Temporary Father (Welcome To Honesty 1) (10 page)

“I’ve heard of workaholics on TV.” He didn’t say whether he thought it was a good thing or bad.

“I should have called him. He wants to know how you feel about the doctors.”

“Does he?” Eli’s smile broke her heart. She shouldn’t have said anything.

“Here we are.” She hit the blinker and turned into the parking lot.

“Let me get the ticket.” He unlatched his seat belt, leaned across her and plucked the ticket from the machine at her open window.

“Seat belt back on.”

“Do I take this in for validation?” He balanced the ticket on his forehead, but then sighed when Beth refused to move the car. “We’re in the lot. I’m safe.” Finally, he latched the belt again.

“She’s on the twelfth floor. We can cross on the skywalk at the fifth.”

“Okay, but we could go to the basement and then up.”

“We could do that a couple of times and maybe Dr. Lester would close her office for the night before we arrive.”

Worse than that, they ran into Aidan. She sensed Eli’s excitement before she saw Aidan. She looked
up and locked onto a pair of eyes that made her wish she and Eli could stay with him.

“How are you?” he asked Eli.

She looked at the cars passing beneath them, the sky above, the frail-looking metal frame that sheltered them between the medical complex buildings.

“We’re going to see another doc. I’m sick of it,” Eli said.

“How was yesterday’s?”

“A nut,” Beth said without thinking. “I mean he wasn’t right for us.”

“You’re not seeing him again?”

“I think Mom was rude to him.”

“I lost my temper, but I couldn’t help it. How about you, Aidan? Are you all right?”

“I saw the cardiologist my doctor recommended, and he says I can resume normal activities.”

Beth breathed easier, but tried not to show her relief. “You’re going to be okay?” she asked, spoiling it.

He nodded, his eyes bemused.

“Are you leaving?” Eli asked, and he couldn’t be more anxious than she to hear Aidan’s answer.

“I’m not that free. I can run instead of walk and I have permission to start looking at my work. I can see what’s going on with the company from the laptop I just bought, but Van and I already agreed I’d stay in the cottage for a month.”

“A month?” It sounded like such a short time.

“Mom said you were a workaholic.”

Beth blushed even though Aidan only laughed. His husky voice caressed her. If her son weren’t in trouble and Aidan weren’t so temporary, she could have nestled into the sound of his laughter.

“The heart attack taught me a lesson,” Aidan said. “I want some life to go with my work. I keep telling your mom.”

He shouldn’t say things like that in front of her son. She set her hand against Eli’s back. “We’ll be late.”

“If you want to play a game, Aidan,” Eli said, “I’ll bring one down tonight.”

“We’re going to the lodge.” Beth grabbed at the first excuse. “You won’t be home in time to play.”

Aidan was a little smoother. “Sorry about that,” he said. “We’ll have to work something out for when your mom can spare you.”

“Aww,” Eli said, “I never have anyone to play with at Uncle Van’s.”

“All the more reason to get your house built, huh?” Aidan chucked Eli’s forearm. “Maybe I’ll drop by to see the progress.”

“Good,” Eli said. “See you around, Aidan.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Aidan passed them, leaving a whiff of soap and sunshine that was fast becoming Beth’s favorite scent. She tore her gaze away from his back and bumped into Eli’s indignant stare. For a second, she felt as if she were the child.

“Did you tell Aidan to stay away from us? Why are you making sure he won’t hang around?”

They’d have plenty to discuss with this Dr. Lester. Like how to hide being shifty when she was trying to save her son from disappointment and loneliness.

“I didn’t say anything to Aidan.” She glanced at her watch—it wasn’t there, but she acted as if she’d seen a fast-moving clock. “We’re going to be so late.”

“I’m mad at you, Mom.”

“At least you don’t have a hard time saying so.” She hurried him the rest of the way across the skywalk and into the nearest elevator, prepared to confess everything to Dr. Lester after the woman talked to Eli.

They didn’t have to wait long outside the office. They’d barely sat in plush blue chairs when they were called.

A young woman who didn’t look at Eli funny showed them back to a bright, airy office, bounded on one wall by windows. Another woman stood and came around her desk. She led the way to a seating arrangement of two squat sofas, and she sat beside Eli.

“I’m Dr. Lester.”

