by Carol Grace
“You’re coming back next year?”
“One thing I know, I’m not going to wait until Granny gets sick to come. I really need to see her more often. I realize how much I’ve missed her, missed the country. Not that I could ever live here.”
“Of course not,” he agreed quickly. She didn’t need to tell him. “No sushi bars, no nightlife, no health clubs.”
“That’s not what I’d miss,” she said stiffly. “How shallow do you think I am?”
“Hey.” He lifted his hands as if to surrender. “I’m sorry if I misjudged you. So what would you miss?”
“Work, friends, the pace of life. I’d go crazy here in the country.”
“It’s not for everyone,” he admitted. That, he’d had to learn the hard way. “How do you feel about barbecues, city girl? Think you can handle a rack of ribs, a mess of beans and some coleslaw?”
“Of course. I’m fine now.”
They found the tent where men in white shirts and red suspenders were turning huge chunks of meat on a spit. Shadows were falling over the fairgrounds, and some people were heading for the exit. They stood at the edge of the tent.
He saw Amelia sniff the air and he wondered if she was really hungry. She’d been thoroughly shaken up on that roller coaster. Then she’d eaten a hot dog. Maybe he shouldn’t have insisted on her going, but if he hadn’t, she’d be sorry now. She hesitated, then said, “I’m wondering if I ought to leave Granny any longer.”
“I’ll give her a call,” he said, taking his cell phone out of his pocket.
“Wait a minute. I thought this was a day off. I didn’t even know you had a cell phone.”
“I do. I’m not a complete hermit, you know.” He punched in the number. “Helen? It’s Brian. We’re still at the fair. Here’s Amelia.” He handed her his phone.
“Granny, how are you doing? Really? Well, that’s wonderful. Yes, we’re having a good time. I rode a roller coaster… I was terrified. It’s getting late, so… You are…? You do? Well, all right. We’ll be back in an hour or two… No, I won’t… Yes, I will. ’Bye.” She handed the phone back to him. “Big surprise. She doesn’t want us to hurry back. She wants us to have a good time.”
“You could have told her you weren’t—”
“Yes, but she wouldn’t have believed me. Spending the day with Prince Charming? How could I not have a good time?” She grinned at him. “Anyway, the home-help workers were there, and now a friend has dropped by with some dessert. They’re gossiping and I’m not to hurry back. Of course, she’d say that if she had fallen on the other hip and was lying on the floor in pain. I’m surprised she even asked me to come and help out. Or at least, I was until I discovered her true motive. But that’s Granny for you.” She turned to catch a whiff of the savory meat searing on the grill that wafted their way. “I never thought I’d be hungry again, but I am.”
She found a table while he picked up two plates of barbecued ribs, potato salad, baked beans and corn bread.
They ate. They talked a little. They joked a little. Then they got serious over coffee at the next booth.
“You said you’d miss work, but you didn’t say exactly what you do,” he said, adding two packets of sugar to his coffee.
“I think I told you we sell software.”
“You write it?”
“No, but I hire the people who do. Then I sell it to businesses.”
“Are you good at it?”
She shrugged and stirred her coffee. “Just ask Granny. Hasn’t she told you how brilliant I am? How I’m going to be president and CEO any day now?”
“So it’s true.”
“If I do everything right, maybe.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I’ve always wanted to be a success. You see my parents… Never mind, you don’t want to hear all this.”
“Sure I do. It’s come to my attention that I’ve been spending too much time alone. That I’m reduced to talking to my dog. I’m taking this opportunity to learn to communicate with my peers. If you don’t mind my referring to you as my ‘peer.’”
“I’m flattered,” she said. “Though I’m not as good a listener as Dante, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
“There’s not much to tell, really.” Liar. There was too much to tell. Too much that he wanted to forget.
“Oh, come on. This is your opportunity to communicate with one of your peers.”
