Four Weeks (18 page)

"So are you,” he observed. “Anxious to get it over with?"

He couldn't really think she was dreading this dinner. She caught a glimmer of the uncertain expression she'd seen when he asked her out. Her instant reaction was to touch him, but she forced her hands to stay by her sides. She shook her head instead.

He swung open the gate and they started down the street. “You don't mind walking do you?"

She waved at the trees and flowers. “It's too nice for a taxi."

"I thought so, too."

They strolled along in companionable silence. Huron Street was much busier than it had been earlier in the day. The temperature had dropped and clusters of people blocked the streets and filled the sidewalks. People jostled them as they worked their way through the crowd toward the docks. Each time she bumped into Trent he glanced down and her resolve to think of him as a friend in need thinned.

"Do you think we'll be able to get a table?” she asked when they stopped in front of a small dockside cafe.

"I've taken care of it."

Trent waved at the hostess and the woman smiled. The inviting expression didn't extend to Louise, and an unwelcome pang of jealousy worked through her. She had no right to feel possessive of Trent. Whatever they shared was in the past, and that was where it had to stay.

Once they were seated he reached for the menus and offered her one.

"It's your turn, you pick,” she said pushing it back to him.

"So it's like that, huh?” His eyes narrowed playfully. “Is this a set up?"

"What do you mean?” she asked feigning innocence.

He smirked. “Are you trying to learn something about me by what I choose for you?"

"Would I do something sneaky like that? I thought I already knew you."

"Who's playing games now, Louise?"

She laughed at him. He amazed her by laughing back.

The waiter chose that moment to come by for their order. Trent tucked the menus back between the ketchup and mustard bottles. “One surf and turf and one seaside sampler,” he said without hesitation.

Louise didn't miss the lifted eyebrow of the waiter.

Trent chuckled as he walked away.

Louise applauded his quick thinking. “Okay, you win."

"I'm glad you acknowledge that. I'll make the rest of the evening easy on you."

Louise took a sip of her water to avoid his stare. “Is this a business dinner, Trent?"

"Do you want it to be?"

Her whole body responded to the husky rasp in his voice.

The lighthearted atmosphere vanished and turned into one with an undercurrent of sizzling electricity. The flirtatious gleam in his eyes made her heart stall and resume beating with intensity she recognized. Louise struggled against the heady memories of his tender kisses.

He'd opened the door for an evening of romance, but Louise wasn't willing to walk through. Since she had to assume that he'd be closing the stable and leaving the island, it was clear she would only be a one-night diversion to him.

She couldn't do that. Not when she wanted so much more from Trent Parker.

Only one answer would keep her heart from aching any more. “Let's keep it business."

He lifted his chin. “If that's the way you want it."

"Yes, Trent. That's the way I want it.” Once the lie passed her lips, she tried to convince herself she'd said the right thing. When the light faded from his eyes she could barely stand holding the truth inside.

"I guess we might as talk about Hawk's then."

"Yes, I guess we should.” Louise swallowed against the heartache tightening her throat as she summoned the strength to get the worst of the evening over with. “You're selling Hawk's aren't you?"

When he nodded, she pressed her lips together and pretended to admire the beautiful sailing boats coasting past.

"I'm selling to Zigler's. They want to annex the stable, add it to theirs. I've asked that you, Pete and Gail be guaranteed employment for the rest for the season. As soon as it's in writing, we'll finish the deal."

Why wasn't she thrilled to know she'd get to keep her job? Instead of thanking him as she should've, she asked, “But you'll be leaving?"

"That's right."

WHEN TRENT ESCORTED Louise to Sally's, he didn't lean down to kiss her. He simply said goodnight and left. Her heart ached as she watched his back fade into the evening crowd. She shouldn't complain though. She'd gotten what she asked for. Something she'd been telling herself she wanted for years.

A business dinner discussing her many achievements. A solid job.

But the meal had left her feeling anything but excited and enthusiastic about her career and her life. The satisfaction and contentment she expected were painfully absent.

It left her feeling lonely and restless, as though something was missing. For the first time ever, she wondered about her goals. About how she'd been drifting through life, always looking for something better.

Maybe happiness wasn't all tied up in freedom and accomplishment. Maybe she'd be happy if she had someone with which to share it. No matter what she was doing.

Louise went to the beach and stood where Trent had kissed her. She still felt the tender caress of his lips. She still smelled the scent of smoke mixed with a touch of his aftershave.

Tears gathered in her eyes and she let them fall. No one would see her cry because she was completely alone.

After the last teardrop fell, she went inside and slipped into bed.

SUNDAY NIGHT THE music from the street below intruded on Louise, even inside the rooming house. Since it was the last day of the Lilac Festival things should've been winding down, but the people outside didn't seem to think so.

She paced around Sally's empty front parlor remembering what Trent had said about looking for something. What could he possible be looking for at Hawk's? And was he still searching for it?

All the guests were out enjoying the summer evening. Even Sally had gone to watch the big festival parade. Louise didn't feel like enjoying the entertainment much less watching it, but staying cooped up was making her crazy.

That left only one thing. Work.

A couple boxes of documents that had been forwarded by Trent's father's attorney had arrived at Hawk's late yesterday afternoon. She'd glanced through them. They appeared to be old records from Hawk's early days. She hadn't felt like sorting through them then, but now they represented at least two hours of work.

She left Sally a note and headed out the door. The unusually warm weather was still here, so she tried to enjoy the late afternoon sunshine. The sweet scent of lilacs filled the air.

Her parents would appreciate the photographs she'd taken of the lilac trees that had been planted on the hill below the fort. The trunks of the hundred-year-old trees were gnarled and twisted from strong winter winds, but each year they produced huge clusters of beautiful flowers.

Maybe she'd bring her mom and dad to the island next year for the festival.

