B&B’s best room vacant, took the Flynns to court, or bad-mouthed Hillside Manor in the media. Weevil and Company were out of her life. Judith felt as if Fate were smiling on her.
She didn’t bother to consider that Fate was often fickle.
Chapter Two
It was after six o’clock when Judith was able to sit down with Joe and discuss travel plans. The new guests had finally arrived, triumphing over a seven-car pileup on the north-south freeway, a late flight out of Anchorage, and a long line at U.S. Customs and Immigration on the Canadian border. Judith had gotten all eight of them registered, settled into their rooms, and served the appetizers for the social hour. She’d waved good-bye to Phyliss, tried to explain Wee Willie’s antics to Gertrude, and informed Ingrid Heffelman at the state B&B association that Hillside Manor had an unexpected vacancy. Predictably, the conversation with Ingrid had been rancorous despite omitting the guest’s name, who, as Judith had put it, “took a tumble in the garden.” Her innkeeper’s reputation was already sullied by too much murder and mayhem for Ingrid’s taste. It had been an ongoing struggle to keep the association from revoking the B&B’s license.
“Hey,” Joe said, sitting at the kitchen table with his frazzled wife, “stop fussing about media coverage. Two good things have come out of the Weevil disaster. He’s gone, and from what Wayne told me, there won’t be any media coverage. Willie’s too embarrassed to let the world see he’s not infallible.”
“Oh, he’s fallible,” Judith muttered. “He fell right into the pyracantha bush. He’s lucky he didn’t kill himself. Or somebody else.”
Joe made a face. “If I’d had time to shove your mother under Willie…”
The flippant remark didn’t amuse Judith. After forty years, she was used to the antagonism between Joe and Gertrude. Judith’s mother had loathed Dan McMonigle, too. Despite frequent criticism of her daughter, no man was good enough for Gertrude’s only child. Judith took a sip of diet soda and changed the subject. “Are you going to use Renie’s plane ticket?”
Joe nodded. “It’s a done deal. I stopped by their house when I went to get gas for my MG. Bill was pleased.”
“You two seem to have a good time together,” Judith said.
“We do.” The gold flecks in Joe’s green eyes danced. “But what really pleases Bill is not spending five hours on a plane with his drunken wife. My ticket money will be reimbursed by whichever company picks up the tab.”
“Thank heavens Renie doesn’t need to get looped on a train,” Judith murmured. “I’m starting to get excited. I haven’t taken a cross-country train trip since she and I went to New York to sail to England.”
“Over forty years ago,” Joe said softly, cradling his can of beer.
“Strange—it doesn’t seem that long. Back then, the twenty-first century was so far away. We were just getting used to being grown-ups. Which,” he went on, looking more serious, “we didn’t always manage very well.”
Judith touched Joe’s hand. “We finally got it right, didn’t we?”
“Oh,” Joe said with a deep intake of breath, “we did, but only after twenty-odd years at hard labor with our first spouses. Fate plays tricks on us. It’s as if you and I were destined to be together, but Fate got the puppet strings tangled. Vivian should’ve married Dan. They would’ve drunk themselves to death or killed each other. You and I could’ve raised Mike together instead of having Dan fill my place. It took a long time for Fate to untangle those strings.”
“Didn’t it, though?” Judith said softly. After a long, wistful pause, she changed the subject. “Do you think the Rankerses should take over the B&B?”
Joe shrugged. “You know Carl. He’d saw off an arm or a leg if you asked him. I’ll be here until Tuesday and get back Sunday,” he went on, getting up to toss the empty beer can in the bin under the sink. “As long as the Rankerses can deal with your mother and Phyliss, I can help with everything else.”
Judith nodded. “We aren’t fully booked next week. That’s good for Carl and Arlene, but not for us.”
Joe had gone over to the stove and lifted the lid off the Dutch oven. “Your dumplings are done. Shall we eat?”
Judith cocked an ear to listen for sounds from the guests who’d congregated in the living room. “I think most of them have taken off for the evening. You dish up our dinner while I deliver Mother’s.”
Joe eyed Judith warily. “Have you