Local Hero

by Nora Roberts

  really get me something?”

  “Nah.” Laughing at Radley’s expression, he ruffled his hair. “Sure I did. It’s right there on the couch.”

  “Which one?”

  “All of them.”

  Radley’s eyes grew big as saucers. “All of them?”

  “They all sort of go together. Why don’t you open that one first?”

  Because of the lack of time and materials, Mitch hadn’t wrapped the boxes. He’d barely had enough forethought to put tape over the name brand and model, but buying presents for young boys was a new experience, and one he’d enjoyed immensely. Radley began to pry open the heavy cardboard with assistance from his more curious friends.

  “Wow, a PC.” Josh craned his head over Radley’s shoulder. “Robert Sawyer’s got one just like it. You can play all kinds of things on it.”

  “A computer.” Radley stared in amazement at the open box, then turned to Mitch. “Is it for me, really? To keep?”

  “Sure you can keep it—it’s a present. I was hoping you’d let me play with it sometime.”

  “You can play with it anytime, anytime you want.” He threw his arms around Mitch’s neck, forgetting to be embarrassed because his friends were watching. “Thanks. Can we hook it up right now?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  “Rad, you’ll have to clear off the desk in your room. Hold it,” Hester added when a flood of young bodies started by. “That doesn’t mean shoving everything on the floor, okay? You take care of it properly, and Mitch and I will bring this in.”

  They streaked away with war whoops that warned her she’d be finding surprises under Radley’s bed and under the rug for some time. She’d worry about that later. Now she crossed the room to stand beside Mitch.

  “That was a terribly generous thing to do.”

  “He’s bright. A kid that bright deserves one of these.”

  “Yes.” She looked at the boxes yet to be opened. There’d be a monitor, disk drives, software. “I’ve wanted to get him one, but haven’t been able to swing it.”

  “I didn’t mean that as a criticism, Hester.”

  “I know you didn’t.” She gnawed at her lip in a gesture that told him her nerves were working at her. “I also know this isn’t the time to talk, and that we have to. But before we take this in to Rad, I want to tell you how glad I am that you’re here.”

  “It’s where I want to be.” He ran a thumb along her jawline. “You’re going to have to start believing that.”

  She took his hand and turned her lips into his palm. “You might not feel the same way after you spend the next hour or so with ten fifth-graders.” She smiled as the first minor crash sounded from Radley’s bedroom. “‘Once more unto the breach’?”

  The crash was followed by several young voices raised in passionate argument. “How about, ‘Lay on, MacDuff’?”

  “Whatever.” Drawing a deep breath, Hester lifted the first box.

  ***

  It was over. The last birthday guest had been dragged away by his parents. A strange and wonderful silence lay over the living room. Hester sat in a chair, her eyes half closed, while Mitch lay sprawled on the couch with his closed completely. In the silence Hester could hear the occasional click of Radley’s new computer and the mewing of Zark, who sat in his lap. With a contented sigh, she surveyed the living room.

  It was in shambles. Paper cups and plates were strewn everywhere. The remains of potato chips and pretzels were in bowls, with a good portion of them crushed into the carpet. Scraps of wrapping paper were scattered among the toys the boys had decided worthy of attention. She didn’t want to dwell on what the kitchen looked like.

  Mitch opened one eye and looked at her. “Did we win?”

  “Absolutely.” Reluctantly, Hester dragged herself up. “It was a brilliant victory. Want a pillow?”

  “No.” Taking her hand, he flipped her down on top of him.

  “Mitch, Radley is—”

  “Playing with his computer,” he finished, then nuzzled her bottom lip. “I’m betting he breaks down and puts some of the educational software in before it’s over.”

  “It was pretty clever of you to mix those in.”

  “I’m a pretty clever kind of guy.” He shifted her until she fit into the curve of his shoulder. “Besides, I figured I’d win you over with the machine’s practicality, and Rad and I could play the games.”

  “I’m surprised you don’t have one of your own.”

  “Actually . . . it seemed like such a good idea when I went in for Rad’s that I picked up two. To balance my household accounts,” he said when Hester looked up at him. “And modernize my filing system.”

  “You don’t have a filing system.”

  “See?” He settled his cheek on her hair. “Hester, do you know what one of the ten greatest boons to civilization is?”

  “The microwave oven?”

  “The afternoon nap. This is a great sofa you’ve got here.”

  “It needs reupholstering.”

  “You can’t see that when you’re lying on it.” He tucked his arm around her waist. “Sleep with me awhile.”

  “I really have to clean up.” But she found it easy to close her eyes.

  “Why? Expecting company?”

