Storm's End

by Sondra Stanford

  "Yeah, she don't mind anybody holding the puppies," Bobby assured her. He leaned over and began stroking Amiee's head. "See, she likes us."

  "Who's your friend?" Julie asked now, glancing at the other boy.

  "This is Tony," her brother introduced in his casual fashion. "Tony and I will both be in the fifth grade next year."

  "How nice," Julie smiled. "Where do you live, Tony?"

  Tony pointed a finger across his shoulder in a vague direction. "Down the road a little way. Guess what? Blaise says I can have one of Amiee's puppies to keep once they're old enough."

  Julie glanced at the puppies thoughtfully. "Shouldn't be much longer," she guessed. "They look pretty big to me."

  "Probably another couple of weeks," Bobby told her. "Blaise says I can keep one, too, but the rest have to find other homes." He brightened suddenly. "Maybe you can ask Blaise to let you have one, too, Julie. Why don't you pick Porky here?" He pointed to an especially plump puppy that was licking at his bare toes.

  Julie hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was ask a favor of any sort from Blaise. "Oh, I don't know, Bobby," she said doubtfully. "Of course I'd like one of my own, but it seems that with Amiee and your puppy there will be enough dogs around here. Blaise probably wouldn't like to keep so many. Listen, how about showing me the horses?" she asked in an effort to change the subject.

  Thirty minutes later, Julie made her way back toward the house, a feeling of disquiet in her mind. Bobby had taken her on the grand tour, showing her the two horses, the bayou and even a hidden treehouse and all the while he had kept up a running stream of comments like, "Grandpa says you can catch some huge catfish in this bayou," to "Blaise won't let anybody ride Lightning but himself because he might run away with you, but he says Thunder is mine now. Can you believe it, Julie?" or "My very own horse! And Grandpa is going to let me build a pen and get some rabbits to raise," and a minute later, "Blaise showed me the treehouse he built when he was a kid. It's mine and Tony's clubhouse now." It was clear that Bobby was having the time of his life, that he loved his new environment, his new family and friends and if he missed his old life back home, Julie could detect no signs of it.

  She had postponed a visit to her mother's room as long as she dared and as she reentered the coolness of the house, she decided she had better get it over with. Last night after her arrival, she had not had any time alone with her, which had suited her just fine after Blaise's kiss. She had been tired from the long drive and had gone away early while her grandfather and Bobby still kept her mother company. But the time of reckoning was here and there was no sense putting it off any longer.

  She found her mother not in the bed, but on the balcony just off the bedroom. Ruth lay back in a lounge chair, wearing a lightweight summer robe, her face upturned to the sun.

  "So, here you are!" Julie said. "Sunbathing. But you're dressed all wrong. Want me to go out and buy you a bikini?"

  Ruth smiled at this and waved a hand toward the chair next to her. "Come sit down. Are you all rested up from your drive yesterday?"

  "Good as new," Julie answered. "But, more to the point, are you rested up from your trip?"

  Her mother laughed. "No question about it. As soon as I arrived yesterday that dragon of a nurse made me take a nap without doing more than saying hello to Bobby, and by nine last night she had shooed them both out and made me go to bed again. You know, I think she's going to be bossier than the nurses and doctors at the hospital."

  "That's good," Julie said approvingly. "If she makes you take it slow and easy all along then your recovery should be complete and when you're finally running around again we won't have to be so anxious about you." Then, curiously, "Where is she now?"

  Ruth shrugged. "Downstairs having coffee, I suppose. That's what I told her to do. I don't mind her being here, Julie, honestly, and she seems to be a very likeable girl, but I'm not going to have her or anybody hovering over me every minute now that I'm out of the hospital."

  Julie chuckled. "You must be better than we thought. You're already being independent and cranky."

  Her mother grinned. "I hope not 'cranky.' I hate people like that."

  Now Julie became serious. "Are you glad you're here, Mom? I don't mean just out of the hospital, but are you glad you're here at Magnolia Way?"

  "Yes." Ruth nodded. "I truly am. Already I can see how wonderful it is for Bobby and as you and Andrew get to know one another, it will be even better. A real family. And Andrew is being so kind and generous to me. All those flowers," she gave a little laugh, "and did you see what he had sent up to me today? A new color television set."

