Her Mysterious Houseguest

by Jane Toombs

  “The female finds she doesn’t object to hand-holding.” She managed to keep her tone light, when what she really wanted to do was purr.

  “That being so, curtailing his eagerness, the male plans his next move, searching for an innocuous-seeming, unalarming but still erotic caress.” He let go of her hand. “How about a foot massage?”

  “I don’t think….” But he’d already slipped off her boot and sock and her words trailed away as she felt his fingers gently kneading the ball of her foot. Never in her life had anyone massaged her feet. She sighed in pleasure, deciding not to refuse. After all, it was only a game they were playing and she could stop anytime she wished. To bare one foot certainly wasn’t dangerous.

  The next she knew she had two bare feet and she was thoroughly enjoying his magic touch. Better take care, she warned herself through her growing languor. She couldn’t recall ever feeling so warm and relaxed and at the same time expectant, both wanting him to go on doing this forever and yet waiting for what would happen next. Which was madness.

  But madness of such a sensual kind that she didn’t seem to be able to make herself care. Whoever would think having a foot massage could lead to thoughts of further intimacy? Which was definitely happening. If she didn’t watch out she’d be in over her head. She must do something, make some kind of stand now, before it was too late.

  With an effort, Rachel forced herself to sit fully upright, pulling her feet away from Mikel and tucking them under her in the chair.

  He smiled. “Going too fast, was I?”

  “Yes. I mean, no. I just don’t care to play the game anymore.”

  He rose and stretched, looking down at her. “The only real danger comes when it ceases to be a game, you know.”

  There was no way she intended to admit she’d already passed that point. While she watched him collect her empty mug, along with his own, and carry them over to the coffeemaker, she kept trying to come up with words to indicate her total disinterest in the subject. She couldn’t seem to find anything appropriate, which annoyed her.

  “I have to get home and see if there are any phone messages waiting,” she said finally, as she bent to pull on her socks and boots. “The hospital might have tried to reach me.”

  He didn’t comment, and when she was ready, he escorted her to the door.

  “Thanks for the dinner,” she told him. “And the coffee.”

  “My pleasure,” he assured her. “It’s not often Little Red Riding Hood comes to visit.”

  Damn the man, he’d caught what she’d meant earlier. Did he ever miss anything? Men like Mikel were dangerous, she had to keep that in mind at all times. “It’s not often Little Red Riding Hood gets away from the Big Bad Wolf, either,” she said.

  “You flatter me.”

  She chuckled despite herself. “You know better. It really is time for me to say good-night. Please don’t feel you need to escort me to my door. This is as close to a no-crime area as you can get.”

  She had to pass him to leave the cottage, and for a moment she paused looking into his eyes. Only when she glanced away was she able to ease past him and out the door, trying to keep her pace slow so it wouldn’t look as though she were running away. Which she was. If she’d stayed a moment longer, she’d couldn’t have trusted herself not to lift her face for the good-night kiss that waited for her there in those green eyes.

  Mikel watched her from his open door until she reached the house, entered and shut off the outside light. So much for promising Aino to stay around to keep her safe. Rachel would be much safer with him miles away.

  Closing the cottage door, he returned to the armchair, picking up the pamphlet of planting on the way. Never let it be said that, even though frustrated in other areas, a special agent doesn’t do his homework.

  In the morning it was breakfast at Sylvia’s. He got Dottie with her aquamarine eyes as his waitress again. “Hear you and Rachel ate out at Metrovich’s last night,” she said.

  He nodded, realizing there was little a person could do in this place without word getting around fast. “Good perch,” he said. “Saw a bear on the way home, too.”

  “One of them Dumpster bears, probably. They hang around the restaurants outside of town.”

  Her words made him sorry he’d mentioned the bear. Somehow it took away the surprised pleasure he’d felt in seeing a wild animal. He ordered quickly.

  When he finished eating, he took a turn on foot around the town, where he fell into conversation with a man walking a dog. When he finally worked the conversation as casually as he could past canines to Leo’s return to Ojibway, the man, whose name was Don, shook his head.

