Читать книгу: «To Love Again», страница 3

Cindy popped her head into the kitchen where Laura was consulting on the placement of dishes. “We’ll have the beds put together in a few minutes if you want to come up and tell us where to position them.”

“What? How?”

“I called my husband, Flynn. I knew he’d make sure the beds were put together right. I’m pretty handy, but I’d hate to try assembling them and have somebody crash in the middle of the night.”

Laura pushed the hair off her forehead. “That would have been an initiation to the new house.”

“I like your spirit!”

That wasn’t something Laura had heard very often. Encouraged, she headed upstairs with Cindy. In Gregg’s room, Flynn, a lean, handsome man, had assembled the bed and was helping Gregg with his computer.

He grinned at her, and she immediately liked the tall man with the ready smile.

“Mom, Flynn makes software programs,” Gregg announced.

“That’s great, sweetie. Hello, and thank you for coming and doing this.”

“Always glad to help new friends.”

Together they quickly figured out where the beds in her bedroom and Gregg’s should go. Kirsten’s took longer.

“I don’t like it there.” Kirsten frowned as they pushed the bed beneath the wide window.

Laura sighed. They’d already moved the bed three times. “We’re running out of places to put it. We can always rearrange later.”

Kirsten’s room had a dormer ceiling, resulting in angled walls. Although architecturally interesting, it made arranging furniture difficult.

Kirsten’s face drooped. “It’s a pokey room.”

“You think so?” Cindy asked. “I guess I’m the weird one, then. This is my favorite room in the house. Before I got married, I lived in a Victorian quite a bit like this one. And it was the interesting rooms like this one that convinced me to live there. I can just picture willowy curtains—and this fabulous window seat, well…I always felt it was so private. I could curl up with a book or music and it was a secret nook, all mine.”

Kirsten looked over at the window seat. “I guess so.”

“I plan to make cushions for it when you decide on your color scheme,” Laura added.

They repositioned the bed one last time and then started on the other pieces. It was especially helpful to have Flynn’s brawn to move the furniture into place. The room looked pretty well put together when they were done. She had hoped by making the room special, it might help to break down Kirsten’s defenses.

“What now?” Flynn asked.

“Aren’t we keeping you from your work?”

Flynn grinned. “One of the bonuses of being boss.”

“We need to make sure we have all the upstairs boxes actually upstairs,” Cindy told him.

“Aye, aye.” He smiled. “Boss at work, that is.”

“Pooh.” Cindy’s red hair seemed to crackle in the outpouring of sunlight from the windows. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s hardly henpecked. Do you know where the boxes with the sheets are?”

Laura felt so inept. “Not really.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll find them. I want to make sure Flynn finds all the boxes that need to come up anyway.”

Shaking her head at the resourcefulness of these women, Laura headed back downstairs. At noon, the doorbell rang. Although Laura had forgotten to plan for lunch, the women hadn’t. Someone had ordered sandwiches—made with homemade bread—from the café down the street, along with soup, salad and brownies.

Even Kirsten relaxed as everyone in the house stopped to eat. The women knew each other so well, by the time lunch was over, the place rang with their laughter.

Laura learned that Katherine was the pastor of the Community Church. She had married her husband, Michael, after moving to Rosewood. Cindy was her best friend and she had married Flynn after the death of her sister—then his wife and mother of his triplets.

Grace had survived a horrific car accident that required numerous surgeries. Which was how she had met her husband, Noah, the finest surgeon in the area. But then, Grace was biased.

Emma had come to Rosewood through the witness protection program. Fortunately, the man who was stalking her had been caught and now was in prison for life. Even more fortunately, she had met her husband in Rosewood— Seth, the man who had refurbished this house.

And Leah had come to Rosewood from Los Angeles, in search of her child, who had been abducted by his father as an infant. Now, she and her son were reunited, and she was married to the man who had loved the boy as his own. They were expecting another child in six months.

Laura wanted to confide her own past, but she couldn’t. Everything she had ever confided to Jerry had been turned around on her, more ammunition for him to belittle her with. Besides, her situation was so humiliating. It seemed as if she’d been ashamed all her life. From childhood when she couldn’t invite friends over because of her parents’ fighting.

Cindy stood and stretched. “If I eat another brownie, I’m going to bust.”

“Me, too.” Katherine began gathering empty paper plates.

By the time evening rolled around, the breakfast table was in place in its nook, all the boxes that had been stacked there previously now distributed appropriately. All the bedrooms were set up, bed linens and blankets on each bed, and towels were stacked neatly in the bathroom. Dishes, glasses, and pots and pans were put away in the kitchen cabinets.

