"This is almost like a date," she said with a smile.
"Consider it exactly that."
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see."
She buckled in and leaned back in the seat, scratching Obiwan's head as he reached forward to lick her face. "I know, I know. It's so exciting. You've been stuck at home all week long with nowhere fun to go. Now sit back where you belong."
"So Rebecca's going to be gone all night long?" Henry asked as he backed out and headed for the highway.
Polly grinned over at him. "All night. Gonna get me drunk so you can have your way with me?"
"Like I need to get you drunk for that."
"You could try it."
"I know you," Henry replied. "At first you're giddy and happy and horny and then? Then you're asleep."
"That's me. A useless happy drunk. Poor Henry."
She looked over at him when he made a familiar turn. "Are we going to the Bell House?"
"Patience, my dear." He put his hand on the console and waited for her to place hers within it. They interlinked their fingers and he gave her a gentle squeeze. "I know this has been a tough week." Then he chuckled. "And today you got to spend time with Sal and her mother."
Polly shook her head. "That woman is a trial to Sal. She's just one of those people who sees the world in a very different light. Her rules are so odd and yet she has no concept that people don't see things the way she does. It's funny to watch Sal, though."
"What do you mean?" Henry took his hand back as he turned into the driveway of their house.
"What's that?" Polly asked, pointing at the porch.
"Just a little surprise. Let's put the leashes on the dogs so they don't wander off. I keep thinking that even though there is so much to do in the house, we should focus on finishing fencing so we can bring them over more often."
Though the sun was still up, candles had been lit along the edge of the porch floor and a quilt had been tossed across the raw wood. Polly snapped the leash onto Obiwan's collar, while Henry did the same for Han and she jumped out of her side of the truck, then met Henry as he waited for her. The dogs rushed ahead, sniffing and stopping to check out every inch of the yard they could reach.
"How did you do this?" Polly asked.
"Here, hold Han for a minute."
She took the leash and stood, staring at the porch in awe. This was so sweet. Henry ducked into the side door of the house and came back with a large picnic basket, then taking Han's leash, he led them all to the porch. He dropped Han's leash over a post that had been placed in the ground next to the quilt and then took Obiwan's and did the same.
Polly sat down on the quilt and took the basket from him, then opened it. "Where did you come up with all of this?"
"I asked Mom to help. She and Molly prepared dinner, then Jessie and the kids brought it here and set things up. Did I surprise you?"
"This is amazing. You are always doing things like this for me. What's this?" Polly took out a pink rose.
"That's from Mom’s garden," Henry said. "I can't believe she already has some blooming. You know, I know she worried that I would never find the right woman to marry, but neither of us could have seen you coming."
"I’m not sure quite what to say to that."
"Don't you know that you changed all of our lives when you arrived in Bellingwood? I was on my way to being a second rate carpenter. I probably would have worked for other contractors for the rest of my life. Sturtz Construction would never have been a big deal. But then you showed up and not only am I running the business, but it's growing and I have more confidence in my work than ever before. And then, there's Mom and Dad. They're having the time of their lives with people they never thought they'd get to know. Mom has Jessie and Molly and you and Rebecca and then Heath and Hayden. Do you know that she and Molly go over to Ames every once in a while to have lunch with him? Just to make him feel like he's part of the family. And Dad is building things that he'd never thought he would get a chance to build. He says that he's doing better work now than ever before. And Polly, it's all because you showed up and fell in love with me."
"You're exaggerating," Polly said. "I believe these things were going to happen and I showed up just because the timing was right." She pulled out a package. "What are we eating tonight?"
"It's just sandwiches," Henry said in way of apology. "I didn't know how long it would be before we got here and since there's no microwave, I wasn't sure how I'd heat something up."
"This one is peanut butter and jelly," Polly said with a laugh.
"That's from Molly. But Mom did pack a cold bottle of wine and some glasses for us."
"Oh, so you are planning to get me drunk and have your way with me."
"Look up there," Henry said, pointing at the sky. "It's a falling star."
"I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight," Polly said and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she asked, "You wanna know what I wished for?"
"No," he said. "Don't tell me or it won't come true."
"It comes true all the time. I wished that we would continue to have as much fun as we do now."
Henry leaned across the basket and kissed her lips, causing Polly to drop the sandwich and put her arms around his neck, holding him close. He reached up, caressed her cheek with his hand, then brushed his thumb under her chin. "I love you, Polly."
She put the basket behind her and scooted close to him, then leaned against his shoulder, breathing deeply as he encompassed her in his arms. "I love you so much and I think you just made me fall in love with our porch."
Polly felt Henry's laugh resonate against her and allowed herself to relax into his arms as he rested his chin on top of her head.
~~~
Even after her protests about leaving the apartment, Polly had been reluctant to leave the Bell House. They'd returned to a house filled with noise and excitement; kids spread out everywhere. Some were gathered around the television playing video games, a group at the dining room table was playing Polly's old Sorry game and when she walked through to the living room, she laughed to see that they'd pushed the sofas back to play Twister.
