Читать книгу The Backup Plan - Sherryl Woods, Sherryl Woods - Страница 10

Twenty-four hours after humiliating herself in front of Cord and with his indictment of her fact-finding skills still ringing in her ears, Dinah went in search of Maggie for information. If Cord wasn’t going to tell her anything about Bobby or himself, then she was just going to have to drag it out of her best friend. Besides, it had already been a couple of weeks since she’d promised to go by the gallery and set up a date for dinner. Surely once she was there she could lull Maggie into revealing something helpful about Bobby’s whereabouts.

She found Images on a narrow alley in downtown Charleston, only a few blocks from the Battery. It had a lovely wrought-iron fence, climbing rosebushes in full and fragrant bloom in the tiny courtyard, and old brick that had faded to a lovely shade of pink. Everything about it spoke of charm and class. Knowing her friend as she did, Dinah hadn’t expected anything less than the classiest of businesses. Maggie had always had excellent taste, even though she’d occasionally rebelled against it.

A bell rang when Dinah opened the door and Maggie emerged from the back, a smile spreading across her face when she saw her friend.

“It’s about time you came by,” she declared.

“I know,” Dinah said readily. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long.”

“I’m sure you’ve been busy. Knowing your folks, they’re probably still showing you off every evening.”

“Not really. I called a halt to that after the first few days. The last thing I want is to be trotted out like some visiting celebrity. It’ll just make it that much harder to explain to everyone when I don’t go back overseas on another assignment.”

Maggie’s gaze immediately narrowed. “What’s up, then? Is everything okay? Come on in the back and I’ll pour us both some tea and we can talk.”

“Not till I’ve had a look around,” Dinah said, mostly out of genuine interest, but also to put off Maggie’s inevitable questions.

She made a slow turn in the main room, admiring the watercolors that hung on the walls and the sculptures and art glass displayed on an assortment of antiques that Maggie had obviously brought from her family’s home. It was an eclectic mix set against a backdrop of warm wood furniture, gleaming oak floors and creamy walls. The effect was inviting, not intimidating, though the price tags certainly put the inventory several steps above most people’s pocketbooks. She imagined that Images had a very wealthy clientele, mostly from Charleston’s oldest families and the recently rich who needed to add the look of family heirlooms to their homes.

“Very, very elegant,” she said at last. “You have a good eye, not just for the art, but for how to showcase it. I’m impressed.” She gestured toward a familiar desk that had once been in the Forsythes’ living room. “You’re not selling off the family treasures, are you?”

“Hardly. My mother’s horrified enough that I insisted on bringing some of Great-grandmother’s prized pieces to a shop. If she thought they might wind up in someone else’s home, she’d probably disown me. As it is, I’ve convinced her to think of this as an unofficial museum.” She grinned. “It helped that it gave her an excuse to go shopping for some new furniture for the house.”

“You have a great talent for display, though,” Dinah said, truly impressed. “I imagine everyone who comes in wants to take the entire package—art and presentation.”

Maggie beamed at the compliment. “Does that mean I can sell you something before you leave? It’s been a slow morning.”

“You could if I had someplace to put it. Unfortunately our house is packed to the rafters, as you well know.”

“I remember,” Maggie said. “Isn’t it time you started to look for a place of your own, if you’re going to stick around? Just think how beautifully you’ll be able to furnish it with all those antiques your folks have hidden away in the attic. I could help you sort through them.” Her expression brightened. “And I know the perfect place for you. There’s a wonderful carriage house on the market just a few blocks from here. The owner’s anxious to sell because she’s relocating to California, so I imagine you can get a good deal if you act quickly.”

Dinah automatically shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m not ready for that.”

“But you just said …” Maggie regarded her with confusion. “Surely you don’t want to go on living at home.”

“It’s not forever,” Dinah said. “Just till I get my bearings.”

“Get your bearings? Are you sure you’re not afraid that you’ll change your mind about staying?”

“That’s one reason,” Dinah admitted. Not even to herself had she contemplated what she would do if Bobby didn’t fall right in with her plans for the two of them.

“And the other? I hope you’re not counting on moving into someplace with Bobby,” Maggie said, frowning.

“You say that as if it’s a totally ridiculous notion,” Dinah said, grateful that her friend had given her the perfect opening for her interrogation. She used her very real annoyance to lay out the questions she wanted answered. “Why is that, Maggie? What do you know about Bobby that you’re not telling me?”

