Chapter 17
The next morning, Eliot had a lunch basket prepared, and they spent a large part of the day in Fuller State Park. Eliot had to change his plans a little, because he’d planned for them to hike the park. But it didn’t take long to figure out Sophie wouldn’t be hiking anywhere.
So when they got out of the car, Eliot carried her on his back. “I’m such an idiot,” he said, climbing a slight incline to find a place to picnic for lunch.
“No, you’re not. I thought once the cast came off, my ankle would be one hundred percent.”
“No, I should have known that a newly healed ankle would be weak.”
Once they reached the top of the incline, Eliot sat her down. Opening the basket, he brought out a blanket and spread it on the ground. Then he lifted her and sat her on the blanket.
Digging through the basket, he pulled out two well-wrapped egg salad sandwiches and two bottles of iced tea.
“Thank you, Dale,” El said, biting into his sandwich. He
shook his head. “Still don’t know why you thought that was so funny.”
She smiled. “I don’t know. I guess because they kinda look like ’em, and then with that cowboy garb they were wearing, it was just too much.” The wind blew by, and she lifted her face to it. “This is nice.”
He smiled. “I’m sure any day you get to spend out of that kitchen is probably nice.” He took another bite of his sandwich. “You work too hard.”
“Not hard enough,” she muttered. “Even with all our new clients, we are still barely making ends meet.”
“Because of the new equipment?”
“Yes,” she answered. “It’s like a catch-22. We can’t service new clients without the new equipment, but by buying the equipment we sink that much more in debt.” She frowned, remembering something. “By the way, why haven’t you cashed any of your payroll checks?”
“What?”
“I was balancing the books, and I realized we have a lot more money in the account than we should. When I traced it I discovered it’s because none of your payroll checks have cleared.”
“Hmm, that’s odd,” he said, but he didn’t look as if he found it the least bit odd. “I’ll contact my bank and check it out.”
She frowned. “You do that. I won’t accept your charity, El.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You not cashing the checks because you know we’re struggling. I appreciate the sentiment, but I won’t accept it. I wouldn’t have hired you if I didn’t think we could afford you.”
El continued to eat his sandwich without responding.
Later than evening, instead of going out they had dinner at the bed-and-breakfast with Roy and Dale, and another couple visiting from Indiana. The husband had been offered a job in the area, and the couple was doing what the wife called “a little reconnaissance.”
It turned out that Roy and Dale were as fun as their names. They shared the easy banter of a couple who had been together a long time, telling humorous stories about when they were getting the
inn up and running. It had been in pretty bad shape then—but you wouldn’t know it to see the place now, Sophie thought.
For a moment, she allowed herself to daydream about opening a little bed-and-breakfast with El. She would manage the place, and he would cook for the guests, and they would spend their nights curled against each other until the end of time.
That Sunday, El completely changed his plans. Instead of driving down to the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky to do a little spelunking, they did a driving tour of the city. Down Beale Street, a drive-by of Alex Haley’s boyhood home by AutoZone Park, and various other local tourist attractions. They laughed easily together and talked about everything they saw. But, Sophie did not miss the way El always deflected questions about himself.
Finally, as it was getting late, they decided to head back to the bed-and-breakfast for dinner. “I would say I’m sorry the weekend didn’t go exactly as you planned, but I’m not sorry we came. I loved it. And not to sound ungrateful, but whatever gave you the idea I would want to go hiking through a park and spelunkingin a cave?”
“You don’t like spelunking?”
“Don’t know, never tried it. I just wonder what made you think I wanted to try it.”
“Your natural curiosity and competitive spirit would be perfect for the sport. You really should try it. I think you’ll love it.”
She looked up at him shyly beneath her lashes. “Maybe next time?”
He smiled. “Definitely next time.”
She smiled and settled back into the car seat, hoping there would be a next time.
That evening while El was showering, Sophie lay in the bed watching TV, when she heard his cell phone ringing from his pants pocket. She considered not answering it. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard it ring and not answered it. She didn’t feel they knew each other well enough for her to take those kinds of liberties. But the way he’d gone out of the way to take his call the other day still bothered her.
So against her better judgment, she answered. “Hello?”
The person on the other end hesitated a moment. “Hello?”
“Who is this?”
“This is Steve. Who are you?”
She quickly turned the phone off. She shouldn’t have answered it. She shouldn’t have answered it. As she heard the shower stop, she shoved the phone back down in El’s pants pocket.
He came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, toweling himself dry. Something about her face must have given her away, because he immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She tried to keep her attention on the phone and away from his probing eyes.
