Page 17 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

Petey and Karly hit it off immediately. In no time, they were toddling about, circling the Christmas tree in the living room, and playing hide and seek in every nook and cranny downstairs. Katie poked at a homemade chicken potpie that Suzie had popped out of the freezer and baked for her.

“I’m sorry she’s such a picky eater,”

Shelley said, sitting at the bar and scooping cookies off the sheet to cool on racks.

“Always has been.”

Katie looked up and smiled at her mother. “I picky.”

Shelley grinned.

“Yes, unfortunately, and you know it.”

Suzie worked the cornbread stuffing with her hands, mixing up the ingredients.

“No problem. Petey is as picky as they come too. Some days all he will eat are my chicken potpies and sweet pickles. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. That’s why I keep them on hand.”

“Good idea. I need to learn how to cook like you.”

Suzie smiled.

“You’ve been busy with babies. That will come later, if you want.”

Shelley thought about that and smiled. What would her future bring.

“I just don’t know what I want to do with my life.”

“That will come too.”

Reaching out, Suzie patted her hand.

“Have you called Mama and Daddy yet?”

She shook her head.

“No. I need a few more minutes.”

Suzie nodded and Shelley was relieved her sister didn’t push it.

They talked for over an hour while Suzie managed to feed everyone and simultaneously do prep work for the meals she was catering tomorrow, on Christmas Eve. Brad was at the lodge for the employee Christmas party, and Suzie didn’t expect him until late. That was nice because it gave them time to themselves. They’d discussed Suzie’s marriage, the renovation of the lodge, the births of all the babies, and even Cliff’s death.

“That had to be horrible,”

Suzie said, as they chatted about the shock of the accident.

“I didn’t realize cement mixers could do so much damage to a Honda.”

“Anything running over you full-speed-ahead is going to be bad.”

“At least he didn’t know what hit him.”

“True,”

Shelley replied, her gaze drifting.

“If only he hadn’t taken that detour and swerved for that dog.”

“Freak accident.”

“Yeah.”

Pause. Shelley pondered the freakishness of it all.

“Cliff always liked dogs,”

Suzie added.

“Yeah. It was a Bassett Hound.”

Pause.

“How do you know?”

Suzie picked at a piece of lint on a dishcloth.

“The truck driver said it in his statement. Said the dog lumbered off okay but poor Cliff got smashed like a people pancake.”

Shelley sighed.

“Funny how people remember details like that.”

Suzie giggled a little.

“Sorry. It’s just…”

Shelley grinned.

“I know. It’s okay. It is funny in an odd way.”

“Makes sense though.”

“What?”

“That he wouldn’t want to hit the dog. Not the people pancake part.”

Shelley nodded.

“Oh. Sure.”

She was surprised and a little appalled at herself that she could even think this way about poor Cliff. Maybe humor was a way to deal.

A longer pause. Suzie looked straight into her eyes.

“Shelley, you know we wanted to help you.”

The mood shifted then, and she waited a moment to respond.

“I know. I couldn’t.”

“You could have returned our calls. Mama and Daddy were so troubled.”

That cut deeper than she anticipated.

“I figured.”

Suzie looked up from her mixing bowl.

“Shelley, why? Why would you not let us help you through this? I know we were sort of joking around there a few minutes ago but this was a serious thing for you. Losing a husband is an awful, terrible thing. And it was so sudden.”

She bit her lip and stared ahead.

“Besides, Cliff was, well…family. Sort of.”

She’d thought her eyes were pretty much devoid of tears but at that, they stung again.

“I assumed you all hated me.”

Sighing, Suzie went to the sink and rinsed her hands, then stood at the bar and placed her palms on it.

“Shelley, don’t ever think anything stupid like that again.”

She shrugged and stood.

“Suzie! I stole your man! You went out of town to work at that job, so you could save money to open your own business, and I swooped in and stole him. He was lonely, and I was young and flirty, and before I knew it, we were in bed and I had fallen in love with him. Why would you not hate me?”

Suzie laughed.

“Oh, believe me, I did.”

She moved around the bar, tugged out a stool, and sat. She pulled Shelley into a seat, too.

