Rest Thy Head (18 page)

“Probably. It beats a ghost anyway.” Peyton giggled. “I have no idea why a ghost would be interested in me anyhow.”

She and Ashley said goodnight to Andy and went inside the inn. Ashley paused on the landing and peered out the window. “I like it here, Peyton. I’ve never been happier in my life.”

“I like it too, Ash. We’ve met a lot of nice people haven’t we?”

“Nicer than Drew or Mother.”

“Yeah, you got that right.”

***

Eleanor slipped her shoes off and set her grocery bag on the table. She had ice cream in the bag as well as milk and chicken, but she let them sit while she checked her phone messages. Nothing.

She put her food away and decided to open a can of soup for dinner. Why cook for only one person?

Truthfully, she had expected Peyton to call again and beg for her forgiveness, but after that one conversation she hadn’t heard a peep out of Peyton. Or Ashley either for that matter. Ashley had left town without even a proper goodbye. She had left a message on the answering machine saying she and Peyton were spending the summer together in Waterbury, but she hadn’t left their address.

Strangely enough, she had started to miss all three of them. True, they had behaved foolishly and ruined her plans for them, but still…

Oh, why even think about it? They’d do what they wanted as usual. What could you expect from the inconsiderate, spoiled children she had raised?

Chapter Twelve

Ashley pushed her silky hair out of her eyes and wiped Griffin’s face with a napkin. “Isn’t it hot today, baby? Maybe we should have waited to come to town.”

“Want car, Mama.”

Peyton laughed. “You have a mind like a steel trap, Griffin. I knew you’d remember that your mama promised you a car.”

Ashley wiped the chocolate from his hands and threw their trash away. “Since I make more money working at Rest Thy Head than I did at the car wash and don’t have either rent or utilities to pay, I’ve saved a little money. Not a lot, but enough to treat you and Griffin to ice cream and buy him a toy car.”

Peyton gave her a quick hug. No matter how much or how little she had, Ashley had always been willing to share. “Thanks, honey. The ice cream’s great.”

They left The Sweet Shoppe and drove to a nearby Super Mart where Griffin found a red car that thrilled his masculine soul. Peyton knew Ashley couldn’t afford to buy anything for herself, but as they walked by the women’s department she saw her sister hungrily glance at the rows of new clothes. Her mother had always dressed them well in the most up to date brand names. She’d never buy anything at Super Mart, but that’s where Ashley and Griffin’s clothes mostly came from now. That or a yard sale. Working at a car wash hadn’t allowed Ashley to shop at a fancier place.

“Look at that little blouse,” Ashley said. She went closer and longingly fingered it. “That blue would look like a million dollars on me.”

“I like it too,” said a voice behind them.

Peyton and Ashley turned around and smiled at Patrick. Ashley’s cheeks had turned pink. “It’s almost the color of my eyes,” she said.

Patrick looked into her eyes as if for confirmation. “It sure is. I think you should get it.”

Ashley hung the blouse on the rack where she found it. “Well, I really came to buy Griffin a car. Show it to Patrick, Griffin.”

Griffin obligingly held out his car.

“Wow, I like that,” Patrick enthused.

He picked up the blue blouse and threw it in his buggy. “If you ladies are finished with your shopping, you can help me. I have a whole list of things to buy.”

Peyton hoped he didn’t intend for Ashley to buy the blouse. As much as Ashley wanted it, she didn’t have the money to spend on herself. It would have pleased her to buy it for Ashley, but she knew her sister valued her pride more than she would something new to wear.

Ashley beamed at Patrick. “We’d love to help you shop, and as long as he has his car, Griffin’s happy.”

Hmm. That was a surprise. Ashley hadn’t even asked her opinion about it. And look at her face! Her sister’s cheeks were spotted with a soft pink color that went well with the sparkle in her eyes.

“Okay, let’s start with jeans. Both Jake and I need a new pair.”

They found the jeans, and Patrick also bought some socks and several long sleeved work shirts for Jake. Then, he found a new wallet for himself. “We need to look for props next.”

“You mean for the play?” Peyton asked as she dodged a display of costume jewelry.

Patrick nodded. “Yes. I dropped the box we stored the china in and broke most of it so we need a new set.”

Ashley immediately found something she liked, a tone on tone white set with a golden band around the rim. Patrick studied the plate Ashley passed to him. “I like it too. Let’s get it.”

