The Time of Her Life

Not that almost forty was exactly middle age. Not if Susanna planned to live to be a hundred, anyway.

“Jay Canady, owner and property administrator of The Arbors.”

“The man you’ve got to convince to sell the property.”

“One and the same.” A man with a charming smile and melodic voice.

“What’s he like? Helpful, I hope.”

“Very, I’m happy to report. Not really what I expected.”

“How so?”

Susanna paused before answering. “He wants the acquisition to happen, but on his terms. I haven’t figured out much more than that yet. I’m too busy getting acclimated.”

“Do you think you’re going to like the job? It’s a lot different than what you’d been doing.”

A lot more responsibility. Karan was probably right to worry especially because she knew everything involved in making this move—all the worries, all the uncertainty, all the indecision.

She also understood how much of Susanna’s peace of mind rode on things falling into place to reassure her that relocating her family had been the right choice. Karan knew everything because they were BFFs, as Brooke always called them.

Best friends forever.

This would be the first time since middle school they’d lived so far apart. Of course, Karan traveled a lot, not to mention splitting home base between residences in the Catskills, Manhattan and on the Connecticut shore, but not even college or marriage—marriages in Karan’s case—had placed as much distance between them as this job.

“I think this place is what I need right now. The learning curve will distract me, so I won’t miss the kids so much.”

“As long as it doesn’t keep you too distracted. You need to get a life, Suze. It’s time. Past time, to be honest.”

“I know. I know.” But knowing and doing were two different things, Susanna had discovered. Between her kids growing up and moving away and leaving New York behind herself, she felt as if the grieving process had started all over again. Maybe not as overwhelming as it had been in the months after Skip’s death, but she felt just as isolated, alone.

Rising, she headed inside, nudged the door shut behind her, suddenly needing light and walls around her. “I took a big step by taking this job.”

“You did,” Karan acknowledged.

Setting the cup on the coffee table, Susanna glanced at a photo she’d placed in the living room. The only unpacking she’d done aside from hanging up her suits had been to place a photo in every room, so wherever she turned she’d see the face of someone she loved.

Karan and her husband Charles’s wedding photo was in the dining room. Brooke’s and Brandon’s smiling faces graced several rooms. In this photo they sat in front of last year’s Christmas tree. Their last Christmas in their home.

Ugh. “It’s another world around here.” Susanna switched gears to bridge the distance she suddenly felt from her old life. “You will not believe my new place. Totally Gone with the Wind, I swear.”

“Tara or the slave quarters? You keep saying guest cottage. It sounds small.”

“Don’t start.” She sank onto the sofa, into soft cushions. Definitely down-filled. Something she’d never have been able to indulge in when the kids had been young. A sofa like this might have lasted two hours during the pillow fights or fort-makings at one of Brandon’s slumber parties.

“There are flowers everywhere. The place is called The Arbors for good reason. Walter said it’ll be even more beautiful when everything’s in spring bloom. I can’t even imagine. The place is already heaven everywhere I look.”

“I know you love that, Ms. Green Thumb. And here you were worried about leaving your conservation lot. Who’s Walter?”

“The property CFO.”

“He’ll be staying with you after the transition?”

“Walter and everyone else on the payroll. Jay has negotiated provisions for all the personnel. I won’t be making any changes without putting up a fight.”

“Then let’s hope you like everyone. Particularly Walter, since he’s doing your old job. You’re a tough act to follow.”

Susanna envisioned the white-haired gentleman with the deep drawl. “He’s been on the payroll for longer than I’ve been alive. He’s got things under control.”

“Sounds like your first few days are going well.”

“Thank God. At first glance, everyone appears capable and efficient. They’ve definitely been friendly. Lots of real Southern charm around here.”

“Everyone is probably as worried about keeping their jobs as you are, Suze. Remember that. Once Northstar starts cutting the checks, those loyalties will make the transition, too.”

“Fingers crossed. But I am encouraged. With the facility and the people.”

“And the living arrangements.”

“Thankfully.” Not that decor and design mattered all that much. Unless the place had been a trailer on cinder blocks, Susanna was moving in because the price was right.

