Heat Wave Page 14

  They returned to scraping until the middle of the afternoon when the black Thunderbird roared into the garage.

  Marilee’s pulse jumped. Torn with a mixture of emotions, she scraped furiously.

  “Hi.”

  There went her pulse, her breathing, her wits. He stood a few yards away beneath the shade of an elm. A stubble of whiskers darkened his jaw and his hair was a tangle of curls. His white shirt was rumpled, tucked into dark jeans.

  “Where’s Henry?” she asked, keeping her voice even with great effort.

  “He’s on the patio. Come down off the ladder. I want to show you something.” As she laid the scraper on the ladder, she asked, “Are the rustlers in jail?”

  “Yeah, at the moment.”

  Aware of his full attention, she climbed down and turned around to look at him curiously. Not until he reached for her did she guess what he intended. “You’ll get chips of old paint …” she began in a weak attempt to ward him off.

  He pulled her into his arms to kiss her and her heart went up in flames. The misery she had suffered the last hours dissipated immediately. While in his embrace, with his mouth demanding her total attention, everything became right again, perfect. She wrapped her arms around him and clung to him, aware in a dim corner of her mind that there might not be too many more times to hold him.

  Finally he released her, gazing at her solemnly, a flake of white paint on his cheek. “I couldn’t wait,” he said huskily. “It’s been eternity.”

  Her thudding heart pounded in her ears, her veins. It was impossible to talk. She studied his features as if trying to memorize them. Brushing away the speck, she said, “You have paint on your face.”

  He smiled, his fingers drifting over her cheek. “So do you. Henry’s waiting.”

  “I’ll put away my ladder.”

  “I’ll do it. I’ll see you after Henry’s lesson.”

  It was an effort to walk away, to keep from reaching for him. He had come into her life like a whirlwind, taken her heart, and now was about to rip it away. The same pain she had felt since the night before returned.

  When she entered the patio and Henry wasn’t in sight, she went inside to wash and clean up.

  Returning to the patio, she found it still empty. “Henry!”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Startled, she looked up to see Henry sitting on a high branch of a sycamore overlooking the patio. He started down the tree so she sat down and pulled her materials out of her bag. It was hot even in the shade, and since this was Jada’s day off, there were no glasses of cool lemonade. Marilee pushed wisps of hair away from her forehead and looked around when Henry banged the gate.

  Grime covered his face and blue t-shirt. The shoestrings of his frayed sneakers trailed along with each step until he climbed into a chair across from her.

  He seemed as unenthusiastic as she when Marilee handed him a book, asking him to read.

  Henry wriggled, placing a dirty forefinger beneath the line as he read.

  Each word was faltering, some wrong. She frowned, watching him. He was reading far worse than before. “Henry, don’t you want to read today?”

  His blue eyes stared solemnly at her. With a shock she realized he had been crying. His cheeks were smudged, his eyes red. When he’d entered the patio, she’d been too busy getting out the books to notice.

  He didn’t answer, so she repeated her question. This time he shook his head, looking as miserable as she felt.

  Marilee forgot her own troubles. “Henry, come here.” Scooting over to make room, she patted the seat beside her. Henry squeezed in next to her. Marilee pulled out a new comic book, placing her arm around him.

  “Want me to read to you today?”

  He nodded, so she opened the comic and started on a tale about dragons. She hadn’t finished the first page when she heard a sniff.

  She looked down to see him brush at his cheek with his fist. She patted his shoulder. “Henry …” A shudder rippled the thin shoulders. “Henry, what’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

  He hunched over, balling his fists against his eyes. “I want a daddy. Mom wants to get married and Uncle Cole won’t let her!”

  Stunned, Marilee smoothed his curls with a gentle hand. “He can’t stop your mother from getting married.”

  “Yes, he can. He doesn’t like Don. He told Mom she …” His voice broke on a sob and Marilee waited for him to get control of himself again. Her heart felt as if someone were grinding it into the dust. With a deep breath, Henry continued, “… was a fool to get married. He said it would only bring her trouble. They had a big fight.”