  "That is generous," Julie murmured.

  "Yes, it is. Julie, I know you weren't enthusiastic about this move, that you did it for my sake, but I want you to be happy here. It's your home, your grandfather, and he loves you very much. I would hate to think of your being unhappy here."

  "Oh, but I'm not," Julie assured her quickly. "My grandfather and I are… getting along," she said stiltedly. "It will just take time, Mom, so please don't worry about it. And as for the rest, who could help but enjoy coming to live in a beautiful place like this?"

  "And Blaise?" Now her mother broached the subject Julie had been dreading. "How do you feel about him?"

  "You're referring to what happened last night, I suppose," Julie murmured.

  "What else?" Her mother said dryly. "When a young man kisses my daughter quite openly, naturally it arouses my curiosity."

  Julie shrugged. "It's a little early to tell just how I feel about him or how he feels about me, Mom, but… well, there is an attraction between us." And that, she thought wryly, was at least the truth. An attraction that she would be careful in the future to overcome, but she could hardly say so when she was supposed to be giving her mother just the opposite impression. And despite the multitude of faults she knew herself to have, Julie had never welshed on any promise she had ever made and much as she disliked the current situation, she would carry through her part of the bargain. Now, with an effort, she carefully schooled herself to look suitably anxious as she asked, "Do you object to it?"

  Ruth looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before replying, and then shook her head. "No, I don't object. Blaise is a fine person. I've always thought a great deal of him, but it hasn't been very long since you broke your engagement to Duane. Before you make any hasty decisions you might regret, be sure you know your own heart, Julie. I don't want you to ever be hurt."

  But it was too late for that, Julie thought sadly as she went away a few minutes later. She had been hurt, first by Duane and then by Blaise and his coldly hostile attitude toward her and she wondered bleakly whether she would ever have a close, trusting and loving relationship with a man the way she had always dreamed.

  With a jolt, she realized the extreme foolishness of the direction of her thoughts. Love had no part at all in her contract with Blaise… only cold, hard business. They each had wanted something that they could only get by marriage to the other, and while there had been a level of physical attraction between them, the tender emotion of love, as she understood the term, could never be applied to such a mercenary arrangement.

  Julie was the last downstairs when she joined the rest of the family in the living room where they had assembled before dinner. There was the nurse, Sarah Lejeune, looking very young and pretty in a floral print dress, Andrew Barclay, seated in his favorite chair, Bobby, unnaturally neat in a fresh shirt and pants with his hair slicked down, Clive and Blaise.

  "Ah, there you are at last," Andrew Barclay exclaimed. "I was about to send a search party after you. Everyone else has already had cocktails, but if you want one, we'll wait before going into the dining room."

  "No, thank you." Julie shook her head. Then, inevitably, like a moth to a light, her gaze was drawn across the room where Blaise stood in front of the fireplace. His eyes were upon her, dark and inscrutable and he casually inclined his head toward her in greeting, but he neither spoke nor moved in
her direction.

  "Hello again, Julie," Clive spoke as he came to stand beside her.

  With an effort, Julie withdrew her gaze from Blaise and turned with a smile to her cousin. "Good evening," she answered. "Are you dining with us tonight? I had no idea."

  "Are you disappointed?" His smile belied his own belief in the words.

  "Of course not!" she disclaimed swiftly. "It's nice to see you again."

  "Let's go eat," Bobby said pointedly. "I'm starving!"

  "Don't you realize there are some things more important than food?" Clive asked him. His eyes remained on Julie as he studied her bare shoulders above the halter-type neckline of her aqua dress.

  Abruptly, Blaise abandoned his position by the fireplace and came across to stand beside them. "To a growing boy there can be few things more important than food," he said lightly. His hand went out to touch Julie's elbow and a shiver raced through her as his fingers pressed possessively into her skin. "Shall we go in?" he suggested, "before we ruin Mrs. Landry's dinner?"

  At the table, Blaise placed Julie in the chair next to his while Clive, Bobby and Sarah sat across from them. Andrew Barclay, looking every bit the patriarch in his dark suit, presided at the head of the table.