Maggie didn’t look the slightest bit intimidated by her accusatory tone. She held up her hands. “Not my place to say another word.”

“You and Cord,” Dinah muttered in disgust. “You’re both tossing out all these maddening hints and innuendoes, but neither one of you has the guts to just say what’s on your mind. I never thought I’d live to see the day when I’d be lumping you in with Cordell Beaufort. You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“I am your friend, which is why I have no intention of getting caught in the middle of this. I’ve already told you my opinion and you’ve rejected it, so I’m staying out of it from now on,” Maggie replied. “And when did you see Cord again, by the way?”

“What makes you think I’ve seen him again?”

“Because it’s obvious you’re still exasperated. Since you rarely hold a grudge for long, I figure he must have done something recent to get you all stirred up again. Am I right? Have you seen him?”

Dinah saw no real point in hiding it beyond depriving Maggie of a chance to gloat. “Last night, if you must know.”

Maggie’s eyes brightened. “Oh, really? How utterly fascinating.”

“It wasn’t fascinating. It was exasperating.” And maybe just a little surprising, when she thought about how gently he’d held her when she’d suffered another one of those disconcerting panic attacks. “Stop trying to make something out of me running into Cordell.”

If anything, Maggie only looked more amused. “Where did the two of you cross paths? The grocery store, perhaps? On the street?”

“Back out at his place,” Dinah admitted defensively. “And don’t even go there. I can see that you want to make something out of that, but I went back to look for Bobby. Period.”

“I was merely going to comment that you seem to be making yourself at home out there,” Maggie teased.

“I’ve been there twice,” Dinah replied impatiently. Then, since Maggie didn’t seem to be buying it, she added emphatically, “Both times looking for Bobby.”

“Has it occurred to you yet that you’re looking for him in the wrong place?”

Dinah stared at her in sudden confusion. “What do you mean? He lives there, doesn’t he?”

“Usually,” Maggie said.

Dinah bit back a groan. “What does that mean? Please don’t tell me he’s living right here in town.”

“Actually you might have better luck finding him in Atlanta,” Maggie admitted with apparent reluctance.

“Atlanta? What on earth is he doing in Atlanta?” She frowned at Maggie. “And don’t tell me you don’t know because I can tell that you do. It’s time to start spilling some information, Maggie, or I’m going to have to wonder if you’re not as anxious as Cord is to keep the two of us apart. He has a history of it. You don’t.”

Maggie sighed. “You’re really not going to drop this whole ridiculous notion you have about getting together with Bobby, are you?”

“No. At least not till I’ve spoken to him and he tells me that he wants no part of what we used to have.”

“That’s what I was afraid of. Okay, he’s over in Atlanta working.”

“Permanently?”

“No. He’s been handling a project over there for a while now, a few months at least.”

“Why the hell didn’t Cord just tell me that?” Dinah grumbled, the scowled at Maggie. “Why didn’t you?”

“I just did.”

“You could have mentioned it the other day. I could have seen him in Atlanta by now.”

“What would have been the fun in that?” Maggie asked. “I’ve already told you that I think you’re wasting your time on Bobby. Personally, I like the idea of you and Cord butting up against each other and setting off sparks for a while. I think it’s just what you need.”

“I don’t,” Dinah replied emphatically. “So just tell me what you know. How can I reach Bobby in Atlanta? Do you suppose he’s renting someplace? Or is he staying in a hotel?”

Maggie shrugged. “I have no idea. You could ask Cord.”

Dinah frowned at the suggestion. “I am done asking Cordell anything at all.”

Maggie’s lips twitched. “Is that because you don’t like the answers he’s giving you or because you’re starting to like the fireworks a little too much?”

Dinah regarded her friend impatiently. “You really need to get a life.”

“Probably so,” Maggie agreed readily. “But until I do, I’m happy to meddle in yours.”

“Stop it,” Dinah pleaded. “Especially if you have some insane notion that Cord and I are the perfect match.”

“Maybe not perfect,” Maggie said thoughtfully. “But darn close, and definitely hot.”

Dinah gave her a helpless look. “You’ve never even seen us together. What makes you think there is anything hot between us?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Maggie said, laughter in her eyes, “even if a woman would have to be dead not to react to Cord, it’s written all over your face every time you mention his name. The man ties you up in knots.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Dinah scoffed, then hesitated. Much as she hated to admit it, Maggie did know her well. “What do you think you see when I mention Bobby?”

“Comfortable,” Maggie said at once.

