Born Innocent

by Christine Rimmer

  Her body, which had been straining for his, relaxed. She allowed herself a faint smile. “Gee, Joe. You don’t have to sound so grim about it.”

  Now it was his turn to smile. “I’m not. Not really. I want you. I’ve always wanted you.” He shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. “And I don’t seem to be able to hide it very well lately.”

  Claire’s heart was pounding faster. It was a lovely thing to hear. Joe Tally desired her... had always desired her.

  He went on before she could let her thoughts carry her away. “But not tonight.”

  She felt the disappointment a child feels when she’s told she won’t be going to the ice-cream shop after all. And then she smiled at herself. “Why not?” The question was good-natured.

  “Hell. First off, I don’t have anything for contraception. Do you have anything here?”

  She looked at him and had to hold back a slightly hysterical laugh. He had no idea that the cow was already out of the barn on that score.

  Her conscience spoke up clearly. Tell him. Tell him now.

  But she just couldn’t get her mouth around the words. Not yet. She couldn’t see how he would be anything but angry when he found out. At the very least, he would withdraw from her, something for which she wouldn’t blame him in the least.

  Today had been rough enough. Its only bright spots were her thoughts about the baby and these past few minutes here in the dark with Joe. If he turned away from her now, it would hurt worse than it ever had before.

  She would tell him. But not yet. Not for a little while longer...

  “Claire?”

  She realized he was waiting for her to answer his question about contraception. She shook her head. “No. I don’t have anything here.”

  “Right.” He seemed a little embarrassed. She loved him more than ever. “And besides that,” he went on, “I’d just rather you... thought about this a little, considered how it would affect you, if you and I...”

  “Oh, Joe.” She touched him again, on the side of his face. She would never get enough of touching him. “Okay. Let’s let it be for tonight. We’ll both think about it. Fair enough?”

  “Yeah. Fair enough.”

  There was a small silence. From outside somewhere, a mourning dove called. Claire shook herself and recalled what he’d been leading up to before desire carried them away.

  “And now tell me, what did you and my mother decide?”

  He stood up and went to look out at the night, perhaps seeking a sight of that lonely dove. Then he turned to face her. “Really,” he hedged, “it was me. Ella doesn’t like it, but she’s willing to go along because she does agree that you need some time to regroup, some time away from everything, without the pressures of running this motel.”

  “What, Joe? What’s the plan?”

  “Well...”

  “Come on. Spit it out.”

  At last he did. “She’s willing to take over for you here for a few days, so that you can go out and stay at the ranch with me.”

  Claire just stared. “My mother agreed to that?”

  Through the shadows, she could see his white teeth flash in a rueful smile. “I have to admit, I made a big deal about my guest bedroom. And I went on and on about how you and I are friends and nothing more. Now, after what we’ve just been doing, I guess what I told her wasn’t much short of a bald-faced lie.” He was quiet. Then, “So? What do you say?”

  “Well, I—”

  “Hey, think about it. Give yourself a minute. Or even two. Just realize I promised your mother I’d call her tonight with your decision—and it’s getting pretty late.”

  Claire let out a little groan of protest at his railroading tactics. But then she thought about his proposition.

  She decided immediately that it held definite appeal. In her confusion and pain right after her release that afternoon, she’d thought only of getting back to her everyday life. But maybe, for right now, everyday life wasn’t what she needed.

  She loved her business. However, it was a twenty-four-hour-a-day job. Maybe some time away would be good. Maybe she’d get a new perspective on her predicament in different surroundings.

  Also, in the past few minutes, everything had changed between herself and Joe. After what they’d just agreed, she wouldn’t have to spend all of her time denying her longing for him—and that put a new light on things. Given that she could touch him and hold him, it would be wonderful to be alone with him.

  Perhaps, she thought with rising excitement, out of this, the worst ordeal of her life, there would at least come some memories that she could cherish in the years to come.

