6 Rainier Drive (19 page)

J
ustine glanced at her watch, surprised it was almost noon. With a staff meeting and back-to-back appointments, the morning had gotten away from her. She grabbed her purse and hurried out from behind her desk. She should've left ten minutes ago. She was meeting Seth and their insurance agent at The Lighthouse, or rather where The Lighthouse used to be. The site had been cleared now, and decisions needed to be made.

As Justine headed out, she nearly collided with Warren Saget, who was just entering the bank.

“Justine,” he said catching her by the shoulders. “I almost bowled you over.”

“Warren,” she said, nearly breathless. “Oh, my goodness, I'm sorry. I'm in a rush—I'm supposed to meet Seth and our insurance agent.”

“Oh.” His face fell, his disappointment obvious.
“I was hoping to convince you to have lunch with me.”

“I can't,” she told him. “I have to run. I'm already late.”

“Will the meeting take long? I could wait.”

She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but Seth had asked her not to see Warren again. Her mother had been critical of her, too, for that one lunch meeting. Olivia didn't know the nature of her relationship with Warren, although Seth, of course, did. Warren was impotent, and they'd been friends who'd provided each other with certain mutual benefits, including company in social or business situations.

“I'm going to be at D.D.'s on the Cove,” Warren told her as she started backing away from him. “They do marvelous crab cakes. That was your favorite entrée, wasn't it?”

“You go on ahead,” she told him, eager to get away. She realized she hadn't explicitly turned him down.

“Meet me if you can,” he said.

Justine nodded and, because she was late, decided to drive rather than walk. She rushed across the parking lot where she'd left her car. Seth had been so busy at the boatyard lately that they hadn't had a chance to discuss their plans for the restaurant. She still had mixed feelings about rebuilding. The restaurant was too demanding; it took too much time away from their family life.

Tragic and distressing as the arson had been, she loved the freedom the last few months had given her. Seth was doing so well in sales, and each commission he collected was more than they'd cleared in any single month at the restaurant. In her heart of hearts, she hoped Seth would see that rebuilding The Lighthouse would be too hard on them. At the same time, she understood what he was saying about not wasting all the effort of the last five years. Besides, she had an idea, one she'd come up with during a recent visit at her mother's and briefly discussed with Seth. He seemed to listen but she wasn't convinced that he'd truly grasped her vision.

Seth and Robert Beckman, their insurance agent, were already at the site. Justine parked and hurried across the street to join them. The view of the cove was dramatic and beautiful, part of the reason this was such a valuable piece of real estate.

When she approached Seth and Robert, they were deep in conversation, pausing only to smile at her. Still speaking, her husband put his arm around her waist and brought her close.

“Robert was just saying he's reviewed the architect's plans,” he told Justine. “With a fresh start, we can make some necessary changes and update the old floor plan.”

Justine unsuccessfully hid her surprise. Con
struction plans? No one had mentioned any of this to her. “I have a few ideas of my own,” she inserted.

“Because of the fire,” Seth said, ignoring her comment, “we have the opportunity of a lifetime.” He grinned wryly. “Ironic, huh?”

She understood what he meant. They'd purchased the old Captain's Galley restaurant and done extensive renovations before opening and renaming it The Lighthouse. Even with all the money they'd sunk into the business, they were stuck with the original floor plan and kitchen. Rebuilding from the ground up gave them the opportunity to change everything. “What about my idea?” she asked. “What about the tearoom I told you about?”

Seth frowned and went right on speaking. “Robert's saying that in the rebuild, we can add a banquet room, which I'd already discussed with the architect. We can do the things we dreamed of doing. You could make the banquet room a tearoom, too, if that's what you want,” he said, in an obvious concession to her. The longer he spoke the more animated he became.

“Not a restaurant like we had before,” she said, refusing to let go of the idea. “But a tearoom for women in the area. This has nothing to do with adding a banquet room,” she said slowly.

