"Is he on his way home?" the younger woman asked eagerly.
Brenda made a face. "Sorry, hon," she said sympathetically. "He wanted me to tell you that he's going to Texas."
"All the way to Texas?" Lib couldn't hold back a laugh of dismay. "Oh, poor Luke."
"He's not a happy camper," Brenda agreed. "He says he won't be back until Wednesday — best case scenario."
Wednesday? Today was Sunday — three more days with-out him. Lib sighed.
"Can you come inside?" she asked, starting up the steps of the freshly painted porch. "I could really use a glass of lemonade — how about you?"
"Sounds great," Brenda said.
Lib held the screen door open, and Brenda followed her into the house.
"Good grief, you've been busy!" Brenda said, looking around.
The wooden floors were polished to a rich glow. The walls were freshly painted and the woodwork around the doors and windows gleamed. Brenda peeked into the living room. The walls had been papered with a pleasant flowered print from the chair rail down and painted a soft shade of white up to the ceiling. The sun shone through the leaded glass in the windows, making the room light and airy. The French doors that led into the dining room had been repaired and the beautiful oak wood restored.
"You can look around if you want," Lib called out from the kitchen, and Brenda went through the living room into the dining room.
Lib had replaced the broken tiles that ornamented the fireplace, and she'd polished the rich Victorian paneling on the walls. Big bay windows kept the room from being dark, and the sunlight made the wood gleam.
A swinging door led into a narrow pantry area. Cabinets hugged one wall, along with a thick white marble countertop and a large ceramic sink with shiny new fixtures.
Another swinging door led Brenda into the kitchen — and what a kitchen!
The room was enormous, with a huge beam running down the center. One entire wall was exposed brick, with a huge fireplace set into it. The rest of the kitchen was modern, with a working island in the middle. The cabinets were anew, white and sleek, and gleaming appliances were strategically placed around the room.
Lib stood at the counter near the refrigerator, pouring them both a glass of lemonade. She handed one of the glasses to Brenda.
"This is terrific," Brenda said, gesturing to the house around her.
"Yeah," Lib said with a smile. "I'm almost ready to move the furniture back in. There's one more room on this floor that needs new wallpaper. And one of the bedrooms on the second floor really got trashed from that hole in the roof — I've gotta get carpeting for that room. I can't afford to replace the hardwood floorboards. And I haven't done more than clean the third floor. It's really just an attic, but I loved it up there when I was little, so I wanted to make it into a sort of a rec room."
Brenda was looking at her with an odd expression on her face. "How many bedrooms does this place have?" she asked.
"Five," Lib said, turning to pour herself another glass of lemonade. "Six if you count the room downstairs."
"Bathrooms?"
"Two upstairs and a half down here," Lib said. "Why?"
"I know some people who are looking for a vacation house," Brenda said. "They want it ready to move in to by Thanksgiving, but I happen to know they intend to pay in cash, so if they found the right place — like this house — they could probably be persuaded to close within the next few days."
Lib was shaking her head. "No," she said. "I don't want to sell."
"I could probably get you two hundred and fifty thousand," Brenda said bluntly. "That's enough to pay back Luke and give him a big enough return on his investment so he can buy back the land from Ken Avery."
Lib was silent.
"You don't need two houses," Brenda said. "If you're going: to marry Luke—"
"Who said anything about marriage?" Lib asked with a laugh.
"I know he's going to ask you," Brenda said. She smiled at Lib, her dark eyes so like her brother's. "It's just a matter of time."
Lib turned away and looked out of the kitchen window. The view from where she was standing was wonderful. She could see the backyard and the path that led up to the pond. The hillside beyond it was heavily wooded, and in the distance mountains loomed.
She would do just about anything to help Luke, but sell her home? Yet Brenda's words made sense. They certainly wouldn't need two houses. If they were going to get married...