The cell phone rang again, and Sophie felt her heart skip a beat. She pretended to ignore the ringing as El answered the phone, still watching her.
“Hello? Oh, hey, Steve.”
She continued to watch the TV until she couldn’t stand it any longer and her eyes darted to his. He was still watching her.
“Oh really?…I see.” He sat down on the end of the bed and had a short conversation with the man. Finally, he turned to her, and she expected some kind of reprimand for crossing boundaries. But instead he said, “Sophie, if you are going to answer my phone, at least take a message.” He gave her a quick kiss, then stood and, walking back into the bathroom, finished toweling himself off.
Eliot closed the bathroom door and leaned back against it. That was close. Thankfully, it had only been Steve. But what if it had been his uncle calling? Or someone who called him by his real name? One phone call could ruin everything.
Here he was spending an enjoyable weekend with the woman he loved—and he was now certain he loved Sophie—and one phone call…just one…could take her away from him.
What a mess he’d made of all this. And now it was up to him to undo the mess. When he’d started out it was a simple proposition: find out what he could, possibly even steal the recipe book. Things his uncle had expected from him for years.
But when he was with Sophie, he was a different man. Less the man molded by his uncle’s harsh treatment and more the man his parents had started building with their love and quiet support. They never got to finish the job, but the core of that boy was still in his heart. And he knew this because that part of him appreciated the kindness and goodness in Sophie and Mae.
He’d put it off too long, and now time was truly running out. He had to find a way to undo his deception without Sophie ever finding out what his original intentions were. They were so right for each other in so many ways. He finally found the right woman—why did it have to be under these circumstances?
Chapter 18
Later that week, Eliot was carrying boxes of books and magazines Sophie had kept with her at the store into her small house, a three-bedroom, brick bungalow. “This is nice,” he said. This was his first visit to her home.
“Thanks,” she said, pulling her suitcase behind her. “It’s good to be home. Hungry?”
“No thanks. I could go for a glass of water, though.”
“Coming right up.”
Eliot busied himself looking over her family pictures. Sophie with her brothers and sisters when they were children. Her parents, some smaller children he assumed were nieces and nephews.
Soon Sophie returned with a tall glass of ice water. “You know, when I first read your résumé, I had the impression you were a bit of a snob. I thought, okay, he can probably cook great, but that’s all he’ll be good for. I must admit I was wrong. You are one hardworking brother,” she said and laughed.
He sat on the end of her sofa. “Only when I know there is something in it for me.”
She stepped between his thighs and wrapped her arms around his neck. “And what’s in it for you?”
He nodded toward the hallway leading to the bedrooms. “We haven’t christened your bed as a couple.” A wide grin spread over his face.
But Sophie’s serious expression never changed. “We never christened yours, either. In fact, I have no idea where you live.”
Eliot’s smile fell away. “It’s nothing impressive. Just a room I’m renting while I’m in this area.”
“And there’s the other problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have no intention of staying here. You are only here as long as it takes old grudges to be forgotten, and then you are returning to Houston.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Don’t I? You just said, you’re only renting a room while you’re in this area.”
“Things change, Sophie. The circumstances of people’s lives change all the time. Maybe I will get a more permanent place.”
She backed out of his arms and crossed the room to her suitcase. “I can’t build my life on maybe, El.” Pulling the little cart, she went into the bedroom, and Eliot followed.
After a quick glance around the room, he picked up right where they left off. “What are you asking for here, Sophie? A commitment. That’s fine. I can give you a commitment, but the details are still sketchy.”
She lifted the suitcase up on the bed and unzipped it. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I can tell you that I want a future with you, but I can’t say for sure when that will be. There are things in my past I have to clean up first.”
She huffed, “Jealous ex-lovers and their angry husbands, perchance?”
Eliot decided that was probably better than the truth. “That’s part of it.”
She started unpacking the suitcase. “Look, never mind. I’m sorry I brought it up. I’m not even sure why I brought it up.”
He walked up behind her, placing his large hands on her small shoulders. “Because you are starting to fall for me just like I’m falling for you. And just like me, you’re scared we are going to screw this up somehow.”
She turned in his arms. “You’re falling for me?”
“Hard.”
“Then why not go ahead and find a more permanent place, or…you could move in here.”
He smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart, but I want to unload my garbage and be rid of it forever. Not drag it to your front door.”
She shook her head and returned to her unpacking. “You know, if anyone would’ve told me I would fall in love with a baker, I would’ve thought, cool, perfect fit, since I run a bakery. But I swear you are more complicated than a Chinese puzzle.”
