Homecoming (24 page)

Twenty-three

The news of Dr. Tyler Cole’s marriage to Dana Nichols spread throughout Hillsboro like a wildfire sweeping across a bone-dry wheat field.

They decided to breakfast at Smithy’s, walking in together amid a round of applause. Tyler accepted handshakes, slaps on the back, and good wishes from all while Dana stood by watching. Most everyone stood a distance away from her, nodding and referring to her as Mrs. Cole.

How ironic, she mused. Tyler was the newcomer, while her family’s roots were planted deep in Hillsboro’s soil for the past one hundred years.

She remembered Billy Clark talking about deceitful people. She’d come home, and she wondered long she would have to pay for the sins of her mother.

Tyler dropped her off at her grandmother’s house, where she told him she had some documents to research. She told him that the house and its contents now belonged to her, yet she was undecided what she wanted to do with it, only because she had to wait a year before she could sell it. He told her to take her time, and if she needed investment advice he would refer her to Vanessa Blanchard Kirkland, the family’s financial guru.

Dana walked into the entryway, looking at the space as if seeing it for the first time. The house seemed so much smaller after living in Tyler’s house. She mentally corrected herself. It was no longer Tyler’s house, but
their
house.

Heading for the kitchen, she put up a pot of coffee, waited for it to brew, then retreated to the porch and the notebooks filled with Eugene Payton’s detailed notes.

She’d filled both sides of a legal pad when the tiny cellular telephone on the desk rang. Recognizing the number on the display, she picked up the phone, pressing the TALK button. She took a quick glance at her watch. It was after three. She’d been working nonstop all morning and most of the afternoon.

“Hello, darling,” she said.

“Dana, I can’t talk. I’m on my way to the hospital. They just brought someone in who’s hemorrhaging. I’m not sure whether I’ll be home in time to have dinner with you.”

Before Dana could say another word, the line went dead. “O—kay.”

It’d come out as two words. She’d gotten up early to defrost and marinate meat she planned to cook on the outdoor grill along with ears of corn and skewered vegetables, but it looked as if she’d have to scrap her plan.

She left a strip of paper in the notebook to mark her place, and closed it. Resting her left hand over the leather cover, she stared at the precious stones on her finger. The rings reminded her she was now Mrs. Tyler Cole, the wife of Dr. Tyler Cole.

Closing her eyes, she recalled times when the telephone rang minutes after Dr. Harry Nichols sat down to dinner with his family. Dana always watched her mother’s face when her husband apologized, then
walked out to see a patient. Dana had become accustomed to the routine: if Harry was called before he sat down to the table, then Alicia would put his plate on the warmer for him to eat upon his return. But if he’d taken a single forkful, then she would empty the plate in the garbage, clean up the kitchen, drive Dana to Georgia’s, leave her, and disappear for hours. Georgia always rebuked for her actions, saying she shouldn’t have married a doctor if she hadn’t been willing to share him with his patients.

Pushing back her chair, Dana stood up rotating her stiff shoulders. She’d been sitting for hours. The phone call had shattered her concentration, so she decided to call it a day.

She lingered at the house for another half hour, watering the plants, winding the clock, and wiping away a layer of dust on tables and mirrors. It was exactly four-o’clock when she parked her car in an empty space in the garage, deactivated the alarm, and walked into the cool interiors of the house she shared with her husband.

Her steps were slow as she mounted the staircase and walked into the bathroom to shower. At the last moment she decided on a leisurely bath; she stepped into the large sunken tub, turned on the pulsing jets, and sat in the swirling waters until she felt herself falling asleep. Stepping out, she dried her body, applied a moisturizer, and walked back into the bedroom to an area Tyler had set up as dressing room. Shelves in the large walk-in closet were filled with laundered shirts and sweaters, the built-in racks crowded with slacks, jackets, suits, and ties. She counted more than thirty pairs of shoes. There was no doubt her husband was a clotheshorse.

Tyler had given her half the closet, and she stared at her meager garments. It went without saying that
she had to go shopping for clothes. Pulling on a loose-fitting smock dress, she went downstairs to the kitchen. A rumbling in her belly verified she hadn’t eaten anything since her breakfast at Smithy’s.

Dana prepared a Caesar salad, adding strips of grilled chicken and tossing hers with garlic-flavored vinaigrette. She put aside a portion for Tyler, covering the bowl with a plastic wrap and placing it on a lower shelf in the refrigerator. Scribbling a note indicating his dinner was in the fridge, she stuck it to the door with a magnet advertising the services of the Hillsboro Women’s Health Clinic.