"I hate to dump so much pressure on you," Brenda said, "but I have an appointment to take these people out looking later this afternoon. There's a house they want to see over in Chester. It's not as nice as this, but...-
Lib kept staring up the hill. "What did Luke think?"
"Luke?"
She turned around to face Brenda. "About me selling this house," she said.
Brenda shook her head. "Luke doesn't know," she said. "I didn't think of it myself until I saw how great your place looks."
"I want to talk to him about it," Lib said. "Did he leave you his phone number?"
"No, he wasn't sure where he'd be staying," Brenda said, "or even when he'd get there."
Lib was silent. She loved this place. How could she just go and sell it? A decision this major needed a great deal of careful thought and discussion. How could she just make an on-the-spot decision like this?
"Why don't I bring these people by," Brenda suggested. "They can look the property over. If they're interested... "
"All right," Lib said. "But if you hear from Luke again, tell him I need to talk to him."
* * *
Luke stood by the airport pay phone, willing Lib to hear it ringing from wherever she was outside. As it rang for the eighth time, Rich tapped him on the shoulder.
Luke looked up.
"We gotta get going," Rich said. "Or we'll miss our connecting flight."
Luke hung up the phone, but didn't follow Rich. Instead, he closed his eyes and let his head rest momentarily on the privacy guard that separated his phone from the one next to it. He wondered where Lib was, what she was doing. He wondered why the hell he was standing, exhausted, in the middle of the Atlanta airport, about to board a plane for Corpus Christi, Texas, when all he really wanted was to go back to Sterling. Back to Liberty's sweet smile and warm arms...
"Are you all right, Luke?"
Luke opened his eyes to find himself staring into Rich's concerned face.
"Come on, buddy," Rich said. "They called our flight number. We can get on the plane now."
Luke shook his head. "No," he said, standing up straighter. "No, it's too much of a long shot. Rich, I'm going home."
He didn't care about selling the video stores. Hey, he didn't even care about buying back the goddamned back acres of his land anymore. He didn't care about anything — except seeing Lib again. Had it really been more than five days since he'd held her in his arms? Five days ago he'd planned to return from Boston in time for dinner, take Lib into his arms and tell her that he loved her. He'd planned to ask her to marry him, and he'd hoped that she'd say yes. He'd hoped that they'd make love again. Lord, he wanted to make love to her again.
I loved what we did this morning. Lord, he'd loved it, too. He loved her. He loved Liberty, and he'd been away from her for too damn long.
Luke looked at his watch. It was getting close to dinner time — but he was five days off schedule.
He turned, searching for an airline counter where he could buy a one-way ticket home, but Rich was in his way.
"Luke." Rich had on his patient face. "We're halfway to Texas. I know it's a long shot, but face it, it's our last shot. You're not really going to give up that easily, are you?"
There wasn't even the slightest flicker of hesitation in Luke's dark eyes. "I don't need this," Luke said, and to his own surprise, he actually meant it. "I've kept Lib waiting way too long." He smiled, feeling his fatigue lifting off of him, like some great weight suddenly gone from his shoulders. "I'm outs here."
"But
what about this deal?" Rich said, following Luke away from the boarding gates.
"Screw the deal," Luke said.
"What about your land?"
Luke got into a line marked 'Passengers Purchasing Tickets'. He smiled at Rich. "Lib thinks that by owning a share in the corporation, I still own that land," he said, then laughed. I think I can take that woman on one hell of a honeymoon with the nine hundred thousand dollars I have sitting in the bank."
The line moved forward leaving Rich standing all by himself. "Honeymoon?" he said, scrambling to follow Luke. "Did I hear you say honeymoon?"
* * *
"They offered two-sixty."
Lib stared at Brenda.
"They absolutely adored it," Brenda said. "I don't know how many times Bess Wiltshire commented on the design of this kitchen. And when they both saw that pond up in the back field — I'm telling you, they loved it!"
