The Marriage Risk by Debbie Macomber

Author:Debbie Macomber
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA Books
Published: 2020-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

Lanni had told Charles she’d studied journalism. He sat nursing his coffee in the Hard Luck Café, mulling over the way things had gone between him and Lanni. Mitch Harris, who worked for the Department of the Interior, and his daughter, Chrissie, were at another table, having breakfast.

He remembered the day he’d taken her to his grandfather’s original claim, when they’d sat by the camp stove and talked. He’d wondered at the time what she was doing working as a secretary if she had a journalism degree, but the truth was, he hadn’t cared. He was so glad she was in Hard Luck he hadn’t questioned the whys or wherefores.

Since his behavior at the wedding reception, recriminations had been coming at him from all sides. Even Ben seemed ready to take him to task.

“Ready for a refill?” Ben stopped at the table, coffeepot in hand.

Charles stared down at his cup, the coffee long since cooled. “No thanks.”

Ben lingered. “Normally I don’t butt into someone else’s business unless I’m asked, but—”

“I’d advise you to do the same now,” Charles said evenly. He’d been friends with Ben for a good many years. He didn’t want that relationship ruined now, especially over Lanni.

“I’d keep my trap shut if it wasn’t for one thing.” Ben set the coffeepot on the table, and glancing over at Mitch, lowered his voice. “I told you about Marilyn. I haven’t said her name aloud in ten, maybe fifteen years. Talking about her stirred up a lot of old feelings that should’ve stayed at rest. The way I figure it, you owe me.”

“I owe you for the coffee, nothing else.”

“Not this time, Charlie.”

No one called him Charlie. Ben knew that.

“Lanni’s leaving town,” Ben said. “I heard her making the arrangements.”

“I know.” What did Ben think he’d been doing for the last thirty minutes? Charles had been sitting there, trying to figure out where he was going to find the strength to let her walk out of his life.

Ben’s mouth thinned. “You know?”

Charles’s hand tightened around his mug until his knuckles showed white. “It’s inevitable, don’t you think?”

The older man didn’t answer. “You’re going to let her?”

Charles expelled his breath forcefully and nodded.

Ben cocked his head as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. Or, more to the point, as if he simply hadn’t liked what he’d heard. “You mean to say you’re actually going to let Lanni Caldwell walk out of your life even after what I told you?” Ben sounded incredulous. “If you do anything so damn stupid, I guarantee you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life.”

“Maybe.”

“Okay, so you don’t owe me anything, but what do you owe yourself? Lanni, too. She deserves better than this. Maybe you’re just looking for an excuse to be rid of her. That’s what it seems like to me.”

“Stay out of this, Ben,” Charles warned. “What happens between Lanni and me isn’t any of your business.”

“I don’t understand it,” Ben muttered. “I really don’t understand it.” He picked up the coffeepot and returned to the kitchen.

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