One Lavender Ribbon

by Heather Burch

  And yet, in your absence, we’ve grown together and not apart. I know you don’t understand this fully, but one day you will. One day you’ll know my secret. You’ll know I’ve loved you forever and forever. I will until the breath of life leaves me. I’m forever yours.”

  Across the room, the clock ticked, and a strong breeze pushed against the house. Adrienne’s heart raced. This sounded like . . . like a letter, but not from Grace. But that was impossible. Surely, William would have recognized a different handwriting.

  He interrupted her thoughts. “What do you think, Adrienne?”

  She couldn’t look at the page anymore, so she folded it and placed it on the table. “I wish I knew, Pops.”

  He pushed back in his chair. “I’d practically forgotten about it until I read some of the letters you gave me. It’s been stuck in a photo album for years. Betty made me keep it.”

  “She did?”

  “Yep. Said it was important to remember the past. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it either, just said she was thankful we met and I was heartbroken enough to fall in love with her.” He chuckled.

  “I’m sure that’s not why you fell in love with Betty.”

  “No, it wasn’t. She was a precious soul, my Betty. A good, good woman.” He nodded, emphasizing the fact. “This was the last letter I got from Grace. She sure doesn’t sound in love with another man.”

  “No, she doesn’t,” Adrienne echoed.

  Weathered hands folded together on the table. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over the knuckles of his other hand as if the answer were right there in the folds of his skin. “Well, time’s a wastin’. Let’s get to that garden show.”

  They stood up from the table, and Pops slipped the letter back into the stack.

  They left the house with the heavy intrigue of a puzzle unsolved plaguing Adrienne’s mind. Somewhere in her heart, she knew Sara had the answer.

  “Congratulations, Will.” Victoria Philips sidled into his bank office and took a seat across from him. She spread her arms like wings across the back of the chair and pushed out her chest, stretching the material of her sweater.

  “Thank you.” He glanced down at the crystal award he’d received earlier in the day.

  Victoria wore a business skirt that she let slide far above her knees as she sat down. Usually, he enjoyed the sensual purr of her voice. Today it didn’t have the desired effect. “Youngest executive in Naples Bank and Trust history to receive the esteemed award. How are you planning to celebrate?”

  Celebrate? He wasn’t planning to. Receiving the award was celebration enough.

  When he floundered, she spoke up. “Since you’re too dumbstruck to make a plan, let me help. Some of us are getting together later to have a going-away party for Jonathan. Why don’t you come along? I’ll buy you a drink.” With exaggeration, she tossed her blonde hair, and one brow rose, seductively. “Maybe even two.”

  Intriguing, but he couldn’t help wondering why the sudden interest in him. He’d thought of asking her out in the past, but Victoria had made it clear that he was far too wholesome for her taste. The woman needed excitement. And sadly, he wasn’t the life of the party. In fact, he was rarely found at a party. Because alcohol seemed to be the hub of most office get-togethers, he rarely enjoyed the gushing camaraderie that accompanied those gatherings. Somewhere along the way, the invitations had ceased. It was his own doing, of course, but there was a little sting that accompanied it as well. He had no clue why Victoria was suddenly taking an interest. Or why his interest in her had just as suddenly taken a nosedive.

  He decided he’d attend this party with Victoria. She—and her sweater—really seemed like they wanted him to go. Just as he opened his mouth to make the arrangements, Adrienne Carter flashed into his mind. He pushed her aside. There was no commitment between them. Just a nice dinner date that had rocked his world and kept him up late at night trying to remember the scent of her hair.

  Victoria was a hot ticket with a great body accentuated by designer clothes and abundant confidence. He liked the idea of walking into a room with her on his arm. But again, picturing this, it was Adrienne’s face he saw.

  He thought back to their day of fishing. At first she’d been scared. Scared of everything. He’d soothed her nerves. And their time together had been something tight sweaters and silk skirts couldn’t match.

  In a most direct manner, he said to Victoria, “Why now?”

  She flashed a quick smile and blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve never seemed interested in me.”