Two hundred and sixty thousand dollars. It was so much more than Luke had thought Lib would get for the farm, back when he'd first offered to loan her money, back when he'd believed she wasn't interested in sticking around.
According to the agreement she'd made with him, if she sold the farm, she'd have to pay back the money he had loaned her plus thirty percent of her profit. Luke's take would provide him with the money he needed to buy back his land from Ken Avery, to realize his dream.
How could she say no?
Lib took a deep breath. "Let's do it," she said. "But they have to pay in cash, and we have to close before Friday, the 15th."
As Brenda picked up the kitchen phone to call the Wiltshires, Lib went out on the back porch.
The sun was setting, and the early evening light made the field and surrounding hillside seem to glow. The pond would be absolutely calm in the evening stillness, like a mirror, Lib knew, without a breeze to ripple its surface. .She heard the enthusiastic tone of Brenda's voice as she spoke to the buyers on the phone, and she felt her stomach tighten nervously. Was she doing the right thing?
She heard Brenda hang up the phone, heard the screen door open as Luke's sister joined her out on the porch. "You've got a deal," Brenda said. "If it's okay with you, they want to close in the morning — at ten. That's when their attorney can fly up from New York with the money. Fortunately everything on our end is in order. Because you just inherited the property, there's already been a title search, and the land was surveyed within the past few months. I know a guy with a truck who can help you move your things out tonight. You don't have that much in the house, and I can help you pack. The Wiltshire's are really excited. They absolutely love this house."
They loved this house. Lib loved it, too.
But she loved Luke more.
* * *
Luke caught the stewardess's arm. "What's the deal?" he asked. 'Why aren't we taking off?"
The woman smiled at him. "Weather delays," she said apologetically. "It's raining so hard, we're having flooding on the runways."
Luke looked at his watch. The flight was already nearly fifty minutes late.
"How much longer are they going to hold us here?" Rich asked.
"I don't know, sir."
"May I use the phone?" Luke asked.
"I'm sorry, phones aren't available on this flight," the stewardess said.
Luke tried to control the impatience that was bubbling inside of him. It wasn't this woman's fault that they couldn't get off the ground. Snapping at her would only make him feel worse.
"Can you bring us a couple of sodas?" Rich asked. "And some aspirin?" Luke added. "Extra strength?"
* * *
Lib watched Brenda's friends load her bed into their truck. That was it. With the exception of her bedroll and her suitcase, the last of her things were out of the house.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me tonight?" Brenda asked.
"Yeah," Lib said. "Thanks, but I don't mind sleeping on the floor." She smiled, for the first time in what seemed like hours. "I want to be here in case Luke calls."
Brenda smiled back at her. "He's going to be really surprised," she said. "Really surprised."
Lib closed the tailgate, making sure her things had been securely tied down in the back of the truck. "Come on," she said. "By the time we get this stuff to Bellow's Falls it'll be past ten. I don't want to have to wait for Wednesday to talk to Luke on the phone."
* * *
Luke looked at his watch. Ten o'clock. They'd sat in the stuffy cabin of the plane for nearly four hours. Atlanta air traffic control had finally admitted it would be another few hours before the flight to Boston left the ground, so the passengers were being allowed to disembark.
Luke stood in line for the pay phones, impatiently tap-ping his foot. Finally it was his turn. He entered his calling card number and dialed Lib's.
Finally the phone was ringing. Once, twice, three times and she still didn't pick up. Luke let it ring another ten times before he allowed himself to admit Lib probably wasn't home.
It was ten o'clock at night. Where was she?
Luke forced his feelings of unease back down. He was stuck here in Atlanta for a few more hours at least. He wouldn't get to Sterling until morning, and that was going by the best case scenario. Lib was probably picking up some groceries. Or maybe she was in the shower.
He quickly punched in Brenda's phone number, but she wasn't home either, and she'd forgotten to turn on her answering machine again.
Before relinquishing the telephone to the next person in line, Luke tried Lib's number one more time.
