Heat of the Moment

by Lori Herter

  He held the door open as she hesitantly walked up the sidewalk.

  “I came back for my clothes,” she said, looking shaken. “Guess you changed the code. Afraid I’d break in and steal secret papers?”

  Peter got an odd sensation in his stomach as he looked at her. She was wearing a long skirt and long sweater, and her hair was all tied up in a knot and held with a clip. She looked pale and tired, and her demeanor was frosty. Josie had reverted to the woman who had first come to him. The sensual woman he’d made love to last night had disappeared.

  He didn’t know how to react. “You can get your clothes. Careful, there’s some broken glass in the lab. I haven’t gotten it cleaned up yet.”

  She walked past him into the house. The feminine swish of her skirt, the pride in her small, squared shoulders, and the sadness in her eyes all hit him deep inside. He wanted to stop her and take her in his arms. Instead, he followed her out to the cottage, resisting his impulse to embrace her, not sure what to think, how to view her. This morning he’d been convinced she’d seduced him with ulterior motives. But now he’d found out that Al was making covert plans, undermining him. Did that mean he should have trusted Josie all along?

  He wished he could read people better. He’d believed Cory when she’d said she loved him. He’d married her. And all the while she’d been in love with another man.

  Had Josie really meant it when she’d said she loved him? Because, from the ache in the pit of his stomach at seeing her again, Peter could tell how hard he’d fallen for her. He doubted just about everything else at the moment, but he had no doubt that he was in hopelessly love with her.

  Peter waited in the lab area while she went into the bedroom. He could see her shoving clothes into her overnight bag as fast as she could. She went into the bathroom, and all at once he heard a small cry from her and the sound of glass hitting the tiles.

  He rushed in and found her holding her hand. She was bleeding.

  “What happened?”

  “I went to pick up my hand lotion and I didn’t see the broken pieces of the water glass.”

  Blood was coming from the fleshy part of her hand beneath her thumb. Peter grabbed a towel and pressed it onto her hand.

  “It’ll stain,” she objected.

  “That doesn’t matter. There’s a first-aid kit in the lab. Hold this.” He left her pressing the towel against her hand while he went to find the first-aid kit. When he came back she extended her uninjured hand to take it.

  “I’ll do it,” he said.

  “You don’t need to. I can—”

  “Shh! Take off the towel. Let me see.”

  She removed the towel and he wet a washcloth with antiseptic lotion. He looked at the wound closely while she turned her gaze away. “It’s not deep. It’ll be okay.” He put some antibiotic ointment on it, then bandaged it snugly. Her hand was small and delicate, and he felt awkward applying the bandages, reminded of how adorably feminine she was, how he’d longed to take care of her.

  When he was finished, he reluctantly let her hand go. “All done.”

  She didn’t look at him and merely nodded her thank-you. Though her eyes were averted, he thought he detected tears in them. He felt he ought to say something, but didn’t know what. How could he find the right words when he didn’t know what to believe? About Josie or Al or at this point, even about himself.

  She went to the bed, tossed the hand lotion into her bag and closed it.

  “I can carry it for you,” he offered.

  Josie coolly picked the bag up by the handle herself. “Now that you can walk?”

  Peter looked askance. “I’m sorry it all turned out this way, Josie.”

  “So am I.”

  “I had good reasons for everything.”

  “Good reasons aren’t a substitute for truth. And whether you believe me or not, the truth is important to me. It’s why I left Earthwaves. Why I came to see you in the first place.”

  “Why did you have sex with me? What’s the truth about that?”

  Josie glared at him. Her voice shook as she replied, “Because I was stupid enough to trust you.”

  “You said you loved me.”

  “I don’t anymore.” With that, she turned and walked out of the cottage to the house.

  Peter followed, feeling wounded. What if she had been truthful all along? What if she was the treasure he’d been waiting for all his life, and now he’d lost her forever?

  As she approached the front door of his house, he said, “When I have things cleared up at Frameworks, can I see you again?”