“Okay.” She sure was persistent. He’d say that for her. “I had a happy childhood, one father, one mother, one brother. I had lots of toys, but I always was tinkering with them. Taking them apart and rebuilding them. I majored in mechanical design at college, got a job with a big toy company, and quit a few years later. Went into business for myself and that’s it.”
“That’s it?” She sounded disappointed and disbelieving. “Sounds like you left out something.”
“Oh, yeah. I also got a dog and moved to the country.”
“Okay,” she said stiffly. She picked up her paper cup and tossed it in the trash. Then they headed for the exit and home without saying much more. So she was disappointed. Too bad. He’d told her everything he was going to tell her.
In the car, they talked about the town of Pine Mountain, of the changes there over the years, about Granny and her little cottage. They talked about everything except anything important about themselves and their former lives. Maybe he should have told her about his recent past then, as darkness fell around them, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wasn’t ready. He might never be ready.
He wouldn’t mind hearing about her life. As far as he knew, she had no dark secrets the way he did, but she didn’t seem inclined to confide in him, either. He didn’t blame her. So they made small talk. Maybe she was mad because he wouldn’t bare his soul. He wondered how much Helen had told her. He thought he could count on his neighbor to keep his secrets. When he pulled up in front of the cottage, he noticed there was a light on in the living room.
“She’s waiting up for you.”
“The curtain is moving. She’s looking out,” Amelia said.
“Let’s give her something to look at. Make her day,” he said. And he pulled Amelia toward him and kissed her. Her lips were stiff, her body was tense. It was a mean trick, using Helen as an excuse, but he thought it was worth a try. He’d wanted to kiss her again since the first time in the berry patch, to see if the thrill had been because she was a novelty or because it had been so long since he’d kissed a woman. He also had an insane desire to see how she’d taste without berries on her lips.
Amelia put her hands on Brian’s shoulders with the express purpose of pushing him away. Give her something to look at! Really, the guy was unbelievable. Did he think she was some kind of pushover? But something happened on her way to shove him away. His kiss got to her. He rang bells in her head, made her feel as if she was helplessly sliding down out of control. And before she knew it, she was kissing him back. The steering wheel was poking her ribs, but she was oblivious to the pain. She locked her hands around his neck and kissed him until she was breathless. His hands were everywhere, one cradling her head, the other wrapped around her waist. Everywhere he touched her she burned. She was scared. More scared than she’d been on the roller coaster. At the carnival, she’d known the ride would be over and she would be able to get off, but this was the kind of ride that could go on and on. If she let it. It was a wild ride that had her heart in her throat, her stomach in knots and her heart pounding. She finally came to her senses and broke the kiss.
“I think we’ve given Granny enough of a show for one night. That was what this was all about, wasn’t it?” she asked breathlessly.
“Of course,” he said, but his voice was as rough as Granny’s gravel driveway.
“I think we should get our story straight,” she said, smoothing her shirt, feeling a wave of regret wash over her. What was she thinking, kissing the mystery man from the country as if there were no tomorrow? In fact, tomorrow
would soon come, and she’d be headed back to the city.
“What story do you mean?” he asked. It was too dark to know for sure, but she would have bet he was smiling. So this was all a joke to him, was it? While she had to go inside and face her grandmother.
“About what happened today.”
“What did happen?” he asked.
She sighed. “Nothing, but she’s not going to believe that.”
“All right, tell her what we did.”
“Up to a point,” she said,
“But…” He looked at the window of the house, where a curtain fluttered and a shadow moved. “Think fast. She’s seen us.”
Amelia leaned against the door and opened it. Think fast? She couldn’t think at all. “Good night,” she said, and walked up the path. Her legs wobbled and her heart pounded against her will. It wasn’t going to be easy to pretend she hadn’t been kissed senseless a few minutes previously. Convincing Granny she wasn’t interested in Brian would be hard, but the real challenge would be convincing herself.
Chapter Seven
“How was it?” Granny asked brightly.
Amelia tossed her sweater on a chair. “Scary. I’m never going again.”
Granny’s face fell.
