Hidden Talents (27 page)

Caleb looked at her. “Then you think of someone else here in Witt's End who meets the criteria. Who else would have had access to both the pictures of you and the information about my past?”

Serenity's eyes were very steady. “Why does it have to be someone here in Witt's End?”

The question rendered Caleb momentarily silent. “Because it all started here in Witt's End,” he said finally. “The logic is inescapable. It began when Asterley sent you to hire me as a consultant.”

“That doesn't mean it emanated from Witt's End,” she insisted.

“It's the only reasonable explanation.” He switched his gaze to the jewelry box. “For some reason, I keep thinking there's an answer here somewhere. It always comes back to this.”

“The jewelry box?”

“It's all I've got of hers.” Caleb reached slowly into the box and pulled out the stack of tattered clippings. “Maybe there's something in these. A name. Another direction we can try.”

“I'll take half and you take the other half.” Serenity removed a portion of the clippings from his hand. “We'll compile a list of every name that cropped up in the old scandal. Who knows? Maybe something will ring a bell with one of us.”

“All right.” Caleb got up to hunt for a pen and a pad of paper. When he found them, he put them down on the coffee table. Then he went into the kitchen and poured two small glasses of brandy.

He didn't know about Serenity, but he had a feeling he was going to need a little fortification for what lay ahead.

Half an hour later the list was finished. It wasn't a long one and most of the names on it were familiar to Caleb. They included those of his own family; Gordon's wife, Patricia; a handful of people from Ventress Valley; and one or two minor political figures who had been important at the time but who had long since died.

Serenity studied the list. “Everyone on this list would have known about your past, but there's no one on here who could have known about me and the photos that Ambrose took.”

“We can't be certain. I'll have to hire a private detective to check out some of these names,” Caleb said.

Serenity looked up uneasily. “If you send an investigator into Ventress Valley to ask questions about the old scandal, you're really going to cause a commotion.”

“Do you think I give a damn?” Caleb frowned at the torn satin that lined the lid of the jewelry box. “All I care about now are answers. I'm going to get them.”

“I understand,” Serenity said softly. “I just wish there was some other way to go about it. There's been so much damage done already.”

“You know, there's something strange about this thing.” Caleb picked up the jewelry box. “I'm going to tear it apart.”

“I can see that. You know something, Caleb? I think blood does tell. Once you start down a certain path, you're every bit as stubborn as your grandfather.”

He glanced at her. “I'm not talking about tearing apart the past, I mean this jewelry box.”

“The jewelry box?”

“There's something odd about the way the lining is torn. It's too neat. As if it were sliced with a razor or a knife. The other holes are from wear.”

Serenity studied the slit in the faded blue satin. “Do you really think that tear is different?”

“Yes.”

Caleb took hold of one corner of the small mirror He ripped it off the inside of the lid with a single tug. A large scrap of thin blue satin came with it.

A black and white photograph that had been hidden behind the satin fell out. It landed, faceup, on the ring drawer.

Caleb found himself staring at a picture of three people. One of them was Crystal Brooke. She was dressed in a demure, high-necked dress that was three decades out of fashion. A wide-brimmed hat was tilted at a stylish angle on her platinum-blond hair. She was smiling down at the infant she held in her arms.

Gordon Ventress stood behind her, his hand resting tenderly on her shoulder. He looked out at the camera with the unmistakable grin of a proud father.

“
Caleb
.” Serenity leaned close, her eyes alight with wonder. “It's a family portrait. Of you and your parents.”

Caleb couldn't think of anything intelligent to say. Nor could he take his eyes off the photograph. “Looks like it.”

“A real family portrait.” Serenity laughed with delight. “This is absolutely fabulous. How lucky you are to have a picture of all three of you together. Look how happy your parents are. They're both glowing. It's obvious they loved each other and you very much.”

Caleb realized that his vision was blurring as he stared at the photo. Irritated, he blinked rapidly a few times and his normally excellent eyesight was restored. “I wonder why it was stuck behind the satin.”

Serenity lifted one shoulder in a small shrug. “I wouldn't be surprised if your mother put it there as a keepsake and then forgot about it.”

“My grandfather must not have seen it when he put the clippings in the box. If he'd found it, he would have destroyed it.”