  She turned around. “Why?”

  “I think we should talk more. I don’t like to leave it like this between us.”

  “You were happy to last night. You fired me! After we had sex. If the earthquake hadn’t hit, I’d still believe you were an invalid!”

  Peter drew his brows together. “There’s been a lot going on ever since my accident that I don’t understand. You were part of all that. If we had met under more ordinary circumstances—”

  “If I had met you under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn’t have gone near you. God, I wish it had happened that way! Now I have the memory of giving myself to you only to be told afterward that I was a seductress and was being fired for it. Not my idea of romance, I’m afraid. No, I don’t want to see you ever again. For any reason!”

  Josie walked out. Peter watched her, but made no attempt to pursue her any further. Whatever the truth was, she was gone, and that was the end of it. For now, anyway.

  Maybe it was for the best, he tried to tell himself as he headed back to the garage to get the broom. But once again the phone rang. What now? he wondered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Peter, it’s Mom.”

  Peter rolled his eyes and tried to calm himself. He didn’t want his mother to know he was upset. “I’ve been meaning to call you about the quake. Eileen said you were fine.”

  “Yes, not much damage here in Riverside. One of my plates from Ireland broke, the one that had my favorite Irish blessing. But it can be replaced.”

  “I’ll order it for your birthday, how’s that?”

  “Sure, and you’re okay?”

  “I’m great. The house is a mess, but thank God no one was hurt.” Except for Josie, he thought, remembering her bleeding hand. Sadness fell over him, and he hardly heard what his mother was saying.

  “Well, I’ve been meaning to call you, too. Eileen said you were very interested in ‘She Moved Through the Fair.’”

  Peter made an effort to put Josie out of his mind and keep up the conversation. “What’s that?”

  “The song you asked Eileen about. I looked it up. It’s such an unusual name, I can never remember it.”

  “‘She Moved Through the Fair’?”

  “You have it. It’s on that Irish Tenors DVD I gave you kids a couple of Christmases ago.”

  Peter shuffled through his mind. A DVD? He vaguely remembered she’d given everyone a DVD with Irish songs one Christmas. Where had he put it? He’d never even taken off the cellophane wrapper.

  “Don’t tell me you never played it!” his mother exclaimed when he didn’t reply. “Just like Eileen. A thump on both your heads from me!”

  “I’ll look for it,” Peter told her, embarrassed. “I couldn’t find the song on the Web sites. I thought it was some obscure old ditty.”

  “Obscure? The great John McCormack recorded it long ago. It’s on current albums, like Finbar Wright’s. Anthony Kearns sings it on the DVD. It’s not obscure at all!”

  “What’s the first line?”

  “It’s ‘My young love said to me…’”

  “Young love. I thought it was true love.”

  “Me, too!” She laughed. “It’s easy to get that mixed up.”

  “So what’s the deal about the last verse Patrick wouldn’t sing?” Peter wasn’t sure he really wanted to know anymore, but asked anyway.

  “It’s because the bride in the song
dies.”

  “Dies?” Oh, God. Why did he have to ask?

  “In the last verse, the bride comes to him again, maybe in a dream, maybe as a ghost. The words are, ‘So softly she came that her feet made no din.’ And that’s why Patrick would never sing that verse, because he was superstitious about it.”

  “And at the funeral…?”

  “Ah, yes,” she replied with a sad sigh, “then Patrick wanted it sung because…well, he never said, but at the time we all felt it was because he wanted Maureen to come to him.”

  “As a ghost?”

  “I think so.”

  Peter rubbed his forehead. “Okay. That does it. I know all I ever want to about that song. Do me a favor and don’t remind me of it again!”

  “Why? It’s a lovely song.”

  “The family history that goes along with it is pretty morbid.”

  “I always thought Patrick and Maureen’s story was beautiful. Love and loss and death are constant themes in Irish music. It’s in your blood, Peter. Embrace it with your heart, and you’ll understand what life is all about.”