As the women prepared to leave, they gave Laura a hug, and again she felt close to tears. Ridiculous, she told herself. More emotional than she’d felt since the death of her husband, since finding out about her own untenable situation.

“Thank you all so much. I don’t know what to say.”

“We’re glad we could be here for you,” Katherine murmured.

Emma shifted her purse to her shoulder. “And I’m supposed to tell you that Annie’s bringing dinner.”

“But, she’s already done so much—”

“Don’t fight it,” Leah advised, leaning over to whisper. “She’s my best friend and a definite keeper.”

As Laura closed the door behind them, she finally gave in to tears.

“Mom?” Kirsten’s voice wavered behind her.

Laura quickly wiped her cheeks. “Yes, sweetie?”

Kirsten stared at her for a moment. “Gregg’s hungry.”

“Annie’s bringing dinner over. Isn’t that thoughtful?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

But Laura had seen a crack in Kirsten’s rocky facade. It was a start. Now she just had to work on Paul. And pretend she had the courage she had lost so long ago.

Chapter Three

“You moved here?” Astonished, Paul got up from behind his desk, staring at her. Only a nut would pack up her children and move to a strange town on a whim. “What did you do with your house? You didn’t leave it empty, did you?”

“Of course n—”

“You know you’re supposed to consult with me before you make these decisions. That’s why Jerry left the plans in place—to protect you and the children.” He perched on the edge of the desk. “What were you thinking? Just hire movers and…Hey! Where’d you get the money to move?”

“You told me you couldn’t teach me how to flip houses since I was living in Houston, so that left me one option—to move here.” She edged back in the chair. “I rented a house over on Elm Street that I can afford on my allowance, then went back to Houston and leased out the house. And I had an estate sale to raise the money for moving costs. That and I used a bargain mover.”

He pictured her selling everything Jerry had accumulated over his lifetime and groaned. An estate sale? In the short time since he had seen her it had to be a giveaway sale. And no telling what kind of people she had rented the house to. But she had him there. He wasn’t sure he could interfere with that decision. She did own half the house by Texas law. As a broker he knew that. And he had never imagined that she would twist his words to mean that she could be part of the business by moving here. But he didn’t know how to undo what she had done, either.

She shifted, loosening her grip on the chair. “So, what do we do first?”

“First?”

“You know, to begin my training.”

He hadn’t even begun to wrap his mind around what she had done yet. “Would you like some coffee?”

“Oh, um, yes. Okay.” She started to get up. “Where is it?”

“I’ll get it.” He needed a minute to think. He crossed the room, filling two mugs. “Cream or sugar?”

“Just cream, thanks.”

He handed her one of the mugs. “So, Laura. This was a huge step.”

She warmed her hands on the steaming mug. “It was. But it means a lot to me. I explained that before.”

“Settling in is going to be a big adjustment.”

“I thought so, too.” She lifted her gaze, her green eyes entreating. “But Rosewood’s a lot different than Houston.”

“You form opinions pretty fast.”

She wondered if he thought that was bad. “It’s hard not to.”

“You’ll have to enroll the kids in their new schools.”

She swallowed a sip of the hot brew. “Did that yesterday.”

“Really?”

“I didn’t want them to miss any more than necessary. It’s difficult enough to settle in a new school without having them get behind.”

“Don’t you have to have records transferred or something?”

“I did that.” She took another tentative sip.

He put his mug down on the desk. “Still, you’re going to need time unpacking, settling in—”

“No.” She ran her fingers over the handle of the mug. “I’m ready. That’s done for the most part. There’s always more to do, but it’s livable.”

He pictured the house in a jumble of boxes. But that was why Jerry had named him executor, to keep an eye on how she was caring for the kids. “Laura, this isn’t a school.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s an office.”

Her expression faltered. “But you said—”

“That I couldn’t train you if you lived in Houston. But I can’t stop working and set up classes, either.”

“Then what?”

She had gone from hopeful to desperate in the space of minutes. She wouldn’t last. “Start by spending some time in the office, watching what I do.”

“Oh.” Deflated, she gripped her mug tighter, then nodded. “Okay.”

She would get bored fast. Sitting at the desk next to his, listening to only his side of telephone conversations, trying to digest a lot of financial information she couldn’t possibly understand. He’d give her a week at the most before she stopped coming around. She’d probably get bored with Rosewood almost as soon.

The phone rang. And her tutoring began.

