Page 42 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“Okay!” Jennifer shrugged. “Do you want to get a coffee and something to eat before we head back to your house?” She looked towardthe restaurant. “I know the owner of the second-best restaurant in town, and I get an excellent discount.”
“Oh?” Harley started to relax at Jennifer’s switch to a teasing mood. “I am hungry.” He pursed his lips. “And if you get a good discount, we shouldn’t let that opportunity go to waste.”
Jennifer grinned. “Agreed.” She patted her stomach, admitting, “All this tension with Betty, Sam, my… Andrew, and his sister-in-law, has worked up an appetite.” She blew out a breath. “I’m starving.”
She hooked her arm through his and nearly jumped away as a zap of electricity shot up her arm and jolted her heart, conjuring a picture of Cupid shooting an arrow at her. Jennifer shook away her fanciful thoughts as she and Harley entered the hotel restaurant, where the hostess immediately greeted them.
“Good afternoon, Miss Gains.” The hostess smiled warmly at Jennifer. “A table for two?”
“Yes, please, Carmen.” Jennifer smiled politely. Carmen always irritated Jennifer with her soft voice and sugary-sweet attitude.No one’s that sweet and friendly all the time.
“Jennifer?” Harley’s voice snapped her from her musings.
“Sorry.” Jennifer followed Harley and Carmen to a secluded table always reserved for the hotel’s VIP guests, top management, or their families. “The hunger has clouded my brain.”
“Then let’s get you something to eat,” Harley suggested as they slid into their chairs.
“Yes, before I turn into a zombie!” Jennifer laughed, but her face sobered when she saw the light leave Harley’s eyes and a shadow appear. “I’m not really going to become a zombie and start eating brains.”
Harley laughed. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just so many things reminding me of Daniel lately.”
“Oh, of course. He was twelve!” Jennifer pulled a sorry face. “He was into zombie movies?”
“Daniel loved everything zombie, superhero, sci-fi,” Harley recalled, barely noticing when a server handed him a menu. “He was a comic collector and a fantastic artist. He even started his own superhero comic books. It was his dream to be a graphic novelist or a cartoonist.” He absently opened the menu. “He has a whole lot of them. He drew at least two a month.”
“Did you get them published?” Jennifer asked, and Harley’s head shot up to look at her.
“No.” Harley shook his head, frowning. “To be honest, I never really thought about it. It was really tough packing up his room in my and my ex-wife’s houses.”
“You did both rooms?” Jennifer looked at him with raised brows. “I couldn’t imagine how hard that must’ve been for you.”
“Angela was having a hard time with Daniel’s death,” Harley explained.
“You werebothhaving a hard time with it,“ Jennifer pointed out, feeling awful that Harley had to take all that on by himself. “Maybe it would’ve been good for your ex-wife to help you go through your son’s room.”
Harley smiled at Jennifer’s protective instincts. “I pushed through each day after Daniel’s death. I felt like I was walking, trying to wade through emotional quicksand. I had to drag myself through each day.” He ran his hand over his chin. “My sister, cousin, and uncle rallied around me, but I hardly noticed they were there. While I was barely coping, Angela, my ex-wife, had shut down completely.”
“Oh!” Jennifer suddenly felt awful for saying what she did about his ex-wife.
“The day Daniel died, we sat beside him until the nurses took him away,” Harley explained. “Angela hadn’t said a word, just sat holding his hand until they pulled the sheet over his head. That’s when she first snapped. Angela flung herself onto the bed and wouldn’t let them take him. I managed to pull her off and hold her as she broke down.”
“I’m so sorry, Harley.” Jennifer’s voicewas gruff with compassion.
Sorry seemed such an insignificant thing to say to someone who had lost a part of their heart and soul. But what else was there to say? Words couldn’t heal the wound that, even after ten years, was still as raw as it had been the day Harley had lost his only child. Jennifer felt a lump form in her throat and tears stung the back of her eyes. She reached across the table and took his hand, which he clasped like a drowning man clinging to a straw.
The server interrupted them, and Jennifer ordered coffee and specialty burgers for them as Harley didn’t seem to register the server’s presence. He was struggling with the ghosts of the past.
“Angela didn’t speak to anyone after that day. She barely moved, ate, drank, and didn’t take care of herself unless her sister Clair saw to her.” Harley swallowed. “At the funeral, I sat beside her, and she clung to my hand, staring at Daniel’s coffin. It wasn’t until everyone left that I broke down once again. She tried to jump into the grave and wanted to be buried with Daniel. She told me that I may as well bury her because she had no life without her baby.”
Jennifer swiped a tear from her cheek and gathered her emotions. “I understand why she couldn’t pack up your son’s room. I’m sorry I said what I did.”
“It’s okay. You’re not the first one to say it,” Harley assured her. “Angela and I had this instant connection when we met. We marriedtwo months after meeting, and a few years later, we had Daniel. But as Daniel grew, we realized we had grown apart. Our instant spark had fizzled out as quickly as it had ignited.”
“Your divorce was amicable?” Jennifer asked before she could stop herself.
When Harley spoke about Angela, she could see how much he cared for her, and it made something inside her sting. Jennifer wanted to know all she could about Angela and Harley’s feelings for the woman, while on the other hand, she wanted to close her ears and pretend the woman didn’t exist.
Jennifer gave herself a mental shake.What on earth is wrong with me?