“For women?” Seth repeated. “That wouldn't work. When we rebuild, it'll be a whole new Lighthouse. Can't you just see it?” he asked, smiling down
at her. “We'll have the banquet room we've always wanted.”

Again and again Seth had bemoaned the fact that The Lighthouse didn't have an area large enough to hold private banquets. He'd made the most of the space they had. But the restaurant lacked the facilities for wedding receptions and when they'd hosted any big occasions—like the charity auction and her grandmother Charlotte's wedding—they'd been required to close the restaurant.

“You know how badly we need a banquet room,” her husband said again, puzzled at her decided lack of enthusiasm.

Justine didn't answer. In talking to Robert about rebuilding—and this was obviously not the first such conversation—Seth made it clear that he hadn't heard a single thing she'd said in the last two and a half months.

“Justine?” Seth studied her, frowning slightly.

Pointedly she looked away from him. “Actually I can see I'm not needed here. You two appear to have everything under control. I was invited to lunch, so if you'll both excuse me I'll join my friend.” Before Seth could question her or object, she left. If she hadn't been so angry, Justine would've burst into tears; as it was, she was fighting for her composure.

When she reached her car, she heard hard footsteps coming up behind her. She turned to find Seth.

“What's the matter?” he asked.

“You aren't even listening to me,” she said, unable to hide the hurt she felt. “I really think my idea would work, Seth.”

“I'm not letting the last five years go down the drain so you can build a
tearoom
for a bunch of bored women. If we're going to rebuild, it needs to be something that involves me, too. I want to make The Lighthouse what it was always meant to be.”

“Then you go ahead and do that.” Her voice remained calm, belying her anger.

“You think a tearoom's actually going to be some kind of improvement?”

“Yes, I do. Don't you understand, Seth? I've seen more of you these last few months than I have in years. Leif is thriving. He loves having both his parents around for more than an hour a day.”

“You're exaggerating.”

“Am I, Seth?”

He shook his head, as if he couldn't make sense of what she was telling him. “This is a golden opportunity for us. It's not the time to consider doing something else. We have a chance to start over—”

“Then do it,” she broke in, glaring at him. “Just do it. If you want The Lighthouse back so badly, then rebuild.” She nearly choked on the words as she whirled around and opened her door.

Seth looked utterly perplexed as she slipped
inside her car, thrust the key into the ignition and drove off. In her rearview mirror, she saw him standing at the side of the street, staring after her.

Her hands trembled and she bit her lip hard. She was hurt and angry and wanted to lash out at him. He objected to her seeing Warren? Well, too bad. Warren was her friend and at the moment he seemed to be a better one than her own husband.

She walked into the foyer at D.D's on the Cove, then scanned the room. Warren sat at a table next to the window, facing the front of the restaurant. When he saw her, he brightened visibly. He stood, and came eagerly toward her.

“Justine,” he said meeting her at the entrance. “I hoped you'd come.” He kissed her on the cheek and steered her toward his table. Every eye in the room was on them.

This wasn't a small, out-of-the-way café like the place they'd met before. Soon everyone in town would be talking about her and Warren. So be it.

The instant they reached the table, he pulled out her chair with a flourish. Next he got the waitress's attention and asked for a menu. Justine felt a small shock as she recognized Diana, who'd worked as a waitress at The Lighthouse. They exchanged a few stilted words, and Justine hoped Diana wouldn't mention her presence here—with Warren—to anyone who might know her mother. Crazy as it
sounded, she worried more about Olivia finding out than Seth. Her husband could not have made it plainer that he didn't care about
her
feelings, so she couldn't see any reason to be too concerned about his.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Warren asked as she glanced over the menu.

“The way I feel right now, you can order an entire bottle.”

Warren's laughter pleased her. “Then I will.”

He did, and he didn't spare any expense, either, choosing a sixty-dollar bottle of chardonnay.

Despite her lack of appetite, Justine ordered the crab cakes and a small salad.

