Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change (15 page)

The two sat at the open table next to Polly and Joss, and J. J. poked Polly with his menu. “I haven’t seen you since last weekend. What did you think of our princess’s little show?”

Polly laughed, “That was really something. What’s up with her brother? Are they always that weird around each other?”

“We don’t see him very often,” Ryan said. “Whenever he shows up, though, it’s because he needs money. She insists that Patrick take care of him. If he wanted a job, Patrick would have given him one, but he’s never stuck around long enough to do anything.”

“It sounds like he wants to run the winery,” Polly said.

“Fat chance.” Ryan laughed at the thought. “He’s an idiot.”

Lucy placed dishes in front of Polly and Joss, and J. J. looked them over. “That looks great, Lucy. Will you feed me?”

She walked over and rapped him on the head with her pencil. “Is that what you want today?”

“Yes, ma’am. Will you sit on my lap while you take Ryan’s order? I’m sure he’s going to need extra help today.”

“You need to grow up, young man. That kind of talk will get you nowhere with me. Ryan, what would you like for lunch today?” She rapped J. J. again and sidled up to Ryan, looking over his shoulder at the menu.

He looked up, “Just my regular, Lucy. Thank you.”

“You’re a good boy. Never could figure out why you hooked up with the likes of this one.” She left with their order and J. J.
chuckled. “She was my babysitter when I was little,” he explained. “I used to torture her. Do you remember when we saran-wrapped her car?” he asked Ryan. “I thought it was funny, but she was late getting to a rehearsal in Boone and she nearly killed us.”

“It was all your idea,” Ryan said. “It’s always your idea.”
             

Polly was shocked when J. J.‘s fork showed up in her plate. “What are you doing?”

“I just wanted to see if it was any good.” He chuckled and winked at her, then put the bite in his mouth. “Yep, it’s good.”

“Are you really a brat or is it all
a show?” Polly asked.

Ryan answered, “No one has ever figured that out and since he gets so much attention by being a brat, it’s part of his nature now. “No one has ever been able to tame him.”

Joss looked up from her plate and said,“So, if I’m not stretching things too far, don’t you think it’s weird that Bruce Victor was killed the same way as Lydia’s victim at the party?” Joss asked.

The two men sat there, stunned. “He was,” Ryan finally said. “Does that narrow the list of suspects to us?”

“I didn’t kill him,” J. J. protested. “I plan on making money with this winery. The last thing I’m going to do is kill the guy who knows what he’s doing.”

“Well, me too,” Ryan agreed. “But what about Annalise? She could have had that brother of hers help.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Polly said. “Why would she kill him?” She stopped and thought about it. “Oh. I suppose because she wanted the job for her brother.” She grimaced and looked around the two tables. “No, it still doesn’t make sense. Her brother couldn’t do what Bruce did and there are other places he could work. Why would she kill him?”

J. J. leaned in conspiratorially, “You didn’t hear it from me, but Annalise and Bruce’s wife have some strange relationship. They got into a lot of arguments back when we were all in California.”

“About what?” Polly asked.

Ryan swatted his friend’s hand across the table. “That was a long time ago. And besides, it doesn’t explain why Annalise would kill Bruce.”

“It would if she was trying to punish Lori. What better way to do that than to make the woman raise their little boy by herself with no income?”

Ryan sat back in his chair and seemed to process on J. J.‘s words, then shook his head. “I just don’t see it. She got Patrick in the end and Lori moved on.”

“What happened?” Polly asked again.

“Lori and Patrick dated while we were in college and stayed friends after they broke up,” Ryan said.

“Annalise was the reason they broke up,” J. J. said.

Lucy returned with their meals and patted him on the back as she put his food on the table. She glanced at Polly and Joss, checked their coffee pot, then walked away.

“Isn’t she the best?” J. J. said. “She always seems to know when she doesn’t need to interrupt, but you never have to ask for anything because it’s there before you realize you need it.”

“What do you mean Annalise was the reason that Lori and Patrick broke up?” Polly pressed.

“I heard that she showed up at some party and wouldn’t leave until our Paddy-boy took her home, then she seduced him.”

