Speaking of sleepy. He couldn’t hide a grin even now, placing their coffee orders, as he once again pictured her whirling down the middle of the fifth floor, the shocking pink Sleepytime Bunny hopping up and down as she went. Once she’d calmed down, she’d tried to explain that the nightshirt had been a joke present from a friend at work and was very comfortable. So cozy, she’d forgotten she’d been wearing it when she’d rushed out of the house.
By then Alec’s head was spinning and his suggestion of coffee—outside, away from the mild curiosity of his coworkers—was readily accepted. He left instructions in case Nick showed up.
Alec was worried about the kid. He realized the gains Tess had made with him, but knew Nick was still fragile. Molly, on the other hand, was appearing to be managing quite well. Except for the initial disruptions in sleep and some mild regressive behavior, she had responded warmly to Tess. Her confidence had soared and would continue to do so, now that she knew for certain that she and Nick would not be placed in foster care.
But adolescents were tougher in many ways. Nick was old enough to know that adults could be deceptive and self-interested. He was smart enough to figure out that, if Tess had initial doubts about taking him and Molly, those doubts could easily return. And he probably knew that looking after two kids—one of them a teenager—was going to offer challenges Tess had never experienced.
Alec set the coffee down and took the chair next to Tess. “Okay, so how about you call home to see if he has turned up there after all and I call the school? He may simply have gone somewhere to cool off before starting classes. I gave him that advice a few weeks ago.”
Tess was stirring her coffee and raised her head to ask, “You did?”
He hoped she’d understand. “I told him it was better to be a bit late for school than to show up all hot and bothered and ready to explode.”
She thought that over and nodded. He was relieved. At least their strategy planning wasn’t going to begin with yet another quarrel. Alec sipped on his hot coffee and tried not to stare at her. She looked pale and genuinely distraught. Probably kicking herself, he thought, over how she might have handled the situation differently. Or perhaps—and he didn’t seriously want to consider this one—having second thoughts about taking the kids.
He had to choose his words carefully. From what he could see of her current mental state, she might respond by flaring up or worse, by dissolving into tears. He was hoping for something between both extremes. The problem was, he didn’t have a very good track record so far in communicating with Tess Wheaton. It seemed to him that just as their relationship was beginning to show some promise, he—or she—would say or react to something in a completely irrational manner. Or maybe, the problem had more to do with what wasn’t said, than what was.
“I’ll call the house, maybe he went back there. Drat, I left my cell phone at the house.”
Alec shrugged. Personally, he disliked cell phones and refused to own one. Though he accepted that someone like Karen should have one, in case an emergency turned up and she wasn’t at the ranch. “Here,” he said, handing her a quarter. “There’s a pay phone right outside.”
He watched her go through the motions, but he got the feeling she was thinking it would be a waste of time. She doubted Nick had gone back home, and he did, too. Still, it was one option that had to be ruled out. When she came back, confirming no one was home, he went to call the school. His eyes remained fixed on her as he placed the call. Something in the slump of her shoulders and the way she fixated blankly on her coffee made him want to rush back inside and sweep her into his arms. Make her feel that everything was going to be just fine.
He knew it would be, too. Nick would turn up as usual and be remorseful, as usual. Until the next time. Alec waited for the connection to come through, wondering what would happen if the next time occurred in Chicago. A secretary finally picked up and informed him that yes, Nick Wheaton had arrived late but was now in class. Thank God. Alec hung up and headed back to Tess.
When he gave her the good news, her relief was so sweet he wanted to reach out for her. It was all he could do not to stroke the soft silk of her cheek and brush back the fluff of curl at her ear. Then draw her close and kiss that ear tenderly, whisper in it all the things they could do if they just made a detour back to his apartment. But he had work and she had other things on her mind. Besides, he was almost afraid to touch her, in case she interpreted it as another ploy of his to persuade her to stay in Boulder.
“Look,” he said, downing the rest of his coffee and risking another disagreement. “You may not want advice from me—God knows, I seem to hear myself giving it all the time and you must be sick and tired of it.” Encouraged by her wan smile, he plunged on. “But when Nick comes home, you need to let him know that what he did was unacceptable. But you also need to tell him that, in the end, he made it better by making the right decision to go on to school.”
“I know. You’re right. And he has the big game tomorrow,” she said. “I don’t want him to feel…I don’t know,” she hesitated. “Cornered. That’s the word. I don’t want him to drop out of the game if he’s feeling hurt and threatened.”
She’d made amazing progress, Alec noted, to come up with that. And of course, she was perfectly on target. If Nick felt cornered, he’d punish them both by refusing to play in the final game. Illogical, but typical of the adolescent mind-set.
“Another thing you should know,” Alec said, “that might explain his behavior this morning. I was talking to Karen last night after I got home and she told me that Ken had asked Nick if he was interested in a summer job. Of course, the job is contingent on their keeping the ranch. Ken made that very clear, but Nick was really excited about the possibility.”
