Harbor Nights (16 page)

Joanna's smile faded. “It was my fault.” The secrets were back in her eyes.

“I can't imagine that.” Joanna would never hurt her daughter in any way. “What happened?”

“I'd rather not talk about it, Karl.” Joanna relaxed as the waitress carrying their dinner approached the table. “Oh look, the food's here.”

He allowed Joanna to change the subject for now. With his connections, he could do a background check and find out every one of Joanna's secrets. But he couldn't bring himself to do that. He wanted Joanna to trust him enough to tell him those secrets herself.

“Oh good, I'm starved.” He relaxed his posture and concentrated on putting Joanna at ease through the rest of the meal. She was a skittish little thing who sometimes acted as if she had been living in a cage or a prison for the last twenty-five years. Everything they did together or talked about seemed new and exciting to Joanna.

She had never ridden on a motorcycle, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to try it on his. She even claimed that the last time she had been fishing was when she was ten; her father had taken her to some lake where they hadn't caught anything besides a waterlogged branch. Tuesday was her next day off, and he was taking her fishing out on Sunset Cove for the day.

He wanted to be the one to teach Joanna everything, from the feel of the wind in her hair to the joy of rowing a boat out into the middle of the cove to fish the day away. He also wanted to show her what was going to happen if she kept on kissing him the way she had last night when he walked her to the door. If they hadn't both known that Norah was inside the house waiting up for her mother, there was no telling how the night would have ended.

Joanna Stevens kissed like an angel with the devil on her mind, and he couldn't wait to kiss her again.

 

 

“I guess Norah's not home yet.” Joanna walked up the walkway with Karl. Evening had fallen, and there weren't any lights lit inside the house. “Would you like to come in for some coffee?”

“That would be nice.”

She glanced at the closed front door with its cheerful wreath made out of silk sunflowers. “I've got to warn you; Zsa Zsa doesn't like to be left alone.”

Karl took the keys out of her hands and unlocked the door. “This means?”

“She might have destroyed the entire house while we ate dinner. I just can't bring myself to lock her in her cage while I'm gone.” Joanna took a deep breath and opened the door.

“How much damage could she do? She's barely six inches high.”

Karl was the first to laugh when she flipped the light switch. She didn't know if she should be mortified at the mess, furious at Zsa Zsa, or laugh along with him. “I must have left my closet door open.”

Zsa Zsa had dragged every shoe and purse she could reach in the closet out to the middle of the living room floor. Thankfully, most of them didn't appear to be damaged by her little teeth. Only one victim, a wonderful little pink and green sequined clutch bag, lay torn to shreds on the rug. Sequins were everywhere, and Zsa Zsa was curled up on top of one of the couch pillows, apparently exhausted from her efforts.

“Bad doggie!”

The Pomeranian opened one eye and looked at her with total boredom. Her expression was so comical that Karl went into a fit of laughter.

Joanna bit her lip and tried not to join him. “Don't encourage her.” She stared down at what had once been a stylish evening bag. “I liked that purse.”

Karl stood beside her and stared solemnly down at the torn shreds of green satin, a gold clasp, and thousands of glittering sequins. “Is that what it was, a purse?”

She nodded. “It matched the gown I wore to my niece's wedding.” Norah and she had flown to Colorado four years ago for the occasion. Vince had stayed home, claiming he needed to work to pay for the airline tickets.

Karl bent down and picked up the tattered piece of damp, chewed up silk. “I'm sure with some super glue and thread, we can have it looking like new in no time.” Karl's lips were still twitching with laughter.

She playfully whacked him on his arm. “You're incorrigible.”

He caught her hand and pulled her to him. “And you are delectable.” His mouth lowered to hers.

She went up on her toes and kissed him back. Mouth to mouth. Breath to breath. She had gone to sleep last night with his kiss on her mind. By this morning, she had blown it all out of proportion. No man could kiss that well, and she had been dying to kiss Karl again just to see how far off her memory had been.

Her memory hadn't done it justice.

