Baby Times Two

by Marie Ferrarella

  The man fairly sprang out, light on his feet for all his weight and advancing years. He was eager to get on with it.

  “The location’s what drew my eye to this place to begin with.” He gestured about broadly. “It’s got a certain charm, doesn’t it?” He didn’t wait for an answer. Confident, he needed no rubber-stamping of his instincts. “All it needs is some sprucing up.”

  Work had already begun on that score. Most of the landscaping was presently in a state of flux. Gardeners were hard at work planting an army of newly purchased trees that would contrast harmoniously with native cacti and succulents.

  He offered his hand to Gina. “I figured there wasn’t anything wrong with it that a few dollars here and there couldn’t fix.”

  Gina accepted his hand and stepped from the car. “How few?”

  When they had initially discussed the project, James had stated that money was no object. She would hate to discover, now that she had come all this way, turning her life, not to mention her stomach, upside down, that suddenly, money was an object.

  Behind him, Chase stepped out onto the dark Spanish tile. James laughed at Gina’s question and his rounded belly did exactly what Santa Claus’s did in the immortal poem. It shook like a bowl full of jelly, despite the expensive suit and trappings of wealth.

  James took Gina’s arm as the driver removed all their luggage out of the trunk. He escorted Gina to the entrance.

  “Just a figure of speech, darling. I intend to put in as much as it takes.” He stopped for a moment before the heavy oak doors, silently appraising them. They were new, with beveled glass on either side. The glass, catching the early-morning sun, gleamed like jewels that had been carelessly scattered about.

  “Because it’s going to yield me a whole lot more than I put in if I just have a little patience.” James glanced at Gina. “That’s the key to everything, you know. Patience. Things usually work themselves out if you put enough work into them. You just gotta have patience, that’s all.”

  That might work for buildings, she thought, but not always for people.

  How much patience did you have?

  She had no idea where that little voice came from, but she wasn’t about to dwell on the question it raised now. Even so, her eyes met Chase’s.

  Chase wondered if she was thinking the same thing he was, the same thought that had appeared with no warning in his mind. That perhaps they hadn’t exercised enough patience with each other. No, he was just imagining things.

  He concentrated on the reason they were both here. James’ hotel.

  “The fountain looks new.” He stopped in front of it to really look at it. Better that than Gina’s eyes.

  The structure was at least twelve feet tall. In the center stood a statue of a cherubic-looking child, her hands gleefully spread upward, obviously splashing water. Twin sprays arched, one from the palm of either hand. It was cheerful and warmly endearing at the same time.

  It seemed an inspired touch to have all this coolness in what was, after all, a desert.

  It also, quite unaccountably, made Gina suddenly long for a baby. She looked away.

  James beamed. “My idea. Thought it freshened things up a bit.” He turned toward Gina. “That’s what I want done on the inside.”

  He’d managed to lose her. Or maybe it was just being around Chase that scrambled her thinking. She looked again at the arches of water splashing gaily down into pools of blue. “You want a fountain installed?”

  James laughed again. “No, I want it freshened up. C’mon, I’ll show you what I mean.”

  He threw open the doors, beckoning them to follow.

  One step inside and it was painfully obvious what he meant. The interior of the hotel was as dark as the exterior was bright. The furniture gracing the foyer appeared almost too heavy for the Spanish tiles beneath their feet. The whole effect was that of a huge doctor’s office, circa 1930.

  She pictured herself as a traveler arriving here for the first time. There was no uplifting, welcoming feeling and that was important to her. She imagined it was important to most people, just as she imagined that the hotel didn’t have too many returning guests.

  Massive, wingback chairs in maroon leather with rusty studs running along their seams were holding a powwow around a stone fireplace. Overhead, painfully orangy light attempted to break its way free from a chandelier made to mimic tiny flickering candles. It obscured more than it illuminated.

