Trouble Don’t Last Always (14 page)

But she had a chance now, and she wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way…and that included Dr. Wakefield.

The knock caught Adam by surprise. He knew it was Lilly. He recognized the tentative two taps, pause, two taps. He thought if she returned, she’d storm back in the same way she’d stormed out. Too bad he couldn’t tell her to storm right back out. “Come in.”

“I’ve come for your tray.” The door closed quietly. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“I detest women who sulk.”

“How about oatmeal?”

He hated oatmeal, and since Lilly had never mentioned the ghastly cereal or cooked it for him before, she probably knew it. Reminding himself that the devil he knew was better, he said, “All right. I apologize if I offended your sensibilities.”

“Now you’re making fun of me.”

From her affronted tone he could well imagine her frowning at him. For the first time he wondered what she looked like. “I wasn’t making fun of you. I was thinking of what I’ve come to, discussing so trivial a subject as ants.”

“You won’t think that if they bite you.”

“I guess not.”

“I’ll just get the tray and say good night if there is nothing else you need.” The door opened again.

His head lifted from the back of the chair. “You’re going to leave me alone again, with ants crawling everywhere? What if I’m allergic to them?”

“Are you?”

“I haven’t been bitten since I was a child, but I could have developed toxins.”

“Speak English.”

“Become allergic to the bites. So…please clean up this room.”

“All right,” she said, trying to sound put out but silently overjoyed. She’d done it! “I don’t want you swelling up like Herbert after his bee sting. His face was so tight and red he looked like a baked sweet potato before you stick a fork into it and let the air out.”

“Lilly, you do have a way with words.”

Adam’s words lingering in her thoughts, Lilly left to get the cleaning supplies. She had no idea if he had complimented her or insulted her. Probably insulted her. She did talk more around him, but it was so he wouldn’t feel so disconnected with his surroundings and could “picture” what was going on around him. She was still developing that steel in her backbone.

An hour later, Lilly surveyed Adam’s clean room with pleasure. The air smelled faintly of lemon furniture polish and pine cleaner. Every surface, including the hardwood oak floor, gleamed. Not a particle of food remained on the area rugs.

“I hope you’re finished,” Adam said from his chair, scratching his beard-covered face. “The racket from the vacuum cleaner is aggravating.”

“So are ant bites.” Lilly picked up the bucket containing her supplies with one hand and the vacuum cleaner with the other. “Is your beard itching?”

Adam immediately stopped scratching. “No.”

“Rafe tried to grow one once but gave it up because he said it itched like a bear. You’re sure you don’t want to shave it off?”

It briefly ran through Adam’s mind to ask who Rafe was; then he decided against it. “Positive. Now, how about an omelet for breakfast?”

The UPS truck and Samuel and Odette arrived the same time Wednesday morning. UPS had tried Monday and Tuesday but hadn’t been able to find the house. They probably would have still been looking if Eleanor hadn’t called Tuesday afternoon to see why the delivery hadn’t been made. Now that it was here Lilly could only shake her head at the three large cardboard boxes on the porch. “His sister must have sent all of his clothes.”

Samuel picked up a box before answering. “Doubt it. Dr. Wakefield had a lot of clothes.”

Odette grinned, showing an overbite. “He’s a good-looking man and he knows how to dress. Caused a stir wherever he went. The time he took me to the emergency room, I had so many nurses in my room you couldn’t move.” She picked up a box and ignored Samuel’s narrowed eyes. “Whenever he was here, I didn’t have any trouble getting extra help cleaning up the place.”

Intrigued and remembering the muscles delineating his back, Lilly flushed and picked up the third box. “You don’t say.”

“You women put those back down. I can take these up myself,” Samuel told them.

“Women aren’t helpless,” Odette said and entered the house.

“Stubborn woman,” Samuel mumbled and followed.

Slowly Lilly trailed behind them. There had been annoyance in Samuel’s voice, but concern and love as well. Two things Lilly had never known from a man and no longer particularly cared if she ever did.

Her current concern was more pressing: how to get Dr. Wakefield to accept the clothes without becoming angry. Lilly might have sounded confident to his mother, but she wasn’t so sure as she climbed the stairs.

As she expected, Odette and Samuel set their boxes down across from the doorway, leaving room for her box…and for her to knock. Despite her trepidation, Lilly placed her box in front of Dr. Wakefield’s door and did just that.

