Bittersweet Promises

by Patricia Watters

Alesander looked from his wife to Tess, then turned and left.

  Moments later, Tess saw his dark blue SUV move past the window.

  "You'll have to forgive my husband," Frantziska said. "When he feels he's right about something he'll defend it to the bitter end, much like Zak." She looked at Tess, as if waiting for a response.

  Tess wondered if Zak's mother had stayed behind in order to learn if their old relationship was on again. As Alesander de Neuville's wife, she too would want Zak to marry a Basque woman. "I'm afraid my father's the same," she said, taking the focus off Zak. "I guess the problem is they both think they're right and neither will back down and admit being wrong."

  Frantziska laughed. "That's Alesander for you. I learned long ago to let him rant when he thinks he's right, even when I know he's wrong, then I quietly put him in his place when he settles down again. I guess it works because we've been married thirty-five years and the sparks are still there."

  Tess visualized Alesander de Neuville's handsome face and forceful bearing, and considered Frantziska's spirited demeanor, and knew sparks could indeed be there. And she and Zak after thirty-five years? Would there still be sparks if they married? She couldn't deny there were sparks now. Every time Zak looked at her, her heart tripped. "Zak told me Peio lost his mother recently. That's sad," she commented, hoping to glean information about Zak's marriage.

  Frantziska's face became thoughtful. "It's been a difficult adjustment for all of us. As soon as school's out, Peio will be staying here with Zak and I know they're both looking forward to it. Of course, Zak can't take the place of Peio's mother, but hopefully Zak will find a nice Basque woman in Navarre and settle down and make his father very happy."

  Which reaffirmed what Tess already knew. Times had not changed in Navarre over the years, especially in the de Neuville household. Basque still married Basque. It also laid out Frantziska de Neuville's position. She was aligned with her husband, and she'd stayed behind to make sure that the woman who had once been the focus of Zak's life understood.

  Hearing footsteps on the porch, Tess looked over to find Zak peering through the window. She moved quickly to open the door, relieved that he'd finally arrived. Peio rushed around his father to where Frantziska sat, and she gave him a big hug.

  "Do you have something for me?" Peio looked expectantly at his grandmother.

  Frantziska eyed Peio in amusement. "Of course." She rummaged through her handbag and withdrew a granola bar and handed it to him. Peio took the bar and sat on the floor beside the overstuffed chair and started tearing away the wrapper.

  After Zak settled into the chair, he said to Tess, "How did it go? I assume my father went to check the trees."

  Tess shrugged. "I guess we'll soon find out. Your father is a very... umm... formidable man."

  Zak laughed. "That's a nice way of putting it." He glanced at his mother. "I hope someone will let me know if I ever get to be an obstinate, bullheaded old man."

  "Son," Frantziska said with the expressive wave of her hand, "you're already obstinate and bullheaded. All you have to get is old."

  Zak laughed and reached around to pull Peio onto his lap, tickling his tummy. Peio curled around Zak's hand and giggled. "They're all against us, Peio. Remember that."

  Tess watched the interplay between father and son, feeling envious of their closeness. She remembered times when she and her father scrapped playfully, even after her mother died. They had a special camaraderie, something she felt was unique that none of her friends had.

  Her smile on watching Zak and Peio faded when she saw Alesander's SUV pull up in front. As he walked toward the cabin, she opened the door and stepped aside for him to enter.

  Alesander remained outside. "The trees are larger than I thought," he said. "I'll have Jed Swenson measure them and come up with an estimate."

  "Swenson?" Tess eyed the man with concern. "I hardly think we'd get a fair estimate if he measures the trees. That would be like sending the fox to guard the henhouse."

  "I'll measure the trees," Zak offered.

  Alesander's eyes shifted from Tess to Zak. "I'd prefer you not get involved in this."

  "Don't you think I'm capable of measuring trees?" Zak challenged.

  Alesander met his son's dark gaze. "Very well. I'll expect the figures by the end of the week." He turned to Tess. "I'll also need your father's assurance, in writing, that he acknowledges the property line as shown on the survey. If he doesn't, this will have to be settled in court. I'm afraid in that case my attorney will insist we collect the penalty for wrongfully cutting trees, a substantial amount. Now, if that's all, Miss O'Reilly."

