Nicole blushed again. “Lita, you’re embarrassing me.”
“Well, somebody should. There are too many unwanted pregnancies in this country. Young people need to be more careful.” She changed the subject abruptly. “They say Dora can have visitors now. I’m going to try to see her today.”
“Wonderful. Give her my best wishes.” Nicole frowned. “Lita, I just thought of something.”
“What’s that?”
“Has anyone been harassing you lately?”
Lita shook her head. “You know, they haven’t. There has been so much going on I didn’t realize it, but nothing has happened for a few weeks.”
“I didn’t think so.” Nicole shook her head. “It’s strange.”
“Why? Maybe they gave up.”
“Or maybe something else.”
“Like what?”
“Do you realize nobody has bothered you since Dora was attacked?”
“Nicole! You’re not suggesting Dora is the one doing these things, are you?”
“Of course not,” Nicole lied. “I was just thinking. Maybe Dora’s attack is tied in with your harassment. Maybe the two of you have something in common and he or she is out to get you both.”
Lita sat down. “You know, I never thought of that. You could be right. Whoever it is could be waiting until they see if Dora recovers or not.”
Nicole took Lita’s hand again. “Maybe I shouldn’t go to Savannah. Maybe I need to stay here with you.”
“Oh, honey.” Lita smiled at her. “That’s sweet of you, but I’ll be fine. After all, I’ve lived in this house alone for many years. Nobody is going to bother me here.”
“That could be what Dora Hildebrand thought.”
“Nicole, I appreciate your concern, but I insist on you going on your trip. I don’t want to knock you out of it.” She patted Nicole’s hand.
“If anything happened to you I couldn’t stand it. I’m going to call Connor right now and tell him he has to go alone.” Nicole started to get up.
“No. You made a commitment to go with him and I want you to keep that commitment. If it’ll make you feel better, you can call and check on me every day while you’re gone.”
When Nicole started to protest, Lita added, “I think Connor needs you more than I do right now. You’ve made a breakthrough with him and I don’t want that to come to nothing. The more time you spend with him, the better, and Savannah is just the romantic place to do it.”
“I’m torn, Lita.”
“Don’t be. As I said, you can check on me daily. Besides you’ll be back on Wednesday.”
“Well, if you’re sure...”
“I’m sure and as soon as you get back, we’ll pull out those files of my husband’s I told you about. I’m sorry we didn’t get around to it last weekend, but we’ll do if for sure next week. We’ll then see if there is something in them to give us a clue about what is happening to me and to Dora.”
“If you’re really, really sure.”
“I’m positive.” Lita stood as the doorbell rang. “That’s your ride. Come now and let me walk you to the door. When we get there I’m going to give you a good-bye hug and then tell Mr. Connor Cottingham to be careful with my young friend.” Lita took Nicole’s arm. “I hope he gets my meaning.”
“What do you mean, Lita?”
She ignored Nicole and picked up an envelope from the hall table. “Oh, this letter came for you yesterday. You might want to read it on the way.”
Nicole took the letter and looked at it. She quickly stuffed it in her purse. “I’ll read it later.” She looked back at Lita. “Now, before you open the door, tell me what you meant about Connor getting your meaning?”
“It doesn’t matter if you understand or not, dear. I think he’ll know what I mean.” Lita grinned at her. “I just want him to know I don’t want him bringing you home knocked up.”
“Lita!”
* * * *
“Mrs. Hildebrand, you’re positive your attacker was a man?” Detective Milo looked down at the pale woman on the hospital bed.
“Yes, I’m positive. He was such a nice looking young man. I never dreamed he wanted to harm me.”
“How did he get into your house, Mrs. Hildebrand?” Trudy Collins asked.
“When I opened the door, he pushed me inside, and closed it behind him.”
“Why did you open the door?” Detective Collins asked. “Didn’t you look out and see that he was a stranger? Or was he a stranger?”
“Yes, he was a stranger, but he looked so nice I didn’t feel threatened so I opened the door. When he came in he had a ball bat at his side. I didn’t see it when he was on the porch.”
Detective William Milo went on. “You said he had dark brown hair, neatly cut and was clean shaven. Had brown eyes and was dressed in jeans and a blue knit shirt. Can you tell us anything else about him?”
“I don’t think so.” She thought a minute. “Oh yes, there was something else. He had a tattoo. I couldn’t see what it was, but I saw the edge of it under the sleeve of his shirt.”
“Did you see a car parked in your driveway or on the street?”
“I didn’t notice one.”
“What did he say to you?” Detective Collins was writing in her book.
“Not much. What he did say didn’t make a lot of sense.”
William Milo looked interested. “And what was that?”
“He asked me if I had a will. Also his English wasn’t very good.”
“Did he have an accent?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. He used bad English. Words like ain’t and the wrong tenses of verbs.”
The detective frowned. “I see. It’s strange that he asked you about your will.”