The kiss was dangerously soft and sweet. It was seductive without being overpowering. She could feel the desire Karl was holding in check by the way his fingers trembled against her back. Desire she matched but wasn't ready to act upon. She wasn't ready for their relationship to take the next step. Trust wasn't built in a matter of weeks. She didn't know if she would ever be capable of wholeheartedly trusting a man again.

But she wanted to. She wanted to feel love and to give love freely.

Karl broke the kiss and slowly lowered his hands. “You're a dangerous woman, Joanna.” He took a step back.

She laughed at the absurdity of that statement. The last thing she was was dangerous. “What makes you say that?” She had a hard time controlling her voice and her breathing.

“Because for the first time in life, I have this sudden need to vacuum.” Karl glanced down at the scattered sequins. “Why don't you put the shoes and the purses away while I run the Hoover?” He bent down and handed her a navy pump. “Then we'll have our coffee.”

Norah couldn't believe she was having lunch with Kay and Jill. They had pulled her aside last weekend at Ned's and invited her for a girls' afternoon together. She couldn't refuse their invitation. Truth be told, she didn't want to. Kay and Jill were both nice and friendly, but she didn't think they had a lot in common. She was willing to give it a try though. Besides, what else did she have to do today? Her mom was either working all the time or with Karl. She had a feeling things were getting serious there, and she hadn't decided yet how she felt about that.

Jill was driving, and they were heading into Bangor. “You're going to love this place, Norah.” Jill passed a truck that was doing about sixty as if it was standing still. Jill's SUV was in the same class as the military Hummer, but she hadn't heard her ask the F.A.A. tower for clearance for takeoff.

Kay acted as if having her ears pop from the decompression didn't bother her. Kay should have been an astronaut. “It's a tea room–like setting, but there are a lot of tables set outside in a garden.”

“Sounds lovely.” She couldn't imagine a more un-Kay and un-Jill place to eat. Tea parties in a garden just didn't seem like their type of place. “Do you eat there often?”

“No, neither one of us can drag our husbands past the bubbling cherub fountain or the doily welcome mat.” Jill drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, looking for another semi to pass. “John and Paul won't go into any place in which the main color is pink.”

She tried to control her mirth as she pictured two grown men being afraid of a color. “I see. So how did you find this place?”

“My mother told me about it,” said Kay. “Her garden club meets there a couple of times a year.”

It sounded like a place her mother would enjoy. She hung onto the “Oh shit” handle above the passenger door as Jill barreled down the exit ramp. Three blocks later, they turned into a small parking lot. Norah wanted to kiss the ground. Who in the world had taught Jill to drive, and why hadn't Ned warned her to make out her last will and testament before getting in the car with her?

“We're here,” announced Jill.

“About time,” muttered Kay as she opened up the back door and got out.

Norah slowly opened her door and climbed out. She was pretty sure her stomach and her nerves were back in Ellsworth somewhere. She made a mental note never to drive with Kay if Kay thought Jill was a slow driver. The little house next to them looked cute, but it was the gardens behind the brick cottage that were enchanting and overflowing with customers. “It looks lovely.”

Jill and Kay grinned at each other. “Told you so.” Kay looked so proud of herself.

Ten minutes later, they were sitting under a shady tree at a wonderful little table. A flowery tablecloth and matching napkins added to the garden effect. Tall glasses of iced tea with sprigs of mint were sitting in front of them.

Kay and Jill looked uneasy both at the surroundings and with her. Jill took the sprig of mint out of her tea and placed it on the paper doily that was acting as a coaster.

Norah took a sip of her unsweetened tea and thought it was delicious. “Okay, I can't stand it any longer. What's this all about?” She didn't know if she wanted to hear whatever was on their minds, but she couldn't stand the suspense anymore. There was a reason behind this friendly little outing. Her money was on Ned. He was the only common denominator. Somehow, however, she couldn't picture Kay and Jill driving all the way into Bangor with her to tell her she wasn't right for their brother-in-law.

She already knew she wasn't the perfect match for Ned, but the man could kiss. Oh, how that man could kiss.

“What do you mean?” asked Jill.

“Is this about Ned? Do you have a problem with us seeing each other?” She and Ned had gone out to dinner a couple of times this past week. Tonight she was going over to his place for steaks on the grill. So far their relationship hadn't progressed past hot kisses that ended up frustrating them both. But she wasn't ready to take the next step in their relationship.

