Part 21 (1/2)
Celeste nodded to Jeffrey for another drumroll, then said, ”Eternity Springs, I introduce you to Serenity!”
In on the surprise, Ali continued to watch Sarah, who simply stared at Celeste, a quizzical look on her face. Lori, having made a visit home for the weekend, stood next to her mother, her arm linked with her grandmother's. Watching Sarah, Lori gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. Finally it registered. Sarah stiffened. Blinked. Her chin dropped, and she started to stammer. ”I think ... oh, my. It's me. That was mine. Serenity. That was my idea! I think I won the contest.” She reached over and clutched Ali's sleeve. ”Did I win the contest?”
Ali let her smile free as she met Celeste's gaze. From the podium, Celeste announced, ”I want to thank Sarah Reese for suggesting the perfect name! Congratulations, Sarah. You and the person of your choice-in other words, Lori-are going to Australia!”
Sarah let out a high-pitched squeal matched only by her daughter's. She and Lori flew into each other's arms, then jumped up and down, giggling and squealing some more. Nic Callahan approached them, saying, ”Sarah! Australia? That's been your dream trip since we were kids!”
”I know. Can you believe it? I can't believe it. Why, I've never been outside the United States. I'll have to get a pa.s.sport. Oh, wow.” Sarah's big violet eyes s.h.i.+mmered with excitement. ”Australia. Lori, can you believe this?”
”It's awesome. And who knows, Mom? Maybe you'll meet the man of your dreams on the trip of your dreams.”
”Ooh, yeah. A tall, broad, handsome Aussie.” Sage gave an exaggerated s.h.i.+ver. ”One who knows just how to say g'day.”
Nic rolled her tongue around her cheek, then added, ”And goodnight.”
As Mac Timberlake watched his wife cheer and hug his son's sometime girlfriend, he decided to rea.s.sess his plans. He'd come here today intending to tell Ali about the leave of absence, but seeing her with her friends, observing what she'd accomplished with that cafe, and listening to the accolades from the townspeople gave him pause. This was an Ali Timberlake he'd never seen before. He wanted-he needed-to think about it.
So while Eternity Springs continued the anniversary celebration for Angel's Rest, he slipped away to reevaluate his plans. Twenty minutes later he arrived back at Bear's yurt. Gus, who had taken to mountain life with alacrity, met him with barks of joy.
After the walk he'd taken with Celeste on the day of Sage Rafferty's museum lecture, Mac had reflected on their conversation at length. As the Sandberg trial drew to a close, he'd taken the first step toward reexamining his dreams, wishes, and desires by requesting a formal leave of absence. Then he'd contacted Celeste and made a confidential agreement to lease Bear's mountain property for a month, paying a premium for the opportunity to buy the Heartache Falls acres at the end of the lease period if he so chose. Each time he'd talked to Ali, he'd tried to tell her about his big decisions, but he'd never managed to force the words past his lips. He finally realized that he didn't want to tell her about it until he actually went through with it.
Now, when the time had arrived to come clean with his wife, he still had second thoughts. Why? Glancing down at Gus, he asked, ”Am I worried she will read something into it that I'm not ready to commit to?”
Maybe.
”Am I worried she'll influence me? That I'll make decisions based on what she wants instead of what I want?”
Gus yipped. Mac shrugged. Perhaps.
He hadn't figured out just what he wanted yet, had he? Not for this-how had Celeste put it?-this second half of life.
He reached down and scratched the dog behind his ears. ”Based on her latest cell phone message, she's already torqued at me. What would it hurt to take a few more days, try to get beyond that caterpillar stage Celeste talked about?”
Mac decided to go for it. That evening he composed an email to his wife and children. After hitting the send b.u.t.ton, he stepped outside and listened, half expecting to hear Ali's shriek of fury all the way from town. When all he heard was the whisper of the wind through the evergreens, he grinned at his foolishness, went back inside, and turned off all his electronics. Celeste knew where he was. If anyone in his family had an emergency, she'd know how to contact him.
For the next little while, Mac intended to see about shedding his caterpillar skin.
Days pa.s.sed in a solitude that he found he particularly enjoyed in the wake of the circus of the Sandberg trial. The crisp mountain air cleared his mind, and the beauty of the mountains in autumn soothed his soul. He hiked, he fished, he photographed. Most important of all, he thought. He invested a significant amount of time engaged in self-a.n.a.lysis as he took Celeste Blessing's advice to heart. It was his time of metamorphosis, of transformation.
He tried to figure out what he wanted to be when he grew up.
After two weeks of self-imposed isolation, disguised beneath a ball cap, sungla.s.ses, and a beard, he ventured into town, introducing himself as Steve while volunteering no surname, he made the round of businesses in town and slowly got to know the citizens. He quickly discovered that his wife was accepted, admired, and respected by the people of Eternity Springs.
He also learned that the people of Eternity Springs liked to gossip. In Ali's case, much speculation centered upon why she hadn't returned to Denver now that her work at the Bristlecone was done. Comments she'd made since the Angel's Rest anniversary party had left some wondering. A conversation he'd overheard between two women in the paper goods aisle at the Trading Post had given him warning.
