Down by the River (7 page)

He looked over at Conrad, who slumped in the seat next to him. “I went out on a limb to help you, boy, and you were just rude to a friend of mine.”

Conrad looked at him square in the eye. “Was I? That was a mistake.”

Sam thought about this a second. “Maybe it was,” he said. “Or maybe the mistake is mine. We’ll see.”

There were very good reasons why June had not, until now, gone out to Chris and Nancy Forrest’s house to see how the bedridden twins were doing. First of all, she’d been almost insanely busy, so busy professionally that she was having trouble finding time for the complex new chapter in her personal life. Plus, she was not their family doctor, though she had attended the emergency of their car accident. Too many doctors in the mix could confuse things, so now her visit would be in the role of a friend.

But there was even more to it, like her complicated history with Nancy and Chris Forrest. June and Chris had been steadies in high school, with Nancy her constant rival. When June went away to college, Chris and Nancy ran off and got married, an event that, when she thought about it, could
still
take her completely by surprise. He had been writing her
love notes at college while screwing around with Nancy in Grace Valley! Even in love with another man and pregnant with his child, it could piss her off all over again if she thought about it much. But she didn’t
act
angry. At least she didn’t think she did.

In the almost twenty years since they’d run away together, Chris and Nancy had lived in southern California. It was only a few months ago that Chris and the boys had returned to Grace Valley, and it was only two months ago that June had learned that Chris was not divorced, as he had claimed, but only separated from Nancy. And the separation had been Nancy’s idea. Brad and Brent were such a handful of trouble and Chris such an oblivious parent, that Nancy thought maybe he should be the one to take over. So Chris had come home. Like any red-blooded American man, he thought his mother would probably help.

Obviously, it hadn’t gone well. The kids had been in constant trouble around town, culminating in their theft of Grandma Birdie’s car, which they plunged off the road into a ravine.

What had started as a domestic problem, marital and familial, had escalated into a crisis. They were in the fixer-upper Chris had bought before the accident. No doubt it had been a good idea at the time. Before the accident there had been time to make slow but steady improvements on the house even with his job, but there certainly couldn’t be much time now. Nancy had left her San Diego job
to rush to her boys’ sides; their income was probably at an all-time low, while stress was at an all-time high.

As promised, June retrieved the casserole and cake from Birdie and drove out to Chris’s house in the country. It was situated on a nice piece of land on the rise of a knoll with a long driveway up from the road. Prime property. The house, however, had been falling apart long before Chris bought it. Only the most basic improvements had been made—plumbing and electrical, thank God—when Brad and Brent had been hospitalized.

As June raised her hand to knock on the front door, she heard one of the twins hollering, “I want my pain pill!” while another yelled, “Ma-a-a-a!” Though she wanted to flee from the chaos inside, she knocked. Nancy yanked open the door, an impatient frown on her face. She blew an errant lock of hair off her face.

June could see a lot from the doorway. The floors were bare, there were rooms without doors, the bathroom at the end of the hall had only a curtain to offer for privacy, some windows were boarded, the kitchen cupboards had been torn from the walls and were in the midst of being refinished, ancient appliances were in use, probably until the new kitchen could be finished, and electric bulbs dangled from the ceilings in place of fixtures. In the middle of the living room stood two overpowering hospital beds, complete with traction rigging and tray tables.

“Good Lord,” June said as she looked past Nancy into the house.

“If your children are going to have a car accident and be laid up for a while, it isn’t practical to have just bought a fixer-upper,” Nancy said. “Not exactly
Better Homes and Gardens.
”

“My house was a lot like this,” June said. “It took me forever to get it in shape.” June noted the dark circles under Nancy’s eyes. “One thing at a time,” she advised, giving her the casserole dish as she balanced the cake in her left hand.

“June. How lovely of you.”

“I wish it had been lovely of me, but Birdie made these. And I am totally ashamed. I should have been out here a couple of weeks ago. Not to mention giving you a hand with meals and chores.”

