Chapter 20
20
M argo got a bit of work done at the office, mostly for Jace's closing, but she had some customers who had called, and she needed to take care of finalizing their things. Make sure the title companies were lined up, schedule closings, and then she needed to touch base once again with the closing that Logan had in the pipeline that was to close in two weeks.
She arrived home just before noon, and she was tired. She hadn't slept much last night. Irritation over the necklace and what to do about it, and Logan and his lying and cheating and now stealing, wouldn't let her sleep. She thought before she went out for her date with Jace, she should certainly take a nap. And she had Carley at her house, so she wanted to get home and spend some time with her sister. She wasn't going to be there very long. After all, she had her own home to get to and a boyfriend waiting for her.
As soon as she walked into the door, the house smelled freshly cleaned. Music played softly through the built-in speakers. She glanced around and everything was in its place. The vacuum marks stood out on the white carpeting and the oven timer sounded from the kitchen. Such a welcome feeling.
She set her briefcase on the floor near the entertainment center where she always kept it and moved toward the kitchen. Carley pulled a fresh sheet of cookies from the oven as she entered.
"Hi. I thought I'd try my hand at this chocolate chip cookie recipe I found. I'm sure they aren't Hanna quality, but I like having a cookie with my coffee in the morning."
"They smell wonderful."
Carley smiled. "Sit." She pointed to the counter opposite her where the bar stools were.
Carley pulled a plate from the cupboard, scooped a fresh hot cookie straight from the sheet, and laid the cookie on it. "Milk?" She asked.
"Ah...sure." Margo smiled.
Carley fussed over her a moment and poured them each a glass of milk.
Then it dawned on her. When was the last time she walked into this house and felt welcomed to be home? It seemed like she had grown accustomed to the fact that she was supposed to be here, walk into the house, and decide what she had to do first, then second. Was Logan going to be home? Supper needed to be made. Laundry needed to be done. Dust. Vacuum. Mow the lawn. All of it had fallen to her over the years. To be honest, Logan had never made her feel welcome. His conversations and questions were always, did you get any listings today? Did you write any offers? When's the next closing on your schedule? Mine is this day. Things were business-y. Is that all they ever had was a business relationship?
It puzzled her that she'd never noticed it, but now that the thought entered her head, she didn't see it leaving anytime soon.
Carley lifted her glass of milk and held it between them. Margo grinned and picked up hers. They clinked their glasses together, and Carley grinned. "Welcome home. I'm making lunch. It'll be finished soon. Crock-Pot stew."
"Where did you learn to make that?"
"Well, I found this recipe this morning as I was looking through the internet."
"Oh dear, I'm your guinea pig recipe taster?"
"Well, actually, it sounded good, and I've been taste testing a little bit as I've been making it. It's pretty good, Margo. I think you're gonna like it. I also am making puff pastry spinach, mushroom, bacon bites, and I'm making a little sauce that you can dip them into if you like."
"That sounds really good, actually."
"I didn't want to make anything with cabbage, or you know that would make you bloat for your date tonight. No sense in having a gassy belly."
"Well, thank you for that. That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it? To have my stomach roiling and rumbling."
"It would."
Margo looked into her glass and moved it around in small circles on the counter. The milk swirled around, and she watched the patterns it made. "Are you sure this isn't too soon for me, Carley?"
"I'm certain it isn't too soon. When you think about it now, you haven't really been married to Logan for a long time. The formality of his dying, in some ways, did you a favor. He set you free, Margo. You're free now to have a life."
She stared at her sister for a minute. She was pretty. She wore her hair a bit shorter than Margo did, but it was the same dark color as their father’s. Same blue eyes. Carley had her mom's cute little nose, but otherwise, they were similar.
"I've never thought of it that way."
"Well, start thinking about it that way. He did you no favors by keeping you in this marriage. It's like he wanted his cake and to eat it too."
"Well, more like a cash cow, I was the one bringing in all the money."
"Well, there may be that since we don't know what the dumbass was thinking, all we can do is speculate, and that probably doesn't do any of us very much good. So, let's not speculate. How about that?"
Carley picked up her cooling cookie and took a bite. She grinned. "It's good."
Margo bit into hers and agreed. "You did a good job with these."
Margo took another bite, sipped her milk, and finished her cookie. "Carley, you're spoiling me. What am I gonna do when you go home?"
Carley flinched, and Margo paused. "Is everything okay at home with you?"
"Well, I didn't want to bother you before since you've been going through so much. But Don and I have broken up."
"When did that happen?"
