Chapter Thirty-Seven
Rosie
By Friday night, the shock of her daughter’s revelation had begun to ease, and Rosie had come to accept her new normal.
Pam’s exodus had left everything in a complete disaster. The records were tangled and her notes were in a shorthand that no
one else could read but Pam. Rosie knew it would be months before things were sorted and back on track.
She would worry about how she would clean up the mess another day. For now, she planned to enjoy an evening’s entertainment
with her daughter and granddaughter, watching a children’s play about some karate princesses.
“Thanks for letting me tag along with you and Olive on your date,” Emma said as Rosie pulled up to the town’s performing arts
center.
“I’m delighted to have you,” she told her daughter honestly. “I love any chance to spend time with you.”
Even with all the chaos surrounding Pam’s departure from the company, Rosie found peace, at least, in knowing that she and
Emma seemed to have made great strides in healing any lingering rift between them.
Now that the truth was finally out between them, Emma seemed free to talk to her in a way she hadn’t been before. They had
stayed up late the other night going through home movies, laughing about some memories, crying a little about others. They
were finally finding their way through the darkness.
She couldn’t say everything was perfect. Though Emma had finally told her the truth about Gary, her daughter still seemed subdued, even sad at random times.
Rosie had asked her a few times if everything was all right and each time Emma would assure her she was simply tired from
trying to wrap up the renovations at the bookstore.
She suspected something else might be going on but hadn’t wanted to press her daughter. If something else truly was bothering
her, Emma would tell her when she was ready.
She had also been surprised that Emma seemed to have changed her mind about coming to work for Lucas Construction. When Rosie
had suggested perhaps Emma could arrange things at the bookstore, as she had suggested, to enable her to come into the construction
company a few days a week, Emma had declined.
I think I’ll focus on Rainy Day for now, she had said. Rosie had decided not to push the matter. If Emma wanted to have a bigger role in the company, she would have
to speak up. Rosie wouldn’t pressure her.
When the three of them walked into the smaller of two auditoriums in the town’s performing arts center, her gaze instantly
seemed to find Andrew. He and his mother sat on the second row, with several seats open next to him.
Rosie’s mind instantly flashed back to those delicious moments when he had kissed her. How lovely it had been to share her
burdens with someone else, to lean on him for comfort and support when she had been feeling overwhelmed.
For so long, Rosie had struggled through everything alone. She had forgotten how wonderful it felt to share her fears and
her pain with someone else for a while.
Simply seeing him again in the auditorium, hair slightly messed as he gazed at her with a smile of welcome, sent butterflies
spiraling through her.
Nancy waved vigorously to them and gestured to the empty seats beside them. Rosie knew she ought to pick a seat somewhere else, somewhere far away from Andrew Morgan, with his afternoon shadow and his comforting shoulders and the scent of pine and new books that clung to him.
“Oh look. There’s Nancy and Andrew. Looks like they have room for us on their row,” Emma said, plucking the choice out of
Rosie’s hands.
Resigned, Rosie made her way down the steps toward their row, waving to a few people she knew. Somehow, she wasn’t sure how,
she ended up seated next to him, with her granddaughter beside her and Emma on the other side of Olive.
Great. How was she supposed to remind herself of all the reasons she and Andrew couldn’t be together when all she wanted to
do was lean into him and enjoy this?
“Hi there.” He smiled in greeting, and Rosie told her ridiculous heartbeat to settle down.
“Hi.”
“I was wondering if I would see you tonight.”
“How could I miss a play about karate and princesses? I told the children I would try to come. I didn’t want to disappoint them.”
“If you hadn’t come, I would have been disappointed as well.”
His voice, low and intent, left her feeling ridiculously giddy. She had a sudden clear conviction that if she wasn’t careful,
she was going to lose her heart to this man—if it wasn’t already too late.
“I’ve been watching for you at the jobsite, but you haven’t come by Stormhaven for a few days.”
