The Heart of a Hero

by Janet Chapman

  “That’s what I was told,” Julia said from inside the depths of the fleece. There was enough light coming from the flashlight sitting on the pew for Nicholas to see that she was smiling—rather smugly—when her head popped out. “But giving my guests a card with my name and number is what doubled my tips. And that’s another reason I have to go to work tomorrow. I need to collect all those cards before the Sunday housekeeper finds them. Come on, let’s toss some of these pew cushions on the front platform,” she said, her smile vanishing when she stood up and grabbed the back of her waist with a groan. “The last thing I need tonight is to roll off one of these narrow pews.”

  “What are we going to do, Jules?” Trisha asked, walking across the aisle and gathering up some of the long, thin cushions. “We need to move out of the house now.”

  “You’ve survived almost eighteen years of Dad’s binges,” Julia said. “You can make it a couple more months. Although up until a few years ago we both had mom running interference for us, and I had a reprieve while I lived in Orono.”

  “Some reprieve,” Trisha muttered. “You spent six years supporting Clay, and he divorced you the moment he graduated. Then the bastard told everyone you’d slept with half the guys in the fraternity house where you cooked to put him through school.”

  “Hey, no swearing. You want to be treated like a lady, then—”

  Trisha snorted, cutting her off. “Yeah, yeah. Then talk like one.” She dumped the cushions on the platform. “I hope you know Clay’s sister is even worse than he is. Remember my new friend Kimberly? Well, her mom says that whenever you stop at the bank, Vivian starts talking nasty about you just as soon as you leave. Forget that everyone thinks you’re a slut; she’s saying you’re also stupid for moving back home.”

  “I told you, all that matters is that you and I know the truth,” Julia said, walking to the platform. “As for Clay and Vivian, I refuse to stoop to their level. Because all that really matters,” she growled, clasping Trisha’s shoulders, “is that you’re going to college in September to become Maine’s prettiest, brightest marine biologist. And I’ll get that guest liaison position at Inglenook this spring, and together we’ll show all those idiots that the Campbell sisters don’t have one stupid bone in our bodies.”

  Trisha gently turned Julia around and started undoing her braid. “Do you really think Olivia will give you the job without a college degree?” She sighed. “Too bad they don’t give diplomas to people who sneak into classes and read whatever textbooks are lying around a frat house. Heck, you actually helped some of those guys with their papers. And Clay’s master’s degree should have your name on it, not his.”

  “Don’t forget I used to work summers for Olivia back when she ran Inglenook for her ex-in-laws,” Julia said. “So I’m hoping I can persuade her I’m as valuable as any applicant with an honest education.” Julia ran her fingers through the riot of curls that had erupted the moment they’d been set free, and turned to Trisha. “I have to get that position because it comes with housing. And since it seems I can’t stop Reggie from turning into another belligerent Campbell male, I can leave home without feeling guilty. And you’ll be a legal adult next month, so Dad can’t stop you from moving out. I’ll ask Olivia if you can live with me until college starts and also spend your summer and winter breaks with me.” Julia clasped Trisha’s face and touched their foreheads together. “Just a couple more months, little sister, and our lives will finally be ours.”

  Nicholas heard Trisha sigh as she turned away and spread their wet coats over the pews. She then pulled some clothes and a heavy quilt from the pack, walked to the platform, and balled up a couple of shirts as pillows. She helped Julia get settled on her side on the cushions and covered her up, then started unlacing her sister’s boots.

  Nicholas dropped his chin to his chest with a silent curse as he remembered wondering why no one had offered Julia a ride home. Did everyone in town truly believe she was stupid for moving back in with a drunken father after her failed marriage? Had no one considered that she might have returned for her sister’s sake after their mother died?

  Because personally, he thought Julia might be one of the toughest women he knew. She was pretty damn smart, too, for stealing an education—even if she didn’t have the degree to prove it. But then, he also knew a little something about seizing opportunities when they presented themselves. Like her use of the phones, which had a range of only five miles, that he’d persuaded Olivia were needed so he could send out a blanket alert if there was trouble; Julia certainly hadn’t hesitated to use his security program to her advantage, he thought with a grin.