Free housing was part of her package. Gerald had convinced Northstar she should be on the property to accommodate a staff used to constant access to Jay. And Jay had needed to assume some financial responsibility to offset expenses in the event he chose not to sign in the end. This was one of the perks that didn’t cost him.

But Susanna never shared financial worries with Karan if she could help it. Her BFF had grown up in a much loftier tax bracket. As a result she was casual with money in a way that only came from never having to worry about whether or not there’d be enough.

“Explain to me how you’re going to be homeless when I own all these houses?” Karan had said in some variation more than once. “Take the kids and live in the lake house or the beach house or go to Manhattan. Brooke loves it there.”

For Karan the move would be that simple. She had such a giving heart. Ironically, she also had no clue how generous she was, which was one of the very reasons Susanna adored her.

“Define encouraged,” Karan said. “Does that translate to mean you’ll get used to living in the guest cottage?”

“This place is perfect for me. I’m one person.”

“Not if you want me to visit. Or your kids.”

“Brooke can sleep with me and Brandon can bunk in the office. You know we’re big on slumber parties. For you and Charles, there’s a Hilton on the other side of the UNC campus. I already checked.”

“Good. How big is Jay’s place?”

“Think Tara in Gone with the Wind.”

Silence.

“What?” Susanna asked.

“Well, I’m not sure how I feel about a man who lives in a plantation and leaves you in the slave quarters. He couldn’t clear out a wing? He is selling the place and moving, right?”

“Jay didn’t put me anywhere. Northstar made the arrangements.”

“What are they doing with the plantation?”

“One of my objectives is to make recommendations. Northstar is looking at the potential for a rehab facility or maybe adding a facility that’s not specifically Alzheimer’s related. I haven’t seen the place in person yet, but it’s old, so renovating to code could be expensive. I’ll have to see.”

A task for another day. She could tackle only one thing at a time without feeling overwhelmed. She was already bolting upright in bed hours before the alarm rang.

“Well, you’ve got time,” Karan said generously. “Brooke won’t graduate until next year. I’d be surprised if she didn’t decide to settle near you.”

“If the acquisition goes as planned, I’ll know whether or not I want to buy something. If Brooke likes it in Charlotte, we’ll set up a new home base.”

“And you can get a life again. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life alone, do you?”

“No, please.” She exhaled a long breath. “Not the dating speech. I’m too fragile for that right now.”

“No mercy. You’re too young to wait around until Brooke or Brandon make you a grandmother. You need to get out and have some fun. I realize it’s been a while for you, but there’s more to life than just working and taking care of everyone. I know you had all your plans laid out, but things have changed. You need a new plan.”

Susanna had always been the focused one, the one who’d known what she wanted. Karan was worried. And right. Susanna did need to figure out how to move on with her life.

And she would. But until the kids were on their own, finances took precedence. Meeting her family’s needs was top priority, which meant she had to do everything in her power to insure that Northstar acquired The Arbors. And that meant when she wasn’t in the facility learning how to be a property administrator, she was at home boning up on Alzheimer’s care.

Was she hiding from moving on with life? Probably. Did Karan know she was hiding? Probably.

But there were only so many hours in the day. “I’ll figure things out, Karan. One step at a time, and you’ll help me. Just like you always do.”

CHAPTER FOUR

JAY HAD VISITED THE COTTAGE every night since Susanna had arrived a week ago. First night he’d helped her unpack her suitcases and shown her around. Second night had been a blown electrical breaker. Third night was a problem with the washing machine, which hadn’t been used since Walter’s niece had needed a place to stay during a divorce.

Repairs were the nature of old houses, and old houses were Jay’s life. While the facility and guest cottage didn’t come close to touching the age of the main house, they weren’t new by anyone’s estimation. In fact, when he figured out where he wanted to put down roots, he’d build a brand-new place so he wouldn’t have to worry about anything going wrong for a while. And when something eventually needed repairing, he could to run to any Home Depot to pick up standard-size parts. Better yet, he’d call a repairman.

