Beauty in Flight, #1

by Robin Patchen

  She didn’t like this Derrick one bit. She liked the sweet, generous man she’d met in Vegas. She liked the confident man who’d shown up at the house on Friday. She didn’t like this accusing, angry man. She didn’t like him, and she didn’t think she’d ever trust him again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The only thing good about the long drive home was the lack of traffic. The tension in the car was palpable but dwarfed by that at the house when they’d left.

  Harper had hugged and thanked Russell and Betts, who were kind and gracious, as always. Kitty was extra nice to her, inviting her to send along her resume if Harper decided to change jobs. She thanked her for the kindness but knew she never would. No chance any doctor or hospital would hire a nurse with a felony on her record. Keith was quiet, as usual, but grasped her hand and muttered, “It was nice to meet you.”

  Fortunately, Marjorie, Carter, and Constantine had still been upstairs when she and Derrick left, keeping the good-byes to a minimum.

  As kind as the two couples were to them, tension hung over the group like the stench of bad fish as Derrick shook the men’s hands and kissed the women’s cheeks. Did everybody know about his conversation with Russell? About the poker game?

  Only when they pulled into the circle drive in front of Red’s house did Harper let herself begin to relax. She couldn’t wait to get inside and away from Derrick. He put the car in park, and she reached for the door handle. He stopped her with a hand on her forearm. “Can we talk for a sec?”

  “We’ve been in the car together for hours, and now you want to talk?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m just… I don’t know what to say.”

  She stepped out of the car. Derrick climbed out on the far side and popped the trunk. He snatched her suitcase, slid out the handle, but didn’t let it go. “Five minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  He took a deep breath and looked at the house behind her a moment. “I’m sorry.”

  “I bet you are.”

  “Not for…” He hung his head. “Of all the stupid stuff I did this weekend, I’m most sorry about how I treated you.”

  She considered minimizing it, letting him off the hook. But she kept her mouth shut.

  “I didn’t pay enough attention to you,” he said. “I knew Carter was hitting on you, but I was focused on Russell and Constantine, and I figured you could handle yourself.”

  “I can.”

  “I know, but you shouldn’t have had to. I should have been there for you.”

  He was right. He should have. She acknowledged that with a nod.

  “And I’m sorry for not telling you about the gambling. I just thought, when I met you… When I’m with you, I don’t think of gambling. I thought I was over it. All those times I came to see you in Vegas, I didn’t gamble once.”

  “Really?”

  “I didn’t think I needed to tell you because I thought it was managed.”

  “What happened?”

  “You were home with Gramps when he was sick, and I thought, just one night in Atlantic City… I thought it would be fine. But I got in over my head. Then, I kept going back, trying to fix it.”

  “Just making it worse,” she guessed.

  “I already owed this guy money, and now I’m in really deep.”

  “How deep?”

  He blew out a long breath. “Couple hundred thousand.”

  “Whoa.” She stepped back, caught her breath. “Are you kidding me?”

  “I know, I know.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “I’ve really messed up. The guy I owe is really pressing me for the money.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  He shrugged. “I’ll figure it out.” He stepped toward her and smiled. “It’s not your problem, Harper. I know I should have told you, and I hope you can forgive me for that. I hope… I know you’re probably plotting your escape as we speak.” He smiled when he said the words, but she saw the flicker of worry in his eyes. “I just want to ask you… and I have no right to ask you for anything. I know that. But can you please give me some time to make all this right?” He stepped forward, so close she could feel his breath on her cheeks. “Don’t give up on me yet, Harper. I need you.”

  She hadn’t made up her mind about him, and while his apology helped, there was no guarantee he’d be able to do everything he’d promised. Her instinct was to break up with him. To distance herself. With her only serious boyfriends in the past, she’d told herself that she should have gotten out sooner. Depended on herself. If she cut bait now, she could save herself a lot of grief.