  "That's not all." Tess squared her shoulders. "We need to talk about the royalty on the use of the logging road. We've never paid more than a dollar per thousand board feet."

  "That's an unrealistic figure in view of the fact that the road needs to be graded, shaped and rocked," Alesander said. "I've already contracted Jed Swenson to do the work as well as continue to maintain the road for me. The royalty I'm charging will barely meet those expenses."

  Tess looked at Alesander's rigid face. "But Timber West has always maintained the road."

  "I prefer to have control of it myself," Alesander insisted. "That way I'm assured that the road will be properly maintained."

  "The road has been adequately maintained for years," Tess argued. "The former owner had no complaints. I don't see how the roadwork you propose is justified."

  "I'm afraid there's quite a bit of erosion at the south end of the road, and it has actually washed away in several spots during heavy rains," Alesander countered.

  Tess felt her temper rise and drew in a long breath to stem an outburst. "That may be but it was always re-graded when that happened."

  "It should never have happened in the first place and it won't happen again when the road is properly drained, graded and rocked. I also insist that all gates be closed when the sheep are brought in, and that there will be no hauling during extremely wet weather."

  "But if the road is rocked—"

  "The road is not designed for heavy log trucks when the ground is saturated. I'm not being unreasonable, Miss O'Reilly, and I believe you know that." He looked beyond Tess to his wife. "Frantziska, we should be getting back."

  Frantziska stood and extended her hand to Peio, who looked up at Zak, and said, "You'll come next weekend, Papa?"

  "You bet I will." Zak lifted Peio in his arms and gave him a hug. "Meanwhile, take good care of your kitten."

  Peio smiled. "I will." Zak set Peio down and Peio scampered out of the cabin.

  Frantziska smiled cordially at Tess, and after she and Peio left, Zak said to his father, "When I come next weekend I want to talk some more about the situation with the road and the trees, so don't do anything before then."

  Alesander held Zak's gaze. "I'll do what I have to do. This is not your concern."

  Zak went over to stand beside Tess. "I'm making it my concern."

  Alesander's gaze shifted between the two of them then settled on Zak. "Like I said, I'll do what I have to do." He glanced at Tess, and added, "Good day, Miss O'Reilly," then turned and left.

  Tess knew precisely where she stood. She also knew Zak had positioned himself squarely on her side. As the SUV drove off, she said, "What you just did was like adding fuel to the fire."

  "What I did was to let my father know I'm in agreement with you."

  "Which also gave him a bigger reason to press the issue with the trees and the logging road and shut Timber West down. That way you're not tempted to chase after a woman who doesn't meet your father's standard. So when you see him next weekend, be sure to give him your assurance that there's nothing between us and never will be. That way maybe he'll agree to some kind of reasonable settlement."

  After a few moments of brooding silence, Zak said, "Is that what you want, that there will never be anything between us again?"

  Tess studied his face, uncertain how she felt. Even if he justified having left her
without a word, she still didn't know if she could trust him again. He'd barely put the gold ring on her finger when he married another woman.

  Giving a little shrug, she said, "I can't worry about that right now because I have more important things to think about."

  Zak waited, and when she offered nothing more, he said, "I think you just answered my question," then turned and left.

  CHAPTER 7

  Tess spent the next four days logging and yarding, and by late in the week, logs rose high on the dock. She returned to her cabin that evening, took a bath and fell into bed exhausted. The trucks were expected to arrive early the next morning to start picking up logs, and she was thankful she wasn't needed for loading.

  She'd been so troubled by her heated meeting with Alesander de Neuville and her last encounter with Zak, that she hadn't been sleeping well, until finally, by the end of the week, and from pure exhaustion, she managed to drift into a sound sleep, only to be interrupted early the next morning by a loud knocking on the door.

  "TJ! Open up. It's Broderick."

  Tess shuffled to the door and squinted up at Curt Broderick. "What's wrong?"

