A Walk In The Wilderness (29 page)

    She need not have been nervous.  She went downstairs to discover that David had not made an appearance yet, and it was noon.  He did not make an appearance until time for dinner.

    “He sometimes does this after a long tour, my dear.  He simply has to catch up on his sleep.  Think nothing of it.  He’ll be better this evening, and better yet tomorrow.”  Grace comforted her.  “What are you planning to wear to dinner tonight?” she asked gleefully.

     Caitlin smiled and blushed.  “Oh.  Perhaps some blue jeans and a tee shirt.”  she teased.  “Really, I don’t know.”  she sighed.  “I hadn’t thought about it all that much.”

      “May I suggest that it be sexy?”

      Caitlin blushed deeply.  “You may.”  she consented.

     Caitlin chose a midnight blue dress that had a beautiful, floral embossing.  It was a bit above the knee and cut to show her cleavage.  It was in Velvet, and simply spectacular.  She had heels to match, and she took extra pains with her appearance before she went down.

     David met her at the bottom of the stairs, and watched her with pleasure as she descended.  He took her hand and kissed it, before he pulled her into his arms for a hug.  “Hello, Cait.” he said affectionately.  “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

      “It’s good to see you too, David.”  she said with a smile. 

      “Did you catch up on your rest when you got home?”

      She nodded.  “I did.  Your mother spoils me rotten, you know.”

     David chuckled.  “Good for her.”  he said, laying a hand in the small of her back.  “I suspect that you two are very good for one another.”

      “We certainly enjoy ourselves.”  Caitlin admitted.  “But we miss you.”

    David gave her a sly, pleased look.  “Do you?”  he asked with surprise.  “That’s a good sign.”

    She gave him a look that chastised.  “As if you didn’t know that you are missed when you’re away.”

       He smiled.  “It doesn’t break my heart to hear you say it.” 

     He pushed in her chair at the table, and took his seat.  His mother was already seated and waiting for them.  He met his mother’s expectant look with a raised eyebrow.

      “Just look at what David bought for me in Paris.  I’ve wanted one for so long!”  Grace said to Caitlin excitedly.  She held out her arm and turned it over so that the lights from the chandelier glittered and dazzled over the diamonds in the bracelet that David and Cait had picked out together. 

   Caitlin smiled, and met Grace’s eyes happily.  “It’s lovely, Grace.” she complimented sweetly.  She looked at Grace for signs of any other gifts from the jeweler, but there didn’t appear to be any in evidence. 

      They ate a hearty dinner, and David certainly did his justice.  He hadn’t eaten since dinner the afternoon before. 

      “So, tell us about Paris.”  Grace suggested when they’d finished their meal.

     David shrugged.  “It was very mundane after Cait left.” he said.  “I did my show every night, and ate and slept.  That’s about it.  I took some walks, thought and prayed a lot.  I swam every day, and that’s all, really.”

       Grace gave him a scolding.  “You didn’t see the Eiffel Tower?”

      “Sure.  Cait and I saw it.”  He looked at Caitlin and smiled.  “And I think that Skyler has felt a bit of repentance.” he mused.

     “Really?”  Cait asked suspiciously. 

     “He wanted me to say hello to you.  He let me know that he wants the best for you, and so he’s bowing out.  He’s sorry for Connie’s torment, and he hopes that we’ll be happy.  He told me if I didn’t do right by you, he’d kill me.”

     “He said all that?”  Caitlin asked incredulously.

     “Pretty much.  He’s going to dump Connie, and he expects her to get violent.  I really think he may be coming to his senses.”

    “Well.  That’s quite something.”  Caitlin said slowly.  “Did you tell him that there’s nothing between us?”

     David gave her a lazy smile.  “He grilled me quite extensively about the extent of our relationship.  He didn’t seem to accept the idea that we’ve not been intimate, though I told him the absolute truth about it.”

     Caitlin blushed.  “So he knows I’m here?”

     “No, I don’t think so.  He knew I’d be seeing you, though.  He’s convinced that I’m still pursuing you.”

      She blushed harder, and Grace chuckled.  “What did you tell him, then?”

      David gave his mother a bland look.  “That it was none of his business.”

