by Jane Toombs
Sonia came into the living room, glanced around and said, “Is your cousin Aino around? I’d like to meet him.”
“Aino’s in the hospital.” Rachel went on to tell her what had happened, beginning with Mikel’s opportune arrival and the events that followed. “The doctor says Aino may be coming home by tomorrow,” she finished. “He’ll have to have physical therapy for a while, though.”
Sonia clapped her hands together. “How remarkable! Fate has surely taken a hand in this. From what you’ve told me, my dear Rachel, I can’t help but believe I was sent here for a purpose. Mikel may not have told you, but I am a trained physical therapist and I can work right here at home with your cousin. That would save him trips to the hospital to have the therapy.”
Somewhat taken aback, Rachel said, “That’s very kind of you, but Aino will have to decide what he wants to do.”
“How old a man is he?”
Trying to be tactful, since she had no idea how old Sonia was, Rachel said, “A few years your senior, anyway.”
Sonia nodded. “Then he’ll take the suggestion better from me than from you. When I’ve rested, I’ll have Mikel take me to visit him.”
Seeing that Mikel’s grandmother had a mind of her own equivalent to Aino’s hardheadedness, Rachel decided it might be best to let the two of them confront each other rather than for her to get into the middle of a no-win situation.
“Would you like something to eat? A cup of coffee?” Rachel asked.
“A cup of tea would be welcome. I’ll take it up to my room. A lovely room, by the way. I do enjoy old houses. They have such character.”
Later, with Sonia upstairs with her hot tea and her suitcase, Rachel left the house, planning to go into town and visit Aino before supper. Mikel, sitting on the back porch, intercepted her.
“I keep trying to tell Sonia the truth,” he said, “but she’s like an eel, always slipping away.”
“She probably doesn’t want to hear it.”
“That’s likely. I overheard her offer to become Aino’s therapist. Are you going to warn him?”
“I’ll tell him your grandmother is visiting and will be coming to see him tonight with you. Let the two of them work it out.”
He gave her a commiserating look. “I don’t blame you. Sorry to have placed you in this awkward position.”
Rachel found herself supporting him. “One you couldn’t foresee.”
“I should have, knowing my grandmother. I’ll do what I can to try to talk her out of her decision.”
“I suppose she really is a qualified physical therapist?”
“New York State says so, and until she retired, she earned a respectable income practicing it.”
“I have this feeling Sonia will prevail, no matter what Aino’s objections. She just ignores what she doesn’t want to hear.” Rachel sighed. “I sort of envy her the knack. Well, I’m off.”
At the hospital, she found Aino prowling around his room without using the walker he’d been given. “Feel like a caged bobcat,” he told her. “What I need is to be home.”
“Tomorrow’s not that far off,” she countered, then told him to expect company after supper.
“Mikel’s grandmother?” He scowled. “I’m expected to entertain some old biddy?”
“Sonia doesn’t really fit into that category.”
He grunted, obviously unconvinced. “You haven’t told me how Mikel did with the Scouts.”
“They want him to come on next week’s camp-out, so I’d say he did okay.”
“Start at the beginning.”
So she did, which took her a while. By the time she finished, Aino was chuckling. “No flies on that boy.”
Before she left, she told him she intended to call Eva’s friend in New York and leave a message there for Eva to call home. “She ought to know what happened to her grandfather, even if you are better.”
He shrugged. Eyeing him, Rachel wished she could tell him straight out why Mikel had come to Ojibway, so she could share her unease with someone.
But that wouldn’t be fair, considering he was still recuperating. She’d just have to wait until Eva called. Even then, there were some things about Mikel she couldn’t share with Eva—or anyone else. The way he made her feel, for example.
When she returned home, Rachel discovered the table set and Sonia bustling about in the kitchen fixing beef stroganoff.
“You didn’t have to cook supper,” Rachel said.
Sonia smiled at her. “And why not? This I could make in my sleep.”
“But you’re a guest.”