“I’m Eli. You don’t have to be all nice.”

“It’s habit.” She picked up a pillow from behind her back and fluffed it, as if she were at home. “How are you?” she asked.

“I don’t know why I have to be here.”

She touched the folder on her coffee table. “Brent gave me some notes so I’d know a little bit about you.” She glanced at Beth. “You’ve known Brent since you were both children?”

Beth nodded, her faith a little dented after yesterday. “He explained the problems Eli’s having?”

“Yes, but I’d like to hear what Eli thinks. Brent may not know what Eli considers most important.”

Beth sat back in her chair, trying not to burst into the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Dr. Lester was treating Eli as a mature boy, not a mollycoddled baby. They might just stand a chance.

Eli appeared to disagree. He shut down as if he didn’t care about feeling anything at all, much less normal. Getting information from him was like pulling one of those monster trucks he liked so much.

“If you had to guess, Eli, why would you say you were here?”

“I’m sad,” he said, “and lately, I’m angry a lot, but my mom’s making me see doctors all over the place.” He looked a little shamefaced. Obviously, Beth wouldn’t have forgotten their conversation about seeing anyone who could make him feel better.

“Do you think you might be overreacting, Mrs. Tully?”

“No, but I don’t mind if Eli does as long as we’re getting him help.”

“You don’t mind being wrong?”

Why would that matter? “I just want my son to be all right.”

“Good.” She chatted with Eli some more, about school and his old friends, his new friends and his impatience with living with Van. “I think we have a nice start.” Her serenity eased the stiffness in Beth’s spine. “Try to stop feeling anxious, both of you. We’ll work together, and everything will be all right again.”

Eli looked back at her, silent. Beth wished he’d say something. He didn’t. Dr. Lester nodded.

“Eli, may I have a moment with your mother?”

Eli trudged out of the room, closing the door.

“I’m never sure what he’s thinking these days,” Beth said, “but I’d like to tell you what he did the night before last.” Knowing they weren’t going to see him anymore, she hadn’t mentioned the garage episode to Dr. Drayton, but she described it to Dr. Lester.

“You don’t think he was trying to find the courage to harm himself?”

“No, because of our dog. He loves her too much to hurt her. I wish he loved himself as much.”

“You still need to keep a good eye on him. I’d like to have another word with him before you go.”

Beth nodded. “Do you think you’ll be able to help if he won’t talk?”

“This was our first meeting. He may be reluctant to talk with you in the room. Boys his age are often unwilling to share their deepest feelings with their mothers.” Dr. Lester opened the folder and ran her
finger down the first page. “Brent tells me your ex-husband is not overly involved with Eli?”

Beth hardly knew how to answer.

The doctor studied her notes again. “I understand, but maybe we could persuade him to visit just once, so I can see how they respond to each other.”

Beth picked up her purse. “I’ll try, but I’m sorry I can’t promise to get him here without a cop and some handcuffs.”

“It happens that way. Does Eli realize his father is—”

“I’m not sure what Eli thinks about Campbell. He hasn’t asked me much about his dad.”

Dr. Lester stood and Beth followed. “Mrs. Tully, your son probably knows more than he’s saying.”

“I guess I’ve been trying not to notice.”

“Human nature, but you should also stop worrying.” She walked with Beth toward the door. “It affects Eli. You’re doing the right thing for your son, and it won’t harm anyone if we all talk together for the first few visits. I’ll see Eli first and then I’ll ask you in. You talk to him and if he’s amenable, call back and make an appointment.”

“I feel lucky we’ve found you, though Eli does have the final say. I imagine Brent told you he gave us a list of several names. We still have one more appointment next Monday, and then I’ll get back to you with Eli’s decision.”

“Sounds good. If you call, make an appointment with my receptionist and we’ll get started.”

Dr. Lester leaned around the door. “Can I see you a second more, Eli?”

He strolled past Beth, intent on remaining untouchable. The doctor closed her door.

Beth sat in one of the blue chairs. She took out her phone and checked for messages. There were none. She stared at her watch. The office door remained closed. She went to the window and counted the cars in the lot below. Fifteen and a Vespa.

The door finally opened again. Dr. Lester held it with her hand above Eli’s head as he came out. “Nice meeting you.”

