Heartache Falls Part 20

He opened his mouth, then hesitated. What did he know of Ali's wishes and desires? He knew she wished Celeste wasn't renting the restaurant to people from Hollywood. As far as dreams and desires went ... He stood tall and said, "She still desires me."

"I should hope so. You're a stud."

Mac tripped over his own foot, and her laughter rang out on the air like church bells. She slipped her arm through his, then asked, "Am I going too fast for you?"

"Something like that."

"It's a habit of mine. I like to live life to the fullest. That's important, don't you think?"

"Probably. Yeah." Some strange urge of honesty caused him to add, "I don't do a very good job of it."

"And why is that, Judge Timberlake?"

He mentally pulled back, shaking his head. "I'm afraid that answering that question would take deeper thought than I am capable of on this pretty afternoon."

"Chicken." She chuckled and gave his arm a squeeze. "You should think about it, Mac. Alison has."

"Are you still talking about those wishes and dreams?"

"I am. May I tell you what I see when I look at your wife?"

Hadn't she been doing that already? "Sure."

She paused beside a flowering shrub and gestured toward a yellow b.u.t.terfly flittering around the pink blooms. "I like to think that Alison is a b.u.t.terfly going through metamorphosis. These months in Eternity Springs have been her chrysalis. She's been growing her wings and developing her color. Now she's a b.u.t.terfly almost ready to emerge."

"I don't care for the metaphor, Celeste," he replied as the b.u.t.terfly flew away. "See?"

"Don't be silly. She's not flying away from you. Besides, aren't you in the metamorphosis process yourself?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're just a little bit behind your wife. That's often the case in nature, you know. Females take the lead."

Mac scowled. "Are you calling me a b.u.t.terfly?"

"I'm calling you a caterpillar. It's time for your metamorphosis, Mac. It's time for you to pursue your wishes, dreams, and desires."

"I've been pursuing my dreams since I was nine years old." He stepped away from Celeste Blessing and tugged the leash to draw Gus away from a dirt pile he was sniffing.

"That's the problem, don't you see? You've been focused on the first half of your life, but now it's time to explore what you want in the second half."

Mac turned his head and stared at her.

"Never thought of it that way, have you?" A wayward Frisbee came flying toward them over someone's back fence. Celeste caught it and sent it sailing back in a smooth, practiced movement. "Wishes and dreams and desires need not be static, Mackenzie. Don't you think life is more interesting, more exciting, if they change and adapt and grow according to the man you are today? Not the boy you were when you were nine?"

He opened his mouth to argue with her, but found he didn't have any words to say. Her questions unsettled him. They challenged him. They made him think.

"There's my Land Rover," Celeste said, gesturing toward the SUV parked parallel to the curb beside the neighborhood dog park. "I need to get on the road. It's quite a drive back. Isn't it handy that we walked this way? Ali asked her guests to park away from the house so as not to spoil the surprise for Sage. It was a lovely afternoon. Thank you for sharing your home with us, Mac."

Distracted by his thoughts, Mac murmured absently, "You're welcome."

Celeste removed a set of car keys from her handbag, thumbed her key fob to disengage the locks, then opened the driver's-side door. She spent a moment petting and cooing at Gus, then reached into her handbag once again. "Speaking of wishes and dreams, I have something to show you."

She removed a white envelope and handed it over, saying, "I thought of you when I saw this."

"What is it?"

"Let's just call it a possibility. Somebody's dream changed, and they not only recognized it, they embraced the new. Now it's up to you to decide where your dreams and wishes for the second half of life lie." She climbed into her Land Rover, shut her door, started the engine, then rolled down the window. "Thanks for the walk, Mac, and for the hospitality. Know that you are welcome at my place anytime."

Still staring at the envelope, he said, "Um, thanks. You drive carefully."

She put the SUV in gear, then finger-waved and pulled away from the curb. Mac stood dumbly for a long minute watching Celeste Blessing drive away. What an unusual woman. What a scary woman.

Gus let out a yelp and strained at the leash. Mac allowed him to pull him toward the dog park gate.

It wasn't until later when, freed from his leash, Gus put his nose to the ground and went on a sniff mission that Mac turned his attention to the envelope. Why did his instincts tell him to beware the contents?

