Because of the Ring

by Stella Bagwell

  “I’m not worried,” she said bluntly. “I just don’t see any need to stay longer.”

  Ignoring her comment he said, “There’s a car in the garage and I’ve left the keys on the kitchen bar if you’d like to drive into the city for any reason. Otherwise, I’ll be home this evening.”

  She looked at him with disbelief. “What am I supposed to do in the meantime?”

  “Why don’t you try writing down everything you can remember seeing in your visions. And we’ll start from there.”

  Her fingers touched her throat as she stared at him in stunned fascination. “You mean, you’ve decided to take me seriously?”

  No, Hayden thought, he’d decided to take her any way he could get her. Out loud he said, “Yeah. Seriously.”

  A pleased smile suddenly lit her face. “All right. I’ll stay.”

  The relief he felt was so immense it actually scared him and as he walked away, he wondered if he’d just hung himself.

  “I don’t like the sound of this, Claudia. Neither will your father. You don’t know this man! I can’t believe you spent the night with him!”

  Her mother’s voice was so loud that Claudia was forced to pull the receiver back from her ear. “Mom, I didn’t sleep with the man.”

  “But what if he’d tried to seduce you?”

  Claudia rolled her eyes. She’d waited nearly all day to make this call simply because she’d expected her mother’s reaction to be overly dramatic and so far Marsha wasn’t disappointing her. “Have you ever thought I might want to be seduced by a man?”

  “No. You take great pleasure in periodically reminding me that you’re finished with men.”

  Actually, she’d never really started with men, Claudia thought, but at this moment she wasn’t in the mood to point that out to her mother. “Mom, I called to let you know where I’m staying so that you won’t worry about me.”

  “But I am worried, honey. First these crazy visions of a man and now you say you’ve found someone who looks exactly like him. It doesn’t make any sense. I’d feel a lot better if you’d just come on home and let me and your father take care of you. We’ll get you the best psychiatrist we can find.”

  Claudia would be the first person to agree that people suffer mental disorders for one reason or another. Just like any other organ, the brain could become sick, too. But now that she’d traced the boat registration and discovered it actually belonged to a real person, she knew she wasn’t mentally deranged.

  “I don’t need a psychiatrist, Mom. Hayden and I are going to get to the bottom of this.”

  “Claudia, I really—” She broke off quickly, then started again on a different course. “How long do you plan to stay with this man?”

  “I’m not sure. I guess it depends on how things progress.”

  Her mother heaved out a long breath. “Well, I’d feel better if he was married with children.”

  Not if she knew about that lustful little episode on the porch last night, Claudia thought.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll keep in touch. And if we do discover anything about the ring, I’ll let you know.”

  “That ring!” she blurted in Claudia’s ear again. “You’re probably going to find out that Betty Fay bought it from some voodoo shop down in New Orleans. It was probably laying right next to the chicken feet!”

  “Goodbye, Mom,” Claudia said, then hung up before her mother could belabor the point.

  “Lottie, do you believe in destiny?”

  The older woman glanced at Hayden’s boots that, at the moment, were propped on the corner of her desk. “Yeah, if you don’t get some work done around here, we’re destined for bankruptcy.”

  With a weary chuckle, he pulled his folded hands from behind his head and eased his feet back onto the floor. “I had a bad night, Lottie. And I’ve been on the telephone most of the day. Be kind to me.”

  The bony, gray-haired woman put down her pencil and took a long pointed survey of his face. “What kind of night did Ms. Westfield have? I hope she looks better than you.”

  “Lottie! I’m shocked that you would say such a thing!”

  The older woman let out a mocking snort. “Nothing about the opposite sex has shocked you since you were five years old.”

  “Well, if you really want to know, Ms. Westfield spent the night at my house. In her own bedroom,” he added grimly.

  “What’s the matter? Slipping in your older years?”

  He glared at his secretary. “She’s not that kind of woman.”

