by Lynn Patrick
He didn’t go on with details. Heather figured that meant he didn’t feel particularly close to any of them.
“In a way, the men I’ve served with are like my family,” he went on.
“You’ve probably shared a lot.”
“But soldiers come and go. Every couple of years, sometimes every few months, you have to get used to somebody new. Living in a town with family must provide more continuity.”
“Probably,” Heather agreed. “Things aren’t perfect for anyone, though. Our father went off and left us, you know. We still don’t know why or where he is or if he’s okay. Or if he even cares what happened to us.”
Rick seemed surprised. “I guess I didn’t think about that when you said your mother was bringing your stepfather. I just thought she was divorced and remarried.”
“Nothing that simple.”
“Being abandoned must have been devastating.”
“It was, for everyone. And we’ve all dealt with it in our own way. Maybe that’s the reason I didn’t mind starting a family so young,” Heather admitted. “I wanted a warm and stable home life. And Kristen became a workaholic to prove she wasn’t irresponsible like our dad. Brian acted out and got into trouble because he didn’t have a real father.”
“At least you guys seem to be doing well now.”
“Well, Kristen is happy. Brian’s settled down and in college. And I’m...well, I have a plan.”
“Which I’m sure will be successful. You’re a competent, gutsy woman. That’s one reason I was attracted to you,” he added.
“That and my ability to make kissy faces in a mirror,” Heather teased, remembering the boathouse incident with the security camera. She wasn’t the least bit uptight about it anymore.
They both laughed and watched Brian and some other young men move tables and chairs from the center of the patio. A band was setting up on a platform beyond the buffet tables. Kristen had said they would be playing soft rock oldies.
“Do you like to dance?” she asked Rick.
“I’d better like it. I promised Addison a whirl around the dance floor.”
“Save one for me, too, okay?”
“I’ll save all the other dances for you.”
Just thinking about spending the rest of the afternoon in Rick’s arms made Heather feel a little giddy.
* * *
IN REALITY, DESPITE what he’d said, Rick found he had a nearly full dance card before he even stepped out onto the patio. Besides Addison, who wanted him to take her hands and twirl her in a circle, Rick partnered up with a couple of other little girls, each of the bridesmaids, Isabel, and so many relatives and friends he could barely remember their names. Heather’s family didn’t seem to be shy. Even Aunt Margaret, someone Rick remembered by her bright red hair and colorful blue gown, managed to dance a number with him before returning to her own escort, a tanned outdoorsy-looking older man named John. Rick liked her, especially when she joked about his “Terminator” sunglasses.
“How do you know about the sunglasses?” He’d taken them off before he entered the church.
“Addison was wearing them one day.”
He laughed. “I forgot about that.” He also wondered if Heather had mentioned the nickname because she had made such a big deal out of wanting to see his eyes when they’d first gotten to know each other.
He was sitting down, taking a break with a cold cola in the shadow of the old rambling house, when Heather finally appeared at their table. She’d been busy helping the bride change into her “going away” outfit. “Sorry I left you here for so long.”
“I’ve only been in this chair for five minutes. I think I’ve had at least one dance with every female at this wedding.”
Heather grinned. “My, aren’t you Mr. Popular?”
“Luckily I’m in shape,” Rick joked, rising to offer a hand out to the dance floor.
The band was playing a slow tune so he swung her around gently and back into his arms. She felt good there. He breathed in the scent of her sun-streaked hair, which was piled into a soft updo with a flower nestled into one side. Her hand in his was firm but soft. They moved together effortlessly, perfect partners.
If not exactly soul mates. Like Heather and Scott had been. From snatches of conversation here and there, Rick had found out that Scott had been greatly respected, a truly fine young man. But what other kind of man would Heather have chosen? Rick didn’t want to compare himself to Scott. For one thing, he hadn’t known her half as long.
A lull came right after the next dance when the band took a break. At the edge of the patio, Addison continued to dance with a toddler and laugh, the picture of happy childhood. When Heather was called away to talk to the bride again, Rick sat down and had another sip of cola. He was surprised when Taylor suddenly appeared.
“Can I have some of that?” she asked, actually smiling at him.
“Cola?”
When she nodded, he quickly poured a little into another glass. Taylor had never asked him for anything, so he was pleased.
She gulped down the contents of the glass, then said, “More?”
“I can get you a whole can, if you want.”
“Thanks!”
He rose and went to the open bar, picking up a cold can for the little girl and another for himself. Taylor didn’t wait for him to pour her can into a glass but stuck a straw in it and took off. She also grabbed the second can of cola for one of her friends.
Rick shrugged. Maybe he’d made some points.
In the crowd, Rick didn’t see Taylor again for a while, not until Heather returned and they’d shared a piece of cake. Then he noticed a veritable herd of kids—twelve or thirteen, at least—running from one end of the yard to the other. Taylor was among them, barefoot, having tossed off her shoes.
“You’re it! You’re it!” Taylor yelled, chasing a straggler, a boy somewhat smaller than her.
“Wow, I hope she doesn’t ruin that dress.” Heather stirred in her chair. “Maybe I should catch her and get her to change into shorts.”
