Tempted by the Soldier

by Patricia Potter

  “I don’t know,” Eve said. “He usually likes the untouchables. He wouldn’t know what to do with a perfectly normal pup.” She hesitated, then added, “She is normal?”

  “Perfectly. She’s smart and affectionate and cute as a button. Looks like a female Benji.”

  They bundled up the paper box, cups and plates and threw them into the trash can. Stephanie glanced at the community center. Several people were going inside. Was he there now? Or was he hurting from the fight last night?

  The rest of the afternoon flew by quickly. Nearly everyone had a comment about last night’s events. The legend of Clint Morgan was growing by the hour. Her last appointment concluded at five. Beth left for the day and twenty minutes later, Eve and Nick came in through the open door.

  “You should lock it when someone isn’t here,” Eve said.

  “I’m not going to live in fear, and I knew you were coming. One of the things I like about Covenant Falls is I don’t have to lock doors.”

  “Maybe now you should. Until we know more about this detective and your ex.”

  “I will,” Stephanie promised.

  Nick was oblivious to the conversation. He was looking around. “Mom said you had a new dog. A puppy.”

  “She’s up in my apartment. Come on.”

  Nick followed her, and Eve behind him.

  Stephanie opened the door. She fetched Lulu from the kennel and set her down in front of Nick. Lulu held out her paw, just as Stryker and Sherry did.

  Nick took the dog in his arms, and Lulu licked his face. Nick giggled. Yep, done deal.

  “How old is she?” Nick asked.

  “I estimate four months give or take a week,” Stephanie said. “I named her Lulu, but that’s subject to change. She’s had all her shots and I’ll spay her next week.”

  “I really like her, Mom.”

  Eve looked at Nick. “We can’t have six dogs.”

  “I know,” he said sadly. “But Braveheart really does want to go to Mr. Morgan, doesn’t he?”

  “I think he does. That doesn’t mean, though, that Mr. Morgan will want that responsibility. You’ll have to ask him.”

  “Why don’t you do it?” Nick said in a small voice.

  “Because he won’t take Braveheart unless he’s convinced it’s what you want.”

  “I don’t want it, but I think it’s best for Braveheart.”

  “I am really, really proud of you,” Eve said.

  Stephanie watched and felt a tear in the back of her eye. Nick loved Braveheart. He had been the boy’s favorite, although he tried not to show it. He wasn’t trading one dog for another. He’d already made up his mind. She knew that after her earlier conversation with Eve.

  “And you want Lulu?”

  He nodded.

  “Why don’t you come over and play with her after school for the next few days, and after I spay her, you can take her home. Okay?”

  “Thank you,” he said. She noticed, however, the tears shining in his eyes. If Clint Morgan didn’t take care of that dog, and treat him well, she would do bodily harm far worse than the detective had last night.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CLINT SPENT MOST of Thursday nursing his injuries. He’d postponed his computer appointments until Friday. He was sore all over, and his face looked like it had been pulverized by a hammer. But all of it was worth it for the few intimate moments last night with Stephanie.

  She liked him. Stephanie’s declaration was the equivalent of someone else saying they loved him. She was still fighting it, but despite the bruises, he was happier than he’d been in a long time. He had something to live for now, something to fight for. The listlessness, the sense of failure, the loss he’d felt at losing the camaraderie of his unit, of chopper pilots in general, was receding. He missed it. He missed it all. He missed the sound of choppers lifting into the sky, the toasts the pilots made after a successful mission, knowing they had saved lives. Clint had tried to put it all behind him, look forward to a different life, but it was a very large shadow that taunted him. Last night had helped. So had the past few days of helping seniors. He’d enjoyed it far more than he had ever imagined. They were so hungry to learn and yet so hesitant about admitting it.

  He had hoped to hear from Stephanie today, but then she would be busy at the practice. She might well be having second thoughts about their kiss and her admission that she liked him. He wouldn’t blame her after hearing about her nightmare of a marriage.

  At 4:00 p.m., Josh called and asked if he would like to go with him and Nate to the The Rusty Nail for burgers and beer. Eve and Nick planned to have supper at Maude’s, “a mom-and-son thing,” he said, obviously a bit miffed. “They’re involved in some conspiracy. Only God knows what.”

  Clint readily accepted. Every bone in his body ached, his eye and cheek hurt, but it would do the same in the cabin, and he felt like a caged tiger. He needed out. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to make sure Stephanie was protected.

  Josh picked him up in his Jeep. He said Nate would meet them at The Rusty Nail.

  Clint liked Maude’s. In fact, he was growing addicted to Maude’s, but there was something about The Rusty Nail’s greasy hamburger with cheese and onions that met a deep-seated culinary need in him. They were burgers at The Rusty Nail. Hamburgers at Maude’s. There was a difference. And a beer sounded particularly good.

  Nate was already there and had ordered the burgers and ice-cold beers. “You look awful,” he said cheerily. “Hear you whacked the hell out of a bad guy.”

  “I think whether he is a bad guy is still to be determined.”

