“Oh, let’s,” Carrie said. She reached for her handy notebook. “Picnic-style barbecue or something else?”

“Barbecue chicken, crab and pasta salad, spinach and cheese stuffed French loaves...” Gina said.

“Stuffed mushrooms, braised red potatoes, vegetables cooked on the grill. Broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, carrots?” Carrie asked, writing down the possibilities.

“Oh, this sounds wonderful! I wish I’d thought of it. Maybe we should ask Mac what he’d like, since it’s his party.”

“Don’t be silly—I know what Mac likes as well as you do,” Carrie said.

“If we do it in a couple of weeks, it’ll still be warm enough. And the new guy will be here. The new guy is Seth Sileski, by the way.”

“That’ll make his mother so happy,” Carrie said. “We’ll invite the Sileski family! And while we’re turning the chicken, we can upend Norm and pull that bug out of his ass.”

Gina burst into laughter. “Perfect!”

Sixteen

Peyton folded her freshly laundered clothes on the bed while Adele sat in the rocker, nursing the baby. “I have to admit, I’m going to miss the city,” she said.

“You’ll have to come back on a weekend,” Adele said. “Bring Scott and his kids. Except...”

“Don’t worry,” she said with a laugh. “We’ll get a hotel room. We should show the kids the pier, cable cars, the sea lions.... Wait till you meet them. The kids were so excited at the farm, they were speechless. Papa was feeding them from his plate, talking the whole time, telling his lies and spinning his tales. Then he had little Will dancing with the men.”

“A little different from the time Ted and his kids visited?”

“Oh, just a little! That didn’t work out the way I thought it might, but I have to let go of it. It’s time to move on.”

“You’re sure this time?”

“It’s everything I ever wanted. Scott is everything I’ve ever wanted, though I have to figure out what’s bothering him so much right now. He’s so glum, so unlike him. It’s probably just the fact that he misses me, and no matter what I say, he worries that I’ll leave Thunder Point and we’ll never see each other again.”

“Did you talk to that doctor in Seattle?”

“I called her this morning. It’s kind of too bad I’m not going to get to know her better, she’s a remarkable woman. We talked for almost an hour, and I learned things about her that I didn’t know, that had I known before I met Scott I would have run to her practice. She spends six weeks a year on a hospital ship doing surgery on infants and children for a nonprofit. When I told her what I was going to be doing, she didn’t even argue her case. She thinks it’s wonderful. Her specialty doesn’t lend itself to a small-town clinic—she has to make herself more widely available. But they take on a number of needy patients every year, and they’re very proud of their work.”

“Ted did that, too, didn’t he?”

“Of course, though not a lot. But that’s how I fell in love with Ted—the way he works with patients. I might have noticed his good looks first, but I actually fell in love with his brilliance and his bedside manner. He could charm the doorknob off a door.” She laughed at herself. “Or charm the most stubborn patient into the right medical protocol to change their lives and make them better. It just took me a bit too long to realize all that ended when he left the office. If he cared half as much about his kids...”

“Or his girlfriend!” Adele said.

“He doesn’t get it, Adele.”

“Does Scott?” Adele asked.

“Yes, I think so. I hope so. There are a few things for us to sort through when I get back. The day you called about the baby was the same day Ted came to Thunder Point and begged me to come back to him and help him get out of his messes. Without thinking, I asked Scott about his wife in a careless way that made it sound like I was afraid he’d use me as a PA and nanny. I apologized, but I think he might be having a hard time getting past it.”

“Oh, Peyton...”

“It was an honest mistake, Adele. Even though Scott has never treated me the way Ted did, I was emotionally distraught after Ted’s visit, and I popped off. I think once I get back and we start to live normal lives again, it’ll fall into place. I can tell he’s a little unsure of me, even now. Afraid I can be talked into giving Ted another chance just because he’s got a real strong presentation—rich, handsome guy with a lot of nice stuff. Ted’s intimidating, you know....”

“Oh, I know,” she said. “We all know!”

“Poor Ted. He’s so clueless.”

“I don’t think I can go the poor Ted route,” Adele said. “He could be a real man if he knew what a real man was.” She stood. “I’m going to change the baby,” she said, and she left the bedroom.

Peyton folded the rest of her clean clothes, ready to start packing to leave early in the morning. Her cell phone rang, and she frowned as she saw it was a cell phone with a Portland area code. Had Ted gotten himself a new number just so he could get through to her? If so, she’d have to call Devon and ask her how to block another number. “Hello?”

“Please,” came a small, tearful voice. “Please, help me.”

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Peyton, please,” the voice said. “They’re going to make me get an abortion!”

Peyton sank on to the bed. “Krissy?”

“It’s me. No one will help me. Please,” she said in a whisper and a sob. “Please, help me.”

“How do you think I’m going to help you, Krissy?”

“I don’t know. Please, come and get me!”

“You don’t even like me, Krissy. You didn’t like my rules. You didn’t like having me in your house.”

“I know. I was a bitch, I know. But I don’t have anyone, and this is very bad. They made an appointment!”

“Who did?”

“My mom and my dad.”

“Krissy, I know of no doctor who will give you an abortion without your consent.”

“Are you sure? Because my parents think they can get this done. And if they do this to me, I don’t even want to live!”

Peyton gasped. Krissy could be melodramatic and demanding and threatening, but she hadn’t ever played the suicide card that Peyton could remember. “What about the baby’s father? Can he help you? Can his parents help?”

“There is no father. It’s just me.”

“Of course there is, Krissy. Just tell him what’s going on and—”

“I don’t know who the father is, okay? There’s no one. I don’t have anyone!”

Did this girl’s parents even begin to realize how much help she needed? “Krissy, I’m not in Portland....”

“I know. You’re in some little town somewhere down the coast, but that’s okay. I have money. I can take a bus or something. I just need somewhere to go.”

“No, honey, I’m in San Francisco with my sister. I drove here. I’m a good twelve hours away from you by car.”