“Yeah, if…” Jane let her voice trail off. She’d waited on pins and needles for the sewer department to call with an opening in their schedule, but so far, nothing. She didn’t want to voice what might happen if they couldn’t. She’d taken out a loan, rooms were booked, and she didn’t have enough money to give everything back. Not to mention the poor bride who was counting on them to host her special day.
Andie reached for a cracker. Cooper’s ears perked up.
“Don’t worry. It will all work out. I have a good feeling.” She chewed thoughtfully. “This was a fun project, and I had fun working with Maxi. I never really got to know her or Claire very well because you guys were so much younger than me in high school. It wasn’t cool for seniors to hang out with freshmen.”
Jane laughed. “Funny how age made such a big difference back then and not so much now.”
Andie washed down her cracker with a sip of wine. “Sure is.”
They rocked in silence. Jane felt content sitting here with her sister. It didn’t escape her that Andie had stayed longer than her usual two or three days. Was she thinking about moving here permanently? Jane wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she had to admit the last few days with Andie had been very pleasant. She wanted to tell her sister that but wasn’t sure exactly how.
“Maxi seemed a little distracted. Is she okay?” Andie asked.
Andie had picked up on that too? Maybe it wasn’t just Jane’s imagination. Still, she didn’t want to voice her worries to Andie. Maxi and James’s relationship was her friend’s personal business, and Andie was practically a stranger. “I think so. She’s a recent empty nester and trying to adjust.”
“Oh, I guess that must be hard.”
Jane glanced at Andie. She was staring straight at the ocean, but there was a tenseness in her jaw that indicated maybe Andie had some problems of her own. Well, it would all come out in time.
Andie flipped a piece of cheese to Cooper, who caught it expertly in the air. “Will Cooper be staying on here at Tides?”
“I’m not sure. Do you think that’s a good idea? I don’t want to do anything that could be off-putting to potential guests.”
Andie shrugged. “We have guests now that seem to love him. Maybe it would actually attract guests.”
“I like having him here.” In fact, Jane couldn’t imaginenothaving him here. Mike had said he couldn’t keep him in Seattle. What would happen to him when Mike went back home?
“What about Mike?” Andie asked.
Jane glanced over to see Andie watching her. “What about him?”
“Is he leaving? Will he take Cooper?”
“I suppose he’ll go back to Seattle at some point.” The thought made Jane’s chest constrict uncomfortably. “He said he didn’t have room for Cooper there.”
“How do you feel about that?” Andie asked.
“I’d like Cooper to stay here, but technically he belongs to Mike. Actually, to Mike’s grandfather. If he stayed here, though, I could bring him to visit at Tall Pines.”
Andie piled some cheese on another cracker. “I meant how you felt about Mike leaving.”
Jane frowned. “What do you mean? I guess he’s become a friend but…”
Andie snorted. “Friend? I wonder if that’s what he’d say. Maybe it’s time you thought about letting someone in. You know, besides Cooper. It’s been a long time since Brad died. You deserve someone to care about you.”
“You mean Mike? I’m sure he doesn’t feel that way about me. He probably thinks of me as an older sister. I am quite a bit older than him.”
“I doubt that. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and besides, you yourself said earlier that age doesn’t matter so much once you get to be older.”
Jane took a gulp of wine. Was it true what her sister said about Mike looking at her? She was eight years older than him, but when they were together, she didn’t feel it. She was uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going and decided to turn the tides on her sister. “I saw you happily chatting with Shane. Looks like you didn’t need to avoid him after all.”
“I wasn’t avoiding him. I just didn’t go out of my way to talk to him.” Andie’s tone was indignant.
“Uh-huh.” Judging by the way Andie started rocking faster in the chair and avoided eye contact, Jane could tell there was more to that story. She decided to give her a break and instead asked, “How’s the garden coming along?”
Andie relaxed, excitement taking over as she talked about the various flowers she had planted and her plans for future plantings. “Of course, I have to be mindful of budget, but I think in time we can make it as pretty as Mom used to have it.”
Jane agreed. But it sounded like doing that might take a while, and she had to wonder once more: Was Andie considering staying permanently in Lobster Bay? And did Jane want her to?