  “Anyone skulking around our fair town is a bad guy,” Nate retorted. “You have any idea about the reason?”

  “He’s not talking,” Josh said.

  Clint held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’ve been nursing this face all day.”

  “Hate to tell you, it didn’t work.”

  “Thanks,” Clint said with a pained smile.

  Josh changed the subject to the dock. “Calvin said he’ll have five helpers on Saturday. His son will take care of the store.”

  “I thought the idea was for me to do it,” Clint said.

  “It was. Then Calvin got involved. But what the hell, you’re mentoring half the town on computers. You’re busy.” He took a sip of beer. “Eve is a very happy mayor, by the way. It’s a beautiful thing to watch the way her mind works. She did the same thing to me. Before long, I was repairing someone’s roof.”

  “He won’t tell you,” Nate said. “But he was quite happy about it as soon as he discovered he would be working at Eve’s side.”

  “Eve was roofing a house?”

  “A woman of limitless interests,” Josh replied. “I keep being surprised by her.”

  Their food came, and conversation stopped. When they finished eating, Clint asked, “How is the motel renovation coming?”

  “We start next week. We can use another hand,” Nate said.

  “I have some more computer appointments,” Clint said. “And Josh’s dock, too, but then I would like to give it a try.”

  He realized suddenly that he was thinking about staying longer than the couple of weeks he’d anticipated. He turned to Josh. “I don’t know when you need the cabin back.”

  “You can stay as long as you want it.”

  “I can’t stay there forever.”

  “You’ll know when it’s time. In the meantime, there’s no hurry.”

  “This is the damnedest town,” Clint observed.

  “That’s what I thought, too,” Josh admitted. “But Nate says it’s not all that different from other small towns. Are you a big-city boy?”

  “I was born in Chicago.”

  “Grow up there?”

 
Normal questions, but they opened a box of pain. “Mostly in boarding schools,” he said in a tone that cut off more questions on the subject.

  Music suddenly blared from an old-fashioned jukebox, and it was too loud to talk. They savored another beer and then Josh stood. “I’d better get home. Eve and Nick should be there now. I promised I would throw a football to Nick.”

  They each threw in money for the bill and a substantial tip and left.

  As Josh drove him home, Clint’s head began to throb. Great. The beginning of a headache. It struck with full force just as he reached his front door. He’d barely made it to the sofa before everything went dark.

  He was disoriented when he regained consciousness some time later. He made it into the bedroom, but his head continued to pound until late in the night, even with some pills.

  * * *

  THERE WAS STILL a residue of the headache when he woke. It was morning. Must be Friday. He felt washed out but he had appointments. He wanted to see Stephanie. Check on her without her knowing he was doing it. Dammit, he’d lost half a day yesterday. What had happened in that time?

  He took a hot shower that soothed some of the bruises and sore spots on his body. He stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror.

  He shouldn’t have done that.

  The right side of his face was varying shades of purple and red and other ugly colors he couldn’t identify. His eyes were bloodshot. A Band-Aid covered the cut on his cheek.

  He knew, unfortunately from experience, that black eyes looked worse the second, third and fourth days than immediately after the event. He had that to look forward to.

  But his bruises were temporary. What truly depressed him was the blackout. It had been a month since the last one, although he’d had headaches. He’d hoped the blackouts were gone for good. It was devastating they were not.

  He groaned. A crowd would arrive at the cabin on Saturday to help build the dock. He better not get a headache then. He had meant to build the dock himself, but it seemed to have become a community event. Calvin Wilson had called last night and said not to worry about food or drink Saturday. Wives would bring that.

  So much for paying back. But to insist on doing it himself would be like turning back the tide. He had learned that when Covenant Fall folks decided to do something, neither God nor man could stop them.

  And then there was Stephanie. He had never before experienced the kind of emotion he felt for her; Wednesday night had only intensified it. He wouldn’t call it love. It was too soon. But he was drawn to her as he’d never been to another woman. In a brief time, he had seen many sides of her. Gentle with the animals. Playful at times with him until she caught herself. Dedicated to rescue, which, he thought, might be attributed to her own need to be rescued years ago. Defensive and protective of her independence.

  She was gutsy and determined and probably always had been, which made Townsend’s betrayal and retribution particularly damaging to her. He’d heard the reluctance in her voice as she told her story, the hint of the helplessness she had felt. He realized full well now why she had been so reluctant to open herself up to another man.

  He wanted to do substantial damage to Mark Townsend.

  Clint needed to get moving. He had appointments at the community center later this morning, and one of them was Cody’s granny. He couldn’t let her down.

  He went into the kitchen and made coffee and waited until it was ready. Boy, did he ever need it this morning. He took a cup out to the porch. He hadn’t locked the porch door and he was amazed to find a new assortment of culinary efforts, including cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins.

  At this rate, he was going to be double his weight in no time at all. What was it about this town that everyone thought food was the answer to everything? After one taste of the cinnamon rolls, he thought maybe it was.

