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“Sure you are. You’re just too bullheaded to admit it.” Opening the hatchback, she eyed her sacks of groceries, chose one and stuffed the ungainly bag into Kaylie’s arms. “There you go.” Balancing a second sack, she led the way to the house, unlocked the door and was greeted by several yowling cats. “Miss me?” she asked the felines as she deposited the groceries on the kitchen counter.
She was rewarded with a chorus of loud mewing, which didn’t stop until she petted three furry heads.
Kaylie set her sack on the counter. Margot’s house, which she’d built with her husband, Trevor, clung to the side of a steep canyon overlooking the rolling hills and valley floor of the wine country. Margot loved this house, and though Trevor had lost his life in a boating accident nearly two years before, she’d never moved. The good memories outweigh the bad, she’d always say, when the subject of selling the house would come up.
“You know,” Margot said now, pouring dry cat food into three separate bowls, “you’re lucky Zane still cares enough to try to win you back.”
“You think so?”
“Umm.” Margot finished with the cats, washed her hands, then pulled a bottle of zinfandel from the refrigerator. Splashing some of the liquid into two glasses, she said sadly, “I just wish I had the chance to start over with Trevor.” A tiny crease marred her forehead.
Kaylie felt a jab of remorse. “But Trevor was different from Zane.”
“Not so much,” Margot said, shaking her head. “He was stubborn, arrogant, prideful and—” her voice cracked “—loving and wonderful.”
Wishing she could help Margot quit grieving for a man who’d never return, Kaylie said, “I miss Trevor, too. He was a great guy.”
“The best.” Margot’s voice turned husky, and she blinked rapidly against gathering tears. She took a sip of wine and sniffed. “I guess that’s why it’s just so hard for me to understand why you’re willing to throw away something so precious as Zane’s love when he so obviously still wants to work things out.”
“I just need to be independent.”
“Oh, that’s a cop-out and you know it. Let’s take these drinks and go outside onto the deck.” Margot opened the sliding door with her back. “Grab that bag of chips,” she said, motioning to a sack of tortilla chips. “And there’s homemade salsa, Chef Glenn’s best recipe, in the fridge.”
Kaylie poured the chips into a bowl and found the salsa. On the deck, she dropped the snack onto the round table and took a seat under the shade of the green-and-white umbrella. Margot was propped on the chaise longue, rolling her wineglass between her palms.
Kaylie dunked a chip in the salsa and took a bite.
“Believe me, I’ve had it with independence.” Margot gazed dreamily over the rail to the sunset blazing in the west. “If I could have just one more day with Trevor…” She frowned and shoved her hair from her eyes. “You know, the night he left, we fought.” Her teeth sank into her lower lip. “I never had a chance to take back all the horrid things we said to each other. But you—” she glanced over at her sister and arched a fine, dark brow “—you have the chance to make things right with Zane.”
“It’s not that easy,” Kaylie admitted. “He kidnapped me, remember? Took me away against my will. Thrust his will on me without the least little concern for me.”
“Well, this might sound strange, but I’d give anything for Trevor to come back and try to protect me….” she whispered wistfully. Then, as if realizing she’d said too much, she cleared her throat and took a quick sip of wine. “Well, I guess that’s not going to happen, is it?”
“I don’t think so.” Trevor’s body had never been found. For months Margot had believed he was alive and would eventually show up, healthy and robust, but time and reality had finally convinced her that he had been killed.
They sat in silence for a while, listening to insects hum in the trees and watching the sun sink lower in the sky.
“Ma
ybe you’re too hard on him,” Margot finally said, reaching into the bowl of chips and thinking aloud.
“No way. He lied to me, Margot. And that cock-and-bull story about Lee Johnston—”
“That wasn’t a lie.” Margot shook her head, and a tiny furrow creased her brow. “You and I both know they won’t keep Johnston locked up forever. Zane’s just being careful.”
“Oh, save me.”
“I mean it, Kaylie. So Johnston’s not on the loose right now. He may be soon. According to Zane, there’s been talk. Now, come on….” The sparkle returned to Margot’s blue eyes. “Let’s hear it, Kaylie. What was it like being whisked to some romantic hideaway with Zane?”
Kaylie’s lips twitched. “I don’t know,” she said sincerely. “I can’t decide. I felt like I was caught somewhere between heaven and hell.”
Margot dunked another chip. “Uh-oh, that’s passion talking.”
“Maybe,” Kaylie admitted, wrinkling her nose. “And I haven’t forgiven you for your part in this, you know. You sold me out.”
“I only tried to help.”
“I don’t think I need it, thank you very much.”