“So, how was school?” Laura put a plate of oatmeal raisin cookies on the table. She had made arrangements with Paul to be home each day before the children got in from school. Since he looked relieved at the suggestion, she guessed he would have been just as happy if she had suggested a much earlier quitting time.

Gregg grabbed a cookie. “There’s a kid in my class who can cross his eyes, hold his breath and wiggle his ears. All at once.”

“Impressive.” She tweaked the tip of his nose. “Do you like your teacher?”

“Yeah.” He took a swallow of milk. “She said next Monday we can all bring a pet for show-and-tell.”

“Oh.” They didn’t have a pet.

“It’s okay, Mom. Even if we had the aquarium set up I couldn’t take it to school.”

He always rolled with the punches. She put another cookie on his plate.

“Kirsten, how about you?”

She shrugged. “It’s a school.”

“Did you meet anyone who could wiggle their ears?”

Her daughter sighed. “Mom.”

Nothing so unsophisticated for her daughter. “Let me rephrase. Did you meet anyone you liked?”

Kirsten was quiet for a few moments. “Kinda.”

“Does this person have a name?”

“Mandy. She’s sort of new, too. She moved here at the first of the year and started with the other kids.” Kirsten broke her cookie into smaller pieces. “People think she’s neat, though.”

“They’ll think you are, too.” Laura had never worried about Kirsten’s popularity. Like Jerry she had always attracted followers. She smoothed her daughter’s hair, but Kirsten jerked back. Laura kept her sigh to herself.

“If I could catch a frog, I could take that on Monday,” Gregg deliberated.

Kirsten shuddered. “Gross.”

Laura poured more milk into Gregg’s glass. “What if I talk to the teacher? See if you could bring your butterfly collection instead?”

“That’d be cool. It’d be my dead pets.”

“Double gross.” Kirsten rolled her eyes.

The doorbell rang. “After you’re finished with your snack, homework, guys.”

Laura went and opened the door. It was Katherine and Cindy.

“I hope this isn’t a bad time,” Katherine began.

“No, not at all.” She gestured to the living room. “Come in, sit down.”

“We thought you might need a hand with the rest of the boxes.” Cindy held up her cell phone. “The girls are keeping the time open if you agree.”

Laura was touched by their offer. “I can’t ask you to keep helping.”

“You didn’t.” Katherine tucked her keys into her pocket. “Would it be all right for us to phone the others?”

Laura bit her lip. “If you’re sure it won’t be putting you out…”

“We’re sure.” Cindy started dialing almost before the words were out of her mouth.

As the kids shyly passed through and headed upstairs, Laura noticed that Gregg had piled a few extra cookies on top of his books. Oh well, looked like dinner might be late anyway.

It seemed only moments passed before the women began to assemble. And they brought chocolates, brownies and cookies with them. Annie carried in two of her signature pies.

“Chocolate and sugar for fuel,” Emma explained. “Only the bare necessities.”

Again, laughter filled the old house along with the treble of women’s chatter as they went up and down the stairs, unloading boxes, finding places for most everything.

Grace smiled, a mixture of sweetness and mischief. “This way you’ll have to stay in touch with us—if you want to find anything.”

Laura imagined that wouldn’t be a hardship. “I never expected this much…help.”

“I came from the city, too. I wasn’t used to how neighborly people here are. And I wasn’t comfortable with it, at first.” She raised her scarred hand. “But it wound up helping me heal…inside.”

It seemed this woman could see right through her.

“Laura, would you rather have these in the dining room or living room?” Leah held out a pair of slender brass candlesticks, turning them so the afternoon sun hit the aged patina.

“Um…dining room, I think.”

Katherine was right behind her with a doll older than Laura herself. “For display, I’m guessing?”

“Yes. She was my grandmother’s.”

Katherine ran her fingers gently over the faded porcelain face. “I love things with history and sentiment. My house looks like I put it together from a jumble sale.” One hand flew to cover her mouth. “Not that yours does—just the opposite, you have really stylish furniture.”

“It’s not my style, though,” Laura confessed, shrugging off the unintentional slight. “My husband was the contemporary fan. I prefer the furnishings at Annie’s.”

“Like Cindy and Flynn,” Katherine mused. “She loves Victorian and he likes ultramodern. They compromised by turning her house into a children’s refuge center. Still, it always takes me aback when I see how the new one’s furnished.”

“And Cindy doesn’t mind?” Laura wouldn’t have thought the independent woman would capitulate so completely.

“She’s so nuts over Flynn she said she could live in a cave and be happy.”

No. Cindy and Flynn weren’t anything like she and Jerry had been.

Grace touched Laura’s arm. “I hope we’re not upsetting you, talking about spouses.”