Mac leaned against the spreading branches of an oak tree, blew out a heavy breath, and removed the folded sheet of paper from the envelope. The letter read: Dear Celeste, The rain forest is amazing. We are living among monkeys and macaws and sloths and boa constrictors, to name just a few. As much as I love Colorado, this land and its inhabitants speak to me in a way I never expected. We are happy here. Life has taken us in a new and exciting direction. We have decided to make this place our home.

As a result, we wish to put our Colorado property on the market, and we'd like to take you up on your offer to oversee the arrangements should we make this decision. Will you please put the matter into motion? Heartache Falls is a good place filled with positive energy. It brought both Patricia and myself great happiness. It is our hope that you find new owners who will experience similar joy from life lived in a Rocky Mountain yurt.

G.o.d's peace,

Bear and Patricia

Judge Mackenzie Timberlake folded the page and returned it to the envelope, then stuffed the letter in his pocket. He whistled for his dog and wondered why in the world Celeste Blessing had given him the letter. What nonsense was she thinking?

Needing a distraction, Mac called Gus and instigated a game of fetch with a stick. They played until Mac's arm grew tired and a new scent caught Gus's attention. Mac let him explore for another few minutes, then called, "Come on, boy. Time to go home."

Mac got more of a distraction than he bargained for upon arriving home to find Caitlin sitting on the front steps, crying. Seeing his daughter, Mac dropped the dog leash and ran toward her. "Honey? What is it? What's wrong, kitten?"

She looked up, tears flowing from eyes a mirror image of her mother's. "Daddy! Oh, Daddy. Patrick broke up with me!"

Mac sat beside his daughter, took her in his arms, and held her while she sobbed. As his s.h.i.+rt grew wet with tears, he silently acknowledged a few undeniable truths. He was filled with relief that the frat daddy was out of his daughter's life. Second, he acknowledged once again how profoundly his selfish decisions had affected Ali's life. Finally, he understood that as Caitlin's father, he had a good shoulder for her to cry on, but beyond that, he didn't know how to help her. She needed her mother. He needed her mother. Ali ought to be here.

Or we need to be with her.

Two weeks later On the second anniversary of the opening of Angel's Rest, Hollywood was due to set up shop in Eternity Springs. Ali's alarm woke her at seven-thirty that morning. Glumly she stared at the clock and sighed. Today was a big day for Celeste, a big day for Eternity Springs. She wished she could be more positive about it. What she wanted to do was to bury her head beneath her pillow and pretend this day had not arrived.

The television program concept proposed during negotiations by Lorraine Perry and embraced by Celeste was to show the progression of a little mountain mom-and-pop restaurant to a five-star success that would attract celebrities from all over the world. Lorraine Perry's combination reality and cooking show would take Eternity Springs another big step along the road to revitalizing the town's economy. The locals would reap the benefit of visitors with deep pockets. Times wouldn't be so hard. Maybe the whole TV thing wouldn't change the town as much as Ali feared. After all, Celeste had proven time and again that she had good instincts, had she not? Ali should put aside her doubts and trust in the "angel" of Angel's Rest.

With that she rolled out of bed, showered, and dressed. She wanted to make one last sweep of the Bristlecone while it was still hers-so to speak. The final addendums to the lease agreement were to be signed today.

Her keys hung in their usual spot on a hook beside the door. She eyed her cell phone, connected to its charger, and wondered if her day wouldn't go more smoothly if she left it behind. Caitlin's post-breakup call volume was down to less than a dozen times a day again, but her life could be a roller coaster and today, especially, Ali didn't want to get drawn into drama. Not having a phone might also help her avoid her personal obsession of late: checking every five minutes to see if Mac had called or emailed or sent her a text message.

Something weird was going on with Mac. He should be happy because the Sandberg trial had ended and the paparazzi no longer stalked him. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but something wasn't right. She'd mentioned it to her father last night when they talked, but he seemed to think it was nothing more than that Mac had already turned his attention to his next case. Ali wasn't so certain.

She and her husband played phone tag more often than not. When they did speak, Mac seemed both distant and preoccupied, though he didn't come across as angry or cold. With her own hands full between long-distance hand-holding for Caitlin and preparing for today, Ali had found little time to worry about it. But as the days pa.s.sed and the situation continued, she'd begun to fret. He had said he would try to make it today, but they hadn't connected in a couple of days, so she didn't know whether or not to expect him.

