TOML SW 2015-04-09 (16 page)

What was it about this town that grabbed him and refused to let him go? All he wanted to do was return to his own life and leave this wretched place behind.

He climbed out of his car and slammed the door, then pulled out his cell phone and called AAA.

~~~

The red-headed bartender put a coaster in front of him. With a deeply scooped t-shirt clinging to her curves, she looked even more willing than she had the first time he’d met her.

“I thought you were just passing through,” she said with a smile.

“My car wanted to stay more than I did.” He’d had the tow truck drop him back in town and called the B&B to get a room for the night. But after all that had transpired today, he needed to unwind before he went there.

That was a lie.

He was thinking about Tori, and the bar was as close to her house as he could get without knocking on her door.

The bartender leaned over the bar. “I think your car has the right idea.”

Trouble. That’s what she was. He’d come here for a few hours to forget his, not to make any more.

No, he’d leave stunts like that to Tori and Gabe.

He ordered a whiskey straight up, deciding against the food he’d pretended he wanted when he walked in here, and settled back against the seat. The television was on and he stared at it, though he wasn’t paying attention to anything more than the colors on the screen.

He stayed like that through two more drinks as the bartender kept them coming. He didn’t even notice the people around him until he heard a familiar voice say, “You’re a man. Let me ask you something.”

Melanie was two barstools down, a pint of amber-colored beer in front of her. This town didn’t offer much in the way of solitude, that was for sure.

“I’m not falling for that one again, Mel.”

She picked up her beer and settled on the barstool next to him. “I thought you left.”

“I did. Now I’m back. You always go to bars by yourself?”

She smiled sweetly. “Sometimes I do. I like the liquor and the conversation. I just got off work, and Tori’s going to be on the news in a minute to give the last clue to the treasure hunt. She doesn’t have a TV, and this is closer than my place.”

He’d forgotten. “The festival’s tomorrow.”

Melanie nodded. “Thank goodness. I think we all need things to quiet down around here for a while. Now how about you tell me why you’ve got such a long face?”

“If I answered that question, I’d have to pay you by the hour.”

“I’m a good listener.” She raised her glass. “Liquor and conversation.”

“That’s beer, not liquor.”

“Let’s not squabble.” She gestured toward the TV. “The news is coming on.”

They went right from the station logo to a shot of Tori holding a scroll of paper tied with a ribbon. Jed felt like someone punched him in the gut, just looking at her. The newscaster’s voice could be heard over the image.

“We know you’re all anxiously awaiting the final clue in the hunt for Tori’s Treasures, and we’ll get to that in just a minute, but first up we have John with what’s happening on the national scene.” The image faded to a male newscaster.

Jed realized he was gritting his teeth.

Melanie opened a big leather purse and took out a folded sheet of paper. “You playing?” she asked.

“What, the treasure hunt?”

“Of course. I think I’m doing pretty well. I’m about ninety percent sure I got all the clues right, so far.”

“So there’s only a ten percent chance you’re completely wrong.”

“Right.” She smiled. “Come on, it’s fun. I wrote down all the clues on the back.”

“Didn’t Tori tell you where she hid the treasure?”

“Oh, no. She knows she can’t trust me to keep a secret.” She laughed.

Jed finished his whiskey and signaled the bartender for another. He noticed a man down the bar had out a treasure map, just like Melanie. He turned and looked around the restaurant, seeing at least a dozen people waiting with their treasure maps for the final clue.

She did it. She really did it.

Maybe she’ll go out celebrating with Gabe tonight.

The bartender brought his drink and Jed took a long sip. He felt Melanie’s eyes on him and met her with a challenging stare. “What?”

“You got it bad, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Love.”

He scoffed. “Definitely not.”

“Something happen between you and Tori?”

He thought of Tori’s naked, willing body…

Melanie shook her head. “Not that. I know all about that. I mean later. Did y’all get in a fight or something?”

“She kissed my brother.”

She gasped dramatically. “No way.”

“Kissing and hugging, walking arm-in-arm. It was very sweet. Touching, even.”

“I don’t believe it. She’s not in love with Gabe, she’s in love with you.”

“Maybe it’s not love. Maybe it’s just lust. Maybe she wants to finish what they started ten years ago.”

“Tori’s not like that. You know her better than that.”

He put up his hands. “I don’t know anything about her.”

“That is not true.” She clucked her tongue. “What a disappointment you’re turning out to be.”

“Me?” He was incredulous. “I’m the only honest person in town, the only one who doesn’t have some kind of ulterior motive.”

“I had high hopes for you. But any man who thinks my Tori would go whoring around with his brother, doesn’t deserve to have her by his side, anyway.”

Tori came back on the screen and slipped the ribbon off the paper scroll.

Melanie turned to Jed. “Hush now, here we go.”

Tori cleared her throat.

