Windy City Romance: Boxed Set: Prequel - Book III

by Barbara Lohr

  “Now it’s your turn. Can I feed you?” Cameron’s quick question seemed to take Bella by surprise. Nodding, she handed him the spoon. Like a little bird, she opened her mouth and the pleased smile after she swallowed was a sight to behold. Cameron looked like he was holding his breath and Harper was right there with him.

  But Bella’s smile pinched with sudden concern. “Do I have a mess on my face?”

  “Not at all, darlin’. Not at all.”

  She ran one hand over her cheeks.

  “Bella, you’re fine, sweetheart. But I’m hungry,” Cameron teased. “Feed me again, okay? We’ll take turns.”

  She got back to business, but Cameron caught Harper’s eye over Bella’s head as the feeding continued. Where had Bella’s worry come from? The two of them took turns, one spoonful for her and then one for Daddy, as if they did this every night. When Connie left the room, Harper saw the housekeeper dab at her eyes.

  The feeding game raised some serious questions in Harper’s mind. But this wasn’t the time to ask them.

  After that, she launched herself into cooking like a crazed foodie, poring over magazines and searching the Internet. If Connie felt she was getting underfoot in the kitchen, she never said anything. The cooking became therapy. Harper wasn’t about to start with a five-course dinner but julienned vegetables? She could handle that without slicing her fingers off, especially if she handled the mandolin with a towel. Tapioca? She could whip egg whites and was rewarded when Bella licked the spoon. Every recipe marked a step forward.

  Harper’s schedule settled into a new routine. On the days when she took Bella to school, she’d come right home instead of stopping for coffee somewhere and whiling away an hour or two. Now she had a purpose. In addition to her culinary efforts, Cameron’s comments had started her sketching again at her work table. The satisfaction she’d once found in creating returned.

  Some Friday evenings, she’d meet Adam for drinks. “So how’s Mr. Baby Blues,” he asked one night as she sipped her cucumber martini.

  “Same.” But she dropped her eyes.

  “Fess up now, girl.”

  Harper would not get flustered. She simply would not. “I’m, ah, doing some work for Cameron.”

  Eyes dancing, Adam cocked his head to one side. “Oh really? Cam-er-on?” And he drew the name out in a ridiculous smoky tone.

  “Oh, come on. I do not sound like that.” She gave her drink a brisk stir with her swizzle stick.

  “Ah, hah.” Plucking the tiny onion from his drink, Adam munched with pleased contentment. “And Billy? Are we still lusting for the idiot?”

  Billy? Amazement sliced through her like a meat cleaver. How long had it been since she’d thought of her ex-boyfriend? “No. Ah, no. Haven’t heard a thing. Don’t expect to.”

  The post office was forwarding her mail from their old apartment. Not long ago she’d shuffle through the pile, hoping for some word. Now she tossed the lot into the trash without a second thought. Flyers, advertisements.

  All just history. Like Billy.

  In the past she’d even called her former boyfriend’s cell, figuring in the time difference and knowing he turned his cell off at night. She just wanted to hear his voice.

  How lame. She couldn’t believe she’d actually done that.

  Adam hugged her before she left the bar that night. “I do believe you are cured, lady. Exorcised.” They both laughed but as she walked to her car, a new calm settled over her. Her friend had a point.

  April was well underway. The rhododendrons were replaced by purple and yellow pansies. Harper often took her sketchbook outside on warm afternoons, keeping her inhaler close. Cameron was calling her in more frequently on his jobs. She told herself she’d be a fool to look for other work right now. Sure, one part of her wanted to get on with her life. But Bella was eating more than applesauce now. The feeding experiment had become routine. Harper loved to see the hopeful glow in Cameron’s eyes when he sat down with Bella. Everything seemed to be running smoothly.

  “Well, I declare. What a picture.” Cameron caught her by surprise one afternoon as he slowly mounted the back steps to the porch. No matter how warm or mussed, the man always looked like he’d stepped from a gentleman’s magazine. Bella sat coloring at a table next to her while Harper sketched.

  “Just felt so cooped up inside.” Flustered, Harper tucked her pencils back into the case.