“Dr. Wakefield. Dr. Wakefield.” Trying not to show her concern when there was no answer, she knocked again. “Dr. Wakefield. Dr. Wakefield.”

The door jerked open. “I’m not deaf, although you could make a man wish he were. My breakfast won’t get that cold.”

Lilly’s eyes widened. He stood in the doorway, his jeans unsnapped, a white towel around his neck. Moisture beaded on his muscular chest. Obviously he had been in the shower.

“I ...” her voice croaked. She swallowed. Except in magazines, she’d never seen a more perfectly sculpted body. And even scowling with his shades on, he was a strikingly handsome man.

“Well, bring it in,” he ordered, standing back.

Lilly bent to pick up the box, then straightened. “It’s not your breakfast. There was a UPS delivery. Three boxes. Odette and Samuel helped me bring them up.”

“Odette’s here?” he said, quickly shoving the door partially closed.

Lilly frowned. What had gotten into him?

Behind her, Odette laughed. “I’ve seen a man’s naked chest before, Dr. Wakefield.”

“You should have said you weren’t alone sooner. Let me get a shirt.” The door snapped shut.

Lilly barely repressed a sigh. Would there ever be a day when Dr. Wakefield didn’t reprimand her about something?

The door opened again. Dr. Wakefield had on a shirt, unevenly buttoned. “What’s in them?”

“Let us put them down and get them opened first,” Lilly answered. Samuel already had his pocketknife out slicing through the mailing tape. Lilly went behind him, pulling back the top and inspecting the contents. “Clothes.”

“Clothes,” Dr. Wakefield repeated slowly.

“Enough so that I won’t have to wash for a long time. I’ll come back later to put everything up,” she told him.

“I’ll help,” Odette quickly offered.

“If you don’t mind, I’d rather you cook me a peach cobbler instead,” Adam said, slowly turning toward the direction the housekeeper’s voice had come from.

Odette’s flagging smile brightened. “Loaded with peaches and lots of crust, just the way you like it.”

“As I recall, Samuel likes his cobbler the same way.”

Pleased that Adam remembered, the older man nodded his gray head. “You have a good memory, Dr. Wakefield.”

“I won’t keep you then,” Adam said mildly.

Realizing they had been dismissed even if the older couple didn’t, Lilly said, “All right. The boxes are directly in front of your five-drawer dresser. The first box is short-sleeved knit shirts; the second box is jeans and slacks; the third box is suits with shirts and ties. The clothes in the first two boxes are pretty much mix-and-match in earth tones. The closet is about fifteen feet away to the left of the dresser. Your omelet will be served in thirty minutes.”

Long after the door closed, Adam remained where he was. He knew who was responsible for the clothes. Making his way to the phone at his bedside, he picked up the receiver and punched in 0 for operator assistance. For the first time, he didn’t feel as much animosity in explaining why he needed her to dial the number for him.

The answer came on the third ring. “Hello.”

“Hello, Mother.”

“Adam? What is it? Are you all right?”

The flurry of questions and love behind them caused him to tighten his hand briefly on the receiver, then briefly tuck his head in shame. He certainly hadn’t acted like a loving son in the past weeks. “I’m fine. I just wanted to thank you for the table and the clothes. They arrived this morning.”

“You aren’t upset with me?” she asked, surprise obvious in her voice.

Adam felt worse. “I should be the one asking that question.”

“I love you, Adam.”

To his mother love meant everything. “I know leaving me here wasn’t easy. Thank you for giving me the time and space.”

“Oh, Adam,” her voice wavered, hitched.

Adam fought the sudden lump in his own throat. “Don’t cry. I’m going to come through this. It’ll be all right.”

“Of course you are.”

He knew one certain thing that would cheer her up. “Kristen’s graduation is coming up, and we have to be there, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do,” Eleanor agreed, her voice stronger.

“Good-bye, and thanks again.”

“Good-bye, Adam.” Eleanor hung up the phone, guilt battling with happiness in her heart. Not once since the accident had Adam called her. Now, the first time he had, it was because of her subterfuge.

Folding her arms, Eleanor leaned her back against the cabinet in the kitchen where she had been preparing a cup of coffee. She believed in honesty. She hadn’t been honest with Adam, certainly not with Jonathan. Both incidents troubled her. With Adam, she had made the only decision possible. With Jonathan, she wasn’t so sure.