  “No. But don’t you have to go down and take Taz out?”

  “I slipped Ernie a couple of bucks to walk him.”

  Hester snuggled into his shoulder. “You are clever.”

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

  “I haven’t even thought about dinner,” she murmured as her mind began to drift.

  “Let ’em eat cake.”

  With a quiet laugh, she slipped into sleep beside him.

  Radley wandered in a few moments later, the kitten curled in his arms. He’d wanted to tell them about his latest score. Standing at the foot of the sofa, he scratched the kitten’s ears and studied his mom and Mitch thoughtfully. Sometimes when he had a bad dream or wasn’t feeling very good, his mom would sleep with him. It always made him feel better. Maybe sleeping with Mitch made his mom feel better.

  He wondered if Mitch loved his mom. It made his stomach feel funny to think about it. He wanted Mitch to stay and be his friend. If they got married, did that mean Mitch would go away? He would have to ask, Radley decided. His mom always told him the truth. Shifting the kitten to one arm, he lifted the bowl of chips and carried it into his room.

  ***

  It was nearly dark when she awoke. Hester opened her eyes and looked directly into Mitch’s. She blinked, trying to orient herself. Then he kissed her, and she remembered everything.

  “We must have slept for an hour,” she murmured.

  “Closer to two. How do you feel?”

  “Groggy. I always feel groggy if I sleep during the day.” She stretched her shoulders and heard Radley giggling in his room. “He must still be at that computer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him happier.”

  “And you?”

  “Yes.” She traced his lips with her fingertip. “I’m happy.”

  “If you’re groggy and happy, this might be the perfect time for me to ask you to marry me again.”

  “Mitch.”

  “No? Okay, I’ll wait until I can get you drunk. Any more of that cake left?”

  “A little. You’re not angry?”

  Mitch combed his fingers through his hair as he sat up. “About what?”

  Hester put her hands on his shoulders, then rested her cheek on his. “I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want.”

  He tightened his arms around her; then with an effort, he relaxed. “Good. That means you’re close to changing your mind. I’d like a double-ring ceremony.”

  “Mitch!”

  “What?”

  She drew back and, because she didn’t trust his smile, shook her head. “Nothing. I think it’s best to say nothing. Go ahead and help yourself to the cake. I’m going to get started in here.”

 
; Mitch glanced around the room, which looked to be in pretty good shape by his standards. “You really want to clean this up tonight?”

  “You don’t expect me to leave this mess until the morning,” she began, then stopped herself. “Forget I said that. I forgot who I was talking to.”

  Mitch narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Are you accusing me of being sloppy?”

  “Not at all. I’m sure there’s a lot to be said for living in a ‘junkyard’ decor with a touch of ‘paper drive’ thrown in. It’s uniquely you.” She began to gather up paper plates. “It probably comes from having maids as a child.”

  “Actually, it comes from never being able to mess up a room. My mother couldn’t stand disorder.” He’d always been fond of it, Mitch mused, but there was something to be said for watching Hester tidy up. “For my tenth birthday, she hired a magician. We sat in little folding chairs—the boys in suits, the girls in organdy dresses—and watched the performance. Then we were served a light lunch on the terrace. There were enough servants around so that when it was over there wasn’t a crumb to be picked up. I guess I’m overcompensating.”

  “Maybe a little.” She kissed both of his cheeks. What an odd man he was, she thought, so calm and easygoing on one hand, so driven by demons on the other. She strongly believed that childhood affected adulthood, even to old age. It was the strength of that belief that made her so fiercely determined to do the best she could by Radley. “You’re entitled to your dust and clutter, Mitch. Don’t let anyone take it away from you.”

  He kissed her cheek in return. “I guess you’re entitled to your neat and tidy. Where’s your vacuum?”

  She drew back, brow lifted. “Do you know what one is?”

  “Cute. Very cute.” He pinched her, hard, just under the ribs. Hester jumped back with a squeal. “Ah, ticklish, huh?”

  “Cut it out,” she warned, holding out the stack of paper plates like a shield. “I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

  “Come on.” He crouched like a wrestler. “Two falls out of three.”

  “I’m warning you.” Wary of the gleam in his eye, she backed up as he advanced. “I’ll get violent.”

  “Promise?” He lunged, gripping her under the waist. In reflex, Hester lifted her arms. The plates, dripping with cake and ice cream, caught him full in the face. “Oh, God.” Her own scream of laughter had her falling backward into a chair. She opened her mouth to speak but only doubled up again.

  Very slowly Mitch wiped a hand over his cheek, then studied the smear of chocolate. Watching, Hester let out another peal of laughter and held her sides helplessly.

