Home Free - Fern Michaels [10]
“She’s never made a turkey, either,” Myra jabbed, to Annie’s dismay.
“Well, I never knew how to pole dance, either, but I managed to master that little feat,” Annie snapped. “How hard can making a turkey be if you follow the directions?”
“I’m sure you’ll do just fine. If you find yourself in need of my services, feel free to call on me. I seem to have a little too much leisure time these days. I think I’ll leave you ladies to your menu planning and take the dogs for a run. If you need me for anything, just beep me.” He leaned over and kissed Myra on the cheek before he whistled for the dogs, who came on the run.
“Are you going to get a dog or maybe a cat, Annie, when you move into your new farmhouse?”
“I don’t know, Myra. I’m going to be doing some traveling, and it isn’t fair to the animal. I’d love to have a whole houseful like you do, but that means I have to put down serious roots. I don’t know if I’m ready for that just yet.”
“Sooner or later, Annie, you’re going to have to stop running. We can’t undo the past. We both know that. We’re in the here and now, and if you keep running, it will always be like this. I so want to see you happy. We’re in our twilight years. We deserve happiness.”
Annie bookmarked the page she had been looking at in one of Myra’s cookbooks. “Are you happy, Myra?”
Myra tapped the side of her coffee cup with her nails. “We’ve had this talk before, Annie. I’ve come to terms with the hand fate has dealt me. I’m content. If my daughter had lived, and I had grandchildren, I would be deliriously happy. But that can never be, and I have accepted it. I married Charles because I love him, and I should have done it years ago. There isn’t much left for me to aspire to is the way I see it at the moment. We have the girls in our lives, their significant others or their husbands, whatever the case may be. We’ve had fame, and you and I have our fortunes, which both of us share where it needs to be shared. And I now have those wonderful dogs, who make me laugh and love me unconditionally. So, let’s just say I am as happy as my circumstances will allow.”
Annie smiled. “I wish sometimes I was more like you, my friend.”
“Don’t ever wish that, Annie. Just wish to be who you were meant to be. You have so many things in your life to be grateful for. You are so loved, it boggles the mind. You do so much good that no one knows about. Like Joseph Espinosa’s family. You gave up your childhood home to that family so they could have a better life. Look what you did with the newspaper. You adopted the girls, who love you more than life itself. Take the time to enjoy it all, Annie, before it’s too late.”
Annie played with the pages of the cookbook in front of her. She looked Myra square in the eye and said, “That sounds rather ominous, Myra.”
“I know, and I meant it to sound that way. Now, are you planning on canned cranberry sauce or made from scratch? I saw a recipe for one that has orange in it. Sounded good to me.”
“Then that’s the one we’ll serve.”
“There, we made a decision. We should work on your guest list.”
“Let’s just invite everyone we know and do it as a buffet. We can set up separate tables since I don’t have a table big enough to fit everyone.”
“And another decision has been made.” Myra laughed as she stared across the table at her friend, who also began to laugh. But, Myra saw, the laughter didn’t reach Annie’s eyes.
Chapter 3
Following his normal daily routine, Charles started to read the morning news on the computer. It was three days before Thanksgiving. He winced at the world headlines. Just once in a while he wished the headlines would be something good, or at the very least, cheerful. He continued to scan what he wanted to read and saw the blip that President Connor was heading to Camp David for Thanksgiving. Master Sergeant Augustus Sullivan, retired wounded military veteran, would be joining her, along with veterinarian Donald Gamble and Sullivan’s male nurse and therapist. He read on and saw that Sullivan was the previous owner of the