“You don't know that for certain,” Serenity said gently. “In any event, there's no point rehashing what Roland might have done thirty-four years ago.”

Caleb forced back the rush of indecipherable emotions that threatened to swamp him. This business of letting himself feel stuff again was all well and good once in a while, but it could be a damned nuisance at other times. His calm, methodical, logical approach to important things tended to get muddled up when he allowed the emotional side of his nature to take over.

He schooled himself to think clearly and logically. “The picture is interesting, but it's not exactly a major clue.”

“I suppose you're right.”

“Serenity?” Caleb tucked the photo into the jewelry box and closed the lid.

“Yes?”

He took a deep breath and felt the blood pulse slowly, heavily, in his veins. “Will you marry me?”

Her lips parted on a soundless exclamation. She seemed to be having trouble with her throat. “Marry you?” Her voice was higher than usual. “Why on earth do you want to marry me?”

He looked at her. “Probably because I'm a conventional, straitlaced, old-fashioned kind of guy.”

“Oh.”

“What's the matter, Serenity?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “You've just taken me by surprise, that's all. I hadn't realized you were thinking about…about marriage.”

“No? What have you been thinking about?”

“I don't know.” She swallowed. “I mean, why marriage at this point?”

“I told you why.”

“You're conventional, straitlaced, and old-fashioned.” Her anxious eyes searched his. “But I'm not. Conventional, straitlaced, and old-fashioned, that is. Here in Witt's End, we do things differently.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes, well, I mean, just look around.” She gestured wildly with one hand. “Julius and Bethanne just got married last month. They've been living together for years. Jessie and Ambrose never got married. My own parents weren't married.”

“And neither were mine, remember? I'd just as soon not repeat that particular part of the past.”

“Caleb, there's no rush. I'm not pregnant. We haven't really had a chance to get to know each other.”

He felt himself grow cold inside. She was trying to edge away from him. Trying to put some distance between them. Maybe she didn't want him as much as he wanted her. He forced back the surge of despair.

“I can guarantee you that you know me better than anyone else on the face of the planet.” He kept his voice calm with a supreme effort of will.

She faced him with a strange, expectant expression in her peacock eyes. “Caleb, do you love me?”

The question made him stop breathing for a good three or four seconds. She had a right to an answer, he thought. But he didn't have one for her. Desperation seized him. He couldn't lose her because of a few simple words.

Give her the words. They're only words
.

She was the most important thing in his life. If he lost her, he would lose part of himself, the part that had learned to feel again.

It was hopeless. He would kill for her, but he couldn't lie to her.
It wouldn't be any good if he lied
.

“I don't know,” Caleb said starkly. He was starting to dematerialize again. He could actually feel it happening right there on the sofa.

Serenity watched him. She looked like a creature of moonlight and magic who had been accidentally trapped in the harsh glare of the sun. She blinked once, twice, and then she smiled her fey smile.

“No, I don't suppose you do know if you love me,” she said. “When was the last time someone told you that you were loved?”

“I can't remember.” Why didn't she just answer his question? All he wanted was a simple answer. “What the hell does that have to do with this?”

“Everything, I think. But it's not important now.” Serenity touched his cheek. “I love you, Caleb. But I can't leave Witt's End. Do you understand that? There are things I have to do here.”

“I won't ask you to leave Witt's End.”

“But you can't stay here forever,” she said sadly. “I've known that from the beginning.”

“You're wrong. I can stay here as long as I want. Hell, that's the least of the problems. I can run Ventress Ventures from here.”

“You can?”

“This is the age of computers and fax machines, remember?” he said impatiently. “I can set up shop anywhere.”

“But would you want to stay here?” she asked.

“Are you crazy?” he whispered. “Why would I want to leave? This is the one place on earth where I've ever felt completely alive.”

“
Caleb
.” She threw herself into his arms and hugged him fiercely. “Yes. Yes, I'll marry you, if that's what you want.”

He could breathe again. He crushed her so tightly against him that she gave a tiny squeak that was half laughter and half protest.

“Sorry,” he muttered into her hair. He loosened his grip slightly, but not much. The warmth and scent of her caused a welter of indefinable emotions to sweep through him. He didn't care what the sensations were or whether or not they were affecting his logic. The important thing was that they were there and they were strong and he could feel them.