Hawk's was deserted. Louise had assumed nobody would be by to rent a horse, so she'd given both Gail and Pete the evening off to go to the parade. She stopped to pet the tall bay that had become her favorite. Pete's words about the horses and how he liked the way they were content to stand around just waiting in their stalls whispered through her mind.

How simple that would be. If she stopped agonizing over her future, maybe she could relax and enjoy the festival with everyone else. But she couldn't. She went in through the wide doors near the feed room. Then she worked her way up the aisle by petting each animal. As she moved down the aisle she realized noise was coming from the office. There was something peculiar about the sound, like someone was digging through the drawers in a hurry.

Louise's heart picked up speed. All the stress from the past four weeks had her on edge, she figured. Why else would she react like her life was in danger?

She frowned at her reaction, but crept closer to the open office door. Soft voices drifted to her. She paused and her shoulders dropped with relief when she realized it was only Pete whispering.

"If you'd done a better job of things, we'd be done by now.” Anger was evident in his tone.

A bolt of shock coiled deep inside Louise's stomach when Gail's voice followed. “I didn't mess up half as bad as you. You couldn't even do the fire right."

"I did all right with the roof mess."

Louise's shock turned into fury rimmed with horror. Her heart stuttered in her chest. It was crazy to be frightened by two people she knew so well, but she was.

Gail's next reply was too soft for Louise to hear.

"What do you care?” Pete hissed. “You got the money I gave you. Me, I got nothing."

"I'm done with you, old man."

The nasty threat in Gail's voice sounded so different from her usually cheerful tone, Louise could hardly believe her ears. A shiver ran down her back and she shuddered. She bumped a pitchfork propped against the wall and it clattered to the ground.

The sound of a chair falling to the floor followed and reminded Louise of the night she and Trent had surprised someone in the office. Adrenaline flowed through her body and her senses were on overdrive.

The soft whisper of someone breathing reached her ears.

Louise froze against the wood wall as though she could disappear, but Pete spotted her as soon as he stepped out into the aisle.

"You shouldn't be snooping around here."

Louise faked courage she didn't possess and stood up straight as she looked right at Pete. “I work here, Pete."

"Not for long you don't.” The snarl in his tone matched the scowl on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your boyfriend's going to sell the place. Didn't you know?"

"Yes, but we get to keep our jobs."

"That's a lie. He's just like his father, ready to run away at the first sign of trouble."

Louise forgot her fear. “You knew Mr. Parker?"

"Sure. He and I had a sweetheart deal here. This place was supposed to be mine. The only hitch was that he went and died on me before making it official."

A dozen questions formed in Louise's mind, but she couldn't figure out which one to ask. When she remained silent, Pete bent toward her. His bony face was shadowed so she couldn't see his expression, but she heard the threat in his voice.

"You better pack your things and get going, Missy. Things could get ugly here."

"Worse than they have been?"

"So I didn't get things right them other times. I'm bound to get it right sooner or later."

Despite everything she'd heard, Louise couldn't believe it. Her fear warred with curiosity. “What's in it for you?"

"Revenge.” He leaned so close Louise saw the pain flash in his eyes. “Revenge for what that old man did to my sister. The woman he claimed to love.” His lip curled. “But I've had enough of the whole mess. You won't be seeing any more of me."

So ... the stable did hold some information about Trent's parents.

Pete turned to walk away, but Louise grabbed his arm. “What did Mr. Parker do, Pete? Tell me."

"He killed her."

"Killed her?” she echoed.

He yanked away his arm and shuffled off into the darkness. Too stunned to chase after him or call the police, Louise stood for a long time, while his accusation sunk in. Trent's father was a murderer?

She turned to go, but stopped when she saw a stapled packet of papers on the ground where Pete had stood.

A glance at them was all she needed to know they were what Trent was looking for. With the information they held, he'd be able to leave the island for good and get on with his life. She tucked them into her back pocket.

As she jogged to Sally's, things came together slowly. By the time she reached the gate it all made sense. She knew what she had to do.

TRENT HUNG UP the phone and dropped onto his stiff hotel bed. With the early morning call to the police chief taken care of, he looked at the documents spread across his bed and read them again for what must have been the hundredth time. The pieces fit into place, but he fought against the image they presented.

He picked up the handwritten note from Louise, which had been delivered with the papers about an hour ago. It detailed her run in with Pete and the conversation she'd overheard between him and Gail. So he had been right about those two plotting together.

Trent fingered the torn and aged pages: the autopsy report from his mother's accident and the letters written by his father to Pete. The handwriting in the letters was his father's, but the words didn't sound anything like the remote emotionless man who'd paid his boarding school tuition.

The man who wrote the letters had loved the woman who died, and had blamed himself for the accident that caused her death. He read over the autopsy once again then rubbed his red-rimmed eyes and fought against the blurriness of his vision.

The report said the car crash had been an accident. Yet from the papers in front of him, Trent knew his father had carried the guilt of what had happened. Finally, he'd found the connection between Hawk's and his father.

His father felt responsible for the death of his wife, Pete's sister. Pete had taken advantage of the other man's unbearable burden and used that guilt to get what he wanted. Trent would probably never know the whole story, like how long Pete had been twisting the emotions of the widower who never recovered from the loss of his wife. But Pete knew enough to understand what Trent's father had been going through.

If only Trent had known.

Unable to focus after the long sleepless night, Trent gave up, piled the papers on the table beside his bed and went to look out his window. The morning air blew in, caressing his face. He pulled in a breath of the sweet air.

The street below was quiet because it was still early. A delivery cart rolled by. The white horse pulling it swished its tail while the driver called over its back.

He turned away from the scene below. There was no point in stalling. It was time for him to pack up and leave the island. His stay there had brought him nothing but pain and heartache.