     Grace smiled.  “I see.”  she said lightly.  Her eyes teased David, but she kept her lip buttoned.

     David talked most of the evening about the tour and all that had happened.  Cait added some bits about Paris, and Grace told them stories from her youth when she had visited the city of romance with David’s father.

     David turned in early, still exhausted despite twelve hours of sleep.  He told Caitlin that it was often a two or three day job to recuperate from a tour, especially when one added a bit of jet lag.  Caitlin decided to walk up with him, and go to bed with a book. 

     “I’ve been approached about doing a tour of the United States.”  he said as they climbed the stairs. 

     “Really?  That sounds exciting.”  she murmured.  “It would last quite a long time, I suppose.”

      “Three months.”  he confirmed.  “But it would be quite lucrative.”

      “No doubt.  Would Grace pine for you?”

     He laughed.  “I’m sure that she would, unless you were here with her.  You aren’t planning on leaving any time soon, are you?”

      “No.”  she said slowly.  “Actually, I’m delighted with my job.”

      He put an arm up against the wall, over her head.  “Good.  I was afraid that it would be a disappointment, after training for Therapy.”

      “Not at all.  I chose that field simply because it’s fairly lucrative and because of the plethora of job opportunities.”  she admitted.

      He smiled.  “Good.  Well, Caitie.  Good night, love.”  he said.  He pulled her close and kissed her cheek.

      Caitlin’s heart plummeted.  She always thought … that this would be the time that he’d kiss her mouth.  But he never did.  As she closed her door behind her, she sighed. 

CHAPTER EIGHT             

     He was never going to kiss her.  She may as well face that.  He would have done by now, if he were going to.  He just wasn’t interested, or else he wasn’t willing to risk getting involved with her.  After all, he had hired her to do a job, to be his mother’s companion.  Nowhere in the agreement did it say that he had to kiss her.

    Tears found their way down Caitlin’s cheeks.  She cried bitterly into her pillow for a long time.  She loved the man, and it was very hard for her to suffer his near distance.  But, she had no choice in the matter.

    Caitlin awoke in the morning to an atmosphere of abject misery.  She ached with disappointment because David wasn’t moving closer.  She hated it, but she was being pulled down into a spinning cycle of emotions.  She stayed in bed and let tears slip out of her eyes for a good hour. 

     She didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to face David or Grace.  It was horrible to love David and never have him fulfill her dreams.  And so many times, she had sincerely thought he would.  Didn’t everyone who’d ever seen them together?

    She got up and took a hot bath at noon, and that helped.  At least she felt clean and rested.  She shaved and gave her hair a hot oil treatment.  Anything to delay going downstairs and seeing him again.  It was such torment, and she felt like a fool.

     Finally, she knew that it would seem odd if she didn’t go down immediately.  She got dressed and put on some very light makeup.  She wore a long, flowing dress in teal that pulled out the color in her eyes.  She thought that she looked sad and melancholy, and tried to force a smile to her lips.  It didn’t come easily.

      She slowly descended the stairs, loathe to encounter anyone.  There was no one in the kitchen but Cookie.  “Hello, Miss Cait.  Care for a bite to eat?” she asked kindly.

      “Well;  yes, I suppose.  How’s the soup today, Cookie?”

    “Oh, miss.  I’d have to say it’s turned out quite tasty.  Vegetable beef and barley.”  she advised heartily.

      “I’ll try a cup of that.”  she decided with a smile.

     No one disturbed her quick meal, and she went back upstairs to brush her teeth again.  Once she’d completed that, and put on some lip gloss, she went out into the hall.  There was no noise.  She went back into her room and fell across the bed in a slump.  She dreaded meeting David, and then she was depressed when she didn’t.

     Caitlin awoke to the sound of music.  She sat up and gasped when she saw the clock.  It was five in the afternoon, and she had quite obviously gone back to sleep.  It was time for dinner.  She smoothed her dress down, and decided it would do for the evening meal.  She brushed her hair, put on some cologne and went down.

      David was at the piano.  Caitlin smiled and waved her fingers as she went by, in search of Grace.  She found her friend waiting at the dinner table.

