The Old Fashioned Way (A Homespun Romance) (7 page)

Going into the guest house he decided he needed some aspirin.  A glance at the bed changed his mind.  Taking off his shoes he lay down and drew the covers over his head.  He'd look for that aspirin in a minute.

Abby looked up as Gran entered the store.  She'd just closed the store and begun totaling their sales for the day.  It only took one look at Gran's face to tell her something was wrong.

"What is it?"  Gran didn't panic unless something serious happened.

"It's Daniel.  Agnes took Daniel's laundry over and he didn't answer, so she looked through his bedroom window to see if he was there at all.  He's lying in bed with the covers over his head.  She called to him and he wouldn't answer.  Princess knows something is wrong.  She's scratching on his door as if she wants to get into the guest house. 

Abby frowned.  It did sound strange.  Princess had never scratched on the door of the guest house before.

"Where's the key for the other door?"  Gran asked.

"We can't just barge into his room," Abby protested.  Neither could they leave him like that.

"I'll take full responsibility," Gran's voice was very firm.

Abby fetched the key from the office.  She'd meant to give it to Daniel, but forgotten. 

Gran unlocked the door in the community room.  "Daniel?" she called.

He was lying very still.  Abby watched Gran tug the covers off and placed a hand on Daniel's forehead.  "He's burning up.  He must have caught the flu bug that's going around."

Daniel opened his eyes, and stared at them.  His headache was worse and his throat felt as if it was on fire.  He looked at the bed, and then at Abby and Sarah.  What on earth were they doing here?

"You're sick," Sarah informed him.

"I'm not."  The croak that emerged startled him.  What had happened to his voice? 

"You've got a temperature.  About 104 degrees, I'd say."

Abby bit back a smile at Daniel's expression.  Gran was an expert at reading temperatures `by hand'.

"I'm never sick." 

"Do you have a headache?"

"Yes."

"Aches and pains all over?"

"Yes."

"You're sick."

Abby smiled.  Dr. Davisson had once told Gran she was his only serious competition in Carbon Canyon.  She could diagnose and cure as well as he could and some people preferred her methods.

"Stay in bed," Daniel heard Sarah say.  "We have to get you out of those clothes and into pajamas."

Bustling over to the drawer, she took out a pair.  "We'll soon have you well.  There's nothing to worry about.  Agnes makes these special brews that will have your fever down in no time.  I'll get some balm and rub your chest and back down with it.  Hamish will make you some of his special chicken soup and strawberry jelly."

Abby leaned against the wall.  Gran firmly believed illnesses had to be treated the old fashioned way.  Staying in bed, a light diet, and plenty of fluids.  She didn't believe in twenty-four hour cold medicines and carrying on as usual.  

"Do you need help changing?"

Daniel snatched the pajamas from her.  "No."  He stared at Abby and when she didn't respond to his quick, unspoken plea for help, he said, "I don't want anyone coming in here.  You'll all get the flu from me."

"We've had our flu shots," Sarah said firmly.  "Besides we're not as weak as you young people.  Rushing around, eating fast food, never getting enough sleep...."

Abby slid out of the room quietly.  Once Gran got started on that speech it took a while for her to stop.  It was hard to stop grinning.  Daniel Hawthorn was about to receive the best home nursing there was available.  Whether he would appreciate it was another matter. 

When Daniel awoke Tuesday morning, his first sensation was one of overwhelming relief.  He had no fever.  His temperature had stayed down since last night.  Sarah had told him if it did, he could get up for a little while today.

Determined to shower and dress before she got there, Daniel went into the bathroom.  As he shaved, he thought about the last few days.

Sarah had been serious about taking care of him.  Daniel closed his eyes briefly.  The brews had been very strong.  Sarah had actually stood over him and made him drink it.  As for the chest rubs, the chicken soup and the
Jell-O...it had all been enough to cure him in double quick time.

Daniel's razor paused in mid-air.  He wasn't being entirely fair.  The trio had gone out of their way to take care of him.  Their concern had been genuine.  One or the other of them had sat with him when he wasn't sleeping.  When the fever racked him they had applied cool cloths to his head.  Abby, they'd told him, had taken over running the store, so they would be free to concentrate on him.  She was the only one who hadn't had a flu shot.

"Why are you doing this?" he'd asked Sarah once.

"Because we care about you."

Unlimited caring.  It was a strange thing to get accustomed to.  He understood Abby's love for her grandmother and the caring between her and the others.  But he was a perfect stranger.  Why did they care about him?

His relationship with the trio had changed in some subtle way.  They had taken him in, cared for him.  He felt close to them, in a way he never had with his own grandparents. 

Later that morning, Daniel glanced at his watch impatiently.  He had told Sarah Trenton that the meeting would be at eleven sharp in the community room.  It was now eleven thirty and there was no sign of anyone.  Striding towards the store he paused in front of it. 

Abby had pinned a huge scene with a fireplace painted on it, to one side of the window.  In front of it was a rocking chair.  She was working on arranging the folds of an afghan over the arm.  Daniel stared at the images she was creating.  It was a very good idea for a display.

She wore a teal blue shirt that reached mid-thigh and loose black pants.  He remembered her stopping by twice a day to ask her how he felt.  The trio hadn't let her in past the door.

She saw him and said, "You're feeling better."

"Yes."  He hoped the trio would believe that.

Daniel thought he glimpsed a smile on Abby's face as she bent and picked up a pillow.  It prompted him to say, "I'm not going to drink any more of Sarah's medicine."

Abby couldn't help laughing.  The defiant note in Daniel's voice made him sound like a little boy. 

"It doesn't taste very good, does it?"