Ashley smiled at him as he put the box in his buggy. “Now what?”

“An area rug. I think Colonel Waters would have had one in his parlor.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

“You pick it out,” Patrick urged. “You’re good at this sort of thing.”

Peyton watched in amazement as Ashley preened at Patrick. “How do you know?”

“You picked the china, right? Well, it looks classy -- classy and elegant, just like you.”

My goodness, Patrick was flirting with Ashley! Ashley blushed which almost made Peyton gasp. Her sister had fallen for Patrick! She had suspected the truth and had now received ringing confirmation of her belief. What’s more, Patrick was attracted to Ashley too. Feeling like a third wheel, Peyton dutifully followed behind them.

Ashley found exactly the rug that she liked, an acrylic done in shades of sage, cobalt, and muted red. “That’s really pretty. I can’t stand some of the garish colors people use today.”

“It’ll look nice with the china too.” Patrick pointed to the box of china as if she and Ashley couldn’t find it on their own. “See? I knew you’d choose better than I could.”

Ashley blushed again. “Is that it?”

“One more thing. Jake likes malted milk balls, and he told me to buy him some.”

Griffin came alive on the candy aisle. “Want yummy bears.”

“What’s that?” Patrick asked.

“Oh, he means gummy bears,” Ashley answered with a fond glance for Griffin.

Without a word Patrick tossed some gummy bears in his buggy. “My treat, Griffin, but you’ll have to ask Mama when you can eat them.”

Ashley hesitated. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I want to. Griffin and I are buddies.”

Peyton didn’t expect Ashley to argue, and she didn’t. Buying a bag of gummy bears wasn’t that big of a deal. As they made their way toward the checkout, Ashley pulled the blue blouse out of his buggy. “I don’t think I like it after all. If you’ll watch Griffin for a second, I’ll put it back.”

Patrick gently took it from her. “But I like it, and I want you to have it. Don’t get your money out either. This is a gift.”

Ashley’s eyes started to snap. “You aren’t required to buy me gifts, Patrick. If I need a new blouse, I’ll buy it myself. I’m not a charity case.”

Patrick refused to take offense at her tone. “I never thought you were. I pay your salary, remember? I just want to do something nice for you.”

Peyton knew that Eleanor would have a fit. She’d rather die than have someone think she couldn’t afford to buy clothes for herself, and that was probably why Ashley acted so put out about it. Yet, strangely enough she saw that this tipped the scales in Patrick’s favor. Ashley would rather eat dirt than behave like her mother. “Then I thank you for the gift, Patrick.”

Patrick tossed the blouse back into the buggy as if she had done him a great favor by taking the gift. “We could grab a bite to eat before we go back to Rest Thy Head if you like.”

“Don’t you need to help Jake with dinner?”

Patrick shook his head. “The staff can help him this one time.”

“Where did you want to go?”

His eyes lit up. “There’s a little café on Wilson Road called Grandma’s Kitchen. They have good food. How about going there?”

“Yes, I think I’d like that. I’ll follow you in my car, but tell me how to get there in case I lose you in traffic.”

Peyton knew they’d forgotten all about her. “Uh, you’d better count me out,” she said. “I’ll drive Ashley’s car back to Rest Thy Head for her.”

“But …”

“Ashley, just go on. I’m fine. I have some stuff I need to do.”

Ashley argued a bit, but eventually she gave in, just as Peyton had known she would.

As they went through the checkout, Patrick insisted on paying for Griffin’s car too. “Let me do it,” he begged. “I like Griffin.”

The car only cost five dollars so Ashley agreed. Peyton knew she could use that five dollars for other things.

“Hey, cutie pie,” the cashier cooed to Griffin. “Aren’t you a beautiful little boy? You look a lot like your mama, but I can see a little of your daddy in you.”

Both Patrick and Ashley blushed.

Peyton took Ashley’s keys and watched as she, Patrick, and Griffin drove away. Did she mind that her sister had stolen Patrick’s heart? No, not at all. She and Patrick had enjoyed a few chaste kisses, but they were friends. Their relationship wasn’t going to get serious. They liked each other, but that was it.

Childishly, she crossed her fingers for good luck. It was time for something good to happen for Ashley.

