One True Heart (23 page)

She began rummaging through her bag like a squirrel looking for his last nut. Out came a hairbrush, a laptop, two notebooks, and half a dozen pens.

“Looking for supper?” he asked.

“No.” She stopped suddenly and gathered everything around her like they were government secrets. “I was looking for my charger.”

“No luck?”

“No luck.”

He shrugged and offered his hand. “Then how about we go to dinner?”

“We're going out again? I can't.” She looked down at the flannel shirt like she was Cinderella and the fairy godmother forgot to show up.

“You're in luck. I bought a month's worth of groceries. I can at least open a can or thaw you something.”

“Can I cook?” She bounced up. “I love to experiment. You know, mix things up. Maybe make something that's never been invented.”

He watched her rummage through his kitchen with the same panicked zest with which she'd tackled her purse. “Cook anything you like. I'll eat it.” He walked toward the bedroom. “I'll change the sheets while you have fun.”

He could tell the thunder made her nervous. Maybe cooking would take her mind off the storm.

An hour later, he wasn't so sure, but he sat down and took a deep breath. “Smells good,” he managed even though he didn't recognize a thing on the plate, but she was so cute sitting across from him waiting for him to try everything he figured he could eat mud and smile.

To his surprise it was all good, except maybe for the corn and spinach taco with her secret mustard sauce, but he downed it anyway.

“You're a great cook,” he said as he ate two of her little fruit desserts that tasted like fried pudding pies.

“I've always thought so.” She looked amazed that he would agree with her assessment of her talent. “Who knows, someday I might give up fortune-telling and open a café. I could call it Kare's Kitchen.”

He knew without asking that she was having a great time, and she hadn't looked bored once. While they did the dishes she talked about growing up on a chicken farm. They had lots of eggs so she'd pretty much learned to make every kind of egg dish in the world.

When they settled in to watch the late weather report, she paced in front of the windows. Her nerves were on edge and he didn't know if it was the storm or the fright she'd had tonight.

“How old are you, Kare?”

She faced him. “Twenty-four. I'll be twenty-five next month. How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven. Sometimes it seems like I should be older 'cause I've been farming all my life.” He studied her. “I'm not a very interesting person. I mostly just farm. I'm honest despite my recent record. I'd like to be your friend. Partly, I'm guessing, because if you called me tonight you don't have many friends and partly because I just like being around you. You're the most fascinating person I've ever met.”

“What kind of friend?” She moved closer and tilted her head as she stared at him.

“Good friends. The kind that if you needed me you'd know I'd be there and wouldn't complain or expect anything in return.”

“Would you do things for me even if I didn't tell you why I needed them done?”

“I would, as long as it's not illegal. I really don't want to go back to jail.” He figured she might ask something crazy, but if it wasn't illegal he might try it just to make her happy.

“But I'd come visit you and bring you books if you went back to jail.”

He shook his head. “No. I'd have to draw the line at that, or hurting people that didn't need hurting.” He'd always been
big for his age and he was tall and strong now, but he'd never been the fighting kind.

She turned and went back to the window, and he couldn't stop wondering what kind of things she'd want a friend to do. Maybe he'd offered more than he could deliver. Finally, she walked back to where he sat in front of the news running on the TV.

“I'm not the airhead people think I am.” She said the words calmly as if she'd practiced. “I have a college degree. I can read and write in three languages besides English, but haven't practiced much in speaking them. I finished high school at sixteen and made high enough scores on my entrance tests to get me into any college in the country. I'm not a child, John, so don't ever treat me like one.”

“What do you want me to do, Kare?” He really hoped he didn't have to give his résumé to be her friend. He'd only made it two years in college and most days he probably didn't speak any language, including English, well.

“I want you to see me as an adult before I ask.”

With her looking like a kid in his big flannel shirt, it wouldn't be easy, but he nodded. “All I see is a beautiful woman standing in front of me.”

She closed her eyes as if her favor might be too big to ask, and then she said, “I want you to hold me until I go to sleep.”

Before he could wrap his head around why she was asking, she crawled up in his lap and rested her cheek on his chest.

