by Kara Lennox
“So how’s everything back at the castle?” Miss Greer asked. “I understand you fixed breakfast yesterday.” She didn’t seem distressed by that idea.
“Sara did all the cooking. I just put it on the table.”
“She’s a good girl, that one. You’re not letting her handle the money, are you?”
“No, ma’am. I ran the credit cards for the guests.”
“Good. Now, Reece, I want you to do something for me. There’s a girl here who’s been taking care of me-I want to give her some money, but I don’t have any cash with me.”
“You want to…what?” Were the hospital staff shaking down Miss Greer?
“She’s not a nurse, just a volunteer, and she’s been so sweet and I know she could use some extra cash.”
“Miss Greer, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The woman was on heavy drugs and she might not be thinking right. “Did she ask you for money?”
“Oh, heavens, no. Her name is Fatima. I don’t have any cash in my purse, but I have some at home. Could you get out…oh, about a hundred dollars and make sure that Fatima gets it?”
Normally Miss Greer was extremely prudent with her money. “Why don’t you wait until you’re at home, and send it to her?” Reece suggested.
“My secret stash is under my mattress. Just bring the money next time you visit. Or send it with Sara.”
Now he knew Miss Greer wasn’t in her right mind. No one who knew Sara would give her a hundred dollars to deliver. Not that she would steal it-never that. But what if it got mixed up in her money ball? At the very least, the bills would get all wrinkled. If she didn’t give them to some homeless person.
“I’ll do that,” he said to appease Miss Greer. Chances were by tomorrow she would forget all about it. Later, if she really did want to send a gift to Fatima, she could still do so.
“Well, I expect you’ve humored me long enough,” she said. “Jeopardy’s on. I want to watch that.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else you need?”
“They’re taking good care of me here, don’t worry.”
They were drugging her up, that was for sure. He’d never seen her so cheerful.
“You and Sara enjoy the evening. Why don’t you go to a movie or something?”
Reece coughed to disguise his reaction. “Sara and me?” Why would she say that? Had Sara mentioned their quasi-date?
“Come on now, Reece,” Miss Greer said with a smile. “I’ve seen the way you look at her. Have you tried asking her out on a date? I know she’s not dating anyone.”
“I’m not really Sara’s type,” he said diplomatically.
“Her type are all flakes. Artists, musicians, movie directors, starving actors. She could use a boyfriend with a head on his shoulders.”
“I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll let you play matchmaker with me if you return the favor. How about that nice man who owns Old Salt’s Bar and Grill? He’s a widower, nice-looking-”
Miss Greer tittered like a schoolgirl. “Don’t be silly. I’m allowed to play matchmaker-I’m an old woman. Now be gone with you. Alex Trebek is on.”
LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Allie came over to the B and B. Cooper was handling the afternoon charter on his own, since it was only a couple of passengers, and Allie had decided she would visit Miss Greer. Sara asked to tag along, solving her transportation problem, and afterward they were going to do some wedding planning.
“So how are you managing without Miss Greer?” Allie asked as soon as Sara was buckled into the passenger seat of Allie’s little blue Suzuki Rodeo.
That was a very good question. “Okay, I guess. Reece is helping.”
Allie raised her eyebrows. “No kidding? Does he wear a frilly apron and scrub bathtubs?”
Sara let herself form that mental picture, then embellished it slightly, picturing him in the frilly apron-and nothing else. Surprisingly sexy.
“Sara?”
She snapped back to the present. “He makes beds. And he serves breakfast. Unfortunately, he also put Miss Greer’s good china in the dishwasher.”
“That’s bad?”
Of course Allie wouldn’t understand. She was a tomboy through and through and had probably never had a dishwasher. Or fine china, for that matter.
“It’s bad. Now we have to try to replace it before Miss Greer gets home from the hospital, and it’s a rare pattern. Reece found a few saucers on the Internet, but that’s it.”