But that sweet plan was still months away. With any luck he’d fix everything that needed fixing before signing the final papers, so Susanna could get a few repair-free months. Then the grief would belong to Northstar.

The dogs had accompanied Jay on each of his visits, and tonight was no different. They ran beside the golf cart as he steered into the yard then they bolted for the door.

Jay whistled, but the dogs ignored him, nails clattering on the wood as they clambered up the porch steps. Following, he found the door ajar and hoped Susanna had left it open; otherwise, he’d be back again tomorrow night to replace the lock.

“Butters, Gatsby,” he called through the doorway, hoping the beasts hadn’t trashed the place.

That familiar high-pitched greeting from the back of the house sparked another round of barking. Jay stood in the threshold, undecided about whether to wait for an invitation. He didn’t want to be as rude as his dogs, so he remained outside, listening to the commotion within.

Butters and Gatsby liked Susanna. Jay wouldn’t admit this aloud, but he could tell everything he needed to know about a person from his dogs. They were the best yardstick. Might sound crazy but he’d learned the trick while trailing his great-grandfather to the barns when this place had still incorporated a farm.

“Animals will tell you what’s going on in a person’s heart,” Great-Granddad had said. He’d been gesturing to the goats and herd dogs, but he’d meant all the animals on the farm. “If they shy away, you’ll do well to shy away, too.”

Wisdom or wives’ tale, Jay couldn’t say, but the advice had stuck and hadn’t yet failed in all these years.

“Lose anyone?” Susanna’s voice brimmed with laughter as she appeared with the dogs flanking her, their shaggy tails wagging close to lamps and knickknacks.

She’d already changed from her work clothes into jeans and a pullover sweater that outlined her trim curves.

“Boys,” Jay said, and both dogs finally decided to show some manners by obeying the command. “Sorry about that.”

“Not a problem. They’re such sweethearts. I invited them to visit any time they like. And I promised some treats as soon as I shop.” Reaching down to ruffle Gatsby’s chest, she displayed a wedge of creamy skin when her sweater rode up on her waist. “Sorry, boys. I’ve got grocery shopping on my to-do list, but I can’t seem to get there.” She glanced at Jay. “What do they like if and when I do actually make it to a store?”

It was such an innocent glance to accompany an innocent question. She was being nice, he knew, but when he met her gaze, her eyes so blue they looked almost purple, her one nice gesture drove home how closely their lives had become entwined in the short time since her arrival.

He wondered what she’d been eating if she hadn’t shopped. Liz, the dietary manager, had been sending lunches to Susanna’s office, but that couldn’t be all Susanna was eating, could it?

“Dog bones if they’re eating like dogs. Chicken and steak when they’re not.”

She smiled in that quick way of hers, as if she was just looking for reasons to smile. “They’re in luck, then. Dog bones will go on the grocery list, and I cook chicken and steak.”

“If you spoil them, you’ll never get rid of them. Consider yourself warned.”

“They’re welcome here anytime.”

The greedy beggars could spot a sucker a mile away. They crowded around her legs until she felt obligated to pet them and make those squeaky cooing sounds again. Jay took the opportunity to shoot off a text to Pete, who was duty manager tonight.

“So how are you settling in?” Jay asked when she finally realized the dogs would vie for her undivided attention all day if she let them. “Place working out? It’s small.”

“It is,” she agreed, “but it couldn’t be more perfect.”

That smile still tugged at the corners of her mouth as she surveyed the room, looking pleased. “Just me here.”

“Saw the pictures of your kids all over the place. Will they be coming to visit?”

She nodded, her features softening with a mother’s expression, all fond memories and love. “Hopefully Thanksgiving. My son plays baseball, so his schedule can be tricky with practice and ball camps.”

There was a lot of longing in that statement, which said something about how much she cared. Something reassuring, which calmed a bit of the guilt that still crept up when he least expected it. And when he did.

Was he being selfish to want the kind of life that made him sound like Susanna did, a life where he had something more to look forward to than home repairs, the never-ending needs of the facility and dementia? Was that really too much to ask? He still lived in the house he’d been born in. He’d put in his time.

