Heart in the Field (11 page)

           
She realized that Nick Fraser was
getting right down into the core of her.
“Maybe for
journalism.
But he didn’t do great things for anyone else in his life.”

           
“So that’s it? It’s not his
professional life that you’re running from, it’s his personal affiliations.”

           
Serena felt like she’d been wound up
with a key inside. Hell, she’d felt like she’d been wound up ever since she had
heard Nick Fraser’s name over her cell phone the other day.
“Personal
affiliations.
That’s a cute way of saying that my father’s family
interaction stank.”

           
“Is that what it is?”

           
“Yes, that’s what it is.” Serena
placed her hands on her hips. She had to cool down if she were to be in any
shape for the party. “I don’t want to discuss this tonight, Nick.”

           
“But we will discuss it?”

           
“Why do we need to discuss it?”

           
“Because it upsets
you so much.
I think you need to talk about it with someone who
understands. I was thinking of doing a documentary on your father. I need your
permission. Well, I’ll need your family’s permission. But it would give you a
chance to think about him, to talk about him.”

           
Serena couldn’t believe he was so
brazen. Kissing her one minute, the next standing there saying he wanted to do
a documentary on her father. “That’s all you want from me, is it?”

           
Nick stepped forward, looking as if
he wanted to hold her in his arms again. “Serena.”

           
She backed away from him. “Don’t
touch me again. And I want you to shut up about him and don’t bring up his name
in my presence.”

           
Nick raised an eyebrow. “I don’t
think we even mentioned his name.”

           
Pascal, who had slid unnoticed into
the kitchen, jumped on the table between them, startling them. He poked his
black leathery nose into the flowers and promptly sneezed.

           
Serena scooped him off the table,
uncaring she was wearing silk and his claws could do damage. She was just
pleased for the interruption. “Pascal, this is Nick.”

           
Nick extended his finger to Pascal,
who rubbed his cheek on his hand. “This is your housemaster, I presume.”

           
“Yes. He is.”

           
Nick patted the shiny gray head
between the upright ears.
“Extremely pleased to meet you,
Pascal.”

           
Pascal also seemed very pleased to
meet Nick, and Serena had to actually move closer because Pascal wanted to
sniff his hand in more detail.

           
Serena watched Nick’s big capable
hand gently rubbing Pascal. “He seems to have taken to you.”

           
“I think we’ve all taken to each
other.
Whatever you think.
Now, I’ll go and see Gerry
about switching cars.”

           
Serena noticed some of her lipstick
had been transferred on to Nick’s mouth. She let Pascal wriggle away and went
to the counter to tug a tissue from the box there. She returned to Nick. “Let
me wipe my lipstick from your mouth first.”

           
He stood still as she wiped his firm
lips. Her mark on his mouth, proving they had been about to lose it
temporarily. If she was ever going to lose it with any man, it would be Nick.
She knew that now. Her body still pulsed from the pressure of his.

           
She was about to remove her hand
when he caught her fingers with his own. Kisses flew across her fingertips,
reigniting the fire. Breathlessly, she tugged her fingers from his, seeing
their hands parting in reluctant slow motion.

           
“Serena.” Her mother again, calling
from the door. “Gerry can’t get out with Nick’s car parked there.”

           
“Go.”

           
He went, and for a second she didn’t
know what to do with herself. Then she tossed the tissue into the garbage bin
under the sink and decided she might have lost it temporarily but she wasn’t
going to lose it forever. From now on Nick Fraser was going to be kept exactly
where she wanted him, at a great distance.

           
Pascal was back on the table,
sniffing around the flowers, and Serena decided she was going to have to put
the flowers in a higher spot if she didn’t want to find them on the floor when
she arrived home. She carried the vase into the living room and placed it on
the mantel. She didn’t think Pascal ever jumped up there.

           
Her mother walked in on her as
Serena turned around.

           
“The flowers are pretty,”
Reeva
said. “He’s an interesting man.”

           
“Nick?”