Amelia couldn’t bear to see her disappointment. She grinned. “Just kidding. The roller coaster was scary, but otherwise the fair was fun. How was your day?” Amelia asked quickly before Granny could ask for details.
“Oh, fine. The home-help workers brought me some exercise bars, gave me a shower and showed me how to use this walker here. Then my friend Jenny came by. I told her all about you. She brought some brownies. Try one.”
“No thanks, Granny. We just had dinner.”
“You did? You and Brian had dinner together?” Granny beamed at her as if she’d just announced their engagement.
“Just some ribs at the barbecue tent at the fair,” Amelia said.
“Oh.” Granny was studying Amelia so intently from behind her glasses that Amelia was afraid her hair was standing on end or her shirt was hanging out of her pants or her face was scraped raw by razor burn or just that she looked as guilty as she felt.
She was grateful for the shaded lamps in the living room. Still, Granny’s eyes were sharp and her intuition hadn’t faded one bit. She’d always known what Amelia had been up to as a child, whether she’d been trying to sneak another cookie or borrowing Granny’s perfume. No, there was no fooling her. Still, Amelia had to try. It was for Granny’s own good. If she really thought she could force her neighbor to fall for her granddaughter, she needed to face reality or risk severe disappointment.
“What can I do for you before I turn in?” Amelia asked.
“Nothing, dear. You go to bed. I’m just glad you recovered from that roller-coaster ride. Brian should never have taken you on it. What was wrong with the other rides—a Ferris Wheel, for instance?”
“Or a merry-go-round? Granny, I’m a big girl. I had to give it a try.”
“Of course you did. And I’m proud of you.”
“I see you have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, right?” Amelia asked, picking up Granny’s calendar.
“Yes, but I’m afraid I can’t get my hip into your car, so Brian is going to take me in his truck. It’s all about the angle.”
“But, Granny, I thought I was…” Useful. Amelia thought she’d be useful, but she was beginning to feel that she wasn’t needed at all. Why hadn’t Brian said anything about taking Granny in his truck? Because she’d just invented it?
“Of course, you’ll come along,” Granny said. “I want you to meet my doctor.”
“Why, is he single?” Amelia asked drily.
Granny chuckled. “Honestly, dear, you’re making me out to be some kind of matchmaker. He’s happily married and he has five grandchildren.”
“Then I’d love to meet him. I want to hear what he has to say about you.”
“Run along and get your beauty rest, then,” Granny said. “Not that you need it.”
Amelia nodded.
Upstairs, with the windows wide open thanks to Brian and his tool kit, the night air blew through the little bedroom. Amelia got ready for bed and gazed across the trees to the house where he lived. The same light she’d seen last night was on, and she could almost see him at his desk, writing notes on his computer about the roller coaster. Then his light went out. And back on. He was signaling her. She flipped her light out and on again. A strange warmth filled her heart. If he wanted to communicate with her, he could have picked up the phone and called her, but he didn’t. Signaling was something she might have done as a child, if she’d known someone who lived there, but she hadn’t. There was something so simple, so direct about the process, she smiled into the darkness.
She watched and waited, but his light came on and stayed on. Amelia thought she’d be so tired, she’d fall asleep right away. Instead, she felt awake and alert. Instead of staring off in the distance, trying to catch a glimpse of him, which was not productive, she opened her briefcase. If she couldn’t sleep, why not get some work done? She’d call the office tomorrow and see what was happening.
But the papers in her briefcase didn’t hold her interest. In fact, they could have been written in a foreign language, for all they meant to her. She kept thinking of the fair, the crowds of happy people, the music, the smells—of farm animals and hay, of roasting meat—the feel of Brian’s arm around her as they went free-falling through space. The taste of his lips on hers. The feel of his arms around her.
She put the papers away, closed her briefcase and turned off her light. His was still on. She pulled the blanket over her head and tried to pretend she didn’t know he was close by in his house through the woods. Tried to pretend she didn’t feel her whole body tingling with awareness. Tried to forget she’d spent a truly memorable day with him, during which she’d run the gamut of emotions—from fear to pleasure to passion.
