Page 4 of Stolen Mate

Somewhat mollified, Lara said, “I guess I can understand you wanting to be alone for a little bit, but I don’t want us drifting apart.”

Tess pulled her sister close, hugging her hard. “We won’t. Remember? We pinky promised.” Lara smiled, and Tess continued, her smile watery. “Why don’t we have brunch on Sunday, and we can go over your list of what else we need to do.”

“How do you know I have a list?”

Tess grinned. “Because from the time you could print, you had a list. So, brunch on Sunday?”

Lara nodded, hugged her sister, and then turned back to the small crowd that still remained. Tess walked on, realizing she needed to leave the wrongs of her past with her mother behind her. If she dragged them along, she would never be free of the grief or the guilt.

At the bottom of the hill, she walked to her SUV and opened the door, looking back to her parents’ gravesites at the top where they had a clear line of sight to Puget Sound. She could almost envision her parents standing there, their arms wrapped around each other’s waist. Her mother’s beauty had been restored from the ravages of chemo and the cancer itself. As they turned and walked into the fading light, their figures dissipating into the mist, all Tess could see in her mind’s eye was the parents of her childhood, taking them on grand adventures in the park, in the mountains or out at sea. She could hear their laughter ringing in her ears, and then the sound of raised voices—both her mother’s and her own.

The relationship between mothers and daughters is never easy, none more so than when the daughter’s chosen profession doesn’t meet her mother’s exacting standards. Her mother had worried when she left her job as a paralegal to illustrate children’s books that she would regret it. They had argued vehemently about it, which had led to them bringing up all the little hurts over the years. She softly shook her head to rid herself of the angry memories and walked to her SUV, tears clinging to her cheeks.

CHAPTER 2

TESS

Tess lay back in her antique Victorian slipper tub. It had been one of her true extravagances when she purchased her loft. It had been an enormous, cavernous space before she’d had one room walled off for her bedroom and ensuite bath. The doors leading into her bedroom and then into the bath had been another splurge. There were two sets of French doors—one from Chicago and the other from New Orleans. The only other walls in the space enclosed a small powder room for guests. Tess figured if she knew someone well enough for them to need her shower, they’d also be sharing her bed. So far, that had not been necessary.

As she loved to cook, the back wall of her loft was her kitchen, which had an island about two-thirds of the loft’s total length—all of it looking out the front wall of the specially tinted windows. She had been able to install a double-sided fireplace so that she could have a warm, cozy fire in both the living space and her bedroom. Her so-called office was in the opposite corner and consisted of an antique drafting table that she used for drawing and a beautiful vintage library table she used for a desk.

She loved her home, and she smiled as she thought of how much her mother had seemed to treasure the time they’d spent together while her mother was dying. Mary had loved looking out at the water and marina on Puget Sound. Being able to open skylights and windows to flood the space with fresh sea air had been a bonus.

Cathy had truly been a marvel. Tess had returned home from the funeral expecting to see the paraphernalia left over from her mother’s demise. Instead, Cathy had disposed of it and most likely either cleaned it herself or had it cleaned. Cathy had raised the subject of what to do with all of it with Tess and Lara early on, saying it was easier to make clear-headed decisions in the early stages of hospice.

Relief had suffused her system upon seeing her loft restored. There was a lovely bouquet of flowers in what appeared to be a hand-blown vase. Tess assumed it was Cathy’s creation. She had shared with Tess that her hobby was glass blowing. The vase contained a gorgeous array of flowers—carnations, chrysanthemums, roses, hydrangeas, and tulips. The card had read simply, Never doubt that she loved you.

Tess had poured herself a large glass of Elk Cove Vineyard’s Pinot Noir, thought to be one of the best pinots to be produced in the Pacific Northwest. She threw together a cheese and bread board, turned up Alanis Morrisette, and stripped off her clothes, tossing them into the walk-in closet that was part of her ensuite bath, a pocket door dividing the closet from the bath itself.

Sinking into the tub, she held her glass in salute to her mother. “I love you, Mom. I promise Lara and I will be okay, and I’ll find your diaries and read them.” In many ways she was looking forward to it. Only when she’d finished her glass of wine—which was somewhat of a joke as the glass held half the bottle, as well as the cheese and bread—did she realize Alanis was done singing and her fingers were getting pruney. Hoisting herself out of the tub—Tess had a figure that was best described as curvy—she wrapped a towel around herself before using another towel to blot the water from her long, dark hair.

She briefly thought about getting dressed and going to the restaurant for the gathering Lara had arranged, but the idea of getting re-dressed and heading back out into the dreary Seattle weather was too much. Instead, she bent over at the waist, allowing her head to fall forward so she could secure her hair in a high ponytail. She slathered on moisturizer, dried off, and then slipped into a pair of pajama pants and a tank top—not glamorous, but comfy, and once she pulled on her old, ratty cardigan, she was warm.

There was so much they needed to do to get their mother’s house ready to sell. Lara had spent all her money establishing her clinic and still rented a cheap studio apartment. Tess intended to see if she couldn’t talk Lara into keeping the house for herself. They could spend their joint inheritance fixing it up for Lara. That would allow her sister to pay off her enormous student loans from getting her doctorate in veterinary medicine.

Knowing she was still too keyed up to rest or even watch television, she decided to get some work done. Thanks to Cathy, Tess hadn’t fallen too far behind. She eyed the remainder of the wine and decided that if she planned to work, it was best to save it for another day.

Tess grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and placed the rest of the pinot inside. She knew pinots were supposed to be consumed at room temperature, but Tess didn’t care. She liked her wine—all her beverages, except coffee—cold. Settling down with sketch pens and paper, she began to draw the first concepts for the children’s book she had just landed. It was an imaginative tale about a polar bear who could shift into a human and back again. It was all about the importance of accepting the differences in yourself and having others do the same.

As she sometimes did, Tess got caught up in her drawing and didn’t realize how much time had passed until she looked out the front windows and realized night had fallen. The stars sparkled over the water, twinkling like fairies in the inky sky. The moon was like a ghostly galleon moving through the clouds as if hiding…lying in wait for some unsuspecting passerby.

Tess laughed softly to herself for her fancy and decided it might be time to pack it in for the night.

After closing down her workspace for the night, Tess picked up her phone and saw a text she had missed from her sister, confirming they would meet for breakfast at nine and then head to her mom’s house. Tess acknowledged the text, said she would be there, and told her sister she loved her.

While she’d been working, grief and exhaustion had been held at bay. Now, as she walked into her bedroom and turned back her bed, she realized the enormity of both. Pulling off her clothes and wrapping them around one of the bottom posters of her gothic inspired, iron poster bed, Tess crawled between the sheets.

The next two weeks flew by as she and Lara argued about their mother’s house. In the end, Tess won the day. Lara had always loved their parents’ small craftsman cottage on Lake Union, and Tess had made a good argument for her taking it, including that it would have pleased their mother. Tess encouraged her sister to make the place her own, including opening it up into a much more open floor plan.

Once that was settled, they began the arduous business of going through their mother’s things, deciding what to do with them. They had five piles: keep, toss, sell, donate, and Tess. The plan was to have a garage sale and include everything Lara wanted to get rid of from her current studio.

“Are you sure about this?” asked Lara.

Tess pulled her ponytail playfully. “Yes. You have always loved this house…”

“You did, too…”

“But I have my loft, and trust me, it suits me to a tee. I love it, besides the house is closer to your office.”

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