  "Big problems! There was a rock slide on the ridge road last night, the Cat's out of commission, the log trucks are boxed in on de Neuville's land and Swenson's charging a parking fee."

  "I'll be right out." Tess threw on her clothes and rushed out the cabin. "How bad is the rock slide?"

  "Bad. The road's buried."

  "What's the problem with the Cat?"

  "Broken steering hose. Lost all the hydraulic fluid."

  "That won't take long to fix but we'll need a new hose. Follow me to camp."

  In the machine shed, Tess searched for the hose she'd seen earlier in the week but couldn't find it. "I've got to get to the ridge," she said to Curt. "Go to Baker’s Creek and get a new hose and put it on our account and get back as quick as you can."

  Ten minutes later, Tess crossed the de Neuville land and pulled up behind a line of empty log trucks parked in the road, then edged the Jeep along an embankment to get around the trucks and continued up the road through the Timber West gate. When she arrived at the landslide, she was baffled. Heavy rains could cause rocks or mud to slide in some parts of the road, but this section wasn't one of them, nor had they had any heavy soaking rains for weeks.

  The sound of a vehicle brought her head around. To her surprise, she saw Zak's truck approaching. He pulled up behind her Jeep and jumped out. "I heard about the rock slide," he said. "For whatever it's worth, there won't be a parking fee."

  "That will help, but I'll still have to settle up with the drivers for their lost time." Tess scanned the rock pile blocking the road, her gaze following the path of the slide up the relatively gently sloping hillside. "It just doesn't make sense. There's plenty enough vegetation to hold the rocks in place along this hill."

  Hands on his hips, Zak scanned the hillside. "It seems that way. I'll hike up there and take a look around and see if I can find out what caused it. Maybe there's a spring up there."

  Tess sighed. "Meanwhile, I'll see if I can get things moving down here."

  Forty minutes later, Curt arrived with the hose and they started work on the Cat. Before long, Curt was back moving rock, and Tess went on ahead to see what Zak was doing. He was standing on the slope studying something in his hand. When he saw her, he started toward her, and as he approached he held up an orange cord and said, "Dynamite. This is a piece of fuse."

  Tess picked her way over the loose rocks to where Zak stood. "So that's what helped the landslide along." Taking the cord from him, she said, "Pretty coincidental that the steering hose on the Cat broke just after the landslide, and the spare hose was missing, and it all happened right about the time the trucks were due to haul."

  Zak looked to where the men were working. "Anything else unusual been happening?"

  "Yes. Bull lines have been breaking right and left, even when we're skidding logs on flat grade. We're lucky no one's been hurt."

  Before Zak could respond, Curt yelled to Tess from the Cat, "About fifteen more minutes and you can send the trucks through."

  Tess waved her reply then turned to Zak. "Hang onto that dynamite fuse, and I've gotta go."

  When she turned, Zak grabbed her arm before she could walk off. "I still want to talk to you. Can I stop by your place tonight? I'll bring something for you to eat so you won't have to worry about dinner. You'll be beat after today."

  Tess looked at the line of trucks and said, in a weary voice, "I suppose."

  Zak smiled, triggering a rush of adrenaline that sent Tess's heart hammering while making her chest feel tight. And for the first time since she insisted there would never be anything between them again she realized she'd seriously misjudged her feelings for Zak. She also knew she'd have to maintain a physical distance between them at her cabin. He had too great an emotional hold on her, and she could be all too willing if he kissed her and wanted more. And there were still too many unanswered questions.

  By late afternoon the landing was cleared of logs, and Tess felt weary. The day had been long and trying, physically and emotionally, and soon she'd have to make her father face some tough issues. They couldn't be ignored. Their recent quarterly tax payment drained their reserve, and with the expenses of clearing the landslide, the increased royalty, and the extra pay to the truck drivers, Timber West's operating capital would be close to depletion, and they still had a loan payment to meet.

  When she arrived at her cabin that evening she headed for the bathroom to soak away her worries in a tub of hot water. Forty-five minutes later, dressed in jeans and a flannel work shirt, she opened the door to Zak's knocking. He greeted her with a bottle of wine in his hand and a grocery bag in the crook of his elbow. "You look like you survived the day."

