This Heart Of Mine

by Susan Elizabeth Philips

  Molly bit her lip. It was just like Phoebe to have written something like that. Of course she’d done it to protect the baby.

  She pulled herself together. “Okay, you’re a great quarterback. I can do the respect part. And if you don’t count Phoebe, Dan, and Roo, I never speak badly of you to others.”

  “My eyes are tearing up from emotion. How about the other part? That ‘support’ thing?”

  “That was supposed to be about—You know what it was about.” She blinked her eyes and took a deep breath. “Phoebe certainly wasn’t trying to force me into helping you run a B&B.”

  “Don’t forget the cottages, and a sacred vow is just that.”

  “You kidnapped me yesterday, and now you’re trying to manipulate me into forced labor!”

  “It’ll only be for a couple of days. A week at the most. Or maybe that’s too much to ask from a rich girl.”

  “This is your problem, not mine.”

  He stared at her for a long moment, then that cold look settled over his face. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

  Kevin wasn’t someone who asked for help easily, and she regretted her peevishness, but she couldn’t be around people now. Still, she should have been more tactful about refusing him. “I just—I haven’t been in great shape lately, and—”

  “Forget it,” he snapped. “I’ll manage on my own.” He stalked across the porch and out through the back door.

  She stomped around the cottage for a while, feeling ugly and out of sorts. He’d brought in her suitcase. She unzipped it, only to go back out on the porch and stare at the lake.

  Those wedding vows… She’d been prepared to break the traditional ones. Even couples who loved each other had a hard time living up to those. But these vows—the ones Phoebe had written—were different. These were vows that an honorable person should be able to keep.

  Kevin had.

  “Damn.”

  Roo looked up.

  “I don’t want to be with a lot of people now, that’s all.”

  But she wasn’t telling herself the whole truth. She mainly didn’t want to be around him.

  She glanced at her watch and saw that it was five o’clock.

  With a grimace she gazed down at her poodle. “I’m afraid we have some personal character building to do.”

  Ten guests had gathered in the buttercup and rose parlor for afternoon tea, but somehow Molly couldn’t imagine Victoria magazine giving the occasion its seal of approval. The inlaid table at the side of the room held an open bag of Oreos, a can of grape Hi-C, a coffeepot, Styrofoam cups, and a jar that looked as if it contained powdered tea. Despite the fare, the guests seemed to be enjoying themselves.

  The bird-watching Pearsons stood behind a pair of elderly women perched on the pincushion settee. Across the room two white-haired couples chatted. The women’s gnarled fingers flashed with old diamonds and newer anniversary rings. One of the men had a walrus mustache, the other lime green golf slacks with white patent leather shoes. Another couple was younger, in their early fifties perhaps, prosperous baby boomers who could have stepped out of a Ralph Lauren ad. It was Kevin, however, who dominated the room. As he stood by the fireplace, he looked so much like the lord of the manor that his shorts and Stars T-shirt might have been jodhpurs and a riding jacket.

  “… so the president of the United States is sitting on the fifty-yard line, the Stars are down by four points, there are only seven seconds left on the clock, and I’m pretty sure I just sprained the heck out of my knee.”

  “That must have been painful,” the boomer woman cooed.

  “You don’t notice the pain until later.”

  “I remember this game!” her husband exclaimed. “You hit Tippett on a fifty-yard post pattern, and the Stars won by three.”

  Kevin shook his head modestly. “I got lucky, Chet.”

  Molly rolled her eyes. Nobody made it to the top of the NFL trusting in luck. Kevin had gotten where he was by being the best. His good ol’ boy act might charm the guests, but she knew the truth.

  Still, as she watched him she knew she was seeing self-discipline in action, and she begrudgingly gave him her respect. No one suspected he hated being here. She’d forgotten that he was a minister’s son, but she shouldn’t have. Kevin was a man who did his duty, even though he hated it. Just as he’d done when he’d married her.

