Rest Thy Head (11 page)

Peyton thought Patrick looked disappointed, but he rose to the occasion. “Well, Peyton? What about it?”

“Sure, why not?”

After making their arrangements, everyone scattered. Peyton skipped up the stairs and saw Annie sitting on the top step. “Hi, Peyton. I heard your voice and decided to wait on you.”

“Did you have a nice vacation?” Peyton asked. She unlocked her door and allowed Annie to precede her into the room.

“Oh, I wasn’t on vacation. I had to visit my mother.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re back. I have some good news for you. Let me tell you about Jake and Andy Russell.”

Annie listened avidly to Peyton’s story, her eyes positively glowing with hope and delight. “See? I told you he just needed a friend to look past his scars. You’ve helped him so much. I don’t think he’d have talked to Andy before you started working on him.”

“I’d like to think so, but the credit goes to you.” Peyton tapped her forehead. “You’re the one who persuaded me to try, remember?”

Annie giggled. “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re the only person who ever got through to him about his appearance. Patrick almost turned himself inside out to keep Jake from becoming a hermit, but it didn’t do a bit of good.”

“I’ll keep working on him, Now that I see something positive coming from my meddling, I’ll never give up on him. Have you met my sister and my nephew yet? They got her a few days ago.”

“I met Griffin. He’s adorable.”

“You’ll have to meet Ashley too. You’ll like her.”

“I’ll try to do that soon,” Annie promised. “Right now I’d better get back. I’ll see you soon.” She left before Peyton could even ask her where she had to go back to, but she assumed it might be her mother. Maybe Annie’s mother was sick. If so she hoped the woman felt better soon.

Chapter Eight

“Tell me about Ashley,” Patrick requested. He shifted in his lounge chair so he could rearrange his big towel underneath him and winced when a big teenager jumped into the pool and splattered them.

Peyton toweled herself off and frowned at the kid. “Ashley’s great, isn’t she? The two of us have always been close, probably because of our mother. You can’t tell Ashley’s story or mine without telling about Mother.”

“From your tone of voice, I’d say that doesn’t sound good.”

Peyton shook her head. “It isn’t. I told you that Mother wanted me to forgive Drew, but it’s more than that.”

“Tell me.”

Peyton hesitated. Eleanor wouldn’t like for people to know she and her family were anything but perfect. “Are you sure you want to hear this? It’s not too interesting.”

“Yeah, tell me.”

Peyton nodded. “Okay. You asked. Mother grew up on the wrong side of town. She’s a beautiful woman, and as a teenager she undoubtedly was the prettiest girl in school. My grandfather was a drunk, and my grandmother wasn’t much better, but Mother knew how she looked. She planned to use her beauty to leave Nickeltown far behind.”

Patrick cocked his head and thought for a second. “I thought you lived in a place called Milford.”

“I do,” Peyton said, “but Nickeltown is what the locals called the area of Milford where my mother grew up. They called it Nickeltown because nobody who lived there had a nickel.”

Patrick shook his head and pursed his lips. “That had to scar a kid.”

“I agree. I think it scarred my mother dreadfully.” Picking up her tee shirt, she slipped it on. The evening had grown chilly. “She made it her mission in life to get out of there no matter what she had to do. As soon as she graduated from high school, she took a job waiting tables. She worked like a dog and never bought herself anything, so she finally saved enough for a semester at a local community college.”

“That’s to her credit.” Patrick dodged a beach ball that sailed across the pool area. “Hey, kids, be careful,” he called. The children waved and nodded.

Peyton said, “I think it’s to her credit too. Anyway, she did very well. At the end of the semester she had all A’s on her report card.”

“Did she have enough money for a second semester?”

Peyton removed her sunglasses and tossed them under her chair. “No, but since her grades were so good the college helped her get a scholarship.”

“What was her major?”

“Engineering.”

Patrick whistled. “She must be smart. Engineering isn’t an easy major. Did she do well that second semester?”

“Not as well as she might because she met Jeremy O’Malley.”

“Your father?”