He nodded, but his face was a thundercloud. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Dr. Lester lifted a beckoning hand to a man in the corner of her waiting room. Beth collected Eli and they left the office. Beth closed the door before she spoke.

“Wasn’t she perfect?”

“Perfect?” He rolled his eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t fly right out of his head. “No, Mom, she wasn’t perfect. She was you.”

T
HEY DROVE
from the medical center to the lodge. For once, Beth was the one who needed physical work, and she needed it bad. She parked in her usual spot, down the hill from where her old front door used to stand.

“Coming up?” she asked Eli.

“I’ve got a headache, Mom. And a stomachache.”

“And you don’t want to talk to me about the doctor. I get it. In fact, I don’t want to talk, either.” She got out and shut the car door with more enthusiasm than strictly necessary. Immediately, hip-hop began to vibrate through the whole vehicle. It didn’t seem to add to Eli’s suffering.

Muttering about the unfairness of allowing one’s adolescent son a say in his own therapist, Beth climbed the hill to the throng of men crowded around the open wound of her basement. Sam was in the gaping hole, hammering the last few nails into the last of the cement forms.

“Hey, Beth.”

“Trey.” She hugged the man who came out of
the crowd. “Good to see you. Thanks for coming back.”

“I’m glad to help. Sam gave us a call, said if we were off duty again, we could save you some money if we built forms.”

“I should have been here, too.”

“No.” He hitched his chin toward the rocking car. “Ann told me you had some appointments. How’s that going?”

She’d just as soon Eli’s business not travel through town. “How did she hear?”

“She heard you all saw Brent late one night and he referred you.”

“Someone in his office needs to be fired.” He looked affronted and she took it back. “I’m sorry. I don’t want anyone thinking something’s wrong with Eli.”

“Especially not his friends. Don’t worry.”

“People keep saying that to me today.”

“What are you two whispering about up there?” Sam asked. “You don’t like the forms, Beth?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve rarely seen a more exquisite sight.” She leaned in. “How are you going to pour the cement? The truck won’t get this close, will it?”

“We have the equipment, madam, and if this sun stays with us, we’ll have a basement by nightfall.”

“And my gratitude for the rest of our lives.”

“Hear that, guys?” He took a last whack with the hammer and lifted his hand. Jim grabbed it and Sam
walked up the wall with his help. He dropped the hammer on a tarp and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m going to check on the truck, but it should be here any second. You guys can go now,” he said.

One by one, the other men said their goodbyes, waving at Eli as they walked past him. Trey nudged Beth as he started down the hill. “Why don’t I take him with me? The other guys are skating again today.”

Beth eyed her son. “I don’t know. He said he was feeling punky.”

“Who wouldn’t be? Give him a break.”

“If you’re sure you don’t mind. I’ll call Ann to find out when I can pick him up.”

“Why not let him stay the night?”

“Thanks, Trey.” She squeezed his forearm. “But I don’t need a break, and I’d worry about him. When the cops called you at 3:00 a.m., you’d look out your window and find me lurking in the yard.”

Trey brushed away a bee, drawn to sweat and the new life of spring. “Think about it. Eli’s always welcome with us, and we’d remind him he has friends.”

“Maybe you’re right. I guess he can go if he feels all right.”

Trey went down the hill and knocked on the car window. Eli put it down. He listened to whatever Trey said and then leaned out.

“It’s okay, Mom?”

“Sure, if you feel all right.”

“I’m great.” He shut the window and clambered out of the car. He got so excited he ran to catch up with his friend’s father, but then U-turned back to slam the door shut.

“What’s wrong with Eli?” Sam asked, putting his phone away.

“A stomachache, he said, but he seems better.” They shared a wry grin. “Where’s the truck?”

“Stuck at a red light at the courthouse. You don’t have to wait. You can’t help with this.”

“I want to see, Sam. Finally, we’re moving forward.”

“Speaking of which, when are the framers set to come?”

“I haven’t scheduled them, since we didn’t know about the basement.”

“Because the weather’s been damp, set them up for the morning after tomorrow.” All around them, the sky was dark, and the air so moist it curled Beth’s hair. Sam dropped his arm across her shoulder. “Go home and try to schedule all your contractors. We’ll finish quicker here if we don’t have to worry about the home owner falling in.”

“Funny, Sam.”