“Perfect,” Dinah said happily. “Comfortable is exactly what I’m after.”

“Maybe so, but it’s not what’s best for you and it is definitely not what will make you happy, not for the long haul.”

“And you know that because?”

“Because I’ve known you all your life and I know your deepest, darkest secrets. Cordell Beaufort was always the one who made your heart pound.”

“Only because he infuriated me,” Dinah snapped. “Which you are starting to do, as well.”

Maggie merely laughed. “Because you know I’m right. Now that we’ve established that, let’s talk about dinner. Are you free tonight?”

So she could listen to more of Maggie’s absurd theories?

Not a chance, Dinah thought. “I’m busy tonight,” she said.

“Doing what? Trying to track down Bobby?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact. If he doesn’t have a number listed with information, I will call every hotel in Atlanta till I find him,” she said with grim determination. Maggie and Cord might be totally opposed to this, but she knew what she needed and it was Bobby Beaufort. “If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to work the phones to find someone who doesn’t want to be found.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier just to ask Cord?” Maggie repeated.

“Been there, done that,” Dinah reminded her. “Whatever his reasons, Cord doesn’t seem inclined to share what he knows.”

Besides, if there was any chance at all that Maggie might have it exactly right about her attraction to Cordell, Dinah needed to keep the contact between them to a minimum. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by something that didn’t have a chance of turning into anything more than a wild, no doubt self-destructive fling.

The minute Dinah got home she headed straight for her father’s den. He kept all sorts of phone books around. There was bound to be one for Atlanta. The bank probably did a lot of business there.

She was sitting on the antique Aubusson carpet, pulling phone books out of a credenza and piling them haphazardly on the floor, when Maybelle came in.

“What on earth are you doing in here?” the housekeeper demanded, looking dismayed. “Besides making a mess of your daddy’s stuff, that is. You know how he likes everything in order. Never known a man to be so set in his ways.”

Dinah grimaced. Maybelle was right about that. When he noticed them at all, Marshall Davis liked his life and his surroundings to be orderly.

“I’ll put it all back,” Dinah promised, then grinned. “How many times do you suppose you came in here and had to set things to rights before Daddy came home and pitched a fit?”

“Once a day from the time you could walk,” Maybelle responded at once, a tolerant smile on her face at the memory.

“And how many times did he find me out, anyway?”

“Most every one,” Maybelle said, grinning. “That daddy of yours surely did dote on you, though. If your mother or me got so much as a paper clip out of place in here, he’d raise the roof. If it was Tommy Lee, he’d paddle his behind. But if it was you who turned things upside down, he’d just smile and say one day that curiosity of yours was going to pay off big-time. Turned out he was right about that.”

Even so, Maybelle frowned at the chaos Dinah had created. “You’re too big for me to be following around after you and cleaning up your messes, young lady. You put those things back before your daddy gets home, you hear. He might not be so tolerant these days. You’re a grown-up woman who ought to know better than to mess with someone else’s things.”

“It’s a few phone books, Maybelle. Not top secret files.”

“In his mind, there’s not much difference.”

Dinah laughed. “Stop fussing. I can handle Daddy.”

After the housekeeper left, Dinah finally found the current Atlanta phone directory and flipped through the pages. She found two Robert Beauforts and one Bobby, but after calling all three numbers, it was evident none was the right man. She called information to see if there happened to be a more recent listing that hadn’t made the directory, but she struck out there, too.

That left hotels and motels, she concluded with a sigh. She dragged over the Yellow Pages and started with the downtown hotels. It was a mindless, tedious task, but that was just about all she could cope with.

She’d made at least a dozen fruitless calls, when she heard her father’s voice escalating in the foyer. It was countered by her mother’s equally exasperated response. Dinah sat there in shock. She’d never heard either of them raise their voices. It wasn’t that they hadn’t had disagreements. It was just that her mother especially had been brought up to believe that a raised voice was unseemly. She soothed and placated when it was called for. She certainly didn’t shout.

Listening to them now, but unable to discern what the argument was about, Dinah sat frozen in place. She’d always assumed that her parents’ marriage was calm, if not passionate. She’d seen nothing since coming home to change that view. So, what had she missed? Was this heated discussion an anomaly or was it a significant symptom of a problem they’d been hiding from her? Did they feel free to argue now because they thought she was out of the house? Or were they so furious that they simply didn’t care if she overheard? Whatever the explanation was, hearing them was an unwelcome shock.