A few minutes later, they saw Taylor tackle the straggler and shriek like a banshee. In another moment, she sat on top of him and yelled, “I said you were it!”
Heather sprang to her feet. “Good grief!”
Rick got up from his chair, too, though he didn’t know what he should do. Taylor was pummeling the little boy. Was it appropriate to stop the fight? Then Taylor would hate him even more.
He followed Heather as she rushed over to them on the lawn.
“Stop it!” Heather grabbed Taylor.
The little girl paid no attention, smacking the sobbing boy beneath her again. “He’s it and he won’t play!”
“Taylor, stop this right now! What is wrong with you?”
Heather somehow managed to get her daughter to let go and pulled her off the other child. Meanwhile, the boy’s dad had appeared and got his son to his feet.
Both kids were sobbing.
“I’m so sorry!” Heather told the other parent.
“That’s okay. I think they just went wild,” said the dad.
Rick felt helpless, just standing and watching.
Tears streaked Taylor’s little face and dampened her already matted hair. Her dress was bedraggled and stained by grass, her hands and feet dirty.
“You are coming inside for a time out, young lady!” Heather told her, leading her toward the house.
Rick still didn’t know what to do. He didn’t think Heather wanted his help, so he returned to their table. After some murmuring over the excitement, the crowd settled down. Finally, about twenty minutes later, Heather returned, a crushed cola can in her hand, her face stormy.
“Sorry about that,” she told Rick. “Taylor is really getting to me lately.” She showed him the col
a can. “Of course, this didn’t help. She had it at the kids’ table. Actually, two of them!”
Uh-oh. “What’s wrong with cola?”
“You don’t give a child caffeine, especially with sugar. Taylor had three pieces of cake, several pieces of candy and all the cola she could put away. She was really flying. I’m going to have a talk with the caterers in charge of beverages. The kids were only supposed to be served milk or juice.”
Rick stopped her before she flounced off. He might as well come clean. “I gave her the cola, Heather. She asked me for it.”
“And you thought it was okay for her?”
“I didn’t know it was bad. She took the one for me, too.”
“Two colas?”
“She said it was for a friend.”
Heather looked tired. “Caffeine and kids don’t mix. Especially not for Taylor. Add sugar and you have a really volatile combination.”
“I can see that now.” He told her, “Look, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I just don’t have the experience with kids.”
“No, you don’t.” She sighed. “And Taylor knows she’s not supposed to have sodas, too. She was intentionally being naughty.”
And perhaps setting up Rick for her own purposes. No doubt this had spoiled the edge he’d been gaining with Heather. He would be angry if the culprit who’d done him in wasn’t a six-year-old girl.
“Let’s sit back down and try to relax,” Heather said. “I checked on Addison. She’s okay.”
“We can do some more dancing.”
“Sure. When the band starts up again.”
But Heather looked like she’d rather head home. Once again, Rick was only too aware of the difference in their backgrounds. She had two little girls who were completely dependent on her, whereas he’d never been responsible for anyone except the men in his military unit.
Men he’d failed.
He wouldn’t blame Heather if she decided not to see him again.
* * *
HEATHER FIGURED TAYLOR must have slept for the remaining hour she and Rick stayed at the party. Taylor yawned as she climbed into her booster seat when Rick got ready to take them all home. Both the twins were quiet, no doubt worn out. Still, Addison managed to tell Rick “bye” before going into the house. Taylor didn’t say anything.
“I’d invite you in but I have to put the girls to bed,” Heather told him, feeling like she wanted to collapse fairly soon herself.
“No problem. I’ll see you Monday afternoon. I have to go to Milwaukee in the morning.”
“Okay. Thanks for being my escort.”
“Any time.”
Heather wondered if he would want to see a tired mother who had two children, one of whom was so difficult. Other divorced mothers had told her how hard it was to find a man who wanted a ready-made family. And Rick had no experience with kids, but that was something he could learn...assuming he wanted to.
He leaned forward and kissed her, but it was more of a brush on the lips than a deep emotional kiss like the last one they’d shared.
He touched her cheek and sounded regretful when he said, “Good night.”
“Good night.”
Disappointed that the reception had made their date take such a left turn, she watched him until he climbed into his own car and drove off. Then she went inside.
Taylor and Addison were shrugging out of their dresses, getting ready for a bath, which Taylor especially needed. Heather turned on the water, then took the dog out in the yard herself. When Kirby was ready to come back in, Heather went straight to help the twins clean themselves up and get into bed.
Taylor was finished first and burrowed into the sheets while Addison brushed her teeth and told the dog in a singsong voice about her day. Heather sat down on the bed and took the opportunity to speak to Taylor alone.
“You know you’re not supposed to have cola. You’re a big girl.”
Taylor’s lip quivered. “Rick gave it to me.”
“You asked him for it.” And though she hoped Taylor wasn’t intentionally trying to get him into trouble, she had to wonder. “You don’t like him, Taylor, and there’s no reason for it.”
“He hurt me!”