He circled his arms around her and held her against him. His college-educated high scorer who spoke four languages was afraid to go to sleep and, for some crazy reason, she trusted him.

He rocked her slowly as he hummed a hymn his mother used to hum when he was little and sick. Maybe the soft, low hum put her to sleep or maybe it was the vibration of his chest, but within ten minutes he felt her body relax.

For a while he just rocked this woman/child while he moved his hand over her hair. She thought he'd saved her
tonight, but John knew deep down that she'd saved him the minute he'd stepped into her office.

Finally, he lifted her up and carried her to his bed. When he tucked her in he couldn't resist kissing her on the cheek. She had no idea how pretty she was or how funny, or even how loving.

When he walked back through the kitchen, he noticed the yard dog she'd thought should be invited to dinner. “Come on out on the porch, boy,” Johnny said. “You've got a job to do tonight and so do I.” He patted the dog's head. “Come morning the little lady plans to have a talk with you about your name.”

He let the dog out, locked the doors, which he never did, and then turned his big rocking recliner to face the front of the house. For a long while he sat thinking and listening.

He was watching over his fairy tonight and he could think of nothing he'd rather be doing.

Deep in the night he thought he heard a phone ringing, but he didn't move. Right now the only person he was worried about was sleeping one room away.

A little after dawn Johnny Wheeler stood perfectly still on the front porch. His shotgun leaned just inside the door. He watched a Jeep he didn't recognize pull onto his land.

It was moving slow with the top down. A quarter mile away he recognized Kare's brother and Millanie McAllen. Johnny didn't move, he just waited for them to come to him.

Drew got out of the Jeep first, his long body moving fast, unaware that the farmer might see him as a threat. Nothing about the professor looked like he came to fight. If anything he looked worried.

Millanie, even on a cane, carried herself as if she were thinking about taking Johnny out with a few quick blows. Johnny had no doubt she could do the job. When he and Kare talked last night during dinner, she'd called Millanie Captain. He could see a bit of a military bearing about her and guessed that she'd been hurt in the line of duty.

“Morning, Professor.” Johnny nodded once but didn't smile. Right about now he was wishing he'd put out a N
O
T
RESPASSING
sign.

“Morning.” Drew Cunningham reached the porch but didn't climb the stairs. “We're looking for Kare. She left a message on Millanie's phone saying she was safe with a friend and we thought you might—”

“She's safe.” Johnny crossed his arms. “I went into town last night when she called.”

Millanie slowly climbed the stairs. “I need to talk to her, John. You have any objection if I go inside?”

“She's asleep,” Johnny realized he was saying almost exactly what they'd said to him earlier in the week. Maybe he should make an effort to be friendlier to her than she'd been to him at Martha Q's place. “Come on in. I've got coffee on.” He wasn't used to company, but he could manage a few cups of coffee.

They sat around his kitchen table and listened as he told them everything he could remember about Kare's call and what he'd seen when he drove up in the parking lot.

“Was the guy alone?” the captain asked. “Did you see his car?”

“Yes, as far as I could tell he was alone and on foot.”

“Can you describe him?”

“It was raining and he stood out of the parking lot light. I did notice he wore dark sweats—no, more like a jogging suit. Water was beading on it. Black or navy maybe and he kept his hand in the front pouch pocket. When he ran, he reminded me of someone out of shape, not used to running.”

“Left or right?” she shot back.

“Left or right what?”

“Which hand was in the pocket?”

He thought a minute. “Right. Why is that important?”

The woman Kare called the captain looked surprised he'd had to ask. “From what you just told me, I'd say our man is over thirty and works a job, if he works, that doesn't require physical activity. Oh, also there is a good chance he's right-handed and was armed.”

Johnny had never considered himself a very good judge of people, but even he could tell the brother was truly
worried, and Millanie looked guilty for some reason. “I should have followed him,” Johnny whispered to himself.

“No!” both snapped at him.

Drew took the lead. “You did right, John. Kare's safety was first priority. Millanie may be overthinking this.”

