Met Her Match

by Jude Deveraux

  “What happened?”

  “They didn’t know anyone in town so no one knew the girl hadn’t gone with them. She went to the grocery and the sheriff stopped her and asked to see her license. She was a new driver and she’d left it at home.”

  “He didn’t put her in a cell, did he?”

  “Yes. The bad part was that he forgot about her. He and all three deputies were out in the crowds so the office was empty. He left that girl in the cell for forty-eight hours with no food or water.”

  Nate looked at her in horror.

  “It was awful. Her parents came back and couldn’t find her so they called the sheriff. The girl was passed out on the floor of the cell and had to be revived. She spent days in the hospital. Eventually, she was okay physically, but mentally, she was seriously traumatized.”

  “Was the sheriff prosecuted?”

  “No.” Stacy let out her breath. “He knew what was coming. He went to a cabin in the woods and drank bottles of whiskey. When they found him, he’d been dead for days.”

  “Some ending for a fairy tale!”

  “But don’t they all end like that? The evil queen sends the hunter after the beautiful young girl, that kind of thing.”

  “But in those stories the evil queen ends up being dissolved or something. Nothing bad has happened to Della. She still follows Brody around, still spies on people, still spreads rumors and makes people miserable.” He was getting angry. “She still—”

  Stacy put her hand on his arm. “Are you all right?”

  “Sure.” He opened the car door and got out. “What fabulous food did you bring for us?”

  “I went to a new restaurant just out of town. I think you’re going to love it.”

  “If you do, I’m sure I will.” He opened the trunk as Stacy got out.

  “It’s called Kale House. Just wait until you see the green eggs. They’re delicious and so very good for you!”

  * * *

  Stacy had spread the cloth on the sand, put the chairs beside it, then pulled out all the pretty containers and set them on the cloth. Nate had done nothing but look out at the water. His gaze was so intense that he looked like someone in the crow’s nest of a ship searching for whales. “Thar she blows,” she muttered.

  “Did you say something?”

  “Nothing important. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing for the last few days? Any funny stories?”

  Nate had skipped the chair and was sitting on the edge of the cloth. “Nothing worth repeating. Just a lot of people trying to get the most and the best. What about you? I’m sorry I didn’t get to your booth often enough.”

  “That’s all right. Terri helped me.”

  “Did she?” Nate turned his intense glare from the water to her. “You two talk about anything interesting?”

  “Not really. Just you.” Stacy was glad to see him lose his faraway look. “Don’t look so scared. It was just girl talk. Here, try one of these eggs.”

  He took it and stared at it. “Green food.”

  Stacy was getting tired of his odd comments. “Yes. Food is sometimes green. If you don’t like it I can—”

  Nate popped the egg in his mouth.

  Stacy was about to remark on his grimace when she looked behind him. “At last, she’s here. Wow.”

  “Who is?” When Nate looked up, he was so startled he began to choke. He grabbed a bottle of water.

  “Terri looks fabulous. I’ve never seen her like that.” Stacy glanced down at her outfit of white shorts that almost reached her knees and a navy halter top that only showed a few inches of midriff. “I feel completely overdressed. Is that bikini even legal?”

  At that, Nate stopped guzzling water and turned back around—and the sight made the egg and water fill his throat so that he started coughing and sputtering.

  Stacy absently patted his back as Terri and two gorgeous men walked toward them. “Terri, you look great. Where did you get that suit and that cover-up?”

  “Elaine’s. Today I’m a walking advertisement for her shop. You should stop by some time. Do we set up here?”

  “Sure. Anywhere. And I will definitely shop there.”

  Terri motioned to the young men who flanked her to put the cloth and the basket down. “Your food looks like it’s from Kale House.”

  “It is. Have you eaten there?”

  “I went with a friend and we ordered everything on the menu. You can’t have too much green food.”

  “That’s what Nate calls it too.” She glanced at him, but he had his back to them as he tried to calm down from his coughing attack. “I haven’t met your friends.”

  “They’re Turners,” Terri said in dismissal.

  “Brent,” one said.

  “And I’m Brett.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. I guess you’ve met my fiancé, Nate.”

  Nate had finally turned around to face them, but he said nothing.

  “We’ve seen him around, but we haven’t had a lot of conversation.”

  Stacy noted that Nate kept staring at Terri. While it did annoy her, she really couldn’t blame him. Terri was five-nine or -ten and most of her seemed to be long, slim legs. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on her. Actually there was hardly an ounce of anything on her. Her red bikini was so small it almost didn’t exist. She had on a white cover-up but it was a soft, completely transparent cotton voile. Nothing was concealed.

  All three of the men were gaping at her while the twins unpacked the picnic basket.

  “Mr. Parnelli made a meal for me,” Terri was saying. “He makes his own sausage and all the pasta is homemade. Help yourself.”

  “Dad bought some of his food,” Stacy said. “Too spicy for me, but Nate might like some.”

  Nate didn’t say anything, but he was staring at Terri in a way that Stacy really didn’t care for. “Terri,” she said, “you’ll never believe who called me last night. Someone you greatly admire.”

  “Chris Hemsworth?”