  “I went to school with Leo, but he wasn’t much for talking, so I never knew him all that well. He was stuck on the Laati girl even then. She was real pretty but kind of sickly. My folks said she had some kind of chronic problem that’d kill her young, which I guess it did. No one was surprised when he brought her back here to die.”

  “Just him and his daughter with her, no nurse or anyone else?”

  Don shook his head. “No nurse. And Eva was too little to be much help. Good thing Aino and his wife took that orphan in when they did. Just in time, as it turned out.”

  “Just in time?” Mikel repeated.

  “Yeah. Rachel got there no more than a day or so before Leo drove into town with his dying wife and his little girl. What he’d’ve done without Rachel to help out doesn’t bear thinking about.”

  After leaving Don, Mikel walked across the bridge to where boats were moored in a small marina. More than one local person had remarked on how lucky it was for Leo that Rachel had turned up when she did. He mistrusted coincidences, but chances were this was one, unless he was all wrong about Rachel’s honesty—and he didn’t think he was. Besides, even if she’d had red hair, she didn’t really resemble the how-she-might-look-today computer picture he’d had made up from Renee’s fourteen-year-old photo.

  Ed at headquarters should have a file on Rachel Hill anytime now. He’d give him a call on Monday. Her file should eliminate the slightest possibility there was something more than coincidence here.

  Mikel stopped by the village library to check out a few details he wanted to know about tree planting, then finished up his other errands before heading back to the farm.

  Shortly after lunch, girls began to arrive on bikes. Most looked to be between ten and twelve. He’d always thought of little girls as gigglers, but this group of eleven merely eyed him covertly as they gathered in the backyard and whispered among themselves. A guy in black jeans and T-shirt probably didn’t remind them too much of Johnny Appleseed, but he wondered what they did think of him. Though sure of himself around women, this gaggle of girls put him on edge.

  Hell, he’d never been around kids much. Back in Washington D.C., some of his buddies helped out with local boys’ clubs and such, but he’d never gotten into it. As for little girls, the only one he’d had anything to do with was Steve’s daughter, Heidi, and she was just a toddler. She was cute and fun to play with, but all she wanted from him was a piggyback ride or a push on the swing.

  These Scouts expected much more. It’d be a snap to teach them how to safely handle a gun, for instance—he could do that in his sleep. But trees? Planting? What did he know?

  Enough to fake it, he told himself. He might not be able to teach them what Aino would have, but he’d do it his way and let the flak fall where it may. At least it would keep his mind off Rachel and what had started to happen between them last night.

  While he watched from the sidelines, which consisted of the seedlings in their pots, Rachel called the meeting to order, disposed rapidly of whatever business there was and then introduced him, explaining that Mikel Starzov was substituting today for Aino, who was still in the hospital, though he’d be home soon. When she finished, she gazed at Mikel expectantly. So did all the girls, who were now sitting on the grass.

  He felt like a fool when he walked over and stood looking down at the
m, so he promptly sat down, too. “I know you’ve all heard about Johnny Appleseed,” he began, “so I’m not going to read his story to you. Instead, I want each of you to tell me something about him.” He pointed to his right, at the girl sitting at the end of the line. “We’ll start here and go across to the end, then back along the second row. Tell me your name first, then a few words about our hero.”

  “I’m Delia,” the towheaded girl said. “Johnny Appleseed was a man who traveled around a lot.”

  He smiled in approval and went on to the next girl. It went well, everyone contributing something, but was over far too quickly, making it his turn again.

  “He may have been a bit eccentric, but all in all, he was a good man who furnished America with a tremendous amount of apples,” he said in conclusion. “Though we’re going to add a few more apple trees today, I want you to think about what would happen if all over the country Girl Scout Troops started planting apple seedlings. Since some variety or other of apple will grow almost anywhere, pretty soon the U.S. would be inundated with apples—right?”

  “Um, I guess,” Delia said.