"It happened about a month ago, and I waited for a while to tell anybody because, well, I was processing it myself. And then Logan got sick, and I came here, and it was a nice reprieve not deal with the daily arguments and sniping at each other, which seemed to be the case. And when I went back after the funeral, I realized I didn't want to be there. I came back here partly...mostly, to help you through all of this, but also to give myself some space and decide what I want to do."
"Oh my god, honey, I didn't know."
Margo ran around the counter and hugged her sister. She hugged her tight. "I wish you would have let me know about this. All this time I've been blabbing on and on, and the focus was on me. We should have been focusing on you."
Carley mumbled, "No, we should have been focusing on both of us, I guess, but I wasn't sure I wanted to say anything just yet."
Margo pulled back and looked her sister in the eye. "All right, so are you moving out, or did he move out?"
"Well, I think I'm going to move out. I don't want to be in that house anymore. I know we bought it together, but he'll have to buy me out. I've already spoken to Grant Park. Actually, I called him today while you were at the office to see if he could guide me through forcing Don to sell the house and giving me my share of the equity, which will get me started somewhere else."
"Here, let it be here. Come here. Move here by me. We'll be close."
Carley smiled. "That's kind of what I was thinking. But I didn't want you to feel burdened with me being underfoot."
"You're not underfoot. Oh my god, Carley, come and live here. Stay here with me. You have your own room. You have your own bathroom. Do what you want to do until you either find another job or see if you can work remotely from your current job or whatever you decide to do. But come here. Live with me."
Carley smiled. "Let me just say this. That sounds great. I love being with you, and I'm absolutely going to think about it, but I also don't want to jump into a situation where I'm dependent on someone else. So let me just give it some good thought, okay?"
"Deal. That's a deal."
Carley nodded. "Okay, so now let's get you fed, and then you should take a nap before you have to get ready for your date tonight. And I want you to think about your date tonight and let him admire you and show you what a real man is like because I think he's the real deal, Margo."
M argo wore a white skort and a soft blue sleeveless blouse. She'd curled her hair and played with it in the mirror. Up or down? The temperature would begin to cool in about an hour, but right now, it was still in the high eighties.
"You look gorgeous either way."
Carley entered the bathroom and sat on the little stool against the wall near the window.
"I was worried about the heat. He said casual, but I'm not sure if we'll be inside or outside."
Carley lifted and dropped her right shoulder. "Then wear it up and pull it down when the sun goes down."
Margo gathered her hair together at the nape of her neck and twisted it. She pulled it up and secured it with a pretty clip, letting the waves on the long end fall over the twist in waves.
Margo turned toward Carley and held her hands out to the sides.
Carley grinned. "Perfect."
"Thank you." Margo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What are you going to do while I'm out?"
"I'm going to take a bath and read a book. Maybe have a glass of wine."
"Okay." Margo swallowed, and Carley leaned forward. "Remember back in the day when you enjoyed life? As in, just living? Waking up excited about what the new day would bring."
"Of course."
"Do you?"
Margo opened her mouth and closed it. Did she? She frowned slightly.
Carley stood and hugged her. Stepping back, she looked into her eyes. "Do that again. Last night, you enjoyed dancing with Jace. The pictures don't lie. Enjoy spending time with a handsome man and enjoy that he treats you special."
"Does he? Treat me special?"
"He held your hand as you walked to the dance area. He told Sierra to buzz off. He looks at you like you're the most beautiful woman on the planet. Enjoy that. And treat him nice, too."
The doorbell rang, and Margo's hands pressed against her belly. Carley shook her head. "Get yourself calmed down, and I’ll let him in."
Margo turned to look at herself one more time. She looked good tonight. The nap sure helped. Her hair looked good, and the gaunt look she'd had while Logan was in the hospital was gone. She looked healthy.
Stepping out to the hallway, she padded toward the front door as she heard Carley and Jace chatting.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"No, thank you. I'm driving and I have a bottle of water in the truck. Besides, I don't drink much."
"But you make a living selling drinks."
Jace laughed, and the sound was beautiful. Deep, rich, and real. "Ah, yes, it's best not to drink the profits."
Carley laughed. "Good point."
Margo stepped into the room. Jace looked fantastic. Handsome in his grey three-button placket shirt and khaki shorts. His legs were tanned from days in the sun, serving guests. His broad shoulders stretched the soft cotton shirt in the best way. His eyes landed on hers, and her tummy fluttered.
"You look gorgeous as always, Margo."
She was speechless for a moment. "Thank you. You are as handsome as ever."
He grinned. "Looks like we should go out and enjoy it."
Margo glanced at Carley. She hugged her and whispered. "Remember what that feels like right there. The flutter in your belly and the goosebumps on your arms."