by Mia Ross
“See you in ten.”
Marianne was eyeing him strangely. “You’re going to Matt and Caty’s now? Those must be some important books.”
“They are,” he said as he stood up. “I won’t be long.”
“Okay.”
She looked bewildered, and he briefly wondered if she still thought he was crazy. Then again, he mused as he strolled toward the barn, he hadn’t done anything just now to make her think otherwise.
Sighing to himself, he kicked Matt’s bike to life and took off for town. Harland wasn’t exactly a thriving metropolis during the day, but at night it looked downright sleepy. Even Ruthy’s, which kept the longest hours of any small-town diner he’d ever seen, was closed. As he drove by, he saw lights on in the back kitchen windows and wondered what new culinary invention Ruthy was concocting back there. Whatever it was, he couldn’t wait to taste it.
The monument in the square was lit by a single spotlight, giving it a ghostly appearance. The four churches surrounding it were dark except for a single electric candle in each window. With a crescent moon and twinkling stars overhead, it all seemed completely perfect to him.
Turning onto Oak Street, he saw the construction trailer still parked at the curb in front of the Sawyers’ house. The structure was completely finished, the pale green siding all in place. As he shut down the bike, he saw Matt and Caty on the front porch swing. As he got closer, he heard them arguing.
“Leather’s the way to go,” Matt said, pointing to something in a catalog.
“Sure, if you like sticking to it when you get up,” Caty scoffed. “I like this nice, cushy one.”
Matt groaned, then noticed Ridge on the steps. “Help me out here, would ya?”
Ridge laughed. “Not a chance. I’m divorced for a reason.”
“Would you like some lemonade?” Caty asked, motioning to a frosty pitcher on the little table. “I made it just a little while ago.”
“Sounds great.”
Ridge reached for an empty glass, but she shooed his hand away. “Sit down and let me do this.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
As he sat in a white wicker chair, she gave Matt a cheeky grin. “See? It’s not that hard.”
“Don’t push it, sweetheart.” He scowled at her, but the fond twinkle in his eyes betrayed him. Matt Sawyer, the wildest of the wild, had been tamed by a green-eyed pixie who obviously adored him. And didn’t take him all that seriously.
“This place is really coming along,” Ridge commented after a cool sip. “Kyle told me you’re almost done.”
Matt and Caty exchanged a look, then a smile. Ridge had the distinct feeling he was part of their joke. “What?”
“Nothing,” Caty assured him. “The kids really like you, is all. It’s nice.”
“Speaking of kids, how do you like coaching?” Matt asked.
Grateful to be on male ground, Ridge grinned. “Awesome. Those kids are something else. I mean, they’re not all headed for the pros, or even varsity, but they give it everything they’ve got. It’s a kick to work with ’em.”
“Well, Emily told me you’re the best,” Caty said. “Kyle thinks you’re Vince Lombardi and Joe Montana rolled into one.”
“Oh, man.” Ridge grinned at Matt. “Your wife speaks football.”
“I’m a lucky man.”
Caty laughed. “We’ll see how you feel later this season when my Panthers chew up your Falcons and spit them out.”
“Hate to tell you,” Ridge put in, “but the Broncos are the team to beat this year.”
“In your dreams,” Matt grumbled.
They bantered back and forth a while longer, but when Ridge caught Matt covering a yawn, he realized it was getting late. He was an early riser, but when he got up most mornings, Matt was already out in the fields.
“Well, I’ve got some early jobs tomorrow,” Ridge said, standing up. “I should get to bed.”
“Your package is on the entry table,” Caty told him. “Matt said there are books inside, and I didn’t want them getting any more dew on them.”
“A fellow book lover,” Ridge commented with a smile.
“Don’t get her started,” Matt warned. “You’ll be here all night.”
“I inherited a great collection from my grandparents, but I lost it when my old house burned down. I have a list of all the books, and I’m replacing them as I can find them.”
“My grandfather has a friend in England who’s a rare-book dealer.” Ridge scrolled through his contact list and found the number. “His name’s Edmund Collier. I’ll text his info to you. If anybody can track down what you need, it’ll be him.”
Caty’s eyes lit up as if he’d just offered to fly her around the world for free. “That’s fabulous! Thank you.”
“No problem.” He hit Send and saluted her with his phone. “Good luck with it.”
“I’ll call him tomorrow,” she said in an excited voice that made her husband chuckle.
“Wonderful. Thanks a lot, buddy.”
“Anytime.”
Matt and Caty exchanged one of those silent looks that couples attuned to each other seemed to use.
“I’ll get your box,” she said, moving past Ridge to go inside.
Ridge opened the door for her and turned to face Matt. “What?”
“That package is for Marianne, isn’t it?”
Whoa. Ridge had forgotten how sharp Matt was. Trying to look casual, he shrugged. “I was chatting with Edmund and mentioned that I knew someone who used to have a first edition of Little Women. He got a set in recently, so I bought them for her. Y’know, to pay her back for all the food I’ve been eating.”
“How’d you know she had them in the first place? Thinking about how they got ruined makes her mad, so she never mentions it.” After a couple seconds, Matt leaned back and grinned. “Lisa told you.”
