Heather

by Chris Keniston

  “Don’t you have a diamond?” Floyd asked.

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then why are you playing trump?”

  Thelma looked down at her cards. “Oh, well. I guess I got distracted thinking about poor Meredith.”

  Jake chuckled, raising his cards to hide his laughter.

  While the friends chattered back and forth over their cards, he wondered how he’d missed hearing that Heather had come to town. Between her going away to school and his serving in the Marines, he couldn’t remember the last time they’d crossed paths. She was the closest to him in age and the one most likely to be off somewhere with her nose in a book. And certainly the only teenager he could think of who would read a biology book for the fun of it.

  “Now there’s a girl who knows how to keep track of cards played,” the General boomed. Somehow, from him even a compliment sounded like a command.

  “I bet she does,” he agreed. Anyone who could master the art of heart surgery should be able to understand the principles of bidding and playing cards.

  Having won the bid and organized his hand, Jake discarded the four unwanted cards. “Hearts are trump.”

  “Now remember this time, take control of the board.” His expression softening, the General leaned over to pat each of his dogs on the head, then sat up, furrowing his brow at Jake. “Otherwise we’re switching partners.”

  “Not on your life,” Mrs. Hart teased.

  Lily only rolled her eyes.

  While debating which card to play first, his ace or a losing trump, a shriek from the second floor jolted him to his feet. Chairs scraped against the wooden porch floor and footsteps pounded behind him. First to reach the foot of the stairs, he noticed the blur of a woman dashing down in his direction.

  He’d barely had time to shift to the side to avoid a collision when the feminine form glanced up, screeched to a halt, and blinked away the water clinging to her lashes. Suds still in her damp blonde hair, she swallowed hard, gripping the towel tighter around herself.

  Coming to sudden stop, Lily stumbled into him. “What happened?”

  The entire group of card players flanked him on the landing.

  Heather looked from him to her cousin and then back again. “I don't know.”

  With an instinctive will of its own, Jake’s gaze traveled slowly from the top of her dripping wet hair to the sleek curve of well-shaped calves and delicate ankles.

  Hand on her chest, Heather sucked in a calming breath. “The water was getting cold so I went to move the handle for the shower more to the left and it just…well, it fell into my hand. Now steaming hot water is spewing and I can’t turn it off.”

  “Let me take a look.” Jake shifted around her, thankful for any excuse to keep his eyes forward, and his hands where they belonged.

  “You might need this.” She held out the broken faucet handle.

  Like a runner in a relay race, he barely paused to grab the contraption as he rushed past her, taking the stairs two at a time he galloped to the gushing bathroom. The last thing he needed was for the General to catch him ogling a half-naked granddaughter. Now all Jake had to do was get the image of droplet covered bare shoulders out of his mind and stop the impending floods. Piece of cake. Right.

  Chapter Three

  Grabbing the first thing on the top of her bag, Heather stepped into a pair of slacks and pulling on an old sweater, twirled her long, damp hair into a neat bun at the back of her head, carefully pinning any stray strands into submission. Her heart was still pounding hard and fast against her ribs. She could hold a human heart in her hand and stay calm as a cucumber, but let a plumbing fixture fall into those hands and then have her run full speed ahead into a handsome male specimen, and she was more flustered than a virgin bride on her wedding night.

  How could she have forgotten there would be a porch full of card players to gather about and view her performance in nothing but her birthday suit and a skimpy towel?

  She wasn’t sure who was more surprised, her or Jake. Remembering the look on his face when he’d caught sight of her had her heart pounding even faster. The last time she’d seen Jake Harper he’d been a skinny sixteen-year-old tripping over his big feet and waving a shiny new driver’s license. Boy, had he ever grown into those feet. She didn’t know which was more ridiculous, getting all bent out of shape over flashing half the town or because a deliciously handsome man had nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight of her. Not that he’d done anything stupid, but the way his eyes widened and the muscles in his jaw tightened, she didn’t think it had anything to do with old pipes and everything to do with practically crashing into a half naked woman. And as much as her feminine ego would like to think it had something to do with crashing into her, she knew enough about human nature—and anatomy—to know his visceral response would have been the same no matter the woman. Too bad.

  Just because the entire episode had been the most embarrassing thing to happen to her since she was twelve and lost her bikini top jumping off the Point was no reason to hide out in her room. If her teenage self could recover from a little bare flesh, Dr. Heather Preston could most certainly face the man who had seen more of her skin up close and personal than any other human in close to a decade.

  Slowly, she took a deep breath, gripped the doorknob and opened the door just in time to run smack dab into Jake’s chest—again. He hit her like a wall of stone.

  A bright smile beamed down on her. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

  Blinking, she shook her head. “Sorry, I wanted to see if you needed any help.”

  Raking one hand through damp brown hair, brushing it away from his forehead and running the other across his green sweater marked with a few spots of water and grime, he shrugged. “Nothing we can do now. I found the shut off valve. The fixture didn’t seem that old, but the valve stems were stripped. Sometimes you get a clunker. They’ll need to be replaced. Since George isn’t around I’d be happy to fix it for the General.”

  “You?” She hadn’t meant for her surprise to come out more like shock.