”That was some hissy fit Ali Timberlake pitched last night at quilt group.”
”Don't you know it! She has a mad on at that man of hers like n.o.body's business. I wouldn't want to be Mac Timberlake the next time she sets eyes on him.”
The words rang in Mac's thoughts the rest of the evening and haunted him while he slept. He awoke the next morning to a dusting of snow on the ground and a sense of certainty settling into his bones. Glancing down at his canine companion, he said, ”Gus, how about we go for a walk?”
He hiked the boundary of Bear's property and ended up at Heartache Falls. By now, suns.h.i.+ne had melted most of the snow. A crisp but gentle breeze swept down from the mountain and whooshed through a stand of aspen, causing brittle autumn leaves clinging to branches to quake. Mac smelled pine on the air, and he lifted his gaze toward the tallest peak in sight and focused on the clouds gathering there. He couldn't deny that winter was bearing down upon them. Nevertheless, here in this high mountain valley where sunlight sparkled off the clear water pooled behind beaver dams and his dog's happy barks rose like music in the air, Mac felt as though springtime had arrived.
Celeste Blessing was one intelligent woman.
At her suggestion during this time of self-exile, he had redefined his dreams, his wishes, his desires. Mac Timberlake, husband, father, and forty-four-year-old federal judge, knew what he wanted from the second half of his life.
How in the world would he break the news to Ali?
FIFTEEN.
With a satisfied sigh, Ali closed the novel she'd just finished. She was a sucker for happy endings. She normally s.h.i.+ed away from thrillers for that exact reason. She liked going into a book knowing that favored characters would not die in the end. But this time, with her husband off who knew where, she'd been in the mood for murder.
Go figure.
She glanced at the clock and winced. Shoot, she'd dawdled too long over the book. She was meeting her friends at Sarah's tonight for a girls' night out and she was already five minutes late. She'd better get a move on.
Ali changed clothes, dragged a brush through her hair, then took a minute to check her email. Nothing from Mac, again. She hadn't heard word one from him since that short, exceedingly frustrating email he'd sent a little over two weeks ago where he'd stated he was sorry to have missed her earlier, that he had some decisions to make, and he needed some time to himself to make them. He'd a.s.sured her that he loved her, told her not to worry, and asked for her patience.
She'd made a valiant effort, but her patience had worn as thin as the ice this morning on Angel Creek. If he didn't contact her soon, she swore, she'd hire a private detective to track him down.
Ten minutes later she knocked on the door at the Reese house. Inside, she found Celeste, Sage, and Nic seated around the kitchen table. ”Sorry I'm late, everyone. I was reading and lost track of the time. I've learned that I don't read as fast when I mentally rename every murder victim in the book Mac.”
”Yeowz,” Sarah said, wincing. She shared a look with the other women that struck Ali as curious, but before she could comment on it, LaNelle Harrison entered the kitchen with Sarah's mother, Ellen. While Sarah set the table with the chef salad she'd prepared for the pair earlier, Ellen entertained them all with a silly story about Nic and Sarah as children.
Ellen Reese was as sweet as could be, and Ali knew from how townspeople spoke of her that she'd always been that way. Scuttleb.u.t.t said that before her illness, Ellen had been Eternity Springs's go-to person whenever a good deed needed doing. People spoke of her kindness, her devotion to her family, and her faith, which she still exhibited despite middle-stage Alzheimer disease. The entire town doted on Ellen, which made caring for her easier for Sarah with Lori away at college. Faced with placing her mother in a facility two hours away or accepting offers of help, Sarah had chosen to bend her pride. Everyone benefitted from the arrangement, because in Eternity Springs, the citizens appreciated the opportunity to be good friends and neighbors.
”You girls enjoy yourselves and don't fret about us,” LaNelle said, shooing them out the door. ”Don't hurry back, either. Ellen and I are going to watch a movie after dinner, and I don't want you interrupting the ending.”
”Yes, ma'am,” Sarah said, and shut the door behind her.
”What are we doing for our girls' night out?” Ali asked as Nic led them north on Aspen.
”We thought we'd start by going out to dinner,” Sage told her. ”After that, we'll play it by ear.”
”Out to dinner?” Ali asked. ”Tell me we're not going to the Bristlecone.”
”No,” Sage said. ”We're smarter than that.” After a moment's pause, she added, ”I think.”
Since neither the Mocha Moose nor the Blue Spruce opened for supper this time of year, Ali figured that meant they'd be eating in the Angel's Rest restaurant. The only food the other choice, the Red Fox Pub, served was peanuts and pretzels. ”Are you thinking Mexican food in Gunnison, maybe?”
”No, dear,” Celeste said. ”You've been so consumed with your pique with your husband that you've missed the big news. A new restaurant has opened in Eternity Springs-the New Place.”
”Oh? You're kidding. That is big news. Where is it? Who's the owner? What type of cuisine do they serve?” After a moment's pause, she added, ”That's a weird name for a restaurant.”
Sarah's smile was bright. ”It's in that building that's been between the fire station and the auto center on First Street, the one that's been empty forever. Someone from out of town owns it, and I think the menu is considered eclectic.”