Part 20 (1/2)
He opened his mouth, then hesitated. What did he know of Ali's wishes and desires? He knew she wished Celeste wasn't renting the restaurant to people from Hollywood. As far as dreams and desires went ... He stood tall and said, ”She still desires me.”
”I should hope so. You're a stud.”
Mac tripped over his own foot, and her laughter rang out on the air like church bells. She slipped her arm through his, then asked, ”Am I going too fast for you?”
”Something like that.”
”It's a habit of mine. I like to live life to the fullest. That's important, don't you think?”
”Probably. Yeah.” Some strange urge of honesty caused him to add, ”I don't do a very good job of it.”
”And why is that, Judge Timberlake?”
He mentally pulled back, shaking his head. ”I'm afraid that answering that question would take deeper thought than I am capable of on this pretty afternoon.”
”Chicken.” She chuckled and gave his arm a squeeze. ”You should think about it, Mac. Alison has.”
”Are you still talking about those wishes and dreams?”
”I am. May I tell you what I see when I look at your wife?”
Hadn't she been doing that already? ”Sure.”
She paused beside a flowering shrub and gestured toward a yellow b.u.t.terfly flittering around the pink blooms. ”I like to think that Alison is a b.u.t.terfly going through metamorphosis. These months in Eternity Springs have been her chrysalis. She's been growing her wings and developing her color. Now she's a b.u.t.terfly almost ready to emerge.”
”I don't care for the metaphor, Celeste,” he replied as the b.u.t.terfly flew away. ”See?”
”Don't be silly. She's not flying away from you. Besides, aren't you in the metamorphosis process yourself?”
”Excuse me?”
”You're just a little bit behind your wife. That's often the case in nature, you know. Females take the lead.”
Mac scowled. ”Are you calling me a b.u.t.terfly?”
”I'm calling you a caterpillar. It's time for your metamorphosis, Mac. It's time for you to pursue your wishes, dreams, and desires.”
”I've been pursuing my dreams since I was nine years old.” He stepped away from Celeste Blessing and tugged the leash to draw Gus away from a dirt pile he was sniffing.
”That's the problem, don't you see? You've been focused on the first half of your life, but now it's time to explore what you want in the second half.”
Mac turned his head and stared at her.
”Never thought of it that way, have you?” A wayward Frisbee came flying toward them over someone's back fence. Celeste caught it and sent it sailing back in a smooth, practiced movement. ”Wishes and dreams and desires need not be static, Mackenzie. Don't you think life is more interesting, more exciting, if they change and adapt and grow according to the man you are today? Not the boy you were when you were nine?”
He opened his mouth to argue with her, but found he didn't have any words to say. Her questions unsettled him. They challenged him. They made him think.
”There's my Land Rover,” Celeste said, gesturing toward the SUV parked parallel to the curb beside the neighborhood dog park. ”I need to get on the road. It's quite a drive back. Isn't it handy that we walked this way? Ali asked her guests to park away from the house so as not to spoil the surprise for Sage. It was a lovely afternoon. Thank you for sharing your home with us, Mac.”
Distracted by his thoughts, Mac murmured absently, ”You're welcome.”
Celeste removed a set of car keys from her handbag, thumbed her key fob to disengage the locks, then opened the driver's-side door. She spent a moment petting and cooing at Gus, then reached into her handbag once again. ”Speaking of wishes and dreams, I have something to show you.”
She removed a white envelope and handed it over, saying, ”I thought of you when I saw this.”
”What is it?”
”Let's just call it a possibility. Somebody's dream changed, and they not only recognized it, they embraced the new. Now it's up to you to decide where your dreams and wishes for the second half of life lie.” She climbed into her Land Rover, shut her door, started the engine, then rolled down the window. ”Thanks for the walk, Mac, and for the hospitality. Know that you are welcome at my place anytime.”
Still staring at the envelope, he said, ”Um, thanks. You drive carefully.”
She put the SUV in gear, then finger-waved and pulled away from the curb. Mac stood dumbly for a long minute watching Celeste Blessing drive away. What an unusual woman. What a scary woman.
Gus let out a yelp and strained at the leash. Mac allowed him to pull him toward the dog park gate.