“I hear you have quite a lot on your mind, too.”

June’s hand went immediately to her middle. “But you should have sent up the alarm, Nancy. You need help around here.”

“June, don’t be naive,” Nancy said sullenly.

“What do you mean?”

Nancy ignored her question and said, “Come in, June. If you’re patient, I’ll put the coffeepot on right after I finish Brent’s range of motion exercises. I can’t really stop in the middle—it’s so painful for him we have to get it over with. Then maybe I can visit for a minute or two.”

“Forget about it, I’m watching the caffeine for the time being. And I’m miserable about it, too. Go
ahead with Brent. I’ll put this casserole on the stove for you.”

When she got to the kitchen she could see that it was even worse up close. The sink wasn’t attached to the wall, there were no shelves in the pantry, and what few kitchen items there were had been stacked on orange crates on the floor. Groceries were either in the ancient refrigerator or still in bags. “Nancy, what do you do without a working kitchen sink?” June asked.

“Ma! It’s time for my pain pill!” Brad yelled while Brent, whose leg was being stretched and pulled by his mother, gritted his teeth and moaned loudly. He gripped the bed rails and struggled to keep back tears.

“Bathtub,” Nancy yelled back. “I know, honey, I know. First Brent, then I’ll get it. Just give me a couple of minutes.”

June went to Brad’s bedside. “What do you get, Brad?”

“Percocet,” he answered. “It’s right back there on the card table.”

June looked at the prescription bottle, shook out a pill, poured him a glass of water from the pitcher and dosed him. Then she helped herself to some lotion from the card table laden with everything from medication to linens. “Roll on your side,” she told Brad. “I’ll work on your shoulders a little bit.”

His leg was in traction and maneuvering was a problem, but he managed enough so that June could
pull up his T-shirt and massage his shoulders. Now his moans of pleasure mingled uncomfortably with Brent’s cries of pain. “Hang in there, Brent. When you’re through with the hard part, I’ll give you a little rubdown.”

“Can I have another pain pill?” he asked, his voice tremulous.

“You had one before we started,” his mother said.

“But
she’s
here! She’s a doctor!”

While June massaged Brad’s back, she took note of some pressure spots on his skin from bedrest, spots that could turn into dangerous bedsores overnight. She answered Brent, “It isn’t a good idea to have more than one doctor writing you prescriptions. Just hang in there, the pain medication will kick in soon. I know orthopedic pain is the worst. Nancy? Is your visiting nurse massaging these boys? Looking them over for pressure spots and bedsores?”

“She only comes three times a week. We all look them over and massage them. She mentioned the other day that we could use some sheepskin, but there hasn’t been time to—”

The front door opened and Chris came in, the look on his face one of terror. “June? Is everything all right?”

“Fine,” she said. “I’m just visiting.”

He grabbed his chest. “Thank God. I had my cell phone and Nancy didn’t call, but when I saw your truck…”

“I seem to have that effect on a lot of people,”
June said. “I dropped off a casserole and cake your mom made for your dinner…and I thought I’d make myself useful.”

“Thanks,” he said. “Where’s Mom?”

“I told her she had to take the night off, Chris. She had a spell this afternoon. Nothing too serious, I hope, but her heart was racing and she was flushed. I think it’s the stress.”

“There’s plenty of that to go around.”

“You should know she wanted to come out here, anyway, but I insisted—”

“Well, if she’s okay, we need her,” he said.

“She needs a night off,” June said firmly. “Doctor’s orders. Until I look at some blood work and we can be sure she’s fine.”

“Chris, are you going to get that sink hooked up and running tonight?” Nancy asked.

“Did I not just get home?” he countered unpleasantly.

“I’m only asking!”

“I said I’d try!”

“Look, folks, I know you’re tired—” June attempted to say, but Chris just walked past her toward the back of the house. He did pause to give Nancy a peck on the cheek, a very short one, but she didn’t look especially grateful. You could cut the tension with a knife. For once the boys were quiet.

