Rose Harbor in Bloom Read Online Free Page A

she didn’t plan on contacting him. She’d stayed completely out of his life and that wasn’t going to change.
    The app on her phone displayed the weather forecast for the next five days, including the weekend. What she remembered, having lived in the Seattle area for almost a year, was that it had rained almost continually. As if to contradict her, the app showed nearly five days of sunshine, which came as an unexpected bonus. What she was surprised to learn, once she’d left Seattle for a position on the East Coast, was that New York City received a higher annual rainfall than Seattle. But then Seattle had the drizzle factor and more days in which the skies were gray and overcast.
    The song that said the bluest skies they’d ever seen were in Seattle had it right, though. Despite the weather, whatever it might be, Seattle would always hold a special place in her heart. It was here that she’d fallen in love, truly, deeply in love, for the one and only time in her life.
    It seemed ridiculous to stay indoors and attempt to sleep when the sun was out. She had packed light, and it didn’t take her long to place the few items in the dresser drawer.
    Once she’d finished, she left the room and slowly climbed down the stairs. The proprietor stepped out of the kitchen when she reached the bottom step.
    “I hope everything in your room is satisfactory?” Jo Marie asked, and then with a look of concern added, “Are you going to be all right with the stairs?”
    “It’s fine.”
    “There is one room on the main level, but unfortunately I’vealready promised that to an older couple. Had I known …” She hesitated.
    Mary held up her hand, stopping her. “It’s fine. I’m getting stronger every day.”
    “Is there anything more I can do to make you more comfortable?”
    “Nothing, thank you,” Mary assured her.
    The proprietor didn’t look convinced. “Can I get you a cup of tea?”
    “That would be lovely.” Mary didn’t much feel like chatting. “Would it be all right if I drank it on the porch?”
    “Of course. I’ll bring it out to you. Would you like sugar or milk?”
    “Just plain.”
    The Adirondack chair offered her a view of the Olympic mountain range as a backdrop to the smooth waters of the cove in the forefront. The shipyard was across the way, with an aircraft carrier and a number of other vessels docked there. The waters of the cove were a deep green, with a lighthouse at a point in the distance. This was a lovely area. Ideal, really.
    The door leading off the porch opened, and a teenage girl stepped out carrying a tray with a teapot and china cup and a couple of cookies on a matching plate. She set it down on the table next to Mary’s chair.
    “Hello,” Mary said, smiling up at the girl.
    “Hello. Jo Marie asked me to bring this out to you.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Would you like me to pour?”
    Mary hesitated. She was perfectly capable of pouring her own tea, but she welcomed the girl’s company. “Please.”
    The girl lifted the teapot and, holding onto the lid, tipped it ever so carefully as she filled the delicate cup. Steam rose, and the scent of chamomile wafted toward Mary.
    “What’s your name?” Mary asked.
    “Hailey.”
    “Do you live in the area?”
    “I do.” Hailey straightened and stepped back. “It can get a bit chilly out here, especially if the sun goes behind a cloud. Would you like me to get you an afghan?”
    “Please; how thoughtful.”
    The teenager left and returned a couple of minutes later with a hand-knit afghan in warm pastel colors. She laid it across Mary’s lap and then added a pillow.
    “Do you attend school here?” Mary asked.
    “I do,” Hailey said. “I’m graduating on Sunday.”
    “Congratulations.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Any plans for the future?”
    Hailey nodded with enthusiasm. “I want to go into hospitality and work in the hotel industry.”
    “Wonderful.”
    “It’s going to be hard to leave Cedar Cove, my family, and all