“Hmm. Are you talking about those white dishes with the pink roses?”
Sara nodded.
“I saw some of those somewhere. I remember thinking, hey, those are just like the ones at the Sunsetter.”
Sara sat up straighter, nearly strangling herself on the shoulder harness. “Oh, think, Allie! Where did you see them? Was it recently?”
“It seems I was with Cooper, so pretty recently. Maybe at one of those antique stores on Second Street.”
“Which one?”
Allie shrugged. “They all run together in my mind.”
At least it was a place to start. There were probably a dozen antiques stores in Port Clara’s old downtown, but it wouldn’t take that long to hit them all, blitz style.
When they reached Miss Greer’s room at the hospital, Reece was just coming out. He looked yummy today in crisp jeans and a shirt with blue stripes, neatly tucked in. At least he’d gone to short sleeves in deference to the warmer May weather, but the shirt was starched to within an inch of its life.
Allie greeted him with a hug, which was a little bit funny when Sara thought about it. A few short weeks ago, all of the Remingtons had been Allie’s enemies, trying to take away her boat and her livelihood. Now she was marrying into their family.
“No cruise today?” Reece asked her.
“Cooper’s handling it. I needed an afternoon off and some girl talk.”
“How is she?” Sara whispered, nodding toward the partially open door.
“Health-wise, pretty well,” Reece replied. “She’s been up walking, and she’s a regular Chatty Cathy. But I’m afraid I upset her.”
Sara gasped. “You didn’t tell her about the dishes, did you? Because I have a lead on some replacements.”
“No. But I…well, I asked her about the future. She was worried about whether she could keep running the B and B, and I asked her if she’d planned for retirement and if she had long-term care insurance and…and, well, she got upset.”
“Of course she did! Nobody wants to think about being shuffled off to the old folks home, especially when they’re lying in a hospital bed.”
“I’m worried about her. She keeps her money under her mattress, for pity’s sake.”
“It makes her feel safe,” Sara pointed out sensibly. “She went through a war, remember. Maybe her parents were able to escape Germany because they did have a cash reserve.”
Reece looked thoughtful. “I never thought of that. Would you try to calm her down? I didn’t mean to upset her.”
Allie slipped into the room, leaving Reece and Sara alone. “I’m sure you meant well, Reece, but not everyone sees the world like you. As cautious as Miss Greer is with her money, I’m sure she has some saved for a rainy day, which is better than a lot of people.”
“What if she becomes disabled? What if her mind goes? She has no family to take care of her. Someone could take advantage of her.”
“She has lots of friends. I love her like my own grandmother, Reece. I won’t let anything bad happen to her.” She supposed Reece saw that as the blind taking care of the blind, but she refused to spend her days worrying about the future. Life was too short.
Impulsively she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “You’re sweet to worry. But you really need to lighten up. Live in the moment. Smile a little more. Carpe diem.”
He took a deep breath and forced a smile. “I’ll try.”
“I’m going to a party tonight. Why don’t you come with me?”
“On a Sunday?”
“What’s wron
g with having a party on Sunday? It’s still the weekend.”
“I have some financials I have to go over tonight.”
She rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself,” she said, as if it made no difference to her. But inside she wilted. She’d asked him out and he’d turned her down. She had to face it-he wasn’t into her. Yeah, maybe they had chemistry, but Reece was obviously the kind of man who needed more.
She wasn’t convinced that there couldn’t be more, but apparently he was.
He said goodbye and walked away, and Sara swallowed the stupid lump in her throat and entered Miss Greer’s room, nearly hitting Allie, who was on her way out.
“Sorry,” she said.
“Sorry,” Allie said at the same time. “I was just coming to see what happened to you. Did you just ask Reece to go to a party with you?”
“You were eavesdropping.”
“No, honestly, I wasn’t. The door was open a crack.”