“I thought so too. I told him it was none of his business. That’s when he hit me with his fist the first time. He asked me again and I told him yes, I had a will. He then asked me who the beneficiary was and raised the ball bat as if he was going to strike me with it. Before he could, I told him my children were the beneficiaries. He hit me on the leg with it anyway.”
Detective Milo nodded. “Did he ask anything else?”
She bit her lip.
He pursued. “Please, Mrs. Hildebrand. We need every scrap of information which might lead to his capture.”
“He asked me if I’d put the illegitimate kid I gave up for adoption in the will. When I told him I had, he began to beat me with the bat. He was telling me what a fool I was and that I should’ve never done that.” She closed her eyes and a tear slipped out the corner. “I don’t remember anything after that.”
The doctor who had been sitting quietly in the corner stood. “I think that’s enough, detectives. Mrs. Hildebrand needs to rest now.”
Outside the hospital room, Trudy looked at her partner. “Boy, this gets deeper and deeper, doesn’t it? I wonder if Jeff Bowie’s murder has anything to do with Mrs. Hildebrand’s attack?”
He nodded his head. “There’s a good possibility. Especially if the detective was looking for an illegitimate kid.”
Chapter 21
Connor closed the door to the luxury room in the bed and breakfast in Savannah. He turned to face a smiling Nicole. “Is it okay?”
“It’s beautiful, Connor. I love the marble fireplace and the antique furniture and the...” With a big grin on her face, she turned and waved her arms. “I love it all.”
“I took for granted you wouldn’t mind sharing with me.” His eyebrow shot up in the form of a question. “I hoped you wouldn’t mind, anyway.”
“I think I expected to share.” She was still smiling. “Or maybe I was hoping.” She spread out her hands again. “Of course, I wasn’t expecting anything so grand.”
“When I booked it, they told me this was the original master bedroom of this mansion and they’d restored it to the period. They said sometime in the 1800s, but I’m not sure of the date. They told me several other facts, but the ones which stuck in my mind were the king-sized bed, the working
fireplace, and the oversized bath with a corner Jacuzzi for two. I thought we could put all three to good use.”
She shook her head. “Maybe so,” she teasingly said. Again she looked around the room. “It’s elegant, that’s for sure.”
He walked across the room and put his arm around her shoulder. “Look, we have a balcony overlooking one of the Squares.” She nodded. “You knew that’s where parts of some big movies were filmed, didn’t you?”
“I don’t think I knew that.” She leaned against him.
“Actually, I didn’t know it either, but it’s something else I was told.”
She twisted her body closer to him. “Now that we’re here, what is your plan?”
He teased her. “Which plan? The business one, or the one when we go out on the town together, or the one when we’re in here alone tonight?”
She giggled and held her hands in the air. “Pick one.”
“Well, when the day is over and we come back to the room, I’m going to turn on those gas logs in the fireplace and we’ll get a glass of wine and sit in the Jacuzzi for a while. Then we’ll just see what happens from there.”
“I figured you’d have the last episode on your mind.” She pointed a finger at him. “Men! Your business can go to pot, but you’ll always have time to think about sex.”
He laughed. “We’re sure not going to think about business until Monday. We have the rest of today and tomorrow before we worry about work. As for this afternoon, it’s about time for the tea thing they do. Want to take part in that?”
“That sounds promising even if you called it their tea thing. Yes, let’s go to the afternoon tea and sweets.” She turned her head toward him. “Then I’d like to take a walk. It’s such a beautiful warm autumn day and the colors around here are breathtaking. I also want to take a carriage ride one day and maybe go to Tybee Island. There’s so much to do here.”
“It all sounds fine to me. Why don’t we hang up our clothes and get our first vacation together on the road?” He took his arm from around her and moved toward the suitcases on the luggage rests at the foot of the elegantly made up four-poster king-sized bed.
The afternoon was more than Nicole could hope for. They had their tea and sweets in the secluded garden at a romantic table for two. They talked very little except with their eyes. The only sound was the trickling water of the fountain.
Later they walked through the moss-draped Chippewa Square then headed toward the river front, stopping at antique shops and boutiques on the way. At one of the shops she found a lovely rainbow colored cardigan. As she debated whether or not to purchase it, Connor took out his credit card and paid for it. “It’ll bring out those blue eyes I like to look into,” he explained when she protested.
At an antique shop she noticed him looking at an old ornate gold leaf picture frame. “Do you really like that?”
“Not much, but I want something to put a picture of you in.” He grinned at her.
She looked around and picked up a frame from the bottom of a dusty bookcase shelf. “What about this one?” She held up a delicately scrolled frame of hand-tooled pewter.
“Perfect,” he said and reached for it.
She snatched it away. “No. I’m buying this for my best friend. I want him to have something I picked out and paid for.”
He didn’t argue.
It was late afternoon when they returned to the inn. When they finished dressing for dinner, it was time for evening drinks in the ballroom. They gathered with others in the parlor and were served wine while they were entertained by a small string ensemble. They met an older couple from Dalton who asked if they’d like to go to The Lady & Sons for dinner.
