Heartache Falls Part 21

Celeste nodded to Jeffrey for another drumroll, then said, "Eternity Springs, I introduce you to Serenity!"

In on the surprise, Ali continued to watch Sarah, who simply stared at Celeste, a quizzical look on her face. Lori, having made a visit home for the weekend, stood next to her mother, her arm linked with her grandmother's. Watching Sarah, Lori gave an exaggerated roll of her eyes. Finally it registered. Sarah stiffened. Blinked. Her chin dropped, and she started to stammer. "I think ... oh, my. It's me. That was mine. Serenity. That was my idea! I think I won the contest." She reached over and clutched Ali's sleeve. "Did I win the contest?"

Ali let her smile free as she met Celeste's gaze. From the podium, Celeste announced, "I want to thank Sarah Reese for suggesting the perfect name! Congratulations, Sarah. You and the person of your choice-in other words, Lori-are going to Australia!"

Sarah let out a high-pitched squeal matched only by her daughter's. She and Lori flew into each other's arms, then jumped up and down, giggling and squealing some more. Nic Callahan approached them, saying, "Sarah! Australia? That's been your dream trip since we were kids!"

"I know. Can you believe it? I can't believe it. Why, I've never been outside the United States. I'll have to get a pa.s.sport. Oh, wow." Sarah's big violet eyes shimmered with excitement. "Australia. Lori, can you believe this?"

"It's awesome. And who knows, Mom? Maybe you'll meet the man of your dreams on the trip of your dreams."

"Ooh, yeah. A tall, broad, handsome Aussie." Sage gave an exaggerated shiver. "One who knows just how to say g'day."

Nic rolled her tongue around her cheek, then added, "And goodnight."

As Mac Timberlake watched his wife cheer and hug his son's sometime girlfriend, he decided to rea.s.sess his plans. He'd come here today intending to tell Ali about the leave of absence, but seeing her with her friends, observing what she'd accomplished with that cafe, and listening to the accolades from the townspeople gave him pause. This was an Ali Timberlake he'd never seen before. He wanted-he needed-to think about it.

So while Eternity Springs continued the anniversary celebration for Angel's Rest, he slipped away to reevaluate his plans. Twenty minutes later he arrived back at Bear's yurt. Gus, who had taken to mountain life with alacrity, met him with barks of joy.

After the walk he'd taken with Celeste on the day of Sage Rafferty's museum lecture, Mac had reflected on their conversation at length. As the Sandberg trial drew to a close, he'd taken the first step toward reexamining his dreams, wishes, and desires by requesting a formal leave of absence. Then he'd contacted Celeste and made a confidential agreement to lease Bear's mountain property for a month, paying a premium for the opportunity to buy the Heartache Falls acres at the end of the lease period if he so chose. Each time he'd talked to Ali, he'd tried to tell her about his big decisions, but he'd never managed to force the words past his lips. He finally realized that he didn't want to tell her about it until he actually went through with it.

Now, when the time had arrived to come clean with his wife, he still had second thoughts. Why? Glancing down at Gus, he asked, "Am I worried she will read something into it that I'm not ready to commit to?"

Maybe.

"Am I worried she'll influence me? That I'll make decisions based on what she wants instead of what I want?"

Gus yipped. Mac shrugged. Perhaps.

He hadn't figured out just what he wanted yet, had he? Not for this-how had Celeste put it?-this second half of life.

He reached down and scratched the dog behind his ears. "Based on her latest cell phone message, she's already torqued at me. What would it hurt to take a few more days, try to get beyond that caterpillar stage Celeste talked about?"

Mac decided to go for it. That evening he composed an email to his wife and children. After hitting the send b.u.t.ton, he stepped outside and listened, half expecting to hear Ali's shriek of fury all the way from town. When all he heard was the whisper of the wind through the evergreens, he grinned at his foolishness, went back inside, and turned off all his electronics. Celeste knew where he was. If anyone in his family had an emergency, she'd know how to contact him.

For the next little while, Mac intended to see about shedding his caterpillar skin.

