A Touch of Passion (boxed set romance bundle)

by Uvi Poznansky

  “What are you doing?” she asked, getting in, pulling her book bag along.

  “I want to help Mom bake pies. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I left,” Bennie said. “What about you? Why aren’t you in class?”

  “Same thing,” Angie said. “I want to leave school and stay with Mom. I know there’s something they’re not telling us.”

  “I’m thinking the same thing, but how can we question her without it making it worse?” Bennie said. “I can’t figure out a way.” Angie looked out the window at the scenery rushing by.

  “Let’s just ask Dad,” she said. “I’m going to call him. Pull over.” She dug through the backpack for her phone and hit send when she came to his number.

  He answered on the first ring. “Angie, what’s going on?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Dad, are you doing a case?” she asked, worried that she was interrupting him at a bad time.

  “No, not yet. I’m in between. Are you in school?”

  “No, Dad, I’m with Bennie. We both left school without knowing the other was leaving. I think that’s significant, don’t you? We’re worried about Mom. That something is happening and you’re not telling us because you’re afraid it will upset us or something. But not knowing for sure is worse. Can’t you trust us?”

  “Of course we trust you,” Jason said, the defeat in his voice clear. “We’re trying to make things as normal as possible for you.”

  “Okay, well that’s wonderful, but whatever is going on is not normal and you can’t hide it any longer. Is Mom dying?” She could hear her father stifling a sob. Shaking her head, she looked at Bennie and mouthed he’s crying.

  She didn’t push him, knowing that he was at work and probably hiding in a room from his colleagues.

  “Dad, I’m sorry. You don’t need to say anything more.” Angie felt awful that she’d upset him, but she got confirmation of what she was afraid of. Their mother was dying.

  “We’ll talk tonight before we go to the shore,” he said.

  “Dad, we don’t need to talk, okay? You answered my question. We’re going home to help Mom bake pies. We don’t want to hold anything up for our trip.”

  “I’ll see you tonight then,” he answered, professional again, not waiting for her to answer before he hung up. Someone must have walked into the room.

  “Now that was a little odd. He just hung up on me.”

  “Tiffany probably walked into the room,” Bennie said, telling Angie about the arguing she’d heard the night before.

  “He wouldn’t dare,” Angie said, seething.

  “I hope not.” They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

  Chapter 15

  The morning dragged on, the hands of the wall clock barely moving. Tiffany walked into the room at the end of Jason’s call with Angie, wondering why he hadn’t come into the lounge after a delay in their case.

  “What’s going on Jay?” she called from the door. Jason hung up on Angie without saying goodbye. “I thought we’d have coffee together.”

  “I was talking to my daughter,” he snarled, turning the gases to the anesthesia machine off, not making eye contact. “Watch what you say to me when I’m on the phone. If she’d heard you, it would have been a real embarrassment.”

  “Jeesh,” she called out. “I didn’t say anything wrong.”

  “I don’t need my daughters wondering why I’m having coffee with another woman. Just watch it.” Tiffany was making demands on him he couldn’t deliver. He wasn’t going to have an affair with Tiffany, no matter what Harley thought.

  “Why so touchy?” she asked.

  “Look, Tiffany. I’m never going to be unfaithful to my wife,” he said, finally looking at her. “Maybe we need to cool the friendship. You seem to expect something from me I can’t provide.”

  “Whatever, dude,” she said. “You might be thinking a little highly of yourself.”

  “Maybe. Then lay off. If it doesn’t mean anything, stop making more out of it than it is.” She left the room in a huff.

  Five minutes later, another nurse, an older, easygoing woman named Tamera came in pushing a table of sterile wrapped instruments.

  “Jason we’re getting an emergency,” she said.

  “Are you in here now?”

  “Yep, you’re stuck with me,” she said.

  Sighing, Jason smiled at her. “Welcome, Tamera,” he said. Peace would reign the rest of the day at work.

