Season of Passion (26 page)

It looks like a garden. He looked surprised and pleased. There were flowers and plants all over the room, and lots of white Victorian wicker.

What did you expect? Black satin?

Jesus. I'd have dropped you on your ass in the doorway.

Is that so? She was smiling broadly as she unbuttoned his shirt. And what did you do in Santa Barbara, monsieur?

Shopped a little, walked a little, and missed you a lot. And with that, he sat down carefully on the bed and took her in his arms. She forgot all about what he had done in Santa Barbara.

Until the next day, when a message arrived. He had called her three times that morning after going back to L.A. He had left at six-thirty, half an hour before she got Tygue up. And so far so good, the system worked, but she wondered how long he would be able to stand it. It was a hell of a commute to L.A., three hours each way. But he had sounded chipper on the phone, and he hadn't said anything to prepare her for the arrival of a message shortly after three. It came just after Tygue got in from school. The message said that there was a package for Tygue Harper at the post office in Santa Barbara. It gave the address of a branch Kate didn't know, and said he had to pick it up in person. Kate suspected Licia was at it again. Now what? Maybe a car. She had jokingly promised to wait till he was six. Kate grinned to herself as she started the car. He had insisted on setting out at once, and he'd have been impossible to live with if she hadn't.

It took them half an hour to reach the address, but when they did, she knew there must be some mistake. It wasn't a post office, it was a house, with a tidy-looking white barn out back, and a few small corrals. Kate was about to drive away when she saw a man wave with a cowboy hat and a grin. Tygue waved back, and then the man hurried toward them, as Kate sighed. She wanted to get on with it. They still had to find the post office before it closed. But the man was already abreast of the car and looking in at them purposefully with the same big smile.

Tygue Harper?

Yes! He practically shouted it

We have a package for you. He winked at Kate, who was totally at a loss.

Is this the post office? Tygue looked excitedly from his mother to the man.

No. But we do have the package for you. And then suddenly Kate knew. She would have groaned, but she didn't dare. He had done it. She put her face in her hands and started to laugh as Tygue jumped out of the car and ran off excitedly with the man. Kate got out of the car more sedately and followed them to one of the corrals. She saw the man in the cowboy hat open the gate, and still holding tightly to Tygue's hand, lead him over to a beautifully groomed brown and blond Shetland pony. See that, son? Tygue nodded in awe-struck silence as his mother and the man in the hat looked on. That's your package, Tygue. He's all yours.

Oh ' Oh! ' OH! MOM! And then he ran toward the pony and threw his arms around its neck. It was wearing a bright red bridle and a spanking new saddle. Kate watched his face, wishing Nick could see it too. Then the man in the cowboy hat reached into his pocket and fished out two letters, one for Tygue and one for his mother.

Want me to read it to you, sweetheart? She knew he was too excited to be able to read his own name. He was cooing and stroking the little pony, who seemed enchanted with the attention.

What does it say?

It says ' She opened the letter carefully and smiled at the message. It says, Thought this would look nice with the new cowboy suit your mom got you in L.A. He's all yours. Give him a good name, and I'll be seeing you in the rodeo real soon. Nick.'

Wow! Can I keep it? He looked at her imploringly and she nodded.

I guess so. Nick said he's all yours, didn't he?

Tygue nodded ferociously.

Then you can keep him. What are you going to call him? But in the pit of her stomach there was suddenly a squeamish twinge. This was an enormous gift Just what did it mean?

His name is Brownie. This time he didn't need to ask Willie. He knew instantly.

And then she had a minute to open her own letter from Nick. Fifteen minutes to buy flowers. Ten minutes to buy chocolates. Five minutes looking in the phone book for name of stables. Twenty minutes getting here. Sixty-five minutes to choose pony and make arrangements. Five minutes to dream of you. Two hours, all accounted for. I love you, darling. See you later. Love, Nick. And then he had added a P.S. explaining that he'd made all the necessary arrangements to leave the horse there, unless she wanted him taken over to the Adams ranch, but they could discuss that later among other things.