  “I can’t believe it,” Mrs. Chet cooed. “When we chose a bed-and-breakfast in the wilds of northeastern Michigan, we never imagined our host would be the famous Kevin Tucker.”

  Kevin graced her with his aw-shucks expression. Molly wanted to tell her not to bother flirting with him, since she didn’t have a foreign accent.

  “I’d love to hear your take on the draft.” Chet readjusted the navy cotton sweater he’d tossed around the shoulders of his kelly green polo shirt.

  “How about the two of us share a beer out on the front porch later on tonight?”

  “I wouldn’t mind joining you,” walrus mustache interjected, while lime green pants nodded in agreement.

  “We’ll all do it,” Kevin said graciously.

  John Pearson polished off the last of the Oreos. “Now that Betty and I know you personally, we’ll have to start following the Stars. You, uh, wouldn’t happen to have located one of Judith’s lemon-poppy seed cakes in the freezer, would you?”

  “I have no idea,” Kevin said. “And that reminds me, I’d better apologize in advance for tomorrow’s breakfast. Pancakes from a mix is the best I can do, so if you decide to leave, I’ll understand. That offer for double your refund still stands.”

  “We wouldn’t think about leaving such a charming place.” Mrs. Chet gave Kevin a look that had adultery written all over it. “And don’t worry about breakfast. I’ll be glad to pitch in.”

  Molly did her part to protect the Ten Commandments by forcing herself out of the doorway and into the room. “That won’t be necessary. I know Kevin wants you to relax while you’re here, and I think I can promise that the food will be a little better tomorrow.”

  Kevin’s eyes flickered, but if she expected him to fall at her feet from gratitude, he quickly disabused her of the notion with his introduction. “This is my estranged wife, Molly.”

  “She doesn’t look strange,” walrus mustache’s wife said in a too-loud whisper to her friend.

  “That’s because you don’t know her,” Kevin murmured.

  “My wife’s a bit hard of hearing.” Like the others, Mr. Mustache was obviously taken aback by Kevin’s introduction. Several of those in the room regarded her curiously. The People spread…

  Molly tried to be annoyed, but it was a relief not having to pretend they were a happily married couple.

  John Pearson stepped forward hastily. “Your husband has quite a sense of humor. We’re delighted you’ll be cooking for us, Mrs. Tucker.”

  “Please call me Molly. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to check the supplies in the kitchen. And I know your rooms aren’t as orderly as they should be, but Kevin will clean them up himself before bedtime.” As she headed down the hallway, she decided Mr. Tough Guy didn’t always have to have the last word.

  Her satisfaction faded the moment she opened the kitchen door and saw the young lovers having sex against Aunt Judith’s refrigerator. She stepped backward only to bump into Kevin’s chest.

  He peered over her head. “Awww, for Pete’s sake.”

  The lovers sprang apart. Molly was ready to avert her eyes, but Kevin stalked into the kitchen. He glared at Amy, whose scrunchy had come out of her hair and who was doing up her buttons wrong. “I thought I asked you to get those dishes cleaned up.”

  “Yeah, well, uh… “

  “Troy, you’re supposed to be mowing the Common.”

  He struggled with his zipper. “I was just getting ready to—”

  “I know exactly what you were getting ready to do, and believe me, that won’t get the grass cut!”

  Troy looked sulky and muttered under his breath.
>
  “Did you say something?” Kevin’s bark must be the same one he used on rookies.

  Troy’s Adam’s apple worked. “There’s, uh, too much work to do around here for what we’re getting paid.”

  “And what’s that?”

  Troy told him, and Kevin doubled it on the spot. Troy’s eyes gleamed. “Cool.”

  “But there’s a catch,” Kevin said smoothly. “You’re going to have to actually do some work for that money. Amy, sweetheart, don’t even think about leaving tonight until those guest rooms are spick-and-span. And, Troy, you’ve got an appointment with the lawn mower. Any questions?”

  As they shook their heads warily, Molly saw matching hickeys on their necks. Something uncomfortable stirred in the pit of her stomach.

