Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change (14 page)

She threw her arms around him, “Thank you. I couldn’t imagine how I was going to live without you.”

They held on to each other as she cried. Finally she pulled back. “I thought I’d completely wrecked my life when I walked away from your truck, but I didn’t know how to fix it. I’m sorry I got irrational and stomped away.”

“I figure that you can fix just about anything else, so I can make sure that I help us fix this …” he gestured between the two of them. He stood up and groaned, then sat down on the desk in front of her. “This evening certainly went a thousand different ways than I expected. I really just wanted to come over and do a little necking with you in the truck and tell you how much I missed you.”

“We can go back out and do that,” she said coyly, batting her eyes at him.

“With what you’re wearing, it’s probably a terrible idea.” He drew his finger down her throat and rested it at the top of her sternum. “I love you, Polly. I’m not going to run away and I’m not going to let you go, no matter what.”

Polly leaned her head on his forearm. “I know that. I’m sorry for freaking out on you tonight. That wasn’t fair. I know this is going to be tough and I know that I’m probably getting in over my head, but I can’t walk away from these people.”

“It drives me nuts when you get mad, drop a bomb on me
, and then walk away. I know you can’t walk away from people who need you. I will try to tell you what my fears are without telling you that you can’t do something.”

“I’m not very good at having people confront me. I’m sorry. But, I have to help her, Henry.”

“I will help you do whatever it takes. I will always help you. But first, I think you need to call Lydia. She is much more aware of different ways to care for people in need.”

“Do you really think I shouldn’t bring her here to Sycamore House? Isn’t that what this place is all about? Giving shelter to people who need it?”

“You’re right,” he sighed. “Of course you’re right. Spend some time thinking about how you can make it work. It would be easier for you if she could be upstairs, but she may get so weak that she can’t negotiate the steps.”

“That’s why I thought
she could stay in one of the rooms in the addition. If she’s in the back room, she can see the sycamore trees come to life this spring and watch the horses and donkeys play in the pasture.”

“Where would you put Rebecca?”

“I haven’t thought it all the way through. She can stay with me and when her mom is feeling good, she can stay with her. I’d open up the other room on that floor if I needed to.”

“You probably don’t want a ten year old living by herself, especially if her mom isn’t in any condition to care for her.”

“There are a lot of things to think about, but I’m glad you’re on my side.”

“I’m always there, even when I say
things that make you mad. This week will probably bring a lot of changes to your understanding of what Mrs. Heater’s needs are. Don’t do anything rash until you know what’s happening, okay?”

“I can be patient.”

“Okay. Go back upstairs and try to get some sleep. I love you, Polly girl.”

“You’re still trying to replace pretty girl, aren’t you?” she laughed.

“I haven’t got it yet, have I?”

“Nope, but you’ll find it.” Polly stood up and kissed his lips, then leaned into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “I love you, Henry.”

“I love you too.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Polly’s week had gone by in a blur. Every waking moment was spent in a rush of activity. She had called Lydia on Sunday for advice on how to help Sarah with medical bills. Because of Lydia’s large circle of friends, she knew exactly who to contact. Lydia had driven down to meet with Sarah on Tuesday and returned with plans for a community fundraiser. Sylvie agreed to donate her time to cook the meal, Sycamore House would donate the location and the food, and word was going out. Lydia assured Polly that if people had an opportunity to show up at Sycamore House for any kind of a party, they’d take it, just to see what happened ne
xt.

Polly took Rebecca to the hospital each evening to see her mother. Sarah’s prognosis was tentative. She had begged her doctors to be upfront with her and they’d been quite blunt. She was scared, but knew she wanted as much tim
e with Rebecca as she could get.

Jeff kept Sycamore House pretty busy, but had laughed when Polly asked if a room would be available. He knew better than to fill them completely. Polly always had something come up. By the time Sarah got out of the hospital, he’d be ready for her.

On Monday, Polly spent the day at Henry’s house, directing the carpet cleaners and re-hanging drapes. The next three days were spent at the hotel. She had finally finished in the basement of the caretaker’s house. Plaster walls and ceilings were ripped out of guest rooms and she’d helped haul debris to the dumpsters.

Rebecca had created a space in the living room for her things and each night when Polly tucked her into the sofa, she got a quick hug from the little girl. During the drive back and forth to Boone, Rebecca opened up about her hopes and dreams for the future. No matter what life Sarah Heater had lived, she wanted more for her little girl. Andrew had dragged Rebecca to the library to get her own card and the two of them were often found tucked into his nook, reading and writing.