  When he arrived home at four that afternoon, the chaos he’d expected with pie baking was finished and in its place, a fancy pie carrier filled with pies sat on the kitchen the table. Packed suitcases waited in the mudroom with neatly arranged bags of groceries and a cooler, the beginnings of their Thanksgiving dinner. Harley swore she was going to outdo herself this year, and Jason could see the evidence. He just hoped she didn’t overdo to the point of making herself sick.

  “I’m home,” he called out, examining the pie carrier. “I want to sample this before we get on the road, however.”

  “Daddy’s home!” Devon yelled, running to him. He swooped her up in his arms.

  “Don’t touch the stuff on the table,” Harley called out. “We put a piece in the fridge for you.”

  Their kitchen was the proverbial heart of the house with signs of Harley and the girls everywhere. On the wall a small, wooden Daily Bread plaque hung, the size of a slice of bread that Harley’s friend, Harriet, had given her after a Bible study she taught for five straight years disbanded. Hand towels Angie wove at summer camp the year she was twelve hung from a small rack by the sink, there for decoration only.

  Jason didn’t like the clutter, and Harley had often said before breast cancer that when she died, she knew Jason would make a clean sweep of all her mementos. Leaning against the counter, taking the first bite of amazing apple pie, he shuddered thinking about it, the apples turning to mush in his mouth. Why did he ever make an issue over something of so little importance? Harley was the house; the contents would mean nothing to him if she died. When she died.

  “Hi, how’s it taste?” she said walking in, pulling a sweater down over an ironed shirt. She stretched up to kiss him.

  “It’s delicious,” he lied, sick to his stomach. “How many did you make?”

  “Six, three apple and two blueberry and a pumpkin. You know the girls came home, right? Angie told me she called you.”

  “Yes, I knew,” he said, looking around. “Harley, I’m sorry I gave you so much grief about your chachkas.” She laughed out loud.

  “No worries bud,” she replied. “Can you imagine how much there would be in here if I didn’t cull once in a while? The stuff that’s here is what means something to us. Make sure it goes to the girls after I’m gone.” He wanted to lash out, to say you’re not going anywhere. But because time was so limited, he realized the things she said now were what would guide him after she was gone.

  “We should put their names on specific items they want or that you want them to have,” he said, voice in danger of giving away his grief.

  “Wow, that’s a great idea. I’ll start when we get back from the shore. I’m so excited about this weekend!”

  Loading up the car came next, the girls’ laughter contagious as they teased each other about the amount of belongings they were bringing for a four-day weekend, Jason joining in, taking ribbing good-naturedly. The only one who was pensive and quiet was Tina, but she was keeping a low profile so no one noticed at first, her nose buried in a book or perpetually busy, texting Albie.

  Everyone’s acting like there’s nothing wrong, she typed. My older sisters left school to help my mom bake pies today while I was miserable in school.

  It would be okay to call them on it, he answered. Ask why they didn’t include you.

  Jason pulled the car out of the garage. Silence passed through the car as they waited for the garage door to close before the chatter started again.

  “Why didn’t you ask me to come along this morning?” Tina asked wh
en there was a lull.

  Angie turned to her, frowning.

  “You’d have come?” she asked.

  “Why, yes, I’d have come. I was miserable at school. It’s clear Mom and Dad are keeping something from us. Am I the only one who feels it?”

  Harley turned around in her seat to look at Devon, who wore headphones in order to listen to Frozen without driving the rest of the family nuts. She wasn’t going to be privy to their conversation. Jason had taken her hand in his, a tick in his jaw revealing his concern.

  “Tina, I’m sorry. You’re right; we’ve been keeping some information back for ourselves.” She smiled at her daughter, a striped stocking cap she’d knit pulled down to her eyebrows, large hoop earrings, colorful makeup; Tina’s appearance personified the gypsy in her blood. The other girls gave in to depression and stress by barely maintaining their hygiene, while Tina, in spite of her angst, was just as careful about her toilette as ever, maybe more so.