“I haven’t had much chance to leave the office since Pam left. I’ve been doing her job and mine. Things are in a bit of a
muddle.”
“I’m sorry. That must be stressful for you. How are you coping?”
“I’m figuring things out. I keep telling myself it’s better than the alternative of having her still there. I’ve posted for
a replacement on some job-sites and we’ve already had a few decent applications come in.”
“Then you get to go through the fun of trying to hire the right candidate.”
“There’s always that. How’s the book?”
“Coming along. I’m finally making progress.” He gazed at her with a meaningful look. “It helps to have some incentive to stay
in the chair.”
Rosie could feel her cheeks heat, remembering his words after he had kissed her the other day.
He couldn’t really mean it, could he?
She thought for sure he would have come to his senses by now.
Before she could answer, the house lights dimmed, music began to play and Jane Baxter, who ran the community theater as well
as the children’s drama camp, took the stage to introduce the play.
Rosie settled back into her seat, fiercely aware of Andrew beside her. Each time he smiled at something in the show or looked
proudly on at his children’s performance, she lost a little more of her heart to him.
It was an adorable show, she had to admit, filled with staged karate fights, bad guys, fancy costumes, a couple of handsome
princes and plenty of singing and dancing.
Olive, beside her, watched the whole thing with wide, bright eyes and an enthralled expression. Rosie suspected Emma might
have dozed off. Poor thing. She didn’t think her daughter had been sleeping well, at least judging by the creak of floorboards
upstairs above Rosie’s own bedroom at all hours.
The show wasn’t long, perhaps an hour. When the last notes of the final number had been sung, the audience erupted with uproarious applause.
The children in their royal clothing and belted karate uniforms looked delighted at the reaction and took several bows.
When the houselights came up, rather than going backstage, the children came out to look for their respective families.
Zara and Finn both found them quickly and rushed over. They went to their dad first, who hugged them both tightly, exclaiming
over their performance. After they received the same treatment from their grandmother, Zara turned to Rosie, Olive and Emma.
“You came!” The girl looked delighted.
“And I’m so glad we did,” Rosie answered. “What a great job you all did. I loved the whole thing. The part where the princesses
all had to fight the bad guys in the forest had me on the edge of my seat.”
“That’s my favorite part, too,” Zara confided. She looked bright and animated, obviously riding an adrenaline high from the
performance.
“Guess what, Dad?” Finn said. “They have refreshments. Cookies and juice out where you pay for the tickets. Can we go have
a cookie? I’m starving!”
“Could I have a cookie?” Olive asked.
“Yeah. They’re for everyone,” Finn said.
Together, they made their way out to the foyer, where parents and children alike were chatting in small groups.
Rosie stopped to talk with several people she knew, but eventually she and Andrew found their way back together at the refreshment
table, where she grabbed a glass of lime-infused water and he picked out a lemon sugar cookie.
Rosie wasn’t sure how it happened, but they moved together to the edge of the crowd, to a corner where he leaned down, his gaze intense.
“I miss you, Rosie,” Andrew said softly, his eyes searching her face.
She blinked, a bit taken aback. “How can you miss me? You only saw me a few days ago.”
He took a step closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I think
we need to revisit our terms. I don’t want to wait until Stormhaven is done and I turn in my book to see you again.”
“You’re seeing me now,” she countered, feeling her cheeks warm, hoping everyone else was too busy with snacks to notice their
conversation.
He smiled, but there was a hint of longing behind it. “And it only makes me want more.”
Rosie looked away, struggling to control her racing heartbeat. “Nothing has changed. If anything, my life has gotten even
more complicated since Pam left.”
Andrew’s brow furrowed, disappointment flickering in his eyes. “I get it. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
She hesitated for a brief second, then went on before she could think better of it. “I will have Olive tomorrow. If you and
the kids don’t have anything else planned, we could all go down to the beach. The kids could run around, and we can talk.
No stress, no expectations.”
Andrew’s face brightened. “That sounds perfect. Just us, the ocean and fresh air. I’d like that.”
