Nightingale Way: An Eternity Springs Novel (35 page)

He gave Ali the same excuse, then acted as if he didn’t see the doubt in her eyes. Throughout the reception, as he did his best-man duties—dancing with the bride, toasting the newlyweds, making sure that whatever the bride or groom needed or wanted happened—he searched the crowd for Cat. By the time the limo arrived to transport Cam and Sarah to Gunnison airport to catch their flight to Denver where they’d spend their
wedding night, it was clear that she had no intention of attending the party. Jack was torn between anger and concern. If she’d skipped the reception in a snit because of him, then she’d been a poor friend to Sarah, and shame on her. If she missed because she was ill or something … well, that worried him. It wasn’t like Cat to ditch a friend. Jack gritted his teeth and silently wished the Murphys would speed up the good-byes.

Finally, the pair came out onto the front porch at Cavanaugh House. Well-wishers lined either side of the path, throwing not rice or birdseed but white Angel’s Rest feathers toward the departing couple. Standing beside the limo, Jack assisted Sarah into the backseat. “Welcome back to the family, cuz,” he told her. “Have a wonderful honeymoon.”

Sarah’s eyes pooled with tears. “Thank you, Jack. Thank you for being my friend and Cam’s friend and for trying so hard to get back here on time.”

“Sorry about messing up your pictures.”

She laughed. “You made them perfect. They’ll have character. Who wants boring old wedding photos anyway.”

She leaned up and kissed him. “I’m going to give you once piece of advice. I have some experience with second chances. Sometimes that second chance is hello again, but sometimes it’s good-bye. Sometimes it takes a second chance at good-bye to open the door for a new hello.”

Jack drew back. “I think you’ve been hanging around Celeste too long.”

Cam looked on, wearing a put-upon expression. “Are you ever going to stop kissing my woman, Davenport?”

“Probably not. She’s the first kissing cousin I’ve ever had.” He grasped Cam’s hand for a handshake, then the two men clapped each other on the shoulder in their version of a man-hug.

“Thanks, man,” Cam said. “Good luck with Cat.”

Jack shot his cousin a hard look, but before he could demand further explanation, Devin and Lori arrived with a picnic basket from Celeste and hugs and kisses and good-byes to deliver.

Jack thought about good-byes as he watched the limo pull out of the drive. What did Sarah know, and what had she been trying to tell him?

The time had come to find out. He’d check Nightingale Cottage first, and if she wasn’t there, he’d head to Eagle’s Way. The four-minute walk from Cavanaugh House down to the cottages took him a frustrating five because people kept stopping him to ask him how he’d gotten hurt. He made a point to always move forward even as he replied with his canned—and truthful—response, “Lost my footing and took a tumble off a hill.”

Finally, he exited the rose garden and the cottages came into view. The sight that met his eyes brought him up short. A small SUV he didn’t recognize sat parked in the gravel-lined parking spot beside Nightingale Cottage. Its rear door stood open, revealing a suitcase and familiar laptop case in the cargo area.

Cat sat in the Adirondack chair facing Angel Creek. She wore jeans, sneakers, and a sweater. Fred lay with his head in her lap. He heard Sarah’s voice echo in his mind.
Sometimes that second chance is hello again, but sometimes, it’s good-bye. Sometimes it takes a second chance at good-bye to open the door for a new hello
.

Well, the hell with that. Anger flared and built with every step he took. Once he was close enough to speak without shouting, he said, “Did you have to do this today? You couldn’t have waited for me to get some sleep first?”

Her chest rose as she took a deep breath, then she rose from her chair and faced him. “I’m leaving, Jack.”

“Yeah, well, that one’s not too hard to figure. You have your suitcase and laptop packed up and ready to go. That’s a good clue.”

“Shall we go inside where we have some privacy for this conversation?”

“Sure, why not.” Fred trotted over to greet Jack, and he spent a moment scratching the dog’s ears and rubbing his tummy before following her inside.

“Something to drink?”

“Scotch.”

“Actually, all I have to offer is water.”

“Water is fine.”

She walked straight to the refrigerator and pulled out two bottles. Glancing at his arm in the sling, she twisted off the cap and handed it to him, saying, “Is this okay? I’ve already washed the dishes.”

He wanted to throw the bottle against the wall. Instead, he said, “I hear your mother told you she offered me her job.”

“Yes.”

