Ultimate Cedar Cove Collection. Debbie Macomber

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      “Mrs. Cox, it’s so good to see you!” Mary Lou said.

      “Hi, Mary Lou.” The sense of welcome was gratifying and helped ease her nervousness. Rosie hadn’t mentioned to Zach that she planned to stop by. Classes were cut short for the day because of a teachers’ seminar on new curriculum requirements in the areas of math and science. Rosie was exempted, since she’d taken the course while updating her skills. She had a rare afternoon free.

      “How can I help you?” Mary Lou walked over to the counter, which acted as a partition between the waiting area and the inner office. “Do you want me to call Mr. Cox? Unfortunately, he’s with a client at the moment, but I can let him know you’re here.”

      “Thanks, but that won’t be necessary,” Rosie told her. “I came to meet Cecilia Randall.”

      “Oh, sure,” Mary Lou said. “I’ll get her right away.”

      “Cecilia’s on her break,” a woman Rosie didn’t recognize announced from her desk. There’d been a number of changes in the office that she knew nothing about. She and Zach had often discussed office politics, but that had been BJ—before Janice.

      “You can go on back to the break room, if you like,” Mary Lou suggested.

      That was perfect as far as Rosie was concerned. She didn’t want to interrupt Cecilia while she was on the job. Her purpose was to thank her for everything she’d done for Allison.

      Rosie was as familiar with the layout of the office as she was her own home—or what had, at one time, been the home she’d lived in with Zach. These days…well, that was territory she didn’t want to enter.

      Just as Mary Lou had told her, Rosie found a young woman sitting at a table, reading a magazine and sipping coffee. An older woman sat at a separate table, chatting on a cell phone. Cecilia had straight dark hair that hung just above her shoulders and she didn’t look more than seventeen. She glanced up when Rosie walked in.

      “Hello.” Rosie smiled. “I’m Allison’s mom.”

      “Oh, hi,” Cecilia said, smiling back. “She talks about you a lot.”

      Rosie pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. She was astounded that her daughter had mentioned her at all. “I just came to introduce myself and to thank you for being Allison’s friend.”

      “I enjoy working with her.”

      Rosie was sure she hadn’t felt that way in the beginning. “I wanted you to know how much I appreciate your patience with her. She’s going through a rough time, and you’ve made a tremendous impression on her.”

      “I appreciate your telling me that.”

      “It’s true,” Rosie said. “Just working with you has made a real difference to Allison.”

      “Spending time with her has helped me, too,” Cecilia said. “I was only ten when my parents divorced and I remember thinking the breakup was my fault….”

      Rosie was immediately concerned. She’d repeatedly talked to both children about this very thing, but Allison and Eddie had dismissed her questions, and after a while she’d let the matter drop. Surely, Rosie prayed, her children hadn’t taken on any blame for a problem that was clearly between her and Zach.

      “Did Allison tell you she blames herself for what happened?” Rosie burst out. “Because that simply isn’t true.”

      “No, no,” Cecilia assured her, and held up one hand. “I just meant that talking about what happened when my parents split has helped me realize I had nothing to do with their divorce. So you see, it’s been a real advantage to me to look back at that episode in my own life.”

      “I see,” Rosie murmured, relieved. In retrospect, she wished she’d handled so many things differently, not only with the divorce, but her marriage, too. She tried not to think about the last twelve months. What was done was done. Indulging in regrets left her feeling depressed, and she was working hard to get past those negative emotions.

      “I hope you don’t mind my coming by like this, but I did want to thank you,” Rosie said.

      “It’s really sweet of you to do that.” Cecilia closed her magazine. “Did you enjoy your dinner with Allison?”

      Rosie nodded. “It was great, although I almost needed a translator. Words like wicked and righteous and mad don’t seem to mean what I thought they did.”

      Cecilia smiled. “I know. Teenagers have their own way of expressing things, don’t they?”

      “That they do.” It was important Rosie leave before her daughter arrived for work. She got up, ready to head back to the front office, when Mary Lou approached her.

      “Mr. Cox said he’d like to see you,” she said, sounding apologetic as she stepped aside and allowed Rosie to pass.

      Zach’s door was open. When Rosie walked into his office, she immediately noticed that the family photograph was no longer on the credenza, but he’d displayed one of Allison and Eddie. He stood when she entered, frowning darkly. Without a word, he moved from behind his desk and shut the door, a little harder than he needed to.

      Ah, so that was how it was going to be. Rosie tried not to let him intimidate her, but that was difficult.

      “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

      She didn’t understand his anger and suppressed the urge to respond in kind. “I came to talk to Cecilia. I wanted to thank her—”

      “That’s a convenient excuse and we both know it.” He was back on the other side of his desk, his expression furious.

      “Excuse for what?” she asked, equally angry.

      “Finding out about Janice.”

      Now she understood. Zach didn’t want her to know that his “girlfriend” had left the company. From the little Allison had said, she knew Janice’s departure hadn’t been amicable.

      “My visit had nothing to do with Janice and everything to do with our daughter,” Rosie insisted.

      “So you say.”

      “Let’s agree to disagree. I’m sorry if my being here is an embarrassment. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Eager to escape, she turned to leave.

      Zach crossed his arms over his chest and slowly exhaled. “Did you learn what you wanted to know?” he asked.

      Rosie turned back from the door. “What I wanted to know?” she repeated. Then she realized her ex-husband was worried that she’d find out what great pains he’d taken to hide the truth from her all these weeks. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

      Zach’s jaw went white. “What happened between Janice and me—”

      “I learned that Cecilia Randall is a warm, generous woman who has been a wonderful friend to our daughter,” she said, interrupting him. “And I also learned that my ex-husband can be a real jerk.” She offered him a quavering smile, СКАЧАТЬ