“I was so relieved that you didn’t marry him. Sorry you were so heartbroken, but I was thankful. He wasn’t evil, I don’t mean that. But he was not sincere. He got his way with his charm and looks. He has incredible sense of entitlement. I believe he uses people and some of them are pleased to be used. He’s been living with his parents the last three years, all because he has such unappreciative bosses and nasty, selfish ex-wives, according to Dottie. I’m glad you were mean to him and pitched him out the door. He’d better be careful he doesn’t run into me.”

It stung Leigh when she’d heard Helen’s thoughts on Johnny thirteen years ago but it felt pretty good right now. “How do you see Rob?” she asked.

“I like Rob,” Helen said. “Apart from the fact that he’s not a very good planner...”

“Can you imagine what my life would be like if I’d married Johnny Holliday? I swear to heaven, I will never be that foolish again.”

“And that means?”

“I will take a long, hard look at all the facts, all the details, before I ever again consider marriage. Women have babies without husbands all the time. After all, my mother did, didn’t she?”

“Heaven help me,” Helen said.

* * *

Helen didn’t get much writing done because her brain had been hijacked by Leigh’s issues. At about four o’clock, Sully came to the porch with the leash in his hand, Beau waiting very impatiently behind him.

“You about ready to stretch your legs?” he asked.

“Yes, I’d better,” Helen said, closing up her laptop. She slipped into her light sweater, put her laptop and duffel in the kitchen and followed Sully onto the trail.

“Did you get some good murdering done today?” he asked her.

“Unfortunately, no,” she said. “I have some personal issues clogging up my brain. Can you keep a secret?”

“I have on occasion, but I’ll be honest, people say I’m terrible at it,” Sully said.

“If it’s very important, do you think you could do it?”

“I think I could,” he said. “For you.”

“Leigh is pregnant,” she said.

“Ah. So Rob hit pay dirt, did he?”

“You know about Rob?”

Sully chuckled. “Helen, that’s no secret. Everyone knows Rob is sweet on Leigh.”

“Does everyone know about us?” she asked.

“I reckon, even if they might be surprised by some of the details.”

“Well, I’ve never lived in a town this small and transparent,” she said. “Leigh has barely found out about the baby so you can’t tell. She mentioned Rob made an offer to shack up. Imagine. Living with her boyfriend, his sons, and of course she’d include me. All we need now is a dog.”

“You’re going to move in with Rob?” he asked.

“No, I am not,” she said. “Sharing a home with Leigh is one thing—we’ve done so all her life and we have a lot of respect for each other’s personal space. If she were at all considerate, she’d have gotten knocked up in San Diego.”

“You don’t like it here?” Sully asked.

“There are many things I love about this place, you know that. The lake, the garden, you... But, Sully, what about winter? I’ve been determined to escape winter!”

He reached for her hand. “We don’t have such hard winters,” he said. “Wait till you see—it’s beautiful. We have a lot of snow on the slopes and the lake freezes. I have firewood delivered and I have all these men in the family to take care of shoveling. I did the plowing last year. Only needed to a few times but I decided I’m done with that. I’m going to hire it done. We’ve had heavy snow once in a while but I can’t remember the last blizzard. I make soup and freeze it.”

“What if you lose power out here?” she asked.

“I have a generator, but the fireplace keeps me warm. The generator is for lights and appliances. I wouldn’t want that soup to melt,” he said, laughing.

“You’re so isolated,” she said.

“I know,” he said. “Perfect, isn’t it? You know the only part of winter I can’t abide? March, that’s what. When the snowpack starts to melt, the camp gets so sloppy. I know how to step around the mud but you think that fool dog of mine has figured that out? Hell, no. He thinks it’s for rolling in. Helen, when do you suppose that baby’s coming?”

“I guess January or February.”

“Shew. They didn’t waste any time.”

“They’re new as a couple but I think she loves him. And I know he loves her.”

“How can you tell?”

“He gets a really sappy look on his face when he talks about her or them or anything to do with them being a couple. Like having a baby. And yet she says she’s not doing anything. She thinks it makes sense to leave things just as they are. The baby daddy will live a few blocks away and visit. Visit us? Oh my God.”

