Simple Deceit (The Harmony Series 2) (16 page)

Even putting him up on the couch bordered on being inappropriate. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any other choice. Eric’s truck was out of the picture, and my car was still in town. Not that my Bug had a chance of making it through the huge snowdrifts the wind had created. The only other mode of transportation within a reasonable distance was Zebediah. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t take kindly to being hauled out into the middle of a snowstorm. Of course, Eric probably wouldn’t be too thrilled either to be stuck on the backside of an old horse in weather like this. Even though our situation wasn’t funny, the image that popped into my mind made me giggle.

I stared out the window toward the trees where I’d seen the light the night before. It felt more like a month ago. I’d been so upset. Now the whole thing seemed almost unimportant.

I waited until the cocoa was ready and took it to Eric. I was a little disappointed to find out that he looked better in my sweats and sweatshirt than I did.

“Didn’t you make yourself some?” he asked after taking a sip.

“No. I really don’t need any more sugar tonight. However, I definitely need some sleep. If you have everything you need, I think I’ll head to bed.”

“I’m fine, Gracie,” he said, smiling. “I’m warm, comfortable, and exhausted. I’m sure I’ll sleep like a baby.” His gaze swung around the room. “This is quite a house. Sure has a lot of character.”

“If by character you mean it’s old and needs a lot of work, you’re right. It’s been in my family a long time.”

“I can tell. It must be difficult for a woman alone. Being responsible for a house like this, I mean.”

“Yes, it is.” I started to mention that Sam did most of the work, but I choked the words back. It suddenly occurred to me that if something happened to Sam and me, I would have to face taking care of the house and property by myself. The thought
shook me. “Well, think I’ll get myself upstairs. You know where the kitchen is if you’re hungry or thirsty.” I pointed to the wood bin. “If the fire gets low again, just toss a couple of logs on it. You should be fine.”

As if to emphasize my words, a big gust of wind shook the house. I glanced out the window to see the snow being driven almost sideways.

“Thanks, Gracie,” Eric said, yawning. “If I sleep too long in the morning, will you wake me up? I’ll need to find someone to pull my truck out of the ditch.”

“Sure. With all the farmers around here, we shouldn’t have too much trouble locating someone with a tractor.” Sam had a tractor, but I had no intention of asking him for help.

“That’s great. Good night.”

“Good night, Eric.” I checked the bathroom and found Eric’s wet clothes lying on the edge of the tub. I grabbed some hangers and hung them up. If they weren’t dry in the morning, I’d toss them in the dryer downstairs. Hopefully that wouldn’t trip the breaker. Sam’s warning about not putting a lot of stress on the electricity flicked through my thoughts. Trapped in a blizzard without electricity wasn’t on my list of things I wanted to experience.

I went upstairs, crawled into bed once again, and lay there staring up at the ceiling. Eventually I fell asleep, the winter wind pounding the house with its fury.

I dreamed I was lost in the woods. Every time I thought I’d found my way out, snow covered my path. I could hear Sam calling my name, but I couldn’t respond. For some reason no sound would come out of my mouth. I wanted him to find me—to rescue me. His voice got stronger and louder. I knew he was close. If only I could call out loud enough…

“Gracie? Gracie, are you awake?”

I opened my eyes. Daylight. I sat up and found Eric standing over me.

“I’m sorry to wake you,” he said. “But the power’s out. It’s probably my fault. I put my clothes in the dryer downstairs and poof. Everything went off. I flipped all the breaker switches, but nothing happened. I thought you’d want to know.”

I ran my hand through my messy bed hair and tried to focus. “No, you did the right thing. If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll come down. Maybe I can get it going.”

He nodded and left the room. Stupid dryer. I should have told him not to use it while my space heater was on, but it hadn’t occurred to me he’d take it upon himself to dry his clothes. Probably trying to save me the trouble. I certainly couldn’t be upset with him.

I closed the bedroom door and changed into jeans and a sweater. Then I checked the heater. Sure enough, it wasn’t working. The upstairs would be an icebox before long. I hurried downstairs and found Eric sitting at the kitchen table, still wearing my clothes.

