Twelve Across (7 page)

So Leah did know Victoria, and well. That ruled out one possible lie but left open another. Even knowing that she would compromise her friendship with Victoria, Leah might have taken it upon herself to find and interview the man who'd once been the heartthrob of every woman between the ages of sixteen and sixty-five. Every woman who watched television, that is. Did Leah watch television7 Even if she d come here in total innocence; wouldn't she recognize him?

Shifting his gaze back to the hearth, Garrick lapsed into silence once again.

He was recalling how worried he d been when he d first arrived in New Hampshire. Each time he d gone into town for supplies, he'd kept his head down, his eyes averted. Each time he'd waited in dread for telling whispers, tiny squeals, the thrust of pen and paper under his nose.

In fact, he d looked different from the man who d graced the television screens of America on a weekly basis for seven years running. His hair was longer, less perfectly styled, and he'd stopped rinsing out the sprinkles of silver that once upon a time he d been sure would detract from his appeal.

The beard had made a difference, too, but in those early months he d worried that sjqarp eyes would see through it to the jaw about which critics had raved. He'd dressed without distinction; wearing the oldest clothes he'd had. Above all, he d prayed that the mere improbability of a onr time mega star living on a mountainside in the middle of nowhere would shield him from discovery.

With the passing of time-during which he wasn't recognized -he d gained qonfidence. He made eye contact. He held his head higher.

Body language. A fascinating thing. He wasn't innocent enough to think that the recognition factor alone had determined the set of his head.

No, he d held his head higher because he felt better about himself. qhe was learning to live with nature, learning to provide for himself, learning to respect himself as a clean-living human being.

Buoyed by that confidence, he turned to Leah. you've come to know Victoria well in a year. You must have spent a lot of time with her. "

I. eah, who'd eyed him steadily during his latest bout of silence, was more prepared for its end this time. "I did: '

"Socially? "

"If you're asking whether I went to her parties, the answer is no : '

"Are you married? "

"No: ' Have you ever been? " It wasdt cnzcial to the point of his investigation, but he was curious.

"Yes: '

"Divorced? "

She nodded.

"Recently? "

"It's been final for two years: '

"Do you date? "

"Do you? "

"I'm asking the questions: ' " That's obvious, but I'd like to know why.

I'm beginning to feel like I'm on a hot seat : ' She sounded hurt. She looked hurt. Garrick surprised ;.

himself by feeling remorse, but he was too close to the an6 ', r' swer he sought to give up. He did make an effort to soften his tone. "Bear with me.

There s a point to all this: '

"Mmm. To make me turn tail and run. Believe me, I would if I could. I know that you don't like the idea of a stranger invading your home, but you're a stranger to me, too, and I'm not so much an invader asa refugee, and if you think I like feeling like a refugee, you're nuts.. : Her voice faded as her eyes began to skip araund the cabin. "Paper and latest and most expensive, rather than waiting for cheaper pencil? "

mass market editions.

Garrick was nonplussed. "What-" He wasn't a pauper, that was for sure.

leah wondered "If I don't write it down I'll forget: where he got the money "Write what down? "

"It must be difficult" came his husky voice. "Finding the he idea-nuts, nutty, nutty as a fruitcake, having bats right words that will fit together, coming up with witty in one s belfry. Perfect for a theme puzzle: She was moving clues: ' her hand, simulating a scribble. "

Paper? " ; It took Leah a minute to realize that he was talking about Bemused, Garrick cocked his head towardqthe kitchen. crossword puzzles.

She had to smile. He faded in and out,

"Second drawer to the left of the sink: but the train of his thought ran along a continuous track.

"It is a challenge, " she admitted.

Within seconds, she was jotting down the phrases she d q " spoken aloud, adding several othen to the list bee ore she ;q " I'd never be able to do it.

straightened. Tearing off the sheet, she folded it and tucked q

"That's okay. I d never be able to lay traps, catch animals and gut them

: She d offered the words in innocence it into her breast pocket, returned the pad and pen to the and was appalled at how critical they sounded. Turning to drawer, then sent him a winsome smile. " Where were we? " qualify them, she lost out to Garrick's quicker tongue.

