The Time of Her Life (5 page)

“We had a par course at my last property, and it was my
favorite way to spend lunch breaks when I could get them,” she said to fill the
quiet.

“It’s good to get outside every once in a while.”

“Especially during the months when it wasn’t buried under six
feet of snow.”

He laughed, such a rich sound. Was it possible even his
laughter had a hint of the South, too?

They emerged in the front lobby, walking side by side. Security
served as nighttime reception and Jay told the man at the desk, “Pete’s on
tonight, if you need anything.”

Then they passed through the open doorway, where two furry
golden beasts bounded at her, tails wagging, yelping and barking a friendly
greeting.

“Hello, guys,” Susanna said in her dog-friendly squeaky voice
as they circled her legs, clearly wanting attention. She extended a hand, waited
to see how it was received.

The dogs shuffled nearer, half sitting, half standing, vying to
get closer to her like two almost-identical twins elbowing each other out of the
way. With a laugh, she knelt and gave each a hand, ruffling their chests in a
place most dogs loved to be petted, laughing as they preened beneath the
attention. “That feels good, guys, doesn’t it? So who are you? You’re so
friendly.”

One sharp whistle answered her question. The barking stopped
and the dogs bounded toward Jay. But only for an instant before they shot past
him toward the facility entrance.

Susanna watched with amusement as Jay rolled his eyes and
whistled again, bringing the dogs to a halt in the entrance and the sliding
doors that opened drunkenly.

“Come on, you two,” Jay commanded “We’re not going in tonight.
It’s too late. You can visit your buddies another day.”

Susanna hadn’t come across any other dogs in the facility and
assumed Jay referred to the staff or the residents. Greywacke Lodge had been
affiliated with an organization that trained dogs specifically for senior
visits, and most residents loved the friendly canines. Judging by the way these
two dogs kept glancing at the entrance, looking disappointed if possible,
Susanna suspected they enjoyed visits, too.

“Boys, sit,” Jay instructed. “Try to make a good first
impression for once.”

Susanna couldn’t imagine these two making any other. They were
obviously well trained. “Golden retrievers?”

“Yep. Their names are Butters and Gatsby.”

“Oh, that’s sweet. Butters is younger?”

Jay narrowed a disapproving gaze at the dog that could barely
sit still. “How can you tell? His lack of manners?”

True, Butters’s hind end kept popping up, tail thumping wildly
before he’d remember he was supposed to be sitting.

“My fault entirely,” Susanna admitted. “How is he supposed to
behave when I’m doing the squeaky voice?”

“Yeah, well, he should.” Jay scowled at the dog who’d sidled up
against her to be petted again. “They like you.”

She ruffled the soft fur around Butters’s neck. “They’re so
friendly, I’m guessing they like everyone.”

“Okay,
you
like them.”

“I do. My kids had Hershel while they were growing up. He was a
golden and Akita mix.”

“Had?”

“Wonderful quality of life until he was fifteen. We still miss
him.”

Jay nodded, but she could tell he approved. Something in the
twinkle of his deep-green eyes. There didn’t seem to be any artifice with this
man, Susanna realized. Professionalism didn’t distance him from saying how he
felt or force him to only express the politically correct response.

Yet somehow he was very professional. She’d witnessed that
firsthand. A natural leader.

Susanna found that very different, very refreshing from the
often tentative diplomacy of corporate-speak.

Jay tossed his jacket over his shoulder. “You ready to head
home, boys?”

Both dogs were on their feet instantly, glancing at her as if
excited for the company.

“Enjoy your walk. I hope you all have a good night.” Somehow in
the artificial light of the lamp, Jay no longer looked like the administrator
and owner of The Arbors, but simply a man who’d worked a long day.

“It was a good second day, Susanna. Enjoy your night.” Then he
herded the dogs away and headed toward the slope.

Susanna was still watching as they passed beyond the glow of
the parking lot lights and vanished into the darkness, warmth growing inside her
because of his approval.

* * *

“T
WO
DAYS
, Suze?” Karan
Steinberg said incredulously over the phone. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me
last night.”