“I made coffee. I see you do it the old-fashioned way.” My aluminum coffeepot sat on one of the burners. Good thing the stove was gas. An oil lamp burned on the table. The sun was up, but the clouds and snow kept much light from filtering in.

“Thanks. I’ll take a look at the breaker box, and then I’ll make us some breakfast.” I grabbed a flashlight from under the sink and headed downstairs. Eric had removed his clothes from the inside of the dryer. They lay on the top. I felt them. They were still pretty damp. We’d have to dry them in front of the fire. I had no intention of restarting the dryer if I got the electricity back on.

I shone the light from the flashlight against the far wall. The door to the breaker box was still open. I checked all the breakers. They seemed to be okay. Sam had taped a list of the different
switches and what they were for on the wall next to the box. Not all of the switches had actually been installed yet, though. There were only three. I flipped them all. Nothing. I waited a few minutes and tried again. Still nothing. With a sigh I gave up, grabbed Eric’s clothes and some hangers, and tramped back up the stairs.

As I approached the first floor, I heard voices. With a sinking feeling I jogged up the rest of the way and entered the living room.

Eric held my front door open, and Sam stood on the porch, looking daggers at him.

T
he three of us stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. In truth, it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. I suppose the correct reaction would have been for me to begin explaining the situation to Sam as quickly as I could. But that isn’t what happened. For some reason, the absurdity of our circumstances struck me as incredibly funny, and I began to laugh. Not laugh as in “tee-hee,” a ladylike giggle. I mean full-scale, stomach-holding, tears-down-the-cheeks guffawing. I tried to stop, but I couldn’t. Sam and Eric both looked at me like I’d lost my mind. And I wondered it myself. Needless to say, neither one of them appeared to find the situation the least bit humorous.

“Sam, it’s not what you think,” Eric said, keeping a wary eye on me. I’d sunk into the couch, trying hard to control myself. I’d moved past the maniacal cackling that had kicked off this odd episode, and I’d started making little explosive noises created by laughter combined with weird hiccups that forced their way past my tightly locked lips.

“I think it’s exactly what I think,” Sam snarled. “Where’s your truck? And where’s Grace’s car?”

Eric quickly explained the entire thing, from dinner at Mary’s to the reason he’d stayed the night. He specifically detailed exactly where he’d slept—on the couch. As he talked, Sam’s frown only deepened. Finally he held his hand up in front of Eric’s face.

“Okay, that’s it. Get your clothes. I’ll take you to your truck. If it won’t start, we’ll figure out what to do from there.” He pointed at me. “You stay here. I’ll be back.” With that, he turned and walked back to his truck.

Eric looked at me, his eyes wide. “Are you okay?”

His question sent me into another spasm of giggles. I tried to say something but couldn’t. Finally I nodded enthusiastically. It was the best I could do. Eric seemed to be evaluating me, probably trying to gauge the level of my nervous breakdown. Then he quietly left the room to change into his clothes and face the angry man who awaited him outside.

While he was in the bathroom, I began to get some control back and tried to figure out why I’d acted so crazy. Yesterday I had two men interested in me. Today, even Snickle had deserted me. He peeked out from underneath a chair, his eyes as big as Eric’s had been. For some reason, knowing I’d scared him with my behavior finally snapped me out of it. It took some coaxing, but I finally got him to come out. I was petting him when Eric came back into the room.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“I really am,” I said sheepishly. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry. You must think I’m deranged.”

He smiled tentatively. “Maybe a little.”

“It’s really not the least bit funny. I think it’s all the pressure of the last couple of days. I guess I just reached the end of my patience with everything. Sam included.”

Eric slid his damp coat on. He would be uncomfortable for a while, and I felt bad for him. “Listen, Gracie,” he said, wincing
slightly, “this is completely inappropriate, I know. But if things between you and Sam don’t work out…”

“To be honest, Eric, right now, I can’t think that far ahead. My ridiculous reaction just proves I need some time to myself. When the roads are passable, I might drive home to Nebraska and stay with my folks for a while. I don’t seem to be accomplishing anything here.”

He frowned. “But you’ll come back, right?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not.” I looked around the room. “I’d need to sell this place so I’d have something to live on for a while. I guess I can find someone in Harmony who’d be interested….”