It wasn't until later when, freed from his leash, Gus put his nose to the ground and went on a sniff mission that Mac turned his attention to the envelope. Why did his instincts tell him to beware the contents?
Mac leaned against the spreading branches of an oak tree, blew out a heavy breath, and removed the folded sheet of paper from the envelope. The letter read: Dear Celeste, The rain forest is amazing. We are living among monkeys and macaws and sloths and boa constrictors, to name just a few. As much as I love Colorado, this land and its inhabitants speak to me in a way I never expected. We are happy here. Life has taken us in a new and exciting direction. We have decided to make this place our home.
As a result, we wish to put our Colorado property on the market, and we'd like to take you up on your offer to oversee the arrangements should we make this decision. Will you please put the matter into motion? Heartache Falls is a good place filled with positive energy. It brought both Patricia and myself great happiness. It is our hope that you find new owners who will experience similar joy from life lived in a Rocky Mountain yurt.
G.o.d's peace,
Bear and Patricia
Judge Mackenzie Timberlake folded the page and returned it to the envelope, then stuffed the letter in his pocket. He whistled for his dog and wondered why in the world Celeste Blessing had given him the letter. What nonsense was she thinking?
Needing a distraction, Mac called Gus and instigated a game of fetch with a stick. They played until Mac's arm grew tired and a new scent caught Gus's attention. Mac let him explore for another few minutes, then called, ”Come on, boy. Time to go home.”
Mac got more of a distraction than he bargained for upon arriving home to find Caitlin sitting on the front steps, crying. Seeing his daughter, Mac dropped the dog leash and ran toward her. ”Honey? What is it? What's wrong, kitten?”
She looked up, tears flowing from eyes a mirror image of her mother's. ”Daddy! Oh, Daddy. Patrick broke up with me!”
Mac sat beside his daughter, took her in his arms, and held her while she sobbed. As his s.h.i.+rt grew wet with tears, he silently acknowledged a few undeniable truths. He was filled with relief that the frat daddy was out of his daughter's life. Second, he acknowledged once again how profoundly his selfish decisions had affected Ali's life. Finally, he understood that as Caitlin's father, he had a good shoulder for her to cry on, but beyond that, he didn't know how to help her. She needed her mother. He needed her mother. Ali ought to be here.
Or we need to be with her.
Two weeks later On the second anniversary of the opening of Angel's Rest, Hollywood was due to set up shop in Eternity Springs. Ali's alarm woke her at seven-thirty that morning. Glumly she stared at the clock and sighed. Today was a big day for Celeste, a big day for Eternity Springs. She wished she could be more positive about it. What she wanted to do was to bury her head beneath her pillow and pretend this day had not arrived.
The television program concept proposed during negotiations by Lorraine Perry and embraced by Celeste was to show the progression of a little mountain mom-and-pop restaurant to a five-star success that would attract celebrities from all over the world. Lorraine Perry's combination reality and cooking show would take Eternity Springs another big step along the road to revitalizing the town's economy. The locals would reap the benefit of visitors with deep pockets. Times wouldn't be so hard. Maybe the whole TV thing wouldn't change the town as much as Ali feared. After all, Celeste had proven time and again that she had good instincts, had she not? Ali should put aside her doubts and trust in the ”angel” of Angel's Rest.
With that she rolled out of bed, showered, and dressed. She wanted to make one last sweep of the Bristlecone while it was still hers-so to speak. The final addendums to the lease agreement were to be signed today.
Her keys hung in their usual spot on a hook beside the door. She eyed her cell phone, connected to its charger, and wondered if her day wouldn't go more smoothly if she left it behind. Caitlin's post-breakup call volume was down to less than a dozen times a day again, but her life could be a roller coaster and today, especially, Ali didn't want to get drawn into drama. Not having a phone might also help her avoid her personal obsession of late: checking every five minutes to see if Mac had called or emailed or sent her a text message.
Something weird was going on with Mac. He should be happy because the Sandberg trial had ended and the paparazzi no longer stalked him. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but something wasn't right. She'd mentioned it to her father last night when they talked, but he seemed to think it was nothing more than that Mac had already turned his attention to his next case. Ali wasn't so certain.