by Barbara Lohr
Will was still processing. He was a guy who probably read the New York Times every Sunday and had deep thoughts.
An idea flashed into her mind. Maybe it was foolish. After all, her background was in merchandising. “You ever have volunteers at your facility?”
“Yes, of course. Are you saying you’re interested?”
She played with one of her curls. “Don’t look so surprised. I don't have any training, but yeah I’d like to come.”
“Great. I’ll have Beverly call you. She’s the activity director.” A grin tweaked the corner of his mouth. “You have training in one key area. I know the residents would love it if you shared that talent.”
“Really? What’s that?” She couldn’t even imagine.
“You’re a great dancer, Diana. We hold Sunday dances. Okay, mainly because I enjoy it. But turns out the residents enjoy it too, and the exercise is good for them.”
She loved the idea. “Well, if you think I’d be a good fit...”
“I don’t think so. I know so.” They shared a silly smile. Up above, a cardinal called to its mate.
Diana liked him too much and too soon. This was just how she’d felt when she met Bryce. Amazed and hopeful, like she was back in high school and Bob Harley had just passed her a note.
Will checked the sky and frowned. “I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the beach, but it looks like we might get a little rain.”
She glanced up, almost grateful for the gray clouds. “Maybe another day?” A day when her bug bites would be gone. No way did she want to put on a bathing suit today. Too revealing. Too soon.
Jumping up, Will checked his phone. “Probably just as well. We’re due for a visit from the state any day now.”
She put the pizza box onto the green tray. “A visit?”
“Yep, and it’s not as friendly as it sounds. They come to check up on you. What happened last night might bring them sooner. The long term care field has a lot of regulations. Can I help you with that?”
“No, I’m fine.” Her goosebumps were becoming chronic and she rubbed her arms.
Standing to his full height, Will stretched. “Then I’ll be going.”
“Thanks for the pizza.” She followed him out to the curb.
“I owed you.”
“Not really.” That search for Luanne had awakened something in her. The idea that she could help someone else. Passing the pile of doomed weeds, she smiled.
Will followed her glance and came closer. He swept a lock of hair from her face and she cringed. All those red bug bites on her face. But when his lips brushed hers, she forgot everything. The slow heat swirling through her body drowned any common sense. She forgot the bites. Forgot the sleepy neighborhood. No one was around anyway. It had been so long. She sank into the kiss and softened it. He settled against his car, pulling her with him.
“Aren’t there rules about this?” she whispered against the heat of his cheek. “Kissing on a public street.”
Was that a groan or a growl? “Oh, Diana. I’m a boy who likes to break the rules.”
Chapter 6
Her stomach was doing cartwheels when Diana pulled up at the Gull Harbor Care Center the following Sunday. What was she doing here? Playing with the turn signal of her yellow VW, she let the air-conditioning run. She could leave. Give Will some excuse later.
Will had called her once since the weekend and the conversation had been short. The state inspectors had arrived, and he sounded tense. After his parting kisses, her feelings were jumbled. She was almost glad an afternoon storm nixed going to the beach the day he’d brought over the pizza. Risk was involved here. Uncertainty curled at the edge of her mind. Why had she ever mentioned volunteering at the place where he worked? What if she totally messed up?
Then she saw the old fellow sitting at the door in one of those old metal chairs. No way. Wearing a winter hat with flaps, he was the spitting image of her grandfather. In fact, Grandpa Stan used to wear a hat like that when he shoveled snow. Watching him heft the snow from the walk like it was cotton, she’d press her nose against the cold front window. She missed him so much. Those Sunday mornings when he made chocolate chip pancakes had been so special.
Spotting her, the old guy waved. That settled it. Diana turned off the car and got out.
Her long wraparound skirt fluttered in the August breeze as she walked toward the glass doors. “Hi,” the man said as she approached.
Pushing her sunglasses up, Diana smiled. “Looks like you picked the best seat in the house.”
He checked out her hands. “Did you bring any doughnuts?”