  Frankly, she’d probably end things with Derrick. She should feel… what? Sad, depressed, let down? But she didn’t. She cared about Derrick. She’d appreciated his kindness, his gifts, his concern when she lived in Vegas. But she’d fallen more for the idea of him—a successful man without all the baggage her previous boyfriends had hauled into the relationships.

  She’d been wrong about that. Derrick had just hidden his baggage better.

  Unless something monumental changed, she’d end things with him, but not today. Today, he’d been hurt enough. She’d hang in there a little longer. Maybe he’d surprise her, do everything he promised, and turn out to be her Prince Charming.

  “Okay.” She smiled at him and stepped back. “But from now on, you need to be honest with me.”

  He nodded, his eyes lighting up as if she’d just repaired his favorite toy. “Thank you.”

  “Are you going to hang around for a while?”

  “I don’t think so. I have some stuff I need to take care of before work tomorrow.” Derrick carried her suitcase to the door and kissed her on the cheek.

  As he walked back to his car, Harper had the feeling that more time wouldn’t reveal Derrick as Prince Charming. Instead, she might only get a close-up glimpse of a frog.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Harper carried her small bag upstairs to her bedroom, dropped it on the bed, and hurried back down in search of Red.

  She found him in the wide backyard, standing in front of a rose bush, deadheading flowers.

  She hurried out to meet him. “What are you doing?”

  “Those gardeners don’t know how to take care of Bebe’s flowers.” He snipped off an old bloom, dropped it in a plastic bag dangling from his wrist, and reached for another.

  “What if you’d fallen?” Harper could imagine him struggling to stand back up on the uneven lawn.

  He looked up, holding onto his fedora so it wouldn’t fall, and surveyed the sky. “Sunny day. I’d have gotten a nice tan.” He chuckled and continued with the roses.

  “You’re a stubborn old man, you know that?”

  “I’m not old.” He winked. “How was the beach? You got a whopper of a storm yesterday. I thought you might stay later today to soak up the sunshine.”

  “We were ready to get back.”

  Red dropped another spent rose in the plastic bag and peered at her with those sharp blue eyes. “Something happen?”

  “No.”

  His lips closed while he studied her. “My grandson treat you well?”

  She didn’t want to lie to him but wasn’t prepared to tell him the truth. “He spent a lot of time trying to drum up new accounts.”

  “Hmph.” He inched around the bush.

  She resisted the urge to suggest Red let the gardeners do it, or worse, assist him herself. He was in one of his I-don’t-need-your-help moods, and offering would only irritate him.

  Red cut another bloom and dropped it in the bag. “I love that boy, but sometimes I don’t like him very much.”

  She’d gotten that impression before, but she’d never heard him say it. “Why is that?”

  “He makes all the money he needs and more, but he spends it as fast as it comes in. Never has an extra dime.”

  “Maybe he’ll learn to be wiser with it.”

  Another “hmph” told her what Red thought of that.

  “His dad never did,” Red said. “D
ied in serious debt. Mortgaged to the hilt. Used to gamble, that one.” The words were delivered casually, but Red peered at her from beneath the rim of his hat and held her gaze.

  “Oh… Well.” It wasn’t her place to tell Red about Derrick’s gambling. She wasn’t going to lie to the man, either. “That must have been hard for you.”

  “I like a risk.” He turned his gaze back to the bright red blooms and continued snipping. “But I risked wisely. Risked in real estate. Only made safe bets. You buy a house, it’s going to be worth something. It has intrinsic value. You work hard, keep it in good shape, do your best to keep renters in it while you make the payments, and the house goes up in value. If the market turns”—he shrugged—“you did your part. Maybe you lose a little here and there. But you don’t lose everything. Gambling, though… That’s not earning. That’s trying to get something for nothing, and it never works.”

  She’d learned that lesson the hard way. She’d been sent to prison because her boyfriend and his friend had tried to take the easy way out, and they’d used her to help. She’d been ignorant of their schemes, but the judge hadn’t believed her claim of innocence. All because Emmitt and Barry were too lazy to work and had already spent all the money she’d earned.