She was tempted to open the door and step into the hallway, but concluded that would only embarrass all of them. She stayed where she was and hoped that her father would go upstairs to change clothes, rather than stepping directly into his den as he usually did.

Luck wasn’t with her. The door to the den opened and he stalked into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. When he spotted Dinah, he stopped short. Embarrassment sent a tide of red flooding his handsome, patrician face.

“You heard, I suppose,” he said, looking chagrined.

“Just that you were arguing,” she said. “Not what it was about.”

He nodded slowly. “That’s good, then.”

“Can I help?”

His lips curved slightly. “Your mother and I have been working out our own problems for a lot of years now. I don’t think we need counseling from you.”

He said it without rancor, but somehow it stung. Dinah busied herself with putting away the phone directories to avoid having him see the hurt that was in her eyes. Maybe she hadn’t been around for years now, but she still considered herself to be a part of this family, not some intrusive outsider. Her father finally muttered a curse under his breath, then hunkered down beside her. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Dinah. I was just trying to say that there’s no need for you to get all worked up over this. Your mother and I have been doing this a long time now. We’ve survived so far.”

Dinah regarded him with disbelief. “I never once heard the two of you argue.”

“Because we didn’t want you to,” he said reasonably. “Sounds as if we did one thing right.”

She studied him curiously. “You did a lot of things right. You were great parents.”

“Thanks for saying that, though it seems like you’re revising history a bit,” he said, his eyes suddenly sparkling with amusement. “Didn’t you tell us we were smothering you right before you left for New York and college?”

“Of course I did,” she said, nudging him with her elbow. “How else do you think I’d have gotten out of here without drowning the two of you in tears? There was a part of me that wanted to stay right here in my safe little cocoon.”

His expression sobered and he gave her a penetrating look. “Is that what you’re doing now, hunkering down someplace safe?”

Apparently Dinah had always sold her father short. It seemed he had more intuition than she’d ever given him credit for. “Maybe just a little,” she admitted.

“Did something happen over there?” he asked. “I mean something worse than the obvious mayhem you must have seen on a daily basis?” He searched her face, a worried crease in his forehead. “Dammit, Dinah, did someone hurt you?” he demanded angrily.

She winced at his sharp tone. “A lot of things happened over there,” she said a little too lightly, hoping to change the entire tenor of the conversation. She knew the kind of things he must be imagining and she didn’t want to go there.

“You know what I mean, Dinah,” he chided. “If there’s something on your mind, if you were hurt in some way—any way—you surely know that you can talk to me or your mother about it. Does it have anything to do with what happened a few months ago? Were you just covering up when you said you were fine so we wouldn’t worry?”

“I am fine and I do know I can always talk to you.”

He lifted his brows at her quick response. “Of course, you should know that, but just in case you’d rather talk to someone else, I do know a few people who are good listeners and more impartial than your mother and I.”

She gave him a startled look. “You mean a shrink?” It was the very last thing she’d ever expected to hear her father suggest.

He seemed amused by her surprise. “Yes, a shrink. There’s no shame in asking for help, Dinah. I imagine a lot of folks coming home from that war over there could use professional counseling to deal with what they’ve been through. When I came back from Vietnam, I wish I’d done that, rather than wrestling with all those demons on my own.”

His admission barely registered, though she knew it was something she would ponder later. It wasn’t the same for her. She wasn’t a troubled soldier.

“I don’t need a psychiatrist,” she said sharply. “I’m just a little tired. A couple more weeks of rest and I’ll be good as new.”

Her father didn’t look as if he believed her, but he nodded finally. “So what were you looking for in here? Can I help?”

She realized that he might very well know exactly how she could get in touch with Bobby, but she didn’t want to ask. She wasn’t entirely sure why, either. Maybe it was because she didn’t want to have to explain to her very traditional father why she wanted to find a man she hadn’t seen in more than a decade. Or maybe it was because she was afraid he, like Cord and Maggie, would not agree hers was a good idea and then withhold some crucial piece of information.

“I’d just like to borrow one of your phone books, if you don’t mind,” she said.

“Of course,” he said at once. “Just put it back when you’re finished.”

“Believe me, I will,” she said fervently, taking the Atlanta directory and giving her father a quick kiss before heading back up to her room.

She assured herself it was better to finish this search the way she’d started … on her own.

After all, she thought a little ruefully, she’d been independent and proud of it for a number of years now. Somehow, though, in recent months independence had lost its allure.