by Helen Conrad
“What?” Mark Spitz, the famous swimming star, calling person-to-person? Her mind boggled. What on earth could this be? Had he heard about her bid for a comeback? Was he calling to urge her on? Or to tell her to forget it? She hurried out to the living room and took the receiver from Maxie. “Hello?”
“Kathy Carrington? I have Mr. Mark Spitz on the line.”
“Yes, this is Kathy Carrington.”
She waited. There was a moment of static-filled silence, and then Jace's unmistakable voice came on the scene.
“Hi, Kathy. Mark here.”
Every nerve in Kathy's body twanged. “Jace!”
“Oh no, no, no, this is Mark Spitz, just calling a fellow swimmer to wish her luck.”
She sagged against the wall. “This isn't Mark Spitz. Why would Mark Spitz be calling me, anyway? I've never even met him!”
“Uh-huh. And yet you accepted his call, didn't you?”
“Jace ...”
“At the same time, rejecting calls from your old friend Jason Harper, who loves you.”
Loves? It was just his way, she told herself quickly, of teasing her. “Jace...”
“I guess it's because he won more gold medals than I did. Right?”
He was, without a doubt, the most infuriating man she'd ever met. “Come on, Jace, you know why I've been avoiding you.”
“Yes. And you know why I haven't been letting you.”
She took a deep breath, calming herself. His voice sounded so good, no matter how she tried to deny it. “To tell you the truth, I'm . . . not sure that I do know that.”
There was a moment of silence, and she could hear him changing positions before he answered. “I'll tell you, then,” he said, his voice low and soft over the line. “You're the one person in the entire world I've opened my soul to.”
He meant that. She could hear pure sincerity in his voice. Something inside of her seemed to bloom at his words, choking her. She closed her eyes. “Oh . . . Jace ...”
But he spoke again quickly, and now his tone was light again, making her wonder if she'd imagined what he'd said before, how he'd said it.
“So you see, you can't leave me high and dry now. You've got to nurture me, take care of me.”
She sighed. Would she ever know just how to read him? “Act like a wife?” she said cynically.
“Exactly. Why not?”
That was what he really wanted, wasn't it? Someone to take care of him. Hadn't he figured out yet that she wasn't available for the job? What was the matter with the man?
“I've already got a full-time occupation,” she said sadly. “You know that.”
There was a moment of silence. “How's it coming, anyway?” he asked at last.
“Workouts?”
“Yeah. The training of the next world champion.”
“It's coming fine. Just fine.”
“I'm sure it is. The real question, of course, is why.”
She stood very still. “Why?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you do it? What drives you? What demon lives inside that beautiful body urging you on? What makes Kathy swim?”
Kathy shifted the phone from one ear to the other. “It's just something I've got to do,” she said defensively. “It's hard to explain.”
There was a long silence. She closed her eyes, trying to gather the strength to hang up on him. She had to do it. And yet, she couldn't.
“It's Jim Corbett, isn't it?” he said at last, his voice like ground glass.
Kathy shook her head, stunned. “No. Oh no.”
“What is it? Do you feel sorry for him, or what?”
“It's not like that ...”
“Damn it, Kathy. If it's not Jim, what is it? Explain. Let me understand.”
She hesitated, but when she tried to find the words, they escaped her. “It's not Jim,” she said quickly. “But . . . but it's due to him that I'm getting this chance. I owe him so much, Jace.”
“Do you?” He didn't sound convinced. “How about me?”
“You? What do you mean?”
“It comes down to this, Kathy. Do you want him, or do you want me?”
Jealousy? Was that what this was about? She almost laughed. “No, it's not like that. There's nothing romantic between Jim and me.”
“The hell there isn't.”
“No, really, since he lost the use of his legs, he's not interested in that, really.”
“Baloney. He's still a man. Anyone can see that.”
Enough. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She had to get rid of him. “Even if it were true, it's none of your business.”
“Right.”