“She seems like someone who would do that,” Joss said.

“Doesn’t she?” J. J. laughed. “She scared the crap out of all of us. We told Patrick that we wouldn’t work with him if she had any part of the business and when we talked about coming back to Bellingwood, we told him the same thing about Secret Woods.”

“Then what was she doing with her brother?” Polly asked.

“We have no idea,” Ryan said.

“I think she was high. Did you see her?” J. J. responded. He lifted a fork filled with food toward Polly, “This is really good. Why haven’t I ever had it before?”

She shook her head and smiled at him. “Choices and consequences. Choices and consequences.”

“So when are you and Henry getting married?” J. J. asked, “Or are you available for me?”

“You moron,” Polly said. “The guy is building your lodge and you’re trying to encroach on his territory?”

“So you’re a thing?”

“The entire community of Bellingwood and three counties around us know they’re a thing,” Ryan said.

“It never hurts to keep your options open,” J. J. said. “Keep your options open, Polly. I have great cars.”

Polly laughed out loud. “That’s exactly what I’m looking for in a man.” Lucy had long since cleared their table and brought the receipt. She nodded at Joss, picked up the receipt, stood and said, “I’ll see you guys later. It was fun.”

They paid for lunch and walked outside. “I’m sorry about that,” Polly said. “I wanted to spend lunch with you, not an insufferable brat.”

“He’s fine. I don’t think they’ve been able to re-establish their place in Bellingwood yet. They don’t have a lot of friends.”

“Well, I really wanted to whine at you for a while and they interrupted that.”

“Whine at me? About what?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just trying to figure out what to do with Henry, and I wanted to talk to someone about it.” Polly checked the time. “But I have to get back to Sycamore House. Lori Victor and her son are coming over to see the horses.”

“I’m not doing anything. Can I come with you?”

“That’s okay. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Don’t you have extra work boots? Our feet are about the same size. The rest of what I’m wearing will wash. Take me with you.”

Polly gave her friend a quick hug. “You’ll laugh at me when I tell you what’s going on in my head
.”

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN

Polly was hardly out of the parking space when Joss said, “Now dish. What’s up?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Everything came out. Her fears about having someone live with her, her worries about destroying a relationship by getting too close to someone, the practicality of having Henry move in and then Polly said, “You know, the other strange thing is this random vandalism at Sycamore House. Now I think this person might be threatening me because of Henry. What if it’s an old girlfriend
and she’s mad because we’re dating. Will it send her over the edge if he moves in?”

She pulled up in front of her garage. Most of the spray paint was
gone, but the door was still a mess. At least the words weren’t screaming at her in bright red paint every time she drove in.

Joss turned in the truck seat to face her. “Do you love him, Polly?”

“Of course I do.”

“Do you see yourself getting old with him?”

Polly chuckled. “I guess so. Who else would stick around my craziness that long?”

“I’m serious, Polly. In all of your dreams for the future, is Henry there?”

“It’s always been just me,” Polly said, opening the door to her truck. “We’ve got a few minutes, let’s go upstairs and at least get a sweatshirt to cover your clothes.”

She opened the door to go inside, “I really hadn’t ever thought about whether Henry figured into my future.” Polly stopped at the door to her apartment and looked at Joss. “I’ve never had anyone who stuck around that long. Sure, I have friends, but they’ve all got their own lives. The people who were the closest to me are all gone.”

“Henry isn’t going anywhere,” Joss said, placing her hand on top of Polly’s. “He’s pretty stable.”

“In my head I know that’s true, but my heart is obviously still confused.” Polly led Joss up the back steps and into her bedroom. She pointed at the bed and Joss sat while Polly pulled out a sweatshirt and tossed it to her.

“Think about your life in ten years,” Joss said. “Is Henry there?”

“I guess so. We bought that hotel together and I can’t imagine doing any of the other things in town I want to do without him.”

“What about here at Sycamore House. Do you see him walking around the halls? Do you see him sleeping in your bed and making breakfast in the morning? Do you see him with your animals? What about kids?”

