Be My Guest (17 page)

The truth of Will's statement sent shock
waves through her. Her stomach clenched in fear as it has when the
men had tried to hijack her. She sat in silence, chewing on her
bottom lip. Seeing one of the men who had tried to run her car off
the road brought back the memory of her near-abduction. She
shuddered now at the memory of that day. She hadn't met any women
in Post her height who also had long auburn hair and green eyes.
She had first seen the two men at a coffee shop in Sweetwater when
she stopped there for breakfast after spending the previous night
in Abilene. If those two men followed her from the coffee shop the
day they tried to abduct her, they were sure to recognize her
description.

Until now, a safety net surrounded her. This
changed everything. No longer could she take the security of her
friendly environment for granted. She must be ever wary and
vigilant. At least she would be in a different car now. That would
make locating her a little more difficult.

Once back at Rose's, Aurora felt safer. The
realization had tarnished her stay in Post. No longer did the
town’s friendly atmosphere seem enough. She had the urge to flee
before the men could locate her. They’d be watching, so she’d have
to be vigilant.

Dismayed to learn that such a person might
be a resident of her nice little town, Rose tried to reassure
Aurora. "Now don't worry. You're among friends now."

The trite phrases offered comfort. Travel to
new places brought excitement. In time of potential trouble,
however, it seemed good to be among friends--even new friends. The
knowledge that these new friends were good, dependable people
brought reassurance. Why did things have to change when everything
had been going so well?

Will stepped inside to call the office of
the Garza County Sheriff. The deputy with whom he spoke agreed to
relay the information to the Scurry County authorities and the
Texas State Trooper at the Texas Department of Public Safety. The
sheriff's deputy also promised to talk to the cashier at the store.
Perhaps a deputy could elicit more information from the man than
Will and Aurora could.

While she waited for Will to come back to
the porch swing, she reviewed once again the recent events. So many
changes occurred in her life in the past eight or nine days. How
could she assimilate all of them?

Will returned to rejoin her on the swing,
and he tried to take her mind away from unpleasant thoughts. Aurora
and Will exchanged anecdotes of all that had occurred since the
previous Sunday. Will held her hand in his left hand as his right
arm lay lightly around her shoulders, occasionally tightening for
emphasis in his story. A light breeze danced with swaying Lebanon
cedars at each edge of the porch.

For a while, the beauty of the night escaped
her notice. Her thoughts centered on the truck at the convenience
store. Sitting here with Will made her feel safe for the time
being, but what if the men who tried to abduct her lived right here
in Post?

Will was right, if the clerk at the
convenience store knew those men, he was sure to tell them about
Will and me asking questions. Now those two will know I'm in this
area and can identify at least one of them. What can I do other
than be on my guard? No plan came to her mind. For the time being,
defeat and helplessness overwhelmed her.

Her musing produced a lull in the
conversation. Will released Aurora's hand to turn her face to
his.

"Let the sheriff work the problem for now.
The evening's too lovely to waste thinking of those two
ruffians."

"That's true," she answered softly. The
scent of honeysuckle drifted in the air from the vine trellised at
the end of the porch. With a sigh of surrender, she leaned toward
him.

Will kept his kisses gentle at first, but
their intensity grew as Aurora melded to him. The flash of
headlights of the car delivering the family next door startled
them. As if the spell were broken, the two broke their embrace.
Will took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair.

Aurora ran her hand down her lap to smooth
her skirt. Why must she always be so pliant in Will's arms. What
about this man effected her so differently from any other man? When
he kissed her she forgot about Colorado, about travel, about
everything but him and his kiss. She sighed again and relaxed
against Will's arm. Who of her friends in Houston would believe her
to be capable of such behavior?

Well, perhaps light conversation proved the
safest behavior with him so near. When her breathing returned to
normal, she asked, "I guess you're going to Lubbock tomorrow to be
with your mother for Mother's Day?"

His foot sent the swing swaying gently to
and fro in the shadows. "Yes, I'm supposed to pick her up in time
for church in the morning." As if it just occurred to him, Will
asked, "Would you like to come and meet her?"

