The cab of the truck was too small for three grown people to sit comfortably. Moriah’s shoulder was wedged tightly against the side of her door as she drove. No one spoke, not even when they arrived at the resort.
Ben pulled Jack out of the truck and guided him up the steps into the lodge, while Moriah followed. Fortunately, Katherine was already in the kitchen preparing lunch. A coffee maker gurgled merrily on the counter. The cozy scene was reassuring to Moriah after the chaos of Jack’s house. Nicolas was sitting at the kitchen table working a cross-word puzzle. Katherine was humming a little song and smiling as she worked at the counter.
“Jack needs some black coffee, Katherine, if you don't mind.” Ben sat the blonde man down at the kitchen table beside Nicolas and pulled out a chair for himself.
Katherine turned away from her lunch preparations and took in the situation.
“The coffee isn’t quite finished yet. Have you eaten today, Jack?”
“No, ma’am,” Jack mumbled.
“I have chicken salad sandwiches and vegetable soup.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Katherine looked at Ben and Moriah. “What about the two of you?”
“I’m not hungry.” After working on Jack’s nasty kitchen, Moriah thought it might be a while before she felt hungry again.
“I’d like some, if there’s enough,” Ben said.
“I made plenty.” Katherine turned back to the stove and stirred a pot. “Nicolas and I were making plans while I chopped vegetables, and I’m afraid I accidentally made enough soup to feed a small army.”
“Plans?” Moriah reached to take two bright yellow soup bowls out of the cupboard.
“Your aunt and I are getting married!” Nicolas announced.
Moriah froze. “Excuse me?”
“It’s true.” Katherine said. “Please be happy for me.”
One of the soup bowls slipped from Moriah’s grasp and crashed to the floor. She stared at it, focusing on the yellow pieces. More broken crockery to deal with.
“You’re joking.” Moriah’s voice quavered in spite of her attempt to steady it. “Right?”
“Kathy and I have always loved each other,” Nicolas said.
The fact he had announced their plans instead of allowing Katherine to do so, annoyed Moriah almost as much as the announcement itself. Besides, her nerves were already on edge.
“You think the fact you played together as kids gives you the right to come in here and marry my aunt?” Moriah said. “You dumped her. Remember? Just because you didn’t want to be burdened with me.”
“No, Moriah. We’re not joking.” Katherine gazed at her steadily, as though waiting for her reaction to run its course. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”
Moriah knew she needed to be careful about what came out of her mouth next. Very deliberately, she sat the remaining bowl on the counter. “When?”
“Soon,” Nicolas answered, “sometime this summer, as soon as you and your aunt get through the worst of tourist season and can have some time to prepare for a wedding. You'll be Kathy’s maid of honor, of course.”
Now, he was telling her who would be Katherine’s maid of honor? That was her aunt’s place, not his. This man would take over their lives entirely if Katherine married him. In fact, it looked like he already was.
Moriah was so exasperated she spoke without thinking. “Have you lost your mind, Katherine?”
Katherine's expression of happiness melted, and Moriah watched her aunt’s face freeze into her professional expression of calm—effectively shutting her out.
“As a matter of fact,” Katherine lifted her chin as though daring her niece to argue with her, “I’ve not lost my mind. I feel like I’ve finally found it. I’ve thought of Nicolas every day for years. There's no need for us to lose any more of our lives. We might not even wait until the end of summer. We might just go to the courthouse tomorrow. So, don’t worry about being my maid of honor. I’m too old for a formal wedding, anyway.”
“But you said…” Nicolas objected.
“That was just daydreaming, Nicolas. A church wedding would look silly for an old maid like me.”
“Excuse me,” Ben interrupted. “Is that coffee ready, yet?”
Moriah glanced at Jack, who seemed ready to slide beneath the table. She quickly selected the largest mug she could find and filled it to the brim. The coffee hadn't finished flowing through the coffee maker and several dribbles sizzled on the burner. She didn’t care. Her hand shook as she poured.
Her aunt, her rock, was getting married to a man who got on Moriah’s nerves with every word he spoke. Every time she thought Nicolas was becoming likable—for instance, when he helped her and Ben with the driveway—he’d say something that would set her teeth on edge again. Just thinking about the ramifications of him coming into their lives so intimately made her stomach feel queasy.
Things had been so much simpler before he showed up.
She handed the cup to Ben, willing him to take Jack and leave the kitchen so she could have it out with Katherine and Nicolas. As she bent to give him the cup, he whispered in her ear. “Be careful, Moriah. You’ve already said too much.”
She jerked upright. Be careful indeed. It wasn't his aunt getting married to this man. “Can we go someplace a little more private and talk, Katherine?”
“Maybe later, dear. Nicolas and I have more to discuss.” Katherine ladled soup into a bowl and placed it in front of Jack. “By the way, now that Nicolas has retired from his obstetrics practice, he says he thinks he would enjoy having a hand in running the resort. You’ll be working on the lighthouse anyway, and I could use the help.”
Moriah looked at Katherine and saw her aunt’s heart in her eyes. Please, Katherine’s eyes pleaded. Please don’t ruin this for me.
The room was silent as though everyone, including Jack, were waiting for Moriah to release them from some sort of evil spell. Nicolas didn’t even look at her. He just toyed with the edge of his napkin, probably waiting for another outburst.
Twenty years her aunt had pined for him? Twenty years with no other man in her life?
There really was no accounting for taste.
Moriah loved her aunt. She realized there was only one decision she could make if she was to keep their relationship intact.
“Congratulations, Katherine.” She put her arms around her aunt. “You deserve all the happiness in the world. I’ll be honored to be your maid of honor, and I’m happy Nicolas will be helping you with the resort this summer.”
Still hugging her aunt, she narrowed her eyes and gave Nicolas a meaningful look over her aunt’s shoulder. She hoped the message was clear to him. Don’t even think about hurting this woman again, or you’ll have me to deal with.