Lavender Morning (41 page)

“Why couldn’t he have called
me
?” Joce asked. “If he wanted to know about me he should have asked

me.
”

“You’re in a bad mood this morning. So what did you and Luke fight about?”

“Ramsey, probably,” Sara said from the doorway. “Luke and Ramsey have bickered with each other since

they were born. Now they have Joce to fight over.”

“I’m not a—” Jocelyn had said the words so many times that she couldn’t get them out again.

Sara went to the refrigerator and got a carton of eggs from her family’s farm. “I’m going to scramble some

eggs. Anyone want some?”

“Yeah, sure,” Tess said. “You better make extra because Jim will be here any minute. You know how he

eats.”

Jocelyn sat in the middle of her own kitchen, watching the two other women moving about, and she

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remembered what Luke had said about her house always being open. So what was wrong with that? she

wondered. Just because his house was as closed as a prison didn’t mean hers had to be.

“Why are you looking so gloomy?” Sara asked. “And where is Luke?”

“Why is it that since the first moment I set foot in this town that I’ve been connected with either Ramsey or

Luke? Why can’t I just be myself?”

Tess and Sara exchanged looks, as though some understanding had passed between them.

“Why don’t you go into town with me today and see my new shop?” Sara asked. “You’ve been so busy

with your book that you haven’t even seen it.”

“You’ve been pretty busy yourself,” Jocelyn said. “What with a man you love, and a new business, and

everything wonderful that’s happening to you, you must be very happy.”

“Come and spend some time with Greg and me today,” Sara urged. “You really haven’t got to know him,

and he’s a great guy.”

“That’s not Joce’s fault,” Tess said. “You two spend all your time in bed or at the new store. Neither of

you has time for anything or anyone else.”

“Your jealousy is showing,” Sara said, barely looking at Tess.

“Ha!” Tess said. “I’m not jealous of anyone. Just because you two—”

“Girls!” came a voice from the doorway as Jim walked in, his arms full of grocery bags.

It was too much for Jocelyn: too much company, too much of everything. She set her cup down and went

upstairs to her bedroom. At least the top floor of the house seemed to be off limits to people who wandered in

and out.

She sat down on the edge of her bed and picked up the double frame, Miss Edi’s David on one side, a

young, beautiful Edilean Harcourt on the other. She envied her for knowing the man she wanted.

When a soft knock sounded on her open door, she looked up to see Sara. “Hi. Mind if I come in?”

“No,” Joce said. “I was just…” She couldn’t think of anything to explain what she was doing.

“Would you like someone to talk to?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know,” Joce said. “It’s just…”

“Men,” Sara said. “That’s what it always is and always will be. Men.”

“You met a man, fell madly in love with him instantly, so what do you know about men problems?”

“More than I can tell, and in spite of what Tess says, there’s more between Greg and me than just sex and

business.”

“I’d settle for that.”

Sara leaned back on her elbows on the bed. “So tell me what my rotten cousins have done to you and I’ll

tell you the answers. If there’s one thing I know it’s my cousins.”

“Didn’t you tell me that Luke was so much older than you that you hardly knew him at all?”

“That’s what I tell strangers,” Sara said. “But I hope that by now we’re friends. That day at Viv’s house

proved that.”

Jocelyn groaned. “Don’t remind me. Bell showing up wearing next to nothing, you and me running through

the kitchen like escaping thieves, and Luke’s…”

“Yeah,” Sara said. “Luke’s you-know-what. I hope he told you that that’s over. He’s been working with

Ken at MAW to get his marriage annulled.”

“He told me,” Joce said.

“So soon he won’t be married. Legally, he’ll never have been married, so what’s the problem?”

Jocelyn put her hand to her head. “Me! I am the problem. As far as I can tell, I have a choice between two

fabulous men, but I’m not sure if either of them wants
me
or if it’s just some male one-upmanship between

them.”

“So who makes your heart beat faster when you see him?”

