by Joan Hohl
At the bottom of the stairs she glanced around; the house did indeed appear deserted. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee told her it wasn’t.
Feeling ridiculously like a child again, Tina tiptoed through the dining room to the kitchen, steeling herself for the sight of her nemesis.
“Whatever are you doing?” Standing at the refrigerator, Beth tilted her head and leveled a quizzical look at Tina. “Why are you pussyfooting through the house? You don’t need to worry about waking anyone. You’re the last one up.”
Her cheeks growing pink with embarrassment, Tina sighed with relief at finding Beth alone in the room. “I... ah ... didn’t know,” she said lamely. “It was so quiet, I thought perhaps Dirk was still asleep.”
Beth chuckled. “Heavens, Tina, he’s been gone for hours.”
Tina sauntered into the room with her more usual loose stride. “Gone?” she repeated, almost afraid to hope. “Gone where?”
“Back to Wilmington.” Taking a carton of orange juice from the fridge, Beth closed the door, then glanced at Tina, shaking her head. “Poor dear, and he only arrived late yesterday. I don’t believe that man has had a vacation in three years.”
“Really?” Trying to sound and look casually interested, Tina dropped into a chair. The odd sinking feeling inside couldn’t be caused by disappointment... could it? Lifting a slender hand, Tina flipped her hair back over her shoulder in a defiant gesture; of course she wasn’t disappointed. Dismissing the strange hollow feeling, she forced her concentration on what Beth was saying.
“... And he works so hard too.” Beth was now at the slate-topped counter next to the sink, pouring orange juice into a delicate-looking stemmed glass. “Did you hear the phone ringing this morning?” Her eyebrows arched as she set the glass in front of Tina.
“Umm.” Tina sipped at the juice before murmuring, “Vaguely.”
Beth smiled understandingly. “Sleep is rarely restful the first night away from home.” Moving with what Tina was beginning to recognize as her normal briskness, she crossed to the stove. “Now, what would you like for breakfast?”
Information. Tina bit back the response. If she was patient, maybe, just maybe, Beth would get around to telling her why Dirk had left so precipitously.
“I’m not really much of a breakfast person.” Tilting the glass, she finished the juice. “Toast will be fine.” Rising with a fluid grace that was both unconscious and natural, she carried the glass to the sink.
Beth ran an assessing glance over Tina’s too slender form. “It seems to me you’re not much of an any meal person,” she chided gently. “Tina, I really think you should eat something substantial. You have an absolutely fragile look.” Beth smiled coaxingly. “I have waffle batter all ready to pour into the iron and, if I do say so myself, I make heavenly waffles.” Her eyes twinkled. “There’s blueberry sauce to top it off with.”
“Hot blueberry sauce?” Tina’s mouth actually watered; she hadn’t had waffles with hot blueberry sauce in ages.
“Hot blueberry sauce,” Beth concurred with a grin, sensing a victory.
“Sold.” Tina grinned back.
Awash in a pool of buttery-colored sunlight, Tina savored every bite of the berry-drenched light-as-all-made-from-scratch waffles. Her fork spearing through the last small piece, she mopped up the remaining sauce before popping it into her mouth.
“Oh, Lord,” she moaned, sipping at the coffee Beth had set in front of her. “That was so good.” Gazing at Beth, Tina smiled. “I don’t suppose you’d consider coming back to New York with me, would you?” she asked hopefully.
Although she shook her head, Beth flushed with pleasure. “I couldn’t do that. Dirk would have a fit!” Refilling Tina’s cup, she chided, “Especially after he practically ordered me to find a way to get some food into you.”
Tina’s pulses leaped. With anger, she assured herself, staring at Beth with eyes widened with incredulity.
“Dirk did ... what?”
“Asked me to at least try to get you to eat,” Beth replied complacently.
Tina shook her head in confusion. “When?”
“This morning, before he left.” Beth flashed a smile as she poured a cup of coffee for herself. “While he was mopping up the sauce with his last piece of waffle.”