He laughed. “No, just a few scrambled pieces that need to be put back in place.”
Later that night, after her featherbed had been quite thoroughly christened, El lay sound asleep on his stomach, one arm hanging off the bed. His long, lean form took up most of the space. She had always thought she had a big bed, until she’d seen this man in it.
Her eyes ran over his outline in the shadows, the dip of his lower back and the curve of his perfectly shaped butt. Long, muscular legs that seemed to go on forever. He was an exceptionally fine man, she thought, and she did love him. But it was hard to just let go and enjoy the pleasure of being in love when you didn’t know much about your lover.
After the phone call in Memphis, Sophie had begun to do a mental inventory of just how much she knew about El. And she was shocked to realize that most of what she did know about him had come from the agency he worked for and not from the man himself.
So, short of suspending her entire thought process, she was beginning to have questions. The fact that it had taken her this long to ask those questions was a testament to just how far gone she was over this man.
She ran her hand over his exposed back. It was hard not to be.
Just look at him!If she’d built him from scratch, she couldn’t have done any better. He was perfect for her, in looks and temperament, even the way he fit inside her body seemed custom-made. So, why did she now get a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach every time his phone rang?
It was a hard pill to swallow, but Sophie had to acknowledge that after nine weeks knowing this man, she did not know a single person in his world, and he seemed to like it that way.
Suddenly, his large hand moved, feeling its way across the bed. It hooked around her waist and slid her against his side. Then all was quite again.
Sophie yawned, sleepy and frustrated, and still no closer to an answer regarding her relationship with El. Deciding there was no need in torturing herself any longer on something that obviously would not be resolved that night, she nestled down against his side and went to sleep.
The next day, the milk delivery truck driver had spilled a whole crate on the sidewalk while unloading the truck. He’d taken it off the invoice, of course, but the mess on the sidewalk was a smelly invitation to nature’s critters, especially given the extreme heat they had been experiencing lately.
She and Mae had taken on the task of scrubbing down the front walk, and Sophie thought this was as good a time as any to talk to her grandmother, while they were out of earshot of everyone else.
“Grandma, how long did you and Granddad know each other before you married?”
Mae stopped pushing her broom through the soapy water on the sidewalk, pausing to think. “Oh, Lord, that was so long ago. Let me think.” She began pushing the brush again. “Maybe ten or eleven months.”
Sophie’s eyes widened in surprise. “That’s less than a year!”
“Yes, that sounds about right.” Mae nodded and continued scrubbing with her broom.
“You had a forty-year marriage with someone you’d known less than a year.”
Mae nodded, not seeing what was so impressive about that. “When you find the right person, ain’t no sense in wasting a bunch of time courting when you could be getting to the business of building your life together.”
“How do you know when you’ve found the right person?”
Mae smiled. “Because even though you’ve only known him a short time, seems like you’ve known him forever, feels like he’s always been a part of your life. Usually, those are the ones. The ones that fit right even beforeyou meet them.”
Sophie was trying to process that as Mae continued: “El has something riding him hard, Sophie. Don’t know what it is, but there’s something he don’t want the rest of us to know about. I was thinking it had to do with why such a big-shot pastry chef would take a job here. But if you are talking this way, then it must be something else.” She shook her head. “Don’t know what it is. But, he’s a good man in the middle where it matters, even if the edges are a little tattered.”
“I know, Grandma. It’s just he’s so secretive about his life.” She glanced at her grandmother. “I thought maybe…maybe he’s married.”
Mae frowned. “No, not married. That’s not it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The way he is with you. I’m seen my fair share of cheating husbands. They’re real careful, trying to pace themselves, trying not to draw attention. But El doesn’t act like that. For one, he’s not careful at all; he hounds you like that ol’ collie I had.” She stopped bushing the broom, bracing her hand on her hip. “You remember him, don’t you? The one that was always humping the pillows and whatever else he could get his paws around.”
Sophie burst into laughter. “I remember him.”
She nodded knowingly. “That’s El. Not careful at all.”
Sophie shook her head, thinking of how much she loved this woman. And how empty her life would have been if she’d abandoned her like the rest of the family.
Mae started pushing the brush again. “Always in behind you.” She shook her head. “Trying to do the natural. No, that’s no cheating man.” She walked to the dry portion of the sidewalk and
picked up a half-empty bucket of water. Tossing it across the soapy mess they’d made, she continued her scrubbing.
Sophie walked to her grandmother and kissed the top of her head. “You can always make me feel better.”
“That’s why I’m here,” Mae said, matter-of-factly and continued with her chore.