Days pa.s.sed in a solitude that he found he particularly enjoyed in the wake of the circus of the Sandberg trial. The crisp mountain air cleared his mind, and the beauty of the mountains in autumn soothed his soul. He hiked, he fished, he photographed. Most important of all, he thought. He invested a significant amount of time engaged in self-a.n.a.lysis as he took Celeste Blessing's advice to heart. It was his time of metamorphosis, of transformation.

He tried to figure out what he wanted to be when he grew up.

After two weeks of self-imposed isolation, disguised beneath a ball cap, sungla.s.ses, and a beard, he ventured into town, introducing himself as Steve while volunteering no surname, he made the round of businesses in town and slowly got to know the citizens. He quickly discovered that his wife was accepted, admired, and respected by the people of Eternity Springs.

He also learned that the people of Eternity Springs liked to gossip. In Ali's case, much speculation centered upon why she hadn't returned to Denver now that her work at the Bristlecone was done. Comments she'd made since the Angel's Rest anniversary party had left some wondering. A conversation he'd overheard between two women in the paper goods aisle at the Trading Post had given him warning.

"That was some hissy fit Ali Timberlake pitched last night at quilt group."

"Don't you know it! She has a mad on at that man of hers like n.o.body's business. I wouldn't want to be Mac Timberlake the next time she sets eyes on him."

The words rang in Mac's thoughts the rest of the evening and haunted him while he slept. He awoke the next morning to a dusting of snow on the ground and a sense of certainty settling into his bones. Glancing down at his canine companion, he said, "Gus, how about we go for a walk?"

He hiked the boundary of Bear's property and ended up at Heartache Falls. By now, sunshine had melted most of the snow. A crisp but gentle breeze swept down from the mountain and whooshed through a stand of aspen, causing brittle autumn leaves clinging to branches to quake. Mac smelled pine on the air, and he lifted his gaze toward the tallest peak in sight and focused on the clouds gathering there. He couldn't deny that winter was bearing down upon them. Nevertheless, here in this high mountain valley where sunlight sparkled off the clear water pooled behind beaver dams and his dog's happy barks rose like music in the air, Mac felt as though springtime had arrived.

Celeste Blessing was one intelligent woman.

At her suggestion during this time of self-exile, he had redefined his dreams, his wishes, his desires. Mac Timberlake, husband, father, and forty-four-year-old federal judge, knew what he wanted from the second half of his life.

How in the world would he break the news to Ali?

FIFTEEN.

With a satisfied sigh, Ali closed the novel she'd just finished. She was a sucker for happy endings. She normally shied away from thrillers for that exact reason. She liked going into a book knowing that favored characters would not die in the end. But this time, with her husband off who knew where, she'd been in the mood for murder.

Go figure.

She glanced at the clock and winced. Shoot, she'd dawdled too long over the book. She was meeting her friends at Sarah's tonight for a girls' night out and she was already five minutes late. She'd better get a move on.

Ali changed clothes, dragged a brush through her hair, then took a minute to check her email. Nothing from Mac, again. She hadn't heard word one from him since that short, exceedingly frustrating email he'd sent a little over two weeks ago where he'd stated he was sorry to have missed her earlier, that he had some decisions to make, and he needed some time to himself to make them. He'd a.s.sured her that he loved her, told her not to worry, and asked for her patience.

She'd made a valiant effort, but her patience had worn as thin as the ice this morning on Angel Creek. If he didn't contact her soon, she swore, she'd hire a private detective to track him down.

Ten minutes later she knocked on the door at the Reese house. Inside, she found Celeste, Sage, and Nic seated around the kitchen table. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. I was reading and lost track of the time. I've learned that I don't read as fast when I mentally rename every murder victim in the book Mac."

"Yeowz," Sarah said, wincing. She shared a look with the other women that struck Ali as curious, but before she could comment on it, LaNelle Harrison entered the kitchen with Sarah's mother, Ellen. While Sarah set the table with the chef salad she'd prepared for the pair earlier, Ellen entertained them all with a silly story about Nic and Sarah as children.

