One Year by Mary McDonough Read Free Book Online Page A

meeting.”
    â€œHere we go again . . .” Pat adopted a wide-eyed look of innocence. “Why, what do you mean, my dearest? How could I not remember the night I met the one and only love of my life?”
    â€œWell, you were kind of drunk.”
    â€œI was not!” Pat protested. “Well, maybe just a little tipsy, but not too tipsy to ignore your shining beauty.”
    â€œYou’d been out celebrating some baseball win with Charlie Howard. The guy who used to chew on a straw all the time.”
    â€œHe was trying to quit smoking.”
    â€œI remember. And I never asked—did it work? The straw method?”
    â€œNo. Poor guy was back to the Camels about a week later. I wonder what ever happened to ol’ Charlie. I haven’t seen him since just after our wedding.”
    â€œYou could Google him.”
    Pat grimaced. “I’m afraid of what I might find out.”
    â€œDo you remember what you were wearing?” Megan asked with a grin. “The night we met?”
    â€œNo,” Pat said, again with the wide eyes of a person who enjoyed being a player in a well-practiced game. “At least, nothing’s coming to mind.”
    Megan laughed. “You were wearing a bright red blazer with the sleeves pushed up to the elbow and shoulder pads that made you about seven feet wide.”
    â€œDarn the eighties! Anyway, I’m going to show you my gratitude for your being my wife yet again, so get ready to adore me. I’ve got a special treat for Valentine’s Day.”
    â€œA special treat? Are you going to give me a clue?”
    â€œNope. But I promise you won’t be disappointed.”
    Megan laughed. “I believe you. Oh, Pat, have you called PJ to congratulate him on getting that big job he was after?”
    Her husband pulled his iPhone from his pocket. “I’ll send him a text,” he said, wandering out of the living room. Well, Megan thought, a text is better than nothing . With a sigh, she finally opened her book.

C HAPTER 10
    A lexis had walked into the heart of town from Honeysuckle Lane, about a fifteen-minute amble along pleasant streets lined with willow oaks and an occasional American beech tree. The weather was fine. Traditionally, February was the driest month in this part of the state, with an afternoon high of forty degrees. But this year, temperatures had climbed into the upper forties on several occasions and there had been enough rain to nourish land that might otherwise have suffered, and that made PJ’s job a little bit easier.
    Alexis stopped at the post office to purchase stamps for the office, and then walked on to the bakery. She was craving one of Cookies ’n Crumpets’ famous corn muffins. My secret vice , Alexis thought. Corn muffins. Life in the fast lane!
    Well, she deserved a treat, didn’t she? The night before, PJ had announced that they would be celebrating Valentine’s Day with his grandparents. Alexis hadn’t protested, but she had been disappointed. After all, this was their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, and though in the past Alexis would have laughed at such sentimentality, since meeting, falling in love with, and marrying PJ she put a lot of stock in romantic holidays, like the date they had first kissed. Sure, Valentine’s Day was mostly just an excuse for candy and jewelry companies to go whole hog on marketing, but still, Alexis saw no harm in celebrating the holiday alone with her lovely husband.
    Alexis pushed open the door to Cookies ’n Crumpets. There was a woman just inside by the display of wrapped sandwich breads, and Alexis knew immediately that she had met her before but the where, the when—and the name!—had entirely escaped her. Before a flush of embarrassment could invade her face, the woman put out her hand and said, “Maureen Kline.”
    â€œOh,” Alexis said, smiling now. “Of course. I’m sorry. I can be