  He leaned against the sturdy handrail. “No need to stop. You’re just so...well, a picture.” His eyes brushed her like a promising spring breeze.

  The attention made her blush. That made two of them.

  “But why come all the way down here? Use the second story porch right outside my office.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t.” The thought of invading his space shocked her.

  “Told you, I won’t bite,” he said so softly that Bella didn’t hear.

  ~.~

  One Friday when Connie was off, Harper tried a sea bass recipe with a lot of ginger. Usually Cameron met Kimmy for dinner on Fridays, but today, Harper heard him tell Bella he’d be home for dinner. On a whim, Harper had gotten the good china out and asked Bella to help set out the place mats. That night, Harper proudly served the sea bass she’d browned in the pan, scattering basil over it along with sliced bok choy. After she’d transferred the fish to the oven, she wilted some kale in the oil that remained in the pan.

  The crowning touch was her mother’s sugar burned carrots, a recipe her Grandma Nora had made all the time. Bella had helped peel the carrots, tip of her tongue caught in the corner of her mouth. Then Harper sliced the peeled carrots and fried them in butter, sprinkling sugar over them so they burned. Bella was all eyes. But that didn’t mean she’d eat what was cooking in the pan.

  “These taste so good, Bella, so soft and sweet.” Harper nibbled one from the pan after cooling it. “Want one?”

  Bella shook her head. The consistency might be a huge step for her.

  By that time, Cameron had arrived home and stood sipping his wine in the doorway. Although Harper didn’t know much about wine, tonight’s Riesling tasted pretty good. Her glass sat next to her on the stove. “My word, Harper. However did you learn all this?”

  She flushed with pleasure, giving the carrots a quick flip. “Connie’s been teaching me and I remember some tricks from my mother, although she rarely gave up the stove. Not even McKenna got a turn with Mom’s double ovens. How about yours?”

  “Sometimes, I guess.” His eyes shuttered. Cameron never discussed his family, and she wouldn’t ask. In all probability, his mother employed a cook and never lifted a finger around the house.

  In a brave moment, Harper had whipped up pots of chocolate mousse from an online recipe. She’d found glass snifters in the dining room, which made the dessert look even more impressive.

  Cameron Bennett appreciated quality, and Harper found herself wanting to meet those expectations.

  “Smells delicious, Harper.” Cameron pulled her chair out for her as they sat down to eat. Such a southern gentleman. Bella sat across from her, the plastic cereal bowl in front of her on the bamboo mats Harper had found.

  A few bites of the sea bass and carrots and Cameron turned to her. She didn’t know whether to be insulted or pleased at the astonishment lifting his brows. “Harper, I believe you have outdone yourself. “

  She smiled. In her mind, his accolades went on to include “You are beautiful, talented and sexy as all get out.”

  Her thoughts brought a hot flush to her cheeks.

  “Everything all right?” He dropped one hand over hers on the table. Heat crackled through her.

  House afire over here. “Fine. Everything’s, ah, fine.”

  His eyes fell to their hands and then rose, cauldrons of molten blue. One furtive glance at Bella and he lifted his hand to resume eating. Tucking her left hand in her lap, Harper ate while her mind spun. This meal had taken so much time, time she’d never spent cooking for Billy.

  Made her feel prett
y good.

  Harper almost didn’t hear the landline pierce the quiet spring air. Connie wasn’t home so she started to get up.

  “Stay right there.” Tossing his napkin aside, Cameron marched into the kitchen. “Probably another marketing research person. I’ll be damned if I’m going to eat this wonderful meal listening to that phone. People should know enough not to call during the dinner hour.”

  But apparently the call was not from a marketer because Cameron didn’t say anything for a long time. And he did not hang up. Harper put her fork down. Even Bella had stopped eating.

  “I understand,” Cameron finally said in a terse voice. “Of course I’m coming, Lily.”

  His sister was calling? Bad manners to eavesdrop but Harper leaned toward the doorway.

  “Yes. As soon as possible.” Then he hesitated. “Well, I’ll have to think about that. But possibly, yes.”

