The Sweetest Thing

by Barbara Freethy

  His voice faltered for a moment, then he continued. "We explored many canyons that summer, all the famous ruins, but one day I ventured off the main trails and found myself in a place that seemed untouched by man. The air was so quiet that afternoon." He paused for a long moment, letting the tension build. "I wandered for hours until I saw this incredible rock formation. It appeared as if two butterflies were dancing. I stopped and stared, completely captivated. I had to get closer, to figure out how the sandstone rocks could have taken on such an unusual shape. I had to climb up the side of a canyon wall to get to the butterflies, and I was almost there when I saw an opening under a ledge, a small cave that couldn't be seen from the ground. I stopped, wondering... I decided to peer inside, almost afraid of what I would find. But the cave seemed empty. I walked in a little further and there it was."

  "What?" Jessie breathed.

  "A beautiful, perfect pot, black on white, standing where it must have stood for centuries. I couldn't quite believe it. Even fifty years ago, most of the ruins had been discovered, picked over, and yet I'd found something remarkable. And I took it."

  Alex cleared his throat, not liking his own intense reaction to the story that never failed to draw goose bumps down his spine. "Grandfather, do you really need to tell this story again?"

  "Yes. If Jessie is your daughter, then it is imperative she know about the curse upon our family."

  "Jessie's not my daughter, and there is no curse on our family. We just have bad luck, that's it."

  "I said the same thing for many years. I told myself it was only bad fortune that caused me to lose jobs, to marry so many women, to wander aimlessly around this earth."

  "You just have a short attention span, that's all." The food in Alex's stomach twisted into a knot.

  "No, I brought the curse of the gods down upon my family. I must set it right before I die." Julian looked from Jessie to Alex. "I don't wish to scare the child, but I may not have long to live."

  Alex took in a deep breath. The words hurt, more than they should have. His grandfather had never spent much time with him. Julian had been a wanderer all his life. In fact, Julian had only spent time with Alex when he needed an audience. Which was probably why he'd come to visit now.

  Still, Alex had to admit Julian's skin looked pale, almost translucent, and his hands shook slightly as he raised the fork to his lips. He knew the old man had already had two heart attacks, both supposedly mild, but Julian was seventy-four years old, he might not have that much time left.

  "What did the doctor say?" Alex asked.

  "He said I should make my peace now before it's too late."

  "Did you talk to my father?"

  "Your father is in Africa, shooting bathing-suit models in the wild kingdom."

  That sounded like Brett Carrigan. Another wanderer, just like Julian.

  Was he the same? Destined to travel from one location to the next, one woman to the next, never setting down roots, never feeling connected to anyone? Was that truly the curse of the Carrigans or just a weak family gene? He certainly hadn't had much success finding true love. After his disastrous marriage to Melanie, he had shied away from anything serious, devoting himself to his business. It had seemed enough -- until today. Until Jessie had reminded him of the child he had once longed to have.

  Not that this smart-ass girl was his vision of the perfect child. Not by a long shot. Although he had to admit Jessie had Julian's flare for the dramatic. Was it possible she really was a Carrigan? Where had the lies begun and ended? It all seemed so blurry now.

  "What did you do with the pot?" Jessie asked, impatient to hear the rest of the story.

  Julian's mouth tightened in a grim line. "I took it back to show Suzannah."

  "Suzannah?"

  "More rice?" Alex interrupted, disliking the intensity in his grandfather's eyes. The old man looked like he'd forgotten they were even there.

  Jessie frowned at him. "Shush. I want to hear the rest of the story. Go on," she urged Julian.

  "What? Oh." Julian took a deep breath. "When I took the pot to Suzannah, she touched it and became angry, hysterical, almost panicked. She said it was wrong to take it, that it might have come from a burial site. She begged me to return it. I told her it was a long trip, and I wasn't sure I could even find the cave again. She insisted that I leave at once, that afternoon." Julian paused. "I became angry. I couldn't believe she wanted me to take the pot back. I told her she could take it back if she wished. That's when Suzannah reached for the pot and..."

