“Really.” She recalled seeing Mr. McAfee’s sign on Harbor Street. What a fascinating profession. She suspected Mack’s father got some really interesting cases. Maybe not, though, especially in such a small town. Maybe she was just influenced by the mystery novels she loved and the shows she watched on television.
“I suppose I should change clothes before dinner,” Grace said, rising from her chair with seeming reluctance. “I’ve enjoyed sitting here chatting with you.”
“Me, too,” Mary Jo told her. It’d been the most relaxing part of her day—except, of course, for her nap.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Mary Jo figured this was her signal to leave. “I’ll go to the apartment.”
“Are you sure? I know Mack said you should rest, but Cliff and I would really like it if you joined our family for dinner.”
“Where is Cliff?” she asked, glancing over one shoulder, assuming he must be somewhere within sight.
“He’s out with his horses. They’re his first love.” Grace smiled as she said it.
Mary Jo had noticed the way Cliff regarded his wife. He plainly adored Grace and it was equally obvious that she felt the same about him. Mary Jo gathered they’d only been married a year or two. The wedding picture on the piano looked recent, and it was clear that their adult children were from earlier marriages.
Then, without allowing herself to consider the appropriateness of her question, Mary Jo said, “About what you said a few minutes ago…Have
Grace sat down again. She didn’t speak for a moment. “I did,” she finally said. “I married young and then, after many years together, I was widowed. I’d just started dating again. It was a whole new world to me.”
“Were you seeing Cliff?”
“Yes. He’d been divorced for years and dating was a new experience for him, too. I’d been married to Dan for over thirty years, and when another man—besides Cliff—paid attention to me, I was flattered. It was someone I’d had a crush on in high school.”
“Did Cliff know about him?”
“Not at first. You see, this other man lived in another city and we e-mailed back and forth, and he became my obsession.” Grace’s mouth tightened. “I knew all along that he was married and yet I allowed our Internet romance to continue. He said he was getting a divorce.”
“It was a lie?”
“Oh, yes, but I believed him because I wanted to. And then I learned the truth.”
“Did Cliff find out about this other man?”
Regret flashed in her eyes. “Yes—and as soon as he did, he broke off our relationship.”
“Oh, no! You nearly lost Cliff?”
“As I said, I’d learned the truth about Will by then and was crushed to lose Cliff over him. I was angry with myself for being so gullible and naive. I’d lost a wonderful man because of my foolishness. For a long time I could hardly look at my own face in the mirror.”
“That’s how I feel now,” she murmured.
“It does get better, Mary Jo, I promise you that. Will, the man I was…involved with, did eventually lose his wife. She divorced him and, while I believe he had genuine feelings for me, it was too late. I wanted nothing more to do with him. So you see, he really was the one who lost out in all this.”
“Cliff forgave you?”
“Yes, but it took time. I was determined never to give him cause to doubt me again. We were married soon after that and I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.”
“It shows.”
“Cliff is everything I could want in a husband.”
The door off the kitchen opened and Cliff came in, brushing snow from his jacket. He hung it on a peg by the door, then removed his boots. “When I left, you two were sitting right where you are now, talking away.”
Grace smiled at him. “I was about to change my clothes,” she said. “Keep Mary Jo entertained until I get back, will you?”
“Sure thing.”
Grace hurried out, and Cliff claimed the chair next to Mary Jo. As he did, he eyed the crumpled tissues. “Looks like you two had a good heart-to-heart.”
“We did,” she admitted and then with a sigh told him, “I’ve been very foolish.”
“I’m sure Grace told you we’ve all made mistakes in our lives. The challenge is to learn from those mistakes so we don’t repeat them.”
“I don’t intend to get myself into this predicament ever again,” Mary Jo said fervently. “It’s just that…” She hesitated, uncertain how much to tell him about her brothers. “I feel like my family’s smothering me. I have three older brothers and they all seem to think they know what’s best for me and my baby.”
“They love you,” he said simply.
She nodded. “That’s what makes it so difficult. With my parents gone, they feel
“And naturally you take exception to that.”