  She drew closer. The front desk’s counter was chipped and there was a large gouge taken out of the front that looked as if it might have been made by the horn of a charging steer. Maybe they had a cattle drive through here once that had gotten out of hand, she mused with a smile.

  Gina turned toward James and saw that he was studying her, waiting. “How old is this place?”

  “Older than I am by a good ten years.” Gina calculated that made it at least seventy years old. James signaled for the driver to set the bags down by the desk. “Go on and wait outside, Eddie. I’ll be with you in a bit.” Edgar retreated and James turned his attention back to Gina. “Would you stay here?” he asked suddenly.

  She took a breath as she looked around again. “Given a choice?”

  He nodded. “Given a choice.”

  Though immaculately neat and clean, the hotel gave off an aura of somber dreariness and depression. She would most definitely not stay here and really wished she didn’t have to.

  “No.”

  James nodded. It was exactly the answer he would have expected from an honest person. “Make it look like something someone like you and him—” he nodded toward Chase “—would want to stay in.”

  That was a tall order, she thought. “We have completely different tastes,” she pointed out quickly.

  If it was meant as a protest, James didn’t take it as such. Instead, he laid a large, confident hand on her shoulder. “That’s the idea. You’re the decorator. Blend them.”

  His smile broadened to one of welcome as a tall, dark-haired man of obvious Indian ancestry approached, his tanned hand stretched out in greeting. “Ah, I’d like for you all to meet the man I’m putting in charge of running this here place once you all get done.”

  Gina noticed that he had slipped back into his country-boy mode. His speech pattern had become rather pronounced again.

  “This is Benjamin Two Feathers. The man’s a wonder. Anything you need, he’ll take care of.” James shook the man’s hand heartily, genuine affection in his eyes. “Like I said, I only work with the best. Benjamin, this is Ms. Delmonico and Mr. Randolph. He’s the one with the numbers, she’ll handle making this place over for us.”

  Benjamin shook each of their hands in turn, taking it all in stride. Chase had the feeling that Benjamin would have taken an alien landing party in the courtyard in stride. It made him wish that he were that unflappable.

  “Very good.” Benjamin took a step back. “If either of you need anything, just dial O on the telephone. Shirley’ll know where to find me if I’m not around to answer myself.” He looked toward James. “Good to see you back, Mr. James.”

  He nodded. “And this time I’ve brought the cavalry.” He stopped and laughed at himself. “Sorry, wrong backup.”

  A smile played on Benjamin’s lips as he dismissed the slip and withdrew, moving away as quietly as he had approached.

  “Dial?” Chase asked, having picked up on the term Benjamin had used.

  “The telephones need replacing, too. This place needs an overhaul bad.” James changed directions in midthought. “C’mon, let me show you to your rooms.”

  He led the way to the elevator as a bellman, who had silently materialized behind them, followed with the suitcases. The elevator doors slid open a moment after James pressed the button.

  “They’re right across the hall from mine. They’re just as bad as the others,” he confided. “But they’re bigger and I figured you might want the extra space.”

  The suites were located on the top floor. The
trip up was uncommonly slow. Gina felt herself growing edgier and attributed it not to Chase’s proximity but to the fact that she didn’t really care for being inside a small box, inching its way to the top, held in place by cables that were probably ancient. Stairs were more to her liking. She used them whenever she could. And in this case, despite where the suites were located, she had a feeling that she could probably have arrived there faster by the stairs than by elevator.

  Finally, the elevator came to a creaky halt and the doors pulled open like a child struggling at a taffy pull. Just when Chase thought his lungs couldn’t take any more of Gina’s perfume. Not that the scent was overwhelming, just that it overwhelmed him. And he didn’t like it. He’d been that route before and it led nowhere.

  Chase waited until they were all off and the elevator had gulped closed again before turning to James. “Can I make a suggestion?”

  James grinned and laughed. Though Chase wasn’t transparent, James could easily guess what was on the younger man’s mind. He’d had the same reaction himself on the first trip he’d taken to the suite.

