A touch of love (30 page)

Aubrey slowed down to let Trisha lead the way to her car. She hadn't taken much to Arizona, but her carry-on bag was becoming increasingly heavy. "We didn't make any plans," she insisted. "I know that must disappoint you, but it's a fact."

Trisha unlocked the door of her Geo Metro and helped Aubrey load her luggage. "Aren't you disappointed?" she replied. "Jesse had it all: looks, brains, charm so thick you could slice it, and a cattle ranch! What more could you want?"

After riding in Jesse's truck all week, Aubrey found Tris-ha's car uncomfortably cramped, but that was the least of the adjustments she would have to make. She recalled how Jesse had chided her for having both a public and private persona. While she hoped Trisha would not also accuse her of hiding her feelings, she had every intention of guarding her privacy now. Using them as worry beads, she rubbed her fingers over the delicate charms on her new silver bracelet. Whenever she moved her hand, the ten ancient symbols rang with a wind chime's musical tinkle.

"I truly believe meeting Jesse was a gift from heaven, but we both knew it couldn't last, and we didn't pretend

otherwise. We might see each other again a time or two, but it won't be the same." She reached for her wallet. "Here, let me pay for the parking."

4 * Wait a minute. I might have been in the garage less than twenty minutes, and it will be free." Trisha handed her ticket to the attendant in the booth, who waved her through. "Yes! We made it. I really can't believe you're being so philosophical about this, Aubrey. If Jesse had fallen for me, I'd not have come home."

Aubrey was certain Jesse had cared for her, but fallen for her? No. He had been preoccupied on the ride to the airport, and almost brusque when he bid her good-bye. He had brushed her cheek with a brotherly kiss, then left her standing alone in the line to board the plane. Perhaps they had both gone to extremes to make their public parting friendly rather than intense, but she had not expected him to drop to his knees and propose.

No. She had not expected anything from him, and that was precisely what she had received. It was possible to visualize success in so many areas of life, but love, she sighed thoughtfully, was such a capricious thing. She would not trade a second of the time she had spent with Jesse, but she hated to believe she had been so lonely she had simply grabbed for the few days of happiness he had brought her way.

When Trisha turned onto the freeway, the San Gabriel Mountains provided a glorious backdrop to the drive. After the spring rains, the sharply angled slopes were cloaked in a bright emerald green that rivaled Ireland's rocky splendor. It was as spectacular a day as any Aubrey had ever seen, and yet she would much rather have come home to a gloomy, overcast sky where damp weather would have masked her tears.

The freeway traffic was light in the early afternoon, very much as it had been last Sunday when she and Jesse had

driven out to the San Fernando Valley. Only she had changed. Sorrow encircled her heart, and she looked forward to getting home, where she would no longer have to feign the calm resolve she believed to be her only public option.

"How are you and the banker getting along?*' Aubrey finally remembered to ask.

Trisha made a face. 'Tm not sure. His name's Eric, by the way. We're still seeing each other, but it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Oh, you aren't going to believe this, but Gardner called me on Wednesday to pump me for information on Shelley."

Now there's a surprise. "What sort of information?"

"The usual stuff. What does she like to do when we're not working? Where does she go? Whom does she see? I didn't get so much as a wink out of him, but please don't accuse me of being jealous about his interest in Shelley. It's just that Shelley's so vulnerable. I'd hate to see Gardner ask her out a time or two, then lose interest. Then again, Shelley might very well be the one to lose interest, and then Gardner would be hurt. That would create such an awkward situation at the seminars. Maybe you ought to institute a no dating policy for your employees. It might save everyone a lot of grief."

Aubrey had difficulty concentrating on Trisha's dilemma, but after a few moments consideration, she quickly dismissed it. "I can scarcely accept money for advising people to follow their hearts, and then forbid dating among those who work for me."

Trisha moaned softly. "Oh, yeah. I guess you're right. I called Shelley a couple of times myself this week, just to make certain Ricky Vance wasn't bothering her. She's doing okay, although she sounded rather sad. I wish Gardner could bring some excitement into her life, but I just don't think he can."

"I've had more than enough excitement for a while," Aubrey readily confessed.

