If she were a real friend, she’d shove her regrets and bad memories into the past where they belonged and help Ian. As her family’s dearest friends, they’d drop everything if the roles were reversed.
So why couldn’t she do it?
Agnes shoved the tablecloths into the washer and slammed the lid, trying to blot Ian’s pleading eyes from her memory.
Being in that house would release the ghosts she’d managed to imprison so she’d have some semblance of a normal life.
Saying no was her only option.
Agnes returned to the kitchen to find it empty, but a light glowed from under Josie’s closed office door. Probably needed a few minutes with her feet up.
Josie’s pregnancy with Noah, her eleven-month-old, had been a piece of cake. With this new pregnancy, she dealt with a lot of morning sickness...or as she called it—all day sickness.
Agnes tried to convince her to go home, but she insisted on helping with the luncheon.
Agnes opened the stainless steel industrial refrigerator and reached for the glass bowl of mixed greens. Balancing the covered bowl against her chest, she grabbed the stack of salad plates chilling on the top shelf and closed the door with her foot. She set everything on the stainless counter, then washed her hands.
Not even the scent of lemon meringue pie baking in the oven could add sweetness to her sour mood.
The kitchen door swung open, and Hannah, Josie and Nick’s twelve-year-old daughter, bounced into the kitchen, wearing brown leggings, a blue fitted T-shirt that matched the rest of the Cuppa Josie’s staff and a striped Cuppa Josie’s apron.
Although she was too young to work, Hannah liked to volunteer and help when Josie had private parties in the side dining room.
“I’m here to help, Aggie. Tell me what you need.” Hannah rested an elbow on the counter and snatched a tomato out of the salad Agnes pulled from the fridge.
Agnes tapped her on the nose. “Thanks, Sugar Pie.”
Two years ago, Nick had donated his bone marrow to knock the leukemia from her body. Now Hannah thrived with color restored back in her cheeks. A miniature clone of Josie, but with her daddy’s eyes and nose, Hannah had chin-length cocoa-colored hair, held back with a flowered headband. Almost as tall as Josie now, she had a sweet spirit that touched everyone she met.
“Have you seen Mom?”
“Her office light is on. She may be taking a breather for a minute.”
Agnes nodded toward the glass plates she had pulled from the fridge. “Please take those to the side dining room and set them on the buffet table. The coffee and tea are already on the beverage table, but you could put out some lemonade. I’ll be in with the salad as soon as I add the cranberries and almonds.”
Hannah reached for the plates and pushed through the door.
Josie chose that moment to return to the kitchen, refastening her hair into a messy bun. A blue Cuppa Josie’s apron tied at her waist emphasized her expanding belly. “Sorry for ditching you. One of the coffee suppliers called to confirm a new shipment.”
“Everything straightened out?”
“Yes, I will be able to use my superpowers to continue to caffeinate the world.” She stifled a yawn. Dark circles gathered under her brown eyes, highlighting her pale skin.
Agnes opened the bag of dried cranberries and poured them into the salad. “Sugar Pie, why don’t you let me handle this luncheon, and you put your feet up?”
“Agnes, this isn’t 1950. I’ve been pregnant before. I can handle it.” Josie smiled as she reached for pot holders to pull the pie out of the oven.
“You’ve been working since six this morning. Surely you could use a break.”
“I’ll leave as soon as the luncheon is done. I promise. Hannah’s here to help. Nick took Noah to Dad and Gracie’s. So we’re all good.” Josie pulled eggs from the fridge and set them on the counter next to her KitchenAid mixer.
Agnes waved the salad tongs at her. “I’m sticking you to it.”
With one hand bracing the counter and the other folded on her hip, Josie gave Agnes a pointed look. “So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
No use in pretending she didn’t know what Josie was talking about. No matter how wide her smile, Josie could always pinpoint when Agnes had something stuck in her craw. She stared at the salad, trying to figure out what to say. “I’m a fool. And a rotten friend.”
“I doubt that.” Josie pulled over a stool and patted the top. “Have a seat and tell me what happened.”
“Men can be so clueless.”
“Uh, yeah, hello—I married one. Nick’s great, but he has his moments. What’s up?”
Agnes recapped her earlier conversation with Ian, including his breakup with Emily.
“Sweetie, you’re hardly a terrible friend. Does Ian know why the house holds such bad memories for you?”
“He knows about Bobby’s cheating and gambling, and the fall, but the rest is too painful to talk about.”
Her ex-husband’s name sent a shudder through her. Permanent gouges scarred her heart, thanks to her ex’s straying.
The first time it had happened, she’d been hoodwinked by his tearful promises that proved to be as empty as his bank account. The second time she left, he managed to lure her home after a week. Again more empty promises. The third...well, that was for good.
His lies and cheating destroyed more than her credit rating and their marriage that night.
“I didn’t mean to bring up a sensitive subject.”
“No worries. Like Ian said—it’s in the past.” Agnes slid off the stool. “Let’s get the food set out so you can get out of here.”
“Just a second.” Josie opened the carton and reached for an egg but made no move to break it. “Now that Ian and Emily aren’t together, what are you going to do?”
“Do?”
“Now’s your chance, Agnes.”
“Chance for what?”
“To let Ian know how you really feel about him.”
“Ian is my best friend. We need to leave it at that.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because I said so...that’s why.”
“Oh, good answer.” Josie cracked the egg on the edge of her mixer bowl. “Life is passing you by, Agnes. You spend your time serving and caring about others. It’s time to knock down those walls around your heart and go after what you truly want.”
“If only it were that simple. Years ago, I let Ian know how I felt before I went off to college in Texas. Ian said he didn’t want me to feel tied down in a long distance relationship. Then, over Christmas break, he mentioned he had started seeing someone at school. Bobby asked me out, and I guess the rest is history.”
“You quit school after your freshman year to get married, right? That was almost twenty years ago. That boy is a man who drools over you like a morning pastry. Maybe working together on Agape House would be a great way to see if there could be more than friendship between you two.”
“Ian deserves the family I can’t give him. Besides, I can’t risk our friendship. Not again. If something destroyed that, then I’d have nothing. My heart couldn’t bear that.”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Agnes. Maybe it’s time you threw caution to the wind and took a chance before someone else snatches him up.”