Free The Way to Her Heart by Amy Reece Page B

Josh’s house after work that evening. They had some work to do on the project, but it wasn’t really necessary to do it immediately; it was becoming a habit to stop by after work. Bernie felt so welcome in his home and hoped she wasn’t taking advantage of his and Claire’s hospitality. She tried to be ultrasensitive to any hints they might be tiring of her company. Tonight she was exhausted and her throat was killing her; she hoped Josh hadn’t been kidding about the soup he promised.
    “Bernie! Come in, sweetheart. I was hoping you’d come by.” Claire welcomed her at the front door. “Josh isn’t here right now, but come on back to the kitchen.”
    “Oh.” Bernie stopped in her tracks. “I can come back another time.” She started to turn to leave.
    “Nonsense!” Claire practically dragged her in the house. “He’s just out for a run. He’ll be back soon. He made soup and will be upset if you don’t have some. Get down, Freddie! Stop jumping on her!”
    Bernie followed her to the kitchen and allowed herself to be cosseted with a steaming bowl of chicken soup and a mug of hot tea. “Thanks, Mrs. Harris. This is great.”
    “Call me Claire, please. ‘Mrs. Harris’ sounds so old. Josh said you weren’t feeling well?”
    “Oh, it’s just a cold. More annoying than anything.” Bernie was a bit taken aback when Claire laid her forearm on Bernie’s forehead.
    “Hmm. You’re running a slight fever.” She disappeared and returned a moment later with some Tylenol. “Take a couple of these.”
    “Thanks. This soup is really good.”
    “Everything Josh makes is good. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my son.” She smiled. “Well, not only because he’s my son. He has his father’s gift. Everything he touches turns into culinary magic.”
    “Did his dad always like to cook? I mean, even when he was younger?” Bernie yearned to know more about this family that was so different from her own. Even though Josh and his mom had been through the worst sort of grief Bernie could imagine, they were still happy. They still stuck together.
    “Yeah, Alec always loved to cook. He played sports, like both my boys, but cooking was his first love.” Claire got a faraway look as she reminisced. “Well, I was actually his first love. I guess cooking was his second. That is one thing I always knew for certain—how much that man loved me.” She wiped away a stray tear streaking down her cheek. “Sorry, Bernie. I know you don’t want to hear all this. I just get maudlin from time to time.”
    “No, it’s fine. I’d love to hear how you met. If you don’t mind. I mean I don’t want to bring up bad memories or anything.” Bernie belatedly realized Claire might not want to talk about her dead husband.
    “I don’t mind at all, if you don’t mind that I might cry some. They’re all good memories, you know. I met Alec when I was fifteen. He was sixteen and so gorgeous. Josh looks so much like him it hurts sometimes. Caleb looked much more like me. We were inseparable, much to the dismay of our parents. I got pregnant right after I turned sixteen.” She paused at the look of dismay on Bernie’s face. “Shocking, huh?”
    “No! Of course not!” Bernie saw that Claire looked amused. “Well, sort of. I mean, my mom had me when she was sixteen, but you’re nothing like her! You seem so…normal.” Well-adjusted, socially acceptable, rich —that’s what Bernie wanted to say. “How did you manage it? You seem to have it all together now. How did you go from a teenage pregnancy to this?” Bernie gestured to the house at large.
    “It wasn’t easy, but Alec and I worked hard. My parents were livid when they found out I was pregnant! They insisted I stop seeing Alec immediately and made plans for me to give the baby up for adoption.”
    “But you didn’t go for that, huh?”
    “I tried for a while. I was scared to death, of course, and thought it was the end of the world. I broke up with