Love Imagines (Sully Point, Book 6) (21 page)

He hugged her tightly, and then let her go.

"What else? You said 'first' so, what is second?"

"You're coming home with me."

"Excellent! When do we leave?"

"Not so fast," she said with a smile. "Doc is
headed over here for a final check on your progress, but in the meantime we can
gather up your things."

They put his stuff in the bag she had brought
before, clearing out the nightstand and closet. Or rather, Rose packed while he
sat in the chair. Doc walked in as she was finishing.

"I see the news of your release has come before me. Let's see
how you sound today, Ben, and get you out of here. I know for a fact that every
cook in town has been waiting to know you're home so that they can bring over food."

"Are they all decent cooks?" Rose asked.

"Most are," Doc said with a grin.

He put his stethoscope on Ben's chest and then his
back, listening carefully. Ben was relieved when Doc stood up straight, smiling
at him.

"Yes, you're ready to leave. Rose will stay on top of your condition, but you're healing very well now. I think you can return to rehearsals by the day after tomorrow."

"That's outstanding. I want the play to be a success."

"Most of the town will be there on opening night,
and they're all pulling for you. Eat balanced meals, get your walk in during
the morning and again in the afternoon, and get plenty of sleep. You see to it,
Rose. No over-extending himself for a few more days, if you get my drift."

Ben watched Rose's face turned a nice rosy color
and then realized what Doc was saying and felt his own face turn red.

Doc laughed and said, "I'll see you in a couple of
days in my office."

"Did he mean what I think he meant?" Ben asked
her, after Doc had left.

"Yes, he did," Rose said, shaking her head. "Come
on. Let's get you checked out of here."

The process to leave took only a few minutes. The
bill, it turned out, was being paid for by the Playhouse, as Suzanne had been
their hire. Ben argued at first, saying he could afford to pay, but the
bookkeeper wouldn't hear of it. Finally, he had to let it go.

They walked out into a warm day, with some clouds
that might bring rain a bit later. Rose had her car by the curb and they were
quickly moving down the street.

It took a minute before Ben realized what was
different. "There are no guards!"

Rose smiled at him. "Yes, they're off the case
now. We can go back to living a normal life—or as normal lives as we ever
have."

She pulled into the parking lot behind the Bakery
and they began the process of him climbing the stairs. Halfway up, he asked,
"Are you sure I'm able to do this?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Take a rest here and then keep
going."

He rested for exactly one minute and proceeded up
the stairs, realizing he was being more careful of himself than he needed to
be. It was the first serious injury he'd ever had, and he was still adjusting
to it.

Rose's apartment had several bouquets of flowers,
with cards to him, as well as a stack of get well cards. Evidently, everyone in
town knew he would be staying with Rose. He sat down on the sofa and read the
cards, moved by how sweet some of them were. But he truly appreciated the ones
that made him laugh. Some were completely hokey, but he loved them all. Most of
them had a personal message handwritten inside. It became obvious to him that
the town considered him 'theirs' now, as some messages sounded more like they
were from his grandmother. Violet, the yarn lady, in particular wrote quite a
long message about how much he'd been in her thoughts and what he needed to do
to get back into, as she put it, 'fighting shape.'

Rose finished unpacking for him. "I've set you up
with drawers in the bedroom bureau. How do you feel about a snack?"

"Can it come with coffee? I've only had one cup
today."

"Sure, I'll join you. I think we have scones from
the Bakery that will go well with coffee."

They moved into the kitchen and sat at the table.
Rose set out a Bakery box of scones and made them both coffees. As he watched
her moving around the table, he wondered if he'd ever seen such grace as he saw
in her. His heart was filled to overflowing with love for her.

"Marry me," he said into the quiet.

She nearly dropped the sugar bowl, and set it on
the table before turning to him.

"What did you say?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Of course—but—yes—the thing is—"

He stood up and gathered her into his arms. His
kisses stopped her talking. But then, she pulled away from him.

"Let's sit down," she said.

