Читать книгу About That Man - Sherryl Woods, Sherryl Woods - Страница 13

W alker had a lot of excess tension to work off. He woke up at dawn after a restless night on a hard hotel mattress, feeling every one of his thirty-five years. His shoulders ached. His knees were stiff, the result of too many years of hard physical activity from football in high school to the jogging he now did daily to keep in shape.

More troublesome than the aches and pains were the mental cobwebs. As if dealing with his first face-to-face meeting with Tommy weren’t stressful enough, there was Daisy Spencer and her far too tempting mouth to consider. She’d played a prominent role in his dreams. No wonder he’d awakened thoroughly aroused and totally exasperated with himself.

The last thing he needed in his life was a woman who looked at him with moist lips half-parted by unmistakable lust and eyes shining with innocence and vulnerability. There was a contradiction there that he didn’t want to get mixed up in. No way.

He hadn’t wanted to belabor the discussion of the kiss they’d shared because he’d been very much afraid he’d be tempted to kiss her again just to shut her up. She had that exasperating effect on him, an effect no woman had had for a very long time.

Bottom line, he needed to get her out of his system before he saw her this morning and did something that would only add to the regrets he already had. A good workout ought to accomplish that. Luckily he kept his gym bag in the trunk of the car. He changed into shorts and a sweatshirt, tugged on his running shoes and hit the road.

For the first few blocks, he was barely aware of his surroundings beyond the lack of traffic and the faint tang of salt in the air. His concentration was totally focused on getting into his rhythm, getting his breathing to match his relaxed, easy strides in a way that would bring the optimum results.

Eventually he began to take note of the tidy lawns with their picket fences and abundant splashes of spring flowers, the wide porches and old-fashioned swings, the cheerful flags that adorned most houses. The few people who were outside at this hour glanced up at him and waved, their friendly smiles a stark contrast to the hostile suspicion he was used to receiving back home.

Only after he’d turned a corner and set off along the wide, tree-lined street bordering the river did he realize that he no longer had the pleasantly cool morning to himself. He heard the slap of other sneakers on the pavement, the ragged breathing of a beginning runner and the steadier sounds of someone more experienced. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted a couple half a block behind. The woman waved, then nearly stumbled. The man caught her arm.

“Are you okay?” the man asked, gazing worriedly at her flushed face. “It’s only your second week. I can slow down.”

“No, no,” she said between gasps. “I can keep up.”

The man grinned at Walker, who jogged in place waiting for them.

“Stubborn as a mule,” the man observed when they were closer.

Walker winked at her, then admonished the man, “Hey, give her credit for trying.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling him,” she said, bent over at the waist as she tried to catch her breath. When she could finally speak without gasping, she added, “I think he’s just afraid I’ll collapse in a heap and he’ll have to carry me all the way home.” She held out her hand. “I’m Anna-Louise Walton, by the way. And you’re Walker Ames.” She chuckled at his surprise. “It’s a small town. I’ve gotten a full description from half the people in Trinity Harbor. Your arrival was big news.”

He regarded her with bemusement. “Why?”

It was the man who spoke up. “Speaking as a journalist, I can say it’s because the story has all the makings of a real tearjerker. Long-lost uncle comes to claim his orphaned nephew, pitting himself against the daughter of the town’s leading citizen.” He grinned. “By the way, I’m Richard Walton. I own the paper here. Anna-Louise is my wife, and before you mutter that curse that’s obviously on your lips, you should know she’s a minister.”

For the third time in less than twenty-four hours, Walker was shocked into silence by a woman in this town. Obviously the females in Trinity Harbor were a breed apart.

“Don’t worry,” Anna-Louise said to cover his apparent discomfort. “People say whatever they want in front of me. If I feel the need, I’ll pray for your soul later.”

“Good to know,” Walker said.

“So, how did it go yesterday with Tommy?” she asked. “And with Daisy?”

