The Inn at Lavender Bay (The Lavender Bay Chronicles #1)

2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Nadine

N adine Eberhardt stood at the stove and stirred a pot of coq au vin, humming to herself. She’d seen the recipe on a food show and figured, how hard could it be? It looked a bit dry, so she added more Pinot Noir. The heady aroma rose and floated toward her; she closed her eyes and sighed. Satisfied, she poured some wine into her glass and sipped it.

Dinner was in less than an hour. She began taking plates and silverware out and laying them on the table, reflecting on her day. She’d spent the morning with her daughter, Emma, buying things she’d need for her dorm room. Her only child was leaving for college soon, hundreds of miles away, and it was strange to imagine their home without Emma in it. Nadine would soon be setting places for two instead of three, alone with her husband again after all these years. It was going to be a brand-new phase for their marriage.

That, at least, was something to look forward to, especially after the wonderful tropical vacation she and Richard had just enjoyed in Hawaii. She smiled to herself. It had been a week in paradise, almost like a second honeymoon.

Her musings were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

Their dog, Herman, a rangy Irish wolfhound mix, came tearing in from the other room, looked at her, and tore off for the front door.

“Oh, Herman,” Nadine muttered as she set the plates down and made her way to the front of the house. “It’s not like you can open it.” And God help us if he ever learns how.

“Coming!” she called out.

Herman sat waiting for her at the double door, peering up at her through his unruly hair no amount of product could ever fix, his tail thumping against the floor. Herman loved company: visitors, the mailman, delivery men, and especially those Girl Scouts who sold cookies.

Assuming it was Richard at the door, Nadine opened it and said, “Did you forget your keys again?”

Two things happened simultaneously. First, Nadine realized it wasn’t Richard standing there on the porch but a pair of strangers, a woman with a young boy who looked to be about four or five. Second, Herman tried to lunge outside to greet the unknown visitors, confident they would like to be jumped on and covered in sloppy kisses. Reflexively, Nadine closed the door partway and put her knee in front of the narrow opening. Not to be deterred, Herman stuck his snout over Nadine’s leg and whined, his tail wagging happily behind him. These were new people that he did not know and must win over.

“Stop it,” Nadine said, grabbing hold of his collar and trying to pull him back. He whined some more. Through the gap in the door, she said, “I’m sorry about him. He gets a little excited with visitors. Can I help you?”

The woman, petite with neat sandy-blond hair, seemed to hesitate. Her green eyes were clear and bright, and she had enviable skin. But Nadine reminded herself that she had at least ten years on the woman. In another decade, she would have similar lines to the ones Nadine now sported. It was inevitable.

“I’m looking for Richard Eberhardt,” the woman started. She kept her gaze locked on Nadine. The boy, holding his mother’s hand, appeared more interested in Herman than Nadine.

“I’m sorry, he’s not here.”

The woman appeared unsure.

“I’m Nadine, his wife. Can I help you with something?” she asked. Her gaze was drawn toward the dark-haired young boy, thinking she’d seen him somewhere before. He had his mother’s bright green eyes and a splash of freckles across the bridge of his nose. He looked awfully familiar. For a moment, she wondered if they were the people who’d recently moved into the house three doors down.

The woman turned her head to look one way down the street and then the other.

“Is everything all right?” Nadine asked, thinking she was acting strangely.

“I’m a friend of Richard’s,” the woman offered.

“He went for a run, but he should be back soon.” Gripping Herman’s collar tightly, Nadine held him back as she opened the door wider. “You’re welcome to come in and wait, if you’d like.”

The woman bit her bottom lip, then nodded.

“My name is Julie,” she said, stepping inside, “and this is my son, Sam.” She blew out a breath and her wispy bangs lifted off her forehead.

Nadine led them down the wide hallway, the recently refinished parquet floor glimmering in the late-afternoon sun shining through the beveled glass windows of the front door. Julie looked around her with interest, taking in the ornate sideboard flanked by two antique Chinese floor vases filled with artificial flowers that had been so expensive they looked real.