She ate her salad and cleaned up the kitchen, filled a water bottle with ice water from the dispenser on the refrigerator door, and left the house. The sun had shifted behind a copse of pine trees in the distance, leaving the garden and the orchard measurably cooler. She walked around to the pool area, peering at the plastic covering spread over the hole in the ground. The workmen had begun placing the blue tiles along the floor of the pool.

She continued her leisurely stroll into the garden, stopping to smell the flowers as a riot of color greeted her. Following a narrow path, she stopped suddenly when she spied a large pond filled with lilies floating on its placid surface. Covering her eyes, she saw an outcropping of trees and shrubs on the opposite bank. Large boulders created a natural barrier from which a steady stream of water poured into the pond. The skeletal remains of one tree resting in the water created a natural effect—a collaboration between Mother Nature and Father Time.

How beautiful, she mused. Everything was peaceful, beautiful, the perfect place to raise a family. She circled
the pond, coming out in a cleared area that sloped down a steep cliff. Lying on her belly, she looked over the precipice, shrieking when she felt herself propelled back in a savage jerk that snapped her teeth so hard her jaw ached.

The hot breath on her neck sent a shiver of fear racing down her spine. Her hand formed a fist as she turned around, ready to protect herself against whoever it was that held her captive.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Her eyes widened in shock when she looked into the stormy gaze belonging to her husband. “Let me go, Tyler.”

“Not yet,” he snapped, literally dragging her away from the cliff. Rage had darkened his face under his deep tan. “Are you crazy? Don’t you know you could’ve fallen off?” The fabric of her dress was bunched in his fist.

She stared him down. “Please, let me go, Tyler.” He released the back of her dress. Going on tiptoe, she went close to his face, their noses inches apart. “For you information, I had no intention of falling off. I just wanted see over the side.”

“You could’ve lost your life just wanting to see what’s on the other side of this cliff. The ground we’re standing on has a sandy and spongy base. After a heavy rainfall it will give way and end up in the gorge.”

“Is this part of your property?”

He gave her long, intense look. “Yes, Dana.
We
own this property.”

Heat stole into her cheeks. He’d just reminded her of what would take her some time to get used to.

“I decided to go for a walk.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “And I’m glad I decided to come home when I did.” His expression softened. “I didn’t marry you to lose you, Dana.”

“And you won’t lose me, Tyler. Not for a long, long time.”

He raised his arms. “Let me hold you, baby.”

She took a step, curving her arms under his shoulders, holding him to her heart. Summer bloomed around them as butterflies flitted from flower to flower, bees buzzed noisily, frogs who’d made the pond their home called to their mates, and high above their head a hawk circled lazily, searching for his dinner before he settled in for the night.

“I left dinner in the refrigerator for you,” Dana said quietly after a pregnant silence.

“I grabbed a sandwich at the hospital cafeteria.”

“You’re not hungry?”

Tyler chuckled against her hair. “I’m very, very hungry, but not for food.”

Easing back, Dana saw the hunger in his eyes—his hunger for her. “Come here,” she said in a mysterious voice, pulling him away the cliff.

“Where are you taking me?” Tyler called after her as they skirted the lily pond.

“Over here.” They stood under the sweeping branches of several fruit trees. Floating down to a carpet of green, Dana patted the grass beside her. “Please sit down, Tyler.” He sat down, pulling her into his arms. Slowly, deliberately he eased her back to the grass.

Staring up at him through half-lowered lids, she smiled. “Just this once I want you to pretend that I’m Eve and you’re Adam seeing me for the first time.”

Hovering over Dana, Tyler smiled. There was so much about her that was a little girl and so much a woman. Whenever he looked for the girl, he found the woman.

His hands went to the front of her dress, deftly undoing
the buttons. “There’s no need to pretend, because you are the woman of my dreams and my heart.”

Tyler unbuttoned her dress, his gaze lingering on a lacy white bra. His body reacted violently as he stared at the dark nipples showing through the delicate fabric. He unsnapped her bra, parting it in slow motion.

The waning rays of the setting sun filtered through the leaves of overhead trees, throwing light and dark shadows over the lovers as they stared into each other’s eyes while articles of clothing were laid aside, until they lay as naked as the human race’s first husband and wife in their own private Garden of Eden.

Dana wanted to look away, but couldn’t. She didn’t think she would ever get used to the perfection of the body poised above her, visually caressing the broad chest covered with thick black curling hair, which tapered to a thin line before it disappeared into an inverted triangle from which throbbed a long, thick length of dark-brown flesh nestled between strong muscled thighs. He came closer and she closed her eyes, enjoying the heat and weight of the body against her own.