  “Henry, oh, Henry.” Marilee hugged him as she stared blankly across the patio. She wanted to sob too. She fished a handkerchief out of her purse and pushed it in his hand. “Here.”

  He brushed away the handkerchief so she dropped it into her lap. His small frame shook while he cried. “Uncle Cole said marriage is trouble and misery. He’s gonna talk her out of it and I still won’t have a daddy.”

  “You have your Uncle Cole.”

  “He’ll go. He always goes. He won’t take us with him.”

  “If your mother really loves Don, she’ll make up her own mind.”

  “Uncle Cole said she shouldn’t have married the other times and she yelled at him that she wouldn’t have me if she hadn’t. …”

  Damn Cole anyway. “Henry, where were you when they argued?”

  “In the hall some of the time. Uncle Cole came for breakfast this morning. They didn’t know I was awake.”

  “Henry, your uncle loves you very much.”

  He sniffed. After a moment he mumbled, “He doesn’t like Don.”

  “Do you?”

  “Yep.”

  “Does your mother?”

  “Yep. She loves him. Uncle Cole said she always thinks she’s in love. He said it won’t last, marriage is a trap. It’ll hurt her and me. It won’t! I know it won’t. He says it hasn’t brought anyone in our family any good.”

  Oh, Lord. Marilee felt crushed. “Henry, your uncle loves you very much. He wouldn’t have hired me to tutor you if he wasn’t very interested in your welfare.” She squeezed his shoulder. She wanted to pull him into her arms and hold him, but she suspected it would embarrass him.

  Henry sniffed, rubbing his sneakers together while he stared at the ground. “He’ll make Mom get rid of Don and then he’ll go and we’ll be alone again. He’s gonna leave.”

  Something happened to her breathing as she felt a cold stab in her heart. “When’s he going?” She hated asking Henry, but she couldn’t resist.

  “Day after tomorrow.”

  A wave of agony swept through her. Unaware of how long she’d sat in stunned silence, she came out of her reverie when Henry coughed. She looked down at his hunched shoulders.

  “Henry, would you rather ride Blaze today than have a reading lesson?”

  He glanced up and her heart felt as if it were breaking. His blue eyes were wide, filled with hurt. A tear spilled over onto his mud-streaked face, where tears had already run across the grime. He wiped it away hastily. Suddenly she could picture Cole as a child, see him hurt as badly as Henry.

  She ached for him, for Henry, for herself.

  Henry said, “I can’t ride Blaze unless Uncle Cole is along.”

  “I’ll get your Uncle Cole. Come on, let’s wash your face and get a drink of cold water.”

  As soon as she had bathed away some of the grime and given Henry a glass of iced water, she sent him to the patio to wait.

  With leaden steps, she walked to the foot of the stairs and called, “Cole!”

  A husky voice drawled, “Hi.”

  She twisted to look above her. Cole was leaning over the rail, gazing down at her, his broad shoulders, sexy blue eyes, his strong hands and lean body all conveying a vigorous, appealing masculinity that brought a tightness to her heart. She tried to ignore her automatic physical react
ion to him. When her gaze met his, the smile on his face vanished. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  “May I talk to you a minute?”

  He came down the stairs and her despair deepened. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. He had bathed and was dressed in snug jeans, boots, and an unbuttoned plaid shirt with the shirttails hanging out. His unruly hair was blown dry and combed into waves, except for a few curling, wet tendrils above his collar. She loved him. Totally. It was that simple and that terrible.

  Buttoning his shirt, he descended and stopped in front of her. The top three buttons were still unfastened, revealing his broad chest with its dark hairs. She longed to reach for him, to touch him, to put her arms around him. Instead, she asked quietly, “Can we go somewhere private to talk?”

  He motioned toward the living room, closing the door behind them. He put his hands on her shoulders as he gazed solemnly at her. “What’s happened?”

  Ten

  “Henry overheard your argument with his mother this morning.”