“You won’t be laughing when you find you can’t get a framing crew for another month. Think how much building you’ve seen around town.”

“And in the neighborhoods.” She opened her purse and felt around for her keys. “What was I thinking?”

Halfway to the car, she remembered her keys
were in the ignition. Else, the hip-hop couldn’t have been rocking her own neighborhood. “Oh, no.”

She ran the last few yards, skidding down the hill to thud into the side of her car. Sure enough, the keys were dangling from the ignition, on a leather plait Eli had made for her in Cub Scouts. She yanked his door handle, grunting.

It didn’t open. Her door. She ran around the old Ford.

Sadly, she’d fallen into the habit last fall of not locking her doors. She’d concentrated so much lately on locking them that she tended to hit the locks when she got out. She couldn’t blame Eli for doing the same thing.

“Are your keys inside?” Sam asked. “I have a hammer.”

She tried to laugh, pushing sweaty hair out of her eyes. “Can you believe this?”

“You’re having a bad day?”

“A little disappointing, and I definitely can’t afford a locksmith.”

“Don’t you have an extra key at Van’s?”

“Thanks for reminding me.” She grabbed her phone, lodged in her jeans pocket. Just above the number for Van’s house was the number for Van’s cottage.

Locking keys in a car was hardly tidy, and Mrs. Carleton wouldn’t approve.

Nevertheless, she dialed the house. Mrs. Carleton answered on the first ring.

“This is Beth.”

“So I saw on that caller ID thing.”

“Mrs. Carleton, I’ve locked my keys in the car.” No doubt the other woman was shaking her head with much despair. “I hate to put you out, but would you mind bringing me the spare?”

“I’d do it right away, but my car’s in the shop. I came to work in a taxi.”

“A taxi?” Thunder rumbled overhead. Beth peered up. No rain, please. No rain.

“Don’t worry,” Sam said. “It’s only thunder. There’s no rain in the forecast.”

At the same time, Mrs. Carleton went on. “What if I call the cottage? That nice man down there might bring it.”

“I don’t think—”

“Nonsense. I’ll give him this number and have him call you if he can come.” She hung up, taking matters into her own hands.

Aidan called within seconds. Beth choked out his name, overly aware of Sam at her side.

“It’s Beth,” she said, flustered as if she’d just been kissed.

“I called you,” he said.

“Oh, yeah. I have a huge favor to ask.”

The cement mixer rumbled up the lane. Its driver shifted gears.

“I can’t hear you, Aidan. Just a second,” Beth said. The truck brushed honeysuckle, and the smell wafted by. The truck made a turn up the ragged driveway and
eventually came to a halt. “Aidan? Are you still there?”

“Mrs. Carleton told me you’d locked your keys in. I’m just calling before I go pick up the spare. Are you both okay, other than not being able to get in the car? I heard thunder.”

“We’re fine, and the weatherman just told me we’re not expecting rain.” His concern felt so good she couldn’t afford to get used to it.

“Where are you?”

“That’s the imposition. I’m at the lodge.”

“I’ve been going crazy, stuck in this house—however nice it is. You’re giving me an excuse to get out.”

“Thanks, Aidan.” Beth closed her phone and put it back in her pocket and felt silly for being excited. Sam had already gone back up the hill. She climbed up, too.

The cement mixer roared. No one spoke as the forms filled. She let herself imagine the new lodge. It would be as austere as ever since she’d hadn’t received the extra money to install a few luxuries, but she couldn’t wait to open her doors again.

“That housekeeper of Van’s is scary.” Sam all but yelled in her ear.

“Terrifying, but I think she has a soft center.”

“God forbid I should be around her long enough to stumble across it. I’m telling you my children turn the other way in the grocery store when we run into her.”

“That’s not nice, Sam.” Unexpectedly, the
cement mixer shut down when she was in midsentence. Sam’s assistant and the driver turned.

“What are you doing to Beth, Sam?”

She laughed and so did he. The men joined in until the cement mixer kicked back on.

Beth waved at Sam to get his attention. “Thanks for everything.”

“I’ll call you when we finish—let you know how things stand before I go home.”

“Are you sure I shouldn’t stay?”

“We’re fine without your direction. You’ve seen where we’re pouring. Everything else is gravity.”

She leaned against her car, far enough away that she could only see the men from the waist up. Distance also buffered the noise.