Every muscle in Tyler’s body screamed and vibrated as he pushed into the moist heat of his wife’s body. The smell of her perfume on her skin and hair rose sharply in his nostrils, wiping away the scent of the antiseptic soap he’d scrubbed with before going into surgery. The smell had lingered even after he’d stripped off his scrubs and showered.

“I think it’s time we get to know each other in every way possible,” he said, breathing heavily in her ear.

Dana thought she knew all there was to know about Tyler—at least in bed. But he proved her wrong when he loved her like a man possessed; both of them were insatiable.

Under the emerging quarter moon, the twinkling
stars, the heavens, and the infinite beauty of the Creator, they acknowledged his command to go forth, be fruitful, and multiply.

Twenty-four

Dana and Tyler’s first social event as a married couple was the Clarks’ July Fourth celebration. The aroma of barbecue wafted in the air as they made their way to the backyard where large umbrellas were erected to keep the harmful rays of the summer sun at bay.

Lily let out a little shriek of joy when she spotted her childhood friend heading toward her carrying a box. Dr. Tyler Cole followed, carrying a larger box. Blue and white sparks glinted off the square-cut stone on Dana’s left hand.

“I baked a few pies and jelly-roll cake. Tyler brought a couple of watermelons and beer.” Dana thrust the box at Lily, who motioned to her husband to come and take the boxes. Billy took both boxes, anchoring the smaller one under his arm.

“You know you didn’t have to bring anything,” Lily admonished in a soft tone.

“And you
know
we were raised never to come empty-handed or we’d never stop getting screamed on.”

Lily bobbed her head up and down. “Go figure that one. Now tell me, girlfriend, how did you hook the most eligible brother to have set foot in Hillsboro in twenty years in just two weeks?”

Raising her shoulders, Dana threw up her hands. “You’re going to have to ask Tyler. I tried
everything
,
and I do mean everything, to send him packing, but he just wouldn’t take no.”

“How did he get you to change your mind?”

“He wore me down.”

Lily sucked her teeth. “That’s what I call a persistent brother.”

“Who’s persistent?”

Dana and Lily turned to find Billy and Tyler standing less than three feet away. “My mother,” Lily lied smoothly. “I was just telling Dana that my mother is very persistent once she sets her mind to so something.”

Billy cut his eyes at his mother-in-law, who’d taken over manning the grill. “She’s more than persistent. She has the tenacity of a pit bull, a Doberman, and a rottweiler all rolled into one little nasty Jack Russell terrier.”

Lily folded her hands on her hips. “William Clark, I know you’re not calling my mama a dog.”

Billy held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Of course not, baby. You know I love your mama. She just won’t let me get to
my
grill,” he added through clenched teeth. “A man can’t feel like a man in his
own
house unless he can tend to his
own
grill.”

“Just give her a few minutes, then I’ll tell her you want to take over for a while,” Lily crooned, kissing her husband’s cheek. Shifting, she smiled sweetly at Tyler. “Look at you, Dr. Cole. You up and married my best friend.” She patted his arm. “You’re a smart man to have snapped her up as quickly as you did, because there are a few guys we went to school with that were talking about hitting on her if she hadn’t married you.”

Curving an arm around Dana’s waist, Tyler affected a wry smile. Lily couldn’t see the hardness in his eyes
behind the lenses of his sunglasses. He had no intention of sharing Dana—especially with other men.

“I suppose I was born under a lucky star,” he said.

“I’d say you’re lucky and smart,” Lily told him, looping her arm through Dana’s. “I’m going to steal your wife for a few minutes. I want to introduce her to a few guys she hasn’t seen in years.”

Tyler stood, arms crossed over his chest, watching Lily lead Dana toward a quartet of men standing under a tree, talking and laughing with one another.

His eyes narrowed as he stared at three of the men, who shook her hand politely. However, the last one hugged her. He recognized the man as Ross Wilson. R.W., as he was called to distinguish him from his father, Ross Wilson, Sr., lowered his head and kissed her cheek. Tyler saw Dana stiffen in R.W.’s embrace, knowing it was time he rescued his wife.

Taking long, measured strides, he approached the group, a polite smile curving his mouth. “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

Two he recognized as employees at a local bank, and R.W.—who most considered a business wizard because he’d initiated the deal that brought a car-manufacturing plant to Hillsboro, but not the fourth man.