“Guests can’t cook?”
Knowing when she was outflanked, Rachel subsided. “It’s very good of you. I’ll make a salad.”
“That’s done, dear. And I have peach cobbler in the oven. You go on and find Mikel.”
“I do have a few chores to do,” Rachel said hastily.
“Farm work is never done, as my own dear departed mother often said. Which was one of the reasons I left the old country. Now I find I miss the old ways—even gathering eggs. Do you have chickens?”
Rachel shook her head. “Not anymore. Just the cow.”
“A farm should have chickens. Nothing tastes the same as a really fresh egg.”
Wondering if their lives would ever be the same by the time Sonia left, Rachel escaped to the field where the cow grazed, then brought the animal back to the barn to be milked. Afterward she washed up and found Mikel helping his grandmother put the food on the table. Feeling like a visitor in her own home, Rachel let him seat her.
As she’d suspected, the meal was delicious. Though she’d known Sonia only for a matter of hours, Rachel was beginning to believe there was little Mikel’s grandmother didn’t do well. But, of course, she hadn’t yet come up against Aino.
After they ate, Rachel insisted on doing the cleanup.
“So thoughtful of you, dear,” Sonia said. “This way Mikel and I can get to the hospital early and make our visit short so we don’t tire the poor man out.”
On the way to the hospital, Mikel did his best to get his grandmother to listen to him about Rachel.
“You don’t have to explain,” Sonia told him. “It doesn’t matter whether you’ve known her for a day or for years. What attracts a man to a woman and a woman to a man doesn’t depend on how long an acquaintance they’ve had.”
“You’re missing the point,” he said. “I came up here on a case and—”
“So? Is there some law that says you can’t meet a nice girl while you’re on a case?”
“But that’s just it. Rachel—”
Sonia sailed on. “She’s as smitten as you are, that’s easy to see. She watches you constantly.” Smiling, she added, “And why not? All the Starzov men have been handsome devils.”
“She watches me?” Mikel said, distracted for the moment.
“When you’re not looking at her. I was quite amused at the table about the way the two of you try to pretend.”
“Just what do you imagine we’re pretending about?”
“That you are not physically attracted to each other, of course. Really, Mikel, I am not blind. Nor stupid.”
Taken aback at her acuteness—he certainly did have visions of Rachel in his bed—he began to wonder if Sonia was also right about Rachel. What did she feel for him, if anything? Before he knew it, they’d arrived at the hospital and he still hadn’t straightened out Sonia.
They found Aino sitting in a chair in his room. As Mikel was making introductions, Sonia approached the chair. Nodding to Aino, she said, “Your left side, is it?”
He glared at her.
“Now, now, no need for that,” she scolded. “I’m a registered physical therapist and will be supervising your exercises.”
“You’re what?” he growled.
“I believe you heard me.” Her tone was firm. “I don’t coddle my patients. You know and I know what you need to do to recover as much as possible, and so we will work together getting you th
ere.”
Aino glanced at Mikel, who shrugged and admitted, “Grandma Sonia is a therapist.”
“Of course I had no idea you even existed when I came to visit Mikel,” Sonia said. “Call it serendipity. Naturally, as a guest in your home, I wouldn’t think of charging you.”
Aino’s scowl faded. “No charge, hey? You any good?”
“Very good.”
“Getting kind of old for it, I’d say.”
Sonia gave him a speaking look. “Do I look decrepit?”
Aino leaned back in the chair, deliberately giving her a once-over. “Not so’s a man can see,” he admitted finally.
“I’ll get my instructions from your doctor and talk to the hospital therapist before you leave tomorrow,” she told him, the finality in her tone suggesting the matter was settled.
Mikel, expecting some kind of protest from Aino, was surprised when all he did was nod. But as they were saying their farewells, Aino got in what seemed to be the last word. “Mind you, Sonia Starzov, if there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s a pushy woman.”
Sonia, at the door, turned and smiled sweetly. “Isn’t it fortunate, then, Aino Saari, that I’m not one?”