Oh, boy. Hadn't even started and already she was coming up short. “Nope. Sorry. No donuts today.” But if she came back, she’d be carrying a bakery box.
Squinting up at her, he rocked back. “My name's Harold.”
“Hi, Harold. I'm Diana.” He was so darn cute.
“You're pretty.”
“And you're handsome, Harold.” One day he had been. “See you later, okay?”
“Sure thing, Miss. Sure thing.” He adjusted his hat and attempted a wink.
When she got inside, the young woman at the desk looked up.
“Hi, I'm Diana Prescott and I have an appointment with Jan.”
Probably about eighteen years old, the girl straightened. “I'll get her for you. You may have a seat.”
Diana smiled at the formality and sat down. It only took a minute before Jan came striding down the hall. A no-nonsense woman with iron gray hair, she wore hospital blue pants with a short top. Her hand reached out. “So glad to see you again, Diana. I’m Jan, the head nurse. Bev isn’t here today. Thanks for helping us that night with Luanne.”
“How's she doing?” They began walking down a hall that smelled of baking bread, with an antiseptic underpinning.
“To be honest, I’m not sure she even remembers that night.”
Diana wondered what the consequences had been for the staff, but it wasn’t any of her business. She didn’t want anyone to think Will had been discussing the incident with her.
“Have you worked with seniors before?” Jan asked as they approached a multipurpose room.
“Only my grandparents. My grandpa's gone now.”
“Sorry, Diana. Maybe that’s why you’ve come? In any case, plenty of folks here of your grandparents’ age will be thrilled to talk to you.” Stepping over to a small table, she worked with a CD player like the one her grandparents had given her for eighth grade graduation.
Slipping off her purse, Diana left it on one of the card table chairs set around the perimeter of the room. Beyond them stretched a long table with a punch bowl and trays of cookies. Sunlight poured through a wall of windows, and older people with shy smiles filtered into the room.
“Gonna play Elvis today?” one of the women called out.
Jan nodded with a smile in Diana’s direction. “Of course. Everyone has their favorites, as you’ll soon see,” she added in a lower tone. A stack of CDs sat next to the player. “We haven’t graduated to using a playlist yet. That might be hard for some of them to understand.”
“My grandmother and aunt still listen to an old plastic radio.”
“Then you know how it is.” Jan flipped through the CDs, pulling out a couple.
Two older men came timidly through the door with their hair slicked back, or what little they had left.
“What do I do?” she asked Jan, running her hands down her skirt.
“Just dance. Talk with them.” The mellow sound of Elvis singing “Only Fools Rush In” filled the room as Jan nodded to the men approaching. “They’ll be pleased to have a new partner. Dance with the women too. We’re kind of short on men, and the ladies love to get out on the floor.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Tim.” Jan beckoned to a man wearing a red bow tie. “Would you dance with Diana? Kind of show her the ropes?”
The old man’s shoulders straightened. Tim barely came up to Diana’s chin, but that did
n’t matter. He knew how to dance, and he guided her around the floor to “Love Me Tender.” Gladys was her next partner, and she filled Diana in with all kinds of information about the food, her roommate, and Will. Next was Arnold. By that time, Jerry Lee Lewis was doing a whole lot of shaking. Arnold just stood facing her, swinging his arms. She did the same and it seemed to work.
During a pause, she spotted Harold standing in the doorway, that old leather hat perched on his head. She beckoned to him and moved to the side. A slower song came on by Nat King Cole. “Will you dance with me, Harold?”
“Sure thing, Diana.” Her grandmother would not approve of a man keeping his hat on in the house. But for Harold, that hat was obviously a necessity. “Have you lived here a long time?” she asked, while they did a slow, jerky two-step.
“Um hmm.” Lips moving, he seemed to be concentrating. It took a while for her to realize he was counting. For the rest of the song, she said nothing, not wanting to disturb him. When another song started, Harold once again showed up at her elbow. But so did Will. Wearing a white polo shirt, he looked unbearably handsome.
