Healing the Boss’s Heart

by Valerie Hansen

  There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason behind the demolition he passed on his way home. The funnel cloud had behaved like a flat rock skipping across the waters of a placid lake. No one could possibly have predicted which businesses would survive and which would be smashed beyond repair.

  Keeping his hand on the banister he slowly climbed the darkened stairway to his apartment. His feet felt as though they were made of lead and his legs ached. So did his head and just about every other part of him. He was in great physical shape but this day and night had demanded far more of him than normal.

  Not wanting to take a chance he’d frighten Maya and her daughter if he knocked, though her door was ajar, Greg paused there just long enough to place the bottles of drinking water on the hallway floor where she’d notice them easily. He was turning away when she spoke.

  “Hello.”

  He jumped and whirled, peering into the dim light reflected up from the street. “Whoa.”

  “Sorry. I thought you saw me. Why were you sneaking around?”

  “I wasn’t. I was being quiet so I wouldn’t scare you.”

  “And I scared you instead?”

  He could hear humor in her voice and it cheered him in spite of his weariness. “Let’s just say you startled me.”

  “That’s all semantics. How fast is your heart beating?”

  It was pounding, all right. He doubted that was totally due to being surprised. There was something exceptional about Maya Logan standing there in the semidarkness, speaking to him in hushed, intimate-sounding tones. Something that stood the hair at his nape on end and gave him shivers from head to toe.

  “I’m lucky it’s beating at all,” Greg quipped to cover his true reaction. “I’m whipped.” He noticed she was still fully dressed. “Haven’t you been to bed?”

  “Couldn’t sleep,” she replied. “Layla’s out like a light, though. She’s mad at me for not letting her make her bed in your kayak.”

  He chuckled quietly. “If you had let her she wouldn’t have stayed in there for long. It’s awfully cramped. It would be pretty hot on a night like this, too.” He wiped his brow. “I’m spoiled. I miss my air-conditioning.”

  “I know what you mean. I keep thinking I’ll turn on a fan or get a cold drink. Our pioneer ancestors would laugh if they could see us now.”

  “Did you check my refrigerator?” Greg asked.

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, we should. It’s probably held the cold pretty well but there may be a few things we need to throw out and others we need to either drink, like juice or milk, or take to the church where they can be put to good use.”

  “I didn’t think of that.”

  He gestured toward his door. “After you, ma’am.”

  “I couldn’t.” Maya glanced back at her daughter and was surprised to see the shadow of the child sitting up.

  “Did he say I could sleep in his boat?” Layla asked. “Did he?”

  “Not exactly. But Mr. Garrison did offer us a drink of milk or juice. Would you like that?”

  “Uh-huh!” The three-year-old was on her feet and jumping up and down in an instant.

  “Then, yes,” Maya told him with a smile. “We would love to raid your fridge. Lead on.”

  Maya made Layla sit on a tall stool at her boss’s kitchen counter to sip her juice so she wouldn’t accidentally spill any on the plush carpeting. Although she could tell Greg was exhausted, she was desperate to learn more about what the rescuers might have discovered after she’d left the church.

  “The only big find, besides the baby you and I brought in, was the police chief and some woman,” he said, yawning and covering his mouth after he’d handed her a big glass of orange juice.

  “They finally found Colt Ridgeway? Where was he?”

  “Stuck in the basement of a vet’s office. They say he’d taken his dog there and one of the twisters—we were right about their being more than one—dropped part of the building on top of them. Rescuers were digging for animals to save when they found the chief.”

  “And Lexi?”

  “Who’s that, the woman?”

  “Yes. Lexi’s Colt’s wife. I mean, ex-wife. She’s the only veterinarian in town so that’s who it had to be.”

  “Then I guess she must have been down there with him. They said they got everybody out. They saved his big brown Labrador retriever, too. That’s why he’d stopped there in the first place. To get a cut on the dog stitched up.”

  “I imagine there will be a lot of that kind of thing that needs doing. I found Tommy talking to an older lady over by the church tonight. There were apparently a lot of pets like Charlie who were frightened or hurt during the storm and she was starting to collect them.”

  He nodded. “I saw her. She had quite a bunch of cages and stuff piled up on the lawn by the time I left. When I asked about Charlie, she said she was taking in any animals that were found and keeping them safe till they can be claimed. So far, it was only dogs.”

  “That’s understandable. The cats are probably still hiding,” Maya said. “I had a calico when I was a girl. It spent ninety percent of its time skulking under my bed and would claw my ankles when I got too close.”

  “Sounds like a fun pet.”

  “Not really.” Maya smiled. “I much prefer dogs. Layla loves to play with the cattle dogs at Jesse’s ranch when we visit him, especially the puppies. They herd her as if she were a lost calf.”

  “She kind of is, right now. We all are.”

  “Did they say when the phones would be up and working?” Maya asked between sips of juice.

  “It’s my understanding that we should have cell phone service by tomorrow.” He peered at the lighted dial of his watch. “I mean today. I haven’t checked for a while.” He reached into his pocket and handed her a flip phone. “Here. Give it a try. You never know.”