“Well, yes, I asked him, and he said no.” Sara brushed past Allie into the room. “Hello, Miss Greer!” she said cheerily. “How are you today?”
“I was fine, until Reece reminded me that I’m going to end up bankrupt in a nursing home, dependent on the kindness of strangers.”
Sara sighed. “Don’t listen to him,” she said, rubbing the elderly lady’s arm. “He means well, really, but his brain functions a bit differently from ours.”
“Actually,” Allie said, “Reece is very good at what he does. I had a little bit saved for retirement, but not nearly enough. After he ran the numbers for me I realized I had to do more-”
“Wait a minute,” Sara interrupted. “You’re not taking his side, are you?”
“I don’t see it as taking sides,” Allie said. “I’m just saying everyone should do some planning for the future. Everyone,” she added pointedly, giving Sara a meaningful look.
“And I say that if you spend today worrying about the future, you’ve wasted a perfectly good day.”
“Oh, Reece is probably right,” Miss Greer grumbled. “I won’t live forever. You won’t either, Sara. You’re young and healthy now, but in the blink of an eye, you’re old and you wonder what happened to the years.”
Great. Now she’d lost Miss Greer to the dark side.
“Can we change the subject to something more cheerful? We could talk about my root canal.” An aide chose that moment to deliver Miss Greer’s lunch, and no more was said about retirement, which suited Sara just fine.
AFTER LEAVING the hospital, Sara and Allie went to Allie’s house to talk about the wedding. Allie had no interest in an expensive gown or a tall cake, or forcing her friends to wear ugly bridesmaids’ dresses. But she did want to mark the occasion in a special and memorable way. So she and Cooper were renting the biggest party barge they could find and decking it out with flowers stem to stern. They were inviting close friends on an afternoon wedding cruise, complete with champagne and appetizers. Afterward there would be a big party on the beach for everybody who wanted to come. Practically the whole town knew Allie, and they all wanted to raise a glass in honor of her nuptials.
“I love this house,” Sara commented as they settled in the den, which was littered with several dresses in bags, shoes, recipes, bridal magazines, florists’ catalogs and a stack of half-addressed invitations. “I’m so glad Cooper decided to rent it.”
“We’re talking about buying it,” Allie said. “It’s perfect for us.”
“And for the bambinos you’ll have,” Sara added. “You’re going to have twelve so their devoted auntie Sara can spoil them rotten, right?”
“First I have to survive the wedding.” Allie looked uneasily at the wedding-planning detritus. “I wanted to keep it simple, and now it’s getting out of hand. Is it too late to elope?”
“Just start making decisions,” Sara said practically. “I’ll help you finish addressing the invitations.”
“Ah, no, thanks. I’ve got that covered.”
“It’s my handwriting, right?” Sara tried not to feel slighted. Her penmanship was abominable.
“That, and the fact you’ll transpose numbers and misspell names. But there is something really important you can do. I know you’re superbusy with Miss Greer’s surgery and all, but I need a caterer. I was going to fix the food myself, but-”
“I’d be honored! You’ll be way too busy to worry about that.”
“Can you do that and be my maid of honor, too?”
“Of course. I’ll fix everything ahead of time. How about a Southwestern theme for the food? Taquitos and flautas, nachos-”
“Whatever you want. For about fifty people. If I can just scratch it off my list and turn it over to you, I’d be so grateful.”
“Give me a budget, then say no more. What about cakes?”
“We’re doing just one cake, from Rominelli’s Bakery. No punch or anything fussy, just champagne and soft drinks.”
“I can do all that, too.”
With the food and drink portion of the planning taken care of, they moved on to dress and shoe modeling and picking out flowers. For once, Allie allowed herself to be a girlie-girl, choosing pink and white roses and carnations.
Sara had to admit she felt a little wistful. As a girl, she’d never been entranced with the idea of being a bride. She’d preferred fantasizing that she was a secret agent or a rock star. Later, she had decided she would never get married-too restrictive. She hated the thought of being tied down.