Connor graciously declined saying they’d made arrangements to have lunch there on Sunday. The couple looked disappointed and turned to a middle aged man and woman seated near the window to see if they’d like to accompany them to the famous restaurant.
“Where are we going to have dinner?” Nicole whispered.
“I don’t know. I just know I want to have dinner with you alone. Do you mine?”
“No. I want to be alone with you, too.”
They ended up eating dinner at The Sapphire Grill. Nicole had the Lobster Bisque in three parts. Connor chose the Suckling Pig with White Truffle. They took samples from each other’s plates.
Connor said the food was delicious, but he was having a hard time eating because the rainbow sweater not only set off the blue of her eyes as he’d predicted, it drew attention to the low cut yellow blouse and the yellow light wool skirt that framed her slender hips. He remembered how that skirt had turned him on when she’d modeled it for him during their shopping trip in Macon.
“You’re no slouch in your crew-necked white sweater and those black slacks which fit so well,” she said after he complimented her for the fourth time.
“I’m glad you like something about me.”
“You just don’t know how much I like about you, Connor Cottingham. Maybe I’ll tell you sometime.”
“I can’t wait.”
When they returned to the inn, the plan he’d announced on their arrival took place as he said it should. He turned on the gas logs in the marble fireplace. They had wine in the Jacuzzi, dried with the oversized luxurious towels then wrapped themselves in the thick robes the inn provided. When they came back into the bedroom, it was lit only by the gas logs of the fireplace.
“I bought you something, while you were in one of the dressing rooms at the mall last night, Nicole,” he said. “I hope you like it.”
“Connor, you’re spoiling me. No man is ever going to measure up to you.”
He grinned. “I hope they won’t where you’re concerned.” He took a bag from the armoire with the antique beveled mirror and handed it to her.
She removed a soft pink silk night gown. “It’s lovely.”
“I know you have a night gown with you, but this one reminded me of you. As I said, I bought it at the mall while you were trying on clothes last night. I’ve been anxious to see you in it.”
She leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I’ll put it on right now so you can see if you approve.” She scooted into the bathroom.
When she came back into the room and paused in front of the fireplace, he whistled and said softly, “Now, that’s a picture I’d love to have for my frame.”
She only smiled and tilted her head.
He got up from the Queen Anne pull-up chair and came to her. Folding her in his arms, he kissed her gently. “I’ve looked forward to this all day, my friend.”
She responded to his kisses and in an instant, he swooped her into his arms. He carried her to the already turned down bed and placed her down gently. Dropping his robe on the floor, he climbed in beside her and pulled her to him.
“Connor,” she whispered.
“What, honey?”
“Lita told me I’d better not come home pregnant.”
He chuckled. “You can tell Lita to relax. I got the point when she had a few words with me before we left. As I told her, I’m prepared.” He kissed her. “I didn’t think you were ready for motherhood yet, though I can think of a lot worse things than you having my baby.”
“You say that because you’re stirred up. If I were to get pregnant, you’d probably try to send me right off to an abortion clinic.”
“Don’t say that, Nicole. I’ve lost three children. I’d never intentionally kill a child of mine before it had a chance to live.”
“Oh, Connor, I’m sorry. Sometimes my big mouth sounds off before I think.”
“It’s okay. You’re right about most men, they would want to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy, but I don’t think like that. I didn’t bring you to Savannah to have a mad passionate weekend of sex with no intentions of letting it get further than that. You’re very special to me and I feel a closeness to you I haven’t felt in a long time. I wish I could predict the future, but I can’t. Right now, all I can offer you is my devotion and my deep friendship and a
special feeling I haven’t had for a woman since my wife died.”
“That’s all I ask.” She snuggled against him. “I have some things to work out, so I’m not ready for anything except a deep friendship. For now, let’s just enjoy this weekend we have together.”
He began to caress her body. “I just want you to remember one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“If you were to get pregnant I wouldn’t run for cover. I’d be by your side every step of the way.”
“I know. That’s what makes you my best friend.” She leaned up and kissed his chin. “Let’s not talk anymore,” she whispered.
Their kisses became passionate and soon they were swept into a world of joyful togetherness.
* * * *
It was almost five o’clock in the morning when Connor woke up. He reached for Nicole, but her side of the bed was empty. He sat up and looked around. A small light showed under the bathroom door. He pushed himself into a sitting position and waited.
When several minutes passed and she didn’t come out, he got out of bed and knocked lightly on the door. “Honey, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He could tell by her voice, she’d been crying. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll be out in a minute.”
There was nothing he could do, but go back to bed and wait.
In a little while, she came out of the bathroom and snapped off the light. Connor could see she had some papers in her hand. He wondered what they were, but didn’t think he should ask.
She climbed into bed beside him and stuck the papers under her pillow. She snuggled close to him. “Connor I have something I need to tell you.”
“Nicole if you’re going to confess you’re in love with someone else or you’re married, please don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
“I’m not married, and I’m not in love with another man”
He breathed easier. “Good. Then you can tell me anything else.” He encircled her in his arms.
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