Change of Heart

by Jennifer Moore

  Officer Harris squatted down in front of them. “Miss McKinley, I’ll take your statement, and you’ll need to fill out an accident report. But it can wait until after you’ve gone into the clinic. Doc says you need medical care.”

  Val narrowed her eyes and pushed out a breath. “How about I just tell ya everything right now? Get it done and we can all get going. The telling’s not complicated.” She shifted Finn to her other shoulder and sat straight. “Finn didn’t see the trolley, and I grabbed him before he could get hit. Thanks to my stupid shoes, I wasn’t fast enough to get us both out of the way in time, and I ended up with some road rash. That’s the whole thing, cut and dry. File it or write it up, or do whatever y’all do with it.” She waved her hand through the air, brushing away the entire incident.

  Nathaniel shook his head. “Val, don’t be too hasty. There’s still a lot to be done. You should document facts to possibly file a case later. You’ll need the vehicle maintenance history for the trolley, the driver’s record, and police report. Also, you should probably talk to the municipal authority that runs public transportation. Get all your ducks in a row.”

  Val turned slowly to face him. She lowered her chin and pulled it back against her neck, squinting her eyes. “Now, why in the world would I do all that? So I can sue someone and ruin his life?”

  Nathaniel kept his voice calm, as if he were speaking to a child. This was a topic he knew well. “Gathering facts isn’t about suing, or ruining lives. It’s about duty and causation.”

  “You sound like a lawyer.” Val shook her head. “I don’t need a lawyer any more than I need a doctor. I do need to get going.” She turned to Officer Harris. “If we’re finished here, my butt feels like someone took a weed whacker to it, and my clothes are shredded. You have my phone number, and if you think of any other questions, call me. I’m leaving town tomorrow and—”

  “Where are you going, Val?” Ruby’s voice sounded close to tears.

  Nathaniel turned to see his daughter and Seth standing behind him. Ruby’s brow was furrowed.

  Val’s shoulders slumped. “Well, that’s what I need to figure out, Miss Ruby. First of all, though, I need a shower, don’t you think?”

  Ruby held out a small paper bag. “I brought you a cookie.”

  Val smiled softly as Ruby handed her the paper sack. She opened the bag and took out a lobster-shaped sugar cookie. “Thank you. How did you know I love cookies?” She took a bite, dropping crumbs onto Finn’s head.

  Ruby laughed.

  Val licked the frosting from the corner of her mouth and winked. “Now don’t ya wake him up, or he’s gonna want our cookies.”

  “It’s okay. I brought one for Finn, too.”

  “My, Ruby, however did you get to be so thoughtful?” Val shook her head.

  She acted as if bringing a child a cookie was an act of the greatest charity she could imagine.

  Ruby’s eyes shined at the praise.

  How does she do that? He praised his kids all the time, and Ruby never looked at him that way. Nathaniel squirmed inside. His kids were smart. They knew when a compliment was genuine and not just an effort to build their positive self-worth by following The Affirmative Nurturing Parenting Handbook. He gritted his teeth, his determination renewed. There had to be a way to convince Val to stay, if he could only find something she couldn’t refuse. His gaze fell on Ruby, and he smiled to himself. Finding people’s weaknesses and exploiting them was a particular specialty of his.

  ****

  Val’s head pounded. Her elbow and the back of her thigh had progressed from stinging to a painful burn, and her bruised hip throbbed. She didn’t think she could sit, balanced uncomfortably on this hard curb, holding a sleeping child and smiling as if everything were just peachy-keen, for much longer. She was ready to leave.

  “If y’all will excuse me, I really should get going.” She lifted Finn gently away and shifted him into Nathaniel’s arms. She brushed the curls off the boy’s forehead again as he settled against his father. After holding Finn for so long, Val shivered at the cool breeze.

  “Since you’re not coming into the clinic, can I at least check on you tomorrow?” Seth touched her arm to recapture her attention.

  “Like I told ya, I’ll be gone tomorrow.” Val tried to smooth the wrinkles that had been smashed into her shirt by the warm little body, but wondered after a moment why she bothered. A pressed blouse would hardly make a difference in her appearance. Her skirt was barely held together by a polyester waistband.

