Love Believes (Sully Point, Book 5) Page 7

  "Good. Do you want to stay up for a while?"

  Beth looked at the bed, and then said, "No, I suddenly feel quite ready to let go of today."

  "When do you need to be up?"

  "Seven-thirty would be good," she said. Eric punched a few buttons on a panel in the wall she hadn't noticed. "What's that?"

  "This has the room's controls in it. You'll hear music in the morning or an alarm sound. Which do you prefer?"

  "Uh...loud music."

  "Okay," he said and pushed one more place on the panel. "You're all set. You can adjust the heat or coolness from here, play background music, and expose the TV from here."

  "Expose the TV?"

  Maggie laughed. "It's hidden behind another panel in the wall. The house has a lot of automation, stuff Eric wanted to try out. It's fun, once you get used to it."

  "I didn't see your lab anywhere on the tour," Beth said.

  "It's out back, attached to the back of the house rather. We can go look at it in the morning," Maggie said. "Get some good sleep, Bethie and I'll make you breakfast in the morning."

  "You know how to make breakfast?"

  "I know how to make great smoothies," Maggie replied.

  "Sleep well," Eric said.

  Maggie came over and hugged Beth, then the two left the room. Beth took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was quite tired and barely had the energy to climb out of her clothes and throw on a night shirt. Within minutes she was sound asleep under a quilt made of lavender skies and green grasses.

  Chapter 4

  The morning brought a feeling of being lost for a moment, as loud music hit her ears and she woke in an unfamiliar room.

  "What the...off! Turn it off! How do I..." she stopped shouting at the room when the music ended suddenly.

  She lay back against the pillows again and considered just sleeping in for the morning. A knocking at the bedroom door made her open her eyes again. "Come in."

  Maggie bounced in, looking full of energy and too perky for Beth. "I heard the alarm. We forgot to tell you that all you do is say 'off' and it will stop. But I guess you figured it out. Ready for breakfast?"

  "Maggie, stop...moving. You're wearing me out. I'll come downstairs as soon as I get dressed and brush my teeth, okay?"

  "Sounds good. I got us some stuff from the Bakery so hurry up before I eat it all. I'm ravenous today."

  Beth got up, wondering if the events of the night before were why she felt so tired this morning. Maybe it was the aftermath of all that stress. She pulled on navy tapered pants and a sweater of green and navy swirls that fit her body snugly. Suede boots tinted a navy color came to mid-calf. She brushed out her hair, and then found a large barrette in her hand bag to pull it up so that it was off her shoulders. A few minutes later and she'd finished her makeup. She looked in the mirror and decided the shadows under her eyes needed to go, so she used concealer. That seemed to fix the problem and she smiled at herself. "There. All set. Everything normal."

  Maggie had coconut donuts and cheese Danish spread out on the marble countertop in the kitchen. Beth slid onto one of the stools there and said, "Coffee."

  "Coming up," Maggie said. She placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of Beth.

  "Thanks, Mags. I may survive this morning after all. Coconut donuts? I love those." She grabbed one and a napkin and took a big bite.

  "These are the best."

  "Oh my God, these are like donuts from heaven!"

  "Yeah, they're a specialty. The Bakery doesn't make them often, so they are a real treat. Here, have a glass of strawberry banana smoothie. It has protein powder so it's good for you."

  Beth took a sip from the glass carefully, and was surprised to find it tasty. "Good job."

  "How'd you sleep?"

  "Quite well. I didn't wake up once."

  "You can stay here again tonight if you want. We'd love to have you. We could play board games and make popcorn. It would be fun."

  Beth smiled at her sister. Maggie was such a giving person. It had been no surprise to Beth to find out Maggie now worked with the local Grainger-Carter-Tremaine foundation helping people in need.

  "I'll come here if I need to, but I want to face the apartment first. To see if I'm okay staying there tonight. I don't want to get all weird about it, you know?"

  "Yeah, I figured that. But if you don't do the sleepover thing tonight, let's plan on doing it soon, okay? I've missed you while you were so far away. And so much happened in the last year. We need a night to ourselves, so you can hear all the details."

