Love Is a Battlefield

by Annalisa Daughety

  Kristy, I know it was a tough trip. Here are a few things that I hope can melt away your stress. I missed you and can’t wait to see you tomorrow. AceShe thought back to the advice she’d given Robert about getting to know a prospective girlfriend. Ace certainly knew her well. He’d paid attention to her.

  She just wasn’t sure she was ready. She glanced at the list on her fridge. Was she ready to risk her heart again? How could she know for sure?

  Ace was at work extra early. He’d been so excited this morning, because he knew she was back. He looked impatiently at his watch. Of course, there was no need to be here early. She usually didn’t make it until 8:00a.m. On the dot, and sometimes that was even pushing it. He smiled.

  “What are you grinning about?” Owen asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” Ace said, embarrassed.

  Owen chuckled. “I figured you were just happy because Kristy’ll be in today.”

  “Oh, is she coming back today? I’d forgotten.” He tried to keep a straight face but lost it and burst into laughter.

  Owen joined in. “So I take that to mean you’ll be at the picnic together tonight?”

  “That was the plan before she left town. I’m hoping we’re still on.” He grinned. “How about you? You bringing a date?” He leaned against the front desk, glad there weren’t any visitors yet.

  The older man nodded. “Dorothy’s coming with me. She tried to back out, said she was embarrassed about Zach and the silly string. But I told her nobody held it against her.”

  “Has he warmed up to you any more?”

  “Maybe a little. I took him fishin’ yesterday. Let him drive the boat.” He shrugged. “That seemed to win me some points. Though I hate to bribe him.”

  “No harm in that. Once he starts to get to know you, he’ll come around.”

  “I hope so. Can’t help but feel for him, though. That’s a tough age, even without all the changes he’s had to get used to.”

  Ace wondered if every age could be considered a “tough age.” it sure seemed that way to him sometimes.

  “Can you handle things out here?” Owen put his hat on top of his head. “I need to run over to the administration building.”

  Ace nodded. “Take your time.”

  Owen walked through the swinging doors and into the office area. In a second, Ace heard the back door close. A moment later, it opened again.

  “Did you forget something?” He stepped through the swinging doors, and there she was. Kristy. “Oh. It’s you.” His heart beat a little faster at the sight of her.

  “Sorry I’m running late.” The dark circles underneath her eyes gave away her exhaustion. Even so, he had to resist the urge to pull her into his arms right there.

  “Not a problem.” He grinned. “I’m glad you’re back.”

  She nodded. “Me, too. And thanks for the gifts. And for keeping Sam.” she finally gave him a tiny smile. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Tell you what. Say you’re still going to be my date to the picnic tonight, and we’ll call it even.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  The bell on the front door rang. The first visitor of the day had arrived.

  “I’ll take care of them.” He motioned toward the front desk.

  She slowly made her way into the seasonal office. Something was different.

  “Hey.”

  She stopped in the doorway and turned to face him. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Just tired, that’s all.”

  He stepped through the swinging doors to greet the visitors, but he couldn’t shake the feeling there was something wrong with her besides exhaustion. Of course, she had just been through an emotional time with her friend. That was probably it. She’d be back to her old self in a few days.

  CHAPTER 51

  “So this is the famous potato salad recipe, huh?” Ace picked up a tattered piece of paper from his kitchen counter and looked it over.

  Kristy glanced over at him and nodded. “I called and got it from my grandma. She promises it’ll be the best anyone has ever tasted. And it probably would be, if she were the one making it.” she picked up a bowl of freshly scrubbed potatoes from the sink and began laying them on a cutting board he’d fished out of the cabinet for her.

  Cooking in his kitchen seemed so personal. And while just a week ago she’d thought she might be ready to get personal with him, now she wasn’t so sure. Especially in light of what she’d learned about Brad. Maybe there was no such thing as trustworthy.