  “No, but close. Billy Thorndyke.”

  Terri was leaning back on the cloth, all of what looked to be four feet of her legs before her, but she abruptly sat up straight. “Billy? How is he? Where is he? What’s he doing now?”

  Stacy smiled warmly. “He called me with a job offer. His uncle now owns the Thorndyke house and the old stable. He’s going to make the house into apartments and divide the stables into two houses. He wants me to decorate them and your father to handle the rental.”

  “That’s really great.” Terri gave a quick glance at Nate, who still hadn’t said a word. “But didn’t you put an office on the ground floor?”

  “I did, but there’s still the upstairs and isn’t there an apartment downstairs? I only went to a few parties there. What’s the upstairs like?”

  Brett handed Terri a sandwich, ciabatta bread slathered in mustard, with sliced beef, pickled peppers and homegrown tomatoes. She bit into it. “This is so good. Best I’ve ever had. Soooo spicy.” She glanced at the pretty little containers on Stacy’s cloth. “Is that a kale salad? The one with cranberries?”

  “Yes, it is. Want some?”

  “No, thanks. This is enough. Oh, thanks.” Brett had leaned forward and used a napkin to wipe a bit of mustard from the corner of her mouth. “Food like this makes me such a pig. Could one of you get me a cold beer?”

  Brent opened one and handed it to her. “Now, where was I? Oh yes, dear Billy and that wonderful house. The attic is huge. Billy and I used to spend a lot of time up there. We’d...” Terri gave a little giggle. “Never mind what we were doing. But yeah, I could see that you could divide it up easily.”

  “Billy mentioned his grandmother’s place downstairs. What’s it like?”

  Terri smiled. “It’s very nice. When I was there, it was packed with years of family things. How did Billy sound?”<
br />
  “Good. He asked about you. Asked if I’d give you his contact info.” She looked at Terri in question.

  “Sure. I’d love to have it.” She watched as Stacy pulled an envelope out of her handbag and handed it to her.

  “Billy said he had to go to class. He’s just finishing school and—”

  “School in what?”

  “Law, I guess. Didn’t Billy say he wanted to be a lawyer?”

  Terri looked out at the water, her voice quiet. “Billy wanted to save the world. Damn! I miss him. Is he married? Children?”

  “Neither,” Stacy said. “I did ask about that.”

  Terri was silent for a moment, then she said, “But his office is there.” She didn’t look at Nate but jerked her head toward him. “Be careful not to rent to any single females. They’ll be attracted to him. Overwhelmed with attraction. Lots of attraction!” Abruptly, she stood up and dropped the cover she wore to the sand. Her long body was sleek, tightly muscled—and barely covered. She was like a model for a statue of a Greek goddess.

  “How about a swim?” she said over her shoulder to the twins. She didn’t give them time to answer before she started running toward the water. The twins followed her.

  Stacy watched them until they reached the lake and began to swim, then she turned to Nate. “What the hell did you do to her?”

  Nate had reached across the cloth to pick up one of Mr. Parnelli’s sandwiches. “Me? I didn’t say a word.”

  “You’ve done something to make Terri angry and I want to know what it was.”

  “Nothing,” he said. “I did nothing to her.” He dropped the sandwich back onto the cloth, but Stacy didn’t stop staring at him. “I made a remark about Terri being attracted to somebody and she didn’t like it. That’s all it was.”

  Stacy looked around the beach. There were some couples and a few families, several of whom she knew, and the lifeguard in his high tower. The last thing she wanted to do was get into an argument in public.

  They sat in silence as they watched the people splashing in the lake. Most of them were tossing a ball and giving rides to children. But Terri was cutting the water with long, strong strokes. The twins were trying to keep up with her but couldn’t do it. “She’s really fast,” Stacy said.

  “She’s holding back.”

  There was such admiration in his voice that she looked at him sharply, but his eyes never left the trio in the water.

  After about thirty minutes they returned—and everyone on the beach, young and old, paused to watch Terri stride across the sand.

  “I think I should take one of your summer jobs here,” Stacy said when Terri put the cover-up back on. “It would get me in shape better than forty minutes a day in a gym.”

  “Sure,” Terri said. “We’ll get you to help the guy who cleaned out the old motor shed. He always needs help with everything he does.”

  When the twins turned away to hide what looked to be laughs at some inside joke, Stacy frowned. What she’d hoped would be a pleasant outing was turning into a disaster. Something was going on, and they were all part of it but she wasn’t.

  “I need to...” Terri waved her hand. “I should check on some Widiwick business so I’d better leave.” She looked at the twins. “You two can stay if you want.”

  “We’re with you.” Brett started to fling things into the basket. But he pulled something heavy, wrapped in black cloth, out of the bottom, handed it to Terri, and she took it.

  “I nearly forgot. This belonged...” Terri hesitated. “To my mother. I thought you might like to use it in your booth. It kind of fits your theme.”

  Stacy took it and peeled back the cloth. Inside was a bowl on a short pedestal with a finely sculpted dragon wrapped around it. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s also valuable,” Nate said. “It’s seventeenth-century silver. You can’t leave this out in your booth.”

