by Irene Brand
His eyes brightened, and he took her hand again. “Don’t think they haven’t! Folks I’ve known for years cross the street to keep from speaking to me. I appreciate your vote of confidence—your opinion is important to me. I’ve spent months trying to figure out the puzzle. A half-million dollars has disappeared without a trace. I’d just as soon believe she gave it to George as to me, for they’d always been close, but I won’t accuse him as he did me. I suppose the authorities have investigated him, too.”
The waitress came with their bill, and Joseph placed money in the tray. “We should go—I don’t want you to be late for the visit with your parents.”
When they were in the truck, he said, “I’ll admit that my spirit, as well as my body, was injured when I came to NLC, but I’m beginning to heal both ways. Yet, I can’t quite forgive George for accusing me of killing her. He’d been my best friend for years—it was through him that I met Virginia. To lose his friendship was almost as painful as losing my wife.”
“Perhaps in his grief, he had to lash out at someone, and you were the logical one to accuse. Without that note, would there have been any question that she’d died in the accident? I don’t mean to pry, but had you had any marital problems that had started her drinking?”
The dashboard lights illuminated Joseph’s perturbed face, and Connie saw him shake his head. “Not really! We’d been married five years, and the last couple of years we’d not been as happy as we were at first, and at one time, she left me for several months. I decided that was normal, that the honeymoon was over, but my lawyers have been pressuring me to come up with any possible motive. Mrs. Perry died about two years before her husband, and I’ve decided that Virginia started to change soon after that. I didn’t question her attitude, believing it was grief, but after her mother died, instead of turning to me, she became more secretive, went off by herself a lot.”
“That doesn’t sound normal—it seems she would have turned to you in her sorrow.”
“It would seem so. But as I’ve looked back, I realize that was about the time she started drinking secretly. I knew it, but I ignored the habit.”
“Did she inherit any money when her mother died?”
“A few thousand dollars, and that’s gone, too. I didn’t question her about what she’d gotten from her family, for George is a better financier than I am, and he was in charge of settling the estate. The Perrys employ several accountants, and I assumed that they were handling Virginia’s portion.”
“Perhaps she spent a lot of money on clothes.”
“It’s possible that’s what happened with the first money she received, but she could hardly have wasted Mr. Perry’s fortune so quickly. As I look back, I see now that I should have been more attentive to what my wife was doing.”
“If you find out what she did with the money, that might be a clue to what happened the night she died.”
Joseph laid his arm across Connie’s shoulders and drew her close to him, and she looked at him questioningly, but his mind was still on the past. “I’ve been immobile so much since the accident that I’ve had plenty of time to go back over the manner of her death. I’m inclined to think she may have been attacked that day. If someone had been at the house, the blizzard would have wiped out tire tracks. My employees and I had worked all day driving the stock close to the ranch buildings. Virginia had been alone for hours, and from the amount of blood she lost, she might have died even if we hadn’t had an accident.”
“So that would have been murder?”
Joseph rubbed his left leg and thigh, a common gesture when he was agitated. “And while the police persist in suspecting me, the real killer is free. I can’t get it out of my mind. Will I have to wonder the rest of my life what really happened and have people suspect I committed the crime?”
Connie laid her hand on his arm, and he covered her warm fingers with his hand. “I pray not, Joseph—surely the police will uncover something.”
“They aren’t making an effort. I’m their number one suspect, and they’re watching me.” Thoughtfully, Joseph added, “Strangely enough, the first bit of evidence we’ve found, I learned from Rose Nash.”
“Rose!”
“You know she worked for Virginia’s parents. She told me that sometimes, after our marriage, when her parents were gone, Virginia would come to her former home and stay all night, and that a few times she had a male guest. Rose saw him once, but it wasn’t anyone she knew, and she wondered if it was someone she’d met during a year she wandered about the country before I met her. I’ve hired the best lawyers available, and they’re checking into Rose’s information, but it’s an old trail, and so far they haven’t learned anything.”
