AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re in a chipper mood,” Cora surmised as she offered her mother a cup of coffee and started dishing out her breakfast.
“I am,” Becky confirmed. “I feel like I have a new lease on life. All of my girls are here.” She turned smiling eyes on them for emphasis.
“Why did Tracy leave in such a hurry last night, though? I thought she was planning to stay for the weekend.” Becky turned questioning eyes toward Jo.
Jo quickly averted her eyes, afraid her mother would see the pain reflected there.
“Tracy had to leave because she had some registration issues she had to clear up with her university,” Cora jumped in, saving her sister from having to explain the situation.
Jo looked up at her sister and gave her a grateful smile.
“Oh, I hope it all works out then,” Becky returned with concern.
“I forgot. Chef Daniel asked me to be his sous chef until Malia comes back from maternity leave,” Jo announced to the group, hoping to shift the questions away from her daughter.
“That’s great, Jo,” Cora exclaimed excitedly. “I know it’s not as big as the bistro you worked at back in Tacoma, but at least it is up your alley and will keep you occupied.”
“Yes, for sure,” she replied simply as the others congratulated her.
Josephine quickly escaped the kitchen as soon as she was finished eating as she didn’t want to witness the happiness her family was exhibiting just being around each other— not when her own daughter didn’t even want to talk to her. Sighing, she opened the front door and made her way toward the walkway that led to the inn and the bistro.
She was hardly able to appreciate the scenery around her as her mind kept going back to her daughter’s angry look. She wished she had a machine that could take her back in time so she could fix all the mistakes she’d made.
As the inn came into view, she decided to pop in to see how Andrea was doing before continuing on her journey to the bistro.
“Jo.” Andrea seemed surprised to see her. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
Jo gave her a slight shake of her head as her lips quivered. Andrea hurriedly rounded the reception desk and engulfed her in a hug as she crumbled.
“I miss them, Drea,” she sobbed against her sister’s chest.
“Why did they have to die? How could Charles have been so selfish?”
A guttural cry escaped from Jo once more. She leaned into Andrea’s embrace as the anger and the pain slowly subsided.
“He did this…h-h-he…my daughter hates me because of something that he did. Now my whole family is gone.”
“Oh, honey, that’s not true,” Andrea finally spoke up. “Tracy is angry now, but she’ll come around,” Andrea cooed, running her hand over her sister’s hair. “Look at me,” she implored, lifting her sister’s head to look into her teary eyes. “Tracy will forgive you, Jo. You want to know how I know she will?”
Jo shook her head in response, unable to use her words.
“Because Aurora forgave me for hiding the truth about her father from her for her entire life, and our relationship has never been stronger,” Andrea explained, trying to get her sister to see reason. “Tracy will realize that you only did what you did to protect her. She’ll come around. Trust me.”
Again, Jo nodded in acceptance of what her sister had just told her.
“I want you to know that it’s okay to feel how you feel about what happened to Charles and Nick. I do believe that man loved you with his whole heart. Sometimes we make mistakes and trying to spare our loved ones the disappointment we feel they will have because of our messing up will sometimes only make the situation worse. He made a mistake, Jo, but never doubt that he loved you and the kids very much.”
“I know he did, Drea,” Jo finally got her voice to cooperate. “It just hurts that he didn’t tell me what was going on, and now I’m left to deal with the repercussions of his actions.” She sighed.
Andrea placed her arm over her sister’s shoulder, hugging her to her side. “We’ll get through it all together, Jo. You, me, and Cora,” she promised.
Jo left the inn feeling much better than she’d felt since getting up. She was greeted by Pat and Suzie, two of the three servers that worked at the Bistro. After informing them that she would be filling in for Malia as sous chef, they took her to the kitchen, where Daniel was already preparing for the lunch hour.
“I see that I am just in time,” she commented.
Daniel turned to look at her, relief showing in his gray eyes as a bright smile blessed his lips. “You’re here,” he greeted.
“In the flesh.” She laughed. She hadn’t replied to his message, so she could see how he assumed she would not take up the offer. “So, what do you need me to do, Chef?” she asked, buttoning up the chef coat she’d taken with her and then securing the toque blanche over her already swept-up hair.
