Be My Guest (18 page)

"Poor Peggy! She must be devastated." Aurora
said instantly. Slowly the realization of what this meant for her
sank in. "Oh, Rose! Not eight weeks?
Eight weeks
?"

* * *

Still in shock hours later, Aurora pondered
her choices. Eight weeks of "we've always done it this way" loomed
before her. The prospect of delaying her travel plans for that long
appeared unavoidable. After Rose left, Aurora sat at Peggy's desk
in the back of the store with her head in her hands. That would put
her in Post until the early part of July. By that time she planned
to be in Colorado honing in on her business site.

Aurora realized she owed Will her life, and
she supposed that extended to his family. Certainly, Rose treated
her as if she were a member of the family. Oh, Lord, she thought, I
gave my word to Peggy, too, that I would be at the store until she
healed enough to return. I promised. Why did I promise? How can I
go back on my word?

Aurora wanted to yell "foul" to Rose and
remind that formidable woman that four weeks was the agreed upon
time, and not a day longer. Aurora reminded herself she committed
to help in order that Peggy would have the surgery she desperately
needed. Now obligation forced her to remain until Peggy returned to
work. You are trapped, my dear, neatly trapped!

Well, one positive thought occurred to her.
At least this would give her a thorough chance to see if this was
the type of business she wanted to establish for herself. By the
time Peggy returned to work, Aurora would have gone through a
couple of holidays. In that time she would have formed an opinion
of the card and gift business based on a good deal of practical
experience.

Nagging thoughts forced Aurora to admit she
wouldn't mind the extra time with Will. That thought in itself
presented other troubling thoughts. She viewed her growing
attraction to Will Harrison with something akin to panic. Why did
she feel so happy and secure when he was near? It bothered her that
any man could affect her that much.

What did he feel for her, she wondered? Even
after three years, he appeared deeply in love with his wife. Was
there really room in his life for another woman? Was he just
showing interest in me to placate his family or to satisfy a
physical need?

With Will she found herself by turns shy as
a girl with her first beau, as comfortable with him as an old and
trusted friend, and as bold and frank as one is only with one's
most intimate companion. You are out of your depth here. Her mind
whirled with mixed emotions too complicated to sort out with all
the new problems Peggy's heart condition presented.

Toward her, Will acted as if she were a very
valued friend, with only brief glimpses of the fiery passion
underlying his calm and easy-going exterior. Except when he kissed
her.

She touched her lips softly as the memory of
Will's fervent kisses seared her mind. His calm exterior belied his
hidden passion. Not hidden far beneath the surface. His kisses
quickly changed from gentle to fervent. Pink tinged her cheeks as
she remembered the abandon with which she responded to Will's
embraces and returned his kisses.

He never referred to her future travels.
When she brought up the subject, he said something noncommittal and
managed to turn the conversation to another topic. It was as if he
thought by avoiding the subject he could stave off their
parting.

She also worried about wearing out her
welcome with Rose. From the first day Aurora insisted on paying
Rose rent for the room and her food. Was she a burden to Rose?
After all, Rose valued her privacy, and only volunteered to have
Aurora with her to indulge her favorite nephew and, perhaps, to
help her friend Peggy. Aurora broached the subject to Rose one
evening a couple of days after Peggy's surgery when she and Rose
were talking of Peggy's convalescence.

"Rose, I've been thinking you might be less
inconvenienced if I found a motel or somewhere else to stay. I know
you were only trying to humor Will when you offered to let me stay
with you. Neither of us had any idea that this would turn into such
a lengthy stay."

"Nonsense. Aurora, I'd be terribly offended
if you moved elsewhere. I enjoy having you here"--a knowing twinkle
glistened in Rose's eyes--"and I must say I've never seen so much
of my nephew as I have since you've been here." Rose reached over
to pat her hand. "I always regretted that I never married and had
children, so I'll just sort of adopt you as my daughter, at least
temporarily.”

