Justine sincerely doubted that.
“You needed to see me?” she asked when she stepped into her husband’s office.
Seth sat behind his desk. “What did Warren want?” he asked her with a frown.
“Not much.” She gave him a quick shrug. “Just to say hello.” It was on the tip of her tongue to plead with him not to be angry. Having a glass of wine with an old friend meant little. Warren was nothing to her anymore and certainly no threat to Seth.
Her husband regarded her a moment, then sighed. “I guess I was rude to him—and to you.”
She didn’t contradict him. Instead, she walked around the desk and sat on his lap. Slipping her arms around his neck, she rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re the one I love.”
“I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m a jealous fool.”
“We both need a vacation.”
Seth snorted a laugh. “That’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
Justine knew that, but she could’ve done without the reminder.
“Hey,” he said, as if he’d suddenly remembered something. “What happened earlier? I saw your grandmother and Ben leave, and then right afterward a younger man shot out of the restaurant in quite a huff.”
“That was Ben’s son, and you wouldn’t believe the afternoon I’ve had.” She described how she’d snatched the check out of the other man’s hand. When she’d finished, Justine was surprised to find her husband smiling. “You think swindling my grandmother out of five thousand dollars is a laughing matter?”
“Not at all,” Seth assured her. “What I find amusing is that David Rhodes took off out of the parking lot, tires squealing. He hadn’t gone more than a block when I saw one of Cedar Cove’s finest racing after him, siren blaring.”
It seemed a fitting end to David’s visit.
Twenty-Two
Ever since Thanksgiving, when the floral arrangement had arrived, Corrie had been feeling uneasy. For the first time since the postcards had begun to show up, she felt she knew who was responsible. The postcards had so far been addressed to Roy. However, she suspected they should’ve been addressed to her, too.
The person in question had nothing to do with Roy’s police background, but everything to do with the two of them. Knowing this killed her Christmas spirit, but for Roy’s sake and Linnette’s, she’d made the effort. The tree was up and the house decorated. She’d even baked Roy’s favorite cookies and given batches of fudge to Linnette and Mack.
On Saturday afternoon, Roy sat reading the paper and watching television at the same time, an ability Corrie didn’t share.
“Would you like to go to a movie?” she asked. Today was unusual in that they didn’t have weekend plans. Even more unusual, Roy wasn’t working.
“Not really.”
“Would you like to invite the Beldons to dinner?” Corrie didn’t feel like cooking, but she needed something to occupy her mind, otherwise she’d sink into an abyss of memories.
Roy lowered the newspaper. “Isn’t that a bit last-minute?”
“I guess.”
Her husband laid the paper on the floor. “Something’s bothering you, isn’t it?”
She nodded, hesitant even now to mention her suspicions.
Roy stood, holding out his arms. Corrie didn’t need a second invitation. He hugged her hard, and she sighed contentedly as they sat together on the sofa. She couldn’t recall when they’d last cuddled like this. Their lives were so busy and, with Linnette living in Cedar Cove, Corrie should be happy. But most of the time she wasn’t.
“Are you thinking about those postcards again?” Roy asked.
“A little…I’ve been wondering about something. I realize we promised never to discuss it, but do you think—could it possibly be—”
“No.” The word was clipped, abrupt, shutting her out.
“But—”
“Just like you said, Corrie, we promised never to talk about that again and we haven’t. It isn’t the person you think, so you can drop that idea.”
“You know this for a fact?”
“No. Come on, Corrie, that was a lot of years ago.”
“I know.” Like dusk, sadness settled over her and she leaned closer to her husband. Roy might not want to talk about it, but that didn’t stop her from remembering. All these years she’d struggled to forget and, for a while, she’d succeeded. Now…now it seemed the memories wouldn’t leave her alone.
“Let’s go to that movie,” he suggested, pulling Corrie to her feet.
“Okay.” She went to collect her coat and when she got back, she saw that Roy was ready, too. They drove to the sixplex cinema on the hill; because they hadn’t bothered to check times, they chose the next available movie, which started in half an hour.
The theater was crammed; the foyer and concession stands had long lines. Everyone in Cedar Cove seemed to be out and about.
“Look!” she whispered as they stood in line for popcorn, “Grace Sherman and Cliff Harding are here. Behind us.”
Roy shrugged as if unconcerned.
“This is big news,” she explained, linking her arm with his and bending toward him so as not to be overheard. “The last I heard they’d split up.”
“Were they married?” He sounded puzzled.
“No,” she said and elbowed him for being obtuse. “But close, I think. Everyone thought Cliff was going to give her an engagement ring. Then they broke up and no one knew why.”
Roy seemed uninterested, but Corrie could tell he was listening. “I saw them together one time since, and that’s it.”