  Something in Cameron’s tone tied a knot in Harper’s chest. His footsteps lagged as he returned to the dining room. “I’m afraid I must excuse myself, ladies. Something’s come up.”

  “No mousse?”

  “Sorry but not tonight.” He met her eyes. “Let’s talk later.”

  “Of course.”

  Whatever the call concerned, it wasn’t good.

  Chapter 20

  When Cameron left the room after the call from his sister, he took Harper’s appetite with him. What had happened? The evening dragged and it seemed like forever until she put Bella to bed. Crickets were singing in the myrtle in the courtyard when she found Cameron on the porch. Long legs stretched onto one of the hassocks, he was smoking what looked like a cigar. The tip glowed red in the darkness. He stabbed it out quickly, using a brass ashtray she’d never seen before. One swipe and it disappeared under the chair.

  Soft light from the kitchen fell over the porch. She took the chair next to his. “What’s up?”

  He stared past her into the darkness. “My father passed away unexpectedly, Harper. I have to go home tomorrow.”

  “I see.” But she’d never heard him mention a father. “I’m so sorry.”

  “We didn’t see eye to eye but he was my father.”

  “And Bella will go with you?”

  “And you, if you don’t mind.” Usually so self contained, he rubbed one hand across his forehead.

  “Of course. Can I help in any other way?” She resisted the urge to hug him.

  “I don’t think so. I don’t know.”

  Losing a parent—Harper couldn’t go there. Her family was such a tight unit.

  The silence became oppressive, and she soon excused herself. Upstairs, Harper poked her head into Bella’s room. She was fast asleep, one hand curled up next to her cheek. She left the door open leading to the third floor.

  Once in her room Harper dug through her closet. What should she wear to a southern funeral? She pictured women in black high-necked gowns and wide-brimmed hats. Her closet sure couldn’t measure up to that. A pair of black pants and a purple top would have to do for now. A black jean jacket and a shawl in case it turned cool. She threw her usual scarves into a duffel bag, along with some other accessories. But long after the mansion had settled down, she peeked through her window and saw the light from Cameron’s office blanketing the garden.

  Letting the sheer drop back into place, she flopped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. How she could offer comfort to a man who always had things well in hand?

  Right now he didn’t. She felt that clear to her bones.

  The drive to Hazel Hurst the following day was quiet. Cameron turned on some smooth jazz and mellow saxophone filled the SUV. Harper hadn’t slept well. Not even the soothing music could put her to sleep now. She was going to meet Cameron’s family.

  Harper had packed a “surprise bag” for the trip, just like her mom used to do. Sticker books and magnetic paper dolls kept Bella busy in the back. While her charge played, questions spun through Harper’s mind, but the set angle of Cameron’s chin kept her from asking them. What had happened to the laid-back guy from the beach? For sure, he was missing in action.

  From time to time, Bella’s little feet thumped the back of Cameron’s seat. He didn’t say anything. Just stared blankly over the wheel. Her father and brothers always wore jeans to travel but Cameron was dressed in pale gray suit pants, a blue shirt open at the neck. Maybe funerals were different. He knew what his family expected.

  But if Harper had her reservations about quizzing Cameron today, Bella sure didn’t. “Daddy, where we going?”

  “To visit your grandmother.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Harper saw Bella turn that idea over in her mind. “What’s her name?” She fit a starfish sticker into her book.

  “Esther, but you can just call her Grandma. Aunt Lily will be there too, along with some uncles. You know Aunt Lily. She’s visited us.”

  Bella’s face screwed up. “Yeah. I guess.”

  Leaning over, Harper whispered, “Kind of a lot to throw at her at once.”

  “Yes, of course you’re right.” His mood stayed in low gear.

  Thank goodness Bella went back to her sticker book.

  The ride wasn’t that long. Once they got off the highway, the road narrowed to two lanes. Farm fields opened on either side, along with scruffy stands of pine. Kudzu, a vine that grew wild in the South, blanketed some of the fields.

  “Damned weed,” Cameron muttered at one point. “Kills just about everything.”

  “So I hear. Looks like they need Jack around here.”

