The Inn at Rose Harbor Read Free Page A

them. Following graduation, gentle-natured Michelle had gone on to become a social worker. Josh remembered that she’d had a big crush on Dylan, but she was overweight and Dylan hadn’t returned the sentiment. In his mind, Josh linked her thoughtfulness in looking after Richard to her affection for Dylan.
    “Richard is in a bad way,” Michelle had told him during their brief telephone conversation. “If you want to see him alive you’d better come—and make it soon.”
    Josh had no desire to see the old man. None. They shared nothing other than a mutual dislike. Josh agreed to make the trip for two reasons. First, he was between job assignments as a construction manager. He had just finished one project and was waiting to hear about the next. Second, while he didn’t consider it important, or really hope it was possible, it’d be nice to make peace with the old man. Then, too, there were certain things he hoped to collect from his stepfather’s house. While he was in Cedar Cove, he wanted to retrieve a few personal possessions that his mother had brought into the marriage. Nothing less than what should rightfully be his and certainly nothing more.
    “I’ll be there as soon as I can get away,” Josh had replied.
    “Hurry,” Michelle urged. “Richard needs you.”
    Josh wagered his stepfather would keel over dead before he’d admit to needing anyone, particularly Josh. Apparently the neighbors had forgotten that Richard had taken delight in kicking Josh out of the house only a few months after his mother’s death. Josh had been just weeks away from his high school graduation. When he left he hadn’t been allowed to take anything more than some clothes and his schoolbooks.
    Richard had claimed Josh was a thief. Two hundred dollars had been missing from his wallet and he was convinced Josh had stolen it. The fact was, Josh knew nothing about the missing money, which left only Dylan. Richard would never believe his own flesh and blood was guilty, though, so Josh had accepted the blame. What he hadn’t expected was for Richard to demand he leave so close to graduation.
    In retrospect, Josh accepted that the missing money was just an excuse. Richard had wanted him out of the house and out of his life, and until now Josh had been more than willing to comply.
    He was back in Cedar Cove, but he felt no sense of homecoming as he eased his truck into the driveway of the address scribbled down on a piece of paper. The B&B had surfaced in a hasty online search he’d conducted, looking for a location convenient to his stepfather’s house.
    One thing was certain: he couldn’t stay with Richard. As far as Josh knew, Richard didn’t even know he was coming, which suited him just fine. If everything went well, he’d be in and out of town in a day or two. He didn’t want to stay any longer than was absolutely necessary. And when he left Cedar Cove this time, Josh had no intention of ever looking back.
    Once he parked in the inn’s small lot, he climbed out of the truck, and reached for his overnight bag and laptop. The sky wasovercast and it looked like rain, which was par for January in the Pacific Northwest. The charcoal-colored skies were an adequate reflection of his mood. He’d give just about anything to be somewhere other than Cedar Cove—anyplace that didn’t force him to confront the stepfather who had detested him.
    No need putting off the inevitable, he decided. He lugged his carry-on and his computer case up the porch stairs and rang the doorbell. Hardly a minute passed before a woman answered the door.
    “Mrs. Frelinger?” he asked. She was of medium height and much younger than he’d expected when he booked the reservation. Her thick brown hair was shoulder length with a part down the middle. Her eyes were a piercing shade of blue not unlike a summer sky. When he’d booked the reservation the woman on the other end of the line had sounded older, as if she were in her sixties. The woman standing