Polly shuddered. “Don’t even talk about kids. I can barely consider having a man in my life, much less children. I’m not ready to be a mommy. Not even in ten years!”

Joss laughed and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. “Okay, no babies.”

“Yeah. You have all of the babies you want. When they get to be about eight or nine years old, I’ll step in and take them.” As soon as the words were out of Polly’s mouth, she slammed her hand across her mouth. “I’m sorry, Joss. I’m so sorry. That was so insensitive of me.”

“It’s okay. I know what you were saying. And as long as I can adopt babies, I’m going to keep bringing them into my life. I want a big family and I’m glad Nate doesn’t have some strange hangup about having his seed out there in the world.” She chuckled. “His dad isn’t too happy. He tried to impress on us the importance of carrying on the Mikkels line, but Nate and I talked. He thinks his dad is nuts.”

“Well, I’m sorry. I’ve never wanted babies and I forget that there are people who really do love having them around.”

“Will you love my babies?” Joss asked.

“I’ll love your babies. I promise. Just don’t make me change diapers unless you’re really desperate, okay?”

“Got it. No diapers. Are you okay with puking and spitup and other gross things?”

“As long as I can wash it off, we’re good. I promise.”

Joss crossed the room and hugged Polly. “What are you going to do about Henry?”

“I have no idea.” Polly pushed the drawer shut and went out to the living room. “I’ve pushed him away so hard about asking me to marry him and the other night we had a huge fight. I nearly broke up with him.”

Joss put her hand on Polly’s arm to stop her. “Are you trying to see how far you can push before he’ll go away? Because he’s not going away, Polly.”

“Is that what I’m doing? Damn.” She thought about it. “That’s what I’m doing, isn’t it. The last time someone stuck around, it was because he was psycho and obsessed with me. That scared me to death. But before that, no man stayed with me longer than a few months. We always just moved on.”

“Henry isn’t going to move on. What will it take for you to believe that?”

“I don’t know. He proves it to me over and over and I’m still stuck in the same place.”

“That’s not true either, you goofball. You and he have made a lot of progress in your relationship. You aren’t the same couple that you were when we met you last year.”

“Okay,” Polly sighed. “I’ll have to trust you on that. I just feel like I’m being silly about this whole thing. Every other girl in the world has no problem dropping into bed with a guy and then moving in with him. People must think I’m crazy.”

She opened the front door and called Obiwan to follow. He came bounding out of the apartment and stopped at the top of the steps, waiting for her to join him.

“Who cares what other people think, Polly?” Joss asked.

Polly chuckled. “You didn’t disagree with me about people thinking I’m crazy.”

“Oh, I didn’t, did I! It’s no one else’s business but yours.”

“Are people talking about us?”

Joss laughed, “Not that I’ve heard.”

Polly looked at her intently and Joss put her hands up. “No really, I’ve heard nothing.”

“Okay. Whatever. Henry keeps telling me that we can do whatever we want in our own relationship - that it’s no one else’s business.”

They went down the stairs to the main foyer and Joss said, “He’s right, you know.”

“If we lived in Boston, no one would pay any attention to us. That’s one of the problems with living in a small town. Everybody thinks that everything is their business. Sometimes that just drives me batty.”

“But when you need them, they’re right there to take care of you.”

“I’m pretty sure the good far outweighs the bad. I’m just being grouchy. Come on. I need to ask Jeff a question before we head to the barn.” She led Joss into the office and peeked in Jeff’s door.

“Are you busy?” she asked him.

“No, what’s up?”

“What do you think about a room in the addition for Sarah Heater? Have you come up with anything?”

“All taken care of. We’ll put her in the back room on the main level. Have you talked to her? When is it going to happen?”

“Not yet,” Polly said. “But now that you’re ready, I’m on it.”

“Let Eliseo know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks, Jeff. I couldn’t do this without you here.”

“I know that and I’ll constantly remind you of how important I am.” He grinned and waved as they left.

“I want to work here,” Joss said as they went out the side door and headed for the barn.

“The kids would be lost without you at the library,” Polly hooked her arm through Joss’s. “But there is always something going on here. It’s never boring.”