  Her hands came down from the chair, heavily mascaraed eyes narrowing on him. “There’s something different about you lately.”

  “What is it?”

  She pursed her mouth. “I’m not sure, but it’s hot.”

  He stifled a chuckle. Hot. There was nothing different about him. Maybe she’d just worked her way through all the other guys at the bank, and he was the only one left.

  “You seem . . . I don’t know. Confident. Sexually, I mean. I’ve just noticed it in the last month or so.”

  Confident sexually? Really? After seven years of working at the bank, suddenly he’d gotten in touch with his inner lion, king of the beasts, his alpha male prowess? He almost laughed out loud. Nothing had changed in the last month. Except, of course, the presence of Adrienne Carter in his life. But that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this. Victoria had a screw loose.

  She licked her lips. “So, we have a date?”

  “No,” he said, sure he’d completely lost his mind, but suddenly uninterested in the flirty blonde that right now just seemed too desperate. “I have plans tonight. I’m really sorry.”

  Victoria’s red-stained mouth hung open in an O shape. She quirked a frown, obviously not accustomed to being turned down and having to assimilate it into her being. She rose from the chair, body as stiff as if he’d jerked every ounce of confidence from her, and rushed out.

  Jonathan stepped in as she left. He eyed her as she stormed past. “She doesn’t look happy.”

  Jon was a good friend and a good guy who loved sports and his wife. When the higher-ups had overlooked him, it was Will who had convinced them to give Jon the much-deserved position of branch manager at a bank across town.

  “I take it you’re not coming to my going-away party?” Jon dropped into the chair Victoria had vacated.

  “You’re only moving across town. Is a party really necessary?” Will straightened the calendar on his desk. The promotion was hard earned and deserved. A celebration was in good order.

  Jon moved his chair so that both men could gaze out the glass wall that separated the office. Other than the brightly colored tie Jon wore, the two men were identically dressed in dark suits, polished black shoes, and crisp white shirts. From their vantage point they could see the entire bank. They both studied Victoria. “So why did you turn her down? I thought you sort of liked her.”

  Will rested his hands on the cherry desk. “Me too. But when it came down to it, not as much as I thought.” Again, Adrienne sashayed into his mind.

  “Well, I never thought you two were a good match anyway.”

  “Why is that?” Will asked.

  “Come on.” Jon leaned an elbow on the desk. “You spend almost as much time on that boat of yours as she does putting on her makeup. You two are from different worlds.”

  “I thought we were from the same world.” Will made a sweeping arc around him.

  “You mean banking?” Jon laughed and shook his head. “Let me guess: You thought that just because you work together, you would share the same interests?”

  Will shrugged. “I thought there would be a lot in common to build on.”

  Jon raised his brows. “To build a relationship on? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Man, you don’t pick who you fall in love with.” He started to say more but stopped abruptly as an attractive brunette entered the bank, after pausing to hold the door for an elderly woman
using a walker.

  “Wow, look at her,” Jon mumbled.

  Both men watched Adrienne swoop down to rescue a paper the old woman had dropped. Will didn’t fight the grin that worked its way across his face. He was beginning to enjoy the surge that circled his midsection and squeezed whenever he saw her.

  Adrienne wore a snug-fitting dress that was the color of a vibrant sunset. The brilliance of the garment accentuated her tanned arms and legs. The contrast played on the sun streaks of her dark hair. When she saw Will, a wide smile spread across the mouth that had recently interrupted his dreams.

  Will smiled back. As Adrienne passed Victoria making her way toward his office, the blonde paled by comparison, disappearing like background music when the real concert began. Adrienne was the symphony and Victoria, a practice instrument.

  “She’s here for you?” Jon pointed at her.

  “I certainly hope so.” Will reached over and lowered Jon’s hand. “Don’t get any ideas. She’s just a friend of the family.”

  “I’m a married man. I don’t get the luxury of ideas.”

  Adrienne spoke to one of the tellers and pointed at Will. The lowest part of Will’s belly twisted. She sat down in the waiting area, skirt hiking just enough to reveal her knee.

