Winter Winds

by Gayle Roper

  “Well, you can’t. You’re way too nice to keep doing mean things like you used to.”

  Both Barney and Vinnie made choking sounds.

  “Well, you are,” she said with passion. “I know.”

  Barney leaned over and kissed her temple. “And you, baby, are a wonder.”

  “Yeah?” She felt herself puff with pleasure. “That’s really good, isn’t it? Being a wonder, I mean?”

  “If you don’t mind, how about we get back to business,” Vinnie interrupted. He sounded like he’d just tasted something very bad. “After I put out most of the dog food, I left the gate open behind me. I put the rest outside the gate to lure the big dog out.”

  Barney nodded, looking impressed. “Not bad, Vin.”

  Joanne smiled at her ex-boyfriend. She was glad he had done well, but she was also glad she was now with Barney. She snuggled closer to the big man, wishing there was some way he could hug her feet.

  “Yeah,” Vinnie continued, still not looking at Joanne. “He ate most of the stuff in the yard. The little dog—its name is Trudy; can you believe it?—got some too. Then Jack—that’s the big dog—came through the gate, ate the rest, and took off just as the back door opened. Trudy went in when they called, but Jack kept running. He was heading for the beach.”

  Joanne tried to wiggle her toes but couldn’t feel them. She sighed and wanted a sleeping bag real bad. Barney’s arm tightened around her as if he understood her problem and sympathized.

  Suddenly the front door of the house they were watching flew open. The kid and a lady who was not the suitcase lady but the cop lady raced out. The kid—skinny little thing—held something crushed to his chest. Joanne squinted, trying for better focus. She hated not seeing things far away.

  Last night at the casino, she wouldn’t have known it was Barney who came into the restaurant if it wasn’t for his size. She was able to smile her welcome way before she could really see him. Sometime she was maybe going to have to get glasses in spite of what Mom said, but not until she had to, like when she couldn’t read a stop sign anymore.

  “I guess they got that Trudy dog wrapped in that blanket,” Vinnie said, staring like he had x-ray vision or something. “She should be out cold. Taking her to the vet’s, you think?”

  “I think.” Barney looked over Joanne’s head and smiled at Vinnie. “That means an empty house.”

  Vinnie nodded. “Give me twenty minutes. It probably won’t take that long, but I’d rather have too much time than not enough. I’ll stay hidden until the time’s up.”

  “Be careful.” Joanne couldn’t help it. The words sort of slipped out. Some habits were hard to break.

  Vinnie looked at her for the first time all night. “You too,” he said stiffly and reached for the door handle. He glanced up at Barney “Dome light still off?”

  “Still off. Your car just around the corner?”

  Vinnie nodded and opened the door. “See you at Mr. J’s house.”

  “You mean Mr. Jankowski’s house?” Barney’s voice was ice.

  Vinnie glanced back. “Yeah. Mr. Jankowski. Whatever.” Dressed entirely in black with black stuff smeared on his face, he disappeared into the night almost immediately.

  Barney stared after him. “I don’t know about that guy. He’s not too smart, and he’s disrespectful. Bad combination.” Barney glanced at his watch. “Twenty minutes.” He looked at Joanne. “Come here, baby.”

  Joanne went willingly. She was starting to shudder with cold and knew he’d fix her in no time flat. Maybe he’d even rub her feet to get them warm.

  Barney pulled her into his lap, and she twisted to face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck even as she curled her legs up so she could tuck her toes, boots and all, behind him. When he pulled back and said, “Time’s up,” she was toasty all over, even her feet.

  She blinked. “That’s twenty minutes?”

  “Ten. And it’s time for you to do your bit.”

  She uncurled herself and picked up the black watch cap that had fallen on the floor. She hated the hat and what it did to her hair. She spent so much time getting every little strand just right, and now she had to crush it, but she understood that she had to hide the blonde curls. They were too visible even on a dark night like tonight. She crammed her hair up inside the cap, trying not to flinch at the thought of how ugly she’d look when she took it off. When she was finished, Barney reached over and adjusted it for her. Then he gave her a quick kiss.