  "And what?" Jessie demanded.

  "It broke. It split into two perfectly symmetrical pieces."

  "Oh, no."

  "Oh, yes."

  When his grandfather didn't elaborate, Alex leaned forward in his seat. He'd forgotten the power of the story until now. "Tell her what happened next," he said, impatient to hear the end.

  "The wind came down through the canyons, howling and screaming in pain. We were standing in a trailer, and it shook as if there were an earthquake. For a moment, I thought an angry God had decided to pick us up and heave us across the land. I remember everything falling off the shelves, and Suzannah hanging on to the counter with one hand, the other clutching her half of the pot. She screamed at me that..."

  "That what?" Jessie asked.

  Julian shook his head. "I can't remember what she said. I just knew that I had to get help. I took my half of the pot and went into the town to talk to one of the Indian guides we had met earlier that summer. He was an older man, and he'd seen many a burial site. When he saw the pot, his eyes lit up with a fury almost as spectacular as the wind. He told me that I had unleashed a powerful curse. I begged him to tell me how I could fix what I had done. And he told me that--"

  "The winds will curse your life until you return to where it began..." Alex finished.

  Julian met his gaze. "Exactly."

  "So why didn't you take it back then?" Alex demanded, even though he'd asked the question a dozen times before.

  "Because I needed the other half. You know that. When I returned to the trailer, Suzannah was gone. I looked all over for her, but she had vanished. The next day I called her home in California. Her great-aunt had no idea where Suzannah was." Julian's eyes darkened. "It was then I realized Suzannah had run away to meet me in Arizona."

  "Her aunt told me that Suzannah was a bad girl and as far as she was concerned, Suzannah was dead. Three months later I finally got up the courage to go to her aunt's house. I thought that surely Suzannah would have returned by then. As far as I knew, she had little money. A man answered the door. He said he'd just moved into the house a week earlier and had no idea what had happened to the former owners. I didn't know what else to do. I didn't believe in the curse at first, but as the days turned to weeks, then months, then years, I realized I had lost the love of my life, and I would never know true love again and neither would anyone in my family."

  "Wow," Jessie breathed.

  "I must find her," Julian declared. He rose to his feet. "I must find Suzannah before I die. I must obtain the other half of the pot. For this curse shall not be broken until the pottery is returned to the land, until the gods are appeased. With my last breath I will fight to protect my family from the evil that I created. I shall no longer ask what they can do for me but what I can do for my family. I have a dream..."

  "Who is he now?" Jessie asked Alex as Julian launched into a speech.

  Alex sighed. "Martin Luther King and maybe a little John F. Kennedy."

  "Who?"

  "Never mind." Alex clapped his hands. "Take a bow, Grandfather. Act One is over. Now, does anyone want dessert?"

  * * *

  "Would you like some dessert, Faith?" Nancy asked as she cleared away the dinner plates.

  "No, thanks, I'm full." Faith sat back in her chair and smiled at the Porters gathered around the dining room table. Kim, Gary's younger sister, was a twenty-five-year-old law student. A slender brunette, she had an easy laugh, a stubborn nature, and
an independent spirit. She loved to argue, thrived on conflict, and reminded Faith a bit of Gary in the way she went after what she wanted.

  Ben, on the other hand, was more reflective, more introverted, than his siblings. Ben loved books and music and art. He loved to sail and paint. His spirit was free, although sometimes a bit lonely, Faith thought. Before Gary's death, she'd noticed that Ben was often on the outside of the circle, as much a spectator at the family gatherings as Faith.

  Even tonight he seemed out of it. "Are you all right, Ben?" Faith whispered as Nancy and Kim cleared the table, and Chuck stood up to pour another glass of wine from the bottle on the credenza.

  Ben leaned forward, looking into her eyes. "We're good together, don't you think?"

  She stared at him uncertainly, not sure what he was asking. "What do you mean?"

  "I mean, we get along. We never fight. We like the same movies. We both want kids. We even like the same food -- most of the time, except you like it a bit spicier than I do. And, uh..."