“No. It’s okay.”

“If it ever does, will you tell us?”

Laura knew it wouldn’t be a worry. “Okay. If you’ll agree to tell me something.”

“Sure.”

“How did you get comfortable with the neighborly help?”

Grinning, Grace clapped her hands. “It’s a long, long story. Which I’ll be glad to tell you when we meet for lunch.”

Laura found herself smiling, as well. “Lunch?”

“As soon as we can set it up.”

Her smile grew. Jerry had frowned on anything she had done that took her away from the house. It had been difficult even to schedule her volunteer work. He had given in on that only because his mother encouraged Laura’s efforts. But even casual lunches with Donna used to set him off. Now, her sense of freedom soared.

Chapter Four

Paul continued deliberating about his decision to allow Laura into the office. She was clinging like glue. And carrying home books on finance to study. She was there early every day, leaving just in time to meet her children after school. She took copious notes and asked so many questions, he couldn’t doubt her dedication. But he worried that she might be neglecting the kids for her tutoring. He needed another opinion, so he headed over to see his parents.

The tallest trees in Rosewood were in the yard of the Russell family home. At least Paul thought so. Ever since he was a kid and his father had pushed him in the tire swing beneath the widest oak, Paul had believed that particular tree had reached all the way to the sky. And in the dusk it still looked that way.

No one was in the house, but he knew where to look.

They sat out back on the porch that stretched from one end of the house to the other. Although he’d had new lighting installed, they hadn’t turned it on. Instead, an oil lamp flickered on the table and he guessed they held hands as they sat side by side in the ancient swing.

As long as he could remember, once he and his younger brothers and sisters had been put to bed for the night, his parents would slip out back to sit together. He used to wonder what they would talk about in their hushed voices. There had been worry, which he’d instinctively shared. He’d known his mother was happy, though. They’d all been. Because his dad had come back from the war—albeit injured. But even though he’d just been a kid, Paul had known they were lucky. His dad was an Air Force pilot and most of them hadn’t made it back from Vietnam.

When he saw his parents, he questioned whether a love like theirs was even possible nowadays. Take that unpredictable Laura Manning. Jerry had probably thought she was a sweet, caring girl when he married her. He couldn’t imagine his friend marrying someone so set on the bottom line, her chin practically dragging the ground because she wanted more. Had she changed so much? Or had she just fooled him?

“Hello, honey,” his mother, Elizabeth, greeted him.

“It’s quiet out here. No rugrats visiting?” His nieces and nephews were the delight of everyone in the family.

“Not tonight. How about some tea?” She started to rise.

“I can get it.”

“You sound tired, son.” Charles was close to all the siblings, but he’d always been particularly attuned to him.

This was the place Paul could always bring his troubles, always find understanding. He had already told them about Laura when Jerry had passed away, his concern for their children and her abrupt arrival in Rosewood. “It’s the Manning family. I’m worried about the kids. I hate to think about what kind of mess they must be living in.”

Charles leaned forward. “Haven’t you gone over there yet?”

“You think I should?”

“How else are you going to know exactly what the conditions are?”

Elizabeth patted his arm. “It may not be as bad as you’re guessing.”

“I’d like to think not, but Dad’s right, I have to see for myself. I’ve been putting it off because I’m not real sure what I’m going to do when I come face-to-face with it.”

“You’ll work that out, son.” Charles rubbed his chin. “Jerry put his trust in you with good reason.”

“And you can count on us to help,” his mother added. “Maybe the boy would like story time at the library. I could watch out for him then.” Elizabeth’s job as a part-time librarian had helped the family through lean times, and she had been able to adjust her schedule around the continuing surgeries Charles had to go through year after year.

“I’ll see, Mom. Thanks.”

“And you can bring both children here if you need to,” his father offered.

“Thanks, Dad.” He sipped his cool tea.

“How is she doing in the office?” Elizabeth asked, offering him a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

He took one. “She makes notes constantly, listens to every word.”

Charles stretched out his stiff legs. “Sounds like she really wants to learn.”

“For now.” He dusted the crumbs off his pants.

“Why don’t you give her an honest chance,” Elizabeth suggested, offering her husband the plate.

Paul stood. “It’s going to be a waste of time.”

Elizabeth frowned. “You don’t know that.”

“It’s not like you to prejudge people,” Charles said evenly.

“I’m just remembering Jerry’s instructions.” He leaned against the porch rail. “He wanted me to keep a close eye on the kids. He was probably worried that she would go through the money so fast there wouldn’t be enough left to educate the kids.”

