Your Desire (17 page)

Ned spoke up. “If we hadn’t known the sheep were in the lower pasture, Allie, we would have come up and fixed the fence. But we figured the work would wait ’til after church.” He stuck his hands in his jeans and gave her a curious look before echoing his father. “What happened?” Stance and expression exactly like his father’s, Ned showed the Hayes coloring in his auburn hair and dark brown eyes.

“A man ran through the fence last night. He needed someone to look after him and didn’t want to stay at the hospital so I said he could sleep on the sofa in the office.” She shrugged. “This is his way of making amends.”

Her uncle whistled and cast an appreciative glance at the fence again. “Next time tell him I’ve got a perfectly good fence up the road he can crash through.” He flung his hand out toward the new rails and posts. “Look at this! They reinforced and painted the whole dang thing.” Smiling again, he nudged his son with his elbow while watching Allison. “You say he stayed here? Alone in the house with you? Do I need to have a talk with the young man?”

She felt herself blush. “Uncle John. I’m a nurse, for heaven’s sake. Nursing is what he needed last night.”
True enough. A nurse and more.
“I went to sleep in my own bed and he stayed in the office.”

Fingers crossed behind her back, she waggled her brows at him. “Besides, I was safe, the shape he was in. If I’d wanted to have my way with him, he couldn’t have fought me off.”
And he didn’t!

“Aw, Allie, Dad didn’t mean anything.” Impossibly, Ned blushed deeper than she did.

They were the same age but by all indications, he was more backward in the way of love than she. Which is really sad, she thought.

“I know, Ned.” She smiled to ease his mind before taking a sip of coffee.

“Well, just so you know. We trust you.” Ned walked to the driver side of the truck. “Wanna come home with us for a supper? I know Mom’s fixed plenty.”

John hung his head and shook it. “Boy needs a wife,” he muttered.

“No, thanks, Ned. I’ve already eaten.” Ned climbed in as Allison followed her uncle to the passenger door. She was surprised when he stopped and looked seriously at her.

“You know, Allie, no one would have been disappointed in you if something
had
happened last night. Guy makes up for an accident by doing all this…” he waved at the fence again “—well, he can’t be too bad. Pretty girl like you should be with a man, having a family.”

As simplistic as it sounded, that was how he understood life, for her as well as Ned. If only life was as easy as he saw it. “Uncle John, I’m thirty-two. Hardly a girl, and only sweet people like you, who love me, consider me pretty. Between age and this limp, I’m sure I’m not what the average man is looking for.”

He tapped her nose with his index finger. “That’s your problem, Allie. For someone as good as you, we don’t want an ‘average’ man. He’d better be a whole helluva lot better than average.” With a last look at Stuart Samuels’ carpentry handiwork, he got in the truck and Ned pulled off.

CHAPTER FIVE

Two long months had passed. Two months where she’d received two phone calls from David Wills, one asking if fence repairs had been made to her satisfaction and another the next week to find out how she was and whether there was anything she needed. Allison had assumed the interest had been Frank’s although that wasn’t clear.

She’d also received flowers—a dozen roses the first week, carnations the second, an orchid the third—something different every week, all with very polite thank you notes attached. The kind of gifts a secretary would be told to send. There was no word from Frank himself.

After the second week, she’d given up hope she would hear directly from him. Flowers were nice, but not when what she wanted was to hear him, his voice when he spoke her name, his tone when he said how he felt. He could have called and recited the latest stock report and she wouldn’t have cared. But there was nothing. When she finally accepted that flowers were all she’d ever get from him again, her heart ached.

Foolish!
Telling herself over and over didn’t help at all. The plain fact of the matter was, despite her skepticism that such a thing could happen so fast, she’d been struck by love. Inexplicably, against all reason, undeniably hit hard.

In the dark, with the night hours stretched before her, she often relived Frank’s touch on her skin, the feel of his lips coaxing her nipples erect, and the heart-stopping sensation of his being inside her, moving, stoking a fire only he knew how to put out. On those nights she would touch herself, rubbing her clit and imagining Frank’s finger had brought her to completion. Or better, his luscious, full mouth.

But it wasn’t the sex she missed most. It was the quiet companionship. The time they’d spent sharing their lives and the trust each expressed by their simple admissions of need. Of course, she hadn’t told him about the accident, that had seemed too much. He would have pulled back from her knowing how imperfect she was. Most men saw. Not just that she wasn’t a beauty, but her lack of grace and unbalanced walk. In his blindness, Frank had seen only her heart.

Finally, after weeks, Allison forced herself to acknowledge that her love was not only irrational, having little foundation, but also totally one-sided. He’d asked for a night, she’d done the same. Their time had been an experience beyond anything she could have hoped for, but she needed to move on.