  “I can call you.” He pulled a phone out of his pocket.

  “Sure.” Val smiled, even though her headache was making her nauseous. “If it makes you feel better.” She gave him her number then stood and swayed slightly.

  Officer Harris and Seth both took a hold of an arm.

  “Steady.” Seth’s brows were pinched together. “Maybe you should sit back down.”

  Val forced a laugh, hoping they couldn’t tell how sick she felt. “I stood up too quick.” She pulled the blanket tighter and held the corners together in front of her waist.

  “Where did you park? I’ll get you to your car.” Officer Harris released her arm.

  “I took the bus. The station’s not far.” Val bent down and picked up her purse and shoes. The devil himself wouldn’t convince her to put those torture devices back on her feet. She straightened, making the head rush return, and she closed her eyes against the spell of dizziness.

  “We’ll drive you home.” Nathaniel stood, shifting Finn carefully to his shoulder to keep him from waking. “Ruby, will you hold Val’s hand? She looks pale.”

  Val met Nathaniel’s innocent-looking gaze with a smirk. She knew what he was doing. She wouldn’t be manipulated by her soft spot for his kids, but she could use the ride. The very idea of walking to the bus station, and then from the Bar Harbor station to her apartment made her want to sit back down on the curb and cry.

  “Take it easy tonight, Val.” Seth’s expression was still wary as he glanced at her elbow. “Make sure you get those scrapes cleaned well, and pick up some antibacterial ointment. Take some ibuprofen. You’ll be hurting tomorrow. And if the pain in your hip gets any worse, don’t hesitate to go to an emergency room. Understand?”

  “Got it. Thanks, Seth.”

  Seth waved and walked back down the road toward the clinic.

  “Our car’s just across the street in the grocery store parking lot.” Nathaniel walked a little ahead. He glanced back as he led them through the cars.

  At a slower pace, Val and Ruby followed. Val held the blanket corners and her shoes in one hand, and Ruby clutched the other.

  “We like to get breakfast at Sweet Bea’s.” Ruby pointed across the park at the bakery. “Do you like blueberry muffins?”

  “Course I do.” Val tried to keep her voice cheerful as she concentrated on walking in a straight line and not jostling her pounding head.

  “What did you have for breakfast?”

  The last thing Val wanted to think about right now was food. “A lobster cookie.”

  Nathaniel turned his head slightly.

  “A cookie isn’t a nutritious meal.” Ruby spoke in a scolding voice.

  “You’re right. I should have eaten healthier. I was in a hurry this morning.”

  Nathaniel clicked his key fob to unlock the doors of a silver luxury sedan. He carefully set Finn into his car seat, attaching the straps around the sleeping boy, and then opened the passenger door for Val.

  “Thanks.” She grimaced as she sat back into the seat and looked up quickly to see if he had noticed.

  Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll be right back.” He took Ruby’s hand and walked into the grocery mart.

  Val leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. Now that she was alone, she allowed herself to shudder at the pain in her body and fully feel the weight of her discouragement. Tears itched behind her eyes, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Bawling wouldn’t solve anythi
ng. She would feel better once she cleaned up and took some pain medicine—and a nap. Then she’d have a clear mind to figure out her next move.

  It seemed like just a moment later that Val heard the click of the door opening. She wasn’t sure whether they had returned quickly. Or maybe she had fallen asleep. She wiped at her eyes, making sure no traces of her pity party were evident.

  Nathaniel helped Ruby into her seat and climbed behind the wheel. He handed a grocery bag and a bottle of water to Val.

  She opened the bag and took out a package of ibuprofen, a tube of antibacterial ointment, an apple, and a deli sandwich. Val raised her eyebrows.

  “Ruby wanted to make sure you ate a nutritious lunch.” He adjusted the mirror and pulled onto the road.

  Val turned to look into the back seat, nearly gasping at the pain in her bruised hip when she twisted. “Thank you, Ruby.” She sat forward in the seat again and directed a pointed look at Nathaniel. “Maybe Daddy shouldn’t use his daughter’s thoughtfulness as a tool.”