  “Not just now,” he told his mother. “Let me clean up the house first.”

  She laughed. “Need some help? Dad and I can come over—”

  “No. I’ll take care of it, thanks.”

  After more reassurances that he was fine and needed no assistance, he hung up. Peter shook his head over her statement about Irish music. It would take some masterpiece of an Irish song to explain his life to him. And the last verse of that song would be all about Josie.

  No more love songs for him!

  JOSIE HELPED Ronnie clean up spilled cereal and broken, uncooked spaghetti from her kitchen floor. The contents had spilled when the decorative containers Ronnie kept them in had fallen off a shelf during the earthquake. When they finished at Ronnie’s condo, they would tackle Josie’s.

  As Josie held the dust pan, Ronnie swept cereal into it. “So, what’s been happening with Peter?” she asked.

  “That’s all over,” Josie said, trying to make her tone light. “I quit.”

  “Quit working for him? But you were thinking about—”

  Josie exhaled impatiently. “He’s not the man I thought he was.”

  Ronnie stopped sweeping, looking very concerned. “But—”

  “Ronnie, it’s over! Keep sweeping.”

  The blonde made a halfhearted effort with the broom. “You want to talk about it?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. Sorry it didn’t work out.”

  “Don’t be.” Josie strove for a confidence she didn’t feel. “I’m better off solo. I knew that all along. This just proves it, that’s all.”

  They went on sweeping the kitchen in silence. All at once, Ronnie’s doorbell rang.

  Ronnie went to the living room to open the front door, while Josie continued to work in the kitchen.

  “Mr. Lansdowne!” Ronnie exclaimed.

  Josie stiffened and rose from the floor. She backed against the kitchen counter so she couldn’t be seen from the living room.

  “I took the day off to clean up after the quake,” Ronnie was rushing to explain. “I called the plant to say so.”

  “Just about everybody is home cleaning up.” Martin Lansdowne’s voice was gruff, but quiet. “That’s not why I’m here. Can I come in?”

  “Sure.”

  In the kitchen, Josie wrapped her arms around her waist. She hoped Ronnie could get rid of him quickly somehow. What did he want?

  “Are you still friends with Josie?” he asked.

  “Um…sort of. I don’t see her much….”

  “But you can contact her?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’d call her myself, but she’d probably hang up. I thought it would be better if you talked to her on my behalf. I want you to tell her I’m willing to take her back.” He paused. “No, don’t put it that way. Tell her we need her back at Earthwaves and I’m willing to pay her more than whatever Peter Brennan is paying her. Will you do that?”

  “Sure.”

  “Ronnie doesn’t have to,” Josie said, walking into the living room. “I’m here.”

  Martin stared at her, and then he smiled. “Great. You heard?”

  Josie nodded.

  “So, you’ll come back to Earthwaves? I can double what Brennan is paying you.”

  “I’m not working for him anymore,” Josie said. “And I don’t want to work for you, either. I don’t care what you want to pay me.”

  Martin’s manner became almost humble. “Look, Josie, the earthquake last night demolished our current test structure. I heard through the grapevine that Frameworks’ structure withstood the quake. You know what they’re doing. You can make us competitive again!”

  “What grapevine?”

  “Al Mooney called me.”

  “He called you?” Josie shook her head. “I didn’t even think they were ready to test yet. Well, whatever the case, I’m not going to divulge secrets. Don’t you have any moral compass? That’s why I left Earthwaves—because you hacked into Peter and Al’s computer system to try to steal information. And what about Peter’s ‘accident’?”

  Martin began to grow angry. His face turned red and his eyes fired up. “Don’t take the moral high ground with me! You told Peter all you knew about Earthwaves, didn’t you? According to Al, you’ve been sleeping with him!”

  “Al said that?” Josie glanced at Ronnie, who stood by the wall looking nervous. She turned to Martin again. “I’ve never said anything to Peter about Earthwaves’ methods. What was there to divulge? Your methods weren’t working anyway! I’d like to hear what you have to say about Peter’s ‘accident.’”