  “Apples are one of those things that, despite being healthy, taste good, but too many would be too many. So, what you need to do as Scouts is find other kinds of seedlings to plant where there are no trees but need to be. Each one of you on your own, not as a troop. We can’t have too many trees, even if we can have too many apples. Today, though, we’ll learn with apple seedlings, and when we get through, Aino’s going to have a regular apple orchard here instead of just a few old trees out in back.”

  He rose, saying, “I’ll start off by planting the first one. I want you to know that, though I’ve read books and pamphlets about how to plant a tree, I’ve never actually done it. So we’re learning together. Luckily we have Rachel here to set us right if we go wrong.”

  He’d noticed most of the girls were now smiling, which he decided was a plus. But it wasn’t until he’d dug his hole, explaining why it had to be larger than the seedling’s immediate needs, that he began to relax. He then used the hose to fill the hole with water, letting it soak in before he carefully removed the seedling from its pot.

  “Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Garden gloves are okay, but so are muddy hands.” He waggled one of his mud-caked ones and heard someone giggle. He grinned, suddenly enjoying himself. When the little tree was in the hole, the dirt replaced and carefully tamped down, he eyed Delia. “Guess who’s next?” he said to her. “Choose your tree.”

  By the time five trees were in, the girls were chattering to one another and to him, cheering when he viewed each planting critically before pronouncing it a masterpiece. After they were done and were washing their hands in the hose water, he said, “Listen up. I talked to the Department of Natural Resources person and she’s going to arrange to deliver pine seedlings to Rachel for you guys.

  “The pine you get will be yours to plant where you think it needs to go. In your yard is okay, if your folks agree. Anybody else’s yard, you need to get permission first. But there are lots of bare places on land owned by one government agency or another and guess what?”

  “What?” several voices chorused.

  “They get mad if people cut down trees from their land, but they don’t care if you plant one there.”

  “They don’t?” Delia asked.

  “Nope. I checked.”

  Later, after cookies and soft drinks, Mikel stood in the drive with Rachel, watching the girls ride off on their bikes. Delia, who’d hung back, said to Rachel, “Probably Aino won’t be all well yet by next week, so can Mikel come with us on our camp-out instead?”

  Both Rachel and Delia looked at him.

  “I’m willing, but that’s up to your fearless leader,” he told Delia.

  Rachel nodded, saying, “If your parents all agree, that is.”

  Delia shouted, “Wait’ll I tell the others,” and pedaled as fast as she could down the driveway.

  “You don’t mind a camp-out?” Rachel asked.

  “Just because I’m a city boy doesn’t mean I don’t know my way around a tent.” Which was true. Part of agency training involved wilderness lore, which included camping with and without tents. “You haven’t commented on today’s performance,” he added.

  “It’s one they’ll remember, that’s for sure.”

  He was about to ask if that was negative or positive when he noticed a red car pulling into the driveway. “Company’s coming,” he said.

  Rachel frowned. “I don’t recognize the car. I wonder who it can be?”

  He watched it pull up close to them and stop. The door opened and a gray-haired woman stepped briskly out. “It can’t be,” he muttered. “Impossible.”

  She waved and started toward them. “I found you, Mikel! And there’s Rachel, too. Oh, isn’t she sweet. Of course, I knew she’d have to be, but seeing is believing.”

  “Who is that?” Rachel whispered. “Do you know her?”

  His sigh was heartfelt. “I’m afraid so. She’s my Grandmother Sonia.”

  Chapter Five

  Reaching Mikel, Grandma Sonia threw her arms around him. He hugged her, despite everything, glad to see her. Holding her away, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

  She beamed. “Once you told me you’d found the right girl, I just knew I had to come, so I got on the Internet. That computer was the best present you ever bought me. Do you know I was able, online, to get plane reservations to a town near this out-of-the-way place and rent a car there so I could drive over? Remarkable! Then a nice young man at a gas station in Ojibway—Bob, his name was—told me where Rachel Hill lived. So here I am.”