  Cameron managed a dry chortle. “Very few people here can afford a Jack.”

  Tension ratcheted up in the car when Cameron turned off the asphalt-covered county highway onto hard-packed dirt. The music switched to something with a deep bass, and Cameron’s elegant hands began beating time on the steering wheel. Misgivings churned in her stomach. For a second, she was sorry she’d come, but no way would she let Bella face this alone.

  Whatever this was.

  After bouncing along for at least a mile, they came to a spot where the roads parted. Nailed to a post were names on arrows pointing to one of three trails. Never hesitating, Cameron took a right. The arrow was labeled “Blodgett” in bold black letters. They bumped along. Cameron cut his speed, cursing under his breath and causing Bella to call out, “Daddy, that’s naughty.”

  “Sorry, darlin’.” Gritting his teeth, he worked the wheel to avoid potholes that didn’t look new. At times, the traffic path veered off into the tall grass and then returned to the road. The first warning posted on a cedar tree advised, “No trespassing.” The rough piece of board farther down, “Trespassers will be shot on sight,” sent a chill down her spine.

  She jerked her head in Cameron’s direction.

  “No need for alarm, Harper. We are not trespassing. I grew up here.”

  Just another chapter in the mystery that was Cameron Bennett.

  Finally, they reached a clearing where a low country home sprawled. The white clapboard needed painting, and the roof had been patched. Despite these improvements, one strong wind could probably take the structure down.

  “God dammit,” Cameron muttered. “They were supposed to paint the place months ago.”

  “Daddy?” Bella’s frustration at her father’s language was almost comical.

  “You’ll have to forgive me, sweetheart. Daddy gets upset sometimes.”

  An assortment of pickup trucks and vehicles crowded the house. The yard could easily be mistaken for a junkyard on the south side of Chicago. Harper didn’t blink and hardly breathed. She’d sure pegged this one wrong. Bella had fallen silent. A pack of ragtag yapping mutts charged the car. Harper made sure their doors were locked.

  “Don’t worry,” Cameron told Bella. “These hounds won’t attack us.”

  “Good to know,” Harper muttered, clutching the door handle but not opening it. Cameron leapt out and, with a sharp whistle, transformed the snarls to wagging tails. Then he opened the back doo
r, unsnapped Bella’s safety belt and hoisted her into his arms. She twined her arms around his neck, eyes on the dogs. When Harper slipped from the car, her stacked black-heeled sandals sank into the loamy dirt. A woman had come onto the porch, and the screen door slammed shut behind her.

  Lily crossed her arms over a navy blouse, the ruffled collar in style ten years ago. “So, you’ve come.”

  “Did you think I wouldn’t?” Setting Bella on her feet, Cameron took her hand. “Harper, you remember Lily, my sister. Harper is Bella’s nanny. You met her once before.”

  “Of course. Nanny?”

  Oh, my. Lily looked skeptical. Harper had extended her hand but she curled it back into the handle of her peony purse. What had she gotten herself into? Two young men had slouched out the front door after Lily, and now they stood regarding Cameron. The family resemblance was startling. Dressed in work jeans and well-washed T-shirts, they sure were related to Cameron but had none of his style.

  “My brothers -- Fred and Henry Blodgett.” Their hands were rough from work when she shook them, the familiar blue eyes honest and curious.

  Lily stepped aside, and Harper followed Cameron through the door. The small room was filled with the rich smell of food laid out on a side table. An older woman in a plain black dress sat rocking in front of a fireplace stained with years of soot. If she’d worn makeup and had her hair styled, she would have been beautiful. She’d definitely given Cameron her ice blue eyes, and she rose to her feet with grace. Bella clutched her daddy’s pant leg like a life preserver.

  “Mama.” When Cameron opened his arms, his mother entered them reluctantly. She looked tired.

  Then she pushed back. “Glad to see you, son.”

  His face paled. “Did you think I wouldn’t come to my own father’s funeral?”

  Lily beckoned to Harper. Taking Bella’s hand, Harper followed Lily into the kitchen, Cameron’s brothers trailing behind them. Time to escape the family reunion that felt more than awkward.