“He’s home early again,” Nancy said.

“You must need his help,” June ventured.

“Not as much as we need his paycheck.”

June thought for a moment about the cozy little house that awaited her and wondered what it might be like to be Chris, or worse still, to be Nancy, locked in this bedlam, working like a farmhand to take care of these kids. No wonder they sniped at each other.

When Chris came back into the living room—the hospital room—wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, Nancy finished with Brent’s exercises and rolled him onto his side so she could rub his back. He was worn out from the pain and lay listless under her probing hands. Chris paused by his bed and ruffled his hair. He moved to put an arm around Nancy and she sidled away slightly to avoid him.

“Okay,” Chris said. “I deserve that. I’m sorry, everyone.”

No one said anything for a long, uncomfortable moment.

“Well,” June said briskly. “I’ve got to get going. Nancy, I promise not to be so long in getting back here.”

“Thanks, June. It was good seeing you.” Though her words were polite, she sounded very tired, near tears.

“You, too. Hang in there.”

“Let me walk you out, June,” Chris said.

“Don’t worry about it, you’re busy,” she said, but he opened the door and saw her to her car, anyway.

“I’m sorry you had to see that, June,” he said. “Sometimes Nancy and I just get on each other’s nerves from the pressure and everything.”

“Perfectly understandable. But, Chris, when I told Nancy she should have put out an alarm that she needed help, she told me not to be naive. What does she mean?”

“You know,” he said with a shrug. When she answered with only a nonplussed expression, he elaborated. “We have so many amends to make around here. Not just for the trouble the boys caused right up to the accident, though I suppose people are going to be a long time in letting that go, but also Nancy and me. I mean, we ran off and ditched our town. We hardly ever came back, as if we thought we were too good. Plus, we hurt you, the town’s favorite daughter.” He took a breath. “People aren’t going to be real anxious to help us out right now. We’re strangers to them. And it’s our own fault.”

She was stunned speechless. “Chris, that isn’t true! I don’t think anyone realizes just how tough a time you’re having!”

He smiled and gave her cheek a pat. “Nancy’s right. You’re naive.”

“But…I…”

“I’m going to see if I can get that kitchen sink attached, redeem myself a little. See you around, kiddo.” And he disappeared back into the house.

As she drove up to her own house, she saw that the porch light was on, as well as the light in the garage, a free-standing, one-car building. Curiosity drove her to check it out. She pulled open the double
doors and found Jim measuring a length of wood balanced on two saw-horses.

“Oh, my,” she said, her face lighting up. “You have a tool belt! You look like one of the Village People!”

He frowned slightly. “Was that a compliment?”

“It sure was. What are you doing?”

“You have a whole section of porch rail that’s rickety. I don’t want you to lean on it and fall through.”

“You’re a carpenter?”

“Naw. Mostly I’m a repairer.”

“I’ve been wondering… We haven’t had a second to talk about this, but what do you plan to do now? Really retire? Get a job? Take up fishing with Sam or poker with my dad?”

“Haven’t decided,” he said with a shrug. “Until I do, I thought I’d tinker. Unless there’s something—”

“Oh, I couldn’t!” she said, putting her arms around his neck. “You’ve already done so many sweet things for me. Errands, cooking, cleaning, taking care of Sadie…” Then she had an idea and the effect of it lit up her eyes. “But, if you find you’re bored, I think I know where you might ply some of your talents.”

J
im wasn’t real sure that it was his place to organize what amounted to a barn raising, but he
was
sure that he’d carry any burden June asked of him to the ends of the earth.

When Jim thought about how he might spend his retirement, it had never looked like this. He had seen himself on a sailboat or tropical island, basking in the sun. Or up to his thighs in a mountain stream, fly-fishing. Then there was that mountain-cabin fantasy, hunting his own food. It had never been a little house in a small town filled with eccentric people who minded everyone’s business but their own.