Even-steven, Mikel decided as they drove back to the farm. Sonia chattered all the way, commenting on everything they passed, not giving him a chance to get a word in edgewise.
As he helped her from the car at the farm, she said, “I’d dearly love to take a short stroll in this marvelous northern twilight. Do run in and ask Rachel to join us.”
At that moment, Rachel came around the corner of the house. “I was sitting on the back porch and heard you drive up. Where would you like to walk?”
“Oh, just a turn around the outside of the house—to help me sleep, you know,” Sonia told her.
They set off, Sonia in the middle, telling Rachel about the visit with Aino. “He promises to be an interesting patient,” she finished.
Mikel and Rachel looked at each other. “Interesting seems a mild word,” Mikel remarked.
“I find it a useful one.” Sonia stopped and pointed. “Those seem to be the stairs to the back porch. I do believe it’s time for me to call it a day.”
All three climbed up to the porch. “I’m sure you two have things to talk about,” Sonia told them. “I’m used to fending for myself so I’ll just say good-night now.” She opened the inside door and disappeared into the kitchen.
Mikel glanced at Rachel, “Let’s sit down before we get into our ‘things.’”
He motioned toward the porch swing.
When they were seated, gently gliding back and forth, Rachel said, “Your grandmother is one of a kind.”
“Like Aino?”
She nodded. “You realize she left us alone on purpose. Which means you haven’t told her the truth yet.”
He sighed. “She doesn’t make that easy.” Leaning back, he gazed at the darkening sky where stars were beginning to be visible and listened to the piping of tree frogs. “This is a peaceful spot.”
“You sound as though you don’t get much of that.”
“You’re right.” His arm, lying along the back of the swing, brushed against her hair, a casual-enough contact. Why, then, could he feel it all the way down to his toes? He turned toward her. “Rachel, look at me.”
He’d meant to say something about—what? When her gaze met his, all thought vanished. Bending his head, he found her lips, warm and soft and so enticing he wrapped his arms around her to hold her closer. Caught up in a fiery burst of need, he deepened the kiss, tasting her sweetness and feeling her eager response.
The heat built between them until he was no longer aware of the evening sounds. He lost contact with where he was, the only reality was Rachel, here in his arms, infinitely desirable. He wanted more, wanted all of her.
Rachel had never felt so thoroughly kissed. Mikel’s taste became a potent lure, urging her on, making her press closer and closer to him. Nothing that felt this wonderful could be wrong, it wasn’t wrong to let herself go, to reach out for what she needed so desperately. He was what she’d always wanted but couldn’t have. This time she’d forget everything, everything except Mikel….
Chapter Six
As they sat entwined together on the porch swing, Mikel’s hands, warm and caressing, slipped under her T-shirt to cup her breast and she made an involuntary sound of pleasure.
“Rachel,” he murmured against her lips.
The sound of her name brought her out of her erotic daze, reminding her that she didn’t dare to let herself go, not with anyone—and especially not Mikel. Though she wanted so badly to stay in his arms, she forced herself to push him away. “No,” she said hoarsely, “I can’t.”
There was no explanation she could give him. Getting up, she fled into the house and up to her bedroom, where she sat on the edge of her bed, trying to dispel the emotions he’d aroused. No, the emotions she’d allowed him to arouse in her. Tears blurred her eyes, forcing her to remove her contacts. She hugged herself, letting the tears run down her cheeks, holding to her lifelong habit of not making a sound. Crying showed weakness and she’d always had to be strong. When the tears did come, anyway, it was best to get it over with quietly, so no one knew.
Why couldn’t she be like any other woman? She was, inside. If she’d ever doubted it, tonight had proved she was. But, to her, making love with a man meant losing control of herself and that was something she couldn’t afford to do. And Mikel was the last man in the world she could take such a risk with, no matter how right it had felt to be in his arms.