“All right,” Warren said, leaning toward her. “Tell me what happened.”

She waited until her wineglass had been filled. “Oh, Warren. I'm so upset.”

“I can tell,” he said, immediately solicitous.

“It's Seth. He wants to rebuild the restaurant. I'd talked to him about another idea and he completely ignored me.”

He seemed a little surprised himself. “You don't want to rebuild?”

“Not The Lighthouse. Not the way it was.” If what her mother had said was true and Warren was trying to get on her good side, hoping to be awarded the construction contract, he'd take her husband's
part in this. “For the first time since we opened The Lighthouse,” she explained, “Seth and I have time together like a normal couple. Leif is doing so well. The Lighthouse was strangling us, and now that we've been without it, I don't want to return to that kind of life.”

“But the restaurant was your livelihood,” Warren said, immediately siding with her husband. “It's only natural that Seth wouldn't want to give up his only source of income.”

So, maybe Olivia was right, and Warren did have an agenda. “It
used
to be our livelihood, but Seth went to work for Larry Boone and he's making more money as a salesman than we ever did with the restaurant.”

“I see,” Warren murmured thoughtfully. “Have you told Seth how you feel?”

“I made my feelings very clear.” Had Seth already forgotten the endlessly long hours and the constant struggle to meet their expenses and still make a living?

What hurt most was how matter-of-factly her husband had dismissed her. All he saw was the opportunity to add a banquet room to the redesigned restaurant. He was even willing to put them in a position of taking on more debt.

“I wish things were different,” Warren said, his eyes warm and sympathetic.

Well, maybe Olivia wasn't right about Warren's intent, after all. His sympathy seemed real, and it felt good to be with someone who understood her frustration.

Since Seth had started work at the boatyard, he seemed content for the first time since the fire. Not only that, he excelled at sales. Justine had real hope that their lives would finally settle into something resembling normalcy. Then, almost without warning, Seth was back to letting the restaurant obsess him.

“What am I going to do?” she asked, sipping her wine.

“Talk to him,” Warren advised.

“I already have, and he isn't listening.” Her eyes brimmed with tears and she quickly blinked them away.

“Then do something that'll make him sit up and take notice.” Warren gave a low, soft laugh. “You could always move in with me. That would get Seth's attention fast enough.”

She choked on her wine. Coughing and sputtering, she said, “You're kidding!”

Warren smiled and reached for her hand. “I wish I was. I can't tell you how much I've missed you, Justine. Nothing's been the same without you. We were good together, you and me. I realize what a fool I was to ever let you go.”

He'd grown so serious it made her uneasy. Not knowing how to answer him, Justine looked away.

“I can see that I've embarrassed us both,” Warren said, releasing her hand. “Forget I said that.”

She smiled, silently reassuring him that all was forgiven. Fortunately she didn't need to say anything, because Diana arrived with their salads. She frowned at Justine in obvious disapproval.

Justine pretended not to see. Despite Warren's urging, she drank just the one glass of wine. For the rest of the leisurely meal, Warren was attentive and entertaining, working hard to distract her from her woes. After he'd paid the bill, she thanked him and left to pick up Leif from his friend's house earlier than planned. She'd made the babysitting arrangement that morning, hoping to talk to Seth about her ideas over lunch—but that, of course, hadn't happened.

Leif was tired and cranky and fell asleep in the car on the short ride home. When she arrived at 6 Rainier Drive, Seth's car was parked out front. Actually, she was glad he was home; she'd take the opportunity to talk to him.

Lifting her still-sleeping son out of his car seat, she carried him into the house.

Justine hadn't even stepped through the door when Seth loomed in front of her. “Exactly where did you disappear to?” he demanded.

She ignored him, the same way he had her, and carried her son into his room, with Penny following her. She placed Leif in his bed and covered him with a blanket. Then she quietly closed the door behind her.

Seth stood in the hallway waiting. “I told you I met a friend for lunch,” she explained patiently.