Garrick didn't try to fight the warm feeling that settled in "Is that what Victoria told you I do? " his chest. "Do you do that a lot? " She said you were a trapper, " I.eah answered with greater "Write down ideas7 Uh-huh. q deference, then added meekly, " I'm afraid the elaboration "You really do make crossword puzzles? " i: , ," q; was my own: "You didn't believe me about that, either7 His expression was guarded.

"What else did Victoria say He moved his head in a way that could have been posi- about me? " tive, negative or sheepish. " I've never really thought about qqqy wl,at I told you bee ore-that you were a friend and people doing it: qould be trusted. To be honest, I was expecting someone a "Someone has to: little-" she shifted a shoulder "-different: ' He considered that for a minute, uttered a quiet, "True, " f He raised one eyebrow in question. then withdrew into his private world again. q

"Older.

Craggier. " Blushing, she looked off across the Wondering how long he'd be gone this time, Leah walked qm, "When Victoria handed me that envelope, I asked her softly toward the bookshelf nearest her.

Its shelves had a if it was a love letter. " wide array of volumes, mostly works of fiction that had "How do you know it wasn't? " Garrick asked evenly. been on best-selling lists in recent years. The books were Come to think of it, Leah didn't know. She recalled Vicpredominantly hardbackeqd, their paper sheaths worn t toria saying something vague about craggy old trappers where they d been held. Both facts were revealing. Not only being nice, but the answer had been far from deeinitive. Her did Garrick read everything he bought, but he bought the q eyes went wide behind her glasses.

To her surprise, he chuckled. "It wasn't. We re just friends: His expression sobered. Propping his elbow on the sofa arm, he pressed his knuckles to his upper lip and mustache Leah was preparing for another silent spell, when he murmured a muffled, " Until now. "

"What do you mean? "

He dropped his hand and took a breath. "Her sending you here. It's beginning to smack of something deliberate: ' Leah searched his face for further thoughts. When he didn't answer immediately, she prodded. " I'm listening: '

"You said that you never went to Victoria's parties. Did you see her in other social contexts? "

"We went out to dinner often: '

"As a foursome-with men? "

"No: '

"Did she ever comment on that? "

"She didn't have to. I know that she has male friends, but she loved Arthur very much and has no desire to remarry. She s never at a loss for an escort when the occasion calls for it: '

"How about you7 Do you date? " he asked, repeating the question that had sparked earlier resistance.

Leah answered in a tone that was firm and final. "Not when I can help it: ' He was unfazed by her resolve, because he was getting closer to his goal.

"Did Victoria have anything to say about that? "

"Oh, yes. She thought I was... working with less than a full deck: Leah grinned at the phrase she had written down moments before, but the grin didn't last. " She was forever trying to fix me up, and I was forqver refusing: ' Garrick nodded and pressed his lips together, then slid farther down on the sofa, until his thick hair rose against its back.

For several more minutes he was lost in thought.

Eventually he took a deep breath and raised disheartened eyes to the rafters. "That, " he said, "was what I was afraid of: ' Not having been privy to his thoughts, Leah didn't follow' What do you mean?

"She s done the same to me more than once: '

"Done what? "

"Tried to fix me up: He held up a hand. " Granted, it's more difficult up here, but that didn't stop her. She s convinced that anyone who ha sri t experienced what she had with Arthur is missing out on life s bounty " His eyes so tight Leah's, and he hesitated for a long moment before speaking' Do you see what I'm getting at? "

With dawning horror, Leah did see. "She did it on purpose : '

"Looks that way"

"She didn't tell me about the fire, but she did tell me about you: '

"Right: ' Closing her eyes, Leah fought a rising anger. "She was so cavalier about my paying rent, wouldn't accept anything beforehand; told me to send her whatever I thought the place was worth: '

"Clever"

"When I asked if the cabin was well equipped, her exact words were, "

When last I saw it, it was: "

" True enough : '

"No wonder she was edgy. "

"Victoria? Edgy? "

"Unusual, I know, but she was. I chalked it up to a latent maternal instinct: She rolled her eyes. " Boy, was I wrong. It was guilt, pure guilt. She actually had the gall to remind me that I woulddt have air-conditioning or a phone, the snake: Muttering the last under her breath, Leah turned her back on Garrick and crossed her arms over her breasts.