All extended their hands, acknowledging him. The last one held back. “Tyler Cole,” he said, introducing himself.

“James Curtis.”

There was something about Mr. Curtis Tyler disliked, something he could not place. And that wasn’t like him, because he made it a point never to prejudge anyone. The man’s smile was too wide, his casual attire was too perfect, and his hands were too soft for a man. Everyone who’d come to the Clark cookout wore colorful shirts, tank tops, shorts, T-shirts, cutoffs, and sandals, while James Curtis was decked out in wheat-colored linen gabardine
slacks, a matching raw silk shirt, and a pair of shoes that cost enough to buy a Hillsboro family of four enough groceries to last a week.

R.W. ran his fingertips over the thick mustache framing his upper lip. “Curtis is a political analyst. His specialty is campaign strategy.”

Quietly, smoothly, Tyler threaded his fingers through Dana’s, easing her to his side, his polite smile still in place. “Are we to assume you’re serious about entering the mayoralty race?”

“Quite serious,” R.W. said, showing all of his bought-and-paid for thirty-two porcelains. “Can I count on your vote, Dr. Cole?”

“I’m not ready to commit to any candidate without hearing the issues.”

R.W. turned his attention to Dana. “What about your lovely wife?”

Tyler’s smile faded. “You’ll have to ask herself yourself. I do not presume to speak for her.”

R.W. affected an expression that used to send chills up and down Dana’s spine while making her stomach muscles contract. He’d lowered his eyelids and stared at her as if she were a piece of food to be devoured in one bite. What she’d once thought sexy was now lecherous.

He lifted one eyebrow. “Dana?”

“I, too, can’t commit. I haven’t been back long enough to qualify as a legal resident of this county. I’m certain when the election comes around, I’ll definitely be a registered voter.” Shifting slightly, she rested a hand in the middle of Tyler’s chest. “Darling, will you please get me something to drink?” Her hand went from his chest to her throat. “I find myself so parched.” Her drawl was so authentically Mississippi, one would’ve never thought she’d been away twenty-two years.

“Why don’t we go and get something together, sweetheart?” Tyler’s voice was soft as sterile cotton.

Dana fluttered her eyes. “I’d love that.”

The four men watched, mouths gaping, as Tyler led Dana over to a tent that was set aside for refreshments. Four pairs of admiring male gazes lingered on the perfection of her legs in a pair of white walking shorts.

“Damn!” moaned the loan officer from Southern Trust. “Now, that’s what I call a
real
woman. A woman like Dana will always let a man feel like a man, unlike that hoochie mama I had to cut loose last week. She claims she’s so independent, but because I work in a bank, she thought I could go and take money out of the vault like I have my own private stash. She’s taken begging to a level that is truly phenomenal. She asked for money to get her hair and nails done, and then turned around and said her mama and sisters needed theirs done, but the straw that broke the camel’s hump was when she wanted me to buy Pampers for her baby. Because she wasn’t talking to her baby’s daddy, she didn’t want to ask him for money.”

“Walter, you know you’re talking smack,” R.W. drawled sarcastically. “I told you before that you can’t get rid of that woman because she put a root on you. Did your mama tell you about eating from women?”

“She ain’t got no root on me,” Walter grumbled, pushing out his lower lip.

The three laughed at his expression, and the more they laughed the more Walter pushed out his lip.

Dana was finally able to get Billy alone to ask him about Sheriff Newcomb’s notes. “What have you discovered?”

Billy shook his head. “Not much, Dana. It appears as if Philip Newcomb wasn’t much for writing. But I
did place a call to the police in Greenville. I was told they had jurisdiction in all murder cases in the county at that time. Twenty or thirty years ago small-town sheriffs had little or no actual police training.

“But that all changed, because everything’s now high-tech. I have a computer in my office that will match up fingerprints and give me a rap sheet on a defendant in less than three minutes. I have the most up-to-date crime-scene equipment on the market today. You can’t blame Philip Newcomb, because he’s a dinosaur. He wouldn’t know the first thing about turning on a computer, collecting hair samples for DNA testing, or how to use a rape kit.” He patted her hand in a comforting gesture. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled despite the disappointing news. “It’s all right. I plan to go to Greenville to check out the coroner’s and fire marshal’s reports.”

“If I can help you in any way, please let me know. For the more technical pieces I can hook you up with a few of old friends from the Bureau.”

She kissed his cheek. “Thanks again. For everything.”

