92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [88]
“Do you want him to stay in Cedar Cove?”
Tanni looked at Shirley and a half smile formed, as though the question had amused her. “No!”
“But you don’t want him to leave either, right?”
“Mom, think about it! Shaw’s the only real friend I have. I’m going to miss him.”
“Yes, you will.” Maybe, just maybe, that would force Tanni to find other friends—the friends she’d had before the accident, the friends she’d abandoned.
“He says he loves me.”
“And you love him.” Shirley wasn’t about to discount the intensity of their feelings. The problem was, they were both so young and didn’t have the life experience to handle such a powerful emotion.
“I love Shaw more than anything—more than my life.”
A shiver of fear ran through Shirley, which she worked hard to disguise. It took her a moment to realize that Tanni’s words had simply been a way to communicate the depth of her feelings for Shaw.
“He says he’ll e-mail or phone me every day.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“I know, but I wonder how long it’ll last.”
So did Shirley, although it would’ve been foolish to admit that. “He’ll be back for visits.”
“Not often enough,” Tanni complained. “Everything’s going to change and I don’t want it to.”
Tanni sounded like she had as a little girl, needing her mother’s comfort.
“Would you like a hug?” Shirley chanced asking.
Her daughter glared as though the offer had offended her.
“A hug wouldn’t hurt,” Shirley added.
Tanni shrugged. “I suppose so.“
Shirley put down her knitting, then stood and walked over to her daughter. She couldn’t remember the last time Tanni had permitted her to show any affection. An involuntary sighed escaped as she slid her arms around her daughter.
To her shock and delight, Tanni hugged her back.
“You’re going to do just fine,” Shirley said. “And so is Shaw.“
Tanni leaned her head against her mother’s shoulder. “I hope he does.“
“I know you do.“
“But I’m afraid,” Tanni whispered. “What if he’s so successful he doesn’t want anything to do with me?“
Shirley wasn’t sure how to reassure Tanni. She couldn’t promise that wouldn’t happen and some part of her actually hoped it would.
Tanni broke away and straightened.
Shirley returned to her knitting; Tanni stayed in the room. After a couple of minutes, Tanni said, “The school passed around a notice from Grace Harding, the woman who runs the library.“
“A notice for what?“
“The library’s looking for volunteers to work with kids and dogs,” Tanni told her.
“Dogs in the library?”
“That’s what it said. Ms. Harding is bringing in dogs from the animal shelter and letting children with reading problems read to them. A lot of kids at school say it’s silly, but I think it’s a great idea.”
“Why would the library need volunteers? Don’t they already have quite a few?”
“I’m not sure, but this is something I’d like to do.”
“Okay. It sounds interesting.”
“There’s a meeting next week and I want to go.”
“I’ll be curious to hear more about it.”
“I’ll let you know.” Tanni started to leave. Halfway across the room, she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Then, in a casual tone, she said, “Thanks for listening, Mom.”
Tears welled up in Shirley’s eyes. “You’re welcome,” she whispered.
A year after losing her husband, it almost felt as if she had her daughter back.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Saturday evening, after spending eight hours on her feet at the cash register, Christie was tired. Bone-deep tired. For months, day after day, it’d been nothing but work and school. She couldn’t even remember her last visit to the Pink Poodle.
They’d had exams that week and Christie decided she deserved a small reward. She’d done all her assignments, studied hard and become proficient with both a camera and a calculator. One beer wouldn’t hurt, and it would be good to reconnect with her friends.
She pulled into a parking space, and out of the corner of her eye saw a limo at the back of the lot.
No. It couldn’t be. James? Had he come looking for her? Was he waiting there on the off chance she’d show up?
Well, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d dropped