Charles rubbed his bad knee. “Does she strike you as that sort of woman?”

Paul put his foot on the lowest rail. “She seems really needy, unhappy. And Jerry gave her a beautiful home and everything she wanted.”

“Maybe it just seemed that way on the surface.” Elizabeth shifted in the swing.

Paul sipped his tea, remembering. “Some women only think about money.”

“And some don’t,” Elizabeth reminded him. She had led a life of sacrifice for her family and he was ashamed that he needed the reminder.

“Your mother’s right. See for yourself, son.”

By Saturday morning, Laura was exasperated. The training was practically nonexistent. All she had done so far that week was listen to Paul’s phone calls and trail him around the office. She suspected his plan was to bore her to death so she’d give up and go home. But this was her home now, more of one than she had ever had.

She heard a loud thud upstairs. Then the trill of squabbling voices. The kids were wound so tight they were practically jumping off the walls. She needed to find them another outlet besides school.

The doorbell rang. What now?

Yanking open the door she was startled to see Paul. “Hi.”

“Morning.” He extended a box. “Muffins, fresh from the bakery.”

“Oh…How nice. Well, then, come in.”

He entered, his steps tentative. His expression, as he took in the tidy living room, seemed incredulous. “It smells great in here. What is that?”

“Beeswax, lemon. From waxing the furniture. Not very exotic, I’m afraid. The kitchen’s this way.” She led the way to the rear of the house. “Would you like some coffee? To go with the muffins?”

“You have some made?”

She wondered why he was so astonished. “Yes.” She stirred a teaspoon of sugar into his coffee and set the mug on the table. After taking dessert plates from the sideboard, she placed them on the table, as well. “You’re out and about early.” It was the closest her manners would allow her to come to asking what he was doing there.

“I realized I hadn’t properly welcomed you and the kids.”

That was one way to put it. “I’m sure they’ll enjoy the muffins. It was thoughtful of you to bring them.”

He sneaked a glance toward the stairs. “The house looks really…good.”

“It’s special, isn’t it? I was amazed at how much you get for the price here compared to Houston. Renting, I mean, because I can’t buy. Well, you know that.” The awkwardness was crushing. “Um, would you like to see the rest? The kids are straightening up their rooms, but they’re not in too bad a shape.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

They toured the downstairs first. “I love all the detail work.” She passed her fingers over the fluted column of the fireplace. “The windows and molding. Can you imagine how much it would cost to build something like this today?”

“Actually, yes.” He wandered around the living room. “It’s my business to know.”

Mortified, she paused. She had momentarily forgotten their relationship. She must sound like a dope! “Of course.” Wishing she had a hole to drop through, she led him up the stairs.

“Didn’t you bring very much with you?” Paul asked, still looking around.

“Sure, why?”

He shrugged. “Oh, just meant that it looks like everything’s unpacked already.”

“I wanted to get things back to normal as soon as possible. It’s a big change for the kids. I still plan to do window coverings, pillows and such, but they’ll come in time.” She knocked on one of the tall doors. “Gregg? We have company.”

Her son whipped open the door, his face expectant as he stared at Paul. As she began the introductions, she was pleased to see that Gregg had made his bed.

“Paul brought muffins.”

“Cool!”

“Great room,” Paul told him.

“Thanks.” He spun on his tennies. “I still need to set up my aquarium and get some fish, but that’s on Mom’s list.”

Of course, children his age did tell everything. “I haven’t found the local pet shop yet.”

“I could show you where that is,” Paul offered. “I imagine Gregg’s missing having his fish.”

Laura gritted her teeth. It was a sensitive subject. She had persuaded her son that giving his fish to his best friend was a generous thing to do. Replacing them was going to be a special project for the two of them.

“Could we, Mom?” Gregg pleaded.

“We can go today if you have time.” Paul thumbed through one of the books on the shelf.

“Please,” her son continued.

How could she refuse? “Yes, we can go, Gregg.”

Kirsten wasn’t as thrilled. She was polite through the introductions until she heard the proposed destination. “The pet shop? Mother, why do we have to go there? I’m not six!”

“That will be enough, Kirsten. We’re going to the pet shop.”

Her resident pout returned.

Laura hid her frustration as she smiled at Paul. “We should all be ready in a few minutes.”

“A few minutes!” Kirsten wailed.

Although her daughter’s whine could have peeled the paint off the walls, Laura maintained her smile. “Yes, in a few minutes. It’s a pet shop, not a coronation.”

She wasn’t sure why Paul had turned up today, but if he wanted to spend time with the children, he was going to see them warts and all.