  Seeing that both women were finally huddled together under the quilt, Nicholas started to leave, only to be pulled up short by Trisha’s softly spoken words.

  “I nearly fainted when that guy kissed you,” the girl whispered. “I mean, jeesh; he just gathered you into his arms and kissed you. And you just let him. Except for Olivia’s husband and Mr. MacKeage, I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as big and formidable-looking as that guy tonight. I can’t believe you didn’t panic.”

  “I didn’t panic because it was obvious he was only trying to help me. Oh, Sis,” Julia said, touching one of Trisha’s short curls. “Please tell me you’re not afraid of men. Not all of them are like Daddy and Clay; most are actually nice. And some might even be smart,” she drawled. “Nicholas probably just figured kissing me was the easiest way out of the mess he’d gotten himself into for giving me a ride.” She chuckled, although it held no humor. “The guy obviously didn’t know he was kissing the town slut.”

  “But what happens when you see each other at Nova Mare? What are you going to say to him?”

  “The only times I’ve even been within fifty feet of Nicholas were when he and his men were giving instructions on resort security during a staff meeting. And we don’t exactly run in the same social circles, so I probably won’t come face-to-face with him for another six months, and by then he’ll have forgotten all about it.”

  “But how come he gave you a ride home to begin with?”

  “I think he just happened to be in the parking lot when Reggie started acting like a brat again, and he came over to see if I needed any help. It’s his job to worry about employees, and he apparently takes it seriously.” She snorted. “Really seriously. You should see him standing there while his men give the talks at our staff meetings; I swear they’re preparing us for an invasion or something.”

  Trisha giggled. “If Nova Mare is ever invaded, promise that you’ll run and hide behind him. The guy looks like he could turn back an entire army single-handed.”

  Nicholas scowled, undecided if he’d just been complimented or insulted.

  Julia laughed. “I’d have to get in line behind all the female workers—single and married. Really, Trisha, you should hear them in the locker room talking about ‘the mysterious man with no last name.’ Apparently size does matter to a lot of women.”

  “Well, you all but disappeared in his arms when he kissed you,” Trisha said. “It certainly shut Daddy up. At least until he got a few more drinks in him and started in again about us girls sticking our noses in the air when it comes to men, and how we can’t catch ourselves a husband if we’re not properly grateful for any male attention.”

  “I’m sorry Clay’s lies about me ruined your reputation, too. But once you get to college, I promise you’ll find yourself a really nice young man.”

  “Ah, yes; the dreaded ‘slut by association,’” Trisha moaned, making Nicholas grin when the girl pressed the back of her hand to her forehead—her angst ruined by her laugh. But then she sobered. “Tell the truth, Jules: Did you like it?”

  “Like what?”

  “That kiss tonight. What does it feel like to be pulled into the arms of a big strong man and kissed like that? It wasn’t a quick peck, either. I mean, it looked real. So what was it like?”

  Nicholas stopped breathing.

  “You really want to know?” J
ulia whispered, to which Trisha immediately nodded. “Well, it was a good thing he stopped when he did,” she said with a nod, “because I was one second away from kissing him back.” She gave a snicker. “Why do you think he all but ran to his truck? He obviously felt me getting ready to knock his socks off.”

  Nicholas barely stifled a snicker of his own. He’d stopped because he’d felt Julia getting ready to panic. Then again, maybe she’d been getting ready to slap his face.

  “You kissed him back?” Trisha squeaked in surprise.

  Nicholas heard Julia sigh, and saw her reach out and gently touch Trisha’s cheek. “I almost did. But apparently it’s been so long, I’ve forgotten how.” She dropped her hand. “But if you swear never to tell a soul, I will admit I did like getting a little taste of passion.”

  “Because it reminded you of when you and Clay were first married?”