“I’m willing to help if you need me.”
“Thanks. Until I get better, I’m leaving the detective work in the hands of my lawyers, but when I’m well again, I’ll do some private searching. I may call on you then.” He sighed. “The future seems bleak, but I don’t know what else to do.”
They were turning into the driveway of her parents’ home, and Connie squeezed his arm. “There’s one big avenue of defense that you may not have tried yet. Prayer! ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’”
He threw her a grateful smile. “Perhaps you should pray for me.”
“Do you think I haven’t?” Without waiting for him to open the door, Connie stepped out on the driveway. “Come in with me. We’ll see what mom has for dessert.”
Joseph had been at NLC for six weeks—weeks full of triumph for Joseph and Connie as his strength began to return and he learned to walk without a limp. He’d graduated to the third most strenuous trail, leaving only the trek up Faith Mountain to prove he’d mastered his disability. There had been days of disillusionment, too, when Joseph fretted over the mystery of his wife’s death, and the lack of evidence his lawyers had been able to find. His recovery hadn’t been without pain either, and often after a strenuous day, he couldn’t sleep at night. During these times, Connie overlooked his irritability and encouraged him with pats on the back and patient words. Connie had set today for a new test for Joseph. They would jog rather than walk.
When Joseph met her at half-past six, the air was cool and invigorating, and the sun shone brightly.
“I have a surprise for you today,” she said. “We’ll run part of the way.”
Joseph turned skeptical gray eyes on her. “Are you sure I’m ready for that?”
“We’ll soon find out. Rather than taking the easiest path, I think you’ll be able to run a mile on the second trail. We can slow to a walk when necessary.”
He grinned at her. “Okay, Doc, you’re the boss, but if my legs cramp like they did last night, I probably won’t run far.”
They walked to the trail head beside the lake. Mallards and their ducklings paddled away leaving V-shaped wakes behind them. Red-winged blackbirds fussed over their nests in the reeds. A fish flipped, and its body glistened like silver in a ray of sunshine.
When the trail entered the woods, Connie said, “We can’t run side by side here, so you go first and set the pace. I’m hoping for a mile each way, but you decide what you can do. We’re not attempting a marathon, so it doesn’t matter how long it takes.”
Joseph still favored his left leg, and at first, he ran awkwardly and slowly, but he eventually picked up speed, although she knew it was an effort. When she thought he’d exerted enough, she hurried forward until she was beside him. His flushed face was set in rigid lines, and his breath came in gasps.
“Don’t keep running if you think it’s too much. We have another half mile to go, so slow to a walk when you want to.”
He shook his head, clamped his teeth in determination, and kept running. Smiling, Connie dropped behind him. When Joseph finally slumped down on the bench at the one-mile marker, he gasped for breath, his face was red and sweaty, his legs shook, but he managed a feeble smile.
“Made it,” he whispered weakly.
She wiped his face, and ha
nded him the water bottle. While he drank, she sat beside him and sipped her own water. He rested for ten minutes or more without speaking, while Connie monitored his pulse.
“Do you know you irritate me sometimes?” he mumbled. “I’m ready to collapse, and you look as cool as if you’ve been sitting in the shade all day. You make me feel inferior.”
“Your recovery has been miraculous. There’s no reason for you to feel inferior. If you do this every day for a week, you’ll hardly breathe heavy at the end of your run.”
“Maybe so,” he grumbled. “Right now, I’m not thinking about next week, simply wondering how I’m going to make it back to my room.”
The smile she gave him was warm, compassionate and mysterious, and her charm so captivated Joseph that he spoke without thinking. “Do I get a reward for my accomplishment?”
She reached in her pocket and playfully dangled a granola bar in front of his face. “Okay, here’s your reward.”
