Hannah might have written more than one letter?” I needed Ritchie’s opinion on this. I suspected she hadn’t, but her brother knew her well, almost as well as I did…had.
My question apparently gave him pause. Then he shook his head. “Who would’ve delivered them?”
“Good point.” That settled it in my mind. There was only the one letter.
“Hannah might suggest dating these other women to you, but I doubt she’d discuss it with them.” Ritchie rubbed the side of his jaw. “No,” he added. “I’m fairly confident Hannah just wrote one letter. Yours.”
I nodded slowly, reassured on that count. My encounters with Winter and the other two women—if I called them—would be awkward enough without more letters from Hannah.
“If Winter’s interested, then I say go out with her,” Ritchie urged.
“No,” I said adamantly. “It’d be a waste of time for both of us.”
“Don’t be so sure. Remember, Hannah put her name first on the list, and there was a reason for that.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
“It’s what she wanted, Michael. You aren’t going to ignore my sister’s last wish, are you?”
Leave it to Ritchie to hit below the belt. “I’ll think about it,” I muttered. But I already had a feeling that Winter and I would never find happiness together.
Chapter Seven
M aybe she shouldn’t have been surprised, but it’d been good to see Michael again.
Winter Adams wasn’t sure how to react when she got the message that her cousin’s husband had stopped by. She hadn’t called him right away; she’d had no idea what to say once she did. She’d always liked Michael and missed Hannah terribly. Her relationship had been with Hannah, though, and because she was usually working the dinner shift, she hadn’t socialized with them as a couple all that much. Which made the whole situation a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she felt she had to return his call.
“Did he ask you out?” Alix asked when Winter carried the plate and two empty coffee mugs to the dishwasher.
She nodded.
“Are you going?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. Still mulling over the conversation, she went into her office and closed the door.
Michael might be interested, but Winter belonged with the man she loved. Pierre Dubois. The past three weeks without him had been painful. Bleak. Her life was complicated and she’d probably done Michael a disservice by not explaining the situation better. She was involved with Pierre and had been for a long while, although they’d decided to take a three-month break from each other.
As she’d told Michael, this wasn’t the first time they’d split up. Technically, this wasn’t a split; it was more of a breather while they analyzed what was wrong with their relationship. Two years earlier Pierre and Winter had broken it off for good. At the time it had seemed for the best, since they were constantly arguing, constantly at odds. They spent fifteen months apart. Winter had been miserable without him.
During those months, she’d visited Hannah often, both at the hospital and at home. When Michael was busy, Winter sat with her cousin and poured out her heart. Hannah had been such a sympathetic listener. She’d assured Winter over and over that one day she’d meet a man who would make her happy.
Then, shortly after Hannah’s death, she’d run into Pierre in downtown Seattle. Winter’s heart had started beating furiously at the sight of him. She’d missed Pierre each and every day, but had worked hard to convince herself that she’d gotten along fine without him. At first their meeting had been awkward. They’d exchanged the briefest of pleasantries and gone their separate ways.
Then they’d met again, a few minutes later in a department store. They’d laughed, a bit nervously, Pierre had made a joke about it and they’d headed in opposite directions—only to meet a third time outside the store. Pierre had laughed and suggested they have
My question apparently gave him pause. Then he shook his head. “Who would’ve delivered them?”
“Good point.” That settled it in my mind. There was only the one letter.
“Hannah might suggest dating these other women to you, but I doubt she’d discuss it with them.” Ritchie rubbed the side of his jaw. “No,” he added. “I’m fairly confident Hannah just wrote one letter. Yours.”
I nodded slowly, reassured on that count. My encounters with Winter and the other two women—if I called them—would be awkward enough without more letters from Hannah.
“If Winter’s interested, then I say go out with her,” Ritchie urged.
“No,” I said adamantly. “It’d be a waste of time for both of us.”
“Don’t be so sure. Remember, Hannah put her name first on the list, and there was a reason for that.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I know.”
“It’s what she wanted, Michael. You aren’t going to ignore my sister’s last wish, are you?”
Leave it to Ritchie to hit below the belt. “I’ll think about it,” I muttered. But I already had a feeling that Winter and I would never find happiness together.
Chapter Seven
M aybe she shouldn’t have been surprised, but it’d been good to see Michael again.
Winter Adams wasn’t sure how to react when she got the message that her cousin’s husband had stopped by. She hadn’t called him right away; she’d had no idea what to say once she did. She’d always liked Michael and missed Hannah terribly. Her relationship had been with Hannah, though, and because she was usually working the dinner shift, she hadn’t socialized with them as a couple all that much. Which made the whole situation a bit uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she felt she had to return his call.
“Did he ask you out?” Alix asked when Winter carried the plate and two empty coffee mugs to the dishwasher.
She nodded.
“Are you going?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. Still mulling over the conversation, she went into her office and closed the door.
Michael might be interested, but Winter belonged with the man she loved. Pierre Dubois. The past three weeks without him had been painful. Bleak. Her life was complicated and she’d probably done Michael a disservice by not explaining the situation better. She was involved with Pierre and had been for a long while, although they’d decided to take a three-month break from each other.
As she’d told Michael, this wasn’t the first time they’d split up. Technically, this wasn’t a split; it was more of a breather while they analyzed what was wrong with their relationship. Two years earlier Pierre and Winter had broken it off for good. At the time it had seemed for the best, since they were constantly arguing, constantly at odds. They spent fifteen months apart. Winter had been miserable without him.
During those months, she’d visited Hannah often, both at the hospital and at home. When Michael was busy, Winter sat with her cousin and poured out her heart. Hannah had been such a sympathetic listener. She’d assured Winter over and over that one day she’d meet a man who would make her happy.
Then, shortly after Hannah’s death, she’d run into Pierre in downtown Seattle. Winter’s heart had started beating furiously at the sight of him. She’d missed Pierre each and every day, but had worked hard to convince herself that she’d gotten along fine without him. At first their meeting had been awkward. They’d exchanged the briefest of pleasantries and gone their separate ways.
Then they’d met again, a few minutes later in a department store. They’d laughed, a bit nervously, Pierre had made a joke about it and they’d headed in opposite directions—only to meet a third time outside the store. Pierre had laughed and suggested they have
Similar Books