  Lottie picked up her pencil and went back to copying a series of numbers onto a ledger sheet. “All of us women are that kind when the right man gets next to us.”

  Then he must not be the right man for Claudia, Hayden thought. Still, for those few minutes she’d been in his arms, he’d never felt so connected to anyone.

  Thoughtful now, he said, “I never knew you liked men, Lottie.”

  Without bothering to look up, she said, “I love men. I just never found one I wanted to love on a continual basis. Which is a sad thing, Mr. Bedford.”

  “Why? A person doesn’t have to have a spouse to be happy,” he told her. “Look at me, for instance. I’m much happier now that Saundra isn’t making my life miserable.”

  She glanced up, her expression saying she was clearly unconvinced. “No, look at me. I’m sixty-five and alone. The closest thing I’ll ever have to grandkids will be your children, providing you ever have any.”

  Lottie’s talk of rearing a family turned his thoughts once again to Claudia and he wondered if she’d dismissed all plans of ever being a wife and mother. Maybe she’d decided being a career woman was enough to keep her happy.

  “Ms. Westfield had a bad experience with a man,” he revealed to his secretary. “She says she doesn’t want to get involved with another one.”

  Lottie’s brows inched upward. “Then what’s she doing with you?”

  Smiling, Hayden rose to his feet, then leaned across the desk and patted Lottie’s cheek. “That’s what I’ve got to figure out.”

  Claudia was standing in front of the kitchen cabinets, wondering if she should attempt to cook some sort of evening meal, when a sound on the back porch caught her attention. Moments later, the door opened and Hayden stepped in carrying a flat cardboard box.

  The moment he spotted her, a wide smile spread across his face. “Well, it is nice to come home to a beautiful woman!”

  Claudia tried not to blush or to smile, but in the end she couldn’t prevent either. Seeing him again was filling her with a warm pleasure she couldn’t deny.

  “Hello, Hayden.”

  “Hello, yourself,” he greeted warmly.

  “It smells like you brought supper with you,” she said as she sniffed the mouthwatering aroma of hot pizza. “Before you walked in I was wondering if I should try to cook something.”

  “Try?” he asked with humor. “You mean you don’t know how to cook?”

  She shrugged. “Well, enough to get by. I was always more interested in doing experiments in the kitchen than making a meal.”

  “Hmm. Sounds like you grew up a regular little scientist, rather than the busy homemaker,” he said as he walked over and placed the pizza box on the small bar that extended from one end of the oak cabinets.

  “Madam Curie interested me more than Betty Crocker.” She went to stand beside him. “I can set the table or get the drinks, if you’d like.”

  “Set the table,” he told her. “And I’ll get us some sodas.”

  Five minutes later they were seated at a small wooden dining table. To their right a row of windows overlooked a portion of the backyard where mockingbirds and gray mourning doves flittered from the lush lawn to a tall bird feeder hidden among a vine of Texas yellow bonnets.

  Hayden’s home continued to surprise Claudia. All along she’d expected he lived like a traditional bachelor where the essentials were all that mattered. Such as a stove, refrigerator and bed. And a couch for TV watching. Yet this ho
use was the complete opposite. It was a true home in every sense of the word.

  “Is this where you lived with your wife?” she asked as they munched through their first slices of pizza.

  “No, Saundra and I lived in the city. In a town house. This place was where my parents lived.” He cast her a curious glance. “Why do you ask?”

  She shrugged while a veil of pink color washed her cheeks. “It seems so homey. Not anything like where a bachelor would live. Even the yard is like an extension of the house.”

  “Well, I can’t take credit for the furnishings or decorations. Mom took care of that. And Dad liked to garden. He also enjoyed the wildlife out here in the country. That’s why you see all the bird and squirrel feeders around the yard. He gave up on trying to grow a vegetable garden, though. The deer and the coons always ate everything before it could be harvested,” he added with a wan smile.