Rosie nodded, feeling a hesitant warmth blossom in her chest despite the chaos around her.
His kids came over to introduce their father to some of the friends they had made preparing for the production. Rosie made her way toward Emma and Olive, who were chatting with Emma’s friend Josie, there with her two children.
“Mom,” Emma said in an undertone when Josie was showing Olive and her children a large carved statue of a ballerina in a nook
of the foyer. “Is something going on with you and Andrew Morgan?”
Rosie flushed. “Why would you say that?”
Emma arched a brow. “Maybe because the two of you are generating enough electricity to power the Wood Briar downtown district
for a year.”
“Don’t be silly. I’m a grandmother.”
“And he’s a father. That doesn’t mean either of you is dead.” Emma studied her carefully. “Do you like him?”
Rosie thought of her conflicted feelings for Andrew. She very much suspected like was a mild word for her growing feelings. She was in grave danger of falling for the man. “I do,” she admitted.
“And he obviously likes you. I say go for it. You’re not exactly ancient. You have years worth of life left. Might as well
enjoy them while you can.”
“You don’t think it would be strange if I started dating again?”
“I think it would be amazing, especially if you start dating a great guy like Andrew. In case you forgot, he does happen to
be my favorite author. Plus, he seems like a very nice person.”
He was. Rosie sighed. “Are you ready to go?”
Emma gave her a look as if she knew perfectly well her mother was avoiding the conversation by changing the subject but she
simply nodded. “Yes. It’s past Olive’s bedtime. I’ll grab her.”
Before they could go outside, sirens suddenly split through the night as emergency vehicles raced past the community center, lights flashing.
A fire truck passed first, followed by a second ladder truck, along with an ambulance and paramedic vehicle.
“What’s going on?” Rosie asked, going to the window. “Looks like a bad accident.”
“It wasn’t.” Susan Ramsay—the wife of Rosie’s favorite plumbing subcontractor, who was also a volunteer firefighter—spoke
up.
“Jeff got a call two minutes ago. He already took off. Good thing we drove separately or I would be stuck here. This is the
real thing. Apparently there’s a fire downtown. They’ve called in everybody.”
“Whoa,” Emma said, looking shocked. “Did Jeff say where it was?”
Susan shook her head just as Rosie and Emma received simultaneous texts. Hers was from Sylvia and she assumed Emma’s was as
well.
Heard on the scanner. The bookstore is on fire. One person injured. They’ve called out the EMTs.
“Oh no,” Emma exclaimed. “Mom, did Grandma text you, too?”
Rosie nodded, feeling sick. This couldn’t be happening. Not the bookstore, especially after Emma had poured so much energy
into renovating the place.
Her daughter had turned pale, reaching out to a nearby pillar for support. “Bryce is working there tonight after hours! He
was installing more shelving.”
“What’s wrong, Mommy?” Olive asked, picking up on her mother’s distress but not the cause of it.
Emma looked helplessly at her child until Nancy Morgan stepped up. “If it’s the bookstore on fire, you two need to be at the scene. Why don’t you go take care of what you need to do? We’ll drop Olive back at Sylvia’s place on our way home.”
“Thank you,” Rosie said, filled with a vast relief.
Emma gave her daughter a hug and told her she would be home soon, then Nancy reached for the little girl’s hand as Emma and
Rosie rushed out of the community center.
Only after they were in Rosie’s Volvo and hurrying downtown did Emma speak.
“Mom. What if he’s hurt? Or worse?”
Rosie couldn’t bear thinking about all the grim possibilities. She reached across and squeezed her daughter’s hand. “He’s
strong. He’ll be okay. I’m sure of it.”
She gripped the steering wheel tightly as she navigated the familiar streets of their town, now eerily transformed by the
flashing lights of the emergency vehicles that cast long shadows.
She struggled to keep her breathing steady. She needed to be strong for Emma, but fear for Bryce clawed at her insides.