  "You're right. We'll do it, I promise." She took another bite of her donut and watched petite Maggie bustling around her kitchen. She was just beginning to show, and Beth couldn't picture what Maggie would look like when she was nine months pregnant. "Do you have names picked out for the baby yet?"

  Maggie looked at her with a big smile. "Yes. For a girl I thought Vesper would be nice."

  "Uh...Vesper?"

  "Yes. And for a boy, Butler."

  "Butler? But won't all the school kids shorten that to 'Butt' or something like that?"

  Maggie looked stricken. "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. Hmm. Maybe I'd better keep looking for a boy's name."

  "And isn't Vesper the same as evening prayers?"

  "It also means evening star," Maggie said, a bit defensively. She frowned. "You think it's weird?"

  "You want me to be honest?"

  "You do think it's weird!"

  "A little. But you do what you want. Just remember, the kid is going to have to live with that name."

  Maggie sighed. "Maybe you've got a point. I'll have to tell Eric. I hope he's not too disappointed if we don't use these. He was so enthusiastic when I told him the names I'd picked out."

  "Good luck with that. But now, I need to get going."

  "Call me later, okay? And let me know how you're doing?"

  "Okay, I will. Thanks for everything, Maggie," Beth said. She went around the counter island to give her sister a hug. "I'll call."

  She walked out to her car, glad she'd insisted on driving it over last night. She was going to be early for work, but she felt the need to settle in there. When she arrived at the building and walked in, Julia jumped up from her desk and hurried over.

  "How are you doing? Cody told me all about it. You know you can stay with us if you need to, and just let me know if there's anything I can do."

  "Thanks, Julia. I stayed at Maggie's last night, but I plan to stay at the apartment tonight. I'll be fine. I mean...I am fine. Already. I'm fine."

  Julia's blue eyes darkened with concern. "You suffered a trauma having someone break in like that. Don't just push it away and act like it didn't happen, okay?"

  "I hear you, but this morning I just want to get to work and feel normal."

  Julia patted her on the shoulder. "Do you want any coffee to take up there with you? And should we put in a coffee maker upstairs do you think?"

  "That might be a good idea and prevent me from spilling it on the stairs on the way up each day. But I don't need any coffee at the moment. I'll get some later when I take a break."

  Julia nodded and Beth turned to go upstairs. "Oh Beth, you might want to know, Mr. Christopher is already up there," Julia said.

  Beth whirled around. "What? He is? Now?"

  "Yes. He said he wanted to get an early start."

  "Okay, that's...fine. Whatever." She turned and slowly walked up the stairs.

  When she entered the office, she stopped dead at the threshold and stared at a vase full of spring flowers, a mix of all different types sitting on her desk. And behind the desk sat Mr. Christopher...William.

  "Hello," she said, and walked in.

  He looked up and his eyes seemed bluer than usual as they widened in surprise. Then he smiled at her and she felt all warm inside. "I wasn't sure you'd be here today."

  "I need to be here, to get back to normal. The flowers..."

  "I thought they might brighten your day." He stopp
ed talking for a minute and his gaze searched her face as if looking for something. Then he nodded at her. "You'll do. I didn't know your favorite flower so I got a variety."

  "These are great. And I don't actually have a favorite flower. I never really thought about it."

  "No? And here I was thinking every woman had a favorite flower. Maybe you just haven't gotten enough flowers yet in your life to decide."

  She felt herself blushing and moved to set down her bag. "Maybe. But now you need to get up from there and let me work."

  He chuckled, but got up from the chair and out from behind the desk. "According to both Milton and Angelo, the delivery from Pike and Sons was short and has to be dealt with as soon as possible today. And you know, whenever both the designer and the carpenter are in agreement it's like all the planets being in alignment or something, so I guess we should listen to them. I'll leave you alone to get started."

  "William," she said, before he walked out.

  "Yes?"

  "Thank for the flowers. They really are lovely."

