Return to Virgin River

In fact, I have one book left on my contract, but I’ve had the worst time writing. I just can’t focus. It was almost exactly a year ago that my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Everyone was so optimistic, including the doctors. And yet, my mom got sicker and sicker and she passed away in December last year. I was living in her house. Of course, I stayed with her when she got sick and later when Hospice came. And then after she died and I was alone in her house, I was lucky if I managed a sentence a day. I really couldn’t think of anything but my mom. I needed to change my scenery, so I decided to look around for some place to go for six months, if only to finish this last book on the contract. Then,” she said with a shrug, “then I don’t know what happens. Maybe I look around for a teaching job. I taught for a while after college, writing at night and on weekends and vacations. But I might be done writing.”
“I’m so sorry, Kaylee. You must miss your mother so much.”
“Unbearably,” she said. “We were so close. I’m an only child. We were best friends. Her friends were my friends and my friends were also her friends. She read every book I wrote before I even sent it to an editor. I’m lost without her. I knew I would be for a while, but sometimes I feel like I’m getting worse, not better.”
“Do you have to finish that book? I mean, do you have other options?”
“I could give the advance back. I’m just not ready to give up yet. My storytelling always swept me away. Saved me. Till now.”
“Well, it’s not surprising. You suffered an enormous loss. But I think you were smart to come here. A change like this can be good. You know what I learned about grief? It’s always there and it’s always at the center of your life and then one day you realize with some surprise that you had a fairly good day and you wonder if grief left. Or if it got smaller. It didn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s the same size. Your mother will always be that important. But your world will get a little bigger. And when your world gets bigger it feels like your grief gets smaller. You took a very brave step in coming here—the change alone will make your world a little bigger.”
“I will always miss my mom,” Kaylee said, and the damn tears gathered in her eyes.
“Of course you will,” Mel said. “But your world will inevitably expand. Jack said he fed you dinner. How would you like a cup of tea? With honey?”
“That sounds perfect.”
“Let’s go inside and make it together. There’s a small refrigerator and microwave in the guesthouse. We can poke around in the kitchen for a few things you can take with you for the night.”
Kaylee followed Mel. “As a matter of fact, I brought a cooler and picnic basket with some groceries. I knew that once I got to the Templetons’ house, the nearest grocery store would be at least a town away and it might be a day or two before I could shop.”
“That was smart. There’s a small store in town but you’re probably going to have to drive to Clear River or even to Fortuna to stock up. Sit down while I put on the water and make our tea.”
Kaylee looked around the spacious kitchen adjacent to the great room and dining room. “Your home is beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she said. “Jack and some of his friends built it. Then his sister and her husband built the house next door. Brie is an attorney with an office in her home and she loves to hike. If you decide to hang around a while, she can give you some great tips on hiking trails. Sometimes a little bit of nature is just the thing. The views are spectacular.”
“I’ll probably go back to the LA area, since the house isn’t going to be available.”
“LA? I went to school in LA and worked there for a long time.”
“What kind of work?” Kaylee asked.
Mel put the tea in the pot to steep, bringing it to the table. “I’m a nurse practitioner and midwife. I work with Dr. Michaels in town, right across from Jack’s. Here’s an idea. Jack knows everyone. That’s kind of a by-product of having the only watering hole in town. Why don’t you ask him to make a couple of phone calls and check with a Realtor or two, see if there are any vacation properties for rent around here. Maybe you won’t have to hurry back to LA.”
“I don’t want to impose...”
“He wouldn’t mind,” Mel said. “I’m sorry you can’t just use the casita for the whole time you want to be here, but Jack’s got family coming the end of next week. Besides, that little guesthouse wouldn’t do. You need a real house with a real kitchen.”
“And a porch,” Kaylee said.
“It wouldn’t hurt to ask. I’ll call him right now. What are some of the specific things you want?”
“A cozy place. A view would be nice, like the Templetons have from their front porch. The weather is going to cool off; a fireplace would be good. I don’t think I could be happy in some fishing cabin buried in the woods. Do you know the Templetons’ house?”
“I’ve met Bonnie and Gerald and a couple of their sons, but I’ve never been to their house.”
“It’s bigger than I need—four bedrooms. But it has a nice living room and kitchen and a porch in front and back. And their view isn’t as great as yours, but you can see down the hill and the mountains to the east and west. I remember shiny hardwood floors, old quilts and wood paneling. It’s not fancy but it’s homey. Comfy. As I remember it, it feels like it kind of hugs you.”
“Wonderful