           
“Naturally, Nick. All I’m going to
say, Serena, is watch him. He has the same look in his eye as your father, and
he was entirely unreliable. You want a man you can dominate, not a man who
dominates and controls your life until you can’t operate without him. All I’m saying
is, don’t fall in love with him.”

           
Serena touched one of her earrings.
Could her mother see her lipstick was worn off by a man’s mouth?
“Heaven’s, no.
I’m working with the man. And I have to admit
I’ve already noted the similarity.”

           
“It’s pretty obvious. He’s a
handsome devil, with that hard shell exterior.”
Reeva
swished forward and adjusted a couple of flowers in Serena’s arrangement.

           
Serena wanted to go over and return
the flowers to their former position, but she knew she couldn’t do that in front
of her mother. Actually, she didn’t have the guts or the inclination for a
fight tonight. Her mother was so damn strong and manipulative. She couldn’t
believe she was the same crumpled woman who had been used and manipulated by
Stuart Redding Brown.

           
“Still, it doesn’t matter that you
are working with the man. You can still fall for him. Beware. That’s all I’m
saying. Now I just want to pay a visit to the little girls’ room. Is your cat
supposed to be on the furniture, sweetie?”

           
Serena lifted Pascal off the back of
the high sofa that was closest to the mantel and carried him outside. She
closed the living room door. Pascal was up to tricks. And so was Nick. He
thought she was eager for him, and she’d given him that impression. Or had his
kisses merely been a way of trying to soften her up, so he could persuade her
to give him permission to do a documentary on her father’s life? If he’d read
her father’s book, then he was probably a fan. That he wanted to do the
documentary proved his interest. Trying to get closer to her than necessary,
like taking her for supper the other night and lunch at his apartment might be
triggered by his desire for the documentary. If that was his motive, then she
really was going to have to watch herself. No more slip-ups like the one
tonight. As soon as she’d been in his arms she’d lost all coherent thought and
wanted only him.

           
Serena popped into her bedroom and
swiped some more lipstick across her lips.

           
“I’m ready now,” her mother said
from the doorway. “Are you ready?”

           
Serena picked up her gold leather
handbag. “Yes. I’m ready.” But she knew she wasn’t.

Chapter Seven

Don’s house
was a stone mansion set in a few acres of land that had once been part of a
farm. Barbara Steel greeted them as soon as they left the Lincoln. For some reason Nick had expected
Don to be linked with a younger woman, but, like her husband, Barbara was in
her fifties. Her hair, a brown and gray mixture, was loose around her bony
shoulders and the long, gold cotton dress and flat gold sandals made her appear
very thin.

           
As they were escorted by Barbara to
the back of the house
Reeva
whispered to everyone,
“She looks like a street person.”

           
Suppressing a twitch of humor, Nick
noticed Serena raise her eyes heavenwards as if praying for her mother not to
say anything like that to Don.

           
“She’s an artist,” he heard Serena
say softly. “And you, of all people, shouldn’t be so politically incorrect.”

           
“It’s not being politically
incorrect. It’s being truthful. I don’t know what Don sees in her.”

           
“Mother.
Cut it out. They’ve been married for thirty years and have three grown
children. So something must have fused.”

           
“I still think she looks wrong for
him.”

           
Nick wasn’t so sure about that.
Barbara might not have
Reeva’s
sophisticated style
but she appeared to live by the strength of her convictions. That type of
strength always impressed him.

           
Barbara beckoned them across a lawn
that took up half of the naturalized garden. The rest of the vast property was
a surrounding forest of trees. It made for a perfectly private setting for a
party.

Nick moved
up beside Serena so that Gerry could walk in front of them with
Reeva
. “What are your mother’s politics, by the way?”

           
“She’s all over the place. I never
quite know what wavelength she’s on.”

           
He could see Serena was annoyed with
her mother. She was still annoyed with him as well. She’d sat far apart in the
back of the car on the way over here and hadn’t joined in with the
conversation. He’d been pretty stupid to mention doing a documentary on her
father after discovering how wrought up she was about Stuart Redding Brown.
What he’d really meant was that maybe doing a documentary on her father might
help her combat her pain. She hadn’t got that message though.