  “You must miss your parents terribly,” she said, her heart aching for his loss.

  He nodded. “Right after Dad died I started to sell this property—the memories in these rooms were a constant reminder of all that I’d lost. But when it came right down to it, I just didn’t have the heart. Then a few years later, right after my divorce, I decided I was glad I hadn’t sold. I was sick of living in the city and this place had always suited me.”

  “What about the memories? They don’t hurt now?”

  His pensive expression was full of fondness. “No. They comfort me. Because they’re all good memories.”

  “Then you’re fortunate.”

  He looked at her as though her observation surprised him. “You’re right. But it took me a while to realize that. For a long time I was pretty bitter about losing both my parents. I kept wondering why other people got to see their mother and dad live to be in their eighties or even nineties. I felt cheated. I felt like I’d been punished for some reason. But later…I realized I was thinking all wrong.”

  Claudia cast him a gentle, knowing smile. “You were thinking how blessed you really were to have had good parents. Even if it was for a shorter time than most.”

  He nodded, then picked up a second slice of pizza. “I’m sure a lot of your students come from torn and dysfunctional families.”

  “Too many,” she said grimly. “That’s why I chose to teach inner city. Someone needs to care. I realize I’m only one person, but at least I feel good about what I’m doing.”

  His blue eyes scanned her face as though he were seeing a different woman than the Claudia Westfield he’d first met in his office. “And that’s important to you.”

  She reached for her soda glass. “You say that like it surprises you,” she said.

  A wry grin touched his lips. “I guess it does. Most of the women I’ve known are very materialistic. One in particular.”

  “Your ex-wife?”

  His gaze drifted away from her to settle on a pair of doves perched on the top rail of the yard fence. “Yeah. Saundra. Don’t get me wrong, she was ambitious. She worked hard at her job. But not because she found it rewarding. She liked what the money could do for her.”

  “From the looks of Bedford Roustabout, I wouldn’t have thought she needed the extra salary,” Claudia said.

  Hayden frowned. “We didn’t need the extra salary. But staying home every day was not Saundra’s style. She loved to be out and going and I respected her wishes. She had every right to a career as I did.”

  “What did she do?”

  “She was an office manager for a large insurance company in San Antonio.”

  “What about children?”

  He turned his gaze back to her and Claudia glimpsed a shadow of regret in his blue eyes. “We never got around to having children. She kept promising to get pregnant whenever her job smoothed out. But that never happened. I guess it’s a good thing. After I discovered she was being unfaithful, we divorced.”

  Claudia was suddenly reminded of the crushing pain she’d felt when she’d learned of Tony’s infidelity. She’d been thinking of marriage. She’d been thinking she was the love of his life. When actually she’d been little more than a diversion.

  “Does your ex-wife still live in San Antonio?”

  “No. Someone told me that she’s in Austin now.”

  “Do you miss her?”

  His lips twisted into a mocking slant. “You don’t miss a migraine, Claudia. You just thank your lucky stars you don’t have it anymore.”

  Yes, she was thankful she’d gotten rid of Tony before he could cause her any more emotional damage. Once he was out of her life, she’d not missed him. Still, she couldn’t let herself forget the pain and the lesson he’d given her.

  For the next few minutes they finished the meal in silence. Afterward, Claudia cleaned the small mess from the table while he made a pot of coffee. Once it was finished dripping, they agreed to brave the evening heat and carried their cups outside to a group of redwood lawn chairs situated beneath a giant live oak tree. Nearby, the sleeping cowdogs lifted their heads with interest, but after a moment they must have both decided it was too hot to move from their bed in the shade to do any socializing and their heads flopped back against the thick grass.

  “So what did you do to occupy your time today?” he asked after he and Claudia were both seated.