The other things took priority when he reached the house at midnight. When he arrived, they went straight to the bedroom and Nick unraveled his tired body on the bed with a sigh and a smile.

Long night? Kate smiled over at him, still a little startled at the newness of seeing a man on her bed.

Not really. I was just anxious to get back here all day. And it felt like it took forever to tape the show tonight and drive up here.

That's quite a commute, Mr. Waterman.

I think you're worth it, Mrs. Harper. He sat up on the bed and held out his arms as she stood for a moment and watched him. And then slowly she walked toward him and sat down next to him as he pulled her closer. Feeling shy tonight, Kate?

Maybe a little. They smiled again, and he pressed his lips down softly on hers. She didn't feel shy a moment later when he slid his hand into her shirt and ran it over her breast until her nipple was hard in his fingers. She felt an urgency begin to build in her loins as his mouth pressed harder on hers, and his hand found her other breast. The years of celibacy seemed to melt from her body once again, as his hands searched the silk of her flesh, and then finally moved downward until he found what he wanted.

It was hours before they had had enough of each other, and they lay side by side amid the rumpled sheets. He was smoking a cigarette and she was drawing circles on his chest with a lazy finger. He turned to her then and for the first time in hours, he remembered Tygue.

What about the pony? Did he like it?

Are you kidding? He almost died on the spot But there was a moment of silence before she said anything further, and Nick glanced over at her with a smile.

And? ' There's more in your voice, Kate. Angry at me?

Angry? How could I be? No ' But he was right. There was something more. She looked at him squarely and her brow furrowed for a moment. I don't know how to say this, Nick, it sounds so ungrateful. He was thrilled with the pony, and it's an unbelievable present for a little boy. It's like a dream come true. You're like a dream come true. Maybe that's what's bothering me though. What I'm trying to say ' I don't want all of this to be just a dream. I don't want you to be a dream. I want all of this to be real. And maybe ' maybe if'

Maybe if I just vanish, then where will you both be? Is that it, Kate? He looked as though he understood all that she felt, and she was relieved that he didn't look angry.

I guess that is it, Nick. What would happen if suddenly you weren't here anymore? One minute ponies and presents and promises of Disneyland, and the next' She didn't want to finish the sentence, but she looked truly worried. And the business of spoiling Tygue worried her too. It was too much like Tom's grandiose generosity ' near the end.

I'm going to be here, Kate. For a long, long time. As long as you'll let me be here. I'm not going anywhere. That was what Tom had said. But life wasn't like that. She knew better now.

You don't know that. You have no control over that. You may want to be here, but you never know what fate has in store for you.

Darling he leaned carefully toward her and took her worried face in his hands what I love most about you is your optimism. She grinned sheepishly up at him and shrugged.

I guess it'll just take me time to adjust to all the good things that are happening to me.

It may take Tygue a little while to adjust too. Don't kid yourself, even the bearers of ponies and promises of Disneyland can be viewed with suspicion.

I think you've gotten off lucky though. I was all set for him to resent you like crazy, but he doesn't She was still amazed.

He probably will, when he figures out that I'm here to stay. He kept saying that here to stay. How did he know? How could he be so sure? What if it didn't work out? In a way, it frightened her that he was so sure of himself.

Come on, Kate, you look tired. Enough of all this worry-wart shit. I love you, and I think Tygue is terrific, and I'm not going to run out on either of you. And I also won't spoil him rotten if you don't want me to. No more ponies. He grinned at her and tugged at a lock of her hair. Not for at least a week anyway.

You sound just like Licia.

Christ, I hope I don't look like her.

Not in the least, my love. And with a slow happy smile, Kate forgot about her son and stretched out her arms to her lover again. It was almost four o'clock in the morning when they stopped making love, and Kate lit a cigarette with a contented sigh. She glanced over at her alarm clock and winced.

You're going to be so tired tomorrow.

What about you? Can you go back to bed after Tygue goes to school? He looked worried about her. She did a lot in a day too. He could always sleep when he got back to L.A.; except on rare occasions, he didn't have to be at the studio until three. Most of the show's procedures were pretty well set, so he rarely left his house before two, except when he had a date for lunch.