“That’s not what I had in mind.” He drew a deep breath and put his arms around her, as she turned startled eyes in his direction. “Do you think I can be with you almost constantly for six weeks without succumbing to your charm? I know it’s foolish of me, but I’m jealous of other men who’ve had you for their trainer—men I don’t even know—wondering how they felt about you.”
She thought she’d seen Joseph in all his moods, but she’d never seen his eyes glow with the tenderness they displayed now. When his lips touched hers, at first in a gentle kiss that soon intensified, she eagerly returned the caress. Why pretend she was insulted by his action? Why push him away when her heart overflowed with joy? She had been right to let Ray go, for she’d found in Joseph the tenderness and love she expected in a mate. Connie shifted her face to end the kiss, lowering her head to his shoulder, still damp from the rigorous exercise. She pushed the future with its problems out of her mind. Right now, all she wanted was the joy of being in Joseph’s arms. His right arm held her tightly, and his left hand softly touched her hair. Happiness surged though her body in a vibrant, lovely melody.
Although appalled at what he’d done, Joseph continued to hold her. What was the matter with him? His wife hadn’t been dead a year, and here he was kissing another woman. Considering the enormity of the legal problems overshadowing his life, the last thing he needed was to become entangled in a love affair. Was it love? Or was he lonely? What should he do now? He didn’t want to offend Connie by shoving her away.
Connie moved out of his arms reluctantly, belatedly remembering that she was the supervisor of his rehab program. This interlude was definitely not on the prescribed schedule. She got up from the bench and turned her back.
“Did I offend you?”
“No,” she answered honestly, “but I am surprised that I so easily forgot I’m on duty for NLC.”
He tugged on her arm until she sat beside him again and rested her head on his shoulder, holding his hand as she monitored the steady rhythm of his heart and listened to his words.
“I suddenly realize I want more from you than counseling and encouragement. After that kiss, it will be impossible for us to be together so much and keep our association on a strictly professional level.”
“This is my fault for breaking one of the main rules at NLC. Trainers aren’t supposed to get emotionally involved with their patients.”
“But since we’re already emotionally involved, what are we going to do about it?” he asked, a wide smile creasing his face.
“I don’t know,” Connie murmured, not really wanting to make any decisions. It seemed so right—so comfortable—to be in Joseph’s arms that she wanted to blot out the rest of the world for the moment.
“Why don’t you go home with me next weekend? We need time to know each other better, and that’s hard to do when we’re surrounded by so many people.”
“Just the two of us by ourselves?”
“Why not? We’re attracted to each other, and we need time alone to see how far we want this relationship to go.”
Connie’s heart thudded to the pit of her stomach. What she had regarded as love flowing between them was apparently nothing but lust. Speechless for a moment, she finally lifted her head, looked at him suspiciously and demanded, “Are you suggesting that we start an intimate relationship without being married?”
Joseph’s breathing had normalized, but now his pulse raced again, and he felt as if he’d finished a marathon. He hadn’t meant that at all! How was he going to answer? If he said no, Connie would be embarrassed that she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion. He certainly wouldn’t consider a premarital relationship, but at a loss for words, he shrugged his shoulders and hedged. “It might lead to that eventually.”
When Ray had made a similar proposition, it had angered Connie so much that she’d immediately given him an unequivocal no, and she’d never once regretted her decision. Why was she hesitating now? Did she love Joseph so much that she was actually considering his suggestion?
Appalled at her behavior, Connie jerked out of Joseph’s arms and stood up, resembling a wounded animal holding its attackers at bay. In a harsh, angry voice that didn’t even sound like her own, she said, “Joseph, do you have any idea why I broke my engagement with Ray Blazer? He suggested that we live together a year or so to see if we were compatible for marriage!” She pointed to the pin she wore every day. “Do you know what this pin means? Haven’t you heard that I’m the coordinator of a support group of men and women who believe in, and have taken a Marriage First vow? We’ve pledged to refrain from sexual relations before marriage, preferring to keep our virtue for our spouse.”
“No, Connie, I didn’t know any of that.”