  “I’m used to getting what I want.” The corner of his lips pulled.

  “And that makes two of us.” She narrowed her eyes.

  “Tell me, Val, where are you from?” Nathaniel said when they reached the main road leading from Lobster Cove.

  She eyed him, not trusting the harmless question. “West Virginia. Millford Creek. I bet y’all never heard of it.”

  “It’s true. I haven’t.” He adjusted the air conditioner and put a finger on the vent aiming at her. “How’s the temperature?”

  The cool air helped with her nausea, even though it stung her scrapes. “Just fine, thanks.”

  He nodded and moved his hand to rest on his leg. “So what brings you so far from home?”

  Val leaned her head back against the seat to keep the headache under control as she talked. “A professor of mine recommended Bar Harbor. She had a friend with an art gallery and thought it would be a great place for me to get some experience before applying for the Paris internship. But when I got there, I found that the friend had moved away and sold her gallery.”

  “Didn’t you contact her before you made the trip all the way up here?”

  She resented the look of disapproval in his face. Of course she had already beaten herself up a hundred times for not planning out the situation better. “I only had her name and the gallery’s address.”

  “But you could have looked her up, maybe done a little research on the place?”

  Val felt her defenses rise. She didn’t like the insinuation that she hadn’t thought this through. “I took a trip to the campus library to use the internet and found the gallery’s website. It hadn’t been updated in a while. Looking back, that should have been a red flag, but I saw all the galleries and art shops in Bar Harbor, and I guess I just figured one of them had to work out.”

  “You tried them all?”

  Val glanced sideways and nodded. Her cheeks felt hot, but she figured she had nothing to lose by telling the truth. “I apparently don’t project the sort of image people look for when they come into a high-end gallery.” She hoped the sarcasm in her voice masked the hurt she still felt at being rejected so often. Those precise words had been spoken by a trendy, spiky haired gallery owner as she looked Val up and down through her tortoise shell glasses. Val hadn’t realized how strong her accent was until the woman pointed it out, or how unfashionable her clothing looked. “One docent recommended I try The Venus Gallery in Lobster Cove, and I hoped getting dolled up and buying a new outfit to look more professional would change my luck. But, I guess The Venus Gallery wasn’t meant to be.” She shrugged, looking out the window.

  The car followed the road down the coast, and Val watched as a boat full of tourists headed out of the harbor—no doubt hoping to see whales, seals, and puffins along the rocky shoreline. They lifted cameras and phones as the vessel passed Martin Lighthouse, and Val imagined if she had been aboard, she’d have heard cameras clicking. She’d certainly taken her fair share of pictures when she rode the ferry to Lobster Cove the day before. The ferry ride had been a splurge. Just another of her bad decisions as far as managing her money. She was about an inch away from broke and had left home less than a week earlier.

  She decided they’d talked about her quite enough. “And where are y’all from? You said you’re just here for the summer…”

  “Boston.”

  “Are you a lawyer in Boston?”

  Nathaniel nodded. He glanced at her and then turned back to the road, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel. “I take it from your tone, you’re not overly fond of attorneys?”

  That was an understatement if she’d ever heard one. “I just don’t trust them.”

  His eyebrows shot up.

  The action was no doubt because of her bluntness. “Nothing personal.” She was glad she’d stopped before she mentioned the words “thieving varmints” or “lying snakes.” She didn’t want to offend this man when he had been generous enough to drive her home. Time to change the subject—pronto. “Ruby, are you going to school when you get back to Boston?” Val turned her head to look into the back seat.

  Ruby had fallen asleep with her cheek leaning on her hand.

  Val glanced to her brother and smiled at how adorable both children looked. She settled back in her seat gingerly as her leg throbbed. “Looks like you get a quiet ride home.”

  When the car neared Bar Harbor, she directed him away from the main town, through the outer neighborhoods, and finally to the nearly deserted street where she’d found the only apartment within ten miles that she could afford.

  Nathaniel lowered his head to look up at the building through his windshield.