“Yes.” The familiar irritation that Peyton always felt when she spoke of her father came rushing in to torment her. “Jeremy came from a well-to-do family, not rich, but close to it. His family had the money to send him to any school, but his grades were so bad the community college was the only school that would take him. He was supposed to get his grades up and transfer to a four-year school the following year.

“It didn’t work out that way, though. Jeremy was handsome; women fell all over him, and Mother was no exception. They started going out, and pretty soon Mother was making B’s instead of A’s. She didn’t have time to study and party the way Jeremy wanted. At the end of the year her scholarship was in jeopardy.”

“Did his parents know he was going out with your mother?” Patrick asked.

“They found out about the time the spring semester ended and didn’t like it one bit. They told Jeremy if he didn’t drop Mother they wouldn’t give him another penny. A girl from Nickeltown wasn’t good enough for their precious son.

“I don’t think he believed them. After all, they’d spoiled him rotten. He kept on seeing Mother, and of course they found out. They also found out Mother was pregnant.”

“With you.” Patrick surmised.

“Yes, with me. Jeremy married my mother more to spite his family than anything else. I don’t think he really ever cared for anyone but himself.”

Patrick put his own tee shirt on. “Were they happy?”

“No. My father resented being tied down, and Mother resented the way his family treated her. I think she had built this fantasy in her mind where everyone would love her after she had her baby, and they’d all live happily ever after.”

“Fathers fall in love with their kids. Didn’t that happen with your dad?” He startled Peyton when he yelled at the big teenager. “Hey, slow down! Stop running in the pool area. Now go on, Peyton.”

“My father didn’t fall in love with his kids. He stuck around long enough to get Mother pregnant with baby number two, Ashley, and then he took off. We haven’t heard from him in almost thirty years.”

Patrick frowned. “I know he’s your father, but he doesn’t sound like a nice guy.”

“You’re right; he isn’t.”

“What happened with your mother after he left?”

Peyton grimaced as the big teenager jumped into the pool and splashed them yet again. “She worked, that’s what happened. She worked and took care of us, and she made up her mind that one day everyone would forget she came from Nickeltown.”

“Didn’t your grandparents want to see you? Jeremy’s parents I mean.”

Peyton laughed, but she wasn’t the least bit amused. “No, they didn’t. They blamed Mother for driving my father away. They said she probably wasn’t a good wife.”

“Their attitude is what was wrong with your father.”

“I think so too,” Peyton agreed with a smile. “Anyway, Mother scrimped and saved and finally got enough money to buy a small house.”

“Was it in Nickeltown?

“No, it was right on the fringes of an upper middle class neighborhood. Not in it, but near enough to be respectable.

“Mother went to yard sales, junk shops, thrift stores, anywhere they sold furniture, and bought broken or battered things and refinished them. If you walked into her house today you’d think the entire place was filled with family antiques.

“She started going to the church that a lot of movers and shakers attended, and she started drilling Ashley and me about the importance of getting ahead in life. I assure you she picked our friends, our clothes, and especially the boys we went out with. She intended for us to marry well.”

“’Well’ meaning okay financially,” Patrick interrupted, the alert, interested look on his face telling Peyton he was anything but bored.

“That’s right.”

Patrick thought for a moment. “I guess Ashley messed up her plans.”

Peyton just shook her head. “You have no idea. When Ashley was a junior in college, she met Brian Morris and fell head over heels in love with him.”

“Did you mother like him?”

“Yeah, he was acceptable. His family lived in a new housing development in Milford, one that specialized in luxury homes. Anyway, Ashley got pregnant. Mother assumed Brian would marry her so it didn’t upset her too much, but to her surprise he refused. He said he was too young to be a father.”

“Another nice guy,” Patrick sarcastically inserted.

“I’d like to…well, it doesn’t matter what I’d like to do to him. Anyway, Ashley thought he’d come around once the baby was born, but he didn’t. He and his parents pretended Griffin didn’t even exist.”

“Does he still live in Milford?” Patrick asked.

He looked as if the answer was important to him, but Peyton had no idea why. “No, he and Marcia Collins got married and moved to Texas.”

“Didn’t he provide support for Griffin?”

Peyton rolled her eyes. “Ha! You must be joking.”

Even in the thickening twilight, Peyton saw that Patrick now looked downright mad. “The courts could probably have made him pay child support.”

