Bonds Of The Heart (4 page)

              Blake watched as she stormed from the Jeep and rounded to the front, popping open the hood with ease. She only winced once, from the obviously overheated hood of the Jeep. He couldn’t hear her muted words, but he could imagine that the stream of profanity he could read on her. He watched as she bent over the front of the Jeep trying to determine what was wrong with it. She seemed to check the engine and the battery. She looked as though she knew nothing about the Jeep. Blake flicked his cigarette to the ground and extinguished it with his boot. He watched her for another minute, then stuck his hands in his pockets and crossed the road in long strides.

              “You need help?”

              “No,” she said without looking up.

              “Seems like you overheated.”

              Now she looked up. “You think, genius?”

              Amused, though he’d have to figure out why later, Blake shifted his stance to a more casual one. He wasn’t happy that she had interrupted his routine. “You got enough coolant in there?” He nodded with his chin toward the engine coolant basin.

              Clearly annoyed that she didn’t think about it, she turned back to the engine. “It appears not, Einstein.”

              “I have some in my truck.”

              Before she could protest, he had already retreated to the beat up old truck to fetch the coolant. He could feel her give his back a quick study. When he returned back to her Jeep, he bypassed her, took out a rag from his back pocket and carefully opened the coolant basin. He poured the fluid and never said a word to her.

              “Crap.” She felt the first drips of rain on her skin and looked up toward the dark sky.

              Blake looked at the woman who'd spoken the one-word expletive and narrowed his eyes. “You in a hurry to get somewhere?”

              “No,” she said. “I just had…plans.”

              “Hmm” was his only response. He topped off the coolant and replaced the cap before shutting the hood. “That should do. You gotta let it cool for a bit now.”

              She narrowed her eyes at him. “I guess I should say thank you.”

              “Perhaps.” He shrugged and looked up at the sky. “Better get in before the rain gets you.” Blake headed back to the truck. He tossed the empty bottle of coolant into the bed of the truck and got in the cab before the rain became a steady stream. He started the engine and reached for the pack of cigarettes on the dash. He lit one and took a sidelong glance at the woman. He thought she would have gotten back into her Jeep to wait out the rain. He thought she could have ignored his advice and take off just as quickly as she had come in. When she grabbed a rain jacket out of the Jeep and headed into the cemetery as the rain poured down, it surprised him. He frowned and pulled away. Wasn’t his business anyway.

Five

***

The rain only added to the frustration Erika felt. That guy was arrogant and annoying. Did she look like a damsel in distress wanting to be saved by a white knight? She knew how to take care of her Jeep. She knew exactly how to add coolant and wait for the Jeep to cool down. She had been taking care of the damn thing for more than ten years since her father had given it to her. So what if she happened to forget to get it in to see a mechanic when she temporarily moved back home? Her mind had been on a number of other things.

              Her father had taught her how to take care of the Jeep when she was old enough to drive. He had told her that if she were responsible for driving on her own, she had to learn to be responsible for taking care of the machine she was driving. She had routinely changed the oil herself, every three thousand miles. When it was due for a tune up, she performed the necessary maintenance herself. Only when problems came up that she couldn’t fix would she take it to a garage.

              So what if he was tall and lankier than his deep voice let on. Or that his broad shoulders, she guessed, hid under an old barn jacket. His sandy blonde hair was unruly, curling at his collar. He was in desperate need of a haircut. When he had turned to head back to her from his truck, she saw his long strides were taken with ease and the muscles in his legs had his worn jeans gripping them tight. He had a couple of days’ worth of stubble across his face. And when her gaze had met his, she noticed his gray eyes were filled with secrets.

              She took a deep breath and approached her father’s grave. Because she had known rain was going to come in—and sooner than she had expected—she didn’t bring her normal bouquet of daisies this time. Instead she arranged the ones that were still hanging on and discarded the brown, wilted ones in the mason jar her mother and she had left next to the headstone. She tightened the jacket around her knelt on the muddy ground, and talked to her father.

              “I was hoping to get here before the rain came in, daddy. Guess I didn’t make it in time.” The cold wet ground seeped into her jeans. “Mom still can’t bring herself to admit she needs a new car. You’ve only been telling her for the past five years. She loves that old rusty thing. It’s back at Blackie’s again. I was out at the base picking up some of your personal belongings when she had to be towed. I promise you, by the end of the year I intend to have her in something that is more stable.” She half laughed to herself. “Although, I should know better than to try to match her stubbornness. Maybe I’ll try by the end of next year. I have to leave next month. Go back to work. I know you were proud of me when I got the job in L.A. I wish you could have come out to visit. I wanted to show you all the sights: the big
Hollywood
sign, Capital Records building, the stars on the Walk of Fame, and yes, daddy, even a tour of celebrity homes. You would have laughed the entire way through it.”

              She couldn’t feel her tears against the rain patting her cheeks.

              “Why did you have to go back? Why couldn’t you just retire and stay with us? I’m so angry with you!” She cried harder. “Why did they take you from us, daddy? I miss you so much. I love you, daddy.”

***

              Erika chose carefully as she deliberated over the boxes of graham crackers. After placing the box of cookies in her basket, she took another glance at the list her mom made for her and spotted the next item to purchase. Her mother wanted to make a lemon meringue pie. She had always seen to caring for others in the community, for neighbors and friends. It didn’t surprise Erika when her mother put odd items on the grocery list from time to time.

