Free Secrets on Cedar Key by Terri Dulong Page A

began working on the sill and said that should be finished tomorrow.”
    â€œOh, good. I’m looking forward to seeing it. But even better, everything seems to be on track. Hopefully, I’ll be able to open in time for the Christmas shoppers.”
    â€œYes, I would think so. And the catalogs arrived today from the various distributors, so you can begin looking through those to get an idea about the stock you want to order.”
    â€œGreat,” I said as I pushed the button on the dishwasher. “Coffee’s ready. Do you want a slice of cake now or later?”
    My mother reached over to give Oliver a pat. “I think I’ll just have the coffee for now, and it’s such a nice evening, let’s have it on the patio.”
    Oliver walked over to sniff some bushes as my mother and I sat down.
    â€œOh, I met Worth’s dog this morning at the park. A very pretty Labradoodle named Suzette. Oliver seemed to take quite a liking to her, and she returned the interest.”
    My mother laughed. “Yes, Oliver can be quite the ladies’ man.”
    I took a sip of coffee and then said, “It’s true. My suspicions were correct about Andrew. Fiona Caldwell is his daughter.”
    My mother reached over to pat my arm but remained silent.
    â€œShe’s younger than Jason and John. Just turned nineteen in April.”
    â€œOh.” I saw my mother press her lips together. “I guess I was hoping that perhaps if it was true, it had occurred before he even met you . . . but I guess not.”
    I shook my head. “No, it happened the summer he went to teach in Amherst, Massachusetts. Do you remember that? The boys and I spent a lot of time here with you and Daddy.”
    â€œI do remember. It’s none of my business, but were you and Andrew having a difficult time? Is that why he left to teach a summer semester there?”
    â€œI was giving that some thought earlier today. Yeah, probably. Although I wouldn’t admit it at the time. Not even to myself. But we weren’t getting along great. And now . . . I have to question my entire marriage.”
    My mother shifted on the lounge to face me better. “What do you mean by that?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t think we ever had a marriage made in heaven. I think I see that now more than ever.”
    My mother shocked me by saying, “Does anybody?”
    â€œWhat?” I gasped. “You and Daddy certainly did.”
    â€œOh, Marin. Your daddy was a good man. A hardworking man and a good father. But he was human like any other man, and that means he had his flaws.”
    I had never heard my mother say this before. “But you always got along so well. I can’t ever recall you fighting or name calling.”
    â€œNo,” she said, leaning back in the lounge to look out toward the water. “I don’t think we ever did. At least not in front of you. But housewives in my time did what they were told. We didn’t speak up very much. Certainly not like today.” She let out a chuckle. “Well, my goodness, today the word obey has been taken out of almost all marriage vows. But when I was married . . . that word obey was taken very seriously.”
    I wasn’t sure what surprised me most—the fact that my parents’ marriage wasn’t what I had grown up to think it was or the fact that my mother was now sharing this with me.
    â€œSo what are you saying?” I asked, not even sure I should be asking this question. “Are you saying you never loved Daddy?”
    â€œNo, no,” my mother said quickly. “I did love him; of course I did. But, Marin, you’re a grown woman. You have to know the definition of love isn’t always neatly tied up in one little package. There are different kinds of love. The young, romantic, passionate love, which may or may not go on to become something deeper, something more enduring. And there’s the kind of love that