Love Letters: A Rose Harbor Novel (5 page)

I raised both hands. “Maybe I am going a bit overboard with this thing with Mark. The only reason I asked is because I’ve seen him so regularly the past year and yet I know practically nothing about him. I can’t help feeling that Mark has an interesting story. But whatever his story, it’s clear he doesn’t want others to know.” In retrospect, it was probably best, as the proverb went, to let sleeping dogs lie. If Mark had a secret past he wanted to hide, then far be it from me to dig it up.

We changed the subject, talked business for a few minutes, and then it was time for both of us to get back to our day. For my part, I had a set of guests who were due to arrive sometime this afternoon.

The Porters: Roy and Maggie.

After thanking Peggy for the coffee, Rover and I walked back up the steep hill that led from the waterfront area to Rose Harbor Inn. As we rounded the corner and walked down the lengthy driveway leading to the inn, I paused and took in the three-story structure that was now my home. Seeing it never failed to stir me. The house had been built in the late 1800s and was one of the most prominent structures in Cedar Cove. It sat on a hillside overlooking the cove, with views of the Olympic Mountain Range and the lighthouse in the background. I remembered the first time I saw the inn. In that instant I knew this was home, the sense of welcome overwhelming me.

The first night there, after taking ownership, I’d keenly felt Paul’s presence as if he’d stepped briefly back into life to offer his love and reassurance. It had been his way of letting me know that I’d made the right decision purchasing the inn.

As I stood admiring the inn, with Rover straining against the leash, a white SUV drove past me, toward the inn, pulling into the small parking area reserved for guests.

Simultaneously both the passenger and the driver’s door opened and out stepped an attractive young couple.

Roy and Maggie Porter had arrived.

I started to call out a greeting but paused when Roy slammed the car door. Without a word, he went to the back of his vehicle and got out two suitcases and headed toward the inn without looking back.

When Maggie saw me, she paused and then offered an apologetic smile as though embarrassed by her husband’s abrupt behavior.

I raised my hand. “Maggie?”

She nodded. “You must be Jo Marie.”

“I am. Welcome to Rose Harbor Inn.”

“Thanks.” She glanced toward the inn. Roy was on the top of the porch and seemed to be waiting for her, although he stood with his back to us both.

“You’ll have to forgive Roy’s bad mood. He wasn’t keen about taking this weekend off from work. But we’ve been planning it for such a long while and …” Her voice faded away. “We need time together.”

“All couples do,” I said, agreeing with her.

Maggie started toward the inn and I walked with her. Despite her reassurances, I had the strongest feeling something was very wrong between Maggie and Roy Porter.

Maggie drew in a deep breath and followed Roy up the stairs to the room Jo Marie had assigned them. Roy had barely said a word the entire time they’d registered. Twice she’d been forced to bite her tongue and swallow her pride. Her husband couldn’t make it any more obvious that he didn’t want to be at the inn—or, for that matter, with her.

Roy used the key to unlock the door to their room and then swung it open, letting her go inside before him. It was a lovely room with a four-poster bed and dresser. A bouquet of roses rested on top of the dresser. Large windows overlooked the cove’s blue-green waters. At the marina the boats gently bobbed up and down, the sailboats’ masts tilting slightly. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

Roy didn’t appear to agree or appreciate the beauty she saw. He remained stiff and silent. His resentment seemed to radiate off him
in waves. On the entire three-and-a-half-hour drive over from Yakima, Roy hadn’t uttered more than a few words.

Several times Maggie had made a futile effort to break the silence, but it hadn’t done much good. Roy responded with one-word, clipped replies, if he answered at all. She tried not to think about her husband’s bad mood and forced herself instead to focus on the scene outside the window. The beauty of it inspired and encouraged her. Willing to try yet again, she turned back around to face Roy.

“Don’t you think so?” she asked, doing her best to sound upbeat and cheerful.

“Think what?”

“That the view is lovely.”

Roy shrugged as if he hadn’t noticed and furthermore couldn’t have cared less. He stood next to his suitcase with his hands buried deep inside his pockets. The anger had gone out of his eyes, replaced with hopelessness. His look nearly broke her.

“I know you don’t want to be here,” she whispered.

“You can say that again,” he bit off.

Maggie had been looking forward to this weekend for months. It was exactly the break they needed. Roy worked too hard. He left the house before either of the boys was awake and often wasn’t home until their sons were ready for bed. One thing she would say about her husband. He loved his children and was a good father. No matter how tired he was, Roy took time to play with his sons, to read to them or share in bath time. But right after they were down he crashed, exhausted, from a long day of running the family’s construction company. His father had recently retired, and since then much of the responsibility for the business had fallen on Roy’s shoulders.

Fearing they were growing further and further apart, Maggie had convinced Roy to take this time off, setting the date far enough in advance that he’d be able to work it into his schedule. When her in-laws had heard about this mini-vacation, they had offered to stay with the boys and as a bonus had paid for the weekend. It couldn’t
have worked out better … until … well, that was certainly a topic she didn’t want to dwell on.

“I wouldn’t be here at all if it wasn’t for my parents,” Roy reminded her. He walked over to the window and looked out.

Maggie had the strong impression he wasn’t enjoying the view; probably he hadn’t even noticed the beauty spread out before him like a masterfully designed patchwork quilt. The green and blue colors blended together, creating a radiant picture of the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

“I know you’d rather be anyplace but here with me.” He couldn’t have made it any more clear.

He frowned and looked away.

