Drawing Close: The Fourth Novel in the Rosemont Series (24 page)

Chapter 54

Marissa and Sean Nash raced up the
stairs to their apartment, with Frank Haynes trailing behind. Sean burst
through the door. “Mom—guess what?”

Loretta stepped out of the kitchen and put her
finger to her lips. “Shhhh … Your sister is taking a nap.” She herded her two
older children into the kitchen and motioned for Frank Haynes to join them. She
smiled at him, and he felt the familiar jolt he always got these days when she
did. “Okay, what?” she asked her son.

“We got to take Sally to the dog park after the
movie,” he said.

“And I got to hold her leash,” Marissa chimed in.

Loretta nodded and gave Frank a quizzical look
over the tops of their heads. Frank shrugged and looked at his shoes.

“So now you’ll be wanting to get a dog, won’t
you?” she asked the two shining faces turned to hers. They nodded vigorously.

“Having a dog is a lot of work,” she said. “You’ve
got to feed them and walk them every day—especially when you live in a
second-floor apartment, like we do.”

“I’ll walk him before and after school. I
promise,” Sean replied.

“And there’s the matter of training, too. I’ve
never trained a dog, and I don’t have time to learn now. I told you we would
consider it when Nicole’s better.”

“Mr. Haynes said that he’ll teach us how to train
him, and we can keep him at his house until you say he can come home with us,”
Marissa said, taking her mother’s hand.

This time, Loretta did not smile at Frank. “We’ll
see. I’ll talk to Mr. Haynes. You go to your rooms and start cleaning. They
look like a bomb went off in them. I shouldn’t have let you go with Mr. Haynes
this afternoon, with your rooms in such a mess.”

Sensing this was not the time to cross their
mother, both children set out for their rooms without further comment. When
they were out of earshot, Loretta turned to Frank.

“How’s Nicole?” he asked.

“All of her test results were better than
expected. She’s not rejecting the kidney, and it’s working beautifully.”

“That’s good news.”

Loretta nodded. “What in the world were you doing,
letting them hope that we can get a dog? I can’t manage that right now.”

Frank held up both hands. “I’m sorry, Loretta. I
was out of line. But you should have seen them with Sally. They were so happy.
I know how good Dodger has been for David Wheeler.” He looked aside. “I
remember how much it helped me when I got my dog when I was Sean’s age.” He
turned to face her. “This hasn’t been easy for them, you know. They’ve been
scared about losing Nicole, and their mom hasn’t had much time for them,
either.”

Loretta recoiled. “You think I’m neglecting them?
I’m doing the best I can. You have no idea how hard this has been to do alone.”

Frank Haynes stepped forward and put his hands on
her arms. “I don’t want you to have to do this alone. That’s why I took them to
the movies today. That’s why I want to get them a dog and keep it at my house
until you’re ready to bring it home. It’ll be good for Sean and Marissa, and
it’s something I can do to help.”

Loretta leaned toward him.

“We’ll all go to Forever Friends to pick out the
dog. We’ll get a small one, and you can have veto power. How does that sound?”
he asked, pulling her to him.

Loretta rested her head on his chest and nodded.

“I have good news,” he said softly, into her hair.

She pulled her head back to look into his eyes.

“Susan Martin got married today.”

“I know. We ran into her at the hospital. Nicole
got to see her in her wedding dress and say hello. Nicole said that her dress
was the prettiest one she’d ever seen, and Susan told her she’d save it so
Nicole could wear it when she got married. You should have seen them together,
Frank. Those two have a magical bond.” Loretta drew a deep breath. “I saw Chuck
Delgado at the hospital, too. He did something that alarmed me.”

Haynes’ gaze turned to steel. “Did he come near
you?”

“No. He never saw us. He had papers in one hand.
Maybe he was there having some tests done, I don’t know. Nicole and I were
waiting for the elevator when I saw him down the hallway near where Susan was
holding her reception. She was getting ready to throw her bouquet, and Delgado
stopped to watch her. He raised his hand and pantomimed shooting her with a
gun.” Loretta demonstrated what she had seen. “He threw back his head and
laughed, then proceeded on his way. It was really creepy.”