Ellen Reese was as sweet as could be, and Ali knew from how townspeople spoke of her that she'd always been that way. Scuttleb.u.t.t said that before her illness, Ellen had been Eternity Springs's go-to person whenever a good deed needed doing. People spoke of her kindness, her devotion to her family, and her faith, which she still exhibited despite middle-stage Alzheimer disease. The entire town doted on Ellen, which made caring for her easier for Sarah with Lori away at college. Faced with placing her mother in a facility two hours away or accepting offers of help, Sarah had chosen to bend her pride. Everyone benefitted from the arrangement, because in Eternity Springs, the citizens appreciated the opportunity to be good friends and neighbors.

"You girls enjoy yourselves and don't fret about us," LaNelle said, shooing them out the door. "Don't hurry back, either. Ellen and I are going to watch a movie after dinner, and I don't want you interrupting the ending."

"Yes, ma'am," Sarah said, and shut the door behind her.

"What are we doing for our girls' night out?" Ali asked as Nic led them north on Aspen.

"We thought we'd start by going out to dinner," Sage told her. "After that, we'll play it by ear."

"Out to dinner?" Ali asked. "Tell me we're not going to the Bristlecone."

"No," Sage said. "We're smarter than that." After a moment's pause, she added, "I think."

Since neither the Mocha Moose nor the Blue Spruce opened for supper this time of year, Ali figured that meant they'd be eating in the Angel's Rest restaurant. The only food the other choice, the Red Fox Pub, served was peanuts and pretzels. "Are you thinking Mexican food in Gunnison, maybe?"

"No, dear," Celeste said. "You've been so consumed with your pique with your husband that you've missed the big news. A new restaurant has opened in Eternity Springs-the New Place."

"Oh? You're kidding. That is big news. Where is it? Who's the owner? What type of cuisine do they serve?" After a moment's pause, she added, "That's a weird name for a restaurant."

Sarah's smile was bright. "It's in that building that's been between the fire station and the auto center on First Street, the one that's been empty forever. Someone from out of town owns it, and I think the menu is considered eclectic."

Ali couldn't help feeling a little twinge of envy. She missed the work that had filled her days during the Bristlecone project. As they walked, she relaxed and began to enjoy herself as Nic regaled them with the latest antics of her twins, which caused Sage to groan, "Thank goodness I'm doing this babysitting thing one kid at a time."

Next, the talk turned toward Sage's annual art exhibit in Fort Worth. When they drew close to First Street, Ali sniffed the air. "I smell steak."

"Yum. I understand that steak is one of the mainstays of the new menu. Apparently the restaurant only offers entrees cooked on a barbecue grill. Guy who runs it says it's the only way he knows how to cook."

Ali shot her a baffled look. "If he can't cook, then why is he running a restaurant?"

"That's an interesting question," Celeste observed. "You'll have to ask him."

Ali sniffed the air again. The aroma did smell tantalizing.

"What about your desserts, Sarah? Will you be supplying them to the New Place?"

"Yes, eventually. I hope. I think the new guy still has some issues to iron out."

They arrived at the New Place, and at the door, Ali's friends hesitated and met one another's gaze. Celeste reached over and patted Ali's arm. Sarah grasped the door handle saying, "Well, I don't know about you girls, but I'm hungry."

They filed inside and Ali glanced at the service area, noted the ap.r.o.n-wearing man standing in the doorway to the kitchen, then froze. She blinked once, then twice. Was she dreaming?

Underneath the ball cap and s.h.a.ggy hair, behind the beard that camouflaged a square jaw, she recognized those brown eyes. Why was her husband standing at the back of the building? Why was he holding a meat fork?

"Mackenzie Stephen Timberlake? What in heaven's name are you doing?"

Though he pasted on a brazen smile, he failed to hide a flicker of uncertainty. "Getting ready to cook you a rib eye, sweetheart. Your favorite. Medium well, just like you like it."

Ali's stare trailed around the room. It was as if she'd entered an alternate universe. Mac in a beard? With s.h.a.ggy hair? In Eternity Springs? She felt the weight of her friends' gazes, sensed them lining up beside her, behind her. They have my back.

No, she realized. They'd known he was here. They'd led her here tonight. They'd known he was here and they hadn't said a word. She snapped her head around and glared at the quartet of traitors. To a one, they smiled back at her.