Suddenly it felt as if this attempt to save their marriage was utterly useless. Tears sprang to her eyes. She’d managed to keep them at bay on the endless drive over Snoqualmie Pass and through the heavy traffic by Tacoma before they reached Cedar Cove, but no longer. Silently, wet tendrils rolled down her cheeks and she slumped onto the side of the bed and hung her head. It all seemed so pointless.

Although she didn’t make a sound, Roy must have sensed her distress because he turned around and exhaled. After a moment he sat down next to her on the bed, the mattress dipping with his weight. He placed his arm around her shoulders and leaned his head against hers.

Desperate for his warmth and love, Maggie turned toward her husband and wrapped her arms around his middle, clinging to him. She buried her face in his shoulder and softly sobbed. Roy comforted her and stroked the back of her head.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Unable to speak for the emotion that clogged her throat, she nodded.

“I’m trying, Maggs.”

“I know.” Her words were little more than a whisper.

“Give me time, okay?”

Again she nodded. Lifting her head, she wiped the moisture from her face. She wrapped a strand of long dark hair around her ear and sniffled once.

Roy offered her a tentative smile and she responded with one of her own. “I’ll unpack our suitcases,” she whispered, thinking if she did something physical it would help ease the emotion that threatened to break down into sobs.

“Okay.” He lifted both pieces of luggage onto the bed for her.

It took only a few minutes to hang up their clothes and set out what else they needed. She noticed that Roy had brought along a paperback novel. Maggie couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen her husband reading for pleasure. For herself, Maggie read voraciously. It used to be they would talk about the books they’d read and would often read one at the same time, but that had been years ago, before Roy became so heavily involved in the construction company … before the boys were born.

“Are you ready for lunch?” Roy asked, as if he felt the need to lighten the mood.

“Sure.” Actually, she wasn’t the least bit hungry, and she doubted that Roy was, either. This was his way of letting her know he was making an effort. Maggie deeply appreciated the fact that he was willing to try.

“I’ll ask Jo Marie for a suggestion. What are you in the mood for?” her husband asked.

Maggie had to think about it. “Seeing that we’re close to salt water, how about fish and chips?”

He nodded eagerly. “Good idea.”

Roy led the way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where they found Jo Marie. She was on the phone but smiled when she saw them and raised her index finger, indicating that she would be only a moment. Sure enough, she was off the phone a short while later.

“We’re looking for a recommendation for lunch.”

“Some place that serves fish and chips,” Maggie added.

“Oh, there’s a great place not far from the Pancake Palace—in fact, the two restaurants share the same parking lot. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted better fish than Queen’s.” She handed them a brochure she’d had printed up with a list of local restaurants and circled Queen’s.

“Thanks,” Maggie said, as they headed toward the front door.

“My pleasure.” The innkeeper offered Maggie a thumbs-up as if to say she was pleased that whatever was wrong between the two had been resolved. Oh, how Maggie wished that were the case.

Roy held open the car door for her, which was a surprise. Maggie forgot the last time he’d done that. Generally, they were both too busy ushering the boys to the car to see to those kinds of niceties.

“Thank you.”

Roy then surprised her again by leaning down and kissing her. Once more, Maggie felt tears gather in her eyes but quickly blinked them away while her husband walked around to the other side of the vehicle. He started the engine and glanced down at the brochure Jo Marie had drawn. “It doesn’t seem that far away.”

“Fish and chips does sound good.”

Roy reached over and gently squeezed her hand, and for just a moment, a very brief moment, Maggie could almost pretend that everything would work out between them. Even in the worst of it she had to believe Roy wanted their marriage to survive …

They found Queen’s without a problem. It was a hole-in-the-wall sort of place without fancy furnishings or an extensive menu. The special for the day, fresh salmon, was listed on an erasable whiteboard close to the cash register. Once inside, a waitress with a name tag that said Nikki handed them plastic-coated menus. They were instructed to seat themselves. Seeing that it was a bit beyond the lunch hour, there were plenty of booths to choose from.

Maggie read over the menu and chose the two-piece fish and chips option. One piece would probably be enough—she hadn’t enjoyed much of an appetite lately—but she wasn’t sure of the size of
the fish. When Nikki came for their order, Maggie asked for a two-piece combo and Roy ordered the three-piece plate, which offered coleslaw along with the chips.

It didn’t take long for their order to come up. Right away, Roy dug into his meal. Maggie, too, but with less gusto. After her first bite, she had to admit Jo Marie was right. These were some of the best fish and chips she’d ever tasted.

“I was surprised at Collin,” Roy commented, after he’d licked some ketchup off his fingertips. “He didn’t cry when he saw that we were both leaving.”

“I was surprised, too,” Maggie admitted. Their three-year-old didn’t like being left behind. To hear him sob, one would think he was being abandoned for life.

“My mother probably had something to do with that,” Roy said, and reached for another french fry. “Knowing her, she might have told him he could have ice cream for dinner.”

“She does love spoiling the boys.”

“It’s a grandmother’s job, and my mother takes it seriously.”

Maggie wished they had family closer. Roy’s parents had retired and spent the winters in Arizona and the summer months traveling in their motor home. It was their goal to visit every national park in the country. They were well on their way to achieving their dream. Maggie’s parents lived in California.

“How is Collin doing in his soccer?” Roy asked.

“Great. Just the other day, he asked me if his daddy was going to coach him the way you do Jaxon.”

Roy smiled, and for the first time that day his smile reached his eyes. Her husband had coached Collin’s older brother’s team for the last two years. It was hard for Collin to stand on the sidelines when he was just as eager to play soccer as his big brother. During one game, Collin couldn’t hold back any longer. Right in the middle of the game, he dashed from the sidelines and ran onto the field. It’d taken Roy and the referee to catch him.