  He ate a second one, then went back to the bathroom and very carefully shaved. Then he dressed in jeans and a pullover shirt. He looked at his watch. He had an hour before his 10:00 a.m. appointment at the community center.

  He wanted to call Stephanie, to see whether she had any more information, then decided to call Tony instead. But before he could punch in the number, the phone rang.

  “Hi, this is Eve. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

  “Not at all.”

  “Two things. I’ve talked to Stephanie and Tony, and I want to thank you for what you did Wednesday night.”

  “No need for thanks. He threw the first punch. I just responded.”

  “But if you hadn’t stopped him, we never would have known Stephanie could be at risk.”

  “Have you heard whether Bolling said who hired him?”

  “He hasn’t said anything yet, and there’s a fancy Denver attorney calling Tony about him and demanding he be released. He won’t say who hired him, either.”

  “Anything from the man’s camera?”

  “Photos of Stephanie alone and with Townsend’s wife and her lawyer. I’m not sure how he got those. Pictures of other stores in and around her building and pictures of the building itself. I don’t like it. Tony called the Boston police to get information on Townsend. He was stonewalled, which didn’t make him happy.”

  “How long can he keep Bolling?”

  “Maybe a couple of days. The local magistrate has taken a sudden fishing trip.”

  “I do like the way you operate your city,” he said.

  “Just following procedure,” Eve answered. “The second thing...are you up to coming over for supper tonight? Spaghetti and salad.”

  He hesitated. He would be seeing Bart again. He wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

  “Nick would really appreciate it,” she said.

  He wasn’t sure it was the best thing for Nick, Bart or himself. “I look like something out of a horror show.”

  “Come,” she said. “Nick likes you. He’s gone from wanting to be a policeman to wanting to be a chopper pilot. That is the word, isn’t it? Chopper rather than helicopter?”

  “It is among the pilots.” He gave in. “Thanks, I would like that.”

  “About six, then? Josh will pick you up.”

  “Sounds good.” He hung up, already regretting his decision. But maybe he would find Nick and Bart doing just fine together. It would be good. He was in no position to have a dog. And maybe, just maybe, Eve would invite Stephanie. Or have news of her.

  Just then there was a honk outside. He went out and saw a truck loaded with timber. “Where do you want this?” the driver asked.

  “I’ll show you,” he said.

  “That’s some shiner you have.” The driver studied it with interest.

  “I’ve noticed,” Clint said dryly. He walked down the drive and across the road,

  The water was about fifty feet from the road. Clint showed him where he wanted the lumber dropped, and signed the delivery papers. He looked at his watch. He had thirty minutes before his first appointment at the community center.

  He helped the driver unload the treated timber, then thanked him.

  “Hey, how about some cinnamon rolls? And can I catch a ride to the main road?”

  “Sure thing,” the driver said.

  Clint hurried up to the cabin, cut out two rolls for himself and left the others in the disposable aluminum pan. He took the pan out with him, stepped into the cab of the truck and handed the rolls to the driver. “I can vouch for them,” he said.

  “Thanks, man.”

  Clint arrived at the community center fifteen minutes before his first appointment. However, a woman already waited for him in the computer room. She was tall, thin and regal with her white hair pulled into a French twist. She stood when he approached. “Mr. Morgan,” she said. “Cody said he’d met you.” She studied his face. “Are you well enough to do this? I c
an come another time.”

  “I’m fine. I just look bad,” he said. He held out a chair at a computer station. “Call me Clint. What can I do for you? Why do you want to learn more about a computer?”

  “I’ve always been a homemaker. Proud of it. I had four children, three of them moved away because there weren’t many opportunities here. Cody’s father stayed and worked for the bank, but I lost both my husband and son—Cody’s father —on a fishing trip. All I have here now is Cody. He stays because he loves the mountains.” She was talking nervously.

  Clint listened intently. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “I’m not telling you for sympathy. Just to explain. I’ve always liked books. Cody will tell you I have a room full of them. But they’re hard to find here in town, and my eyes are going bad, and I thought one of those new reader things might help. Cody said he would help but I sometimes get confused...” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t want him to know that.”

  “Do you have a reader?”

  “My daughter-in-law in St. Louis sent one to me, but I don’t know how to use it. She pulled a box out of a very large knit bag she had beside her and handed it to him.

  “Have you tried it?” he asked.

  “There’s no instructions.”

  “I know,” he said. “You can get them on the computer.”

  “But if you don’t know how...” Frustration colored her words.

  He walked her through the steps, helped her register a password and open an account with an online book store. Then he showed her how to search for books by category or author and make purchases. They waited as the books downloaded, then he demonstrated how to enlarge the size of print. The delight and surprise in her face was all the thanks he needed.

  “That was so easy,” she declared.

  “You know Cody would have been really happy to help you.”

  “I was afraid.”

  “You shouldn’t be. You’re a smart lady. You know what your grandson said? ‘She can do lots of things I can’t.’ He would like to share knowledge with you.”

  She sat taller and beamed.