“I know you haven’t asked for my advice, Susanna, but I’m going to give it, anyway. Make a point to get off the property. There’s a lot going on in town, and it’s good to get away. The Arbors has a way of commandeering time. We call it Standard Arbor Time and it’s nonstop, around the clock.”

“I think I’ve seen a glimpse of that this week.” She sounded charmed by the idea.

Jay supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, with the way she worked from sunup to sundown. But something told him busy was exactly the way she wanted to be right now. Funny how life had them in exactly the opposite places. She’d reared her family and wanted to be busy. He wanted to get busy rearing a family and filling his days with something other than dementia care.

He wondered how long ago her husband had died. Had his death been unexpected? Jay didn’t ask. Her personal life was none of his business even if there had been some tactful way to ask about a dead spouse. There wasn’t.

Leaning against the arch separating living room from dining room, she folded her arms over her chest. “Amber mentioned a mall by the racetrack. And I read about a historic plantation I’d like to visit that’s not far from here.”

“That’s a start.” And then they were staring at each other across the expanse of newly polished floors and overly friendly dogs. He might have kept standing and staring except Butters sidled toward the wall shelves, knocking some sense into Jay.

“The golf cart?” he prompted, forcing himself to stop enjoying the view. “It’s easy to operate, but you need to know about the battery. Chester will keep his eye on it. You let him know when it needs to be fueled.”

“I can park it near the maintenance and engineering shed where you keep yours?”

He nodded.

“Please show me whatever you think I need to know. I didn’t mean to keep you. You were kind to offer your help.”

Pushing away from the wall, she breezed past him with that same breathless energy and graceful motion he noticed every time he looked at her. She headed outside and he moved to follow, but the dogs cut him off, nearly knocking him over in their haste to trail her. Sorry beasts.

Jay headed after them, making sure he didn’t pay attention to the gentle sway of Susanna’s hips as she took the stairs with light steps or to the dark curls bouncing on her shoulders. She chatted the whole way as if she didn’t want to hear any more silence between them, either.

“I understand from Gerald that your grandmother is responsible for building the main facility. What about this cottage? There are so many antiques.”

“This place was my mother’s.” Her hideaway from the world.

“She collected antiques?”

“Sort of. Stuff she picked up here and there. My place is filled to the brim. She has a collection of mantels. You’ll have to see them one day.”

Had he just invited Susanna to his place?

There was a hitch in her step as she slanted a curious gaze his way. “Mantels? As in fireplaces?”

“You got it. I’ve got mantels without fireplaces attached to them. She turned one into a bed frame. She was crazy for them. Doors and windows, too. Used to drag the family to pick through old buildings while most folks were doing yardwork or watching Saturday morning cartoons.”

“The mantel in my living room?”

“From a pre-Civil War cypress cottage near the coast. Took her a while to bring that one back to its original finish. It had taken a beating from being so close to the salt water.”

Susanna stepped up her pace again. “Humph. How imaginative. I would never have thought of anything so creative.”

“She was that.” Before Alzheimer’s claimed her, and all he had left of his loving, laughing and infinitely creative mother was a bunch of mantels, doorknobs and windowsills.

“I for one am very grateful,” Susanna said graciously. “Did she use this as the guest cottage?”

“Sometimes. When we had guests who didn’t want to stay in the house with us. She had some cousins who used to visit from Ireland. They were older and with my brother and I tearing around like wild boys... Well, let’s say they enjoyed a place where they could go for some quiet. My mother, too. She used the cottage for work. She liked to leave the house and have a place where she could concentrate without too many distractions.”

“Work?” Susanna’s interest piqued visibly. “Your mother didn’t work at The Arbors?”

“Everyone in my family worked at The Arbors.” Past tense. Wasn’t anyone left but him. Except for Drew, who didn’t count, but Jay wouldn’t dwell on something he couldn’t change. And he couldn’t change his brother. “My mother was a writer, too. Whenever she was on deadline, she liked to wrap her head around her work. Used to tell my brother and me not to show up unless we were bleeding.”

Susanna went to the passenger side of the golf cart. “I’ve said the same to my kids.”

