“Oh.” Laura hesitated. Donna was always rushed after a deadline, playing catch up.
“What’s going on?”
Laura explained.
“I can take the kids to school, pick them up,” Donna offered. “And I’ll stay until you get home.”
“Are you sure it’s not an inconvenience?”
“I’ll bring my laptop, start on my new project. Besides, you probably have food in your fridge.”
Laura let out a breath. “What would I do without you?”
Donna laughed. “Let’s not find out. And stop worrying. Things will work out.”
Early the following morning, before traffic could clog the roads, Laura set out for Rosewood. Although both freeways heading west out of the city were always packed, Laura’s predawn head start helped.
It was nearly ten o’clock when she arrived. She hadn’t known what to expect, but the charm of the perfectly kept Victorian buildings surprised her. Equally old elm trees shaded the wide sidewalks. No boarded-up buildings on Main Street. Looked like the town was alive and kicking. She spotted an old-fashioned drugstore that made her think of the one her grandmother used to take her to for ice-cream sodas when she was a little girl. It was one of the few positive memories from her childhood.
Intrigued, Laura slowed down, savoring a place that hadn’t been edged out by a superstore or run down by neglect. She spotted cheery gingham curtains in the café windows and smiled. She needed cheer more than breakfast, which she had skipped in her hurry to get an early start, but she didn’t want to stop. She wanted to catch Paul early.
She found his office easily enough. The simple brass plaque above the wide black awning announced Distinctive Properties, Ltd.
Grasping the brass door handle, she tried to take hold of her courage as easily. She stepped inside. Paul sat at an old mahogany desk facing the entrance. A second, similar desk was angled next to his, but it was empty. The office was small, with some leather chairs, filing cabinets, coffeemaker and not much else. There was another door at the rear.
Looking back at Paul, she remembered to smile. But her courage failed her when he scowled.
Then she realized he was on the phone. Two actually. At least he was holding two. One was a cell. It rang as she watched.
Deftly he put the first call on hold, answered the second, then switched back to the first. A moment later he finally noticed her.
Her first impression hadn’t been that far off. He looked annoyed as he ended both calls.
“Good morning.” She tried to sound confident, but her voice came out sounding more like a frightened bird.
“Hello,” he said cautiously. “This is a surprise.”
“I suppose it is.” Courage. Keep your courage. “I came to talk to you about the company.”
“We already talked about it.”
“No.” She bit her lip. “You brushed me off.”
His phone rang. “You want to talk now?”
“Yes, please.”
“You couldn’t have picked a worse time. I’m speaking to investors.”
Her anxiety heightened. “In an hour then?”
“It’s Monday morning. I’m calling my most important contacts.” He scrunched his mouth in contemplation. “I could hook up with you, say, late this afternoon.”
“This afternoon?”
He reached for the phone. “If you really want to talk. If not—”
“No! I mean yes. I want to talk.” She calculated quickly. Donna said she would stay as long as necessary. “So, this afternoon?”
“Okay.”
Laura picked up a card from his desk and scribbled her cell phone number on it. “Call me when you’re free?”
“Fine.” His phone rang again.
Awkwardly, she stepped back. “I’ll see myself out then.”
He was already absorbed in the phone conversation.
Out on the sidewalk, she breathed in the clean spring air, the smell of baking bread laced with blooming hyacinths. Unexpectedly, her stomach rumbled. In spite of nerves.
She glanced down the street. A sign in the next block caught her eye. Borbey House Bed and Breakfast. She didn’t know just how long Paul Russell planned to put her off, but she intended to stick around until he spoke to her, even if that meant staying until the following day. It might be smart to book a room, just in case. Besides, she was tired. It had taken everything she had to screw up her courage for this visit. She hated this weakness in herself. Before she had married, she wouldn’t have been so intimidated, so frightened. This was just a negotiation. With Jerry’s best friend. Why couldn’t Jerry have let her go? She hadn’t wanted him to get sick, to die…. But she had thought at last she would be out from under his control.
She pulled out her cell phone.
Donna answered on the second ring, and Laura explained the situation.
“Stay as long as you need. My work’s coming along fine. You know I love borrowing other people’s children.”
Laura hesitated, unaccustomed to asking favors. “It could be longer than just overnight.”
“Stay as long as you need.”
Laura clutched the phone. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
“Hey, what are friends for?”
Laura felt a little better as she walked the short distance to Borbey House. A bell tinkled when she pushed open the door to the bed-and-breakfast and stepped into an immaculate front room, furnished with inviting antique couches.
“Be right there,” a woman called.
Laura waited by an ancient breakfront that looked like the sign-in desk. Within moments, a perky, attractive woman who looked to be about her age, scooted into the room. “Hi!” She wiped her hands on her apron. “Just finishing up in the kitchen. How can I help you?”
“I’m hoping you have a room for tonight. Well, maybe longer. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ll be here.” The way she felt right now she could climb into bed and pull the covers over her head.
“I have one that fronts on Main Street if you like the view or one that looks out on the back garden if you’d prefer complete quiet. You can see both, if you’d like, and then choose.” Dark eyes twinkled as the woman pushed her brown hair behind her ear.
“That’s a tough call, but I think I’ll take the quiet.” She needed it to recoup.
“Fine. If you change your mind, just let me know. It’s no trouble switching you around.” Laura signed the guest book, a simple register, her writing shaky. “I’m Annie Warren and this is my place, mine and my husband’s.”
“Glad to meet you.” She reached for her purse, fumbling with her wallet. “You’ll need my credit card.”
Annie waved her hands. “Not necessary. We can do that when you check out.”
Laura stared, amazed.
Annie laughed. “I doubt you want to get up at four in the morning to skip out. Besides, a little trust goes a long way.”
“That’s a kind, if somewhat precarious, way to live in this world.”
“It works for me.”
Laura’s anxiety eased somewhat.
“Have