  Troy moved toward the door, and Amy’s longing gaze reminded Molly of Ingrid Bergman bidding Humphrey Bogart a final farewell on that Casablanca runway.

  What would it feel like to be that much in love? Again she felt that unpleasant quivering in her stomach. Only after the lovers had parted did she realize it was jealousy. They had something she seemed destined never to experience.

  Chapter 10

  “It’s much too dangerous,” said Daphne.

  “That’s what makes it fun,” Benny replied.

  Daphne Gets Lost

  A few hours later Molly stepped back to admire the homey space she’d created for herself on the nursery cottage’s screened porch. She’d put the blue-and-yellow striped cushions on the glider and the chintz-patterned ones on the bent-willow chairs. The small, drop-leaf kitchen table with its chipped white paint now sat against one side of the screen with two of the unmatched farmhouse chairs. Tomorrow she’d find some flowers to put in the old copper watering can she’d stuck on top.

  With some of the essentials she’d transferred from the B&B to the cottage, she fixed toast and a scrambled egg and carried them out to the table. While Roo snoozed nearby, she watched daylight begin to fade over the wedge of lake visible through the trees. Everything smelled of pine and the dank, distant scent of the water. She heard something that sounded distinctly human rustling outside. At home she would have been alarmed. Here she settled back in the chair and waited to see who would appear. Unfortunately, it was Kevin.

  She hadn’t thrown the latch on the screen door, and she wasn’t surprised when he walked inside without an invitation. “The brochure says breakfast is from seven to nine. What kind of people want to eat that early when they’re on vacation?” He set an alarm clock on the table, then glanced at the remnants of her scrambled egg. “You could have gone into town with me and had a burger,” he said begrudgingly.

  “Thanks, but I don’t do burgers.”

  “So you’re a vegetarian like your sister?”

  “I’m not as strict. She won’t eat anything with a face. I won’t eat anything with a cute face.”

  “This I’ve got to hear.”

  “Actually, it’s a pretty good system for healthy eating.”

  “I take it you think cows are cute.” He couldn’t have sounded more skeptical.

  “I love cows. Definitely cute.”

  “How about pigs?”

  “Does the movie Babe ring a bell?”

  “I won’t even ask about lamb.”

  “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t. Or rabbit.” She shuddered. “I’m not too attracted to chickens and turkey, so I do occasionally indulge. I also eat fish since I can avoid my favorite.”

  “Dolphin, I’ll bet.” He settled into the old wooden chair across from her and gazed down at Roo, who’d stirred enough to snarl. “You might have latched on to something here that I could get into. There are certain animals, for example, I find positively repulsive.”

  She gave him her silkiest smile. “It’s well known that men who don’t like poodles are the same ones who grind up human body parts in garbage disposals.”

  “Only if I’m bored.”

  She laughed, then caught herself as she realized he’d turned the charm-thing on her, and she’d nearly gotten caught up in it. Was this supposed to be her reward for agreeing to help him out? “I don’t understand why you dislike it here so much. The lake is beautiful. There’s swimming, boating, hiking. What’s so bad about that?”

  “When you’re the only kid, and you have to go to a church service every day, it loses its charm. Besides, there’s a limit to the size motor you can put on a boat, so there’s no water skiing.”

  “Or Jet Skis.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Weren’t there ever other children around?”

  “Sometimes a grandkid would show up for a few days. That was the highlight of my summer.” He grimaced. “Of course, half the time that grandkid was a girl.”

  “Life’s a bitch.”

  He leaned back in his chair until it rested on two legs. She waited for it to tilt over, but he was too well coordinated for that to happen. “Do you really know how to cook, or were you just winging it in front of the guests?”

  “I was winging it.” She lied hoping to make him nervous. Her everyday cooking might leave something to be desired, but she loved to bake, especially for her nieces and nephews. Sugar cookies with bunny ears were her specialty.

