Keeping Victoria's Secret (32 page)

Standing in his kitchen, he eagerly tore open
the envelope and read the contents. Scowling, he read everything
over once more, swore, and hurled the lawyer’s letter onto the
table. Removing a beer from his refrigerator, he sat brooding and
thinking. Later that night and several beers later, Jonathan still
sat rocking steadily on his back porch, continuing to brood and
plot in the darkness.

A smiling Joe met Marsha as she braked in
front of his house. Leaning into her car he said, “Pull into the
drive, I’ll show you the garage first.”

She drove down his drive and he motioned her
into an old-fashioned carriage house he had converted into a
three-car garage.

Joe opened the car door for her and she
stepped out, looking around her in amazement. “This is the most
beautiful garage ever! It’s so clean!”

“Well, the upstairs is my office, so I want
to make a good impression on my clients.”

“Clients? I thought you managed the family
nursery?”

“Sure, but my real passion is Landscape
Architecture. I got my degree at Cornell, in Ithaca. I needed a
place to see clients, so I finished the carriage house first.”

“Joe, this is totally awesome!”

He led her outside and pressed the keypad to
close the door. “I want you to see these garage doors. They are
true to the era when the place was built. Landscaping should always
include appropriate detail on the exterior of the home or other
buildings.”

He took her inside and showed her all his
work in progress. In the rooms that weren’t finished he told her of
his plans for paint colors and furniture. She admired the period
style kitchen and first floor lavatory that were completely
remodeled. At last, he took her upstairs to the master bedroom
suite. Marsha admired the antique furniture he’d acquired and the
big Jacuzzi soaking tub in the master bathroom.

“This is amazing! Joe, you are incredible.”
Marsha turned in the room, trying to take it all in.

“This room extends partly over the back
porch, so I was able to incorporate the skylight directly over the
bed.”

She looked up at the blue sky, then down at
the big sleigh bed and swallowed.

“Marsha?” he said so softly that she almost
couldn’t hear. The heated look that burned in his intense gaze was
much easier to detect.

She admired everything so much, that she
stayed with Joe, in his Victorian house, until Wednesday morning.
When they finally tore themselves from one final embrace, Marsha
left exhausted, for her home in New York City.

The undersides of clouds to the west were
stained a vibrant purple hue above the vanishing sun. Darkening
skies in the east were an angry amber Gwendolyn had never witnessed
before. She had no notion what the colors signified, but it
frightened her. The sea had an odd chop with the white capped waves
slapping backhanded at one another as the little ship rose and
fell.

“
There’s dirty weather on the way,” called
Jack Fletcher. “We’ve ample time to reach the island that I hope
will be our temporary refuge, but the greater menace follows us,
and I fear it more than the tempest.”

He turned his gaze and pointed back over
their wake that parted a sea the color of rich burgundy.

She turned as well to see a white sail
dancing on the horizon. “The pirates?” she asked.

Jack nodded. “With luck we will outrun
them.”

Their little schooner shot over the waves,
rising to meet the swells, manned by a dozen of Captain Jack’s most
trusted men.

Fletcher gave the wheel a nudge to port and
looked aloft at the spreading canvas. Turning his fierce
countenance on her once more, he broke into a broad grin.

“
As I said, Peter Dewitt and I are half
brothers. My early years were spent on that island plantation. Then
I took it into my head to go to sea. Though I often returned to
these waters, I have journeyed far and wide. Nearly a year ago I
was captured by the pirates.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
“We could choose to join their number or walk the plank to a watery
grave. I chose the former.”

“
How terrible it must have been!” She
trembled at the thought.

“
Gradually I gained their trust, and
became a leader among them. Little did they know that I was a
Trojan horse in their midst.” He laughed softly, dark eyes flashing
as he gathered her close to him. “I was in secret communication
with my brother, Peter, and he with the English Navy. The English
have now done for most of the pirate bands, but apparently not all.
Our little play-acting when Peter took you from me at gunpoint was
for the benefit of the pirates. I beg you to accept my apology and
that of my brother as well, for deceiving you as part of our
ruse.”