  Having gotten everyone’s attention, Harley continued. “You know the last chemo didn’t help. The scans showed spots on my lungs. This is old news. Unfortunately, most people with those conditions in their body won’t live forever. So I’m expecting the best but preparing for the worst. I was going to tell you after the holidays.”

  “What are you saying, Mom?” Tina asked, voice shaking. “Are you dying?”

  “We’re all dying,” Jason said.

  “Dad, do you mind?” Angie said.

  “Right now, I’m doing much better than I thought I would,” Harley interrupted. “I have energy, I don’t feel sick. That’s positive, don’t you think?” She left out news about the annoying wound on her chest that refused to heal, knowing she would need more surgery that would require a skin graft.

  “Could you go along like this forever?”

  Harley looked straight ahead, at the cars as Jason pulled onto the interstate to get to the bridge to New Jersey. Traffic was horrendous, rush hour, the night before Thanksgiving. She supposed that if a miracle happened, she might go on forever, if they made it to the shore in one piece.

  “I hope so,” Harley said, gazing at her daughter again. “I’m counting on it.”

  Gratefully, the girls put their earbuds in and iPods on for the rest of the trip. Harley could hear Tina texting, probably with Albie. Albie hadn’t posed a problem, yet. Jason and Harley hoped he was going to go far away to college. Not that he wasn’t a nice boy, but he was too old for Tina, and too sophisticated.

  Jason’s phone rang and with his Bluetooth on, he chatted with Andy for the next twenty minutes, leaving Harley to her own thoughts, blocking out their annoying conversation.

  Several more candidates with promise had answered Jason’s profile on LoveMatch.com. After conferring with Bea, she’d narrowed the number down to two. Kathy from Sea Isle and Anna from Chadds Ford.

  She’d made the decision to invite Kathy and her five-year-old daughter, Laura for a visit to the beach over Thanksgiving weekend. After Harley sent what she and Bea now referred to as her truthful paragraph about who was really behind Jason’s profile, Kathy answered right away.

  Dear Kathy,

  This is Jason’s wife. I’m dying of cancer, have less than a year to live. I’m secretly looking for a wife and mother for my wonderful husband and four daughters. My husband doesn’t know I’m doing so. Are you up to the challenge?

  Harley

  Dear Harley,

  I was shocked when I received your note, but after considering your request over the past week, what you are attempting seems completely reasonable.

  How devastating for you! And how unselfish and brave to think ahead. It is a little strange; I’ll admit I feel uncomfortable about it because I don’t see how your husband will receive the news that you’ve done this. But I guess it’s not my business yet. I’m in.

  Kathy

  Harley decided that the first step would be to see if she could become friends with Kathy. Then if Kathy and Laura fit in with the family, she’d facilitate the introduction to Jason. She’d get to know Kathy by talking to her on the phone. The first time they talked, there was a connection, as Harley admired Kathy for the tough choices she’d made, sure she’d never be able to do the same thing.

  Kathy dealt with the frustration over not being able to find a teaching job within commuting distance to her mother’s house by continuing to take college classes toward her master’s degree.

  “Since I rarely date, I have a lot of time on my hands,” she said wryly. “You can only knit so many afghans.”

  “Why don’t you date?” Harley asked.

  . “Because of Laura, I’m careful. I went out with a man whose child had Downs, a younger boy, but I didn’t agree with his discipline methods and moved on quickly.”

  “How was his different?” Harley asked, thinking she’d get some insight into the kind of parent Kathy was by asking.

  “I felt he was too permissive. He made excuses for his son and let him get away with behavior I would never stand for. I want Laura to make something of herself someday, to live independently. She might always need some support, but I plan for her to go to college, believe it or not,” Kathy said with pride. “She could read by the time she was four years old.”

  “I’m excited for her,” Harley said. “She has a wonderful advocate in you.”

  They didn’t speak for a moment, Harley realizing the sacrifices Kathy was making to ensure a good life for Laura.