  Joe started convincing her again. “I’ve been ... cleaning things up a little at the ranch, I promise you,” he said with an eagerness that did her heart good. “It’s not the Ritz, but it’s a hell of a lot more comfortable than the last time you were there.”

  She fiddled with the sheet hem a little, pleased as a girl with her first crush at having him be the eager one for once.

  “Well, what do you say?”

  “When would we go?”

  “Tomorrow, in the morning. Ella will come in around nine, and you and I will take off.”

  “For how long?”

  “A few days—the whole week until the grand jury hearing, if you want. Come on. It’ll be the best thing, I’m sure of it.”

  She looked directly at him. “All right, Joe.”

  “Does that mean yes?”

  She allowed herself a genuine, anticipatory smile. “Yes, it means yes. Let’s do it. Tomorrow morning, let’s...get away from it all.”

  As he had the two previous nights, Joe slept on the couch. Surprisingly, once she’d given him his blankets and pillow and settled back into her bed, Claire found she was drowsy. She drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

  The next thing she knew, it was eight-thirty in the morning. Her eyes came open and she was looking at the digital display of her bedside alarm clock. She lay there, staring at it lazily for a moment, thinking that she’d just enjoyed her first decent night’s sleep in days. She felt ten years younger and ready for anything... almost anything.

  And then she realized that her mother would be there at nine and she had half an hour to be packed and ready to go.

  She fairly leapt from the bed. She showered in five minutes flat, and was dressed in jeans and a sleeveless shirt in ten. She’d just dragged her big suitcase out from under the bed and begun piling things into it, when the tap came at the door.

  “Come in.”

  Joe pushed the door inward, and ventured a few steps into the room. He looked warily on as she tore through her drawers, tossing the chosen items halfway across the room to the bed.

  She turned. “I forgot to set my alarm. Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “You needed the sleep.” He held out a mug of coffee. “I figured you’d be ready for this about now.”

  She grinned at him thankfully and paused in her frantic preparations long enough to take a few sips.

  He watched her as she drank. “There’s no real hurry, you know. Your mom’s coming to stay. It won’t bother her if you’re still packing when she arrives.”

  “Now that we’re going, I don’t intend to hang around one minute longer than necessary.” Claire set the coffee on the bureau and turned to snap the suitcase shut. “There,” she said. “Now I need to make my mother a list of the things she can’t forget to do.”

  “She’s helped you out before, hasn’t she?”

  “Yes, but it’s better if it’s written down.” She dodged around Joe and went to the kitchen, where she found paper and pencil and set about writing down such things as Pick up mail and sort daily and Verna in at eleven, off at five. She relieves you at desk for an hour for your lunch, any hour you prefer... Checkbook in flat drawer directly beneath guest register. She glanced up at Joe, who was wiping down the kitchen counter and rinsing out the coffeepot.

  “Joe, what’s the number at the ranch?”

>   He told her and she wrote it on the paper. When she’d jotted down all the salient points she could think of, she hurried out to the lobby to sign a few checks in the big checkbook, in case her mother had to pay anyone before Claire returned.

  She was just shoving the checkbook back in its drawer when Ella arrived, appearing on the porch and waving cheerfully at Claire through the glass top of the door. Claire went to let her in.

  The minute her mother was inside the door, Ella set down her small suitcase and reached out. Claire went into her mother’s arms. Ella held her close and Claire remained compliant in the lengthy embrace.

  At last, Ella pulled away and took her daughter by the shoulders. “How are you, dear?”

  “I’m okay, Mother. Honestly.”

  Ella pursed her mouth. “I’m not really sure this is a wise idea.”

  “I know. Joe told me.”

  “But, well, I would like to see you have a little time to...get your bearings again, after all that’s happened. And I do want to help. Any way I can.”

  “I know. And I’m grateful.” Claire took Ella’s hand. “Come on. Let me refresh you on how the phones work, and go over the list just made out.”

  When she was through going over the list, she thought of one more thing, but she hesitated to bring it up. It seemed a lot to ask.