***

Right before rehearsal the next day, Jake told Peyton a little more about Drusilla. “Her grandmother was abducted by a local Indian chief who thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He waited until the men of the family went out hunting, and then he sneaked into the house and kidnapped Hannah Talmadge.”

Peyton winced. Imagine the fear and horror Hannah Talmadge had probably experienced. “What did her family do when they came home and couldn’t find her?”

“They searched the entire village, but nobody had seen her. They did consider the possibility of an Indian raid, but they saw no signs of a struggle, so they hesitated to blame it on the Indians. In the end they didn’t do anything because they had no idea where to begin looking.”

Peyton frowned. “Didn’t the white people ever come into contact with the Indians?”

“The chief moved his village further into the forest after the kidnapping.”

“How long did Hannah stay with the chief?”

Jake leaned back on the sofa and inadvertently gave Peyton a nice look at his face. How strange. She barely even noticed his scars now.

“Now, that’s interesting,” Jake continued. “The chief tried his best to make Hannah happy, but nothing helped. She missed her people, and even the birth of her own daughter, Sighing Wind, didn’t make her happy. She stayed with the tribe until Sighing Wind turned five. At that time, a bear killed the chief, and the Indians returned Hannah to her home.”

“I hope her family welcomed her,” Peyton said. “She’d been gone a long time.”

Jake scowled. “Oh, yes. In fact, her husband had remarried and had a child with his second wife.”

“What did Hannah do?” Peyton asked.

“Her husband didn’t want her back, not after she’d lived with an Indian. He built her a cabin on the back of his property, and she lived there with her daughter.”

“That’s tough,” Peyton commiserated. “She didn’t do anything wrong, but he treated her like an embarrassment.”

“Yeah, it had to be hard. Anyway, she renamed Sighing Wind and called her Amanda. Everyone agreed Amanda would never find a man, but she fooled them. One of the local trappers fell in love with her after he saw her in town, and they got married.”

“And had Drusilla.”

Jake smiled. “That’s right, and Drusilla was beautiful. She reminded people of an exotic tropical bird in the midst of a lot of wrens and sparrows. Naturally, she caught the attention of Lawrence Jenkins.”

“Who was he?” Peyton reached for a peppermint in a glass dish on the coffee table.

“Remember he was Colonel Water’s aide in the war and came west when the colonel left Virginia.”

“Yes, I remember now.”

“Once she and Lawrence got married, Sally took Drusilla under her wing. By all accounts Drusilla had a long and happy life.”

“I just thought of something,” Peyton said. “If Colonel Waters was the founder of Waterbury, where did Hannah and the other white people come from?”

“Oh, they’d been mountain men or prospectors at one time and, and when they got tired of the lifestyle, they settled down in a small community. There were never more than six or seven families, and they lived a lot like the Indians did. I’ve never understood why they thought they were so much better than the Indians.”

“I guess people sometimes do get happy endings,” Peyton observed.

His voice hardened slightly. “I guess.”

She slipped her arm through his. “Don’t you think you can get a happy ending, Jake?”

“Huh!”

“Don’t huh me,” Peyton smartly ordered, “and quit feeling sorry for yourself.”

Jake sat bolt upright. “I beg your pardon! I do not feel sorry for myself!”

“Then prove it.” She gave his shoulder a little shake. “Stop hiding out at Rest Thy Head. Join the world again.”

Jake jumped up so fast Peyton wondered that he didn’t get a nosebleed. “I have work to do. I’ll see you later.”

He stalked out of the living room with an aggrieved expression on his face, leaving Peyton to wonder how she’d ever crack that wall he’d built around himself.

***

They finished rehearsal around nine. As Patrick, Peyton, and Ashley passed through the lobby, the front door opened, and a woman entered the inn. Something in her expression reminded Peyton of her mother. Eleanor usually wore the same sharp, peevish look on her face. The woman’s clothes appeared expensive, but she had bought them a size too small which emphasized her ample bosom and backside. She wore a tacky brooch of multi-colored stones on the lapel of her jacket.

Patrick smiled at the woman. “May I help you?”

“You certainly may. My luggage is in my car, which is parked right outside. After you unload it, you may park it in the lot with the other vehicles.”

Patrick’s eyes widened. “Ah, you have a reservation?”

“Yes. Haynes. Libby Haynes.”