He looked aft in the fading light to gage
their lead on the pirate ship. “If those fellows behind us have a
notion ‘twas I who betrayed them, they will be after my hide. My
dear Gwendolyn, we shall outrun their dastardly band with this
sturdy little bark of Peter’s and reach a sheltered cove on the
island just ahead, never fear.”

He surveyed again the open sea and glanced up
at the billowing sails. Alarmed at the threats confronting them,
she shuddered with fear, despite Jack’s conviction. She watched as
he manned the helm, brawny arms expertly steadying the wheel.
Barking orders above the buffeting wind to his crewmen, he kept a
constant eye on the sails, the deteriorating weather, and the ship
far to their stern. Ahead, past the bowsprit, could just be seen
the inverted green bowl of an island on the azure sea.

Jacks dark eyes smiled down at her. Summoning
her courage, she returned his gaze. His strength and determination
were a comfort to her and quieted her fears as she held firmly to
the rail by his side. She smiled bravely, red hair flowing in the
wind and eyes the color of the sea.

From "Caribbean Fire", by Tori Baxter.

Victoria sighed, closed the file, and opened
Tori Baxter’s web site. She scrolled down through some fan mail,
mostly about Rendezvous Romance, and smiled with satisfaction. The
book was doing very well.

There was an email from Marsha asking about
the status of Caribbean Fire, but what she really wanted was to ask
her about Joe Vandersmoot. He certainly forgot about me in a hurry
when Marsha arrived. Who would have thought that those two would
have hit it off, and so quickly? Go figure. It would be nice if
they got together. At least Joe and Jack are getting along a lot
better since Marsha’s visit.

Her thoughts turned to Jack. He'd been very
attentive lately. Marsha thought he had feelings for her and she
was usually was right about men.

Jack had been spending his nights in the
farmhouse for a couple of weeks now, sleeping alone in one of the
front bedrooms. After her confrontation with Jonathan Van Winkle,
he’d insisted on staying with her. He made a point of kissing her
before going to work early and every night before heading for bed.
"Restrained" was the best way to describe him. She wasn’t sure
whether she should be flattered by this restraint, or furious.

There was no longer any doubt that she was in
love with him. Their one day of lovemaking was a bright searing
memory that she revisited every day in her mind. What’s he waiting
for? He's got to know I want him. Maybe Marsha had the right idea.
If I could seduce him, Jack would crumble. Would he? What if he
turns me down? Not sure I could handle being rejected….”

She heard his truck engine start and went to
the window. He’d be driving today’s load of produce up to the house
for sale on the porch. In addition to the earlier beans and summer
squash, baskets of sweet corn, huge vine ripened red tomatoes and
bell peppers joined the other vegetables for sale. The front porch
was doing a brisk business.

Going to the door, she went to wait for him.
It’d become routine for her to help unload the boxes and baskets
and arrange everything for the afternoon traffic. No longer was
there any discussion of their separate responsibilities. She was
happy to help and enjoyed Jack’s company. Lifting the heavy baskets
from the bed of the pickup, Jack brought them to rest on the
railing and she eased them onto the floor. When he had everything
arranged to his satisfaction he sank into a chair next to her.

“Don’t forget I’m taking the truck to Van
Wart this evening to have it tuned up and tires rotated.”

“Yes, you have to leave it overnight, right?
John is driving you back?”

Vicky certainly remembered it because today
was Jack’s birthday and he'd be out of the house when everybody
arrived for his surprise party. He hadn’t mentioned the fact and
had no idea that Victoria was even aware of it. She smiled at him
brushing a lock of hair off her forehead.

Jack noticed that little gesture, one of many
that endeared her to him. She’s so beautiful; I can’t believe I
ever thought she wasn’t.

Vicky’s mind was on the birthday surprise she
and Diane had planned for Jack. At the first meeting of the book
club, Diane had mentioned that this was his thirtieth and suggested
they should do something special to celebrate.

“Victoria, I want you to ride into the Grove
with me this evening. I don’t want to leave you alone here, even
for an hour.”

