Dream Chaser (39 page)

“Then w
hy don’t you call him?
Maybe he’d even talk to his sister, so Suzanna doesn’t have to
.”

He shook his head.
“Kevin
’d never ask
Suzanna
to do
something she didn’t want to do
.
And I doubt she’d ask him to get in the middle of things. If he knows anything.
”

Jamie scratched his head. “Well, now back up a sec.
What if he doesn’t? C
all him—no, I’ll call him—and ask a few questions.”

“What exactly are you going to
say
? I don’t want you messing with his head.”

“Where’s that paper I was using before?” He found it and began scribbling. “We’ll make Kevin Plan A. Give me his number
. I’ll handle him with kid gloves.”
Jamie
rubbed his hands together. “
Any other kids we can talk to?
We may need a plan B if Kevin won’t come through for you.”

“
Only the
daughter,
Penelope
, but
she’s the problem.
”

“Right. Well, let’s not go there for the moment.”
Jamie tossed him a cloth. “Could you wipe down the table?”

Jonathan gave it a few half-hearted swipes
, then began rubbing more vigorously
. “
That girl
hates my guts.”

“What’d you do to her
—besides what happened the other night, as if that wasn’t enough
?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“
Spill it
.” Jamie motioned Jonathan into the den and sat down on the couch.

“When she and Kevin
came to
the ranch
last summer
,
there was a little incident with some of my ranch hands. I
really stepped in it
when I told her she was setting herself up for failure because she was so
overbearing
with people.”

Jamie frowned. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I know I shouldn’t have.
” Jonathan leaned back in the chair.
“
Chrissie wouldn’t have liked it, either, but I really hated how
that girl treated my men.
”
And what the girl had said about Suzanna and him.
I should have guessed things might get worse.

“H
m
m.
The daughter
sounds like she’s a real handful.”

“T
hat girl would as soon break your balls as look at you.”
Jonathan
shook his head. “
What happened the other night didn’t help. I will
not
call her. I’d rather jump into a vat of boiling oil.”

“Ok
ay
, we forget about
approaching the daughter. She’s the problem, anyway
.”
Jamie reached for a banana. “I love a challenge!
I am going
to figure out how
to get Suzanna to say yes to you, and tell the daughter to bug out. In whatever order works
.” He stopped and turned
to Jonathan. “Before we
move
on, uh… I have to ask you. L
et’s back up a minute.”

“What?”
Jonathan’s
hands
supported
his head, his eyes closed, as he stretched out in the recliner, visualizing Suzanna when last they were—

“Jonathan. You awake?”

He opened his eyes, aware of his increasing arousal.

“
Are you in—with this planning we’re doing
?
I can’t do this by myself.
”

What could it hurt if Jamie brainstormed how to solve the Penny Problem? Maybe that’s what he needed, another brain to work things out. He nodded.

“Then leave it to me.”

“Is this Kevin Wallace?”

“Who’s this?
”
Kevin lay the textbook on his chest and reached for the television remote.

“This is James O’Neil. Jonathan Kingsley sent me your
resumé.”

Kevin sat up
, knocking his book to the floor
. “Oh. Yes. Did you
hear
—is there word?”

“Not yet. B
ut I wanted you to know that I’
m following up
on a couple places
.”

Kevin lay back down on the couch. “
Good.
”

“Kevin? It’s Jonathan.
I’m visiting Jamie at the moment.
”

“H
i. How are you?”

“Fine.”

“I’m confused. Is there a problem with my application
, or something
?”

“No. Not at all. I wanted to ask if you’ve spoken with your mother recently.”

“No
t really. She and Ronnie’s mom are deep into the reception menu and stuff like that. Sometimes their discussions get kind of heated since we fired the wedding planner.” He lay back down, wishing he and Ronnie could just elope and avoid all the hassles. “Mom’s on our side, but Ronnie’s mom…well, she’s still trying to run the show. I’m doing my best to stay out of the middle of it.”

“You’re a smart man, Kevin,” Jonathan chuckled
.

Kevin picked up his book. “But Ronnie
talked to
Mom
. She said
she
sounded kind of down in the dumps.”

Jonathan held his breath. “Do you know why?”

“She
didn’t really say.”

Jamie took over the phone.
“Kevin, it’s Jam
es
O’Neil again.
Jonathan had to answer the door.
He was wondering. That is, he wants to send your mother something special—but he isn’t quite sure w
hat might fill the bill. He was…u
h, he was wondering if you might be able to help.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Great. So, could you tell me what she likes?”

“Sure.”

Dear Suzanna—

I’m having surgery this coming week. I can’t believe it’s spring already. Abby is driving me to Missoula to the hospital and I’ve got two high schoolers to take care of the library. By summer, I should be back on my feet.