Ridiculous as she knew it was, Tina felt a glow of pleasure at the idea that she and Dirk had enjoyed the same breakfasts. The glow was short-lived as she ruthlessly asked herself, So what? Curiosity finally getting the better of her, Tina asked, too offhandedly, “Why did Dirk have to cut short his first vacation in years?” Try as she might, she didn’t succeed in keeping her tone free of sarcasm. Beth’s startled expression caused a twinge of remorse in Tina’s conscience. Watch your mouth, her better self warned. It’s not Beth’s fault you detest the man; she obviously adores the beast.
“That phone call this morning was from his secretary,” Beth explained in a tone that conveyed consternation. “It seems that some sort of a deal that was simmering on a back burner came to a boil sooner than expected.” Her shoulders lifted in a helpless shrug. “He had to go back, since he’s the president of the bank, you know.”
Oh, yes, Tina grimaced inwardly. She knew better than most. President and controlling stockholder. Tina swallowed an unladylike, disdainful snort.
“Yes, I know,” she managed to reply with commendable calm. “Too bad his deal cooked over at the start of his vacation.” How very like Beth to equate business with what she knew best, Tina thought with amusement.
“Yes, well.” Beth sighed. “That’s the way it goes. Dirk did say he’d be back, though.”
As Beth had offered that tidbit while she was rising from the table, she missed the spasm of shock that shuddered through Tina’s slight frame. Her haunted gaze following the older woman’s progress to the sink, she moistened her suddenly dry lips.
“He did?” she asked carefully.
“Mm, hmm.” Beth turned to smile at her. “Left a message for you too.”
“What ... sort of message?” No amount of applied willpower could keep the wary note from Tina’s voice.
“Dirk said you were to rest and eat to build up your strength for when he returns.” The smile Beth gave Tina was beautiful, and innocent. “He must be planning something exciting for the two of you.”
Exciting? Oh, God! Tina shivered in the warmth of the fall sunshine. Dirk’s message was equivalent to a declaration of war.
Run!
The command screamed through Tina’s mind as she stared at Beth with deceptive composure. Where could she run to that Dirk would not eventually find her? Not for an instant did Tina even try to convince herself that Dirk’s warning of the night before had been issued capriciously; he had been serious. Whatever his reason, Dirk was determined on a course of action. And she was the target at the end of that course.
Suddenly feeling crowded and stifled in the large room, Tina jumped to her feet. “I think I’ll take a walk,” she said with forced brightness. Starting for the door, she paused as her glance skimmed the dishes in the sink. “Oh, would you like help with the dishes?” she asked contritely.
“Tina!” Beth laughed. “Let’s not get things confused here. I work for you, remember? I get paid for doing the dishes.” She made a small, shooing motion with her hand. “Go drink in some fresh sea air, it just might give you an appetite for dinner.” She favored Tina with her pixyish grin. “I’m preparing chicken and dumplings. That should put a little meat on your bones.”
Hands jammed into her jacket pockets, Tina strolled the quiet streets of her childhood, the familiarity of it all tugging on her memory and emotions.
Much like any tourist in a city, but without the usual guidebook in hand, she wandered about, up one street then down another, falling in love with her hometown all over again.
Standing across the street from the stately Chalfonte Hotel, Tina chuckled aloud as whispers from the past tickled her memory. The chuckle faded to a loving smile as her gaze
caressed the ornate Italian style of the town’s oldest hotel, which had always made Tina think of New Orleans for some reason.
Steeped deeply in the past, her own and the town’s, Tina continued her stroll through memory’s byways.
There was the Queen Victoria, as regal-looking as ever. And over there The Mainstay Inn, Cape May’s Victorian mansion. Oh, how she loved each and every one of the town’s beautifully restored homes in the historic district. But as deeply as the old structures touched her, there was an even older love that lured Tina. Having paid due homage to the town, she turned her steps to the sea.
For some time Tina ambled along the long promenade, filling her lungs with the tangy sea air, and her senses with the lost and lonely cry of the gulls. At that moment Tina felt in complete empathy with the swooping sea birds. Only civilization’s veneer kept her from issuing a lost and lonely cry of her own.