Picking up the carafe, she poured coffee into a mug and sipped. In college she had quickly learned to take her coffee black and strong. Sugar and cream diluted the caffeine kick she needed to stay awake and alert to study.

Of its own volition, her mind returned to Jonathan. She’d met him her first year in med school. He’d never been dismissive of her as a woman studying to be a doctor, as some of the other male students had been. He’d been fun-loving, the complete opposite of serious Randolph.

Her coffee forgotten, Eleanor stared out the window. She hadn’t a choice when Randolph was taken away from her. She had with Jonathan, and she couldn’t help wondering if she had made the right decision.

She missed Jonathan’s calming presence, his ability to make her laugh and not take herself too seriously. At any other time, she’d be on the phone telling him about Adam’s call, sharing her happiness with him. She’d never realized how much he’d insinuated himself in her life, how much she looked forward to sharing with him, being with him.

But Sunday had changed things somehow. Until she was sure of how to handle the subtle shift in their friendship, she wasn’t going to see him.

Of course he’d called, but she’d always told him she was too busy to talk. Taking the coffee with her into the living room, she looked around the beau-tiful, immaculate room. She’s never been less busy in her life. In San Francisco she had a full calendar. Here she moped and worried.

Not anymore. Returning to the kitchen, she poured out her coffee and rinsed the cup. She should be celebrating, not moping in the cottage. And that was exactly what she was going to do.

Adam’s progress was slow. More than one curse word had slipped past his lips as he’d unpacked the box of shirts.
How could one man have this many clothes?
he asked himself, then grimaced.

If he recalled correctly, he had four closets full. He liked to look nice and had always had the money to buy what he wanted.

A knock sounded on his door. He recognized it as Lilly’s. He picked up another shirt before answering, “Come in.” He didn’t know why, only that it was important that she was aware that he didn’t need help.

“A ham-and-cheese omelet at twelve, hash browns at six.” The tray rattled slightly as she set it on the table. “You’re doing a good job of unpacking.”

Somehow her words bothered him. “You didn’t think I could?”

“What I thought was that rich people didn’t do much of that sort of thing.” Her voice and the faint hint of roses moved closer, then away. “When you’re finished, ring downstairs and I’ll remove the boxes.”

Adam listened to the door closing, then moved the empty box out of the way. He reached into the second box, picked up a pair of what felt like khaki pants, and put them into the fourth drawer with a growing sense of accomplishment. Lilly hadn’t tried to help or pat him on the head for completing a task a four-year-old could do. Instead, she’d acted as if she’d expected him to unpack by himself. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

Downstairs Lilly entered an empty kitchen. She didn’t discover the reason until she looked out the window. Odette and Eleanor sat on the same stone bench Lilly favored, the bushel of purple hull peas Odette had brought that morning between them. Grabbing a bowl from beneath the cabinet, Lilly went to join them.

Mrs. Wakefield glanced up as soon as Lilly stepped out of the house. “Good morning, Lilly. How’s Adam?”

Lilly didn’t have to look at Odette to know she was waiting for the answer almost as much. It hadn’t taken Lilly long to learn the jovial housekeeper was a worrier and protective of those she cared about. Dr. Wakefield was counted in that number. “He was almost finished unpacking the box of shirts.”

“You don’t think he needs help?” Eleanor asked, tiny lines radiating across her forehead.

Lilly was sure Odette was the cause of Eleanor’s concern. “I don’t think a man of Dr. Wakefield’s intelligence needs help in unpacking a box.”

“But he’s blind,” Odette blurted, then flickered a worried glance at Mrs. Wakefield.

To Eleanor’s credit, she didn’t flinch at the blunt statement. She simply waited for Lilly’s reply.

“Being blind doesn’t make him helpless or suddenly less intelligent,” Lilly said gently, grateful for the literature Harriet had left for her to read. “More important, he hates being treated as if he were.”

“Lilly’s right.” Eleanor picked up another pea pod and snapped the top. “Even as a child, Adam was self-sufficient and detested me helping him dress or tie his shoes. He’s probably hated me hovering.”

“He knows you love him,” Lilly told her.

“Yes, he said so a little while ago when he called. I have you to thank for that.” Eleanor’s smile was warm. “He should have been thanking you for the clothes and table.”

Lilly shook her head. “He was ready to toss the table back until I said you’d sent it.”