  “What’s going on?” Radley came into the living room staring at his mother, who could do nothing but point. Shifting his gaze, Radley stared in turn at Mitch. “Jeez.” Radley rolled his eyes and began to giggle. “Mike’s little sister gets food all over her face like that. She’s almost two.”

  The control Hester had been scratching for slipped out of her grip. Choking with laughter, she pulled Radley against her. “It was—it was an accident,” she managed, then collapsed again.

  “It was a deliberate sneak attack,” Mitch corrected. “And it calls for immediate retribution.”

  “Oh, please.” Hester held out a hand, knowing she was too weak to defend herself. “I’m sorry. I swear. It was a reflex, that’s all.”

  “So’s this.” He came closer, and though she ducked behind Radley, Mitch merely sandwiched the giggling boy between them. And he kissed her, her mouth, her nose, her cheeks, while she squirmed and laughed and struggled. When he was finished, he’d transferred a satisfactory amount of chocolate to her face. Radley took one look at his mother and slipped, cackling, to the floor.

  “Maniac,” she accused as she wiped chocolate from her chin with the back of her hand.

  “You look beautiful in chocolate, Hester.”

  * * *

  It took more than an hour to put everything to rights again. By popular vote, they ended up sharing a pizza as they once had before, then spending the rest of the evening trying out Radley’s birthday treasures. When he began to nod over the keyboard, Hester nudged him into bed.

  “Quite a day.” Hester set the kitten in his basket at the foot of Radley’s bed, then stepped out into the hall.

  “I’d say it’s a birthday he’ll remember.”

  “So will I.” She reached up to rub at a slight stiffness at the base of her neck. “Would you like some wine?”

  “I’ll get it.” He turned her toward the living room. “Go sit down.”

  “Thanks.” Hester sat on the couch, stretched out her legs and slipped off her shoes. It was definitely a day she would remember. Sometime during it, she’d come to realize that she could also have a night to remember.

  “Here you go.” Mitch handed her a glass of wine, then slipped onto the sofa beside her. Holding his own glass up, he shifted her so that she rested against him.

  “This is nice.” With a sigh, she brought the wine to her lips.

  “Very nice.” He bent to brush his lips over her neck. “I told you this was a great sofa.”

  “Sometimes I forget what it’s like to relax like this. Everything’s done, Radley’s happy and tucked into bed, tomorrow’s Sunday, and there’s nothing urgent to think about.”

  “No restless urge to go out dancing or carousing?”

  “No.” She stretched her shoulders. “You?”

  “I’m happy right here.”

  “Then stay.” She pressed her lips together a moment. “Stay tonight.”

  He was silent. His hand stopped its easy massage of her neck, then began again, slowly. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  “Yes.” She drew a deep breath before she turned to look at him. “I’ve missed you. I wish I knew what was right and what was wrong, what was best for all of us, but I know I’ve missed you. Will you stay?”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  She settled back against him, content. For a long time they sat just as they were, half dreaming, in silence, with lamplight glowing behind them.

  “Are you still working on the script?” she asked at length.

  “Mmm-hmm.” He could get used to this, he thought, very used to having Hester snuggled beside him in the late evening with the lamplight dim and the scent of her hair teasing his senses. “You were right. I’d have hated myself if I hadn’t tried to write it. I guess I had to get past the nerves.”

  “Nerves?” She smiled over her shoulder. “You?”

  “I’ve been known to have them, when something’s either unfamiliar or important. They were stretched pretty thin the first time I made love with you.”

  Hearing it not only surprised her but made the memory of it all the sweeter. “They didn’t show.”

  “Take my word for it.” He stroked the outside of her thigh, lightly and with a casualness that was its own kind of seduction. “I was afraid that I’d make the wrong move and screw up something that was more important than anything else in my life.”

  “You didn’t make any wrong moves, and you make me feel very special.”

  When she rose, it felt natural to hold out a hand to him, to have his close over hers. She switched off lights as they walked to the bedroom.

  Mitch closed the door. Hester turned down the bed. He knew it could be like this every night, for all the years they had left. She was on the edge of believing it. He knew it; he could see it in her eyes when he crossed to her. Her eyes remained on his while she unbuttoned her blouse.

  They undressed in silence, but the air had already started to hum. Though nerves had relaxed, anticipation was edgier than ever. Now they knew what they could bring to each other. They slipped into bed together and turned to each other.

  It felt so right, just the way his arms slipped around her to bring her close. Just the way their bodies met, merging warmth to warmth. She knew the feel of him now, the firmness, the strength. She knew how easily hers fit against it. She tipped her head back and, with her
eyes still on his, offered her mouth.