If Ever I Fall (Rhode Island Romance #1) Read Free Page A

until
that very moment that she’d been questioning her impulsive decision to move
here since stepping inside the house.
    Maybe she could rig
up some kind of cot and sleep here in the kitchen…
    As if reading her
thoughts, Collette said, “You don’t have to stay in this house for the winter,
you know. Your aunt had an apartment built above the garage five years ago. It
was designed for year-round use.”
    Willa paused in
removing her coat. She gave the other woman a puzzled look. “Why did she do
that?”
    “Because she wanted
to. She had the same tenant since the apartment was built, but Stacy left back
in October. Got married. Moved to Vermont.”
    “I see. Was my
aunt…struggling financially?”
    “Not at all.”
Collette moved about the kitchen, filling a kettle with water, opening a cupboard
to retrieve a tin canister. She pried off the lid and poked her finger inside.
“Do you want chamomile or peppermint?”
    “Chamomile would be
lovely.”
    Collette shot Willa
a crooked grin. The older woman had removed her coat and knit cap, revealing a
mop of curly silvery blond hair above a cheerful broad face that hinted at
Slavic ancestry. Polish, perhaps? Willa wondered.
    “Listen to you,”
Collette said. “You sound so educated and proper. Your aunt told us about how
wicked smart you are.”
    Willa turned away
before Collette could see her grimace. She hung her coat on a wooden peg next
to the back door before walking over to the breakfast nook. She slid her hand
slowly across the wooden surface that was worn smooth from years of use. Then
she sat down on one of the cushioned benches. She watched Collette as the other
woman set out coffee mugs and spoons. “I like your accent,” Willa said.
    Collette gave her
an offended look. “What accent? I don’t have an accent.”
    Willa felt her face
turning bright red.
    Then Collette
hooted with laughter, her own cheeks flushing rosy red, her blue eyes crinkling
at the corners. “Ha! I fooled ya,” she teased, adding an even thicker layer to
her accent. “You should see your face. I’ve gotta share that one with the
girls.”
    “The girls?”
    “My best friends.
Audrey, Mercy and Shirley. I’ve known Audrey and Mercy since grade school. I
met Shirley a few years ago through a volunteer program at the public
library—that’s where I work part-time—and brought her into the group. We’re all
the same age. Shirley’s divorced, like me. She lives in Cranston. Mercy’s
married, has two kids in college. She and Don live in North Kingstown. And
Audrey’s single and lives in Providence. She lived in the city—New York—for the
last thirty years. Moved back here about a year ago.”
    The tea had
finished brewing while Collette had been talking. She filled the two mugs and
brought them over to the table. “That’ll do ya. Do you want milk? Sugar?”
    “This is fine.”
    Collette scooted onto
the bench across from Willa. She wrapped her hands around her tea mug, her
smile touched with sadness. “I used to come over here every afternoon that I
wasn’t working. Your aunt loved her teas. Her father was British you know.”
    “I’m afraid I don’t
know much about my family’s genealogy.”
    “Not to worry.
Pauline had it all written down. She liked to show me her photo albums. The
older she got, the more she talked about her childhood. Her mother was
French-Canadian. She came to Rhode Island when she was sixteen to work in a
textile mill in Woonsocket. She met your grandfather at a dance.” Collette took
a sip of her tea. She rolled her eyes. “Pauline told me that your father was
embarrassed that his mother was what he called low class. She was a factory
girl. Your grandfather came from the British upper class. Pauline said your
father couldn’t wait to move away after he graduated from high school.”
    Willa gazed into
her tea, avoiding the other woman’s searching eyes. “I’m glad she kept track of
our ancestry. Sometimes I’ve wondered about