Turning her back on the imposing old hotels and newer motels that were strung out like jewels along Beach Avenue, Tina loped down the steps to the beach and the swishy siren call of the ocean.
The tide was out, revealing a width of sand that Tina quickly crossed. Walking along the edge of the foaming surf, she tried to visualize the bygone activities that had taken place on the broad strand. How often, she mused, had she heard the tale of how Henry Ford and Louis Chevrolet, among many others, had raced their cars on the then-wide beaches? Or of the sailing sloops and later the steamers that had journeyed from Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Washington full of summer visitors? On reflection, Tina humorously wished she had a dollar for every time she’d heard those and a host of other turn-of-the-century stories.
And all the stories, all the sights and sounds, and the ever-restless, ever-mesmerizing sea added up to one irrefutable fact: Tina was home.
And home, to Tina, meant Dirk. A less palatable, but irrefutable, fact.
A bittersweet smile played along Tina’s suddenly vulnerable-looking lips. Feeling her lower lip beginning to tremble, she caught it between her teeth.
If nothing else, Dirk had been correct about one thing, Tina thought tiredly. She most assuredly did need to rest, and very likely needed several good solid meals to fortify her. In truth, she couldn’t remember ever feeling quite so tired before.
But were a few days of rest and food enough fortification for the clash of wills she knew was coming? Somehow Tina doubted it.
The chill that permeated Tina’s entire body had little to do with the November air or the cold ocean spray that set her dark red hair shimmering with tiny beads of moisture. Even so, Tina chose to believe it did. Walking at an angle, she scuffed through the sand toward the promenade, but instead of remounting the steps, she leaned against a huge supporting boulder in much the same way Dirk had the previous afternoon.
Had coming back here been a mistake? Sighing, Tina raised her face to the westering sun. This place, and its special ambiance, held far too many memories for her, both good and bad.
Yes, perhaps coming home had been a mistake. What she needed was time to regroup her strengths, shore up her weaknesses, and gird herself for the battle that was approaching as surely as sunset.
Here, in this town where she had laughed and cried and come early to the emotion of innocent adoration, Tina felt her chances of winning were cut by half. And the biggest undermining factor was the object of that youthful adoration, Dirk himself.
Her own inner speculation startled Tina into awareness. What in the world was she thinking of? she berated herself. The time of naive hero worship was long since past. The braided Tina was no longer alive. She had emerged from the chrysalis a sleek, independent businesswoman. Yesterday could not hurt her, it was tomorrow that held danger.
Pushing her lethargic body erect, Tina walked up the steps to the promenade, then down the ramp to the street. As the road was practically devoid of traffic, she crossed against the light, grinning at a patrolman who called to her to be careful.
Run. The earlier panic came back to tease her mind. Lifting her head, Tina thrust out her delicately formed chin. Run? Ha! No way! She had a business to save from financial ruin. And what promised to be a battle royal with the only man who could help her save that business was yet to be faced.
Tina unconsciously straightened her spine as she walked. She had worked damned hard for her shop. And nothing, nobody, was going to take it from her—not even the overbearing, arrogant Dirk Tanger.
As she turned the corner onto her street, Tina decided that whatever she had to do, she’d do, but save the shop she would.
* * *
Chapter 4
In a conference room rich with the gleaming patina of dark wood and expensive plush carpeting, Dirk sat unmoving in a leather curved-arm chair.
His hands resting lightly on the smooth table, his features set into austere lines, Dirk’s sapphire-bright gaze was fixed on the middle-aged businessman who was presenting his request for a large loan to save his company from a takeover.
To the rest of the men at the long conference table, Dirk’s concentration appeared as usual: unnervingly direct. The rest of the gentlemen at the table would have been shocked out of their staid minds if they knew Dirk’s thoughts.
She’s going to run. In fact, she’s probably on her way to New York right now—if she hasn’t arrived there already. Dammit! Why did this takeover panic have to come to a head today?
Revealing nothing of his inner turmoil, Dirk tuned the older man’s voice out, fully aware that he was going to grant the loan. His eyes as clear as a bottomless blue pool, Dirk stared at the man sightlessly.
