When Love's at Work (14 page)

Purity spilled the tale of her relationship
with Derek Worthington. Alex didn’t interrupt or offer advice. He
did put his hand on her knee about halfway through the story. When
she was done, Alex said only one word. “Bastard.”

Purity kissed Alex. A slow, mesmerizing kiss
filled with appreciation, thankfulness, relief and amazement that
she had been so lucky to find someone she just might be able to
share her life with. As they enjoyed a long hug, Purity found the
words I love you on the tip of her tongue.

Bobby and Meg were greeted at Pure’s
apartment door by Alex.

“
Purity’s in the shower,”
he explained with a nod of his head toward the bathroom.

Meg wondered if the idea of sharing the
shower with Alex had occurred to Purity. Knowing Pure, it had
definitely crossed her mind.

Bobby went into the kitchen to raid the
refrigerator for a beer while Alex whispered something to Meg.
Bobby’s eyes narrowed. “What are you two whispering about?”

Meggie smiled and said sweetly,
“Nothing.”

Bobby was suspicious, but decided it
couldn’t be too bad if they weren’t concerned that he was standing
right there watching them.

Purity emerged from the shower wrapped in a
white terry cloth robe with arms that hung about four inches below
her hands.

“
You know you can get
robes in different sizes now,” Bobby teased his sister.

Purity threw the towel she had been using to
dry her hair at Bobby. “I don’t like boys. They all have
cooties.”

“
Not all of us,” Alex shot
back with a grin.

“
What smells so good?” Meg
said, interrupting their playful antics as she took the lid off the
pot of simmering chili.

“
Alex’s chili,” Pure
answered. “Have some, there’s plenty. It’s delish.”

“
I’ll take some, too,”
Bobby said, joining Meg in the kitchen and rummaging through the
cupboards looking for bowls.

“
There’s cornbread in the
plastic container on the counter,” Alex added. “Help
yourself.”

The friends and siblings sprawled over the
comfortable couches and popped a movie into the DVD player. Within
fifteen minutes, they were all fast asleep.

Emily Cravens was sitting on her front porch
sipping iced tea when Alex pulled his silver Chevy Malibu up to the
curb. Mrs. Cravens’ directions were \easy to follow. Alex got out
of the car and surveyed the house Purity longed to call her own. He
could see why she liked it so much. It seemed like a perfect fit
for Pure’s personality and nature, warm and genuine.

“
Well, don’t just stand
there, come on up to the porch,” Emily said with a welcoming lilt
in her voice. “I poured you a glass of iced tea. Do you like sugar
or that artificial stuff?”

“
I like real sugar,” Alex
answered as he walked through the white picket gate and up the
steps onto the porch.

“
Me, too. That artificial
stuff tastes like crap,” Emily said with a twinkle in her
eye.

The cool drink soothed Alex’s parched throat
and he sat in the chair Mrs. Cravens motioned for him to sit
in.

“
Mighty nice of you to buy
my house for Purity,” Emily started. “I don’t want just anybody
living here and I know she’d take good care of the
place.”

“
I believe Purity would
consider it an honor to live here, as well,” Alex replied. “I think
the asking price is more than reasonable,” he paused and pulled a
check out of his pocket. “I took the liberty of writing a check
already. Hope you don’t mind.” Alex handed the check to Mrs.
Cravens.

Emily’s hand shook slightly as she accepted
the check. She had never seen so many digits on a check before. She
knew she was doing the right thing, but it still felt odd, like she
was selling her memories. She slipped the check into her ample
bosom and secured it with part of her bra strap. She picked up her
glass and raised it in a gesture of a toast.

“
May this house bring
Purity as much joy as it has brought me and my family,” Emily
said.

They clinked their glasses and Alex said,
“Here, here.”

Paperwork details would be worked out later.
Alex couldn’t wait to tell Purity she had a house that was all
hers.

Meg wasn’t sure what to do, so she called
Courtney.

“
What’s up, Meggie?” Court
asked, after seeing Meg’s name displayed on her caller
ID.

