Home > The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(13)

The Country Guesthouse (Sullivan's Crossing #5)(13)
Author: Robyn Carr

—Thomas Paine

5

Hannah was doing laundry when Owen found her. “Hannah, Helen Culver just called. She asked me to invite you to meet her for lunch at the pub. She would like you to meet her niece, Leigh.”

“The niece she raised?” Hannah asked.

“There’s only one,” Owen said. “I think you and Leigh are about the same age. Why don’t you go? Noah and I can stay out of trouble without your supervision.”

“Don’t you have work to do? I hate to impose. Helen probably wouldn’t mind if I brought him along.”

“I will always have work to do,” he said. “And I will always have great excuses to avoid it. I bet Noah would rather have PB&J with me than go to the pub with a bunch of women. But would you stop at the market? I have a short list.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. We’ll have some chicken and grilled veggies tonight. And if you think Noah would rather have something else, get it. Okay? Helen said to meet her at noon.”

“Should I call her back and accept?”

He grinned. “I already accepted.”

Her expression was momentarily shocked. She looked at her watch. “I have to shower! Where’s Noah?”

“He’s waiting for me on the porch,” Owen said. “I told Romeo not to let him off the porch till I get back.”

“Oh, you and that silly dog! Get back out there and make sure Noah’s safe,” she said, rushing off to the master bath.

“I won’t tell him you said that,” Owen said.

“Just be sure you watch Noah and aren’t just giving orders to Romeo!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

Hannah hurried to shower, change and spruce up a little, finding herself really looking forward to this lunch. It would be great to see the adult version of the little girl Helen had inherited. A doctor, no less. What if Noah wanted to be a doctor? How in the world would she manage that? Her salary was good right now but if she had to change jobs to travel less, that could mean earning less. There was a trust to help—Erin’s estate and insurance money. The more she used now, the less there would be for college. Hannah realized once again she was going to have to plan carefully.

When she got to the pub, she found that Helen and her niece were already there, seated in a roomy booth.

“I’m sorry if I’m a bit late,” she said. “I was in the middle of laundry and—”

“You’re not late,” Helen said. “Sit here beside me. This is my niece, Leigh, and she is holding my great-niece, Lily Culver Shandon.”

“Happy to meet you, Hannah. How do you like our little town?” Leigh asked.

“The whole area is wonderful. It’s been a perfect escape for me and Noah.”

“I told Leigh all about your situation. I hope you don’t mind,” Helen said. “It so closely resembles our own. Leigh’s mother was my sister, but she was ten years younger so we weren’t exactly best friends. But like you, I suddenly found myself a single mother.”

“And I nearly found myself in the same position,” Leigh said.

“How’s that?” Hannah asked.

“Well, I had barely started seeing Rob when I found myself pregnant.” She took a sip of her water. “It was a little ahead of the marriage. I was looking at being a single mom but fortunately he wore me down and I did marry the most wonderful man in the world. A man with two teenage boys and a business. And I’m the primary care physician at the local urgent care. My hours are not short and I’m afraid his are often worse. Keeping an eye on a business that’s open seven days a week is demanding.”

“How do you manage with a baby? Does Helen help out a lot?”

“No,” they both said in unison. Then they laughed.

“I help out a little bit, but I have a job,” Helen said. “I told Leigh to start interviewing babysitters.”

“Right now, while Lily is still so young, we’re shuffling her back and forth. She’s very portable. Rob is home in the mornings, she comes to the clinic with me some afternoons, and her brother Sean, a junior in high school, helps out when he can. Sean and his older brother, Finn, will not admit it but they’re putty in her little hands. When she’s moving around faster, we’re going to have to make adjustments.”

“The hardest part is trying to remember to enjoy these days when you’re so busy just getting through them,” Helen said.

“Who is your support, Hannah?” Leigh asked.

“Right now, it’s Owen. He’s wonderful with Noah and I’m sure he’s enjoying every second. Back in Minneapolis I have a couple of girlfriends who were also close to Noah’s mom and they’ve promised to help me as much as possible. But they’re working mothers. I’m going to have to reach a little further. I’m on family leave right now. I have a little more time to think. And if I need to, I can extend my leave, without pay.”

“Then you should stay here awhile longer,” Leigh said.

