Ex’s and Oh’s (6 page)

The significance of that beard registered at the same instant
he went airborne. And it was as if she was in the air with him. A moment later he sliced into the water. She held her breath, waiting for him to surface.

He came up for air, then splashed around for a few minutes, playing. She thought he might climb up for a second dive. Instead, he swam for shore.

Intrigued, Caroline retraced her footsteps down the spiral stairs. From the cottage doorway, she watched Shane Grady trudge through ankle-deep water, eventually reaching for the towel he’d left in the sand.

She barely knew him, yet after watching him dive, she felt a surprising kinship with him. She wanted to tell him that she understood, not everything certainly, but something. She’d felt as if she’d been on top of that rock with him. And she’d never experienced that before. She was experiencing a lot of things she’d never felt before, and spontaneity was one of them. It felt bold. It felt exciting. And it felt good.

She was about to call out to him, but he reached for the waistband of his swim trunks. Realizing he planned to change into dry clothes before her very eyes, she backed inside, giving him his privacy. With a shake of her head, she told herself excitement was fine, and so was boldness, but spontaneity might not be such a good idea after all.

Shane
was towel-drying his hair when he noticed Caroline’s Mercedes parked outside the lighthouse cottage. He hadn’t planned to stick around, but changing course, he went to look for her. He found her in the lighthouse reading graffiti on the walls.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw her. She could have been a walking advertisement for a high-end boutique in her white shirt and long flowered skirt. She didn’t look startled by his presence.

“For the record, you’re trespassing.”

She made a point of looking at the names etched into the wall, saying, “It appears I’m not the only person who’s ever ignored that No Trespassing sign.”

Giving her a wide berth, he went to the window and threw it open. “You’re probably not the only person to ignore it this week. What are you doing here?”

She looked at him as if wondering how fortuitous it
would be to reply. “That’s a good question. Did Karl ever marry?”

He’d bet his next paycheck that wasn’t what she’d wanted to say. But he answered, “No, he didn’t.”

“Pity.”

“Is it?” he quipped before he could stop himself.

“How long have you been divorced?”

“Four years. What about you?”

“I never tied the knot, therefore I’ve never had to untie it.” She looked at him. “This is your opportunity to share the wisdom of your experience. Aren’t you going to tell me how much trouble and grief I saved myself?”

“No.”

“You loved her.”

He shrugged. “After we found out she was pregnant, I did the right thing and married her.”

“It’s hard to believe something built on such a solid foundation didn’t last.”

Shane almost laughed, and it surprised him. Caroline was looking at him with blue eyes that saw God only knows what. More than he wanted her to see, that was a given.

“You must have been young,” she said. “Are you sorry?”

“That I married Vickie and had a child with her? My son is the most important thing in my life. I’d do anything
for him. Vickie and I had another argument about him a little while ago.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have any advice to offer there. I couldn’t even take proper care of a doll last night.”

“Did you say doll?”

“It was one of those computerized dolls they use in high school Life Skills class.”

She acted as if she thought the explanation made sense, so he let the subject drop. Watching her walk in the opposite direction, he wished…

What, that she’d turn around and walk toward him, that if he opened his arms she would walk right into them? What then? Forget it. Wishing was futile anyway. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. Okay, he knew. He liked the way she looked and he liked the way she held her ground and the way she made him feel. And that was as far as this train of thought was going to go. He had an emotionally wounded son to worry about, a difficult ex-wife, and help that didn’t show up for work half the time. His mother had left a message. Heaven only knows what she wanted now, and somewhere in the middle of everything else, he had to make an appointment to meet with Karl’s caregivers. Caroline Moore was a complication, plain and simple, and he didn’t need any more of those.

“Anna and Karl’s names are here,” she said. “Anna plus Karl. July the eighth, nineteen forty-two.”

So it was true. Karl Peterson had always seemed old to Shane. But he’d been young once, and in love once. It shed a different light on the man. Obviously, it hadn’t turned out well for him. When did love ever turn out well for anyone?

“You’re not the only one with problems, Shane.”

He wondered when his thoughts had become transparent. “I never said I was. What kind of problems do you have?”

She pushed her hair behind her ears then folded her arms as if trying to decide how much to tell him. “For starters, I’m this close to making partner and I’m pretty sure I’m going to throw the opportunity away.”

“You call that a problem?”

“And I’m pregnant.”

Okay. She had his attention. “You’re with someone then?”

“No.”