  For Julie, it was an uncomfortable meal despite Mrs. Landry's obvious culinary genius. She served crayfish etouffee with mounds of steaming rice followed by a dessert of pecan pie, and though the food was delicious, Julie had difficulty finding any pleasure in it. She was far too aware of Blaise beside her, his face grim with disapproval over Clive's attentions to her.

  In fact, Clive was unquestioningly monopolizing the conversation as he directed one flirtatious comment after another first to Julie, then to Sarah. Julie found him amusing and she would have enjoyed his nonsense if it had not been for the tension that Blaise communicated to her or the equally stiff and sober bearing of her grandfather. Even Bobby seemed disgruntled as he hunched his shoulders over his plate and stared sourly at his food. Only Sarah, it seemed, like herself, accepted Clive's trivial talk as what it was… a lighthearted way to work through a meal.

  When there was a break in the table talk at last, Blaise was the one to speak next and Julie was surprised and unexpectedly rather touched that it was to Bobby he spoke rather than any of the adults.

  "How are Amiee and the pups today, Bob?"

  For the first time since they had sat down at the table, Bobby's hazel eyes brightened. "They're doing fine, but boy, can they make messes! I spread fresh newspaper in the garage this afternoon and its already torn to shreds. As soon as I'm finished eating I'm gonna go out and clean it up." He paused and his gaze darted from Blaise to Julie and back again to Blaise. "Julie wants one of the puppies herself," he stated categorically, "but she said you probably wouldn't want any more dogs to keep, but she can have just one, can't she, Blaise?"

  Blaise turned to Julie. "You want one of the puppies?" he asked quietly.

  "I… I…" Julie's face colored slightly with embarrassment and chagrin. Darn Bobby anyhow, taking matters into his own hands this way! But… she could hardly sit here and make a liar out of her own brother. "Well, yes," she said haltingly, "if you don't mind."

  Blaise's eyebrows raised and the half-smile on his lips told her he knew exactly why she had not wanted to ask herself. "Of course I don't mind," he said aloud. "Pick out the one you want." Then, in a low whisper that could not carry across the table, he added mockingly, "Whatever I have is yours, remember?"

  Julie did not even bother to dignify that comment with a reply. Trying to ignore the heady male scent of him as he leaned so close to her, she pretended a renewed interest in her dinner.

  As soon as the meal was over, Bobby took off for the outdoors. Andrew Barclay rose slowly from the head of the table and smiled at Julie and Sarah. "Will you young ladies excuse us for a while?" he asked politely. "You can have your coffee in the living room, but I need to have a conference with Clive and Blaise in the study."

  It was the first opportunity Julie had had to be alone with the nurse and after only a few minutes together, she found that she liked her very much.

  "I suppose," Julie said tentatively, "that you meet a lot of interesting people, being a private nurse in their homes?"

  Sarah shook her head. "I've never done private nursing until now." She smiled and explained. "I've worked in a doctor's office, but I'm planning to be married in a couple of months and when I do I'll be moving to Kentucky. The doctor had already found a nurse he wanted to hire to replace me, but he didn't need both of us and he wouldn't let me go until I was ready, but then Blaise came to him about the need of a nurse for your mother. He offered a much higher pay for the few weeks I'll be needed, so I decided to take it and let the other girl go ahead and start work for my employer. It works out nicely for both of us because when I leave here it will give me a few weeks of freedom to do all the last-minute things before the wedding."

  "How nice for you," Julie said sincerely, but inside of her, she felt the familiar wistfulness over her own very different circumstances. Sarah, like her friend Ann, absolutely glowed with the certainty of love.

  A few minutes later, the men returned from their conference, and the unsmiling faces of all three told Julie without the need for words that it had not been a pleasant meeting.

  Clive, however, shook off his serious demeanor and came to sit between the two women on the sofa. "Have you girls been talking about my fatal charm while I was gone?" he teased.

  Julie laughed. "We never even gave you a thought to tell the truth. We were talking about Sarah's engagement."

  "Which reminds me," Sarah said as she stood up, "I promised I'd call my fiancé' tonight, so I'd better go do it now before I check up on my patient again. Good night, everyone." She gave a general smile around the room and then left.