Oh man. I need to be here to set everything
up and get ready for the surprise party. “Jack, that’s not
necessary. You don’t need to worry about me. Do you really think
Van Winkle will do something?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I think. I don’t
want to take any chances. We can go shopping or anything else you
want to do, but I really insist you come with me.”

“All right, if it will make you feel better,”
she sighed. I've got to do some quick thinking. Oh man. I hope I
can figure this out. I’ll have to make a major change in plans. As
Jack’s first customer rolled into the drive, she excused herself
and slipped inside the house. She quickly texted Diane about the
change.

Three hours later the last of Jack’s
customers were disappearing down the road and he turned his
hand-lettered sign on the porch rail from “OPEN” to “CLOSED.”

Stepping inside he called out, “I’m going to
take a shower, and then we can leave for town.”

From the kitchen she called back, “I’m good
with that. Take your time.”

When he came downstairs feeling refreshed, he
was surprised to find that she had changed her clothes. She was
wearing makeup, earrings and an attractive skirt and sleeveless
top. Gone were the jeans and T-shirt. “Wow! I should take you to
town more often.”

She smiled at him and said, “We’d better go
before it gets any later.”

“Sure. It takes my breath away how beautiful
you look. Too bad we have to leave.” He grinned. This will be
awesome tonight!

“Thank you. I just felt like dressing in
something besides jeans for a change. I think Romeo and Juliet are
outside. I’ll lock up back here and we’ll go out the front,” she
said.

Since the Van Winkle incident, Jack insisted
on locking the doors when they weren’t at home. He’d shown her the
security cameras and explained how to bring up the view of all
sides of the house. This made Vicky feel more secure, especially
with Jack staying in the house at night. As he headed for the front
door, Vicky opened and closed the back door but intentionally left
it unlocked.

Ben Cohen was waiting patiently in the
parking lot behind Paulding’s Rest. Edna was taking a long time
saying her goodbyes to the friends they’d had dinner with. Gray
haired George Miller exited the tavern and walked slowly over to
Ben’s car. His wife was inside as well. With a groan, Ben climbed
out of the low-slung sedan and joined him. He rolled his eyes and
shook his head.

“We may have a while yet to wait for the
ladies. Cigar?” George pulled a pair of cigars from an inside
jacket pocket and handed one to Ben.

“Sure George. Why not? Edna will throw a
hissy fit if I smoke it in the car on the way home, but so what.
She’ll just have to throw her hissy.”

George produced a lighter and ignited both
stogies and they puffed contentedly.

“My doctor says I should give up the cigars,”
remarked Ben casually.

“Yeah, my doc says the same. What are you
gonna do anyway? If you can’t enjoy life a little, then what’s the
use?”

This was followed by a moment of silent
puffing.

“Ever since I had that second accident Edna
insists on doing all the driving. Even though, it wasn’t my fault.
Tell you the truth, George; I’m perfectly happy to let her. Know
what I mean?”

George nodded and blew a thick cloud of smoke
skyward. “Sure Ben, if she wants to, why not. I know the accident
wasn’t your fault. Nobody’s fault really, what you’d call a freak
accident,” chuckled George. “Was that young woman in the other car
all right?”

Ben nodded, rolling the cigar expertly from
one corner of his mouth to the other. He removed it and held it at
arm’s length studying the glowing tip, looking a little like George
Burns, about to offer a droll joke. “Yeah, she’s okay. Thank God. I
tried to get Edna to take over the driving years ago, but no, she
said that was my job. Always has been. For fifty years of marriage,
always been my job. I think she just didn’t want to be bothered.
So, now she’s afraid I’ll kill myself on the road and she drives
everywhere.”

Their wives rounded the corner of the tavern
and gave them a disapproving frown. Car doors slammed. Everyone
called good night and drove out into Main Street. Edna accelerated
cautiously while turning up her nose at the unpleasant smell of the
smoke billowing from her husband’s cigar.

While John and his mechanic discussed what
service Jack needed on a vehicle with over 100,000 miles, Vicky
slipped into the restroom of the Shell station. Rapidly she
exchanged text messages with Diane confirming that everything was
proceeding as planned. Emerging from the Ladies Room, she saw that
only John was there, counting the cash from his register.