  “Terrific.” The legs of the chair banged to the floor. “God, this place is boring. Let’s take a walk along the lake before it gets dark.”

  “I’m too tired.”

  “You haven’t done enough today to make yourself tired.” He was full of restless energy with no place to go, so she shouldn’t have been startled when he grabbed her wrist and tugged her from her seat. “Come on, I haven’t been able to work out for two days. I’m going stir crazy.”

  She pulled away. “Go work out now. Nobody’s stopping you.”

  “I have to meet my fan club on the front porch soon. You need the exercise, so stop being stubborn. Stay here, Godzilla.” He opened the screen and gave Molly a gentle push, then firmly closed in a yapping Roo.

  She didn’t offer any real resistance, even though she was exhausted and she knew it wasn’t a good idea to be alone with him. “I’m not in the mood, and I want my dog.”

  “If I said grass was green, you’d argue with me.” He tugged her along the path.

  “I refuse to be nice to my kidnapper.”

  “For somebody who was kidnapped, you’re not trying too hard to get away.”

  “I like it here.”

  He glanced back at the cozy nest she’d made for herself on the porch. “Next thing you’ll be hiring a decorator.”

  “We rich girls like our comforts, even if it’s only for a few days.”

  “I guess.”

  The path widened as it got closer to the lake, then wound along the shore for a while before narrowing again and making a sharp incline up a rocky bluff that overlooked the water. Kevin pointed in the opposite direction. “There are some wetlands over there, and behind the campgrounds there’s a meadow with a brook.”

  “Bobolink Meadow.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a—Nothing.” It was the name of the meadow on the edge of Nightingale Woods.

  “You can get a good view of the town from that bluff.”

  She gazed up the steep path. “I don’t have enough energy for the climb.”

  “Then we won’t go all the way.”

  She knew he was lying. Still, her legs didn’t feel as wobbly as they’d been yesterday, so she set off with him. “How do the people in the town support themselves?”

  “Tourism mainly. The lake has good fishing, but it’s so isolated that it hasn’t been overdeveloped like a lot of other places. There’s a decent golf course, and the area has some of the best cross-country trails in the state.”

  “I’m glad nobody’s spoiled it with a big resort.”

  The path was beginning to angle uphill, and she needed all her breath for the climb. She wasn’t surprised when he left her behind. What surprised her was the fact that she kept on going.

  He
called down to her from the top of the bluff. “Not exactly a walking advertisement for physical fitness, are you?”

  “Just skipped a few”—she gasped—”Tae-Bo classes.”

  “You want me to find an oxygen tank?”

  She was breathing too hard to respond.

  She was glad she’d made the effort when she caught the view from the top. There was still enough light to see the town at the far end of the lake. It looked quaint and rustic. Boats bobbed in the harbor, and a church steeple peeked through the trees against a rainbow candy sky.

  Kevin pointed toward a cluster of luxury houses closer to the bluff. “Those are vacation homes. The last time I was here, that was all woods, but nothing else seems to have changed much.”

  She took in the vista. “It’s so pretty.”

  “I guess.” He’d moved toward the edge of the bluff, where he gazed down at the water. “I used to dive off here in the summer.”

  “A little dangerous for a kid by himself, wasn’t it?”

  “That’s what made it fun.”

  “Your parents must have been saints. I can’t imagine how many gray hairs you—” She stopped as she realized he was kicking off his shoes instead of paying attention to her.

  Pure instinct made her take a quick step forward, but she was too late. He threw himself into space, clothes and all.

  She gasped and rushed to the edge just in time to watch the sharp, clean line of his body hit the water. There was barely a splash.

  She waited, but he didn’t come up. Her hand flew to her mouth. She searched the water but couldn’t spot him. “Kevin!”

  Then the surface rippled, and his head emerged. She released her breath, then caught it again as he turned his face to the evening sky. Water ran in rivulets over those clean planes, and something triumphant shone in his expression.

  She clenched her fists and shouted down at him. “You idiot! Are you completely crazy?”