She decided to bring her phone with her, but she'd leave it upstairs in the Bristlecone office.

Outside she noted that the streets were already bustling-another sign that the Bristlecone deal was good business for Eternity Springs. This was the tail end of the tourist season, after leaf peepers had taken the place of families on summer vacations, but in another week or two, the autumn colors-and the tourists-would be gone. For the last two years, visitors to Angel's Rest had filled the economic gap for the locals. Now, as the television show began filming, a whole new type of visitor was arriving.

She arrived at the Bristlecone to find a car parked in front of it-in a no-parking zone. Couldn't they read a sign? As she unlocked the door, two men climbed out and one of them asked, "Mrs. Timberlake?"

"Yes."

"My name is Bob d.i.c.kerson. I work with Ms. Perry. I know we're early, but would it be all right with you if my set director and I looked around for a few minutes?"

"Come on in, gentlemen."

Twenty minutes later, she showed them out the door with a smile. She twisted the lock behind them, counted a slow ten, then kicked the door hard. "New paint? New curtains? New tables? Excuse me? What have I been doing for the past few months?"

Wasting her time, apparently. Chef Lorraine had decided the decor simply wouldn't do for her "mountain cuisine." They were going to begin gutting the restaurant as soon as the papers were signed. Ali was furious, and if she was honest, she had to acknowledge that her feelings were hurt. The remodeled Bristlecone was her baby, and now her baby wasn't pretty enough? Really?

She wanted to talk to Mac, to complain about the celebrity chef and confess her concerns about the effect on the town, and to cry on his shoulder over the destruction of all her recent efforts. She hurried to her office, found her phone, and turned it on. First she tried their house, but he didn't answer. Next she called his cell. The call went straight to voice mail. She glanced at the clock. Finally she dialed the office. Louise didn't answer, but when Ali asked to speak to Mac, the stranger manning the phone said, "Judge Timberlake has taken a leave of absence, may I refer you to someone else's office?"

A leave of absence?

After a moment's pause, the voice said, "h.e.l.lo?"

Fl.u.s.tered, Ali hung up without saying good-bye. She tried both the home phone and Mac's cell phone again, then dialed each of her children. Neither boy answered, but she did connect with Caitlin. "Honey, have you spoken to your father lately?"

"Yes, just this morning. What's wrong, Mom?"

"What did he say to you about his work?"

"That he was glad the Sandberg case was over, and that the trial had almost ruined baseball for him."

"He didn't say anything about a leave of absence?"

"Leave of absence from what?"

"His job. I called the office and they said he's taken a leave of absence."

"You're kidding me! That's his dream job."

"I know. It doesn't make sense. I also think he's dodging my calls on purpose." Hearing a knock on the Bristlecone's front door, she glanced at her wrist-watch. "I've got to go. Things are starting to pop around here. Listen, Cait, see what you can find out and let me know. And, if you do talk to your father, tell him he'd better call me and do it fast."

"I will. Good luck today, Mom. I hope everything goes great."

They ended the call, and Ali nibbled worriedly at her lower lip as she stuck her phone in her pocket and headed back downstairs to admit mayhem into her carefully constructed world.

In short order, that's exactly what occurred. First the crew descended with their cameras and cords and lighting. Then Celeste arrived, a vision in green and gold, happy and bright as summer suns.h.i.+ne. Ali's father showed up next, dapper in his Savile Row suit, serving as Celeste's attorney. Ali shook her head. Her dad in a reality TV show? How crazy was this?

By the time the great chef herself swept into the Bristlecone with an entourage of eight, the street outside was filled with curious sightseers. Ali hung back, not bothered one bit by the fact that the office was too small and crowded for her to witness the contract signing. But once that happened, her job was officially finished and she was out of here. No way would she hang around and watch them begin taking apart what she'd worked so hard to put together. What a waste.

While she waited, she wandered back to the kitchen where she poured herself a gla.s.s of iced tea. She stood in the doorway, sipping her drink and observing the little mountain restaurant she'd put together well enough to catch a Hollywood chef's interest, but apparently not well enough to pa.s.s muster with her.

"I should have tried to talk her into going Italian after all." Then she could have designed this s.p.a.ce the way she'd really wanted it, and with any luck, Lorraine Perry would have walked right on by her restaurant during her summertime visit to Eternity Springs.

