Home to Laura

by Mary Sullivan

  Music with Laura the other day and this afternoon, basketball. This holiday in Accord had its merits.

  The kids he’d met the other day started to arrive.

  Salem Pearce walked in.

  “Something wrong at the work site?” Nick asked.

  “Nope. I’m here to play basketball.”

  “But you’ve already graduated.”

  “I know, but this isn’t a school league. It’s a summer camp. They need me.”

  “Why didn’t I meet you the other day with the other boys?”

  “I had a funeral. One of the elders died.”

  “Sorry to hear it, man.”

  “Thanks. He had a good long life, so the funeral was more a celebration.”

  Nick tossed him a ball and said, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  He put the whole team through drills, and when it looked as though they’d reached their limit, he put them through more. “This might be a summer camp,” he said, “but there will be games against other teams and I want this one to win.”

  He divided them into two teams, but one of the boys had to leave early.

  “Sorry. My tooth aches. I have a dental appointment.”

  Which meant that since there were only ten boys enrolled in the camp, and there were five per team in basketball, Nick would have to fill the kid’s spot.

  “Let’s play,” he yelled and tossed the ball onto the court.

  Hours later, he drove the girls home, his body humming, his hamstrings sore.

  He spotted a pharmacy in town and pulled into a parking space. He planned to soak his sore muscles when he got to Ty’s, otherwise they’d seize up and he’d be useless tomorrow. Tomorrow afternoon, he had to coach again.

  He turned to Mort in the passenger seat. “You need anything?”

  “Nope. I’m good. Can we stop at the home for a little while before we head back?”

  “Sure thing.”

  The owner of the shop was an older guy Nick only barely remembered.

  “Nick Jordan, what can I do for you?”

  “You can point me in the direction of the Epsom salts.”

  “Heard you were coaching basketball. My youngest is taking that camp.”

  “Oh? What’s his name?”

  “Al Lethbridge Junior.”

  “He’s a good player.”

  Al’s chest swelled with pride.

  “He plans to take one of those Culinary Arts courses you’re offering. You’re doing good things for this community, Nick. I’m glad Al will be coming home to work.”

  He was? There was self-interest involved on Nick’s part. He’d wanted the town on his side when he built the resort. He also wanted good workers who would commit to a couple of years, so his workforce for those first few years would be stable.

  He just hadn’t really thought of how much it would mean to their parents to have them close to home.

  He bought his Epsom salts and returned to the car.

  The girls had been talking but stopped when he climbed into the passenger seat. When he started to drive home, he noticed in his rearview mirror they were texting on their phones. Kids!

  “You know, while you’re together in Accord,” he said, “it would be a better use of your time to talk to each other rather than texting friends on your phones.”

  “We aren’t texting friends. We’re texting each other.”

  “You’re sitting beside each other texting instead of talking?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why not just talk?”

  Emily didn’t answer. Nick glanced in his mirror. The girls were exchanging what seemed to be significant glances.

  “You don’t want me to hear what you’re talking about.”

  Beside him Mort chuckled. Presumably, he knew what was going on.

  “It’s nothing personal, Dad.”

  “You’re talking about boys, aren’t you?”

  “Your dad’s smart,” he heard Ruby whisper.

  The only boys they’d seen in town were the boys playing basketball today.

  “You’re talking about the basketball players.”

  They didn’t respond.

  “So, who’s the cutest?”

  “Salem Pearce,” Ruby blurted. “Totally!”

  She slammed her hand over her mouth because Nick had caught her off guard.

  A second later, the girls started to giggle, Mort laughed and didn’t stop until they turned into the driveway of the nursing home.

  Nick’s sense of well-being shot through the roof.

  He only had one week of vacation left in Accord. Already he was sorry it was going to be so short.

  Wasn’t that a kicker for a workaholic like him?

  Callie greeted them and led them to the sunroom.

  Mort sat down with Johanna, who didn’t recognize him. As he had done a few days ago, Mort talked until she relaxed and laughed with him.

  “He’s really good for her.” Callie stood beside Nick, watching. “I never knew he could be so patient.”

  “Me either. It’s good to see. Accord seems to agree with him.”

  He stared down at Callie. His feelings toward her had changed. None of his old resentment and anger had emerged. Somehow, where his relationship with Callie was concerned, Nick’s one night with Laura had blown whatever feelings he still held for Callie out of the water.

  That night had changed him fundamentally.

  * * *

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Nick got up, showered and had breakfast.

  He found Ruby and Emily at the kitchen table. “Where’s Ty?”

  “Doing chores with the bison,” Ruby answered.

  “What are you two up to today?”

  They looked at each other and shrugged.

  “I’m driving out to the work site after breakfast. Do you want to come?”

  “Yeah!” Emily said. She turned to Ruby. “I’ll show you where Salem is putting the Native American museum.”

  “Okay.”

  “Emily, run and ask your gramps if he wants to come.”

  An hour later, they drove over with Nick’s stomach doing somersaults. The last time he’d been here, the house had still been standing. He hadn’t come back to see it demolished.