           
Barbara’s entourage came to a stop
at Don. Don placed his arm around his wife’s shoulders and tugged her close to
his hip. The possessive gesture reminded Nick of his parents’ way with each
other.
Which in turn reminded him of why he was connected to
Steel TV.
He was here for his parents’ welfare, not to get enmeshed in
an affair, or even more, with Serena.

           
Don, wearing jeans and a more
subdued blue shirt tonight, beamed at them all. “Good to see you again,
Reeva
and Gerry. There’s a great deal to celebrate this
evening, with Serena’s and Nick’s upcoming show.” He acknowledged Nick with a
grin and gave Serena rather a sly glance. “I’m going to leave it to Serena to
introduce you to everyone, Nick. She’s been with Steel longer than most.”

           
Don moved on to greet his next
guests.
Reeva
and Gerry disappeared to make their presence
known. Nick was left with Serena.

           
“Are you going to introduce me?”

           
“Naturally I will. I can’t leave you
standing on your own.”

           
He made his expression one of mock
sadness, hoping to lighten the atmosphere between them. “No. You definitely
can’t.” Then he caught hold of her hand. “Forgive me for what happened in the
kitchen.”

           
He felt her trying to remove her
fingers from his and he had to let them go without a struggle.

           
“Nick. Forget it.”

           
He wanted to explain what he’d meant
about her father, but he didn’t want to upset her again.
“All
right.
Forget it. Let’s enjoy the party.”

           
She glanced around with a twist of
her slim body. “I see some of the floor crew over there. They’re fun.”

           
Nick was introduced to Gene
Rowson
, a videographer with a round, boyish face,

           
“Anyone heard how John is?” Serena
asked the group.

           
“He’ll be having a damn good rest if
he’s smart,” Dick said. “I suggested he pull a bird and shack up for the next
few months.”

           
“You would,” she said. “That’s all
you think about.”

           
Dick had a wicked glint in his green
eyes. “Sex is the only free entertainment these days.”

           
“Don’t believe it,” Gene told him.
“The last woman I went out with ditched me for a guy with a Mercedes.”

           
Margie nudged his arm. “
Your
old Ford not good enough, Gene?”

           
“It’s still going.” Gene defended
his car.

           
“Like you,” Dick retorted. “It limps
along. Maybe it was the limp she didn’t go for, Gene, old boy.”

           
Gene grinned. “Limp is not my
problem, old boy.”

           
Serena laughed and Nick enjoyed
seeing her loosen up.

           
“You guys going to work with us on
Neon Nights
?” Serena
asked.

           
Dick gave her a deep look.
“If you want us honeybunch.”

           
“Can’t live without the Dick and
Gene show?” Margie asked.

           
“Oh, maybe I can. I need to be more
serious on
Neon Nights
.” She turned to include Nick. “My co-host, here, is a
serious news man.”

           
Nick felt her dig. He also saw the
other employees give him a look that said he was a little bit of an intruder.
Well, maybe he was. Don had hired him on a large salary to bail out a show. He
was here for a short time and he didn’t have to become involved with any of the
staff on a personal level. They knew all that.

           
Serena began talking to Margie, and
Nick found himself parted from her. Hell, this was a party, he decided. He
should mix.
Except he didn’t know anyone.
For a second
he felt out of his element, rather like the day he arrived off the bus at camp
with a bunch of strange boys. Then someone came up to him and touched his arm.
It was Juliette, wearing a silver mini-dress with spaghetti straps and black
shoes with high silver heels.

           
“You look lost, Nick.”

           
He was relieved to see her. “Not
anymore. Do you want to go and get a drink?”

           
“I’d love that. Thanks.”

•

           
Serena didn’t realize Nick had left
until Margie said, “Look at that. Juliette’s getting her claws into Nick Fraser
right away. Poor Pat.”

