Now & Forever 3 - Blind love (7 page)

When she smiled, her whole face lit up. She was beautiful in
spite of the bruises. Peter looked at her slender body and felt his blood
stirring.

* * * *

Sam noticed a familiar expression on his son’s face and shook
his head. He rushed Lara out the door.

When Sam returned he confronted Peter.

“Lara is off-limits, Peter,” he said, walking into the
kitchen and opening the refrigerator.

Peter followed behind, then pulled open the silverware
drawer.

“I saw you sizing her up. She’s had a rough time. She lost
her parents on 9/11. She’s been attacked and is now blind with no memory of the
attack. I don’t want you seducing her and then dumping her in your quest for
I-don’t-know-what. Leave her alone,” Sam said, pulling out a package of
chicken.

“Who said anything about seduction? Can’t I even look at a
pretty girl?”

“I doubt it. I’m aware of your reputation, Peter, and I’m not
proud of you for it. Leave her alone, will you?” Sam slammed the chicken down
on the counter and turned to face his son.

“So I like women. Can I help it if they like me back?” he
asked, shrugging.

“You know very well what I’m talking about. Lara is off-limits,
okay?” Sam snapped.

“Can’t we be friends?”

“You’re not capable of friendship with an attractive woman.”
Sam ripped the packaging and plunged the raw chicken into the sink and turned
on the cold water.

“A low blow, Dad. What is it with Lara, anyway?”

“She needs friends, like me, not seducers like you.”

“So what if I become her friend too?” Peter took out enough
silverware for two.

“Think you can?” Sam asked, turning to face his son, leaving
the water running to rinse the chicken in the sink.

“I’m not as shallow as you think,” Peter said, putting the
silverware on the kitchen table.

“Go ahead…become her friend. But if you break her heart, I
swear I’ll break your neck.” Sam took down some herbs in jars and sprinkled
them on the chicken, then rubbed them in.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stay away from her, if that’s the way you
feel.”

“Please, go ahead. I want to see this new
friendship
thing,” Sam insisted.

“Fine,” Peter said, closing the drawer a little too hard.

“I’m glad you’re rid of Bianca. Maybe now you’ll find someone
worthwhile.”

“Maybe I will, if you’ll stop looking over my shoulder.”

* * * *

An attractive, slightly older woman was waiting for Sam when
he came out of Jim Caterson’s house after visiting with Lara.

“Dr. Caldwell, can I speak to you for a moment about Lara
Stewart?”

Sam Caldwell, a widower for the past seven years, was six
feet one inch tall, slim, athletic build, with thick, stone-gray hair and keen,
bright blue eyes, like both his sons. At age sixty-four, Sam found his face,
browned from the sun and wrinkled from years of smiles, didn’t seem to turn off
the ladies around his age. On the contrary, he had no trouble getting dates.

“Sure…and you are?” Sam stooped a little to be more level
with the woman speaking to him.

“Dr. Patricia Weiss. I’m working with Lara Stewart.”

Dr. Weiss was a short, slender woman about sixty years old
with auburn hair, green eyes and perfect ivory skin.

With a quick glance, Sam spied the absence of a wedding band.
He always checked the ring finger first with attractive women.

“Would you like to have our discussion over a cup of coffee?”

Dr. Weiss’s gaze traveled up to his face. “Good idea. There’s
a diner not far from here, Cozy Corner. We can walk if you want.”

“Great, I need the exercise,” he said.

They settled into a corner booth where they could speak
privately. Sam ordered coffee and fruit salad. Dr. Weiss did the same.

“You’re treating Lara?” he began, stirring a little sugar
into his coffee.

“She needs help to recover from the attack. The university,
actually your son, Mac, called me in to work with her.”

“Leave it to Mac. Yes, she needs help, a lot of help.”

“Your friendship means a great deal to her. I hope it isn’t
too much of a responsibility for you.” Dr. Weiss poured milk into her coffee.

“I enjoy my time with Lara,” Sam said, spearing a piece of
melon with his fork.

“You remind her of her father. She had a close relationship
with him.”

“Is there anything specific you want me to do while I’m with
her?”

