Sunrise Point (27 page)

Tom tapped on Darla’s door. She bade him enter and when he opened the door, he did not see what he had hoped to see—packed luggage ready to go. Nope, she was still settled in. And she was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

“I don’t really know where to start…” he said.

“Let me help you,” she returned rather curtly. “You begin with an apology. And what is that
smell?
” He ignored the apology part and felt his neck prickling and getting red. He had a sudden curiosity—just how many times had she tricked men into marrying her? Was there any chance Bob hadn’t been the first one? But then he realized, he couldn’t possibly care less. “The smell is sweat, dirt and
bear.
”

“Maybe we should talk after you’ve had a chance to shower.”

“No, we’re going to talk right now, Darla. We, you and I, aren’t going any further. We don’t fit. It wouldn’t work. It’s not what I want.”

“It’s a bit more than that,” she said, standing but keeping her distance as she wrinkled her nose. “There’s another woman in the picture. You were cheating on me with one of your employees.”

“That’s the thing, I wasn’t cheating on you because I haven’t made any kind of commitment to you, not even a slight, tiny, superficial commitment. None. At all. And you and I are not dating, not seeing each other, not getting more serious. We don’t want the same things, we’re never going to want the same things and I’m tired of this cat and mouse.”

“Then why did you lead me on?”

“Lead you on?” He frowned. “How did I do that?”

“You kissed me! You took me to dinner. You told me to visit any time I wanted to.”

“Aw, Jesus—when you first showed up here, I was open to the idea of dating a beautiful woman, so sue me. I checked you out while you were checking me out—but it never got off the ground. Darla, it worked for about a day. It isn’t working. We don’t even like the same things!”

“I’m willing to give you another chance,” she said. “Obviously you have to get rid of that female.”

“You’re amazing,” he said, laughing in spite of himself. “Does that usually work for you? That non-listening thing you’ve got going on? I don’t want another chance. I want us to part friends with the realization that we would have to have a lot more in common and like each other equally in order for there to be any kind of relationship beyond a very casual and very
distant
friendship. Apparently I don’t have enough ‘like’ in this equation because I’m not interested. No more dates, no more visits, no more talking about a future that is never going to happen.”

“Well,” she said, a tear coming to her eye. Tom suspected they were very well-trained tears. “That was blunt to the point of cruel.”

“That’s how it has to be, apparently. If you could let it go at I’m not interested, we could shake hands and say a pleasant goodbye.”

She seemed to shake a bit, like anger was coming to the surface. “What the hell kind of woman do you want?”

Big mistake, Darla, he thought. Big. “I want a woman who pitches in,” he said. “A woman who doesn’t sit and expect to be waited on while a seventy-four-year-old grandmother cooks and cleans and serves her. I want a woman who can pet the dog even if he gets a little hair on her expensive clothes. Someone who can feel special wearing boots that cost far less than a grand and I want a woman who
eats,
for God’s sake! How about a woman who isn’t trying to sell my family orchard out from under me and put my grandmother in a home? That would work.”

She was stunned silent for a second. Finally she said, “Oh. My.
God!
”

“So here’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “I’m going to shower while you gather your things together. Then I’ll carry all your luggage to your car for the last time, shake your hand or even give you a polite hug as I say, ‘Nice seeing you, drive safely.’ And then you’re going to leave and we’re both going to get on with our lives. Is there any part of that you don’t understand?”

Another moment of silence. Then, “You are a beast. I had no idea. I barely escaped you!”

“I’ll be about fifteen minutes,” he said. “You take your time.” And he left her.

As he showered, he thought one alternative for her, if she wanted to make a dramatic exit, was to throw her stuff in a suitcase, lug her own damn luggage down the stairs and burn rubber out of the orchard. Junior was on hand to make sure the gate would be closed behind her.

In the end, it didn’t happen that way, of course. Forty-five minutes later she found him in the kitchen and, true to form, all she carried was her small pocketbook. “I’m ready,” she said soberly.

“Good,” he said. “I’ll be happy to get your luggage.”

As he loaded the last of the luggage into her trunk, he saw Junior near the barn and gave him a sign, pointing to the gate. Junior took his quad down the lane and opened it. Then Tom held the door for her as she got into her shiny car. He held out his hand and she took it.

“I’m sorry it didn’t work out, Tom,” she said. “I’m sorry I didn’t fit into your plans. I’m very disappointed, in fact.”

He gave her hand a squeeze and said, “Drive carefully.” And he closed her door.

Then he watched the most superficial, manipulative woman he’d ever known leave his orchard.