  Julia suddenly choked on a laugh. “Good heavens, no. I realized a long time ago that what I felt for Clay was just dumb teenage lust, combined with the excitement of being married and getting out of this sleepy town.”

  “Well, Spellbound isn’t sleepy anymore.” Trisha gave a loud yawn. “Not since the earthquake.”

  “No,” Julia agreed, rolling onto her stomach with a groan. “For once I’m glad I don’t have any boobs, so I can sleep on my belly tonight—unlike you, Miss Curvy.”

  “You had boobs when you weighed more. You don’t eat all day because you’re too cheap to buy lunch at the resort, and Daddy won’t let you pack one unless you start paying him rent.”

  “I’m not paying rent when I wash his and Reggie’s clothes and cook their meals and clean up after them. I am going to have to dip into our savings and finally get that old pickup fixed, though, even if it does mean throwing good money after bad.”

  “I can go back to riding the school bus.”

  Julia lifted her head. “No, you can’t. You need to stay after for extracurricular activities. They’re important for college. And besides, if you start coming home at three, Daddy and Tom will put you to work, and I swear I’ll burn that mill to the ground before I’ll let you break your back stacking pallets of shingles.” Nicholas saw Julia yawn and settle her head back on the rolled up shirt. “Come on, let’s go to sleep. I think the aspirin I took is working, and that shot of rum is finally kicking in. I’ll be back in fighting form come morning. Night, little sister,” she said. “Sweet dreams.”

  “Night, Jules.”

  Nicholas stood rooted in place, trying to decide how he felt. On the one hand, he wouldn’t mind paying a late-night visit to the Campbell homestead, yet he was also in awe of Julia and Trisha’s resiliency. Hell, he didn’t know many men facing what these two women faced every day who would keep fighting like they did.

  He waited until their breathing had evened out in sleep, then quietly exited the church back down through the basement. But instead of heading to his truck, he turned and entered the woods. As he’d expected, he found Trisha’s dark green SUV parked down an overgrown path far enough to be hidden from the main road.

  Which suggested this wasn’t the first time they’d sought sanctuary in the church.

  Pulling his hat lower on his brow, Nicholas nevertheless found his mood lifting as he walked back to his truck. But instead of getting in when he reached it, he stood staring through the rain at the church and actually felt a grin threatening to form at the realization that far from being afraid of men, Julia Campbell was merely fed up with them. Well, most of them, anyway, he thought as his grin broke free, as she apparently didn’t mind getting a little taste of passion from a giant trying to help her.

  But before he got too excited, Nicholas decided as he climbed in his truck and headed toward Nova Mare, he really should find out if the woman liked cats.

  Chapter Three

  Julia took three aspirin, chased them down with a long swig of water from her work-issued aluminum water bottle, then wiped her mouth on the back of her hand with a fortifying breath. “There is no problem,” she said out loud, unwrapping a peppermint candy and shoving it in her mouth as she looked around the main room of the cabin she was halfway through cleaning. “Olivia just wants to tell me that I’m in the running for the Inglenook position.” Yeah, Julia decided as she carefully slipped on her coat; she’d turned in her application two weeks ago, and Olivia just wanted to set up an interview.

  That was why she’d called and asked Julia to meet her at Foxglove Cottage, and not that Nicholas had told their boss what had happened last night when he’d given an employee a ride home, so Olivia was not going to ask why her top security guard had been forced to kiss his way out of a humiliating situation.

  Julia locked the door behind her and walked down the steps to the compact electric cart fully equipped with everything she needed to service her cottages. She loved driving around the forested paths that led to the various-sized cabins scattered over the east side of Whisper’s summit—each cottage named after a local wildflower. The most secluded cabin that she cleaned was almost half a mile away from the resort’s common green, and every day Julia felt like the luckiest girl on the planet to be working in such a beautiful setting while taking care of the priciest, prettiest cabins in Maine. But she couldn’t help wondering what it must have cost to build Nova Mare and also completely refurbish Inglenook, because it appeared as if Olivia’s funds were as substantial as the inland sea sitting nearly two thousand feet below—especially considering it was rumored that Olivia’s husband, Mac, had also bought up all the timberland around the fiord all the way to Canada.

