Heartwood

by Catherine Lane

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Thanks to you.” Nikka raised her eyebrows.

  Maggie sat up straight in response and a shy half smile crept to her lips.

  “Yep. Tell your brother that sometimes you got to find crazy ways to pull fish out of a pond.”

  Maggie’s smile turned into a laugh. “Where on earth did that come from?”

  “The man who judges me. My father.”

  “You’ve got a family member who critiques you too?”

  “In a big way.” She was holding back a laugh now as well. There was definitely something about this woman. “But I’m not sure I handle him half as well as you handle your brother.”

  “I could give you some pointers.”

  “When this is all over, I might just take you up on that.”

  The left-over tingle swept up the back of Nikka’s neck. What would it be like if it were everywhere…at once?

  “We should probably get to bed. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?” Nikka said, trying to drive that image from her head.

  “Yes. Yes.” A flush crept across Maggie’s cheeks.

  They both stood at the same time, their bodies brushing as they rose. So close, Nikka felt the heat coming off of Maggie’s skin. She took a step back to fight the dizziness that had abruptly hit her.

  “I’ll show you your room.” Maggie rubbed the back of her neck as she moved away. She headed to the stairs, leaving Nikka to wonder what might have happened if they both had stayed put.

  The next morning, Nikka awoke with a start. She had a lot of work ahead of her these next two days. Luckily, she had her work briefcase and computer with her. Well, it wasn’t luck. She took them everywhere. She had left nothing important at the Riverside Inn except clothes. Maybe she could get Maggie to call over there at some point.

  Trotting down the stairs in athletic clothes she had found by her door, she felt surprisingly refreshed and good all things considered. She told herself it had nothing to do with the fact that Maggie was right around the corner.

  Maggie and Josie stood by a percolating old-school coffee pot as the morning sun streamed in through an open window. They were talking softly, and Maggie’s shaggy hair hung around her face in an I-just-got-up-look. It totally worked on her.

  “Morning.” Maggie gave her a small, happy smile.

  Nikka let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding and joined them in their huddle.

  “Josie was just filling me in on Beth.”

  “She had a rough night. Tossing and turning. I don’t know whether she was having a nightmare or if it’s part of the detoxing or if they’re one and the same…”

  “And I told Josie that hopefully we’ll get some answers. My brother just called. The doctor is supposed to come out here around ten to examine Beth. He’s a family friend, so we don’t have to worry about him giving away where we are.”

  Josie poured herself a cup of coffee. “I’d better get back in there. She drifted off around four or so. I don’t want her to wake up alone.”

  “She’s unbelievable.” Maggie eyed Josie as she walked down the hall. “We’re so lucky she fell into our laps.”

  “I don’t think luck has anything to do with it. Your brother last night? A doctor this morning? This all sounds suspiciously like a plan.”

  “And the good doctor’s even bringing you gas and us food. How’s them apples?” After a crisp nod, Maggie added softly, “So, that means if you want to go this morning, you can. I mean, when we’re ready, I can call George or a friend, and they can come get us.”

  It made a lot of sense. She should drive back to town as soon as she could. Everything would be simpler down the hill. Her father’s voice, loud and clear and thick with his Russian accent, jumped into her head. “If you want to control future, drag into present, and strike.”

  But did she? In trying to control her future, she had left Beth in a horrible situation longer than she should have for her own potential gain. Maybe it was time to give up on her stranglehold on the future.

  “Thank you for thinking of that. The gas, I mean.”

  Maggie’s face fell, so Nikka quickly added, “But I, or we rather, need to talk to Beth and see exactly how far she wants to go with all this. Maybe we should come up with a plan together and see where it takes us.” She took another flying leap. “That’s how you do it, right?”

  Maggie rolled her eyes and scoffed. Not at all the reaction Nikka had been expecting.

  “You’re as bad as George. I don’t know why everyone thinks I just wing it all the time.” Maggie reached out and grabbed Nikka’s hand. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

  She led her through a small mudroom to a back door, where she paused and gestured to a pair of old garden clogs by the washing machine. “Put those on.”

  Nikka had barely slid into the second one before Maggie flung the back door open. Nikka had to trot to catch up.

  “Look.” Maggie slid to a stop by a narrow trail next to a rock wall a hundred yards from the house.

  Nikka swiveled her head to look down the empty path. “At what?”

  “At that.” Maggie gestured to the granite boulder right in front of them. Filled with cracks and jutting bits, it rose up at nearly a ninety-degree angle for about twenty feet.

  “I’m sorry, what is this?” She glanced at Maggie, whose eyes were shining with excitement.

  “This is who I am.”

  “A rock wall?” Nikka laughed.

  “Not surprisingly, a lot of people would say I’m just as stubborn and as unmovable. But no. We’re talking philosophically.” She gently bumped Nikka’s shoulder. “Watch.”

  She leapt onto the wall as if on a spring and grabbed it with outstretched hands and feet. Swinging wildly from one foothold to another handhold, she climbed nimbly up its face until she pulled herself onto the lip.

  “See?” she called down to Nikka.