He was no ghost.

He was alive. He had a future.

He had Serenity.

Y
OU'RE GOING TO MARRY HIM
?” Z
ONE DROPPED THE LID
on a large barrel of whole wheat flour back into place and swung sharply around. Her orange and saffron robes flared wide, echoing her agitation. “Serenity, what are you talking about? Why would you want to marry Caleb?”

“Because I love him.” Serenity dusted off a row of jars containing blackstrap molasses. “And he loves me. He just doesn't know it yet.”

“If he doesn't know it, don't you think it might be a bit premature to marry him?”

“Probably.” Serenity moved down the aisle to wield her duster over an array of noodle packages. “But I don't think I can wait.”

Zone stared at her. “Are you pregnant?”

“No.”

“Then why can't you wait?”

“It's little hard to explain, Zone.”
Even to herself
. She knew she was taking a risk by trying to second-guess Caleb's true feelings.

Unfortunately, it had become very clear that Caleb himself wasn't very good at identifying and dealing with his own emotions. She suspected that he had spent too many years learning to distance himself from his own needs in an effort to satisfy his family's endless demands, too many years fulfilling his responsibilities to the name of Ventress. He didn't fully comprehend the nature of his responsibility to himself.

The years spent paying for the sins of his parents had left him with a bone-deep distrust of his own desire to love and be loved. She didn't think he even comprehended the real meaning of the word, at least not in the same way that she understood it.

But Caleb's failure to define love properly did not mean that he didn't have a hidden talent for it, Serenity thought optimistically. She had sensed it in him from the first. It was, after all, one of the things that had drawn her to him at the start of their relationship.

This morning she was still convinced that she was right about his ability to love. In the past few days she had seen the banked fires in his eyes, felt the gentleness in his touch, caught glimpses of the deepest reaches of his soul.

Surely a man with such depths had to be capable of giving and receiving love.

Last night she had concluded that the real problem was that Caleb's working definition of love was an extremely narrow one. A person learned about love, after all, from example.

Until she had come along, Serenity realized, the only kind of love Caleb had ever known was the kind that came with strings attached.

It was no wonder he didn't recognize his true feelings for her, Serenity thought as she took another swipe with the duster. For Caleb, the word
love
had a lot of harsh definitions. Most of them had to do with icy concepts of duty and responsibility. The negative, underlying message that Caleb had always received from his family had been that if he repeated his father's mistakes, he would be unworthy of love.

The meaning of love for Caleb was all tied up with the necessity to prove himself over and over again to a family that never quite trusted him. Or forgave him for the past.

But he felt something else for her, something that he didn't yet understand because it wasn't icy and stark and unforgiving like the concept of duty. It was something for which he did not yet have a clear definition, let alone a name.

At least, she hoped that was true. Because if it wasn't, if she was deluding herself, she was going to pay a terrible price.

That fact left her faced with a dangerous choice. She either took a chance that she was right about Caleb's feelings for her or else she let her own chance at love slip away.

“Serenity, perhaps you should meditate on this decision a little longer,” Zone said gently. “Ariadne says that Caleb is different from the other men you've known.”

“That's true.” Totally different from any man she had ever known, she thought with a small smile.

“Serenity?” Zone stared at her. “Is something wrong?”

“No. I was just wondering if I should order another batch of Luther's homemade salsa. We're running low. Caleb says it's going to be a big seller in the catalog, by the way.”

Zone sighed. “Please don't misunderstand. I know Caleb has got wonderful plans for your mail order business. And I am personally, very, very grateful to him. He and Blade together probably saved my life. But I'm just not certain Caleb's the right soul mate for you. Even though I like him, I still sense danger in his vicinity.”

“I thought you'd decided you'd gotten his vibrations mixed up with Royce Kincaid's.”

Zone frowned thoughtfully. “It's true that I did, but I have that all sorted out now and things still don't feel quite right. I detect more darkness in Caleb's aura.”

“I'll bear that in mind.”

The phone rang before Zone could continue. Relieved at the excuse to end the conversation, Serenity put down her duster and hurried to answer the summons.

