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"Are any of the to lose track of how ot now, and there doesn’t seem to be a lull yet"
Charlotte had never had much of a family Her father had deserted her and herto remember hiraduated froh school The insurance e expenses Only the money hadn’t been used for her Instead, Tom had been educated on her inheritance; he’d robbed her of even that
Charlotte lowered her gaze It hurt too much to think about Tom and that bleak period of her life when she’d been so lost and vulnerable So alone, with no family Her ex-husband had used her and when he’d finished, he’d thrown her aside
All the ti part of a large, loving family How she envied Jason his brothers and sisters
"The story ofas he spoke, "than the sap"
Charlotte’s laugh was spontaneous She picked up her water, warh at himself "I was an only child I proot row up lonely"
"Lonely," Jason echoed "I would have given anything for souessed you’d complain about the women in your family"
"You know," he said, "I never thought I’d say this, but I reallyin Montana now, raising their faether e can, which isn’t nearly often enough It’s been over a year sinceeach other"
The waitress came for their order Charlotte asked for the specialty salad, which consisted of beans, rice, cheese, shredded chicken, lettuce and slices of tomato and jalapeño peppers Jason chose the chicken enchiladas
"Do your brothers live in the Seattle area?"
Jason nodded "Paul’s a journalist and Rich works as an engineer for Boeing We see each other frequently"
Their orders arrived and they chatted amicably over their meal Jason sampled her salad and fed her a bite of his enchiladas; both were delicious Soon they’d asked the waitress for two additional plates and were unabashedly sharing their meals
It was only seven-thirty when they’d finished, even though they lingered over coffee Charlotte couldn’t re more quickly
All day she’d been worried about this dinner--and for nothing She’d enjoyed herself even more than she’d hoped, but that was easy to do with Jason He didn’t put on airs or pretend to be soree opinions e of ideas
"I should be heading hoh she could happily have sat there talking They weren’t at a loss for topics, but the restaurant was busy and Carrie would be hoo," he said reluctantly, standing He left a generous tip and took the tab up to the counter
After talking nonstop for nearly an hour, both were strangely quiet on the drive home Charlotte had been determined to enjoy herself from the start, but she’d expected to make the best of a bad situation Instead she’d had a wonderful time
She hadn’t kno starved she was for adult companionship, hadn’t realized how empty she’d felt inside, how deep the void had become
As they neared the apart She didn’t want this evening to end
"Would you like to come in for coffee?" she asked as he parked his car For half the ride ho in a silent debate She was sure that if Carrie was ho deal about Jason’s presence But Charlotte would get the third degree frohter anyway, so she decided it didn’t matter if Jason came in
"I could use another cup of coffee," Jason told her, although they’d both had large s at the restaurant
As luck would have it, Carrie wasn’t hohter to act as a buffer between her and Jason She half suspected Jason was thinking the sa
"Carrie’s at the library with a friend," she explained "But I’m sure she’ll be back any ht"
"I’ll put on the coffee," she said self-consciously, going directly to the kitchen "Make yourself at horounds and poured water into the pot, she saw that Jason had lowered hiazine and flipped through the pages, then set it back and reached for another Since it was upside down, his attention was clearly elsewhere He noted his azine, then placed it with the others Apparently Seventeen azine didn’t interest him after all
There was no reason for him to be so nervous It was funny; they’d chatted like old friends at the restaurant, but the instant they were alone, they becaht like so room She’d baked chocolate chip cookies that weekend, and there were plenty left over
Being a single uilt that often led to an abundance of hos she didn’t know about family, so much she’d missed out on It bothered heranxious or contrite about so over her head, she’d been doing a lot of baking lately The cookie jar was full The freezer was packed, too Even Carrie was co, she said Her daughter clai to raise her cholesterol and kill her off
More guilt, more need to bake cookies It was a vicious circle
"Ho forward, far hter "I didn’t know anyone but my mother baked these days" He took one and downed it in two bites, nodding vigorously even before he’d finished chewing