But he loved it. It would have been enough that he loved June; he could have made anything work for her. Yet he hadn’t met a resident of the town he didn’t like, and he was completely astonished at how willing they’d been to accept him. A lot of that was love for June, but he knew very well that if they
hadn’t liked him, if they hadn’t thought he was good to her or good for her, they’d be giving him a lot of trouble. They’d try to run him off. They were a friendly group, a trusting group, a willful group.

He went first to Elmer to talk about June’s idea. He found the older man at the café having a late breakfast, so he sat up at the counter beside him and ordered coffee. June was already at the clinic seeing patients and it appeared most of the early morning regulars had gone. They passed a little chitchat on the weather, which was dismal, before Jim got around to the subject at hand.

“June has asked if I would go to the Forrest house and see how I can help with their renovations. Even though I’m not the best hand in carpentry.”

“Well, isn’t that a kick in the butt,” Elmer said, startling a grin out of Jim. “That’s her old boyfriend, you know.”

“So I’ve been told.” Over and over and over, he thought.

“Never was good enough for her, not even when he played quarterback in high school.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Now I guess he’s got himself in a real mess,” Elmer said.

“That’s how June described it. A fixer-upper that hasn’t had much fixing up done to it. And they’re at the end of their respective ropes because of the twins.”

“A mess of their own making, I might add,” Elmer couldn’t resist saying.

“She didn’t elaborate on that,” Jim said. “But she did say there’s no hope of them having a livable house by Christmas. And they’re at each other’s throats.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Elmer asked.

“I told her I’d offer some help out there. I wondered if you wanted to come along.”

Elmer made a face. “Damn it all,” he cursed. “I’m close with Birdie and Judge, and I don’t wish that aimless kid of theirs any harm, but I’ve always regarded Chris Forrest as a no-account pain in the ass.”

This brought Jim more pleasure than he could possibly have imagined, even though at no time had Elmer mentioned caring any more than that for him. And what they never talked about, when or even whether Jim and June would marry and legitimize his first and perhaps only grandchild, hung heavily between them. Rather than push June about that matter, he strove only to please her. And if working on her old boyfriend’s house pleased her…

“How’d she talk you into it?” Elmer asked.

“She didn’t have to talk me into it.”

“Oh, brother.”

Jim sighed. He didn’t wish to look less than manly in the eyes of the man he hoped would soon be his father-in-law. “She caught me making some repairs to her porch rail and got the idea I’m a carpenter, though not much of one. I don’t have a lot of daily appointments. And I find that, after a twenty-
year career of working long hours, it doesn’t suit me to sit around the house and wait for the doctor mommy to show up.”

Elmer’s fact lit up. “Well, there you go! I was afraid you were some kind of pantywaist.” He lowered his voice and leaned close. “But June thinks…?”

“That I’m doing this because I adore her.”

He slapped his knee and laughed loudly. When he stopped, he frowned slightly. “You sure you’ve never been married?”

“Positive.”

“Hmm. You’ve got it figured out pretty good for a novice. You know, there’s something else on my mind.”

Oh-oh, Jim thought.

“June’s no kid. She’s got good judgment and all, and I know she’s been wanting a family for a long time, even if she did seem to be short a husband. So whatever she wants is no business of mine, as long as she’s healthy and happy.” He lifted a gray brow and peered at Jim over his glasses. “Although she still appears to be short a husband.”

Jim, who had fearlessly stared down the barrels of criminals’ guns, felt his neck grow slightly damp as he faced this little, bald-headed old man. “Have you talked to June about this?”

“She doesn’t like when I meddle,” Elmer said.

“Has it ever stopped you before?” Jim asked boldly, needing to know.

“That’s impertinent. You
do
want me to like you, don’t you?”