  “Already ahead of you, Randolph. Got someone working now to soup that baby up.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder toward the elevator as he led the way to the suites. “Otherwise, newlyweds are gonna be celebrating their golden anniversary before they get up to their room.”

  Maybe we should have been trapped in an elevator, Gina thought.

  Or thought she thought. How the words had managed to become audible and slip out of her mouth she had no idea. But they obviously had. Chase was giving her a very strange, analytical look, as if she were a column of numbers that refused to add up, while James was chuckling into his chin.

  Now what was that supposed to mean? Chase wondered. “What?”

  Gina shook her head and walked a little faster, using James as a buffer between them. “Nothing.”

  But it was, it was definitely something, and it planted a seed in Chase’s mind. Her comment pointed to the fact that she was thinking about him. About them. Was there any regret over the breakup? He’d assumed that she had been glad of it.

  But what if—?

  No, no “what if’s.” He wasn’t about to be drawn into that. He’d promised himself that to get through this next month, he wasn’t going to reexamine anything that had happened between them. It could be classified as emotional baggage, and as baggage, he was going to leave it packed.

  Besides, it was too late for any soul-searching. He’d already taken what he’d learned from his mistake and moved on.

  Except that, Chase thought as he walked beside James down the blandly carpeted hall, he didn’t think he’d really learned very much at all.

  Seeing her had blown that myth for him and robbed him of his confidence. He wasn’t over her, and maybe never would be.

  James stopped before two adjacent doors. The lighting could be a lot better here, Gina thought. Not brighter necessarily, just more intimate. And flowers. They could use festoons of flowers strategically placed to dress up the atmosphere. And that wallpaper—

  She blinked when she realized that James was speaking to them. He was holding up two keys.

  “Pick a key, any key.”

  Gina glanced at Chase before making her choice. She took the key closest to her. Chase took the one that remained.

  James dropped his hand. “Those are the keys to your rooms.” He gestured to the doors behind them. “The tags match the numbers. The rooms are identically furnished and pretty much unexciting in every way,” he felt compelled to add.

  He took Gina’s key from her, glanced at the number and opened the door to her left. “We’ve got a skeleton staff on duty just to help out until everything’s up and running. Got a brand-new chef, too. He’s down there, experimenting with menus, so meals are going to be a real hoot.”

  Gina remained rooted where she was. “Meals?” she echoed.

  She hadn’t given any particulars beyond her work much thought. Was she going to have to take each meal with Chase sitting across from her, wearing down what slim resistance she could still maintain against him?

  James was oblivious to the note of distress in her voice. “We’ll be taking them together, leastwise, dinners. I’ll look forward to you giving me your reports at that time on the progress you’ve made. Mite pushy, I know, but it’s my way of staying on top of things.” He handed Gina’s key back to her. “Breakfast and lunch you’ll be on your own, but I suspect the kitchen crew’ll appreciate it if you take ‘em together.”

  The kitchen crew might appreciate it, but she wouldn’t, Gina thought. She was already seeing a great deal more of Chase than she wanted to.

  Than was good for her.

  “Why don’t you settle in, freshen up and change into something a mite cooler?” He flashed another apologetic grin. “As you might have already guessed, the air-conditioning system still needs a little tinkering with.” He looked at Chase’s suit. “No reason to be formal around here, Randolph. I want you both to be as comfortable as possible while you work. I’ll meet you in the foyer in—” he looked at his watch “—oh, say about half an hour.” He looked at the two young people before him. “Enough time?”

  “It is for me.” Chase’s manner indicated that it wouldn’t be for Gina.

  “Perfect.” She had to restrain from snapping the word out. Her lips thinned into a tight smile. “I’ll be there early.”

  With that, she whirled on her heel and marched into her room. The bellman followed her in like a fluid shadow, carrying her bags.

  Not wanting to hang around, Chase picked up his own.

  “Fine-looking woman,” James confided to Chase, lowering his voice so that Gina didn’t hear.