Nadine ushered the guests into the living room, which was all white with navy blue accessories, like the blue-and-white striped throw pillows on the plush sofa that had cost an arm and a leg. The twelve-foot-high ceilings made the room appear expansive, and the floor-to-ceiling windows brightened the place with natural light. It was one of Nadine’s favorite rooms.

Herman pushed past them, wanting to get into the room first. He was always first. But he turned around and walked backwards into the room. It was a Herman thing.

The woman scowled and the little boy laughed. Nadine laughed, too. “He struggled in obedience school,” she said, “but we love him anyway.”

Nadine held her arm out toward the sofa, indicating the visitors should take a seat. Herman immediately sat down near Sam’s legs, leaning against the sofa, looking up at the boy, who giggled and leaned against his mother. This made Herman put his paw on the boy’s leg and whine.

“Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite,” Nadine said with a laugh. “He can be overly friendly. Would you like something to drink?”

“If it’s not too much trouble,” Julie said.

“Lemonade all right? Or I have wine if you’d prefer that.”

Julie frowned. “Wine in the afternoon?”

“Lemonade it is then,” Nadine said. “Come on, Herman.” But the dog ignored her and continued to stare at Sam.

Giving up, she headed to the kitchen, walking quickly. Hurriedly, she emptied the half-full wine glass that sat next to the stove and loaded it into the dishwasher. She set out a tray with three glasses, two tall and one small. She’d gotten rid of all the child-friendly plastic cups years ago. But she did have a package of Oreos, Emma’s favorite cookie, and she arranged a pile on a plate.

Sam had warmed up to Herman and was tentatively touching the top of his head. Smiling, she set the tray on the coffee table between the neat stack of Architectural Digest magazines and a coffee table book on the works of Mary Cassatt.

Nadine handed out glasses of lemonade and offered Sam the plate of cookies, but he buried his head in his mother’s side and shook his head.

“Are you sure?” Nadine asked.

“No thank you,” Julie said tartly. “It will spoil his dinner.”

Nadine nodded, set the plate down, and took the single chair across from them.

“You said you were a friend of Richard’s,” Nadine said by way of an opening. Since their arrival, she’d been wondering where this woman fit in his life.

“I’m an events planner,” Julie answered. “I orchestrate the company’s Christmas parties and Fourth of July barbecues.”

Nadine smiled. “You’re responsible for all that? We love the Christmas parties, they’re amazing. Of all the places Richard has worked over the years, these company parties are the best.”

“Thank you,” Julie said. Despite her youth, there was a no-nonsense way about her, and Nadine could easily see this other woman organizing those spectacular gatherings. The fireworks show for the Fourth of July celebrations drew not only company employees but people from the surrounding towns.

Nadine was about to ask another question when Julie said, “How was Hawaii?”

Nadine’s lips parted and she felt her frown lines deepen along her forehead. How did Richard’s company event planner know that they’d gone to Hawaii? Maybe he had mentioned it in passing at the water cooler?

Before she could answer, she heard Richard in the hallway, sneakers squeaking along the floor.

“Nadine?”

“In here,” she called out.

He appeared. “I turned the stove off, the dinner is starting to burn—” He pulled up short, spotting Julie and Sam.

Richard, late forties, looked great for his age. He had a pleasant face with cropped gray hair. He glistened with perspiration from his run, which highlighted his Hawaiian tan, and his T-shirt clung to his toned abdomen. He was, in Nadine’s estimation, a very good-looking man.

“Julie!” he said. Beneath his tan, he’d gone ashen, as if he’d had a shock .

Julie stood and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Daddy!” Sam cried, and he went sailing into Richard’s arms. Herman stood and barked.

Nadine blinked several times, her mouth hanging open as her gaze bounced from Richard to Sam to Julie and then back to Richard.

“What?” she said out loud, wishing the floor would open up so she could fall into it.