  The way his one brow shot up to his hairline, he’d noticed too. “The perks of owning a hardware store and having a plumber for a father is I not only have all the parts, I know what to do with them.”

  She knew he was talking about fixing the shower, but the way he’d phrased his sentence had her mouth growing dry and her wrestling the urge to glance down at his…parts.

  Since his expression remained unchanged, either he didn’t realize how what he’d said could be misinterpreted, or he chose to ignore it. “If your granddad calls Mike, this will cost him a fortune. Doesn’t make sense to pay George a salary and a plumber on top of that.”

  “Still, you have your own business to run. Responsibilities. I’m sure we can figure—”

  He raised a finger in the air. “Your grandparents are always volunteering Hart House and the lakefront any time the community needs a fundraiser or celebration. They do more than their share for the folks in this town. I don’t mind giving back. It’s the perks of having a good relationship with my boss. I know he won’t fire me.” Jake flashed a grin that could make most girls weak in the knees. Including her.

  “Thank you.”

  Waving his arm away, he waited for her to start down the stairs. “How long will you be in town?”

  Unfortunately, she didn’t own her own hospital, so just walking away when her grandparents needed help wasn’t an option. “Just till Sunday night.” She refrained from mentioning her ulterior motives—for now. Cindy hadn’t noticed any signs of trouble and promised to keep an extra eye out. And Heather had left a message at her grandfather’s doctor’s office this afternoon. If she didn’t hear back from the man soon, she might be telling a lot more people why she was here.

  “Heather?” Lily’s voice broke through her thoughts “Oh, Jake, are you all finished?”

  “Yeah,” Jake nodded. “But no one should use this bathroom until I can get back tomorrow and fi
nish it right.”

  “Not a problem, Heather is the only who uses this bathroom when she visits, and besides, it’s not like there aren’t enough bathrooms in this big old place.” Lily smiled and turned to her cousin. “Do you have more important calls to make or will you be joining us outside?”

  “Pot calling the kettle black, Miss Cordon Blue Bakery Chef,” Heather teased.

  Lifting her chin with an air of sophistication and a hint of a French accent, Lily corrected her cousin, “Not bakery, darling, Patisserie,” then cracked up laughing. “Really, the General and Grams are calling it a night. Cindy, Poppy and Callie are on their way. Since you won’t be staying after supper Sunday, Cindy suggested it’s a perfect night for one of our bonfires on the beach.”

  “I do need to talk to you guys, but it’s getting late. I’ve had a stack of journals to catch up on and this would be—”

  “Heather.” Lily hoisted her hands on to her hips. “It’s the lake.”

  Staying on top of her game, top of her field, meant she spent almost as much time curled up with medical journals as she did in the OR. It really had been too long since Heather had spent more than a few hours at the lake, and even on those occasions her head had always been somewhere else, mentally planning the next complex surgery.

  “You should go.” Jake smiled down at her. “Bonfires by the lake, even at our age, are still cool.”

  “That’s right.” Lily bobbed her head. “And you should join us too, Jake.”

  “Don’t bakers have to get up at some insane hour of the morning?” Heather asked.

  “We do. And I’m still going to the beach.”

  Lily always had been the one who could talk a starving man into giving up a meal.

  “What do you say, Doc?” Jake lifted his hands palms up. “I’m game if you are?”

  Even as her mind thought no, her head nodded yes, and her mouth muttered sure. Meanwhile, she still didn’t know a thing more about her grandfather’s health than when she’d spoken to him on the phone two days ago. Her to-be-read pile wouldn’t be getting shorter any time soon, and without a broken fixture in sight, her heart was once again banging anxiously against her breast bone. What was that all about?

  ***

  Already waiting at the water’s edge, two of the three women huddled around a growing fire on the beach shot up and rushed toward Heather. Jake recognized the cousins and smiled. Anyone watching would have thought they hadn’t seen Heather in years rather than months.

  There wasn’t anything unusual about Jake running into one of the four sisters here in town. Like their mom Virginia, Callie the high school gym teacher, Poppy the bookkeeper, Cindy the veterinarian, and of course Lily the best baker the Hilltop Inn had ever had, all lived in town. Still, it was odd for him to see so many of the Hart granddaughters in one place at one time.

  While the cousins hugged and giggled, Cindy sat quietly poking at the fire, and Lily reached into a cooler and held a drink up to Jake.

  He shook his head, mouthing no thanks, and Lily wandered over to sit beside Cindy.

  “Finally.” Callie stepped back. “I couldn’t believe you’d actually show up until I saw you for myself.”

  “Relax.” Heather hugged Poppy, the youngest of the four sisters, but answered Callie. “I’m just visiting. I’m not dying.”

  “I know, but when was the last time you spent more than a few hours at the lake?” Reaching behind her head, Callie undid her hair, stuck a big toothy clip between her teeth, twirled the golden ponytail into a sloppy bun, and clipped it all back in place atop her head. “And even then you barely have time to eat and run, never mind actually sit and chat. You’re impossible to reach on the phone and trying to get updates from Rose or Violet on your life isn’t any better. Apparently even though the three of you live in the same city, you don’t spend any more time with them than you do here at the lake. Tell us, what is new and exciting in your bustling life?”

