The Heart of a Hero

by Janet Chapman

  Peg jumped out of her chair, making Julia press back against the seat when her friend got right in her face. “You say something like that again and I swear I’m throwing you overboard. You’ve spent so long proving to everyone that you’re the town saint, you don’t even remember how to swear.”

  “Then what in hell happened last night?” Julia growled right back at her.

  “I’ll tell you what happened. A strong, handsome man tall enough to see past that nose you keep stuck in the air called your bluff, and you finally remembered that you’re a flesh-and-blood woman.”

  “But I’m not,” Julia whispered, looking away.

  Peg pressed her hands to Julia’s face. “Why do you say that, Jules? What did Clay do that turned you off men? There’s something you’re not telling me that goes way beyond the rumors. We’ve been best friends ever since we teamed up in kindergarten to teach Bobby Pinkham how to kiss, and I thought there wasn’t anything we couldn’t tell each other. So what really happened to my wild and daring best friend who left here ten years ago and came back six years later a hollow shell of a woman?”

  Julia simply dropped her gaze and shook her head inside Peg’s hands.

  Peg straightened away with a sigh, then walked to the front of the boat where she silently stood staring out at the fiord they were drifting down. Julia set her coffee in the holder beside her, then bent forward and hid her face in her hands, wondering when she’d become such a mess.

  No, a walking disaster.

  “He may have let you run away last night,” Peg said without turning around, “but don’t for a minute think he’ll let you pull that kind of stunt again.”

  “There’s not going to be an again.” Julia straightened. “I can’t ever have s— I can’t ever be with him again.”

  “And if you’re pregnant?” Peg asked softly, still looking out at the water.

  “Then I’m going to find a real friend to put me out of my misery.”

  Peg turned and surprised Julia with a lopsided smile. “Damn, Jules, you really are on a stupid roll, aren’t you? Men like Nicholas don’t make unprotected love to a woman and then shove their hands in their pockets and walk away whistling.” She came back and sat in the chair opposite Julia again. “On that you can trust me, because I found myself married less than twenty-four hours after making love to Duncan. And just before you moved back here, Olivia found herself standing in front of Reverend Peter within a month of first laying eyes on Mac.”

  “Men like Nicholas don’t fall in love with women like me. Not the way Duncan and Mac fell madly in love with you and Olivia,” Julia countered. “What you guys have is either a miracle or a fluke of nature.”

  Peg laughed, gesturing out at the water. “You’re sitting smack in the middle of a fluke of nature, Jules, so apparently miracles are more common than you think.” She leaned forward and touched Julia’s knee. “And if it can happen to Olivia and to me, then why in God’s name can’t it happen to you?”

  “Because just like I told Olivia yesterday, I’m not like either of you.” Julia gestured at herself. “If I cut my hair I’d keep getting mistaken for a twelve-year-old boy, whereas you . . . you got boobs in the sixth grade. My eyes are plain old hazel, my hair is mousy brown and always out of control, I can’t flirt my way out of a wet paper bag, and I’m about as sexy as a cow moose in heat.”

  “Then if you’re so unattractive, why did Spellbound Falls’ most eligible bachelor make love to you last night?”

  “Because he had a year’s buildup of sperm!”

  Peg gaped at her, then shook her head. “My God, Clay did a number on you,” she muttered, only to suddenly straighten in her chair. “Okay then, do something about it. If you don’t want to be mistaken for a twelve-year-old boy, then get your hair professionally styled, start dressing in more feminine colors, and buy yourself some really nice boobs.”

  “Buy some what?”

  “Boobs; if you can’t grow them, then buy them. You ought to be able to afford a really impressive pair on an event planner’s salary.”

  “Now you’re the one talking crazy. If I suddenly showed up with boobs, every Tom, Dick, and Harry would start groping me again like they tried to after my divorce.”

  Peg bobbed her eyebrows. “Grope them back.”

  Julia’s jaw dropped, but then she suddenly burst out laughing. “Margaret Conroy, you’re outrageous!” she cried, jumping up and pulling Peg to her feet. She hugged her tightly. “I knew you could talk me off the ledge. Thank you for being the best friend in the world.”

