Lakeside Sweethearts. Lisa Jordan

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      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.”

      “Maybe someone should. At least he could have the future he’s always wanted.”

      With Josie’s words ringing in her ears, Agnes fixed a smile in place and reached for the salad. She walked into the side dining room and set the bowl of mixed greens on the buffet table. Hannah, bless her heart, brought in pitchers of lemonade. Josie followed with a platter of chicken salad croissants and a glass pedestal bowl of cut fresh fruit.

      Nancy, the hostess of the luncheon, arrived. While Josie spoke to her about the food, Agnes retreated to the kitchen.

      Hannah poked her head inside the kitchen door. “Mr. Higby’s looking for you.”

      “Clarence? My landlord?”

      She nodded, then held the door open wide enough for Agnes to see the burly man drumming his fingers on the counter by the register.

      Agnes followed Hannah into the main dining room. “Hey, Clarence.”

      Clarence Higby ran a finger between the collar of his flannel shirt and his doughy neck. He gripped a white envelope in his other hand. “Agnes, do you have a moment?”

      “Sure, what’s up?”

      Clarence always reminded her of Papa Bear from Goldilocks—brawny with whiskered jowls...and the red suspenders he wore with his cuffed jeans.

      “I planned to come by later this afternoon, but when Eliza mentioned her ladies’ thing was here, I wanted you to hear this from me and not overheard from a bunch of hens.”

      Agnes didn’t like the direction this conversation was going.

      He thrust the envelope at her.

      She took it, noticed her name scrawled on the front, then looked at him. “What’s this?”

      “The letter says it so much better. Eliza typed it. She’s the one who’s good with words.” He heaved a sigh, then scraped his sausage fingers through his thinning salt-and-pepper hair. “Eliza and me...well, we’ve decided to move to Arizona.”

      “Arizona? You’ve lived in Shelby Lake your entire life.”

      “Our daughter Jocelyn is pregnant.” Clarence beamed like a proud grandpa-to-be. “After she lost the first two, she and Aaron wanted to wait until she was out of the danger zone to announce this pregnancy.”

      She forced her lips into a smile, hoping to project joy she didn’t feel. “Well, that’s fantastic. When’s the baby due?”

      “November—around Thanksgiving.”

      “Truly something to be thankful for.”

      “Eliza and I don’t want our grandchild to grow up without seeing us but a few times a year, so we’ve decided to move to Arizona before the baby’s born. The air is better for Eliza’s arthritis, too. You know how these damp seasons make her ache so.”

      “But...”

      Of course she understood they wanted to be with their family, but what about her apartment?

      As if reading her thoughts, Clarence laid a beefy hand on her shoulder. “We sold the building. Yesterday. That’s what I wanted you to hear from me.”

      His СКАЧАТЬ