"No."  The sight of Abby laughing made Daniel laugh too.  It was obvious she'd had the same brews herself.

"The trio are a formidable nursing crew," Abby chuckled.  "It almost makes one afraid to be ill."

"Those inhalations are enough to scare a cold away," added Daniel.  "What do they put into the water?"

"Eucalyptus leaves." 

The thought of Daniel bent over a bowl of hot water inhaling the vapor, with a heavy towel over his head, was too much.  He must have wished he had never heard of Carbon Canyon, or the Busy Bee.  Abby laughed till there were tears coming out of her eyes.

"Every time I lifted my head, Sarah would say, `Just a few more minutes.'  I haven't sweated so much even in a sauna."  Daniel laughed too.  Now it was over, it did seem funny.  "You keep sweating and they keep saying, `More! More!  This will clear up the congestion in no time.  You young people are so weak.' He sighed. “I can’t believe I did every single thing they told me to."

"Please stop."  Abby held her side.  It hurt so much, but she couldn't stop laughing.

It was good to share laughter with Abby.  Daniel looked at her mouth, wondering what she would say if he kissed her right now. 

Abby knew exactly when humor changed to tension.  The way Daniel was looking at her, sent a chill up her spine.  The last few days she'd told herself she had everything under control.  The last minute proved she had nothing under control.  With one look, Daniel could unsettle her.

"When will you be leaving?"

Daniel's smile disappeared.  His feelings about the trio may have changed, but Abby's determination hadn't diminished. 

"Where's your grandmother?"

Abby looked surprised.  "She's at Vista today.  It's Tuesday."

Daniel didn't know what was special about Tuesdays and Vista.  All he knew was Sarah Trenton's absence was a disruption of his plans. 

"I told her we would have a meeting at eleven sharp."

Abby looked up at him, "Gran couldn't have realized today was Tuesday when you told her about the meeting.  She's absent minded."

Daniel leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.  As long as there was going to be no meeting, he had time to talk.  "Why has she gone to Vista?"

"On Tuesdays, Gran and a group of her friends from Vista volunteer at the soup kitchen organized by Carbon Canyon Church." 

And that, Abby's tone indicated, was that.  Daniel decided his first impression had been right.  It wasn't going to be difficult dealing with Abby Silver.  It was going to be impossible. 

"What about the meeting?"  A trace of impatience showed in his voice. 

"I'm sorry about that.  Maybe we can have it tomorrow morning instead."

Maybe, thought Daniel, if nothing else cropped up.

"The store has to come first," he said grimly, aware that he was more interested in the way Abby's hair looked than the fact a meeting had just been cancelled.   "You have to get your priorities straightened out."

Abby paused and looked at him in silence.  Picking up some odds and ends, she stepped out of the window.  "I told you, you wouldn't be able to handle our affairs.  We have a different lifestyle here."  The calm note in her voice surprised him.  "If you want to return to L.A. we'll understand."

While he was sick he'd thought about returning to Los Angeles, but he'd reached the same conclusion as before.  For his own sake, he had to prove he could practice what he preached.  And he wanted to get to know Abby better. 

Her continued insistence he leave destroyed the last of Daniel's patience.  "I am not having a problem dealing with your affairs, but I could use a little cooperation around here."

"You'll get it," Abby told him. "Tomorrow."

Picking up a wooden rabbit she carried it to the window.

Daniel realized the factor upsetting him the most was that he wasn't in control here.  Logic applied to a situation had always won before.  Here, it didn't stand a chance. 

"This can't go on."

Abby heard him.  "You have to realize we see the store as a means to an end, not a profit making venture.  Gran started it so people her age will have a place to gather, talk, and support each other."

Daniel stared at Abby.  Anger had removed the veil of politeness she normally adopted.  Her green eyes blazed like polished malachite in her flushed face. 

"Growing old isn't easy," she continued.  "Keeping busy helps.  Working on Vista projects bolsters Gran's self-esteem, makes her feel needed.  I know none of this helps the business and you find it hard to understand."

Daniel wondered how long he had been giving that impression.  Just because he expounded ideals in his seminars didn't mean he didn't possess understanding.

Abby's next words took up where his thoughts left off.  "Your talks deal with the black and white aspects of business.  We deal with the grey area of human emotions that, for us, comes first.  The kind of work you do has definite boundaries.  Caring for others has none.  We'll always put people before business."

Before Daniel could say anything, Abby rushed on, "Think about what I've said, and then decide if you still want to complete the week here.  If you don't, we'll understand."

Daniel opened his mouth and closed it again.  Turning on his heel he went out of the store.  He needed time to sort his jumbled thoughts out.  He'd never met anyone as determined to push him out of her life as Abby Silver was.

Half an hour later he lay on his back in Carbon Canyon National Park, and surveyed the sky.  Had he made a mistake in coming here?  Was he making an even greater one by staying on?  Beside him, Princess and Muffy chased each other in the grass.

Thinking a woman could be evaluated like a business project worked with the women he'd known, not with Abby Silver.  He couldn't think of a single thing that would make her look at him in a different light. 

Daniel put a stalk of grass into his mouth and chewed it.  He couldn't leave Carbon Canyon now.  She may not want him, but she wanted the store to do well for the trio's sake.  He'd seen the look on her face whenever Sarah discussed the foreclosure.  Fierce, anxious, yearning.  More than anything Abby wanted to make everything right for her grandmother.  He had to respect that love.  He had to help Abby.

"The grey area of human emotions has no boundaries."

Red tape, business rivalry, ignorance of business methods; he'd dealt with all these.  What he hadn't dealt with was a business that was so closely linked with emotional concerns that he didn't know where one began and the other left off. 

This is a good point to pack and leave, Hawthorn.