Jay would take her word for it, since he hadn’t gotten to that part of his life yet. “Ever drive one of these before?”

Susanna shook her head, more glossy waves tumbling around her neck and shoulders in a display that was so feminine, so at odds with her ultra-businesslike appearance.

But not right now. Not when she was casually dressed, all tiny and curvy and tucking her waves behind her ears as she leaned eagerly toward the controls for instruction.

Circling the golf cart, he hopped in and explained the basics. He showed her how to disconnect the battery when she parked the vehicle then took her for a spin to the access road, with the dogs trotting beside him as they always did.

Then they swapped seats and she took him for a spin, starting off tentatively but increasing speed as she gained confidence.

“Not so close, Butters,” she shrieked while making a turn. “They won’t get too close and get hurt?”

“Not a chance. They keep up with me all the time. Have since they were pups. And if they don’t get out of the way of a moving vehicle they deserve what they get.”

He had to work to keep a straight face as he enjoyed her horrified expression. “They’ll move if you get too close.”

“Keep your distance, Butters. I’m serious.”

“That your mom voice?”

She scowled at him, and he lost the battle with a smile.

“So what did your mother write?” she asked after another lap around the cottage.

“Fiction. Literary stuff for magazines. Short stories mostly. Had a few anthology collections published.”

Slowing as she cornered the house yet again, she paid close attention to the dogs as she parked. “How interesting. I bet she got lots of inspiration from around here. From what I’ve seen so far, this place is another world.”

“Oh, it’s that. No question.”

She chuckled, taking the opportunity to ruffle Butters’s neck when he nuzzled up to her. “Keep out from under the tires. Promise me.”

The dog was so greedy for attention he would have promised to live forever. Jay escorted Susanna back to the porch before heading out with his dogs again, but she stopped short and said, “Where on earth did that come from?”

Taking the stairs with light steps, she made an attractive display as she leaned over the big basket propped in a rocking chair. Even in profile, he could see her expression soften as she inspected the gifts.

Perfect timing, Pete.

“Guess I should have had it waiting when you got here a week ago,” he admitted. “But I didn’t think about it until you said you hadn’t made it to the grocery. Welcome to The Arbors.”

“Oh, Jay, how kind. Thank you so much. This couldn’t be more perfect.” She looked as if she was going to pick up the basket, so Jay skipped up a few steps and took it from her.

“Tell me where.”

She held the door as he stepped through, or tried to, since the dogs bullied their way in first. “Kitchen, please.”

He scowled at Gatsby, who headed straight for the sofa. “Don’t even think about it.”

For once the dog obeyed.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “I won’t even have to fight my kids for the chocolate. That’ll be something new.”

The new director of The Arbors had a sweet tooth from the looks of it. She was rooting through the basket. “These pears are gorgeous. And caramel popcorn. Oh, I’m in for a good time.”

“Hope you enjoy it.”

She glanced up and met his gaze with pleasure deep in her blue eyes. “This was really sweet. Thank you. I couldn’t have asked for a better first week—work or home.”

She was making too big a deal out of his effort. All he’d done was text Pete to bring the same welcome basket they gave to all The Arbors’ new ALF residents.

But he was glad she liked everything.

Herding Butters and Gatsby outside, he let the dogs scamper down the steps and said to Susanna, “Enjoy your night.”

Then he headed in the direction of the shed to pick up the path to his house, resisting the urge to glance back to see if she was still there.

* * *

ANOTHER WEEK PASSED before Susanna managed to get the golf cart out of her shed. A frenzied week spent learning names and procedures and routines. A week spent observing medical assessments, intake meetings and care plan evaluations.

A week spent conducting performance appraisals of the various departments and orientation meetings to explain how she and Jay would work together during the transition. She let the staff know what to expect and coached them on how to address her with problems and questions. She reassured them all would be well and hoped they believed her.

Vanity had been the biggest deterrent to driving the golf cart. She was all about inspiring confidence with the staff and fitting in and couldn’t gauge the effect of the drive on her appearance. Frizzy hair? Melting makeup? Sweat stains?