  Chase nodded. There was no arguing with that. Arguing, he thought ruefully, was reserved for just about everything else.

  Gina fumbled with her purse as the bellman set down her suitcases next to her bed and then pulled open the heavy maroon drapes for her. The view was wonderful, she noted. The room was not. But then, if it had been, she wouldn’t be here.

  She heard the sound of a door closing in the hall. Chase. If he was out of her mind for a moment, something always seemed to be bringing him back. This was not going to be easy.

  The bellman shook his head as she stepped forward with a folded bill in her hand.

  “This is strictly off the meter,” he told her when she raised a quizzical brow. “Basically I’m being paid to hang around here and help out whenever anything’s needed.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. The uniform, which James insisted on even though the hotel was not open for business, was slightly baggy. “I get a lot of reading done.” He crossed to the door, then turned toward her just before closing the door. “You need anything, just ask for Juan. I’m your man.”

  Gina flipped the lock after he left. She wasn’t in the market for a man, she thought. For any reason. She just wanted to continue the way she was. The way she had been before yesterday evening, she amended.

  Hands on hips, Gina took a deep breath and looked around. The decor was decidedly uninspired. This was definitely going to require a lot of work.

  But it wasn’t work she was thinking of.

  Well, here she was, she thought, Dorothy in Oz. With the Tin Man next door. She looked at the wall that separated their two rooms. Except, as she recalled, the Tin Man had discovered that he really did have a heart.

  Which put him one up on Chase, she thought, her raging hormones notwithstanding.

  It didn’t seem fair that she was still so attracted to him, knowing full well that there was no future for them, based on their past. At the very least, he should be suffering right along with her.

  No, it wasn’t fair at all.

  Gina wiped her brow. The air-conditioning seemed worse up here. James had better use his forceful charisma to get that problem resolved right away or, smashing new decor or not, no one was going to stay here. Pool sides were for roasting in, not hotel rooms.

  A smile glimmer
ed in the corners of her mouth and spread.

  It turned into a devilish grin as she threw her suitcase on the bed and flipped open the locks. She began rummaging through her clothes, looking for something to wear that was comfortable.

  And that would make Chase definitely uncomfortable.

  * * *

  Chase gave a long, appraising look as Gina approached them from the bank of elevators. He’d had no idea they could make shorts that small. Her feet shod in white mules with three-inch heels that made her legs look even longer than they were, Gina was wearing lavender-and-white-striped shorts and a lavender tank top. In Chase’s estimation, the outfit would keep her cool and every male within spitting distance of puberty, hot.

  And she knew it, he thought. She would have to have been born stupid not to know it. And Gina was many things, but she wasn’t stupid.

  Following James’ lead a moment later, Chase rose from his chair as she crossed to them. The maroon leather made a sighing noise as it separated itself belatedly from his skin.

  Maybe he should have opted for jeans instead of shorts, Chase thought. The backs of his legs felt sweaty and they stung.

  Admiration, full-blooded and nonthreatening, shone in James’ eyes as he looked at Gina.

  “Ms. Delmonico, you make me wish I were twenty years younger and single.” He dug his elbow into Chase’s ribs. “Sort of takes your breath away, don’t she, boy?”

  If she hadn’t, James’ nudge would have, Chase thought as he nodded in agreement. There was no point in lying. Gina knew what she looked like and what she was capable of doing to him. “She always did.”

  Prepared for a flippant remark, Gina stared at Chase in surprise at his simple agreement to James’ question.

  The next moment, James was gently guiding Gina out of the foyer.

  “I thought I’d just show you two to the office before I get busy myself. I’ll be away until evening,” he said conversationally. “But don’t let that stop you from digging in. Like I said, if there’s anything you need, just ask Benjamin.”

  She nodded and wondered if Benjamin had a magic wand hidden away somewhere. She could certainly make use of it. Unlike Chase’s job, hers was going to require every string she could pull and then some to get this operation rolling so that it would be completed in time.