  “I agree,” Stacy said. “Too many people and I couldn’t guard it properly. But it is quite lovely. Where did your mother get it?”

  Terri held it up to the sun. It needed polishing but the cloth had kept it from turning black so the light flashed off it. “I have no idea.”

  Nate stood up and took the ornament out of her hands. “You’re drawing attention to it.” He quickly wrapped it back in the cloth. “Where was this kept?”

  “In the hall closet in the top. How valuable is it?”

  “Very. I’ve seen ones like it in palaces. You should have it appraised, insured and keep it in Brody’s safe.”

  Stacy, sitting on the cloth, was looking up at the two of them. Both were tall and strong. And they were standing very, very close. Turning her head, she saw the twins watching her. It was as if they expected something from her, but she didn’t know what.

  Terri took a step backward, away from Nate, then held out her hand. He gave the bowl to her. “We’re going,” she said. She looked at Stacy. “I’ll see you tomorrow and good luck on your booth. I hope you get twenty commissions.” Terri was walking backward, both twins beside her. “If you need anything, you have my number. Thanks for the info on Billy. I’ll call him tonight.”

  “I think it’s time you did, don’t you?” Stacy said.

  “Yes!” Terri grinned. “I do think now is exactly the right time.” She gave a wave, then headed toward the road. She was almost there when the lifeguard began blowing his whistle loudly and urgently.

  Terri didn’t hesitate. She tossed the silver bowl at a twin and started running, her long legs eating up the distance. She slowed at the picnic cloth and tossed the cover-up down.

  Nate was waiting for her. “Man overboard. Probably drunk.” He nodded toward a boat, turning about in the water, its motor going.

  When Terri started running again, Nate was beside her.

  Behind them, the twins stayed with Stacy. “Why is Nate doing this? Shouldn’t the lifeguard be going out to help?” she asked them.

  “He’s just a kid and he knows to leave this to them,” Brent said.

  “To them?” Stacy asked. “I don’t understand. Why is Nate doing this? He’s not a lifeguard. He’s a diplomat. He talks to people. He—” Her voice was rising.

  Brett slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Nate will be fine and he knows what he’s doing. He’s had a lot of practice.”

  His twin looked at him sharply.

  “I mean, Nate learns fast and he’s good at swimming.”

  “He’s spent the last twelve years in a desert,” Stacy said. “He can ride camels. He can—” She broke off as Nate and Terri hit the deep water. They were swimming together, side by side.

  The lifeguard’s tower was empty since he was by the lake getting everyone out. She ran to it and climbed up the side so she could see. Nate and Terri were swimming—exactly alike, she thought. They looked like the swimmers in the Olympics, their faces under the water most of the time, their arms extended, their feet making only small movements.

  Heavens! but they were beautiful! Like human dolphins. Slicing through the water like they’d been born in it, their movements synchronized, perfectly in time with each other.

  The twins had climbed up the other side of the tower. “I had no idea Nate was so graceful in the water.” When Stacy looked at them they gave weak smiles. She got the idea she wasn’t supposed to see something. But what?

  When Nate and Terri reached the boat, Stacy drew in her breath. Everyone on the beach was watching in silence and they could hear the motor running. It was like a multibladed guillotine in the water. If any of them hit the whirring rudder they would be cut into pieces.

  Brett was hanging onto the tower with his arm through a rung. He was still holding the silver bowl.

  Stacy watched as Nate put his hands on the side of the boat and pulled himself up. Looked like all those muscles of his were being put to use. But Terri swam t
o the far side of the boat, out of sight of the people on the beach. “What’s she doing?”

  “He knows Terri can find the guy, but she can’t lift him into the boat. That’s what Nate does.”

  “What he does? How many times have they rescued people?”

  “Four,” Brett said, then backtracked. “I think, but I could be wrong.”

  Nate and Terri rescued four people together, Stacy thought. But he’d not mentioned that in any of their phone calls or emails.

  She looked back at the boat. Nate had turned off the motor and he was leaning over the side, pointing to Terri. He went to the other side of the boat and Terri swam around.

  “Shouldn’t someone call 911?” Stacy asked.

  “The lifeguard did. The EMTs will be waiting at the dock for them. They know they can’t get to the scene as fast as Nate and Terri can.”

  “And they know this from practice, do they?” She looked back to the water because the people had begun to count. It didn’t take much to know that they were counting the seconds Terri had been underwater. “Thirty-six, 37, 38.” Stacy began counting with them. “Forty-eight, 49, 50.” Please, she prayed.

  Nate put his foot on the side of the boat. He was going down to get Terri.

  But then she came up, and her hands were under the arms of a young man whose head was to one side. She held him up to Nate, who pulled the guy into the boat and began resuscitation on him.

  With what looked to be a very practiced gesture, Nate dropped his arm down toward the water. Terri grabbed his wrist with both her hands and Nate lifted her straight up.

  They didn’t seem to speak but just set to work on the young man.

  From the shore, no one could tell what was going on inside the boat. Was the man alive or not? The onlookers seemed to collectively hold their breath. Not even the kids were restless as they stood there in stony immobility and waited.