Fine. She'd deal with them later. Mac came first.

But how to deal with him? How to react? While she considered her options, Mac continued, "Welcome to the New Place, ladies. I have your table all ready. A table for five, correct?"

Ali hesitated. She could demand her friends leave, then re-create one of the murders she'd just read about in her novel. She could turn around and walk out and wait until he came after her. She could yell at him like a fishwife in front of her friends-in front of the entire town, for that matter.

Or she could let this play out, see what scenario he had cooked up. At least she'd get a steak out of the deal.

She nodded regally, and Mac looked just a little relieved as he led them to the only table in the otherwise empty room. Taking her seat, Ali spread her napkin in her lap, then leveled an accusing gaze on each of her friends in turn. Mac handed them a handwritten menu that offered the choice of steak or grilled chicken with a green salad and baked potato, or hamburgers or hot dogs with tater tots. "Tater tots?" Sage questioned, amus.e.m.e.nt in her tone.

Ali wrinkled her nose. Tater tots were one of Mac's favorite junk foods.

Mac cleared his throat. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders."

When he'd retreated to the "kitchen," which was actually a barbecue grill set out on the back stoop, Ali folded her arms, pursed her lips, and gave her friends a schoolteacher stare. "Well?"

Sage and Nic shared an uneasy glance. Celeste gave Ali one of her beatific smiles. Sarah shrugged and said, "He wanted it to be a surprise. He was so cute about it. We didn't want to spoil it for him, or for you."

"He bought the building," Sage added.

Nic smiled encouragingly. "He said it's always been your dream to have a restaurant. Your own Italian restaurant."

"I'm not sure, but I think he might have bought Bear's land, too," Sarah said. "Something I heard at the bank today makes me think that."

Ali slumped back against her chair. "I don't believe this."

Sarah met Celeste's gaze. "I told you she'd be stupid about this."

"Stupid?" Ali repeated.

"Yeah. Stupid. Your husband just made a grand romantic gesture for you." Sarah made a sweeping wave toward the room. "Do you know how lucky you are to have a man who would go to such lengths for you?"

With that, Ali's temper flared. "I understand that point, Sarah. What you don't understand is that while my husband's grand romantic gesture is in some ways quite lovely, it is also one more instance in a long line of instances where he has failed to respect me."

She smoothed her napkin on her lap. "See, he decided all on his own to walk away from the job he'd worked all his adult life to earn. It's his job, his life, so okay. Only he didn't let it stop there."

The words poured out of her despite her efforts to stop them, and she knew without turning to see that he had walked into the room and was listening. "Next he made the momentous decision not only to buy personal property, but business property, too. Again, he did this all on his own without including me in the process. It's the same thing he's been doing all his life. Taking charge. Taking over."

She felt shaky, as if she were coming down with the flu. Something certainly wasn't right with her, because she didn't do this-she didn't air dirty marital laundry in front of others. Not only did it belittle her and Mac, it surely made her friends feel uncomfortable.

What is wrong with me?

Maybe it was the realization that after everything she and Mac had gone through this past year, in the end, nothing had really changed in their marriage. He still captained the boat; it was his hand firmly on the tiller.

And have I figured out that I'd rather be along for the ride than sailing my ship alone?

Her stomach sank. Was that it? Was she willing to settle, after all?

Ali was confused. She needed to think. Now, however, wasn't the time. Mac had gone to a lot of trouble. He was trying. She couldn't throw that in his face.

Therefore, once again, just like a million other times in her marriage, Ali swallowed her feelings and buried her emotions. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spouted off like that." Then, pasting on a crooked grin, she glanced up at her husband. "I think we're ready to order."

After a moment's hesitation, he warily observed, "Okay."

Sage made a stab at slicing through the tension by saying, "Tater tots, Mac? Really?"

He shrugged and offered a bashful grin. "I don't know anything about menu planning."

"You don't know anything about running a restaurant," Ali said.

"I know that," he replied, watching her closely. "I certainly need some help."

"I might be able to pitch in," she told him. "Another time, though. Not tonight. This is girls' night out."