  Her mother said, “I know that look. Go ahead and ask me. I can always say no.”

  “Well, it won’t be a pleasant chore.”

  “Ask me.”

  “All right. There’s still a tape barrier around the back bungalow—the one Henson stayed in. I want to know when the sheriff’s people are going to let us get back in there.”

  “You want me to call Dan and ask for a time that the tape will be removed, is that it?”

  “Exactly. And I want you to pin him down about it. Really, reasonably, it should be soon—in the next day or two, don’t you think?”

  “I certainly do,” Ella answered staunchly. “And I’ll be glad to have a word with Dan.”

  Claire hid her smile. Perhaps having such a formidable, overbearing mother had more advantages than she’d previously imagined.

  Ella asked, “And once they let us in, shall I have Verna take care of it, clean it up and get it ready to rent out again?”

  “No,” Claire said. “Just lock it up, and call me.”

  Ella frowned. “Claire, dear, I’m sure by the time Dan and Wayne Leven are through in there, they’ll have found out every...clue there is about who actually shot that man. They are the professionals, after all.”

  Claire just looked at her mother. She didn’t need to say what she was thinking. Some professionals. They’ve arrested an innocent woman. All she said aloud was, “I mean it, Mother. I want you to leave it alone and call me right away. I want your word.”

  “Oh, honestly,” Ella groused. “All right. You have my word. I’ll lock the bungalow and call you immediately when the sheriff’s office lets us in there.”

  Ten minute later, Claire and Joe were up in the cab of his pickup, waving goodbye to Ella as they pulled out of the space in front of the cottage,

  They were trundling across the bridge when Claire thought about breakfast—and about her determination, made before her arrest, not to hide herself away from anyone or anything.

  “Joe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “In all the rush, I forgot to eat breakfast.”

  “Don’t worry. I haven’t got much food at the ranch, but I do have eggs and bacon. Can you last half an hour without starving?”

  “I could. But I’d rather stop and eat at Mandy’s.” They’d reached the stop sign at Main Street. A left turn would take them out of town. With his foot on the brake, Joe gave her a look. “You always did have more guts than sense.”

  “I’m going away with you, Joe. But, no matter what a rush I might be in to get out of here, I’m not running away. I have nothing at all to hide.”

  Joe, who seemed to realize that arguing over this particular issue would be a waste of time, turned right and looked for a place to park.

  Mandy’s was not the loud, bustling place it had been over the holiday weekend. At nine-thirty on a Tuesday morning, the counter was only half occupied and one or two of the booths were empty. There were few serious eaters at this time of the day. But Mandy’s was a town gathering place, so there were still plenty of people drinking coffee and discussing the latest issues of local interest.

  When Claire and Joe walked in, the hush was so sudden and total, it echoed.

  Claire was not surprised—it was exactly what she’d expected. She knew very well that after yesterday’s courtroom hearing, she was currently the main issue of local interest in Pine Bluff. She scrupulously ignored both the stares and the furtive glances as she and Joe walked the length of the room to take the same booth they’d claimed on Sunday.

  Mandy, who usually took her sweet time about providing service when the place wasn’t packed, was there with a full coffeepot and an order pad almost before they sat down.

  “Good to see you, Claire.” Mandy was famous for her saturnine expression, but now she actually trotted out a smile. She turned to Joe. “Joe.”

  Claire and Joe said good morning.

  Mandy asked, “So what’ll you have?”

  They asked for eggs and bacon and toast, and turned their cups up so Mandy could fill them. And then, as they sat sipping coffee and waiting for their food, Claire was reminded of the other reason—her hopeless love for Joe Tally being the first—that she had come back to Pine Bluff after college. She’d come back because, though people here knew way too much about each other’s business, they also stood by their own.

  First, it was Brenda Tyler. Brenda clerked in the school administration office and, on Sundays, she played the organ up at the community church. She was sitting in the booth behind Claire’s, and she tapped Claire on the shoulder. Claire turned.

