In His Eyes (8 page)

Ellene nodded. “I’d like to go out with Caitlin for a while.”

“They’re eights.”

“Close enough,” Ellene said. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Caitlin needs a little fun.”

Ellene gave Connor what she hoped was a haughty look. At least she and Aunt Phyllis were on the same page—although that possibility set her on edge.

Caitlin beamed and leaped away from the window to find her boots before bounding up the stairs to her room.

Ellene grasped Conner’s aunt’s boots and set them in front of her. Since she had been wearing most of his aunt’s other clothes, she might as well wear her boots, too, she figured. She slipped one on her foot,
then the other, noting they were a bit loose. They would have to do.

Ellene eyed Connor lounging on the sofa, seemingly, without a care in the world. “What are you doing about your job?” she asked.

He glanced at her, punching the TV remote to a new channel. “I called this morning.”

“And that’s it? They don’t care how long you’re stranded?”

“They care, but I can’t do anything about it, and neither can they.”

Connor folded his arms and leaned back, his eyes focused on the television. She saw him sending her an occasional look, but she ignored him.

When Caitlin came down the stairs, she carried her scarf and mittens. Ellene pulled the child’s jacket from a hook near the door, and in moments, they were ready.

“Do you have gloves and a scarf?” Aunt Phyllis asked, eyeing her bare head.

“I have leather gloves.”

“They won’t do,” she snorted.

She reached into the arm of her jacket and pulled out a plaid scarf and mittens from her pocket. “Here, and don’t get them too wet.”

Ellene hid her smile. “I’ll take care of them as if they were mine.” Although she wondered how a person built a snowman without getting gloves wet.

The terrier stood, nose to the door jamb, waiting
to make his escape. Ellene’s heart softened. “I’ll take the dog out for a while if that’s okay.”

“Just keep an eye on him,” Phyllis said.

“Will do.”

The dog bounced at her heels as they stepped into the deepening snow. The ground was slippery beneath, but Ellene drew in a breath of icy air, pleased to see Caitlin’s exuberance.

They worked together, rolling a large ball for the bottom of the snowman, then began another when she heard the door open and saw Connor stepping outside, donned in his jacket and gloves.

“Daddy, look what we’re doing,” Caitlin sang out.

He waved and ambled toward them.

“Couldn’t resist the fun?” Ellene asked.

The dog leaped around Connor’s feet, and Ellene waited for him to trip again. Instead, Connor sidestepped the animal, bent down and caught his collar. “Time for the chain,” he said, tethering the dog. “For his safety.”

“Whose safety? I saw you on the ground.”

“True,” he said, closing the distance between them.

He reached out and caught her coat collar, and before she knew what he’d done, she felt the icy snow slip beneath her sweater.

“You rat,” she said, facing him with a handful of snow from the ball she’d been making. She gave it a toss, but she missed.

While he bent to grab another handful, she charged
him with the ball she had hidden and thrust it down his neck. Caitlin joined in, and the snowman-making project turned into a snowball fight.

Connor charged her, wrapped his arms around her body and drew her close, using his fingers to pry open her hands. She breathed hard from the struggle, and when she looked up, his mouth was only inches from hers.

His scent mingled with the crisp air, and she felt her heart skip.

Connor’s smile faded while his gaze probed hers. She tried to hide her feelings, but she could tell from his look he’d guessed that the closeness had sent her back in time.

Unaware of their emotional struggle, Caitlin squeezed between them, wriggling and laughing to be part of the fray. Connor lowered his arms and lifted Caitlin into his embrace as if she could provide the barricade to keep their emotions in check.

Why had she allowed this to happen? She’d let down her guard. It was too easy to do that here at the cottage. Too many memories. Too many good times. Too little protection from the past.

Connor wrestled with Caitlin, teasing her with handfuls of snow and dodging her attempts to plop a glob of wet stuff down his jacket.

The terrier’s yipping brought Aunt Phyllis to the door, and soon they were back to finishing the forgotten snowman. By the time they’d finished, dusk
had settled, and the white snow looked gray and purple in the muted light.

Connor carried Caitlin into the house, and Ellene stood outside a moment, sensing that her determination to stay aloof was sinking as surely as the winter sun.