~~~

Pearls glow like moonlight, as if from within

Long prized for their beauty these baubles have been

Like beacons that show the way home in the night

Cross slow moving waters with far reaching sight

A fool cannot tell true treasures from fakes

A wren from an eagle, a pond from a lake

And so it has been since the first dawn of time

Not all can see when love’s genuine

~~~

Jed walked along the winding road, barely distinguishable from the grass in the darkness of night. Melanie had walked with him the first half a mile, until she went in one direction to head toward her mother’s house and he continued on toward Tori’s place.

He didn’t know what he would say to her, he only knew Melanie was right. He needed to ask Tori what happened between her and Gabe, not assume the worst without even confronting her.

Maybe she’s not even home.

“Oh, man,” he mumbled under his breath. “I’m about to make a serious ass out of myself, aren’t I?”

He rounded a bend in the road and the old Victorian came into view. “I love that house,” he said out loud. “Crazy old creaky house. Probably haunted, that house.”

A light burned in a second floor window.

It was late, and he wondered what she was doing. He kept his eyes trained on the window as he walked, looking for a glimpse of her.

The road was steeper now, and his breath came in little pants, making tiny clouds in the late summer air. What did he think he was going to say to her, anyway? Showing up on her doorstep late at night to ask if she was in love with his brother.

“Please don’t be in love with my brother, okay, Tori? You can do that. Mel says you love me. She seems pretty sure of herself, though I swear, that broad could convince a sailor he’s sitting on dry land.”

A movement in the window caught his attention. Tori stood by her work desk in plaid pajamas.

He smiled. “Now you’ve just got to be alone, and we’re all set.”

He crossed the parking lot first, pleased to see it was empty, then walked up the front porch steps and rang the bell.

He heard a window open upstairs. “Who is it?” she yelled down.

“Jed.”

The window closed, and he saw her come downstairs in the dimly lit shop. She opened the door and stepped outside. “I thought you went back to the city.” She smelled like flowers and clean laundry.

“Can we sit?” he asked. They moved to the steps and sat down. “I was going to have lunch with Gabe today before I hit the road, but when I swung by the bed and breakfast to pick him up, I saw the two of you together.”

She raised her chin and crossed her arms, but said nothing.

Jed sighed. “You were hugging, and kissing.”

“One kiss.”

“One kiss, then.” A deep sadness settled in his chest as the silence stretched out between them. She wasn’t denying anything. She wasn’t telling him he had it all wrong, that it was him she really cared for. It felt like his heart had stopped beating.

“Tori, is that all you have to say?”

She shook her head. “No, it isn’t. I kissed your brother on the cheek because he’s dear to me, and he is a good friend. I made love to you because I love you.”

Jed leaned back.

“And you can’t even handle hearing those words, can you? Well, it’s true. I love you, Jed.” She stood up. “But I think you should go. I think you should leave Moon Lake and go back to your life in the city, and forget all about me. Because I want a man who knows that he loves me, who treasures that feeling and screams it from the rooftops for everyone to hear, who knows I could never go after his brother, and who doesn’t need a few drinks to get up the nerve to come knock on my door. And that’s just not you, is it?”

He rubbed his hand over his jaw.

“And it’s never going to be you. Goodnight, Jed. I wish you well. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish my speech for the festival tomorrow.” She turned and walked back into the house, bolting the door behind her.

~~~

Chapter 12

“You sent him away?” Melanie said incredulously. “What the heck did you do that for?”

Tori unpacked boxes of angel figurines and set them on the counter. “Because he doesn’t love me.”

“Sure he does, girl, are you blind?”

“I know he feels something for me, but he doesn’t want to feel anything for me. He’d sooner die than say admit it. Does that make sense?”

“You’re splitting hairs.” Melanie shook her head. “When I saw him last night, he was like a little lost puppy dog, wondering if you were interested in his brother.”

“See? Like that. Come on, how could you be around me, have sex with me, and wonder if I have feelings for somebody else? He doesn’t listen to himself. He doesn’t trust our feelings for each other. He’s like a passenger in our relationship, and I’m the driver.”

“There are worse things in life, sweetie.”

“Well, I don’t want to be the driver. I want a partner, not some dead weight I’ve got to drag around behind me.”

“He’s a millionaire entrepreneur, not a cadaver.”

Tori rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m done.”
 

She hoped she sounded as sure as she wanted to be. She’d stayed awake for hours after Jed stopped by last night, crying into her pillow for the man she’d sent away. It was the right move. It was the only move. But she didn’t have to like it.

She checked her watch. “I’ve got to get going. The festival starts in an hour.”

“Do you think anyone’s found the treasure yet?”

“My spy called an hour ago. Someone found it.”

“Did they say who?”

“A man.”

Melanie popped open a diet soda. “So, that’s it then. It’s over.”

“After my speech and the press conference at the festival, yes.”

Melanie frowned. “I’m really sorry it didn’t go as well as you wanted, sweetie.”

Tori began breaking down the small paperboard boxes. “Some dreams aren’t meant to be, no matter how much you want them to work out.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Sell the house. Settle up the debts I can manage. I’ll have to finance the rest and find another job.” She looked at her best friend, touched that Melanie had been there through it all. “What about you?”

“Oh, gosh.” She chuckled. “Don’t worry about me, honey. I’ve been taking some horticulture classes online. I think I’d like to work outdoors with the plants and the sunshine.”

“That’s great, Mel. I had no idea.”

“Would you believe, I didn’t want you to feel bad that I wanted out of the jewelry business?”

Tori went over and hugged Melanie. “I love you, Mel.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

~~~

Tori remembered coming to the Grape Festival when she was a child, helping her parents run the booth for the vineyard, handing out cups for tastings and participating in the grape stomping competition that stained her feet a deep purple for days.

It had always been one of her favorite events, and she wondered if her disappointment today would forever taint the festival in her mind.