      “Hello, dear.  Don’t you look lovely?”  Grace asked hoarsely.

      “What’s this?  Are you ill?”  Caitlin asked worriedly.

     “Oh, just a bit of a cold has got me down.  I’ll be all right.”  Grace grumbled.  “Some soup, and then back to bed for me though, I’m afraid.   You and David will have to see to your own entertainment tonight.”

      “Of course.”  Cait agreed kindly.

      David joined them, looking slender and handsome in jeans and a white shirt.  It was almost painful for Cait to look at him.  Her heart was so heavy, and she loved him so desperately.

      “Did you sleep the day away again, darling?”  Grace asked her son.

     “An indecent amount of it, yes.” he admitted with a bashful grin.  “But I think I’m about to catch it up.  You are not well.”

     “It’s just a cold, dear.  I think that I will wander back to bed and let you two fend for yourselves tonight, though.”

     David lowered his eyes, and took a sip of wine before he smiled at his mother.  “Of course.”  he agreed.  “Caitie and I will do just fine, though we’ll miss you.”  He leveled a smoky look at Caitlin over his glass. 

     She blushed and lowered her lashes, as she always did when he gave her such glances.  She wished to heaven that for once, she could have the fortitude to meet and return them.

     Grace smiled with satisfaction and concentrated on her meal.  She excused herself at the earliest opportunity, and went back to her room. 

     David smiled at Cait across the table.  She wasn’t eating.  “Why the long face?” he asked lightly.

    “Me?”  she asked, shocked.  She hadn’t realized that her misery was so apparent.  “Oh.  I’m just … I don’t know.  Perhaps I’m coming down with Grace’s cold or something.” she lied.

      He shook his head.  “That won’t do.”  he denied. 

    There wasn’t much conversation as they finished dinner, and Caitlin was actually glad to leave the table.  She was miserable every time she looked at David, but worse when she kept her eyes away.  She was lovesick beyond comprehension.  She didn’t know what to do, anymore.  She understood now as never before, how horrible unrequited love could be.  She’d never fathomed such pain.

     David took her hand as they walked away from the table, and smiled at her.  She felt tears start in her eyes, and blinked them back.  “Do you feel well enough to spend a bit of time with me?” he asked considerately.  “I’ve been home for two days now, and I've hardly seen you at all.”

      She smiled.  “Sure.”  she agreed, hating herself.  To be with him was going to be torment, yet she wanted to, so much that she couldn’t help herself.  His hand in hers made her want to weep, and scream.  His cologne in her nostrils made her wild.  The warmth of him next to her was intoxicating.

     “Mind if I play a bit?” he asked.

     “I’d love it.” she agreed.  She sat on the settee in front of the fire while he took his place at the piano.  The music that began to flow was lovely, as always. 

      “Caitlin.”  he said, without looking up,  “Come here and sit with me.”

     Her blood froze.  To sit with him there on the piano bench would kill her.  She had no doubt of it.  But to refuse would take more than she had in her.  She couldn’t deny him anything.  She took a deep breath and went.

    She was miserable there, aching.  But it was also life to her, to be close to David.  He played something she’d never heard before, and she listened attentively.  When she concentrated on the music, and less on David, it was easier.

     Then he began to sing softly.

    “You are such a solitary lady.  I know that you’ve been so alone.  Did you know that you’ve long since captured my heart?  Do you know how much I’ve longed to make you my own?”

     “Do you think that you could ever love me?  Would you take me to your heart and let me in?  In the shadow of your eyes, I can swear your soul is yearning to know a love that would light the fire and drive away the cold.”

     “Lady, you’re so beautiful and fragile. Yet I know you can be strong and bold.  I can testify because you took my heart and ravished me.  You’ve captured me, my lady, heart and soul.”

    Caitlin sat there, paralyzed.  She was held by the force of his voice, the warmth of his presence.  He sang the words as though he meant every one, as though they’d just been freshly poured from his soul.  His lashes covered all expression in his eyes, his face gave no answers to her seeking eyes.  Yet as usual, she could feel him pouring himself out into the music.  There was a tenderness, a wooing that pulled at her and invaded her heart insistently,