           
Serena looked in the direction
Margie indicated. Nick and Juliette stood close together. They seemed to have a
lot to say to one another and it appeared as if Nick couldn’t keep his eyes off
Juliette’s plunging cleavage.
“Why poor Pat?”

           
“Didn’t you know she and Pat
were
a big item once?”

           
“No. I didn’t.”

           
“Well, Pat’s pretty circumspect. But
we all knew, even if he didn’t think so. He began dating Juliette and he got
serious. Slithery Juliette doesn’t want serious.
No way.”

           
“I’ve heard from Juliette herself
that Nick is a love ‘
em
and leave ‘
em
type, so they’ll make a good couple.”

           
Margie nodded.
“Could
be.
They do look good together.”

           
The couple was at the beer cooler.
Nick extracted two bottles from the crushed ice, de-capped them, and handed one
to Juliette. Leaning back a little, she let the condensation from the bottle
drip against her breasts, to cool herself down, and Nick looked at her as if he
wanted to bend over and lick the droplets of iced water from her flesh. Serena
wondered if Juliette could possibly have told Serena those stories about Nick
to warn Serena off a man she wanted for herself. Well, Juliette didn’t have to
worry. Serena wasn’t going to fall into bed with Nick. But it was going to be
darn hard trying not to.

           
“Anyway, Serena,” Margie said. “I’m
gonna
go see Gene again. One day I’ll get that guy to
notice me.”

           
“Good luck.” Margie had been crazy
about Gene since she started at Steel.

           
Someone put cool hands on Serena’s
shoulders. “Guess?”

           
She knew the voice. “Pat.”

           
“You’re good.” Patrick
McHaney
smiled. He hosted
This
is Science
on Steel. He was a very tall, rugged man in
jeans and a checked shirt. Tonight his brown hair had taken a daring leap into
a ponytail. Pat rarely shaved right down to his skin, and his jaw bore a shadow
of a beard. “Having fun?”

           
Knowing about his affair with
Juliette now put Pat in a different light for her. “I don’t know yet. We
haven’t been here very long.”

           
“You came with Nick Fraser?”

           
“Not really. He didn’t know the way,
so we met at my house first, seeing I only live around the corner.” She found
herself glancing across the pool, and saw no sign of a woman in a silver dress
and a man in ivory trousers and a black shirt. Serena’s heart sank like a stone
down into her stomach until her body felt shaky.

           
“So you’re not here together?”

           
“No. We’re not.”

           
“Great.” Pat sounded angry. And
before Serena had time to answer him he took hold of her hand. “I want to go
and find them.”

           
Serena found herself being dragged
over the lawn.
“Who?”

           
“Fraser and
Juliette.
I saw them together. And he’s not having her.”

           
Serena had never seen Pat emotional.
His show was succinct and professional. But right now he was in a state. Margie
had been right about him. He was crazy about Juliette.

           
Pulling Serena along at a quick
pace, he said, “We’ll just take a walk around the property and check out their
whereabouts.”

           
“A walk?
This is a run. Slow down.”

           
“Sorry.” He slowed his pace.

           
“Oh, Pat. You might get hurt.” Not
to mention how she would feel if she came across the couple in a compromising
embrace.

           
“I’m already hurt. I’ve got nowhere
else to go.”

           
“I didn’t even know you went around
with her.”

           
“Well, I did and it was hot and
heavy for about three months. But she’s her own person, know what I mean? She
likes living in her elegant penthouse and racing around in her white Mustang.
She likes being single.”

           
“Don’t you?” Serena knew that Pat
also had a fancy apartment and a fast car. She’d heard the twin exhausts
rumbling in the parking lot many times.

           
“I’d trade everything tomorrow for a
two-story house and a mini-van load of kids. I was adopted into a wonderful
family and I’d like to return the favors bestowed on me for my own kids, and
for others if I can adopt. But it can get too late to adopt.”

           
Serena was always amazed at what
came out of the people you least expected it to come out of. “You think
Juliette is that type of mother?”

           
“I think she could be.”