“I hated you with a passion, but not because you stole Cliff. I hated you because you had something I wanted. A loving husband and a family. But all of that changed once Brad and Petey came into my life. Over the months, I realized I didn’t hate you after all. In fact, you cleared the way for me to pursue the happiness I always wanted. Happiness that Cliff couldn’t give me.”

She paused for a moment.

“I can’t imagine what it is like to lose a husband. Now that I have Brad…”

she trailed off, thinking.

“well, I felt for you, and wanted to help in some way, but you didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to do.”

Shelley shook her head.

“There was nothing you could do. I had to find my way out of this.”

She glanced off, and then added.

“But Suzie, I can’t do it. I wasn’t making it in Dalton Springs on my own. I lost my house. The money wouldn’t stretch. So, I needed…”

“You need to start over. Here. In Harbor Falls.”

Suzie reached for Shelley’s hands.

“You’re home now, sweetie, and this time, you’d better let us help you.”

Hesitant, Shelley grasped back.

“I do need your help,”

she whispered.

“Just for a while. I swear, once I get back on my feet I’ll be fine, and I’ll never be a burden to you again.”

Suzie shook her head.

“You’re not a burden now.”

“I hope not.”

Suzie squeezed her hands.

“You’re not. We’ll work out the details later. When Brad gets home, I’ll have him fetch your things from your car and get you settled in upstairs. For now, it’s Christmas and we are going to have the best one in years. Now, go call Mama and tell her you are here, or I will. I can’t wait for tomorrow night.”

Shelley couldn’t either. It would be the first Christmas she would have with her family in years. Her Mama and Daddy had never even seen her girls.

A smile broke across Suzie’s face, but Shelley also noticed her misty eyes. Suzie was on the verge of tears.

“I can’t either, Suzie. Thank you for everything. I’ll go call them now.”

****

Later, as Shelley lay in bed in Suzie’s guest room, she thought about the numerous twists of fate life had dealt her. She refused to feel lonely and depressed any longer about all that, now that she was here. Now that she was home.

The hard part was history. She was going to make this work.

Shelley was tired but happy—and settling into this beautiful room provided her the comfort she needed right now. Suzie had called this the blue room, but really, it was mostly white with blue accents. All the furniture was white—the picture frames, the billowy sheers at the window and the plantation blinds underneath—all set against a backdrop of watercolor blue walls. The Irish quilt was navy and white, the sheets pale cobalt with starched cotton embroidered pillowcases, and a matching crocheted afghan tossed over an old over-stuffed chair. Blue Willow plates were on the wall and a blue-swirled glass ball hung from the curtain rod. The room had a beachy feel, which was a nice contrast in this mountain area.

The girls were asleep in the adjoining room—the turquoise room. Suzie always names her bedrooms after colors. Lucky for everyone, Suzie didn’t take guests over the holidays. That meant she only had to share her bathroom with the girls, which was normal for them. Situated between the two rooms, it was also provided easy access to them. She could hear their cries and whimpers in the night.

So tired she could barely spit, she laid wide-awake looking up at the ceiling. Seemed it was difficult to turn off her brain and calm down her body. The worse part was over, though, apologizing to Suzie. Tomorrow she’d see her parents again, and she couldn’t wait for them to see her girls. Her mother cried on the phone and wanted to rush right over, but Shelley convinced her that they were all tired and tomorrow would be better. Her dad finally talked some sense into her.

Her mama’s last words on the phone had both pained and relieved her.

“I’ll sleep better tonight than I have in years.”

Nearly choking, Shelley quickly said her goodbye and hung up.

This was a beginning. A fresh start. She still had a long road ahead of her.

Turning onto her side, she closed her eyes. Just at the point of giving over to sleep, an image popped into her head.

An unsettling but nice image. Tall, broad shoulders, sandy-brown hair, eyes the color of a copper penny, and in uniform.

Matt.

Something clutched at her heart. He looked good. Damn good. No doubt, some young chic had snatched him up in no time with minutes to spare. She hoped so. He deserved someone. Someone who would be good to him.

She supposed she’d find out, eventually.

It was good seeing him though. He was her first love. Her first…everything.

Since you left out of here on a whim and a prayer, without a word to anyone, I figured you’ve probably not given Harbor Falls another thought.

He was wrong. She had thought of Harbor Falls, and of him, often.

But she’d dumped him. Obviously, he’d not forgotten about that. Odd how that notion bothered her.