* * *

When there was a knock at Nora’s door, it took her a while to answer. She had Fay on her hip. And there stood Maxie, holding a large container of something. “Oh, Maxie, why are you here?” she asked.

“A couple of reasons,” she said. “May I come in?”

“Sure,” she said, standing back.

Maxie went straight to the kitchen, just a few steps really, and put her soup on the counter. “I wanted to check on you, of course. And I brought you soup, though I really want you to come to the house for dinner tonight if you can… And I needed to leave the orchard—Tom was on a mission to send Darla away. I didn’t even want to be in the house.” She shook her head. “That girl…”

“Oh, Maxie, she’s a beautiful girl!”

“She was pushing herself on Tom and it should have been more than clear to her that he wasn’t ready for that. She’s the most annoying person I’ve met in years, but it’s not my business. I’m counting on Tom to do the right thing there.”

“I just have to ask—what would the right thing be?” Nora asked.

“Make sure she doesn’t trick him into more visits or whatever. He doesn’t like her.”

“How can he not? She told me it was just a matter of time before they got married.”

“I pray she was hallucinating when she said that. But—this is not up to me. Tom is intelligent. I have to believe in him. Now, darling, how are you? You had quite a scare!”

“My God,” she said. “I’m still shaking. I kept my girls home from preschool and day care—I just need to be with them. When they nap later, I’m going to have a long, hot soak in the tub. I’m frazzled, I admit it. I climbed up my ladder and picked a dozen apples before one of those cubs took a swipe at me. They had been there the whole time.”

“Ah, that’s what happened—you got between the treed cubs and the mother. You know they’d been in the orchard all night? Tom was out with Junior till three in the morning trying to find them and get them out. I’m sorry, Nora—this is our fault. You should be safe in our orchard.”

“There’s only so much you can do. I’d say hunting till three in the morning is a worthy effort, wouldn’t you?” Then she let her eyes close just briefly as she remembered the sight of Tom coming through the trees, half dressed, looking a bit wild and warrior-like, holding that big gun. She hadn’t known about the tattoos on his chest and biceps. She opened her eyes. “Tom was amazing. He saved my life.”

“Possibly. Those black bears are usually passive and don’t like to be around people, but when cubs are involved…”

“What will happen to the cubs?”

“Out of our hands,” Maxie said. “Let me warm you some soup. Berry and Fay will like it—lots of soft veggies and noodles.”

“Please don’t go to any more trouble.”

“I have to kill a couple of hours. I could watch the girls while you relax in the tub or nap?”

She just laughed. “Let’s have soup together, all of us. Then I’m going to take it easy and get to bed early tonight.”

“I wish you’d come to the house and let me spoil you a little. I could make your favorite meal.”

But Nora had things to figure out, like what she was going to do without a home. And she was loath to ask for more help from anyone—so many had already given to her. “Everything you cook is my favorite,” she said. “But I’m seriously exhausted. I’m sure it was the fright. I want to be alone with my children tonight. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Good enough,” Maxie said. “Now find me a pan so I can warm up some soup for you.”

They not only enjoyed a lunch of soup, they actually laughed together and reminisced about some of the more entertaining events of the past weeks. But when Maxie left her house a while later, Nora had come to a few conclusions. She was losing her home and there was no one among her acquaintances she could possibly ask for shelter. Noah had offered, but it was rather offhand and she wasn’t about to stuff herself into his home. She knew Adie didn’t want to lose her and would put up with anything to keep her and the girls near. Maxie and Tom would no doubt offer, but her common sense told her that Tom was simply not ready for that much—he was still wondering what to do next with her. He wanted what they shared to be casual. As far as she knew, there were no available houses in Virgin River that she could afford.

And winter was fast approaching. She’d done blistering winter here before.

There was only one place she could turn. After weeks of testing the waters it was time to let her father help her as he so wanted to do.

Friday night, after the girls went to bed, she dialed the phone. He answered and she said, “Hello, Jed? I mean… Hello, Dad?”

* * *

Tom wanted to see Nora. Not only was he running on about two hours of sleep, but she had told Maxie that she was tired and wanted to be alone with her children. Reasonable, he thought, as long as Maxie could assure him that she was all right. So he barely slept on Friday night and on Saturday morning was up early, working the orchard. That Nora wasn’t there didn’t faze him—he hadn’t asked her to work. But the strangest thing happened—he saw his grandmother come out of the house carrying a small suitcase.

He made fast tracks to her. “What’s this?” he asked.