“So your reaction is to pack up your bags and run away?”

“I didn’t run away. I stayed to have this conversation.”

He paused with the bottle halfway to his mouth and, spoiling for a fight, spoke with a hint of a sneer. “Or did you just want to pout through your friends’ wedding until I showed up and begged you to stay? It’s a damn shame you took out your feelings toward me on Sarah and Cam. I’m surprised at you, Cat. You’re usually not this petty.”

“Actually, no.” She told him about Mortimer and the ruined dress, then added, “Everything appropriate I had to wear is packed, and by the time I showered, well, frankly, I didn’t have the heart to attend the reception.”

“You didn’t have the heart?” He folded his arms. This
was a petty grudge, that’s what this was. “It wasn’t about your clothes. It wasn’t about you or me or us. It was their wedding. My cousin’s wedding. The only family I have, remember? You threw that in my face before I left, and I moved heaven and earth to get back here. For them. For you. And you couldn’t even go? What the hell, Cat?”

She didn’t respond to that, but instead said, “If you hadn’t stopped by here, then I’d have gone up to Eagle’s Way to find you. I want to tell you good-bye this time. We didn’t do that last time. I think that’s why, as my mother put it, you and I were unfinished business.”

“Your mother? Since when did you ever care about her opinion? You’re right. We weren’t finished. We may have divorced, but we never were finished.”

“Well, I believe we are now.”

Shocked, he allowed his arms to fall to his side. Seriously, he wanted to shake her and tell her to pull the stick from her butt and drop the drama. “Why are you saying this? Because I left? Because I didn’t tell your mother no? Damn it, I told you I couldn’t. It was a matter of life and death.”

Abruptly, exhaustion took hold of him. He sighed heavily and raked his fingers through his hair. “You know what? I can’t do this now. I’m tired and my arm hurts like a son of a bitch.”

He pulled the flat pack of ibuprofen from his jacket pocket, ripped it open with his teeth, and tossed the two pills back. He finished with a long sip of water. “And besides all that, you can relax. There’s no need for this. I’ve already decided that I’m not going to take the job.”

Jack didn’t expect her to jump for joy, but he did anticipate some reaction, a sign of relief or pleasure, something that indicated that she was happy about his choice. Instead, she looked stricken, and the tears that pooled in her eyes weren’t tears of happiness.

“You have to take the job, Jack. You were born for it.”

“Stop it.” He made a chopping gesture with his hand. “Just stop it. You sound like your mother now, and frankly, that’s not attractive.”

Now she reacted, drawing back with a gasp. He set his bottle down on the counter, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Cat, I’m sorry. Can’t you see? I’m whipped. I ache all over. My eyes feel like they’re made of sand. Can’t we please just let this discussion wait until tomorrow?”

He saw the refusal in her expression and like a little kid, he closed his eyes. The words he heard her speak surprised him.

“You know what? You’re right. It can wait.” His eyes flew open in surprise. Her smile was bittersweet. “It’s no more right to do this when you’re exhausted than it would have been to leave you a note. I guess the ceremony made me a little melancholy and Mortimer ruined my new dress and barfed on my shoes. It hasn’t been a good day for me, either. Want to go take a soak in the hot springs?”

Tension flowed out of Jack’s muscles and for the first time in hours, in days, he relaxed.

“Isn’t your swimsuit packed?”

“Yes, but I’ll unpack it. I wish I’d dug out a dress and gone to the reception. By the time I dealt with the dog and cleaned up, I thought I didn’t have time.”

“A soak sounds great, but honestly, a nap sounds better.”

Cat gestured toward the bedroom. “My cottage is your cottage. Why don’t you lie down and I’ll see if I can scare up some swim trunks for you. I’m guessing you’re not wearing them under your tuxedo.”

Relief rolled over Jack, and he stepped toward Cat and wrapped his good arm around her, holding her the
way he’d dreamed of doing since the moment he’d left Colorado a week ago. “I missed you,” he murmured against her hair.

“Lie down, Davenport. Later, I want to hear what happened to your arm.”

He stripped out of his tux and all but fell into the bed. After he slept, they’d hash out the rest. Within moments, he was asleep.