The sticking point was how to do that. For the first time, she investigated options that weren’t safe or comfortable. She thought about taking time off and traveling. She had the money. But spending time for pure pleasure didn’t sit well; the need to be busy was too strongly ingrained. Still, she could take a few days and go to
Washington,
DC
. In her mind, she saw herself passing Frank on the street. She’d smile and he’d… He’d walk by because he wouldn’t recognize the woman smiling at him. No, a trip to
Washington
was out. She’d rather have the memories she carried than take a chance on damaging them.

Using the computer, Allison looked up every piece of information she could on NicHughes Electronics and its owner. His picture, taken a few years earlier, was on the corporation’s website, but more recent photos were found in the
Washington
newspaper. Over the course of several years, she saw photos of Frank socializing with beautiful women as well as meeting business and government officials. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush on a man impossibly above her station.

Then one night late in June, the phone rang.

“Mary! How great to hear from you. What’s up?”

“Allison, I know you’re going to want to kick me, but I have a
huge
favor to ask, and you
can’t
say no. Tell me right now, you won’t say no.” She took a breath. “Hi, by the way. How are you?”

Allison had to laugh. “Fine. No need to ask how you are since I can tell you’re in your usual tear. I won’t say yes until I hear what the favor is,” she teased.

“But you won’t say no?”

“Spill the beans.”

Deep breath. “We’re having a special meeting to review the reunion. And discuss preliminary plans for the next one.”

Allison groaned.

“I can’t be there. Honestly, Allison, I would drop everything and drive down if I could, but Melissa’s having a recital, and Michael is in a ballgame, and frankly, I can’t keep up with everything going on at work now. Please say you’ll represent me?”

She hesitated, then let out a frustrated sigh. “It’s not fair using your children against me.”

“Yes, I know. Sorry.” Mary didn’t really sound sorry, though.

“Just go to the meeting in your place? I don’t have to volunteer for anything?”

“No volunteering. I’ll send you all the paperwork relating to the weekend in April—which was a big success, by the way. I’m really sorry you missed so much of it.”

The meeting sounded safe, although she had a feeling Mary wasn’t telling her the full story. “Okay, I can help you out, I think. When is the meeting?”

“This weekend.”

Allison snorted.

“I know,” Mary agreed with a what-were-they-
thinking
tone. “Still, can you go?”

“Yes, no problem. Where is it, at the high school?”

Mary was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, Allison knew just how Mary’s children felt when she was trying to persuade them to take medicine they knew would taste terrible.

“Nooo, at the country club. Out on the mountain. It’ll be beautiful, won’t it? And this is a dinner meeting, so they’ve reserved a room. Really, they’re going all out. I’ll bet it’ll just be
fab
ulous, and here I’m going to have to miss it.”

“What are you not telling me, Mary?”

“There is one little thing, but it’s not really
that
important.”

Mary took another deep breath. How bad was this request, anyway?

“Because the theme was so successful, we thought it would be fun to continue it all the way to the end. So everyone is wearing the same retro outfits they did for the dinner.”

“No.”

“Allis…”

“No! I’ll be happy to represent you, but I won’t wear that dress again. I’m surprised I haven’t burned it.” But she knew why she hadn’t, why she’d keep the ugly thing forever.

“Okay, you’re forcing me to tell you this. I didn’t want to because I know how you are about causes. I’ve never known anyone in my life so dedicated to other people.” Mary heaved a frustrated sigh. “You know we have several doctors in our class. Well, in the spirit of competition they started a bet. If we could get everyone at this meeting in the same outfits they wore that Saturday night, they’d donate time or money to a charity of our choice.”

“Who would come up with something so stupid?”

“Adam Wilson, Zachary Barnes and Tommy Jensen. You know how they were in school and they haven’t changed.”

An idea formed in Allison’s mind. Maybe she couldn’t—wouldn’t—take time for a long trip, but she could certainly handle a long weekend to visit a friend. In all the years Mary had lived in
Baltimore, Allison had never been to see her, preferring instead to visit when Mary came home to see her family. It had been selfish of Allison, really. But now she could make up for it and make a change in her own life, too.

“Okay.”

“What? I didn’t quite hear you.”

She could picture Mary sitting straight in astonishment, frowning at the telephone, and wondering why Allison had given in so quickly.

“I said, okay. I’ll go to the meeting and I’ll wear the damn dress.” Smiling at the sound of relief on the other end, Allison added, “But you have to pay for this favor, Pal. I want an invitation to
Baltimore. I want to come up for a long weekend and be shown all the sights. Wining and dining, not necessary, but tours are.”

“But I’ve asked you to come up dozens of times!
Wonderful!
When?”

“To be decided. All right, give me all the gory details about the reunion committee.”