Eric put his hand on the doorknob. “Before you try to sell this house, let me know first, okay? I might be able to help you.”

“Okay. I will. Promise. Now you’d better get out there. I don’t think either one of us wants Sam to come back.”

“That’s an understatement.” He gave me a rather sickly smile. “And if no one ever hears from me again, will you please tell my family what happened?”

“I think you’re safe. Sam would have to get rid of both of us.”

He chuckled and opened the door. But before he stepped out onto the front porch, he paused and looked back at me. “Thanks, Gracie. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I had a really good time last night. And it was because I spent it with you.”

After the door closed, I sat on the couch for a while, thinking. It seemed pretty clear that Sam and I were finished. If he hadn’t trusted me before, there was no hope he’d believe the truth now. My mind kept wandering back to the first time I’d come to Harmony. Sam and I had developed feelings for each other so quickly. In retrospect, our relationship must have been built on emotion—not day–in, day-out reality. Neither one of us was perfect, and we obviously didn’t have the kind of bond that can overcome challenges. Unfortunately, life is full of challenges.

My previous hysterical response turned to tears of frustration. Eventually I cried myself to sleep. I awoke to the sound of a male voice. I let loose with a small scream before I realized it was Sam.

“H–how did you get in?” I gently pushed Snickle off my lap and sat up.

“The door was unlocked.”

I tried to pat my hair into place, wondering why I should even care what I looked like. Sam had obviously come to tell me we were through.

“What happened to Eric?” I shivered from the cold and wrapped the quilt around me. The fire in the fireplace was low, and the house was freezing.

“I took him to his truck and pulled him out of the ditch. He’s on his way to Council Grove.”

“Good. I’m glad he’s okay. You didn’t… I mean, he’s not…”

“Did I beat him up? Is he injured?” Sam shook his head. “No. He’s fine.”

“Good. Thank you.” I stared up at him. “Nothing happened, you know. Everything was absolutely innocent. I know you don’t believe that, but I want to say it anyway, just because it’s true.” I gave him a moment to respond. When he didn’t, I pointed my finger at him. “Why don’t you just say what you have to say? I already know what’s coming. Let’s just get it over with, okay?”

Sam brushed back the bangs that hung down over his stormy gray eyes. Then he sat down in the chair across from me. Snickle promptly jumped off my lap and went to his. Disloyal cat.

“Okay. Here goes.” He began stroking Snickle, not looking at me. “I’ve been a stupid fool. I should have told you about my mother from the beginning. But you need to understand that I never set out to lie to you. Sweetie and I have been telling people my mother is dead for a long time. Not because we wanted to
deceive anyone, really. Just because it saves a lot of questions and pain. Honestly, it never occurred to me to tell you. I guess because I thought I’d dealt with it and it wasn’t important to me anymore.” He laughed harshly. “I seem to have been wrong about that.” He finally swung his gaze back to me. “When you showed me that note, I don’t know, it brought it all back. The abandonment. The confusion. The hurt. It had nothing to do with you, Gracie. You thought I was afraid you’d done the same thing my mother had—abandoned her child. But that’s not it. It has to do with finally facing how angry I’ve been at my mom for not trying to find another way. I know she thought she was doing the best thing for me, and I’m grateful to Sweetie for the life she’s given me. But I loved my mother. I believe we could have found a way to deal with her problems together.”

“I’m sorry, Sam. You’ve always acted as if losing your mother didn’t bother you that much anymore. But of course, I didn’t know the whole story.”

He shrugged. “Hey, I’m as surprised by my response as you are. Even more. I thought it was all behind me, too.”

“So where does this leave you and me?”

“You mean how do I feel about finding you and Eric here? Knowing he spent the night and seeing him in your clothes?”

I started to explain, but he stopped me.

“I don’t want to hear it, Gracie. Eric tried to tell me the whole story again in the car. I told him to be quiet or I’d kick him out and leave him stranded in the snow.”

“So we can’t talk about it? Are we finished? It’s over? I mean, we’re over?” Even though I’d already suspected it, the reality hit me with a finality that made my heart feel as if it would break.