“I’m so sorry. We didn’t leave work until late, and by the time
Jay helped me get my bags to the house and I got everything organized, I passed
out.”

“Well, forgiven, then. But only if you slept all night. Did
you? Don’t lie to me.”

“I would never lie. I can’t believe you’d suggest—”

“I’ll take that to mean no, you didn’t.” Karan’s sigh filtered
over the phone. “Suze, what am I going to do with you?”

Susanna leaned back in the chair, a caned oak rocker that was
one of a set gracing the gallery in front of her new home, the most picturesque
cottage she had ever seen. Though it was dark, the moon illuminated the
surrounding forest, and the quiet night sounds reminded her of the sunroom in
the home she’d left in New York.

The evenings had once been a special time for her and Skip.
After long, busy days. After bedtime stories and tucking in the kids, Susanna
would brew a pot of coffee and she and Skip would sit in the sunroom and share
the events of their day. For a blissful few moments, they reconnected as a
couple to the peaceful night sounds of the conservation lot that bordered their
backyard.

“Don’t worry, Karan,” Susanna said, knowing her friend would
continue to do precisely that. “I’ll settle down once I get comfortable here.
There’s been a lot of travel and a lot of change. Nerves are completely
normal.”

“You’re holding up?” Karan asked. “All’s well?”

“So far, so good. I’ve been going nonstop all day at the
facility. And I’m here, if not unpacked. I’ll get there when I get there.”

“But you’re happy with the arrangement?”

“I was so relieved when I saw this place I got weepy. Jay must
think I’m the biggest idiot.”

“Who’s Jay?” Karan asked.

Karan zeroed in on what she considered most important. Men
would always top that list. That had been the way it was in middle school. That
was the way it was in middle age.

Not that
almost
forty was exactly
middle age. Not if Susanna planned to live to be a hundred, anyway.

“Jay Canady, owner and property administrator of The
Arbors.”

“The man you’ve got to convince to sell the property.”

“One and the same.” A man with a charming smile and melodic
voice.

“What’s he like? Helpful, I hope.”

“Very, I’m happy to report. Not really what I expected.”

“How so?”

Susanna paused before answering. “He wants the acquisition to
happen, but on his terms. I haven’t figured out much more than that yet. I’m too
busy getting acclimated.”

“Do you think you’re going to like the job? It’s a lot
different than what you’d been doing.”

A lot more responsibility. Karan was probably right to worry
especially because she knew everything involved in making this move—all the
worries, all the uncertainty, all the indecision.

She also understood how much of Susanna’s peace of mind rode on
things falling into place to reassure her that relocating her family had been
the right choice. Karan knew everything because they were BFFs, as Brooke always
called them.

Best friends forever.

This would be the first time since middle school they’d lived
so far apart. Of course, Karan traveled a lot, not to mention splitting home
base between residences in the Catskills, Manhattan and on the Connecticut
shore, but not even college or marriage—
marriages
in
Karan’s case—had placed as much distance between them as this job.

“I think this place is what I need right now. The learning
curve will distract me, so I won’t miss the kids so much.”

“As long as it doesn’t keep you too distracted. You need to get
a life, Suze. It’s time. Past time, to be honest.”

“I know. I know.” But knowing and doing were two different
things, Susanna had discovered. Between her kids growing up and moving away and
leaving New York behind herself, she felt as if the grieving process had started
all over again. Maybe not as overwhelming as it had been in the months after
Skip’s death, but she felt just as isolated, alone.

Rising, she headed inside, nudged the door shut behind her,
suddenly needing light and walls around her. “I took a big step by taking this
job.”

“You did,” Karan acknowledged.

Setting the cup on the coffee table, Susanna glanced at a photo
she’d placed in the living room. The only unpacking she’d done aside from
hanging up her suits had been to place a photo in every room, so wherever she
turned she’d see the face of someone she loved.

Karan and her husband Charles’s wedding photo was in the dining
room. Brooke’s and Brandon’s smiling faces graced several rooms. In this photo
they sat in front of last year’s Christmas tree. Their last Christmas in their
home.