  As the other two men sat down in nearby chairs, Clive turned to Julie and grinned. "Tell me, how did those Oakies allow a beauty like you to get away from them? Now, if I weren't your cousin, I'd…"

  Julie burst into laughter and it mingled with the unexpected sound of the doorbell ringing.

  Andrew Barclay looked annoyed at the interruption as Blaise got to his feet and went to answer it. And a moment later as Blaise returned, he looked much more than annoyed; he looked thoroughly angry.

  Julie had never seen a more beautiful woman in her life than the one who now preceded Blaise into the room. She had midnight black hair swept atop her head and a flawless complexion. She wore a pale blue and white dress that clung softly and seductively to her lithe body.

  "Hello, Mr. Barclay." She smiled and offered her hand to the older man, but it was her deeply husky voice that compelled Julie's fixed attention even before she turned toward her and waited for Blaise to introduce them.

  "Julie," Blaise's tone was steady and polite, offering nothing of what he might be feeling at being obliged to introduce his girlfriend to his wife. "I'd like for you to meet Rosalind York. Rosalind, Julie Barclay."

  Julie took an instant and unreasonable dislike of the other woman although she was careful to conceal it beneath an exterior pleasantness.

  "How nice to meet you," Rosalind said as she gave Julie a limp handshake. She smiled a greeting at Clive, then turned to look up at Blaise. "I hope I didn't drop in at a bad time, darling?"

  Blaise smiled warmly at her. "Don't be silly. We're delighted you came. Can I get you a drink?"

  Rosalind nodded, then sat down in the chair Blaise had vacated and gracefully crossed her legs. "I hear your mother is on the mend at last," she said politely to Julie.

  "Yes," Julie answered, "she is."

  "I'm so glad," Rosalind said. She laughed in a low, throaty voice and added, "However, to tell the truth, I never could understand precisely why Blaise's presence was necessary in Texas for her surgery. After all," she gave a dainty shrug to her shoulders, "you were there."

  "I went," Blaise said, handing Rosalind her drink, "because I wanted to go." There was a sudden firming arou
nd his jaws and chin.

  Rosalind's eyes widened. "Of course, darling. I wasn't implying any criticism. All I meant was that I missed you dreadfully while you were away." Smoothly, she turned back to Julie and gave her a bright smile, saying, "How are you liking your visit to Louisiana? You must find it very different from Oklahoma."

  "Visit?" Julie asked blankly.

  Now Rosalind appeared thoroughly disconcerted. "But… that's all it is, isn't it?" she asked. "You'll be returning to your home once your mother is completely well again?"

  "My granddaughter, her mother and her brother are making their home permanently with us," Andrew Barclay said in a forbiddingly cold tone. "Blaise and I are very happy with the arrangement, aren't we, Blaise?" He threw a challenging glance up at his stepson who was standing beside Rosalind's chair.

  Blaise's gaze flickered across Julie's face before he nodded and answered mildly, "Yes, we certainly are."

  There seemed nowhere to go from there. Apparently Rosalind was aware that she had made a couple of mistakes and now she sipped her drink thoughtfully while an odd, strained little silence hung in the air. But after a minute, Julie's grandfather broke it. Rising to his feet, he said, "If you'll excuse me, I've got a date with Ruth for a game of chess."

  There was an even more awkward silence after he left, but then Clive broke it by suggesting, "Care to take a walk, Julie?"

  She accepted with alacrity, and although she could feel Blaise's disapproving eyes upon her, she steeled herself not to glance in his direction. With a polite murmur of goodbye to Rosalind, she escaped from the room, determined that she would not return. Let Blaise have his privacy with the woman he loved. She was certainly not going to be put in the position of playing watchdog.

  The walk along the bayou bank was a pleasant one. They discussed recent movies they had both seen and soon Julie was plying Clive with eager questions about the yearly Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans.

  Clive obligingly answered all her questions and as they turned to retrace their steps toward the house, he said, "We'll make a point of taking you next year. I always go and spend a week with friends there myself so I can attend a few of the balls as well as the parades."