Today was going to be another busy day. Lori Victor was finally bringing her son over to see the horses. Polly had contacted her a couple of times throughout the week to schedule something, but Lori had been too busy. Polly wasn’t sure what that was all about. Lydia had also been rebuffed in any attempt to help. Beryl had initially been excited about spending some time with Seth. As much as Beryl didn’t like most normal people, for some reason she was entranced at the thought of introducing a child with special needs to art. As Lydia told it, Beryl had prepared an entire crate of things for the little boy, but Lori never responded.

Polly had called Aaron a couple of times throughout the week to see if he could tell her anything more about Bruce Victor’s death, but he was uncommunicative. All he would tell her was that they were working on it and they didn’t have enough to accuse anyone of the murder.
She’d told him about Bill Sturtz’s thoughts regarding Annalise Stephens and her brother Simon. Aaron listened and told her he would look into it.

Now Polly was at her dining room table with her laptop in front of her. Rebecca had spent the night with the Donovans and Sylvie was taking them to school this morning. Andrew and Rebecca had a project due for social studies and they wanted to finish it. Polly found that she missed the little girl, even though she’d slept soundly for the first time in a week with no one else around to worry about. That was one of the things her father had laughed about after she’d gone away to college. For the first time since her mother had died, he slept through the night without waking. Whenever she came home, he told her he dropped back into the pattern of waking up through the night to listen and make sure everything was still okay.

Tapping idly on her keyboard, Polly smiled at the memory of her father. Henry was taking his dad to Des Moines today. Bill Sturtz was flying to Arizona to begin the drive back with his wife. She couldn’t wait to get to know the two of them better. They hadn’t spent a great deal of time together at Christmas. Friends and extended family had pounced when it was known the Sturtzes were back in town.

Polly wondered if she should have another conversation with Henry about him moving in. She couldn’t imagine how a
n independent man in his mid-thirties could possibly live with his parents again. She gave her head a quick shake. Her apartment wasn’t set up for two people. That could be a disaster of monstrous proportions. The last thing she wanted to do was set their relationship up for failure.

Why in the world was she so afraid that it would be awful? She pushed the lid of the laptop closed and stood up. This relationship frustrated her to no end. She loved him but was afraid of messing things up. She wanted to be with him, but oh my goodness, she loved the peace and quiet of being alone. She trusted him completely, but didn’t want to give up her independence.

Leia was rubbing her head on Polly’s ankle, so she bent over and picked the cat up, nuzzling her neck. “I don’t know what my problem is,” Polly said. “I’ve been confused about what I want from this relationship for a year now and I can’t believe he’s stuck around.” She held the cat out and looked at her in the face. “It seems like circumstances are telling me I should figure it out, don’t you think?” Leia gave a little meow and Polly brought her close again, holding her while she walked to the bedroom.

She put the cat on the bed, took out her phone and made a call.

“Hey Joss, what are you doing for lunch today?”

“Hi Polly. Nothing, I suppose
. I’m just sitting here in the nursery wondering if this is ever going to happen for us. I feel like we’ve been waiting a lifetime for this child and it’s really only been a couple of months. What do you want to do?”

“Are you up for the Diner?”

Joss laughed, “I’d love that. Eleven thirty?”

“That sounds great. I’ll meet you there.” Polly hung up and breathed a sigh of relief, then rubbed Leia’s neck.

She spent time trying to straighten the apartment. Even though Rebecca did her best to be neat and tidy, another person’s things made keeping the place clean all that much more difficult. She did some laundry, put dishes in the dishwasher and rearranged one of the bookshelves to open up space for books that Rebecca was reading. Polly ran her fingers across a worn copy of
The Dragonriders of Pern
. There wasn’t a single Anne McCaffrey novel she didn’t enjoy, but this book had been her first and she loved it. Maybe she would read it with Rebecca tonight. Even as she looked at the cover, she felt the tug to open the pages and get lost in its words again.

That was all it took. Polly carried the book into her bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. She had no resistance to her favorite books, so she sat back and curled her feet under the blanket and began to read. Before long, the animals had all snuggled in around her and she leaned back on a pillow.

When she turned a page and ended a chapter, Polly thought to check the time. She’d made it through a good portion of the book and it nearly killed her to leave the characters. She picked up her phone and gasped. It was eleven twenty and she needed to get moving. A text from Henry had come in an hour ago, letting her know that they were at the airport. She quickly sent a text, telling him what she was doing for lunch and then jumped off the bed and put her shoes on.