She dodged behind the counter, rounded the corner of the office doorway and grabbed the receiver. “Witt's End Grocery.”

“I wish to speak to Miss Serenity Makepeace.”

There was no mistaking Phyllis's perpetually disapproving tone. Serenity was not in a mood to deal with her. She was, in fact, thoroughly annoyed with the entire Ventress clan today.

Last night she had come to the stunning realization that she may have been the first person in history who had actually said the words “I love you” out loud to Caleb. If it was true, the Ventresses had a lot to answer for as far as she was concerned.

“This is Serenity. What can I do for you, Mrs. Tarrant?”

“I do not appreciate the fact that I am forced to make this call, Miss Makepeace.”

“Well, I'm not real thrilled with having to take it, either, so let's get it over with.”

“Very well, I shall be blunt. I suspect that is the only approach your sort understands. Franklin and I have talked it over. How much do you want?”

Serenity caught her breath. Then she forced a lightness that she was far from feeling into her voice. “How much? Oh, dear. Are you selling something, Mrs. Tarrant? Door-to-door cosmetics, perhaps? I really don't use very much of that kind of stuff, but I suppose I could buy some hand cream or something.”

“Your sarcasm serves no purpose except to waste time. You may as well be as straightforward with me as I am being with you. Just tell me how much money it will take to get you to leave all of us alone.”

“I'm not interested in all of you, only in Caleb.” She probably shouldn't be baiting Phyllis like this, Serenity chided herself. But it was difficult to be polite under the circumstances.

“I am only too well aware of your mercenary interest in Caleb, Miss Makepeace.” Phyllis's voice sharpened with tension and anger. “But your so-called ‘interest’ in him is tearing this family apart.”

“I'm not sure that the glue that holds your family together is very strong in the first place. Raising a boy with the notion that he has to pay for the mistakes of his parents is not a good way of making him feel loved and wanted. It's also not a smart way of ensuring that he develops any real affection for his family.”

“Damn you,” Phyllis snapped. “The private affairs of the Ventress family are none of your concern. We did our best for that ungrateful boy in spite of what his father did to the family.”

“And you never let Caleb forget it for one minute, did you?”

“Caleb was strong-willed, even as a youngster. He needed to be reminded frequently that he must not make the terrible mistake his father made.”

“Fat lot of good it did to keep drumming that into him.”

“I am hoping that Caleb's lapse in judgement regarding you, Miss Makepeace, is merely temporary. I do not wish to discuss it further. Now then, as I said, Franklin and I have discussed the issue of money. Franklin has already paid a total of ten thousand dollars to keep your pictures out of the public eye. We are willing to make it worth your while to disappear from Caleb's life.”

“First blackmail threats and now an offer to buy me off. I'm not sure what to say. I have to tell you, Mrs. Tarrant, where I come from, people don't do things like that. It's considered tacky. Good-bye.”

Serenity slammed down the phone, cutting off Phyllis's outraged yelp. She sat on the edge of the desk, fuming, for several seconds. Then she grabbed the receiver again and dialed information.

“What city?” the operator asked.

“Ventress Valley. I want the number for the home of Roland Ventress.” Serenity waited, afraid that she would be told that the number was unlisted.

It wasn't. She grabbed a pen, jotted it down, then dialed it swiftly.

“Ventress residence.”

“Dolores, is that you? It's me, Serenity Makepeace.”

“Miss Makepeace.” Dolores sounded startled and anxious. “Good heavens, I wasn't expecting to hear from you. I thought it might be Mrs. Tarrant again. Has anything else gone wrong? I've been so worried. It's been pretty dreadful around here.”

Serenity clutched the receiver. “I was calling to see if by any chance Mr. Ventress has made plans to come to dinner tomorrow night.”

There was a short, depressing pause. Dolores sighed. “No, I'm afraid not. At least, he hasn't said anything to me about it.”

“I want you to give him a message, Dolores. Tell him that we're still expecting him. Tell him that he has the power to change the future just by showing up here for dinner tomorrow night. Tell him…oh, heck, I don't know what else to tell him.”

“I wish I could do something to help, Miss Makepeace. This is just so unfortunate. Mr. Ventress is a fine man, but he and his grandson are both too proud for their own good.”