“I've got a goal. It's important to me. I've got seven months to go.”
“You can't shut me out for seven months.”
She sighed, at the end of her rope. “So it seems.”
They were both silent, and when he spoke again, his tone had mellowed, as though he understood that the confrontational approach hadn't worked. “I'm not asking all that much, you know. Just a little talk now and then. A simple phone call. We don't have to do or say anything heavy. Just chitchat. You could tell me gossip. I could tell you jokes.”
Impossible man. “I don't know any gossip.”
“Then tell me a story.”
“I don't know any stories.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Her hand tightened on the receiver. “The truth is that I have to be at a workout soon. And I don't have time to talk to you.”
His voice hardened. “Make time.”
Didn't he understand how desperately she wished that she could? “Jace, please try to understand. The very thing that ruined my chances at the Olympics was falling in love with Greg. I can't go through that again, now that I'm so close.”
“You're a woman, Kathy. You're not a machine. Maybe it wasn't meant to be.”
All the longings and frustrations of her last few days welled up inside her and fueled her anger. There were so many people against her, all the doomsayers—did he have to be one of them too?
“How dare you? How dare you say that!” Tears welled in her eyes, and she shook them away, furious at him, at herself. “You got there. Just because it's more work for me, because it's taking longer, do you think I'm going to give up and take the easy way out—-falling in love with you?”
There. She'd said it. Falling in love with him would be so easy to do—and so disastrous. “No. I'm not going to. And you might as well forget about trying to make me.”
She slammed down the phone, afraid that another word from him would start her sobbing. She stood very still for a moment, forcing back the tears. She wouldn't cry. She refused to cry. She was a winner. She was going to win, no matter what it cost.
That was it. It was over. He didn't believe in her dream, didn't believe in her, obviously. How could she possibly be in love with a man like that?
No way!
She needed to get out, needed to do something—anything rather than brooding at home while she waited for time to go to workout. So she headed for the one place she knew she could probably find good company—Mickey’s on the Bay, a beach town café just off the marina that had been there forever. She and her friends had hung out there in high school, and to this day, she could always find someone she knew there.
It felt good to be back in Destiny Bay. After college, she’d spent a few years working in the San Francisco area, reluctant to come back to where her extended family, all the many Carringtons, had so much influence and loomed so large.
But a few years ago, she’d been home for Thanksgiving—one of the few events she still managed to share with her parents every year--and she’d run into Jim at Mickey’s on the Bay. She’d known him from an exhibition she’d swum in a few years earlier. He told her some of his fresh ideas and the more she heard, the more excited she got.
He was thrilled that she was open to his theories and he offered her a job in his electronics
firm—a job that brought her back to Destiny Bay for good and had the flexible schedule that would let her train most of the day.
So she did it—committed herself to winning and proving his concepts at the same time. And as far as she was concerned, she’d never looked back.
Mickey’s was filled with the usual lunch crowd, including Shelley, Kathy’s pretty younger sister, who gave her a grin from across the room. Mickey herself caught sight of Kathy right away and rushed over to give her a hug. Her beautiful red hair was smoothed back into a French twist that gave her a sophisticated look that was a real contrast to her usual mode.
Kathy laughed. “Wow, you really look different with that hairstyle. Where is that mass of curls that’s usually flying all over the place?”
“Yes, I’m a new woman.” Mickey grinned and did a pose. “Actually, I’m trying to lose my baby fat, so to speak. Time to grow up and be an adult, don’t you think?”
“Here’s the real deal,” said Shelley, coming up to join them and pushing her own thick blond hair behind her ear. “The inside scoop.” The three of them slipped onto counter stools and the young girl working the counter poured them each a soft drink.
“Mickey’s dating Robert Harding, the financial guy,” Shelley explained cheerfully. “So she’s in training to look the part of a society lady.”
“He’s a very nice man,” Mickey said defensively. “He’s worth a little extra effort in my opinion.” She put her nose in the air, pretending to be a changed woman, and the others laughed affectionately.