He happened to glance up at the wall, and couldn’t look away. A memory washed over him. For a moment, he was young again and everything he wanted was attainable. Landing hard back in reality, he said, “My son’s staying with me this weekend. I’d better get back to the marina.”

“Shane?”

He looked over his shoulder after reaching the door.

“I saw you from the lighthouse tower. I didn’t mean to intrude, but I think I understand why you do it. Why you dive.”

“Why do I?”

“In one instant you went from air to water. One split second can change everything.”

Caroline could practically feel the battle taking place inside Shane. He planted his feet, as if he didn’t trust them to stay put otherwise. Although he didn’t say it, she knew she was right about him. It really was as if she’d been with him on the top of that cliff. She didn’t understand their connection, and from the look on his face, neither did he.

He finally managed to break eye contact, and glanced at something over on the wall. He’d been looking in the same place before. Without another word, he left.

Caroline remained where she was until she heard his boat engine start. With the sound growing fainter, she walked to the exact spot Shane had been standing. Wondering what he’d seen, she skimmed the graffiti.

Perry loves Amy.

John digs Heather. Peace.

Shane + Vickie 4ever.

Fleetingly, she thought of Phillip, and wondered how the reconciliation was going. She hadn’t told him about the baby. Did she owe him the truth? She could well imagine how Brenda would feel about that little bombshell.

Her attention returned to the heart with all the curlicues. Shane + Vickie 4ever. It seemed she’d met another man who still had feelings for his ex-wife. If Caroline was wise, she wouldn’t ignore the writing on the wall.

Karl was snoozing in his special easy chair when Caroline arrived at Woodland Country Manor on Monday.

“I always tell visitors to wake them,” a nurse said from the doorway. “They can nap anytime, but visitors are gifts.”

The nurse shouldered around her and jostled Karl’s shoulder. “You’ve got company, Karl.”

He came awake with a start. Blinking a few times, he smiled at Caroline. Her heart practically turned over.

“Name’s Karl Peterson,” he said.

Back to reality, she accepted his handshake. “Caroline Moore.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Do you work here?” he asked.

“No.” She spoke gently. “I’m visiting Harbor Woods for the summer.”

“Where’re you from?”

“I was born in Boston, but I’ve spent most of my life in Chicago.” Watching him closely, she said, “Have you ever been to Chicago?”

“Le’me see. Chicago. Seems to me I’ve been there.” He squeezed his eyes into slits trying to remember. “Went with my father in thirty-four. No, it was thirty-five. It was during the Depression, and provisions were in short supply. We needed wicks and oil and such to keep the light going. We took the train down. Got back in the nick of time, too.” He seemed to come alive as he spoke, as if he were experiencing it again. “Had a miserable November that year. Sometimes the fog rolled in so thick you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Once my sister and I woke up in the dead of night to the cries of mariners in trouble. Their ship must have hit the rocks. There was an explosion, and then screaming and more cries. Chilling, mournful sounds. A few minutes later everything got real still. That was worse.” Karl was quiet for a moment, remembering. “The inland seas are treacherous places in storms.”

Trying to imagine his life, Caroline lowered to the edge of his bed. “You have a sister?”

“A carrottop like me.”

“What’s her name?”

“Dolores, but we called her Dee Dee. Three years younger than me, she was. Died of whooping cough when she was eleven. My mother blamed it on the lake and the fog and the long, cold winters. It changed her. I guess
something like that changes everybody. She wouldn’t have anything to do with the lighthouse after that. My father finally took a job in southern Indiana.”

“You left the great lake?”

“Soon as I was old enough, I came back.” He stopped talking, his mind, it seemed, far away.

“When did you return?”

He started. “What?”

“When did you return to Harbor Woods?”

“When?” he asked. Trying to remember seemed to frustrate him. “I don’t know. A long time ago, that’s for sure.” His blue eyes were faded and watery, and so it seemed were his memories.

He grew quiet after that. The next fifteen minutes passed slowly. Caroline sat with him. Together they watched the birds on the feeders outside his window, and listened to the people walking past his doorway. They both looked up as the nurse entered with a small tray. Since Karl was tiring, Caroline stood. Laying a hand on the old gentleman’s arm, she said, “It was nice seeing you again. I’ll come back to visit soon.”

As she entered the hallway, she heard Nurse Miller say, “Here you go, Karl. Your liquid potassium and juice chaser. Bottoms up.”

Back in his room, Karl drank the concoction obediently.
“Who was that woman?” he asked when his grape juice was gone.

“You tell me,” Abigail Miller said.