“
I don’t know what to do!”
Meg half-shrieked into the phone. “I mean, I love Pure and I want
her to be happy, but I’m not sure I should have told him. Of
course, he could easily have found out some other way, but… Oh, I
don’t know!”

“
Back up and start at the
beginning, Meg, you’re not making any sense,” Courtney said,
plopping herself down in a big, overstuffed chair.

Taking a deep breath Meg said, “When Bob and
I came back from our date, Alex asked me if I had Emily Cravens’
phone number. I said sure and gave it to him. I know her number by
heart because she used to give me piano lessons when I was younger,
but I didn’t have a piano at my house to practice on, so she let me
come over and use hers. Anyhow, I gave him the number and then
asked why he wanted it and he said he wanted to surprise Pure by
buying her the house.”

“
Oh,” Court
replied.

“
See! See! That’s the
thing! This whole scenario could totally blow up in Alex’s face.
Pure might not want Alex to buy her the house. You know how she
likes to earn things and accomplish things for herself. So, what if
she gets all mad at Alex, and then mad at me for giving Alex Mrs.
Cravens’ number?” Meg’s voice rose higher and higher with each
word.

“
First of all, Meggie, you
need to breathe,” Courtney reminded her friend. “Second of all, I
have the feeling that if Alex McCallister wanted to find Mrs.
Cravens’ number, he could have done it without your help. Third of
all, we don’t know how Pure will react. I think she’s falling for
Alex, so maybe she’ll simply accept the completely lavish gift and
enjoy it for what it is.”

Meg thought about Court’s words. “No way
will Pure just enjoy the gift for what it is. She’ll either read
more into it or say she can’t accept it. Or both.”

“
You’re right,” Courtney
agreed. “Still, it’s quite the romantic gesture, don’t you
think?”

“
If Bobby bought me a
house, I’d certainly accept it and I’d ask him to move into it with
me,” Meg said.

“
So, things are serious
with you and the Bobster?”

“
Yes. Well I think they
could be. I told him I didn’t want to have sex and he was okay with
it, at least for now.”

“
That’s cool,” Court
stated. “I like it when guys don’t put on the pressure and allow
things to happen naturally.”

“
Me, too.”

“
So, when’s Alex going to
tell Pure the news?” Courtney asked.

“
I’m not sure. He said he
was going to call Mrs. Cravens right away, so my guess is as soon
as he can gather the money to pay for the house.”

“
That shouldn’t be long,”
Court said. “From what I’ve heard about Alex McCallister, he could
just write a check out for the full amount.”

“
Man, that must be nice,”
Meg commented, not being able to imagine having that much cash
available whenever you wanted it.

“
Seriously.”

“
Thanks so much, Court,”
Meg paused. “I feel like I can breathe now.”

“
Breathing is good,
Meg.”

“
Yes, yes it is,” Meg
said, ending their conversation.

Meg and Court both wondered how Purity would
respond to Alex’s offering.

Chapter Eight

Emily Cravens had given Alex a key to the
house so he could present it to Purity. Alex stopped by the
Hallmark store and found a card that he thought fit the moment. He
also purchased a piece of red silk ribbon and had the clerk tie it
in a beautiful bow around the key. Alex knew if he tried to tie the
bow it would have looked like a wreck. Once in his car, he wrote
“welcome home” on the card and then placed the key inside the card,
put it inside the envelope and ran the gummed edge across his
tongue and sealed it.

He couldn’t wait to see Pure’s face when she
opened it. He had arranged to meet her for dinner after she and her
brother visited their mom in the hospital. Alex hadn’t been this
excited to give someone a gift in a very long time.

Bobby dropped Purity off at Alex’s home and
headed over to pick up Meg, as they were going to get together for
dinner as well.

Pure loved the look of Alex’s home. It was a
log cabin, although the word cabin implied that the house was small
and it definitely was not small. Pure guessed it had at least four
bedrooms and there were two visible brick fireplaces. The rolling
green lawn was surrounded by tall pine trees. Crimson and butter
colored rose bushes flanked the entryway on trellis’ that reached
toward the second story.