  He smiled that smile again. "You're welcome, Beth."

  She stared at the spot where he'd been standing for a minute, then shook herself and focused on the computer. She felt energized and decided that Pike and Sons had no chance against her today.

  * * * *

  Sam went into Frank Grainger's hardware store looking for pickaxes. He was writing and needed to know exactly how it felt to swing a pickaxe, something he'd never done before.

  "Sam! Just the man I need to see," Frank said.

  "Hang on, Frank. I need a pickaxe."

  "Oh sure, right over here." He led the way to that aisle, and soon Sam was hefting a pickaxe with a grin on his face.

  "This is perfect. So what did you need me for?"

  "Two things. First, don't you think we should put a better door on that apartment? I was thinking there should be something there that can't be broken down. That old door had never been replaced. You never really think about the need for security here in Sully Point."

  "Yes, that's true. I agree with you. Let's get a really good door for that apartment. Whoever uses it in the future will most likely be living there alone, so they should feel secure. I know it will help Beth to know that someone can't crash through the door like Benton did."

  The two men walked to the back of the store and decided on a steel door that Frank had ordered as a specialty once for a customer who never picked it up.

  "What was the second thing you needed to see me about, Frank?"

  "Do you think Beth would be up to a family dinner this weekend? Holly and Jason will be down and they have big news."

  "I'm sure she'd love it. You know she stayed with Maggie last night, and I already heard from Maggie this morning that Beth went in to her job. I think she's going to be okay."

  "Great!"

  "What's going on with this dinner?"

  "Holly and Jason...I'm not supposed to tell anyone. We're to all gather together to hear it and meet...oops."

  "Meet who?"

  "Okay, I'll tell you, as long as you promise not to tell anyone else."

  Sam nodded.

  "They've adopted a kid! Not a baby, but a kid about six or seven I think."

  "Congratulations Grandpa! That's excellent news." Sam knew that Holly and Jason couldn't have kids and had been working on adopting. They had a house here in Sully Point but spent work weeks in the city.

  "They want to surprise everyone. I'll be doing a dinner on Saturday night. So tell Anna to start thinking of a dessert she can bring. She does make the best ones."

  "Yes she does. And I'll tell her. That's really good news."

  "Just remember, don't spread it around. Except for Anna. You can go ahead and tell her."

  Sam laughed. "All right Frank. See you later." As Sam walked out to his car, he felt happy for Holly and Jason. They were good people and would do great with a kid. Holly was the oldest Grainger child and had been thrust into the mother role for her siblings after their mother died. Anna always said that Holly would mother anyone given half the chance. Looks like the time had come.

  * * * *

  "I'm interrupting your lunch. Should I come back later?" William asked.

  "No, I was almost done," Beth said. "It's chicken soup with dumplings that Julia brought in for me. Cody made it, and it's delicious. There's more, if you'd like some."

  "Thanks," he said with a smile. "I came in here because I smelled it and I'm starving. Plus, I wanted to see..."

  "See what?" she asked as she fixed him a large mug full of the soup.

  "I wanted to see how you were doing. You've been so busy this morning, I haven't seen you at all."

  "I'm good. Seriously. I can tell I'm going to get tired of telling people that long before they stop asking me how I'm doing. Why don't you tell me about your morning while we eat?"

  He began talking and she watched his face. It was relaxing, hearing his expressive voice filling the room as he described trying to handle Milton's extreme ideas. She noticed that his gray-blue eyes changed color depending on his mood. When he was irritated or angry they were a more steely gray, but when he was amused or relaxed they were bluer. Seeing him sitting there, all dressed in black as usual, but this day in a black turtleneck sweater filled out nicely by his chest and broad shoulders, she thought he was the most fascinating man she'd ever met.

  "Did you ever act?" she asked, as he finished telling a story.

  "Early on, yes. I prefer directing."

  "Because you get to boss everyone around," she said with a grin.

  "Er, yes," he said and smiled back at her. "I like having a vision of what the play can be, and then working to implement that idea. The whole thing becomes a work of art, a painting but in words and action, creating emotions and thoughts in the viewers. To stir an audience is a great feeling."