  “I think anything you cook will be perfect.” Ace leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. She could feel his eyes on her, and the blush she felt creeping across her face irritated her. “Don’t watch me cook. The least you can do is make yourself useful. How about you start getting the rest of the ingredients out of the fridge? They’re in a brown grocery bag in the bottom.” His nearness was suddenly unnerving to her, despite the fact that they’d worked together all day. She’d tried all day to avoid being alone with him, because she still wasn’t sure how to proceed. On the one hand, she was afraid of getting hurt again. But on the other hand, she’d missed him while she was gone. It had come as a total surprise. If she hadn’t been staying with Vickie, she knew she would’ve given in to the temptation to call him each night she was there.

  “I happen to enjoy watching you. You’re a cute cook.” He grinned as she narrowed her eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll help.” He pulled the bag from the bottom of his fridge, set it on the counter, and began pulling out items and lining them up near where she was working.

  “Thanks.” Kristy tried to concentrate on the task at hand. Chopping potatoes and putting them into the bowl. In a second, though, she felt Ace watching her again. She looked in his direction, a rogue strand of blond hair falling in her face.

  “Here, let me,” he said softly. He reached over and tucked the hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on her jaw. “I hope you know I meant what I said the other night, Kristy.”

  He said her name with such a sweetness, she couldn’t help herself. She dropped the knife into the bowl and turned to face him. He cupped her face with his hand, and she stared up into his brown eyes, her heart pounding. When he’d kissed her before, it had been dark. But kissing him in broad daylight ... That would be admitting that she felt the same way he did, wouldn’t it? she didn’t turn away, though, even as he lowered his mouth toward her. The phone jangled next to her, and they both jumped. She laughed nervously.

  “Saved by the bell,” he whispered with a wink, “but not for long.” He grabbed the cordless phone off its holder. He glanced at the caller ID and straightened up. “I’ll just take this out on the patio.” He rushed out the side door, and Kristy could hear the beep as he hit the answer button.

  Well, that was strange. Who could be calling who had him so flustered? she shrugged. Surely he’d tell her once he was through. She glanced around the kitchen, wondering where she could find a large pot to put the potatoes in. After peeking in all of the bottom cabinets and finding nothing, she grabbed a step stool to help with the climb to the top cabinets. She put one foot on the stool and a knee on the counter. She felt the wet puddle of water just as her knee slipped. Her flailing hands grasped for whatever she could reach. As she made contact with the speaker button on the phone set, she finally lost her balance and tumbled to the tiled kitchen floor. Ace’s voice filled the room.

  “Tomorrow will be fine. I can be in Nashville around lunchtime.”

  “Lunch sounds great.” An unfamiliar female voice caused Kristy to sit upright on the floor. “Can I choose the restaurant?” the woman asked.

  “Not if you’re going to make me try escargot again.” Ace chuckled.

  “Where’s your sense of adventure?” The woman’s tinkling laugh seemed to cover Kristy like a blanket. She couldn’t believe her ears.

  “My sense of adventure is just fine. But how about we try the Pancake Pantry this time?”

  “That sounds great. I’m looking forw
ard to it, Ace. See you around noon on Saturday. And you have my cell number in case you need to contact me before then, right?”

  The familiar way the woman said his name let Kristy know this wasn’t a casual acquaintance. Not that casual acquaintances tried to force each other to try new foods. Still stunned by what she was hearing, she finally picked herself up off the floor.

  “I’ve got it. And I’m looking forward to it, too. See you soon.”

  As they said their good-byes, Kristy rushed to the phone console and hit the speaker button. The voices that had filled the room were finally quiet, but Kristy’s thoughts prevented her from being left in silence.

  Unbelievable. He says he has feelings for me, but he’s meeting some chick from Nashville for lunch? First my dad, then Brad, now Ace. They’re all the same.

  She leaned her head down on the counter and sighed.

  “What’s this? Has the cook gone on strike?” Ace’s cheery voice jerked her upright.

  Don’t let him know that you know. Just see what he says. Maybe Miss Tinkling Laugh is his sister.

  She turned toward him and gave her best smile. “Important phone call?”