She half expected to see a big dog come
bounding around the corner with a couple of kids in tow. This was a
house built for a family. As Pure’s eyes tried to catch every
nuance of the landscape, she remembered that Alex was married. He
had a family. Did he have kids? She had never asked him. She hadn’t
really wanted to think about the fact that he was still a married
man, no matter how hard Sheila said he tried to get a divorce from
his wife. The fact remained, Alex McCallister was married. Pure
frowned at the thought. She needed to have a talk with him and she
needed to have it soon.

The front door swung open and Alex appeared
in a pair of worn jeans and a navy blue t-shirt with one small,
white star on the pocket.

“
Hey, sugar,” he said as
he quickly made his way from the front stoop to Pure’s side. He
kissed her lightly on the lips and inhaled her scent.

“
Hi,” Purity replied,
savoring the feeling of Alex’s lips on hers. How come when she was
anywhere near Alex, all thoughts of his wife
disappeared?

“
Come on in, I’ll give you
the grand tour,” Alex said, gesturing for Purity to head into his
home. The living room was earthy and warm in tones of sienna,
hunter green, and chocolate. The sectional sofa was leather and
felt like sweet cream to the touch.

“
That must have cost you a
bundle?” Pure couldn’t help but comment.

“
It did,” Alex agreed with
a large grin. “It was worth it.”

“
Your home is so warm and
inviting. I love the fireplace,” Pure stated, running her fingers
across the sturdy brick. “How long have you lived here?”

“
About two years,” Alex
replied, remembering how much Callie had hated the idea of living
in a log house. She refused to even consider moving into the home
Alex had helped build. He hadn’t told her about it. He wanted it to
be a surprise. It was a surprise all right, but not the kind he
wanted. Callie had insisted that he purchase a house in a better
neighborhood. Alex thought the neighborhood was perfect.

Taking a deep breath and deciding to take
the bull by the horns, Purity asked, “Does your wife live here with
you?”

Alex’s eyes seemed to bore right into her
skull.

So, she wanted to go there, Alex thought,
running his right hand through his hair like he always did when
he’d rather be somewhere else. Anywhere else.

Alex sat down on the sofa and replied, “No.
My wife, Callie, and I haven’t lived together for well over two
years.” He fingered his wedding band, then continued. “I’ve been
trying to convince her that we have grown apart and we need to end
this…” Alex paused, grasping for the right word, “charade. It’s a
marriage of convenience. Actually it’s very inconvenient,” he said
as he stood up and began pacing.

Purity stood where she had been standing
when she asked the question, watching Alex move as if he were a
caged animal.

“
She won’t grant me a
divorce. If it’s not amicable, if both parties don’t agree, there
has to be another reason -- infidelity, lying, finding out someone
is a homosexual, whatever -- she won’t agree to irreconcilable
differences,” Alex explained, again running his right hand through
his hair. “I’m so damn frustrated by it all and I just don’t know
what to do. I don’t want to hurt her,” Alex’s eyes were soft with
concern. “I just want to get on with my life and I want her to get
on with hers.”

“
Is she seeing anyone?”
Purity inquired, thinking that maybe if Callie were involved with
someone, she’d be more willing to move on.

“
She was for a while, but
she’s not now. At least not that I’m aware of.”

“
You still wear your
wedding ring.” It was more of a statement than a
question.

“
Yes.” Alex looked down at
the gold band on his finger. “Yes, I do.”

Purity walked over and stood within arm’s
reach of Alex. “Maybe you’re hanging on to the marriage just a
little bit, too,” she suggested quietly.

Alex’s head rose suddenly and his eyes were
bright with restrained anger. What in the hell did she know about
his marriage? Twelve years he and Callie had been together, you
don’t just throw that away on some whim.

“
Say it,” Purity advised,
“I can take it. There’s no use thinking something and not just
saying it. I can see it in your eyes anyway.”

“
Some words are better
left unsaid,” Alex’s tone was hard as a rock.