He awoke to full darkness and the sensual pleasure of a woman—
the
woman—cuddled up against him. He turned his head into her hair and nuzzled her, kissing her temple, nipping at her neck, licking that sensitive spot he knew so well just below her ear. Soon she stretched against him, arching, purring. Then she was above him placing sweet, gentle kisses across his sore face and bruised brow, taking care to avoid his injured arm while devoting her attentions to the notion of kiss it and make it better. After she drifted her way down his torso and made sure that all of him felt better, Jack drifted back to sleep content and sated, lying to himself that he hadn’t noticed the warm sting of her tears against his skin.

The next time he opened his eyes, moonlight beamed through the window and illuminated a rectangle of the quilt pulled up to his shoulders—the double wedding ring pattern. How he knew that fact or why it occurred to him then, he couldn’t begin to guess. He also realized right away that the space next to him was empty, but at the same time he sensed that she remained nearby. “Cat?”

“I’m here.” Her voice came from the shadows in the corner of the room where the wooden rocking chair sat.

“What time is it?”

“About four. How do you feel?”

He’d slept a long time. He started to sit up, but his muscles protested, so he remained right where he was.
“Sore. The hot springs sound really good to me right now.”

“I left swim trunks hanging in the bathroom for you.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“Jack, could I ask a favor of you?”

“Of course.”

“I’d like you to listen and not interrupt. I have something I need to get off my chest.”

He didn’t like the sound of that. “Cat—”

“I love you, Jack Davenport,” she said, effectively shutting him up. She had not said those words to him in years. Then she ripped his heart right out of his chest by adding, “I love you, but I cannot be married to you.”

She talked about heroes and heartache, about babies and bygones, about dreams and desires and birthrights. He heard her mother’s assertions, but also Cat’s own reasoning, and while arguments and contradictions lingered on his tongue like a fine Bordeaux, he didn’t offer them up. Her voice resonated with certainty. And besides, if he tried to speak, he feared his voice would crack.

She was leaving. Eternity Springs. Him. Them. She was moving on.

When finally she fell silent and he sensed she’d said all she had to say, he fought back despair.
Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave. I’m so tired of being alone. I’ve always been alone, except when I’m with you
.

Rather than begging, he spoke from his heart. “I love you, too, Cat. I want to be married to you. You are more important to me than any cause, any job. I want a life with you, a home with you, and God willing, another child with you. Don’t give up on us. Don’t give up on me.”

“Oh, Jack, I’m not giving up on you. I
believe
in you. Finally, after all these years, I get it. It’s not about you and me and our life together or about our trouble
getting pregnant. It’s not about losing Lauren. It’s not even about your job. This is what you do. Who you are. I’ve done a little rescue where animals are concerned, but you rescue people. You save people. This is bigger than us.”

You save me!
“Why am I hearing a tinny piano playing ‘As Time Goes By.’ ” He laughed bitterly. “What am I supposed to say, Catherine? We’ll always have Eternity Springs?”

Why didn’t she believe him? Because the past was bigger than either of them wanted to admit? Because she’d convinced herself—with Melinda’s help—that he could never change? That she wasn’t as important as the job?

Or maybe she didn’t have the heart to try again? If that were the case, how could he change her mind?

The rocking chair creaked as she rose and approached the bed. “This is about who you are, Jack, and why you and I can never be. You’re the Eagle. I can’t change that. I don’t want to change it. You are who you are, and I am so proud of you.”

She leaned down and kissed his lips, quickly, softly, sweetly. “Good-bye, Jack. Spread your wings and soar.”

He didn’t return to Eagle’s Way that day, but instead spent the next two days holed up in Cougar’s Lair, soaking his sore bones and weary soul in the hot springs twice a day, ordering in meals for himself and Fred, and thinking about Cat. Why hadn’t he fought harder for her to stay? Was it ego that had stopped him? He’d felt rejected, so he needed to lick his wounds? Or, deep inside, did he think she might be right?

At dawn on the third day since Cat left him, after a night spent mostly tossing and turning, he arrived at his favorite hot springs pool to find it occupied. “Good morning, Celeste.”

“Good morning, Jack. Come on in. The water is wonderful.”

“I’m going to miss these pools when I leave here.”

“Speaking of that, I was going to wander down to the cottages to speak with you later. I’m afraid that if you wish to remain at Angel’s Rest, you will need to switch to another cabin. Cougar’s Lair is reserved by a couple from Kansas starting tomorrow. It’s an anniversary trip for them. They take the same cabin every year.”