Soon, a car turned into the lane between the budding Bradford pears. Aidan.

The last time they’d been together without Eli as an audience, she’d been in his arms.

He had no idea how she wanted to be with him again. To forget they came from different worlds, that his wanting to be with her and Eli might have more to do with guilt over his former wife. Needing him was more precious to her because she hadn’t expected to feel so much for any man. It was like growing up instead of playing at the marriage she’d endured.

He parked behind her and got out, dangling the key from one finger. “Mrs. Carleton looked a bit put out. You should let her cool off.”

“You’re reading her wrong. She suggested
calling you.” Beth took the key and put it in her door, as if it might not fit. Anything to hide the way he made her tremble.

The lock opened perfectly.

“Thanks,” she said. “I’m grateful.”

“I can imagine.” He glanced toward the building site. “How’s it going?”

“They’re pouring the basement. In three months I’ll be back in business.”

“Three months? That’s not long.”

“It’s not going to be a big house. A room for me and one for Eli, and four more for desperate fishermen.”

“Only four? And why desperate?”

“I couldn’t afford to build a larger house.” She stared intently at the scarred hillside. “I was hoping to add extras, a hot tub in the back, more family friendly furniture in the rooms, frills here and there to make it cozy for wives and children.”

“Why?” A businessman, he couldn’t avoid being interested. He craned to see what went on above them. “You didn’t have those things before, but the place worked for you?”

“I held my own, but we had men who came strictly for the fishing. I hoped to attract their families for vacations. A week’s stay in lovely Virginia, however backwoods,” she said, lifting her voice over a new load of cement, “pays me better than a long weekend with a bunch of smelly guys talking up their favorite bait.”

“Why can’t women be happy with us the way we are?”

“You take fishing breaks?”

“I haven’t before.” He nodded toward the men and the machines on the hill. “You won’t invite me up to see?”

Not a chance. Every time she saw him, she craved more time with him. While he tried for a glimpse of her new basement, she gave in to temptation, checking out his jeans and white shirt and the hint of muscle underneath.

His smile, wide and somehow soft, made her feel vulnerable. “If you look at me like that, telling me to go away won’t work.”

Why pretend he was wrong? “Sorry. I should go. I have to schedule the framers and—”

“Have you eaten lunch? Come out with me.”

“Are you kidding? Everyone who sees us will tell everyone they know, and then those people will tell their friends, and before you know it, they’ll have you living here and I’ll be getting the broadest hints that you’re way out of my league. Worst of all, Eli will start assuming you’ll be around.”

“What the hell is that out of your league crap?”

She preened a little, sliding her hands over her hips. “It sounds nice the way you put it, but as much as I love living here, that’s how people would see you and me together.”

“You paint an attractive picture of small-town life.”

“I know my own friends.”

“Friends?”

“They’d mean well.” She waved a hand toward Sam. “And I’m feeling the same about Eli. He likes hanging out with you. The male attention is good for him, but you’re a visitor.”

“I keep trying to tell you I like it here,” he said, “except for the boredom factor of not being able to do the things I want to. That wouldn’t always be a problem.”

“I can’t risk a relationship right now.”

“Even I see this isn’t the time to discuss it,” he said, “but why do you assume the worst?”

Because it had taken her years to assume the worst about Campbell? She didn’t intend to make another mindless decision about a good-looking man.

“I can’t, Aidan. Please, let’s talk about something else. Or better yet, get going.”

He chose a change of subject. “Why can’t you afford to add luxury to your lodge? I don’t see that many guys going on vacation without their wives and children, and you might bring in more paying customers.”

“We had a steady business, but it wasn’t enough for the loan I wanted.” Aidan was still recovering. And now, besides not wanting to kill him, she’d also prefer he didn’t think she was angling for an investment. “I still think families are the way to go.”

“But?”

“But it’s not your problem.”

“I’m curious.” He took her hand. “Call it a personality quirk.”

His fingers around hers suggested other ways to touch. She couldn’t think.

“Beth?”

“My husband was supposed to pay the insurance premium—our house insurance—according to the divorce decree. The company that held the policy didn’t tell me when he stopped paying, and we weren’t covered when the house burned.” She tugged gently, instinctively wanting to stand away from him, on her own.