  “Oh, Lord.” He grimaced. “I thought he was asleep.” His blue eyes searched hers.

  “I told him you’d take him to ride Blaze.”

  “I think something else is bothering you.”

  “He’s been crying.”

  Cole flinched and she wished she hadn’t had to tell him. “I wouldn’t hurt Henry for the world,” he said gruffly.

  “He said he likes Don. He wants a father.”

  “Sandy is gullible, she’s vulnerable.”

  And so am I! she wanted to shout. “Don’t you think Sandy ought to decide whether she’ll many or not?”

  “Look, I’m the one who always has to pick up the pieces. Why do you think all her dresses are at the farm? Where do you think she goes when her world collapses?”

  The hard look in the blue eyes she loved drove her beyond control. “It’s too damn bad she’s isn’t invincible, completely self-sufficient like her brother!”

  His blue eyes became glacial. “Marilee, I warned you that first night,” he said quietly. “What we have together is marvelous. I want you now, but there’s a part of me that just can’t give. It isn’t in me. I’ve been alone too many years, for so damn long, I can’t remember when I depended on someone else for an emotional need. What family I have, depends on me. I had to be that way to survive, to take care of Sandy when we were kids, and now to take care of Henry. Whether I like it or not, my self-sufficiency has lasted.”

  “You’re leaving this week.”

  “I’ll be back now and then. Oh, honey, I don’t want to hurt you. …”

  But you don’t need me, she thought. “Cole, Henry needs you badly. Will you see about him?”

  “I will in a moment. Marilee, it’s been so good. What we feel is special. …”

  His voice dropped to the husky note that could always send a shiver down her spine. She wanted Cole. In spite of everything, knowing that he’d never need her as she did him, she wanted him. “Please, see about Henry.”

  For an instant she faced the unfathomable blue of his eyes, like an opaque sea. Then Cole turned.

  “Well talk later, Marilee.”

  He left, the door standing open behind him. She waited without moving until she was certain both he and Henry would be gone. As she started outside, Grant entered the patio.

  “Time to go. Are you ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Anything wrong, Marilee?”

  She shook her head. “No. Nothing at all.” Nothing except the broken heart that had been inevitable since Cole’s first kiss.

  She climbed into the truck and sat between Grant and Ted. As they followed the flat road to the gate they saw two riders leaving the barn. Cole swept off a broad-brimmed hat to wave at them. Grant tapped the horn. Inside of Marilee, a small voice said good-bye to Cole. She knew she would see him again, but their brief affair was over.

  As soon as she reached home, she peeled off her clothes and bathed in a cool tub. Afterwards, dressed in cut-offs and the yellow halter she’d worn the day she’d fallen into Cole’s pool, she fixed a tall glass of iced tea and caught her hair up to fasten it on top of her head. She sat down in front of the papers piled on the kitchen table. Cole had cost her time when she should have been home working on her manuscript. He had cost her more than time. She stared at the wall and realized the cruise didn’t hold any charm for her. Nothing but sexy blue eyes, Cole’s strong arms, his companionship had fascination for her now.

  She blinked back tears. Damned if she would cry over him like Henry had! Not at all. She wiped a tear off the paper under her hand and tried to concentrate. Oh, yes. Cole Chandler had cost her dearly. She shouldn’t let him delay the textbook, mess up her career too!

  It was an effort to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time. She couldn’t stop thinking about Henry, about Cole. Cole would leave soon, be out of her life forever unless she wanted bits and pieces of him if he came to stay at the farm again. No thanks. Could she resist even bits and pieces? She wiped her damp brow and checked the thermostat, moving it again.

  By nine o’clock that night she knew with certainty that her air conditioner wasn’t working. Hot and miserable, she rummaged through the garage for a fan and set it beside the desk while she tried to type.

  One hour, four finished pages, and eighteen discarded ones later, the doorbell rang.

  Marilee opened the door to face Cole. Dressed in the same plaid shirt and jeans he’d had on earlier, he looked cool, handsome, and immaculate. A black Stetson was pushed to the back of his head over a tangle of curls. His gaze swept over her and his eyes narrowed. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine.” That was a whopper. “What do you want?”