Never before had she felt so devastated by the decision she’d made when she was nineteen and imagined herself in love with that jerk Tim Thompson. One night, after belatedly realizing she didn’t dare open herself emotionally to anyone, she’d told him to stop, that she couldn’t make love with him.
Tim hadn’t taken it well, first trying to force her and then, when she fought back, calling her frigid before stalking off and never speaking to her again. How hurt and disillusioned she’d been. Though she’d been careful not to get into a similar position again, she couldn’t say she’d ever had a close relationship with any man. How was it possible considering her situation?
Rachel wiped her eyes and went into the bathroom to wash her face. Maybe it was a good thing Sonia had arrived when she did. Mikel’s grandmother would be a buffer between her and him. She’d encourage Sonia to stay on until Mikel was satisfied the lost girl wasn’t to be found here. Then he’d leave and everything would go back to normal.
Normal. That thought almost reduced her to tears again.
Mikel sat on the swing until he’d cooled off a bit—those hot kisses they’d exchanged had sent him up too damn high for comfort—then he left the porch and walked around the yard. He noticed a light in the upstairs room he knew was Sonia’s, then saw the light go on in Rachel’s bedroom. He took a deep breath and released it slowly.
Slowly, yes, that was the right path. Don’t rush anything. Even if she had given every indication she wanted what he wanted.
The wisest move would be to back off completely. Romancing her was not a good idea, considering. He headed for the cottage. Between coping with Sonia’s unexpected arrival and his yen for Rachel, he’d slacked off. Tomorrow he’d return to the hunt. It was, after all, why he was here.
In the morning, Mikel turned on the coffeemaker, then showered and dressed. He sat down to drink the first cup, planning out his day with a lack of enthusiasm that troubled him. When someone knocked on the cottage door, he leaped up. Rachel? When he opened the door, his grandmother stood there.
“Breakfast is ready,” she announced. “I’m glad to see you’re up and dressed because Aino will be fretting if we don’t show up early to bring him home.”
Mikel, who’d forgotten Aino was being discharged from the hospital today, realized he’d have to rearrange his own plans because he was obviously the one who should be there to give what help was needed. Also, if Sonia was goin
g to continue to make meals, then he needed to go with her to buy groceries. With both of them camping out at the farm, they had to contribute. Rather than being annoyed at postponing what he’d planned, he found himself whistling as he walked with Sonia over to the house.
“You must be feeling good if you’re whistling one of the old Russian folk tunes I taught you,” she said.
“What?”
“You’re whistling Dark Eyes.”
So he was. And thinking of Rachel, with her soft brown eyes, waiting inside the farmhouse. Which was not a good start to backing off.
When they got Aino home—using Sonia’s rental car because it was a full-size four-door—Mikel helped him into the house.
“You going to get this arm and leg of mine back to normal, Sonia Starzov?” Aino asked.
Sonia, walking ahead of them, turned to say, “That depends on you and whatever higher power you believe in.”
“Humph. What’d Doc tell you?”
“The same as he told you. The leg may come all the way back, the arm may improve.”
“He’s cagey, Doc is.”
“He also told me you were lucky to be getting your own private therapist since they’re shorthanded at the hospital right now.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Rachel glanced at Mikel with raised eyebrows and he smiled at her. He wasn’t worried about Aino and Sonia getting along. When he had a chance, he’d tell her how Sonia and his grandfather had enjoyed bickering.
Once inside, Sonia said, “Where do you want to do the exercises?”
“The back porch,” Aino told her.
“Fine, weather permitting. We’ll start after you rest a bit.”
“I’m not going to bed and that’s final,” Aino roared.
“Don’t argue with your therapist. And who said anything about bed? You can rest on the porch swing.”
Grumbling, Aino walked slowly through the kitchen to the door leading to the porch. Watching him, Rachel saw that he didn’t limp exactly, but his left leg dragged a bit. She bit her lip, knowing how he must hate the impairment. Sonia followed him out onto the porch, closing the door behind her.