Jason introduced her to a girl that he had told her about before, insisting they were just friends. He, Scar, Kent and the girl, Mel, had found a corner and were playing Scrabble. Funny thing was, Selena Morris was nowhere to be found.
She looked around for some of the girls she'd seen at other parties, but didn't recognize many. Heath assured them that the apartment would be cleaned up before everyone went home, but Polly wasn't worried. He was having a great time and whatever mess was left over was worth it.
Polly was certain she'd remember none of the people Heath introduced her too. For as much as she loved meeting people, she had the worst time remembering names. If she met them more than once, her odds were much better and she hoped that some of these kids would be around for a long time. Henry had recognized some of the family names, but agreed with Polly that he'd not remember any of the kids’ names tomorrow morning. There were just too many, too fast.
The dogs created quite a stir when they came bounding into the media room. They made their way from person to person, sniffing in greeting and allowing the kids to pet them and snuggle as they pleased.
Polly watched the activity for a few minutes, just to make sure things were going smoothly and adult intervention was unnecessary. She double checked the bedrooms and bathrooms, remembering a few parties she'd been to in high school. Back in her day, someone was always sneaking out to be alone with a boyfriend or girlfriend. The only thing she couldn't do was check the rest of Sycamore House. If kids had come to the party and then snuck to any one of the hideaways in the building, there wasn't much she could do. When she asked Heath if everyone was where they were supposed to be, without hesitation, he confirmed that to be true. She had to trust him.
By the time she got back to her bedroom, Henry and the cats were already settled in, him in his easy chair in
front of the television and the cats sprawled out on top of the bed, as close as they could get to him without actually being on top of him. Henry had adapted quite easily to being a dog person and he didn't mind the cats, but they knew better than to climb all over him. He just put them on the floor over and over until they quit bothering him.
"How's it going out there?" he asked.
"They're having a good time. Did you see Jason with that girl, Mel?"
"I saw a girl playing a game with him and his buddies. What are you trying to tell me?"
"I don't know." Polly kicked her shoes off and then looked guiltily at Henry before picking them up and putting them where they belonged. That was one of the things she planned to demand when they moved into the Bell House. Her own room that she could mess up and never clean. She flopped across the bed, lying on her stomach and peered at the television to see what Henry was watching. "The news channel?"
"There's nothing else on."
"Reruns would be better than this. All they do is tell us what we're supposed to be angry about."
He switched the television off and stood up. "What would you rather do?"
Polly pursed her lips. "I'd rather do that, but there are way too many people in the house."
"We are kind of trapped in here." He flopped himself on top of her, scattering the cats.
"What?" Polly gasped.
"TV is boring, we can't mess around, I'm stuck in a room with you. What else should I be doing?"
She attempted to roll over, but Henry had dropped all of his weight on her torso, making it impossible for her to move. In fact, breathing was becoming a much sought after commodity.
"Can't breathe," she moaned.
Henry lifted himself up just enough for her lungs to work and Polly made another attempt to flip him off her, to no avail.
"What in the world are you doing?" she asked, laughing, now that she finally had enough air.
"I told you. Something."
"What do you mean something?"
"It's just something."
Polly attempted to slide off the edge of the bed and Henry dropped down across the back of her legs and caught her ankles.
"Have you lost your mind?" she asked.
He started tickling the bottom of her feet and Polly squirmed to avoid his grip.
A light knock on the door and it came open, startling both of them. Henry rolled off Polly, barely catching his breath from laughter and Polly lifted her head to see Heath standing in the doorway, looking as perplexed as any poor young man might in this situation.
"I'm sorry," he said and pulled the door shut again.
"Heath, no," Polly called out, sliding all the way to the floor. She was this far gone, she might as well humiliate herself completely. "Come on back in, we were just messing around."
He opened the door again and kept his head down.
"It's really okay, Heath," Henry said, climbing off the bed. "We just got a little bored."
Polly had gotten to her feet by this point and sat down in Henry's chair. "We're sorry we're weird. What's going on?"
"Livia's mom just went into labor and they're going to the hospital. She needs a ride home fast so she can watch her little brother."
"Do we need to take her?" Polly asked, jumping up.
"Well, I can, if that's okay. Jason said he'd hang here until I got back. Do you mind?"
Polly turned to Henry, who shrugged. "Go," she said. "Get her home and come back."
"Do you care if I stop at the convenience store on my way back and get some ice cream? We're going to make sundaes."
Henry walked to the door. "I'll go get ice cream. I need to do something."
"Okay," Heath said, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Thanks. I'll be right back."
Polly tucked her feet up underneath her in Henry's chair and patted her legs for Luke to come up. He sat down on the floor, lifted a leg and cleaned his toes instead.
"Fine," she said and switched the television back on. "Well, that was embarrassing." Leia jumped back up on the bed, looked over at Polly and without warning, leaped across the expanse, startling both of them when she landed in Polly's lap.
Buzzing in her back pocket forced her to disturb the cat as she pulled out her phone.
"Hello?"
"Polly, it's Kayla. Is Rebecca there? Can I talk to her?"