  His eyes narrowed a fraction more. “May I come in?”

  “Sure.” She stepped aside to let him enter.

  “Damnation. Do you have the furnace on?”

  She wiped her forehead and neck. For a moment she had forgotten the heat. “My air conditioner broke.”

  “For heaven’s sake. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It just happened an hour ago. Why should I tell you?”

  “Come out to the farm until you get it fixed. With the weather we’ve been having, there’s probably a waiting list for repairs.”

  “Thanks, but I need all my notes.”

  As she talked his gaze traveled past her, taking in her surroundings, and she realized he hadn’t been in her house before.

  “Well take your notes.”

  “That’s impossible.” The good-bye had to come. She steeled herself to face him, to get through the next few minutes.

  “Show me your notes.”

  “I’ll stay here and practice some of your damned self-sufficiency.”

  His gaze returned to her, settling with a jarring intensity as his eyes narrowed. She wished she hadn’t said it and added quickly, “I won’t get any work done if I’m at your house.”

  “I won’t disturb you. I’ll be in Tulsa. I have to be there in the morning, sooner than I expected.”

  Her temper snapped. “I don’t want to come to your house, to look at your things and long for you, your touch, your smile, your company!”

  “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. Let’s go where it’s cool, where we can talk rationally.”

  “Is this how you always tell your women goodbye? Leave the broken hearts strewn behind like old flowers?”

  She knew the accusation was unfair, but everything hurt. She was hot and miserable and suffering. Her temper, her patience had burned away. Cole had started toward her, but at her angry words he halted, a flush darkening his cheeks. For a long moment they stared at each other.

  When he spoke, his voice was harsh. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. We’ve had something good between us. I just can’t help what I am, Marilee. If I asked you to go to Tulsa with me, you wouldn’t be happy. Would you give up your work and go?”

  “No,” she
answered swiftly. “Because in a few weeks you’ll go to Alaska and I’ll return to teaching. It would be good-bye then, so it’ll be easier now.” She held her breath for an agonizing second, waiting, hoping he might refute her statement, say they wouldn’t part at the end of the summer. He didn’t and her tiny hope crashed to pieces.

  Instead he said, “Come to Tulsa until summer is over. I want you.”

  “ ‘Until summer is over …’No thanks. So there’s nothing more to say. I couldn’t bear to stay at your house. I’d rather move into a motel.”

  He drew a sharp breath. “If that’s what you want …”He turned and left. Cole vanished out of her life as swiftly as he had entered it. Their good-bye had been quick and simple. The hurt was monumental.

  She let the tears fall unheeded, staring at the door. Suddenly, she started to rush after him, to see if she could catch him. A few more weeks with him in Tulsa was better than nothing.

  With her hand on the doorknob, she halted. It would be worse and hurt more to say good-bye later after weeks with him. Leaning her forehead against the door, she listened to the Thunderbird start and drive away.

  Finally she walked back into the kitchen and stared at her papers while long minutes ticked past. She wanted to dump all her work into the trash. It held no interest at all. Only one thing in the world was important, and he was gone.

  She picked up the phone to dial her parents and ask if she could spend the night where there was air conditioning. Then she reconsidered, riffled through the phone book, called a Holiday Inn, making reservations for a room.

  She fed the dogs, packed, and moved to the motel. Half a dozen times that night she reached for the phone, wanting Cole so badly that she was willing to take whatever she could get. But each time she stopped, dredging up all the logical reasons to resist calling him. There would be a goodbye between them eventually. He had made that all too clear. Now would cause less pain. But how could the hurt be any greater? Marilee slept finally, still dressed, sitting in a chair. She woke early and returned home.

  The next days blurred, running together. Cole had already left for Oklahoma when she, Grant, and Ted showed up for work that next morning. They finished scraping and finally painted his house. By working feverishly every spare moment she had finished her text before the deadline, but the effort drained her. All her enthusiasm was gone.