A Turn in the Road - Debbie Macomber [94]
“Did you enjoy meeting Craig?” Ruth asked her granddaughter. While her attention had been focused mostly on Royce, she did notice the two young people talking, their heads close together.
“He’s really nice.” Annie’s face shone with what looked like genuine enthusiasm.
“Are you seeing him again?” Ruth asked.
“He’s taking me out on the river—he promised we’ll see manatees and dolphins.” Annie stretched contentedly. “You never told me Florida was so beautiful, Grandma.”
“It has its own unique beauty, just like the Pacific Northwest.”
“Do you know when you’ll be back?” Bethanne pushed herself into a sitting position, running a hand through her tousled hair.
“No…I’ll give you a call later. If Annie’s with Craig, what are you going to do all day?” She hated the thought of Bethanne stuck in the hotel room or out on her own, and hoped Grant wouldn’t be tied up in those boring Realtor meetings.
“Grant’s stopping by,” Bethanne assured her. “He’s got a session this morning, but he should be finished by lunchtime. We’re going to meet up around one o’clock.”
“What will you do this morning?”
Bethanne climbed out of bed. “I thought I’d laze by the pool and read. I have my knitting, too, so I’ve got plenty to do. Don’t worry about me.” She waved a hand at Ruth. “Enjoy your day with Royce.”
“I will.” Ruth glanced at her watch.
“Everything all right between you?” Bethanne asked Ruth in a meaningful tone.
Ruth shifted uncomfortably. “I…I don’t know yet. I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him…about everything.” She shot Bethanne an anxious look. “I’ll call you this afternoon, okay?”
“Of course.” Bethanne blew her a kiss and Annie sent her off with a big smile. Certain that she was a few minutes early, Ruth headed into the lobby in search of a newspaper and a cup of coffee. To her surprise, Royce was already waiting, his newspaper unfolded in front of him.
“Good morning,” she said. Just seeing him made her pulse race uncontrollably. It seemed impossible that fifty years had passed. Being with him felt so familiar, like rediscovering a language she’d spoken as a child. But could he ever forgive what she’d done?
Royce refolded his newspaper and stood. “Ruth…” he began, and then fell silent.
“You’re early,” Ruth said nervously. “I hardly slept last night,” she confessed, hoping he could read what was on her mind.
Royce frowned and looked away. “I didn’t sleep much myself.”
“I’m hoping we can really…talk this morning.”
He nodded. “I suppose we should.” Reaching for her hand, he tucked it in the crook of his arm. “We have a lot to discuss, but before we do, I want you to know what bliss it’s been to see you again.”
“I feel the same.” Ruth had never expected to have a second chance with him, and this time she was determined not to ruin things between them.
He escorted her to his car, and opened her door the way he had when they were teenagers. Royce had always been a gentleman, even as an impoverished boy of eighteen.
Instead of driving to his home on the river, he went in the direction of Orchid Island.
“Where are we going?” Ruth asked.
“I thought we’d start the day with a glass of freshly squeezed Indian River orange juice.”
She guessed he was taking her to his childhood home. “Your father sold the groves, didn’t he?”
“He did.” Royce grinned over at her. “My brother bought him out.”
“Arnie?” She squinted at him in astonishment.
“Benny,” Royce corrected. He was the oldest in the family. Arnie, she recalled, was the youngest.
When they got to the property, he drove right in, along a row of perfectly aligned orange trees, stopping at the end. “Remember our prom night?” he asked.
Ruth laughed. “How could I forget it?”
“Even my children and their children know the story of how we arrived at the dance looking like a pair of miserable water rats.”
“Mine, too.”
Royce glanced at her. “Did I understand you right? Didn’t you say that Bethanne and Grant are divorced?”
“They are.”
“They looked like a couple to me.”
Ruth hugged herself. “They