  “Not in the least.” Admittedly, she had been busy watching Maggie’s lithe body dangle right in front of her. When Maggie had switched her center of gravity, her muscles stretched and flexed across her entire body. Maggie had given her a full-body picture of who she was, and she had to admit, that was pretty nice. Nikka would bet hard money, though, that wasn’t what she was talking about.

  “Hold on.” Maggie darted back from the ledge and in a few moments came down the path to join Nikka. “Tell me what you saw?”

  “You scampering up that rock. Pretty impressive.”

  “Thanks. That’s what everyone sees, though. Me jumping in, willy-nilly, just hoping that I’ll get to the top one way or another. But it’s really like this.”

  She leapt back onto the wall.

  “Everyone looks at the hands, but really it’s all about the feet. See how I’m clutching the rock with my pinkie toes? Well, you can’t see since they’re in my sneakers, but I am. It’s called a back step, and it forces my hip to hug the wall, so I don’t fall off. Excellent footwork is the foundation that makes the climb look easy. It will free up your hands. That way, you can test holds before you commit. See?”

  “I’m beginning to.”

  “Right.” Maggie patted a round rock that jutted out from the face. “From the ground, this looks great. A jug, a kind of handhold that you can totally get your fingers around. But now that I’m up here, I see it’s not and this little guy over here is a much better choice.” She swung over to grab something with her fingertips that was so small Nikka couldn’t even see it.

  “Wow,” Nikka said, but she wasn’t sure if she was talking about the move or the fact that it put Maggie’s sexy ass on display again.

  “See? That’s why I get such a kick out of bouldering. It’s all about mental strength. You need to find the best possible solution on the fly.” She bounded off the rock back to Nikka’s side and found her gaze. “There’s no way to truly plan your route from the bottom, so why even try?”

  “I get it.” She did. She just didn’t know if she could live t
hat way. Up to now, if she didn’t have a plan, she would much rather stay on the ground and not climb anywhere.

  “I know it’s not the way most people do things. They think its rash or impulsive. But I think figuring out things as you go along is a gift that life gives you. Does that make any sense?”

  “Is that why they call it the present?”

  “Ha!” Maggie punched her shoulder playfully. “You do get it.”

  Maggie laughed, low and gentle, and Nikka loved how easily it came to her. She smiled back as that warm, fuzzy feeling from the night before spread throughout her again. Their gazes met, and Nikka pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, her breath coming a little faster than it should.

  For a moment, she was tempted to take that step forward, right into Maggie’s space. But even as her foot shuffled, the fear about what would come afterward checked her movement. Figuring it out as she went along? Must be nice, but, no, it just wasn’t in her DNA. They were too different. Forget what she felt last night…and right now.

  “We should probably get back.” She took a step back.

  When Maggie said nothing, she added, “I need to start the paperwork for Beth’s case. I’m afraid there aren’t going to be many footholds on the rocks we’re going to have to climb these next two days.”

  Maggie watched Nikka turn and head back to the house in silence. Her mother’s plastic clogs made squishing noises as Nikka walked. This wasn’t the way she had hoped to end that particular climb. While she had only brought Nikka out to explain who she was, she had thought that Nikka felt something just then, at the end. She knew she had. She swallowed hard and pushed down the butterflies that were still fluttering in her stomach.

  A pattern, and not a good one, was clearly developing between them. Every time they were alone together, things were going along swimmingly at first. There were stolen looks, enamored laughs, touches that tested the waters…and then…

  Bam, they lost their foothold and dangled helplessly by the rock face on ropes.

  She couldn’t figure it out. What was she doing wrong? She had never had trouble getting started with any of the women she had been interested in before.

  She sighed deeply. Maybe solving Beth’s problems was just putting too much pressure on them, or maybe she was more interested in this one than in all the women combined.

  The sound of tires skimming over the dirt driveway cut into her thoughts. Dr. Harvey was here.

  With his kind face and three-piece suit, he looked as if he had stepped out of a Norman Rockwell painting to make this house call. He held out his arms for a big hug. “You’ve caused quite a stir, young lady.” He squeezed her tight.

  “Just you wait. I’m not done yet.”

  “It’s the talk of the town. But I, for one, never thought you had kidnapped our local treasure.”

  “Thank you for that and for coming all this way. I’m not sure Beth is up, but we can wake her.”

  She filled him in on the little she knew about Beth’s condition as they entered the cabin. Nikka was just setting up her computer at the kitchen table, pushing up her sleeves as she prepared for work.

  “Dr. Harvey, this is Nikka Vaskin, Beth’s lawyer.” Why had she chosen this way to present Nikka and not “my friend” or even “one of the Steelhead Spring’s outlaws”? Admittedly, that last one was dumb, but “Beth’s lawyer” certainly made it clear what they were to each other.

  After they exchanged pleasantries, Maggie led the doctor to Beth’s room. When Josie opened the door, Beth was awake, sitting up in her bed, pillows bunched behind her. She looked tired; her eyes, puffy and swollen, held that haunted look that Maggie had seen off and on.

  “Beth,” Josie said, “here’s the doctor I was telling you about. No need to worry. He’s just going to examine you. I can go or stay. Whatever you want.”