Applause broke out in the office, signaling that the morning's business was done. Ali lifted her tea gla.s.s in a sad salute, then exited out the back. She'd catch up with Celeste and her father at the celebration at Angel's Rest.

A small crowd remained gathered outside the Bristlecone, but people were beginning to congregate on the healing center's grounds for the birthday barbecue. Ali used the opportunity to attempt to reach Mac. Again he didn't answer. For the next hour and a half, she tried his phone every fifteen minutes or so. Nada. What was going on with him?

A call to the neighbor's house informed her that Mac had packed up and left and taken the dog with him. That made her want to drop everything and head for Denver, and she might have done just that had she known where to look for the man.

She told herself that Mac wasn't one of her children. He was an adult. He could take care of himself.

Next time she saw him, he'd be taking care of the black eye she was going to give him for worrying her to death.

By one o'clock, four different people had come up to Ali to ask her why those Hollywood people were undoing all the improvements she'd made to the Bristlecone. By one-thirty, she had upset her father by snapping at him for waxing on about lovely Lorraine's smile. When two o'clock finally rolled around, after she'd stood on the Angel's Creek footbridge and watched the television people carry armload after armload of her carefully chosen items out of the restaurant to be thrown carelessly into the bed of a pickup truck, Ali was ready to forgo the iced tea and head straight for the bourbon.

To top it off, despite having left fully a dozen messages, she'd yet to hear a word from Leave-of-Absence Mac.

At two-thirty, Celeste stood on the front porch of the old Cavanaugh Mansion and rang the big bra.s.s bell, inviting her guests to gather around.

"Welcome friends, neighbors, special guests, and"-she winked at Lori Reese who was on a visit home from college-"coeds. G.o.d has blessed us once again with a spectacular day, has he not?"

She paused while the crowd burst into applause. Once it died down, she continued. "It's been another exciting year for Eternity Springs as we've further developed our Angel Plan. I want to thank you all for you support and enthusiasm. Please, let us once again give ourselves a round of applause."

The crowd cheered, and as Celeste continued to recap the strides forward the town had made during the past year, Ali found herself surrounded by a group of dear friends: Sarah and Lori Reese, Rose Anderson, Sage and Colt Rafferty, and Nic and Gabe Callahan and their darling twin daughters. She smiled warmly at them all and was pleased when Sage linked her arm through hers. Ali had found friends.h.i.+p and acceptance in Eternity Springs, but that wasn't all. Here in this little Rocky Mountain town, Ali Timberlake had found herself.

"Now, my fellow Eternity Springsians," Celeste continued with a twinkle in her eyes. "I have a special announcement. As most of you know, today we have VIP visitors in town, Chef Lorraine Perry and the crew of the brand-new reality TV show, Reality Bites. Our own Ali Timberlake has worked frightfully hard, first preparing the Bristlecone for reopening, and then, when we were offered the opportunity from our friends to the west, negotiating our lease agreement. She's done a spectacular job for me and for all of us in Eternity Springs. Please join me in giving Ali a big round of applause."

Embarra.s.sed, Ali waved her thanks. Her father made eye contact with her and winked, and she felt a little rush of pride. It was nice that he had been here to witness the public kudos. Mac, where are you?

"Now, without further ado, I am going to announce the name of the winner of our contest to name the Angel's Rest mascot." She held up a little stuffed poodle with wings that she'd asked Sage to design. "I must say this was a difficult decision. You all submitted some fun and creative names, but one name in particular called to my heart. Now, I promised a spectacular prize for the winner of this contest, so before I announce the winner, I should announce just what that prize is. I've asked Jeffrey Colmes to a.s.sist."

The young member of the school band offered up a drumroll. Celeste allowed seconds to pa.s.s and antic.i.p.ation to build before she declared, "The winning prize is an all-expenses-paid two-week trip for two to ... Australia!"

The crowd cheered. Ali's brows arched. Last she'd heard, the prize had been a trip to Hawaii.

"Australia!" Sage exclaimed. She glanced at Ali. "Why Australia?"

"I haven't a clue. It's news to me."

Sarah sighed dreamily. "I've always wanted to go to Australia. Ever since I was a kid. Cam and I used to-"

Realizing what she'd said, she snapped her mouth shut.