  “Thanks.” Punching in her elder brother’s number, she was surprised to hear a connection being made. Her eyes widened and she smiled. “Hey! It’s ringing.”

  “Great. You should sleep better after you talk to him.”

  “Jesse? It’s me, Maya.” She knew her voice had an edge to it but she couldn’t help being excited and apprehensive when someone answered. “Is that you? Are you okay?”

  She heard a deep sigh before he replied. “I’m fine, sis. How about you and Layla?”

  “We’re both good. What about the ranch?”

  “We had some damage to the house, primarily the kitchen, but the barns are still standing and we didn’t lose any calves,” Jesse said. “All in all, it could have been much worse.”

  “Did you wait it out in the root cellar?”

  “No. I didn’t have to. I was in Manhattan with the triplets when the twister hit here.”

  “What about Marie? Was she with you?” The silence on the other end of the line made her wonder if they’d lost their connection.

  Finally, her brother said, “Marie’s left me, Maya. I found her goodbye note with the rings I’d given her when I came in from doing my chores this morning.”

  “What? That can’t be.”

  Jesse snorted. “Yeah. That’s what I kept telling myself. But she did me one favor. I was so upset I had to get out of here, so I left to go visit the babies. Doing that may have saved my life. I’d like to think it did.”

  Maya gripped the little phone more tightly and cradled it with her other hand. “Oh, Jesse. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what she could have been thinking. Maybe it’s because her hormones are all upset after the birth and she’ll eventually reconsider and come home.”

  “I hope so. At least I think I do. I’m so confused right now I hardly know what to feel. All I can picture is those three tiny babies without a mother. It’s not fair.”

  “No, it isn’t. Poor Marie was always like a fish out of water living here, though,” Maya reminded him. “I know she tried to fit in but she never really did.”

  “I don’t know what else I could have done. I ga
ve her everything she asked for, even the diamond engagement ring that’s been in our family for ages. She left that behind with her wedding band, so it couldn’t have meant much to her after all. Maybe I spoiled her but that was the way she grew up and I thought…”

  Maya heard his voice break. Her heart did the same. Dear, sweet Jesse. He’d waited until he was older, more mature, to choose a wife. It hadn’t helped. Marie had apparently been charmed by his dashing cowboy image without realizing that a rancher worked hard from dawn to dusk every day. Maya had tried to befriend her sister-in-law, to draw her into her circle of friends in High Plains and in church. To her dismay, Marie had usually found an excuse to beg off rather than join her in whatever outing or get-together she’d planned.

  “You and the little ones are going to be fine,” Maya assured him. “And I’ll help all I can after they come home. How are they doing? Have the doctors given you any more idea of when they’ll be out of the neonatal ICU?”

  Jesse cleared his throat. “No. Not really. They did say they may move them to a closer hospital later, so I don’t have so far to drive. I’m not sure.”

  “Good thing you’re on the other side of the river,” Maya said. “The main bridge is closed. I’d have to go way around if I wanted to come up there. I will, though, if you need me.”

  “Not now. You stay there. I’ve been trying to phone you but the lines are down. How’s your place?”

  “A bit worse off than yours, it sounds like. But I’ll be fine, big brother. My new boss has promised to pitch in and help me clean up.”

  “Garrison?” he huffed. “Are you saying that a Garrison offered to do anything, especially for a Logan, without making a big profit? I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  “Well, he did,” she insisted, casting a quick smile at her host to reinforce her praise. “As a matter of fact, I’m using his phone right now. Like you said, the main lines are down and I lost my cell, so hang on to this number in case you need to reach me. Did it come through on your caller ID?”

  “Yeah. Got it.”

  “Okay. Take care. I’ll be praying for everything.” As she bid him goodbye and broke the connection, she sobered and handed the phone back to her boss. “Poor Jesse. I can’t believe it.”

  “What happened? Was the damage worse than we’d heard?”

  “That hardly matters in view of everything else. His wife left him this morning. They have newborn triplets and she just up and deserted them all.”

  “Ah, so that’s why you didn’t tell him that half your house is lying in a pile in your yard.”

  “That’s why. He has enough to worry about without adding my problems to it all.”

  She took another sip of juice while she mulled over what she’d just learned. “I suppose having premature triplets was too much for Marie to cope with all at once.”

  “It sure would be if they were mine.” He leaned a hip against the countertop and folded his arms across his chest.

  “It’s not as if they’d planned to have three at once. It just happened.”

  “Still, that is a lot to accept.”

  It struck Maya as inappropriate to be discussing such an intimate family matter with her employer so she changed the subject. “In the morning I’d like to go back to my place and salvage what I can from my kitchen and pantry. We can’t cook here yet but it shouldn’t be long. I have an electric fry pan and a crockpot that will come in handy, assuming they didn’t get picked up and flung into the next county.”

  “We’ll take my SUV if we can’t borrow a truck,” he said. “I suspect the insurance adjuster will say your car is totaled.”

  Her eyes widened. “And yours isn’t? They were parked practically next to each other.”

  “I know. Yours had a close encounter with a snapped telephone pole. It missed mine. All I need is a new windshield—and a few less dents in the hood.”