Aurora turned to her in surprise. "Why,
Rose, I didn't realize. I thought you chose to remain unmarried to
devote all your attention to your career and travels."

"Well, that's a misconception shared by
many. I must confess I usually do nothing to enlighten people." She
held up a hand in protest. "Oh, I don't mean that I haven't had a
good life, mind you. Between my teaching and all of my travels, in
fact, I feel I've had a rich and varied life."

Rose searched around the room, her hand
toying with the button of her blouse. "I've always wondered,
though. I think I would have been a good wife and mother. You see,
the truth is, the only man I ever really loved married someone
else." She gazed into the distance wistfully a few moments before
she became herself again. "Well that's neither here nor there. The
fact is, though, that I enjoy having you here."

Rose reached out to squeeze Aurora's hand
again. "I realize that you're probably feeling trapped because of
this extended time for Peggy's recovery. When we learned of her
heart problems after surgery, I feared you would tell us this
negated our agreement. It's good to find someone who still honors
commitments."

Trapped, she had considered telling Rose the
change in the situation voided their agreement, but hoped her voice
disclosed none of those thoughts. "Surely Peggy would have had to
have this surgery soon even if I hadn't come along?"

Rose fidgeted as if embarrassed. "Well, to
tell you the truth, it is I who am indebted to you as much as
Peggy. Martha and I together planned to try our hands at running
the store while Peggy had surgery as soon as school dismissed for
summer."

Her eyes lit up as she laughed. "Frankly, I
hated the idea, but we didn't know what else to do to help our
friend. You can see why I'm especially grateful to you. I hope
you'll plan on staying here as long as you're in Post. I'll just
consider you one of the family while you're here.”

A cozy warmth spread through Aurora at
Rose's words. "Thank you, Rose. You don't know how much I
appreciate that." She spoke the truth, yet a net closed ever closer
and closer around her.

* * *

Aurora recruited Will and Raul to help her
after closing on Friday. Aurora needed Raul to climb the stepladder
to replace the burned out fluorescent tubes in all the light
fixtures. She tried not to wonder why she included Will when his
crutches and cast prevented him from actually being of any real
assistance.

Kelly, Lily and Catrina accompanied the two
men into the store. Juan and Hector chose to wait on the sidewalk
outside the store near Raul's double cab truck. Raul explained that
the two boys said it just was not cool to hang out in a gift shop.
Kelly and Catrina seemed to find it a great adventure to be in the
store after closing. They read all the funny cards and picked up
gift items without having to worry about becoming a nuisance to
customers.

Lily used the toe of her right shoe to scuff
at the worn and shabby carpet near one of the card showcases. "Now
you know I would never interfere, Aurora, but the extra light shows
this carpet is mas sucio, more dirty." Both men nudged one another
and laughed when Lily said she would never interfere. She shot them
a glare and then ignored them.

Aurora decided it best to ignore the laughs
of the two men also. "Isn't the carpet terrible, Lily? I've
arranged for a carpet cleaner to come in after closing tomorrow to
clean the carpet. That should give plenty of time for the carpet to
dry thoroughly over Sunday before we open the store Monday
morning."

"Ha. This is bueno. But why are the walls so
dark? This woman was loco when she chose these colors." Lily stood
with her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she surveyed the
store.

"I don't know if Peggy will let me paint
them or not. A nice light color would really improve the store,
though, wouldn't it? If I had been decorating this store, I would
have painted the walls such a pale pink they appeared almost white
and used a heavy grade of industrial carpet in a medium gray."

Lily nodded her approval of those colors,
and the men announced they were through with all the light
fixtures. Amazed at the difference even the additional lighting
made for the store, Aurora's spirits lifted. She and Susan had
cleaned and polished most of the day. The now gleaming glass
shelves presented a pleasing sight.

Juan's and Hector's adrenaline level soared
too high from their earlier soccer game for the two boys to sit
quietly while they waited for the others. When Aurora looked out
the front window of the store, she saw the two playing soccer on
the grassy median of the street. Lily saw them at the same time,
and rushed out to tell the boys to get back near the store. With
all the adults watching, the boys reluctantly trudged back to the
sidewalk in front of the store.