Caution overruled the temptation to satisfy
her curiosity. "Another time, Will. I think you should give her
your full attention tomorrow, especially since she doesn't even
know me. Besides, I've promised to go to church with Rose in the
morning. After church I'm taking her out to dinner. It's my treat
for her as a special friend on Mother's Day."

"So that's why she said she had plans and
couldn't join Mom in Lubbock. That's great. She's a wonderful aunt
and deserves special treatment. What about your mother and family?"
Will again took Aurora's hand in his.

Her feet curled to the side on the seat and
she leaned gently against him. "Earlier in the week I sent Mom a
gift. I'll call her in the afternoon tomorrow. Both my brothers are
supposed to be there, so I'll have a chance to talk to them, too."
She let the swing rock gently a couple of times before she added,
"Are Lori Beth and Tommy going with you to your mother's?"

"Yes, even though they just saw her last
weekend. Tommy's an only child whose parents were killed in a car
accident a few years ago, so he and Lori Beth spend holidays with
Mom." Will slapped at his neck. "Hey! These mosquitoes are big
enough for hand to hand combat. Why don't we go into the house and
see if we can talk Rose out of any more of that German chocolate
cake?"

* * *

The first day without Peggy at Raphael's
proved uneventful. Not one of the busier days in any week, the
Monday after a gift-giving holiday found even fewer customers in
the shop. She and Mattie had time to put all the Mother's Day cards
into storage boxes and replace them on the display racks with
Father's Day selections.

Aurora regrouped all the things the store
carried for men into a Father's Day display at the front of the
store. She cleaned the display area of the front window thoroughly.
With duplicates of some of the Father's Day merchandise, she
arranged a display for half the area. The other half of the window
display she saved for weddings. Mattie clearly resented even this
slight change.

"Mattie, surely you don't expect us to leave
things set up for Mother's Day until Peggy gets back?" Aurora asked
with a growing sense of frustration at the attitude of the store
assistant.

Her face sullen and her lips pouting, Mattie
gestured toward a small area. "No, but we've always had the
Father's Day display there at the side of the store. And we've
never used so much space for it."

"Well, just this once, it's going to be at
the front of the store and it'll be as extensive as we can make it.
And I'm going to change the front window merchandise every
week."

Mattie sniffed and tilted her nose in the
air. "Of course, I don't have some La-Ti-Da degree, but I know how
we've always done things all these years.”

Aurora suppressed the retort that
immediately sprang to her mind and said instead, "I appreciate your
help and input, Mattie, but this will give a nice change. You can
see how customer reaction to this display compares to the interest
generated by displays from the other years. Of course, since I've
not been here before, I can't judge accurately. I'll rely on you
for that information."

Mattie went away only slightly placated by
Aurora's confidence, and Aurora's attempts to organize a selection
of wedding and graduation gifts met with the same resistance. A
very determined Aurora persevered and an unconvinced Mattie sulked.
Aurora could visualize the speed with which Mattie would report to
Peggy every change she made at the store.

That evening over the phone, she told Will,
"I think I'll do her bodily harm the next time she tells me how
they've always done things before."

"Don't give up yet, Aurora, Peggy's surgery
isn't until tomorrow. Four weeks will seem like a year if you let
her get under your skin now. Maybe you shouldn't try to make any
changes. Just keep it status quo until Peggy comes back. It'll be a
lot easier."

Aurora paced back and forth in frustration
as she spoke. "But I can't stand it, Will. It could be such a great
shop."

"You don't need to make waves when you'll be
there such a short time. Peggy will only resent it."

She stopped her pacing and shook her head,
perplexed at his tone. "It is not in me to do less than my best.
Surely you can understand that."

His voice smoothed, placating her. "Yes, but
you're probably only causing hard feelings for no long-term benefit
or result. Why make a fuss? Just coast along until Peggy comes
back. If she wants to run a messy place, that's her business. Why
kill yourself for nothing?"