The café door opened and a handsome, but slightly disheveled man came in, looking quizzical.
“Tag Carrington!” Kathy cried, greeting her cousin. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”
He stopped before them, scratching his head, darkly tanned and long overdue for a haircut. The fact that he lived on his boat probably contributed to that condition.
“Okay, get this,” he said, his blue-eyed gaze skipping over his cousins and lighting on Mickey. “I was cruising into my slip at the marina when I got attacked by a flock of pelicans.”
“Attacked?” Mickey said, incredulous.
“Six or seven of them. They dive-bombed me. I swear to God. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Pelicans don’t do that,” Shelley protested.
“These did.” He looked like a Dead End Kid, loveable despite everything. “Look at the hole in my shirt.”
“Oh come on,” Mickey laughed. “How are we supposed to tell that one from all the others?”
He gave her a sly, sideways look. “This shirt has many a tale to tell,” he teased. “Each hole has its own history.”
She smiled at him and for a moment something between them seemed to sizzle as their gazes locked.
“You look different,” he said at last, shuffling his feet and looking uneasy. “Uh…you look really pretty.” He winced and shook his head as though he wished he hadn’t said that. “I guess I’ve been gone longer than I thought.” He shrugged and looked at Kathy. “What’s going on around here, anyway?”
“Nothing. I just…” Oh, I just spent some time in Utah and I almost fell in love and the guy is still hanging around and I’m trying to get him to leave me alone--but basically, nothing. What else could she do? How was she going to explain all that in a setting like this? So she shrugged and said again, “Nothing. Uh, where’ve you been, anyway? Sailing the Seven Seas?”
He looked at Mickey. She looked at him and Kathy was surprised to see that she seemed nervous.
He shrugged, too. “I went on down to Baja. Cruised around looking for whales. Thinking.” He shrugged again and looked toward the back of the café. “Where’s that little kid hiding out?”
He meant Meggie, Mickey’s three year old daughter.
“She’s in the back, practicing her drawing abilities. She’s starting pre-school tomorrow.”
“Yeah?” He looked at Mickey and shrugged. “Okay if I go see her?”
“Sure.” Mickey’s cheeks were red and her green eyes luminous. “I’ll show you where she is.” And without another word, she led the way.
Kathy and her sister exchanged glances as they disappeared into the back and Shelley whispered, “Wow. Do you get the vibes I’m getting?”
Kathy nodded. “I thought she said she was dating some financial guy.”
“She may be dating him,” Shelley whispered. “But I’d say she’s dreaming of someone else.” She leaned even closer. “I’ve heard he’s pretty serious about her. The word ‘marriage’ has been bandied about.”
“Who? Tag?”
“No, silly. Robert, the financial guy.”
“No kidding.” Kathy made a face. “That would certainly be a change of lifestyle for Mickey.”
“No word as to how she feels about it. I’d say she has someone else on her mind, so who knows?”
They looked at each other and both nodded. Kathy gave Shelley a hug, touched for the moment, glad to be close to her sister. If only all her family relationships could be like this.
“So are you going to be in town for awhile?” Shelley asked.
“I think so.” She made a face. “Unless Jim sends me out on more fundraising junkets.”
Shelley smiled, fluffing her mass of blond hair around her head and shaking it out. “Are you going to go see Mom and Dad?”
“Not if I can help it.”
Shelley nodded. “I understand. Though Mom would love to see you.”
“Would she?”
Shelley frowned. “Kathy, you shouldn’t be so hard on her.” Biting her lip, she made an obvious effort to find something else to talk about.
“How about you?” Shelley asked her big sister. “When are you going to finally give in to the inevitable and fall in love with someone?”
“Not much chance of that,” Kathy said breezily, though a picture of Jace’s sardonic smile flickered in her mind’s eye. “I’m too busy for that sort of thing.”