"Oh, honey," Polly said. "She's over at Jessie's tonight. Where are you?"
"I'm not supposed to tell you."
"This is another new number. I didn't recognize it."
"Stephanie bought another phone today. She said that dad would figure out a way to find us because Jeff keeps texting and calling."
"Is she there?" Polly asked. "Will she talk to me?"
Kayla must have put her hand over the phone, because Polly heard muffled sounds. "She says you'll just try to talk her into coming back and we can't."
"She's right. I will try to talk you into returning, but most of all, I want to know that you're safe. Are you?"
"Yeah. I miss school and I really miss Rebecca. I can't believe I can’t go to her birthday party. You're still having it, aren't you?"
"Absolutely. I wish you could be here, too. Please. Can I talk to Stephanie?"
There were more muffled sounds and then, "Hi Polly. It's me."
Polly breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Stephanie, it's so good to hear your voice. Are you two safe? Do you need anything? Do you have enough money? Are you getting enough to eat?"
"We're fine. You guys really just have to let this go. As long as my dad is out, he's not only a threat to me, but everybody else. He'll do anything he can to get what he wants. And he told me he wants ..." Stephanie paused and Polly heard a door click shut. "He told me that he wants Kayla. Polly, he told me that he dreams about having her every night. Can you believe that? Why would he say something like that to me?"
"Because he wants to scare you, honey."
"Well it worked. I'm terrified. I won't let him get near her."
"I get that. But you have a host of people here in Bellingwood that feel the same way. You don't have to do this alone."
"Yes I do. You all have your own families and your own lives to take care of. This is my family and nobody cares about Kayla like I do. I won't let him hurt her."
"Stephanie." Polly took a breath. "How long have you been part of my life?"
"I don't know exactly."
"Long enough to know that I have a tendency to take care of everyone. Remember, I'm the one who brought Heath Harvey into my house and that was after he threatened me."
"But he's your family."
"He wasn't when that happened and sweetie, you've been part of my family since that night Kayla came home with Rebecca after school. The thing is? Jeff is absolutely devastated that you're gone. Girl, he loves you to pieces."
"He's just my boss."
"Stephanie Armstrong, you know better than that. You should be ashamed of yourself."
"I know. You're right. He and I are friends."
"And he needs you. I mean, how many stalking texts have you gotten from him?"
Stephanie laughed. "I lost count."
"Don't you think the two of you would be safe at his apartment?"
"But I don't want to put him in any danger, either. Polly, you don't know how bad my father is. Nobody does."
"It's enough to know that you are scared of what he'll do. That's all any of us really need to know. Stephanie, this isn't about him. I don't give a hoot in hell about that man. I care about you and Kayla. He can be as scary as he wants, but we won't let him hurt you."
"You won't be able to stop him."
The conversation wasn't going to resolve. "Can you tell me where you are?" Polly asked. "Are you staying in a nice place at least? Eating at some nice restaurants?"
"We're doing fine," Stephanie said. "I'm not ready to tell you where we are or where we're going."
"Honey, you have to stop going. Bellingwood is your home and Jeff and
I are your family. We might be a weird little family, but we are family. And you know I don't take that word lightly. Think about Kayla. She needs to finish the school year. Taking a week off is one thing, but it will be really difficult for her to make up the time she's gone if you don't come back."
"I know," Stephanie said softly. "I've been thinking about that."
"Look, you can stay at Sycamore House in the addition or you can stay at Jeff's apartment in Ames. Who would think to look for you there? We can figure out how to keep Kayla safe when she's at school. I'll pick them up after school and get them back here safely. We can do this. And who knows, your father might not even be in the neighborhood."
"Oh he's there," Stephanie said. "I checked my messages on my old phone. He's left me a bunch, telling me what he's going to do to Kayla because I kept her away from him."
"You know he's in town?"
"Yeah. Somewhere around there. He said he found our trailer and he went in and lay down on our beds so he could smell us."
"Oh, Stephanie, I'm so sorry." Polly wanted to be sick. She couldn't imagine what Stephanie was feeling. "I have a difficult question. Have you saved those messages?"
"Damn straight," Stephanie said. "Once he's caught, I want to have all the evidence I can to put him away for life."
"Good for you. I'm proud of you for taking charge, you know. But remember, you don't have to do this alone."
"I have to go now. Kayla's in the other room."
"Can we talk again?"
"Okay."
"Promise?"
"Yeah. I promise."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Drifting in and out of sleep the next morning, Polly finally pulled herself fully awake. They'd been up much too late last night chatting with Heath, who was wired higher than a kite. It made her smile to realize how far he'd come this last year.
He and Henry were already gone this morning and since Jessie was going to make sure that Rebecca got to Beryl's house for her art lesson, Polly had nowhere to be until Sal's shower this afternoon. Then her heart lurched. She also had dinner tonight with Henry's grandparents. There was no reason for that to make her nervous, but it did. All she knew about them was that they traveled the world and met extraordinary people. Somehow it made her feel so commonplace. She understood what made Bill so uncomfortable around them.
Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14) Page 14