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“Luke.”

“Who do you want to spend every minute of every day with?”

“Luke.”

“Who do you see when you imagine a home and kids?”

“Ramsey.”

“Oh, my,” Sara said. “You do have a problem. I think you need to make up your mind and stick with one

of them. You can’t bounce back and forth.”

“It’s not as though either of them has asked me to…what do you call it as an adult? Go steady.”

“Luke wouldn’t say anything until the annulment is final.”

“And Ramsey?”

“He could possibly return with an engagement ring. He likes grand gestures.”

“But I hardly know him!”

“Interesting,” Sara said. “I wonder what you would have said if I’d told you Luke was returning with a gift

for you.”

“Where is he? Where did he go? He left town, and I don’t even know where he is.”

Sara sat up on the bed and looked at Jocelyn. “You may think you can’t decide between the men, but I

think you have decided. Didn’t Luke take you hiking?”

“Yes.”

“Up to some lake?”

“Yes. We stayed up there and ate sandwiches while we took turns reading Miss Edi’s story. Sara, you

should read it! It’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever read in my life.”

She stood up. “You know what
I
think is romantic? The way you’ve made my cousin smile. Luke may act

tough and as though nothing ever bothers him, but underneath he has a very soft soul. He married a woman he

didn’t love because she was carrying his child. How sweet is that? He’s the one who helped her get started in

modeling and she repaid him by—” She stopped talking.

“I know,” Jocelyn said, “with an abortion.”

“Who told you that?”

“Dr. Dave.”

“My goodness, but you do get around. Dr. Dave told you about his grandson’s problems in his personal

life?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with that?”

Sara stood there, looking at Jocelyn for a moment. “You know what I think? I think it’s possible that

you’re so in love with Luke that when he’s gone for even a few days you’re down in the dumps.”

“The last thing I am is in love with any man on this earth. I’ve known Luke what? Two months?”

“How long did your precious Miss Edi know the man she loved?”

“Days.”

“There you have it. I want you to put on some makeup, pull your hair back with one of your headbands,

and I want you to spend the day with Greg and me at the new shop. You need to get away from this house, from

the story you’re so involved in, and you need to talk to people other than my cousins.”

“Is that possible in this town?”

“Funny,” Sara said, “but jokes won’t help you.” Reaching out, she took Joce’s hands in hers and pulled her

to stand. “Now fix yourself up and let’s go. I have so much work to do that I don’t know where to begin.”

“No, not there,” Greg Anders said to Sara. “It should go over here, not there.”

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Jocelyn was sitting on the floor, her legs crossed as she painted the bottom of one wall of the store. She’d

been with Sara and Greg for hours now, watching them, and all she could say was that Greg made her want to

find Luke and run to him with open arms. How in the world sweet Sara could like such a bossy man was beyond

Jocelyn’s ability to understand.

The store they were refurbishing was going to be beautiful. It had been full of old furniture for many years,

and Sara told Joce that the owner had been so old that the store was rarely open, and when it was, he was

asleep. “People used to leave checks and money on the counter, then take what they wanted to buy. When my

mom saw tourists go in the shop, she’d send one of her delivery boys over to watch the place, and make sure

they didn’t steal anything.”

“So now you’ve bought it,” Jocelyn said, looking around. It was quite large, and when it was painted and

the floors refinished, it was going to be exquisite.

Soon after they’d arrived, Greg had come in, grabbed Sara about the waist, and bent her over to give her a

kiss that Jocelyn thought should have been done in private. But Sara didn’t seem to mind. “Jocelyn has come to

help us today,” she said when they finally finished kissing.

As Greg held on to Sara’s waist tightly, as though he wanted to let people know she “belonged” to him, he

looked Joce up and down in such an appraising way that she had to work not to frown. “So you’re the owner of

the town mansion,” he said. “Would you like to sell it?”

“Stop it!” Sara said, smiling. “She’ll think you’re serious.”