  She turned to Rachel and held out her arms. He watched as Rachel walked hesitantly toward her and was enveloped in a warm hug. “I just knew Mikel would find a nice girl someday,” Sonia said as she released her.

  Fervently regretting trying to placate his grandmother by telling a fib about why he was in the Upper Peninsula, Mikel tried to explain. “Actually Rachel and I are almost strangers. We—”

  Sonia clapped her hands. “How wonderful. Love at first sight, just like with Boris and me. I know all about that.”

  “But we—” Michael began.

  Sonia cut him off. “You can tell me all about it later, dear. Right now, I want to get better acquainted with this girl of yours.” Looking at Rachel, she said, “Do you mind if we talk inside, dear? I really do need to freshen up.”

  Mikel watched Rachel’s bemused expression change to one of polite concern. “Of course,” she said. “Please do come in. I’m afraid you took me by surprise.”

  “I do love surprises,” Sonia said as she followed Rachel toward the house, Mikel bringing up the rear. “Do you live with your parents, Rachel?”

  “No. The house belongs to my cousin, Aino Saari.”

  “So he’s Finnish? I’m Russian, you know.”

  As Rachel nodded, Mikel nipped ahead and opened the door, holding it for them.

  “You know, this boy never lost the manners I taught him,” Sonia observed as she and Rachel entered the house. “That’s more than you can say for many of the young men these days. Rude, that’s what they are.”

  “There’s no need to try to convince Rachel I’m a hot prospect,” Mikel said. “The truth is—”

  Sonia held up her hand. “Later, dear. I really must freshen up first.” She looked expectantly at Rachel, who managed a smile and led her toward the stairs. As they left the room, Mikel threaded his fingers through his hair, gripping it, ready to howl in frustration. What a mess! With nobody to blame but himself. He’d never dreamed his grandmother would take it into her head to hunt him down. It was his own fault for forgetting she’d never been one to sit back and allow things to take their own course. She always knew a better way.

  On the way upstairs, Rachel decided that, little as she understood why Sonia was here, common courtesy demanded she invite her to stay at the house. So she showed Sonia into a guest bedro
om, saying, “There’s a private bathroom through that door. I’ll have Mikel bring up your suitcase.”

  “Thank you. I do hate to impose, but I simply couldn’t sit around in my condo waiting once I knew Mikel had found the girl of his dreams.”

  Rachel blinked, more confused than ever. “He told you that?”

  “Not in so many words, but he admitted you were the reason he’d come to such an unusual place.”

  Jolted, Rachel said, “Me?”

  Sonia nodded. “Mikel tends to keep secrets. I’m sure he wouldn’t have told me anything about the wonderful girl he’d met if I hadn’t made him feel guilty for not coming to see me. Sometimes a pinch of guilt is worth a thousand scolds. Now, if you’ll excuse me, dear…”

  “Of course.” Rachel headed for the door. “I’ll wait downstairs.”

  She found Mikel pacing in the living room. He paused, giving her a rueful look. Before he could speak, she said, “So I’m the girl of your dreams?”

  His aghast expression made her chuckle.

  “When I called Sonia my first day in Ojibway,” he said, “she asked me why I was here, and I didn’t want to tell her anything about the case I was on so I fibbed a bit. I should have remembered liars always get tripped up sooner or later—sooner for me, as it turned out. Sonia tends to be unpredictable as well as inquisitive.”

  Enjoying herself, Rachel said, “Are you telling me I’m not the girl of your dreams? I’m crushed.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Only time will tell, my proud beauty.” Giving her a level look, he added, “You’re not upset by Sonia’s arrival?”

  “I think it’s hilarious—the infallible P.I. brought low by his grandmother. As for her, she’s an awesomely cool lady.”

  He grinned, obviously relieved. “I agree, awesome but interfering.”

  “How do we…?” she began, pausing when she heard footsteps on the stairs. “I promised your grandmother you’d bring up her suitcase,” she said.

  Mikel shot out the door so fast Rachel had to laugh. How could she be angry when he’d got such a funny comeuppance?