A Letter for Annie by Laura Abbot Page A

move to a university town, work part-time and take some classes. She’d always hoped to go into fashion design. Was it too late?
    She inhaled the fragrant steam rising from her coffee. No use spoiling these few weeks with idle speculation. There would be time enough for that after…after…She shrugged off the threatening tears.
    Shorebirds roused and set up their hungry cries as they strutted on the beach and wheeled low over the swells in search of breakfast. Annie watched them until she finished her coffee. Reluctantly she got to her feet. Mornings were so traitorously full of promise.
    In the kitchen, she set about making a bacon-and-cheese quiche, hoping she could tempt Geneva. While it baked, she ran upstairs for a quick shower. The oven timer went off just as she finished slipping into a sweatshirt and jeans. Racing into the kitchen, she shut off the timer and then checked on her great-aunt, who lay on her back staring at the ceiling, her breath labored.
    “I’ve made something special for breakfast.”
    “Smells good, honey. But I’m not hungry.”
    “Let me help you sit up.” Supporting Geneva, she plumped up the pillows and straightened her covers. “Better?”
    “Thank you.”
    “I’ll be right back with your breakfast tray.”
    Annie thought she heard Geneva sigh as she left the room. Had it been only a week ago that Geneva had dressed before breakfast and eaten at the kitchen table? Annie filled the teapot with boiling water, put a slice of quiche on a plate and added some leftover fruit salad. Carrying the tray with care, she set it down in front of Geneva, then spread the blue-and-white-checkered napkin over her chest.
    “How did you sleep?”
    Geneva made a fluttering motion with her hand. “I don’t have time for sleep. Too much to think about.”
    Annie knew that wasn’t totally true since Geneva spent an increasing amount of her days and nights dozing. “Like what?”
    “The past.” She lifted a tentative forkful of quiche to her mouth. “So many are gone.” She chewed quietly as if reviewing the parade of friends and loved ones who had passed away.
    Annie could empathize. When she’d left Eden Bay, it was not only Pete she’d left behind, but friends, now scattered to the four winds, and not likely to welcome her even if she located them.
    “And about you.”
    Annie blinked. “Me?”
    “You need people. Love.”
    “I have friends in Bisbee, and Nina has been like a second mother.”
    Geneva swirled the tea bag in the pot and, with shaking hands, poured herself a cup. “That’s not the same.”
    “The same as what?”
    “Having someone who cares deeply about your welfare.”
    Pete’s adoring face swam before her eyes. “I know.”
    “It’s time to think about the future, not dwell on the past.”
    Annie swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m not sure I know how.”
    “Exactly my point. Before I march in with the saints, I intend to do something about that. If I can.”
    And what would that be? Annie hadn’t a clue.
    A loud knock on the door interrupted her reverie. “Just a minute, Auntie G. That must be Kyle Becker. Eat some more, please, while I’m gone.”
    For reasons she didn’t want to examine, she paused before the hall mirror and ran a hand through her hair, wishing she’d put on some lipstick. When she opened the door, expecting to see Kyle, she stepped back in surprise.
    “Good morning, ma’am.” A stout older man with a beard stood on the porch. “I’m Vince Rayburn. Kyle sent me over to paint your porch. I just wanted to let you know I was here.”
    “Isn’t he coming today?” She hated the disappointment she heard in her own voice.
    “No, he’s checking on some other jobs. Said it might be a day or two before he’d be back.”
    Annie thanked him and slowly closed the door,furious with herself. She was actually upset that she wouldn’t see Kyle. What was wrong with her? Deep down she knew the answer.
    Kyle Becker made her heart