  “Stay.”

  “Good morning, Ms. Walker. My name is Bernard Harvey.” He crossed to the bed and offered her his hand.

  “I’ll just wait in the kitchen.” Maggie withdrew.

  Hunched over her computer, Nikka was already tapping on the keyboard with a fierce focus that Maggie had rarely seen. No wonder why Lea had hired her.

  Suddenly shy in the face of so much concentration, she retrieved the groceries from the front seat of Dr. Harvey’s car and put them away. She tried to be as quiet as possible, but Nikka had eyes only for the computer.

  Maggie had poured herself a second cup of coffee and retired with an old copy of Heartwood to an overstuffed chair when Dr. Harvey made his way down the hall.

  “Well?” Maggie asked.

  “Good and bad news.”

  Nikka tapped out a few last words and joined them.

  “The good news is that physically she seems fine. She’s done most of the withdrawal on her own, and she could stop taking the opiates right now with little consequence. I drew blood, and my hope is that the tests will come back within normal range.”

  “And the bad news?” Maggie asked.

  “Clearly, there has been elder abuse. That’ll be a nasty bruise on her upper arm, and there’re older ones in other places. They’ll fade over time, of course, and luckily, there doesn’t seem to be any deeper critical damage.”

  Nikka sighed as Maggie closed her eyes for a moment, trying to block the image of Beth being hurt by Vivienne. It didn’t work.

  “I also think the reason she started taking those pills isn’t merely physical. Her ankle is weak and probably still hurts her, but aggressive physical therapy and Advil should help. No, there’s something much deeper in that woman that’s the cause of all this, and until you solve that mystery, our patient won’t be truly cured.”

  “Sounds like we need a different kind of doctor.” Maggie shared a long look with Nikka. Neither let their gazes drop. When it came to Beth, good to know that they were still on the same page.

  They had retrieved the gas can out of his trunk and said their good-byes to Dr. Harvey when Maggie’s phone yodel-ay-hee-hooed.

  Nikka jumped and looked around the driveway. “What the hell is that?”

  “Me.” Maggie pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

  “You take that rock-climbing metaphor everywhere, don’t you?”

  “It’s my brother.” She tapped the screen. “Hey, George, you’re on speaker.”

  “Who else is there?” he asked.

  “Nikka,” she said and then quickly added, “My friend.”

  Nikka, who had been scuffing the dirt with one foot, stilled at the word friend.

  Good? Bad? Maggie didn’t know.

  “Excellent.” They both returned their focus to the phone. “You both need to hear this. We drove out to Fern House, and the place is completely empty. No sign of Vivienne. It’s like she’s never been there. And we didn’t find any medication with Beth’s name on it anywhere.”

  “Nothing?” Maggie’s voice quivered.

  “That was quick.” Nikka shook her head, but she didn’t seem at all surprised.

  “So what’s your next move?” Maggie asked.

  “Nothing,” George said. “All we can do is hand the case over to the DA. If they want to pursue it, they can file charges, and then we can get into it more.”

  “Wait a sec—”

  “There’s no evidence. Come on, Mags, you got to see—”

  “Did you talk to Lea Truman?” Nikka brought composure back to the conversation.

  “We did. But she claims that she had no idea what was really going on out there. And there’s no evidence to suggest otherwise. She’s back in the City now.”

  “Of course she knew.” Maggie looked at Nikka for confirmation. Shockingly, she just shrugged.

  “Not as far as the law is concerned.” Her brother’s voice drifted out of the speaker. “She’s kept her hands very clean in all this. I’ve got to go. I’ll let you know if I find out anything else.”

  George ended the call on his end and left Maggie glaring at the phone in
her hand. She slammed it against her leg as she scowled at Nikka. “Surely, you aren’t going to let it go as easily as my brother?”

  Nikka stood in front of her, apparently deep in thought, the model of a Zen meditation: quiet breathing, relaxed muscles, serene eyes.

  “No,” Nikka said so quietly Maggie had to still her own mind to make sure she heard her right.

  “No?”

  Nikka reached out to cup her arm. Her touch was light, but just her fingers brushing her elbow made Maggie relax and take a deep breath.

  “No, of course not. Lea had Vivienne wrapped around her little finger, and that woman definitely would’ve done whatever it took to not disappoint her. Either they had a thing, or Lea made it seem like a thing. She’s ruthless, for sure. But we need to prove she’s a criminal, not just suspect it. That’s a million times harder.”

  Maggie rolled back on her heels. “So what do we do?”

  “We need to get Lea out of Beth’s life once and for all.”

  Maggie nodded. “How?”

  “First, Beth needs to officially fire Lea as her attorney. Then we’ll be in court first thing Monday morning to break the conservatorship. Let’s see how that all turns out, and then we can talk to the DA about criminal charges.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Nikka smiled. “What? Maggie Chalon following a plan?”

  “I’m not the only one who is trying something new. You started it when you said, ‘Let’s see how that all turns out.’”

  Nikka laughed. “I guess I did, didn’t I?”

  “Another page?” Josie asked.

  Beth opened one eye to look at her.