How could he say such a thing? His remarks
ignited the temper that accompanied her red hair. "Will Harrison, I
resent your lack of trust in my ability! I accepted the
responsibility for the shop's performance and I will do what I
think best. How you can suggest I do otherwise is beyond me."

"Damn, but you're stubborn. I'm only trying
to save you unnecessary trouble.”

"Stubborn? Well, that does it. Good night,
Will." She resisted the urge to slam the receiver, but replaced it
more firmly than she intended. How could he have so little faith in
her ability?

At his ranch, Will spoke to an empty line.
"Aurora?" He held the receiver out and stared at it, unwilling to
believe she had hung up on him. Damn. She is stubborn! Of course,
the same had been said about him. Why did he have to say anything?
Let her work herself to exhaustion if that's what she wanted. He
just wanted to take care of her, to advise her as he did the other
women in his family.

But she was not family. He had absolutely no
claim on her, she made that clear just now. If he had his way,
though, she would soon be a major part of his family. Soon he would
be able to take care of her, to safe guard and shield her from the
harshness of the world.

All her work now will be for nothing when
Peggy comes back, he told himself. Peggy will change everything
back the first morning she returns--everything but the dirt and
dust, that is. Time will take care of that soon enough.

* * *

Aurora glanced up as the bell of the front
door jangled. As soon as she saw Rose's face, she knew the older
woman bore bad news. She rushed forward to greet Rose at the front
of the store, but Rose held up her hand to quell any questions.

Rose had aged several years in this one day.
"Could we go back to the office, dear, and sit down?"

"Of course, Rose." Aurora led Rose to the
office at the back of the store. Mattie followed anxiously behind
them.

Aurora pulled out the chair of her desk for
Rose. "Sit here and I'll start the electric kettle for tea."

"No, no tea. I've had enough coffee and tea
today to float a battleship." Rose pulled herself up and took a
deep breath. "As you may have guessed, things did not go as well as
expected this morning."

Mattie's face paled even more, "Is Peggy all
right? She didn't...she's not..."

Rose reached over and patted Mattie's arm.
"She's going to be all right. It's just going to take a lot longer
than we first planned. The operation went very well, but Peggy's
heart began fibrillating just as they took her to the recovery
room."

Aurora reached for the chair in the small
eating area and sat down. "You mean she had a heart attack after
the surgery?"

"Something like that, yes. I found this all
so upsetting that I'm afraid I became flustered and some of the
details may be a bit jumbled in my mind." She rubbed her cheeks
with her hands.

"Take your time, Rose. Get your breath and
then tell us what happened." Aurora hoped she sounded calm even
though her nerves zinged with overshadowing trouble.

Rose took a deep breath and leaned back in
the chair. "Martha Devon and I went to the hospital in Lubbock this
morning to see Peggy before the surgery. We wanted to tell her that
we would be waiting with her minister during the surgery."

Rose explained, "Martha and I have been
friends with Peggy for over forty years, you know. Since this all
happened too fast for her daughter to get here for the surgery, we
wanted her to know there'd be someone there waiting to see that
things went well."

"Is she conscious now?" Mattie stood in the
doorway, wringing her hands, as she continually glanced toward the
front of the store to watch for customers.

Rose nodded. "Peggy's in intensive care now,
but she awakened just before I left the hospital to come here."

Aurora stood and ushered Mattie to the chair
she used. "You sit here, Mattie, and I'll stand in the doorway and
watch for customers." To Rose, she said, "People have been calling
for a couple of hours to ask about Peggy. What shall we tell
them?"

"She'll probably go to the cardiac wing
tomorrow. Then she'll have to stay in the hospital for a week or
two. After that, she'll have to go to a nursing home until she's
able to stay alone."

Rose paused, then grabbed Aurora's hand and
gushed, "Oh, Aurora, I'm sorry. It's going to be at least eight
weeks before Peggy can return to the store. Even then, she'll have
to take things very easy and probably work only half days for a
while."