“Sit,” she said to Lady, also giving her a hand signal, and sit Lady did. She gave her an affectionate pat under the chin and “good girl” animated praise. That positive reinforcement was all-important.
Bella’s picture stared at her from the surface of her phone so she answered the call. “I’m at puppy training class,” she told Bella.
“I know, but I can’t get hold of Nikki, and I didn’t want to bother Mom because she’s grading exams and it’s cold out—”
“What do you need?”
Grant looked toward her with a questioning eye because he could obviously hear her. She just shrugged.
“Joe’s not here,” Bella said. “He took Megan and Timmy to the movies, so they’d have some fun time together. But Benny has a fever of one hundred, and he’s stuffy. I called the doctor and she said to watch his fever, but she also said a cool mist humidifier would help. The one I had for Megan when she was little stopped running and I ditched it. Can you possibly go the drugstore and pick one up for me? He’s so little to have a stuffy nose and I’m worried.”
Of course, Bella was worried. What mother wouldn’t be? And she was trying to juggle everyone and everything in her life. Bella wasn’t good at juggling. She liked things in order, unlike Caprice who was much more used to accepting the lemons life threw at her. So that’s what she did now.
“I’ll leave right now, but I’ll have to bring Lady along. Are you okay with that?”
Bella believed animals were nothing but more work and trouble. She didn’t see them the same way Caprice did.
“It’s fine,” her sister said with a resigned sigh. “I just need the humidifier.”
When Caprice ended the call, Grant moved closer to her, Patches by his side. “Problem?”
“How do you know I wasn’t just talking to an old friend?” she asked.
“Because the corners of your lips were turned down. When you talk to an old friend, you smile,” he said acerbically.
Relenting, she told him, “It was Bella. Benny’s sick, and she needs a cool mist humidifier. I’m going to leave and get her one.”
“Lady will miss the second half of the class.”
“Can’t be helped.”
“Actually, it can be. The next part of the session is mostly socializing with the other dogs. I’ve watched Patches and Lady in the dog park when you see somebody you know. I can handle them both.”
She considered leaving Lady here with Patches. Patches was basically a middle pack dog. He was friendly and easygoing, and usually compliant. She knew Lady bordered on a lower pack dog. She liked to keep close by and quickly responded to rewards and corrections. She avoided conflict with Caprice’s cat, Sophia, though she did enjoy a good chase. Caprice knew Grant would be good with her pup and watch out for her.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“No, I don’t mind. I’ll take Lady home with me. You can pick her up when you’re through at Bella’s. Let’s go get her crate so I’ll have that, too.”
Since Grant had adopted Patches, he mostly worked from home. He’d insisted that once Patches was less exuberant, he’d work out of his office in Vince’s law business downtown and take Patches to work with him. But for now, this arrangement seemed to suit him. She realized the qualities she admired in him when dealing with Patches were qualities he’d probably gained as a dad. Only, he never talked about that because being a father had ended in tragedy. Losing a child had led to his divorce. However, that divorce and a change in lifestyle had also encouraged him to set up practice with Vince in Kismet.
Yes, she could entrust Lady’s care to Grant. She was sure of it.
Forty-five minutes later, Caprice held Benny while Bella set up the cool mist humidifier in the master bedroom. That’s where they’d placed his crib for now.
Caprice lowered her lips to the baby’s head and smelled baby shampoo. His warm little body in her arms, she felt protective as she walked him around the room, crooning to him, rocking him a little. A twinge of something that didn’t often nudge her felt almost painful now. What was that? A desire to be a mother? Was that why she took in strays? Because she had the need to nurture? Nevertheless, being a mother meant more than nurturing. She was aware of that.
Unbidden, she thought of Seth Randolph—the doctor she’d dated last summer and now e-mailed with more infrequency than she’d like—in the role of husband and father. Next, her focus switched to thoughts of Grant. Neither man was ready for married life or babies, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t. If she reached a certain age and still wasn’t married, she could consider adopting a baby. Marriage was complicated. Two people had to compromise. They should be real partners, had to have the same values, even think alike most of the time. Maybe raising a child would be better if she did it on her own.
After Bella set up the humidifier and it was running, she took little Benedict from Caprice’s arms. Caprice felt that wistful longing still remained.
“I’m going to change him and see if I can get him to fall asleep. He likes the swing you and Nikki gave him. Maybe he’ll fall asleep in that.”
“So he likes motion.”
“He always falls asleep in the car, but with it so cold and icy out, I don’t want to take him for a drive.”
“I can understand that.”
Bella glanced at her. “You’re good with him.”
“You sound surprised.”
“You weren’t that interested when Megan and Timmy were little.”
“Maybe I’m older and wiser.”
Bella laughed. “Aren’t we all.”
Bella was two years younger than Caprice, Nikki two years older. But since Bella had married when she was young, sometimes she seemed like the big sister. She was certainly always ready to give advice, not so ready to take it. But that was Isabella Santini.
Expertly fastening the diaper, she said, “Joe went online and registered a domain name for me.”
“Really? What did you get?”