  "Just barely." Tess couldn't help noticing the way the navy T-shirt hugged Zak's muscular chest or the corded veins in his biceps, and again she wondered if he 'd been working out, or was it simply that he was a man now, not the wiry boy-man who'd left seven years before.

  "I hope you're hungry." Zak set the wine on the table and lifted out of the grocery bag a carton of frozen lasagna, a foil-wrapped loaf of garlic bread, a plastic bag with mixed salad greens, a bottle of salad dressing, and a plastic deli container with what looked like mixed fruit in whipped cream.

  "I'm starved."

  She started for the stove to turn on the oven, when Zak took her arm. "Go sit down. I'll do dinner." He took a couple of coffee mugs from the cabinet above the sink and set them on the table, then twisted the lid off the bottle of wine and filled each mug.

  Tess noted that the wine bottle hadn't been corked, and when she didn't see the black and gold label, she said, "I presume this isn't from the de Neuville stock."

  Zak gave her a wry smile. "Gallo Hearty Burgundy, but don't tell my father." He handed her the mug. "Relax. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes. I already heated the lasagna part way so it won't take long."

  Tess settled against the couch, sipped her wine, and silently watched Zak making his way around her kitchen, shuffling through drawers and cabinets for dishes and silverware, and setting things around the table.

  It was odd watching him putting a dinner together, even if it was a packaged meal. Years before, neither of them were in the least domestic. They'd talked about the way they'd run their house someday, but they'd never shared a meal in her cabin or his. It had always been about Adam and Eve and satisfying that part of their relationship. She realized now that maybe there wasn't anything more to it than the thrill of forbidden pleasures.

  "What are you thinking about?" Zak asked. "You seem far away."

  Tess took a slow sip of wine to allow her thoughts to focus on something other than where they'd been moments before. "I was just wondering about… umm… what you thought of me the first time we met."

  Zak dumped the package of mixed salad greens into a bowl and said while setting the bowl on the table, "I was impress
ed by your agility, the way you climbed that pole."

  "I meant the very first time we met, before the pole climb, when you were practicing for the wood splitting contest."

  One corner of Zak's mouth flicked in a smile. "I thought you had the biggest, most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen on a boy."

  Tess stared at him. "You thought I was a boy?"

  "Umm, hmm. You shocked the hell out of me when you took off your hat after the pole climb and all that hair fell around your shoulders. The next time I saw you though, things had changed. When I caught sight of you in that snug shirt I almost busted my britches just wondering if you were gonna pop a button."

  At the time, Tess didn't know what happened when men became aroused, but before the summer was through the idea of Zak busting his britches became their private joke. Now, it made her uneasy. Shrugging off his comment, she said, "Like I said, it was all about sex and no substance." Which also explained why Zak could walk away from her and marry another woman without looking back.

  "Is that really all you thought it was?" Zak asked, his voice sober.

  Tess shrugged. "Pretty much, unless you remember something I don't."

  Zak sat on the couch with her. "Right now I'd rather kiss you and have you kiss me back than hop into bed with you for a round of hot heavy sex."

  Tess tried to connect his words with the fact that he should be a grieving widower. "That's the problem. It's only been four months since your wife died and you act as if you can pick up where we left off, yet you've been avoiding telling me why you left so suddenly. I realize my father didn't exactly escort you graciously from your cabin when he found us, but you could have at least told me your father was sending you to France. I would have waited for you, but when you left without a word, I didn't know what to think. I waited a year, hoping to hear from you, and when I didn't, I married a man I didn't love."

  Zak sighed, rested his head against the back of the couch and said, while staring at the ceiling, "The day after your father caught us at my cabin I was served with a restraining order against having any contact with you. To make sure I understood, after I returned to Navarre your father came there and in front of my father, threatened to charge me with statutory rape, and told me to have no further contact with you, not even to explain why I'd left, or he'd report me as a sexual predator. That's when my father sent me to France. My father also wanted me out of your life because you weren't Basque. If you'd been Basque, he would have insisted we marry instead of sending me to France."