  “Would you be willing to move to southeastern Pennsylvania?” Harley asked carefully.

  “If the guy was worth it, yes,” Kathy said.

  The women had spoken on the phone daily, sharing confidences, taking risks, when Harley made the invitation. “If you want to meet, come to Sea Isle on Black Friday. It’ll be relaxed; tons of people will be there so it won’t be like you are on display. The men will probably fish if the weather holds out, so Jason won’t be foisted upon you right away.”

  “How will you explain me?” Kathy asked.

  “Well, you’re my new friend. We met online, on a knitting site,” Harley said. It made sense; women were meeting to knit with strangers all the time now. She just never did before because she didn’t have the time when she worked.

  “Should I bring knitting?”

  “Yes, that would be perfect. I will, too,” Harley said. Their plan finalized, on Black Friday, Kathy and her daughter, Laura would visit the cottage.

  Jason finished his call to Andy, reaching for Harley’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Sorry about that. He’s having a rough time.”

  “Ha! What does that mean? He needs his tennis racket restrung?”

  Jason laughed. “Almost,” he answered. “His kid didn’t get into Penn.”

  “Give me a break, will you please?” Harley lost patience with Andy a week ago when he spent her office visit time bragging about his son’s scholarship offerings even though they didn’t need the financial help.

  “Aw, Andy means well. He has entitlement big time is all.”

  Harley didn’t respond, having made a decision to see a different surgeon regarding the mastectomy scar that was slowly festering with a reoccurrence. No longer caring that her resentment was irrational, she wasn’t going to question her intuition any longer, telling her Andy Forman talked too much. Maybe she’d been blaming Jason for sharing her intimate thoughts and feelings when it was her surgeon all along.

  “I love you Jason,” she said, returning his squeeze. He smiled and brought her hand to his mouth, kissing it.

  “Love you, too,” he replied, letting go of her hand.

  Taking a deep breath, she looked out the window, the thick pines which lined the Garden State Parkway obscuring what lay beyond so it appeared they were driving down a black tunnel. The sandy shoulder along the road illuminated by the lights of the cars passing by was the only evidence the shore was close.

  Arriving at the cottage in time for dinner, the next hours passed in a flurry of activity as they settled in for t
he long weekend, Jason blocking all thoughts of cancer from his mind, the girls, all but innocent Devon hoping for a respite after hearing devastating news, and Harley, excited to soon meet a new friend.

  Chapter 16

  Instead of sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with her family, Kathy Agin stood at a blackjack table on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, dealing cards. Excited and frightened about her meeting with Harley the next day, the idea that she might actually be meeting her future husband, too was inconceivable. During the phone conversations with Harley, she’d developed a true admiration for her that was developing into a friendship. Even if the husband didn’t pan out, Kathy knew she was in for heartbreak; making a new friend who only had a short time left on earth.

  “Agin, pay attention.” Kathy looked up; the pit boss was standing next to her with a stern look on his face. “The eye in the sky is bugging me, so I’m bugging you. Pull it together.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said, frowning.

  She’d received a warning before; any threat to her job was not a good thing. The day couldn’t get over fast enough. Focusing on her hand, making senseless small talk with the players in whom she had no interest, soon she was punching her time card.

  The trip home was quick. The smells of pumpkin pie spice greeted her at the door to her mother’s trailer, parked near the beach. “I’m home,” she called, and her little daughter Laura ran from the back of the house.

  “Mommy, we saved you dinner,” she said excitedly. “We had turkey! Uncle Bill got the wishbone out and said we can have it when it dries.”

  Kathy pulled her close, thinking of her competing with four other girls. She’d be the baby of the family, unless Jason and Kathy had a child together. Harley said her little Devon would soon be seven. Hopefully, if everything worked out, Devon and Laura would become friends. Shaking her head, the reality of anything developing out of this was remote, the desperate dream of a grieving woman. Determined not to start crying, Kathy walked to the kitchen.