Her face registered surprise and something else he couldn’t determine. She thought for a long moment before fixing her green eyes on his. “Thanks, Alec. For…for listening and helping me. Even after…you know…what I said last night. I don’t know why that came out, but I just—”
“It’s okay,” Alec interrupted. Now wasn’t the time or place to settle what he knew had to be settled between them.
“And I drove by your office yesterday to apologize but then I saw you with…well, an attractive woman and…”
Alec had to think. Then it dawned on him. “You mean Linda, my boss?” He smiled and patted her hand. “I think Nick’s having a practice again tonight, so if you turned up for that to give him a lift home, he’d probably be grateful.” Alec laughed. “Even if he doesn’t show it.”
She smiled and got up to leave. “I guess I’ll see you at the game then—tomorrow night?”
“Six o’clock,” he said. “I’ll be there. Maybe we can all go for a late dinner after—whether to celebrate a victory or not.”
“That would be nice,” she said and left.
Alec headed back to the office, aware that the full day ahead of him was going to be monopolized by thoughts of Tess Wheaton.
THERE WERE A FEW messages awaiting Tess when she arrived back at the ranch, but the first thing she did was to change, adding underwear this time and an ordinary T-shirt. Then she listened to the saved messages. The first was her own to see if Nick was there. Then Nick’s school, confirming his arrival. The next was a slurred message from Marci Stone, asking her to drop round and collect a birthday gift for Molly. The last one was, surprisingly, from Alec.
“Hi, Tess, trust you got back okay. Listen, I just had another call from my buddy with the state police. The one I called about that license number? Apparently, the owner, Mark Kaiser, works for an international development company with an office in Denver. That’s all I could find out. Have you had a chance to check with the land registry? I haven’t, but if you want me to, call me at work or home. I may get a chance to do that tomorrow. Otherwise, see you at the game tomorrow night and…uh…well, I’m looking forward to that. Take care.”
Tess deleted the messages. She didn’t know what to make of Alec’s infor
mation, either. Without context, it had little meaning on its own.
After lunch, Tess decided to collect Molly’s birthday gift from Marci Stone. She decided to drive to the Stones’, rather than walk and risk being late for Molly’s bus. When she pulled up to the house, the only vehicle she saw was Larry’s pickup. He answered the door and seemed surprised to see her.
“Marci went to Denver,” he said. “When did she call you?”
“I don’t know. Sometime this morning.”
“Well, that’s Marci. Impulsive as always. She knew she had an appointment in Denver. Come on in. I think I saw Molly’s present in our room.”
Tess followed him inside. There were some empty cardboard boxes lying in the hall.
“Getting ready to start packing,” Larry said. “Jed Walker called me late yesterday to say that you all were heading back to Chicago. I’m real happy to say that he took my offer on the Wheaton place.”
Tess felt her jaw drop.
“He told you, didn’t he?” Larry’s face filled with concern. “God, I trust this is what you wanted. I mean, he said you were definitely leaving the area—”
“It’s okay, Larry. I’m just surprised that…you know, it’s all happening so quickly.”
He nodded, but his frown deepened. “You’re sure?”
When she reassured him, he smiled and patted her on the shoulder. “Walker may be in a hurry with this, but Marci and I aren’t. Believe me,” he said, jerking his head toward the boxes. “Take your time with the move. And whatever things you don’t want to take with you—or physically can’t—well, we can help you sell them.”
And guess who would be the buyer? Tess knew he was trying to be helpful, though found his gesture a tad self-serving. She waited in the hall while he went farther into the house. She could see the French doors at the end and the patio beyond. When she’d been there before, the doors along the hall had been closed. As she paced back and forth, she noticed one of the rooms was a wood-paneled study obviously decorated with the country sportsman in mind, complete with a mounted elk’s head and a big-horned sheep’s.
Mesmerized and repelled at the same time, Tess stepped into the room for a closer look. But what captured her attention—freezing, in fact every nerve cell in her body—was the framed still life hanging on the wall opposite the animal heads.
A still life of fruits and vegetables, lying haphazardly around the base of a polished wooden bowl. The still life Richard Wheaton had painted on the back of her own portrait.
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG for the whole story to burst out. Larry had guessed something was wrong when he found her in the den. His concern had compensated somewhat for her shock and Tess agreed to a cold drink in the kitchen while he gave his account of the story.
“It must have been mid-March. We were about to celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary and were having lunch in town. I’d only been to the art gallery once before—to one of Richard’s exhibits a few years ago. Anyway, Marci wanted to have a look and we were in the area. The owner—can’t recall his name—you know, the one they just found dead?”
“Tomas Kozinski.”
“Yeah, that’s it. We introduced ourselves, said we were neighbors of the Wheatons and he asked if we’d like to have a look at a painting he’d received from Richard for cleaning. As soon as Marci saw it, she fell in love with the still life side. I offered to buy it, but Kozinski said he doubted Richard would sell because it had a special meaning for him.” Larry paused, taking a sip of beer. “Course at the time, I thought it was a portrait of Molly. I mean, it looked like Molly.”
His gaze fell on Tess, as if comparing the original model. She ran a fingertip along the edge of her iced tea, anxious for him to get on with it.
