The doorbell rang. Tony smiled. Claire fought hard togive him one in return. She let him turn her back to the doorand she opened it.
“Claire Henderson?”
It was Mary Louise in her sensible suit and her boxy shoesand her square-cut hair and her Vietnam-campaign-ribbonlapel pin. Claire opened the door and showed her in. “Ihope you don’t mind coming out.”
Mary Louise walked right in. “Not at all. I hope youdon’t mind, but I brought someone along I thought youmight like to see.”
Another woman stepped onto the porch. Tiny, petite,blond, with a wealth of crow’s-feet and brown eyes the sizeof dinner plates. “Claire?” she demanded. “Claire Maguire, my God, it is you. You betterdi-di mau,girl. Sun’sabout to set, and you have all the party favors.”
Claire stood frozen on the spot as if she’d just seen the dead rise. “Peggy? Oh, my God, Peggy?”
The two of them met in the foyer in a resounding hug thathad both Mary Louise and Tony grinning in relief.
“Where the hell have you been?” Peggy was demanding,pounding on Claire’s back and crying at the same time.“Don’t you know we can’t call the Sunset Club to orderwithout you?”
“Oh, my God, Peggy, my God...”
Tony knew then that it was going to be all right. He knewthat Claire was going to survive. So he stepped back out ofthe way and let the women share their tears. They were so busy talking that they never noticed him walk out the back door.
He finished the inn two weeks later as Peaches tested out his new recipes for dinner items and Nadine, who had been silently welcomed into the kitchen ever since the day they’dsearched for Claire, helped. Tony probably would havetaken a lot longer if three of his brothers hadn’t unexpectedly shown up and pitched a tent in the backyard to stay andoffer their assistance.
As part of their punishment for enlisting without lettingClaire know, Johnny and Pete had been added to the crew, and Jess and Gina had ordered and hung all the wallpaperand decorations. The James River Inn B and B was officially open for business.
It was after the party favors had been cleared out and theguests meandered out to watch the Riordan brothers challenge each other and a formidable Peaches to endless roundsof horseshoes, that Tony shared his decision with Claire.
They’d been doing dishes in Claire’s kitchen, one eye outto the boisterous activity in the back, while Claire watchedthe announcement on television that the North Africanskirmish was considered an unqualified success and troopswould begin pulling out once again. Tony watched her,knowing perfectly well he was saving up the sight of her forthe months he would be without it. Praying like hell she’dunderstand.
“Claire.”
She turned to him, and he sated himself on the life thatflickered more brightly in those eyes. The sadness had receded today, and she almost looked at peace.
“We don’t have time,” she teased, referring to the clandestine maneuvers of the night before, when they’d tried tosneak past not only their children but his brothers.
Tony’s smile was at once reminiscent and wistful. “Theyreally like you.”
She tilted her head so that her hair tumbled over hershoulder like a fire fall. “That seems to be important.”
He nodded. “Oh, it is. They report back to the homefront every night, so that the family will be all primed whenI have to defend myself on Fourth of July.”
Claire finished drying the last plate and set it out on therack. “Well, I’m glad. I like them, too. I’m finding that Ilike a lot of noise in this house. It’s been too quiet lately.”
“It wasn’t quiet yesterday.”
Yesterday Peggy had visited again, bringing her fourchildren, her husband and a seemingly bottomless vat ofchili. The kids had disappeared while the women had sharedreminiscences.
“Ya know, it’s funny,” Claire mused, truly pleased. “I’dforgotten the good times. We did have a lot of those.”
“You had good friends.”
Her eyes filled with tears that didn’t spill. “The best. Thevery best.”
“Except for me, of course.”
With a grin, she wrapped her arms around him. “We weretalking, ya know. We both bet you were cute in your dressblues.”
Tony grimaced. “A Marine is never considered cute. Formidable, intimidating, gamey, but never ever cute.”
She giggled. “Cute.”