“So what’s happening with the horses today?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I got all caught up last week with Lori Victor and her son who has Down syndrome. It occurred to me that a lot of kids respond to these big animals and I wanted to give him something special, especially after his dad just died.”

“That makes sense,” Joss said, waiting for Polly to open the gate. “You certainly have a lot of animals around here.”

The sun had finally come out and the two donkeys were waiting for Polly to come through the pen.

“Hi guys,” she said. “You have to let us get to the barn first. Joss needs to put boots on her feet.” Tom nosed Polly’s jacket pocket, looking for a treat. “You’re going to have to wait for that, too. I don’t have anything in there yet.” She grinned at Joss. “Eliseo keeps carrots in a refrigerator back in the feed room. The boys love getting treats when new people show up.”

The donkeys followed them into the barn and Huck left them behind and headed for the feed room. They heard Eliseo laughing and he came out into the main alley.

“Huck told me you were here and reminded me that he and Tom were lost little donkeys who never have any fun. No one is ever around to play with them.” He bent over and rubbed Huck’s head and whispered something in the donkey’s ear. Huck skittered back down the alley to Polly and Joss.

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him to go get treats. He’s waiting!”

“Are my extra boots back there? Joss needs something if she’s going to be out in the pasture with us.”

“They’re in the cabinet. Otherwise the donkeys would eat them. Come on back, Joss. We’ll get you set up.”

“Give her the treats today,” Polly called. “It’s her turn to have fun.” When nothing appeared in Polly’s hands, Tom and Huck wandered back to the feed room and soon she heard giggles as Joss tried to deal with both curious donkeys at once.

“That will help her make friends, won’t it, Demi?” Polly reached up and rubbed the nose of her horse. “Are you ready to be an ambassador today?” She and Eliseo had already decided that since he was the calmest of the four, it would be best to introduce Seth and his mother to him. Demi shook his head and then returned for some more attention.

Joss was still chuckling when she came back out of the feed room. “These boys are great!” she said. “I had no idea donkeys were so friendly.”

Polly’s phone buzzed with a text from Lori Victor.

We’re here. Where should we go?

I’ll be right out. If you’re still in your car, drive down the lane to the barn.

“Lori and Seth are here,” she said to Joss. “I’m going to go out and find them.”

Joss sat down on one of the benches with both donkeys sniffing around her. “I think I’ll be fine right here.”

Polly went outside and waited while Lori drove a nice BMW down the lane. She hoped the woman had dressed for being in the barn. She waited while they parked and walked out to meet them.
Lori opened up the back seat and lifted Seth out. He was adorable in jeans, a little western styled shirt and a small cowboy hat.

“Hi!” Polly called out. “Seth looks awesome. Is he ready to meet
my horses?”

“We don’t have much time, but after he heard you invite us over, I couldn’t very well disappoint him.”

Polly was taken aback by the comment, but decided to make the best of the afternoon and give the woman the benefit of the doubt. Her husband had been gone for less than two weeks and raising a small boy had to be a challenge.

“Then if we don’t have much time, we should make the best of it. Are you ready to see some horses today, Seth?” Polly asked.

Lori carried him in through the gate and didn’t let go of him when they got into the barn. All four horses put their heads out of their stalls and the donkeys quickly left Joss to check out the new people in their territory.

“You have a lot of animals in here,” Lori said. “I had no idea the horses were this big.”

Polly grinned, “Their size is pretty intimidating, but they’re as gentle as can be.”

Eliseo walked into the alley of the barn and Polly said, “This is Eliseo Aquila. He works with them every day and will be glad to introduce Seth to Demi.”

Name plates had been made for each of the stalls and Lori turned to see which was which. They stopped in front of Demi’s stall. The horse waited patiently while Seth reached out and put his little hand on Demi’s forehead.

“Would you like me to hold him?” Eliseo asked. “I’d be glad to take him for a ride around the pasture if you think he’d enjoy
it.”

Lori bristled and then relaxed. “I told Polly that we don’t have much time. I promised Seth that he could see the horses, but I don’t want him on the back of one of them.”

“I understand,” Eliseo said. “But they are well trained and gentle with everyone.”