“Did anyone else see him?”

“No. The hallway was deserted except for the
commotion around the reception. He was a good fifty feet from them. Nobody else
noticed.”

“Did he see you?”

Loretta shook her head. “I was afraid he would,
but he never glanced in our direction. We were at the other end of the
hallway.”

Haynes nodded, deep in thought. “Don’t worry about
it. I’ll take care of it.” He forced a smile onto his lips.

“How did you find out about the wedding?” she
asked.

“Glenn Vaughn called to tell me.”

“Why didn’t they wait for her to get out of the
hospital? They don’t think she’s going to die, do they?”

Frank shook his head. “No. Nothing of the kind.
Glenn said that, after almost losing their happy future, they didn’t want to
wait any longer.”

“That’s wonderful, then. I’ve been terrified that
she wasn’t going to pull through. I’d never forgive myself if she didn’t make
it.”

“Nonsense. None of that was your fault.” He looked
at her closely. He held his breath, then plunged on, into the question that had
been plaguing his thoughts for weeks.

“How about you?” he asked. “Would you like to move
forward into a happy future with someone? Can you put that creep Paul Martin
out of your mind?”

Loretta leaned back and tilted her face to his.
She nodded slowly. He bent as she stood on her tiptoes. Their lips met and
held, and they both would have sworn that the lights flickered.

***

Frank Haynes couldn’t feel his feet
as he retreated down the steps and got into his car. They’d made plans to go to
Forever Friends the next afternoon, and he wanted to stop in and look at the
dogs available for adoption on his way home. Instead of heading to the shelter,
however, his Mercedes turned toward Rosemont.

He pulled into the familiar clearing in the
shoulder of the road that ran below the house. He hadn’t been back since he’d
decided to use his money to pay for Nicole’s transplant instead of buying out
Maggie’s interest in the house.

He studied Rosemont’s rear facade in the late
afternoon sunshine. He shook his head in disbelief. Instead of feeling the
bitter disappointment he’d expected, he was happy. Almost giddy, in fact. The
house no longer spoke to him. It was just a house. He was impatient to be on
his way. He had things he wanted to prepare for Loretta and her kids before
their visit to the shelter—and later his house—when they brought
the dog home. He should have food on hand. Maybe he’d fix them a meal. What did
they like? What did he even know how to cook? He felt happier than he’d felt in
his entire life.

Haynes started the engine and pulled away without
a backward glance. He needed to stop at Haynes Enterprises to send an email to
Simon Wilkens, and then he had a long list of things to do. His life wouldn’t
include Rosemont.

Chapter 55

Maggie and John walked through the
back door of Rosemont as the grandfather clock in the foyer struck midnight.
The excitement of the wedding had sustained them as they drove Mike to the
airport for his flight. They’d talked about the wedding and relived their own
ceremony on the drive home. But the busy day was catching up with them. They
were fading fast.

“I’ll take the dogs out and lock up. You go get
ready for bed,” John said. He caught her hand as she passed him and spun her
into his arms. “You looked absolutely stunning today, Mrs. Allen. Have I told
you that?”

Maggie snuggled into his embrace. “I believe you
might have mentioned it. You look mighty handsome, yourself, Dr. Allen.”

She reached up to kiss him. “I’ll be asleep the
instant my head hits the pillow. I spotted something stuck to the front door as
we drove past. I’m going to bring it inside and head upstairs.”

“It’s probably an advertisement,” John replied.
“Why don’t you leave it for tomorrow?”

“Maybe I will.” Maggie yawned as she headed toward
the stairway while John whistled for the dogs. She hesitated on the first step,
thinking about what was on the other side of that door. But her exhaustion overcame
her curiosity, and she wearily climbed the steps to the second floor.

They’d been in bed for ten minutes when John
rolled over to her and propped himself on his elbow. “I can tell by your
breathing that you’re not asleep. Something’s bothering you.”

Maggie switched on her bedside light. “You know me
so well, don’t you? I need to see what’s taped to the front door. I can’t go to
sleep without knowing. I’ll just nip down to get it and be right back.”