  They turned into the driveway and Nick stared at the big empty space where a house used to be, where his childhood used to reside.

  His breath came too quickly.

  He hadn’t expected to feel this loss, this emptiness.

  Laura’s car was already here.

  While Mort and the girls ran to see what she’d brought today, Nick walked to the hole in the ground that had been his childhood. He stared into the hollow chasm, grieving for a time when things had been good.

  Those years with his mother had been wonderful, but if he wanted to find a time when the whole family had been happy, he had to look further into the past, to the time before Dad’s death. He’d been so young then. He didn’t have memories, only a general feeling of well-being. Something awful had happened then that Nick wasn’t sure was directly related to Dad’s death. He couldn’t put his finger on it, though.

  Emily had helped him to remember some of the good times he’d had with his brothers after that, but whispers of memories that weren’t so good still lingered.

  He couldn’t pinpoint them, just saw a general darkness, but knew that he would need to figure it out at some point.

  The time after his father’s death had been so dark and so empty. Mom hadn’t been there for him for long months on end. When she’d finally overcome her sorrow, she’d taken to him wholeheartedly, and life had become sunny again. He’d associated darkness and loneliness with his dad. Then Gabe had taken over that role and had probably been so afraid of screwing up that he’d gone overboard in protecting his younger brothers.

  Nick had chafed against the restraints, especially given how much Mom spoiled him.

  No wonder he’d carried so much negative emotion around Gabe all those many years. He’d
associated him with Dad, and with that dark, dark time in his life.

  If Nick could bring himself to look at the whole thing objectively, when all was said and done, Gabe had done an exemplary job of practically raising his two younger brothers.

  Fundamental beliefs shifted inside of him, like tectonic plates in the ocean, and he felt a tidal wave of gratitude toward Gabe unlike anything he’d felt toward him in his life.

  He let go of resentment, finally, breathing it out and, to replace it, breathing in the healing energy of the land around him.

  The workers swarmed Laura’s car, catching his attention.

  She laughed at something one of them said and his mood lifted even higher. She did that to him, even when he didn’t want her to.

  “You look like you’re feeling better today,” he said when she approached.

  “Pregnancy is like that. Some days are good and some, not so good. Today, it feels great to be out of the bakery and in the sunshine.”

  “What did you bring?”

  He bit into the lemon square she handed to him and nearly moaned in pleasure. Man, the woman could bake.

  She noticed his eyes drifting to the big hole in the ground.

  “It’s strange that it’s gone, isn’t it?”

  Yes, it was strange. That big hole, that empty space, turned his memories into dreams that disappeared with the light of day.

  What did you expect? You’d wanted to obliterate the past.

  Yeah, but I didn’t know it would hurt like this.

  Tough, pal. You can’t have it both ways.

  For a man who didn’t like to look at himself too closely, he sure spent a lot of time doing exactly that here in Accord.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY AFTERNOON, Laura got a call from Salem Pearce.

  “We’ve been playing all morning and it’s two o’clock and coach is still pushing us.” He sounded winded. “We’re starving. Nick said he’ll pay for lunch. Can you bring over a bunch of sandwiches and cold drinks?”

  “Sure. You want dessert, too? I’ve got cookies.”

  “Yeah! There are ten players, coach and Emily, Ruby and Mort.”

  “Got it. See you soon.”

  She turned to the two women she’d hired, Gayle and Norma. The Gems, she called them, because they could do no wrong. They made her life so much easier.

  “We need sandwiches for—” she glanced at the notes she’d taken “—fourteen people. Ten of them are hungry teenage boys.”

  The Gems laughed and immediately started slicing and buttering bread and pulling cold cuts out of the fridge.

  “Tilly, can you pack a couple of dozen cookies? I’ll get cold drinks.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Laura packed her car and drove to the high school.

  Planning to get help carrying in the food, she entered the gym and stopped just inside the door.

  Nick and Salem were facing off, running from one end of the court to the other. Tall men, their long legs ate up the length of the court in a few strides.

  Nick dribbled the ball toward the net, rose in a long twisting arc and dropped the ball in, turning the sport into a graceful ballet.

  She remembered how often Gabe had wanted to attend Nick’s games and how she’d never objected. She used to sit holding one man’s hand while she lusted after the beautiful athlete that Nick was on the court.

  Salem laughed, grabbed the ball and dribbled to the other end of the court, Nick hot on his heels and jumping to block the ball as Salem made a shot toward the basket.

  Nick Jordan. Poetry in motion.

  The attraction she felt for the man exploded inside of her, wouldn’t be denied.

  Why did he have to come back to Accord? Why did he have to decide to build here? Why did he wreak havoc with all of her best intentions? Where this man was concerned, her brain was mush, and her body a quivering mess.

  His daughter approached from the stands.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her tone unfriendly. Rude.

  Lusting after your father.

  “I’m delivering lunch. If you want any, learn how to be polite.” She didn’t need the kid’s sass. Her life was stressful enough at the moment.

  Salem ran over. When she asked for his help to carry in the food, her smile felt shaky.