  Martin pointed his finger at her. “I told Al, and I’ll tell you—both of you—I had nothing to do with Peter’s fall off his test structure! Okay, okay, I hacked into his computers. But I didn’t try to kill Brennan.” He took a long breath and glanced at the two young women. “Sorry.” He used a softer tone. “Look, I know I’ve got a problem with my temper. I’m not here to try to scare you, either of you. I’ve got high blood pressure and a heart condition. I couldn’t sneak onto Frameworks’ property, climb up to the top of that overpass structure and loosen it up! Have you ever seen me climb up our own test structures?”

  Josie and Ronnie both shook their heads no.

  “You could have hired someone,” Josie said.

  “Who would I hire?” Martin asked. “One of my employees? An accomplice might snitch on me. I’d already done something illegal by hacking into Frameworks’ computers. And—maybe because I blow my top you have trouble believing this—I’m not into killing or injuring people!”

  “I believe you,” Ronnie said quietly.

  Martin appeared relieved by Ronnie’s words. He looked at Josie with pleading eyes.

  Josie felt that he might actually be telling the truth. He’d never leveled with anyone this way before, ever admitted to any wrongdoing. He must be feeling chastened. “I’m inclined to believe you, too, Martin.”

  “Then you’ll—?”

  “No,” Josie said, before he could finish. “I won’t come back to work for you. But unless I’m specifically asked by authorities, I won’t say anything about the fact that you hacked into Peter’s computer. Although, I did tell Peter about the evidence I discovered.”

  “Al said you’d told them.”

  Josie tilted her head. “Al seems to be saying a lot lately. I heard that you made him an offer to work for Earthwaves. Why are you after me, if you can get Al?”

  “My company’s losing the race, Josie. Al hasn’t agreed to come to Earthwaves. I doubt that he will now, since Frameworks’ method withstood last night’s earthquake. Can you blame me for grasping at straws?”

  Josie felt saddened by Martin’s defeated tone. Neither his high-handed nor his underhanded tactics had ever done him any good.

  “I’m sorry, Martin.”

  Martin sighed, nodded to both women and left.

 
Afterward, Ronnie seemed downhearted. “Looks like I may be jobless soon, too. I have a feeling Earthwaves won’t be around too much longer.”

  Josie smiled. “Think of all the men you’ll meet at someplace new!”

  Ronnie grinned. “That’s true. What about you? Where will you find a job?”

  Josie gazed up at the white ceiling. “I wonder how a person gets to work as a hermit on a mountaintop somewhere?”

  PETER HAD WORKED all day getting his place cleaned up, except for the tipped-over bookcases. He’d asked his two brothers-in-law to come over and help him with those.

  Meanwhile he’d been thinking about what to do about Al. He’d decided that in the morning he’d ask Al to come over so they could talk. Perhaps the situation, and their friendship, could still be salvaged. He hoped so. He’d already lost Josie, and he didn’t need to lose his oldest friend, too.

  It was evening, and Peter went upstairs to finish straightening up his office. He closed the window blinds, remembering it was from there that he’d first seen Josie. He would have to think of that. The words And fondly I watched her… came into his mind and wouldn’t leave.

  Giving in, he sat down in front of his personal computer and brought up one of the Web sites he’d checked before. After typing in “She Moved Through the Fair,” sure enough, the title and verses came up on the screen. He read the song in its entirety, absorbing its beautiful simplicity.

  She Moved Through the Fair

  My young love said to me, “My mother won’t mind

  And my father won’t slight you for your lack of kind.”

  She stepped away from me and this she did say,

  “It will not be long, love, till our wedding day.”

  She stepped away from me and she moved through the fair

  And fondly I watched her move here and move there.

  And then she turned homeward with one star awake

  As the swan in the evening moves over the lake.

  The people were saying, no two e’er were wed

  But one had a sorrow that never was said.