  The memories didn’t sit well. The comparison between Emmitt and Derrick turned in her stomach like a Tilt-A-Whirl.

  “What happened to your son?”

  Red maneuvered another foot around the bush until he was practically against the fence. “He and his wife were killed in a car accident. On their way home from Atlantic City. George had had too much to drink and swerved to miss a deer. Ended up driving into a tree.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Long time ago.” Red focused on the roses. “Derrick never told you?”

  “Just that they passed away when he was eighteen. But he never told me how, and I never asked.”

  “Hard time for both of us.” He pointed to a fading bloom out of his reach. “Get that one for me, would you?”

  She took the pruners and cut off the bloom, then got a couple more she didn’t think he could see from where he stood. While she worked, she thought of Derrick. She couldn’t imagine the pain of burying both his parents at such a young age. Legally an adult, but not really. An age when he’d needed his father and mother. At least he’d had Red, who’d taken him in, sent him to college, and supported him all those years.

  She handed Red the pruners.

  “You don’t have to stay out here with me, girl. I got this.”

  “I’m staying. Not because you need me”—not that he’d admit, anyway—“but because I missed you.”

  She had missed Red. He was kind and gentle and honest. And today he seemed as healthy as she’d ever seen him. His face was pink from the heat, but not frighteningly so. Another hour and he’d need to go inside, get out of the sun. But this morning, she figured the vitamin D was doing him good. His legs seemed strong. His smile was bright as he accomplished his task.

  He probably didn’t need her at all. But she stayed anyway, just in case. And because his peace, his kindness, were a balm to her raw nerves.

  If she had any hope Derrick would turn out to be like Red, she’d stick it out with him through all the stuff—the gambling addiction, the debt. But Derrick wasn’t like his grandfather. He was like his father. And look what a mess that man had left behind.

  Chapter Twenty

  Derrick arrived for their date on Friday night bearing his suitcase and a handful of purple irises.

  Harper glanced at the suitcase and took the bouquet. “You shouldn’t have.”

  He kissed her on the cheek. “You deserve these and a million more.”

  She eyed the suitcase. “You’re staying?”

  “I thought I’d spend the weekend, if you don’t mind.”

  “It’s not up to me.” The memory of the previous weekend, of Derrick in her bedroom, flashed through her mind. No. He wouldn’t do that this weekend. He was trying to win her trust back. Besides, her bedroom in this house had a lock. “But I certainly don’t mind.”

  His over-bright smile relaxed into one more natural. “Good. Tomorrow, you get the day off. I’ll get up with Gramps, make sure he gets his meds, and you can sleep in.”

  Sleep in? She hadn’t done that since she’d moved to Maryland. And hardly before that. But a morning off from work—she’d take that. “Sounds heavenly.” She shooed him into the living room to visit with his grandfather. Then she put the flowers in a vase and ran upstairs to finish getting ready for their date.

  She chose a red sundress he’d bought for her and added a pair of high-heeled sandals she’d picked up off the clearance rack. She added some lipstick and slid on a pair of earrings and a bracelet. She checked her reflection in the floor-length mirror in her private bath. Her outfit wasn’t fancy, but it would be nice enough for wherever they went. Spending so much time in the garden with Red this week had given her a tan and lightened her hair. She looked summery, fancy-free. Maybe achieving the look would be a step toward achieving the feeling.

  Downstairs, she went into the living room but found Red alone.

  He whistled. “You look lovely.”

  She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  “You mind Derrick spending the night?” Red asked.

  “Not if you don’t.”

  He nodded and turned his attention back to the TV.

  A moment later, Derrick stepped into the room. “You ready?”

  “Sure.” To Red, she said, “Call me if you need me.”

  “I survived more’n eighty years without you, girl. I reckon I’ll make it a couple of hours.”

