River's End (9781426761140) (12 page)

“I thought it wouldn't hurt to get ahead of the game,” Diane said cheerfully. “Yesterday felt kind of like a mad marathon.”

“Well, Clark and I will try to make up for that today.”

“How is Hazel?”

Anna gave her the report from last night. “But Clark plans to call the hospital around eight to see how she's faring.”

“We've all been praying for her.”

“I know Hazel is appreciative.”

“So . . . did Sarah tell you about yesterday?” Diane cracked an egg, dropping the contents into a big mixing bowl.

“Just that it was pretty busy.”

“She didn't mention anything about Lauren then?”

Anna leveled the scoop of coffee then peered curiously at Diane. “What about Lauren?”

“Well, I don't want to sound like I'm tattling. But Sarah and Lauren got into another little spat. To be fair, Lauren was trying to be patient with Sarah, but it just kept escalating.”

“Oh, dear.” Anna dumped the scoop of coffee into the basket and sighed. “I suppose there were guests around when it happened?”

“There were a few. It was about an hour before dinner, and you know how they like to mill around in here.”

Anna just nodded grimly.

“Anyway, after it was all said and done, Lauren attempted to do some damage control. I mean she'd tried to keep things calm during the argument. And she did apologize to the guests afterward. Sarah had stormed off by then.”

“What were they fighting about?”

“It started out over Sarah's idea for rearranging the tables. It was actually kind of a good idea, but the timing wasn't so great. I mean we were barely keeping our noses above water as it was. There really wasn't time to rearrange tables in here.”

“Yes . . . I can understand that.”

“Lauren tried to explain that it would have to wait and Sarah just flew at her.”

Anna could imagine that.

Diane lowered her voice. “And Sarah told Lauren that she'd been working at the inn practically her whole life and that she knew more about it than Lauren did. Of course, that got Lauren's hackles up. I mean she works pretty hard for you, too.”

“Yes . . . she does.”

Diane glanced around the deserted dining room as if to be sure no one could hear them. “Then Lauren told Sarah that everyone needed to work together just now. Especially seeing how Hazel was so sick at the hospital. Like everything was already pretty stressful.”

“That's true.” Anna finished filling the big coffee urn with water.

“And I suppose Lauren was just tired or fed up by then because she said something that I think really cut into Sarah. I'm sure it's why Sarah stormed out.”

Anna came over to where Diane was still cracking eggs by the stove. “What did Lauren say?” she asked quietly, almost afraid to hear.

“Lauren said that Hazel's heart problems were probably a result of all the bickering that had been going on lately. She told Sarah that the inn was supposed to be a place of wholeness and healing and if Sarah didn't get her act together, maybe the inn would be better off without her.”

“Oh!” Anna's hand covered her mouth. “She said that?”

“Something like that.” Diane sighed.

“Oh, dear.”

“In Lauren's defense, she kind of took it back almost as soon as she said it. But it was too late. That's when Sarah stormed off. She didn't even come back to help serve dinner so it really was a little crazy then.”

“Oh, my.” Anna wondered why Sarah hadn't mentioned this last night. Probably she was embarrassed.

“But at least Sarah came back after dinner. She was real quiet, and I could tell her feelings were still hurt. But she did more than her part cleaning up. Fortunately, Lauren was gone by then. I'm sure she felt terrible for losing it like that. But we were all a little on edge yesterday.”

“That's understandable. Hopefully today will be better.”

Now Janelle came into the kitchen. Greeting Anna, she tied on her apron and inquired about Hazel. Anna filled her in as she hurried to finish setting out the plates and silverware.

“I already told her about the spat between Sarah and her mom last night,” Diane quietly told her sister.

“Yes.” Anna wiped her damp hands on a towel. “And I'll see what I can do to help smooth things over.”

“Sometimes it's hard having family working together,” Janelle said sympathetically.

Diane laughed. “Yeah, Janelle and I sometimes fight like cats and dogs. But we usually try to do it at home.”

“And we don't even fight that much anymore,” Janelle said defensively. “Not like we used to anyway.”