  "Ben, what are you talking about?" Faith asked, cutting him off in mid ramble. Her stomach began to turn, the muscles in her neck tensing with his every word.

  "I'm talking about you and me. About..."

  Faith didn't hear the rest of the sentence, because Gary's voice rang through her head.

  "I'm talking about you and me," Gary said with a laugh. "We should get married, don't you think?"

  "Just like that -- you want to marry me?"

  "I love you. You love me. It's perfect."

  Faith took in a deep breath and let it out, disturbed by the flash of memory.

  "Faith, did you hear me?" Ben asked.

  She didn't know if she'd heard him or not. Was there a question she was supposed to answer? Ben seemed to be waiting for something.

  "So, Faith, Nancy tells me you had quite a scene at the bakery today," Chuck Porter interrupted, as he sat down at the table, a glass of red wine in his hand.

  Faith looked over at Gary's father, relieved to have him back in the conversation. She didn't like the way Ben was looking at her. It reminded her of Gary. She picked up her water glass and took a long sip, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

  "Tell me what happened," Chuck ordered, and Faith didn't dare refuse. Chuck was a large man, well over six feet, with a girth to match his advancing years. He was a good man, very protective of his family, although rather stern at times. But he'd always treated Faith like a daughter, which seemed to give him the right to criticize and to give orders.

  "It was nothing, really," Faith began. "We just got in the middle of a family dispute."

  "Maybe I should come down to the bakery tomorrow afternoon in case that man comes back and gives you any trouble."

  "He's an elderly man. He's not dangerous."

  "His grandson could be," Nancy said, scooting back into the conversation as she and Kim returned to the table. "He had a nasty temper."

  "I didn't know the bakery business was so exciting," Kim interjected. "And apparently overflowing with men. Maybe I should stop by more often."

  "Julian Carrigan is in his mid-seventies, Kim, and his grandson is, I don't know, early thirties, I'd guess." Faith couldn't help the sudden catch in her voice when she thought of Alex. In fact, she'd been thinking of him all evening. He had gotten under her skin, and she didn't know why. He was too good-looking to be anything but trouble.

  "Maybe Ben could stop by," Nancy suggested. "He could handle that young man for you."

  Actually, Faith didn't think Ben's light, wiry frame would match up all that well with Alex's athletic build.

  "No one has to handle Alex," Faith muttered. If she didn't put a stop to this now, Nancy would have Ben and Chuck standing guard in her bakery every afternoon.

  Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Alex? You remember his name?"

  Actually, Faith remembered everything, the curve of his lips, the breadth of his shoulders, the slight indentation in his chin... She took in a breath. "His grandfather called him Alex."

  "Was this Alex guy cute?" Kim asked.

  "Honestly, Kim, you have a one-track mind," Nancy replied before Faith could answer. "As if Faith would be interested enough to notice."

  "You didn't notice?" Kim asked.

  Faith shrugged. "He was nice-looking."

  "Ben, I think you should definitely come down to the bakery tomorrow," Nancy said. "Just in case that man returns and tries to make trouble for Faith."

  "He's not going to do that," Faith said. "Good heavens. You're all making a big deal out of nothing."

  Nancy sat back in her seat, looking somewhat hurt. "We care about you, Faith. That's all."

  Oh, damn. Now she'd done it -- insulted the only family who'd ever really wanted her to be a part of them.

  "I'm sorry. I'm not used to people worrying about me."

  "We love you," Nancy said. "We have from the first minute Gary brought you home."

  "She's right, Faith. You're like a daughter to us," Chuck added.

  "And a sister," Kim said with a cheerful smile.

  "Ben, don't you have anything to say?" Nancy asked. "About how much Faith means to you, to all of us."

  Ben cleared his throat. He looked from his mother to Faith. "Actually, I do. I have an announcement. Well, it's not really an announcement, but more of a question -- a question for Faith."

  "About what?" Faith asked, noting the red flush creeping up from his neck.

  "Uh, well." He cleared his throat again, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. "This is for you."

