Eunice sighed and picked disconsolately at her salad. “You’re so lucky, Callie. Things just fall into place for you.”
“Not everything,” Callie reminded her. “I lost my husband this year and my job.”
“But you landed on your feet with something better than ever.”
With so little time before her flight, Callie debated asking the obvious, but Eunice seemed to need someone to talk to. “Are you so very unhappy?”
Eunice gave her a mocking half smile. “What’s not to like? My husband is faithful. Our farm provides us with an adequate living.” She sounded as if she were saying it by rote.
“I asked about you. Does that make you happy?”
“It should,” her sister said in a voice so low Callie could barely hear her.
“But does it?”
Eunice slowly shook her head. A single tear leaked out of her tightly closed eyes and slid down her cheek. Callie thought her heart would break at the sight.
Impulsively, she reached over and hugged her sister. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry. What can I do?”
“Nothing,” Eunice murmured. “As mother would say, I’ve made my bed, now I just have to lie in it.”
“You don’t,” Callie retorted. “Not if you’re miserable. Decide what it is you really want, and if it’s within my power, I will help you get it.”
“What can I do? I married Tom right out of high school, even though everyone, including you, told me it was a mistake not to go to college. Knowing me, I probably did it just to prove you all wrong. Isn’t that ironic?” She swiped at another tear. “Getting a divorce and working at McDonald’s for the rest of my life hardly seems like a solution.”
“What does, then? Do you want to see a marriage counselor?”
“Tom would never hear of it.”
“Then go alone. I’ll pay for it.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering.”
“First I shove the responsibility for Mother off on you and now I’m asking you to solve my problems. That’s not fair.”
“I can’t solve your problems,” Callie corrected. “But maybe I can make it easier for you to solve them. Think about it. Decide what you really want and I’ll do whatever I can to help you get it.” She glanced at her watch. “Damn, I’m really sorry, sweetie, but I have to go or I’ll miss my plane.”
Eunice nodded. “Go. I’ll be fine. I think I’ll sit here for a bit and have another cup of coffee. I never get any time to myself anymore.”
Callie pulled a hundred dollar bill from her purse and pressed it into her sister’s hand. “Lunch is my treat. Use the rest to buy yourself something special, okay?”
“I don’t need your charity,” Eunice said with stiff pride.
“Please, let me do something nice for my only sister, okay?”
Eunice struggled with herself for a minute before finally nodding. “Thank you.”
“You’ll call me?” Callie prodded. “Promise?”
“I promise.”
Callie bent down and gave her sister another hug. On the long flight back to New York, all she could think about was how all of the Gunderson women—as different as each of them were—had reached such critical turning points in their lives at the same time.
19
When Callie stepped off the plane in New York, she found Henry patiently waiting for her by the gate. He unfolded his lanky body from a chair and tucked a dog-eared book into his pocket before she could get a good look at the cover. Horror, she thought. It didn’t seem to suit his placid personality.
A welcoming grin spread across his rugged face as she neared. At least Henry seemed to have missed her, Callie thought with a trace of bitterness directed toward his boss.
“There you are, Miss Callie.” He reached for her bag. “Let me take that for you.”
Although it was easy enough to handle the small makeup bag, she handed it over without argument. He would have been offended if she hadn’t.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” she said as she hurried to keep up with his long strides. “How did you know when my flight was getting in?”
At his wry look, she nodded. “Mr. Kane, I suppose.”
“He does keep track of such details,” Henry agreed blandly.
“Too bad he couldn’t be here himself,” she muttered under her breath as she followed the driver from the terminal to the limo waiting at the curb.
Before Henry could reach for the handle, the door was opened from the inside and Jason himself stepped out. Callie frowned at Henry. “You could have told me.”
“Much better to let you be surprised,” he informed her with a wink.
Callie regarded Jason speculatively and tried to ignore the rush of pure pleasure that raced through her at the mere sight of him. She was falling for him, all right. The prospect struck her as far more dangerous than anything that had happened to Terry so far.
“Was this in my contract or something?” she asked tartly.
His gaze locked with hers, and his expression turned very serious and sincere. “No, my sweet, this is strictly personal.”
She allowed herself a faint smile as her irritation faded far too readily. “Oh, in that case...”
Unable to resist, she stepped straight into Jason’s arms and lifted her face for his kiss. His lips met hers with a coaxing, consuming hunger that stunned her. Apparently he had missed her, after all. The distancing maneuvers seemed to be over for the moment. She intended to take full advantage of the reprieve.
“Maybe I’ll make threats about never forgiving you and go away more often,” she said when she could catch her breath. “It seems to have the most amazing results.”
“So, am I forgiven for not going along?” he inquired when