She could see that he was tiring. Sometimes trying to think was an exhausting endeavor. Just before he nodded off, he whispered a name. He’d already closed his eyes, but she was pretty sure he’d said, “Anna.”

Caroline was late for girls’ night. She’d told Tori to start without her, and from the sound of things, she had.

She’d visited Karl again this morning. Again, he hadn’t remembered her from her last visit. Afterward, she’d called Maria. Caroline was fairly certain she was going to sell the house in Lake Forest. This afternoon, she’d spent two hours on the phone with appraisers, antique dealers, and a representative from an auction house in Chicago.

“Men!” Tori’s voice carried through the screen.

“You’ve got that right!”

Caroline followed the voices to Tori’s kitchen, where she acknowledged one wink and another nod before taking a seat at the table next to Nell.

“We came back here for a cup of coffee,” Tori said, swirling her wine. “I excused myself to the restroom. I swear I wasn’t gone more than two minutes, and when I
returned, he was already stripped down to satin boxers with red lips all over them.”

“Ugh!” Elaine complained.

“Exactly.” Tori was wearing a flirty skirt with a pink top that didn’t leave a lot to the imagination. She could have passed for twenty-six.

“What did you do?” Elaine asked.

“I told him dinner wasn’t that good and that when I invited him in for coffee, I meant coffee.”

“You actually said that?” Nell gasped, smoothing a wrinkle from her loose-fitting summer dress.

“I speak the truth. And do you know what he said?”

“What?”

“He apologized for the meal and said he wanted to make it up to me.”

“How original.” Elaine rolled her eyes behind her too-long bangs.

“As if his—” Tori cleared her throat “—could make up for poor service, mediocre food and a really annoying laugh.”

Nell popped a bite of cookie into her mouth and said, “Nobody has more dating stories than you, Tori.”

Tori eyed Caroline. “I’ll bet you have a few.”

“Very few.”

“What happened with your baby’s father?” Elaine asked.

This was a sensitive subject, and Caroline wasn’t sure how much to tell them. Opting for the basics for now, she said, “He went back to his ex-wife.”

“Ouch,” Nell said.

“Are you okay?” Tori asked.

Caroline looked at each of her new friends. She’d known them for two weeks, and already she felt a tenderness for them that surprised her.

“Until I came to Harbor Woods and met the four you, I thought it was normal to have compartmentalized relationships. Everyone loses touch with college friends, right? I’m an only child. My parents have been gone for a long time, but I had my grandfather and my career. I talked to clients and colleagues at the firm every day. We shared business lunches and conference calls, but the only person who knew me well enough to suspect I was pregnant was my grandfather’s housekeeper, Maria.”

“You weren’t close to your neighbors?” Elaine asked.

Caroline shrugged. “I divided my time between my grandfather’s house in Lake Forest and my apartment in downtown Chicago. Other than an occasional ride in the elevator, I never saw my city neighbors. When I think about how fast these past ten years have gone, it scares me. I don’t want to wake up old one day and realize I haven’t laughed, loved or lived.”

“I can’t guarantee we can help you with your love life,” Nell proclaimed, “but if it’s laughter and life you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place. Isn’t that right, girls?”

Tori’s and Elaine’s replies were less enthusiastic, which made Caroline smile. As the others returned to their earlier conversation, Caroline turned to Nell. “Is Pattie coming?”

“Dave had to work late, but she’ll be here. She always is. The rest of us couldn’t understand why Tori invited Pattie into the group. She’s happily married. She likes her job. She has a good relationship with her mother
and
her mother-in-law. At first glance, she doesn’t seem like a misfit at all.”

Suddenly Nell seemed to be having trouble eating her cookie. Evidently it wasn’t easy to chew around the foot she’d stuck in her mouth.

“It’s all right,” Caroline said. “I think I understand. You’re saying Tori collects misfits.”

Nell made a face. “I overeat. Elaine acts tough, but Justin’s infidelity is killing her. The fact that Pattie is happily married makes her a rarity in this day and age. She’s a misfit among the rest of us misfits.”

Caroline thought about that. “And what about Tori?”

Nell said, “I’ve known her all my life. Even when we were in grade school, she always invited every girl in the
class to her birthday parties. Some kids thought she wanted presents. But really, she never wanted anybody to feel left out. She wears her heart on her sleeve. Sometimes it causes problems for her.”

Just then, Pattie entered the kitchen. Handing her a glass of wine, Tori continued speaking to Elaine. “I’m not saying they don’t have their uses. I’m just saying most men place a lot more value on them than they should.”