“Hopefully there'll be no more family feuds around here either.” Anna exited the dining room. She had no idea how she'd handle this. She certainly didn't want to make matters worse. And yet, she didn't want to sweep it under the rug either.

Checking her watch, she knew Lauren should be arriving within the next fifteen minutes. Perhaps the best plan would be to meet her at the dock and discuss it down there where there'd be no chance for Sarah to overhear them.

When she got down to the dock, she could tell that Clark was perplexed. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Probably not.” He frowned at the boats still secured to the dock. “Just that we're missing one of the fishing skiffs.”

“Missing one?”

“Well, there's one gone. It was here last night but gone this morning. And no one seems to have checked it out.”

“Oh.” She shrugged. “Probably someone decided to go fishing and simply forgot.”

He nodded. “I suppose. But I've tried to make it so easy for everyone. The sign-up sheet on the side of the boathouse is in plain view. The sign stipulates that all boats must be signed out, for safety's sake.”

“Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out.” And with no one about to listen, she took the opportunity to explain about the conflict between Lauren and Sarah yesterday. “Sarah didn't say a word about it last night,” she said finally.

“Maybe it wasn't such a big deal,” he suggested.

“According to Diane it was.” She glanced out on the river, spying what looked like Lauren's boat making its way toward them. “I plan to talk to Lauren about it now.”

“I'm sure you won't make her feel too badly about it.”

“That's not my intention. I just want her to take the high road with Sarah. It seems only fair that Lauren, being the mother and the adult in the situation, should have to be more mature. And maybe she'll have to learn to bite her tongue where Sarah is concerned. At least for a while.” She peered at Clark. “Do you think that's too much to ask?”

He shrugged. “I don't think so. And maybe you should tell her that. But, like you've told me before, it's not like you can control Lauren. Either of them for that matter, Anna.” Now he excused himself to go over to the boathouse in order to assist an elderly gentleman who was wrestling with a life jacket.

Anna walked down to the end of the dock now. Attempting to clear her head and center herself, she took in a slow, deep breath. She often utilized the peaceful calm of the shining blue river to steady herself. Watching the slowly approaching boat, Anna silently asked God to lead her as she prepared to lovingly confront her daughter. She knew that she should be Lauren's example in this situation. She also knew that Lauren still had a lot to learn about mothering—particularly a grown child, which was usually a bigger challenge than with a juvenile. Even so, Anna was determined to handle what could be a sticky and potentially explosive situation with patience and serenity.

I know you're right about this, Mom.” Lauren's voice sounded tight and slightly high-pitched. But, to her credit, she'd listened patiently while Anna had asked her to try to keep her conversations with Sarah private and away from the curious ears of guests. “But I think you should speak to Sarah, too. It felt like she wanted to pick a fight with me. How do I just walk away?”

“I do plan to speak to her.” Anna glanced back up at the house. “But I just feel that you, being the adult, will have to take the lead with her. And sometimes you do need to just walk away. I know Sarah can make it difficult for you, and sometimes you'll just have to take a deep breath and disengage. Take the high road, Lauren.”

Lauren nodded with a somber expression. “I'll try to.”

Anna smiled at her. “I know it's not easy, darling . . . but hopefully with time and patience and plenty of love, Sarah will be able to move past these problems.”

Lauren frowned. “Sometimes I wonder if she wants to move past them. What if she gets some twisted sense of pleasure from the conflict?”

“Oh, I don't think so . . .”

“I don't know . . . sometimes she reminds me a lot of her great-grandmother.”

Anna blinked. “Of Eunice?”

She nodded grimly. “Sarah has a mean bite when she wants to.”

“She's been through a lot.”

“Maybe . . . but believe me, Mom, the girl isn't always sweetness and light. Not like you and Clark sometimes believe her to be. I've seen her dark side.”

Anna sighed. She didn't want to argue with Lauren, but she felt she was wrong about this. Sarah certainly wasn't perfect, but anyone who'd been through the struggles she'd been through had the right to some problems. Hopefully, they'd be surmountable ones. Anna intended to do all within her power to guide Sarah beyond this rough spell.