“He stopped you from running so fast with the dog. But he was just trying to protect you. He doesn’t deserve to be treated so badly. You are mean to him.” She added, “I didn’t raise my girls to be mean.”
Tears pooled in Taylor’s eyes and spilled out onto her cheeks. But her expression remained stubborn. “You like him!”
“So you’re jealous? Is that it?” Heather leaned closer to touch her daughter’s face. “Honey, I love you. You’re my baby. No one, not Rick or anybody, is ever going to get in the way of that.”
“Daddy wouldn’t like him!”
Heather was struck silent. An image of Taylor watching the DVD of Scott flooded her thoughts. She tried to keep her voice from cracking when she said, “Daddy isn’t here anymore, sweetie. He’s in heaven.”
Now Taylor openly sobbed and Heather couldn’t help crying herself. She took Taylor in her arms, the little body shivering with emotion.
“He said he was coming back!” Taylor cried against her shoulder.
“He would if he could, sweetie...but he can’t.” How did one explain the finality of death to a child?
“I’m Daddy’s little girl!” Taylor said, sobbing.
“Yes, you are.” Heather just held the child as if for dear life. “And you always will be. And you’re my little girl, too.” She tried to explain, “But...life goes on. Daddy wouldn’t want us to be so sad about him that we never have fun with other people.”
“I don’t want Rick as a daddy!” Taylor insisted. “You danced with him!”
Was Taylor having anxiety about a father replacement? Heather suddenly realized the issue of dating and remarriage might be even harder than she’d already thought.
She kept Taylor in her arms but turned her face up to gaze down at her. “I’m not ready to get married right now, honey. Right now, I just want to have someone to go out with and have fun.”
Someone who made her feel good about herself and made her feel like the young woman she really was. Someone she couldn’t wait to see again when they were apart. Someone like Rick. She couldn’t help liking him, wanting to be with him.
“Someday I might want to marry again.” Rick’s image came to her unbidden and she shivered a little. “You have to have room in your heart for other people.”
Suddenly, Heather was enveloped by another pair of little arms. Addison said, “I love you, Taylor. I love you, Mommy, and it’s okay if you want to marry Rick.”
Kirby barked in agreement.
Heather laughed. “Don’t rush me. Let me just date him for now.”
“Yay!” Addison chirped.
“’Kay,” Taylor mumbled.
Thinking that Taylor might come around yet, Heather made a silly face that had everyone giggling and Kirby barking while she tucked the girls in.
Getting ready for bed, she thought about Rick, about how much she did want to see him again.
Now if only he felt the same way about her after today.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ON MONDAY MORNING, Rick drove the thirty miles to Milwaukee to pick up some special batteries he’d ordered. Afterward, he found the Lakeside Hotel, where Gina used to work as a concierge, and parked nearby. He went inside to ask about Dodd, the owner, fully knowing the man might not be in that day. However, to his satisfaction, Dodd happened to be in his office and told him to come inside and shut the door. Rick did so and sat down.
Dodd was probably forty or so, had a receding hairline and was fairly ordinary looking. His expression told Rick he was still as uncomfortable as he’d sounded on the phone when they’d spoken.<
br />
“Sorry to bother you,” Rick began. “I didn’t tell you I was working as a security specialist when I phoned you.”
“At Flanagan Manor?”
“Right. Where Gina Luca is employed. From what you said it sounded like you had to let her go.”
“Well, yes. I didn’t give her a bad reference, though.”
Rick went on, “I wouldn’t press you for further information, except that, well, some odd things have been happening at the manor.”
“Odd things?”
Rick was reassuring, “No guests are in danger.” David Guildfren had been involved in an altercation, but he had attacked the guy after all. “We’ve had some trespassing, someone who’s found his way into the buildings on the estate.” He wasn’t going to tell the other man about the tunnels or the missing candelabra. “We’re keeping my investigation low key. We don’t want rumors spreading.”
“I understand. People can get alarmed by very little. You have my word I won’t say anything about it.”
Rick hoped so.
Dodd looked thoughtful. “But I don’t know how trespassing could have anything to do with Gina.”
Rick probed, “Exactly why did you let her go?”
“I don’t have to tell you that.”
“No, you don’t. But I would appreciate it if you did.” Rick smiled, hoping to put the other man at ease. “And Gina can’t sue you if what you say is true.”
“Well, I’ve felt uneasy about the whole thing,” Dodd said finally, with a sigh. “There seemed to be some discrepancies with...tips when Gina worked here.”
“Tips?”
“Guests can tip the concierge for their help. And it’s just that, well, Gina often received larger tips than I’d ever seen before.”
“On credit card receipts?”
“Right. Still, I wouldn’t have asked her about it except one of the guests complained. He seemed to think the amount he’d written in had been altered.”
“Really?”
“When that happened, I talked to Gina.” Dodd went on, “She got upset, claimed the guest was lying.”
“That’s not good.”
“I wanted to believe her.” Dodd sighed again. “When I pressed the guy who’d made the claim against her, he kind of back-pedaled, said he’d been distracted when he checked out of the hotel.”