“CostumesByBella.com. What else?”
Bella sewed Halloween costumes for kids and had sold a few to friends, as well as to parents at Megan and Timmy’s school. Now she was going to go at it in a more businesslike way.
She went on. “Joe found this place we could set up a free Web site, but it will serve our purposes for now.”
“Our?”
Bella shrugged. “I don’t know if Joe’s going to want to have much to do with my business or not. He sees how tired I am at the end of the day and he’s being helpful. Dana at the Cupcake House wants me to make a bunny costume for one of the employees for Easter. I said I would.”
“You could have a real specialty business.”
“I don’t know about that, but the extra income would be nice, at least until I go back to work at Roz’s boutique. Joe’s not too thrilled with that idea.”
Caprice hoped they could figure it out and Bella’s working wouldn’t cause dissention in their marriage.
“So you have an open house this coming weekend?” Bella asked as she settled Benny in the swing and wound up the mechanism.
“I do. At Chet and Louise Downing’s.”
“Louise and Mom have been friends forever,” Bella acknowledged, watching her son with a mother’s affectionate eye.
“I’m just hoping the weather cooperates.” That was Caprice’s main concern. “I don’t need a blizzard on Saturday.”
“Have you checked the extended forecast?”
“So far, so good. But you know how that goes. Maybe weathermen have better tools than they used to have, but one inch of snow could turn into six, and rain could change to sleet if the temperature drops just a degree.”
So Caprice wouldn’t take a relaxed breath until Saturday morning came with no precipitation or sign of it.
Suddenly there was the sound of voices in the living room. Bella and Joe’s bedroom was located at the back of the house, so they hadn’t heard the garage door go up. Seconds later, Joe was in the doorway, his coa
t still on.
After a look at Benny and the humidifier, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“A fever and a stuffy nose. I’m trying to make him more comfortable,” Bella told him. “Caprice stopped for the humidifier for me.”
“I’ll pay you,” Joe said.
“You don’t have to,” Caprice started but then stopped. Joe was a proud man, and he and Bella were trying to get their finances back in order after a big upheaval last summer.
“If you want, you can. I have the receipt in my purse.”
Joe called to Timmy and Megan, “Climb into your pj’s, kids, then you can have a cookie and say goodnight to your mom and Aunt Caprice.”
“I’ll get that receipt,” Caprice said as she headed for the living room. She passed the kids in the hall and gave both of them hugs, asked them about the movie, and listened while they chattered for a few minutes. She noticed Joe was watching her, and she wondered if he was eager for her to leave.
After Megan and Timmy went to their rooms, she headed for the living room. To her surprise, Joe followed.
Out of earshot of the bedroom, he said, “I’ve got to make this quick so Bella doesn’t suspect anything.”
Puzzled, Caprice asked, “Make what quick?”
“I want to do something special for Bella for Valentine’s Day. I can’t afford expensive jewelry, and do you know what a dozen roses cost right now?”
Caprice had to smile. “I do, because I order them for home-stagings.”
He shook his head. “One rose in a vase looks feeble. I want to do more than that. Do you have any suggestions?”
Joe asking for suggestions from her had to be a first. She gave it serious thought.
“My guess is, right now Bella might like something that makes her feel good rather than something she could hold in her hand. I mean, I’m sure she’d appreciate a romantic card, but I was thinking along the lines of a gift certificate to get her hair done at Curls R Us, or maybe a massage at Green Tea Spa.”
“Green Tea Spa. Your doctor got your mom a spa day there for her birthday, didn’t he? That place is pretty expensive.”
Seth had indeed gifted her mother with a spa day at Green Tea. He was thoughtful that way, just as he’d been thoughtful when he’d sent her a dozen roses after their first date.
Pushing that thought aside, she said, “You can buy a gift certificate for just a massage. They even run coupons in the Kismet Crier. You can check their site online.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“I do have them once in a while,” she kidded him.
But Joe’s expression turned serious. “Bella and I have talked about putting the house up for sale now that the market’s picking up. I’m looking for a bigger house. Now might be a good time to clinch a deal. There are bargains out there, I’ve heard. You’d know about that, wouldn’t you?”
She mostly signed on high-end clients now, but she did, of course, have contacts in the real estate business. “I can keep an ear out if you tell me what you’re looking for.”
“The big thing is four bedrooms, and maybe a basement we can make into a playroom. We’re bursting at the seams here. We’ve talked to Father Gregory about it and he thinks we all need a little more room, a little privacy. I mean, the baby’s in our room.”
Again Caprice had to smile. That certainly didn’t lend to a couple’s intimacy.
“Bella’s on the alert with every breath he takes. That’s another reason she’s not getting enough sleep.”
So Joe wasn’t only concerned about himself and his needs. He was concerned about Bella. Maybe, just maybe, this couple was going to have a happy Valentine’s Day this year.
Fifteen minutes later, Grant answered the door with a serious expression on his face after Caprice rang his doorbell.
“Is everything all right?” she asked before stepping inside.
The corner of Grant’s lip quirked a little. “Lady didn’t even miss you.”