  Nick ran past her to help. She caught a whiff of sweat and it didn’t bother her one bit. The man was too real, too tempting and too here. Why hadn’t he stayed away, like a former lover ought?

  * * *

  AFTER EVERYONE ATE and the garbage was piled into boxes for Laura to dispose of, she sat down on a bleacher and watched the rest of the practice.

  Nick’s boss came and sat beside her.

  “That was a great feast,” he said.

  Laura laughed. “It was only sandwiches.”

  “I’ve eaten in the best restaurants, but I haven’t enjoyed any of those meals as much as I enjoyed this one.”

  About to make a smart crack, Laura halted. He was serious. She smiled. “Thank you.”

  He tapped her arm. “It’s the love you put into your food and your business that makes it successful.”

  “I do love the work,” she conceded.

  “Do you love Nick?”

  The question threw her. “I—” She didn’t know how to answer it, especially not when it was being asked by a stranger.

  “He’s a man worth loving, if only the right woman would.”

  Laura cocked her head and studied Mort. “He used to be married to your daughter. Why would you try to promote a romance for him with another woman?”

  “Because I believe in acting on what is right, and a romance, a future, between the two of you would be right.”

  “But—”

  He didn’t wait to hear her objections, but squeezed her arm and went back to sit with the girls, leaving Laura with dreams and wishful thinking.

  She shook herself back to reality. No way was anything more happening with Nick. He didn’t want the baby she was carrying.

  These days, they were more than civil with each other, and some of their conversations had been downright excellent, but Laura and her baby were a package deal that Nick Jordan just didn’t want.

  * * *

  AFTER PRACTICE, NICK LEFT the change room in fresh clothes. He usually didn’t shower here, but he had today. It had been a long practice.

  When Laura had shown up with lunch, he’d tried to ignore her. Ha! Might as well try to ignore the sun, or oxygen.

  His cell phone rang.

  He checked caller ID. Davis Fuller.

  “What’s up, Davis?”

  “Nick, I’ve got a problem here. My dad’s going to need long-term care and my mom has to go into a home. I’m scrambling to find places for them. I need to put her house to rights and get it on the market. When are you heading back to Seattle?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “Damn. Is there any way you can postpone? I’m going to be here another three, four weeks. Are you your own boss? Is your vacation flexible?”

  Nick thought about everything that would be waiting for him back at the office.

  Salem slapped him on the back as he passed on his way to his car.

  The camaraderie with these boys, the fun of the sport, the pleasure of waking up to do this every second day, had changed him.

  He actually resented that he had to go back to work. Wasn’t that a kicker? What was happening to him here in this town? Had it changed so much since his childhood? Were the cosmetic changes on Main Street more than skin deep?

  “Let me see what I can work out and I’ll get back to you.”

  “Thanks, Nick.”

  “Emily,” he called.

  She came running from the stands. “What’s wrong?”

  “You want to stay here for another three or four weeks?”

  She broke out into a broad grin. “Really? Yeah!” Her smile slipped. “But where will you be?”

  “Here with you. Davis nee
ds me to coach b-ball for another few weeks. I won’t have as much time to spend with you as these past two weeks, though. I’m going to set up an office in the B and B, I’ll get Rachel to come to town, and I’ll have a lot of work to catch up on, but I’ll still be at Ty’s in the evenings.”

  “Okay.” Her joy was tempered by distrust. She was afraid that once Rachel arrived with her father’s work, he would have zero time with her. Nick knew that was exactly what he’d done to her before.

  But not this time.

  She told Ruby what was happening and they laughed and high-fived.

  Mort came over and shook his hand. “Good coaching, and good idea to stay on longer.”

  They walked to the sheriff’s office, where Nick found Ty doing paperwork.

  “How would you feel about me, Mort and Emily staying with you longer than originally planned?”

  “It would be great.” He smiled at Ruby. “Ruby was blue this morning because Emily was leaving tomorrow. Weren’t you, honey? So, what’s up, Nick?”

  Nick outlined what was happening and how he planned to bring his work to Accord, so he could stay longer and coach.

  After he left Ty’s office, he called Rachel and asked her to come to Accord along with whatever needed his immediate attention. “The earlier tomorrow, the better.”

  He stopped at the B and B and arranged to rent the top floor. The small suite would serve as an office and the second bedroom as Rachel’s to sleep in.

  Emily was silent as they walked to the car. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck and squeezed.

  “I’ll still be here for you. I promise.”

  * * *

  THE SUMMER LEAGUE’S first game was held in Accord in the high school auditorium a week later, on Tuesday evening.

  To Nick’s surprise, the stands were packed with parents and friends. Standing room only.

  Laura came in and sat in the front row, looking about as beautiful as a Madonna.

  Lord, did the woman take beauty pills?

  Was he the only one who saw what a stunner she was?

  When she saw him watching her, she sent him a thumbs-up. That one afternoon spent talking about and listening to music had been a truce of sorts. When he saw her in town, there wasn’t the animosity there had been, and that was a good thing. She needed to stay calm for the baby.