“We were talking, and it came up.”
“Right.”
He dragged the word out on a skeptical drawl, but Ridge held his ground. He had his story, and shaky as it was, he was sticking to it.
Fortunately, Caty returned with his package then, and he took it from her.
“Thanks for taking such good care of this,” he said, smiling down at her. “With any luck, Edmund will be sending you some of your own soon.”
“That would be cool.” Standing on tiptoe, she kissed his cheek. “I’m sure Marianne will love them.”
“Were you listening in on us?” he asked.
Clearly insulted, she gave him a slanty-eyed look. “I’m not a moron, you know.”
“That’s true,” Matt chimed in. “Hate to be the one to tell you, but you’re pretty easy to read these days.”
Totally busted, Ridge headed down the porch steps before stopping in the middle and looking back. “Do you think Marianne sees it?”
“Not a chance,” Matt told him confidently.
“Why do you say it like that?”
“She doesn’t want to see it. Ever again,” he added with a frown. “If you’re serious about this, you’ve got a lot o’ work ahead of you.”
“So why’d you set us up?”
He expected a denial, or some good old-fashioned stonewalling. Instead, his old buddy asked, “When did you figure it out?”
“At the wedding.” Ridge grinned over at Caty. “I’m not a moron, either.”
They all laughed at that, and Ridge headed down the steps again. Before tucking the very special package into one of the bike’s saddlebags, he looked down at the box. Even though it wasn’t very big, it had cost him a small fortune. But if his gift got him one of Marianne’s amazing smiles, he’d consider it worth every penny.
Chapter Nine
On Wednesday, promptly at four, Peter’s Jag c
ame rolling down the driveway. Checking the mirror next to the door, Marianne plastered an uninterested but pleasant look on her face. He’d called earlier to tell her was leaving at six to get back to Charlotte for a supper meeting. She could tolerate him for two hours. At least, that’s what she’d been telling herself all afternoon.
Kyle was at the kitchen table finishing his math homework, and he glowered through the screen door. “Two hours, right?”
Hearing her thoughts echoed in his resigned tone, she forced herself to sound upbeat. “Right. And it looks like he brought you something. Maybe you’ll have fun today.”
Angling his head, he gave her an I-don’t-think-so look. “He can’t buy me off with presents. Caleb’s dad tries that every time he visits, and it hasn’t worked yet. Caleb sells the stuff online.”
“He does not,” Marianne protested. “He’s only ten.”
“Well, his mom does. They save up the money and take a trip. Last time, they went to Disney World.”
Their discussion was cut short when Peter appeared in the doorway. Tucker stood like a statue in front of the door, growling like a small bear. Marianne grabbed his collar and let Peter in.
“You really should do something about that dog,” he complained.
“Why? We trained him this way.” Reaching down, she ruffled the Lab’s chest with her free hand. “Good boy.”
Tucker retreated to his braided rug in the corner, but even though he lay down, he kept a wary eye on their guest. Marianne knew just how he felt.
Clearly unsettled, Peter turned to Kyle. “When I was here last, I noticed you have a game system in the living room. One of my clients has a son your age, and we got to talking about what boys like these days.” He held out a video game box. “He and his son have a lot of fun playing this.”
Kyle’s overly patient expression softened a little, and he took the box. “My friend Jimmy has this one. It’s pretty good.”
Not a ringing endorsement, but at least Kyle was trying to be nice. Marianne was torn. While she wasn’t anxious for them to become best friends, she admired the character Kyle was showing in a difficult situation. If he was this composed now, she could only imagine how solid he’d be when he was older. It gave her great hope for his teenage years.
Emily had gone to a friend’s house after school and wouldn’t be back until suppertime. Her absence left Marianne in the awkward position of being a third wheel.
“There are snacks in the fridge, so help yourselves,” she said as she moved toward the archway. “If you need me, I’ll be in my office studying.”
Peter didn’t bother to ask what she was studying, which was a relief. She really didn’t want to explain it to him.
Marianne half closed the door behind her so she’d be accessible, but wouldn’t appear to be intruding on their visit. Once they got the game installed, Kyle guided Peter through the first level, giving suggestions on how to hold the controller and which paths were booby-trapped. Grudgingly, she had to give her ex-husband credit. He’d come up with something he and Kyle could do together that didn’t require direct conversation. She heard them trading comments about this character and that obstacle, and she sighed.
Hoping to distract herself, she turned to her reading, scrolling back a page to pick up what she’d missed. Eventually, she decided it was pointless and gave up. As much as she hated to admit it, she was jealous. Kyle and his buddies played those games, and lately Ridge had joined their club. But she and Emily were told very firmly, “no girls allowed.” It wasn’t that the games were too hard, and Marianne always checked them out on a parents’ video game website to make sure they weren’t gory or filled with swearing.
No, she realized as she opened her top drawer to get a piece of gum. It was simply that her little boy was growing up. He didn’t want to play games with his mommy anymore. Preoccupied by her thoughts, she almost didn’t notice the package in her drawer. She pulled it fully open and found a box wrapped in pink paper covered with rosebuds.