John threw back the covers. “Stay put, princess.
I’ll go get it. And if it’s some stupid restaurant flyer, you owe me. Big
time.”

“You’re my hero” Maggie called to his retreating
figure. She listened to the heavy mahogany door open and shut and John’s tread
on the stairway as he made his way back to her. Was she imagining it or was he
walking a bit faster?

“Here,” he said, holding out an envelope. “This
was taped to the door. It’s addressed to you.”

Maggie sat up and turned the envelope over in her
hands. “This handwriting looks vaguely familiar,” she said as she slid her
finger under the flap and ripped the envelope open. She withdrew a sheet of
paper, covered in cursive. “It’s from Frank Haynes,” she said, glancing at John
before returning to the paper in her hand. She read it aloud:

Dear Maggie,

I want you to know that I
have decided not to offer to buy out your share of Rosemont. Although I have long
wanted to own Rosemont, my priorities have changed and I have decided to use my
cash for other purposes.

We have not always seen
eye to eye, but I know you love Rosemont and are a good and generous steward of
it.

I am deeply grateful that
Susan donated her kidney to Nicole and am glad that her kindness is not going
to be repaid with tragedy.

I’ve told Simon Wilkens
about my decision and instructed him to send you a promissory note. You can pay
me the appraised half of Rosemont’s value over the next twenty years.

Yours sincerely,

Frank Haynes

Maggie sank against the headboard and let the
letter fall from her hands. “Am I dreaming this?”

John picked up the letter and read it again.
“You’re not dreaming.”

Maggie threw her arms around his neck. “Rosemont
is ours! Finally, completely, ours!”

The End

Thank you for reading!

If you enjoyed
Drawing Close
, I’d be grateful if you wrote a review.

Just a few lines would be great. Reviews are the best
gift an author can receive. They encourage us when they’re good, help us
improve our next book when they’re not, and help other readers make informed
choices when purchasing books. Reviews keep the Amazon algorithms humming and
are the most helpful aide in selling books! Thank you.

To post a review on Amazon or for Kindle:

1.
     
Go
to the product detail page for
Drawing
Close
on Amazon.com.

2.
     
Click
“Write a customer review” in the Customer Reviews section.

3.
     
Write
your review and click Submit.

In
gratitude,

Barbara
Hinske

Just for
You!

Wonder what Maggie was thinking when the book ended?
Exclusively for readers who finished
Drawing
Close
, take a look at
Maggie’s
Diary Entry
.

Acknowledgements

I’m blessed with the wisdom and
support of many kind and generous people. I want to thank the most supportive
and delightful group of readers an author could hope for:

My incredibly patient and supportive husband,
Brian;

My beta reader and book guru, Helen Curl;

My genius marketing team of Mitch Gandy, Jesse
Doubek, and Jill Bates Wallace—thank you for always fueling my dreams;

My kind and generous attorney, Roger A. Grad;

The professional “dream team” of my editors Linden
Gross and Jesika St. Clair, life coach Mat Boggs, and author assistant Lisa
Coleman;

Matt Hinrichs for another beautiful cover; and

The Tooms family for generously allowing me to use
their Texie as my Eve.

Book Club Questions

(If your club talks about
anything other than


family, jobs, and household projects!)

1. Where would you go on your ideal
   honeymoon?
   
2. Have you ever had to take a trip or
   attend a big event when you had to force yourself to ignore something
   upsetting?
   
3. How do you make yourself stop
   worrying about something?
   
4. What would you have done in
   Maggie’s situation? Would you have told your children about the
   possibility of their having a half-sister?
   
5. Have you ever tried to talk your
   child out of doing something altruistic that might involve personal risk?
   
6. Have you ever splurged on a big
   purchase? Are you glad you did?
   
7. Have you ever lost a home you
   dearly loved?
   
8. Did you find happiness in your new
   home, and if you did, how did you do it?
   
9. What is the most memorable wedding
   you’ve attended?
   
10. What one, single piece of advice
    would you give newlyweds
    ?