“Probably, but Ashley had gotten to the point where she didn’t want Brian anywhere near them.”

“What about your mother?”

Peyton’s face hardened. “She threw Ashley out of the house. She gave her five hundred dollars and told her to find a place to live.”

She saw the shock on Patrick’s face. “How could your mother do that?”

“Beats me, but Ashley found a rent subsidized apartment and went to work. Up until Drew got her fired last week she worked at the carwash.” Tears glazed Peyton’s eyes. “Drew had agreed to help her so she could go back to school. I…I guess it was selfish of me not to marry him. If I’d married Drew, I could have done so much for Ashley and Griffin.”

“I know you want to help them, but that isn’t the way to do it.”

Peyton swiped at her eyes. “I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. Working at the inn agrees with her.”

Patrick reached for her hand. “Jake and I like having her around. She’s welcome to stay here as long as she wants.”

“Thanks. That means a lot to me.”

Patrick stretched and rose to his feet. “We’d better get ready for bed. I’ve got an early morning ride.”

Peyton laughed. “Jake gets me up pretty early too.”

They picked up their soggy towels and followed the flagstone path back to the inn. “What’s that?” Peyton asked as they stepped onto the front porch.

A pile of what looked like paper lay in one of the porch’s wicker chairs. “It looks like someone tore up a book,” Patrick said as he examined the papers.

Peyton finally found the cover. “This is the book I bought when Jake and I went into town today. I laid it in the chair when I helped Jason with a tray this afternoon, and I forgot to take it upstairs.”

Patrick took the cover from her. “Somebody must not like the author or the cover.”

“I guess not.”

“I’ll throw it away when I go inside.” He leaned toward Peyton and kissed her forehead. “I’ll see…”

From behind them, someone cleared his throat. Peyton moved away from Patrick and saw Jake standing there. Oh no! Why did Jake have to walk up now?

“If you two are finished, do you think I could get some help with this luggage?” Jake demanded, his face dark and his tone harsh. “We’ve had a late check in.”

Patrick nodded. “Yeah, sure. Peyton, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, good night.”

Patrick went to help Jake, leaving Peyton to scoop up the ruined book. Why had Jake spoken so harshly to them? Did it bother him that Patrick had given her that little peck on the forehead? Surely he knew there wasn’t anything between them. Okay, maybe he didn’t know. Maybe she should stop with the kisses. She and her school friends always hugged and kissed each other, males and females alike, but maybe they didn’t do things that way here in Waterbury. Her cheeks flamed. Jake probably thought she was acting inappropriately.

Lesson learned. No more kisses, platonic or otherwise.

***

Jake slammed his bedroom door and threw himself on his bed. What an awful evening. He’d thought Patrick would have better sense than to kiss his girl right on the front porch. Didn’t he realize anyone passing by could see them? Ah, he probably did know and didn’t care.

Why did she have to look so beautiful? Patrick had given her a chaste little kiss, but he’d like to give her a whole lot more. He’d like to run his hands through her glorious hair and kiss his way down her neck until she shivered underneath him and begged him to love her.

With an exclamation of disgust, he hid his hot face against his pillow. Peyton liked him, but only as a friend. She’d probably slap his face for him if she knew the thoughts he’d had lately.

Well, why wouldn’t he want a beautiful woman? Getting burned hadn’t put an end to his natural instincts. He still needed female companionship just as much as the next guy. Yeah, right. Companionship. He wanted a whole lot more than companionship from Peyton O’Malley. He wanted her to want him, but of course she never would. She couldn’t. With a face like his, what woman would be interested in him?

He jumped off the bed and stared into the mirror over his dresser. Truthfully, the scars on the left side of his face had faded. They didn’t look as red and fiery as they did right after he got his discharge, but they’d never go away. The doctor had been clear about that.

He stripped off his shirt and looked at the left side of his body. His arm looked the worst. Practically the whole thing bore the marks on the fire which had disfigured him.

He dropped his pants and looked at his leg. It didn’t look as bad as his arm, and neither did his chest. They both looked relatively okay. Did the scars
really
not matter to her? Had she only been trying to comfort him, or did she honestly mean it?