“Sure,” her sister said quickly. “Me too.”
Kathy frowned. Both of them were too wrapped up in their lives to make way for someone else. Did it run in the family? She felt a pang of regret, but she didn’t have time to mull it over. Some old high school friends called her over to their booth and she spent the next half hour going over old times. She felt relatively cheery and warmed by all the good feeling at Mickey’s, but the good feelings faded fast as she made her way home.
Jace. Why couldn’t she block him out of her mind? And why on earth had she mentioned anything about “love” to him?
Love. There was that word again. Big mistake. Fatal. She shivered and made a face. What a concept—that she could be in love with Jace! A man who had so little faith in her, so little faith in what she wanted to accomplish. But he was out of her life now, and she wouldn't have to worry about him any longer. What a relief.
She forced down Maxie's latest avocado concoction and left for her afternoon workout with Jim in a lighter frame of mind than she'd had for a long time. Her worries were over.
She swam like a woman possessed.
“Lookin' good,” Jim said as she climbed out after a hard two hours in the water, and from his grin she could tell he meant it. “You go on and get dressed,” he told her. “I've got a meeting with the aquatics administrator here at the university. I don't know why. They're probably going to raise pool rates on us again.” He grimaced. “Anyway, I'll be over later. Maxie's invited me to dinner.”
“Oh my God, did she tell you what she's making?”
“No.” He looked surprised. “What?”
She cleared her throat. “I don't know what you're getting. We're having avocados.”
His brows drew together. “Just avocados?”
She nodded, suppressing a grin, her eyes laughing. “Another diet,” she explained. “Remember the turnip diet?”
He shuddered visibly. “Only too well.” The worried look deepened. “Maybe I'll just come by for dessert.”
She arched a sculp
tured eyebrow. “Avocado ice cream?”
Poor Jim looked a little green himself. “Maybe I'd better skip dinner tonight. What do you think?”
She grinned at him. “Oh, come on over. Only— why not stop for a hamburger on the way?”
He brightened. “Good idea.”
“I might do the same,” she grumbled as she walked off toward the locker room. Maxie was a love, but she could be a bit fanatical at times.
She found herself humming as she dressed, a strident, grating tune she hated but couldn't seem to get out of her head. Her hands moved quickly, her steps were brisk, and suddenly, on her way out to the parking lot, she realized she was acting very strangely. All charged up. And she realized something else. It was all a reaction to her fight with Jace.
But she was happy about that. Or so she kept telling herself as she and Maxie cleaned the apartment and prepared to fix dinner for Jim.
“You're sure full of energy,” Maxie said as she watched Kathy sweeping the kitchen floor like a man cutting wheat with a scythe. “What's gotten into you?”
“Nothing at all,” Kathy said innocently. But she imagined the floor had Jace's mocking grin painted on it and swept even harder.
Jim was late. They both sat on the couch and fidgeted, waiting for him.
“Maybe he isn't coming,” Maxie worried. “Maybe he's found something better to do.”
“He'll be here,” Kathy reassured her.
And finally he did arrive. But the moment his wheelchair rolled into the room, she could tell something was very wrong. His face was white and drained. He looked shell-shocked.
He didn't waste any time preparing her for the worst. “We've lost the pool.”
She stood still, shocked as well. “What? We've had that pool for over a year.”
“We've lost it. They've got a new swim team coming in. They're going to need the space and time.”
The room seemed to darken around her. “Just like that? Don't we have a contract?”
He shook his head. “We were going month by month. I thought I had a commitment from the university.” His eyes were sunken, haunted. “I'm sorry, Kathy. I just don't know what we're going to do.”
We'll find another pool. The words swirled in her head, and she wished with all her heart she could say them aloud. But she knew as well as he did how hard it had been to find the university pool. Pool space was limited, and these days, with insurance such a problem, it was almost impossible to find. “I know what this is,” she said woodenly, sinking back down onto the couch. “Spite and jealousy.”