  Peg stepped away and brushed down the front of her jacket. “It’s Margaret MacKeage now,” she said thickly, but there was laughter in her eyes when she lifted her head. “And anytime you feel like talking stupid again, you just come see me.”

  Julia looked toward Whisper Mountain. “I’m still an event planner.”

  “Pfffaaa,” Peg said with a dismissive wave. “You’ll have that job nailed down within a month, tops. As for Nicholas,” she drawled, turning away to step behind the wheel and start the boat’s engine, even as she shot Julia what could only be described as a sinister smile, “I’m betting he’ll have you nailed again within a week. Sit down, Jules,” Peg said as she gripped the wheel and pushed the throttle forward. “You don’t want to be late for your first full day on your new job.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Poor Julia. Nicholas couldn’t decide which had made her more uncomfortable: that she had been attending a director’s meeting, that she’d spent that meeting sitting across from the man she’d made passionate love to the night before, or that she’d had to simply sit for the entire hour. At least she hadn’t been holding a long pole in her hand, he thought with a grin as he watched the clearly overwhelmed woman extricate herself from yet another one of the congratulatory hugs she’d gotten from several of the directors—one of them not being her former supervisor, Nicholas noticed.

  Rana slipped into the chair beside him. “She’s absolutely lovely,” she said, also watching Julia bolt out the door. “But then, I’ve always known you had an eye for quality.” She patted his arm with a sigh. “Although I’m afraid you have a challenge ahead of you. Julia has a bit of a . . . self-esteem issue—which truly baffles me, as she’s really quite an intelligent, beautiful, and vivacious woman.”

  Nicholas slid his gaze to the window and stifled his own sigh when he saw Julia rush past her cart without even seeing it and start running up the path leading to the conference pavilion. “I’m not the one you have to convince.” He looked over at Rana. “Will you be able to get the lovely lady to see she’s all those things and more?” He shook his head. “Because I don’t appear to be having much luck, as it seems that for every step closer I get to her, she shoves me two away.”

  Rana arched one of her regal brows. “But did your note inviting her to go pinecone hunting across the fiord not work out as we’d hoped?”

  Nicholas stood up with a snort. “No, it did not. She sent me a note in return thanking me for the very kind offer, then hunted down her own stand of pines—which happened to be right in the middle of my training grounds.” He reached a hand out to her. “I think you better chase after your protégé before she threatens to bludgeon anyone else with that bag you gave her. I believe she left you her cart,” he drawled, gesturing out the window.

  Once on her feet, Rana refused to relinquish his hand, her brow arching again. “But did Titus not tell me you were cooking breakfast for Julia yesterday morning?”

  “Would that be the breakfast he and your son ate while she crawled out my bathroom window? After which, when I sought her out and asked why she’d run, she shoved past me as if I were a minor annoyance?” Nicholas started them toward the hallway. “What Julia lacks in self-esteem she certainly makes up for in recklessness.” He stopped and grinned. “She likes my cats, though, especially Sol.”

  Rana broke into a broad smile. “Then by all means, use those little scoundrels to your advantage.” Her eyes
suddenly widened. “I know; get your lovely lady a kitten of her own. Yes,” she said with a nod, “a soft and cuddly little ball of fur that will make Julia think of you every time she laughs at its antics. And have the carpenters install one of those tiny doors in her new home like you had in your apartment.” She leaned closer. “Go to some far-off ancient land and find an exotic breed like your lovely Bastet, only be sure the kitten’s eyes are the exact color of yours,” she instructed, making Nicholas grin at the wistfulness in her voice. “And put a bow around its neck, so Julia will see it as a gift of your esteem for her.” She slipped her arm through his and started down the hall toward the outside door. “And when you do, also make sure you get down on the floor in front of a roaring fire you’re going to build in her hearth and the two of you play with the kitten together.”