Ugh.
“It’s another world around
here.” Susanna switched gears to bridge the distance she suddenly felt from her
old life. “You will not believe my new place. Totally
Gone
with the Wind,
I swear.”

“Tara or the slave quarters? You keep saying
guest cottage.
It sounds small.”

“Don’t start.” She sank onto the sofa, into soft cushions.
Definitely down-filled. Something she’d never have been able to indulge in when
the kids had been young. A sofa like this might have lasted two hours during the
pillow fights or fort-makings at one of Brandon’s slumber parties.

“There are flowers everywhere. The place is called The Arbors
for good reason. Walter said it’ll be even more beautiful when everything’s in
spring bloom. I can’t even imagine. The place is already heaven everywhere I
look.”

“I know you love that, Ms. Green Thumb. And here you were
worried about leaving your conservation lot. Who’s Walter?”

“The property CFO.”

“He’ll be staying with you after the transition?”

“Walter and everyone else on the payroll. Jay has negotiated
provisions for all the personnel. I won’t be making any changes without putting
up a fight.”

“Then let’s hope you like everyone. Particularly Walter, since
he’s doing your old job. You’re a tough act to follow.”

Susanna envisioned the white-haired gentleman with the deep
drawl. “He’s been on the payroll for longer than I’ve been alive. He’s got
things under control.”

“Sounds like your first few days are going well.”

“Thank God. At first glance, everyone appears capable and
efficient. They’ve definitely been friendly. Lots of real Southern charm around
here.”

“Everyone is probably as worried about keeping their jobs as
you are, Suze. Remember that. Once Northstar starts cutting the checks, those
loyalties will make the transition, too.”

“Fingers crossed. But I am encouraged. With the facility and
the people.”

“And the living arrangements.”

“Thankfully.” Not that decor and design mattered all that much.
Unless the place had been a trailer on cinder blocks, Susanna was moving in
because the price was right.

Free housing was part of her package. Gerald had convinced
Northstar she should be on the property to accommodate a staff used to constant
access to Jay. And Jay had needed to assume some financial responsibility to
offset expenses in the event he chose not to sign in the end. This was one of
the perks that didn’t cost him.

But Susanna never shared financial worries with Karan if she
could help it. Her BFF had grown up in a much loftier tax bracket. As a result
she was casual with money in a way that only came from never having to worry
about whether or not there’d be enough.

“
Explain to me how you’re going to be
homeless when I own all these houses?”
Karan had said in some
variation more than once.
“Take the kids and live in the
lake house or the beach house or go to Manhattan. Brooke loves it
there.”

For Karan the move would be that simple. She had such a giving
heart. Ironically, she also had no clue how generous she was, which was one of
the very reasons Susanna adored her.

“Define
encouraged,
” Karan said.
“Does that translate to mean you’ll get used to living in the guest
cottage?”

“This place is perfect for me. I’m one person.”

“Not if you want me to visit. Or your kids.”

“Brooke can sleep with me and Brandon can bunk in the office.
You know we’re big on slumber parties. For you and Charles, there’s a Hilton on
the other side of the UNC campus. I already checked.”

“Good. How big is Jay’s place?”

“Think Tara in
Gone with the
Wind.
”

Silence.

“What?” Susanna asked.

“Well, I’m not sure how I feel about a man who lives in a
plantation and leaves you in the slave quarters. He couldn’t clear out a wing?
He is selling the place and moving, right?”

“Jay didn’t put me anywhere. Northstar made the
arrangements.”

“What are they doing with the plantation?”

“One of my objectives is to make recommendations. Northstar is
looking at the potential for a rehab facility or maybe adding a facility that’s
not specifically Alzheimer’s related. I haven’t seen the place in person yet,
but it’s old, so renovating to code could be expensive. I’ll have to see.”

A task for another day. She could tackle only one thing at a
time without feeling overwhelmed. She was already bolting upright in bed hours
before the alarm rang.