Before Lily could give the boys the sharp
edge of her tongue, Aurora raced into the street and across the
median. The others watched in puzzled surprise as she ran down the
street for half a block.

In her rush to read the license plate of the
truck disappearing down the street, Aurora neglected to explain her
rush from the store. The passenger of the truck turned around and
Aurora confirmed that it was the scraggly blond man who had tried
to open her car door. Unfortunately, that meant he had probably
identified her also. The truck speed accelerated and she brought
her run to a stop.

Hair flying in the wind and hands on her
hips, Aurora watched the truck turn off Main Street onto Highway
84. She never got close enough to decipher the rear license plate.
The passenger had definitely seen her. Angry and dejected, she
turned and walked briskly back to the store.

The three adults waited at the front
sidewalk of the store, probably puzzled by her behavior. Aurora
addressed Will, "It was that truck again, but I couldn't get the
license plate number before he turned."

Alarm showed on his face, though his
remained voice calm. "Did the driver see you?" When she nodded, he
ran his hand through his hair. "Damn these crutches and this cast!"
How like Will to direct his anger at his immobility, certain he
could have hopped into his own truck and caught up with the two men
if only he were not hampered by his cast.

Aurora put her hand on his arm. "It wouldn't
have mattered, Will. They would have disappeared just like they did
the other time. Anyway, since I have a different car now and park
in the alleyway at the back, they won't even know I'm here. They
won't be searching for a green Jeep Cherokee."

Will didn't appear convinced. "You may be
right, but you need to be careful, Aurora. They may drive down Main
Street every day at this time, for all we know, and they may not
have recognized you. However, even if they don't know where you
are, they know we've been asking questions about them and that
you're in Post."

Raul looked from Will to Aurora and back at
his friend. "What is this, amigo? Is there a problem here?"

Will filled Raul and Lily in on the previous
sighting of the truck at the convenience store. "I'd like to find
out who they are and where they live so we can let the sheriff
know."

Thoughtful, Raul nodded. "So would I, amigo.
We don't need men like this in our town."

Will's concern for Aurora grew now that one
of the men must have seen her. He badly wanted to take her home
with him and keep her there under his surveillance where no harm
could reach her. He knew how she would react to that suggestion and
restrained his impulses once again.

Raul clapped his friend on the back. "Hey,
amigo, let's go get some pizza. I promised these two rowdy
champions that I would buy them all the pizza they could eat when
they won their ballgame. Maybe over pizza we can work out a plan to
catch these two men in the disappearing truck. Aurora, while we
eat, you must tell me all about the first time you saw them."

Will tried to ease the gravity of the
sighting of the truck in front of the store. "I can hardly wait to
see Aurora eat pizza."

At the pizza parlor, Aurora explained in
detail to Raul and Lily the little she knew about the two
men--seeing them at the coffee shop in Sweetwater, their attempted
abduction, and seeing one of them at the convenience store. Raul
promised to ask around among his friends and relatives about the
two men.

Even with all the elapsed time, Aurora saw
their faces clearly in her mind. She gave Raul a description, but
realized how little she knew about the men. What chance did he have
to find these men with so little information?

As if reading her thoughts, Will said, "Raul
is related to about half the people in the county. If he has all
his relatives watching for these guys it’s better than having their
pictures in the newspaper."

Lily placed her hands on the table. "Ha. Now
let us talk of happier things. We must take Aurora's mind off of
these muy malo hombres. Aurora, tell us how your work at the store
is going. How have you not choked this Mattie woman yet?"

* * *

Aurora soon fell into a routine and found
the days passing very quickly. She developed a good rapport with
Susan, whose age was near her own. When Mattie grudgingly
volunteered that the store seemed much improved with the recent
changes, Aurora found it hard to conceal her surprise.