"What's wrong, Rose?" he asked.

"Ben, I love you. I want to marry you. But I don't
want to move to L.A., and last time we talked, it sounded like you didn't want
to live here."

He ran a hand through his hair, feeling
frustrated. "What we have is special, Rose. Can't it overcome any problem you
have with the big city?"

"Can't it overcome any problem you have with this
small town?"

"My life is set up to work living there."

"And as I said before, you're not some minor
actor. You're the lead in a big budget movie coming out this summer. You don't
have to live there anymore."

He took a drink of his coffee and started eating
his scone. He considered moving to Sully Point for the Bakery alone for a
moment, and then his amusement faded.

"What about my sister?"

"What about her? She's twenty-five I think you
said. She's not a kid, Ben."

"No, but she loves her job at the hosp—"

He stopped talking and looked sheepishly at Rose,
whose eyebrows were rising.

"The hospital? She works in a hospital...as what?"

"A, uh, nurse, actually."

"I see."

Rose stared at him for a minute, and then began to
smile.

"What? What are you smiling at?"

"I have a job proposal for her."

He felt confused for a moment, but then he got it.

"No. You are not going to ask my sister to be your
nurse in this small town."

"Why not?"

"Because she loves the city! She's a city girl.
She's—"

"Probably tired of the intensity of an L.A.
hospital."

"You don't know that. She always talks
about—well, okay, she hasn't talked about loving her job lately—but I know
she loves L.A."

"Gets out a lot, does she?"

"Uh, well, not exactly. She works long hours and
is pretty tired when she comes home."

"You said she's coming out here for the opening of
the play?"

"Yes."

"That's perfect," Rose said happily. "I'll talk to
her then."

"Rose, you can't just uproot my life."

"No, I can't," she said seriously. "But you can.
Think about it. I don't think we should discuss it anymore. How about watching
a movie after our snack?"

And as much as he tried to get her to budge, she
refused to discuss the issue at all. He was sitting on the sofa, watching
Operation
Petticoat
with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis, when it hit him that he didn't
even know if they were engaged. He turned to say something to her about it, but
decided it was best to let it lie for now.

The food deliveries started that afternoon.
Several casserole dishes were delivered, one of which looked somewhat
mysterious. It turned out to be a chicken, almond, celery and potato chip dish
that was quite tasty, along with a broccoli and cheese casserole.

Ben discovered that he was ready to go to bed by
eight that night. Rose had taken him down the stairs for a short walk and then
back up the stairs that afternoon. He realized that the stairs were the real
exercise. When he went into the bedroom he saw that Rose had already laid out
his pajamas. She had changed into a silky nightgown of palest blue, and with
her hair unbound from the braid, looked like a vision.

"Babe, if only I felt like doing anything, believe
me I'd be doing it. You're gorgeous."

She smiled and said, "Come on, get in bed and I'll
rub your back."

"Now that might be almost as blissful as what I would
have done."

As she later rubbed his back, he mumbled, "Are we
engaged?"

"Sort of," she said.

"Okay. I love you, Rose."

"I love you, too."

And then he fell into a deep sleep.

* * * *

Rose sat up in the bed, with pillows propped behind her
back, and watched him sleep. She smiled into the darkened room, thinking of her
plan to get his sister to move to Sully Point. Then Ben would have one less
reason to stay in L.A., which she felt was perfectly legitimate strategy in
issues of love.

She rubbed his back lightly, fingertips soft on
his bare skin, and then pulled the sheet and blanket up to cover him. The night
air coming in through the windows had cooled off considerably since the
daytime. Would she give him up if he absolutely refused to leave L.A.? She
didn't see how she could give him up, so, obviously, he had to decide to live
with her here in Sully Point.

On that reassuring thought, she slid down into the
bed and fell asleep.

Chapter 11

The days until the opening night of the play
passed quickly for Rose. Ben returned to rehearsals the day after he came home
with her. She ran lines with him at night and enjoyed seeing how he brought the
character of Mr. Darcy to life. By the end of the week he was running up and
down the stairs with no trouble breathing.