  “Nah. Just a friend of mine needing some information.” He set the phone back on the console and peered into the bowl of potatoes. “Looks like all the chopping is finished.”

  Kristy stared at him, her brain refusing to work. “I needed a large pot, but I couldn’t find one.”

  Ace pulled one out of the top cabinet and handed it to her. As she filled the pot with water, she tried not to look at him. She could sense him shifting from foot to foot behind her.

  “Everything okay?”

  She shrugged. “What’s not to be okay?”

  “O-okay...,” he said slowly. “I guess I’ll run and change.”

  She nodded without turning around. Although Kristy had already gone home to change into picnic attire, Ace still had on his ranger uniform.

  “I’ll just finish making the potato salad,” she said coldly. “It’s not like you were much help anyway.”

  Ace took a step into her line of vision, and even though she could feel his eyes on her face, she refused to meet his gaze. Finally, he walked out of the room.

  She shook her head. How stupid she was to think he was actually falling for her. All his talk about true love and trust.

  The end-of-season picnic was in full swing by the time they got there. Ace led her over to where the tables were set up, buffet style, and scooted over a bowl of pasta salad so she could set her dish down. Owen waved them over to where he and Dorothy were seated.

  “So glad to see you again, Kristy,” Dorothy said after they’d hugged and sat down. “Your mom told me about your friend’s husband. I’m sorry.”

  Kristy nodded. “Thanks. It was a hard loss for her. And she’s expecting a baby, too, so that makes it even worse.” And then there’s the fact that her husband was cheating on her, even though she refuses to believe it.

  “God will get her through, if she’ll let Him,” Ace said from behind her. “I know that hopeless feeling, though. It’s almost like you wake up in someone else’s life.”

  “Your situation wasn’t exactly the same as hers is.” Kristy’s harsh words came quickly. “She lost her husband, her best friend, the father of the child she’s carrying. And you don’t even know the whole story, so don’t act like you have all the answers.”

  Owen cleared his throat. “So what did you guys bring? We decided just to pick up a couple of pies from the bakery in Savannah.”

  Kristy looked at the expression on Owen’s face and regretted her sudden explosion.

  Ace, however, wasn’t going to let it go. “What is that supposed to mean? Are you angry at me for something?” He glowered at her a little, and even though there was an audience, she had to fight the urge to outright accuse him of two-timing her.

  “Sorry. I’m still upset about the situation.” she smiled tentatively at Owen and Dorothy, who were watching her with interest. In her heart, Kristy knew she was just trying to pick a fight. It didn’t matter what it was about.

  Their awkward moment was finally interrupted by Hank. “Ladies and gentlemen, first I want to thank you for a great summer season. We’ve had some real challenges this summer, and I’d like to personally thank each of you for working hard to keep your Shiloh Park truly a place of peace.” The crowd clapped. “And now, superintendent Bramblett will come forward and give us his yearly wrap-up.”

  As Arnie went to the podium and droned on about the fantastic summer season they’d had at Shiloh, Kristy’s mind wandered. Not only was Ace meeting a mystery woman tomorrow in Nashville, but also Kristy’s job would be over soon. They might be able to justify keeping her for a week or two after Labor Day, but she knew it was time to start looking elsewhere. And frankly, she had no idea where to look. She’d thought she was over this patch in her life where she felt adrift in a strange sea of hopelessness, especially after the good summer she’d had. And she hated to admit to herself just how much Ace had to do with that. He’d given her hope, made her believe she deserved good things. And now ... now he was turning out to be just one more in a long string of disappointments.

  The audience clapped and cheered, and Kristy shook herself back to reality and joined in, choosing to ignore Ace’s questioning glance. Hopefully he was the only one who’d noticed her spacing out during Arnie’s speech.

  Ace pulled her aside before she could join the line for barbeque.

  “What’s the deal? Are you okay?”

  “Sure.” she tried to keep her voice even. “Hey, do you want to go to Hagy’s for lunch tomorrow?” Let’s see what kind of excuse he gives.