She was shaking all over, and her voice trembled as she continued, “Now that you do—let me say that you’ve disappointed me greatly. What have I done or said to give you any reason to believe that I’d consider such an offer? I’ve certainly set a poor example if you have such an opinion of me.” Right now, however, he couldn’t think any worse of her than she thought of herself.
“I respect you more than anyone I’ve ever met. You’ve taken this all wrong, Connie. I didn’t mean to insult you,” Joseph protested, and he reached out a hand to her.
“I belong to the Marriage First group because chastity is so rare these days that we need the support of others who are like-minded to avoid faltering in our beliefs.” He struggled to his feet and she backed away from him. “You claim to know so much about the Bible, but perhaps you need to be reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord.’ So, if you still need an answer to your weekend invitation, the answer is No!”
Ignoring his protest, Connie broke into a run and scurried down the trail. Once again, she’d forgotten he was her patient, leaving him to get back to the Center on his own.
Connie lay facedown on her bed, exhausted in mind and body. Someone knocked on the apartment door, and she ignored it. The phone rang several times, but she didn’t answer. If it was Joseph, she didn’t want to talk to him, but probably it was Kim. Connie vaguely remembered that she had an appointment sometime today, and Kim was probably calling to remind her. Then the apartment door opened, and Connie sat up on the side of the bed as Kim entered the bedroom.
“You missed your appointment with the Cartlands at ten o’clock. You were supposed to discuss NLC’s services for their son, who was injured in a waterskiing accident. When you didn’t show up, I telephoned Eric, and he’s taking them on a tour of our facilities and will treat them to lunch. When can you meet with them?”
Connie didn’t answer, and Kim sat beside her. “Is there anything I can do?”
Connie shook her head.
“Cat got your tongue?” Kim said with a little laugh, asking the question they’d often used as children when one of them was mad.
Connie shook her head again.
Kim put her arm around Connie. “Oh, come on, Connie. It can’t be that bad.”
�
�It’s bad, all right,” Connie said grimly. “I’m mad at Joseph and even madder at myself.”
“I thought you must have had a quarrel. I saw you racing by the office like a rabbit with a pack of hounds on its trail, and an hour later, Joseph came limping by, looking as if the weight of the world had been dumped on his shoulders.”
“A quarrel is a mild word for what happened between us,” Connie said, and she stood up and paced around the room. “He insulted me, Kim. He invited me to go with him to his ranch next weekend, so we could ‘get to know each other better.’”
“That may have been a perfectly innocent invitation. He’s lonely, Connie—maybe he just wanted your company. Was that all he said?”
Connie’s eyes widened, and she stared at Kim, her face flushing with embarrassment. Had she misconstrued his meaning? She tried to recall Joseph’s exact words. Had she put words into his mouth?
“As troubled as Joseph is over his health and his wife’s death,” Kim continued, “I don’t think he even realizes it, but it’s obvious to Eric and me that he cares for you a lot. I’ve watched the tender expression in his eyes when he looks at you, and sometimes his eyes are wretched as if he knows how hopeless his life is. Then he reminds me of a kid who dreams of owning an expensive toy, but knows his dreams will never come true.”
“I know he likes my company, and I’m happy when we’re together, but it really upset me when I thought he considered me a fast woman, as my grandmother would have termed it.”
“I assume you refused his invitation,” Kim said, and her eyes twinkled in amusement.
Connie flushed and dropped down on the bed beside Kim. “Of course, I said no. I was mad at him, but I was angrier at myself because for a minute or two, when I believed he was suggesting a premarital relation, I was tempted. I was tempted! All these months, when I’ve preached ‘marriage first’ to our support group, I didn’t suppose I would ever consider such an arrangement—not even for a moment.”
Kim put her arm around Connie’s rigid shoulders. “Connie, you’re only human. There’s no harm in being tempted since you had the courage to say no. The Apostle Paul commented on that in his message to the Corinthians. ‘God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’”