             
What exactly was cream of tartar?
she thought and walked over to the aisle of baking supplies. She frowned at the array of seasonings, spices, and other items people who managed to cook used. She was quite content with take out. She had menus plastered to her refrigerator at home. Erika found what she needed and headed toward the fruits and vegetables. She looked over her mother’s list, and failed to notice the tall figure as she rounded the corner and ran right into his hard chest.

              “Oh excuse me—” She braced her free hand on his chest, still clutching the grocery list.

              “Looks like they need a traffic light in here.” he said coolly, his free hand on her waist to balance her.

              She froze, glaring at him. She was surprised at the intimate contact from the man and even more so in how she felt about it. A tingle ran down her spine before she jerked away from him. Rude was another word she could use to describe this man. Twice in one day was too much for her right now. She glanced briefly at his basket and saw he had the basic male essentials—chips, burgers, hot dogs, bread, peanut butter, and jelly.
All he needed was a six-pack of beer and he’d be all set
. She laughed as a small smile curved her lips.

              That curve of her lips took Blake unexpectedly. Almost as unexpectedly as the feel of her body under his hand that had held her steady. She was warm, yet she portrayed cool like an award-winning actress would out in Hollywood. Her jeans were wet at the knees, with mud slowly drying. He wondered for a minute if she'd got dirty at the cemetery, but quickly dismissed it because it was none of his business to know. Why would he be concerned with this woman? Annoyed with his feelings and realizing she wasn’t going to say anything more, he stepped aside and continued walking past her.

              “Rude,” she muttered under her breath.

              Erika hurried to finish getting all the items on her shopping list and make her way to the register. Maybe she could beat Mr. Pole-Up-His-Ass to the register and get out of the store before any chance of running into him. Instead, she found him near the fruit reaching for a bunch of bananas and noticed his shirt get a little tight around his arms. When she walked around the corner of the coffee aisle, she found him bent over contemplating which coffee to buy. Disappointed in herself, she couldn’t help but check out his ass.
Not bad. I’d give it an eight.

              Erika checked her watch and her grocery list.
All done. Now to get out of here before Mr. Insolent.
Evelyn “Evie” Collins sat behind the counter of the small general store easily finishing up the sale of the rude stranger’s purchases.
Ugh! I thought I had him beat.

              Evie was a dear friend of the family and was very close with her parents. She had copper hair glittered with bursts of sunlight and silver. Her robust features didn’t detract from her beauty, they added to it. She had owned the small store with her husband since before Erika and her family had moved into the small town.

              Blake gave her one cool look before grabbing his bags and leaving without a word.

              “Who was that?” Erika frowned at his back as he left the store.

              “Oh, that’s Blake. He’s harmless,” Evie said with a shrug.

             
He doesn’t look harmless
, Erika thought placing her items on the counter. “He’s rude.”

              “He keeps to himself mostly. Always working hard these days. I don’t see him much in here unless his mom asked him to make the trip. He’s had a lot going on.”

              “That’s no excuse for rudeness,” she said softly. “Still, I probably wasn’t all that nice either.”

              “Oh?” Evie’s brow rose, knowing there was gossip soon to follow, or at least hoping there would be.

              “My Jeep overheated on my way to visit…well you know.”

              Evie nodded. She knew all too well. She was at the funeral for Hank Gibbons. She saw the hurt and pain of the little girl so attached to her father. And the lost love of the woman who had shared her life with the man she had to bury too soon. She was also at the funeral for Blake’s brother, Jared Hamilton, and could see the pain that burrowed a hole in Blake’s heart. And she saw why he had become so closed to the world.

              “He refilled the coolant for me, without me asking for help, and took off. Like I said, I wasn’t all too nice to him. But he didn’t give me reason to be.”

              Evie just shrugged. She had seen the look in both Erika and Blake’s eyes and knew that neither one of them realized just what lay behind it—yet. “Like I said, he’s had a lot of things going on lately. How’s your mom?”

              “Good. Resilient. More than me.”

              Evie placed a hand on Erika’s. “You have every right to be mad and upset. Healing comes in all forms. Laugh, cry, scream if you have to. Do what
you
need to do. We’ll all be here for you.”

              Erika sighed. “I know, I know. I just wish I could understand. Then maybe I’d be closer to accepting. But no matter how much I try to see my mom’s side of all this I can’t.” Erika raised her other hand, dropped it. “It’s still too painful. It’s been three months and it’s still too much. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get back to L.A. next month.”

              “You could stay here. I’m sure one of those fancy companies in D.C. would hire you.”

              Erika had given only a blink of thought to the idea of moving back east, to be closer to her mom, the moment she touched down at the airport. Byline Publishing House had a D.C. office she could transfer to. But the thought had come and gone. Growing up she had moved around a lot. She wanted just one place to stay rooted to. She couldn’t move again. She wanted roots and she was determined to make those roots stick in L.A.

              “I’m sure they would but I enjoy my job now. It’s different out there. I love it.”

              Erika had no conviction in her words and Evie wondered if Erika knew that. “You’re a smart girl, Erika. I’ve always admired you for following your heart. If your heart is in California, then who am I to argue?”

              Erika watched as Evie finished packaging her purchases. Was her heart in California? Her work was there. Her home, or at least the apartment she had called home for the past four years, was there. She had grown accustom to the city living so much so that the isolation and loneliness hadn’t sunken in until she’d came home. She thanked Evie, lowered her head and ran through the raindrops to her Jeep.

              When she arrived back home, her mother was already making dinner. Erika smelled the chicken and herbs the moment she walked through the front door. She shifted the groceries onto her hip and walked toward the kitchen. Her mom was humming some tune to herself as she fiddled with the bowl of potatoes sprinkling various herbs over it.