He pointed inside his living room where a sports channel was playing. Both dogs lay side by side with the requisite chew toys tossed haphazardly nearby. They didn’t even look up when Caprice walked in.
“A sports channel. Not even HGTV!” she said with mock outrage.
“I’m raising a male.”
“And I’m raising a female to go beyond her gender boundaries. She’s heard of the Ravens and the Orioles.”
“What about the Pirates and the Steelers?” he countered.
Caprice waved her hand in front of her. “Too many sports teams will just confuse her.”
Grant gave a chuckle, then sobered. “How did it go with your sister?”
“I don’t think she’s going to get much sleep tonight. Joe either. It’s that way with a sick baby.”
She said it thinking about Grant’s life now, not his life as it used to be. These days, he seemed like a bachelor with no cares besides work . . . and Patches. When she gazed into his eyes, though, there was still pain there.
“I remember how it was with a baby,” he said evenly.
His child had drowned in a pool, and nothing had been the same after that. Maybe sometime he’d talk to her about it. She had the feeling that until he did, they’d never really get close.
Is close what she wanted, when Seth Randolph was still on the fringes of her mind?
Moving closer to the dogs, he said, “I can switch channels if you want a beer. No wine in the house. Vince hasn’t brought any over lately.”
Her brother thought of himself as a wine connoisseur of sorts. When they had their family dinners once a month, she and Bella and Nikki, her mom and nana, even her dad sometimes, cooked and Vince usually brought the wine. But that was okay. Everyone contributed something.
She hadn’t been in Grant’s town house before. Usually they met at her place or the dog park. His living room was furnished in black leather and gray suede. Somehow, sitting here with him in his dim living room with the dogs lazily resting close by, just didn’t seem like a good idea. Maybe she was the one who was skittish. Maybe she was the one who wasn’t sure of what she wanted. At age thirty-two, she certainly should be sure. But her experiences since last May—meeting Seth, solving two murders—had shaken up her life a bit.
“I’d better get going,” she murmured.
But Grant was never easy. He never let anything just pass by. “Come to think of it, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you drink a beer.”
“Of course, I drink beer. I’m not a wine snob. You know Rolling Rock? I like Rolling Rock.”
He laughed out loud. “Well, if you know Rolling Rock, then you really must know beer.”
“Actually, it’s what my grandpop used to drink.”
“Nana Celia’s husband?”
“Yep. He’d slip me a quarter of an inch in a glass when no one was looking.”
While there was still peace between them, and still an easy atmosphere, Caprice went to pick up Lady’s leash, fuchsia in color, which was lying over the coffee table. She’d just looped it over her arm, ready to wake Lady, when her cell phone vibrated, then played.
The caller couldn’t be Bella. She’d just left there. Taking it from her blazer pocket, she saw it was her mom.
She held the phone to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”
“Something awful has happened,” her mother said, sounding close to tears. “Louise was taken to the hospital.”
Chapter Three
Caprice felt as if she’d had the air knocked out of her. “What happened? Louise was perfectly fine on Saturday. Did she catch the flu? Was she in an accident?”
Louise and her mom were best friends, so she could only imagine what her mother was feeling.
“No one’s exactly sure what happened,” her mom explained. “Rachel was out. When she came home, she found her. It was some kind of stomach upset and then her heart condition factored in, so Rachel called nine-one-one and that’s all I know. Chet called me, beside himself. He’s pacing the emergency room while they do tests o
n her. He thinks they’re going to admit her. I asked if he wanted me to come down there and he said that would be useless tonight. But if they do admit her, of course, she’d want me to visit tomorrow. I’d take a personal day, but we have midterm exams.”
Louise was one of those mavens of Kismet who had tons of friends. She belonged to the Garden Club and was involved in a multitude of charities. But how many close friends did she have? She and her mom went way back and that made a difference in friendship.
Caprice thought about Roz Winslow, the high school friend who’d gotten caught up in a murder investigation. She and Caprice had reinvigorated their friendship, and now were almost as close as sisters again. Good friends were so important.
“Mom, I know you want to be with Louise, but it might be useless to take the day off without knowing her condition, and how long she’ll be there. I’ll call the hospital in the morning and if I can, I’ll go in and visit.”
“I’d go during lunch if I could, but I wouldn’t have enough time to make it to York and back.”
Kismet wasn’t large enough to have its own hospital. They had doctors and an urgent care center where Seth had worked. But for a hospital, Kismet residents had to travel to York, about twenty minutes away.
“If Louise is there and can have visitors, I’ll tell her you’ll be there as soon as school dismisses.”
“I don’t want to let her down,” her mother said. “There were many times she backed me up when I needed someone to stay with you kids. Remember when Nikki was in that biking accident when she was sixteen? Your father was on a job site and I couldn’t reach him. Louise was with me when I got the call, and she didn’t hesitate to drive me to the hospital and stay with me and Nikki until she was taken care of . . . until your father arrived. I haven’t seen her as much as I’d like over the past few years. She seemed to grow a little distant. But we’re still good friends, and friends help each other in the rough times.”
Gilt by Association Page 3