E
llene rolled over and felt Caitlin’s warm body at her side. The little girl had cuddled to her during the night, and Ellene had a difficult time sleeping, not from the closeness but from a maternal longing that smothered her.

Connor had had other sleeping arrangements in mind, but Caitlin had her own. She wanted Ellene to sleep in her bed with her. Connor continued to insist that his aunt use his bed, and though she was set against it, for once Connor had won the battle.

Ellene slipped her feet out of bed and sat up, eyeing the clock. She shifted to move her feet beneath the blankets again, then changed her mind. If she got up early, she might get some work done. Aunt Phyllis’s eager conversation had been distracting, although Ellene realized the woman was lonely. She tried to accept the elderly woman’s friendly
chatter, but the subject was often about relationships and forgiveness and any other topic that seemed to further her matchmaking attempts.

Ellene dressed quietly, slipping into the same black slacks she’d worn the day she arrived, and a borrowed pullover from Connor’s aunt, then crept from the room. She tiptoed down the stairs and halted when she saw Connor sitting at the table holding a cup between his hands as if to warm them. Before she could turn and go back upstairs, he saw her.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Sofa too short?”

He nodded. “But that wasn’t it. I was just restless.”

She had been, too, thinking about the snow fight and their embrace that had set her on edge.

“Coffee’s fresh,” he said, resting his cheek against his fist.

His eyes looked sunken and tired, and she knew he’d probably sat up much of the night. She could easily sleep on the sofa and she would insist tonight if she were still held captive on the island.

“I need to buy some clothes unless the
Bramble
comes to our rescue.”

“I called this morning. Doesn’t look good. The weather forecast says we may have a break in another day or so.”

Ellene didn’t hold stock in weather forecasts. “Then I’ll go out later and see if I can find a couple of things.”

“I might go into town, too. I’m hoping the coast
guard brought in some emergency groceries. We’re low on milk, and we should pick up some cereal. When the cold snap breaks, we often lose power.”

“Thanks for cheering me up.” She filled a cup, then looked at the last heel in the bread bag. “Add bread to that list.”

She found an English muffin in the refrigerator and popped it into the toaster, then sat at the table.

Silence hovered over them, each seeming to avoid the other.

Connor stirred. “I’m sorry about yesterday when I grabbed you. It seemed so natural. I wasn’t thinking.”

“I know.”

The conversation died as quickly as it had come alive.

Ellene felt uneasy in the silence. “I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight. You look terrible.”

“It wasn’t the sofa. I’m okay.”

She heard the toaster pop and rose to butter her muffin, knowing it wasn’t okay. She would insist she sleep on the sofa tonight, but not now. Maybe God would surprise her with an open channel today, despite the weather forecast, and she could go home.

“Can’t sleep on that bed.” Aunt Phyllis’s voice sailed from Connor’s bedroom. “I get the sofa. No arguments.”

Connor looked at Ellene and grinned. She couldn’t help but laugh. Without knowing it, Aunt Phyllis had settled the matter.

“We’re going into town, Aunt Phyllis, do you need anything?”

Her face brightened as she looked from Ellene to Connor. “You two are going to town?”

“I have to pick up a few things,” Ellene said, not wanting to hurt her feelings, but she was tired of wearing the woman’s ill-fitting clothing.

“Groceries,” Connor said, almost at the same time Ellene responded.

“Have fun,” she said, a wry look curving her lips.

Ellene went upstairs to put herself together with the little makeup she’d carried in her purse. She was weary of washing out her underwear each night and putting it on damp in the morning. The outside chill seemed to penetrate the walls in the bedroom upstairs, and she didn’t want to leave her garments hanging downstairs in the bathroom.

When she’d dressed and come down, Connor was standing by the door wearing his jacket. He seemed to be in a hurry, and Ellene wondered why.

“I’ll be ready in a minute. I need to find my shoes.”

When she bent to look beneath the sofa for them, Caitlin’s voice penetrated the silence.

“Where are you going?”

“To town,” Connor said. “We’ll be back soon.”

“I want to go,” she said, darting back up the stairs.

Connor looked exasperated, and Ellene realized that he might have hoped to be alone with her. She’d
sensed he had things on his mind since the snowball incident. He gave her an irritated look.