“He was a willful child.”

“Who grew into a willful adult,” Lilly said. The older women laughed and Lilly with them. Then she plucked a handful of peas from the bushel basket and sank gracefully to the ground.

Watching her, Odette shook her head. “If I got down there you’d never get me back up.”

Lilly smiled and crossed her legs beneath the full hem of her skirt. “It remains to be seen if I need help.”

“You won’t,” Odette said with a shake of her head. “I’ve seen you go up and down those stairs enough to know. The extra cleaning women I hire dread those stairs.”

“I don’t.” Lilly shelled a pod and reached for another. “They add to the beauty and charm of this place. It wouldn’t be the same otherwise.”

“You see the beauty; others see the work. Samuel and I have been here for over thirty years. Dr. Wakefield is the third owner.” She paused, a pod in her hand. “When the previous owner’s wife heard he was being transferred and they had to move, she cried for a week. Samuel and I were a bit worried that the new owner might not want to keep us. You could have knocked me over with a feather when Dr. Wakefield and Dr. Delacroix showed up.”

Eleanor’s hands stilled. “Adam and Jonathan were out for a drive when he saw the FOR SALE sign in the front yard. Adam immediately decided he wanted the house. He calls it his investment/retirement house.” Pain flickered in her amber-colored eyes. “Now it’s his refuge.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a refuge.” Lilly glanced around the immaculate grounds. “Most people want a place to go during bad times. I can’t imagine one more perfect than this.”

“But a refuge can become a cage. I don’t want that for Adam,” Eleanor said, her lips compressed tightly together.

“It won’t. You said yourself that he called this morning. Has he done that before?”

“No,” she admitted quietly.

Lilly nodded her satisfaction. “He’s slowly getting there. You just have to keep believing and have faith.”

“I know. It’s just ...” Eleanor’s eyes misted.

Leaning over, Lilly placed her hand gently on top of the other woman’s. “Walking by faith is never easy. Especially when it’s being tested day after day. All I can say is that giving up is not the answer.” With all the upheaval in her life, that was the one truth Lilly was sure of.

Eleanor’s lips gently curved upward. “I’m glad your car broke down.”

“I never thought I’d say so, but so am I.”

“What’s this about your car breaking down?” Odette wanted to know.

Lilly told her the entire story and, although Eleanor hadn’t asked, told about the recent death of her “mother,” as Lilly affectionately called Mother Crawford because that was the name she had grown up hearing. She finished by telling them of her intention of driving to New Orleans to start a new life.

“You got any more family?” Odette asked.

Lily thought briefly of her stepson, Rafe, then shook her head. He had been more like a little brother than a son. “No. I’m all alone.”

“Not anymore,” Odette said firmly.

Lilly hadn’t expected to feel the warmth the housekeeper’s words gave her or the sudden stinging in her throat. “Thank you, Odette.”

“Did you give Adam the tapes yet?” Eleanor wanted to know.

“No. I can’t think of a way to get him to listen to them. As sure as I’m sitting here, if I just gave them to him he’d stick them in the closet and not listen to them, although I know he has to be bored in that room all day.”

Odette’s hands paused over the half-filled bowl of peas. “He never slept past eight, and after breakfast he’d be out with Samuel in the yard, on that computer, or doing something else. He never stayed in his room.”

“He had two offices, one in San Francisco and one in Sausalito near his home. He was always on the go.”

The three women paused and pondered.

“You ladies sure look nice resting there. Morning, Miss Lilly, Mrs. Wake-field. Wish I could just sit around under a big tree and rest all day.” Tipping his hat, Samuel smiled broadly and walked past them and entered the kitchen’s back door.

“Men,” all three women said simultaneously, then laughed out loud.

“But Lord, what would we do without them?” Odette asked.

“We wouldn’t have to cook and clean, that’s for sure,” Lilly responded.

“But we also wouldn’t have the love and companionship,” Eleanor pointed out.

“Amen,” Odette said.

Lilly remained quiet, then became aware that the two women were staring at her. She searched her mind for anything to say and could think of nothing good to say about men.

The back kitchen door opened and Samuel came out with a red thermos in his hand. “Don’t either of you try to bring those empty boxes back downstairs. I’ll get them when I come back.”

Odette harrumphed. “That man thinks I’m helpless.”