  Harper settled into Derrick’s car. “Can we stop at the store on the corner? I need to get some Gatorade.”

  “No problem.” Derrick stopped, ran inside, and returned with a few bottles of yellow Gatorade. He tossed them in the backseat. “It’s not like you to run out.”

  “Red worked in the yard all week. He was extra thirsty.”

  Derrick’s eyes narrowed. “Should he be doing that?”

  “He enjoys it. He’s a grown man. It’s not like I can tell him what to do. Besides, the sunshine was good for him, and I think the activity was, too.”

  “You’re usually right about these things.”

  “Didn’t he look good today? He’s been so energetic all week.”

  Derrick exited the parking lot and headed toward the bay. “You’ve been good for him, Harper.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t do much. I make sure he has his medication, make sure he eats, and encourage him to do his exercises.”

  Derrick glanced at her, then took her hand. “It’s not what you do. It’s who you are. You’re a balm.”

  “Not really,” she said, but her cheeks warmed with the compliment.

  After a long wait with a crowd of tourists at the restaurant, they were seated on a covered patio overlooking a long dock and, beyond that, the sparkling waters of the bay. It was a warm night, but the breeze kept them cool. Every table was taken, and the buzz of conversation added to the gentle lapping of water and the caw of seagulls overhead.

  Their conversation stayed on safe ground and far from the events of the previous weekend as they shared a delicious seafood dinner and chocolate dessert and sipped their drinks—sweet tea for Harper, a cold beer for Derrick. It was beautiful, the perfect night. And Derrick had been his old self. Sweet, generous, attentive. Maybe she could make things work with him. Maybe she’d made the right choice when she hadn’t broken up with him the week before.

  She glanced at him to see him not watching the view, but her.

  He’d taken off his suit jacket and set it over the back of the chair when they’d sat. Now, he leaned over to reach something in the inside pocket. A moment later, he turned holding a thin rectangular box.

  “Oh.”

  He smiled and handed it to her. “Open it.”

  Her hands trembled as she took the gift. She held it a long moment
, trying to name the feeling that had her blood racing, her stomach flipping. It wasn’t eagerness. It wasn’t excitement or affection. Though she was eager to see the gift and thankful for it, something else caused her reaction.

  Derrick was watching her, so she lifted the lid.

  Inside, she saw a sapphire-and-diamond pendant on a slender gold chain.

  She stared at the necklace, her hand covering her heart. She couldn’t think of a word to say.

  “The sapphire matches your eyes.”

  Sweet. Too much. She set the box down. “You didn’t need to… You shouldn’t have.”

  “I wanted to apologize for last weekend.”

  “You did apologize. On Sunday. And I forgave you.”

  “You’re not one to hold a grudge.” His smile faded. “Which is all the more reason I wanted to get you something.”

  “But…” She swallowed, put her hands in her lap, and ignored the jewels glimmering up at her from the tabletop. “You can’t afford this, Derrick. You need every penny—”

  “Don’t do that.” His lips flattened with the terse remark, turned white. “It’s a gift. It’s rude to refuse a gift.”

  “I’m not trying to be rude. I’m trying to… I don’t understand why you would spend—”

  “It’s just a trinket.”

  “Oh.” The satin-lined box looked fancy. But maybe it only looked expensive. Thank heavens. She blew out a breath. “It’s not real. I’m glad, because—”

  “Of course it’s real.” He sneered the last word. “You think I’d buy you some cheap, fake jewelry?”

  Slowly, she replaced the lid and held the box out to him. “I think you’re deeply in debt, and you can’t afford to buy me anything.”

  He didn’t take it. “Seriously? You’re refusing it?”

  She set the box on the table and turned toward the bay, thinking of what to say. A little crowd of seagulls had landed on the dock and were clawing and pecking at each other for a scrap of food.

  Why did life have to be so hard?

  She turned back to Derrick. “It was very sweet of you, and I love that you wanted to give me something.”