Topped with a silver bow, it had no card. She took the box out and dug through the drawer, thinking the card had slipped underneath something. After a thorough search, she couldn’t find one.
Curious, she ripped open the paper to find a beautiful white box embossed in gold with the words Treasured Books, London, England. Her heart pounding with excitement, she opened the hinged cover and looked inside.
There, nestled side by side in padded velvet frames, were two leather-bound books. They were the first and second volumes of Little Women, which had been originally published in two parts. She recognized the covers from the originals her father had given her when she graduated college. Her hands were trembling, and she wiped them off on her jeans before lifting out the first book. Turning to the title page, she gasped at what she saw.
For little Matilda. Your friend, Louisa May Alcott.
The ink had faded to a rust color, but “December, 1868” and the author’s bold signature were still easy to read. Marianne couldn’t imagine how much an autographed first edition Alcott was worth because she couldn’t get her head around that many zeroes.
Which got her wondering who’d bought these for her.
Ordinarily, none of the Sawyers would have even considered buying something this extravagant. But their father’s life insurance, held in trust for the past year, had just paid John, Lisa and Matt each a fairly hefty sum. She ruled out Matt, since every penny he and Caty had was going into finishing their house. As much as she adored her younger brother, she didn’t think he had the connections to buy anything in London.
That left her very generous—and very dreamy—little sister. It would be just like Lisa to do something like this. Smiling, Marianne picked up the cordless phone and hit the speed dial for the diner.
“Ruthy’s Place, Lisa speaking.”
“You’re the sweetest, most wonderful sister in the world.”
“Gee, thanks,” she answered, the antique cash register dinging while she punched the old buttons. “What did I do?”
“I found something in my desk just now,” Marianne prodded.
“Honey, I didn’t leave anything in your desk. After that printer fiasco, you banned me from your office. Remember?”
“Sure, but since when do you follow the rules?”
“Marianne,” Lisa said in a serious tone, “that’s your space, and you told me to stay out of it. What did you find?”
Marianne told her, and Lisa whistled in appreciation. “They’d be pretty pricey, wouldn’t they?”
“Extremely. If it’s not the boys and it’s not you, I don’t know anyone else with that kind of money.”
“Maybe it’s someone who doesn’t have a lot, but thinks those books are worth the investment.”
Judging by her tone, Lisa knew exactly who’d bought them for her—but Marianne was stumped. “I don’t know anyone like that.”
Lisa laughed as if she’d just heard the best joke ever. “Look, I hate to do this, but a bus full of soccer players just showed up. Call me later if you want.”
“Okay. Thanks, Lise.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
After they hung up, Marianne stared at the elegant box and let her mind wander a little. No one outside her family knew about those books, how much they’d meant to her. Then it struck her.
Ridge.
Suddenly it all made sense. These were the books Ridge had picked up at Matt’s. Lisa must have told him about Marianne’s books getting ruined. From all those years of being a pilot, he probably had friends all over the world. He just might know people in England who could get their hands on rare classics like these.
Careful to make some noise, she got up and opened her door. “I need some water. Can I get you guys anything?”
“No, we’re good,” Kyle responded, l
eaning to the side to make a sharp turn on some kind of wacky trail. Peter looked completely engrossed in the game, so she kept going.
Through the kitchen window, she saw Betsy parked on a tarp, pieces and parts spread around her as if she were being displayed at a flea market. Strains of classic rock music floated in on the breeze, and Marianne heard Ridge singing along with Aerosmith. He couldn’t hit all of Steven Tyler’s notes, she noticed with a grin, but he put a lot of energy into trying.
Marianne grabbed two water bottles from the fridge and headed outside. She left Tucker in the kitchen because she wanted Peter to know that he was still under surveillance. As she strolled out toward the antique plane, Ridge glanced up and instantly got to his feet. Not many men stood when a woman approached these days, she mused with a smile. Those old-fashioned manners were yet another pleasant surprise hidden beneath his less-than-polished exterior.
“Hey there,” he greeted her with a smile. “What’s up?”
Feeling shy all of a sudden, she held out a bottle as a buffer between them. “I thought you might be thirsty.”
“I am. Thanks.” He twisted off the top and took a long swallow. “How’re things going in there?”
“Fine. Peter brought a video game for them to play.”
Ridge chuckled. “Funny. I figured he was a take-no-prisoners Monopoly kinda guy.”
His humorous attitude made her laugh. She’d always dreaded Peter coming back at them like a nasty boomerang. Instead, he was proving to be more like a mosquito buzzing around her family. He was annoying, but she could handle him.
Comparing that to the sheer terror she’d felt seeing him at the diner, she recognized that something inside her had changed. Somehow, without realizing it, she’d regained the lion’s share of her confidence. It gave her the strength she needed to go up against Peter rather than buckling under his domineering personality.
Since Peter had materialized, she’d begged God countless times to help her combat her very personal demon. As hard as she’d tried, she hadn’t heard or seen anything to make her think her prayer had been answered. Now she realized He’d answered her, after all.