Now, this was a spot his sister Annie had put him in, wanting to know why they hadn’t set a wedding date. The real buried question was,
Who’s
standing in the way of you setting a wedding date? There was no winning in any answer. If he said he was reluctant, he looked like a cad. If he said June was, he was worse than a cad for selling her out. If he said both of them, well, wouldn’t everyone want to know what the problem was? Which harkened back to questions one and two.

So all he said to Elmer was “More than you can possibly imagine.”

“That so? Well, I just wanted you to know that I was troubled by that detail.”

In the worst possible way he wanted to say “Me, too!” But he knew better. So instead he said, “I hate seeing you troubled.” Jim had been interrogated by armed criminals while working undercover and felt more confident than he did now.

A slow smile spread on Elmer’s face. “Well, what are we going to do about that?”

Jim thought a moment. “I think we should find Sam Cussler and maybe Harry Shipton, drive out to the Forrest house and see how bad it is. Then we’ll have time to go over to Westport or even Fort Bragg to get what we need.”

“Harry? I don’t know that Harry can even pound a nail.”

“Maybe he can pray for the rest of us, then.”

Elmer shifted off the bar stool and got to his feet. He pulled a few bills out of his pocket and slapped them on the counter. “All right, let’s go have a look. Sheesh, you’re a slippery devil.”

Lunchtime at the clinic brought a lull in the action. John had gone over to Valley Hospital on his rounds and Jessie was using her lunch hour to study at her desk, so Susan had gotten some hot tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches from the café for herself and June. They were having a picnic on June’s desk.

“It’s been pretty nonstop around here the past couple of weeks,” Susan said.

“Hmm,” June agreed, sipping soup from her spoon. Not just nonstop in the clinic, but in her life, racing from work to Jim to work to emergency calls to Jim to family commitments. No matter what she was doing, she was always late. Always. She had even missed a couple of dinners entirely. And where did the time go? Jim had been here since the first week in October and it was already November!

“George sure knows how to mix up a good bowl of soup,” Susan said.

“Hmm,” June answered, nodding. And in weather like this—the constant drizzle of early winter—soup and a blazing hearth really appealed. It was hard to leave that warm bed in the dark of early morning, especially now that there was a warm body beside her.
And torture to drive to work through the chill mist and fog when it would be hours yet before sunrise. And even then, sunrise didn’t bring much light or warmth. June often wondered how she went from feeling invigorated by the crisp colorful fall to drenched in the darkness of winter without even noticing the transition.

“It must be strange, going from a single career woman to half of a couple, fat with child.”

“Mmm-hmm,” June offered.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!”

June jumped. “What?” she asked, startled.

“Do you have any idea how quiet you’re being?” Susan asked.

“Huh?”

“Well, here we are, alone for the first time in who knows when, with no patients waiting in line, John at the hospital, Jessie absorbed, and all you have to say is ‘hmm’?”

“Did you ask me something?”

“Not really. I was patiently waiting. For you to talk. To say something. What’s it like? What’s
he
like?”

June took a second. “Well, he’s pretty much too good to be true. When I told him we were pregnant, he came as soon as he could. And for keeps. He’s retired from the…police.”

Susan rolled her eyes.

“Why’d you do that?” June asked.

“Never mind. Go on. Tell me more.”

“Well, he’s been completely patient about everything. He hasn’t complained one tiny bit about all the demands that are made on me, especially right now. This is a terrible time of year for illnesses. He tidies the house, runs errands, cooks dinner. And even if I’m called out and miss the dinner he cooked, he just saves a plate…that I may or may not get to eat.” She took a spoonful of soup. “I don’t think I could be that good if our roles were reversed. I think it would piss me off.”

“So, are you planning a wedding? Or are you going to elope?”

“Hmm,” June hummed.

“Stop that!”

“Well, Susan, I have a problem,” she said frankly. “And I have absolutely no one to talk to about it. Can it be you, or are you going to blab?”

“Of course it can be me! Am I not the soul of discretion?”