  But even though Nova Mare commanded an entire mountaintop and catered to the very wealthiest people in the world, Inglenook had its own charm for being right on the shoreline. Julia had biked up the Inglenook road on one of her days off a few weeks back and had been blown away by the renovations being done to the old family camp where she’d worked summers from high school up to four years ago. Where crooked old leaky cabins had once stood there were now charmingly rustic but very modern two- and three-bedroom cottages. The old dining hall had been torn down and replaced with one that included a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen and a dining room large enough to seat a small army. The main lodge had been completely refurbished and the old groundskeeper’s cottage spruced up—including a new fence surrounding it and a new brass bell standing sentinel at its gate.

  Remembering Olivia’s rule that no one was allowed past that gate into her private sanctuary when she’d been running Inglenook, it was apparent the woman was keeping that rule intact for the new guest liaison—which would be her, Julia hoped and hoped and hoped. “Please let this be about that job,” she said almost as a litany as she drove to Foxglove. She stopped beside Olivia’s shiny green personal cart, swallowed what was left of her peppermint candy, then climbed the stairs and went inside.

  “Hey, there you are,” Olivia said, walking out of the bedroom—which Julia knew was spanking clean because she’d just finished here not an hour ago.

  “What’s up?” Julia asked, slipping off her jacket and hanging it on a peg by the door. “How’s the place look?”

  “Honestly? Better than I remembered.” Olivia gave a small laugh, shaking her head. “Between running Nova Mare and racing to get Inglenook finished in time for our first guests in May, I just realized I haven’t set foot in any of these cottages in months.” She motioned toward the table. “Come sit down, Julia, and let’s talk.”

  Julia nervously brushed down her jersey and walked over and sat down, mentally repeating her litany that this was about the job.

  “First off, I want to say that I was surprised to see your application for Inglenook’s guest liaison,” Olivia said, sitting at the small table diagonally from her, “since the posting I put up in the locker room to give employees first dibs said I was looking for someone with a bachelor’s degree—preferably in hospitality.”

  “But I have plenty of experience, a good deal of it with you.”

  Olivia gave a n
od. “I said I was surprised, but I’m also pleased you didn’t let that little requirement stop you. I don’t have any doubt you could take care of my guests, based on our past experiences together.” Olivia’s smile faltered, however, as she reached in her pocket and pulled out a small card, which she then set on the table and slid in front of Julia. “As well as from what I’ve been discovering about you these past two weeks, since I started looking into why some guests are specifically reserving any cottage you clean based on suggestions from their friends who have stayed here.”

  Julia felt all the blood drain from her face as she stared down at the card with her name and employee cell phone number on it. “I can explain,” she whispered.

  Olivia gestured around the room they were in, her hand stopping to point at the hearth. “And you know what’s funny? I don’t remember furnishing any of the cottages with old chamber pots to hold kindling, or wooden crates for the pinecones, or deer and moose antler sheds to display on the mantels. And I could have sworn the furniture was set up differently in here.” She reached for the basket sitting in the center of the table and pulled it closer, then started poking through the acorns, pieces of birch bark, lichen, odd-looking pebbles, and dried autumn leaves before she picked up the note card that had been leaning against it. “Keep an eye out during your walks,” she read, “and add your own unusual finds to this woodland treasure trove for the next guests to enjoy.” She looked at Julia. “And I can’t for the life of me remember coming up with this idea.”

  “It . . . This is one of the family cottages,” Julia said, dropping her gaze to the basket as she felt the blood rushing back into her cheeks. “And I thought sending the kids on a treasure hunt might help the parents entertain them.” She looked Olivia directly in the eyes. “And I know the phones are for employee use only, but I always make sure to introduce myself to my guests, and they like having someone they know show up when they need help starting a fire in the hearth or have a question about what to do in the area.”