  "I know what you mean. I can't wait to get up on that stage again. The interaction with an audience is what I loved before, as opposed to film work."

  "Why did you go to L.A. then?"

  "A moment of defiance. A desire to move across the country and be out from under the eye of family. I mean, they're great. But I felt like I needed to grow up, do something completely on my own. I thought I'd go out there and dazzle the Hollywood crowd with my talent. It clearly didn't turn out like I expected."

  "Life can throw us some unexpected curves."

  They sat silently after that and ate their soup. Beth once again felt surprise at how comfortable she was with him. There was no need to fill the silence with words.

  * * * *

  Sam and Anna sat at the table in the kitchen nook and ate bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. Joshua had already demolished his banana and the spaghetti with mini meatballs. Sam saw his son taking aim with another meatball to throw across the table and quickly removed it from the sticky little hands.

  "Not so fast, son. No need to practice your pitching skills at meals. Anna, I think he put that banana everywhere but in his mouth."

  "I'll give him a bath after we finish lunch. I'm so excited about the adoption news. Holly must be thrilled."

  "Your father wants you to make a dessert for the dinner."

  "I will. I wonder if your parents will be here by then."

  Sam looked sharply at Anna. "You didn't tell them..."

  "About Beth? Of course I did! Why not tell them? They called to say 'hi' to Josh and wanted to know how everyone was doing. How could I not tell them?"

  "And now they're coming? Beth is not going to be happy."

  Anna frowned. "I'd think she'd want her parents around after something like this."

  "If I know Beth, she's going to be trying to get everything back to normal. Having her overprotective parents show up is going to make that more difficult. How did they sound?"

  Anna tilted her head to one side, auburn hair sliding across one shoulder. "Well...they did sound a bit upset now that you mention it. And they immediately said they were coming to visit
...and your mother might have said something about bringing her baby back home..."

  "What the heck did you tell them?"

  "I'm sorry! They were so worried when I mentioned it, they kept asking for more details and before I knew it, your father had the whole story out of me. He must have been a very good police detective because he interrogates like a pro."

  "Yes, he was a pro all right. I guess they'll have to come down now, just to reassure themselves that she's really okay. I'll just let you tell Beth they are on the way, darling."

  Anna made a face at him, and Joshua clapped and laughed.

  * * * *

  Beth was surprised to see Maggie and Eric at the door of her office in mid-afternoon. "Hey! What you are guys doing here? And what did you bring me?"

  "How do you know I brought you anything?" Maggie asked.

  "Because Eric is hiding something behind his back."

  Maggie grinned at her. "Here, give it to her, honey. It's a deluxe chocolate fudge milk shake. From Wally and Velma's Ice Cream Shoppe. They make the best ones."

  "Gimme!"

  Beth took a sip from the large cup with the straw and smiled at them both. "Thank you, it's delicious. A perfect afternoon treat. This will tide me over until dinner. Anna called and asked me to go over there after work."

  Maggie and Eric sat down in chairs opposite her desk. "We wanted to check in with you, to see if you still want to spend the night at your place tonight or come home with us," Maggie said.

  "We don't want you to rush into staying there," Eric said with a gentle smile. "Have they even got a door on your apartment yet?"

  Beth nodded. "Yes. Frank called a while ago and said they got the door installed. He's dropping off the keys soon. I think I'll be okay there, but thanks for the offer."

  "Listen to me," Maggie said. "I want you to know, really know, you can call me, or Eric, any time you want. If it's two a.m. and you have a bad dream, call me. If you get scared and want someone to stay with you, call me. I'm serious, Bethie. Call me for anything, anything at all, day or night."

  "Okay," Beth said.

  "Seriously!"

  "Okay, okay. I'll call you."

  "See we have this whole plan. If you have nightmares, we'll come over and Eric will bring his guitar and sing songs until you fall back asleep. You knew he was a singer, right? Besides being a robotics wizard?"