  “Terrific. What else?”

  “Nothing that I can think of at the moment. My brain is as tired as the rest of me.”

  “And we’re keeping you up. I’m sorry.” She lifted Layla down from the stool and took her hand. “Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Garrison.”

  “You’d better drop the formalities and start calling me Greg, the way you did when you got so excited and forgot yourself out at the Waters cottages.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “After all, we are living under the same roof and even sharing a refrigerator.”

  Maya rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t remind me, okay? I have enough real problems to worry about right now without adding rumor and gossip to the list.”

  He laughed. “Okay. I’ve got a flashlight right here. You take it so you can see your way home. I won’t need it tonight.”

  Their hands brushed briefly as she accepted the light. His touch was barely there, yet she shivered in response to the contact. Hoping he hadn’t noticed, she backed away with a simple “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Good night, Maya.”

  Pausing at the door she turned, smiled and said, “Good night…Greg.”

  The scariest aspect of that small utterance was that it had felt good, felt right. In the space of a single day, she and Gregory Garrison had apparently progressed from the formal relationship of boss and employee to that of friends. How unbelievable was that?

  Chapter Eight

  The following morning passed in a blur. Maya had used Gregory’s—Greg’s—phone to try to reach her other brother, Clay, after she’d dug her personal phone book out of the mess in her living room and had found his work number. Disappointingly, she’d been forced to leave a message for him. His boss had informed her that Clay was out in the Canadian wilderness, guiding a hunting party, and was therefore incommunicado.

  Greg had made four trips with Maya to her house to pick up furniture and anything else she wanted to move. They were in his pockmarked SUV, stopping in front of the Garrison building with their final load, when his cell phone rang.

  He answered, spoke briefly, then turned off the motor as he held out the phone. “It’s your brother.”

  “Clay? Already? They told me he wouldn’t get my message for weeks.”

  “No. This is Jesse. He says it’s urgent.” Lowering his voice and covering the mouthpiece Greg added, “He sounds terrible.”

  Heart in her throat, Maya took the instrument. “Jesse? What’s wrong?”

  She waited while he struggled to speak. Finally, he blurted it out. “Marie’s dead.”

  Maya was glad she was seated because she suddenly couldn’t draw a breath. All her strength vanished. Her hands began to tremble. “What happened?”

  “An accident. Chief Ridgeway just came by to tell me. Marie was driving and…and…a tree…”

  “Take your time, Jesse.”

  She heard him cough to try to cover his raw emotions before he continued. “A tree was knocked over by the storm. As near as they can tell, Marie had pulled over to wait out the tornado and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “They’re sure it was her?”

  “Positive. Somebody has to make an official identification, for the record. They can’t tell by her wedding and engagement rings because she left them behind on the kitchen table, like I said, and the tornado blew everything away, but the chief says there’s no doubt in his mind. It’s her, all right.”

  “Oh, Jesse. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Neither do I. And it gets worse. I still have to notify Marie’s parents. I’m really dreading it.”

  “I can understand that. They never were very friendly to any of us.” She paused, then mustered her courage and asked, “Do you want me to do it for you?”

  “No. It’s my job. Just say an extra prayer for me, okay? I’ve tried to reach them at home and all I get is an answering machine. I refuse to leave them a horrible message like that.”

  “Of course not. And if there’s anything I can do, anything at all, just give a holler.”

  “Do you have your own
cell phone yet? I tried your house again and the call didn’t go through this time, either.”

  “Just keep using this number for a while. I’ll get back to you when I locate my cell or buy a new one.”

  “Okay. Thanks for listening. I feel better just having talked to you, Maya. You always were the level-headed one.”

  “And you were the good one,” she countered. “Mama always said so.” She sighed slowly, deeply. “So, what’s next?”

  “I’m heading for the hospital. I just want to be with the babies. Right now, I hardly know if I’m coming or going.”

  “I wish I were there to give you a big hug.”

  “I can feel it over the phone,” her brother said. “Tell—tell Reverend Michael to be ready to conduct a funeral soon.”

  Maya heard his breath catch in a muffled sob before he managed to bid her goodbye. She closed the phone and handed it back to Greg. Although he didn’t ask, his inquisitive look prompted an explanation.

  “Jesse’s wife, Marie? The one who left him? She was killed by the tornado.”

  Greg’s jaw gaped. He gently covered Maya’s hand with his own. “I’m so sorry. I heard you ask if there was anything you could do but I thought you were just talking about the cleanup. Is there anything he needs? Any help we can give him?”

  “He says not. I suppose there will be once he starts coming to grips with it and has to arrange her funeral. He wants me to alert Michael.”

  “I’ll do that for you, if you want,” Greg said.

  “Thanks. I appreciate the offer but Jesse asked me to do it. Besides, Layla’s in day care and I suddenly want to see her again. To give her a big hug and thank God she’s okay.” Maya managed a wan smile. “I suppose you think that’s silly.”

  Greg started the car. “Not at all. I would have been surprised if you hadn’t wanted to. There are some heartbreaking situations that only being with loved ones can fix.”