When Amelia awoke the next day, she headed straight to her phone—refusing to look out the window—and placed a call to the office. No one was there. So much for her staff filling in for her. It was nearly nine o’clock. Where were they? After she helped Granny get dressed for her appointment and made her a piece of toast, she finally got hold of her assistant and learned that there was panic in the office. The CEO was on vacation, and all the computers were down. With one eye on the kitchen clock, Amelia tried to call the client who was going ballistic over technical failure. No one at Frantz and Fotre was taking any calls. It made her nervous. The company couldn’t afford to lose a single client. Not in this business climate. It was almost time to leave, and she hadn’t accomplished anything. She should be taking care of the computer problem. Of course, she could let Brian take Granny to the doctor. No, that wouldn’t do.
Still wearing her bathrobe, she bolted up the stairs at the sound of Brian’s truck outside. She grabbed a pair of white linen capri pants and a black knit shirt from her still-packed suitcase, got dressed and hurried back downstairs. Why she should feel embarrassed at seeing Brian this morning, she didn’t know. It was just a kiss, that was all. Or was it? Her heart was pounding, and it wasn’t from running up and down the stairs. He, on the other hand, looked more cheerful than she’d ever seen him. And completely calm and composed. Granny remarked on it.
“Why, Brian,” Granny said, “you look very handsome today. Doesn’t he, Amelia?”
Amelia almost laughed. Her grandmother was unstoppable. “He certainly does,” she admitted. “There’s nothing like a day at the fair to bring out the best in a person.”
Brian raised one eyebrow. She didn’t know what that meant, but at least he didn’t frown at her.
Amelia was squeezed into the back seat of Brian’s truck while Granny and her new hip were tilted at the appropriate angle in the passenger seat. Granny was in good spirits, remarking on the neighbors’ vegetable gardens and pointing out their horses behind the wooden fences to Amelia, as enthusiastic as if she were a real estate ag
ent trying to sell some property. One would have thought she’d been housebound for months instead of days.
At the doctor’s office in the nearby town of Wilford—named for a one-time gold prospector and filled with tourist shops selling geodes and other native rocks dug from the nearby hills, as well as hand-stitched moccasins— Amelia went into the examining room while Brian stayed in the waiting room. The doctor was pleased with Granny’s progress and told her she could walk on level surfaces, but not stairs.
“You’re fortunate to have your granddaughter with you,” Dr. Campbell said.
“I know,” Granny said. “I told her I didn’t need someone, but she insisted on coming. That’s the way she is.”
Amelia smiled modestly.
“How long will you be here?” the doctor asked her.
“As long as she needs me,” Amelia said.
“I think with the home-help people coming three times a week, your grandmother could probably cope on her own at this point.”
“What?” Granny said, sitting up so quickly on the examining table, she almost lost her glasses.
Amelia took Granny’s hands in hers to steady her. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to rush off,” she said. But she couldn’t help thinking about the mess her office was in. Clients threatening to leave, computers down, staff in disarray. If she left tomorrow morning, she could be back in the city by late afternoon. It was a tempting thought.
Granny looked pale when they left the office. Worse than when they’d arrived. Worse than when Amelia had first come to her cottage. When Brian suggested stopping at a drive-in restaurant, Granny smiled wanly.
She managed to nibble a hamburger and drink a little of her milkshake, but she didn’t talk much. Brian sent Amelia a puzzled look, and she shrugged.
“What’s wrong, Granny?” she asked, after they’d returned home and helped her into the house. Brian had left after stacking firewood on the front porch. He hadn’t made any excuses. He hadn’t needed to. After all, he wasn’t obliged to hang around and account for his whereabouts. It was just that Amelia was wondering, just wondering, if the events of last night, of yesterday, had meant anything to him. He hadn’t said anything, but neither had she. How could she with Granny around all the time?