“Can I have this dance with Diana, Harold?” Will asked.
“Yessir.” Could Harold’s smile be any broader?
She shivered when Will took her in his arms, so tall and strong.
“Cold?” he asked.
“Nope. Far from it.”
Giving her a secret smile, he swung her into an upbeat rhythm. What a contrast to the last time she’d danced with him. At the Firemen’s Ball, she’d been trying to help out Kate and Cole. The dance had been an obligation. Not this time. Far from it. She could hardly keep up with him.
“Whew!” She clutched her chest when it was over. “What a workout.”
Combing back his damp hair, he gave her a rueful smile. “Too much for you? Sorry. It’s been one of those weeks.” They strolled over to the punch bowl and he handed her a cool cup, which she instantly drained.
“This was really nice of you, coming today,” he said, tossing back a glassful.
“I said I would, didn’t I?”
“Yes, yes you did.” His eyes twinkled. “So I guess you’re a woman whose word means something. Good to know.”
She flushed under his approval, grinning like a kid in high school. Visitors arrived, drawn to the main room by the music. When Tim asked her to dance again, she was very aware of Will’s eyes on them. Would he be at this dance every Sunday? She didn’t want him to think volunteering was just an excuse to see him. The air, full of Brylcreem and White Shoulders, lightened when he disappeared. But he popped in one more time toward the end. Johnny Mathis was crooning “Wonderful, Wonderful” when Will appeared at her side and held out his arms. Shoot me now. Her thoughts were definitely X-rated while they danced. This song was slow and dreamy, and that’s how they danced. He cupped her right hand to his chest, and she could feel the beat of his heart.
“Talk to you soon,” he said when the song ended. All eyes were on them, not that it seemed to matter to Will. Stepping apart, they could have been talking about the weather when he said, “Just know, Diana Prescott, that right now, I want to kiss you silly.”
She sucked in a tight breath.
His brows lifted. “And that’s just for starters.”
“What’s next?” How did she manage to squeak out the words?
“Wear that blue top you had on that night at Brewster’s, and you’ll find out.” His lips barely moved.
“Oh, really? The one I could hardly keep up?” She was thinking of giving it to Goodwill.
He smiled as if she’d cracked a joke. “Exactly. We’ll see where it goes.”
“Right. Okay.” She watched him walk away and then turned to Jan who was wearing a big smile.
A few seconds later, she wandered to the front door, only to realize she’d forgotten her purse. Head down, she trotted back to find Jan deep in conversation with Will. “Forget something?” she asked when Diana scooped up her bag.
“Yes. Yes, I...” She was having trouble talking and just slung the darn purse over her shoulder.
“I’ll walk you out,” Jan said, with a glance back at Will. “How do you think it went today?” she asked on their way down the hall that sparkled under the overhead lights.
“It was fun. The people here are so sweet.”
Jan chuckled. “They loved it! A new face...and a pretty one at that.”
Diana flushed with pleasure. “See you next Sunday, then?” she asked at the door.
“Terrific.” Jan surprised her with a tight hug. “Thanks for giving us your time, Diana.”
“Glad to do it.” The truth was, the dancing filled a need she didn’t know she had.
The sun blinded Diana when she pushed through the door. “See you later, Harold.”
He perked up. “Bye, Diana. Thanks for dancing with me.”
“You’re welcome.” Her spirits lifted.
He rocked back in his chair until his head touched the brick building. As she pulled out of the parking lot, she checked her rearview mirror. He was waving, and she tooted her horn.
On the way home, she thought about the commitment she'd made. Sunday and Monday were her only free days. But what else was she going to do, weed? Grandma Kit and Grandpa Stan had always been involved in volunteer work. As long as she could remember, they were down at the Hope Mission on Thanksgiving. For what seemed like forever to a little girl, they ladled out food. After everyone had been fed, they sat down and ate with the people her grandparents called their guests. “It's right to give back,” her grandmother told her. “Some people aren’t as lucky as we are, so we should share our good fortune. Besides, if I’m going to fix this meal for three people, I might as well cook for five hundred, right?”