“You’re doing fine. She’s been seriously traumatized. It will
take her some time to recover from the fear. Of course the blindness doesn’t
help. If she could see, then she’d recover faster,” Dr. Weiss said, spooning a
grape into her mouth.

“When will the blindness go away?”

“I don’t know. Positive relationships help,” she explained.

“Not happening at home.” Sam added extra milk to his coffee

“What do you mean?”

“Her future aunt, Fran, is hostile to the girl. Peter and I
have overheard unpleasant conversations between Lara and Fran. Fran would like
Lara out as soon as possible.”

“Fran tries to hide it, but I see. You’re right, it’s not
good for Lara.”

“Why doesn’t her uncle get rid of Fran?”

“I don’t know. It’s not my place to interfere, even though it
does have a negative impact on Lara.” She popped a grape into her mouth.

“Too bad.” Sam signaled the waitress for refills of their
coffee.

“Who is Peter?” Dr. Weiss nodded at the waitress when she
brought the coffee pot to her cup.

“He’s my other son. He and Lara have become friends.”

“Wonderful! How old is Peter?”

“He’s thirty-four. To be frank, doctor, Peter would like to
take their friendship to the next level, if you get my drift.”

“Please call me Pat. How does Lara feel about that?” Pat bit
into a grapefruit section.

“Can’t say. Seems a bit soon. I advised my son to wait. What
do you think?”

“Good advice. She mentioned a man friend. I didn’t know who
she was talking about. Now I know. You and Peter can make a big difference in
her recovery, Dr. Caldwell.”

“Sam, please. I’m glad to hear it.”

“Could I call you from time to time to discuss Lara’s
progress?”

“Of course. She has a lot of spunk.”

“She’s survived major traumas before. I think she can come
out of this and have a normal life.”

They finished their food and Sam raised his hand to the
waitress for the check. When she brought it over, Sam took the bill.

“Please, let me take it,” Pat said. “I approached you.”

“Nonsense! I asked you to join me for coffee.”

“Thank you,” she said, turning a little pink.

They walked out of the diner and back to Jim Caterson’s
house.

Sam turned to face her. “Would you like to have dinner with
me this Friday night?”

Pat got visibly flustered. She gazed at Sam then at her hands
and blushed bright red.

“I’d like that.”

“Good. Where do you live?”

They exchanged addresses and phone numbers and agreed on a
time. Then Pat got in her car and drove away. Sam grinned. He hadn’t been in
Willow Falls more than two weeks and he already met a woman he liked.
Pete’s not the only ladies man in our
family.

Sam dated in South Africa, but it was hard to find attractive,
interesting women around his age. He’d had a few affairs after Ellen died.
Still quite interested in sex, he thought a lively and fulfilling sex life,
like he’d had with Ellen, was a thing of the past. Maybe he was wrong. He had
found himself staring at Pat’s lovely pink lips during their conversation,
wondering what it would feel like to kiss her. Perhaps he’d find out Friday.
Now he needed a restaurant to take her to and figure out how to dress
appropriately in this town. He’d have to call Mac.

* * * *

“You have a date? With a woman?” Mac asked, putting down the
papers in his hand and training his full attention on the phone conversation.

“This isn’t my first date since your mother died. It’s a
dinner date and I need a restaurant recommendation,” Sam said.

“With who?”

“That’s my business.”

“Not if you want a restaurant recommendation from me. You’re
going to have to come clean,” Mac said. He’d picked up techniques for worming
information out of people from Callie.

“That’s blackmail!” Sam stopped short.

“So?” Mac said, trying to sound cooler than he felt.

“It’s Pat Weiss, Dr. Weiss?”

“I know her, I know her. You’re going out with Pat Weiss?”

“That’s what I said. Now, give me the name of the
restaurant.”

“It’s La Côte d’Or, run by Pierre and Edie Balmain, a nice
couple. Danny took Eliza there…and now they’re married with a kid…”

“Very funny. I’m not getting married, only having dinner.”

Mac could hear paper rustling, and figured Sam was scribbling
the name on a piece of paper. His father was an organized man.

“Cut me some slack, Dad. This is the first time…you
dating…it’s weird.” Mac sat back in his big, leather chair.