When she hung up, plans for the aquarium, the harbor tour and a quick trip antiquing in
Annapolis far outweighed the task of the weekend meeting. After all, the meeting was really just dinner, and with people she’d known practically forever. She’d show up with a little attitude and enjoy the evening
regardless
of her marital status, that she still lived in her hometown, or how she looked in her very plaid, noisy dress. Maybe she’d slip into the lounge after the meeting and see if there were dancing. If so, she’d
dance
. If no one asked her, she’d take the initiative.

The thought was daring, frightening, and maybe a little ambitious for her first venture out. But she knew it was time she started living a little. And damn anyone who thought otherwise.

* * * *

Allison handed her keys to the valet and strolled to the deck rather than entering the building through the front. This was the kind of night her dress had been designed for, warm, almost sultry. The rustling of the fabric rivaled the sough of the breeze through the trees, and in the twilight the plaid of the full skirt became more subtle. She’d brought a light shawl in case the room was chilly, but outside a wrap wasn’t necessary. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply and let the final rays of sunlight warm her face.

The evening breeze was unusually warm. Not for the time of year, but for the elevation and hour. House Mountain Country Club sat on the side of a tree-covered mountain a few miles outside the city. The drive up to the club was steep and long, which made the view off the cantilevered deck all the more breathtaking.

The sun was low in the western sky but hadn’t fallen behind the expanse of
Blue Ridge Mountains. The eastern hillside, bathed in golden light, made the green needles of the pines, the distinctive leaves of the sycamore and redbud, and the shiny leaves of the mountain laurel shimmer as they turned in the light wind. Trees and bushes in the west were shrouded in the shadows of dusk and marked with subtle shadings of green and brown, soon to lose all unique characterization.

Ever since her conversation with Mary she’d looked forward to the evening with a mixture of dread and excitement. Earlier, she’d shed the dread as she put on the dress. Suddenly she’d anticipated the evening, determining to make a difference in her life. Taking the advice she’d given Frank, she’d decided to forget all about others and think only of herself, just for tonight.

The determination held and now she was ready to face her peers. She turned and walked into the building.

The reunion committee was scheduled in the
Laurel
Room
. As she approached, she saw people milling around outside the door, some with drinks, others simply standing and chatting before dinner. All wore the attire she remembered from a couple of months ago, and she smiled thinking that the Doctors Wilson, Barnes and Jensen would indeed be paying for this prank.

Her smile must have been warm, because Harry McDonnell, the chairman of the committee smiled back. “Allison, Mary told me you’d be here.” He glanced quickly to the closed door of the room. “You’re just a little early. They’re still setting up.”

She looked around at the crowd. “Gosh, Harry, there are a lot of people here, aren’t there? And I see quite a few people from town who weren’t in our class. There must be some other meeting taking place tonight.”

“Yes, there must be something special going on.” Harry looked pleased with himself as he sipped his drink. “Can I get you something from the bar?”

“Oh, no thanks.” She held up a manila folder. “Mary sent me the figures you’ll need, but I didn’t expect there to be this many people in attendance to discuss them.”

He shrugged. “I just passed the word that we’d be here, and a lot of people said they wanted to get together again.”

“Yes,” she murmured, paying closer attention to who was there. Sammy Mayer who lived in
Roanoke, and Meryl Williams who lived in
Raleigh. Surely that was a bit far to come for an impromptu class meeting?

“You look real nice tonight, Allison. Those colors suit you. I meant to tell you in April, but by the time we got in and settled, you’d already gone.”

Eyes wide with surprise, she flashed him another smile. “Thanks, Harry. I appreciate it.” She reached for the door handle. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just find my place before we all crowd in.”

“I don’t think…”

She hardly heard his protest as she swept through the doorway and into the quiet room. Astonished, she looked at the number of tables set up for dinner. A quick count showed twenty tables with eight places each. This was a replay of their reunion, not a business meeting. At the front of the room was a microphone fronted with pots of flowers. A man in a black suit, no doubt one of the staff, seemed to be arranging place cards on the front table.

Slowly, her dress swishing around her legs in the way she almost no longer noticed, she passed the tables looking for her place. The man straightened as she approached.

“Hello, Allison.”

With a gasp she stopped. The black suit was a tuxedo. The staff person was Frank, as she clearly saw when he turned to face her. There was a hesitant smile on his lips.

She stepped back, into a chair. “Frank! Wh—what are you doing here?” Her dress fit too tightly suddenly, as she tried to catch her breath. Even without a mirror she knew how pale she was because she literally felt the blood leave her face.
God, please don’t let me faint. Or cry, Lord, please
.

“Would you be surprised to know I’m supposed to be here?”

“Yes.”

His smile widened as he examined her, head to toe and back again, slowly. The confidence she’d adopted since dressing flowed out of her with his scrutiny.

“You can see.”

He focused on her face, and she remembered the pictures in the newspaper of the beautiful women he’d escorted to events in
Washington
. She’d never felt so lacking.

“Yes, I can. But only for the last eight days. Your doctors were right.”