On this day, Ben had gone to the Sully Point
Airport, which in reality was an airstrip for small planes only. He was picking
up his sister and bringing her to Rose's apartment. He'd said he wanted a few minutes
alone with her, and Rose wondered just what he was telling her.

She glanced around the living room one last time.
There wasn't a speck of dust anywhere, and everything gleamed in the light
coming in from the windows. It was another very warm day in Sully Point, so
much so that she'd turned on the air conditioner.

The door opened and Ben entered the apartment
followed by a short, slightly plump young woman who had a surprised look on her
face.

"You live over a Bakery? Why don't you look huge?
The smells alone are putting pounds on me as we speak."

Rose smiled at her and Ben said, "Rose, this is my
sister Charlotte Sterling. Char, this is Rose Carter."

Rose noticed he pronounced 'Char' as 'Shar,' and
then realized what he'd said. "Sterling is your real last name? I thought it
was one of those made-up-for-Hollywood names."

"No, it really is our name. I'm pleased to meet
you Rose. Ben has been telling me how wonderful you are."

"Char!"

She giggled. "I've never seen you in love like
this, Ben. When is the wedding?"

Rose and Ben looked at each other, and then away.

"Whoa," Charlotte said. "I didn't mean to bring up
anything—"

"No, it's fine," Rose said. "We just have a few
issues to work out."

"We have one issue, that's all, just one," Ben said.

"Well, could I get a drink of something before you
work it out?" Charlotte asked.

"Of course. I'm being a terrible hostess. Would
flavored seltzer water be okay?"

"Sure, anything is fine."

"Please, sit down, and I'll bring it to you," Rose
said, exiting to the kitchen.

When Rose returned with a glass of peach
seltzer water, Charlotte was looking around the room. She came over and sat
down in the brocade chair.

"This place is cool. Did you decorate it?"

"No, that would be my sister, Maggie. You'll be
staying at her house. We'll take you over there later on. I'll have you know
that everyone wanted you, but Maggie won the card cutting competition."

"Everyone? Hey, this stuff is bubbly. I like it."

"Everyone is my
family. You'll get a chance to meet them all tomorrow night. There will be a
big family bash the night before the opening."

Ben began explaining just who Rose had meant by
family, and how the Carters, Graingers, and Tremaines all fit together. Meanwhile,
Rose got a closer look at Charlotte.

She was a vivacious, pretty woman, and the
original impression of plumpness came more from bad clothing choices, than
being overweight. She had dimples in her cheeks when she gave her wide smile
and the same big blue eyes as her brother. Her hair was straight, dark brown,
cut in a non-descript style that ended at her shoulders. Rose estimated her height at
five feet three inches, and thought it was going to be fun to see her with
Maggie.

Charlotte turned to her then. "I slept on the
plane. I'm totally ready to see the town. Ben's told me a little about it on
the phone, and it sounds charming. Can we see it on foot?"

"Oh, yes, no need for a car," Rose said. "Are
those shoes comfortable for walking?"

"Yes. The one thing I spend money on is quality shoes, since I'm on my feet so much with my job."

"Ben told me you're a nurse."

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, let's get going then," Ben said, a bit
loudly. When both women stared at him, he shrugged and moved them to the door.

Charlotte loved the Bakery, but bemoaned the fact
she couldn't afford the calories. They went around the square, meeting Violet
and Lucretia in the process.

"Lucretia? Was that the same Lucretia who creates
jewelry worn only by the richest of celebrities in L.A.?" Charlotte said after
they left the jewelry store.

"Yes," Ben said. "And also one of the town locals
who is starring in the play. She's got the part of Mrs. Bennett."

They stopped in Deb's Deli and picked up
sandwiches for lunch, along with some icy lemonade, to go. Rose had suggested
they eat in the park in the shade of the trees.

When they found a table, Nicky appeared. Rose
swore he had magical powers, because he always seemed to just be there without
warning.