“Look, I’m still a man, as well as a father and a
grandfather, so get over it.”

“Still a man? What does that mean?”

“What do you think it means, Mac? You’re not stupid, figure
it out,” Sam said, and hung up the phone.

* * * *

Sam got lost picking up Pat, but ended up being only a few
minutes late. Pat lived in the posh Linden Lake section of Willow Falls.

“This is a beautiful neighborhood. Live here long?”

“My husband insisted we live here and I’ve grown used to it,
though it is far from the University.”

Under Pat’s directions, Sam made it to the restaurant without
getting lost a second time and pulled into the ample parking lot.

La Côte d’Or was in an old Victorian house. What had once
been the living room, parlor and library were now intimate, cozy dining rooms.
Creamy beige walls, brightened by white trim, indirect lighting and lots of
candles created an elegant and romantic atmosphere. The tables had beige
tablecloths and napkins, real silver, good crystal and small vases of pink and
white flowers.

The atmosphere impressed Sam.
Hope the food is good.
They were seated at a table in front of a
tall window. Sam ordered a bottle of wine.

“Are you divorced?” Sam asked, taking a sip of his
chardonnay.

“I lost my husband three years ago. He was an attorney.”

“I’m sorry. Not a long time. My Ellen’s been gone seven years
now. She was a musician, a pianist. Quite accomplished, actually. Do you have
children?”

“I have a son living in California. He has a son, Bobby.”

“That’s far away…do you go out to visit much?” Sam gave the
waiter their order.

“Not much. I have patients here who need me.”

“You must miss Bobby.”

“I do. I’ve been trying to get them to come here. They live
in San Francisco. I promise them a country winter holiday…with snow, sledding
and snowmen every year, but they haven’t made it yet.”

“Have you dated much?” Sam said, refilling their wine
glasses.

“I have to confess, you are my first date since Elliott
passed away,” Pat said, her cheeks flushing slightly.

“Really?” Sam said, raising his eyebrows.

“Things are so different these days.”

“Maybe not so different for those of us who are a little
older.”

“I don’t have a biological clock ticking anymore. I have
different needs now, as do you, I’d guess.”

“A man’s needs rarely change,” Sam said, chuckling.

“Sam!” Pat said, blushing and laughing.

“Companionship. Men are still looking for companionship.”

“I’m not naïve, Sam. It’s not exactly companionship causing
lover’s lane to be so crowded these days,” she said, her eyes twinkling.

Sam took her hand and she smiled.

“A man of my age should have different expectations of me
than of a much younger woman.” Pat stabbed a piece of boeuf bourguignon with
her fork.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked in between bites of his chicken
cordon bleu.

“Well, at sixty, the body isn’t the same as it was at
thirty,” she said, lowering her gaze.

“Firm bodies are great but so are sharp minds, a sense of
humor and affection. The same is true of men. What was once part of my chest
seems to have traveled south. But love and sex at this age aren’t as much about
body type as about other things,” Sam explained, taking a sip of wine.

“Like what? I never heard of a man wanting to sleep with a
woman because she had a good personality,” Pat said, choking back a laugh.

“True. Having things in common can be an aphrodisiac.
Although looks don’t hurt,” Sam said, smiling at his pretty companion.

“I’m glad to hear that. I dropped the word ‘firm’ from my
vocabulary over the past ten years,” Pat said, laughing.

After the meal was over, Sam brought Pat home.

“Next Saturday, they’re having a Cary Grant festival at the university.
Would you like to go with me?”

“What fun! I’d love to go. What’s playing?”

“
Only Angels Have Wings
and
Mr. Lucky
. Not his best or even
my favorites, but I’d be happy to see either one. Your choice.”

“Let’s see
Mr. Lucky
,
he’s sexier in that one,” Pat suggested. “What is your favorite Cary Grant
movie?” she asked.

“I like
Bringing Up
Baby
. It’s funny and has Katharine Hepburn too. Do you have a favorite?”
Sam asked her.

“I love his lesser known one,
Holiday
, also with Katharine Hepburn.”

“I’ll check on the time. Would you like to grab dinner
first?”

“Delightful,” she said, putting her hand on his arm.

“I’ll call you with the time. Goodnight,” he said.