Tyler listened to the incessant ringing in his ear, swearing softly under his breath. Why couldn’t he connect with anyone in his family? He’d called Palm Beach, hoping to talk to his Aunt Vanessa, but the Kirklands had deactivated their answering machine. His next call was to Las Cruces, New Mexico, hoping Emily would be able to give him the information needed to contact her mother, but again he heard the persistent ringing.

His last resort was to call Michael. Someone had to be home at the Georgetown residence. Michael, as a teacher, didn’t work the summer months, and Jolene,
the mother of a one-year-old, was four months pregnant.

He sighed audibly when he heard the break in the connection. “Hey,
primo
.”

“How’s married life, Tyler?”

“Excellent, Michael. I’m calling because I’m trying to locate your mother. I called Chris, and Emily, but there’s no answer there, too.”

“Everyone’s in Ocho Rios for a month. Mom and Dad went down last week, and Emily, Chris, and the kids left yesterday. I told them to use the house, because it looks as if Jolene and I won’t get down there this year.”

“How’s she feeling?”

“She had a couple of weeks of morning, afternoon, and evening sickness, then it stopped. She’s eating a lot of little meals to try to put on the five pounds she lost during that time. This pregnancy is so different from her first one. I can’t wait until it’s over. She won’t let me look at her. And if I try to touch her, it’s ten times worse than the Tet Offensive, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Battle of Hastings combined. I’d rather face a napalm assault than have her in my face.
Primo
, the woman hates me.”

“Your wife is pregnant, Michael. You should get some literature and read about the changes in her body.”

Tyler held the phone away from his ear when he heard his cousin cursing about what he could do with his literature. “Why don’t you take her away?” Tyler asked. “Maybe you guys should go to Ocho Rios. After all, you own the property now.” Michael’s parents had given him and Jolene the house and five miles of private beach for a wedding gift.

“Right now it’s too hot for Jolene. All she complains about is the heat.”

“I’d have you guys come here, but I’m still waiting for furniture for the bedrooms. In fact, half the rooms are still empty.”

“Thanks for the offer,
primo
. I guess it’s not as bad as I’m making it out to be. I’m glad you called because I got a postcard from Gray a couple of days ago. He’s touring Europe this summer. He wrote he should back right after Labor Day. I’m sorry about that. I guess it comes down to bad timing. By the way, how’s Dana?”

“She’s good. If you hear from your mother, have her call me. I need her help in setting up a philanthropic foundation.”

“I’ll call her and tell her to call you.”

“Thanks, Michael.”

“No problem,
primo
.”

Tyler hung up, his anxiety dissipating quickly. He’d received his credit-card statement with the hotel charges for the Connellys. Writing a check, he paid the charges, his mind working overtime when he realized he had to set up a foundation for medical research in Hillsboro. The nearest county hospital was several miles outside Calico, too far for Hillsboro residents. He’d told the Connellys the foundation was the SCC Foundation for Medical Research—the initials SCC for Samuel Claridge Cole—his grandfather.

Samuel Cole had been a businessman, not a medical practitioner. If Tyler was going to give away his wealth, then maybe the name of the foundation should honor a medical professional.

His forehead furrowed slightly as he scribbled names on a pad that was advertising a new drug. He wrote down his grandfather’s name with a money sign next to it. After all, the money he planned to donate he’d inherited following Samuel Cole’s death.

The newspaper on a corner of his desk caught his eye. It was the edition of the
Herald
with the column
Dana had written. Reaching for the paper, he flipped pages until he saw her byline. He read the column, smiling. His wife was a very talented journalist. Her portrayal of Dr. Silas Nichols was not only vivid, but also informative.

He picked up the pen and wrote:
Dr. Silas Nichols—SCC Foundation for Medical Research
. As soon as the letters formed themselves, he knew that would become the name of his foundation. Nowhere would anyone connect the C to Cole. One thing he was certain of, and that was that the new medical facility would have a modern neonatal unit.

Tyler pulled Dana closer to his body, pressing a kiss on the nape of her neck. He’d found the back of her neck as sexy as her lush mouth. “Why do you go to your grandmother’s house to work on your notes when you can use the library here?”

Dana heard the censure in his voice. “If I worked here, then it wouldn’t feel as if I’m working.”

“Come again?”

“If I worked here, then I wouldn’t get up early. I’d lie in bed, wasting precious time. I’d probably laze around, hang out in the garden, or perhaps even stop and watch the contractors putting in the pool or the ball court. Meanwhile, if I go to my grandmother’s on the days I don’t go to the
Herald
, at least I know have to get up, shower, and get dressed just like I was going into an office. I’m much more productive over there.”