June made a face. Susan might indeed have sound judgment about when to speak and when to hold her tongue. Certainly no clinic confidences had leaked out since she’d been the nurse in charge. But girl talk was another matter. June could pretty much count on Susan’s best friend Julianna Dickson being cut in on the gossip at some point.

But who else could she talk to? Not Elmer, not about this. Birdie had more than enough on her mind as it was. Aunt Myrna, the darling, could be a flake. Ursula Toopeek would be a good choice, but she was busy with five kids, a full-time teaching job, a police
chief for a husband and her in-laws living under her roof.

“Oh, what the hell,” June said. “There is this thing that Jim and I are not talking about, and it is as heavy as a four-thousand-pound boulder hanging in the air just above our heads. Getting married.”

“Why haven’t you talked about it?”

Simple question. Not so simple an answer. “Because… Because… Jeez, I don’t know why. Because I’ve been single all my life and it’s a really big step.”

Susan leaned farther over the desk, frowning, and said, “Isn’t having a baby a big step?”

“Having a baby is a very big step, but that’s done. It’s here. No matter how nervous I am at the prospect, I don’t have any choice. I still have a choice about making the great big marriage commitment. And I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“Oh, boy, is this going to stir things up,” she said.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re right about that.”

“You said you’re not talking about it. Does that mean he hasn’t asked you?”

“Oh, he’s asked me. Sort of.”

“How did he ‘sort of’ ask you?”

“He said, ‘Why don’t you take the day off and let’s go to Reno or Tahoe and get married.’”

“Oh,” Susan said, nodding. “That qualifies. You said no?”

“I said I couldn’t take the day off.”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake!” she said.

“I guess I’m going to have to talk to Jim about this,” June said sheepishly.

Susan picked up her soup bowl and drank from it. It was such an unexpected maneuver for this dainty little blonde. When she lowered the bowl she smiled at June, showing her a tomato soup mustache and making her laugh. She licked off her upper lip and patted her mouth with a napkin. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I could eat a horse. I must have a tapeworm or something.”

“Where do you put it?”

“Listen, I have to be careful. When you’re five foot three, one extra bran flake shows. So, you’d better talk to him. Maybe he’s not ready for marriage, too, and was just trying to do the right thing. If you’re both not ready, you can work on getting ready. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you’re on the same page. And as long as your child is the priority.”

“I’ve gone from never having anyone around, to having someone around all the time.”

Susan bit her lip. “Are you starting to feel a little…crowded?”

“Not really, strangely enough. I kind of like it.” She smiled and then her smile faded as a recurring thought popped into her mind. “It seems fine, but I keep wondering if I’m going to suddenly, and without warning,
hate
sharing my space with another person. Does that happen to people?”

“Happens to us every morning. We should have a bathroom with at least two sinks.”

“You’re saying some of this is just normal?”

“Uh-huh. You going to eat the rest of that sandwich? I’m famished.”

“Help yourself. Before, when I said something about Jim being retired, you rolled your eyes. What was that about?”

“Oh. I figured if he was in law enforcement before, you might have met him about the time of that raid on the marijuana camp.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, logically, in order for the feds to have a big raid on a huge cannabis plantation where they arrested dozens, there must have been agents in the area for months beforehand. The timing is right.”

June was quiet and serious for a moment. “He was camping. With a friend. Last spring.”

“That’s what all the undercover cops say to their girlfriends,” she said, winking. She stood up and collected their dishes onto the tray to take back to the café. “Take my advice, June. Don’t put anything that needs talking about on the back burner. Things that sit there too long tend to get burned beyond recognition.”

Jim and Elmer took a look in Elmer’s garage at what tools he’d collected over the years, then in June’s. Elmer had spent what free time he had fishing and playing poker, so aside from the most rudimentary tools necessary for basic repairs, he was a little short. Likewise Jim’s modest collection in the back of his truck and in June’s garage. Sam,
they figured, might be better fixed, having a gas station and all. Once they knew what they had, they’d pay a visit to the Forrest household and assess their needs.