“Jonathan is the same way,” Eleanor said; then she and Odette looked at each other and grinned. Eleanor turned to Lilly. “I think Samuel just helped solve your problem.”

Pride was an awesome thing. It could defeat, challenge, inspire. At the moment Adam freely admitted that while unpacking the three boxes he had experienced all three emotions.

With a last, final pat against the suits hanging in his closet, he closed the door. Trying to get the three suits on hangers had nudged him close to defeat. Finally he had sat on the floor. Getting the crease straight and aligned in the pants had been long and tedious but satisfying.

He’d unpacked all three boxes by himself. He wasn’t helpless.

Turning, he went to his chair and sat down in front of his tray on the table. The omelet was stone cold. So was the rest of his food.

He’d spent enough nights in hospitals to have more than a nodding acquaintance with cold food; that’s why he detested it so much and enjoyed his food at the correct temperature and well prepared.

He leaned back against the chair. Of course, he could always call the kitchen. If Lilly wasn’t there, Odette probably was. A smile touched his face. She was probably busy cooking his cobbler. The smile vanished. He wished he’d told her he wanted it for lunch.

He straightened at the knock on his door. Lilly.

Rising, he stepped around the table and went to answer the door. “My breakfast is cold.”

“I can take care of that if you can help me with this.”

“What?”

“The battery won’t snap in my tape recorder. I could go back down and see if Odette could help, if you’re busy.”

His hand flexed on the door. Sometimes he wondered about the woman. What the hell did she expect him to do?

“Here, I’ll show you.”

Before he could protest, she lifted one of his hands and curled it around one end of the recorder. The other hand she placed on top, then slowly moved his fingers over a round, solid rise. The battery.

“When I pop one in the other pops out. My finger is getting sore. I want to hear this book on tape while I clean up.”

The pad of his thumb slowly raked over the battery.

“You’re probably thinking I shouldn’t own this, either, since I can’t operate it, but I’m trying to learn. And before you ask about my car, it won’t be ready for another week. They had to order parts.”

The relief he felt that she was staying was as disturbing as it was surprising. “What’s wrong with your car?”

The sigh was long-suffering. Her warm breath gently brushed across his face. “I think it would be easier to tell you what’s right with it. An oil pump that has gone out is the major problem. At least at the moment.”

“Are you sure? Some mechanics try to get over on women.”

“Dr. Delacroix called them, so I guess I can trust them.”

“Still, have Jonathan call the garage and speak to the mechanic for you.”

“He doesn’t have time.”

“Don’t you ever get tired of arguing?” he snapped.

“I’m sorry.”

The tightness went out of his voice. “I didn’t mean to snap,” he told her, recalling the last incident when he’d upset her and she’d run away. “Let’s get this fixed. What kind of tape is—”

“The killer was in the cave. Erin knew it just as surely as she knew she was next to die. The only question that remained was how long she had left to live.”

“You fixed it!” Lilly cried.

“It’s a book on tape?” Adam questioned.

“Yes. I like listening to them sometimes, although I’m going to have to pass on this particular one. I thought the tape was straight fiction. Mystery is all right when I’m with someone; otherwise I’ll be looking over my shoulder and getting nothing done or up all night checking under the bed.”

“That’s childish.”

“All right, then you listen to it and, if you don’t get scared, I’ll bring you a bowl of peach cobbler as soon as it’s done.”

Adam’s hands itched for the tape. Mysteries were his favorites. He enjoyed fpitting himself against the protagonist, trying to solve the crime first. Trying to keep the excitement out of his voice, he said, “Add a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream and you have yourself a deal.”

“Shake.” Lilly’s hand touched his. The handshake was brief.

“I’ll go to my room and get the rest of the tapes. The recorder is one of those five-button, big old-fashioned ones. Button one is RECORD, two is REWIND, three FAST FORWARD, four PLAY, five STOP. Got it?”

“Just bring the rest of the tapes,” he ordered.

“Be right back.”

While she was gone, he returned to the chair. He’d had an antique like this in high school. While taking some college courses his senior year and auditing others, he’d used the tape recorder extensively. It was better than taking notes and more reliable than asking for the notes of his classmates. His fingers felt the indentations in the buttons. He could do this.

“Here are the rest of the tapes. I’m putting the case on your table. There are twelve in all. Thirteen hours and twenty-five minutes of nail-biting listening. Remember button two will rewind.”

“I remember.”