A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,53

money from the catering business. She’s been a nervous wreck since Gabe was officially laid off last week. Now isn’t the right time to tell her I don’t want to work so much. She needs me.”

“Could Samantha help out more with the business?” Peter asked, immediately going into solve-it mode.

Debbie shook her head. “She can work for us on the weekends, but she’s got her teaching job during the week.” She frowned. Something was going on with her youngest daughter, but Debbie didn’t know what. It could just be residual sadness from the breakup with Brant, but Debbie sensed there were other issues in play as well.

Peter sighed. “I’m sure there’s something that can be done to keep the catering company running but still allow you more freedom to pursue your own interests.” He returned to his seat and drained the contents of his water glass. “I’ll ask for two weeks off in the spring so we can take that trip, but it’s not going to solve all of your problems. Something has to give.”

Debbie’s spirits lifted. It was a longshot for him to get the time off of work, but at least now he was seriously considering the trip. If only the other problems nipping at her could be fixed by a simple request.

“I know. I’ll work on a plan for the business.” She offered him a small smile to let him know she was feeling better.

He smiled back at her, picked up his empty plate and nodded to hers. “Are you done? You’ve barely eaten a thing.”

He was right. She glanced at the mound of linguine with clam sauce congealing on her dinner plate. It was virtually untouched, but she felt no desire to eat. “I think I’ll save it for later.”

He took it from her, sealed it with plastic wrap, and placed it in the refrigerator. She rose from the table too, and rinsed off dishes accumulating in the sink before filling the dishwasher. The familiarity of the mundane chore gave her a brief respite from her internal conflict. Peter excused himself to his den to pay bills, and she collapsed in her favorite recliner.

A trip to look forward to was a start, but she needed something more. Debbie’s brow furrowed as she picked up her knitting supplies from the basket on the floor beside her. What would make her happy? Her kids and grandkids did, for sure, but she needed to find something of her own as well, something that would give her life meaning.

She thought while her knitting needles clicked together furiously, adding rows on to the winter hat she’d started for her granddaughter, Kaya. As the hat grew, so did a flurry of ideas. She smiled. Somehow, she’d solve her dilemma with the catering company, and then she’d be free to focus on the project taking shape in her mind.

14

Taylor

Taylor squeezed his eyes shut more tightly as the plane’s wheels bounced a few times on the runway, only opening them when it slowed to a sedate roll across the tarmac. Every time he flew, he thought his fear of flying would decrease. So far, that hadn’t happened. It wasn’t that he had a fear of heights—he was perfectly fine climbing the face of a mountain. He had an irrational fear the plane would suddenly fall out of the sky.

“You’re not a fan of flying, are you?” asked the white-haired woman next to him. She smiled kindly and the tightness in his chest decreased.

He took a deep breath and chuckled a little. “No, not really. I try to avoid it whenever possible.” He glanced out the window. Heat radiated off of the blacktop as the baggage handlers worked swiftly to unload the baggage from the plane’s belly. He looked back at his seatmate. “I am glad to be home though.”

“Oh? Do you live here?”

“No, I actually live in Washington now, but I grew up in this area.” He stretched out his legs as much as possible. When he had to fly, he always tried to get a seat in the exit row for the extra leg room, but it hadn’t been available on this flight. Normally, he preferred to drive the 1300 miles between Willa Bay and San Diego, but it was the busy season at the Lodge, and he’d been lucky just to get Labor Day weekend off to attend his sister’s wedding.

“Ah. I see.” She turned slightly in her seat and pointed at a family a few rows down. “My daughter, son-in-law, and