When the toast was ready, they sat down at the island where Lauren had already put two place settings. She poured orange juice in their glasses. “Coffee?” she asked with the carafe poised over his cup.
“Yes, please,” Colton said, smiling at the domesticity of the scene. It was as if they did this all the time. He was very comfortable in her presence.
A local radio station was on in the background. The announcer reported, “That was the worst snowstorm we’ve had in these parts in years. As our listeners know, we’re used to milder winters.”
Another voice broke in with “Yeah, Bob, let’s hope the temperature doesn’t rise too swiftly because if it does we’re going to have a muddy mess out there.”
“How’d your granddad fare?” Colton asked once music resumed on the radio program.
“He says the lodge is none the worse for wear. That place is built like a fortress,” Lauren said fondly.
“He lives alone?”
“Yes, but his business keeps him so busy he isn’t lonely. Hunters and fishermen stay there year-round. He has a great staff but I’m afraid at eighty, he’s getting a bit old to run the place. I’d never say that to his face because he’d probably bite my head off. He’s never going to willingly retire.”
“He sounds great,” Colton said.
“He is,” Lauren was quick to say. “Our mom, Virginia, is his only child. She’s been trying to get him to move in with her and the general for years but he says if he and the general lived under the same roof, one of them would wind up shot.” She laughed. “He was only slightly exaggerating. He and Daddy don’t get along. He never forgave Daddy for marrying his daughter and taking her all over the world. Daddy’s been stationed quite a few places and Momma followed him. But then she decided she wanted us to have a more permanent home and that’s when they settled on Raleigh. It was a fairly large city and not too far from her father. She got a degree in English and took a job as a teacher and worked her way up to principal. Daddy’s retired now, but she’s still working and like her own father, shows no signs of retiring anytime soon.”
“She sounds like my mom,” Colton said. “Only dad’s illness got her to slow down. She wanted to spend as much time with him as possible toward the end.”
Lauren squeezed his hand in sympathy, but didn’t say anything. She always felt that if you didn’t know what to say to comfort someone it was best to say nothing at all. Just be there for them.
Colton took a deep, trembling breath. “I feel so helpless. I mean, I’m usually the guy people go to when there’s a problem that needs solving. But with this one, I feel totally out of control, unable to cope. It took everything out of me to watch him die in the hospital. Then to see my mother appear to age twenty years right before my eyes after he was gone hit me even harder. Her pain was palpable. I had to get out of there, and I’m sorry to say, I took off. I’ll always regret leaving her alone with my sister.”
“I’m sure they understand.”
“They love me—” he paused “—so they’ll say they understand, but deep down I believe they’ll think I abandoned them.”
“No, no, please believe me, Colton. Everyone responds differently to the death of a loved one. You had to distance yourself for a while. Your family won’t hold that against you.”
“Even now,” he admitted, “I don’t want to go back. I was grateful when you said the roads wouldn’t be clear until tomorrow. There’s the funeral to plan, the casket to pick out, a suit for dad to wear. I should be doing that. I’m his son.”
Since Lauren had known Frank for several years, she felt she could now share with Colton an observation she’d made about his father.
“You’re worrying about insignificant things,” she said. “The Frank Riley I knew and was very fond of didn’t leave matters like his final requests up to chance. He probably left minute details as to exactly how he wanted his memorial service to progress. And even if he didn’t, Veronica certainly has in mind how she wants him to be honored. Couples who’ve been together that long usually have things worked out in advance.”
“You think?” Colton was hopeful that she was right because he was at a loss. A big, strong man like him was completely stumped.
“The phones are working,” Lauren reminded him. “Phone Veronica after breakfast and ask her.”
Colton breathed easier as he finished his breakfast. Lauren had a calming effect on him.
Twenty minutes later he had his mother on the phone.
“Everything’s been arranged for some time now,” Veronica told him. “Your dad left specific instructions. The only thing I haven’t been able to arrange is the New Orleans–style jazz band that’ll play him all the way to the cemetery. His words, not mine. Jade’s on it. You say you’re going to be stuck there another day? Today’s Wednesday. The funeral is on Saturday. That’s plenty of time for you to get back home.”
“I’m so sorry I’m not there with you,” Colton told her sincerely.
“I know you are, baby,” Veronica said with warmth. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve always been too hard on yourself. Your father used to wonder if maybe when he was teaching you to run the business he forgot to teach you when to let go. Life isn’t all about making money and living up to everyone else’s expectations. It’s about knowing yourself and knowing when to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. You’re thirty-four and you haven’t fallen in love yet. What’s stopping you? Your father and I used to play this game whenever we met a nice young lady. ‘She would be perfect for Colton,’ I would say, and your father would laugh at me and say, ‘Let Colton decide who is perfect for him. Just like I decided you were perfect for me.’ That shut me up for a while, but I still wonder whenever I meet a nice woman whether or not she’s the one for you,” Veronica said with a sigh. Before she said goodbye she reminded him to give her best to Lauren.
Lauren was having her own conversation on the satellite phone as she walked outside on hard-packed snow. Her sister, Amina, a captain in the army who had recently finished a hitch in Afghanistan and was trying to get used to civilian life, was threatening to steal the general’s Hummer and come up there and collect her. “It’s Christmas,” she whined, making Lauren remember when they were kids and Amina, two years younger than herself, began to moan and groan until she wore her down. “No one should be alone on Christmas.”
Lauren told her about Colton’s unexpected arrival last night.
“It was the damnedest thing. I was in the tub at the time.”
Amina screeched with delight on the other end after listening to Lauren’s account. “Desiree says he’s man-candy. And you know she doesn’t say that about just anybody. Is he still there? We’re getting in the car now if he is.”
“No, you’re not,” Lauren said with some satisfaction. “The roads aren’t fit for driving and won’t be until tomorrow.”
“Damn!” Amina said disappointedly.
Apparently, Desiree took the phone from Amina because it was her voice that Lauren heard next. “Colton Riley, huh? Women in Raleigh have been trying to trap him for years. He’s either very wily or a confirmed bachelor. Be careful. You’re very vulnerable right now.”
Desiree was a psychotherapist who specialized in relationships. She had a diagnosis ready for any male her sisters came in contact with. She was so busy solving everyone else’s relationship problems she had no time for a relationship of her own.
“You don’t have to worry. I just offered him a warm place to stay last night,” Lauren said, mindful of the agreement she’d made with Colton. “There’s no relationship here for you to analyze, Desi.”