  Jon rubbed a hand over his face. “My family never had friends like that. No wonder you turned Victoria down.”

  Will nodded for Jon to get out, then tugged at the collar of his shirt. His tie was too tight. It rubbed against his throat, irritating his skin. For a few moments he fumbled with papers on his desk, trying to look like the busy bank executive he was. He jotted a note, straightened the stack. He stood, sucked in his gut, and motioned for Adrienne to come into his office.

  “I hope it’s okay that I stopped by.” Man, she smelled good. And all that deliciousness invaded every corner of his universe.

  “Of course.” Someone must have turned off the air conditioning. A trickle of sweat ran down his shoulder blades.

  “I wanted to thank you for the boat trip and the fishing with Pops and for dinner. It was the most amazing day . . . and night.” When she said amazing, her eyes rounded and rolled, encompassing everything around her, drawing it into her orbit and forever altering it. Oh boy, this could get bad. Frankly, he loved that he’d given her the most amazing day . . . and night. It made him swell with pride.

  Beyond the window, the entire bank seemed interested in this exchange. Busybodies. Or maybe they were all just interested in her. Like he’d been the first time she’d entered the bank, and like every guy at the restaurant. “I had a great time too. You going on the boat is all Pops has talked about. I should be jealous, you know.”

  She frowned, little lines creasing an otherwise smooth forehead.

  “I’ve been taking Pops fishing for years, but you’ve claimed all the fanfare.”

  “Oh.” A blush flushed her cheeks, making her face even more alive. Her dark eyes flitted around the room. “Your office is beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Um, Pops is the other reason I stopped by.”

  What next? he wondered, not minding sharing his grandfather with this woman. Maybe she wanted to plan a picnic or a trip to the beach. Adrienne in a bikini. Yeah, he could like that.

  “After I found the letters, I also discovered a diary.”

  “Oh?” Will stiffened, recalling a few nights before, when he had found Pops distraught, alone in the library, reading the letters and poking through the photo albums that—as far as Will was concerned—needed to stay shut.

  “It belongs to Sara. That was Gracie’s younger sister. The thing is, Sara lives in Winter Garden, but she’s afraid to talk to Pops because—”

  He held his hands up, feeling blood rush to his face as his heart rate escalated. “You’ve talked to this woman?”

  “Yes. But she’s afraid to come visit.”

  Anger shot down his spine. “You actually asked her to come visit Pops?”

  Adrienne nodded slowly, face darkening with questions.

  “Look”—Will pushed himself back from the desk—“I don’t know why you think you have the right, but you can’t keep butting into his life like this.”

  “You don’t understand.” Her voice was faint, and had he not been so angry, it might have cut its way into him. But this was a dangerous path Adrienne kept trying to travel, and it was Pops who suffered all the turmoil of her impulsiveness.

  “No, you don’t understand. You returned the letters—fine. But you need to back off! Sure, when you come over, Pops is all smiles and ready to talk about the summer he spent with Gracie. He’s ready to talk about the war. But when you leave, he crashes. That past almost killed him.”

  Adrienne’s eyes registered shock. And pain.

  He forged on before he lost the battle with those doe eyes and backed down. “And you keep showing up, reopening that wound, time after time. It’s heartless, Adrienne. You may be enjoying it, but it’s killing him.”

  She stared at the floor, shoulders curled forward. When she looked up, her eyes were full of tears, unshed and causing her irises to swim.

  He’d probably gone too far. But she had also gone too far. Will had made a promise to himself five years ago when Grandma Betty died. A promise to protect his grandfather. And that’s what he was doing now.

  He even remembered exactly when and why he’d made that vow. It was the day after the funeral, and he’d stopped at Pop’s house to check on him. The front door was open, so he’d walked on in. It wasn’t until he’d reached the master bedroom that he had found Pops.

