in my spin class. We were about the same age. She was married, with two small children, and worked part-time as a real estate agent. Her husband’s job allowed him to telecommute, and that gave her an opportunity to take an exercise class when her two kids were down for a nap.
Before he left, Mark confided in Bob his reason for selling his home and leaving Cedar Cove. It was Bob who came to me after Mark departed for the Middle East and explained where Mark had gone and why. At the time I was understandably angry, but I’d mellowed out since and understood his reasoning. Mark did what he had to do.
Thankfully, the inn was booked solid for weekends from June through August. Unfortunately, the weekdays were so-so, depending on what was happening in the area. I’d taken a chance and decided to accept a resident over the summer, renting on a week-to-week basis.
Emily Gaffney was due to arrive later this month, as soon as the Seattle schools let out for the summer. We’d talked briefly on the phone months ago and a few times since then. Emily had accepted a teaching position in Cedar Cove. Up to this point she’d lived in Seattle, renting an apartment. She’d been able to sublease her apartment to someone she knew and trusted. However, her friend needed to have the apartment starting in the middle of June.
To sum it up, Emily needed someplace to move and fast—like now would be convenient. She wanted to possibly buy a home in Cedar Cove, but she didn’t want to be rushed into making a hasty decision. That was why she contacted me. She found my name online and called to inquire about renting week to week, possibly as long as a month or two, depending on the housing market.
I’d never considered taking in a boarder, and basically that was what Emily would be. It wasn’t what I’d had in mind when I purchased the inn. But the truth was I was lonely and looked forward to having someone on hand. Rover was good company, but I needed human companionship. Even after nine months I hadn’t gotten used to life without Mark. Some days it felt as if a huge void threatened to open up and swallow me whole.
Emily was due to arrive soon, and I looked forward to meeting her.
Checking my watch, I saw that it was time to leave for my mid-afternoon spin class. I’d always enjoyed exercise. Not necessarily while I was involved in it, mind you. I didn’t like pumping my legs on a stationary bicycle to the point that my buttocks went completely numb and my legs felt like they were about to fall off. What I liked was the aftereffects. The emotional high and all those endorphins coursing through my body, giving me both a mental and physical lift.
“I’m leaving now,” I told Rover as I moved toward the door. I wore my tight exercise pants and a sleeveless shell, plus a white-and-black polka-dot headband.
Rover refused to look at me. He considered it his right to follow me wherever I went, but I couldn’t take him to spin class. He lay on his stomach, his chin on his paws, and purposely turned his head away from me. This was my punishment.
“Stand guard,” I muttered and closed the door, locking it behind me.
Dana was already at our assigned bikes. After all this time one would assume my butt would have molded itself to this narrow seat. Not so. Most of the time I climbed off that bike with my legs bowed out like an eighty-year-old rancher who’d spent the majority of his life on a horse. What I needed, I decided, was a more comfortable seat. Something the size of one on a tractor.
“You having a good day?” Dana asked. She had her hair up in a ponytail and was already atop the bike, arms raised, flexing her shoulders, raring to start. I, on the other hand, looked at the bike and tried with everything in me to come up with an excuse to leave.
“Jo Marie?” Dana pressed.
“I’ve had better.”
I didn’t state the obvious—that my thoughts were wrapped around Mark. The night before I’d gone to the movies with a guy named Ralph. He was nice, divorced, but there wasn’t any spark. There wasn’t even a book of matches. I thought going out would be good for me, but the truth was I came home feeling depressed and out of sorts.