  Nicholas lost his grin when he realized Rana’s wistfulness had turned somewhat . . . angry. They walked into the sunshine and she gave his arm one last pat before she slid into Julia’s forgotten cart, set her hands on the steering wheel, and looked up at him with a tight smile. “Use your legendary patience to hold that equally infamous pride of yours in check, Nicholas,” she continued, “and try not to take Julia’s rebuffs personally. It really has nothing to do with you and everything to do with whom or whatever has stolen her pride.” Rana’s smile turned tender. “And I’ll see what I can do to further your cause.” But then it suddenly vanished completely. “Although I have no idea why any woman would want to saddle herself with a stubborn, overprotective, insensitive . . .” she continued, the rest of what she said being lost in her growl as she zoomed away.

  Knowing not to take that personally, Nicholas turned and walked back inside, thinking he might want to ask Titus how long it had been since the old theurgist had given his wife something soft and cuddly and gotten down on the floor in front of a roaring fire to play like young lovers. But also thinking he might want a more modern opinion, Nicholas stopped at Olivia’s open office door and knocked on the casing.

  “What’s up?” she asked, waving him in.

  “I’ve come seeking advice on a personal matter,” he said without preamble, sitting down and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “I’m trying to get a handle on Julia Campbell, and I thought with your having known her for some years that you might be able to help me. She’s an intelligent woman, but my attempts to let her know I’m attracted to her seem to be going right over her head,” he prevaricated, not about to mention last night’s passionate step forward followed by two large steps back. “I’ve offered to take Julia to dinner and pinecone hunting and fishing, but she keeps turning me down. Do you think she might truly be afraid of men on some deep level, or merely reluctant to get involved in a relationship again—maybe with me in particular?”

  Olivia gave a quick laugh. “Julia’s not afraid of you or any other man. My first guess off the top of my head is that she’s trying to protect you.”

  He straightened in surprise. “From what?”

  “From being seen in public with the town slut and daughter of the town drunk.” She sighed at his glower. “Okay, look; you might as well hear it from me, because you’re definitely going to hear it from somebody. Before he headed off to Boston with his new wife, Julia’s ex-husband started telling people in town that she’d slept with half the men at the fraternity house where she worked when they lived in Orono, so he wouldn’t look like a jerk for divorcing her after she spent six years putting him through college. Since Julia moved back home, she’s been going out of her way to prove those rumors wrong—all to no avail,” she said with a shake of her head. “And since it’s no secret you’re considered Spellbound Falls’ most eligible bachelor, my guess is she’s trying to save your reputation.”

  “I couldn’t care less about my reputation.”

  “But she cares.” Olivia leaned back in her chair. “And there might be another reason she keeps turning you down. Remember when we were moving Julia out of her house and I explained how embarrassing it was for her to have you watch? Well,” she said when he nodded, “that might also be why she doesn’t want anyone seeing you together. Because no matter what century it is, gossip is every small town’s primary entertainment. If Julia is attracted to you—and she’d have to be dead if she weren’t—then she’s probably worried someone will feel compelled to tell you her entire, sordid history, and she’ll be even more humiliated.”

  Nicholas stood up to keep from growling in frustration. “Thank you,” he said, turning to leave—only to stop at the door when Olivia called to him.

  “Mac told me he saw Julia running from your home yesterday morning,” she said, arching a brow. “Is there more to her little . . . accident I should know about?”

  “No,” he said succinctly.

  “I was just about to resort to blackmail,” Olivia continued before he could leave, “when I finally was able to get Julia to see past her circumstances long enough to agree to be my event planner.” She shook her head. “But there’s a very real possibility not even my dear mother-in-law’s wisdom and patience will be able to break down Julia’s defenses, and I’m afraid the first time she makes a mistake that she’ll quit.”

  “Don’t underestimate Rana. Or me,” Nicholas said quietly as he turned with a wave and walked out the door. He slipped on his sunglasses when he stepped outside, then shoved his hands in his pockets as he headed toward the barn. Considering Julia was obviously physically attracted to him, he still couldn’t figure out why she kept fighting his pursuit. At least he knew for certain she didn’t prefer women, he thought with a grin as he remembered her reaction to his kiss last night. But then he scowled, remembering her whispered urging that he seek his own pleasure without seeing to hers, as if she hadn’t wanted—or felt worthy of—anything in return for giving herself so openly.