“I know I’m an insistent guy, especially when it comes to getting something I want.” He gave a self-deprecating little laugh. “At any rate, Marci was so taken with the still life that I asked Kozinski if he’d call Richard and see if he might change his mind. We told him we’d wait while he made the call. He came back a few minutes later and said that Richard didn’t want to sell the portrait but if Kozinski was able, he could separate the two paintings and sell us the still life.”
Tess looked over at Larry. “Kozinski said my father gave him permission to cut the board in half?”
“That’s what Kozinski said. Hell,” he swore, laughing again, “I didn’t know such a thing was possible but Kozinski insisted he could find someone to do it. He told us to come back in a week or so. We did and we got the painting.”
Tess didn’t know what stunned her more. The fact that Stone’s story corroborated Kozinski’s so perfectly or that her father might have consented to the act after all. But she knew there was very little she could do about the painting now. Overwhelmed by the thought, she also knew she wanted to leave as soon as possible.
She looked at her watch and said, “You know, Molly’s bus is arriving soon. I’ve got to go.” She grabbed the gift bag at her elbow and stood up.
Larry stood, too, but his face was serious as he said, “I can see this has really upset you. I don’t know what to say. Obviously both paintings were intended for you. I don’t understand why Richard let it happen, unless he was thinking he’d probably never see you again.”
“Perhaps,” Tess murmured as she moved toward the hall. She didn’t feel like analyzing her father’s motives with Larry Stone.
He was close on her heels, rambling on about how Marci might be persuaded to give up the painting. That made Tess pause at the front door. “What do you mean?”
Larry gave a helpless shrug. “Marci likes a lot of things. I mean, I could probably offer to substitute the painting with a new pair of diamond earrings or something.”
His grin suggested the ploy had worked in the past. “Hell, why don’t I just give it to you right now? If she’s ticked off, well, I’ll come sheepishly back for it.”
Tess was speechless. She watched him wheel around, march to the den and return with the still life.
“Here,” he said, holding it out to her. “Take it.”
“But it’s yours. You paid for it.”
“I’ll get my money back from the gallery. After what you’ve told me, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” He frowned at Tess. “I mean, the guy could have been scamming us both, right? Maybe he didn’t call Richard at all. Maybe he just thought he’d get away with it and make a bit for himself on the side.”
Tess shook her head. “I’ve thought of that, too. But surely my father would have found out.”
“Maybe. But then, two weeks later, your father was dead.”
There was nothing Tess could add to that. She stared up into Larry’s face and then at the painting. His offer sounded sincere. The smile on his face certainly was. When she held out her hands, he passed over the painting.
“Enjoy,” he said softly.
“Thank you so much, Larry. This is so kind of you.”
“Not at all. It’s going back to where it belongs. That’s all.” He followed her outside and helped her set the painting in the back of the Volvo. When he closed the hatch, he held out a hand.
Tess placed hers in his and smiled. “If you ever get to Chicago—”
“I’d love to,” he said, his weathered face crinkling in a big smile.
Tess got behind the steering wheel and just before turning over the engine, thought of Alec’s message. Perhaps Larry might know something.
“Do you remember when you came over to the house last week and I showed you those sketches we found?”
He looked puzzled.
“Of the campsite where Nick said the family often went on weekends.”
“Oh, right. Why?”
“I noticed that you were looking at some numbers on the back of one of the sketches.”
A frown replaced the confusion. “Oh? I don’t recall.”
By now Tess wished she hadn’t raised the matter. He obviously didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. “It’s okay
. Just that I thought the numbers on the back of one of the sketches looked like a Colorado license plate and I was right.”
“Really?”
“Apparently it’s a plate registered to someone from Denver. A man by the name of Mark Kaiser. Does that ring a bell for you?”
He pursed his lips and thought long. “Nope. Can’t say it does. Does it mean something to you?”
Tess shook her head. “Not really. I just couldn’t understand why my father had jotted them down on the back of a sketch.”
“Can’t help you there, either. As I said, it’s not a name I recognize. Unless the guy was a friend of your father’s.”
“Then why would he copy down the license plate? It doesn’t make sense.”
Larry moved closer to her opened window. “No, it doesn’t. But there’s no way of finding out the reason now, is there?”
The expression in his eyes was a mix of kindness and pity. Tess knew he was right. “No,” she murmured. She turned over the engine, said a quick goodbye and reminded him to thank Marci for the gift. As she headed down the drive to the highway, she glanced in the rearview mirror to see Larry standing, arms crossed, watching her leave.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
TESS SHOWED NICK the painting after dinner. She and Molly had picked up Nick after his practice. He’d looked surprised when she’d told him they’d watched most of the practice itself, but he also looked pleased. On the way home, he quietly apologized for the morning’s escapade and Tess simply said that she had been worried. When she suggested that they would all discuss the move to Chicago after the big game was over, he had muttered a barely audible sure. But Tess was satisfied with that.
“It’s very different, isn’t it? Even for Dad,” he said, staring at the still life on its easel in the studio. “A lot of stuff was destroyed in the fire.” Nick wandered around the studio, occasionally picking up something, examining it and then setting it back down.
The Second Family Page 25