“I prolly do the same, get a sappy look when your name comes up,” Sully said, squeezing her hand. “You know, we don’t lose the Wi-Fi in winter. You could write ten books, drink hot chocolate, smell soup getting ready for you. The cabins are heated—you can invite all your friends and have a writers’ workshop in the living room. I’ll cook and clean up and stay scarce. You might as well think about it because I know you’re not going anywhere.”

“How do you know that?” she asked.

“Because you’re having a grandbaby. It might officially be a great-niece but it’s every bit a grandbaby. I didn’t think I’d ever get one and now I have a flock of ’em. I love ’em. Between you and the grands, I feel younger by the day. So why you letting Leigh being pregnant keep you from murdering people in the book?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Because I want her to be happy. She always assumed she’d never have children, which I thought was an awful assumption. She should have children. I didn’t give birth but I had a child to raise and love. It was the best part of my life. But, Sully, I want to visit the next generation. Maybe do a little babysitting when I have the time. My sister was ten years younger than I was. I had barely gotten myself into a house when she came to me, eighteen and pregnant and not willing to share the name of the father. Then she died during a routine surgery and left a four-year-old for me to raise. I loved every second of it. That doesn’t mean I want to do it again.”

“You staying for dinner?” he asked.

“Yes, sure.”

“Good. You going home tonight?”

“I will, yes. Leigh seems to need to talk a lot.”

“When you go home tonight, tell Leigh that having her to raise was the best part of your life and no matter what else happens, no matter whether they shack up or not, she’s going to have a child to raise. I wasn’t a very good father, I know, but Maggie lit up my world and I loved her so much. I was so proud of her, like you are of Leigh. Leigh should have that opportunity.”

“That’s so lovely, Sully. I’ll do that.”

“And then tell her that when you’re out here at night, we sleep naked.”

For success, attitude is equally as important

as ability.

—Walter Scott

14

JULY BROUGHT THE Sullivans and Joneses and all their attached family members and significant others to the Crossing for a Fourth of July celebration. Avery Boyle, Sierra and Connie’s new daughter, made her public debut and Leigh was able to cuddle the baby she had delivered. Rob took a rare day off and brought the boys to the Crossing and Finn brought Maia, as well. To look at her, one would never know everything Maia had been through. Upon watching her closely, Leigh could see there were hints. She didn’t have a lot of energy and she often leaned against Finn, not letting him get too far away, but she was so happy to socialize with her surgeon and Maggie pronounced her making a beautiful recovery. Later in the evening, Rob’s boys helped Connie and Dakota shoot off fireworks over the lake.

A couple of weeks later when Helen went to San Francisco to visit her friend Maureen, Leigh was invited to Rob’s house for dinner with the boys, Sidney and Dakota. Of course Rob cooked and turned out a wonderful meal using the backyard grill.

She tried to look around without anyone noticing. Rob had a very nice and well-kept house. This was only the third time she’d been to his house. Once for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Speers and one morning for coffee before Rob went to the pub. She had to admit, he did an excellent job of creating a comfortable home for his small family. The house wasn’t large but there were five bedrooms—he had an office at home and there was a guest room, the one that his sister, Sid, had used for the year or two she’d stayed with him. There were lots of wood built-ins—the dining room hutch, the TV wall unit, bookcases. There was a large leather sectional, man-size. The kitchen was impressive, but then Rob was partial to kitchens.

It was a good house. But there was no reflection of her at all. Of course.

And it was full. Where in the world was he thinking to squeeze her in? And where was Helen supposed to live?

She passed the twelve-week mark and Rob stepped up the discussions. “We should make a few decisions,” he said. “You’re going to be showing before long. I have to tell my sons what’s going on.”

“If you must,” she said. “I don’t think they’d know the difference if we waited a while longer.”

“They’re going to want to know how we’re going to proceed to be parents. For that matter, I’d like to know.”

She just shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m filled with conflict. I’d like to try to get used to the idea for a while.”

“If we’re going to live together, I have to make adjustments.”

“What kind of adjustments?” she asked.