“I wish I could,” she said. “But I’ve got a house in Minneapolis and with that house comes a mortgage. Noah has to get established with new doctors—he and his mom lived in Madison. I have to keep up with his therapy, although,” she added with a laugh, “I think Owen has taken on that challenge. He bought himself and Noah wet suits so they can swim in that cold lake every day. Noah is five and he told Sully the wet suit was so he wouldn’t freeze his nuts off.”

“Oh, Lord, that’s going to be Lily,” Leigh said, leaning her head into her hand. “I have the worst mouth.”

“And she got it from me,” Helen admitted. “We’re doomed.”

Rob Shandon was beside their booth. “What can I bring you beautiful women today?”

“You know what to bring me,” Leigh said. “And I’ll have the diaper bag when you get a minute.”

“I’ll have the chicken Caesar,” Helen said.

“I guess I’ll have that, too,” Hannah said.

“Try the chicken Caesar wrap,” Rob suggested. “It’s a big seller.”

“Whatever you recommend,” Hannah said.

“I hate to brag,” Leigh said, “but I was smart enough to marry a man who cooks. For the past ten years he’s been going home at dinnertime to eat with the boys, to make sure they get nutritious meals. Now he’s taking care of me.”

Owen cooks, Hannah thought.

“What if you’re called to work?” Hannah asked.

“That doesn’t happen too often, but I have Sean as a backup when he’s around, and Rob has a good assistant management crew. Most of the time he can sneak away from the pub if I need him. And there’s always Helen in a pinch, but she has been firm—I’m not allowed to take advantage of her.”

Helen shrugged. “I’m afraid I’m not that flexible,” she said. “Ask Sully. I like a schedule. I’m a slave to routine. It’s what helped me survive when Leigh was young and I was working two jobs. Old dogs, you know.”

They talked and laughed all through lunch. Hannah learned sudden single motherhood wasn’t all they had in common. Leigh and Helen were also transplants from the Midwest area, having made their home in Chicago. Leigh wanted a slower pace after years of being on call and fighting traffic to put in long hours. She had accepted the contract in Timberlake as an experiment but it turned out to be such an improvement over her city lifestyle. “Don’t let the size of the town mislead you—everything you’ll ever need is at least nearby. The views are pretty, the air is clean, the people are helpful. It’s a healthy place. Now that I have Lily, I’m so happy to be raising her in a place like this.”

It was one of the best girlfriend lunches she’d had in a long time. She was astonished by the success of these two women—Helen, a bestselling author, and Leigh, a physician. Both of them had found true love in the year they’d been here. As hard as they worked, they had satisfying personal lives.

“And so will you,” Helen said.

“I don’t know about that,” Hannah said. “True love seems doubtful, except for my true love with Noah. I’m pretty reluctant to try a man again after calling off two weddings! And now I have a child to think about.”

“I think you should stay a little longer,” Leigh said. “Just until you feel like you have your sea legs in this new life you’re taking on.”

“That would be great, but every night when I close my eyes I dream about that list of things I have to settle before Noah and I can get on with our lives—registering for school, returning to physical therapy, establishing with a good doctor, finding the right sitter, getting back to work...”

“When Rob was married to his first wife, he had a big job in a big city. He was an assistant manager in a five-star restaurant. After her death, his sons were just five and seven years old and he decided the best thing he could do to make his life manageable was find a small, safe, friendly town where he could open a restaurant. A place that was close to home and school so he could keep an eye on his boys. Now here we are with a little girl and he’s doing it again, very comfortable with the baby in her swing or napping in his office or in her carrier on his back. I think business has picked up since Lily came along. Everyone wants to see the baby. And it’s the same at the clinic. My nurses love helping me care for her—she’s become a fixture around there. This wouldn’t have been possible in a big Chicago hospital. I can’t imagine how the senior staff in the city emergency room would have reacted if I said I had to go home because the baby has a fever. But here? Fifteen people would offer to back me up. My patients would happily wait while I checked on the baby.”

It was definitely food for thought.

* * *

Later that night, after dinner, when Hannah was telling Owen about her lunch, he said, “Why don’t you think about staying awhile longer? It kind of sounds like you’re not sure how this is all going to work out. I don’t mean to project, but if you have some anxiety about it, take your time. Here, every day is a good day for Noah and it’s one more day you have to put the pieces of the puzzle together in your head. You’ll still have the whole summer.”

   
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