“I am serious,” Greg said, looking at Jocelyn. “Sell it to me and Sara and I’ll make it into a showplace.”

“Will you stop it?” Sara said, but in a giggling sort of way, as though she found what Greg was saying highly

amusing.

“I think I’ll hold on to the house,” Joce said, forcing a smile.

“So, Jocelyn,” Greg said as he let go of Sara, “how about if I give you some painting to do? That is, if being

the lady of the big manor doesn’t mean you’re too good to do a little painting.”

“Greg!” Sara said.

“It’s okay, Jocelyn knows I’m just teasing, don’t you, Joce, ol’ girl?”

“Yeah, sure,” Joce mumbled. “Very funny jokes.”

Now, she’d spent about three hours in the new shop, and Greg had worked both her and Sara half to

death—while he disappeared often. He wandered in and out of the shop at will, never telling anyone where he

was going or when he’d return, and doing no real work at all.

During his second disappearance, Sara went to where Joce was painting. Sara was holding an electric drill,

as she was putting together some big oak frames that Greg had ordered. Joce thought that if Greg was as rich as

he seemed to be, why couldn’t he hire a carpenter and not dump that work on Sara?

“I know he’s a little rough,” Sara said as she looked down at Joce, “but Greg makes me feel so alive. I

spend most of my life with a needle in my hand or at a sewing machine, and my only excitement is whatever I

have on DVD. But Greg is full of ideas and he wants to do everything
now.
If I had approached one of my

cousins about putting in a clothing store, he would have spent months researching whether it was a good idea or

not. But Greg and I talked about it over dinner one night and the next day he told me he’d bought the old

furniture store.”

“That was fast,” Joce said. “But maybe a little thought would have been good. How are you going to get

customers to come out here?”

“Greg has that all planned. He’s hired an advertising firm to let all of Richmond know that we’re here.”

“Wow,” Joce said. “Richmond. What about Williamsburg?”

“Greg says Williamsburg is too small for us. We have to look at the big picture. He wants us to go to New

York a couple of times a year to buy designer clothes, then bring them back here and sell them for twice what

we paid for them. He really is a great businessman.”

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Or a dreamer, Joce thought, but said nothing.

“Uh oh, there he is. I better get back to work.”

“Did I see you two ladies goofing off while my back was turned?” Greg said as soon as he was in the store.

“I’ll have to dock your pay for that.”

“I wasn’t aware that we were being paid,” Jocelyn said, and more animosity than she meant to reveal came

out in her voice.

“Now, now,” Greg said, “ladies need to keep their tempers in check. Hey, Joce, maybe you’d like a job

working here. It might help support that big house of yours.”

Jocelyn could feel the blood leaving her face. It looked like the news that Miss Edi had left her no money

for the upkeep of the house was out.

“Greg!” Sara said in exasperation. “I told you that in confidence.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, Joce.”

Joce stood up. “Listen, it’s almost lunchtime, and I need to go. Tess said that Ramsey would be back

today, and I need to see him about some legal things.”

“Sure,” Greg said. “So I hear you have two boyfriends and can’t make up your mind which one you want.”

“Okay,” Joce said. “I better go. I…” She looked down at her dirty brush and knew she should clean it, but

she didn’t want to stay there a minute longer. “I’ll see you later, Sara, and your store is going to be beautiful.”

“I’ll see you tonight,” Sara called as Joce went out the door.

Joce heard Greg say, “What did I do? I was just teasing her.”

When she was outside, Joce breathed a sigh of relief, and she practically ran to Ramsey’s office.

“I figured I’d see you today,” Tess said as soon as Joce entered. “Did you come to see Ramsey or to get

away from Greg the Obnoxious?”

“To get away,” Joce said. “I feel like I could use a shot of tequila. What a jerk he is. How can Sara like

him?”

“I don’t think anyone has lived long enough to answer the question of why someone likes someone else.