The parking in front of Joe’s Diner was full and Polly parked down the block. It was a brisk, chilly day and she pulled her jacket close as she walked up the street. Like always, the welcoming warmth, smells and noise greeted her when she opened the door to the restaurant. Joss waved at her from a table in the middle of the room and Polly nodded at Lucy, who was carrying plates of food to one of the booths along the back wall.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Polly said. “I got caught up in a book and didn’t pay any attention to time.”

Joss giggled. “I get that. What book are you reading?”

“I pulled down my copy of
Dragonriders of Pern
for Rebecca and then it dragged me in. I wish I could tell you it was something more esoteric than that, but nope.”

Joss moved the condiments to the other side of the table when Polly sat down beside her, rather than across the table. “How are things going with her in your apartment?”

“It’s not really bad at all. She’s a good kid. Andrew and Jason are there when we get back from the hospital and then we make supper and before you know it, it’s time for bed.”

“Has she gone down to the barn yet?”

Polly shook her head. “A few times. I think the girl is overwhelmed with so much new stimulus. She’s never had any pets and it’s always been just her and her mom.”

Joss pushed the menu in front of Polly. “Do you know what you want or do you need this?”

“I want everything on the menu today. I’m starving. Rebecca spent the night at Andrew’s house and I didn’t make breakfast.”

“Would you like some breakfast?” Lucy’s voice cut into their conversation. “Joe was making a good garbage plate this morning. He still has sausage gravy.”

“That sounds awesome,” Polly said and handed her the menu. “A big pot of coffee too. I don’t think my day is over yet.”

“What’s a garbage plate?” Joss asked.

Lucy grinned. “It’s a little bit of everything. Potatoes, sausage, ham, bacon, green peppers, onions, mushrooms. All fried up and topped with an egg and some gravy.”

“That sounds wonderful, then,” Joss said. “I’ll have it, too.”

Lucy nodded and left.

“
I can’t believe you’ve heard nothing about a baby yet,” Polly said.

“I’m not worrying
too much. Nate thinks he should stress out about it. There’s going to be another car in the garage if we don’t hear something soon. I keep telling him that we need to just relax. We’re the same people that we were last year. He doesn’t buy it.” She glanced up and nodded at Lucy when the waitress set the coffee pot on the table between them. “I figure we’ve done all we can to prepare and when it happens, we’ll just have to be ready.”

“It’s going to happen,” Polly said and reached out to touch Joss’s hand. “And when it does, it will be the perfect time.”

“Even if it isn’t, we’ll make it work. So what’s happening with you? I didn’t get a chance to talk to you when you and Obiwan came up to the library on Tuesday.”

“If I told you everything that is going on around me, I’m afraid I’d freak out. It seems like there is always one more thing that crops up. I’m really glad I have a lot of people around to help me or I’d be in the garage with Nate.”

“Like what? I know that having Rebecca in your life is big and you’ve got the renovation over at the hotel. What else?”

Polly told her about
setting up a room in the addition for Rebecca’s mother and her fear of talking to Sarah Heater about it. She was going to have to say something soon. Even though there was finally some financial help for the medical bills, the hospital would send the woman home and since she couldn’t work right now, Polly knew she’d have to move out of their little home.

“I can’t imagine not having friends or family anywhere around to help me out,” Polly said.

“You moved out here with no one to cushion your fall,” Joss said. “That was pretty risky.”

“But I had financial resources and if nothing else, those would get me back to Boston. The Heaters are the second family I’ve met in town who have no one else to help them. Bruce Victor’s wife told me she isn’t getting any support from their families. She has to do everything alone. Because Seth requires so much of her time, she didn’t get a job, so she hasn’t had time to get to know anyone in town. How do you live like that?”

“Nate and I didn’t have any close friends until we met you and Henry. Whenever we had vacation, we drove back to Indiana to be with family. I knew plenty of people in town, but there wasn’t anyone I could have called if I was in trouble.”

Polly glanced up when someone nudged the back of her arm. “Oh, hi, J. J.,” she said. “And Ryan. What are you two doing here?”

“Just here for lunch,” J. J. said. “We’ve been at the vineyard. Wayne Phillips found where Bruce was killed. We were there with the Sheriff.”

“He wasn’t killed in that brush pile?” Polly asked.

“No. The Sheriff had people looking everywhere. It was pretty far away, but Wayne found broken vines and even though we’ve had some rain, they still found blood.”