Page 41 of Coastal Reflections

“I thought so,” Michelle said. “I could smell this glorious stew all the way over at my desk in the front entryway.” She went over to the pot and sniffed it eagerly. “Wow, I can’t wait to eat this.”

Michelle helped Evan and Audrey finish setting the table, which had a bouquet of wildflowers resting in the center of it.

“Isn’t this charming?” Audrey said happily, looking over the lovely table. “Stew, homemade bread, and wildflowers. Somebody call one of those magazines and have them take a picture.”

“I don’t think Townsend’s bread counts as homemade,” Michelle teased.

“Why not?” Elaine said, stepping into the kitchen and joining their conversation seamlessly. “Shep makes all his bread from scratch. He doesn’t use a lot of machinery the way they do in factories where bread is made. He also uses real ingredients, not processed nonsense.”

“Okay, I stand corrected.” Michelle laughed. “Leave it to Grandma to appear right in time to clear Shep’s good name.”

“Oh stop,” Elaine said, but she was blushing.

They had just sat down at the table together when Audrey’s phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket, feeling worried that it was Clark.

If it is, I’m just going to send him to voicemail and enjoy this lovely meal, she thought. I’m not letting him disrupt my life anymore.

The caller wasn’t Clark, however. It took Audrey a second to recognize the name on her phone screen, but a moment later she realized with a jolt that it was Evan’s lawyer.

“It’s your lawyer, Evan,” she blurted. “Should I answer it?”

“Yes,” Michelle said immediately, and Evan nodded.

“I would,” he said. “And don’t look so nervous. I’m sure it’s good news.”

Audrey offered him a weak smile and answered the call.

“Hello?” she said, and beside her, Elaine squeezed her hand.

“Hi, Audrey, this is Jim Donaldson,” said a cheerful voice on the other line. Audrey could just picture a large handlebar mustache and a face with deep laugh lines. “I’m Evan McBride’s lawyer. Do you have a minute?”

Audrey cleared her throat, feeling more nervous than ever despite the cheerful tone of Jim’s voice. “Yes. I have a minute.”

“Great. I reached out to your ex-husband, Clark Lowe, at the request of Evan. And it was a good conversation, I’d say. He’s dropping his demand for the grandfather clock.”

“What?” Audrey felt disoriented, as if she’d just stumbled into a new world that felt a great deal brighter. “He’s—really? Are you sure?”

Jim laughed. “I’m positive. I presented reality to him in a way that scared him pretty badly, I’d say. He’s leaving town and he’s not going to have the audacity to demand that clock—or anything else—ever again.”

“What?” Michelle whispered, squirming with suspense. “What’s he saying?”

“That’s wonderful news, Jim,” Audrey said, hardly able to contain her excitement.

“Glad to be of service. If you have any questions for me, be sure to let me know.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“Of course. Bye now.”

As soon as she heard the click of Jim hanging up his phone, Audrey turned to the table with a radiant grin.

“Clark’s not demanding the clock anymore!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “He’s leaving town. Everything is fine!”

As she said the words, tears of relief sprang into her eyes. Michelle let out a whoop and stood up to hug her mother, and then Elaine wrapped her arms around both of them. From the middle of the group hug, Audrey looked across the table at Evan, who was gazing at her with an expression that made her heart skip a beat. She laughed and let a few of the tears spill out of her eyes, feeling blessed beyond measure.

I’m almost glad all that happened, she thought. Now I feel that much happier to get to experience my regular life again. It’s going to be even sweeter now.

They all started talking and laughing, thanking Evan and congratulating each other on being out from underneath Clark’s shadow. Elaine dished out generous portions of the steaming stew, and Audrey started to butter her slices of bread, still feeling too stunned and overjoyed to eat right that second.