Kate sighed in answer to his question about going back to bed, No. I'm going up to Carmel tomorrow.

To teach?

She nodded. But she hated lying to him.

Could I go with you sometime? I'd like to see what you do,

But she looked away and stubbed out the last of the cigarette before answering. He couldn't see her face, and when he could, he wasn't sure what he saw. Distance more than anything else. It surprised him. And he saw something hidden in her eyes, which bothered him more.

They don't let me bring anyone with me. It's kind of a difficult place.

Do you like it? He was searching for something as he looked at her, but he wasn't sure what.

She closed her eyes. As those places go, yes. Oh God, she wanted to get off this subject, but she had to sound convincing. She had to make it sound like a job. She couldn't tell him about Tom. Not yet. Not even Nick.

Can't you do something like that closer to home? She shook her head. He almost hated to ask any more questions, and besides, they were both tired. He had other things on his mind, too. He ran a hand softly up her leg, and she looked at him in surprise. She was glad he wasn't pushing the subject of what she did in Carmel. The hand on the inside of her thigh traveled up and she smiled and reached out for him.

Again?

Is that a complaint? He was smiling softly too. Something happened between their bodies that had never happened to him with anybody else, not quite like that. It was a kind of ecstasy neither of them had ever known. And when the alarm rang at six neither of them regretted their night without sleep.

Did you teach today? He looked at her carefully as he sat down in a chair by the fire. He had just come in, and with a smile at Kate he loosened his tie. She looked almost as tired as he did.

Yeah, I taught. There was a moment's pause. How was the show? It had been a hard day with Tom too. He had a cold and sore throat and twice he had cried.

The show was a killer. He named three of Hollywood's top stars, two of them female and known to be at war with each other. But he didn't want to talk about the show. He wanted to talk about the one thing she wasn't telling him. And he wanted to know why. Something had continued to bother him for weeks. Discrepancies, little threads. Something. It had gnawed at him on the drive back to L.A. that morning. It had been gnawing at him ever since he met her. Just tiny, tiny pieces of the puzzle that were always left out. Things she didn't say, years she didn't talk about And some of the things she did talk about had bothered him too. The way her parents had abandoned her, her distrust of fate, her years alone with Tygue, and the teaching job where she couldn't bring anyone along. As he sat over his third cup of coffee on his terrace in L.A., he had felt a sudden urgency about knowing the answers, and he had plenty of sources for the answers he wanted. Maybe yet another night without sleep was giving him crazy ideas, but what the hell, he had nothing to lose by looking for an explanation, and she didn't have to know. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for, but he knew there was something. And his first question had to do with her name, and the book. That was the first coincidence that didn't sit right. She knew too much about football, about ' the answers had come back over a period of days and had finally tied into one solid story one afternoon, just before five o'clock as he sat in his office at the studio. The answer didn't surprise him at all. The man at the studio research office was his friend, and Nick had already told him that the inquiry was highly confidential and entirely personal. He wasn't worried about a leak. But he hated what he heard. For her sake.

I found out just about all I can on the girl you had me check out. But first, let me tell you what else I found.

Funnily enough, I didn't even remember the guy until we came across the clips from the show. I called the papers and the newsroom archives at the network after that. Tom Harper, he was a big football star about ten years back. We had him on the show three or four times, when Jasper still worked out of New York. Before your time, Nick. Anyway, he was a nice guy, I think. America's number one hero. I don't know why the name didn't click when you asked me this morning. He was a pro hero for eight or nine years until his career started to slide. I don't remember the details but he started getting into trouble, his career was on the rocks, he was getting too old for pro ball. Did some crazy thing like try to shoot the team owner, or manager or something, and wiped himself out instead.

Killed himself? But now Nick was remembering the story too. He had even met Harper once or twice when he himself was starting out in pro football. How quickly they had all forgotten. Six, seven, maybe eight years before, it had been big news, and now it took a research office to jolt the name back into mind. Kate would have been pleased to know that.