An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [141]
Lesley wasn’t home more than five minutes when the phone rang. She answered it eagerly, thinking it would be Chase. There was so much she wanted to tell him.
“Hello.”
“Lesley, it’s your mother.” Their conversations invariably started with June Campbell-Sterne announcing her parental status as if Lesley had forgotten.
“Mom?” She couldn’t have been more shocked if Daisy had arrived on her doorstep.
“It’s true then, isn’t it? You’re married and living with some crazy man in Alaska.”
“Mom, it isn’t as bad as it sounds.” She should’ve tried phoning them again, had planned to, but she’d been too involved in becoming familiar with her new environment.
“When Tony contacted us—”
“Tony?” Lesley said, fuming. Daisy had warned her that her former fiancé was up to no good, but she’d never dreamed he’d resort to contacting her family to make trouble.
“Tony was kind enough to call us and let us know you’d gotten married, which is more than I can say for you.”
“Trust me, Mom, Tony did not have my best interests at heart.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“He’s being jealous and spiteful.”
Her mother breathed in deeply as if she was trying to control her temper. “Is it true that you married a man who advertised for a wife on a Seattle billboard?”
“Mom…”
“It is true?”
“Yes, but I didn’t answer his ad, if that’s what you’re thinking. I know you’re hurt,” she said, trying to diffuse her mother’s disappointment and anger, “and I apologize for not letting you know, but Chase only had a few days left in Seattle and you and Ken were traveling and I tried to call your cell and—”
“As it happened, we returned early, but you didn’t know that because you just assumed we were gone. You’re my only child. Didn’t you stop to think that I’d want to be at your wedding?”
“Mom, I’m sorry.”
“Tony says you don’t even know the man you married. That you weren’t in your right mind. He sounded very worried about you.”
“None of that’s true. I’m very happy with Chase.”
“I won’t believe that until I see you for myself and meet this man you’ve married. Ken’s already made the flight arrangements for me. I’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning and landing in Fairbanks at some horrible hour. I have no idea how to reach Twin Creeks from there, but I’ll manage if I have to go by dogsled.”
“I’ll fly down and meet you in Fairbanks,” Lesley said, thinking quickly. “Then we’ll fly back together.” She wanted Chase to meet her mother, but she would rather have waited until they’d settled into their lives together.
“All right.” Some of the defensiveness was gone from her mother’s voice.
“If you’d like to talk to someone about me and Chase, I suggest you contact Daisy instead of Tony.”
“It broke my heart when you ended your engagement to Tony,” her mother said.
“Mother, he married someone else! I didn’t end the engagement—he did. Despite the claims he’s making now.”
“Look what’s happened to you. Just look.”
“Mother! I’m married to a wonderful man.”
“As I said, I’ll judge that for myself. See you tomorrow.” She gave her arrival time and Lesley wrote it down on a pad by the phone. Now all she needed to do was find a way of reaching Fairbanks and meeting her mother’s plane.
Chase clutched his cell phone so hard, he was afraid he might break it. “What do you mean she isn’t at the house?” he demanded, scowling at Pete’s unsatisfactory response. He’d spent the most frustrating day of his life, first having to deal with the motor company and then attempting to contact Lesley. He’d tried repeatedly that afternoon with no answer.
There were any number of reasons she might not have answered the phone, but he’d started to worry. Two hours of no response, and he was beside himself. He’d called Pete and had his friend drive over and check out the cabin for himself.
“The