But seeing Allie in her slightly stressed state of romantic bliss had given birth to fantasies of Prince Charming and happily ever after.
Where was that damn prince, anyway?
She thought briefly of Reece, then shook her head.
“What’s wrong?” Allie asked.
“What? Nothing.”
“You looked sad all the sudden.”
“Allie, is there something wrong with me?”
“What? No. What could be wrong with you? You’re perfect.”
Sara snorted at that one. She was far from perfect, but neither did she think she was repulsive. “Reece is attracted to me-I know he is. He’s hetero and unattached. So why can’t I, you know, get something going with him?”
Allie’s eyebrows rose so high they almost joined her hairline. “This is something you want? I mean, I agree that Reece has a little thing for you. I’ve seen him watching you with this expression of…I don’t know. Wonder, I guess.”
“Wonder?”
“Like he’s watching an exotic, alien creature.”
That didn’t sound so nice.
“But I didn’t think you would be interested in someone so…how do I put this?”
“Boring? A stick-in-the-mud?”
“Now, I wouldn’t have put it that way. But he is more conservative than your usual type of boyfriend.”
“But maybe I need a different kind of boyfriend. All those guys I’ve dated-what’s it ever gotten me? They’re usually flakier than me, even. No stability, no clue about commitment, not exactly loyal…”
“But I thought you wanted someone to have adventures with.”
“I do, but I just realized I also want someone I can depend on. Someone who can ground me.”
“Okay, but maybe you should make the change slowly, by degrees. No more Peter Pans, but someone with a pulse.”
“Allie! Reece has a pulse.” She thought about that hot kiss outside his room. Even the memory made her feel a bit melty. “You should have seen how well he dealt with Miss Greer’s accident. He was calm and efficient, but kind, too. And he didn’t have to agree to help out at the B and B, but he did. He even tried Bulgarian food.”
“Really. You two have been out together?”
“Sort of. But I guess it wasn’t as much fun for him as it was for me. Maybe I should have let him take me to a steak house like he wanted.”
A mischievous smile spread across Allie’s face. “If you want Reece, then I think you should have him. But he seems shy. You’re going to have to make the fi
rst move.”
“I already made the first move. I asked him to come with me to the party and he turned me down, remember?” Sara looked away, refusing to admit how much his turndown bothered her. “How many first moves do I have to make before I admit defeat?”
Chapter Six
Reece spent most of the afternoon going over the dratted financials and painstakingly explaining the concept of Collateralized Mortgage Obligation over the phone to his brother, who was handling the financial aspects of a leveraged buyout.
But his thoughts were never far from Sara.
He’d blown it in more ways than one today. First he’d upset Miss Greer with his talk about nursing homes. Then he’d argued with Sara. And finally, when she’d overlooked his boorish behavior and actually asked him to go to a party with her, he’d said no.
The answer was automatic reflex. The thought of going out for a purely social evening with Sara terrified him. He didn’t much like parties, either.
But she’d asked him out. And he’d said no.
Maybe he needed to read a book on interpersonal skills, because he obviously was lacking in them. While he was at it, maybe he should see a shrink, too. He was crazy for being so attracted to Sara, and also crazy for pulling away from her when she’d made an overture.
He heard the front door open and knew without a doubt it was Sara and not one of the guests. She didn’t say anything, but the air in the house subtly changed whenever she entered or exited. Not long ago he would have scoffed at the idea that a person had vibrations that could be sensed, but Sara did.
He had the financial printout, a yellow legal pad and several other documents spread out over the dining-room table. He’d hoped to finish his work early enough to free up his evening-if Sara would give him a second chance at that party.
But he still had several hours’ worth of analysis to do, and Bret needed it by tomorrow morning.
He didn’t like disappointing his brother, especially at this sensitive time, when Remington Industries was about to name a new VP of Finance, a position currently held by their soon-to-retire father.