“Sorry,” she said. “I can’t go without my shoes.”

While she slipped them on, Caitlin came sailing back down the stairs, dressed in a mismatched getup that made Ellene chuckle.

Connor shook his head. “She could use a few lessons in coordinating color and print.” He glanced down at his knit shirt and jeans. “I’m afraid she has my taste in clothing.”

Ellene had never noticed Connor’s lack of taste, but then maybe his mother had helped him choose his attire when they were teens.

At the car, Caitlin wanted to join them in the front seat, and to end the problem, Ellene volunteered to ride in back.

“I want to sit with you,” Caitlin said, the admiration in her eyes so evident.

Ellene heard Connor’s sigh and figured that was what he’d wanted to talk about with her when they were alone. She gave Connor a questioning look, and he only shrugged, so she and Caitlin climbed into the back as if Connor were their chauffeur.

“We’re off, James,” she said once she had Caitlin buckled into the seat and had hooked her own.

He observed her through the rearview mirror without a response.

In town, Ellene suggested Connor drop her at a
clothing store. He parked, and to her surprise, they all climbed out. “You want to go shopping with me?”

“I want to,” Caitlin said.

Connor didn’t respond.

Ellene gazed at the stores and saw the Riverfront Shop with ladies’ clothing displayed in the windows.

Connor touched her arm and pointed.

Across the street, she saw another store, Country Scenes, Ltd. At least she had choices.

Connor opened the door to the Riverfront Shop, and Ellene stepped inside with Caitlin on her heels. He stood close to the door while she wandered through the shop, eyeing the prices and wondering if she could deduct her garments as a business expense.

“I like this,” Caitlin said, pulling out a pink sweatshirt with a sad dog on the front and letters beneath which read, No Bone To Pick. She grinned, but pink wasn’t her color, and she moved along. Caitlin stayed by the garment for a moment as if willing her to buy it, but she decided she wasn’t going to spoil the child by pleasing her every whim.

She checked out a row of knit tops with long sleeves, then checked the slacks. She’d worn her black pair until they were pitiful. She selected a couple of pairs, gathered the other items and headed toward the dressing room.

Before she could close the louvered doors, Caitlin had joined her, watching with big eyes. Ellene slipped on the navy slacks. She could use a new pair.
They fit except for the length, and she assumed Connor’s aunt had a needle and thread.

Then she studied the tops, a burgundy one with navy edging and one she noticed Caitlin eyeing, a navy-and-pink stripe.

“I like this one,” Caitlin said, fingering the fabric of the striped top.

The child loved pink, and Caitlin slipped it over her head, watching the child’s observant face change to a grin. “You look beautiful.”

Ellene’s heart skipped, and she stooped to hug the little girl. Beautiful. She doubted if anyone had called her that before. “Thank you, Caitlin. That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said.”

The child’s grin grew. “Are you going to buy it?”

“I have to, don’t I? Who could pass up something that makes her beautiful?”

She redressed and headed for the checkout counter, but as she did, she noticed a display of children’s sweatshirts. She paused, checking out the pink ones. Caitlin adhered to her side, not saying anything, but Ellene knew the child’s silent wish. She spotted one with a puppy on the front. Everyone Loves Me it said beneath the fluffy dog.

Ellene waved toward Connor, and he stepped closer. “Does she wear a six?”

He nodded. “But you don’t have to—”

“I want to,” she said.

He gave a one-shoulder shrug and returned to the exit.

After selecting Caitlin’s shirt, she strode toward the checkout but paused when she spotted the rack where Caitlin had admired the sweatshirt for her. She found her size and pulled it from the hanger. Could it hurt to spoil the child a little? What was wrong with agreeing and buying herself a shirt?

Ellene held up the two shirts. “Now we’ll be twins,” she said, watching Caitlin’s smile glow brighter than the sun on the snow.

After picking up a few smaller items, the clerk rang up her bill, and Ellene paid with a credit card. She’d found most of what she needed.

“You’re spoiling her,” Connor whispered as they left the shop.

“Girls are meant to be spoiled.”

“Really,” he said and gave her a look that sent her pulse on a trot. “I’ll keep that in mind.