“Too proud.” Serenity slid off the desk and stood beside it, thinking swiftly. “That's it. The one thing the Ventresses have in common is that stubborn pride of theirs.”

“That's a fact.”

“Listen, Dolores, tell Mr. Ventress that Phyllis and Franklin have tried to buy me off and it won't work. Tell him that if he wants to deal with me, he'll have to do it face-to-face over dinner tomorrow night. Tell him he can't hide behind his niece and nephew.”

“Mr. Ventress would never hide behind Mrs. Tarrant and her brother,” Dolores said loyally.

“That's not the way it looks to me,” Serenity said. “I got the distinct impression that he's using them to do his dirty work. Tell him that, Dolores. If he wants to convince me otherwise, he'll have to come here to Witt's End and face me like a man.”

Dolores sighed. “I see what you're trying to do, but it'll never work.”

“It's worth a try. Give Mr. Ventress the message. Oh, and Dolores…?”

“Yes?”

“It's a long drive for a man his age. Do you think—”

“Don't worry,” Dolores said. “If this works, Harry will drive Mr. Ventress to Witt's End.”

“And leave him here overnight?” Serenity added persuasively.

Dolores hesitated. “I think that can be arranged.”

“Good-bye, Dolores. And thanks.”

“Good luck, Miss Makepeace. Lord knows, we're all going to need it.”

Serenity heard the grocery's door bells chime as she replaced the receiver. She ignored them while she contemplated her desperate scheme. There was no denying that her ploy to get Roland to Witt's End was based on a rather lame dare. It didn't stand much chance of working unless Roland just happened to be looking for an excuse to come to dinner in the first place.

Serenity recalled the well-concealed warmth that she had glimpsed once or twice in Roland's eyes when he had looked at Caleb. She could only hope that she had not misread his true feelings toward his grandson.

A movement in the office doorway interrupted her thoughts. She turned around to see a familiar figure attired in a leather jacket, jeans, boots, and Outback hat.

“Oh, no,” she muttered. “Please. Not now.”

“Hey, hey, hey, Serenity love. How's my little redheaded Titania today?” Lloyd swooped through the doorway, grabbed Serenity and enveloped her in a bear hug.

Serenity braced herself against his chest and shoved herself back out of his arms. “What are you doing here, Lloyd?”

“Had a couple more thoughts on how to handle my study of Witt's End. Wanted to go over them with you. I think we can work out a compromise vis-à-vis the mail order catalog project. If you'll just put your plans on hold for a few months, I can get my interviews and observations done.”

“I can't talk to you about your study now, Lloyd, I'm very busy at the moment.”

“This won't take long, love.” Lloyd threw himself down into a chair and propped his boots on her desk. He took off his hat and tossed it onto the desk beside his boots. “All I'm asking is that you listen to my plans.”

“I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Lloyd. I've got too much to do and I have no intention of changing my plans so that you can pursue your stupid study.”

“Listen, Serenity, I've got it figured out. All you have to do is delay your catalog project until next summer.”

“I'm not going to delay it one minute.”

Lloyd's grin vanished. “Serenity, I've got a career riding on this study.”

“The future of Witt's End is riding on my mail order catalog plans.”

“Bullshit.” Lloyd's eyes narrowed. “This is personal, isn't it? It's got nothing to do with the future of Witt's End. You're trying to punish me for what happened six months ago. I never realized you were so vindictive, love.”

Serenity ran her fingers through her hair. “Believe me, I'm not trying to get even for what happened.”

“I don't believe you.” Lloyd smiled with understanding. “You were hurt.”

Serenity glared at him, exasperated. “I was pissed off. Look, we've both agreed that we're not exactly meant for each other.”

“Okay, maybe we weren't meant to hear wedding bells, but we can be colleagues.”

“Colleagues?” Serenity repeated very sweetly. “The way we were colleagues on that paper you published?”

Lloyd's teeth flashed in another disarming grin. “Hey, hey hey. Tell you what. We'll do this study of Witt's End together. I'll put your name on the paper as co-author. How does that grab you?”

“It doesn't. Even if I was inclined to help you, Lloyd, I have to be honest and say up front that I don't believe for one minute that you'd put my name alongside yours on any paper you got published.”