Trisha's dark eyes lit with an impish sparkle. "Are you referring to John Gilroy, or Jesse Barrett?''

"They're responsible for two entirely different types of excitement," Aubrey stressed, but she would always welcome more of Jesse's delectable variety. "Have you given any thought to tomorrow's seminar? I don't want it to deteriorate into a question and answer session about Gilroy. I hope to simply dismiss the incident in my opening remarks so we can concentrate on strengthening intuition, imagery, and goal setting."

"Tell me something first. If you hadn't had tomorrow's seminar scheduled, would you still have come home today?"

Aubrey remained silent a moment too long. "I think we were lucky I had the commitment, as it saved us from having to choose a date on our own. Jesse's a free spirit, and he would soon have felt crowded had I stayed much longer. Everything worked out for the best."

"Well, don't you think you're being awfully detached about this?"

"About what?"

"See what I mean!" Trisha changed lanes to pass a slow-moving station wagon. "A couple of weeks ago you were spending all your time giving seminars and answering fan mail. Then Jesse Barrett appeared and your life was soon overflowing with sex and murder."

"Good lord, Trisha. That sounds like the introduction for a TV movie of the week."

"So what? It's true, isn't it?"

"No comment. Aren't the mountains gorgeous? I can't remember ever seeing them this green."

Trisha shook her head. She was getting absolutely nowhere with Aubrey. Giving up in disgust, she turned the

radio to a rock station and cranked the volume up loud. When Aubrey didn't even seem to notice, let alone complain, she felt certain delicious memories of Jesse Barrett were to blame.

When they arrived home, Aubrey fixed Trisha a glass of iced tea, then hurried up the street to collect Guinevere. Cecile had fed Lucifer each day, but unlike Guin, who was shameless in her delight at seeing Aubrey, the tomcat feigned complete indifference. He left the glass table to sit in Trisha's lap and purred with a noisy contentment as she stroked his thick, ebony fur.

"I think we ought to have an early supper together after the seminar tomorrow/' Aubrey suggested. "The four of us spend a lot of time together, but we're always busy with work, or hurrying through lunch. If you're available, I'll go and call Shelley and Gardner right now."

"Eric said something about a movie, but I'll still have time to have supper with you beforehand. It sounds like fun, actually. Maybe we can spike Gardner's glass of milk and liven him up a bit."

Aubrey responded to that suggestion with a forbidding frown. "Don't you dare pull a trick like that on Gardner, or anyone else. Let's just spend a relaxing hour or two together, and if Gardner and Shelley hit if off, fine. If they don't, we'll all still have had a good time."

"Let's go to the Claimjumper. It shouldn't be too crowded early, and their potato cheese soup is incredibly good."

Aubrey hadn't been to the popular restaurant, but thought it a good choice. When both Shelley and Gardner accepted her supper invitation, she gave Trisha one last warning. "Promise me you won't do any overt matchmaking. I don't believe either Shelley or Gardner get out much, and tomorrow should just be fun. In the morning, pick

Shelley up as you usually do, then I'll suggest Gardner might give her a ride home."

Trisha finished her tea. "Great plan. I'll be good. Cross my heart. Now I better get going and let you unpack. Is there anything else you'll need for tomorrow?"

"No. The seminar's all planned. The only challenge will be to keep it on track." Aubrey remained on the patio after Trisha said good-bye, but it was impossible to look at the pool without remembering the afternoon Jesse had stripped off his clothes before joining her in the water. She couldn't stop her tears then, nor could she deny how lost she felt. She had been living alone, without ever being lonely; but now she did not even want to go inside where surely Jesse's deep chuckle would still echo through every room to sharpen her pain.

Taking pity on his tearful mistress, Lucifer climbed into Aubrey's lap. She hugged him tight, and he quickly forgave her for disappearing for a week. "There isn't nearly enough love in the world," she told him, "and I'm not a bit sorry I met Jesse. I just wish that we could have been together longer than a couple of weeks."