  “I appreciate the ride.” Val reached for the door handle. “And tell Ruby and Finn ‘bye’ for me. Y’all are lucky to have such good kids.”

  “Val, wait.”

  She let her arm drop and blew out a sigh. “I know what you’re about to say. But I really can’t do it.”

  “I am willing to negotiate. I’ll lay all my cards on the table.” He shifted into Park and pulled the brake, turning toward her. “The thing is, we need this vacation. The kids, Ruby especially, have had a hard time since their mother died, and I haven’t known how to connect with them. I thought a summer in Maine would be the perfect thing. But I underestimated how much work was needed to entertain two children full time and still keep up with the demands of my job. I can’t do it alone. I need help, and not just any help. I need someone who will love my kids, and I’m willing to do just about anything at this point to get you to stay.”

  Val folded her arms. “I’m not playing hard ball with ya. I really can’t.” She twisted toward him as far as she could without pulling on her scraped leg or straining her bruised hip. “So, I’ll lay my cards on the table, too.” She looked at him, and then turned her gaze out the window. “I basically raised my brothers and sisters after my momma died, and then I worked two jobs to keep us afloat when my daddy was laid off. Me going to college was a big sacrifice for all of us.” She glanced up.

  He nodded, indicating for her to continue.

  “I took on extra hours and saved every single penny that didn’t go to the mortgage or food. My schooling took nearly six years, since I could only squeeze in a few classes at a time, and the community college campus was an hour and a half from our town. But once I got that degree, I saw how proud my family was.” Her eyes misted, and she fought down the wave of homesickness that she’d never felt before.

  “Nobody in our little town had gone to college. My daddy insisted that I apply for Paris. His new job gives him better hours, the trailer’s almost paid for, and he practically pushed me out the door.” She swallowed and looked across the seat at him. “Mr. Cavanaugh, your kids are great, really. I can’t think of many things I’d rather do than spend the summer with them, but I can’t let down my family. I’ve already made about a hundred mistakes, and I’ve only been gone a week, I have to do this, to follow my dream, because it’
s their dream, too. Do ya see what I’m saying?”

  Nathaniel studied her for a moment. He squinted his eyes and ran his thumbnail over his bottom lip. “I think I have an idea that will help both of us.”

  Val opened her mouth to object.

  He held up his hand. “Just hear me out, okay?”

  She nodded and pursed her lips. He wasn’t used to being told no.

  “How much is a plane ticket to Paris?”

  “Fifteen hundred dollars.”

  “Sounds about right.” He nodded. “So, I’ll pay you fifteen hundred in cash right off the bat. You come out and stay at our vacation cottage, all expenses included. You’ll have a car for your use, one day off per week in addition to holidays, money for taking Ruby and Finn on excursions, and I’ll pay you twice what I paid our nanny in Boston.”

  Val’s mouth went dry at the amount of money he offered. In three months, she’d make more than she made in a year back home. She squeezed her eyes shut and breathed in and out. She needed to focus. If she wrote home and told her family that she’d left them all to move up north and be a babysitter…How could she disappoint them like that? They were so proud of her. She held on to the memory of her father bragging to the guys down at Lucas Drugstore about his daughter going to Paris and being a “real historian with a degree to prove it.” She opened her eyes and shook her head, wishing she hadn’t when the pain increased. “I’m sorry—”

  “Oh, perhaps I forgot to mention one of my fraternity brothers is married to an assistant curator of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. And he owes me a favor. I’ll place a call today.” He flipped one hand over as he spoke. “You work there to get the experience for your application, and when you’re ready, you have the money to get to Paris. Your plan isn’t changed, just delayed a few months.”

  Val picked at her fingernails until she realized she was getting bits of nail polish on the dark carpet in his car. She did not know what to say. Her heart pounded. She would have more than enough money to travel to Paris and, in a few short months, a dream job in Boston. And with her experience at the MFA, L’Académie de l’Art Magnifique would be a sure thing. Her thoughts raced and she struggled to pull them together. Nathaniel was still awaiting a reply. “And what do you expect from me?”