That was the moment he came to believe that everything she d told him was the truth. Had she started to shout and pace the floor in anger, he would have wondered. That would have smelled of a script, a soap-opera reaction, lacking subtlety.

But she wasn't shouting or pacing. Hqr anger was betrayqd only by quickened breathing and the rigidity of her stance. From the little he d seen of her, he d judged her to be restrained where her emotions were concerned. Her reaction now was consistent with that impression.

Strangely, Garrick's own anger was less acute than he would have expected.

If he d known beforehand what Victoria had planned, he d have hit the roof.

But he hadn't known, and Leah was already here, and there was something about her self-contained distress that tugged at his heart.

Almost before his eyes, that distress turned to mortification Cheeks a bright red, she cast a harried gqance over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. She had no right to foist me on you: '

"It wasn't your fault-"

"But you should ri t have to be stuck with me: '

"It goes two wayq. you're stuck with me, too: '

"I could have done worse: '

"So could I : ' Unsure of what to make of his agreeable tone, Leah turned back to the bookshelf. It was then that the full measure of her predicament hit her.

She and Garrick had been thrust together for what Victoria had intended to be a romantic spell. But if Victoria had hopeqd for love at first sight, she was going to be disappointed. Leah didn't believe in love at first sight.

She wasn't even sure if she believed in love, q q since it had brought her pain once before, but that was neither here nor there. She didn't know Garrick Rodenhiser.

Talk of love was totally inappropriate.

Attraction at first sight-that, perhaps, was worth considering She could ri t deny that she found Garrick physically appealing. Not even his sprawling pose could detract from his long-limbed grace. His face, his beard, the sturdiness of his shoulders spoke of ruggedness; she d have had to be blind not to see it, and dead not to respond.

And that other attraction-the one spawned by the deep, inner feelings that occasionally escaped from his eyes7 It baffled her.

"I didn't iwant this, " she murmured to her knotted hands.

From the silence came a quieti know: '

"I feel... you must feel... humiliated: ' ' A little awkward. That's all: '

"Here I am in your underwear..

"You can get dressed if you want : ' It was, of course, the wise thing to do. Perhaps, once she was wearing her own clothes again, she d feel less vulnerable , less exposed. Crossing to the dryer, she removed her things and folded them over the crook of her elbow. When she reached for her sweater, though, she Eound it still damp.

"Here: Garrick stood directly behind her, holding out, one of his own sweaters. " Clean and dry. "

She accepted it with a quiet thanks and made her escape q to the bathroom.

He was working at the fireplace when she q. " came out. She suddenly realized that though the fire had gone out during the night, the cabin had stayed warm.

"How do you manage for heat and electricity? " she asked, bracing her hands on the back of the sofa.

He added a final log to the arrangement and reached for a match. "There s a generator out back: '

"And food? If you can't get to the store in this weather.. : '

"I stocked up last week: Sitting back on his heels, he watched the flames take hold. Anyone who's lived through mud season once knows to be prepared.

The freezer is full, and the cabinets. I picked up more fresh stuff a couple of days ago, but I'm afraid the bacon we had Eor breakfast is the last of it for a while: ' He d have had some left for tomorrow if he hadn't had to share. Leah's feelings of guilt remained unexpressed, though; there was nothing more boring than a person who constantly apologized.

Garrick stood and turned to face her, then wished he hadn't. She was wearing his sweater. It was far too large for her, of course, and she d rolled the sleeqves to a proper length, but the way it fell around her shoulders and breasts was far more suggestive than he'd have dreamed.

She looked adorable.

And unsure.

He gestured toward the soea. With a tight smile, she took possession of a corner cushion, drew up her knees and tucked her feet beneath her.

That was when he caught sight of the tear in her slacks.

"Horv s the leg? "

"Okay"

"Did you change the dressing? "