Maura slipped off her sparkly purple wool shawl and tossed it over the back of an oak rocker by the front desk. “Of course, catching up with the news around here was even better.”
At the wistful note in her mother’s voice, Beth felt a flash of concern. “Maybe it’s time for you to move here again. You always said this was one of your favorite places to live, and you still have friends here. I’d like it if you didn’t live so far away.”
Maura flipped a hand dismissively as she paused at the aisle filled with a long magazine rack. “They say you can’t really go home again. People change, you change. It wouldn’t ever be the same. And I’ve got a very good life in California.”
But did she? Despite her tendency to flamboyance, Beth had caught moments when her mother looked pensive and distracted, though she refused to discuss it. And she was getting older, even though that subject wasstrictlyoff-limits.
As time went on and her health failed, what then?
“Think about it, anyway. Are you still planning to go upstairs for a nap?”
“As soon as I find a new magazine to take with me.” Maura moved farther down the magazine aisle and out of sight. “Something on decorating, I think. While I’m here, I couldhelp you spruce this place up. More vibrant colors would do it. Purples. Reds. A splash of canary. More pizzazz.”
From behind the front counter, Janet grinned at Beth as she handed over a stack of pink telephone notes. “You had five messages as soon as you left for lunch,” she said as she handed them over. “Three of those people called again during the last five minutes, hoping you’d returned. Olivia, the pastor, and Dev.”
Beth blinked. “Goodness.”
Maura reappeared. “It’s a shame you need to deal with him at all.”
There was certainly no problem with her mother’s hearing where Dev was concerned. “The pastor?”
Maura ignored Beth’s lame attempt at humor. “Your ex-husband, as you well know. But as disappointed as I am in that man, I still hope you’ve had that talk with him.”
Beth flinched, all too aware of Janet’s curious appraisal.“Mother.”
Glancing between them, Janet tactfully slipped from behind the counter and hurried toward the back of the store. “I’m going to the storeroom to unpack some books,” she called out over her shoulder. “Yell if you need anything.”
“Sorry,” Maura murmured, though she didn’t look particularly contrite. “So...have you had that talk?”
Beth lowered her voice to a harsh whisper.“No.”
“The last thing you needed was for that Devlin to show up in town. After the way he treated you, I hope he never does again. But he should still share some of the pain you went through. He deserves to know, honey.”
“Does he? What possible good could that do? Nothing would change. I don’twantanything to change. He and I are finished. Forever.”
“But—”
“No, Mom. Think about it.” Her voice had risen, and she took a steadying breath. “He could feel remorse, and then he’d have that burden to carry. Or he might not care at all and just offer some empty platitudes—andIwould feel worse. Much, much worse, because I’d be so angry. And I don’t know if I could ever let it go.”
In her teens, she might have stormed away and slammed her bedroom door for a satisfying closure to the discussion. Now, she just sighed. “So please, just don’t bring this up again. Promise? None of my friends know either, and I want to keep it that way.”
Maura studied her sadly. “It’s your choice, so I’ll say no more.... except that you’re wrong about this, and I hope that someday you’ll see that I’m right.”
Always the last word.Beth bit back a reply and focused on the message slips in her hand. “Some of these are for you, Mom,” she said as she handed them over.
Maura stared out the front window for a moment before looking down to study her messages. “My gallery, every last one of them. Hollister should be able to handle everything just fine without calling every two hours.”
She lifted her shawl from the rocker and slipped it over her shoulders with a flourish as she headed for the door. “I’ll call her on my cell from upstairs.”
Beth waited until her mother left, then went to the storeroom and braced a hand on the door frame. At Janet’s bemused expression, she shook her head. “Thanks for the space.”
“She sure does hold a grudge—over whatever he did.” Janet fanned her face with one hand. “Whew.”
“My mom is a wonderful woman in many ways, but she doesn’t like Dev and has never hesitated to remind me.” Beth sighed. “During the years we were married, I never discussedany problems with her. She would have jumped on them like a dog on a bone.”
“And what’s with her assistant? This was her fourth call since your mother got here.”
“I’m beginning to wonder. Except for the topic of my ex-husband, she has seemed so...so vague about what’s troubling her. But I know something is—I can feel it.”