  Heather took a seat by the fire. “There’s nothing much to tell. I’ve been doing the same thing since med school. Work, work, and more work.”

  “Yeah.” Poppy, the only cousin dressed in a long flowy skirt, eased onto the sand by her sister, shooting a sweet smile at her cousin. “Busy saving lives.”

  A glint of pride shone in Heather’s eyes as each of her cousins smiled.

  Once the girls took their places at the fire, Jake found himself dropping into the only empty spot left between Heather and Cindy. Not a bad seat.

  “Enough of the mushy stuff.” Cindy looked up from the fire. “We need to get some business out of the way.”

  Heather nodded. This was after all the reason she’d come to the lake.

  Lily and her other sisters sported identical frowns of confusion.

  “Perhaps, I should double check that leaky pipe?” Even though they’d barely just sat down, Jake leaned forward to push to his feet. “Enough of the mushy stuff.” Cindy looked up from the fire. “We need to get some business out of the way.”

  Heather nodded. This was after all the reason she’d come to the lake.

  Lily and her other sisters sported identical frowns of confusion.

  Shaking her head, Heather reached out and grabbed his arm. “Please stay.”

  He must have hesitated, because Cindy nodded at him as well then waited for him to sit back down before starting. “Have any of you noticed anything different about the General?”

  “Different how?” Poppy inched forward.

  “Sick different,” Heather volunteered.

  Three heads, plus Jake’s, whipped around to face her.

  Callie heaved a deep sigh. “How sick?”

  “This is why you’re here on a Wednesday night.” Poppy looked ready to burst into tears.

  “Yes.” Heather nodded at Poppy then turned to Callie. “I don’t know how sick.”

  Lily twisted around to face Cindy. “How much do you know?”

  Holding both her hands up, Cindy shook her head. “Only what Heather told me this afternoon.”

  “Which is?” Callie asked.

  Heather repeated the concerns she’d already shared with Cindy, her brief medical observations since arriving at her grandfather’s, and the struggle she was having getting any information from the General or his doctor. Not that Jake expected Old Doc Wilkins to break doctor patient privilege, but for some reason he thought doctor to doctor the man might have been more willing to assuage Heather’s concerns.

  “So you’re here because of a cough?” Poppy blinked.

  Heather nodded.

  “And you saw him lose his balance?” Callie chimed in.

  Heather sighed. “Don’t forget he’s lost some weight too.”

  “All of which can be signs of something more serious.” Cindy tossed some leaves into the fire.

  “I don’t know.” Lily shook her head. “He hasn’t lost that much weight, and I can’t say that I’ve noticed anything different about him. We played cards tonight and I don’t remember hearing him cough even once.” She turned to Jake, waited for him to shake his head in confirmation. “But, I say we err on the side of caution. I’ll hog tie him, Cindy can throw him in the trunk and Callie can keep Lady and Sarge at bay.”

  “Don’t I get a job?” Poppy actually looked hurt not to be included in the ludicrous quip.

  If Jake didn’t know Lily so well, he would never have noticed the concern in her eyes as she teased her sisters. “You,” Lily smiled, “get to keep Grams from setting him free.”

  Nodding briskly and leaning back on her elbows, the thin smile across Poppy’s face said she was pleased with her task.

  “I would pay some big bucks to see that scenario play out.” He smiled. “I can’t picture a SEAL team hog-tying the General, never mind four of his granddaughters.”

  “I don’t want to lose him.” Ignoring his comment, Poppy pulled her knees up to her chin and draped her arms around her legs, tugging her skirt down over her toes.

  He knew exactly how s
he felt. Everything about this place, including the General, was an anchor of sorts. As kids, everyone knew everyone, and hanging out on the Point at Hart House was the place to be. The land had been in the Hart family since the days of the revolution. During the depression, the General’s grandfather built several small cottages along the sloping landscape and rented them out to the few wealthy people who could afford to get away from the city and commune with nature. About the same time, the General’s father and grandfather had built a stone pier into the lake, at least forty feet wide and seventy-five feet long with grassy fill for game playing or sun bathing. Nestled between the creek and the beach and affectionately referred to as the Point, it was prime real estate for adults and kids alike. He’d learned to pitch horseshoes and knock a croquet ball around on that swath of manmade land.

  Like the movie The Sandlot, as kids grew up, went to college, to work, got married or started families, the weekends at the lake saw fewer of the familiar families and instead grew crowded with cottage guests and new summer tourists. But there was still the occasional card game on the porch, charity fundraisers, summer holiday barbecues with half the town watching the Fourth of July fireworks on the lake, and since his retirement, there was always the General.

  “Can’t you just give the General a checkup?” Poppy asked.

  All heads turned to face the pretty brunette.

  “Never mind.” She shook her head almost laughing and waving a thumb at Jake. “Like the man said, what was I thinking?”

  “She’s right, though,” Cindy said. “We have to do something and Heather is the most qualified.”

  “I’m willing to give it another day before I do anything. But we all need to observe the General. Carefully. Look for anything out of the usual.”

  “Like?” Lily asked.