  “You look just like a longshoreman.” He grinned. “A cute longshoreman.”

  She grinned back, uncertain what a longshoreman was but knowing he was teasing her. He teased so nicely, not with the edge that Vinnie had always had.

  “You know where the suitcase is hidden?” he asked.

  “Behind the shrubs on the left side of the porch.”

  “I want you to go down to the end of the block before you cross the street.” He pointed to the left, away from the hedge where the cop was hiding. “I don’t want him seeing you prematurely.”

  She nodded and climbed out. “But it’s okay if he sees me when I get close?”

  “I hope he doesn’t, but if he does, it’ll be okay.”

  “See you in a few minutes.” She got out of the car, crouched low, and ran as fast as her boots would let her, keeping to the shadows of the trees and shrubs and houses. Five houses down she took a deep breath and raced across the street. Her heart was beating so fast she felt almost as light-headed as she had on the plane. But Barney was counting on her, and she would keel over dead before she’d disappoint him.

  She hid in the shadows again as she slipped ever closer to the Trevelyan house. When she dashed across the last bit of lawn to hug the side of their house, she rested a minute. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d run on purpose. As she felt nervous sweat trickle down her spine, she remembered why. “Never let ’em see you sweat,” Mom always said. “Nobody likes a sweaty woman.”

  Oh, Barney, please don’t mind. I’m doing this for you.

  She felt behind the shrubs, found the suitcase, and pulled it out. With a mighty heave, she pushed it over the porch rail. It was a good thing no one was home because the thud when it landed would have brought everyone running. She climbed over the rail after it. She pulled up the handle and wheeled the case to the front door, lost in the shadows of the porch roof, grateful that the lady and the kid were in such a hurry that they had forgotten to turn on the porch light. She pulled off her watch cap, stuffed it in her pocket, and with her free hand fluffed her matted-down curls back to life.

  Taking a deep breath, she pulled the suitcase to the edge of the porch and looked down the road toward Barney. She waved her hand in signal. With a roar he pulled into the street and screeched to a stop in front of the house. She raced down the front walk, pulling the suitcase behind her. She ripped open the car’s back door and stuffed the suitcase in while Barney leaned across the seat and threw open the passenger door. She jumped in, and they took off.

  She couldn’t stop laughing.

  Thirty-Two

  TREV AND DORI DROVE their separate cars home from church. When first one, then another car sped past Trev going much too fast for the residential streets, he frowned. He slowed to turn into the alley behind his house just as a third car roared around the corner, forcing him to hit the brakes and wait for it to pass. He watched in his rearview mirror as it turned south at the light, tires screeching.

  Shaking his head and praying no one was killed by any of those thoughtless drivers, Trev parked his van in the garage. Dori would be parking her car at the curb. Hopefully there were no more wild drivers out there endangering her. He couldn’t stand to lose her again.

  As he climbed from his van, Trev looked at the clutter filling the other half of the garage. He was definitely going to have to clean things up as soon as possible, freeing the other side of the garage for its intended purpose. Dori needed to be able to park her car out of the weather.

  I
n fact, he thought as he walked to the back door, I should give her my slot immediately. I’ll park out at the curb.

  As far as he was concerned, nothing was too good for Dori, especially this evening. She had been so angry at Jonathan, and all because he attacked Trev. She had stood with him on the platform, a unit presented to the congregation. But most important, she had looked at him with love, not the uncertainty and fear he’d seen in her eyes far too often since she’d come home.

  Of course she hadn’t said she loved him aloud yet, but he knew it was coming. He gave the air a discreet punch, though he really felt like turning cartwheels of joy. Just how soon could he get rid of Maureen and get Ryan into bed? He wanted his wife to himself and in their bedroom. No more of this office stuff. Never again would he sleep apart from her. Never again would he let anything come between them.

  He was grinning like a loon when he went inside. The first thing that struck him was the silence.

  “Jack?”

  No black retriever barreled his way to greet Trev. Come to think of it, no little fluffy mutt yapped at his feet either.