A tear splashed Lucifer's paw, and he quickly lapped it up. He slid his raspy tongue across Aubrey's palm, then began to groom himself to lazy perfection. He eyed Guinevere snuggled at her feet with smug superiority and welcomed a return to the routine he cherished, while for Aubrey, nothing would ever be the same.

As soon as she entered the convention center Saturday morning, Aubrey spotted the television crews and knew she had been incredibly naive not to expect demands for an interview. Bracing herself for the most obvious questions, she walked right up to the half-dozen reporters blocking the entrance to the room where her seminar was

to be held. Dressed in crisp navy blue linen, she was the consummate professional.

"Good morning. If you've been waiting for a provocative soundbite, I'm going to disappoint you. I've been in Arizona all week, and have no idea how the case against John Gilroy is progressing. Now you must excuse me, I have a seminar to teach."

Rather than move aside, the reporters surged forward. "Ms. Glenn," a young woman shouted. "Is it true you've volunteered to use your psychic powers to locate the Fer-rells' bodies?"

"I've no psychic powers to volunteer," Aubrey answered emphatically. "The detectives assigned to the case will make the necessary discoveries."

"Do you believe it's wise to grant John Gilroy immunity when it's likely he's one of the murderers?" another reporter squeezed by the others to ask.

"I'll leave that up the the District Attorney. Now I must ask you to stop blocking the hallway, or I'll have to summon the center's security guards to evict you."

Several more questions were directed her way, but Aubrey refused to acknowledge them. Unwilling to engage in a shoving match, she simply stood her ground and silently waited for the reporters to withdraw. It took them several minutes to realize she would not expand her remarks, and when the first turned away, Gardner thrust his shoulder through the opening and escorted her inside the conference room.

"I should have waited outside for you," he agonized.

"You needn't apologize. You're not a trained bodyguard. If this ever happens again," Aubrey advised, "just call the building security and let them handle it." She took a quick tally and found only a few seminar participants missing. It was still early, and she fully expected them all to appear. She was actually grateful for the unexpected

excitement as it kept her from brooding. She greeted Shelley and Trisha, and at the stroke often, opened the seminar with her usual poise.

Yes, she informed her audience, she was a minor participant in a murder investigation, but today, she wished to concentrate on them. "Life presents us with an endless series of challenges, but if we regard each one as an opportunity to learn and grow, even the worst adversity will leave us stronger rather than defeated. You all know what my challenges have been recendy. I'd love to hear some of yours."

In the warm and sympathetic manner which came so easily to her, Aubrey responded to comments from the audience, and the seminar was underway. She truly believed in the mystical power of intuition to improve lives, took comfort in her established routine,and drew on the enthusiastic support of the seminar's participants to make the hours pass quickly. It wasn't until the last of them bid her good-bye that she realized she had merely survived the day rather than lived it.

The Claimjumper restaurant was new, but decorated to reflect the rustic atmosphere of an early California mining camp. With delicious food served in ample portions, it had quickly become a favorite of many, including Trisha, who came there often with her dates. Trisha and Shelly rode over together, while Aubrey and Gardner arrived in separate cars.

As they were shown to an attractive booth, Aubrey made certain Shelley and Gardner were seated side by side, and she and Trisha faced them. As soon as they had placed their orders, she handed out the presents she had brought for them. Trisha slipped on the bangle bracelet and

hugged her, while Shelley offered a softly voiced word of thanks for hers.

Gardner unwrapped the silver roadrunner tie tack and promptly put it on. * Thank you. This is swell. It makes me glad I started wearing ties."

"You're welcome." It wasn't until that moment, when the four of them found themselves staring at each other, that Aubrey realized she had failed to prepare an intriguing list of topics for conversation. Now her mind was a blank, and as the hostess, she felt obligated to provide a good time. She didn't want to monopolize the conversation by discussing her week in Arizona, but felt safe in describing Sedona.

"The countryside has been used in countless Western movies, but I'd not realized how beautiful it truly is. The earth is a powdery red that turns everything pink, and there are several vortices believed to be sacred energy fields. I didn't actually feel anything special there, but it's definitely something worth investigating."

Shelley's eyes widened slightly. "Could we all go there sometime? It sounds like a wonderful place to conduct a seminar."