  Faith stared at the beautifully wrapped package, no bigger than a ring box. Oh, Lord!

  "It's not my birthday," she said warily.

  "I know. Please, open it."

  Faith took the box from his hand. She slowly loosened the silver ribbon and lifted the lid to reveal a velvet ring box. Her heart began to race. Her breath came short and fast as she remembered the last time a man had given her a ring box. Gary had asked her to marry him at a family picnic. She had hated being the center of attention then and she hated it now.

  And what -- what was Ben thinking? She looked into his face and saw her friend, her supporter, but not -- not her lover. Never her lover. Although that kiss... Oh, man, that kiss. He must have thought...

  Ben reached across the table and opened the velvet box. The diamond sparkled accusingly.

  "Oh, Ben," she whispered.

  "Will you marry me, Faith? Say yes."

  Chapter Four

  Say yes? Faith couldn't say anything. She could only stare in bewilderment at the emerald-cut diamond ring nestled in a bed of white velvet. She'd played this scene before, two years earlier, but the ring was different, the man was different. Everything else was the same.

  Faith turned her head to see Nancy smiling encouragement, her round, rosy cheeks expressing her pleasure. Kim hovered behind her mother, her youthful eyes shining with romantic enthusiasm. Chuck sat at the other end of the table, sipping a glass of red wine with a satisfied smile, as if her answer were a foregone conclusion.

  Faith's gaze drifted to the empty seat beside her. Ben sat across from her, not next to her -- never next to her. That had been Gary's seat. How could she marry Ben when he'd never sat beside her at the dining room table?

  It was a silly question, but she couldn't answer it. Hysteria rose through her like bubbles of champagne, making her feel dizzy and giddy. She couldn't catch her breath. She couldn't speak. Instead, a wave of irrepressible laughter swept through her, and it was all Faith could do to hold it back. Finally a chuckle escaped, then a laugh, then another. She covered her mouth with her hand.

  "Faith?" Ben questioned, his eyebrow quirking in an endearingly familiar arc.

  Although they had always been close friends, there were moments when Faith knew her behavior completely baffled Ben.

  "Do you think this is a joke?" Ben asked.

  Faith shook her head, trying desperately to stop laughing, but the giggles continued to s
pill out of her and her eyes began to stream with tears.

  "Because it's not," Ben said forcefully. "I love you and I want to marry you."

  "You've just taken her by surprise, Ben," Nancy said, her eyes concerned. "Isn't that right, Faith? Oh, dear, you're not crying now, are you?"

  Faith shook her head again, but she couldn't deny the tears that streaked down her face.

  "I always laugh and cry at the same time," Kim added, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

  "Your mother cries when she's happy," Chuck said, patting Ben on the shoulder with a reassuring hand, but he, too, looked a bit alarmed.

  "Are you crying because you're happy?" Ben asked.

  "I'm -- I'm surprised," Faith finally got out. She took several deep, calming breaths. "I didn't expect this tonight."

  "I would have asked you in private, but it's always been a Porter tradition to ask for a woman's hand in marriage in front of the family."

  "I know," she whispered, thinking of the last time.

  "I would never try to take Gary's place. You know that, don't you?"

  "No one could take Gary's place," Nancy said. "But we love you, Faith, and Ben loves you, and, well, I don't think Gary would want you to spend the rest of your life alone."

  "No, he wouldn't want that." Faith wiped her eyes with the edge of her napkin. Gary would have been the first one to encourage her to go on with life. God, she missed him.

  "This will be perfect," Kim said earnestly. "We'd really be sisters. I've wanted a sister forever."

  Faith had wanted a sister, too, and a family like the Porters to call her own. Her favorite daydreams had been about falling in love and getting married and having children. She'd made up dozens of imaginary families over the years, but none had come close to the Porters.

  And she cared about Ben. They shared a lot of interests, and they'd always enjoyed each other's company. In fact, they were frighteningly compatible. They'd never had an argument or even a difference of opinion in all the time they'd known each other.

  But marry him?

  "Maybe we should let the kids talk," Chuck said.