Jonathan hasn’t been himself since he got back from those doings at the university that he does every spring. Nate says he won’t even talk to him about it, and that old man has been part of the family forever.

Christine’s little girl is the cutest thing you ever did see. Her red hair stands up all over her head, like she’s just had the biggest surprise! No one seems to know where it came from.

Well, I gotta go.

Your friend, Emma

Dear Emma:

I’m thrilled you’re having the surgery. Please know that I will be thinking of you and praying that everything goes smoothly.

I’m glad to hear Jonathan has a granddaughter. He must be tickled.

Please tell me when you’re up to my giving you a call, and give my regards to Abby and all the rest of the people at Willow Grove.

As ever, Suzanna

S
uzanna
wandered through the
house, so quiet these days,
Sam at her heels. She sat down and he
leaned
his head
against
her knee. “Sam, you are such a good friend.” His tail beat the floor
as he gave her an affirmative whine
.
Suzanna
rose
and went back upstairs.

She had to clear her head, but every time in the past two weeks she thought she was ready to call Penny, her nerves got the better of her. Now this flower campaign of Jonathan’s was getting to her. His messages with every delivery varied little. One had read that each flower represented an opportunity to talk with Penny. Another had reminded her how she had managed while at the ranch. Never any doubt in his notes that she couldn’t do it. Each little message made her wish Jonathan was holding her hand, when she practiced what she wanted to say to Penny.
As if his presence will make her listen to me.
Suzanna sighed. She had to do this on her own.
He said I was strong. I’ve got to show Penny that’s true. Jonathan, too.

The doorbell rang downstairs. After receiving the flowers from the delivery man, she called Margaret.

“What color are they this time?”

“Multi’s again. Why don’t you come get the pink ones? They’ll look terrific in your living room with the burgundy wallpaper.
”

Margaret snorted. “If you get any more of them, your house is going to look like a funeral home.
I take it the card is the same as before?”

Suzanna sigh
ed. “Pretty much.
A couple of times, he’s mentioned Penny, when he sent yellow ones.
”

“How many
deliveries
does this make?”

She counted the cards she couldn’t bear to throw away. “
Three last week, and there was that big batch the week before that and, so far, two
more
this week.
The guy from the florist
winked at me
the other day. I heard him mumble something about
a
closet
lover or something.”

“
Well,
it
’s
true
, isn’t it, although I’ll bet Jonathan would prefer the bedroom.
”

Suzanna blushed. “Please, Margaret. Don’t start with me.”

“When’s the next delivery? With the ones you’ve already received, you should know the schedule by heart,” she chortled.

Suzanna sighed again. “If it’s like before, on Friday, sometime between one and three.”

“Great! I’ll come over then. Maybe he owns stock in FTD and qualifies for a quantity discount.” Margaret chuckled. “That man is nothing if not persistent, Suzanna. At least give him credit for that.”

She couldn’t seem to stop sighing. “I suppose.” Persistent and scaring her. Well, no. That wasn’t quite right. Jonathan wasn’t scaring her. It was the thought of letting him down that bothered her. That’s why she’d given herself a deadline. Talk to Penny before Kevin’s wedding. She didn’t have much time left.

On the dot of
two p.m. on Friday
,
Margaret arrived. “Isn’t it nice how the gardens are all going like gangbusters now? I just love summer.”

Minutes later, Suzanna answered the door for
the floral delivery man.

“
Let me see.
”
Margaret opened the box, revealing a dozen long-stemmed red roses and an exquisite white rose. “Very nice.” Margaret handed Suzanna the card.

She read it aloud. “
Dear
Suzanna
, please give the white rose
to your future daughter-in-law
. I hope
she
is the
second daughter you’ve always hoped for. Imagine that I’m with you, my arms around you, when you talk to Penny. All my love
, J
onathan.
”

Suzanna plucked the white
rose
out of the box and slid the stem into a bud vase
.

Margaret looked around the living room. Roses were everywhere.
“
Are they in every room?
”

She sighed. “Pretty much. I was thinking I’d bring them to the hospital and ask the nurses to distribute them.”
Suzanna dissolved in tears. “I can’t
deal with this much longer, Margaret
.
He has to stop
.
Every time I see these roses, I think about calling Penny.”

“
Well, then why don’t you? Then you can tell him you did it. Otherwise, he’s going to keep sending them. Can you imagine what these must be costing?”

Suzanna
sniffed
and wiped her eyes.
The thought of never seeing Penny again chilled her to the bone. And never seeing Jonathan made her ache with want.

“
Call him,” Margaret repeated. “Don’t just sit there wringing your hands and wiping your eyes.”

“You’re right. But I need to talk to Penny first.” Her heart began to race. “Could you give me a minute, Margaret? Maybe go out in the yard with Sam?”

“Of course. Take all the time you need. Know what you’re going to say?” Margaret asked. “Give that girl a piece of my mind if you want.”