Where was she?
* * *
Lib heard the phone ringing as Brenda dropped her off, and ran for the house. The front door was locked — Brenda must've done that when they were leaving — and she fumbled for her key. Finally, finally she got the door open and ran into the kitchen.
She grabbed for the phone.
Too late. A dial tone buzzed impersonally at her.
Cursing, she hung up the phone.
* * *
By the time Luke finally got to Boston, there was a crowd waiting to use the pay phones. After searching the terminal for an available telephone, Luke gritted his teeth and got in line. It was eight-thirty in the morning by the time he dialed Lib's number.
It only rang twice, and then a recorded voice came on, saying that the line was no longer in service.
Luke was frustrated, convinced that his fingers had slipped in dialing. When he got the message a second time, his frustration turned to confusion. The third time it happened, he called the operator.
Luke managed to keep his voice calm, but it took a great deal of effort. "Yeah," he said, when the operator came on the line. "I'm trying to call someone, but I keep getting a recording that says the line's out of service. Can you tell me what's going on? I mean, are the lines down in that area or something?"
"What was that number?" the operator asked.
Luke gave the woman Lib's area code and phone number.
Maybe they had some heavy weather last night in Sterling. Maybe that had caused some kind of malfunction. Maybe, Lord, maybe Lib had forgotten to pay her phone bill, and her service was disconnected. Luke could come up with a vast array of reasons why her phone wasn't working. But none of the reasons he came up with managed to keep the fear away. It was tiny, the fear. It was just the wisp of a cold needle that pricked at his heart. But it was enough to make his mouth dry and his stomach churn.
Because maybe Lib had left town.
Lord, if Lib had left
"No," the operator finally said. "No, there's no trouble on the line. I'm sorry, sir, that line has been disconnected. As of eight a.m. today."
The needle became a knife. "Thank you," Luke managed to say before he hung up the phone.
There had to be a reason for it — a reason why Lib would have turned off her phone service. But Luke couldn't come up with a single one
Except that she had broken her promise to him and had left Sterling.
* * *
&nbs
p; After the closing, after the sale had been made and the keys to the Harlowe house handed over to the new owners, Brenda gave Liberty a hug.
"Don't look so sad," Luke's sister said. "How can you look so sad when you're holding a check that's got six digits?"
Lib smiled halfheartedly, glancing toward the other side of the conference room where the Wiltshire's, the new owners, were talking to the bank's attorney.
"I think to cheer yourself up, you should start planning a vacation," Brenda said. She grinned wickedly. "Dare I use the 'H' word?"
The 'H' word? Honeymoon. Lib blushed.
"I've got to recommend Barbados," Brenda said. "It's gorgeous. And very romantic."
Lib smiled, picturing herself and Luke together in a tropical paradise. She could imagine the sun-filled days — white beaches, blue sky, aqua water — and the hot nights... She glanced at Brenda. "Barbados, huh?"
The Wiltshire's came over to shake Lib's hand again before they left.
"Do you have plans to renovate any other old houses in this area?" Bess Wiltshire asked. "Because I have friends who would definitely be interested."
"That's actually not a bad idea," Lib said. She looked at Brenda and grinned. "But first I think I'm gonna take a side trip to Barbados."
* * *
The tires of Luke's rental car squealed as he turned the comer of Forest Road.
In just a few seconds, this nightmare would be over. He'd pull into Lib's driveway, and he would see her, perched on a ladder, painting the trim of the house. His fear would vanish, everything would be exactly the same as it was before he went to Boston. She would smile, then rush down the ladder to meet him. She'd probably be wearing those ragged jeans shorts she wore that were covered with old splotches of paint. Maybe she'd be wearing a bathing suit top, and when he pulled her into his arms, he'd run his hands across her smooth, golden-tanned shoulders and back. She would kiss him the way she did that morning he left and they'd go into the house, into her bedroom and make love again and
Suzanne Brockmann Page 13