“No, no, no,” Kay uttered in disbelief. “Is that what you thought this was about?”

“Well, yes.” She could see the look of distress on both of their faces. “So it's not about me seeing Ned?”

“No,” Kay said. “We think you're great for Ned.” Kay played with her napkin nervously. “It's more about us.”

Jill nodded in agreement.

“What about you?” Maybe they needed a babysitter or something.

“We don't know how to explain this very well, but we're Porters now, so we are going to be blunt.” Jill sat up straighter, mustered her courage, and asked. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Get the men to, you know, wait on you,” Kay said.

“Wait on me?” She hadn't noticed anyone waiting on her. Wasn't she the one who had set the tables for their takeout chicken dinner the other night?

“Not really wait on you.” Jill looked helplessly at Kay. “We're explaining this all wrong.”

“John loves a strong, independent woman. One who he doesn't have to fuss over. One who loves what he loves. You know, camping, hiking, fishing, things like that,” Kay explained.

“I would say he married the right woman then.” As far as she could see, John and Kay were a perfect match.

“Paul's the same way. He likes knowing that if he isn't home and I run out of firewood, I'll go out back, split a couple of logs, and keep everyone warm.” Jill stirred another teaspoon of sugar into her tea.

“Being able to split firewood would, I think, be a bonus living in Maine.” Norah had no doubt that Kay and Jill could cut down entire trees to keep their families warm. “I'm afraid I've never swung an ax in my entire life.”

Kay and Jill looked at each other and smiled. “We kind of figured that one out for ourselves.” Kay smiled at her to soften her words. “That's just it. I bet you that if you stood by a log with an ax in your hand, one of the Porters would come dashing over, take the ax away, and split the wood for you.”

She wondered if she should mention that Ned had promised her an entire truckload of split wood for helping with the kids. “That would be bad?”

“No,” clarified Kay. “The point is, none of the men would think twice if they saw Kay or me with an ax. And none of them would come rushing to do the job for us.”

“We're not jealous, Norah.” A becoming blush stained Jill's cheeks. “We just want some tips on being more girly like you.”

“Our husbands, sad to say, treat us like buddies,” added Kay. “We've watched them with you twice now. Once at the barbeque and once at Ned's. John actually waited on you, and Paul helped you clear the table. It was like we were invisible, and yet they stopped everything because there was a lady in the room.”

“Well I'm glad they think I'm a lady, but so are you two. I think they are just being polite, that's all.” She relaxed now that they had that worked out. “I think Peggy just drilled good manners into their heads.”

“Oh, they have manners all right,” Jill grumbled. “Do you know what Paul bought me for my last birthday? Four brand new, top of the line tires for the SUV.”

“John got me a vacuum for Christmas.” Kay stirred the ice in her tea.

“Paul got me a new backpack and sleeping bag, and there were battery-operated boot warmers in my stocking.”

“What did you want?” She was curious. If she had a husband and he bought her tires for her birthday, she was afraid she would have to divorce him or run him over with them.

“Something a little more personal.” Jill pondered it for a moment. “Perfume maybe.”

“Listen, Norah, we really appreciated you and Ned watching the kids last weekend.” Kay grew silent as the waitress brought their fancy little sandwiches.

“The backpacking trip in the mountains was our husbands' idea of a getaway weekend.” Jill looked at the crustless, triangle-cut cucumber sandwich before her and frowned. “You would think that for the price they charged, they would at least give you some meat in there.”

Norah bit her lip. Kay and Jill looked like the quarter pounder with the works type of eaters to her. “Didn't you enjoy the trip?”

“Yes, but sweating all day and having nothing better than a mountain stream to splash off in isn't what we would call conducive to romance.” Jill picked up her dainty little triangle and popped it into her mouth.

“I'm tired of being John's buddy.” Kay looked at Jill, shrugged her shoulders, and blurted out, “We need your help, Norah.”

“Sure, with what?”

“We see the way Ned's looking at you.” Jill pushed her plate away.