“So they’ve had a change of heart. It happens.”
“It happened with us,” she told him.
From the way he looked at her, Corrie knew he didn’t appreciate being reminded.
“Well, I hope they’re back together,” she murmured.
After waiting in line, Roy and Corrie reached the concession counter and ordered drinks and popcorn. They exchanged greetings, then discovered they were attending the same movie.
“Olivia and Jack were going to meet us here, but they canceled at the last minute,” Grace explained. “Jack had to go into the office for some reason.”
“Yeah. Know what you mean,” Roy said as he paid for their popcorn. Corrie held the bucket and one drink. “See you two inside,” he said. He returned his wallet to his back pocket and picked up the second drink.
“Save us a couple of seats if you can,” Cliff said, eyeing the crowd.
“Sure thing.”
The movie had apparently received good reviews because the theater was filling up fast. Corrie and Roy found a place to sit near the back but didn’t see four adjacent seats anywhere. Christmas was only a week away and amidst all the frantic preparations, people were obviously looking for a relaxed afternoon.
Grace and Cliff entered the theater, and Corrie pointed to the two seats directly ahead of them.
Cliff and Grace made their way past several other people and took the seats in front of Corrie and Roy.
“This is the best we could do,” Roy said, leaning forward.
“Hey, I feel fortunate to get a seat at all,” Cliff told him. “Thanks.”
Roy set the bucket of popcorn between him and Corrie, and they shared that while the music and advertisements played. Corrie noticed the loving way Grace rested her head on Cliff’s shoulder. There was something so touching about this that Corrie couldn’t help being affected. It had been the same way with her and Roy when they’d first reunited.
She’d been a college freshman when they met and they’d quickly fallen in love. After a while, they were constantly together. Roy was a star athlete, the football team’s quarterback. He was a campus hero, attractive to all the girls, admired by all the guys. There was even talk of his being drafted professionally. He had such promise, such ambitions.
They’d broken up when she discovered he was seeing someone else. She’d been devastated. To this day, he swore he hadn’t slept with this other girl; he insisted one of their friends had lied to her. She believed him, but she also knew he’d been under tremendous pressure. In the middle of the football season, when she needed to see him, he’d made it clear he didn’t have time for her. Apparently, Corrie just wasn’t in his league anymore.
What she’d wanted to tell him, what he hadn’t been interested in hearing, was that she was pregnant.
Rejected and alone, Corrie didn’t know what to do. She turned to her parents, who gave her unconditional support. At the end of the first term, they drove up to Washington and packed her things.
Corrie didn’t contact Roy again. As far as she was concerned, he was out of her life. Without telling any of her friends why she was dropping out of college, she went home to Oregon. Her parents at her side, she’d attended a series of counseling sessions. Together, as a family, they’d decided she should give up her baby for adoption. That was the most difficult decision of her life.
Her mother had been in the labor room with her. At her own request, Corrie wasn’t told whether she’d had a boy or a girl. It was painful enough to sign the adoption papers, and she feared that if she knew the baby’s sex she’d envision him or her growing up. Not knowing was easier.
In September of the following year, when she’d returned to college, Corrie was a different person. Her friends seemed childish and superficial. Nothing was the same. She studied hard and kept to herself. She knew that eventually she’d see Roy on campus and was mentally prepared for it.
What she hadn’t expected was that he’d seek her out. In her junior year, Roy sat with her in the library one day and asked if they could talk. Even after all the time that had passed and everything that had happened, her feelings for him hadn’t died. She still loved him. They’d been foolish and immature, but they’d both changed. That afternoon they’d talked for hours. Roy noticed the difference in her and claimed he wasn’t the same boy she knew, either.
A new star athlete had replaced him as quarterback, and overnight he’d gone from being pro material to a has-been. It was hard on his ego for a few months, but he recovered. She’d believed Roy was out of her life for good—and then almost overnight he was back.
Not until Roy bought her an engagement ring did she tell him about the baby. At first Roy didn’t believe her, then he was angry, and after that, overwhelmed by sadness. He wept with her, and held her and begged her forgiveness. He went to see her parents, and Corrie never knew what was said, but when she accepted his engagement ring, Roy was welcomed into the family. The night of their wedding, they’d made a second vow to each other, and that was never to discuss their child again. Now Corrie couldn’t help wondering if it was that child who’d come to find them.
“Corrie,” Roy whispered, “are you asleep?”
“Just thinking,” she whispered back.
She might have been deep in thought but Cliff Harding was snoring up a storm. Grace woke him and he gave a start, then settled down to watch the movie. Ten minutes later, Cliff was snoring again. Two-thirds of the way through, Grace stood and led Cliff out of the theater. On her way to the aisle, she smiled apologetically at Corrie and Roy.