  “Hey, Dori, where is everybody?” he called as he walked through to the living room.

  “I don’t know. I was wondering the same thing.” She turned from hanging her coat in the closet. Her cheeks were red from the cold and her eyes sparkled. With love? For him?

  He hung up his coat and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you for being there for me tonight.”

  A thud sounded upstairs, and they both turned toward the steps.

  “Anyone there?” Trev called. “Ryan? Jack?”

  “Trudy?” Dori called. “Maureen?”

  Silence was their only answer.

  “It’s Jonathan,” Trev whispered dramatically, “come to get his revenge.”

  “Oh, Trev, he made me so mad!” Her face clouded at the memory. “He said such terrible things about you! And it was all my fault.” Her lower lip began to wobble.

  He brought up a finger and waved it gently in front of her nose. “Don’t go taking on yourself all Jonathan’s bad behavior. Remember I told you he’s done this before. The Lord will hold him accountable for his half-truths and shaded facts, not you.”

  “Well, yes,” she agreed. “But it’s our strange marriage that’s made all the trouble.”

  “But it’s not strange anymore, is it? We’re committed to each other now, aren’t we? Or did I misunderstand?” Trev held his breath.

  ‘ “No, you didn’t misunderstand.” She melted against him. “I love you. I always have, and I always will. I was just so hurt and so young that I didn’t handle things well. Forgive me?”

  “Done.” He set her back so he could see her face. He knew he should probably quit while he was ahead. After all, she was happy, and their bed was waiting. Still, there were some questions he had to have answered, or they’d fester in his heart and poison their reconciliation as the corruption spread. “What made you decide I was trustworthy after all?”

  She smiled and reached a hand to rest it on his cheek. “I watched you. I saw the kind of man you have become, the best of all the old traits melded with the new man in Christ you now are.”

  “That’s it? It wasn’t the flowers or the dinners out or the gifts? By the way, the garage is yours from now on. I’ll take the street.”

  “Thanks. That’s very nice of you, but I’ll keep the street, at least until you get an electric garage door opener. The alley’s too spooky.”

  It was? He’d never thought it so, but that was beside the point. “We’ll shop for an opener tomorrow.”

  “See what I mean? The old Trev would have told me to save my pennies. Maybe he would have volunteered to take me to the store—if he wasn’t too busy.”

  “The old Trev was busy protecting his heart against this wonderful girl he wasn’t allowed to love. Part of that protection was not doing all he wanted for her.”

  “And the new Trev? The now Trev?”

  “He’ll do everything he can to be what you want in a husband and to bring you joy.”

  “See? That’s what I mean. You have become a truly wonderful man. I won’t ever have to worry about a Rosalee Germaine ever again. I know it as surely as I know my name’s Dori Trevelyan.”

  He looked at her, confused. “Who’s Rosalee Germaine?”

  The joy in her face vanished. Just that quickly, uncertainty took its place along with what looked like disappointment. She stepped well away from him.

  “Please, Trev, don’t play games.” Her voice shook.

  What games? All he’d done was ask who Rosalee Germaine was. He shut his eyes and stared into his memory. She had to be someone from their common history. That meant someone from Amhearst or college. He sifted through all his mental files and folders. Nothing. He went through them again because it was obvious his present and future happiness depended on his remembering. Still nothing. He looked at Dori, hands spread in question. “Who is she?”

  The disgust he read in her face made his stomach turn. “You don’t even remember her name?” Condemnation rang its shrill chime. “And you cared so little for me that you could be unfaithful with someone you didn’t even know?”

  One word hit him between the eyes. “Unfaithful?”

  “I’m sure you thought you could get away with it, but my last class was cancelled, and I got home much sooner than expected. I raced up the steps, hoping you were home too. After all, I hadn’t seen you for six hours.” Her tears fell, dripping off her chin onto her ruby sweater. “Well, you were home all right, all tucked up in bed with Rosalee.”

  He felt like she’d slugged him. “Never, Dori. I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles if you want me to. I don’t even know who Rosalee Whoever is, and I certainly never slept with her.”