So, the very elegant, very independent Ms. Tina Holden Merritt needed money, did she? Blasting angry and ready for war, is she? Absolutely detests Dirk Tanger, does she? How very interesting.
Catching a smile of satisfaction before it reached his uncompromisingly straight lips, Dirk savored the warmth of the smile as it curled and wended its way through his taut body.
He would go after her, of course. Hadn’t he warned her that he would? The thought of the chase turned the curl of satisfaction to a wave of heat. For a moment, Dirk found it difficult to remain motionless in his chair.
This time, you fool, don’t let her get away from you! Dirk chastised himself mercilessly. If you had kept your head together five years ago, she never would have rushed into the avaricious arms of that—that user. She was yours, and you let her slip away. Don’t make the same mistake again.
His gaze riveted to the man speaking across the table from him, Dirk made himself a solemn promise. If he had to follow Tina halfway around the world, if he had to force her to do things his way, he would do it. Nothing was going to stand in his way this time. Not his conscience. Not her antipathy for him. Nothing.
* * * *
Groaning with repletion, Tina sat back in the kitchen chair and lifted her coffee cup in a salute to Beth.
“Oh, Beth, that meal was fabulous! I believe you whipped those dumplings out of clouds and air.” Relaxed, Tina sipped her coffee. “And that sour-cream salad dressing is delicious. I feel as if I’ve gained five pounds!”
“I seriously doubt it.” Beth’s sparkling eyes belied her dry tone. “But I’m glad you enjoyed it. Cooking for one gets pretty boring.” Beth beamed at Tina. “Now, how about dessert?”
“Dessert!” Tina exclaimed, shaking her head. “I’d absolutely explode!” Her voice softened, coaxingly. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to come back to New York with me?”
“Yes, Tina, I’m sure.” Beth chuckled, and pinked like a young girl. “But thank you anyway. It’s always nice to hear compliments.”
The two women were quiet for several minutes, savoring the rich-bodied flavor of the coffee. As she refilled their cups, Beth gave Tina a quizzical look. “What do you do in New York, Tina?” Before Tina could reply, she added, “If you’re not, you should be a model.”
Tina’s soft laughter danced around the quiet room. “I’m not a model, Beth. I own and operate a salon.”
“A beauty salon?”
“Well, sort of,” Tina explained, “but not exactly. It’s more like a spa, but not exactly that, either.”
Beth’s expression drew laughter from Tina. “Well goodness! What exactly is it then?”
“I suppose you could call it a combination of the two,” Tina replied with a slight shrug. “We offer all the services of both, from a simple haircut to a personal detailed fitness program. The name of the shop is The Total Person, and that’s what we cater to—for women, men, and children.” Tina smiled. “We even have individual sessions on fashion.”
“Very expensive?” Beth teased.
Again Tina’s laugh lit up the room. “Of course! I employ some of the best in all the various fields: cosmetology, physical fitness, and fashion.” Her laughter faded to a soft smile. “I have one stylist who can do the most fantastic things with the most problematic head of hair.” Tina’s voice was tinged with awe. “I swear, Paul is a stylistic genius!”
“A man?” Beth looked skeptical.
“Oh, yes.” Tina chuckled. “Very definitely a man.”
“How intriguing,” Beth said interestedly. “In fact, I find the whole idea of your salon intriguing. Tell me more.”
Beth’s request was like dangling a carrot in front of a race horse. Tina happily lunged at the bait. All through the kitchen clean-up routine, Tina expounded on the whys and wherefores of how she’d conceived and then executed her idea for the salon. The only thing Tina didn’t tell Beth was that, unless she could pry her money out of Dirk, the reality was doomed to fade into never-never land.
Tina and Beth spent the remainder of the evening quietly in the comfortable Victorian-decorated living room. While Beth’s knitting needles clicked away at an amazing rate of speed, Tina sat engrossed in a recently published book on nutrition.
Having slept restlessly the night before, Tina was smothering yawns midway through the eleven o’clock news on the small television set that was neatly concealed inside a delicate cabinet with beveled-glass doors when not in use.