Sandra Marton - Reunited With The Billionaire

“Cheese and sausage are cheese and sausage, whether it’s French or English,” Wendy said. “Trust me.” She shut her door and looked at Alison, who was buckling her seat belt. “The Burger Barn would be paradise. Just tell me that the fries are still greasy.”

“Cholesterol City,” Alison said cheerfully.

“Does a straw still stand up in a chocolate shake?”

“Scout’s honor, nothing’s changed.”

“Great,” Wendy said, but in her heart, she knew that everything had.

* * *

ALISON TOOK THE LONG WAY home.

It was a pretty road that wound into the Taconic Mountains before they fell away into the more subdued contours of the Berkshires. The scenery, at least, was still the same. Cozy old houses, rolling pastures, deep forests mantled with white, and everywhere the sense that time had reached this place and decided to pause for a while before moving on.

Wendy sighed and laid her head back. “I’d forgotten how peaceful it is here.”

“Peaceful’s the word, all right.” Alison raised an eyebrow. “On the other hand…”

“What?” Wendy looked at her friend. “Something exciting happened in Cooper’s Corner?”

“Well…yeah, you could say exciting.”

“Don’t tell me. Let me figure it out.” Wendy put on an innocent look. “Philo and Phyllis Cooper decided to give up gossip.”

Alison laughed. “I said `exciting,’ not `unbelievable.’“

“Well then, you’ll have to tell me. What new and exciting stuff happened?”

“Well, Bonnie Cooper—remember her? Bonnie was on a date with a guy in New York and they witnessed a mob hit.”

Wendy sat up straight. “You’re kidding!”

“Cross my heart, it’s the truth. Oh, and we had a visitor go missing, too.”

“Somebody hiking in the fall?”

“No, it wasn’t like that. This was a guest at the B and B, and he—”

“What B and B?”

“Remember the old Cooper place? Twin Oaks?”

“Sure. Big house, up on the hill across from the green.”

“Uh-huh.” Alison glanced in the mirror, signaled a turn. The sound of the engine deepened as they started up a hill. Ahead, the red taillights of a snowplow blinked hypnotically in the haze of the falling snow. “Old man Cooper died and left the place to his niece and nephew. A sister and brother from New York. Well, originally they were from around here.”

“From Cooper’s Corner?”

“Yeah. They moved away when they were kids. Anyway, they came up to see the house, and the next thing anybody knew, they’d kicked out of their old lives and moved here. Caught most people by surprise, especially when they turned Twin Oaks into a B and B.”

“I can’t believe my parents haven’t mentioned any of this. But wasn’t the house in bad shape?”

“Not anymore. Clint and Maureen have done wonders. New paint, new wallpaper, and they found a load of old furniture in the attic that just needed cleaning and polishing.”

“And that did it? Fresh paint, old furniture and a good cleaning?”

“Well, no. There was more. Bonnie did the plumbing.”

“Good for her.”

“Yeah, I said that, too. She put in new bathrooms, did some stuff in the kitchen….”

Wendy tried to concentrate, but it was hard. They were approaching a traffic light that marked an intersection whose claim to fame was two mini-malls, one on either side of the road. The Burger Barn was a couple of miles past them.

Minutes after that, they would reach Cooper’s Corner.

Her heart gave a little lurch. She was almost home, and nothing that really mattered had changed. The roads were the same, and when they got to town, it would be the same, too. The village green, with its bronze Minuteman standing eternal guard; Main Street and its bundled-up tourists, eager to soak up what they saw as an authentic bit of New England. The windows of the little antique and crafts shops would still be bright with Christmas displays, even though the holiday was over.

The traffic light went from green to amber. The car slowed to a stop and a small knot of people crossed to the mall on the opposite side of the road. Wendy stared out the window. It was hard to identify anyone. People were hunched into their coats, ducking their heads against the snow. Not that she was searching for anyone in particular. Not that she was looking for—

“…Seth,” Alison said.

“What about him?”

She thought she’d spoken calmly, but from the way Alison looked at her, she knew she hadn’t quite pulled it off.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I was so busy trying to bring you up to date on what’s been happening that I… Just forget I mentioned him, okay?”

“Allie, there’s no problem. Come on. What were you going to say?”

“Just that Seth did the carpentry at Twin Oaks.”

“Seth is a carpenter?”

“A really good one. And it turns out he’s got a talent for building fine furniture, too. From the looks of things, he’s doing…” She hesitated. “Wendy? You sure you want to hear all this?”

“Why wouldn’t I? The past is the past.” Wendy cleared her throat. “It’s just a surprise, that’s all. When he and I… When I left town, Seth was taking business courses at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.”

“Yeah. I remember. He quit MCLA after your, uh, your accident. He went to work for somebody in Stockbridge, and a couple of years ago he opened his own shop here.” Alison hesitated. “He still doesn’t know you’re coming home?”

“No.” Wendy looked at Alison. “Not unless you told him. You didn’t, did you? Allie?”

“Of course not,” Alison said, a little stiffly. “You asked me not to.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s all right.”

It wasn’t, and Wendy knew it. She reached across the console and touched the other woman’s hand.

“Allie,” she said in a low voice, “it’s…it’s harder than I figured, you know? Coming home, I mean. So much time’s gone by…” She swallowed hard. “Maybe I’m more tired than I realized.”

“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to jump on you.” The light changed to green and Alison stepped on the gas. “I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to see him. I mean, it’s been a long time, but you and Seth—”

“There is no `me and Seth.’ There hasn’t been for years.”

“Yeah. That’s the point. When you left for Norway, you two were crazy about each other. The next thing we knew, it was all over. Seth wouldn’t talk about you, wouldn’t even say your name. And then you didn’t come back, and we all wondered—”

“There’s nothing to wonder.” Wendy’s voice turned cool. “I’d think people would have better things to do with their time than gossip.”

“It wasn’t gossip.” Alison slowed the car again, signaled a right and turned into the Burger Barn parking lot. She pulled into a space, shut off the engine and looked at Wendy. “We all cared about you. The whole town turned out to see you off. Remember? There were signs in the windows on Main Street, everything from Good Luck to Our Wendy to Bring Back the Gold. When you got hurt—”

“Allie.” Wendy put her hand over Alison’s. “That’s history. The Olympics, the accident, Seth…it’s all in the past. I have a new life now.”

“So does he.”

The simple words fell between them, as heavy as stones. Wendy looked at Alison. “You mean, that he’s become a carpenter?”

“Well, sure.” Alison fell silent, averted her gaze. “And—and other things.”

“Other things?” Wendy moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Ah. I see.” Could she sound casual about this? Yes. Of course she could. Funny that she’d never thought to ask before. “You mean, he’s married?”