  In fact, Nicholas couldn’t recall the last time he’d been so caught off guard—be it on the battlefield or in the bedroom—to be literally brought to his knees by such honest abandon, the likes of which he’d never experienced before. Yet when he’d caught her escaping afterward, Julia had told him she didn’t know who that woman had been back in the cabin, but that it definitely hadn’t been her.

  So it appeared the lovely lady was equally perplexed at her reluctance to admit their mutual attraction; one moment responding to him quite passionately, and within the next heartbeat running away. After threatening to bludgeon him to death, he thought with a grin, even though standing on tiptoe her nose still hadn’t reached his chin. She did have a powerful finger poke, however, to back up her beautiful temper.

  Yes, he definitely liked an abrasive woman.

  Nicholas walked into the barn, grabbed his saddle and bridle out of the tack room, and headed down the aisle, grinning again when he heard Phantom impatiently kicking his stall door. “You in need of a run?” he asked when the battle-scarred warrior shoved its nose between the bars and tried to take a nip out of his shoulder as Nicholas pushed on the door—that Phantom was still kicking—to open the latch. “Behave,” he said with a laugh, stepping in the stall, “or you’re only going for a slow walk.”

  The large, ghostly gray stallion gently nudged the same shoulder it had just tried to nip, then blew out a belly-deep equine sigh.

  “That’s better,” Nicholas murmured, tossing the saddle onto its broad back, then positioning the bit in the stallion’s mouth. “We’ll ride out to see how our new guards are surviving their first day of Sampson’s tutelage.” He secured the bridle, repositioned the saddle and secured the cinch, waited several heartbeats, then finished tightening it when Phantom was forced to release the breath he’d been holding. “You haven’t won that game in centuries, you old dog,” he said with a chuckle, giving the warhorse an affectionate pat before leading it out of the stall.

  “Nicholas,” Sally said, walking in from the back of the barn. The female half of the resort’s horse wrangler team gestured behind her with a frown. “Would you know who that kid is sitting on
the paddock rail? I saw him back up a muddy old pickup to the woodshed and unload some firewood, but instead of driving off he walked over and hopped up on the fence. He’s been sitting out there for half an hour.”

  Nicholas led Phantom partway down the aisle to look out the back door of the barn. “That’s our new director of special events’ youngest brother—Reggie, I believe his name is. He sells the resort cedar kindling. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Julia Campbell yet?”

  “Isn’t she the woman staying in your old apartment?” Sally asked as she reached out and respectfully gave Phantom’s cheek a scratch. “I’ve met Julia,” she continued when Nicholas nodded. She smiled. “Caught her in here a couple of days ago trying to work up the nerve to pat old Jeb,” she said, gesturing at the horse with its head hanging out over a stall door, softly snoring. “Nice lady. She asked why some of the horses are behind bars and can’t stick their heads out.” Sally gave a soft chuckle. “When I told her they were the stallions and had a tendency to nip at anyone walking by, she said that figured. But I thought Julia told me she worked in housekeeping.”

  “She did until yesterday, when she took over Evelyn’s position.”

  Sally scowled. “That’s one woman I’m not going to miss.” She gestured out the back door again. “So what about the kid? You want I should just leave him alone?”

  Nicholas looked out at Reggie Campbell to see him rubbing the face of a mare he’d coaxed over. “Could I get you to saddle up old Jeb for me, Sally? Since the boy seems interested in horses, he might like to ride out to see his brother. Tom Campbell is training to be a security guard for Inglenook.”

  “Well, there’s no question Olivia likes hiring entire families,” the wrangler said, heading toward the tack room. She stopped at the door. “The day Peyton Jr. turned fifteen, she put him on the payroll part-time and plans to let him lead trail rides this summer.” Her smile widened. “Ain’t nothing Big Peyton has been enjoying more than getting to officially boss that boy around. I’ll bring Jeb out all ready to go—assuming I can wake him up,” she said as she disappeared into the tack room.