She didn’t answer until she had plopped the suitcase in the backseat of her car. “Well, Nora called this morning and said she’d like to come over later to speak to us so I talked her into dinner. She said it would just be her. Adie is going to sit with the girls and put them to bed. I’ve left you a casserole to warm and a small salad in the refrigerator. You know where the bread is—and for that matter, Nora knows, too. I’m going to my friend Phyllis in Ferndale. I’ll spend the night, we’ll have brunch in the morning and I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.”

He was completely confused. “Has this been planned?”

“No, Tom,” she said patiently. “I’m giving you the house. Warm the casserole—it’s one of your favorites—chicken enchilada casserole. You have an opportunity to be alone to talk to Nora. Things have been a little crazy around here. I might be an older woman, but one thing I know—when children are involved, it can be a challenge to have an entire conversation. This is your chance.”

“Why isn’t she bringing her kids?” he asked.

“Tom,” she said impatiently. “I don’t know, but possibly she has things to say that shouldn’t be interrupted. Or things to ask that should be asked privately. Just warm the damn dinner and
listen.
”

And he thought—there were many advantages to living with a bossy, energetic grandmother. She took very good care of him and of countless details. But there were many problems with it, as well. Like this, for example. He felt flushed at the idea of being completely alone with Nora. And a little irritated at being set up to be.

* * *

Nora arrived at six looking exactly as she had on their one and only date, which he thought was beautiful. He could feel his eyes grow hot and dark. He held the door open for her, not able to say a word.

“Hi,” she said, stepping inside. “Thanks for letting me come over.”

“Letting?” he asked. “I wanted to see you yesterday, talk to you, make sure you were doing all right. Maxie said you asked to be left alone. I’m glad you’re here.”

She looked around. “Where’s Maxie?”

He pulled out a kitchen chair for her. He’d gone to some trouble to set a nice table just for the two of them. “She’s visiting a friend in Ferndale for the night. She’ll be back tomorrow. We have dinner. Will you have a glass of wine tonight?”

“I guess so, sure. Why didn’t Maxie just tell me she wouldn’t be home? I wanted to explain something to both of you.”

“Maybe it was last minute, but don’t worry about that. I don’t think I’m real clear on why you didn’t bring the kids,” he said, opening a bottle of pinot grigio for her.

“It’s a little complicated, but I didn’t want to be distracted.” She waited while he gave her the glass. He sat across from her and waited expectantly. “Are you going to have wine?” she asked.

“Oh,” he said. “Right.” And he poured himself a glass though he wasn’t the least bit interested in wine right now. He wanted
her
. Again he waited. And waited. “Should we toast something?”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. Maybe this is the best way to explain,” she said, reaching inside her vest and withdrawing a folded piece of paper. She passed it to him.

He opened it, keeping his eyes on her face. Then he looked down and saw a notice of auction on foreclosed property—and the address was hers. He looked up. “Nora, what is this?”

“It was posted on my front door. I think we both knew something like this would happen eventually—I didn’t own that house. I didn’t even rent it. It was probably abandoned a few years ago.”

“Auctioned next Friday?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry I can’t give you notice on leaving my job. Will you be able to get by without me?”

He was on his feet. “Where are you going?”

“Well, the notice forced a decision and maybe that’s a good thing. I’m going to take my dad up on his offer. I’ll move to Stanford. Well, I’ll move in with him until he can secure family housing for me, which might take a couple of months, given the holidays and everything. I’ll go back to school. It’s a very generous thing for him to do.”

He was standing over her. “And what about us?”

“Us?” she asked. “I’m not sure what there is about us. I don’t think you’re ready for an us, Tom.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Please, sit down, you’re making me uncomfortable.” When he went back to his chair, she continued, “You were pretty worried about me taking all that kissing too seriously.”

“Come on,” he said. “You must have felt what I felt.”

She reached across the table and touched his hand. “Listen, it’s okay. I understand—my situation and all, it’s a lot to consider. Kissing without commitment—that’s much easier to handle. I’m okay about that.”

“Okay, look,” he said, rubbing his hand over his face, completely unsure what he was going to say next. “It’s a little intimidating, I admit that. Not because there’s anything wrong with having a couple of kids—they’re nice kids. It’s not about you—more about me. Like I should take some time to really consider whether I’m up to handling them. I don’t mean
handling
…you know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean,” she said with a smile. “I understand. And I don’t want you to think I was expecting anything more. I’m being honest.”

“You weren’t? Expecting more?”

She shrugged. “If by some twist of fate we ended up knowing each other longer, much longer, things might have evolved, but we haven’t known each other long and—”

“A few months, Nora. Not like a day…”

“I know,” she said. “I know. I really enjoyed it.”