He wasn’t going to touch the topic of Daisy with this woman or anybody else. As for Tommy, he wasn’t sure what to say. “I wish I knew,” he said eventually. “Tommy has a lot of understandable resentment where I’m concerned.”

Anna-Louise nodded sympathetically. “Look, since I’m obviously winded and pathetically out of shape anyway, why don’t we go get some coffee? Maybe I can help.”

“Or we could just leave the man alone and let him handle his own life,” Richard countered, regarding his wife with amused tolerance. “Anna-Louise likes to meddle.”

“It’s not meddling. It’s my job,” she chided.

“Only when a member of your congregation actually asks for help,” Richard reminded her. “Walker’s barely been in town for a full day, he’s never set foot in your church and I haven’t heard him ask for any advice.”

She laughed. “Okay, so sometimes I anticipate a need before it’s expressed. Sue me.” She regarded Walker hopefully. “How about that coffee?”

Because he was willing to listen to advice from any quarter, Walker nodded. “Lead the way.”

“Earlene’s is the only place open for breakfast,” she said. “The coffee is strong and the country ham and eggs are worth trying if you don’t give a hang about your cholesterol. At this time of the morning we should have a shot at getting a booth. The regulars don’t start coming in for another half hour or so, and Fridays don’t bring out the tourists this time of the year. Tomorrow’s another story.” She turned to her husband. “Coming with us?”

“Nope. I might be too tempted to put something you say in confidence on the front page of next week’s paper.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to a word he says,” she told Walker. “Richard is the most ethical man I know. He just wants to gloat later that he finished his run and I pooped out.”

Richard leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to her lips, then grinned. “That too,” he said. “Nice meeting you, Walker. If you stick around, maybe we can get together and talk about D.C. I used to work there myself.”

“Really?”

“Well, for the paper, anyway. I was a foreign correspondent, so I never spent all that much time in Washington, but I certainly kept up with the politics.”

Walker nodded as recognition dawned. “You’re that Richard Walton. You wrote some damn fine pieces from some pretty awful war zones. Won quite a few awards, too, as I recall. I thought your byline had been missing for a while now.”

“Fours years. I took a leave of absence when my grandmother got sick. Then Anna-Louise and I got married and I bought the paper in my hometown. When she got the transfer here, I bought this one and brought an old buddy in as editor of the one over there.”

“Now he’s a media mogul,” Anna-Louise teased.

“Two weeklies do not an empire make,” Richard retorted. “Besides, I like it here.” He gave his wife another kiss. “Don’t lose this job. I don’t want another paper to worry about.”

She laughed. “I didn’t lose the last job. I just got an irresistible offer. King Spencer can be very persuasive.”

“So I’ve heard,” Walker said.

“Oh, good, then we can talk about him, too,” she said. “See you later, honey.”

“Should I be bothered by the fact that you’re suddenly so eager to be rid of me and spend time with another man?” Richard teased. “Is the honeymoon finally over?”

“You’ll have to decide that for yourself,” she said, then led Walker off in the opposite direction.

On the walk to the small riverside restaurant, which sat next to a weeping willow just beginning to get its pale green leaves, silence fell. At first Walker felt the need to fill it, but he realized very quickly that Anna-Louise was one of those rare women who didn’t expect conversation. She seemed perfectly content with the quiet.

The restaurant’s windows were shaded by blue and white awnings. Pots of just watered flowers sat beneath. Bicycles were propped against the building.

Inside Earlene’s, there was indeed a last booth available. The gray-haired waitress had their coffee cups filled practically before they’d slid into their seats. She gave Walker a thorough once-over, but didn’t ask any questions. Either she’d already guessed who he was, or she was the only person in town who kept her curiosity in check.

Instead of asking about him, she turned to Anna-Louise. “Honey, you look plumb worn-out. Has Richard been making you run again?”

The minister grinned. “He doesn’t make me. I’m trying to get healthy.”

“If you ask me, there is nothing healthy about working up a sweat on a day God just meant to be enjoyed.”