  Ace scratched his head. “Oh, I meant to tell you. I’m going to Nashville tomorrow.”

  “Nashville? Why?”

  He frowned. “Well, among other things, I need a new laptop.”

  She scanned his face for signs of lying. None. He was good. “Why don’t you just go to Jackson or Memphis? it’d be closer.”

  “I know. But I’ve not spent much time in Nashville, so I thought it would be a nice way to spend my day off. I wish you could come.”

  I’ll bet you do. I’m sure your little mystery girlfriend would appreciate me tagging along on your lunch date. “Too bad I have to work. But I hope you have fun.” she could barely keep from blowing up at him. Really letting him have it and telling him that the jig was up. She knew the truth. She wouldn’t be made a fool again.

  As Ace walked her home after the barbeque was over, he grabbed her hand.

  “Don’t you think we should talk about things?” he asked. “You’re certainly keeping a guy hanging.” He laughed as they walked up her driveway. “I mean, I know I said you could take some time to think about how you felt, but I’m feeling awfully exposed here.” He spun her toward him and pulled her close. “And I think we have some unfinished business.”

  He leaned toward her, but she pulled back. “Tomorrow. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” she managed a shaky smile. “Be careful in Nashville.”

  Kristy went to bed with an unsettling thought. The feeling in the pit of her stomach was no longer only anger. It was anger mixed with jealousy.

  ***

  Ace felt awful. He hated keeping his meeting with Diana from Kristy. But he wanted to wait and see how their lunch went before he came clean. And he did need to get a new laptop. His old one was worn out from all the use it had been getting lately. So it wasn’t as if he was lying, just not telling the whole truth. But once he got back from Nashville, it would be time to fill Kristy in.

  CHAPTER 52

  Kristy’s pale reflection stared back at her from the mirror. Sick day? she thought about it for a few minutes then looked at the clock. She could still catch Owen before he left his house. But if she called in sick, she had a feeling she would just spend her day wondering what Ace was up to and who the silky-voiced woman was. And what they were doing.

  The decision was easy. Throw hersel
f into the day and hope it turned out to be a busy one.

  “Morning.” Owen nodded at her as she came through the door. “Did y’all have fun at the barbeque last night?” He peered at her over his coffee cup.

  Kristy wondered briefly if she should apologize for her outburst but decided against it. “Yes. How about you and Dorothy?”

  Owen’s face lit up. “We had a good time. She’s a nice lady.”

  Was he blushing? As awful as Kristy’s luck with love was, she could still be happy for her friend. “She is that. I think y’all make a cute couple.”

  “I didn’t know how lonely I was until I met her.”

  Kristy thought about her own life and how empty it had become before Ace came along. “I know what you mean. I’m glad you found one another. And how is Zach taking it?” she was worried about him, despite the feelings he’d harbored against her. She knew from experience that sometimes it makes you feel better to have someone to direct your anger at, even if that person doesn’t deserve it.

  “I think he’s finally coming around. He seems genuinely sorry for everything that went on out here. And I’ve promised to take him to a UT football game at Neyland stadium once the season starts. He’s pretty excited about it.”

  From the sound of things, Zach wasn’t the only one excited about it. Kristy had always thought Owen would make a wonderful father. It looked like maybe he was at least going to get the chance to be a father figure.

  The day kept dragging on. Because it was their last day, Matthew and Mason were in high spirits, cracking jokes and acting silly. But not even their antics could pull her out of the depression she felt herself falling into. She wasn’t sure whom she was angrier with—Ace for not telling her the entire truth about what he was doing today, or herself for starting to trust him. She knew one thing, though. It wasn’t worth it. She’d seen the rug ripped out from under others. How her mom had struggled when her dad left them. How she had fallen apart when Mark had left her standing at the altar. And she could easily look into the future and see how awful it was going to be once Ainsley finally came to grips with the truth about Brad’s infidelity. For all of Ace’s grand talk about historical loves, he couldn’t follow through.