivia nodded approvingly. "And?"
"I wanted to weep with frustration when he wasn't home, but I talked to Cal and he was so encouraging. I like him a lot. He said he'd make sure Cliff knew I'd stopped by."
"I like Cal, too." Olivia had only met the trainer once and briefly, but she'd taken an instant liking to him. Although he was quiet, even solemn, she sensed a deep reserve of strength and character.
"Did Cliff call you?" Olivia leaned closer, eager to hear the details.
"No...actually I haven't talked to him yet." But Grace showed no sign of being discouraged. "I received an e-mail."
"What did he say?"
The waitress stepped up to the table, and Olivia realized they'd been so intent on their conversation they hadn't given any thought to food or drink. The young woman took their order for wine spritzers and left.
"Well?" Olivia pressed.
"Cliff thanked me for the cookies. He was very polite and he didn't write anything else, but Olivia, I feel like there's a crack in this wall he's erected between us. He can't ignore me anymore. I won't let him."
"That's great!"
"I'm not fooling myself. I have a long way to go, but that one message cheered me so much I've been walking on air ever since."
"Have you sent him other messages?"
Grace nodded. "Every evening. I mail a card twice a week but Cal told me Cliff's started collecting the mail himself. When I don't send a card, I write an e-mail. He hasn't blocked my name, so I know he's getting those messages, too."
Olivia reached for her menu. For the first time in months, she had the feeling that everything was going to work out between Grace and Cliff Harding.
Thirty-Eight
Maryellen tucked the latest photograph of Katie into a business-size envelope, along with a short note to Jon's parents. She left it unaddressed and slipped the envelope in with the rest of the mail she planned to drop off at the post office Monday morning. She'd fill in the necessary information later rather than risk having Jon find an envelope with his parents' address.