He leaned back in his chair. “I don’t know what to say. All of a sudden you’re leaving. Without warning.”

“I’m afraid that’s how it is, not really my idea. But I’m grateful, you know? At least I don’t have to be afraid—Jed’s a good man. The more I get to know him, the more I realize how lucky I am that we found each other after all these years. My girls will have a grandfather and I’ve watched them together. He’s good with them. He’s like he was with me. He’s so gentle. He has the patience of a saint.”

“Have you already talked to him about this idea?”

She nodded. “I had to know what I was going to do as soon as possible.”

“Did you ever think about talking to
me?
” he asked.

“Oh, Tom, I couldn’t put that on you. You know—this whole place is so wonderful—long before that notice was tacked to my door, people offered me help. Space. Security. Noah told me to never worry. Adie said she’d take me in, even though she lives in a tiny house and there are three of us. I have no doubt you and Maxie would have been willing to help me, give me a place to stay. But I still have this crazy idea I’m going to somehow make it on my own…”

“But your dad…”

“Is my father and he feels he has a lot to make up for. Not only that, he keeps reminding me that if we’d never been parted, these are the things he’d want to do for me anyway. He tries so hard to convince me it’s acceptable—it’s not extra stuff given out of guilt.” She shook her head. “I just don’t want any more charity if I can help it. I just don’t want to be pitied.”

“Nora,” he said loudly. “I don’t pity you!”

“I didn’t mean you treated me with pity, Tom. I mean I want to build a life for my girls, not rely on someone’s kindness to do it for me. I would, you know. I have—I’ve had to take charity to get by. But trust me, it feels better to stand on my own two feet.”

He was quiet for a moment, then he took a slug of wine. Not a sip but a couple of big swallows. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this,” he said.

“Well, there are still a few days,” she said. “I can’t get out of that little house overnight. Jed is coming tomorrow. He’s bringing me some sturdy boxes. I’ll get us packed up early this week. He’s going to come back, rent a trailer for the furniture in Fortuna and we’ll drive south. I’ll follow him to his house.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

She shook her head. “But I’m going to take a couple of days to say goodbye, to thank people for everything they’ve done to help me. And I’m going to remember this, you know? I’m going to damn sure remember what it’s like to need help and have a good person hold out a hand. Believe me, I’ll pay that back. I might not have the luxury of paying back in Virgin River, but I’m going to be paying back the goodwill.”

“I’m not getting this,” he said. “It’s too fast.”

She started to stand up. “It’s okay, Tom. I know I’ve blindsided you. You’ll get used to the idea.”

“I don’t think so,” he said, also standing. “Sit down—let me get the dinner out of the oven… .”

“Um, if it’s all the same to you, I’m not too hungry.” She slid a hand over her stomach. “Telling you all this had me nervous and kind of scared my appetite away. I still have lots of Maxie’s soup at home.”

“Salad, then. A little something.”

She shook her head. “I think now that it’s out and we had a chance to talk, I’m going to just—”

“No,” he said. He came around the table. “You can’t just go.” And he pulled her to him.

But she put her hands against his chest. “Tom, think about this. You really don’t want to—”

But he pulled her harder against him and covered her mouth in a blistering kiss. No test kisses this time, just the kill. She could taste his desperation and sadly, it matched her own. She hated this at least as much as he did—she had been foolish enough to hope that given time, they might actually come together.

“Don’t leave yet,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Let me do something. Let me feed you. Hold you. Rub your shoulders. Change your oil. Anything, please.”

She looked into his hot eyes; she was almost shaken. “Pedicure?” she asked.

He covered her mouth with his again, moving over her lips with passionate need. He licked open her lips and invaded her mouth and she welcomed him. Her arms went around his neck while his big hands slid down her back to her butt, cupping her and pulling her harder against him. He devoured her mouth and she not only cooperated, she met his fever with her own. It was a long time before he broke away. “Better than a pedicure,” he said softly, making her laugh.

“I think I know what you’re trying to talk me into.”

“Nora, I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll take care of you and you know, I care about you. You know I do. If I just wanted sex, I could find that. I need
you
. I have protection,” he promised.

And so did she. She’d been caught off guard twice; she’d been on the Pill since she started working part-time at the clinic in town. Even though she’d made the excuse that she didn’t want to take chances, what she really hadn’t wanted to risk was her heart. Well, hell, it was too late for that.

She met his lips again, running her fingers through his short hair, kissing him deeply and with promise. “Oh, Tom,” she whispered against his lips. And he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs to his bed.