No one including Drew believed his suggestion and Johnny felt like he'd just stepped into a spy novel.

About then, Kare walked out of his bedroom wearing nothing but his shirt. Her legs might not be long and tanned, but they were nicely shaped, he noticed, unable to pry his eyes off them.

“Morning,” she said as she pushed her hair out of her face. The mass of curls seemed to have grown overnight. “What are you guys doing here?”

Johnny smiled at her. She didn't look the least embarrassed. Knowing his Kare, she had no idea what her brother was probably thinking about now.

The captain took charge. “We were worried. It seems you were right in thinking that someone was following you. We went by your apartment last night after I noticed the message. One of your windows was knocked out. The landlady said it was probably the storm, but I'm not so sure.”

Drew moved in one fluid motion from the chair to stand in front of Kare. “You knew someone was stalking you and you didn't tell me.” He glanced at Johnny with anger building. “You told
this guy
and you didn't tell me.”

Surprisingly Millanie took Kare's side and made the point that Drew wasn't the easiest person to get hold of when he was writing.

Kare looked like she might cry as they shot questions in rapid fire at her. She'd done what she needed to do to take care of herself, but they were both acting like they should have been advised.

Johnny, who hadn't talked to anyone for almost a week, felt like he was in a tornado of words. Finally, he said the only thing that came to mind. “Anyone want breakfast? I'm having trouble keeping up on an empty stomach.”

The room settled and everyone put the questions and the
worries aside. Kare knew the kitchen well enough to assign duties and they all followed her orders. Twenty minutes later over omelets, toast, and microwaved bacon, they ate and moved into calm conversation.

Millanie explained that Kare was helping her do some research on the town, and Drew apologized for being so lost in his writing that he forgot to charge his phone. Johnny had read enough mysteries to guess that there was more between the two women and their little research project than they were telling. He suspected that they hadn't been friends long enough to be close, so the work was keeping them together. Either way, he didn't care. He wasn't in the habit of poking into other people's business or of discussing his own.

While Johnny and the professor did the dishes, the women vanished into the bedroom. A moment later, Kare ran out and grabbed her big bag with her computer in it.

Drew looked worried. “What do you think they're doing in there?”

Johnny shrugged. “Planning world takeover. Oh, wait, they already got that. So, that only leaves online shopping.”

Kare's brother looked at him like he thought Johnny was dumber than the leftover toast, and then suddenly, he laughed. “Very funny, John.”

“Thanks, I'm working on a stand-up routine.”

Drew put his hand on Johnny's shoulder. “I can see why Kare likes you and would come to you if she thought she was in trouble. I got one piece of advice for you. Stay away from my sister.”

“Why?” Johnny wasn't sure he wanted to know, but it seemed a good question to ask.

“I don't know. It just seemed like what a big brother should say and you're the first man I've felt the need to say it to.”

“What did I do?” Johnny tried to act offended, but innocence doesn't come easy to a man newly out of jail.

“You didn't do anything.” Drew laughed. “It was my sister. She walked out of your bedroom wearing your shirt.”

“We got caught in the rain. I slept on—”

“Stop. I don't want to hear the details. That smile she gives you whenever she looks your way tells me all I need to know.”

Johnny nodded as if he understood. This being a friend was harder than he'd thought it would be, especially when it came with a big brother and a captain. He decided to change the subject. “How's things going with you and Millanie?”

Drew stared at the closed bedroom door where the women had disappeared. “Not so good. I thought we were fine, but something happened and she won't talk about it. We went to dinner last night and talked with some of her relatives, but on the way back home if the air between us had gotten any colder I'd have frostbite.”

“Great,” Johnny said low and angry. “If a man like you can't figure women out, I don't have a chance in hell.”

Drew smiled. “Don't kid yourself, John. You had a woman sleeping in your bed last night and I went home without a good-night kiss.”

“There's more to that story.”

“I don't want to hear it, remember.”

They both laughed, and then Johnny said, “I guess it's too early for a beer.”

“Beers make less mess than another pot of coffee would.”

Johnny opened the refrigerator. “You got a point, Professor.”