“Anyway, I'll try to keep my mouth shut,” Lauren said as she reached for a tin can containing freshly cut lavender, handing it to Anna while she retrieved another that was full of Shasta daisies. “And how is Hazel? Should we send some flowers to her?”

“That's a marvelous idea.” Anna nodded as she sniffed the fragrant lavender. It always reminded her of Babette. “Perhaps you could put a bouquet together for Clark to take when he goes over after lunch. I haven't heard how she's doing yet today, but he plans to give the hospital a call this morning.”

It wasn't until Anna returned to the downstairs dining room to help with the post-breakfast KP that she found out that Sarah hadn't come down to help at all this morning. “Is she sleeping in?” Diane asked. “Or sick?”

“I don't think so.” Anna frowned as she swiped the long wooden table. “But maybe I should go check on her just in case.” She finished with the table then went back into the house and quietly tapped on Sarah's door. When she didn't
answer, Anna knocked louder, calling her name. Finally, she quietly opened the door to see that Sarah's bed was neatly made. Everything looked the same as usual with nothing out of the ordinary. Her clothes and personal items were still there. And yet . . . something didn't feel right.

Was it possible that Sarah was still feeling out of sorts from last night? Had her feelings been so badly hurt that she was off by herself, licking her wounds? Perhaps she'd taken a long walk. Or maybe she'd taken Anna's canoe out. Anna couldn't remember if it had been down by the boathouse or not.

“Have you seen your daughter this morning?” Anna called in to where Lauren was working at the desk in the office.

“No. I figure she's avoiding me.” Lauren made a sheepish smile. “And it's mutual,” she said quietly.

Anna nodded. “Yes, that's probably a good thing.” As she left the house, Anna decided to check in the laundry room. Several machines were operating, but Sarah wasn't down there either. Nor was she in the garden or the bathhouse or anywhere that Anna could see on the grounds. Finally, Anna remembered that Hazel's cabin was temporarily vacated—of course, that was probably where Sarah had holed up. As Anna walked toward it, greeting guests along the way, she recalled how she sometimes used to hole up there herself as a teenager. She had always loved Grandma Pearl's little cabin, even back when it was quite rustic. Sarah loved it, too. And perhaps one day, if Hazel was willing to relocate into one of the nicer more modern units, the old cabin could become Sarah's own special place as well.

But no one answered when Anna knocked on the door, and, when she went inside, everything looked slightly rumpled and in disarray, exactly the same when they'd hurriedly left it yesterday. Hoping that Hazel might be coming home today or tomorrow, Anna decided to straighten things up a bit, as well
as to change the linens and open the windows. Satisfied that all was in good order, she returned to the laundry room with a basket of Hazel's clothes and linens.

“Do you mind seeing to these?” she asked Janelle, who was now folding towels. “They're Hazel's.”

“Not at all.”

“Have you seen Sarah?” Anna asked hopefully.

Janelle shook her head. “Not this morning.”

Anna felt a tiny spike of worry as she walked down to the boathouse. Oh, she knew it was premature . . . but Sarah had run off once before . . . what if she'd done it again? First, Anna checked to see if the Water Dove was in its place, but seeing that it hadn't been moved and was dry, she went off in search of Clark to see if he knew where the missing girl had gone.

But Clark was on the phone when she went into the house. His voice sounded intense, and she could tell he was talking to someone at the hospital and so she waited.

“How is she?” Anna asked as he hung up the phone.

He frowned. “I'm not sure. It sounded as if they don't want to release her for a few more days. Do you think it's a bigger concern than just the stable angina that the doctor told us about yesterday? Something more serious?”

“I don't know, but I'm sure that the various types of heart problems aren't always easy to diagnose. Maybe it's best for them to carefully observe her for a while. Just in case it is more serious.”

He nodded. “Yes, that's probably wise. And hopefully she'll be able to rest there.” He smiled at Anna. “Plus that alleviates you from the burden of caring for her while she recovers.”