  Since they’d eaten, the sun had gone down, but the air was stagnant with humid heat. Above their heads, storm clouds were starting to roll and churn. In a matter of minutes Claudia expected to hear the rumble of thunder. Living in an area where tornadoes were a constant threat had given her a healthy concern for the weather, but the idea of an approaching storm seemed to pale against the turbulent feelings Hayden generated in her. She’d never met any man that could charm her and anger her at the same time, until she’d met this one.

  “I did what you suggested and made a list,” she said.

  For a moment his face was blank and then he looked at her with surprise. “So where is it? I want to know exactly what it is you think you’ve seen.”

  Frowning, she eyed him with disapproval. “I don’t like the way you phrased that. As though you still don’t believe me.”

  He made a palms-up gesture with his free hand. “I don’t believe you. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take this seriously. So go get the list.”

  “I don’t have to go get it. I can tell you everything I have written on it.” She nervously fingered the hem of her cotton tank top. Each time the visions or the ring was mentioned, the two of them ended up in some sort of confrontation. She didn’t know if her sanity could survive another one. Especially if she ended up in his arms. “There’s not that much.”

  “Okay, then tell me. What have you seen, besides my face?”

  Claudia leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes so that the images around her didn’t interfere with her memory. “The boat with its white sails. The dolphin on the bow and the name and number on the side of the hull. And there’s lots of water all around.”

  “The Gulf of Mexico is a lot of water,” he conceded.

  She opened one eye at him. “Are you being condescending?”

  He sipped his coffee. “No. But I’ve already told you where I keep the Stardust, so you know there’s a lot of water around it. Besides, it’s a foregone conclusion that a boat is going to be near a lot of water.”

  Claudia looked at him with both eyes. “Look, I’m trying to tell you what was in my visions before I ever came to San Antonio. Do you want to hear about it or not?”

  She was being deadly serious when all Hayden really wanted was an excuse to sit here and enjoy her company. He’d spent most of the day looking forward to this evening, knowing that she would be here and the house would seem alive again. He knew that sort of thinking was unwise. Saundra had already taught him that trusting a woman could prove to be mighty painful. And this whole situation with Claudia Westfield should be making him doubly cautious. But there was something about her that charmed him, lured him like the sweet, mysterious scent of a n
ight flower.

  “I do. Go on,” he said.

  Closing her eyes once again, she said, “I think that’s everything about the boat that I can remember except that it’s wooden and has a small cabin.”

  Half expecting her to start detailing the cabin, Hayden eased up in his chair and looked at her. But when she spoke again, it wasn’t about the boat but something entirely different.

  “Sometimes I see a huge white house. It’s a two-story and there’s a balcony or a widow’s walk on the top floor. A porch runs the length of the front and is supported with square pillars. Melon-colored hibiscus are growing nearby. It looks old, but restored in perfect condition. Sort of like one of those old homes that are turned into bed-and-breakfasts. Does this place sound familiar to you?”

  Hayden shook his head. “Not at all. I’ve never stayed in a bed-and-breakfast or a big, white, two-story house. Whenever I travel I stay in hotels or motels.”

  “What about when you were small and visited relatives?”

  Hayden thought for a moment. “No. We visited relatives and friends at times, but I don’t recall a house like that.”

  A sigh of disappointment passed her lips. “Oh, I was hoping the house would give us something to work on. But maybe it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe I’m seeing it for some other reason that has nothing to do with you.”

  Hayden couldn’t believe he was actually feeling disappointed for her. If he didn’t watch himself he was going to get caught up in this ridiculous fantasy of hers.

  “Is there anything else?” he asked.

  “Not really. Other than you.”

  The mere idea that this woman had seen him in a vision, long before he’d met her, seemed absurd, yet somewhere deep inside him it also felt extremely intimate. Hayden tried not to dwell on that part of it, though. Being connected to this woman physically would no doubt be a pleasure. But a spiritual link was something altogether different.

  “What am I doing when you see me?”

  “Smiling. In sort of a sexy, taunting way. Like you’ve known me for a long time and that we were on very familiar terms. Like we didn’t need words to understand each other.”