Long Road Home (The Barker Triplets 4)

“There you are! I was afraid you’d left us.”

“Left?” Okay, were the hormones making her brain foggy? “Why would I leave?”

Coral didn’t answer right away. She got that look in her eyes, the one that said her brain was working a mile a minute.

“Why don’t you come inside and have some breakfast. I’ve got a plate ready for you and a seat saved at the gazebo. You can fill me in on all the commotion.” She reached out a hand. “You’re so darn pale, you need food, sugar.”

Bobbi got to her feet and followed Coral through the house. Marybeth and Miss Callie were in the kitchen, but so deeply engrossed in an obviously private conversation, neither of them said a word. They headed for the gazebo, and Bobbi relaxed a bit when she realized it was only the two of them.

Coral had prepared two heaping plates of biscuits, gravy, sausage, and eggs, as well as two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice. They removed the round screens that protected the plates from flies and such, and immediately, Coral dug into her food with gusto.

It smelled heavenly, and even though Bobbi was hungry, she ate small bites and took her time. Her stomach was off, and she needed to be careful.

“So,” Coral said, setting down her fork. Bobbi knew the look and braced herself. The woman had no qualms about butting her head into business that wasn’t hers. It most likely contributed to the coolness shown to her from her daughter-in-law. “What happened with Mackie?”

Relief flooded Bobbi. This was good. She didn’t want to talk about herself or her situation with anyone right now. She told Coral what little she knew from Marshall and set about to make a dent in her eggs, though every time she took a bite, her stomach rolled over and a wave of nausea swept through her.

Sweat beaded her forehead, and she tried to sip some juice, but it was a no-go.

“Does your husband know?” Coral asked, holding her glass of juice as she settled back into her chair.

Bobbi averted her eyes and concentrated on the flowers that bloomed just beyond the gazebo. “Does he know what?” she asked lightly.

“About the baby.”

She yanked around and looked at Coral, mouth open and ready to spew a bunch of lies. But Bobbi had never been good at fibbing—that had been her sister Betty’s forte—and as she looked at the older woman, a powerful need to share and confess took over. Slowly, she shook her head.

“No.”

“I see.” Coral finished her juice and grabbed Bobbi’s hand. “Do you know what serendipity is?”

Bobbi shrugged. She was familiar with the word, but wasn’t exactly sure of its meaning. “Lost or something?”

“Serendipity is when things happen that are out of your control, things that are good and unexpected. It mostly happens by chance, but,” she leaned forward and winked, “I believe that sometimes, the sweetest kind of serendipity is one that’s facilitated by the interference of others.”

Bobbi let her words settle and thought about Eden and how passionate she’d been the day before—passionate in her belief that Shane and Bobbi had to work things out because they couldn’t live without each other.

“Now, I don’t know your husband, and I surely don’t know nothing about your problems or what brought you from up north to down here. But like I said yesterday, I know a man who’s determined, and your husband is one hell of a determined human being, and I’m pretty sure he generally gets what he wants.” Coral paused. “Do you love him?”

“Of course I love him,” she replied fiercely. “I’ll never stop loving Shane.”

“Well, isn’t that a shame.” Coral shook her head. “To be in love with a man, to be carrying his child, and yet you’re separated from him. My late husband was a big man with a big heart, and his soul was pure. He saw past all this.” She waved her hands in front of her face. “This mask I wear, this persona I present to the world in order to survive. He saw through to me.” Her voice quivered. “He accepted me with all my airs and my high-and-mighty talk. In fact, he loved all those things as much as he loved my heart. We had ten years together of loving and fighting and having a child and living and laughing. Ten good years of sharing our thoughts and dreams and,” she nodded, “our fears. But then I lost him to a drunk driver who came out of nowhere and took him from me. I raised my son on my own. I had a beau or two come calling. I lived,” she said simply. “Life goes on. But I have to tell you, Bobbi Jo, I would give anything to have just one more day with my sweet Edward. That’s all. One more day.”

Coral sat back and was silent for a few moments. “Does your husband abuse you?”

“What?” Shocked, Bobbi sat straighter. “No. He would never…” She shook her head unable to articulate how offensive the idea was.

“Do you love your Shane the way I loved my Edward? Can you imagine a life without him? And I don’t mean some silly separation. I mean a life where you know he’s never coming back. A life on this earth where he doesn’t exist anymore. Can you imagine what your life would be like?”

Tears pooled in Bobbi’s eyes, and her throat was knotted up so bad, she couldn’t speak. She shook her head back and forth, unable to answer, and stared into the kindest eyes she’d ever seen.

“Well then,” Coral said, sniffling and swiping at the tears on her cheek. “You’ve got to face your demons, child. You’ve got to forgive, you both do, and you’ve got to move on. Because as sure as the sun rises each and every morning, it just ain’t fair to the likes of me when a person doesn’t treat that kind of love the way it needs to be treated.” She shook Bobbi’s hand. “We’re all of us selfish at heart. But to truly love means to shed that skin of selfishness. Whatever hurt you have is dim compared to the kind of love in your heart. I see it in your eyes. You’ll be half a person the rest of your life if you don’t find your way back to him.”

She was right, Bobbi thought.

Coral’s eyes narrowed. “Or maybe you need to let him find his way back to you.”

Bobbi blew out a long breath and attempted to smile through her tears. “You are so wise.”