“It's been a long time since Paul or John looked at either one of us like that.” Kay didn't bother touching her lunch.

Norah tried not to blush. She had seen some of the heated looks Ned had given her, but she had hoped no one else had. “Let me get this straight. You want me to help you seduce your own husbands?”

“Yep.” Jill met her gaze and didn't flinch.

“Why me?” What in the hell did she know about seduction? Or men, for that matter? “Can't you just go to Victoria's Secret and pick up something? Light a few candles, spray on some perfume, and open a bottle of wine?”

“We've never stepped foot into a Victoria's Secret, and John wouldn't drink wine if someone paid him. He's a beer kind of guy.”

“We wouldn't know what to buy if we did go into the store,” Jill said. “Neither one of us are up for a snobby sales clerk laughing at us.”

“Never?” Norah looked at both women in wonder. She couldn't believe there was a woman under fifty who hadn't at least browsed through the lingerie section once or twice.

Kay and Jill shook their heads.

“Do you know where the nearest one is?” She signaled to their waitress and asked for the check. Kay and Jill weren't eating their finger sandwiches.

“The mall.” Kay reached for her purse and stood.

Jill joined her and jiggled her keys.

“Let's go.” Norah grabbed her purse, pulled out a couple of bills, and handed them to the startled waitress. “Now, this is what an afternoon out with the girls should be about.” They all walked briskly through the tearoom and out the front door. “John and Paul are going to be mighty surprised husbands tonight.”

“Oh yeah,” agreed Kay.

“Yeah, we have their credit cards,” added Jill as she got in behind the wheel.

 

 

Norah looked at her mother, who was fussing over the roast, and then at the dining room table. It was set with fine white linens and her grandmom's best china. Her mother was pulling out all the stops on tonight's meal. There were even fresh flowers on both the table and the coffee table in the living room.

“You told Ned six, right?” Joanna slid the roast back into the oven.

“Yes, Mom.” Norah couldn't believe how nervous her mother was at having both Karl and Ned over for dinner. “You told Karl six, right?”

“Of course I did.” Her mother looked at her and then chuckled. “You were teasing me, weren't you?”

“Afraid so.” Norah snatched one of the fancy little crackers her mother had arranged on a silver serving tray. The cream cheese and chives were a delicious touch. “Why so nervous? It's not like you haven't seen Karl nearly every night for weeks.”

“I've never cooked for him before.” Her mother smacked Norah's hand lightly when she reached for another cracker. “I forgot to ask him if he liked roast beef. I just assumed he did, and now it's too late. They will be here any minute, and the roast is done.” Joanna looked at her in dawning horror. “Does Ned like roast? He's not allergic to beef or anything, is he?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “Mom, relax. Ned eats anything.” Considering the size of the steak he had put away last night, her mother would be better off worrying about whether the roast was big enough. Karl was slimmer and less muscular than Ned, but they were nearly the same height. “I have never seen you put a bad meal on the table yet, and I'm twenty-four.”

Her mother was a fantastic cook. It was a real shame she hadn't inherited that particular talent. Her idea of cooking dinner was poking holes in the film top and sliding the frozen meal into the microwave. But as Ned had pointed out last night, she chopped a mean salad.

“There's always a first time for something to go wrong.” Joanna lifted the lid of the pot on the back burner and tested the potatoes. “Statistics show it usually happens at the most important meal too.”

The sound of a motorcycle pulling into the driveway made her mother drop the lid back on the pot. “That's Karl.”

“Has he gotten you on the bike yet?” She couldn't believe her mother was dating a man who not only wore an earring but also rode a Harley. A badass Hog that was the envy of every male in town. Then again, she was having a hard time believing she was having this double dinner date with her mother.

She felt as if she had stepped into the twilight zone of dating.

“Of course not.” Her mother wiped her hands on her apron and then took it off. “Could you picture me riding the thing? I wouldn't even know how.”

“You just sit there and hold on; that's it.” She looked her mother up and down. “You would need a new outfit though. Taupe linen and silk clash with Harley black.”

Her mother ran her fingers through her hair and checked her lipstick in the shine of the toaster. “What kind of outfit would be appropriate?”