Anna-Louise’s expression grew thoughtful. “You know, Earlene, you could be right. Maybe there’s a sermon in that.”

Earlene patted her hand. “Honey, that’s why you’re so popular. You find sermons in all the everyday things people can relate to.”

When the woman had taken their orders and moved on to other new arrivals, Walker studied the woman opposite him. Funny, now that he knew what she did for a living, he thought he could detect an unusual serenity in her eyes that should have tipped him off. He’d seen the same thing in the eyes of police chaplains and other clergy he dealt with after a crime had taken a terrible toll on a family. He always wished he could grasp what it was they knew that lesser mortals didn’t. Even the other faithful didn’t seem to have it to the same degree. Men like him didn’t have it at all. And he couldn’t help wondering if a man like Richard Walton, who’d seen some of the worst the world had to offer, still believed in anything whatsoever.

“I can see your mind’s working overtime,” Anna-Louise said, cutting into his thoughts. “What are you grappling with? What to do about Tommy?”

“Actually, I was wondering what it takes to be a minister, especially a woman minister.”

“The same thing it takes a man,” she said at once. “Just a little more of it. Dedication. Faith. Compassion. And in my case, a healthy supply of grit and determination.”

“Something tells me it’s not as simple as you make it sound. Otherwise more people would answer the calling.”

“Okay, for a woman, maybe it takes the ability to withstand a few shocked looks, a lot of doubting remarks and occasionally an organized campaign to have us banished.”

“There,” he said. “That sounds more like it. Did anybody ever try to banish you?”

Her expression clouded over. “All the time at first.”

“But you were tough enough to take it,” he said approvingly.

“I had a strong backer,” she replied.

“Richard?”

“God.”

Walker was taken aback by the quick retort, but then a smile spread across his face. “Yes, He would be a help, wouldn’t He?”

“He usually is, if we listen.”

“I’m not sure I can hear what He’s saying about me and Tommy,” Walker confided.

She gave him a serene smile. “Oh, I think you can. Maybe you’re just not ready to listen.”

“You’re telling me I should pack Tommy up and take him with me,” he said, a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. He almost regretted asking her opinion, because she was right. He wasn’t ready to hear it.

“No,” she said at once. “I’m not telling you anything. It’s for you to decide.”

“Do you think he’d be better off here with Daisy?” he asked, trying to get a clear-cut answer from her one way or the other.

“I know she loves him,” Anna-Louise conceded, clearly choosing her words carefully.

“I thought I heard a but in there.”

“Did you?”

He shook his head at the deliberate evasiveness. “I could find you extremely annoying, Mrs. Walton.”

“Anna-Louise will do. And you only find me annoying because I won’t make your decision for you.”

“I thought your job was to point people along the path to righteousness.”

“That puts them in good standing with God. This decision is about you and your family. A private matter.”

“What if I ask for your advice?”

She laughed. “I’ll answer with a question. What do you think is right and best for Tommy?”

He dragged a hand through his damp hair. “I wish to hell I knew,” he said without thinking, then immediately apologized. “Sorry.”

“No problem. I will give you this much advice. Give it time, Walker. You don’t have to decide today or even tomorrow.”

“Tell Frances Jackson that. She’s chomping at the bit to get Tommy off her plate and onto mine.”

“No, she’s just trying to make sure he’s with someone who loves him. Every child deserves that, especially one who’s just been through the trauma of losing the only parent he’s ever known.”

“Yes,” Walker said slowly. “Yes, they do.”

But was he in any position to give Tommy the kind of love he needed? Did he even have any love left to give? The three people who’d been closest to him in his life certainly didn’t think so.

Daisy’s gaze kept straying toward the back door. She’d expected Walker to show up by now. It was after eight, and there was still no sign of him. Fortunately Tommy didn’t seem to care one way or another. He hadn’t glanced at the door once.