As Diana grew older, she wondered if keeping so busy on the holidays kept her grandparents from missing their daughter, who remained a post card on the refrigerator.
On Wednesday afternoon, Will called her at the store. “Feel like a picnic tonight?”
“I have to work until seven.”
“No problem. I've got plenty to do here.”
“What would you like for the picnic?” Her mind flew ahead. She could stop at Clancy’s.
“Since I’m the one with a huge kitchen, I’ll take care of that.”
Impressive. She drifted through the rest of the afternoon and closed the shop ten minutes early to get ready. The day had been hot and airless. Streets were empty and baking in the sun when she drove home. Most families were probably still down on the beach. At home, she took a quick shower but felt sticky while she worked on her makeup.
Will’s smile when she opened the door rewarded her. “Don't you look pretty?”
“You look pretty great yourself.” But she wasn’t talking about his clothes. It just felt terrific to see him.
“Like the top.” His eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Ah, huh.” That uptick of her heart? The deep urge to wrap her arms around his neck? Not good signs.
She grabbed a visor and sunglasses and they were off. They parked at the public beach on Townline Road. Handing Diana a small cooler, Will lugged a picnic basket from his trunk. Their footsteps rang on the wooden stairs on the way down. She came to a halt on the platform. “Oh, Will. It’s so perfect.” On either side, the beach stretched to the horizon, and the water reached for the setting sun.
With a sigh, she kept going. When they reached the sand, they kicked their shoes into the beach grass and put some distance between them and the family groups. Will spread a blue blanket on the beach.
The sun glanced off the waves that washed the shore. “So beautiful.” She sank onto the blanket, feeling the warm sand beneath its surface. “I should come down here more often.”
“Why don’t you?”
“Just forget about it, I guess.” She wasn’t about to admit that coming down here alone wouldn’t be as much fun. “I like your shorts. You look good in cut-offs. Different.”
“Different
?” He flipped open the cooler. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing. Usually I see you in work clothes.” She wasn't about to tell him that when she met him, she felt he had that Boy Scout quality about him. The kind of man she’d never been drawn to before. History had taught her she better change her plan.
She peeked into the cooler. “No beer?”
“Not today. If we got busted by the cops, it would look bad.” There was a question in his eyes.
“Makes sense to me.”
Will turned back to the basket. “Now let's see what Maria fixed for us.”
Will’s cook did him proud. Ham sandwiches were thick with soft slices of Swiss cheese, paper-thin tomatoes and crisp lettuce on caraway rye bread. Some packets of mustard had been thrown in. Bags of chips were tucked next to decadent-looking brownies.
“Jan really likes you,” Will said when they were halfway through the sandwiches.
A breeze had picked up and Diana brushed the hair from her eyes. “I like her too.”
“She thinks the dance sessions will be good for you and the residents.”
How could she explain it? “I just wanted to help after that night with Luanne.”
Dusting crumbs from his fingers, Will settled back on his elbows. The setting sun burnished his profile. He had an aristocratic nose, but a playful breeze tossed his hair into reckless curls. He flattened them with one hand. No gel for this guy. “We could use more volunteers. Especially on weekends. Some of the families come to visit but some don't. Kelsey, our receptionist, tells me that Harold has a major crush on you.”
“He’s such a sweetie.” Her heart warmed, thinking about the eccentric keeper of Will’s gate. “Why does he wear that hat in all this heat?”
Snapping off a piece of sea grass, Will ran it through his lips. “Some people have their own private security blanket. It's harmless.”
“Does he have family?”
“Yep, one daughter. He sits at the door waiting for her. She lives on the East Coast.”
That did it. The bag of doughnuts grew in her mind.
“I think what you’re doing is generous, Diana. What more can you give anyone than time and attention, right?”