Connor spread out on the sofa, watching Ellene at her computer wearing the pink sweatshirt with the dog on the front she’d bought while shopping on Tuesday.

Ellene had wended her way into Caitlin’s heart, and Connor didn’t know what to do about it. It seemed too late now to stop it. The hurt would happen when Ellene trotted home without looking back.

He knew Ellene had a soft heart. Buying the sweatshirt was an example, but in another moment,
he had watched her back stiffen and her tone change from the normal woman he knew to the business woman he’d recently come to know. He didn’t like the bumpy ride.

Two more days had passed, and now, Thursday, they’d been holed up for five days. Today, as usual, Caitlin sat close to Ellene, wearing her pink shirt. She shifted between working at her drawings and watching Ellene beside her. The vision seared into Connor’s brain. Good or bad? He feared for his daughter’s happiness.

“Caitlin, it’s time for bed,” Connor said.

She gave him an unhappy look, but folded the cover of her drawing book and slid from the chair. She headed toward him with an argument in her eyes. “But Daddy—”

He held up his hand to stop her. “You had a fun day. We played games, and now we all need to rest. We’ll have more fun tomorrow.”

She leaned against him, tucking her head against his chest while her gaze settled on Ellene. “But I don’t want to go to bed alone.”

Ellene looked up, but before she could react, Aunt Phyllis offered a solution. “I’ll go up and lie down with you, Caitlin. I’m tired tonight.”

From her look, Connor knew that wasn’t the result Caitlin wanted, but she had enough good sense to accept the offer. She headed for the stairs with Pepper bounding at her heels. Aunt Phyllis
gave Connor a knowing smile and joined them on the stairs.

Relief washed over Connor. He’d longed for time to talk with Ellene alone, and the time had never seemed to happen. He’d thought on Tuesday when they’d gone shopping he might have a minute to discuss a few things, but Caitlin had put an end to that.

Ellene refocused on the computer, but as their footsteps faded up the stairs, she stopped and rubbed her eyes.

“How about taking a break?” he asked, hoisting himself to a sitting position.

She massaged the back of her neck. “That’s probably a good idea. I’m having a difficult time concentrating.”

So was he.

Connor eyed the TV remote, but hesitated when he saw her snap the lid closed on the computer. He felt hopeful, realizing she had decided to stop working for the evening.

After listening to Aunt Phyllis’s Bible verses for the past three days they’d spent under the same roof, they’d begun to sink in. He’d gone to Sunday school as a child, but in his teen years, he’d slipped away from church, and his faith had become as dormant as his morals.

When he thought about that recently, he guessed that trying to explain his moral failures was easier when he didn’t profess his love for the Lord. But
truth didn’t hide for long, and he was pleased that his aunt’s influence had nurtured Caitlin. He’d heard her singing a child’s hymn that Aunt Phyllis must have taught her.

He’d wanted to tell Ellene that, in part, his failure to fight for her love had been based on his failure as a Christian. But that was the easy answer. It had been more complex.

When he looked up, Ellene still sat by the closed computer until she finally rose and ambled across the room, a mixture of beauty and comedy in his aunt’s huge fuzzy slippers.

Ellene must have noticed him looking. She plopped into the chair nearby and lifted one foot. “I know. I look like a clown.”

“But a lovely one,” he said. Watching the expression on her face, he wished he hadn’t been so candid.

They sat in silence, dealing with their own thoughts. Her eyes lifted for a moment, then lowered to her lap.

“Caitlin is smitten,” he said.

It took her a minute to lift her head. “I know. I’m concerned.”

“So am I, but I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Neither do I.” She rubbed her temple. “I didn’t ask to be stranded here, Connor. My intention was to see the cottage, make my notes and leave.”

“I know.” Yet he wanted to ask if she hadn’t found some warm moments here. “You’ve handled this very well.”

“I had little choice,” she said.

Her gaze caught his, and he saw her gaze dart away then return. “I don’t mean it hasn’t been nice at times.”

He felt as if the floor dropped from beneath his feet and took his breath away.

“Caitlin is a joy, and your aunt has given me some good laughs and some spiritual wisdom. She’s made me think.”

“Is that why you pull away from me, Ellene? Because of spiritual wisdom?”