  The sound of sobbing had drifted from the walk-in closet and out the bedroom door. The gut-wrenching wail of a broken man echoed in the room. But there was no way to ease his grandfather’s pain. Nothing could replace what Pops had lost. As he listened, Will had realized his own cheeks were wet with tears, half from the sound he heard, half from the inability to help. Moving to the closet door, he saw his grandfather’s face buried in his grandmother’s clothes, clenched tightly between his fists. Will had watched as the man who had always been a pillar of strength crumbled, just a shell clinging to a shadow. At that moment, Will had vowed to protect Pops for the rest of his life. Never again would his hero be alone. Never again would he be broken. Will couldn’t control everything, but this was well within his power. It had been an easy commitment to keep. Until now.

  Until Adrienne Carter.

  “I thought I was doing the right thing,” Adrienne said softly. A little unsteady, she stood from the chair. “I’m sorry for causing problems. It wasn’t my intention.”

  Will opened his mouth to speak, to tell her something, anything to erase a little bit of the hurt he could see reflected in her eyes. No. It had to be this way.

  She walked out of his office, head down, eyes scanning the floor. She paused at the front door and threw one last apologetic glance back toward Will.

  And it broke his heart. But, he reminded himself, he was doing the right thing. He ignored the fact that as she left, a little part of his heart went with her.

  A bag of groceries still in her arms, Adrienne pressed a hand to her face, barely believing what she heard. She had just stepped in the house, coming from the store, when her cell phone began to ring. Now, she stood frozen, unable to move, unable to escape. And listening to Sara chatter on about wanting to see William. About how one of the skateboarders had told her life was about do-overs. How she knew, knew in her heart, she had to see him.

  If only Sara had called yesterday, before the disastrous meeting with Will at the bank. Heat rose to Adrienne’s face as a wave of nausea crept through her stomach.

  Could there be any worse timing? Twenty-four hours ago she’d sat in Will’s office and was told she was heartlessly hurting an old man. Twenty-four hours ago, she’d made the decision to distance herself from all of them. For good.

  Sara rattled on and on about William having a right to know the truth.

  Lies aren’t so bad. Adrienne
shifted the groceries. They’re nice and safe. Buried things don’t stink until you dig them up. But it was too late for that. Adrienne had prodded and pressed, and now she was reaping the fruit of the seed sown. The biggest problem of all: Adrienne was the only link to William.

  After talking to Will at the bank, she wanted nothing more to do with them. Any of them. Will, William, or even Sara, for that matter. She wasn’t sure how she’d let this get so out of hand. All she’d wanted to do was meet the man who wrote the beautiful letters.

  This was exactly why she’d always played it safe instead of acting out of selfish motives. She’d wanted to believe in something again. To believe in love again. Well, love had gotten her six years of pain and sorrow and now she was imposing that hurt on innocent people. Ruining them. Destroying them. All so she could pretend there were happy endings.

  Adrienne rubbed her hand across the back of her neck. “Sara, I’m in the middle of something. Can I call you back?” The lie was the truth by a thin margin. She was in the middle of realizing what a complete and utter fool she was.

  The other end of the line was quiet for a moment. “Of course, dear.” Sara was obviously trying to mask the concern in her voice. After all, this great reunion is what she’d been begging Sara to do.

  Adrienne rolled her eyes and forced an attempt at cheer. “This is great news,” she lied. “Um, let me call you back when I’m done.”

  Sara said good-bye, and Adrienne hung up the phone.

  Still clutching the grocery bag, she meandered—zombie-like—to the living room and dropped onto the couch. The house was quiet. The tart scent of oranges rose from the bag. They’d probably smashed the bagels. Bagels made her think of shmear. Shmear made her think of Leo. Leo made her think of William. She groaned and loosened her grip.

  Over and over she considered stopping this escapade. But it was too late for that now. No matter what she did, people were going to get hurt. Adrienne closed her eyes and shoved the bag away. She thought of Will. Fiercely devoted, pleading with her to butt out. She thought of Pops. “But when you leave, he crashes,” Will had said. She thought of Sara, majestic and elegant, but draped in the shame that had cloaked her for so many years. This was finally a chance for her to be free.