Still, she was disappointed. It wasn’t that she’d expected him, exactly. After all, wasn’t she the one who’d anticipated that he might bolt straight back to Washington? She’d merely hoped that he would keep his promise and be here this morning–for Tommy’s sake.

“How come you keep looking out the door?” Tommy asked eventually. “You’ve already burned one waffle because you weren’t paying attention. Looks to me like the next one is going to go any second now.”

She whirled around just in time to see the steam coming from the waffle iron turn to something that looked suspiciously like smoke. “Blast it,” she said, yanking it open to reveal a waffle almost beyond edible.

“It’s okay. I’ll take it,” Tommy said, holding out his plate. “Looks like it’s the best I’m going to get this morning.”

“Very funny, young man,” she said as she tossed it into the trash instead. “The next one will be perfect. You’ll see.”

“I hope so,” Tommy told her, “’Cause I’m about starved to death.”

Daisy carefully spooned more batter onto the waffle iron and closed it, then faced Tommy. “Now that you’ve had some time to sleep on everything that happened yesterday, what did you think of your uncle?”

Tommy’s face scrunched up. He shrugged. “He was okay, I guess.”

“You weren’t very nice to him.”

Tommy frowned. “Why should I be? I just said what you were thinking. We talked about it, remember? You don’t know why he abandoned my mom either.”

“Maybe I didn’t understand it before he and I talked, but I do now,” Daisy told the boy. “He deserves a chance to explain it so you’ll understand it, too. He told you yesterday that he tried really, really hard to find her.”

“And you bought that?” Tommy said scathingly.

She nodded slowly. “He sounded sincere. And it is true that your mom didn’t have a lot of the identification papers that most adults have, like a driver’s license and car registration. She always rode a bike.”

“Because she liked the exercise,” Tommy said defensively.

“True, but she didn’t have a Social Security number, either.”

“I don’t even know what that is,” Tommy said. “But if she didn’t have it, it was ’cause she didn’t want it.”

Daisy grinned. “I know that, but most grown-ups do have one. Some kids, too, if they want to get jobs. All of those things would have helped your uncle to find her.”

“He should have tried harder. He must be a really lousy cop,” Tommy said stubbornly.

Daisy sighed. She knew better than to push too hard. Even in just a few days, she had seen that Tommy didn’t respond well to pressure. He had a definite mind of his own, and she was a big believer in a child’s right to his own opinions. She could only try to shape them a little at a time. Besides, how much of her faith in Walker’s sincerity was because she wanted to believe he was a good man for her own reasons? If she lost Tommy, she needed to believe he was with someone who could love him the way he deserved to be loved.

Well, the proof would come soon enough. If Walker didn’t show up this morning, it would pretty much confirm Tommy’s low opinion of him. She sighed again and opened the waffle iron just in the nick of time, finally managing one that was golden brown and steaming hot.

She put it on Tommy’s plate, then sat across from him.

“You ain’t gonna have one?” he asked as he slathered butter into every little nook, then poured maple syrup over it.

“Not yet.”

“How come?”

“I thought I’d wait.”

“Wait for what?”

Because she didn’t want to bring up Walker’s name again, she said, “Until I’ve had another cup of coffee. I’m still half-asleep.”

The answer seemed to satisfy him. “Yeah, Mom used to say the same thing, except sometimes I thought it was because she knew we only had enough for one person and she wanted me to have it.”

Daisy felt her eyes sting for this little boy who saw too much, and for the mother who’d tried so hard to give him a better life. Beth Flanagan had worn clothes until they were practically threadbare, but she’d brought Tommy to church every Sunday in slacks that had been neatly pressed and a white shirt and tie. His shoes had been polished and his hair combed. She would have been horrified to see him dressed the way Daisy had found him.

“Your mom was very special,” she told Tommy.

He nodded. “She was the best. I just wish she hadn’t had to work so much. That’s why she got sick, ’cause she was so tired all the time.” His expression turned serious. “Can I ask you something?”