  Brenda asked with great gentility, “How are you doing, Claire?”

  “Just fine.”

  “’Lo, Joe.”

  “Miss Tyler.”

  “Claire...” Brenda tactfully lowered her voice. “I want you to know that you are in my thoughts. You are in my prayers. And if there is anything—anything—that I can do for you, then you just let me know.”

  “Thank you, Brenda. Thanks a lot.”

  “Stay strong,” Brenda advised, reaching a pale, veined hand over the seat of the booth to give Claire’s shoulder an awkward pat.

  “I will,” Claire promised. Brenda gave Claire’s shoulder a quick squeeze and then returned to her coffee and her crescent roll.

  After Brenda came Bo Sims, who owned the local garage. He stood beside their booth, carefully clasping his own grease-stained hands together, and told her everyone was thinking of her. After that, Lolly Beals, the clerk at Pine Bluff Grocery, strolled over.

  Lolly said, “Don’t you worry. Things’ll work out.”

  Even Mandy, who usually tossed the plates of food down and turned away almost before they hit the table, paused to give Claire a pat on the hand when she delivered the food. All the time Joe and Claire ate, people dropped by the booth and said quiet, kindly words.

  Claire’s predicament was never referred to directly; under such public circumstances that would have been presumptuous. But the people of her town wanted her to know that they were thinking of her. And if she needed them, they were there.

  When Joe and Claire got up to leave, Mandy said the check had already been paid.

  Since they’d eaten, they decided to drive on to Grass Valley and buy groceries right away. That whole process took a few hours, so they didn’t arrive at the ranch until early afternoon.

  The dogs came bounding down out of the shadows of the porch to greet them when they pulled into the yard.

  “Gonzo! Relay!” Joe commanded. “Sit!” The dogs whined but did as their master bid.

  Claire got down and gave them the pats and kind words they’d been seeking. Then s
he stood for a moment in the bright sun to note that Joe had laid gravel in the driveway and chopped down the weeds since her last midnight visit. Also, the derelict tractor had been moved, probably to the barn in the pasture behind the house. One of the two beat-up trucks was gone; the other, of course, had been their transportation out here.

  In the shadow of the barn, she could see the swaybacked horse.

  Beside her, Joe chuckled as he noticed the direction of her gaze. “That’s Demon. A has-been if there ever was one. My old man loved that damn horse. So I’ve never had the nerve to ship him off to the glue factory where there is no doubt he belongs.”

  Claire shaded her eyes so she could look at Joe, because the harsh sun was a burning ball just above his head. She was thinking about his father, a recluse, whom no one in Pine Bluff had ever really known, and she was touched that Joe would keep his father’s aging horse. She gently teased, “Aw, come on. You’re just a softy, admit it.”

  “I don’t admit a damn thing—except it’s good to see you smiling again.” The hot breeze blew a loose strand of hair across her mouth. He brushed it away, guiding it back behind an ear.

  She caught his hand, and she turned it over and then laid his open palm against her cheek. “Thanks, Joe. I think this little ‘vacation’ you’ve arranged is going to turn out to be exactly what I need.”

  “Good.” His thumb caressed her, gently rubbing at the side of her mouth. She sighed a little, enjoying the way, down inside her, desire was stirring and wakening....

  Then one of the dogs whined.

  Joe’s hand dropped away.

  Claire forced herself to think practical thoughts. “Guess what? We’ve got a truck bed full of groceries, and it’s ninety degrees out here.”

  “You said it, I didn’t.”

  “So let’s get to it.”

  She turned and marched to the back of the pickup. After a moment, he joined her there. Together they unloaded the groceries and her suitcase and took them inside.

  Claire was more than a little surprised when she stepped beyond the threshold into the cool interior of the old house. Outside, he hadn’t done much but lay the gravel drive, cut the weeds, repair the window she’d broken—and add a wooden glider on the porch, something she’d complimented when they passed it on the way in.