  “And I thought you’d changed.” Her scorn bit deeply. “I saw you, Trev. I saw you!”

  He shook his head and kept shaking it. No, she hadn’t seen him. He had never been unfaithful. From the moment he said, “I do,” he had never touched another woman.

  “Remember how you could see the whole apartment from the front hall?” she asked. He remembered that little fact just fine. The place wasn’t the best or the most beautiful, but he and Phil had found it more than satisfactory, and Pop liked the monthly fee.

  “I came in, and there you were, lying on your stomach, sound asleep, and Rosalee was cuddled beside you on her side, her arm thrown across your back. Your bare back.”

  For a moment all Trev could do was stare at her, still shaking his head. Then slowly the shock of her accusation began to wear off, and a fierce and terrible anger took its place. He glared at her.

  “So that’s why you left me,” he ground out. “You thought you saw me in bed with someone else, and you ran.”

  “You killed something in me that day.” Her voice wobbled. She sniffed and looked around for a tissue. He did not offer her his handkerchief. Let her nose drip all over her. She deserved it!

  He leaned in close to her and said slowly and coldly, “I did not go to bed with anyone ever after we married. Never. Not once. I don’t know what you thought you saw, but it wasn’t me—as you would have found out had you bothered to stick around long enough to check things out.”

  His nose was almost touching hers when he finished, and she drew back. He saw with pleasure that she looked uncertain.

  He continued in the same low, cold tone, “I was off getting drunk with the guys, remember? And to think that I thought for years that you left over that drunkenness. But no, you left because you thought I was unfaithful.”

  “But I saw you,” she whispered.

  “Not me, Dori. If you think just a little bit, something you obviously haven’t done for six years, maybe you’ll see an alternative.”

  With that he reached over her head and grabbed his red Squall from the closet. He stalked out the front door, slamming it behind him. As he zipped up, he thought what an idiot he had been to buy another jacket just like the ones Pop had given them all
that long-ago Christmas. Like he could keep the family intact even as it splintered.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

  Six years he’d pined after her. Six years! Six years he’d tried to imagine what he had done that would upset her so, and he hadn’t done anything. Not one thing.

  His conscience kicked him. Yeah, well, he’d gotten drunk after he promised not to drink anymore, but that was a far cry from what she fancied he’d done. Did she think so little of him that she thought he’d ignore the vows he’d made to her? They might have been made under unusual circumstances in an unexpected place, but that didn’t make the saying of them any less binding.

  Even back in those days he’d had a great respect for marriage. He remembered his parents loving each other, laughing together, making a warm and happy home for him and Phil. Then he’d watched Pop and Honey and seen another marriage that was rock solid. A good thing, too, since it had to survive the invasion of three youngsters. Pop had honored Honey, treated her as if she were the most special woman in the world—which she was to him.

  He had planned to treat Dori the same way.

  And, by George, he expected the same courtesy and trust to be reciprocated. It was only right. And it was his due.

  She had ruined it all by running. She had ruined it by refusing to talk. He had tried to be gracious, gentle, and kind, and she’d been distant, snippy, and accusatory.

  The farther he walked and the more he thought, the higher his temperature rose.

  God, I’ve tried to do it right, and this is the thanks I get? I do not deserve her accusation, and she does not deserve me.

  If Phil had only kept his hands to himself! But, no, not Phil. He was too busy enjoying the freedom of being big man on campus as he did his graduate work for his DPharm. And girls were his biggest joy.

  When he saw Phil again, he was going to strangle him. Maureen could then arrest him, and Jonathan could with great honesty tell the congregation just what a rotter Paul Michael Trevelyan was as he spent the rest of his life behind bars.

  Two things struck him at almost the same time. It had begun to snow. Flakes like little needles slapped him in the face and brought him out of his red haze. He looked around in surprise. He had walked miles, and across the street was Phil’s pharmacy, closed and dark for the night, the clock above the front door reading nine-fifty. Close at hand was Harbor Lights where Dori had been working so hard to help Mae and Ryan.